Tenchi Muyo - Moving On

-Chapter 2-

2 Months Earlier

There was a loud explosion from the living room of the Masaki house, followed by smoke...and lots of it. A young teen ran from the kitchen, a spatula in hand and a cabbit on her head. She wore a bewildered look on her face as she stood in the doorway, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it did, she crossed her arms and frowned at the sight of the fallen Demoness and Princess.

"When will you two ever learn?" The young girl sighed, shaking her head. "You don't have to fight over everything."

"She started it." Ryoko sat up, wiping her mouth with the back of her right hand and then used that hand to point to the Princess, who lay a few feet away, also beginning to sit up.

"Foolishness!" Ayeka glared at Ryoko shortly before putting on an innocent smile and looking at her sister. "Sasami, you know Ryoko is always the cause of these battles."

"It was both of you." Sasami said, turning back toward the kitchen..peering over her shoulder quickly to add, "And it better not happen again, or Washu will have your heads!"

The two women sat watching the little princess retreat back to the kitchen and let out a defeated sigh.

"You know," a voice from behind startled them. "It's kind of sad and a bit pathetic when a little girl has to discipline her older sisters." The two girls spun around, already knowing who was standing there, having recognized the voice. "I hardly doubt Tenchi would appreciate you girls fighting over him like that. Maybe you should just calm down, there's no need for violence. Especially in the house."

"Whatever you say, old man." Ryoko replied cooly, phasing out and leaving Ayeka and Katsuhito without a word more.

-----

Ryoko lay on the roof, staring up at the sky and letting the hot sun beat down on her face. She watched as the clouds drifted by, she had even tried to make shapes out of them at one point. This was about the time in the evening when a light whistle could be heard as a blonde Galaxy Police officer spiraled toward the lake to crash land her spaceship. You'd think she'd learn to land after a while, but she never did. And everyday, after crashing her ship, Washu would take a few minutes to repair it. Child's play for the genius.

Deciding she wasn't in the mood to put up with Mihoshi's clumsiness today, Ryoko disappeared from the rooftop. She reappeared in a place she had only been to a few times on shopping trips or just to get away. Tokyo. The streets were busy during this time of the day, surprising since it was almost dinnertime. She walked slowly down the street, looking in shop windows, observing the people walking by, relaxing. Although her mood was calm, her brain was bursting with thoughts. Mostly things Tenchi's grandfather had said to them. Maybe he was right, Tenchi didn't seem to like when they fought over him. But if he just chose for himself, there would be no fighting!

Ryoko sighed, looking down at the sidewalk for a moment, watching her own feet as she walked. She looked up just in time to see that she was about to crash into someone else who, like her, wasn't paying attention. Not able to use her powers in public, she was unable to avoid the collision. Their heads make a cracking sound as they made contact. The boy fell, and Ryoko held her head in her hands, a bit dizzy.

"Ouch.." She muttered, eyes clenched shut. She opened them and let go of her head, looking down on the sidewalk at the boy she had crashed into. He scrambled to his feet, bowing apologetically.

"Sorry 'bout that, I wasn't watching where I was going." He looked up and inhaled sharply as he saw the beauty he had collided with. He whistled softly, admiring Ryoko's eyes and body. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? A coffee sometime? Lunch? Sex?"

"Pfft." Ryoko rolled her eyes. "It was my fault, too. You don't have to do anything for me." She shook her head and started walking away.

"No, I insist!" He ran after her, slowing to a walk as he reached her and walked along with her. "I'd really like to get to know you better." He smiled, a smile that could melt anyone's heart. Ryoko did admit to herself that this was one good looking guy and decided it couldn't hurt to get a free lunch from some cute stranger. She stopped walking and spun to face him, holding her hands behind her back and smiling brightly, her own smile that could melt anyone's heart.

"Sure! Since you insist."

"Great!" He clapped his hands together and grinned goofily. "How about tomorrow at 8 for a movie?"

"Sounds like a plan." She nodded. "I'll meet you around here?"

"I could pick you up." He offered. "I have a car."

"I live too far away." Ryoko shook her head. "So, we'll stick to meeting here. Ok?"

"Fine with me. I guess I'll see you later then." He turned to go, but stopped and turned to face her once again. "What's your name, sexy?"

"Ryoko." She answered plainly.

"That's a nice name. I'm Kaine." He said, grinning once again. "Anyway, I have to get goin' now. See ya!" And with that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving a puzzled Ryoko staring after him.

-----

Ryoko appeared in the living room of the house, walking to the table and sitting down. Everyone was gathered around, and looking at her. She looked around the group quickly before raising an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked them.

"We've been waiting for you. That's what!" Ayeka spat at the pirate.

"I didn't ask you to wait, did I, princess?" Ryoko narrowed her eyes at her, creating a slight electrical spark between the two.

"Let's just eat now." Tenchi suggested. Both girls gave up and dug into their food hungrily.

After they ate, Sasami and Ayeka went to the kitchen to clean up. Mihoshi had arrived while Ryoko was away and was now planted in front of the TV watching some strange cartoon. Ryoko floated up to her rafter, getting comfortable on the lone pillow that was there. She grabbed a bottle of sake and poured herself a bit, drinking it slowly. She wasn't really in the mood to drink tonight. In fact, she was tired. All she wanted to do was get some rest, she had a big date the next day, after all. She sighed. She'd need to tell Tenchi. Although they weren't dating, she felt like she was cheating on him. And since he wasn't making a decision anytime soon, she'd need to tell him what was up.

'I'll tell him tonight.' She thought silently. 'Let him know exactly how I feel.'

The night passed slowly, but eventually everyone had left for bed. Ryoko had been resting her eyes all night, everyone had just assumed that she was asleep. She phased through her rafter, down to the floor just to float up again and head up the stairs. If only lazy people could just float up stairs like she did, that would make them all hella happy. She reached Tenchi's door and waited outside, running what she would be saying over and over again in her mind. Very hesitantly, she walked through his door...literally.

He lay on his bed, reading a book. Ryoko figured he should have been looking at porn like any normal teen, but then again, Tenchi wasn't exactly normal.

"Knock knock." Ryoko said, loud enough for him to hear. He jumped a little, dropping his book on his bed and looking up at her with a kind of fear in his eyes. She sighed, wondering if he was actually afraid of her. "Don't worry...I just want to talk."

"About what?" He asked, confused. "Are you ok, Ryoko?" That was her Tenchi, always thinking about his girls and their safety.

"I'm fine." She bit her lip. "No. Actually, I'm not fine, Tenchi." She hesitated and continued, looking at the floor, afraid she'd be unable to contain her emotions if she looked at him. "I'm hurting, real bad. I just can't go on anymore waiting for you. I think I've been fair and waited a decent amount of time for you to decide. Maybe if it's that difficult for you, you don't love any of us. I just don't know. I'm so lonely, I need someone to be there for me..to care for me." Tenchi remained silent throughout this, and she didn't look up once. "I've...made a date with someone. I guess what I'm trying to say..is that if you can't choose, I'll choose for you. If it's because you're afraid of hurting one of us, I'll have you know that waiting in suspense like we have been only hurts more. Which is why I give up. Tenchi, I love you. But you just have to know when to let go. And I know now that I have to move on." Her voice started to waver with her last sentence. She swallowed back the tears and nodded her head slowly, looking up at him.

"Ryoko..." He had an indescribable look on his face. A sort of mixture of sadness, guilt, pity and regret.

"I'm sorry, Tenchi. I should be able to hang on. That's what people in love are supposed to do. But I just can't anymore. It's too damn hard!" She closed her eyes tightly. "There will be no more fighting with Ayeka over you. I know you're happy about that. I...I'll see you in the morning..." And with that, she disappeared...leaving Tenchi to think about what had just happened.

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-End Chapter 2-

A.N. Another short chapter, I'm doing good! Yeah, well...I know where this is headed, I hope. I have a few unfinished stories, and I'm hoping this doesn't become another one of them. xD

Read and Review! Motivate me, people!