The TENCHI Chronicles
Chapter 2 - Shared Pain
A Tenchi Muyo fanfiction
by Michael "Brazil" Borgwardt (brazzy {at} gmail {dot} com)
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki and its characters are copyrighted by
AIC/Pioneer, I don't have any right to do this but I did it anyway.
The rights to this story, however, are mine.
After the good comments I received on my first fanfiction "A Necessary
Step", I of course had no choice but to write a continuation.
I hereby declare "A Necessary Step" the first chapter of The Tenchi
Chronicles. I really don't know how many chapters there will be, but
I have enough ideas for quite a number...
If you haven't read the first story, you should do so, it can be found at
http://fanfiction.brazils-animeland.de
If you don't want to do that, well, it's your loss :)
You should at least know what happened in it: Tenchi wakes up early one
morning. Pondering his situation, he goes outside and meets Aeka. More or
less spontaneously he decides to tell her about his true feelings:that he
does like her and Ryoke but doesn't feel ready for the kind of relationship
they have in mind and doesn't want to hurt either of them by choosing. He
also tells Aeka that he does *not* appreciate how she and Ryoko never stop
to ask him about his feelings and instead just assume he's completely in
love with them. Aeka runs off crying and Tenchi approaches his next
challenge: Ryoko.
And that's where this story begins.
One more thing: After the first scene of this chapter I'll drop the Tenchi
1st person perspective as it won't anymore be appropriate for the story I
want to tell.
Enough drivel, on to the story:
-----------------------------------
"Wake up, Ryoko-san!"
I had been shaking her gently for several seconds now, with no avail. She
seemed to be pretty deep asleep, probably due to the sake she had drunk.
Finally, she began to move sleepily and opened her eyes. When she did so,
a smile began to spread on her face. I shuddered because it was *that*
kind of smile, the visual equivalent to her cooing "Teennnchiiiii", and
that always meant some kind of trouble. Trouble for me, of course.
"Good morning, Tenchi! Oh, you were soooo *good* tonight!"
"W-What do you mean, good?"
"You see, I had a most *enjoyable* dream about the two of us. Do you want
me to tell you about it?"
To describe her grin at these words as "lascivious" would not have done it
justice. I felt the familiar blush creping over my face. Damn it, there went
my initiative. But I had made the first step and I *had* to go on now.
So I pulled together all the determination I could muster, put on a serious
face, pushed Ryoko back (she had, of course, already flung her arms around
me) and began:
"Ryoko-san, there's something we have to talk about."
"Really? What is it, tell me!"
Her lewd remark had been bad, but this was worse. She had settled back to
the couch and put on an eager, *enthusiastic* smile that made what I had to
do anything but easy. Dammit, if there were an easy way to do this, I
wouldn't have waited so long. I could NOT back out now, no matter what!
"I... know that you have very strong feelings for me, Ryoko-san . But you
have to realize that I do not have the same feelings for you. Ryoko, I am
not in love with you, and I would feel a lot better if you stopped acting
like I were."
She froze, an insecure smile on her face.
"You're joking, right, Tenchi? I know that you love me!"
"That's the point, Ryoko. You're not really caring about *my* feelings,
you just assume that I return yours. But one of the most important signs
of real love is caring about the *other* person's feelings, not only your
own. Do you understand that?"
The look of absolute agony and horror which appeared on her face at these
words was too much for me, and I looked down, hoping for something,
*anything*, to replace it. Tears were already starting to stream down
Ryoko's cheeks when the outburst came:
"But I love you so much Tenchi! I love you more than everything else, more
than my own life! There is nothing I want or need except being close
to you."
This destroyed the last bits of composure I had managed to keep until then.
I had not realized that her feelings were *that* strong. When I tried to
reply, I noticed that speaking had become difficult. I was almost crying
myself.
"I-It's not that I don't like you! You're a... very important friend to me,
as is Aeka-san. B-But... I'm not sure if I'm ready for more than friendship.
And the way you two keep fighting and... treating me like a prize to be won
doesn't help me at all! I already told Aeka-san and now I'm asking you:
Please stop acting like that."
Sobbing violently, she replied:
"I... understand. I'm sorry... Tenchi. I will think... about it."
After these words she flew outside at high speed, still crying. Within
moments, she had disappeared into the forest. I took a deep breath and sat
down on the couch. I still had a lump in my throat. Somehow I had expected
to feel better after clearing up things, but the opposite was the case.
Actually I found myself wishing that I had had slept late today and never
gotten into this resolute mood. Lost in thought, I didn't notice that I
wasn't alone anymore.
"So you finally scraped together enough courage to tell them, did you?"
"W-Washu-chan! Um, did you hear us?"
"No. But as you know (or maybe don't), I share a special link with my
daughter. Although I respect her privacy when possible, I couldn't fail
to sense the anguish you were causing her."
She had been walking over to where I was sitting, and the look she gave me
at these words made me almost wish that she'd perform some experiments on me
instead. But as quickly as it had come it disappeared, to be replaced by a
reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder.
"It's OK, Tenchi. I think you did the right thing. Excuse me now. I think
my daughter needs me."
"Thank you, Wa..."
Suddenly, without any warning, she had disappeared, not even making a sound
like Ryoko did. "...shu-chan", I finished while making a mental note never
to forget that Washu *was* 20,000 years old after all and not the 12-year
old she looked like. However, I did feel a bit better now.
-----------------------------------
As she approached the cave, Washu started to feel the presence of her
daughter. It hadn't been much of a challenge for the greatest scientific
mind in the universe to extrapolate that Ryoko would return to the place
that was connected to her happiest memories - watching Tenchi grow up.
But to tell the truth, Washu was a bit afraid of what lay before her.
She'd never been very good at this kind of thing.
It didn't take her long to find Ryoko in the back of the cave, sitting
on the floor with her face buried in her arms.
"Ryoko?"
She suppressed the impulse to add the `-chan`. This wasn't the time for
playing games. The demoness raised her head. She presented an image of
absolute misery, with eyes red from crying and her whole face covered with
tears.
"Go away!"
"Don't you think it would make you feel better to talk to someone? A mother
and daughter should confide in each other with such things."
"Don't give me that parenting nonsense! You lost your right to that five
thousand years ago!"
For a few seconds, the only sound to be heard was the wind in the cave
entrance. Finally Ryoko again buried her face before there came a muffled
"Sorry". Washu took a deep breath and sat down beside her daughter.
"No. You're right. And it was the second greatest loss in my life. I know
that nothing I do can compensate for the childhood I couldn't give you.
But I really want to do anything I can to help you now."
"Can you make Tenchi love me?"
"That is something only you yourself can achieve."
Ryoko raised her head and, with mixed rage and despair, cried out:
"But I have done everything I could! I told him how much I love him, that
there's nothing in the world I desire except being with him. And what does
he do? He tells me that he doesn't love me! I have done *everything* and I
failed! How can I keep hoping now?"
She had raised to her knees and tears were streaming down her face. Then she
lowered her face into her hands, sobbing violently.
"There's nothing. Nothing I can do anymore, nothing to hope for."
Watching her daughter cry, Washu felt utterly helpless. She wished she
could do anything to ease the pain, but she had no idea as to how to do it.
Finally, just to do anything at all, she reached out and touched Ryoko's
cheek. The demoness leaned forward and laid down in Washu's lap, still
crying. For some minutes they stayed this way, Washu softly stroking the
blue mane before her and trying to think of anything helpful to say to her
daughter. Eventually, the sobs ebbed down a bit.
"I think the main problem is that Tenchi-dono feels overwhelmed by you. You
see, on Earth people at his age are normally only just starting to explore
feelings like love. It is not surprising that he is a bit frightened by the
intensity of your affection. It is a bit like your trying to feed Taro-chan:
Tenchi-dono also needs time to breathe. If you press the matter all the time,
it can be harmful. And of course he also doesn't want to feel as if he
doesn't have any control at all over the relationship. No-one likes that,
but it's especially bad in this socio-cultural background in which males
for some reason are expected to be superior and dominant in their personal
relationships."
As soon as she began to speak, Washu had felt Ryoko get tense and then relax
again a bit. She *was* paying attention. Then, after Washu had finished,
Ryoko got up. Looking a bit embarrased, she rubbed the tears out of her eyes.
"What are you trying to get at?"
Dammit, I was beginning to lecture again, Washu realized. Old habits...
OK, now let's get to the core.
"I think that it is good that Tenchi-dono found the courage to tell you about
his real feelings. You now have a chance to build a relationship based on
reality instead of imagination. And if you work on yourself and, as
Tenchi-dono asked you to, don't try to rush or force it... I don't see why
you shouldn't eventually be able to win his love for real."
"What about Aeka?"
"I really don't know. That is something the three of you have to figure
out yourselves. But one thing's for sure: it is *not* a question of whether
you or Aeka-dono can `beat` the other one."
There was a pause. Ryoko already looked *a lot* better and Washu was pretty
satisfied with her success. Hey, It seems I'm better at this than I
thought! I just hope she never finds out that I got most of this out of
those TV dramas. Which, incidentially, she and Aeka are also watching all
of the time. Geez, those kids! Can't even pay attention to what they're
doing.
"Come on, Ryoko, let's go home."
"I'm not sure if I'm already perpared to meet Tenchi again... I think I'd
rather be alone for a while."
"In here?"
Ryoko actually smiled, albeit a bit weakly! I'm *much* better than I thought,
thought Washu.
"No, not really."
After getting out of the cave, they stopped. Ryoko looked hesitantly at the
red-haired scientist before her. What am I afraid of? she asked herself as she
laid a hand on Washu's shoulder who looked back with a questioning expression.
"Thank you... For what you just did. You helped me a lot. Thank you, mother."
Ryoko didn't know what kind of reaction she had expected, but she sure hadn't
expected this! "What... Why are you crying??" she asked, utterly confused.
Washu gave her a reassuring smile as she wiped the tears off her cheeks.
"I think this is the first time you've called me that - and really meant it."
Still confused, Ryoko answered:
"Um yeah, whatever. Tell Sasami-chan I won't be there for breakfast. ja ne..."
With these words she flew away. Washu stood there for a while, pondering. So
I really am a mother again, after all that time... I just hope I can manage
future crises as good as this one. Then she realized that this crisis was
anything but over.
-----------------------------------
Ryoko was lying on her back on a small patch of grass on one of the mountains
surrounding the Masaki shrine and stared into the sky. Her mind was a whirl
of contradicting thoughts and emotions.
Tenchi doesn't love me, he never did.
But Washu's right, at least there is hope that I can yet win his love.
Washu...
My mother.
I've never had a mother before.
What does it mean to have a mother?
The memory of his mother is very important to Tenchi.
He still loves her.
Maybe more than he'll ever love me.
What if he eventually decides for Aeka?
No, that won't happen, *must not* happen!
But what can I *do*?
Everything I try only seems to make things worse.
Why does this have to be so difficult?
-----------------------------------
Tenchi was working in the carrot fields again and thinking about what had
happened earlier this day. After Ryoko had flown away and Washu had followed
her, he'd sat down and tried to relax but hadn't been able to get his mind
off the reactions of Ryoko and Aeka as he'd told them about his feelings.
Then Sasami had come down the stairs and agrily demanded to know what he'd
done to her sister. He'd tried to explain but doubted that Sasami had
understood. She had then begun to make breakfast after telling him that
under no circumstances was he allowed to go near Aeka for the rest of the
day at least. Sasami had also refused to talk to him since then.
Shortly afterwards, Washu had returned and told Sasami that Ryoko was
skipping breakfast. Tenchi had been worried, but Washu had told him that
Ryoko was OK and only wanted to be left alone for a while.
Breakfast had been pretty depressing. Sasami and Aeka had eaten in their
room. Since Tenchi's father was doing business in Tokyo and Mihoshi was
visiting her family, he was left with the company of Washu, his grandfather
and Ryo-ohki-chan. The old man had never been very talkative and Washu was
broding over something. Ryo-ohki-chan had sensed the tense atmosphere and
begun to cry, so Washu and Tenchi had had to comfort her. After all that,
he had been rather relieved when he had finished and could go off to the
fields.
His thoughts returned to the girls. What had Ryoko said? "I love you more
than everything else, more than my own life! There is nothing I want or
need except being close to you." What had he *done* to deserve this devotion?
It frightened him. Sure, he would like to have a nice girlfriend, but why
did their feelings have to be *this* intensive? For, taking both Aeka's
upbringing and her behaviour into account, Tenchi suspected that she had it
for him just as bad as Ryoko. At least she wasn't *quite* as aggressive
about it.
-----------------------------------
"Hey, princess! What's up?"
Aeka groaned. She could have easily named a few dozen things she'd rather
have heard than *that* voice. Turning around, she saw Ryoko rising through
the floor into her room, with a mischiveous grin on her face.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
Ryoko looked down at the princess who was lying on the futon in her nightgown,
looking rather un-royal, her hair just as messed up as the blanket. Aeka was
a first-class sulker.
"Just wanted to see how you're doing, that's all. Say, do you plan to stay
in here for a whole week like when we arrived here?"
"And what if I do? It's none of your business. As to your first question,
I'm feeling miserable. Hope you're happy now."
Ryoko sighed. She wondered why she bothered at all.
"Actually I wanted to ask you if you'd like to join me."
"Join you in *what*?"
"Well, you know... hit the town, maybe get drunk and stuff."
"And what in the world makes you think that I would be interested in
engaging in that kind of activity? Together with *you*, of all persons?"
Shrugging, Ryoko replied:
"Guess you're right. I should've known that her highness prefers bathing in
self-pity and contemplating her misery. Suit yourself..."
With these words, Ryoko began to sink through the floor and vanished. Aeka
however suddenly noticed that she had felt much, much better during the
brief conversation, even though it hadn't been friendly. The prospect of
spending hours upon hours alone in this room, replaying over and over again
in her mind the moment when Tenchi told her that he didn't love her...
somehow even Ryoko's company seemed desirable in comparison. She ran to the
window to see the cyan-haired demoness leave the house. She hesitated. The
activities Ryoko had proposed weren't exactly becoming for a Juraian crown
princess. Blast it all, she thought with grim determination. I'm not a
littel girl anymore, no matter what my mother thinks!. Opening the window,
she shouted:
"Ryoko-san! wait for me!"
-----------------------------------
The two girls were walking down the road in an uneasy silence. Neither one
could think of an appropriate conversation topic. The obvious one, Tenchi
(which would of course have inevitably led to a fight. But that wasn't the
point) was out of question, for reasons just as obvious. Finally Aeka, being
the more sociable of the two, began:
"So what exactly are we going to do?"
"Dunno. It's still too early for a bar. Maybe catch a movie first? Yeah,
that's a good idea. Just the right thing to get our minds off... you know
what."
Aeka nodded affirmatively. Then there was the issue of what kind of movie
they were going to watch. While waiting for the bus, they looked through a
newspaper that had been lying at the bus stop.
"What about this one? `Monster Princess`... sounds like it was made for you!"
"Strange. I was just about to say the same about *you*..."
For a second, the familiar hostility flared up as they looked into each
other's eyes, but then it went away as suddenly as it had appeared.
"Anyway, what do you suggest? You've got more experience with this."
"Well, what about this Jackie Chan movie? That guy can do some pretty amazing
moves, almost as good as your brother."
"An _action_movie_ ?? No, thanks. You can watch that one when you're alone."
Ryoko was a bit pissed off. She'd really wanted to see that movie.
"So what do *you* suggest, princess?"
"Oh, I don't know... maybe a love story..."
Aeka froze as Ryoko questioningly raised an eyebrow.
"NO!" they decided in unison.
"Now that I think about it, we have a problem there. Almost any movie has
a love story somewhere in it."
Finally, they decided to try out the IMAX cinema, as it showed a lot of
documentaries which seemed half-way interesting and were guaranteed not to
evoke unpleasant memories.
-----------------------------------
"I'm not sure if I should really do this, Ryoko-san..."
"Oh, come on, are Juraian princesses not allowed to have fun, or are you
just afraid to try out something new?"
"That's not the point, but I..."
Not paying attention to Aeka's protest, Ryoko dragged her into the bar.
Once inside, she nodded hello to the bartender and then went to a rather
secluded table in a corner of the room. Aeka was busy being fascinated by
the atmosphere. There were similar places on Jurai, but she had hardly ever
left the palace premises. On the few occasions that she had, her mother had
made sure that there was not the slightest chance of her little girl even
getting close to the parts of the city where these places were situated.
"So what do you wanna drink?"
"I'm not sure... what options are there?"
"Oh, forget it. I'll just get us some sake. You seem to like the stuff."
While Ryoko got the drinks, Aeka looked around. This place wasn't quite like
what she had expected. There were no people lying on the floor. It didn't
stink. The walls were clean and there were even some nice pictures on them.
And the music was rather soft and unobtrusive. Then Ryoko returned with a
bottle and two glasses.
"Ryoko-san, what exactly is it we're supposed to do here?"
"Well, mainly drink. And talk."
Ryoko filled their glasses and took a few draughts while Aeka was sipping
tentatively at hers.
"Talk about what?"
"Do I have to explain *everything* to you??"
-----------------------------------
"At least you *have* somewhere to go back to!"
Aeka set down her glass rather vehemently.
"Oh sure. I can always go home to Jurai and all will be well. Hmph!"
There was a pause as both girls seemed to wait for the other one to continue.
Finally, after taking a deep draught, Ryoko spoke:
"Well, weren't you about to tell me why everything would *not* be well?"
"You have met Seiryou, haven't you?"
"Oh come on! You don't expect me to believe that everyone on Jurai is
like him!"
"I admit he is one of the more extreme cases. But your average Juraian noble
is only slightly better. Then again it might be that I just got the worst
of it, being the crown princess and everything..."
"And how exactly do you reach the conclusion that the crown princess of the
mightiest empire in the galaxy is in any way DISADVANTAGED ??"
The last words were almost shouted and earned them some pretty strange
glances from the other guests. Those that were still receptive to their
environment, that is. Sighing, Aeka replied.
"You don't get it, do you?"
"No. I. Don't. So *please* enlighten this poor commoner, *princess*!"
Aeka hesitated. Then she refilled her glass before replying.
"Firstly, you should realize that as a crown princess one is not allowed to
go around as one pleases. Every single step is guarded and most of them
are also done according to some tradition or ceremony. There is *no*
vacation from being a princess."
"Are you kidding? You are part of the most powerful family in the galaxy,
you can have your every wish fulfilled and never need to worry about your
daily needs and now you're complaining about losing some of your personal
freedom in exchange ??"
"I'm not finished yet. The other thing is that princesses get to meet only
two kinds of people: servants and nobles."
She took a deep draught while Ryoko eyed her impatiently.
"Let's first take a look at the servants. Being a servant of the royal family
means a lot of prestige. And money. They behave accordingly. You cannot
really *talk* to someone who fears to lose his job and maybe more should they
somehow arouse your anger. Whatever you say, it's always `Of course, princess!'
and `You're *so right*, princess Aeka!`."
"But what about the nobles? They're your kind of people. Where's the problem?"
"You don't seem to understand how a monarchy works. It's mainly a very
complicated and delicate network of relations and power. And the royal
family is in the center of this network. The other noble families can be
bascially divided into two groups: those who try to gain power by winning
the king's favor, and those who plan to do it by setting themselves into
his place.
Basically everyone I got to meet was either trying to get ony my father's
good side by being *very* nice to me or trying to decide if I could be used
as a puppet once they'd gotten the king out of the way or if it would be
better to get rid of me also."
For a while, Ryoko considered this. She didn't anymore look angry. The two
girls drank in silence for a while before Ryoko came up with something.
"Is that why you and Yosho...?"
This surprised Aeka. Then she looked down.
"I guess you're right. I never could get really close to anyone outside my
family, including the young men. *Especially* the young men. You can imagine
that it was the dream of all the families to marry one of their sons to the
crown princess. They were almost *bursting* with wit and charm as soon as I
came within earshot.
Actually my brother was the only person I could really trust and talk to.
My father and mother were always too busy or on diplomatic missions. And of
course there are some things you don't really want to talk about with your
parents. But Yosho-sama... he was always there for me. So when my father
had the idea of marrying the two of us, I was happy about it."
Then I met Tenchi-sama. He was the first stranger ever to be nice to me, not
because I'm a princess but... simply because it's his nature. And do you
know what's the really sad thing about it? Now that I've finally met a
man... whom I really love... I find myself unable to talk to him. After
all those conversations full of false friendliness, I too find it difficult
to talk openly about my feelings. Ryoko-san, you can't imagine how much I
sometimes envy you your straightforward manners."
"You done now?"
Aeka looked up, surprised. This had not been easy for her. Deep inside she
had known the truth about most of the things she'd just said, but actually
facing it was still hard. She had even carefully avoided to say or imply
that Tenchi returned her love because she didn't want to get into an
argument. No, she reminded herself. Tenchi really does not love me. Another
uncomfortable truth. But still, Ryoko seemed to be somehow angered!
"Yes, I think so. But what do you..."
"Now listen princess, and listen very well! Especially while we're talking
about not being able to imagine things. Aeka, can *you* imagine how it feels
when someone can look into your very *mind* and take it apart as one might
do with a dead animal? When he can force you to do *anything*, and you have
no control at all over your own body? When he makes you do things just to
see how you react to the experience? And most of all, can you imagine having
to accept that situation as *normal* because that's how it always was? Well?
CAN YOU??"
Aeka was shocked. She had never really thought over this aspect of Ryoko's
past. At the time she had witnessed the power Kagato had held over the
demoness, there had been too many other worries. Later on, she had just
forgotten it over all the turmoil her newly discovered feelings for Tenchi
and the rivalry for his affection were causing in her.
"R-Ryoko, I'm sorry... I mean, you're right. I will probably never be able to
really understand the terror you lived through..."
She looked up and met Ryoko's very, very serious gaze.
"And you should thank your gods for that, princess."
Suddenly, the seriousness left her face and she raised her glass while
waving her hand dismissively.
"But all that is over now and Kagato gone forever. Forget it. Just don't start
telling *me* about the hardships of *your* life."
Something occured to her, causing her to narrow her eyes.
"Uh, Aeka?"
"Huh?"
"When exactly did this turn into a game of `My life's been more pathetic
than yours` ?"
Aeka's eyes bugged out. Ryoko rammed down the emptied glass and raised her
head straight up, laughing at the top of her lungs about her own joke. Aeka
couldn't help joining in, glad to let go of all the angst the two of them
had been building up. The sake did its own to turn her dignified, sleeve-
covered `Hohohoh` into a full-throated and unrestrained release of tension.
It was extremely inappropriate for a Juraian princess, but at the moment
there were few things Aeka would have cared less about.
As if they had rehearsed, they both stopped at the same time and looked at
each other.
"Still, teamed effort enables us to bathe in self-pity much more effectively,
doesn't it?"
This led to another bout of snickering.
"Right. This is *really* pathetic. We should be having fun, after all that's
why we're here!"
"Well, this bar thing doesn't seem to work. Maybe we should try something
else. Do you have any ideas?"
Ryoko played with one of her bangs, a thoughtful frown on her face. Suddenly
her expression lit up.
"Aeka, have you ever been in a karaoke bar?"
"Ka-ra-oke ??"
-----------------------------------
"Kono koi gaaaa... meido no miyagee da to.
Antaaaa ni hodasareeeetaa..."
Now they *were* having fun. At first, Aeka had been hesitant, but after a
demonstration from Ryoko and a few more glasses of sake she had been getting
into the so-what-if-I-look-like-a-fool-at-least-I'm-having-fun mood one
needs for karaoke. Then someone had sung this enka. Aeka was completely
fascinated. Then she had gone to the front and asked, timidly, if maybe she
could have a try if it wasn't too much inconvenience...
At the moment she was singing it for the sixth time in a row while Ryoko was
fending off the staff's and other guest's desperate attempts to recapture the
microphone. She too was enjoying this immensely. Nothing like a friendly
brawl, is there? And Aeka was a sight to behold, bawling her favourite song
into the microphone at the top of her lungs, sweat streaming down her scarlet
face. Although probably only Ryoko, knowing the princess's normal behaviour,
could really appreciate it. One thing's for sure, she thought, that princess
will never again accuse me of acting `indecent`...
-----------------------------------
Three pairs of sleepy eyes were going back and forth between the a door and a
clock the hands of which had passed midnight long ago.
"Sasami-chan, there's really no need for you to stay up this late. I'm sure
Washu-chan and I can..."
"No you can't! After all, this is *your* fault, Tenchi-niichan !!"
"But I only did..."
"Yes, I know! And maybe it was right. But I'm sure there'd been a gentler
way to do it!"
"I sure wish I'd have thought of one..." Tenchi sighed.
"Then why didn't you? Because of you my sister and Ryoko-oneechan are out
there and heaven knows what might happen to them!"
Washu looked up from her computer.
"Actually I'm more concerned about what might happen to the city... although
it looks pretty good at the moment. There's nothing on the police channels
that involves girls flying around or throwing explosive energy bolts."
Even Sasami had to admit that Ryoko and Aeka were indeed more of a danger to
their surroundings than the other way round.
-----------------------------------
"Ryoko-san, lesh g'home."
"Naw, I'm sh-shure I reg'nize dis plaish. Dat bar's just 'round dat corner,
I tell ya!"
"You shaid ex-actly the same fing 'bout the lash five corners..."
Ryoko was pretty pissed off. She was *sure* the karaoke bar didn't usually
close that early. But after they'd cut off the power for the karaoke
equipment there wasn't anything Ryoko or Aeka could do about it. Now she
was trying to find a place she knew that was open all night.
"Damn! I wash *really* sure dis time... Huh?"
Suddenly, Aeka leaned heavily on the other girl.
"Hey, leggo! I'm not Tenchi!"
"Ryoko-san, I... don't feel so good..."
"OK, I'm preddy dead-beat m'self. P-perhapsh we better go home."
"Noooo... I m-mean I'm *really* not feewing good..."
"Whut?" was the last thing Ryoko got out before Aeka went down to her knees
and proceeded to empty her stomach.
Ryoko jumped a step away, then approached the puking princess (from behind)
and patted her back.
"Yeah, get it all out. Ya'll feel 100% per-shent better afterwards."
After about a minute, the cramps subsided.
"Better now?" Ryoko asked, handing Aeka a handkerchief.
"Blech! Still got that g-godawful taste in my mouth."
"Just spit it out, best we can do without any water. An' I'm gonna..."
Before the girls, three figures had appeared on the street. All of them
male and what passed as "tough-looking" in this age and place.
"Well, well. Look what we've got here!" said one, a fat guy in a rather shoddy
jeans jacket.
"Two little lost girls. Didn't your mothers tell you that this is a dangerous
place for little girls?"
This was said by a short man who seemed to be the oldest of the trio (he looked
like he was in his late twenties). In his right hand he held a chromium-plated
metal pipe about a foot long.
"Yeah? What's s'posed to be dangerous about it?" Ryoko wanted to get this
over with, and quickly if possible.
"We, for example." The first man had produced a large butterfly knife. "But
if you don't do anything stupid, we won't hurt you. Perhaps." He laughed.
"Oh, get lost, ya assholes! I dunn have time for this."
"Chick, I don't think you under..."
*BLAM*
A blast shot out of Ryoko's right hand, past the three thugs, causing some
trash bags behind them to explode.
"Shit! She's got some kind of freaky gun!"
"Let's get the hell outta here!"
Ryoko watched the trio disappear *very* quickly. She looked at her fist.
"Damn. I'm shure I aimed at the g-ground right before their feet...
Hey, Aeka! We'd better get away now b'fore they... AEKA!"
The princess was leaning against a parked car and looked like she was about
to doze off right there and then.
"Wh-wozzup?"
"We're goin' home!" Ryoko said, turning her back to Aeka. "Hop on!"
After a few second she glanced back at the other girl, who had a rather
pzzled expression.
"What?"
Ryoko sighed. "I gonna fly us home, a-an' you gonna ride piggy-back. Got it?"
"No way!"
"You wanna *walk* home?"
Aeka considered this for some seconds, then climbed onto Ryoko's back.
"'ere we goooo!" yelled Ryoko, taking off.
-----------------------------------
Washu stood up. "They're coming!"
"Huh? How do you know??" asked Tenchi, confused.
Washu sighed. "The link, Tenchi-dono. Remember?"
"Oh, right."
The front door opened. "I'm hoome!" exclaimed Ryoko before collapsing on
the floor. There was a sudden rush of activity.
"Ryoko! Aeka-san! where in the world have you..."
"Sister! Are you allright? What happened??"
"Tsk, tsk. Boozed to her ears. Just as I expected."
"Ryoko-oneechan! What did you do to my sister?!"
Ryoko looked up at three faces in various states of worry and accusation.
"Aww, shaddup! Her Highness 'ere is ashleep. Slept like a baby while *I*
carried her home, that ungrateful brat. Just lemme alone!"
Washu murmured something that sounded a lot like "nothing but trouble,
these kids!". Then she straightened up.
"OK, now. Tenchi-dono, you and Sasami-chan get Aeka-dono into bed. Try not
to wake her up. I'll take care of Ryoko."
Tenchi nodded and reached for Aeka.
"Oh no! You stay away from my sister!" objected Sasami.
"Are *you* going to carry her upstairs?"
This got through to Sasami. Tenchi picked up Aeka and walked towards the
stairs, Sasami trailing behind.
"If you wake her up, I won't talk to you anymore!"
"You're *already* not talking to me, remember?"
"OK, then I won't *cook* for you anymore!"
Washu grinned as she noticed that Tenchi suddenly seemed to handle Aeka
*very* carefully.
"That's not fair! Why does *Aeka* get to be carried by Tenchi?!"
complained Ryoko.
Washu helped her daughter get to her feet and walked her over to the
couch.
"It's not as if she could enjoy it all that much. And you don't *need*
to be carried."
"Still not fair! After all I did for her! Without me she'd still be lying
in her bed and mope. I mean, she really liked it... You shoulda seen..."
Washu materialized a blanket (with crab ornaments, of course) and covered
Ryoko with it.
"Hush, Ryoko. Sleep now. You can tell me tomorrow."
"Yeah, but... you shoulda really seen her... In that... karaoke bar..."
Finally overwhelmed by fatigue, Ryoko fell asleep. Washu watched her for
a while, then she smiled and bent over to kiss her daughter on the forehead.
"Good night, Ryoko-chan."
-----------------------------------
That's it for now, but I will of course continue it... eventually.
Some things the next chapter will probably contain: Ryoko and Aeka suffer
from the mother of all hangovers and decide to take revenge on Tenchi.
Mihoshi returns. Ryoko tries to find out what having a mother is supposed
to mean.
A few words on how I got my ideas for this fic:
The first scene was the obvious continuation of the previous story. The
second scene I did because I absolutely wanted a good scene for Washu, my
favourite character. Besides, I think the not-quite-mother-daughter
relationship between those two has great potential and it would help both
of them a lot if only they could manage to work it out.
The rest of it is mainly based on an idea that has been suggested numerous
times by different people: That Ryoko and Aeka could be quite good friends
if it weren't for Tenchi, and that each of them actually *is* the closest
thing to a friend the other one has. There are certainly enough hints in the
OVAs that Ryoko at least doesn't really consider Aeka an enemy.
It's probably also a bit influenced by the Ranma fanfic "Nerima Blues" by
rpm that tells how after a Ranma-Akane wedding all the people who got the
short end of the stick get together to mourn their losses and then decide
to hit the town...
Forgive me if Sasami's character has too much of a Skuldish touch in this
story, but since she doesn't seem to have much of a character of her own,
I guess something just slipped in to fill the gap.
Following good fanfic tradition I've included a couple of anime in-jokes and
following another tradition I'll now uncover them so that all those newbies
who didn't get them can gaze at me in awe :)
"Monster Princess" of course refers to Miyazaki's newest production "Mononoke
Hime" that's currently running in Japan.
The song Aeka is singing is from Yuugen Kaisha ("Phantom Quest Corp.")
episode 2, where a very boozed Ayaka sings it in a taxi on her way home from
a karaoke bar. A rough translation of these two lines would be:
"This love is a souvenir from hades. / Chained to you...". My Japanese isn't
yet good enough to figure out the song completely (even with the written
lyrics and a dictionary), but in the beginning it's about a funeral, and
taking into account the nature of that show, I suspect it tells of a dead
lover's return as a ghost... OK, so maybe it's not something Aeka would get
fantatical about, but I really like the song.
Special thanks go to Chris Davies, Sarah Stark, The Lost Boy and all other
people who gave me feedback on the drafts.
But one can never get too much feedback, so I want to hear *your* impression
too! I eagerly await your praise, criticism (especially of my wording,
spelling or grammar, since English is not my native language and I want to
improve!) and comments: write to brazzy {at} gmail {dot} com
This and other works of me can be found at:
http://fanfiction.brazils-animeland.de
EOF