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Stained With Color Red - Chapter 4

(Warning: Lime content in chapter.)

Ryoko awakens to warm sunlight on her face and with a contented sigh, snuggles further into Tenchi's arms. Idly she slides her fingers through the thick hair draped across his smooth chest, finding comfort and arousal in his ebony mane.

Draping her leg across his slim frame, she slowly straddles him, nuzzling her face into his neck. As she grinds herself against him, she nips him lightly with her fangs. He awakens with a moan and another passionate session ensues. This time when he enters her mind, the crystal statue is completely alive and he can't stop his astral self from taking her there on the smooth "floor" in her mind. Exhausted from his dual lovemaking, Tenchi collapses shortly after his climax. Ryoko purrs against him, basking in the warm after-glow and an inexplicable mental and emotional clarity.

'I could stay here forever', she affirms to herself as Tenchi lapses into a light snore beneath her.

As sleep begins overtaking her again, she suddenly realizes the significance of the sunlight; it's morning! Quickly she scrambles out of Tenchi's arms, her frantic flight jolting him awake. He watches her a few moments as she rummages around the room, throwing on her dress and gathering the collar and chain before searching the carpet for her toe rings.

"What're you doin'", he yawns.

"I-I have to go," she replies hastily. "Kagato will punish me if I'm late."

"Late?" He glances at his watch. "But it's only 9:30," he mumbles sleepily as he sits up and stretches.

Frozen in mid-grope of a ring, she slowly looks up to him.

"Wh-what time did you say," she forces.

The fear in her face alarms him.

"Ryoko, are you alright," he probes, advancing toward her.

"What time is it!" she shrieks; her face and voice lost in abject terror.

Startled by her outburst and appearance, he doesn't reply immediately. Dropping her things, she lunges for the watch on his wrist. The bright green display screams at her.

"9:30," she whispers, her lip quivering.

As she backs away from Tenchi, tears begin streaking her face as she involuntarily remembers Kagato's punishment the only time she was late coming home.

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"Didn't I tell you never to be here later than 7:30am," he'd questioned coolly. The fact that it was only 7:32 didn't matter to him. Neither did the fact that Washu stopping her needlessly in the foyer had caused her tardiness getting to him waiting in her room. Her explanation fell on deaf ears. Because she had never been late, she thought he'd be lenient. That expectation was sadly short-lived. The beating that followed took almost a week of regeneration for her to heal completely.

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That was more that 50 years ago, but it's as fresh in her mind as if it had occurred yesterday.

Eyes wide with fright, her head whips toward the balcony and a decision is made. Moving too quickly for Tenchi to react, she launches herself over the railing.

"No!" Tenchi screams futilely as her body careens through the air.

Foolishly, he runs down to where she lay, hoping against hope that she'd somehow be okay. It didn't matter that she'd fallen 14 stories; he couldn't believe she was dead. But there she was, lying in a growing pool of blood with a strangely contented smile on her face.

"Ryoko", he whispers, kneeling beside her, oblivious to the crowd forming around them and the blood soaking into the knees of his hastily donned sweat pants.

"Why, Ryoko? Why?" he implores, knowing she can't answer him.

One of the people in the crowd is Tenchi's boss. Not being one to wait for second hand information, he pushes his way to the front if the throng. What greets him is the body of a beautiful young woman and the familiar black mane of the last person he'd ever expect to see kneeling at her side.

"Tenchi!" he calls with surprise.

"You know this guy", an officer recently arrived on the scene inquires.

"He works for me. Tenchi? Tenchi, what's going on", he questions pulling him out of the pool of blood and leaning him on a wall nearby. The officer begins questioning him also, expecting Tenchi to have some explination for his presence and the girl's body, but he just stares in shock.

"She just….just jumped," is all he manages after several rounds of questions.

Realizing that he isn't going to get anything out of Tenchi right now the officer releases him into the custody of his boss. Several days later, the authorities have searched his hotel room and questioned Tenchi extensively about what happened that night. Finding no evidence of foul play, they are eventually forced to accept his version of events. On his side was the fact that Ryoko wasn't the first in her profession to commit suicide on Rotaria; or even in that city. Not that such knowledge helped Tenchi much. While he'd certainly seen a dead body before - at funerals or after accidents- he'd never witnessed a suicide; not even a ritual one. It shakes him.

Even two weeks after she dove from his railing, he still isn't able to accomplish much.

Staring at the ceiling and remembering their incredible night together, he can't believe that she's out of his life so soon.

"Like we could have had any kind of future", he mumbles to himself. "She was a hooker, remember! Not some girl you met at the noodle shop."

Admonishing himself doesn't help any. He can still see her face when he closes his eyes; still feel the tingle of her aura and her mind opening up to his.

'If only….' he muses. 'The connection to her was strong. Real. If only we'd had more time.'

He rolls over on his side with a sigh, catching the time on the clock; 4:30am. He might as well get up, there'll be no sleeping tonight. Throwing off the covers, he begins flipping channels until he finds something mindless to watch.

He hasn't been able to sleep since…..

His boss forced him to take a few weeks off saying he 'could make up the time later'. But Tenchi didn't want to make up the time later. He wanted to do what he had to so that he could leave this gods-forsaken rock behind forever.

'I've been with other women,' he reflects with a sigh, 'and some of them even allowed me to enter their minds. But I never "felt" any of them ever like I "felt" Ryoko. Being with her was just so…..'

"Aaaahhh! I've got to get out of this room!" he grumbles.

Quickly, he hops out of bed, throwing on jeans and a t-shirt.

As he's heading for the door to put on his shoes and get some air, something pokes into his foot painfully.

"Shit!" he exclaims. "What the hell is that?"

Down on his knees, he searches the thick carpet, finding a tiny silver toe-ring.

"She-she must have dropped it when……" he whispers sadly.

Cradling the ring in his hands, he sobs uncontrollably.