Tenchi Muyo - Moving On

-Chapter 4-

The Morning After

Ryoko sat up on her rafter, stretching and yawning. She scanned the living room below her and spotted Tenchi alone on the couch. She floated down, controlling the urge she had to just jump on his lap.

"Mornin', Tenchi." She said, and smiled as he turned toward her.

"Hi, Ryoko." He said, hints of tiredness in his voice. "How was your night?" He added after a while.

"It was fun. How about you? You don't sound very good." She raised an eyebrow. "Did you even sleep last night? Or were you worried about me or something?" She grinned.

"I slept fine." He lied. "I'm just a bit tired for some reason."

"Yeah, yeah." Ryoko waved her hand. "You keep telling yourself that."

"BREAKFAST IS READY!!" Sasami's voice rang throughout the house. Ryoko plopped herself down at the table, Tenchi close behind her. She resisted the urge to smile as Tenchi sat down next to her willingly. Ayeka was the next to appear, taking a seat on the other side of Tenchi. Mihoshi walked out of Washu's lab, followed by the obviously upset genius.

"Washu sure has the best arcade games I've ever seen!" She clapped her hands together excitedly.

"That was my newest experiment and you RUINED it!" Washu growled, glaring at the blonde. Sasami set the food on the table and everyone began to eat.

"So, Ryoko.." Ayeka began sweetly. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"I dunno." Ryoko shrugged. Ryoko giving up was the best thing that could've happened to the Princess, she believed she had won. With Ryoko gone, she'd have Tenchi all to herself, and that's the way it should have been all along. Or so she thought, anyway.

"This is delicious, Sasami." Tenchi said, not looking up from his plate.

"Thank you!" The girl smiled happily, blushing slightly. Ryoko excused herself from the table in her usual manner.

"I'm done. Thanks Sasami." And with that, she was gone. Tenchi looked at her spot out of the corner of his eye and sighed.

"Something wrong, Tenchi-sama?" Ayeka questioned, pretending she notice Tenchi's obvious like he had for the pirate.

"No..nothing." He assured, continuing to eat in silence.

-----

Ryoko walked through the shrine door.

"Knock knock." She said aloud to get Katsuhito's attention. The old man turned to face her.

"What do you need?" He asked, a bit surprised at her sudden visit.

"Can I use your phone?" She asked sweetly.

"You're not going to attempt to trick Mihoshi into leaving again, are you?" He laughed, remembering the trick. Ryoko waited for him to stop laughing, but when he did, he started to cough. After the coughing fit was over, he turned back to Ryoko. "Don't ever smoke."

"You smoke!?" Her eyes widened. She smirked at the thought of the old man with a cigarette in his hand.

"No." He replied. "I was just giving you some useful information. Anyway, use the phone, just don't make calls to America or something."

Ryoko nodded in appreciation and picked up the phone, reaching into her pocket at the same time, pulling out Kaine's number. She dialed it and waited for him to answer. After the fifth ring, she heard a farmiliar voice.

"'ello?"

"Hey. Kaine?" Ryoko glanced at Katushito out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah, who's this?" He asked.

"Ryoko. Hey, listen..what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothin'. Why, you wanna come over?"

"Sure. I don't have anything goin' on." She repiled.

"Why don't you come over now? I'll drop you off at your place later, how about it?"

"We'll see." She said. "I'll be right over." She hung up the phone and turned to Tenchi's grandfather. "Thanks." She said, disappearing.

"Now, why didn't she just use the house phone?" Katsuhito wondered, shaking his head, deciding that he'll never understand women.

----

Ryoko reappeared in the house. She changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and some sneakers and ran out the door. Right as she was about to teleport away, she noticed Tenchi standing by the lake. She floated over to him and planted her feet on the ground, standing right beside him.

"Something wrong?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, looking in his face.

"Nah." He answered. "Just enjoying the view before I get to work."

"Oh. Well you have a good time." She hit him on the back and backed up.

"You going out again? To Tokyo?" He turned around to face her.

"Yep. I'll be home before you know it, though. So don't go missing me too much." She winked. He smiled.

"Have fun..but not too much fun." He said, playfully. She grinned.

"Don't you worry, Tenchi." She waved once and was gone. Tenchi sighed and shook his head.

"I hate this." He kicked at the ground with his right foot.

-----

Ryoko sat at the fountain, running her hand through the water and watching the ripples. She'd been there almost a half hour waiting for Kaine. She guessed that since she told him she lived far away, he decided to show up a little later. She didn't care, though, she was taking in the scene around her...just being out of the house was nice. She had to admit, she was doing good without her constant fights with the princess. She did miss them, though. And she missed Tenchi. She pushed aside the fact that he seemed disappointed when she went out, or that he seemed more quiet now. She wasn't sure what to make of it, she never could figure that boy out.

"I guess I'll have to wait to find out what's on his mind." She said to herself.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" A voice beside her interuppted her. She turned to see Kaine and smiled.

"Don't just sneak up on me like that!" She shoved him playfully, knocking him off the fountain. She laughed as he landed on his knees.

"Damn, woman." He shook his head, standing up and reaching his hand out to help her stand. She took his hand and was on her feet, walking beside him a moment later.

"Soooo." She started, looking at him. "I get to see where you live now, huh?"

"I guess so." He reliped. "And in return, I get to see where YOU live."

"Hmmm." Ryoko put her index finger up to her chin as if lost in thought. "Imma have to think about that one."

"No. You won't. I made up your mind for you." He smiled, looking at her.

"Grrr." Ryoko's eyes narrowed. If it was one thing she didn't like, it was people thinking they could control any situation. She sighed, supposing (hoping, actually) that it wouldn't kill anyone to let him visit the house. "Whatever." She said finally.

"That's better." He grinned as she rolled her eyes.

-----

A pair of eyes watched the two as they walked down the street. A trenchcoat and black hat hid the identity of the person, but the broad shoulders made it quite clear that it was a man. He walked, unnoticed by the two he was following. The sight of them holding hands made him sick to his stomach and he tried to ignore it as he continued on. They finally turned into an apartment complex and disappeared through the front doors.

"Damnit." The man sighed, slamming a fist against the complex they had disappeared into. He removed his hat, wiping at his forehead before replacing the hat in it's original position on his head. He walked around, to the side of the building, it was a tight squeeze, but he could make out a row of windows. He peered in the first one and laughed as he saw a rather large man dancing to a work-out tape. The next window was closed, he sighed, hoping it wasn't the room Ryoko was in. The next window made a stream of blood squirt from his nose. He fell forward onto the wall, covering his nose and looking away from the couple in the room, walking sideways to the next window.

After he got his nose under control, he peered into the next window, the room was empty. The next window was the last window on the first floor. If they weren't in this room, he'd be screwed. "Don't tell me I followed them all for NOTHING." He crossed his fingers, peering into the window. He saw Kaine walk through the front door, followed by Ryoko. He realized for the first time that they were all alone in his apartment..and he didn't like it one bit. He shook angrily from his jealousy, trying not to jump through the window and steal Ryoko.

"Damnit, Tenchi! Why did you have to lose something so great?" He smacked himself in the head. He continued watching through the window, hoping that Ryoko wouldn't do anything with the other man. He could've slapped himself for thinking such a thing. He knew Ryoko wasn't like that, but he also knew that she threw herself at him..and he didn't like the thought of her liking and throwing herself at someone else. "You had your chance, and you lost it. You idiot!" He almost slammed his fist into the wall, but realized he'd be caught if he did. He sighed, defeatedly and continued watching the two.

-----

"Hungry?" Kaine asked, sitting on the couch.

"Nah, I just ate." Ryoko said, plopping down beside him. He placed his hand on her leg.

"I'm sure hungry." He winked. Ryoko rolled her eyes.

"You would be." She laughed, standing up. She walked around the room, looking at the pictures and the decorations all around the room. Every now and then she would ask who a certain person in the picture was and he'd answer her, never leaving the couch. After she finished her inspection, she sat back down on the couch. There was one picture on the side of the couch that she hadn't noticed. Kaine sat up, blocking the picture.

"So..uhh.." He began.

"Outta the way." She pushed him back and reached over him, picking up the picture frame. "Who's this?" She asked, looking at the picture. It was a picture of Kaine, his arms wrapped around a pretty female, both were smiling widely and looked very happy.

"It's my sister." He said, taking the picture out of her hands and placing it back on the table. Ryoko raised an eyebrow.

"Did something happen to her? You don't seem too thrilled to be talking about her."

"No, nothing." He said. "So anyway, changing the subject."

"Yeah?" She looked at him.

"That was your que to change the subject." He said.

"Oh, shut up." She sat back against the couch, noticing his hand found its way to her leg again. "Do you live here by yourself?" She asked.

"Yeah. My sister comes by every now and then." He shrugged.

"That's cool. Don't you get lonely sometimes?" She scanned the room again, this time not moving from the couch.

"Nah, I like being alone." He answered.

"Oh." She yawned.

"Am I boring you?" He asked, in a hurtful tone. She laughed at the cute expression on his face.

"Of course not." She smiled.

"Damn. I was hoping for a chance to make things a bit more interesting." He grinned.

"I sure hope you don't think I'm easy." She shook her head.

"Of course not. I'm just irresistable." He winked. She shook her head.

"Unbelievable." She laughed. "You are so unbelievable."

-----

Ayeka walked into the kitchen, a bit out of breath.

"Sasami, dear..have you seen Tenchi-sama anywhere?" She asked the young girl.

"No, Ayeka..he's been gone all day. If I see him, I'll tell him you're looking for him." Sasami said and then continued chopping up vegetables.

"This is so strange." Ayeka sighed and sat down on the couch and slumped over. "I was supposed to have him all to myself today." She said sadly.

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-End Chapter 4-

A.N. Thanks for the reviews, I found a way to update until I get my computer fixed.

Kaine meets the family next chapter. Can they act normal or will it be a disaster? Find out next chapter. Ja ne!