A teen-age Ryo-ohki paced agitatedly around her bedroom. What would Sasami think of me now? Ryo-ohki had felt the shift in the cosmos well before the cosmic realignment has occurred. Something inside her had felt different. Just like something inside her had felt different on the day that Tenchi had utter those stupid words and her world had fallen apart.
Now, she had her own bedroom in a house, which she shared with Ryoko and Washu. It felt wrong calling Washu 'Mom' and it definitely felt wrong calling Ryoko 'Sister'. In her own mind, Ryoko was her 'Mom', which logically made Washu her grandmother. And that was exactly how she treated them. Her original O.S. had been reprogrammed by Washu ages ago, and in its place the secondary more adaptable O.S. had spontaneously started modifying itself to its new environment and familial role. Memories and emotions pushing the boundaries of her newer O.S. almost to the brink, but somehow with Ryoko's love and care, Ryo-ohki always came out the other side of her "growing pains" all the better.
And Ryoko was a doting mother, in what Ryo-ohki's mind could call the most unconventional Mother-Daughter relationship ever created. In the beginning it had been difficult for either Ryoko or Washu to see Ryo-ohki as more than just a creature. More than just basic thoughts and impulses that drove her to act beyond the confines of ship/pet. But slowly with everyone's help Ryo-ohki had been learning to become more than just a pet. By the time the catalyst of that tragic night 11 years ago had arrived, Ryo-ohki had a child's grasp of her sense of self.
A basic understanding of likes and dislikes, was really about as far as she seemed able to progress. But then they had left her life and family behind, moving on to a new life and forged their own tiny family. She liked her life now, true it wasn't as hectic as it had been, nor was it as lively. But she had a family. She went to school now, was dating and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life. Namely annoying her mother with late night sessions of random acts of "Monty Python-isms". Bless Tenchi for his twisted sense of humor.
Ryo-ohki laughed as she plodded down the stairs to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. If Mom could skip out of classes to visit Tenchi; then Ryo-ohki figured, it was her right to skip school. Meandering lazily around the kitchen Ryo-ohki assembled her usual "lounging day" meal. Two humongous slices of carrot cake, a pitcher of carrot juice, a giant bag of carrot chips and to top it all off a double-chocolate mint, fudge sundae floating on a bed of thick moist brownie, all smothered under a can and a half of whip topping.
She spread her buffet out before her on the ottoman and gathered the rest of the makings for a lazy day. She was certain she wasn't going to get any more lazy days once her mom arrived at Tenchi's. It was only a matter of time before everyone else made their way back home, and then the madness would begin again. And before that happened Ryo-ohki fully intended to enjoy life as a moderately normal adolescent. Grabbing the remote and idly flipping through the channels, Ryo-ohki absently munched away at her sundae occasionally dipping a carrot chip into the minty confection as if it were a dip.
Flipping from one channel to the next at a blinding pace Ryo-ohki's mind processed each millisecond of information on each channel so fast that it generally annoyed everyone trying to watch television with her. Snuggling further into the warm comfort of the couch Ryo-ohki reveled in the sense of awesome power that holding the remote offered. Catching a glimpse of her mom and Yosho together, Ryo-ohki stopped flipping.
Looking at the younger version of Yosho with eyes of an adolescent was a bit of a shocker to Ryo-ohki. He's cute? She hadn't been expecting to be attracted to him. Shrugging off the thought Ryo-ohki barked with laughter and then choked as pieces of the soggy carrot chip she was eating swiftly shot up her nose and down her windpipe. Tears of pain sprang to her eyes as she hacked and wheezed to dislodge both pieces. Finally with a painful combination cough-sneeze both pieces came out.
Okay no more eating and laughing for me. She thought as she began to clean up the disaster zone created by her sneeze. After cleaning up the whip cream and spilled chips Ryo-ohki settled back down to the couch and finished watching the rest of the newscast, careful to not eat or drink while she watched.
Thoughts wandering Ryo-ohki wondered when exactly had she figured out she was something more than just a pet? Was it Sasami's doing? Or was it the family? Either way, she would never be able to be less than what she was ever again. Even in her next incarnation, may the gods save her from having to experience that again, she would probably not be able to return to the simplicity of the cabbit.
Now that does present a problem now doesn't it? What if mom needs a ship? Ryo-ohki shook her head. It was a stupid question to ask. Grams solved that one when she noticed me ageing. Washu, in her ever-intelligent genius had easily split the two, separating the new emerging identity from the ship. And what of the ship? The ship was now the new family pet, and would remain that way. There was no evolving past its original O.S. it would permanently remain in that cute cabbit form. It was unsettling to Ryo-ohki, sometimes she felt a little weirded out by the fluffy bugger. After all, if it hadn't been for a couple of chance occurrence she would have remained the family pet.
Oh well, sa ce la vie. Besides it was cool having a pet that she could communicate with. Sorta like a really super-smart Lassie, only without all that saving a stupid boy named Timmy routine. As if sensing her 'sister's' call, the adorable cabbit popped into existence in the space above the girl's chest and flopped unceremoniously down. Laughing, Ryo-ohki smiled down at her pet. Nuzzling her soft fur Ryo-ohki kissed the now portly cabbit gently on the forehead. "You are getting to be quite the little porker aren't you Ohki-chan?"
It had been decided long ago that it was too confusing to try and have both ship and girl to have the exact same name, so while in the house, Ryo-ohki was Ryo-chan, and the cabbit was Ohki-chan. Saved on tons of grief, but still didn't help on who was to blame after late night refrigerator raids of all things carrot. The pudgy cabbit pouted and turned her head away from the gentle petting. "Aww, come here you cutie. You know we all love you, no matter how fat you get. We can't help it; you're the cutest thing in the universe. And we know that for a fact, since 'Grams' is always saying it, it must be true. And besides, don't look at it as getting fat, look at it as additional storage space while in ship mode." It was never easy placating the temperamental pet; she could be such a primadonna.
The cabbit refused to be cajoled, Ryo-ohki grimaced, and if there was one thing she had learned over the years, it was to never raise the ire of her pet. Her mother and grandmother had whole seasons of old TV shows memorized thanks to the vindictive heart of the adorable monstrosity sitting prettily on her chest. Then inspiration struck. Grabbing a carrot chip she used it to scoop up a piece of carrot cake and offered it in supplication to the terse cabbit.
The happy 'meyow' was all the warning Ryo-ohki got before her fingers were pounced and nearly swallowed whole by the ravenous cabbit. At least they still both agreed that carrots were the ambrosia of the gods. Once the crunching had settled down, Ryo-ohki turned the cabbit to face her. Looking her in the eyes, Ryo-ohki questioned, "Am I forgiven now?" The quick nod and happy smile reassured her that she was in fact forgiven for her teasing. But as everyone in the family knew, that did not release her from a possible retaliation.
Deciding that she didn't want the cabbit horning in on her little brunch buffet, Ryo-ohki rose from the couch and carried the cabbit with her to the kitchen. There she set the pet down on the countertop, a no-no when her mom and grams were around, but a common enough occurrence when neither one was present. Turning to the fridge Ryo-ohki removed the canister labeled Ohki-food and the jug labeled Ohki-juice. The little cabbit was supposed to be on a diet, but with three generations of females doting on her, the diet was nearly non-existent. Blindly completing her task, Ryo-ohki filled the cabbit's food and water bowls. Starting with the ones in the kitchen.
Setting down the canister and jug momentarily, Ryo-ohki scratched the cabbit under its chin, to which the darling pet purred. "Only for you would I go through this kind of trouble." Kissing the cabbit on the forehead again, Ryo-ohki grabbed the canister and jug once again and teleported around the house to filling all the food and water bowls throughout the house. First there was her mother's bedroom room, then grams' room, then the three sets of bowls in the lab, the bowls in mom's home office and the bowls in her own bedroom, the bowls in the onsen and last but not least the bowls in the garden. Returning back to the kitchen, Ryo-ohki smiled at the happily munching cabbit. Replacing the food and juice in the fridge, Ryo-ohki returned to her own food temporarily left forgotten in the living room.
Flopping back onto the couch Ryo-chan began to flip through the channels again. Finally tired of listening to unsubstantiated speculation, Ryo-ohki turned off the TV in preference for the stereo. Soothing music gentle and calming came pouring from the hidden surround sound system that 'Grams' had spent weeks analyzing for the perfect acoustic position. Reaching into one of 'Grams' sub-space portals Ryo-chan pulled out her study notes for her classes. Munching idly and reading peacefully, Ryo-chan never noticed the door opening.
Setsuna tiptoed as quietly as possible towards his prey. Usually she sensed him before he even made it in the door. Watching the girl he was learning he was desperately in love with read and munch away, he hoped she was too distracted to notice him. Creeping stealthily along the gleaming polished wood floors, Setsuna gradually approached his quarry. And just as he was about to pounce his completely clueless prey, a short brown streak came meyowing out from the kitchen to pounce him instead. Setsuna sighed from beneath the happily purring ball of fluff. There was just no winning; he would never be able to sneak up on his girlfriend. When she didn't notice him, her pet always did.
Ryo-chan looked up musily at the commotion. "Oh hi Setsuna."
"Hi Ryo-chan." He waved from his position on the floor as he petted the adoring creature sitting squarely on his chest. "Uh… Ryo-chan?" Ryo-ohki looked up from her notes, to stare at him blankly. "Uh… would it be too much to ask if you called Ohki-chan down?"
Ryo-ohki pretended to ponder it for a moment, then snapped her fingers and called for Ohki-chan to come to her. The cabbit simply ignored her, preferring instead to snuggle closer to Setsuna. Ryo-ohki called again to the cabbit, only to get a fierce glare as her response. Ryo-ohki was momentarily taken back by the stare. Uh oh, glitch in the O.S. I hope I don't end up with a real sister from this. "Get down off of Setsuna, you know perfectly well, he belongs to me and he's not going to leave me for you any day soon."
The cabbit paid no heed to the comment and continued snuggling Setsuna. Normally Ryo-ohki avoided searching Ohki-chan's mind, but such actions were not normal for a creature that only thought of itself within the parameters of the pet construct. With a sigh of relief Ryo-ohki ignored the cabbit's unusually fierce attachment to Setsuna. He must have been working in the vegetable garden with his mother again. He still smells of carrots. The cabbit's unusually possessive behavior was simply because she was currently registering Setsuna as a giant walking, talking carrot. Seeing where such a thought could easily cause a bit of a sticky situation, Ryo-ohki quickly summoned her own holo-laptop and rectified the sensorial relay glitch, before it required modification or an upgrade. She was just starting to really become comfortable with the whole "Spoiled Rotten, Only Kid" life she led.
The cabbit's intense adore quickly diminished to her usual demeanor turning sweetly back to her usually cheerful self. Seeing no further reason to remain on Setsuna's chest when there was food to be had in the kitchen the cabbit quickly left and hopped off quietly from whence it came. Rho-ohki had to laugh; some days there was just no explaining the little menace.
Setsuna lifted himself to his elbows and looked up at Ryo-ohki. She was beautiful when she smiled. Heck, she was beautiful when she frowned. Her dark skin made a stark contrast with her bright honey eyes, in addition to the thick blaze of brown surrounded by the luxuriously long, pale blue of her hair. Altogether it made an unusually exotic combination. And he was her boyfriend. Sometimes, even he had to pat himself on the back for his childhood foresight.
He could remember that first day, almost 11 years ago when they had met in primary school. She had been an adorable little girl that had seemed more creature than human. But she learned quickly and with her education had also come an increased humanoid form. The light fur that she had in those first few days of school gave way to skin the exact same shade. Ears that seemed more lapin than human slowly transitioned to give a more elfish appearance. And in an attempt to emulate her mother, the crystal that had once been on her forehead, migrated down to the base of her neck. By the end of that first school year together, they had become best friends and Ryo-ohki looked exactly like a childish version of her current self.
In those early days he had spent every possible waking moment in her presence, and not much had changed. She was soo much like her mom, Ryoko. The older his Ryo-chan got, the more her face resembled her mother's, and the more her body resembled her mother's. Ryo-chan's mother was considered the "Hottie" Mom on the block. Ryo-chan's b-day party invitations were secretly the male social event of the season. Every boy in school would wait with bated breath for the invitation to arrive in the mail. Those lucky enough to receive one would gloat for weeks afterwards. I mean after all, not many guys were allowed in the house of the famous Hakubi triad.
But not him, he was welcomed into the Hakubi house at all hours. The doors had a genetic lock; anyone that attempted to get in without prior permission would instantly set off the house's alarm system. And if they became hostile the defense system could initiate. Which no one in the neighborhood liked. Once a local bully had unintentionally set it off, and it had taken Washu (after she had disabled it and had a rather frank discussion with the boy's parents) the better part of an hour to recalibrate the system to only stun rather than kill.
His Ryo-chan had come a long way, and there before him lay the girl that he would someday marry. Somehow he had always known he would marry her. No matter what anyone else said. He had even proposed to her on her 11th birthday. Offering her a pretty golden friendship. That had been 6 years ago and with each day he felt as if he fell deeper and deeper in love with her. There was just something about her. In the way she talked, the way she moved, the way she smiled and the way she thought that just made him love her all the more.
In the beginning his parents had been vehemently against him forming any sort of relationship with a member of the Hakubi triad. But after a formal dinner and a discussion with both senior members of the Hakubi triad, the majority of his parents concerns had been resolved. They were still unsure about any child of Ryoko Hakubi, but once she was accepted as a professor with the Science Academy what few doubts that remained were easily cast aside in favor of their son's happiness.
Rising from his position on the floor to his knees Setsuna scuffled across the room to Ryo-chan's side. She smiled brightly at him the entire way. Once there he lifted his hand to gently caress her cheek. Smiling golden eyes fluttered as a soft purr rose from her throat. He would never tire of listening to her purr. It was a soft and soothing sound that reminded him of less of her feline features but more of her increasingly seductive charms.
After a few minutes of the gentle caress Setsuna lowered his hand and swallowed the growing lump in his throat. Physical intimacy between them consisted of gentle caresses and a few chaste kisses. He was nervous to either pressure her for too much or moving too fast. In his opinion, when the moment was right, she'd let him know.
Ryo-ohki looked down at Setsuna. She recognized the feelings she had for him as love. Had known she loved him from the first time she'd met him. She felt the same sort of longing within her mother's heart everyday. But in the beginning Ryo-ohki had been unsure of what type of love she felt for the strange, yet kind boy. He had helped her transition from Ryo-ohki the former pet/ship to the Ryo-ohki she was today. He had encouraged her to discover the world for herself. He had challenged her and he had motivated her.
In the end, she considered him one of her closest friends, second only to Sasami. And when he had given her that ring, the ring that was now too small to wear on her left ring finger, but still adorned her left pinkie, Ryo-ohki had felt as if the final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. She loved him. Like Mom loved Tenchi. There was something about the way Setsuna made her feel that was exactly like the way Mom felt around Tenchi. When Setsuna was around she felt more at peace. When he was close to her she felt giddy and nervous. When he touched her she felt warm and breathless. When she was with him, she felt whole somehow.
She loved him and someday she would marry him. Just like he had promised her they would. It all seemed too easy to her. Grams lost her first true love and had shut off that part of her heart. Meanwhile, Mom was too hung up on Tenchi to try and find someone new. Not that Ryo-ohki wanted Mom to be with anyone else but Tenchi. She like Tenchi, and had in a weird way, come to look at him as a sort of foster father. But it baffled Ryo-ohki how it was possible for her to find love so quickly and easily, and the two singularly most important people in her life to have such tragic love lives.
It almost seemed unfair. But then Ryo-ohki wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was happy with her life the way it was. She had Setsuna, and she had her family. And soon, if that whisper in the back of her mind was steering her in the right direction, she would have her whole family back. Ryo-ohki smiled wider, yes soon the madness would start all over again, but this time, she'd have Setsuna at her side to join in the laughter and the chaos. Yes, soon enough in deed the whole family would be back together and there might be more than just one or two surprises in store.
Placing her thoughts about the future aside, Ryo-ohki turned her attention to Setsuna and enjoying the rest of her free day from school. She knew she'd catch hell from her mom, but until that moment came, she was going to enjoy her lazy day, with the love of her life and the world's most adorable pet. After all, days like today were going to become a rarity indeed, she had best enjoy them while she still could.
Quick Post-Chapter Rant: I know this one is a short one. But I didn't really want to go too far in depth with Setsuna just yet. I promise the next chapter is going to be way longer, and it will probably throw quite a few of you off from reading my stories. But oh well, you can't make an omlet without breaking some eggs. As always tell me what you think, I really appreciate it.