I don't own Tenchi Muyo or any related characters ect ect. Plot IS mine though! No takies!

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It felt like Tenchi had just fallen asleep when he was being woken up again. He turned his head to one side, waving a hand at the offending voice as if he could brush it away.

His sleep had been suffering again. Since Washu's suggestion of looking into the Juraian situation he'd spent countless hours pouring over records. He couldn't help but feel like he now knew the current events of Jurai even better then he did of the ones back on Earth. He could rattle off about their economy, their politics, and the going-ons of all four royal houses starting from when the King, Kibishii, had first begun to be mentioned. The King had been the one that Washu had suggested they looked into first.

"Obviously Ayeka would never act against Sasami," Washu had voiced during their first information session, looking up from her computer. Next to her Mihoshi had been shuffling through old articles on a holo-screen, her head resting in her hand and her eyes starting to look dazed.

"Lord Kibishii is the new player on the field of Juraian politics. Plus he is from the Royal House of Amaki, which has had a rivalry with the House of Misaki for years…Mihoshi!"

Poor Mihoshi jolted up off her hand and put a hand to her forehead in salute, obviously confused. She blinked, and regaining her surrounding had lowered her hand to rub at an eye instead. "Oh…yes Washu?"

"I want you to start searching for mentions of 'Kibishii Amaki Jurai', or 'Kibishii Amaki'. Got it?" Mihoshi had nodded and returned to her holo-screen.

This had been the start of a search that Tenchi had thrown himself into wholeheartedly. Much to his pleasure, it had also started coming back with results. There were four royal houses on planet Jurai. House Masaki, House Kamiki, House Tatsuki and House Amaki. When Ayeka and Sasami had refused to return to Jurai, in their place Kibishii Amaki- a nobleman's son and distant cousin of the former crown princesses- had been placed on the throne as King.

There was a fierce rivalry between the Masaki and Amaki houses, so it came as a great surprise when Kibishii had called for the return of the former crown princesses to planet Jurai and to be wed to him as Queens of Jurai. Since then, it seemed the planet of Jurai had flourished. Rivalry between the houses had diminished and what little military involvement they were involved in had ended. Even their economy had rocketed, though where the new money in the Jurian coffers had come from Tenchi had yet to find.

Now, what felt like just minutes from when he'd closed his eyes to pages and pages worth of politics he was being woken up again. Opening his tired eyes to a squint he saw Kiyone's blurred face above him.

"Kiyone, what's the matter?" he managed thickly.

"We're about 30 minutes from Jurai, Tenchi. There's something you need to see. Get up."

He bolted up in bed, barely missing bumping heads with Kiyone, and threw back the blankets. He was suddenly wide awake and already filling with dread. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter," Kiyone replied, though there was something in her tone that wasn't 100. "Just get up, you'll see."

Tenchi was quickly on his feet, and followed her out of his room and at a brisk pace through the hallways towards the control room. At the door Kiyone placed her hand against the sensor pad for the briefest moment and the second the door opened went through. Tenchi followed at her heels, only to stop just inside the door.

The ship's view screen was up, and on it was what looked like a small ship. It was headed towards a worn looking space station that was orbiting lazily around the closest moon to them. Mihoshi and Washu were also in the room, watching the ship with mixed expressions.

"Washu, what is that?" Tenchi asked aloud.

"It's a Juraian shuttle craft Tenchi," was her reply. Washu had her emerald eyes fixed unblinkingly on the screen, a fist brought to rest against her lips.

"From the look of it, of the Royal family," Kiyoshi added. "See here?" She pointed to what looked like just a small mark on the side of the ship. "If we were a bit closer you would see that is the Royal family's symbol. I can tell because those bits sticking out at the bottom are the roots of the Life Tree on their crest."

There was a moment of silence where all assembled gazed at the ship.

"But…why is it out here?" Mihoshi finally voiced from her spot in the captain's chair.

"I don't know…" Washu replied. "If it was sent to meet us it would have signaled us already, but it looks like it isn't even heading towards us."

"But what would Juraian royalty have to do near or on an abandoned space station?" Kiyone asked.

Just then, one of the many screens in front of Mihoshi started to flash and beep. She jumped at it and started to type at the keyboard, reading the information that was blinking before her. "Kiyone, the shuttle is sending a distress signal! It's specifically on our frequency!"

"Play it."

"Hailing the Yagami! Hailing the Yagami!" The voice was distorted, and there was lots of static, and both Tenchi and Kiyone moved closer to the speaker and tilted an ear to listen. There was something oddly familiar about the voice. "Yagami are you there?"

Mihoshi pressed a large green button by the screen and a microphone slid out from the dashboard. Leaning towards it Mihoshi replied, "Read you shuttle, I am Kuramitsu Mihoshi of the Galaxy Police. How may we assist you?"

"Mihoshi? It's Ryoko!" the voice crackled across the speakers. Four sets of eyes widened. Tenchi and Kiyone exchanged a look of bewilderment, before Kiyone bent down to carefully pry the microphone out of shocked Mihoshi's grip.

"Ryoko? It's Kiyone," she started. "Not to be rude, but how the hell did you get out of prison?"

"I…I was going between cells and my guards were discussing a galaxy police ship in the vicinity. When the name "Yagami" came up, I knew it must have been you. I managed to get away from them and hijack this shuttle, but it was in the middle of repairs and I don't have much fuel left…"

"That space station should work Ryoko," Mihoshi said, getting up onto her knees in the seat so that she could shove her face in the way of Kiyone's to speak. "It's unmanned but still functioning okay! We can pick you up!"

"We'll send someone down for you," Kiyone added as she irritably pushed Mihoshi out of the way to regain the mic. "Then we can wait for anyone who is following you to arrive and handle it from there."

"Okay…" came Ryoko's hazy reply. She sounded distressed.

"Don't worry Ryoko, we'll work this out." Kiyone was suddenly struck with an idea, and smiled slightly at her own genius. "We'll send Tenchi down to get you. Just wait in the main sector when you land. Over and out!" Kiyone disconnected, quite pleased. Tenchi's spirit would certainly lift to see her, and that's exactly what he needed.

Tenchi himself was delighted. He turned to Washu to say something but the words caught in his throat. Where he had expected Washu to look equally as pleased with Ryoko's escape, she instead appeared pensive.

"Washu?"

She didn't look at first, as if she hadn't heard him. Then slowly she turned and fixed him with a gaze that was anything but happy. "I don't think you should go Tenchi," she said with utmost seriousness.

"What?" Kiyone cried, coming to stand by them. "Washu, what are you saying? We can't just leave her there on that space sta-"

"But it doesn't make sense!" Washu burst out, pointing a finger at Kiyone. "It isn't adding up, and I'm very surprised that you haven't found this whole situation at least slightly suspicious."

"What do you mean?" Mihoshi asked, now kneeling to look over the back of the captain's chair at them.

"Ryoko, charged with the murder of the Second Queen of Jurai, manages to escape. To get from Jurai to here should have taken her at least an hour. But there's no sign of a fight and no pursuit. Why would the Juraian military let her get away so easily?"

"Are you suggesting that Ryoko is somehow involved in foul play?" Kiyone seemed appalled that it was even suggested. "Washu, I know Ryoko's track record isn't the cleanest, but still. She's always been there when we've needed her."

"I've known Ryoko longer then any of you though!" Washu shot back. This was the most upset Tenchi'd ever seen her. "We stole the Jurai Light Stone together. You don't just do that with any person off the street. I'd like to think I know Ryoko, and this whole thing doesn't feel right and I don't think you should go Tenchi!" She punctuated the speech by crossing her arms with something that looked almost like a pout pulling at her face. Washu looked nothing short of disgruntled, and Kiyone looked fairly upset herself.

Tenchi looked between Washu and Kiyone, unsure. Washu did bring up fair points, but still…he knew Ryoko had always intended the best for him, for all of them. Why would she change now?

"I'm sorry Washu," he said finally. "But I just can't leave Ryoko on that space station. She has been through enough without having her friends refuse to help her." Washu opened her mouth, but Tenchi cut her off. "If it bothers you that badly, I'll bring someone down with me. Okay?" He smiled, trying to inject some of his confidence in Ryoko to her. But Washu didn't say anything, just scowled and looked away resigned.

"I'll go! I'll get a shuttle ready Tenchi!" Mihoshi offered, climbing out of the seat and running to the door. "It'll be ready in a few minutes!"

Tenchi realized as Mihoshi left that he was still in his pajamas. He quickly excused himself from Washu and Kiyone. He was almost sure that if he hadn't had an excuse to leave he would have thought one up quickly. Both women were looking very upset, and he was almost certain that they would start up a full fledged argument any minute.

While he understood Washu's concern, he didn't agree with leaving Ryoko where she was. Surely she couldn't explain everything to them, and once they'd gotten her back onto the Yagami everything would be sorted out. Plus if she was on the run, of course she wouldn't have revealed much

To be able to take the next step without worry for her was probably be most satisfying yet. Since the start of their trek towards Jurai the worst part had been never really knowing what was happening. He knew on several occasions he'd wondered to himself if Ryoko was alright. 'Were they treating her right?', 'Was she safe?' and at his bleakest moments even 'Is she still alive?'. Ayeka too, he had worried about. If there was something wrong happening on Jurai, how was he to know she was safe from it as well?

He'd reached the door to his room and entered. Quickly he started to dress, haphazardly replacing his pj's with jeans and a tee-shirt, and running his fingers through his hair before tying it back. Walking to the tiny adjacent bathroom he swished some water and took a look at his tired face in the mirror.

He was excited to see Ryoko, he realized as he left his room and started towards the shuttle bay. But he also realized that for the first time in his life she made him nervous. No, not nervous- apprehensive. For Ryoko had made him nervous several times: during her numerous foolish hi-jinxes for attention, seeing the dangerous glint that would sometimes make its way into her eye, or how she and the other girls had always had a habit of showing up unexpected in Tokyo.

But never before had she done anything to make his heart tighten and his stomach flutter quite like this. He supposed his own ignorance was to blame in this case. Who knew how long the feelings had been there, and he had credited them to something else?

"Come on Tenchi!" He looked up to see Mihoshi standing by the door of the shuttle bay. She waved, looking equally as anxious as he felt. "I've set everything up, so we're ready to go!" She turned to open the door, and then with an "oh!" turned back to him.

"Kiyone and Washu are already in there," she told him in conspiring tones. It was all she said before turning around again, and all she needed to say. As the shuttle bay opened, it was clear the two were still troubled. While it seemed like they had come to some sort of decision on their differences of opinion, both still looked rather huffy.

"We'd like you to be as quick as possible with this whole thing," Kiyone told them. "Don't wait around, just get her and come back here."

"Mihoshi, I want you to stay on the shuttle," said Washu. "That way you can get out of there as quickly as possible."

"Rodger that!" Mihoshi replied, saluting before heading towards the waiting door of the shuttle.

"See you soon," Tenchi added with a small smile, before following Mihoshi onto the shuttle.

"Wear your belt," Kiyone called as the door of the shuttle started to lift. "She's one of the worst shuttle pilots in the Galaxy Police!" Then they were both shut out by the door.

"Kiyone doesn't know what she's talking about," Mihoshi told Tenchi with a frown from where she was starting to steer. "I've gotten a lot better these past few years. You might want to put on your seatbelt anyway though." she added, as the small craft tilted uncomfortably to the left.

After indeed putting on his seatbelt, Tenchi watched the view screen anxiously as the space station loomed closer. He could see the docking bay where Ryoko's shuttle was already parked. Just the sight of it made his heart beat a little faster. He wanted to see her, to see she was okay. To hear Ryoko say it herself that she was innocent. He wanted….he wanted to tell her what he'd realized himself. Ryoko had made it very clear before that what he wanted to say were the words she'd always been looking to hear from him.

Now, he wanted to say them. He needed to. He was ready for this.

Ryoko however, was not ready for this. She knew that she would never be ready for this. Now in the emptied main section of the space station she stood alone, in the center. She'd easily managed to get out of her handcuffs, her arms at her side with the loops hanging there like a mockery of bracelets. She did not move.

The conversation she'd had just moments ago between those on the Yagami and herself was still playing clearly in her head. She'd seen the holes in her story to them even as she was telling it. The shuttle without warning had started sending the distress signal when it had gotten in range. The entire story had been off the top of her head.

What had been even worse though was hearing the hope and excitement in Mihoshi and Kiyone's voices. They thought she was coming back safe, that she'd made it. Her intentions being a total opposite to that made her body hurt, and her brain numb. Kiyone had even volunteered Tenchi to come and get her. She closed her eyes, and took a breath that rattled out.

How would she do this? She felt like she was driving a car without a windshield. She was going by impulse and instinct as opposed to a clear path. Tenchi would be there any second, and she still wasn't even sure what to say to him when she saw him. She'd purposely stood with her back to the hallway that led towards the docking bay. She didn't want to see his face when he saw her. Her heart was near breaking just from standing there.

She knew that she probably wouldn't hear the shuttle docking. Instead she listened for footsteps. They would be fast. He would be running. She knew she would run, if the situation had been switched. If Tenchi had been the one pulled from her grasp, and taken away. She could almost hear her footsteps echoing against the metal walls. Nothing could have kept her away from seeing him again, from running around the corner and into the open room and seeing him standing there. She'd call out his name and…

"Ryoko!"

Her whole body stiffened, her hands suddenly cold. Lost in her own thoughts, she had mistaken Tenchi's footsteps for her own. She started to turn, pausing and then looking slowly behind her. He stood still in the doorway, gazing at her as if he didn't quite believe she really was standing there. Far from a savior in uniform, he looked oddly vulnerable in his jeans.

"I…I can't believe it…" he murmured. He took a few tentative steps towards her, his expression doing nothing less then drinking her presence in. It made her stomach turn with guilt. He then ran the distance across the room, coming to stop just inches from her and reaching out to grasp a hand in his.

"Are you okay?" Ryoko started at his question. It was the last thing she had expected from him, and it made her feel even worse. How was she going to tell him what she had to do…?

"I…I've been better." It was the truth. She could pick a thousand situations other then this one that she was in now. Of course she wasn't okay, how could she be?

He made a consoling noise, but said nothing to her. His eyes were still roaming her face. She didn't think he'd ever looked at her like that before. The intensity of it had her heart in her throat.

"Tenchi?" He seemed to snap out of his reverie, face red.

"Sorry… we should get back to the ship Ryoko. Mihoshi is waiting…" He reached out and took her hand, turning back towards the docking bay. Ryoko panicked. She couldn't go back to the ship with him, and had no idea how to avoid it. But then Tenchi stopped mid-stride, and turned back towards her.

"Wait, let's go sit somewhere," he amended. Instead, Tenchi lead her to a low metal wall a little further back. At one time it looked to have held something like a fountain. But now it was dry, only the square-shaped walls remaining. He sat down on it, pulling her down to sit across from him. He looked very serious, and slightly embarrassed.

"Ryoko, before we go any further, I need you to…tell me. It's not because I doubt you, or don't trust your word. It's just…I need to hear it again from you." He looked steadily at her, the unasked question quite obvious.

"I'm innocent," she replied simply. Tenchi's face broke into a small smile. Ryoko smiled back just as slightly at the acceptance of her word. But instantly her heart sank again under the weight of her task.

"I'm glad," Tenchi said. "I'm sure the others will be glad to hear it too. The Jurian news hasn't been the kindest…"

Ryoko smiled tensely, and lowered her eyes to the dirty metal ground. Tenchi's voice continued on as a dull vibration against her ears, without real understanding or meaning for her. She felt dirty. It wasn't a trivial, fixable task in front of her. Ryoko had finally figured out the only way to do it. She needed to break Tenchi's heart, and his trust. She realized she saw love in his eyes. What she'd always wanted, and didn't deserve.

But, she needed to make sure he was totally out of the Juraian situation. She was a coward for doing it this way. She could just tell him to run, to not come to Jurai, but the truth wouldn't change his mind. She could run away, but then Ayeka's murder would be placed on her, and no doubt Tenchi as well. The walls felt as if they were closing in, and she knew that this new Kibishii would fight as dirty as he needed to, to succeed. She finally saw that if she didn't do it Kibishii's way, so much more would be lost. Tenchi had healed from losing Sakuya; no doubt he could heal and love again. As for her, she was getting used to the constant feeling of loss. What was a little more?

Ryoko realized suddenly that the room had become very quiet. There wasn't the rumble of engines, or the sounds of other life, or even breathing. She was totally enveloped in silence. Looking up very slowly, she met Tenchi's eyes as he stared at her. A small, eager smile was pulling on his lips that she found herself unable to return. He didn't seem to notice though, but only reached out and touched her cheek gently. She forced herself not to flinch under his fingers, not to look away.

"Ryoko, I'm so glad you're safe," he whispered, leaning forward slightly. "I was so worried...I didn't understand why. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat."

The hand that he'd been placing all his weight on started to glide across the gap between them, as if the metal were ice. The distance was closing, and Ryoko did all she could not to flee, or to scream. But the look in his eyes was the look she'd been waiting to see for years. They were so warm upon her face, to the extent that she felt like she was being burnt alive beneath them.

The hand that caressed her cheek, now traveled over her face, rough fingertips trailing haltingly over her lips. "But then, I realized it Ryoko."

"Realized what, Tenchi?" She was so choked by the situation that her voice faltered and drifted away, leaving silence. Tenchi looked confused, and then smiled again, so softly that his lips barely turned up. He leaned forward towards her, and his now sure lips hovered just above hers. Closing his eyes, he murmured, "That I love you," and closed the distance to kiss her.

But his lips never touched Ryoko's. She'd reached up roughly and grabbed his chin in a tight grip. He opened his eyes in disbelief and stared at her, his gaze following the trail of the single tear that dripped from her eye and down her cheek. For an instant, they sat there, staring at each other. In the next instant though, she'd thrown him away from her, and he hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Tenchi pushed himself up and stared at her, mouth opening and shutting in disbelief. Ryoko remained where she was, hands resting neatly in her lap and one foot tucked behind the other. She stared straight ahead, and though her face was set, it seemed like a wall that was crumbling from the inside.

Standing abruptly, Ryoko looked him full on in the face. She raised a hand and formed a ball of energy there, cradling the glowing ball peacefully. Curling her fingers around it, the light elongated and formed her sword, which she held before her and pointed at Tenchi's neck.

He stared at her, still very confused. Pushing himself up, he finally found the words he wanted to say. "What are you doing?"

Ryoko remained silent. She lowered her eyes from his expression, staring instead at the shimmering weapon in her hand. "I am going to kill you Tenchi, if you don't fight back."

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