Epilogue...
One Week Later....
The brown hared woman shuffled through the papers on the desk. Looking past the lights in front of her she nodded, and waited for her signal.
"The explosion last week in the Okayama countryside has been attributed to a shooting star. While the cause was originally under investigation, a press statement released this morning stated that research teams have indeed uncovered a meteor. Scientists are still surveying the damage at the impact sight, which contains a crater approximately two hundred yards in diameter. Luckily the Okayama region is sparsely populated, and no one was injured. The meteor, which is about the size of..."
Kiyone clicked off the television and tossed the remote to the foot table. "How did they come up with that?"
"I had a little hand in it." Washu sat over. "I got plenty of meteor samples in the lab, well, one less now."
Kiyone closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch. Everything was quiet now, too quite. Ryoko and Ayeka didn't fight, Mihoshi hadn't broken anything, and Nobuyuki hadn't been involved in some hair-brained scheme to gain access to the woman's bath. All of which showed the severity that the events of last Sunday had left. "How's Tenchi?"
"Resting comfortably." Washu looked out the window, knowing her daughter was out somewhere by the lake. "He should be up and about in a week or two."
"Does he know about Han yet?"
Washu closed her eyes, remembering the expression on his face. "Yes, he asked me this morning."
"How did he take it."
"Pretty well, you know him, blames himself, he wishes he was strong enough to stop it from happening."
"How about Ryoko?"
Washu looked down, that was something she couldn't answer. She knew her daughter was dying inside, but she never showed it. She hadn't laughed or been her mischievous self since it happened, granted everyone wore the same face of mourning. Ryoko just seemed disconnected. Maybe the bond between Zero and Ryoko was not fully completed? She needed Ryoko to come into the lab so she could run a diagnostic check on her sensory and emotion girds, but Washu knew the last thing she needed was to be treated like an experiment. Ryoko would just stare at her plate at dinnertime, pecking at it. She would watch cartoons with Sasami and Mihoshi from her rafter but she never smiled like they did, or even laugh when that coyote got that stupid look on his face just before he fell off the cliff, something long ago that Washu decided would give you a smile no matter what mood you were in. But what bothered her most was that she never asked how Tenchi was. While she may have been in love with Hanshin, she still cared deeply for Tenchi. Although her daughter had shut down their link, Washu didn't need telepathy to tell she was dying inside.
~~~:*:~~~
Tenchi cracked an eye upon hearing the telltale sound of matter transporting inside the room. Washu had turned off the lights when she left so he couldn't see where she was, but he knew those cat-like golden eyes could see him, even if he couldn't see her.
"I'm awake." He said, and a few moments later a soft click sounded as the entire room was filled with light. "Hey."
"How are you doing?" Ryoko asked, still standing by the light switch.
"Pretty good." Tenchi said taking notice once again of the tubes running into his arm and the large bandages across his chest.
"Worried Washu is going to try and get that 'sample' from you?" Ryoko let out a halfhearted laugh while walking back over to his bed.
"Well, no not anymore." He had to look at the ceiling to avoid Ryoko's eyes as he thought of the reason why he wasn't scared.
"You're braver than me then." She stated, dragging a chair over and sitting next to the bed.
"What did you come in here for?"
"What? Can't I visit?" Ryoko looked over at him, hurt.
"No, it's just." Tenchi sighed. *I might as well bring it up.* "I'm sorry Ryoko."
"No reason to be sorry, I just wanted to check on you."
"I meant about Hanshin, Washu told me this morning." Tenchi looked over and found her staring intently at the floor.
"Oh." She said, not raising her head.
Neither said a word for the longest time. Tenchi was getting heavy-eyed from the effects of the IV in his arm and nearly jumped when Ryoko spoke.
"Is this what it feels like?"
"What?"
"It hurts Tenchi." Tenchi looked over to see Ryoko holding her knees to her chest still in the chair and slowly rocking back and forth. "It hurts more than anything I have ever felt. More than anything Kagato ever did to me, more than being in that cave, more than me fearing losing you."
"Ryoko I know it does."
Ryoko, still sitting in the chair beside the bed, laid her head onto Tenchi's bandaged chest, and cried.
~~~:*:~~~
A man floated in nothingness. It was white all around him, as he looked harder into the space he saw his memories float before him, for his soul was no longer a void. Looking down to check himself for injuries he found none, for there was nothing to injure, he had no body. *What now?* He thought to himself, but his thoughts echoed through the white space as if he had just spoken them aloud.
"Now, is up to you."
"Who's there?"
"It is just me." A young woman floated out of nothing. She was pretty, with teal almost blue hair that fell nearly to her feet in two strands, adorned in white robes that seemed to flow as if they were being tossed by a gentle breeze, however there was none.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Tsunami..."
....I want to thank everyone who reviewed, because without you I wouldn't have been able to finish this story. As with most of my stories, music did play a big part of this one. For the first eight chapters I would pop in Kid Rock's 'Lonely Road of Faith' for motivation. While chapter nine owes most of its credit to 'Its Been a While' by Stained (if you cant tell by the chapters title). I do have a couple of ideas jumping around in my head for a sequel or trilogy. But I have discovered that I need to be sure about the story before jumping into those. Like I said, I have ideas, and only ideas at this point. If you have any suggestions, ideas, plots, or any advice at all, please review and tell me. Or you are welcome to e-mail me at: eixid_@hotmail.com anytime you wish.
As for now, I need to get back to my OLS/DBZ story before I am hunted down and killed.
Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.
eixid...
One Week Later....
The brown hared woman shuffled through the papers on the desk. Looking past the lights in front of her she nodded, and waited for her signal.
"The explosion last week in the Okayama countryside has been attributed to a shooting star. While the cause was originally under investigation, a press statement released this morning stated that research teams have indeed uncovered a meteor. Scientists are still surveying the damage at the impact sight, which contains a crater approximately two hundred yards in diameter. Luckily the Okayama region is sparsely populated, and no one was injured. The meteor, which is about the size of..."
Kiyone clicked off the television and tossed the remote to the foot table. "How did they come up with that?"
"I had a little hand in it." Washu sat over. "I got plenty of meteor samples in the lab, well, one less now."
Kiyone closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch. Everything was quiet now, too quite. Ryoko and Ayeka didn't fight, Mihoshi hadn't broken anything, and Nobuyuki hadn't been involved in some hair-brained scheme to gain access to the woman's bath. All of which showed the severity that the events of last Sunday had left. "How's Tenchi?"
"Resting comfortably." Washu looked out the window, knowing her daughter was out somewhere by the lake. "He should be up and about in a week or two."
"Does he know about Han yet?"
Washu closed her eyes, remembering the expression on his face. "Yes, he asked me this morning."
"How did he take it."
"Pretty well, you know him, blames himself, he wishes he was strong enough to stop it from happening."
"How about Ryoko?"
Washu looked down, that was something she couldn't answer. She knew her daughter was dying inside, but she never showed it. She hadn't laughed or been her mischievous self since it happened, granted everyone wore the same face of mourning. Ryoko just seemed disconnected. Maybe the bond between Zero and Ryoko was not fully completed? She needed Ryoko to come into the lab so she could run a diagnostic check on her sensory and emotion girds, but Washu knew the last thing she needed was to be treated like an experiment. Ryoko would just stare at her plate at dinnertime, pecking at it. She would watch cartoons with Sasami and Mihoshi from her rafter but she never smiled like they did, or even laugh when that coyote got that stupid look on his face just before he fell off the cliff, something long ago that Washu decided would give you a smile no matter what mood you were in. But what bothered her most was that she never asked how Tenchi was. While she may have been in love with Hanshin, she still cared deeply for Tenchi. Although her daughter had shut down their link, Washu didn't need telepathy to tell she was dying inside.
~~~:*:~~~
Tenchi cracked an eye upon hearing the telltale sound of matter transporting inside the room. Washu had turned off the lights when she left so he couldn't see where she was, but he knew those cat-like golden eyes could see him, even if he couldn't see her.
"I'm awake." He said, and a few moments later a soft click sounded as the entire room was filled with light. "Hey."
"How are you doing?" Ryoko asked, still standing by the light switch.
"Pretty good." Tenchi said taking notice once again of the tubes running into his arm and the large bandages across his chest.
"Worried Washu is going to try and get that 'sample' from you?" Ryoko let out a halfhearted laugh while walking back over to his bed.
"Well, no not anymore." He had to look at the ceiling to avoid Ryoko's eyes as he thought of the reason why he wasn't scared.
"You're braver than me then." She stated, dragging a chair over and sitting next to the bed.
"What did you come in here for?"
"What? Can't I visit?" Ryoko looked over at him, hurt.
"No, it's just." Tenchi sighed. *I might as well bring it up.* "I'm sorry Ryoko."
"No reason to be sorry, I just wanted to check on you."
"I meant about Hanshin, Washu told me this morning." Tenchi looked over and found her staring intently at the floor.
"Oh." She said, not raising her head.
Neither said a word for the longest time. Tenchi was getting heavy-eyed from the effects of the IV in his arm and nearly jumped when Ryoko spoke.
"Is this what it feels like?"
"What?"
"It hurts Tenchi." Tenchi looked over to see Ryoko holding her knees to her chest still in the chair and slowly rocking back and forth. "It hurts more than anything I have ever felt. More than anything Kagato ever did to me, more than being in that cave, more than me fearing losing you."
"Ryoko I know it does."
Ryoko, still sitting in the chair beside the bed, laid her head onto Tenchi's bandaged chest, and cried.
~~~:*:~~~
A man floated in nothingness. It was white all around him, as he looked harder into the space he saw his memories float before him, for his soul was no longer a void. Looking down to check himself for injuries he found none, for there was nothing to injure, he had no body. *What now?* He thought to himself, but his thoughts echoed through the white space as if he had just spoken them aloud.
"Now, is up to you."
"Who's there?"
"It is just me." A young woman floated out of nothing. She was pretty, with teal almost blue hair that fell nearly to her feet in two strands, adorned in white robes that seemed to flow as if they were being tossed by a gentle breeze, however there was none.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Tsunami..."
....I want to thank everyone who reviewed, because without you I wouldn't have been able to finish this story. As with most of my stories, music did play a big part of this one. For the first eight chapters I would pop in Kid Rock's 'Lonely Road of Faith' for motivation. While chapter nine owes most of its credit to 'Its Been a While' by Stained (if you cant tell by the chapters title). I do have a couple of ideas jumping around in my head for a sequel or trilogy. But I have discovered that I need to be sure about the story before jumping into those. Like I said, I have ideas, and only ideas at this point. If you have any suggestions, ideas, plots, or any advice at all, please review and tell me. Or you are welcome to e-mail me at: eixid_@hotmail.com anytime you wish.
As for now, I need to get back to my OLS/DBZ story before I am hunted down and killed.
Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.
eixid...