Zero Tolerance
By Diane Long
Chapter Six: Growing Pains
The bus ride home from school always took ages. By the time he was climbing the stairs leading to his house, the last rays of the setting sun stained everything a deep red-orange, including the white piping along the seams of his black uniform. Sliding the front door open, Tenchi stepped inside and slipped his shoes off in the foyer. As he stepped up into the living room a terrible shriek assaulted his ears. Jumping back, he fumbled at his belt for the Tenchiken, but remembered over-late that it wasn't a typical part of his school uniform.
"Do not be alarmed, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said as she emerged from the kitchen with two cups of tea in her hands. Her long violet hair, typically styled neatly, was slightly mussed and her light blue robes had unusual creases at the knees.
"What's going on?" Tenchi asked worriedly as another scream cut through the air. "Isn't that Ryoko?" At each cry, the young man flinched.
Ayeka nodded, looking grim. "Yes, the poor dear is putting on a sudden growth spurt. Washu says that by tomorrow she will look like she did before she regressed."
"All of that at once?" Tenchi shuddered. "Sounds painful." He looked to the lab as he heard Ryoko begging loudly for Washu to make it stop.
"Terribly." Ayeka motioned to the slightly ajar door to the lab with her head. "We are all lending Ryoko moral support. Would you like to join us?"
"Of course," Tenchi said falling into step with the princess. "How long has this been going on? Why didn't anyone call me at school?" he asked, sounding more cross than he had intended. It was difficult to remain calm as the thought of Ryoko returning to her mature state made his heart hammer in his chest, not to mention his growing concern for her well-being. Those screams painted a quick picture of agony.
They entered the first layer of Washu's lab that showcased her beautiful gardens. As they crossed the wide space Ayeka looked to Tenchi with a wistful expression. "We did not call because there is nothing you could have done except to worry."
Tenchi frowned at that, he hated feeling useless. "I just don't like to see any of you suffer," he said, sounding more like himself. "I would have joined you at her side." He didn't want it to look like he didn't care as much as the others did.
Ayeka shook her head and lead him through an open wooden door into the residential area of Washu's domain. It was designed in an elegant style, making use of waterfalls and small streams that ran around the borders of the main room. "It would have been time wasted, I think. Ryoko isn't at her appreciative best at the moment," Ayeka said her comment punctuated by a string of curses screamed by Ryoko's childish voice.
Tenchi whistled. "I didn't think she still knew all of those words."
"Ryoko's room is this way," Ayeka said with a wry grin as she ascended a short rise of stairs. At the landing they passed through an open door onto what seemed more like a deck than a room. Ryoko's ceiling was naught but the open sky that sported soft white clouds and the pale crescent of a day-time rising moon. Instead of walls, the room had railings against which bramble roses grew and twined in a kind of living wall paper, behind which tall trees cast the room in gentle shade.
Wearing an over-large night shirt, Ryoko was lying on a soft bed, half-covered by a heavy feathered quilt. Sweat beaded upon her brow and she had her eyes screwed shut as pain wracked her thin body. Wearing her nurse's uniform, complete with a white cap, Washu knelt by the bed and had a firm hold of Ryoko's hand as the others perched nervously on floating cushions.
Tenchi's heart ached at the sight of her suffering. He hated to see anything hurt, but it seemed so unfair that Ryoko seemed to attract more pain than any creature he had ever met.
"Gah, Mom, Mom, I've changed my mind. I want to do it the long way," Ryoko begged.
Washu wiped Ryoko's brow with a cool cloth. "I've told you we can't change now, Honey. We just have to ride this out."
"But it hurts," Ryoko gasped. "I didn't mean to cuss you out, please make it stop!"
"You know I wouldn't punish you that way," Washu soothed. She looked up and noticed Tenchi. "Look who is here to see you, my little Ryoko!"
Ryoko opened one eye a mere slit and looked. Upon seeing Tenchi, both of her eyes opened wide. "Tenchi!'' she shouted in her girlish voice. "You –ung- you won't be taller than me for long now!" she stated bravely, her body jerking with some spasm.
Tenchi walked over and knelt by Washu. "I'm in trouble now," he said trying to sound cheerful. She hadn't changed yet. She still looked like a little girl. Would the change make her look just as she had before, or had Kagato altered even that in some way? Would he recognize her at all when this was all over?
"You better believe it," Ryoko gasped out. "Oh…oh!" she screamed as she grasped at her thigh with her free hand.
"Here," Washu said prying her hand out of Ryoko's vice-like grip and placing it in Tenchi's hand. "Hold this for me, I have to check something."
Tenchi grunted as Ryoko squeezed with all of her considerable might. He wondered if an average human's hand would have been crushed by that squeeze as he picked up the cloth Washu had dropped and gently wiped at Ryoko's face. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" He would take the pain if only he could figure out how.
Ryoko didn't answer, but just blew through her nose as her bones moved. Tenchi winced as he heard them grinding in their sockets and for a second he actually felt the bones in her fingers elongate and pop.
Ayeka joined him and handed him a cup of tea. "She said she wanted this earlier."
Tenchi took the tea with a murmur of thanks. "Hey Ryoko, I've got your tea."
Ryoko whimpered and shook her head. "I don't want it," she whispered her voice sounding strangely caught between two keys.
Trying to distract her, Tenchi pressed on. "But Lady Ayeka made it just for you."
"I DON'T WANT THE GODDAMNED TEA!" she shouted, beginning in that strange voice and ending in a rich tenor that made everyone in the room sit up a little straighter. Her voice had changed from its girlish tones to the sounds they all remembered so well, the cursing providing the perfect context for its re-emergence.
Tenchi handed the cup back to Ayeka as Ryoko began to sob, heaving in great lungfuls of air at an alarming rate. He gently stroked her cheek, afraid that any touch would hurt her, but wanting so much to comfort her. "Try to breathe through your nose," he advised, thinking about his own breathing training from kendo. To hear her voice again, but in such distress, was like tasting honey over broken glass.
"Washu! She's hyperventilating again," Ayeka called her voice sharp with worry.
Washu hurried back into the room with a small device in her hands. She stopped short of the bed and took in a shaky breath of her own. Her bright eyes spoke of some inner panic she was wrestling with as she watched her daughter writhe on the bed. Unknowingly following Tenchi's advice she drew in a long breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. "This is too much, too much for her to bear."
All eyes turned to her with looks of concern and fear. When Washu said it was too much, that meant Ryoko's limits had been reached and probably passed.
Washu took another step towards the bed. "Ryoko, honey, you were right. I'm going to put you in stasis until this is over."
Ayeka's eyes widened but she said nothing. Sasami let out a little gasp and clutched at Ryo-Ohki. Tenchi noted these reactions, but did not understand them. Obviously, they knew something he didn't. Something serious was going on. Very serious, indeed, for his grandfather's back had gone stiff and his eyes took on that narrow look he reserved for sparring or battle. Even Mihoshi took on the look of a suspicious cop.
"The pain levels are too high. This is torture. I should have never suggested the acceleration," Washu murmured to no one in particular. "Is it okay, Sweetie? Can I put you in stasis?" she asked nervously, her thumb shaking as she held it poised over a button.
Ryoko stared imploringly at the small scientist. "Please. Please. Please, Mommy. Do it."
"I promise to keep you safe this time." Washu puffed out her chest and walked the rest of the way to the bed. "Tenchi please go stand by your Grandfather now."
Tenchi rose to his feet and backed away, looking between Washu and Ryoko with concern in his kind, brown eyes. Washu was acting like this was a funeral. What was going on?
Washu bent down and kissed Ryoko's forehead. "I love you." She pressed the button, and Ryoko's body went limp as pale green light surrounded the bed.
Washu shivered, dropping the box as she hugged herself tightly, almost collapsing into a seated position on the edge if the bed. "Will you help me keep her – us- safe?" she whispered to her friends.
Not knowing quite what was happening, Tenchi Masaki joined in the vigil with his friends and family. Whatever Washu feared would never get past him. His Ryoko wasn't about to get hurt anymore than she already was.
***
Ryoko murmured and turned over in her bed, the soft sheets rustling as she moved. As she lay there enjoying a hazy feeling of sleep and comfort, she opened her eyes and took a deep breath of the rose-scented air of her bedroom. The artificial sky that stretched over her was a deep cobalt spangled with the twinkling of her favorite constellations all jumbled together just as she had programmed them, despite, or even because of, Washu's annoyance at their incorrect positioning.
She stretched and frowned as the dull throb of an old pain flared in her joints and muscles. Why did it hurt? She pointed her toes and rotated an ankle taking in the mild but clear signs of fatigue and stress. What had happened?
As sleep cleared her mind, memories of painful growing and twisting came back to her. Suddenly anxious, she shot up in bed, the sheets still clutched about her, and gasped as her back twinged.
"I'd take it easy if I were you," her mother's voice spoke out of the dimness. "You've only been out of stasis for three hours and I'm sure your soft tissues haven't healed completely yet."
"Mom!" Ryoko cried, her eyes finding the silhouette of her mother sitting in a chair by the bed. "Is it over?" She was conscious of the swells of flesh under the arms that held the sheet to her chest as she spoke.
Washu's shadow nodded. "The process is complete."
Ryoko fought an urge to lift the sheet and peer down at her changed body. "Am I okay? I think I sound funny." Instead of looking at herself, she squinted at her mother, her dark adapted eyes taking in more details of her appearance.
"Of course you are!" Washu blustered with mock indignation. "Just who do you think you are talking to?" She clasped her hands in her lap, looking collected in a green turtle neck and tan slacks. "Seriously, you are fine. The pain should be almost gone, and what's left will be gone in a couple of days. As for your voice, it has finally lost its squeak."
"Now maybe people will stop treating me like a six year old," Ryoko enthused, then gave in to the urge to examine her body and let the sheet drop. She had worn a too-large sleep-shirt on purpose, but still her breasts stretched out the fabric. She forgot about her voice as she whistled in amazement. "Wow."
Washu followed her glance and smirked. "Uh-huh."
"Am I taller than Tenchi?" Ryoko asked changing the subject before Washu had a chance to come up with any embarrassing comments.
"Just by a few centimeters."
"Yes!" Ryoko exalted, pumping a first into the air, quickly regretting it as the joint in her shoulder flared in pain.
"You really should try to keep still," Washu chided as Ryoko rubbed her shoulder. "And it won't be long before his height catches up and passes yours. He is still growing, and you've stopped for the time being."
"I'll still be taller than you now," Ryoko gloated, her rich voice matching the twinkle in her eyes.
"And I still am your mother, and able, and ready, and willing to keep you in line, just like before," Washu warned looking strict. "So don't get any ideas."
Ryoko laughed and flicked her hair. "Do you think I'm stupid or something? I have enough work with out 'punishment' astrophysics problem sets."
Ryoko paused a moment, thinking, her mood darkening. Her breasts were big, she was taller than Tenchi… she must look like the person everyone remembered her as. Not daring to look at her mother, she whispered, "Do I look like I used to?"
"Exactly," Washu said bluntly. "Your voice even sounds the same."
"Oh," Ryoko said softly. She looked like the rude, mean, trampy person she used to be once upon a time. Did that mean Ayeka wouldn't want to be her friend anymore?
"That shouldn't come as a surprise," Washu said in a gentler tone. "I wouldn't dwell on it."
Ryoko's gaze traced the petals of a rose near her bed. Would this change the way everyone treated her? She didn't want to lose her friends. "Mmm…. So, will this be the last growth cycle?" Maybe if she changed again, to an even more different look, she wouldn't have that problem.
Washu looked away in regret. "I wish I could say it was, but you have a least one final maturation stage, maybe two."
Ryoko groaned with disappointment. She was stuck as she was.
Misunderstanding, Washu reached out and patted her daughter's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much, little Ryoko. They will be your final adult stages, mainly concerned with reproduction, and not nearly as extreme as your changes from where you were to where you are now. It will hardly hurt at all."
Ryoko wrinkled her nose. "Reproduction?" she said with a hint of distaste. "I don't even want to think about that." Sex in theory, or in jokes, was one thing, but doing it? Having babies? She shuddered at the thought.
Washu chuckled, and peered into her daughter's face. "As far as you are concerned, neither do I. I'm not ready to be a grandma just yet."
They both laughed at that, with Ryoko's laughter carrying more embarrassed tones.
"I just can't see you with the patience required to be a mommy," Washu teased with a cackle.
"I have to find someone to love first," Ryoko said dismissively, trying to end the conversation.
Washu's face grew somber. "You don't love anyone right now?" She almost sounded disappointed.
Ryoko ducked her head, touching her chin to her chest. "You want me to be in love with Tenchi, don't you?"
Washu kept silent, clearly uncomfortable with the truth of the statement.
"I listen to people, you know?" Ryoko said softly. "No one ever says anything to me, but they all seem to be waiting for me to do…do…" she faltered here. "To do something rude to Tenchi, I guess." She laughed hollowly. "I didn't think that's what love was."
"Ryoko, it's just that people have certain expectations, they can't help it. Of course that's not what love is," Washu said, examining her fingertips.
"This is all because of the way I used to act right?" Ryoko asked gesturing at herself with a sweep of a hand. "That's why they think those things about me." And it's only going to get worse.
Washu bit her lip and looked past Ryoko's shoulders as if remembering. "That was a big part of your personality. You didn't know how to show Tenchi you cared from him, so you tended to come on a bit strong."
"Now that I look like this again, they will all think that about me even more," Ryoko sighed. "I want them to know who I really am." I want them to like me.
Washu slid from her chair and took a seat on the edge of the bed. She gathered Ryoko into a hug, her small arms having a difficult time reaching around her daughter. "I know who you are, Honey." Washu stroked Ryoko's spiky hair. "I thought we had left these self doubts about who you were and who you now are behind you months ago."
Ryoko laughed with self deprecation. "Yeah, that's before I grew these melons."
Washu tightened her hug. "Those are from my genes, so you can know you got them honestly. Becoming a woman doesn't change who you are on the inside. They will figure that out."
Silence hung between them for long moments as they held each other. Words weren't going to ease Ryoko's doubts at this point, so they both stopped talking.
After a while Ryoko asked a question that had been plaguing her since she had started this growth spurt. "Mom, is this how it happened? Did Kagato get me while I was in stasis? Is that why you wouldn't do it at first?" It had been very odd for Washu to just let her suffer, even a little.
"Yes," Washu bit out, her body stiffening. "He did it while you were helpless and I was distracted."
So that was it. Ryoko pulled back and smiled gently at her mother, wanting to make her feel better. "Today is really like starting over, isn't it? The first day as things should have been?" Despite her fears of being rejected by her friends, this was even more important. Here was her chance to make up for her bad behavior towards her mother. How her love for Washu had been stripped away from her was beyond understanding. That it had happened broke her heart, and she wanted to atone.
Washu laughed, a few stray tears spilling over her eyelashes. "Yes," she said wiping them away. "Today is the beginning of our second chance."
Ryoko's smile grew until it seemed to touch her ears on either side. "Then I don't care if everybody expects me to be a certain way. I will be myself, and show them that this daughter loves her mother." She went in for another hug, willing Washu to believe her, hurting that her mother was crying because of her.
Washu returned it fiercely, her fingers catching in the sheet that surrounded Ryoko. "Stop making me cry," she half-demanded as she sniffled.
"I love you," Ryoko whispered into Washu's hair. "Thanks for taking care of me today."
Washu's body trembled and she squeezed her daughter tightly, eliciting a strangled cough from the teenager. "Sorry," Washu said letting go and cleaning her cheeks of more tears.
"I forget that you can be as strong as me if you want," Ryoko said ruefully rubbing her rib cage, happy for the distraction. Anymore of this and she'd start crying too.
Washu got to her feet and used a knob on the trellis to turn up the sky, so that the light of a gentle dawn filled the room. "That's enough emoting, don't you think?" She turned to Ryoko and put her hands on her hips. "Why don't you get dressed so we can go show everyone you are all right? Tenchi alone has been in here five times since we ended the stasis, checking up on you."
Ryoko got out of bed with a stumble, catching herself on the bedpost. "Oops! That feels different," she said and summoned her blue and yellow striped dress. It fit her too snugly and was too short. A couple of tries later, she had it correctly proportioned and draping over her form. "About, Tenchi," she began hesitatingly, letting go of the bedpost and trying her balance without supports.
Washu watched her expectantly, and crossed her hers. "Mmmm?"
"I don't want to hurt him," Ryoko began, smoothing down her dress. "I know he will be happy to see me like this. I like him a lot Mom, but I don't love him… at least I don't think I do. He is one of my best friends." She cast a tortured look to her mother. "Do I have to make myself love him?"
Washu looked torn for a moment. She uncrossed her arms, licked her lips and started out of the room. As she exited she looked back over her shoulder, pausing for a moment. "That kind of love won't do either of you any favors."
"But, what if he wants me to love him? What do I do then?" Ryoko pleaded.
Washu had left the room. It was almost as if she couldn't stand sharing space with the topic at hand. "Just do what comes naturally, it will all work out one way or another," her voice said, losing volume as she walked away.
"What does that mean?" Ryoko shouted after her.
"It means follow your heart. Now, ignore your hormonal emotions and get your butt out here so you can make an appearance and the rest of us can all go to bed!" Washu called back.
Ryoko covered her heart with her hands. "It would help if I knew where it wanted to go."
Washu, with the sharp ears of every mother, heard and shot back, "It wants a midnight snack made by Sasami! COME ON!"
***
Tenchi threw a kernel of popcorn into the air and tilted his head back to catch it in his mouth. As he crunched it, he used the DVD remote to fast forward through the rental disk's commercials and previews. He was lounging his old favorite blue jacket with the first character of his name embroidered in red at his shoulder. He rested his white sock covered feet on the coffee table.
"Nice catch," Ayeka complimented, bringing in a tray of sodas and setting it by his feet. She looked delightfully cool in aqua culottes and a teal blouse, accented by sea-green hairclips that winked with little inset stones. Only her orange house slippers didn't match.
"Thanks," Tenchi said, sheepishly removing his feet. She hadn't said anything, but Tenchi knew Ayeka didn't approve of feet on the furniture. "It took me forever to learn that trick."
"Really? I would have guessed it would be a simple task for someone with all of your sword training," Ayeka said, fussing with the drinks on the tray. "Your reflexes are so quick."
Tenchi watched her curl into a corner of the couch while scratching the back of his head and laughing. "Well, I learned how to do it before I started training with grandpa."
"Miya!" Ryo-Ohki cried running in through the glass of the sliding doors. She jumped up on the table and sniffed at the bowl of popcorn.
"Hi Ryo-Ohki!" Tenchi greeted. "Those aren't carrots. Where's Ryoko?" he asked patting the cabbit's head. "She wanted to watch this movie with us."
The furry creature pointed back the way she had come with a long, floppy ear.
Ryoko waved at them through the glass as she flew in from the lake, her pale lilac dress billowing around her. She alighted awkwardly on the deck and moved to phase through the glass doors.
Tenchi winced guessing what was coming, but hoping she had mastered this new difficulty.
THWACK! She smashed her face into the door instead of sliding through it. Rubbing her nose, she grimaced and tried again, this time making it through, only to trip over an ottoman.
"Wah!" she cried as she landed at Ayeka's feet, a jumble of arms and legs.
"Oh my!" the princess exclaimed, clearly restraining a laugh. "Are you alright?"
Ryoko rubbed her nose. "Yeah. This new body is still taking some getting used to." She got up and climbed onto the couch beside Ayeka, tucking her feet under her. "It takes a different amount of energy to phase, fly, teleport – everything! And my balance is all weird now."
Tenchi chuckled, happy to hear her speaking in what he thought of as her 'real' voice. "I'll say it is. You seem to fall down more than you get up," he teased while being very aware of Ryoko's adult form. She looked just like she used to, with the exception of her more innocent facial expressions. More than ever, he was struggling with cognitive dissonance. He was becoming attached to her as she now was, but still found himself disappointed when her grown body didn't latch onto his at every turn. Now that she kept her body politely from touching his, he yearned for the slightest touch.
Ryoko frowned at his teasing remark then smirked. "Well, I'm awfully top heavy now, don't you think, Tenchi?" she asked jutting her chest out. "You ought to try moving around with these things up top."
"Well…well… uh," Tenchi stuttered, he had been trying not to look at those. She was very sensitive to his stares, and he didn't want to be accused of looking at her weirdly anymore. But she made it so difficult not to look when she acted this way!
"Now… now… Miss Ryoko," Ayeka joined in, turning a bright pink.
"Ha! Ha! I got both of you!" Ryoko laughed leaning over for some popcorn, and almost toppling over the coffee table. She caught her self with a well placed hand and pushed back onto the couch. "Geeze."
Washu strolled into the room and took in the scene. She had her cargo shorts on and was lightly singed around the edges, as if she had been caught in a minor explosion. "What's going on in here?" she asked glancing at the strangled faces of Ayeka and Tenchi.
Ryoko patted the empty seat next to her. "My balance is still all screwed up," she reported.
Washu nodded. "I meant with them," she said pointing to the two who seemed frozen in a haze of wide eyes and red cheeks.
Ryoko giggled, and picked at one of a long row of pearly buttons that lined the front of her dress. "The usual. The dynamic duo is embarrassed again."
Washu sat next to Ryoko. "What did you do this time?" she asked with grin that said she had already guessed.
"I mentioned my BREASTS," Ryoko said in a theatrical whisper.
Washu cackled. "That sounds about right." She reached out and gave Ryoko's breast a firm pat. "At least you're not sagging yet!"
"Mom!" It was Ryoko's turn to blush. "Don't do that in public!"
Tenchi and Ayeka erupted with laughter, Tenchi holding onto his gut and Ayeka laughing behind her hand as their embarrassment was turned back on its source.
"Mother's need to track their daughter's development, you know!" Ayeka teased, half -quoting something she had once heard Washu say.
"You brought this on yourself," Tenchi added with a chuckle.
Ryoko popped into the air and hovered above the couch, sitting Indian-style with her arms crossed. A dark purple version of her cat's tail belt twitched in agitation. "Hey! Stop laughing at me!" she demanded.
Washu, now laughing herself, winked at her daughter. "If you want to dish it out, you have to take it too!" she lectured, wagging a finger at Ryoko.
Ryoko huffed. "Fine! Whatever! Just keep your hands to yourself!" Her cheeks were redder than Tenchi's and Ayeka's had been.
"Is my little Ryoko embarrassed?" Washu goaded.
"Stop calling me that! I'm not little anymore! I'm all grown up!" Ryoko protested, her tail puffing out.
"Just your body is grown," Washu pointed out while digging into the popcorn. "Your mind is just like it was three days ago: Know-it all, brash, and confused."
"Now, Washu," Tenchi placated, seeing Ryoko's eyes tear up. "Don't egg her on."
Washu relented, but couldn't seem to help getting in the last word. "She will always be my little Ryoko, right honey?"
"Mooom," Ryoko whined. "I don't wanna watch this movie anymore." She pouted for a moment, then teleported out of the room.
Washu smiled gently at the spot her daughter had just vacated. "Teenagers are so touchy. But not nearly as touchy as ex-space pirates used to be, thank goodness."
Ayeka brushed a few popcorn crumbs from her lap. "Maybe we shouldn't have teased her so much."
"No, you guys were fine. She needs to learn how to deal with people. Something she didn't really get a chance to do last time," Washu said firmly. "This is good for her."
"But she seemed upset," Tenchi worried, thinking of the tears in those big yellow eyes.
"It's all of her new hormones. She'll be fine," Washu said, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. "This is typical teenage girl stuff."
Tenchi looked over to Ayeka with a raised eyebrow. "Did you go through this Ayeka?"
Ayeka dipped her head and laughed softly. "Of course I did, I just didn't do it all at once."
Tenchi nodded. "I see. So this really is normal?"
"Why don't you go check on her, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka suggested, answering his real question. "You will see that she is surviving."
"I think I will. The roof?" he asked Washu.
"Some things never change," Washu said with a small smile. "But, uh, Tenchi…" she began.
Tenchi got to his feet and looked to Washu. "Yes?"
Washu licked the fine grains of popcorn salt off of a finger. "Just give her plenty of space, 'kay?" she said lightly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, reading between the lines with a sinking heart. Was Washu telling him to back off? What did she know that he didn't?
"She's confused, try not to make it worse," Washu said, abandoning her attempt at levity and pinning him with her eyes. "She didn't turn back into her old self, just because she got taller."
"I know that," Tenchi said defensively, an embarrassed flush warming his cheeks.
Washu relented and softened her gaze. "Good. Treat her like you would treat any of us, and you both will be fine.
Tenchi nodded and padded out of the room and into the foyer. As he slipped his shoes on, he wondered what Washu was really talking about. Had Ryoko said something to her about not liking him? His heart twisted as the possibility of her indifference crossed his mind. He had accepted that he had been in love with the old Ryoko. These days, he held onto hope that a more natural relationship might develop between the two of them. That perhaps, his meeting this more innocent Ryoko was the way things were meant to be after all. He was already immensely fond of the person she was becoming, despite how much he missed her last incarnation. What if she didn't like him though? The possibility had never really crossed his mind before. What would he do if that were true?
Feeling the first sting of tears in his eyes, he pushed the unhappy thoughts out of his mind and focused on the problem at hand. Ryoko's feelings had clearly been hurt. What could he say to help his friend feel better? Touchy girls were not his specialty despite the practice he was currently getting. He sincerely didn't want to make things worse.
Tenchi made for the side of the house where they had once affixed an old ladder. It had been easier to leave it up as going to fetch Ryoko from a pout on the roof had become almost a daily routine. This was the first tine he had used it in months. He slowly worked his way up the ladder and presently Ryoko's back and mane of wild hair came into view. She was sitting facing the other way and hadn't acknowledged his presence, though he figured that she probably knew he was there.
"Ryoko? Can I join you?" he asked softly.
She turned her head a little and looked back over her shoulder at him the twinkle of tears shimmering in her eyes. She nodded and turned back around trying to discreetly wipe them away.
"Aw, don't cry," he soothed as he carefully walked up the peak of the roof and took a seat next to her.
"I'm not crying," she said in a watery voice.
"Oh," he said helplessly, wondering what to do or say next.
"Tenchi, I look like her now, don't I?" Ryoko asked looking carefully away from him.
Tenchi knew who she meant. "Yes." He couldn't lie, not to her, not ever.
Ryoko carefully tucked a blue forelock behind her ear. "My body feels so weird. Everything looks different from this height, none of my clothes fit anymore unless I recalibrate them, and I feel so emotional all the time. Mom said it will all sort itself out, but I'm worried."
"About what?" Tenchi asked, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, almost removing it when she slightly shrank away from him. His hand felt like it had been stung, but he kept his it on her shoulder almost desperately.
"Maybe, just maybe I'm turning back into her," she choked.
"Ryoko," Tenchi started.
"Wait!" she cut him off. "I've been thinking about this a lot. What if the changes in my body unlock the prison mom locked that demon into? What if she gets out and takes me over?" Ryoko asked in disgust. "She sounded terrible! I hate her!"
Tenchi's gentle touch turned into a sharp pinch as he grasped her shoulder tightly and grabbed her hand with his free one. "Stop it! Take it back, right now!" he demanded.
"Why?!" she demanded. "You liked her best, didn't you?!" Unshed tears made her voice thick.
"That doesn't make sense! She was you! And she wasn't a demon either!" Tenchi said stoutly. "She was an innocent who was abused and angry, but she still was wonderful and we all loved her despite her troubles." He knew they were different, but in the ways that counted, they were the same.
A new tear dripped down Ryoko's cheek. "But – but…."
Tenchi loosened his grip. "If you talk badly about her, then you are really talking badly about yourself," he said. "She isn't locked up inside of you, that part of you is gone forever."
Ryoko wiped away her tear and looked at him intensely. "You sound sad, Tenchi. Do you miss her?"
Tenchi thought about that and a painful yearning gripped him, but he couldn't say the truth without hurting this Ryoko.
"You do," Ryoko breathed.
"She was my friend," Tenchi said simply.
Ryoko tugged on his shirt. "I'm your friend too, Tenchi, even if I'm not her. Is that enough for you?"
He smiled at her with moist eyes, knowing what she was trying to ask him. She wanted to be free of his expectations. "It's more than I could ask for," he said honestly. He knew forcing the issue would just scare her away from him. If he wanted things to work out, he would have to be cautious and patient. Fleeting memories of his grandfather teaching him to feed the wild winter birds bread crumbs from his cupped hands sprang into his mind. "I thank you for being my good friend, Ryoko."
"You're welcome," she said, cheering up. "I'm sorry for being so strange, it's just that my emotions are a little wacky right now."
"It's okay, we all understand," Tenchi said. "We all care about you."
"Even if I never become her?" Ryoko asked cautiously.
"It doesn't matter," Tenchi said in a firm voice that brooked no argument. "You are you, and that's a good thing. We are looking forward to who you are becoming," he said, surprised at how true the words were as he spoke them. It was as if he had uncovered a hidden well of understanding, deep with in himself.
"No matter how I look?" Ryoko pressed.
"Especially because of how you look. We just want our friend to be happy." He held the image of his old Ryoko in his mind and kissed her good-bye. From this moment on, he would do his best to live in the present and make the most of what he had, for both of their sakes.
While he had been thinking, Ryoko had been watching him as if she were trying to decide about something. She crept closer then stopped, looking into his eyes. "You really like me for me?"
He nodded a great weight lifting from his shoulders. "I promise."
"Thank you oni-sama," Ryoko murmured, hesitantly scooting the rest of the way towards him and lightly laying her head on his shoulder. "I believe you."
"Big-brother," he thought, his heart falling back into despair. "She calls me big-brother now."
Stay Tuned!
A/N: Sorry for the prolonged delay on this chapter. My muse went on vacation. It seems she bought a one way ticket out of town. Luckily, Seraphim from MegaTokyo (apologizes to Fred G!) went and recovered her for me. There is something satisfying about having a muse but having to BORROW some else's conscience. ^_^
Hopefully the next chapter will be out shortly. Ta!
By Diane Long
Chapter Six: Growing Pains
The bus ride home from school always took ages. By the time he was climbing the stairs leading to his house, the last rays of the setting sun stained everything a deep red-orange, including the white piping along the seams of his black uniform. Sliding the front door open, Tenchi stepped inside and slipped his shoes off in the foyer. As he stepped up into the living room a terrible shriek assaulted his ears. Jumping back, he fumbled at his belt for the Tenchiken, but remembered over-late that it wasn't a typical part of his school uniform.
"Do not be alarmed, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said as she emerged from the kitchen with two cups of tea in her hands. Her long violet hair, typically styled neatly, was slightly mussed and her light blue robes had unusual creases at the knees.
"What's going on?" Tenchi asked worriedly as another scream cut through the air. "Isn't that Ryoko?" At each cry, the young man flinched.
Ayeka nodded, looking grim. "Yes, the poor dear is putting on a sudden growth spurt. Washu says that by tomorrow she will look like she did before she regressed."
"All of that at once?" Tenchi shuddered. "Sounds painful." He looked to the lab as he heard Ryoko begging loudly for Washu to make it stop.
"Terribly." Ayeka motioned to the slightly ajar door to the lab with her head. "We are all lending Ryoko moral support. Would you like to join us?"
"Of course," Tenchi said falling into step with the princess. "How long has this been going on? Why didn't anyone call me at school?" he asked, sounding more cross than he had intended. It was difficult to remain calm as the thought of Ryoko returning to her mature state made his heart hammer in his chest, not to mention his growing concern for her well-being. Those screams painted a quick picture of agony.
They entered the first layer of Washu's lab that showcased her beautiful gardens. As they crossed the wide space Ayeka looked to Tenchi with a wistful expression. "We did not call because there is nothing you could have done except to worry."
Tenchi frowned at that, he hated feeling useless. "I just don't like to see any of you suffer," he said, sounding more like himself. "I would have joined you at her side." He didn't want it to look like he didn't care as much as the others did.
Ayeka shook her head and lead him through an open wooden door into the residential area of Washu's domain. It was designed in an elegant style, making use of waterfalls and small streams that ran around the borders of the main room. "It would have been time wasted, I think. Ryoko isn't at her appreciative best at the moment," Ayeka said her comment punctuated by a string of curses screamed by Ryoko's childish voice.
Tenchi whistled. "I didn't think she still knew all of those words."
"Ryoko's room is this way," Ayeka said with a wry grin as she ascended a short rise of stairs. At the landing they passed through an open door onto what seemed more like a deck than a room. Ryoko's ceiling was naught but the open sky that sported soft white clouds and the pale crescent of a day-time rising moon. Instead of walls, the room had railings against which bramble roses grew and twined in a kind of living wall paper, behind which tall trees cast the room in gentle shade.
Wearing an over-large night shirt, Ryoko was lying on a soft bed, half-covered by a heavy feathered quilt. Sweat beaded upon her brow and she had her eyes screwed shut as pain wracked her thin body. Wearing her nurse's uniform, complete with a white cap, Washu knelt by the bed and had a firm hold of Ryoko's hand as the others perched nervously on floating cushions.
Tenchi's heart ached at the sight of her suffering. He hated to see anything hurt, but it seemed so unfair that Ryoko seemed to attract more pain than any creature he had ever met.
"Gah, Mom, Mom, I've changed my mind. I want to do it the long way," Ryoko begged.
Washu wiped Ryoko's brow with a cool cloth. "I've told you we can't change now, Honey. We just have to ride this out."
"But it hurts," Ryoko gasped. "I didn't mean to cuss you out, please make it stop!"
"You know I wouldn't punish you that way," Washu soothed. She looked up and noticed Tenchi. "Look who is here to see you, my little Ryoko!"
Ryoko opened one eye a mere slit and looked. Upon seeing Tenchi, both of her eyes opened wide. "Tenchi!'' she shouted in her girlish voice. "You –ung- you won't be taller than me for long now!" she stated bravely, her body jerking with some spasm.
Tenchi walked over and knelt by Washu. "I'm in trouble now," he said trying to sound cheerful. She hadn't changed yet. She still looked like a little girl. Would the change make her look just as she had before, or had Kagato altered even that in some way? Would he recognize her at all when this was all over?
"You better believe it," Ryoko gasped out. "Oh…oh!" she screamed as she grasped at her thigh with her free hand.
"Here," Washu said prying her hand out of Ryoko's vice-like grip and placing it in Tenchi's hand. "Hold this for me, I have to check something."
Tenchi grunted as Ryoko squeezed with all of her considerable might. He wondered if an average human's hand would have been crushed by that squeeze as he picked up the cloth Washu had dropped and gently wiped at Ryoko's face. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" He would take the pain if only he could figure out how.
Ryoko didn't answer, but just blew through her nose as her bones moved. Tenchi winced as he heard them grinding in their sockets and for a second he actually felt the bones in her fingers elongate and pop.
Ayeka joined him and handed him a cup of tea. "She said she wanted this earlier."
Tenchi took the tea with a murmur of thanks. "Hey Ryoko, I've got your tea."
Ryoko whimpered and shook her head. "I don't want it," she whispered her voice sounding strangely caught between two keys.
Trying to distract her, Tenchi pressed on. "But Lady Ayeka made it just for you."
"I DON'T WANT THE GODDAMNED TEA!" she shouted, beginning in that strange voice and ending in a rich tenor that made everyone in the room sit up a little straighter. Her voice had changed from its girlish tones to the sounds they all remembered so well, the cursing providing the perfect context for its re-emergence.
Tenchi handed the cup back to Ayeka as Ryoko began to sob, heaving in great lungfuls of air at an alarming rate. He gently stroked her cheek, afraid that any touch would hurt her, but wanting so much to comfort her. "Try to breathe through your nose," he advised, thinking about his own breathing training from kendo. To hear her voice again, but in such distress, was like tasting honey over broken glass.
"Washu! She's hyperventilating again," Ayeka called her voice sharp with worry.
Washu hurried back into the room with a small device in her hands. She stopped short of the bed and took in a shaky breath of her own. Her bright eyes spoke of some inner panic she was wrestling with as she watched her daughter writhe on the bed. Unknowingly following Tenchi's advice she drew in a long breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. "This is too much, too much for her to bear."
All eyes turned to her with looks of concern and fear. When Washu said it was too much, that meant Ryoko's limits had been reached and probably passed.
Washu took another step towards the bed. "Ryoko, honey, you were right. I'm going to put you in stasis until this is over."
Ayeka's eyes widened but she said nothing. Sasami let out a little gasp and clutched at Ryo-Ohki. Tenchi noted these reactions, but did not understand them. Obviously, they knew something he didn't. Something serious was going on. Very serious, indeed, for his grandfather's back had gone stiff and his eyes took on that narrow look he reserved for sparring or battle. Even Mihoshi took on the look of a suspicious cop.
"The pain levels are too high. This is torture. I should have never suggested the acceleration," Washu murmured to no one in particular. "Is it okay, Sweetie? Can I put you in stasis?" she asked nervously, her thumb shaking as she held it poised over a button.
Ryoko stared imploringly at the small scientist. "Please. Please. Please, Mommy. Do it."
"I promise to keep you safe this time." Washu puffed out her chest and walked the rest of the way to the bed. "Tenchi please go stand by your Grandfather now."
Tenchi rose to his feet and backed away, looking between Washu and Ryoko with concern in his kind, brown eyes. Washu was acting like this was a funeral. What was going on?
Washu bent down and kissed Ryoko's forehead. "I love you." She pressed the button, and Ryoko's body went limp as pale green light surrounded the bed.
Washu shivered, dropping the box as she hugged herself tightly, almost collapsing into a seated position on the edge if the bed. "Will you help me keep her – us- safe?" she whispered to her friends.
Not knowing quite what was happening, Tenchi Masaki joined in the vigil with his friends and family. Whatever Washu feared would never get past him. His Ryoko wasn't about to get hurt anymore than she already was.
***
Ryoko murmured and turned over in her bed, the soft sheets rustling as she moved. As she lay there enjoying a hazy feeling of sleep and comfort, she opened her eyes and took a deep breath of the rose-scented air of her bedroom. The artificial sky that stretched over her was a deep cobalt spangled with the twinkling of her favorite constellations all jumbled together just as she had programmed them, despite, or even because of, Washu's annoyance at their incorrect positioning.
She stretched and frowned as the dull throb of an old pain flared in her joints and muscles. Why did it hurt? She pointed her toes and rotated an ankle taking in the mild but clear signs of fatigue and stress. What had happened?
As sleep cleared her mind, memories of painful growing and twisting came back to her. Suddenly anxious, she shot up in bed, the sheets still clutched about her, and gasped as her back twinged.
"I'd take it easy if I were you," her mother's voice spoke out of the dimness. "You've only been out of stasis for three hours and I'm sure your soft tissues haven't healed completely yet."
"Mom!" Ryoko cried, her eyes finding the silhouette of her mother sitting in a chair by the bed. "Is it over?" She was conscious of the swells of flesh under the arms that held the sheet to her chest as she spoke.
Washu's shadow nodded. "The process is complete."
Ryoko fought an urge to lift the sheet and peer down at her changed body. "Am I okay? I think I sound funny." Instead of looking at herself, she squinted at her mother, her dark adapted eyes taking in more details of her appearance.
"Of course you are!" Washu blustered with mock indignation. "Just who do you think you are talking to?" She clasped her hands in her lap, looking collected in a green turtle neck and tan slacks. "Seriously, you are fine. The pain should be almost gone, and what's left will be gone in a couple of days. As for your voice, it has finally lost its squeak."
"Now maybe people will stop treating me like a six year old," Ryoko enthused, then gave in to the urge to examine her body and let the sheet drop. She had worn a too-large sleep-shirt on purpose, but still her breasts stretched out the fabric. She forgot about her voice as she whistled in amazement. "Wow."
Washu followed her glance and smirked. "Uh-huh."
"Am I taller than Tenchi?" Ryoko asked changing the subject before Washu had a chance to come up with any embarrassing comments.
"Just by a few centimeters."
"Yes!" Ryoko exalted, pumping a first into the air, quickly regretting it as the joint in her shoulder flared in pain.
"You really should try to keep still," Washu chided as Ryoko rubbed her shoulder. "And it won't be long before his height catches up and passes yours. He is still growing, and you've stopped for the time being."
"I'll still be taller than you now," Ryoko gloated, her rich voice matching the twinkle in her eyes.
"And I still am your mother, and able, and ready, and willing to keep you in line, just like before," Washu warned looking strict. "So don't get any ideas."
Ryoko laughed and flicked her hair. "Do you think I'm stupid or something? I have enough work with out 'punishment' astrophysics problem sets."
Ryoko paused a moment, thinking, her mood darkening. Her breasts were big, she was taller than Tenchi… she must look like the person everyone remembered her as. Not daring to look at her mother, she whispered, "Do I look like I used to?"
"Exactly," Washu said bluntly. "Your voice even sounds the same."
"Oh," Ryoko said softly. She looked like the rude, mean, trampy person she used to be once upon a time. Did that mean Ayeka wouldn't want to be her friend anymore?
"That shouldn't come as a surprise," Washu said in a gentler tone. "I wouldn't dwell on it."
Ryoko's gaze traced the petals of a rose near her bed. Would this change the way everyone treated her? She didn't want to lose her friends. "Mmm…. So, will this be the last growth cycle?" Maybe if she changed again, to an even more different look, she wouldn't have that problem.
Washu looked away in regret. "I wish I could say it was, but you have a least one final maturation stage, maybe two."
Ryoko groaned with disappointment. She was stuck as she was.
Misunderstanding, Washu reached out and patted her daughter's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much, little Ryoko. They will be your final adult stages, mainly concerned with reproduction, and not nearly as extreme as your changes from where you were to where you are now. It will hardly hurt at all."
Ryoko wrinkled her nose. "Reproduction?" she said with a hint of distaste. "I don't even want to think about that." Sex in theory, or in jokes, was one thing, but doing it? Having babies? She shuddered at the thought.
Washu chuckled, and peered into her daughter's face. "As far as you are concerned, neither do I. I'm not ready to be a grandma just yet."
They both laughed at that, with Ryoko's laughter carrying more embarrassed tones.
"I just can't see you with the patience required to be a mommy," Washu teased with a cackle.
"I have to find someone to love first," Ryoko said dismissively, trying to end the conversation.
Washu's face grew somber. "You don't love anyone right now?" She almost sounded disappointed.
Ryoko ducked her head, touching her chin to her chest. "You want me to be in love with Tenchi, don't you?"
Washu kept silent, clearly uncomfortable with the truth of the statement.
"I listen to people, you know?" Ryoko said softly. "No one ever says anything to me, but they all seem to be waiting for me to do…do…" she faltered here. "To do something rude to Tenchi, I guess." She laughed hollowly. "I didn't think that's what love was."
"Ryoko, it's just that people have certain expectations, they can't help it. Of course that's not what love is," Washu said, examining her fingertips.
"This is all because of the way I used to act right?" Ryoko asked gesturing at herself with a sweep of a hand. "That's why they think those things about me." And it's only going to get worse.
Washu bit her lip and looked past Ryoko's shoulders as if remembering. "That was a big part of your personality. You didn't know how to show Tenchi you cared from him, so you tended to come on a bit strong."
"Now that I look like this again, they will all think that about me even more," Ryoko sighed. "I want them to know who I really am." I want them to like me.
Washu slid from her chair and took a seat on the edge of the bed. She gathered Ryoko into a hug, her small arms having a difficult time reaching around her daughter. "I know who you are, Honey." Washu stroked Ryoko's spiky hair. "I thought we had left these self doubts about who you were and who you now are behind you months ago."
Ryoko laughed with self deprecation. "Yeah, that's before I grew these melons."
Washu tightened her hug. "Those are from my genes, so you can know you got them honestly. Becoming a woman doesn't change who you are on the inside. They will figure that out."
Silence hung between them for long moments as they held each other. Words weren't going to ease Ryoko's doubts at this point, so they both stopped talking.
After a while Ryoko asked a question that had been plaguing her since she had started this growth spurt. "Mom, is this how it happened? Did Kagato get me while I was in stasis? Is that why you wouldn't do it at first?" It had been very odd for Washu to just let her suffer, even a little.
"Yes," Washu bit out, her body stiffening. "He did it while you were helpless and I was distracted."
So that was it. Ryoko pulled back and smiled gently at her mother, wanting to make her feel better. "Today is really like starting over, isn't it? The first day as things should have been?" Despite her fears of being rejected by her friends, this was even more important. Here was her chance to make up for her bad behavior towards her mother. How her love for Washu had been stripped away from her was beyond understanding. That it had happened broke her heart, and she wanted to atone.
Washu laughed, a few stray tears spilling over her eyelashes. "Yes," she said wiping them away. "Today is the beginning of our second chance."
Ryoko's smile grew until it seemed to touch her ears on either side. "Then I don't care if everybody expects me to be a certain way. I will be myself, and show them that this daughter loves her mother." She went in for another hug, willing Washu to believe her, hurting that her mother was crying because of her.
Washu returned it fiercely, her fingers catching in the sheet that surrounded Ryoko. "Stop making me cry," she half-demanded as she sniffled.
"I love you," Ryoko whispered into Washu's hair. "Thanks for taking care of me today."
Washu's body trembled and she squeezed her daughter tightly, eliciting a strangled cough from the teenager. "Sorry," Washu said letting go and cleaning her cheeks of more tears.
"I forget that you can be as strong as me if you want," Ryoko said ruefully rubbing her rib cage, happy for the distraction. Anymore of this and she'd start crying too.
Washu got to her feet and used a knob on the trellis to turn up the sky, so that the light of a gentle dawn filled the room. "That's enough emoting, don't you think?" She turned to Ryoko and put her hands on her hips. "Why don't you get dressed so we can go show everyone you are all right? Tenchi alone has been in here five times since we ended the stasis, checking up on you."
Ryoko got out of bed with a stumble, catching herself on the bedpost. "Oops! That feels different," she said and summoned her blue and yellow striped dress. It fit her too snugly and was too short. A couple of tries later, she had it correctly proportioned and draping over her form. "About, Tenchi," she began hesitatingly, letting go of the bedpost and trying her balance without supports.
Washu watched her expectantly, and crossed her hers. "Mmmm?"
"I don't want to hurt him," Ryoko began, smoothing down her dress. "I know he will be happy to see me like this. I like him a lot Mom, but I don't love him… at least I don't think I do. He is one of my best friends." She cast a tortured look to her mother. "Do I have to make myself love him?"
Washu looked torn for a moment. She uncrossed her arms, licked her lips and started out of the room. As she exited she looked back over her shoulder, pausing for a moment. "That kind of love won't do either of you any favors."
"But, what if he wants me to love him? What do I do then?" Ryoko pleaded.
Washu had left the room. It was almost as if she couldn't stand sharing space with the topic at hand. "Just do what comes naturally, it will all work out one way or another," her voice said, losing volume as she walked away.
"What does that mean?" Ryoko shouted after her.
"It means follow your heart. Now, ignore your hormonal emotions and get your butt out here so you can make an appearance and the rest of us can all go to bed!" Washu called back.
Ryoko covered her heart with her hands. "It would help if I knew where it wanted to go."
Washu, with the sharp ears of every mother, heard and shot back, "It wants a midnight snack made by Sasami! COME ON!"
***
Tenchi threw a kernel of popcorn into the air and tilted his head back to catch it in his mouth. As he crunched it, he used the DVD remote to fast forward through the rental disk's commercials and previews. He was lounging his old favorite blue jacket with the first character of his name embroidered in red at his shoulder. He rested his white sock covered feet on the coffee table.
"Nice catch," Ayeka complimented, bringing in a tray of sodas and setting it by his feet. She looked delightfully cool in aqua culottes and a teal blouse, accented by sea-green hairclips that winked with little inset stones. Only her orange house slippers didn't match.
"Thanks," Tenchi said, sheepishly removing his feet. She hadn't said anything, but Tenchi knew Ayeka didn't approve of feet on the furniture. "It took me forever to learn that trick."
"Really? I would have guessed it would be a simple task for someone with all of your sword training," Ayeka said, fussing with the drinks on the tray. "Your reflexes are so quick."
Tenchi watched her curl into a corner of the couch while scratching the back of his head and laughing. "Well, I learned how to do it before I started training with grandpa."
"Miya!" Ryo-Ohki cried running in through the glass of the sliding doors. She jumped up on the table and sniffed at the bowl of popcorn.
"Hi Ryo-Ohki!" Tenchi greeted. "Those aren't carrots. Where's Ryoko?" he asked patting the cabbit's head. "She wanted to watch this movie with us."
The furry creature pointed back the way she had come with a long, floppy ear.
Ryoko waved at them through the glass as she flew in from the lake, her pale lilac dress billowing around her. She alighted awkwardly on the deck and moved to phase through the glass doors.
Tenchi winced guessing what was coming, but hoping she had mastered this new difficulty.
THWACK! She smashed her face into the door instead of sliding through it. Rubbing her nose, she grimaced and tried again, this time making it through, only to trip over an ottoman.
"Wah!" she cried as she landed at Ayeka's feet, a jumble of arms and legs.
"Oh my!" the princess exclaimed, clearly restraining a laugh. "Are you alright?"
Ryoko rubbed her nose. "Yeah. This new body is still taking some getting used to." She got up and climbed onto the couch beside Ayeka, tucking her feet under her. "It takes a different amount of energy to phase, fly, teleport – everything! And my balance is all weird now."
Tenchi chuckled, happy to hear her speaking in what he thought of as her 'real' voice. "I'll say it is. You seem to fall down more than you get up," he teased while being very aware of Ryoko's adult form. She looked just like she used to, with the exception of her more innocent facial expressions. More than ever, he was struggling with cognitive dissonance. He was becoming attached to her as she now was, but still found himself disappointed when her grown body didn't latch onto his at every turn. Now that she kept her body politely from touching his, he yearned for the slightest touch.
Ryoko frowned at his teasing remark then smirked. "Well, I'm awfully top heavy now, don't you think, Tenchi?" she asked jutting her chest out. "You ought to try moving around with these things up top."
"Well…well… uh," Tenchi stuttered, he had been trying not to look at those. She was very sensitive to his stares, and he didn't want to be accused of looking at her weirdly anymore. But she made it so difficult not to look when she acted this way!
"Now… now… Miss Ryoko," Ayeka joined in, turning a bright pink.
"Ha! Ha! I got both of you!" Ryoko laughed leaning over for some popcorn, and almost toppling over the coffee table. She caught her self with a well placed hand and pushed back onto the couch. "Geeze."
Washu strolled into the room and took in the scene. She had her cargo shorts on and was lightly singed around the edges, as if she had been caught in a minor explosion. "What's going on in here?" she asked glancing at the strangled faces of Ayeka and Tenchi.
Ryoko patted the empty seat next to her. "My balance is still all screwed up," she reported.
Washu nodded. "I meant with them," she said pointing to the two who seemed frozen in a haze of wide eyes and red cheeks.
Ryoko giggled, and picked at one of a long row of pearly buttons that lined the front of her dress. "The usual. The dynamic duo is embarrassed again."
Washu sat next to Ryoko. "What did you do this time?" she asked with grin that said she had already guessed.
"I mentioned my BREASTS," Ryoko said in a theatrical whisper.
Washu cackled. "That sounds about right." She reached out and gave Ryoko's breast a firm pat. "At least you're not sagging yet!"
"Mom!" It was Ryoko's turn to blush. "Don't do that in public!"
Tenchi and Ayeka erupted with laughter, Tenchi holding onto his gut and Ayeka laughing behind her hand as their embarrassment was turned back on its source.
"Mother's need to track their daughter's development, you know!" Ayeka teased, half -quoting something she had once heard Washu say.
"You brought this on yourself," Tenchi added with a chuckle.
Ryoko popped into the air and hovered above the couch, sitting Indian-style with her arms crossed. A dark purple version of her cat's tail belt twitched in agitation. "Hey! Stop laughing at me!" she demanded.
Washu, now laughing herself, winked at her daughter. "If you want to dish it out, you have to take it too!" she lectured, wagging a finger at Ryoko.
Ryoko huffed. "Fine! Whatever! Just keep your hands to yourself!" Her cheeks were redder than Tenchi's and Ayeka's had been.
"Is my little Ryoko embarrassed?" Washu goaded.
"Stop calling me that! I'm not little anymore! I'm all grown up!" Ryoko protested, her tail puffing out.
"Just your body is grown," Washu pointed out while digging into the popcorn. "Your mind is just like it was three days ago: Know-it all, brash, and confused."
"Now, Washu," Tenchi placated, seeing Ryoko's eyes tear up. "Don't egg her on."
Washu relented, but couldn't seem to help getting in the last word. "She will always be my little Ryoko, right honey?"
"Mooom," Ryoko whined. "I don't wanna watch this movie anymore." She pouted for a moment, then teleported out of the room.
Washu smiled gently at the spot her daughter had just vacated. "Teenagers are so touchy. But not nearly as touchy as ex-space pirates used to be, thank goodness."
Ayeka brushed a few popcorn crumbs from her lap. "Maybe we shouldn't have teased her so much."
"No, you guys were fine. She needs to learn how to deal with people. Something she didn't really get a chance to do last time," Washu said firmly. "This is good for her."
"But she seemed upset," Tenchi worried, thinking of the tears in those big yellow eyes.
"It's all of her new hormones. She'll be fine," Washu said, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. "This is typical teenage girl stuff."
Tenchi looked over to Ayeka with a raised eyebrow. "Did you go through this Ayeka?"
Ayeka dipped her head and laughed softly. "Of course I did, I just didn't do it all at once."
Tenchi nodded. "I see. So this really is normal?"
"Why don't you go check on her, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka suggested, answering his real question. "You will see that she is surviving."
"I think I will. The roof?" he asked Washu.
"Some things never change," Washu said with a small smile. "But, uh, Tenchi…" she began.
Tenchi got to his feet and looked to Washu. "Yes?"
Washu licked the fine grains of popcorn salt off of a finger. "Just give her plenty of space, 'kay?" she said lightly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, reading between the lines with a sinking heart. Was Washu telling him to back off? What did she know that he didn't?
"She's confused, try not to make it worse," Washu said, abandoning her attempt at levity and pinning him with her eyes. "She didn't turn back into her old self, just because she got taller."
"I know that," Tenchi said defensively, an embarrassed flush warming his cheeks.
Washu relented and softened her gaze. "Good. Treat her like you would treat any of us, and you both will be fine.
Tenchi nodded and padded out of the room and into the foyer. As he slipped his shoes on, he wondered what Washu was really talking about. Had Ryoko said something to her about not liking him? His heart twisted as the possibility of her indifference crossed his mind. He had accepted that he had been in love with the old Ryoko. These days, he held onto hope that a more natural relationship might develop between the two of them. That perhaps, his meeting this more innocent Ryoko was the way things were meant to be after all. He was already immensely fond of the person she was becoming, despite how much he missed her last incarnation. What if she didn't like him though? The possibility had never really crossed his mind before. What would he do if that were true?
Feeling the first sting of tears in his eyes, he pushed the unhappy thoughts out of his mind and focused on the problem at hand. Ryoko's feelings had clearly been hurt. What could he say to help his friend feel better? Touchy girls were not his specialty despite the practice he was currently getting. He sincerely didn't want to make things worse.
Tenchi made for the side of the house where they had once affixed an old ladder. It had been easier to leave it up as going to fetch Ryoko from a pout on the roof had become almost a daily routine. This was the first tine he had used it in months. He slowly worked his way up the ladder and presently Ryoko's back and mane of wild hair came into view. She was sitting facing the other way and hadn't acknowledged his presence, though he figured that she probably knew he was there.
"Ryoko? Can I join you?" he asked softly.
She turned her head a little and looked back over her shoulder at him the twinkle of tears shimmering in her eyes. She nodded and turned back around trying to discreetly wipe them away.
"Aw, don't cry," he soothed as he carefully walked up the peak of the roof and took a seat next to her.
"I'm not crying," she said in a watery voice.
"Oh," he said helplessly, wondering what to do or say next.
"Tenchi, I look like her now, don't I?" Ryoko asked looking carefully away from him.
Tenchi knew who she meant. "Yes." He couldn't lie, not to her, not ever.
Ryoko carefully tucked a blue forelock behind her ear. "My body feels so weird. Everything looks different from this height, none of my clothes fit anymore unless I recalibrate them, and I feel so emotional all the time. Mom said it will all sort itself out, but I'm worried."
"About what?" Tenchi asked, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, almost removing it when she slightly shrank away from him. His hand felt like it had been stung, but he kept his it on her shoulder almost desperately.
"Maybe, just maybe I'm turning back into her," she choked.
"Ryoko," Tenchi started.
"Wait!" she cut him off. "I've been thinking about this a lot. What if the changes in my body unlock the prison mom locked that demon into? What if she gets out and takes me over?" Ryoko asked in disgust. "She sounded terrible! I hate her!"
Tenchi's gentle touch turned into a sharp pinch as he grasped her shoulder tightly and grabbed her hand with his free one. "Stop it! Take it back, right now!" he demanded.
"Why?!" she demanded. "You liked her best, didn't you?!" Unshed tears made her voice thick.
"That doesn't make sense! She was you! And she wasn't a demon either!" Tenchi said stoutly. "She was an innocent who was abused and angry, but she still was wonderful and we all loved her despite her troubles." He knew they were different, but in the ways that counted, they were the same.
A new tear dripped down Ryoko's cheek. "But – but…."
Tenchi loosened his grip. "If you talk badly about her, then you are really talking badly about yourself," he said. "She isn't locked up inside of you, that part of you is gone forever."
Ryoko wiped away her tear and looked at him intensely. "You sound sad, Tenchi. Do you miss her?"
Tenchi thought about that and a painful yearning gripped him, but he couldn't say the truth without hurting this Ryoko.
"You do," Ryoko breathed.
"She was my friend," Tenchi said simply.
Ryoko tugged on his shirt. "I'm your friend too, Tenchi, even if I'm not her. Is that enough for you?"
He smiled at her with moist eyes, knowing what she was trying to ask him. She wanted to be free of his expectations. "It's more than I could ask for," he said honestly. He knew forcing the issue would just scare her away from him. If he wanted things to work out, he would have to be cautious and patient. Fleeting memories of his grandfather teaching him to feed the wild winter birds bread crumbs from his cupped hands sprang into his mind. "I thank you for being my good friend, Ryoko."
"You're welcome," she said, cheering up. "I'm sorry for being so strange, it's just that my emotions are a little wacky right now."
"It's okay, we all understand," Tenchi said. "We all care about you."
"Even if I never become her?" Ryoko asked cautiously.
"It doesn't matter," Tenchi said in a firm voice that brooked no argument. "You are you, and that's a good thing. We are looking forward to who you are becoming," he said, surprised at how true the words were as he spoke them. It was as if he had uncovered a hidden well of understanding, deep with in himself.
"No matter how I look?" Ryoko pressed.
"Especially because of how you look. We just want our friend to be happy." He held the image of his old Ryoko in his mind and kissed her good-bye. From this moment on, he would do his best to live in the present and make the most of what he had, for both of their sakes.
While he had been thinking, Ryoko had been watching him as if she were trying to decide about something. She crept closer then stopped, looking into his eyes. "You really like me for me?"
He nodded a great weight lifting from his shoulders. "I promise."
"Thank you oni-sama," Ryoko murmured, hesitantly scooting the rest of the way towards him and lightly laying her head on his shoulder. "I believe you."
"Big-brother," he thought, his heart falling back into despair. "She calls me big-brother now."
Stay Tuned!
A/N: Sorry for the prolonged delay on this chapter. My muse went on vacation. It seems she bought a one way ticket out of town. Luckily, Seraphim from MegaTokyo (apologizes to Fred G!) went and recovered her for me. There is something satisfying about having a muse but having to BORROW some else's conscience. ^_^
Hopefully the next chapter will be out shortly. Ta!