((R&R OR I WILL PERSONALLY RIP OFF YOUR HEAD AND PLANT POSIES DOWN YOUR NECK STUMP! lol. I HIGHLY reccommend that you read chapters 1 and 2 before chapter 3. It will make so much more sense, you wouldn't believe it.))
Tenchi walked outside, still a bit dazed. He couldn't believe what he saw that morning, or what happened last night. He decided to do some chores to get his mind off the issue.
He decided to turn back as the enticing smell of Sasami's cooking wafted past his nose. He was hungry for some breakfast.
The whole family sat down, no one absent. Ryoko's hair was frizzy and tangled. She wore a morning robe that, as uaual, just barely covered her features.
Kiyone sat quietly, tired, cranky, and annoyed by the slurping sounds that Mihoshi made when she ate. She had messy hair like ryoko, but she was, of course, much more modest with her morning attire.
Mihoshi was wide awake, fully dressed for the day, her hair in a neat ponytail. She made loud slurping sounds right beside Kiyone, completely oblivious that Kiyone was annoyed. And of the activity that happened last night between Tenchi and Ayeka.
Noboyuki was, of course, being stupid as usual.
"OW!" screamed Noboyuki, "This soup is too hot!"
Washu had scuttled out of the depths of her laboratory to eat breakfast with everyone else.
Sasami was smiling, enjoying the meal she had made, still in her cooking apron.
Tenchi was staring at the floor. He had a feeling of guilt. If he looked up, he knew his eyes would lead him directly to Ayeka. He did not want to see the expression on her face. He ate silently, the tension building.
Ayeka, on the other hand, was staring at Tenchi. She had no guilt; that night is the night she had dreamed about ever since she first met Tenchi. She was staring at him, her eyes half-closed, barely paying attention to her breakfast. She was dreaming about him, how they could have a future together.
"I'm not hungry."
Tenchi stood up, still looking down. he started to turn, when his eyes met Ayeka's. A stab of mixed emotions. He averted his gaze outside. He walked outside. He thought to himself.
"Oh god, what happened," He thought, "Did Miss Ayeka do that to me while I was asleep? Or..." He wrinkled his brow. "Maybe I was awake? Maybe I was great last night, just like she said. Maybe I fell asleep drunk, and cokmpletely forgot the whole few hours it happened." He stopped walking, and paused. "...But I remember the beginning. If I remember the beginning, maybe..."
He climbed onto the roof of the house, and slithered his way into Ayeka's room. He looked around, something he would not normally do. He thought it was useless, until he looked in her bedside cabinet, in the two small doors. There it was.
A stockpile of liquor, bacardi, wine, and all sorts of alchohol. He let a faint whisper slip out of his throat.
"So it really happened..."
The bottles were open, some alchohol was spilled on Ayeka's bed and on the floor. Tenchi delicately set everything back in its place, so it looked like he had never been in the room.
He made his way out of the small outlet to the roof at the top of the room. He sat on the wood on top of the house.
"So I did it with her. At my own will."
He laid back to watch the clouds in the sky.
"I don't love Miss Ayeka," He said to himself, "Or do I...?"
He thought for a while, silently, slowly trying to wear off the guilt.
"Yes," He decided, "I do love her. I love her as a friend, as one of my best friends. Almost as a sister. I love her as family, not as a lover." He rolled to one side. "But she loves me a different way."
"So that pretty much scratches that little bitch off the list!"
Tenchi jolted up. The voice startled him. Once he saw who it was, he sat back down.
"Oh, hi, Ryoko."
Ryoko walked over and sat down beside him.
"Alright Tenchi. What's wrong? I've noticed how strange you've been acting, not like your normal self."
Tenchi glanced at her and looked down.
"I...I can't tell you."
"'Course ya can! You can tell me anything!" Ryoko smiled.
"No, Ryoko. I can't.... tell you."
Ryoko nudged closer to him.
"Is everything okay?"
Tenchi was surprised. Ryoko never really showed sympathy. Heck, usually, by now she would have him pinned down to the roof, trying to have sex with him.
He looked up at her, into her eyes. He stared for a minute, could not quite tell what it was. Something about Ryoko's eyes, seemed to mesmerize him.
"I..."
Ryoko's comforting tone made him feel much better.
"Yes?"
"I... uh..."
"What is it, Tenchi?"
Before Ryoko could think any further, Tenchi lunged onto her and started to kiss her, much like Ayeka kissed him the other night.
Typically, Ryoko was surprised. Blissfully surprised, but still very surprised. She felt like she was melting under him, her legs turning into jelly, her heart shooting up to her neck. Not with fear, but with lust.
They stayed there for a few minutes, Ryoko giving in to Tenchi, Tenchi caressing Ryoko gently, his lips interlocked with hers. They parted, and looked into each other's eyes.
Ryoko's heart racing, she managed to blurt out a few soft words.
"Wow, Tenchi..."
She laid there, smiling, feeling like everything she had ever wanted, everythig she had ever dreamed of, had come true.
Tenchi himself was surprised at his own actions. "Why did I do that," He thought, "Why did my impulses cause me to kiss her? I don't love Ryoko, I love..."
Then he knew. Ryoko's eyes told him everything.
He knew now, ecstatic that he had finally found out. He thought to himself, ended the sentence in lhis head. "I love Ioki.".
He saw now, what was different about Ryoko's eyes. They were no longer gold and evil.
They were blue.
He found that he was still holding her. He gathered up the courage to tell what he wanted to tell to Ryoko.
"I love you."
She smiled warmly, their noses touching, and reached herself up with her mouth to his ear.
She whispered in his ear, so soflty and gently. "So you found out."
Awake.
Tenchi was on the roof still. He sat up to see a beautiful crimson, gold, and soft pink sunset. He no longer felt the depression. He felt warmth, strength, completion. Unlike the other dreams, this gave him a comfortable, cheerful feeling when he woke up.
"It was just a dream," He said to himself, "But it felt so real..."
Just like that moment in the dream, he got a sudden thought.
"...A prophecy..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tenchi rolled over in his bed. It was a Saturday night, He was supposed to be tired at three o'clock in the morning, but not tonight. He felt a longing, a longing for Ryoko. How strange, he thought, that he loved Ryoko and Ioki. At the same time.
"No," Tenchi whispered, "It can't be true. Ryoko is not the one I love. Ioki is." But he believed in the dream at the same time, so strongly. He closed his eyes.
The strangest dream he had ever had.
He found himself in a chamber, a sunken chamber under water. He was cofused at first, until he realized that he was actually under water.
"I must breathe!" He had been holding his breath. But there was one problem: He was locked into a limb restraint! His wrists and ankles were fastened to a metal frame on a wall by steel bars.
He thought his lungs were going to explode, when he finally decided to breathe the water, kill himself here and now so he wouldn't have to suffer the worse pain of suffocation.
"3... 2... 1..." He counted down mentally.
He let the air exit his lungs. A deep breath, he tried, the deepest and fullest breath, he let hgis lungs fill with the water, and...
Nothing.
He could breathe perfectly in the water.
Now that he had that problem aside, he looked around him.
Everywhere there was the blue, musty-look that you see when you are underwater.
He saw that he was in an extremely large, round, wooden room.
All of a sudden, he was in space, in a giant orb, covered in sprawling, old tree branches.
He recognized it.
He saw a figure in the distace. He couldn't move; the sprawling branches enclosed him from his elbows down, bressing his arms to the rest of his naked body.
It came closer, until he could focus on who it was.
"Tsunami!"
"Hello, Tenchi. Pleasant seeing you again."
She smiled at him with her usual half-closed eyes.
"It is a good thing you can make it. I needed to talk to you."
Tenchi was in awe. Had Tsunami actually called upon him?
"...Y...y...yes, Tsunami?"
"I have watched your mood patterns over the last few days. I do find them odd, so I decided that now is the time to talk to you. It is about Ioki."
Tenchi's heart turned into a rock, from angst, excitement, and fear. Fear that Ioki might be in trouble.
"I can tell you this, Tenchi: Ioki is not far away."
"And?"
She started to fade.
"Tsunami! TSUNAMI! Finish what you started! Please!"
He tried to struggle from his wooden restraints. They started to crack, but Tsunami was going fast.
He could see her lips moving, but he could only hear a faint mumbling sound. A creepy, unsettling mumbling sound.
Tsunami reached out her hands, as if she was trying to reach him.
Tenchi burst from his branches with incredible strength. He instantly stood up and ran towards Tsunami, not caring that he was wearing nothing.
"Tsunami!"
She faded. Tenchi stopped, and dropped to his knees.
"No..."
He could feel more self-pity coming on. He could feel a loss, and he lowered his head.
"No," He thought, "I shouldn't feel like this. Tsunami told me an important thing. Ioki is not far away. But how...?"
He believed it now. He realized what was going on.
"Ryoko!"
Tenchi looked up and smiled. He watched the blank space where Tsunami had dissappeared, and waved.
"Goodbye, Tsunami, and thank you."
Awake.
Tenchi felt something hard in his right hand. He unfolded his fingers, to see the sapphire clutched tightly.
"Tsunami did this!" He sat up, now understanding where the sapphire came from. "She was trying to communicate with me this whole time. She sent me this sapphire to trigger the memory of Ioki... It is a message from Ioki!... A message to show me that she has come back."
Tenchi kissed the marble in thanks. He tucked it under his bed to hide it from Ayeka and any visions she might want to fantasize. It wasn't that he didn't like her seeing things she wanted; he just didn't want what happened the other night to happen again.
He got dressed and headed outside for a bright, beautiful day.
Tenchi walked outside, still a bit dazed. He couldn't believe what he saw that morning, or what happened last night. He decided to do some chores to get his mind off the issue.
He decided to turn back as the enticing smell of Sasami's cooking wafted past his nose. He was hungry for some breakfast.
The whole family sat down, no one absent. Ryoko's hair was frizzy and tangled. She wore a morning robe that, as uaual, just barely covered her features.
Kiyone sat quietly, tired, cranky, and annoyed by the slurping sounds that Mihoshi made when she ate. She had messy hair like ryoko, but she was, of course, much more modest with her morning attire.
Mihoshi was wide awake, fully dressed for the day, her hair in a neat ponytail. She made loud slurping sounds right beside Kiyone, completely oblivious that Kiyone was annoyed. And of the activity that happened last night between Tenchi and Ayeka.
Noboyuki was, of course, being stupid as usual.
"OW!" screamed Noboyuki, "This soup is too hot!"
Washu had scuttled out of the depths of her laboratory to eat breakfast with everyone else.
Sasami was smiling, enjoying the meal she had made, still in her cooking apron.
Tenchi was staring at the floor. He had a feeling of guilt. If he looked up, he knew his eyes would lead him directly to Ayeka. He did not want to see the expression on her face. He ate silently, the tension building.
Ayeka, on the other hand, was staring at Tenchi. She had no guilt; that night is the night she had dreamed about ever since she first met Tenchi. She was staring at him, her eyes half-closed, barely paying attention to her breakfast. She was dreaming about him, how they could have a future together.
"I'm not hungry."
Tenchi stood up, still looking down. he started to turn, when his eyes met Ayeka's. A stab of mixed emotions. He averted his gaze outside. He walked outside. He thought to himself.
"Oh god, what happened," He thought, "Did Miss Ayeka do that to me while I was asleep? Or..." He wrinkled his brow. "Maybe I was awake? Maybe I was great last night, just like she said. Maybe I fell asleep drunk, and cokmpletely forgot the whole few hours it happened." He stopped walking, and paused. "...But I remember the beginning. If I remember the beginning, maybe..."
He climbed onto the roof of the house, and slithered his way into Ayeka's room. He looked around, something he would not normally do. He thought it was useless, until he looked in her bedside cabinet, in the two small doors. There it was.
A stockpile of liquor, bacardi, wine, and all sorts of alchohol. He let a faint whisper slip out of his throat.
"So it really happened..."
The bottles were open, some alchohol was spilled on Ayeka's bed and on the floor. Tenchi delicately set everything back in its place, so it looked like he had never been in the room.
He made his way out of the small outlet to the roof at the top of the room. He sat on the wood on top of the house.
"So I did it with her. At my own will."
He laid back to watch the clouds in the sky.
"I don't love Miss Ayeka," He said to himself, "Or do I...?"
He thought for a while, silently, slowly trying to wear off the guilt.
"Yes," He decided, "I do love her. I love her as a friend, as one of my best friends. Almost as a sister. I love her as family, not as a lover." He rolled to one side. "But she loves me a different way."
"So that pretty much scratches that little bitch off the list!"
Tenchi jolted up. The voice startled him. Once he saw who it was, he sat back down.
"Oh, hi, Ryoko."
Ryoko walked over and sat down beside him.
"Alright Tenchi. What's wrong? I've noticed how strange you've been acting, not like your normal self."
Tenchi glanced at her and looked down.
"I...I can't tell you."
"'Course ya can! You can tell me anything!" Ryoko smiled.
"No, Ryoko. I can't.... tell you."
Ryoko nudged closer to him.
"Is everything okay?"
Tenchi was surprised. Ryoko never really showed sympathy. Heck, usually, by now she would have him pinned down to the roof, trying to have sex with him.
He looked up at her, into her eyes. He stared for a minute, could not quite tell what it was. Something about Ryoko's eyes, seemed to mesmerize him.
"I..."
Ryoko's comforting tone made him feel much better.
"Yes?"
"I... uh..."
"What is it, Tenchi?"
Before Ryoko could think any further, Tenchi lunged onto her and started to kiss her, much like Ayeka kissed him the other night.
Typically, Ryoko was surprised. Blissfully surprised, but still very surprised. She felt like she was melting under him, her legs turning into jelly, her heart shooting up to her neck. Not with fear, but with lust.
They stayed there for a few minutes, Ryoko giving in to Tenchi, Tenchi caressing Ryoko gently, his lips interlocked with hers. They parted, and looked into each other's eyes.
Ryoko's heart racing, she managed to blurt out a few soft words.
"Wow, Tenchi..."
She laid there, smiling, feeling like everything she had ever wanted, everythig she had ever dreamed of, had come true.
Tenchi himself was surprised at his own actions. "Why did I do that," He thought, "Why did my impulses cause me to kiss her? I don't love Ryoko, I love..."
Then he knew. Ryoko's eyes told him everything.
He knew now, ecstatic that he had finally found out. He thought to himself, ended the sentence in lhis head. "I love Ioki.".
He saw now, what was different about Ryoko's eyes. They were no longer gold and evil.
They were blue.
He found that he was still holding her. He gathered up the courage to tell what he wanted to tell to Ryoko.
"I love you."
She smiled warmly, their noses touching, and reached herself up with her mouth to his ear.
She whispered in his ear, so soflty and gently. "So you found out."
Awake.
Tenchi was on the roof still. He sat up to see a beautiful crimson, gold, and soft pink sunset. He no longer felt the depression. He felt warmth, strength, completion. Unlike the other dreams, this gave him a comfortable, cheerful feeling when he woke up.
"It was just a dream," He said to himself, "But it felt so real..."
Just like that moment in the dream, he got a sudden thought.
"...A prophecy..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tenchi rolled over in his bed. It was a Saturday night, He was supposed to be tired at three o'clock in the morning, but not tonight. He felt a longing, a longing for Ryoko. How strange, he thought, that he loved Ryoko and Ioki. At the same time.
"No," Tenchi whispered, "It can't be true. Ryoko is not the one I love. Ioki is." But he believed in the dream at the same time, so strongly. He closed his eyes.
The strangest dream he had ever had.
He found himself in a chamber, a sunken chamber under water. He was cofused at first, until he realized that he was actually under water.
"I must breathe!" He had been holding his breath. But there was one problem: He was locked into a limb restraint! His wrists and ankles were fastened to a metal frame on a wall by steel bars.
He thought his lungs were going to explode, when he finally decided to breathe the water, kill himself here and now so he wouldn't have to suffer the worse pain of suffocation.
"3... 2... 1..." He counted down mentally.
He let the air exit his lungs. A deep breath, he tried, the deepest and fullest breath, he let hgis lungs fill with the water, and...
Nothing.
He could breathe perfectly in the water.
Now that he had that problem aside, he looked around him.
Everywhere there was the blue, musty-look that you see when you are underwater.
He saw that he was in an extremely large, round, wooden room.
All of a sudden, he was in space, in a giant orb, covered in sprawling, old tree branches.
He recognized it.
He saw a figure in the distace. He couldn't move; the sprawling branches enclosed him from his elbows down, bressing his arms to the rest of his naked body.
It came closer, until he could focus on who it was.
"Tsunami!"
"Hello, Tenchi. Pleasant seeing you again."
She smiled at him with her usual half-closed eyes.
"It is a good thing you can make it. I needed to talk to you."
Tenchi was in awe. Had Tsunami actually called upon him?
"...Y...y...yes, Tsunami?"
"I have watched your mood patterns over the last few days. I do find them odd, so I decided that now is the time to talk to you. It is about Ioki."
Tenchi's heart turned into a rock, from angst, excitement, and fear. Fear that Ioki might be in trouble.
"I can tell you this, Tenchi: Ioki is not far away."
"And?"
She started to fade.
"Tsunami! TSUNAMI! Finish what you started! Please!"
He tried to struggle from his wooden restraints. They started to crack, but Tsunami was going fast.
He could see her lips moving, but he could only hear a faint mumbling sound. A creepy, unsettling mumbling sound.
Tsunami reached out her hands, as if she was trying to reach him.
Tenchi burst from his branches with incredible strength. He instantly stood up and ran towards Tsunami, not caring that he was wearing nothing.
"Tsunami!"
She faded. Tenchi stopped, and dropped to his knees.
"No..."
He could feel more self-pity coming on. He could feel a loss, and he lowered his head.
"No," He thought, "I shouldn't feel like this. Tsunami told me an important thing. Ioki is not far away. But how...?"
He believed it now. He realized what was going on.
"Ryoko!"
Tenchi looked up and smiled. He watched the blank space where Tsunami had dissappeared, and waved.
"Goodbye, Tsunami, and thank you."
Awake.
Tenchi felt something hard in his right hand. He unfolded his fingers, to see the sapphire clutched tightly.
"Tsunami did this!" He sat up, now understanding where the sapphire came from. "She was trying to communicate with me this whole time. She sent me this sapphire to trigger the memory of Ioki... It is a message from Ioki!... A message to show me that she has come back."
Tenchi kissed the marble in thanks. He tucked it under his bed to hide it from Ayeka and any visions she might want to fantasize. It wasn't that he didn't like her seeing things she wanted; he just didn't want what happened the other night to happen again.
He got dressed and headed outside for a bright, beautiful day.