Plans for the Enemy
Just before sunrise, Ryoko snuck back into the Masaki house to get her daily supply of food; which was usually enough to feed six people in one week. As she rummaged through the refrigerator throwing out the food that she hated to eat; which were conveniently Ayeka's favorite types of food; she heard a small footstep behind her. Poking her head above the white door, Ryoko found Ayeka standing to the side of her with a weird expression on her face. "We must fight for Lord Tenchi..." Ayeka whispered to her arch nemesis.
Taking a piece of bread out of the fridge, Ryoko grinned evilly with Ayeka just before she stuffed the entire piece of bread into her mouth.
For the next hour, the two tried to come up with plans to get rid of the new girlfriend that Tenchi was bringing over for dinner. "Can't we do what we always do?" Ryoko grumbled as she chewed on an apple; grossing Ayeka out whenever the space pirate talked with her mouth open with bits of apple in there still.
"You mean scare her with your table manners?" Ayeka said coyly as she thought long and hard of what to do with this Lily character. "We must find another way...Lord Tenchi is always so protective of them whenever we try to tell him the truth about how wrong they are for him..."
Tossing the apple out the window behind her, Ryoko grinned as she came up with an idea, "We could make Tenchi realize that we need him here to protect us..." she suggested. "After dinner we could have a little accident happen, and I could release that water demon downstairs in the hot springs."
Ayeka frowned, "Then Lord Tenchi will try to save the girl since she can't protect herself from demons! That won't work-"
"Not unless you accidentally lock the pitiful earth girl in a room where she can't get out to be saved by Tenchi... He'll be too occupied with the demon, while you and I get rid of the girl and dump her back in Tokyo where she belongs-without our Tenchi!" Ryoko beamed at her wonderful idea, it was the second best one she had come up with in the past week; which made her feel very pleased with herself.
"You forgot one tiny detail Ryoko," the Jurai Princess grumbled under her breath, "Lord Tenchi knows that you can control any demon now since you have all of your jewels..."
Kicking one of the table's legs, Ryoko muttered some swear words just as Washu groggily came into the kitchen area. "What are you two doing up so early?" Washu yawned loudly as she stretched her arms above her head, "In fact-what are you two doing sitting right next to one another and not trying to pull each other's hair out?"
Getting up from her chair and glaring at her mother, Ryoko continued to mutter more words as she headed upstairs to her room to get some sleep. Ayeka surprisingly followed her, and they both resumed whispering plans on how to win back Tenchi from that earth girl Lily.
Finally when everyone was awake, Tenchi made everyone come into the kitchen so he could tell them; them being mostly the alien girls; about the rules for when Lily comes over for dinner. "Now I want you all to act normal around her, that means no flying around-no demons-no using swords against her..." Tenchi glanced over at Ryoko to make sure she was hearing him say this; curtly nodding at him, Tenchi turned his attention back to the rest of the group of girls. "No crazy experiments-no guns-nothing out of the unordinary do you all understand? I hope you all will at least try to accept her into the house for some dinner with us, that is all I ask of you girls."
Once that was done, Sasami fixed breakfast while Ryoko and Ayeka sat next to one another whispering back and forth constantly. "No no-that won't work...the house isn't strong enough..." Ryoko said a little too loud as Tenchi sipped down some warm soup.
"Then let's hear if you have a better plan!" Ayeka shouted at Ryoko as her bottled anger was starting to show. A second later, Ayeka coughed an apology to the blue-haired demon realizing that she should have not yelled at Ryoko since they were working as a team that day.
What are they planning now? Tenchi thought sourly as he finished the rest of his soup. Probably another way of how to get rid of the new girl I'm bringing into the house, it's always the same thing. But they won't win this time, Lily isn't related to me, controlled by a powerful alien being, and she's not taking me away from everyone without letting me have my say in it. Lily is perfect for me...and I love her-Ryoko and Ayeka will not be able to ruin that between us no matter what. Picking up his soup bowl, Tenchi got up from the dinning table and went to the sink to wash his dirty dish; he could hear Ryoko laughing at one of Ayeka's plans that she thought was unacceptable to get the job done.
The rest of the day, Ayeka and Ryoko made and eliminated plans on how to execute the girl from Tenchi's heart and life as quickly as possible. Tenchi had left with his father three hours before dinner, they took the car so they could drive to Tokyo and pick up Lily for dinner. Ryo-oki and Sasami prepared the meals for the special occasion; well Ryo-oki just ate the leftovers that Sasami didn't use in the meals; while Washu and Mihoshi tried to hang decorations around the house to make it feel homier.
When the time had come for Tenchi to be arriving with his new girlfriend, all the girls scrambled around the house cleaning or booby-trapping everything. "We're here!" Tenchi called from outside loudly as he ran up the steps to the front door and reached for the doorknob.
Please let this girl be just as horrible for Tenchi like the others...Ryoko thought to herself as Tenchi came inside the house holding Lily's hand in his.
Everyone's first reaction to Lily was that she was an exact copy of Ryoko; even Ryoko could see a resemblance as she felt like she was staring right into a mirror. Lily had teal-colored hair, golden eyes, and a beautiful smile to make her deadly attractive. Her teal hair was up in a pony tail; it bobbed back and forth as she turned her head in all directions to see everyone and everything in the house.
The image of Tenchi holding Lily's hand made Ryoko think back to when Tenchi had done the same with her. He was of course, in love with someone else but Ryoko wouldn't hear of it and she decided to do something about it. One day after school, Ryoko appeared out of nowhere in Tokyo wearing a black dress with her hair in a ponytail waiting for Tenchi to come walk her way. She knew that she had taken Tenchi's breath away; he was shocked when he had realized that it was actually her in a dress in the middle of the crosswalk and not someone else. For once, Ryoko felt that Tenchi was focused on her-no one else was in the picture this time; just her and Tenchi. After karaoke and dinner, Tenchi and Ryoko walked down the dark streets next to one another. A few seconds later, Tenchi had reached out for her hand and he held it as they walked together. Ryoko had suddenly stopped and glanced down to her hand that was now in his. That was the only time Tenchi had even shown his true affections towards Ryoko; this does not seem much to an observer...but she had been waiting for Tenchi to accept her for a very long time.
Snapping back to reality, Ryoko stared down the newcomer as she tried to introduce herself to the space pirate. "Hi! I'm Lily-" her voice sounded like a soft bell ringing off in the distance; that was the only thing that Ryoko and her did not have in common. "Are you Ayeka or Ryoko that Tenchi has been telling me about so much?"
"I'm Ryoko," she snorted bitterly at her competition for Tenchi's affection, Try and take my Tenchi away from me, huh? That won't happen-I'll kill you before you can...
Ayeka moved to the right of Ryoko, "I'm Ayeka..." she shook Lily's hand lightly while thinking of ways to kick her out the front door. You won't be here for long...she though smugly to herself.
Sighing with relief was Tenchi in the background; At least they're getting along well... He took Lily's hand in his once she had met everyone in the house, "Enjoying yourself?" he whispered in her ear as he escorted her to the dinner table.
"Of course! I love meeting new people," Lily squeaked happily as she gave Tenchi a kiss on the cheek.
"Of course! I love meeting new people," mocked Ryoko as she leaned against the railing to the wooden stairs in the center of the room. She's not like me at all...she's a total pushover like Ayeka!
Walking over, Ayeka stood next to Ryoko with a glum expression, "Is it just me or does Lily resemble you and has my personality?" she asked quietly.
The Jurai Princess was right; Lily was a combination of Ayeka's personality and Ryoko's good looks. Is Tenchi in love with the both of us? Is that why he never chose between the two of us? Does he love us equally...? Ryoko did not like the way this was turning out; the cards she was dealt with were not in her favor this time around in the game.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tenchi kissing Lily's hand as he took a seat next to her; "I'll put an end to this now..." Ryoko swore as she went over to the dinner table and sat directly across from Lily.
"Is there something wrong Ryoko?" Tenchi asked when he noticed that she had slammed her glass down against the wooden table to pull his attention away from gawking over Lily.
How can he ask me that when he knows how I feel about him?! Why won't he give me a chance? Why...Shaking her head, Ryoko finished her drink in one quick swallow and poured herself another one.
"Everyone ready for dinner?" Sasami called from the kitchen as she came into the dinning area with plates of food in her arms; Ayeka helped her little sister with the rest of the dishes that need to be carried to the table.
"This looks great Sasami!" Mihoshi joyfully cried as she reached out to grab a yam in a bowl in front of her. "OW!" she cried out when she had figured out that she would have to use her chop sticks to grab it since it was too hot to touch.
Another painful memory flooded Ryoko's mind, back to when Tenchi was only a child and she was still imprisoned in that dreadful cave. Tenchi use to roast yams on a fire right in front of the cave, crying out loud when he would try to grab one off of his stick when he thought it was cooked enough. The earth boy use to always come by Ryoko's cave; it cheered her up most of the time when he did something childish; but he had stopped coming after a while. He was too old to believe in demons anymore when he started school, so he ceased hanging around the cave and spent more time reading books. As the years passed by, he completely forgot about Ryoko that was his best friend when he was so young. By mistake he had released Ryoko, it was only a mistake...that was what pained her the most whenever she thought about it. That was the only reason she had attacked Tenchi that night at the school the day she was resurrected; he had forgotten about her when she had thought about him everyday and sat patiently outside the cave waiting for him to come back and see her after school.
Lily helped herself to some food, I hope it's poisoned, Ryoko wished as she pushed her plate away from her. "So how did you meet Tenchi, Ryoko?" the earth girl asked when she was finished serving herself a bowlful of rice.
As Ryoko opened her mouth to reply, Tenchi shook his head at her to signal that Ryoko could only say the "normal" parts of it. "I met Tenchi when he was a baby," she said in a soft voice; almost matching Lily's smooth voice; "I've known him ever since then..."
"Wow!" gasped Lily with some excitement in her voice, "You must be much older than you look then!"
Ayeka bursted out laughing, "She-called-you-old!" she snickered at Ryoko; who was clenching her hands to contain her surging anger from that rude comment.
Lily turned her attention to Ayeka, "How did you meet Tenchi?" she took a bite of her yams and chewed on it contently as the princess thought of what to say.
"I met L-Tenchi a few years ago; he rescued my sister and me from an uncivilized thief-who we never should have even allowed in the house..." Ayeka's "uncivilized thief" was her impression of Ryoko when she had first met her. Like Ayeka always says to Tenchi, "Once a barbarian thief, always a Ryoko."
"And how did you meet Tenchi, huh?" Ryoko's teeth were grinding as she asked that dreadful question to her enemy.
Again, Lily was excited about being asked the same question she was asking them; she cleared her throat like she was preparing to make a long and boring speech which made Ryoko roll her eyes. "You're right Princess," the space pirate hissed in Ayeka's ear as she leaned back, "She is just like you...boring and annoying all at the same time..." She snickered to herself when Ayeka went red in the face and opened her mouth to argue but stopped because Lily began talking.
Lily's golden eyes shined brightly as she glanced into Tenchi's, "I met Tenchi exactly five months ago... We were taking the same art class and we were partnered together to do a group sketch of one another." Once more her eyes glanced back to Tenchi; like she couldn't be apart from him longer than two seconds; "After a few hours of sketching, we got to know one another and Tenchi asked me out to dinner for the next night."
"Oh how exciting that is for you..." Ryoko snapped in a pissed tone as she swallowed her drink in only a few gulps.
Lily lowered her chop sticks, "Did I say or do something that offended you Ryoko?" she asked in a puzzled voice.
DID YOU DO SOMETHING TO OFFEND ME?! I WON'T TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS BULLSHIT! Slamming her fist on the table; making the plates and the glasses move slightly and shake; Ryoko finally lost her temper and leaped up from her seat to stand above Lily. "What do you want with Tenchi?!" she demanded with her hand pointing at Lily, "Tell me what you are up to!" Ryoko was exceptionally good at smelling out rats, she could tell whenever someone was lying or had different intentions than what they were saying.
"RYOKO!!" Tenchi yelled loudly as he was about to get up from his seat to stop Ryoko from attacking his girlfriend.
"I know you're lying..." hissed Ryoko as her energy sword appeared in the hand she was pointing at Lily. "TELL ME THE TRUTH!"
With a loud scream, Lily bolted from her seat and tried to make it to the front door, "Tenchi help me!" Lily cried out more pleas as Ryoko appeared at the front door with her yellow energy sword pointing at Lily's chest.
Backing her up into the wall, Ryoko smirked at Lily, "I want the truth..." she edged her sword a few inches away from Lily's cream-colored throat, "TELL ME!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH RYOKO!" Tenchi ran over to Lily; she wrapped her arms around him and began sobbing on his shoulder from Ryoko's hurtful threats. Giving Ryoko a hateful look, he hugged Lily in his arms as she continued to cry on him.
Lowering her sword, Ryoko had never seen Tenchi give her such a hateful look before. Sure he has given her mean looks, but this one was the worst; like the look you would give your enemy. Something caught her immediate attention; as Lily clung to Tenchi, Ryoko spotted a scar that started at her wrist and ran up halfway up her arm. Where have I seen that scar before? I know I've seen it-Ryoko gasped suddenly and the color drained from her face.
"Tenchi don't get near her!" Ryoko cried out as she raised her sword again; ready to swing at Lily at the opportune moment. "She's lying to you Tenchi...she's not this Lily character that you think she is!" she was begging Tenchi to believe her.
The crying stopped, "Of course I'm Lily-who else would I-" Lily growled at Ryoko as she turned on the space pirate.
"Shut-up you bitch! I know it's you...tell Tenchi the truth Eriko!!" Ryoko's eyes were glowing red; this was the first time in centuries she was showing her true hated for someone. "Don't trust her Tenchi...GET AWAY FROM HER TENCHI!" she cried desperately when Tenchi just stood there holding Lily even tighter in his arms. "She's lying..." Ryoko watched as Tenchi gave her another hateful look. "Don't you believe me Tenchi?" the energy sword disappeared from her hands and she took a step away from the both of them.
"BELIEVE YOU RYOKO?!" Tenchi boomed at the space pirate, "You do this every time I fall in love with a nice girl! I'm sick of it Ryoko, it's always the same..." he let go of Lily so he could stand in front of Ryoko face to face. "I wish I never freed you from that stupid cave...you should have been left in there to rot for the rest of your afterlife. If I hadn't have freed you, I would have a perfectly normal life and none of you freaks would be in it!"
Tears formed in Ryoko's eyes, "I'm just protecting you Tenchi..." she whispered in a painful voice as her heart broke into tiny pieces.
"Well I can protect myself Ryoko...I've never need you to protect me," every word that Tenchi said stabbed into Ryoko's bruised and crumbling heart as he gave her another hateful look.
"Tenchi..." Ryoko was sobbing now; she didn't care if everyone saw her crying now, not even that liar Lily. "I-" she bit her trembling lip and faded away from the living room with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Lily hugged Tenchi tightly around the chest, "I want to go home Tenchi..." she whispered in his ear in a small voice.
"I'll take you home right now Lily...I'm sorry about all of this," he was still angry with Ryoko for trying to attack his love. She does this to me every single time a new girl enters my life that I love very dearly. I'm so sick of it...I hate her for that... Taking Lily's arm, he took her to the car and started to drive her home without saying a word to the other girls or his father and grandfather; who were all standing in the dinning area with their jaws dropped down.
While Tenchi drove Lily home, Ryoko sat outside the abandoned cave with a defeated look upon her brow. Tenchi is leaving me forever...I know it... Ryoko picked up a stone that was next to her feet and threw it as hard as she could across from where she was sitting. Why won't he believe me?! I only say that because I love him and I don't want him to get killed...That Eriko is bad news...Another tear fell as she lowered her head and thought more ill thoughts to herself, That look he gave me...Off in the distance Ryoko could hear Ayeka calling her name; lifting her head up she got up from her stony seat with a small sigh. "I'm sorry Tenchi..." Ryoko whispered as she disappeared from sight when Ayeka came into the clearing to find no one by the empty cave.
"Ryoko?" Ayeka called out when she swore she heard the space pirate's voice.