To be a Princess, Day 5 - May I walk with you?
Tenchi awoke slowly the next morning on the couch. And after sitting up and stretching he realized where he was, on the couch still. Even though he had a sore spot in his back he was truly rested that past night he had not had any bad dreams. At this point it was unclear if it was due to his training or something else but he knew it was different. As he moved to get up he heard Sasami as usual in the kitchen, so with a slight grin he went in to help.
"Morning Sasami!" His voice held an unusual note of happiness that she had not heard before.
"Morning Tenchi, I see you slept well. Why did you sleep on the couch?"
Tenchi had not yet realized his smile as he told her, "well I was watching TV and kind of fell asleep." It was partially true, he did have the TV on, but he was not really watching it.
"It must have been really boring then." She smiled too and laughed at the memory of him hugging that pillow tightly when she had come down for breakfast. Tenchi was about to say something else, but the appearance of Washu and Ryoko derailed his train of thought.
All through breakfast he could smell the fragrance of her hair as he had when he slept. He smiled to himself at how silly it is that he just now only realized what her hair smelled like as she had been living there for quite some time now. Washu and Ryoko noticed his smile and both of them wondered what it could mean, but before a word could be uttered Ayeka made her entrance. It was shortly after Ayeka had sat down that Katsuhito made his entrance as well.
"Tenchi!" His voice did not hold it's usual warmth. "Your training comes early today. Finish what you must before then." He then grabbed a couple pieces of toast and left.
Then with scarcely a word spoken to anyone he bowed to leave and was after just a moment after changing clothes racing out the door. Ayeka was not happy with her brother for interrupting her time with Tenchi so it greatly soured her mood. Tenchi went for the fields first to do some work there, as he knew that the amount of carrots in the shed was dropping fast from Ryo-Ohki.
With his mind busy on trying to remember his dream from last night and what to do about Ryoko's change he scarcely noticed how quickly he has harvested those carrots that were ready. Thanks to Washu the carrots grew faster then normal and during any season, that way there would always be at least some carrots that Ryo-Ohki could eat. When Tenchi put them over his shoulder he swore that they were heavier then usual as well, but quickly dismissed it.
When he approached the house he heard shouts from within and he assumed things were back to normal. He crept up to a window and peered in, what he saw though was anything but normal. Ryoko sat on the couch, still in her gown from earlier while Ayeka was ranting about a number of trivial things, but what surprised him was Ryoko's response.
"You demon! How dare you think you can pull this off!" Ayeka was more than upset. It seamed that something was really bugging her. "You will never be a princess! You are nothing but a demon! A Monster!" Tenchi was not sure what triggered this and he silently wished he could understand it better, but it looked like Ayeka was pacing back and forth in front of Ryoko who was still seated on the couch. When Ryoko did move Tenchi was surprised.
"If my presence causes you that much displeasure I will leave you then." Ryoko then bowed and returned to Washu's lab leaving Ayeka and Tenchi both startled. Ayeka stormed off to her room while Tenchi just stood there wondering what had just happened.
"That's not like her? If someone insults her especially Ayeka she usually starts to scream right back." Tenchi covered his mouth quickly, as he had not meant to voice his thoughts. Moving away from the window he put the carrots in the shed, and then left to go train with his grandfather. All the while he thought about why had Ayeka said Ryoko was trying to pull something off and why did she think Ryoko was trying to be a princess? It then suddenly hit him the true meaning just about the same time a bokken hit him on the head scattering his thoughts and sending him to the ground.
"Sloppy Tenchi. For that you will have to do double the training." Tenchi sighed at the sound of his grandfather's voice. The voice was now above him and walking away. Standing quickly he realized that he had walked all the way up the stairs and into the middle of the shrine yard. Setting his thoughts of Ryoko and Ayeka aside he caught up to his Sensei to begin his training for the day.
He tried to keep his mind on his training, but unfortunately every time his mind wandered it was easily seen. By the time he had finished his training it was too late to do what he wanted, but before he let the opportunity slip he rushed for home. Upon entering the house he saw that dinner had already started and all of the girls were present. He wanted to ask Ryoko about what he overheard, but now with everyone there he couldn't. Sighing heavily he joined them for dinner.
Dinner was quiet as Ryoko's new demeanor did not allow for much conversation, and Tenchi was lost in thought as to what did he really want to do. He wanted to tell her tonight what was on his mind, but not in front of everyone, he had to get her alone somewhere. But how? If he was to ask her right now Ayeka would most likely start something, but he did not want a fight on his hands, not right now.
When he looked up again he was surprised that dinner was over and everyone was leaving to go back to their rooms. Standing slowly he went into the kitchen to drop off his dishes and was pleased to see Ryoko and Sasami in there as well. Taking a big breath of air he steadied himself then asked, "Ryoko can I talk to you?" With it said he knew that this was not going to be the easiest of conversations.
"Of coarse Lord Tenchi." Even though Ryoko's voice was sweet as she said the words he still shuddered at this title. She walked over to him and stood with her head slightly bowed before him. He was not sure if it was a show of respect or if she was as nervous as he was.
"Um, Ryoko, I, well, um," he was still not comfortable about talking as Sasami was still there and any moment Ayeka may come back downstairs. Desperately he tried to form his thoughts into words as she stood there waiting.
"Ryoko," Tenchi jumped at the sound of a voice behind him. "Ah, there you are. Can you help me with something in the lab?" The little scientist seamed to completely miss the fact that Tenchi wanted to talk to her either that or she was trying to force him to say it faster. Ryoko nodded and seeing that Tenchi was not about to say anything she tried to follow her into the lab.
Tenchi panicked and grabbed her hand. "Ryoko will you walk with me after school tomorrow? Um, I mean after my chores?" Inwardly he yelled at himself, "That was a cop-out and you know it!" The other part of his mind responded, "not entirely! I am trying to get her alone for a while."
As soon as Tenchi grabbed her hand Ryoko felt her breathing stop. She was not aware of the fact she was holding her breath till much later. Instead she was concentrating on how warm and gentle his hands felt on hers at the moment. "For once he is touching me!" Her mind was extremely happy at what he did and even more so by what he had asked. Unable to respond for her lack of air she nodded. She looked into his face for a moment not sure what to expect, but upon seeing his smile she smiled back, took a quick breath and opened her mouth to speak.
However it was not her that spoke up, "Ryoko come on we don't have all night!" Both of them heard Washu's squeaky voice and the moment was lost.
Looking down again Ryoko quickly told him goodnight and left him standing there. Tenchi went to the couch and plopped down. The only thing audible thing from him after that was a quick, "Ok genius, now what?" However, his words had been said too low for anyone to hear even if they had been right in front of him.
Sasami had heard Tenchi ask to talk to Ryoko, and had seen the quick exchange between them. She had known of the bet between Ryoko and Ayeka and had even provided Ryoko with some information on how to be a proper princess. "She makes a better princess than both Ayeka and I," Sasami said quietly as she finished in the kitchen. She reflected back on the past few days and Ryoko had not only proven that she could be a princess, but a better one that Ayeka. However Ayeka had not seen that yet, and Sasami hoped that she wouldn't cause that would just make her angry.
When she had finished in the kitchen she turned out the light and walked into the living room. There on the couch was Tenchi, asleep. Shaking her head she proceeded upstairs to her room. With what she had seen she thought it best to not say anything to Ayeka, at least not yet. She didn't want to hear her sister upset so close to bedtime.
After Tenchi had sat back on the couch thinking he fell over onto the pillow, it was on contact with it that he smelled her again. At first he thought about sitting up, but remembering from last night he knew that it was just her pillow and not her again. He laid there for a while contemplating what this meant. Why did she mean so much to him and why would just her pillow bring him any sort of comfort? He thought back to all those times when he had woke up in his bed to see her there. Sometimes she was awake others she was sleeping, but each time that happened he remembered that his nights had been peaceful. He had even started to miss waking up to see her there, "but what could this mean?"
"It's simple Tenchi." He sat up to see himself standing there.
"Aren't you, um, me?"
"Yes. But I never knew I was this clueless." He watched has his other self placed a hand to his forehead.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you that clueless? Look at yourself! Lying on the couch for the second night hugging her pillow tight like it was someone else!" As he spoke he pointed behind him. Tenchi turned around and saw himself, again, but this time asleep on the couch hugging a pillow.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Of what? You hugging a pillow or you seeing yourself?"
"Um, both?"
"Ok, think about this, you are hugging that pillow thinking it is her. You have always had good dreams every time she was in the room with you. And you have been moping around here like a little lost dog for the past several days! What do you think it means?" As he talked his volume went higher and higher. Tenchi just looked back at his image and could not say why, he knew what it meant, but he just could not say it.
"Oh let me guess. You're not sure what to say cause you don't want to hurt anyone right?"
"Of coarse!" He barked back. "Ever since mom died and then grandma I have not allowed myself to hurt others. You were there you heard what I said to them!"
"Oh I know, that day was when you and I started going in different directions."
"What?"
"Every time she has been near I have tried to get you to say what you felt, but NO! You had to keep pushing me away. And what do you think of our great-aunt? Do you think you are doing her any favors by stringing her along?"
He recoiled at the words, but deep inside he knew they were true, they were coming from him. "I just never wanted to hurt her."
"Oh, never hurt her. I get it. You are not in love with her cause she is your aunt and you don't want to tell her that or even make yourself happy so you string her along like a puppy on a leash! How much pain has she had to suffer because you have not told her the truth? How much pain has she had to suffer from not knowing how you truly felt about her? How much?"
"STOP IT! OK, I know she was hurt, it hurt. But if I tell her now she will be more hurt then I will have the whole Jurai fleet at my door! I cain't tell her now." He said the last part with his head bowed.
"Well do you think Ryoko is going to just wait around till the end of time before you decide? Are you truly that gutless to play with both of them like that?" Tenchi bowed his head and winced at the words. "Think about this, no let me show you..." His words trailed off as the scene changed and he was watching an older version of himself. He was sitting at the table reading a newspaper.
"Good morning Lord Tenchi." He looked up to see a much older Ayeka before him.
"Good Morning Ayeka." He then looked back at the newspaper. On the cover were Ryoko and someone else on their wedding day.
"Seriously Lord Tenchi, how long are you going to look at that." He could hear the disgust in her voice. Even after all these years she still hated her. "You have kept that thing around for the past ten years! When are we going to get married? Never!" The realization dawned on him that he could never see her as anything else but family, but his heart still ached for one that now he could not have.
Before he could answer he was back in the living room with his sleeping body behind him and his other self before him. "Now do you see? Tell me, no tell yourself the truth. Will you ever marry Ayeka?" He hung his head, as he knew the truth of it. "Then tomorrow on your walk with Ryoko, why not tell her how you see her?" Tenchi nodded slowly as his other self stepped forward and disappeared within himself. The he sat back on the couch and lay down so that he too merged with his sleeping form.