Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! and all it's characters belong to Pioneer.
The swinging mill bell changed its rate
To tolling like the count of fate,
And through at that the tardy ran,
One failed to make the closing gate.
There was a law of God or man
That on the one who came up late
The gate for half an hour to be locked,
His time be lost, his pittance docked.
(Part one of The Lone Striker, by Robert Frost)
Feel the wind
Feel the sun
And a new day in paradise has only begun
On the sand
By the sea
It's a peaceful oasis made for you and for me
Take my hand
This place was always waiting
This beauty all around us
The air intoxicated
Just like the love that found us
Let's forget who we've been
And give into the dream
Maybe life is a song
That's how it seems
And forever more we'll hear the music play
And forever more I'll take you in my hand this way
(Tenchi Universe, Episode 13 'Travel through time and space part III)
All Alone
"Ryoko, get up! I've let you sleep long enough today!" a voice sounded below her, along with Sasami's pot banging against the wall loudly.. Shut-up, I'm not in the mood; Sasami, the space pirate forced herself up and walked to the door, ignoring the snickering of the princess on the couch.
"Oh, hey Ryoko; have a nice sleep?" she looked at Tenchi Masaki's face. She glanced down in embarrassment, "Um, yeah I guess. But aren't you supposed to be in the fields or something?" he looked at her, confused, "What are you talking about? I just got back!" Ryoko's face turned crimson at the sound of the time, "I've been asleep that long, huh?" Ayeka's face appeared from behind the couch, with it all screwed up in her spoildish manner, "No kidding, we slave all day while you have your fun sleeping. You sleep like a rock, woman," with that, she returned to reading comics. Tenchi's face smiled dumbly, "But me and Sasami are the only ones who were moving today, Ayeka," she merely hmphed and ignored the statement. Ryoko couldn't help but smile as Ryo-ocki hopped into her arms, "Hello Ryo-ocki, what'cha been doin' today, huh? Probably been helping Tenchi all day; haven't you?" she scratched the cabbit's chin, which she rarely did in front of people. The cabbit purred in her hands and jumped to her hair, setting a little bed-like feature in her cyan hair. Not paying any heed at the other people's looks, she walked outside; breathing in the fresh air.
"Isn't it a great day-er-evening, Ryo-ocki?" the space-pirate said, stretching her arms while she walked to the lake. The cabbit didn't hear her, it was fast asleep. Ryoko didn't bother it, only hoping that it would have nice dreams. What's up, Ryoko? Washu's voice echoed through her head. That, is none of your business, Washu a sigh could be heard on the other end of the link, you seem a bit depressed lately, I'm just a tiny bit worried. That's all, the space pirate grumbled under her breath I'm always this way, in case you haven't noticed, Washu stopped typing for a second, You're thinking about the past, aren't you, Ryoko almost screamed, That's none of your damn business! Just leave me alone! Washu winced, then shut the link with a few last words, Sorry, Ryoko. She felt a pang of regret as soon as she had said those words. Regret turned to anger towards the universe. "WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE TO FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO DRIVE EVERYONE AWAY?!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. She waited for an answer, "ANSWER ME!" by then Ryo-ocki was up and clawed her head from being startled to death. Ryoko put her hands up and pulled the cabbit off, glaring at it the whole way, "What did you do that for, huh?" Ryo-ocki meowed and looked down in shame. Her face softened, and pulled the little cabbit into a hug. "Sorry, not in a very good mood today," It's all right, you just scared me to death, Ryo-ocki's voice rang in her head. Thanks. Ryoko phased from the lake and onto the roof, looking at the pale moon above the sunset.
Ryo-ocki looked up at her sister, her golden eyes not blinking, What's wrong, Ryoko? The cabbit asked, nuzzling her. Ryoko answered while still looking at the sky, Just thinking about the past. Washu seemed to be concerned also, I wonder why Ryo-ocki turned around to face the sunset, She's our mother, that's why. I may not be the smartest cabbit in the world, but I bet what you said to her earlier kind of hurt her. No, it probably hurt her a lot, Ryoko stopped moving for a second in shock, how did you know? She looked up at her, I can hear what you say in your mind, so I could only hear your side of the little disagreement you had with her. I'm sorry if it feels like I'm invading your privacy, but I'm your little sister. Isn't that what they're for? Maybe you should go apologize or something, the space pirate's eyes closed for a second, Man I hate being in the middle, always gets the most. Oh well, the cabbit managed a smile, then transformed into the adult massu she had assimilated with a few months ago. Ryoko looked over, Why did you do that? The other looked over, Even though I'm smaller than you, doesn't mean I don't like to be average size every once in a while, I only stay in child form with Sasami so I can play with her easier. It's fun! Ryoko looked down, seeing her point, Fine, even if Washu is shorter than me and can change forms, maybe I should say sorry the humanized cabbit looked over Is it really that difficult to call someone mom? Ryoko blushed, yes. Ryo-ocki grinned, Call her mother then! The space pirate glared at the cabbit's persistence, then sighed, Fine, you make me apologize, now you want me to call her mom. What now? Call Tenchi his royal highness? Admit to everyone I can't taste? Ryo-ocki giggled, That wouldn't be to bad actually, the highness part, I don't think you'd tell about your taste buds, no matter how hard I tried, Ryoko sighed, Alright, I guess I should get to- she stopped short, Ryo-ocki urged her on, Mom before it gets too late, the cabbit cheered, then flung herself onto the former space pirate, Just say that once a day to me for the next week and I'll let you off the hook, Ryoko sighed again and returned the hug. Thanks for listening to me, your not as much as a bad person as you think you are, Ryoko, Ryo-ocki said, then hopped off the roof in cabbit form.
Ryoko blinked a little, then phased into the kitchen, where she saw Ryo-ocki on Sasami's head again. The cabbit turned around, I'm rooting for you all the way, space cowgirl! Ryoko grinned and walked to the closet door, then knocked. Nobody answered. She looked down, 'She's that mad at me huh? Guess I'll just have to talk to her with telepathy,' she scooted and leaned onto the wall next to the door. Hey, mom? Washu shrieked and dropped the drill she was holding. What is it, Ryoko? The cyan haired lady blushed, Well, I, uh, just wanna say I'm sorry for what I said earlier, and I hope you'll forgive me. And, um, that's all nothing could have surprised the scientist as much as what her daughter had said that moment. Regaining control over her mind, she replied, Thank you Ryoko, do you want to come in? Ryoko shook her head, then remembered that she couldn't see her, Um, no. Uh, I think I'll go help Sasami cook or, uh, something, with that, she walked away. Washu sucked in her breath and beamed at the floor, 'Thank you, Ryo-ocki. Thanks,'
Ryoko walked into the kitchen, Ryo-ocki was in her child form, helping Sasami set the dishes. The cabbit looked over Good job! Better than I thought it would be any way, Ryoko let it pass and faced Sasami, "Hey, Sasami, can I try to cook something?" the little Jurian girl looked up, "Really?" Ryoko nodded, "Yeah, sure! You can make the chicken noodle Parmesan while I make the noodles, okay?" she nodded again. "What are the directions?" Ryoko couldn't taste, so she had better make it good! Sasami kneeled and pulled out a piece of paper with ingredients. She handed them to her with a nice big bowl. Looking down at the list, she searched the room for,
1 cans (103/104) Campbell's Cream Of Chicken & Broccoli Soup
½ cup of milk
1/3 of a cup of Grated Cheese
1/8 t pepper
3 cups of medium egg noodles
2 cups of cooked cubed chicken
Ryoko stopped and phased around the room for the ingredients. Finding them all, she set the on the counter, or in a smaller bowl, one by one. She cupped her chin with her hand. Sasami walked over and handed her a saucepan, as well as a few spoons. "Here Ryoko, you'll do fine as long as you follow the recipe. It's not mine though. You have exactly," she turned around and checked the clock, "An hour and a half until 7:30," Ryoko smiled and went to work, following the directions. First, dumping the soup, milk, cheese, and pepper in the 3qt. Saucepan, adding some noodles and chicken like the paper said. Stirring it a little, she set it on the oven and turned it low, letting it heat through while stirring occasionally. She turned to face the amazed looking Sasami, "Wow, Ryoko. You're a fast cook, why don't you taste it?" the cyan haired woman cringed, but hid it well, "Why don't you try it, huh? I bet I'd fake it and say it was good on purpose and make Ayeka drink all of it," the young girl smiled and pulled out a clean spoon from her apron and took a sip of the Parmesan. She jumped back in delight, "Whoa! I wasn't expecting this!" Ryoko looked down, "It's awful, isn't it?" Sasami turned around and pinned her to the wall, "No way! This is better than when I cook Ryoko, you have to learn to be proud of yourself sometimes!"
Ryoko and Ryo-ocki weren't expecting this, "You like it?" Ryoko asked, dumbfounded. Sasami pulled away and nodded happily, "You have to be kidding yourself, Ryoko. Of course I like it! Want to be a cooking buddy for dinner?" Ryoko blushed and smiled, "Okay, I guess," Sasami's grin could not have been wider at any time but that moment, "Yippee! I have a cooking partner, I have a cooking partner," she went on singing. Ryoko grinned and went to help Ryo-ocki. Can't wait to taste what you cooked Ryoko, I'm starved, Washu's voice sounded. Ryoko didn't care that much, Yeah, whatever. Just don't lose track of time, alright? Washu grinned, and walked out of the lab, surprising both of them. "Is that better?" she asked, straightening her hair. Ryoko didn't move, she didn't often come out willingly like this. The cabbit looked up, set the dish down, and ran to her, slamming her face in her belly, wrapping her arms in a hug. This caught Washu by surprise, and made her stumble a bit. Ryoko looked in shock, her mouth gaping at what her sister had done. Washu looked down and patted the child's head, smiling a little more. Looking back up she looked at the dumbstruck Ryoko, "What's the matter, Ryoko? I've got room for one more," Ryoko looked downcast, "No thanks, I am, uh, helping Sasami," she said and phased out of sight. Washu looked at the already set table.
Sasami walked into the room, accidentally bumping into Washu. "Sorry, I was just looking for Ryoko, and- whoa! Washu!" she cried identifying the character she had bumped into. "It's alright, just thinking," Sasami looked at the scientist's hands, then glared, "Get those hands washed, missy! Dinners in five minutes!" she said, trying to act like a mom. Washu sighed and allowed Ryo-ocki to let go, then walked to the bathroom. Ryoko was on the roof, looking around the area to see anything that'd changed. "Nope, still the same forest I lost my gems in…" She then phased to the table, where she saw everyone coming in. Washu was the first in, and took a spot next to Ryoko. Ryoko didn't care, as long as Ryo-ocki sat next to her other side, or Tenchi. The adult cabbit came in with one of Ryoko's kimonos on. Ryoko grinned at her politeness, Can't believe you snuck into my box and stole one of those, Ryo-ocki stared, I can't eat naked, what do you think I should have done? Washu snickered next to her, Ryoko continued, Yeah, whatever, just sit next to me, alright? The cabbit nodded and sat on her knees. Still can't get used to long limbs, ay? She nodded again, Nope, still don't see how you walk on two legs so nicely yet, I always thought humans had tails and then learned to balance, Ryoko gagged while Ayeka sat on the other end of the table, Humans, did have tails you bozo! When they inside the mommy's stomach, they had a little nub, then the skin around it covered it up! That's how our tail bone was made, you dummy, the woman glared at the space pirate, Don't call me names, Ryoko grinned evilly, Dummy, Ryo-ocki and Washu giggled at her. Ayeka looked up from her comic, "What's so funny, Miss Washu?" the scientist smiled while she looked at her, "Oh, nothing. Ryoko just said something funny, that's all," Sasami walked into the room with a bowl of the chicken Parmesan.
Ayeka put the book down when she smelled it, "Wow, Sasami. Did you make this?" she asked, pouring herself a bowl. Sasami shook her head, Ayeka cocked her head a bit. "Who did then?" Sasami grinned happily, "Ryoko did, that's who!" as the space pirate had expected, Ayeka stopped pouring halfway, setting the bowl down she waited for something else. Sasami glared while Tenchi and Mihoshi came down the stairs. "Ayeka, just take one sip, I'm telling you, it's good. Much better than I can cook," Ayeka's face trailed back and forth between Sasami and the bowl, then shook her head. Sasami glared at her stubborn sister, "I'm not putting another thing on this table until you take at least one sip, Ayeka," Ryoko looked up at her, "You don't ha-" the young Jurian girl shushed her, "Take one Ayeka," the violet haired woman stared at her, "Fine," she gripped her spoon tightly and sipped the Parmesan through pursed lips. The princess didn't put it down, she didn't do a thing like that. Tenchi looked at her curiously. Ayeka kept eating, and that was that. Washu smiled to Ryoko, Wow, didn't know you had the willpower to not blow her up when she's vulnerable like this. You must be very proud of yourself, Ryoko didn't listen, she was in her own world of pride that second. Tenchi Masaki grinned and took a seat next to Washu.
Mihoshi was too busy with her clumsiness to notice that Ayeka had taken a liking to Ryoko's cooking. Washu smiled and poured herself some Parmesan, then took a bite herself, Not bad for not being able to-you know, anyhow, its really good Ryoko. I want seconds! Ryoko smiled and couldn't help but wag her tail a little. Ryo-ocki nudged Ryoko to stop wagging, because it was whacking her and Washu. Ryoko stopped immediately. "I'll go get the rest," the young girl said, and walked off; finally relieved that someone else got the attention besides her for the cooking. Tenchi was smiling, also happy for Ryoko, while pouring himself some. Nobiyuki came home happy with a nice picture of a young lady at work he managed to flirt with without being smacked. He sat and watched as three other bowls were set on the table. One with the noodles she had made earlier, crab buns in another, and shrimp with French fries in the last one. Sasami sat down next to the humanized cabbit, then snuck a carrot to her from under the table. Washu grinned to her cabbit daughter as she snapped the carrot the tiny bits and mixed them with the soup. Ryoko was the only one not eating, What's the matter, Ryoko? Why don't you eat a little? Ryo-ocki asked, slurping down a carrot chunk with noodles and chicken. Ryoko shrugged and grabbed one of the buns and some shrimp. While nibbling on the end of the shrimp, she replied back to the cabbit I don't know, maybe I just wish I could taste. It's pathetic that I can't know what taste is exactly, it just is a sore spot, Washu looked over out of the corner of her eyes, I can fix that if you want me to, Ryoko looked sad, but her tail was wagging at the thought of it. Washu smiled at her daughter, I'll take that as a yes, I'll fix it tonight, Ryoko grinned, but Ayeka took it as a threat. "What are thinking now, demon woman?" she asked, just to pick a fight. The cyan haired woman looked up, "That's none of your beeswax, princess," Ayeka looked taken aback.
"What did you say?" she shrieked, putting her chopsticks down. Ryoko faced her and repeated, "I said that's none of your business, princess. I'm outta here," with that she phased to Washu's lab door, and walked inside. Everybody looked toward the door, while Tenchi sighed in relief, 'Phew, nothing blew up that time. Thanks Ryoko, for walking away!' Washu and Ryo-ocki smiled as well, knowing that Ryoko was in the onsen instead, that was just a copy to let her be.
In the onsen, Ryoko walked up to the dressing room, where her bathing suit, along with the others, was hanging. Grabbing it, she walked into the hot water, letting it calm her nerves. 'That Ayeka is always trying to pick a fight, I can't believe she did that just for me grinning. Sheesh, princess's, I'll never get them,' she sighed and dipped a little deeper. 'Good thing I'm alone,' That's what you think; Washu's voice reverberated in her head. Ryoko to her left, and sure enough, there was Washu and Ryo-ocki. Ryoko looked at them, confused. "Why'd you guys follow me here?" the space pirate asked. Washu shrugged, "How about a little quality family time, what do you think?" the cabbit, now in one of Ryoko's old bathing suits, snickered. Ryoko looked at her in the eyes, then looked at her reflection, "Yeah, okay. That's not such a big deal," Washu smiled, and scooted a little closer, "Then you don't mind if scoot, do you?" Ryoko looked at the gap, it was only about six inches. "That I DO mind, give me some room," Washu obeyed, and scooted over a few inches. Ryo-ocki looked over, Want me to get in the middle? She asked, pointing in between the two. They both nodded. After the Ryo-ocki was settled, Ryoko started talking, "Anything in particular you wanted to ask me?" Washu jumped at her voice, having it being quiet for so long, "No, not really. You just seemed depressed today," the scientist replied, putting a hand on top of Ryo-ocki's furry head. Ryoko shook her head, "It's just hard,"
Washu looked at her, 'This might get somewhere, without blowing her bubble at me,' "Go on," Ryoko stared at her reflection, "It's just hard to think of all the blood and lives I've stolen from happy family's" Washu and the cabbit both stared at her now, "Ryoko, you know that wasn't your fault-" she was cut off by her older daughter's piercing stare, little pebbles of droplets formed at the edges of Ryoko's eyes, "I should have tried to say no! The dirty bastard made me destroy all those homes, lives. I should have said no from the start! I should have-" Washu shushed her, "Ryoko, you know that wasn't your fault, it was Kagato's own scumbag plan to take over the universe, you know that. Plus it was impossible to say no while under his control; Katsuhito saved your life from him. Another day of that torture, you'd probably have destroyed this solar system. Along with Juria." Her voice calmed Ryoko down, then she grinned, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, "Will you look at that, I'm leaking. Heh, that's funny," Ryoko said, dunking her hand into the water. Ryo-ocki spoke up with a meow. Washu took her hand off the cabbit's head and pointed to a basket, "The towels are in there, you weird thing." Ryo-ocki smiled, then hopped out of the hot tub.
As she dried herself off, she went on talking to Ryoko, Splash her, come on, splash mom, Ryoko looked at her, Why should I? The cabbit smiled, You need to loosen up, dudette, have some fun! Just don't get my fur wet, okay? Ryoko nodded and turned to Washu, who was picking at her nails. Ryoko pulled her arm back and splashed her mother's face full. Washu gagged and looked, only to see Ryoko had phased to other side of the pool, while bending over and stretching her face in awkward ways, "You can't catch me, na na na na na na," Washu was squeezing the water out her eyes while she heard Ryo-ocki laughing so hard behind her, she could throw up. "I'm going to get you, Ryoko!" she yelled and began a phasing chase. It was a losing chase, Washu was much quicker than her daughter, and quickly caught her. Grabbing hold of Ryoko's body, she dunked the space pirate's head in the water. But then she pulled her up, in case of the surprise dunk. Ryoko was more surprised at the fact that Washu had caught more than the dunking. Pulling her way out of her mother's grip, she turned toward Ryo-ocki. "Let's go get her," Ryoko whispered, Washu nodded, almost unable to keep in the laughter at how awkward her daughter looked at that moment. Her hair was sitting straight, for once, and the hair and her skin seemed to be sticking up in all directions.
They both phased from the area they were in and looked upon the laughing cabbit, Ryoko grinned, pulling back her right arm, Washu followed suit. The space pirate looked at the scientist and counted to three. On three, a huge wave came from their arms. They were amazed at the size of it, and waited to see a soaking Ryo-ocki. They never did, but felt someone poking them from behind. They turned around and saw the humanized cabbit, giggling at their effort, What the heck was that for? It almost hit me before I phased, my beautiful fur… the cabbit sighed, and started picking at the wet spot. Ryoko started laughing and fell into the pool from doing it so hard. Washu could help it either, and started giggling at her daughter's statement. Ryo-ocki looked at her mom, and a question popped into her head, Hey, mom? Washu continued to laugh, but answered, How come I can't talk physically? Washu toppled into the pool, "Because your tongue is too small, even in your massu body its not average size. You could try, but it would only turn out to be a meow." Ryo-ocki tried, but she meowed instead. Washu came up and petted her hair, "It's alright, you can still talk and I'll translate, or put a translator on Sasami for you," the cabbit grinned. "Meow, mew meow?" she asked. Washu nodded, "Sure, that's easy! I'll do it tonight while I fix Ryoko's taste buds."
The cabbit grinned, unable to help but wiggle her ears a little. Washu giggled at the silly act, then dunked her hand into the tub and pulled the laughing Ryoko up. The scientist sighed silently and gently splashed some water into the space pirate's mouth. This caused Ryoko to stop laughing and come to her senses, then started spitting the water out. After a few minutes of gagging and choking, Ryoko looked over at her mother, "What was that for, huh. I could have choked to death!" Washu rolled her eyes, "But you don't need to breathe, airhead." The cyan haired lady's ears perked up. So did Ryo-ocki's, looking over, they saw Ayeka and Sasami wrapped in towels coming towards them. Ryoko was the first to wave, "Hey, Sasami! What's up?" the young girl looked over, "Oh, hey Ryoko. Nothing really, Ayeka just brought me here," she pointed towards her older sister, who wasn't having a perfectly polite face on. "Come on, Ayeka. We can ask Ryoko where she learned to cook so well, is that okay?" the younger Jurian asked, tugging on the princess' arm. Ayeka glared toward Ryoko, "Alright, but just for a little bit, then I'm getting out of this place, before I catch some germs," Ryoko smiled, "I don't have cooties, silly girl,"
Sasami and Ryo-ocki snickered, while Washu just let a laugh hiss out. Ayeka stood there with a screwed up face, "When will you ever learn to act sophisticated, woman?" Ryoko shrugged, "When will the prissy princess learn some manners?" Ayeka's fist trembled. But Ryoko ignored it, and invited Sasami over to sit by her, Sasami ran for the spot. After getting Ryoko soaked again, she started to talk, "So, when did you learn to cook like that Ryoko? It was awesome, you should have cooked a long time ago," the space pirate shrugged, and then scooted over, so she was closer to Sasami and not Ayeka. The young princess smiled, "Then it must come natural to you, that's a great talent. It took me ten years to get my recipe's straight," Ryoko grinned. The scientist was busy picking at her fingernails again, Ryoko got an idea, and leaned toward Sasami's ear, "Hey, Sasami, you want to have some fun getting Washu, and Ayeka frozen?" the girl nodded eagerly. Ryoko sniggered, "Alright, just hold onto my arm. We're going into the water behind the tree, it's really cold, so I'll drop you off on the side," Sasami smiled, then latched onto the space pirate's arm. "Don't let go, or you'll fall,"
Ryoko stood up, and phased to the nearest branch that was hidden. Setting the girl down, she admired the look on her face, "That was weird, felt like my body melted or something," Ryoko nodded, "I felt like that the first time I phased too, feels strange, doesn't it?"
Sasami nodded, "So, how are we going to get my sister and Washu wet?" Ryoko put a finger up, "Be right back," and phased out of sight. The young Jurian princess sighed, and rocked her legs back and forth. Ryoko appeared back in an instant, carrying two buckets of cold water, "Is this cold enough?" she asked, pointing into the water. Sasami reached into the bucket and retreated as soon as she touched it. "Yikes that's cold, I wouldn't want to be Ayeka under that," the princess said, favoring her frozen fingers. "Why would it be bad?" asked a voice from behind them. Ryoko turned around and sighed when she saw her mother's face, "Damn, won't work now," Washu looked at her confused, "What won't work?" Ryoko grinned and dumped the bucket on the scientist's head. Sasami started to laugh out loud at the look on Washu's face, Ryoko phased out of sight while carrying Sasami and the bucket.
Washu was too frozen in shock to notice Ryoko had phased. "Dang that's cold, second time she got me. How embarrassing." She phased next to Ryo-ocki, "Why don't we go? Seems Ryoko is just trying to get us soaked here." The cabbit nodded glumly, wanting to keep her fur safe from the evil water. Washu smiled, "Go get dressed then, or do you want to travel in cabbit form for a while?" Ryo-ocki shook her head, Let's be children sized for a while! Washu nodded and transformed into her twelve year old state. The cabbit did the same thing, making them both around Sasami's size.
Up in the air, above Ayeka, Ryoko was holding Sasami so the girl could hold the bucket, "Alright, on the count of three, dump the bucket on Ayeka, okay?" Sasami nodded. "One… Two. Three!" The young princess flipped the bucket over, soaking the violet haired woman on the ground. Ayeka choked the water down and started shivering as soon as it hit her. Ryoko started laughing and set the little girl down, "Lets run from the evil monster, hurry!" she cried and started running at top speed around the onsen, Sasami soon joined her because Ayeka was beginning a rampage and holding a bucket of cold water herself. Sasami laughed loudly at Ayeka's failed attempts to run with the bucket. "Bet you can't catch me, sis! Na na na na na na!" The older princess cringed in anger, then let the bucket drop, and gave chase, "I'm gonna get you, Sasami!" the little girl smiled, and started running faster than she'd ever done before, holding onto the towel so it wouldn't fall. Ryoko smiled from the branch she was watching on, 'They should play more often, this is really hysterical!' she giggled to herself, and phased to the dressing room and got dressed.
She stretched, "Ah, that was fun, maybe I'll go back to that branch after I'm done," Ryoko grinned and slipped her striped kimono back on. After she phased back to the branch, she found that Ayeka had caught Sasami, and was dragging her out. Ryoko waved to the young girl, and she waved back. Five minutes later they were gone, and Ryoko sighed. 'Finally, now I'm alone,' a rustle of leaves startled her out of the tree. Floating in midair, she looked around, "Washu?" Silence. "Washu?" she asked again. "No," and something grabbed her from behind. "What the…?" Ryoko asked, unable to move. "Recognize me, Ryoko?" the voice asked, holding her in the strangle hold. The words stung her like a pebble in a tornado. The person squeezed harder, "Do you?!" Ryoko gasped for air, and then screamed as her spine snapped.
"Ryoko! Wake up!!!" a voice called, shaking the space pirate violently. Ryoko opened her eyes, and saw Washu's emerald eyes gazing into hers. She jumped up, "Where are we?" the scientist looked at her like she was crazy, "We're in the onsen, silly," Ryoko sighed, and sat back down in the water. Ryoko had her clothes on, 'So I probably fell asleep on the branch,' she thought, and then looked at Washu, "What are you doing here?" Washu bonked her head with her hand, "Oh yeah, well, me and Ryo-ocki left three hours ago. You hadn't come out yet, so I came and saw you screaming in your sleep. Mind telling me what it was about?"
Ryoko shrugged, then checked her spine. After she was done checking, she turned around, "Fine, you'd better not tell anyone else though." Washu smiled, "A word here won't leave my mouth," Ryoko rolled her eyes, "Well, I was just leaning on that branch up there, and I guess I fell asleep, then the leaves started rustling behind me and some voice that sounded a ton like Kagato's bastard voice started asking me if I knew him. When I didn't answer, the being that owned the voice appeared behind me and took me into the strangle hold, it snapped my spine. But before I woke up he whispered in my ear, "I'm coming, Ryoko, to get you and your mother," it freaked me out, just his voice."
Washu nodded, "Well, it was just a nightmare. Kagato's dead. You know that," Ryoko nodded. Washu scooted up, and faced her totally, "But if you have another nightmare, come and tell me or Ryo-ocki. Alright?" the golden-eyed warrior nodded again. Washu smiled and phased away. Ryoko sighed, "I'd better get out of here before someone else comes to haunt. Man, what a day," she said, and phased to the roof of the Masaki home.
She stooped, "I wish I could remember something about my childhood, and not all the times Kagato had abused her. She blocked the link, they couldn't find out about that. Washu was sitting on the porch, and felt her daughter's presence on the roof. 'She's thinking about Kagato,' she said to herself, and tried to say something, but Ryoko's mind blocked her. Washu frowned, she knew, and she didn't say a thing. She would do anything to erase that night in Ryoko's memory. The block was open now, Ryoko, are you alright? She asked, trying to get her out of her misery. Ryoko answered in a glum attitude, Not really, I don't want to talk about it Washu nodded to herself, *Alright then, just be careful not to think like that for too long, alright? You might have a panic attack even though it's not going to happen again, Kagato is dead, just remember that," the scientist said, and phased into the lab.
Ryoko stood up, Washu knew. "Damn, no privacy at all," she sighed and lied down and went to sleep. Inside the lab, Washu watched her daughter, "Good-night Ryoko," she said, reaching for a button,
"I love you,"
Authors Notes: The end! Not, I've got lots to do. Plus, you can probably tell that I wrote this whole thing while I was sick. Pretty pathetic, huh? Anyway, at least 2 good reviews and I'll post the second chapter. Hope you like this story, so far! Ryoko and Washu are just so cute! I love all the stories that are being posted about them. Ja!