Chapter 5

"Before you ask, I whipped up a new tranquilizer designed just for Ryoko's system. It should keep her under this time," Washu said helpfully as Tenchi laid her down on the examination table. He watched as she hooked up various patches to her body to monitor different things including a large band that she adhered across her forehead. "So what happened exactly?" She asked him.

"Well, she stayed the night in my room because she was upset and this morning she starts screaming and got that look like she couldn't see me again," He supplied.

"Was it just screaming or saying stuff?"

"She was saying 'no' and 'don't touch me'."

Washu simply nodded as she turned to look at one monitor. "That strip across her forehead is keeping track of her brainwaves," She explained as she pointed out the strip to him. "See how the line is going crazy? It's similar to if she was having a nightmare. I think the rape was so traumatic that she repressed the memories of it, but something may have triggered some of them to resurface. It was probably just like it was happening to her all over again." Tenchi sighed, dragging his hand across his face as she talked. She looked up at him, seeing the miserable expression on his face. "What were you guys doing right before it happened?"

Tenchi jerked his head up to look at her, his face going red. He stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words.

Washu looked at him, grinning slyly to hide her shock. "I may look like a kid Tenchi, but I assure you that whatever it is, I have heard about before."

"We were kissing," He finally admitted, his face turning even more impossibly red.

"Alright," Washu shushed him. "You don't have to give me details. I just needed an idea of what could have caused it." He appeared greatly appreciative, but simply nodded at her. "Why don't you go get cleaned up and get dressed? Come back by after you are done and let me look at where she hit you."

He hadn't told her that she had hit him, but he was sure the tender area was trying to bruise. "Okay," He said as he headed off.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Where had the sunshine gone? How had she ended up in the dark? Safe and warm, wrapped in a tender kiss, only to be hurled back to the cruelty of the two men trying to violate every aspect of her.

Kicking, hitting, biting, yelling. None of it seemed to do any good. Their hands were everywhere, greedy and rough, dirtying her skin wherever they touched. They were harsh with their mouths, biting her breasts so she would scream more.

Just hold still bitch!

She was forced onto the ground and one of them laid on top of her, crushing his mouth against hers. She pushed him off and slapped him, putting all of her strength into it. His head snapped back from the force, and when he turned back to her blood trickled out of his mouth.

That was a big mistake, whore.

The other man pinned her upper half to the ground, using his legs to keep her arms on the ground. She struggled to get away, and started to scream louder as the other man stripped off his clothes.

Pain, blinding pain. He was so rough, tearing the delicate flesh in between her legs. She cried, sobbing as he continued harder, spurred on by his companion's cheers. By the time the other had taken his turn, dark blood drenched her inner thighs.

After they were done, one man dragged her off the floor of the woods and held her up, holding her arms behind her back. She hung limply in his grasp, barely holding onto consciousness. She became wide awake though as the other man's foot made contact with her pelvis. A newfound strength to scream surged inside her and she screamed as loud as she could. The man holding her slapped a hand across her mouth as the other man continued his assault. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed muffled cries, each time the man kicked her spreading fire through her. Her vision faded as the man dropped her, her body starting to go into shock. She curled her knees up to her chest, ignoring the pain flaring through her core. Their words became muffled, but she could distinctly hear one of them call her a whore and spat at her. The van they had used to get her out here roared to life, deafening her almost. She listened as they sped off, leaving her alone in the night.

A few moments of being alone passed, her simply trying to breath and hold onto being aware. A hand touched her and she feared they had come back. She screamed, trying to get away. "No, don't touch me! Don't hurt me!" She cried out as she backed away from the person. The person came towards her and wrapped his arms around her as she continued to scream and plead, beating weak hands against his chest. Finally her body gave up on her, surrendering her to the dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tenchi scooped up a handful of water up from the running water and splashed it on his face, washing off the remains of shaving foam. As he turned off the water he looked up into the mirror, seeing the bruise that had come out full force while he had been showering. It covered his left cheek, a deep vibrant purple. He sighed as he touched it gingerly, knowing the other girls were going to want to know how it happened. He had no idea what to say to them. To tell them the truth would probably get Ryoko killed in a murderous rage by Ayeka. He would probably get killed too after she learned he had participated in it willingly.

He stared at himself in the mirror. How had his life become so complicated? He should be worrying about going off to college and figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. Lately however, thoughts of the girls in the Masaki house had filled his mind. He did love all of them more than life itself, but he had discovered he had fallen in love with one of them. It wasn't until he had almost lost her that he had realized how empty his life would be without her.

He knew she had suffered tremendously. He was waiting till she was healed and able to return his feelings, but then she had kissed him on the neck...

He had said maybe they should stop, but when she had kissed him on the lips, there had been no turning back. It had taken all of his strength to let her have control, fighting the urge to claim all of her honey mouth. After he had spent a mere few minutes in heaven, it had been abruptly ended with her slapping him.

He turned off the light and left the bathroom, making his way back down to Washu's lab. He was not mad she had done it, he was mad that this was happening to her. He swore to himself that he would stay by her side and do whatever he could to help her get better.

"Lord Tenchi?"

He looked up as he came down the stairs, Lady Ayeka standing timidly at the foot of them. "Yes?" He said simply.

"I was wondering... would I be able to speak with you? In private?"

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, sighing softly under his breath. "Not right now. I have to go check on Ryoko."

"Lord Tenchi," She called out after him, to no avail, as he left her alone in the living room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Washu examined his cheek closely, trying to be tender due to he flinched whenever she touched it. "It doesn't look she damaged anything thankfully," She muttered in relief. "Basically she just tried to tenderize your cheek."

"That's about how it feels," He grumbled with a grimace as he applied an ice pack Washu handed him to bring down the swelling. "How is she doing?" He asked as he looked over at the examination table she laid on.

The monitor that had been recording her brain waves had slowed down to a steady pace, almost as if she was in a dreamless state. It had been over an hour and she appeared as if she was just taking a nap. She started to rustle in her sleep, her eyelids starting to flutter.

"I was just getting ready to say that the tranquilizer should be wearing off," Washu piped up as Tenchi walked closer to Ryoko.

She snapped awake suddenly, bolting to a sitting position, a hand splayed tightly across her lower abdomen. She looked downward, her golden eyes fastened to where her hand lay.

"Ryoko?" Tenchi said uncertainly after a moment.

She looked up at him, confused. She started to say something, but paused, turning to look at Washu. "We need to talk," She said to the scientist.

Her mother regarded her somberly for a moment. "Of course," She replied. "Tenchi," She turned towards the young man. "Ryoko and I need some time alone."

Dull pain throbbed through his cheek as the ice pack pressed against his skin started to make it go numb. He wanted to protest, but he knew something was wrong by how Ryoko clutched herself. He reached over and placed a hand tenderly on her arm. She looked up at him, startled. He tried his best to smile, despite how pain erupted through his cheek. "Can I come back in a while?" He asked gently, staring into her gold eyes.

"Sure," She replied shakily, taking the hand not resting on her abdomen and squeezing his fingers momentarily. An awkward moment passed as he started to lean forward to kiss her on the forehead, but thought better of it. Releasing her arm, he turned and left the lab.

Ryoko stared after him until he was out of sight. "Oh God," She said quietly. "I did that to him, didn't I?"

Washu sat down next to the table, making a chair appear underneath her. "Yes, but nobody blames you. We know you were having a flashback triggered by the kiss."

Ryoko turned bright red, just as Tenchi had earlier. "He told you," She groaned in embarrassment.

Washu chuckled. It had been expected for Tenchi to be shy about something so personal, but it was a surprise to learn that Ryoko might have a modesty streak. "It was... surprising, to say the least," She said to her daughter.

She looked up at the redhead, her eyes serious. "I remember everything Washu."

The scientist sighed, rubbing a hand against her temples. "I was hoping you wouldn't for a while."

"I need to know. How bad was I hurt?"

"I know you don't want me to dance around the answer, so I am just going to say it," Washu's hand slid across the table and grasped her daughter's hand. "The assault... after the rape," Her voice shook, hating to have to say what she had to. "Caused severe damage. You almost died from internal bleeding. That wasn't all however. I'm afraid that almost all chances of you being able to conceive children naturally were destroyed by them."

Ryoko started at her, the words not computing at first. She looked at her, seeing tears well up in the older woman's eyes. "Are you saying..." She started slowly. "That I can't have children?"

"No!" Washu stated firmly, shaking her head. "I did my best to make sure you would at least be able to have children. I managed to harvest a few eggs before I had to remove your ovaries. The uterus didn't take as much damage, so I was able to leave it. If you used artificial insemination, nothing should be able to stop you from having a child if you wanted to."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I was hoping if I waited, it wouldn't be as hard for you to take."

"Does..." Her eyes slipped closed for a moment as she tried to get her emotions under control. "Does Tenchi know?" Could his recent actions towards her have been out of pity?

"No."

Partly relieved, she began to pull off the patches Washu had plastered all over her. "I have to go talk to Tenchi," She said before her mother could ask where she was going. Ryoko changed into a pair of clothes that Washu had retrieved for her.

"I'm sorry Ryoko," Washu said softly. "I tried my best."

Washu looked at the woman, uncertain of what to say. Not able to think of anything she felt suiting, she left the lab in silence.

AN: There you guys go. I hope this one was long enough and that it wasn't too much of a wait for it. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. I already have an idea for it. Until later, :::waves to the readers:::