Tenchi Muyo: Ryo-ohki OVA4

Episode 23: Responsibility

By Galaxy1001D

Chapter Four: So Happy

After his conversation with his grandfather, Tenchi slunk back into the house like a man who didn't want his wife to know how late he stayed out with the boys. The first person he bumped into was Mihoshi.

"H-hi, Tenchi!" she smiled through her tears. "I-I just want you to know that I think it's great what you did for Ryoko! She's really growing up and becoming a different person! Sh-she's had a h-hard life and she deserves to h-have someone like you in her life! Whatever happens…" Her words were interrupted by a sobbing fit. "I want you to know that I'm SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" Tears streamed out of her face as Mihoshi turned and ran up the stairs.

"Great," Tenchi mumbled as he slumped in defeat. "That's one heart broken."

"Tenchi! What's going on?" Sasami's voice asked.

"Doh!" Tenchi nearly jumped out of his skin before he turned and saw the little child. Honestly, those girls were like cats! "Sasami!" he stammered as he tried to return his voice to normal. "What do you mean?"

"What's going on, Tenchi?" Sasami repeated. "Why is everybody upset? What did you and Ryoko do to each other?"

Tenchi grit his teeth as his face turned beet red. "Uh, to be perfectly honest, I was hoping someone would explain it myself," he chuckled nervously.

"Why were you two making such scary noises?" Sasami asked. "Were you hurting each other?"

"Yeah but we didn't care, Oops!" he squeaked as his voice suddenly rose an octave. "We were uh, wrestling. Yeah! That's it! Wrestling! We were just rough housing! You know how Ryoko gets! She picks a fight with anyone, but she doesn't mean it! Really, she doesn't!"

"Why were you naked?" Boy. Talk about the tough questions.

"Er, uh, we were wrestling Greek style! Just like the ancient Greeks!" he explained with an idiotic grin.

"Who are the ancient geeks?" the girl asked.

"Uh-oh, you never heard of the ancient Greeks," Tenchi muttered as he scratched the back of his neck. "Er, um, I was gonna go bathing! Yeah, that's it! And Ryoko wanted to come with me, and I wouldn't let her, and one thing led to another and soon we got in a fight and were wrestling! Yeah! That's it! And we're both really embarrassed 'cause we're not supposed to be fighting and everybody caught us so everybody's mad at us right now! And I'm really sorry for upsetting everyone and I'm ashamed to show my face but it's going to be okay! It'll blow over! Lots of stuff like this happens and it'll probably happen again but it's okay 'cause we're all family and we love each other. And we all know that we would never do anything to hurt one another, not on purpose."

"Really?" the little girl asked hopefully.

"Really," Tenchi nodded as confidence returned to him. "It's going to be awkward for a couple of days but we'll get over it. I'll find a way to make it up to everyone I promise. Everything's going to be fine Sasami. Don't you worry."

"Oh," Sasami nodded in understanding. "Okay. It's not the first time I guess." She turned to go before abruptly turning back to the boy. "Tenchi?" she asked shyly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Sasami. Ask me anything you want."

The little girl blushed and looked away. Her reddish pink eyes blinked twice before she looked at him bashfully. "If I wanted to take a bath with you, would it be okay? You wouldn't wrestle me would you?"

Tenchi's knees nearly gave out beneath him and the room seemed to be spinning, yet somehow he heard his voice laughing confidently. "Sure Sasami, but you'll have to check with Ayeka first. You know we can't take a bath together without her permission." Where did that come from? Oh well, who cared? Sasami was buying it, and that's all that mattered.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sasami nodded and giggled girlishly before she went back into the kitchen.

Tenchi let out an exhausted sigh before collapsing on the couch. Remembering the way he felt under Ryoko's spell and the image of him and Sasami in the onsen together made his skin crawl. What was he becoming?

"This is how it starts," his grandfather's voice said from right behind him.

"Aaah!" Tenchi screamed as he thrashed on the couch. "Grandpa! You scared me!"

"This is how it starts," his grandfather continued as if Tenchi hadn't screamed like a little girl. "One white lie to protect someone you love and pretty soon your entire life becomes on giant whopper that fits you like a second skin. I guess I should give you one of my spare moustache grooming kits. Are you ready to wear your gi, or have you not told enough lies yet?"

"Is this because I said that you were one of the biggest liars I know?" Tenchi sighed and hung his head.

"Maybe," the old man smiled mischievously.

"I'm sorry I said those things," Tenchi gulped and nodded in surrender. "I guess I didn't see it from your point of view until now."

"If you need help keeping track of your stories, use the Master Key," the old man suggested. "It has a database that you can access telepathically."

"Thanks but uh, why are you here?"

"Don't you have anything you need to say to Miss Ryoko?" the old man asked in a scolding tone. "There's a time for evasion and a time for taking responsibility for your actions. Sorry Tenchi, but I think this is a time to take responsibility."

"I know," the boy sighed again. "I just want to figure out what I want to say to her that's all."

"If she thinks you're avoiding her she might take it the wrong way," his grandfather said. When the boy looked at him dubiously he hastily added. "Hey, learn from my mistakes why don't you? I've lived for almost a thousand years and I've made some doozies! I'd rather you didn't have to learn my lessons the hard way."

"Okay Grandpa, you're right," Tenchi nodded as he rose from the couch. "I'll go see if she's ready to talk to me."

"I'll be around if you need me," the 'old' man said as his grandson went up the stairs. "Good luck."

Tenchi couldn't help feeling nervous has he went up the stairs. When Ryoko wanted privacy she usually went up to a high place where she could keep an eye on the rest of them. This way she didn't have to be alone. Heck, usually she slept on one of the rafters overlooking the living room instead of the futon up in her room.

Her room! He was getting aroused at the very thought of going back up there! When he thought of what happened last time he felt like running away. No! He was a man and not a mouse dammit! He had the courage to go back up there. He had to face Ryoko and see how she was doing! After he… did that to her. Odds were she wasn't ready to see him. What was he nervous for? All he was going to do was let her know that he wasn't avoiding her. She'd probably tell him to go away and this time he'd listen. Sure. Piece of cake.

Somehow he reached the door to her room without really remembering how he got there. Steeling his courage, he knocked on the door. "Miss Ryoko? Are you in?"

"Tenchi?" Ryoko's timid voice answered. "Just a minute! Give me a second!"

"Sure take all the time you want." Tenchi put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. Ryoko? Needing a minute? Ryoko never seemed concerned about her appearance or even seemed shy. When he thought about it, the space pirate was actually a stunningly beautiful woman when he realized that she spent almost no time fussing in front of the mirror or even bothering to comb her hair. Was there any other woman in existence who was so uncaring about their appearance yet still so smokin' hot? Or had his recent experience colored his perceptions of her?

Ryoko's door slid open a crack and a topaz yellow eye winked at him. The door slid open more to reveal Ryoko the space pirate, the first woman that Tenchi Masaki had ever been with. She was barefoot and her kimono looked more like a bathrobe, hastily tied shut with a sash at the waist. Tenchi was pretty sure she was naked under there, or was that his body reacting to what happened last time she opened the door to him?

She gasped and took a step backwards from him, blushing furiously. Tenchi realized that he was holding his breath and had retreated a few steps backwards as well, his cheeks were burning as well. Who boy. Awkward. What to say? Think Tenchi think!

"'Sup?" he mumbled.

"Hey," she stammered weakly as she crept forward and slid the door shut behind her. That was good thinking. Tenchi didn't trust what would happen if he ever got her back in her room. "I just put little Washu to bed. We gotta be quiet. So um… what's up?

"How are you?" he asked in a strange voice. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," she whined as her posture became as vulnerable and feminine as he had ever seen it. "Honestly I don't know how I am! I can't understand it!"

Why did she have to go all girly now of all times? In the past she had asked Tenchi to make her a woman but he thought it was just an expression! Now that Ryoko was acting all dainty and vulnerable she was irresistible! Uh oh, she's pouring her heart out to you Tenchi. Better start listening and act like you were paying attention the whole time.

"I feel so happy, and so ashamed, and so sad, and so afraid, and so angry," she moaned. "I… I don't know how I am."

"Yeah," he mumbled as he cowered in the hallway with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh Tenchi, I'm sorry," she moaned. "All this time I've been putting you on the spot and now that I finally caught you I feel so ashamed of myself. I feel so guilty. I took advantage of you against your will and now I hate myself…"

"No it wasn't your fault!" Tenchi hissed. "It was me! You weren't yourself Ryoko! You were vulnerable and I took advantage of that! You told me to go away and I didn't listen! I should be arrested for what I did!"

"Oh Tenchi, listen to yourself," Ryoko sighed sadly. "You're such a good person that you blame yourself for something I did. Don't feel that way. My body took control of yours and overrode your will! Kagato overrode my will for years! The worst thing that ever happened to me and now I did it to you! And now you blame yourself for what I made you do! Don't be that way Tenchi. It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, maybe your right," Tenchi grudgingly agreed. "You weren't in control of yourself either. Maybe it wasn't anybody's fault." He looked away and scowled at the wall. "But if that's true, why do I hate myself so much?"

"I know why I hate myself," Ryoko offered.

"Huh?" Tenchi looked back at her. "You do?"

"Yeah, I hate myself because despite what happened…" Suddenly her face lit up with a huge Cheshire Cat grin. "I'm so happy!" she shrieked.

"Huh?" Tenchi stammered. "You are?"

"Yeah! It was awesome!" Ryoko crowed. "I've been hungering for your touch even before I met you and I've been so frustrated! I was goin' out of my mind!"

"What? Really?" Tenchi squeaked. "Then why do you hate yourself?"

"Because I took advantage of you and broke Ayeka's heart and probably damaged Mihoshi beyond repair and I don't even want to think of the effect this going to have upon Sasami!" the space pirate giggled mischievously. "I totally destroyed the only family I've ever known and yet I still feel great because we didn't hold back Tenchi! We didn't hold back! Moo-hoo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Tenchi gulped and took a step backwards as the space pirate laughed hysterically. He hadn't counted on Ryoko's mood swings!

"I hate myself," she giggled. "I hate myself so, so much!" she chortled. "But hey, that's nothing new right? Gotta take the bad with the good right?"

"Ryoko, are you okay?"

"Not really, that's why I'm letting Zero do the driving right now," she smiled impishly.

"What? Zero?"

"Come on, Tenchi, you remember," Ryoko shrugged. "A few months back Doctor Clay kidnapped me and put a shape-shifting robot named Zero in my place. And poor thing liked being me so much that Washu decided to merge us when it was all over. Zero didn't really have an identity of her own so in essence I've become twice the Ryoko I used to be. Pretty neat huh?"

"Yeah," Tenchi smiled weakly. "Pretty neat. So what's all this stuff about letting Zero do the driving?"

"Well, I spent my whole life being bullied and forced to do unspeakable things by an insane megalomaniac," Ryoko admitted as she leaned against the wall and looked away, "but Zero can read my memories and interpret them more objectively than I do. Maybe she's more logical because it has something to do with being a robot; I don't know. The point is Zero is a lot better at being Ryoko than I am so sometimes I let her take control. I haven't done it very much but when I do everything usually works out fine."

"Ryoko, you can't surrender your identity when things get tough," Tenchi scolded.

"Oh Tenchi, it's not like that," the pirate assured him. "She's still me. She doesn't do anything I wouldn't do. We're basically the same person. It's just that Zero doesn't act like she's damaged beyond repair… unlike me."

"Oh Ryoko," Tenchi moaned in sympathy. "You're not damaged beyond repair."

"I know," she smiled sadly. "Well, Zero knows. I still need convincing, you know what I mean? Still it's nice to have an impartial opinion that can look at everything you've done and still decide it'd rather be you. Really gives you an ego boost if you know what I mean. It's nice to know that after all the things I've done and all the people I've hurt that I'm not really the monster I think I am."

"Ryoko, you're not a monster," Tenchi assured her.

"I know, but the problem is that I just don't know any other way to be," she shrugged. "Kagato's not controlling me anymore and this is my time now and Washu can't stop me from going too far so I've got to police myself. I'm not very good at it so sometimes I let Zero keep me from doing anything stupid."

"Ryoko, you're not stupid."

"Are you kidding?" she laughed bitterly. "The way I'm feeling right now if Zero wasn't calling the shots I'd pull you into my room and be ripping your clothes off right now! I know I would. I've seen me do it. I'm telling you Tenchi, when it comes to anything important, you can't trust me at all! I'll mess it up without thinking! That's why I'm gonna let Zero do the driving until things calm down."

Tenchi didn't know how to respond to that, and then he smiled in realization. "You know you don't have to be so down on yourself, Ryoko. Ever since you got here, you've changed a lot."

"I sure hope so!"

"And after Washu became a baby, you've changed even more," the boy continued. "Maybe you're not giving yourself enough credit. Maybe you're letting Zero make your decisions for you, but maybe… you're just growing up."

"What?" Ryoko snorted in disbelief. "Really? You're kidding! You're just saying that to make me feel better!"

"No I'm not," he smiled gently. "Don't you see that after Washu made you a single mother, you've really grown up and pitched in around here? And you know what? Maturity looks really good on you."

"R-really?" she blushed and grinned as she bit her thumbnail. "You're not just saying it?"

"No really," he assured her. "You were doing great until that hormone imbalance thing happened. But there's no reason for a little mishap to cause you to lose any ground you know. Honestly, you're doing great. Everybody's bound to make some mistakes. The ones around here are just… more dramatic."

This was the first light in the darkness he'd seen all day. The hopeful look on Ryoko's face made Tenchi actually believe what he was saying. If everyone could just stay positive maybe they could get through this.

"Oh Tenchi, I'm so glad you feel that way," Ryoko said before her lip trembled. "That makes me… SO HAPPY!" she gushed before crying into her hands.

"Erg," Tenchi winced.

From out in the hall they could hear baby Washu crying along with Ryoko. The space pirate tried to speak but couldn't pull her hand away from her face long enough so she waved with her free hand. Tenchi could hear her say things like "Washu… better check on her… see you later…" and things like that before Ryoko when back into her room.

Tenchi nodded and beat a hasty retreat down the stairs.

Next: Ryoko Takes Charge