Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi Muyo

Ruby Red Eyes

She sighed as she gazed out at the bloody sunrise. It was the crack of dawn and she was the only person awake. This had become a habit for her and the lack of sleep had formed dark circles under her haunted ruby red eyes. Late nights and early mornings weighed heavily on her mind and body.

She shifted restlessly and stepped off the front porch, her bare feet becoming chilled from the cold earth. The wind went straight through her thin Jurian dress but she did not seem to notice. She just continued a steady and slow stride to the lake.

The entire household woke to the smell of Sasami's superb cooking wafting through the hallways. Happy chatter and morning greetings sliced through what had been the silence of morning as they filed into the dining room.

Sasami chirped her greeting as she served the food and Ryoko clung to Tenchi in what she believed was a seductive manor. Not one person noticed the absence of a pair of ruby red eyes.

She stared at her reflection in the glass-like water without recognition. The woman looking back at her could not be right. She was not so thin that you could see her bones trying to poke their way through her skin nor did she ever allow her waist length hair to remain carelessly down. Her eyes were not emotionless and haunted. It just could not be her.

The meal was finished and plans for the day were being discussed with high excitement. The family was going into the city for a day of fun, a day to make great memories.

Washu opened the portal and they stepped though one by one. Ryoko whispered suggestions huskily into Tenchi's ears. Still the absence of a pair of ruby red eyes went unnoticed.

She bowed her head in defeat; the reflection in the lake was she. She was the ghostly figure. She should not have been surprised. After all, having the ones called family stare right through her as if she were not there tended to wear away at her humanity. A ghost was all that was left. She was a ghost.

She shrugged her delicate shoulders and continued to stare at her reflection without a hint of emotion. Her once fiery ruby red eyes were dead.

Ryoko hugged Tenchi's arm tightly as the group wandered around the streets of Tokyo. He merely ignored her and chatted away with Sasami. A feeling nagged at him, like something was wrong, something to do with a pair of ruby red eyes.

She was a ghost, as invisible as air. She could not feel anything anymore; her mind was as blank as her eyes. Memories hovered at the edge of the darkness and, try as she might, she could not reach out and grab one. It did not matter though. She could not bring herself to care. Somehow, she did not want to know who she really was.

Her toes sank into the lake bottom mud as she waded out deeper and deeper into the icy waters. All she needed to do was go under and take a deep breath. She did not even bother to close her already lifeless ruby red eyes.

They returned to the house tired but with high spirits. The day had been perfect, as if it had come from some wonderful storybook. They retreated to the family room to watch a newly purchased movie before going to bed.

Tenchi stayed behind, staring out the window. The feeling of wrongness had not left him all day. He could not think and so he went out to the lake.

It felt good, the cold enveloping her entire body. It coincided with what she felt on the inside. She took a deep breath, the cold piercing her lungs, and everything went black.

He stared out at the water intently, catching brief glimpses of something floating in and out of his line of vision. He stepped into the lake until the water reached mid-calf and scanned the water once again. What he finally saw burned itself into his mind permanently. The purple haired Jurian princess drifted toward him like some life-size doll. Ayeka was dead.

He dove forward and dragged her to shore, her cold body cradled close to his. His eyes were opened wide with horror as he prayed desperately to any and every god for this not to be true. His callings went unanswered. She remained still and unmoving.

Voices began to buzz through the air around him, gasps of disbelief and horror. The women surrounded him, despertly trying to get his attention, trying to learn anything about what had happened to the princess.

He continued to stare down at the limp form in his arms, ignoring those around him. He could not see them anyway. All he could see were a pair of lifeless ruby red eyes.

AN: Okay, I was bored in school and really did not feel like paying much attention to what my teachers were rambling on about, thus this piece came about. Like it? Hate it? Please, do tell.