As everyone decided it was time to go to bed, arrangements had to be made as to who slept where, due to half the house being destroyed. Aazaka and Kamedaki had already repaired most of Ayeka and Sasami's room and Mihoshi has a bedroom on her ship. That left Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ryuka with one couch –the others being destroyed in the crash - and a sleeping bag.
"I'll sleep with you, Tenchi. It doesn't matter where we sleep." flayed Ryoko, hugging all over him.
"I'll take the sleeping bag." stated Ryuka. "Hey, is Washu awake?" he asked.
"Huh? Washu!?" questioned Ryoko, growling angrily. Tenchi immediately tried to calm her down.
"Ryoko, don't." he said coolly.
"Hmph." grunted Ryoko. She grabbed Tenchi and laid down with him on the couch. The only reason she kept quiet is because she didn't want Ryuka finding out about what had happened to him.
Ryuka grew confused, but tried to push it off. He decided to go see if Washu was up, seeing as how Ryoko had already fallen asleep.
As he walked in, the little crab chimed lightly, startling him. He figured he could find her easily enough this time.
"Little Washu??" he called. As so as he said it, another door just appeared in front of him. He knocked on it a few times.
"Hello?" answered Washu's voice.
"Little Washu?" he asked.
"Come in. she replied. He walked through the door to see Washu, her large pony tail concealed in some sort of cap. "What's on your mind, dear?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm just curious about a few things." he answered.
"Oh? Like what?" she questioned.
"How old are you?" asked the boy. Washu giggled at the question.
"Over twenty-thousand." she said calmly. Ryuka was stunned. Twenty-thousand?! There was no way. But he diversed. Did he really think any of this was possible before today?
"Wow… Is it true that you're Ryoko's mom?" Washu flinched at the question and suddenly grew a sad demeanor in her eyes. She tried to hide it, but she knew she wasn't doing a good job.
"For the most part, yes. I created her using a life for called Mass and my ovum." she explained. Ryuka was amazed at how her words came out so clearly, despite having such a palpable amount of sadness in her eyes. There for a reason beyond him.
"Washu-?"
"I'm fine." she interrupted. "Can I ask you a few questions, Ryuka?" she asked.
"Go ahead." he replied kindly.
"What were you doing in the woods the other day?" Ryuka instantly shrunk his face to that of Washu's current status.
"I…got in a fight with my parents." he answered. "They wanted to move to Tokyo, away from Okayama. I wanted nothing less than to move to Tokyo. I love it here, and when I was little, I would walk through those woods whenever I was sad." he explained. "My father yelled at me and said that if I wanted to stay in Okayama then I could, but him and my mom would go. So I ran away. I was in the woods about an hour before I passed out, and here I am now." finished Ryuka.
"I'm sorry" she stated softly. Tears were now running down his face.
"I still don't want to go. Now more than ever. Where will I go when I recover? I can't leave Okayama… I just can't…" …He couldn't leave Ryoko…
Just then, the school girl sized genius grasped him in her arms.
"It's okay." she soothed. "You should get some sleep. Here, take this." She handed the boy a small pill and a glass of water. He took it and swallowed. She patted him and off he
went out of the lab.
Washu calmly let the tears fill her eyes. Ryoko, her daughter, who she loved and thought the world of, hated her. A young boy was nearly maimed to death because of her. The tears feel from her eyes now, dripping and running from her eyes. Slowly, they soaked her pink pajamas, patterned with, now a darker shade of red, crabs, as her eyes spilled it all out.
"Don't hate me, Young one." she choked out. How could she tell him? How could she go about telling him to enjoy his days left? How on Earth could she tell him that venom still flowed violently through his veins? How could she tell him…that he was going to die?
***
As everyone else was working on the house the next day, even Ryoko, Washu showed her face to the public.
"Ryoko, Tenchi, Ayeka, please come see me in my lab." she said coolly.
"Why should we?" blurted out Ryoko.
"Because I know that you most of all will want to know about this, Ryoko." she said without losing her cool. This caught Ryoko by surprise. "It's about Ryuka." and this definitely caught her attention. They all went with her to the lab without saying a word.
"Ryoko. Please, I beg you, stay calm." pleaded Washu.
"I'm not making any promises." she answered coldly. Washu sighed and pulled up a screen, with a weird looking image on it.
"This is a sample of Ryuka's blood after the attack." she explained. It didn't look like any normal blood sample. It looked like it had a strange, yellowish flowing substance in it.
"Washu." stated Tenchi blankly. "What is this?"
"This…" she went on. "is a highly venomous toxin that was released into Ryuka's veins when he was attacked. I need you all to pay very close attention to what I am about to say." everyone was silent. Ryoko couldn't take her eyes off of the screen. "There IS an antidote. But I need a sample of the venom from the creature." she explained further.
"Why not just take a sample from Ryuka's veins, Lady Washu?" asked Ayeka.
"Because if this venom is disturbed in any way before it starts to take affect, it will instantly kill Ryuka. Likewise, if we try to give Ryuka the antidote before it starts, it will disrupt the flow and kill him. The affects will start hitting Ryuka in about a week. I need you three to capture the beast so I can extract some venom from it and make an antidote. Are we all understanding the circumstances?"
Ayeka and Tenchi nodded. Ryoko gave a sort of delayed response.
"I've created some devices to help you track it. You can start tomorrow, alright?"
They all nodded.
Author Note: I'm so glad people like it so far! I've tried writing fanfiction before, but it always came out, well, pretty bad. But I feel proud of this one. I'm putting my heart and soul into this fanficiton. I think about it all the time. Plot lines, character devices, you know, important things. And yes, I AM living vicariously through Ryuka. But I don't want that to affect your opinion on the Fic itself. I was inspired by my love for Ryoko to write this, and I want it to be perfect. Ryoko means a lot to me, truly a great deal. Thanks to everyone for their support so far, I truly appreciate it. Please keep reading, reviewing, and just liking it =) It brings me joy every time someone tells me that I'm doing a good job.
- Her Topaz Eyes.