Ok, well, this is my first Fanfic, and I think it's turned out pretty
well, but I'd really like some C&C on it (anything... what you liked, what
you didn't, grammer mistakes, spelling mistakes, anything!). Also, I've
almost got the second part done, but I'm looking for some pre-readers to
help me get smooth out a couple of things... (let me know if your
intrested).

 Tenchi notes:
First off, this takes place in the tenchi OAV universe, that means that
the events of the Tv series and the movie (Tenchi Muyo! in Love) NEVER
HAPPENED in this time line (must make this abundandly clear, too many
people even on the Tenchi ML mix them up). Second, those of you who know
me from the TenchiML know that Ryouko is my favorite character (yes, I
even have a ryouko shrine at
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/tenchi/ryoko.html <shamless plug>), and
many of my favorite Ryouko fans will accuse me of betraying her.. and your
quiet right. I'm sorry.  

Anyway, without further ado..

Tenchi Fanfic
Love's Labour Lost
part 1:dreams made real

It was a bright sunny day at the Masaki house, birds sang in the warm summer 
air, as the morning sun light glistened across the lake. "Ah, another beautiful 
day, wouldn't you agree, Kamidake?" asked Asaka.

"Indeed, it is. On a day like today, surely nothing can go wrong. Everything 
seems right in the world." replied Kamidake. 

Suddenly  a crash could be heard inside the house, quickly followed by several 
female voices raised in anger. A large sweat drop formed on each of the wooden 
gaurdians...


Tenchi stared hard at his breakfast, steadfast trying to ignore the chaos erupting 
around him. <why me?> he asked himself. <Don't they EVER get tired of 
fighting?>

Aeka stepped back and covered her face with her sleeve, giving a maniacal 
laugh. "Oh ho ho.. I see Ryouko-san, your jealous of how close Tenchi-sama 
and I are!"

Ryouko leapt to her feet. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? Tenchi was 
just taking pity on you because he didn't want to see you married to that Serriyo 
fop!"

"Oh, is that so? Well Tenchi doesn't even want you around! He just can't seem to 
get rid of you!"

Ryouko flys over and glomps on to Tenchi. "That's not true, ne Tenchi? Tell this 
arrogant baka that it's her that you really want to leave. After all, after she's gone 
you and I can..."

"Let go of him Ryouko-san! I can not allow you to take such liberties with my 
Tenchi-sama!" yelled Aeka, turning an intresting shade of red.

Tenchi felt the heat of his blush creap up on him again at the uninhibited way 
Ryouko threw herself on him, but at the same time he couldn't believe these two, 
fighting over him like a peice of meat, always assuming they knew how he felt. 
They'd never asked of course, and would never let him finish when he tried to 
explain it to them. Not that it really mattered, he suspected that if he told either 
of them that he didn't like them, they still wouldn't leave him alone... 

Aeka had had enough. <How dare that innoclent *criminal* cuddle with _her_ 
Tenchi! I'll make her pay..> quickly she shut her eyes and began creating the 
force field...

Seeing that the coming battle was about to errupt around them, everyone 
quickly moved off, except for Mihoshi who blithely continued eating. Sasami, 
seeing what was about to happen from where she was watching near the kitchen, 
called out "No Oneesama, not again..."

But Aeka was beyond hearing. Ryouko released Tenchi and stood up, preparing 
her own ball of  power to blast Aeka to peices. Things were quickly reaching a 
major-destruction level when suddenly Tenchi stood up.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR FIGHTS!" he yelled. Both of the 
girls just stood there flabbergasted, not knowing what to do. Ryouko's ball 
disapperead with a quiet "pop" and Aeka's log's faded from view. 

"Tenchi.." Rouko started.

"T-Tenchi-sama.." stammered Aeka.

"Bah... what's the use of talking to you two anyway? All you ever want to do is 
fight! Just leave me alone..." and with that Tenchi turned and stalked up the 
stairs. Already he could hear the beginings of a fight starting back up again 
down stairs. "This is all your fault Ryouko! Making Tenchi upset...""why 
you..." He just hoped they'd take it outside so they wouldn't cause anymore 
damage. Tenchi stepped out on the balcony. The newly (and constantly, 'cause 
of all the damage) renivated house took some getting used to, (esspesially since 
Washu and his father were constantly adding to it and changing things around). 
His favorite place though had to be the balcony. Up here, on the top floor, he 
could look out accross the lake and everything seemed so peaceful. He heard a 
crash from down stairs and shuddered. <If only they could get along, or at least 
not do some much property damage..> he thought. 

Once more he turned his gaze to the peaceful lake. It's deep blue seemed to go 
on forever, in infinitely many different shades, like the color of her hair... At 
that thought the memories creeped back to him, of awakening surrounded by 
light, with this beautiful etherial woman standing before him.. the tingly 
sensations that ran up his spine as she'd pressed her forehead into his. "Have 
faith in your own power" she had said... She was the first one to ever believe he 
was anything special. Ryouko had fawned over him like a protective mother, but 
the blue haired goddess.. she alone had encouraged Tenchi to find his own 
strength. 

He let out a deep sigh.. "Tsunami...." he wispered. Then he thought back to the 
last time he'd seen her, and once more cursed himself inwardly. <Hentai..> he 
accused himself. He remebered his shock at hearing Sasami's tale, at discovering 
that the beautiful woman who had saved his life had been with him all along... 
as an eight-year-old girl! What kinda of hentai was he that he should feel this 
way for a being whose only human manifestation was that of an eight-year-old?

And yet... it was true that Sasami was the most helpful and mature around the 
house, doing enough work to make up for the three freeloaders in the house. 
And it was true that she had been in stasis for 700 years, but still, she was in the 
body of an eight-year-old.. it would be another 10 years before she was the 
goddess he'd fallen in love with. He just didn't think he could wait that long. 
And besides... what would a goddess want with him anyway?

"Tenchi.." Tenchi spun around, and there, as if summoned up by his thoughts 
was Sasami. He quickly smiled.

"Yes, Sasami-chan?" He replied, trying to imagine her 10 years from now...

"Ryouko-neechan and Aeka-neechan asked me to come get you... They say that 
they have something they want to tell you." replied Sasami.

Tenchi's face fell. <Oh great, just what I need.>. "Ok, Sasami, I'm coming." he 
said with a sigh, giving one last longing look at the peaceful lake, then turned 
and followed her back down stairs.


Ryouko stared at Tenchi as he stomped up the stairs. What was with him, 
anyway? He'd been so dour lately.. Couldn't he see that she was just fighting so 
that he'd be proud of her?  Couldn't he see that she was fighting to prove that she 
would make the better wife?

Aeks seemed pensive for a moment too, she just couldn't beleive this, that witch 
had made Tenchi mad at _her_! How dare she! "This is all your fault Ryouko! 
making Tenchi upset.."

Ryouko felt the heat coming back to her cheeks. She didn't know how to deal 
with Tenchi. No matter how much she tried to show him she loved him, it 
always came out wrong. But now, Aeka accusing her, _that_ she knew how to 
deal with... "Why you! How dare you accuse me of something that is all your 
fault! If you hadn't tried to separate Tenchi and I why..."

Aeka laughed again, ooo how that laugh got on Ryouko's nerves...  it just 
seemed to set every nerve of hers on edge, like nails on a chalk board. "What? 
You would have forced yourself on him? You think that's what Tenchi wants? A 
_monster_ forcing herself on him? Oh ho ho ho... Tenchi doesn't like 
monsters..."

Now it was Ryouko's turn  to turn red in the face, her fists clenched in anger. 
She could feel the blood red haze of rage begin to settle over her...  this time 
she'd get her, she swore, no more going easy.... But then there was another, 
quieter voice in the back of her mind that seemed to penetrate through the haze 
of rage. "Tenchi doesn't want you to fight!" it said. It sounded suspiciously like 
that goody-two-shoes Zero. "Remember how Tenchi held us when we escaped 
from doctor Clay? " 

"Held you.. " she replied to herself. Maybe there was something there though. If 
she could convince Tenchi that she was a "nice girl", maybe he'd be more open 
to her kinda fun later.

Ryouko's fists unclenched, and she seemed to sag a little. "Aeka... this is just 
what Tenchi doesn't want, us fighting."

That made Aeka's eyebows lift in surprise. Was Ryouko actually not going to 
fight her? <Ha, the little witch must have finnally seen that I'm more worthy of 
Tenchi's love.> she thought. Still, the idea that Tenchi didn't want them to fight 
did seem to be true, he always did seem to get upset whenever they argued. 
Aeka was sure that was because he was concered for her safety, though she 
knew that she could beat Ryouko any day... "Ok Ryouko-san" she said, relaxing 
her stance a bit. "If you don't want to fight that's fine with me."

Ryouko thought for a second... how long would it take to convince Tenchi that 
she was a "nice girl"? A week? Yeah, that should be enough time... "Aeka, why 
don't we declare a truce. For one week, no fighting."

"Oh no, I know you Ryouko, you'll just go and glomp all over Tenchi and use 
the agreement not to fight to keep me from keeping you from doing it!"

"che.. I wouldn't..." <damn>, thought Ryouko... <how'd she know?>

"How about this, if one of us is doing something the other doesn't like, that 
would normally lead to a fight, the offended person can just say "please" and the 
other must stop doing what they are doing."

Ryouko thought for a moment.. that would certainly make it difficult, as Aeka 
was likely to get mad  at everything she did, but if it would make Tenchi 
happy... "ok, Aeka, it's a deal." and she offered her hand.

Which Aeka excepted. For a moment both parties glared at each other, 
unwilling to break eye contact first. Then, simultaniously, with a "humpf" they 
both spun to face away from each other.

Then Aeka said "We should tell Tenchi that we're not going to fight anymore. 
I'll be happy to go do it."

"Oh no, we'll get Sasami to go get him, then we'll tell him together." replied 
Ryouko.


As Tenchi came down the stairs, he was shocked to see Aeka and Ryouko 
sitting at the bottom. They both gave him deep bows simultaniously, then Aeka 
said "Tenchi-sama, as per your wish, we've decided not to fight any longer..."

"Yes Tenchi, does that make you happy?" finished Ryouko.

Tenchi looked from one girl to the other, in shocked amazement. Aeka and 
Ryouko _NOT_ fighting?? Was the world about to come crashing down around 
their ears? Had Washu replaced them with robots? Just what was going on here? 
Well, as long as it kept them from causing anymore property damage..."Um, 
yeah, sure Ryouko... I'm uh... glad you two could come to terms with each 
other. " Tenchi thought back to the last time the two had cooperated, and gave a 
small shudder. <well, we'll see how long this lasts...> then out loud he said 
"Well, I'll see you both at dinner then. I'm off to work in the fields."

Ryouko and Aeka rose as Tenchi stepped by them. "Oi! Tenchi! Why don't I 
come with you to help, ne?" said Ryouko, a hopeful look in her eye..

Tenchi stopped and seemed to consider for a moment, but Aeka got their first. 
"Ah, Ryouko-san, Sasami asked me to run to the store earlier to pick up some 
things for dinner, would you _please_ come with me, instead?"

Ryouko was about to give a sharp retort to Aeka's queston, but then caught 
herself. Aeka _had_ used the "please" code word, and if this was going to work 
at all, she was going to have to give a little first. So she gave a sigh, <so much 
for getting sometime alone with Tenchi> and said to Aeka "oh, uh... ok Aeka, I 
suppose I can come with you..."

At this Tenchi looked like his eye's were about to bug out of his skull. Aeka, and 
Ryouko, getting along? not fighting? Ryouko _VOLUNTEERING_ to go to the 
store with _AEKA_??! What WAS going on? Well, he was sure he'd fing out 
soon enough. He was just glad he wouldn�t have to put up with Ryouko's 
version of "help" in the field. "Well, its all settled then. See you two for dinner!" 
and he quickly headed toward the fields.

Ryouko watched him go, sadly thinking that he seemed just a little _too_ happy 
not to have her help. As she and Aeka headed out the door toward town, she 
sent one last look toward Ryo-ohki, which the little cabbit understood 
completely and followed Tenchi out the door. 



Later that night, Ryouko sat up in the rafters, staring at the ceiling. Her heart felt 
it couldn't get any lower. Silently she reviewed that evening's events. 

She had gone shopping with Aeka, and expidition that had actually gone pretty 
smoothly, but had involved _alot_ of pleases. Still, she kept telling herself it was 
all for Tenchi's sake, and it hadn't been that bad. Dinner had gone equally well, 
though also with alot of use of the "magic word" on both her and Aeka's 
part. She had managed to restrain herself from glomping onto Tenchi, and Aeka 
had remained fairly silent through the dinner. Tenchi, for his part, had kept 
sending both of them puzzled looks, as though he suspect they where up to 
something. None of that had been so bad, however, until tonight when she had 
finnally gotten a chance to play back Ryo-ohki's log of  Tenchi's time while she 
and Aeka were out.

It had not been pleasant for her to watch. For a while Tenchi had just worked in 
the field as per normal as Ryo-ohki munched on a carrot, then around lunch, just 
before Aeka and Ryouko had returned, Sasami had shown up bringing Tenchi 
his lunch. The two had sat around and ate together, and all seemed innocent 
enough, until Tenchi had begun to question Sasami about Aeka and Ryouko's 
behavior.


"Sasami, what is up with Ryouko and Aeka? Do you have any idea why there 
suddenly getting along?" Tenchi asked as they sat in the fields, Ryo-ohki 
laying nearby.

"Nope! They seem really set on being friends though, I guess you yelling at 
them this morning really made them think." Sasami replied with a smile.

"You think so? I guess its the first time they've ever really listened to me. 
They're always fighting so much, they never listen to a word I have to say. I 
don't think either of them really cares about anyone other then themselves." 
Tenchi confided, looking pensive.

"Oh, I don't know, Ryouko was so upset when she thought you died when 
Kagato attacked, she wouldn't let you out of her sight for days!"

"Well yeah, but she wouldn't give me any privacy either! I mean, concern is one 
thing, but she's gone too far! Treating me like some sort of possession. Always 
fighting with Aeka over me, like I don't have an opinion. I know she thinks she 
loves me, but I don't think she has any idea what love is." replied Tenchi

Sasami pondered for a bit, looking much older than her apparent age, "Well, she 
hasn't exactly had a normal life and all. Your probably the first person whose 
ever even been kinda nice to her."

"Maybe, but that still doesn't excuse her. I mean, she tried to kill me when we 
first met! I know she's apologized a million times and said she never would have 
really hurt me, but if she'd slipped, or if the gas had blown up while I was in the 
room, I'd be dead! It's just plain irresponsible of her. And then there's your 
sister. She's lived a sheltered life too, I know, but still, she gets offended at 
every little thing. I feel like I'm walking on glass around her. I mean, neither of 
them really have ever even tried to talk to me! At least with Aeka we had that 
one night in the wood shed, but even that wasn't exactly grounds for marriage!" 
replied Tenchi, looking glum. "It's as if I have no control over my life at all. At 
least I can still talk to you, Sasami-chan."

Sasami smiled briefly at that last statement, then pondered a bit more. "Do you 
feel anything for either of them Tenchi? You and Zero seemed really close."

"I don't know Sasami-chan, I just don't know. That whole Zero think was very 
odd, she was so helpless, so.. sad. I felt the need to comfort her, but anything 
more? I don't know. As much as I know about Ryouko and Aeka's past, I don't 
really know all that much about them, and quite frankly I'm not all that sure I 
really want to. Ryouko was a space pirate that I'm sure has done heinous things, 
even if she was controled by Kagato. And Aeka... she's my Aunt! not only that, 
but she's lived her whole live in the Jurai court, which I really have no interest 
in." 

"But Tenchi, you could be a member of that court too! Heck with your power, It 
won't be long before someone on Jurai decides you'd be useful and tries to 
manipulate you into using your power for what they want. Yosho has stayed 
here far too long as it is, I'm sure father will be back before too long to make 
him come home, and I rather doubt you'll be too far behind. Jurai's not such a 
bad place Tenchi....:" 

Tenchi felt frustrated, trapped again. "That's just it Sasami-chan! I don't want any 
part in the politics of Jurai! I didn't ask for this power, and I don't think I want 
it! It was great to be able to defeat Kagato, and save Washu and all of that, but 
why me? What makes me so special? I don't want a life of adventure! I just 
want to settle down, here, on earth... " for a moment Tenchi seemed lost in a 
thought, that last statement said a less convincingly then the rest, as if he didn't 
really believe it himself, but that it was a belief he clung to. Sasami stared at him 
hard for a moment, then relaxed.

"Like it or not Tenchi, you have the power, and the tenchi-ken, and its only a 
matter of time before you are forced to use it again. It's probably a very good 
thing that you don't ask for the power, if you did, perhaps you'd be more 
tempted to use it for you own gains. "

Tenchi looked at Sasami in shock, not believing that such a deep, adult 
statement could come from such a little, sweet girl. As he looked into her eyes, 
he could see the intelligence there of far more than eight years....

Suddenly Sasami blinked, and she was back to the normal, bubbly girl of eight. 
"Well, I've got to get back to the house! Aeka and Ryouko will be returning 
soon, and I got to get readdy for dinner! Be sure and bring home some carrots! 
Ja ne!" and she turned and ran off.

Tenchi just sat there for a moment, staring off after her. "Ja ne, Sasami-chan..."


Ryouko teleported up onto the roof, the warm summer air whipping her skirt 
around her. Silently, a few tears fell. She hugged her arms around herself, 
feeling utterly empty inside. Her one reason for living, her Tenchi, whom she 
would fight through hell and back for, didn't love her. The ache inside her grew, 
until the pain seemed too much to bear. She looked up at the sliver of the moon 
hanging in the eastern sky. She should leave, she thought, give up, go back to 
pirating, which she had always enjoyed, the feeling of being invincible as she 
destroyed ship after ship, as she defied death over and over again.   It all seemed 
so empty now, the fighting, the death, for what? She tried to remeber the rush of 
power and adrenialen that had been her defination of joy before she had met 
Tenchi...

Before she had met Tenchi.. that brought memories rushing back. She 
remebered first awakening, traped in the cold darkness of her prison, her 
wounds fresh from her battle with Yosho, feeling so weak from not 
having the jewels. It was as if she had died, and for the first time in her life, she 
had been scared, truly terrified. The cold, dark emptyness had gone on forever, 
all alone, away from any power or life. For an eternity it seemed, she lay there, 
listening, hoping for anything, some sound besides the dripping of water, 
some voice, any voice, to speak to her. She had screamed in the dark, pounding 
on the walls, to weak to break them down. She had screamed until she couldn't 
hear any more. Slowly, she began talking to herself, just to hear some thing 
besides the infernal drip of water in that cold prison.

Sleep and waking had slowly begun to blur in to one thing.. emptiness.  Her 
dreams were always nightmare visions, from which she would wake up 
screaming, only to find that she could still see them... Their after-images still 
before her eyes which could see nothing else in the intense darkness. She felt 
herself going mad, then after awhile decided she didn't care. The cold and 
darkness went on forever it seemed, it was as if she had been consigned to 
oblivion. It utter hopelessness, she had given herself up to the torturous dreams, 
because at least they seemed real. In her nightmares she could feel the pain, see 
images other than just the blackness around her.

Amazingly, it was in the horror of her nightmares that she slowly found her 
salvation. It happened only rarely at first, when a nightmare had pushed her 
sanity so far she felt she wasn't even in her body any more. Then, slowly, she 
had found that in this state she could dream of the outside world, her first 
visions that weren't torn by pain and death. She could never get very far from 
her cave, and she was instantly sucked back into her nightmares as soon as she 
saw the outside, but even that second's glimpse gave her hope. Slowly, decade 
by decade, century by century, for hundreds of years she strained against the 
darkness, slowly increasing the length of time she could spend out side of her 
tomb. At last, although she couldn't go very far, she could spend almost as much 
time as she wanted beyond the walls of her prison, seeing the life around her, 
watching the woodland creatures, the grass grow, ANYTHING that was life. 
even though she couldn't feel it, she could at least remember what it felt like. 
Then, one day, while watching some birds flying over head, she had felt 
something.

That day she had looked over and seen a beautiful young woman, who seemed 
oddly familiar, carrying an infant walk by the cave. As they came close, the 
infant's tiny bright eyes had fixed on her. IT HAD SEEN HER!!! A feeling she 
hadn't felt in so long she almost cried out at feeling it.. the feeling of hope. More 
than that though, she could feel... something from the child. A power so great 
that the scent of it even passed through the potent wards keeping her from 
receiving any power.  This child was special, she knew it to the 
core of her being.

As the months went by, she watched every day for the child. She didn't get to 
seem him much at first, only when his mother happened to walk by, but then as 
he had grown older, he had begun to come on his own. He no longer saw her, 
but he seemed to always feel her presence, and it made her feel good in a way 
she had never dreamed. She watched little Tenchi grow up, and then one snowy 
day he had come to the cave, crying his eye's out, beating his fist on the gound 
and crying out that his mother was dead. For the first time, Ryouko had felt a 
new emotion, that of sorrow. At first she had been so angry that anyone could 
bring pain to this wonderful child, but so frustrated that she couldn't do anything 
for him. Finally she had felt sorrow, the feeling of loss the same as Tenchi was 
feeling. She hadn't understood then why she had felt that way, she had just been 
so sad that she couldn't go to him and though she didn't know what she would 
have done if she could have. Yet she had been fairly sure that she would have 
thought of something that would have eased his pain, had she been free.

After seeing that, Ryouko made a decision. she HAD to escape, she just couldn't 
stand to see Tenchi in pain ever again. And so, she had searched and searched 
and searched for an escape, slowly drawing in every scrap and ounce of power 
that the wards would let through. For years she watched Tenchi grow into a 
handsome young man, gathering her strength. She also slowly found her 
feelings of protection change, as she watched him train, and become a strong, 
confident young man. Her heart broke the day that he came and said a silent 
goodbye on his way to school. She couldn't bare to live without him, she 
thought, but she was given knew incentive to break her bonds so she could go 
and be with him. Running out of power everywhere else, she had turned to her 
own body for the power she needed to escape, sapping her strength to the point 
she looked like a shell of herself. Afterall, she though, once she was free she 
would have plenty of energy available to her to bring her back to normal.

Disaster happened though. One day while she wasn't watching, as she was too 
busy drawing power out of  herself, Tenchi came to her. She had felt the wards 
surrounding her slip away, the door opening, the rush of  power flooding in.. 
and then she had seen him, standing over her. At last her dreams had come true, 
Tenchi had come to release her and claim her as his own! As he bent down next 
to the water, she reached up and touched him.. her first contact in seven 
centuries.  She had felt elation run through her, at last, at last, she was free! She 
reached up and caressed his beautiful face, bring her face toward him to kiss 
him, to show him how much he meant to her, and suddenly piercing light had 
struck into her, driving her back. Before she could recover, he was gone. She 
saw him, desperate in his fear.. fear of her... trying to close the door to 
her dungeon once more. Ryouko felt her heart sink, She had known pain before, 
but never like this, the feeling of rejection hit her in a way like no other pain 
had. The pain of loneliness had been horrible, but this was unbearable. Sadly, 
she closed the prison door, hoping to at least make him less afraid, but the 
wards were broken now, and she could escape anytime she wanted to.

That night, after Tenchi left, she had crept out beneath the night sky, felt the air, 
the earth, everything she had been denied for so long... and for a moment she 
forgot her pain, lost in the haze of _feeling_ that surrounded her, like a starving 
man brought to a banquet hall. She had sat there, drinking it all in all night, 
then the next morning she pondered what her next move should be. She was still 
very weak, and though not a mummy anymore, she still looked quite wasted. 
She could feel Yosho's presence nearby, stronger than ever, and briefly 
considered going to get her revenge on him. She thought about it, but her anger 
at him had dulled to nothing in the last seven-hundred years. She couldn't really 
blame him, after all, he had given her the opportunity to meet Tenchi. 

She had thought about Tenchi for a little bit, and then decided that's what she 
had to do, she had to go find Tenchi. She had traveled to his school, watched 
him from a far for sometime, then decided on the best way to approach him. She 
knew he was strong from his training, and he had been mischievous enough to 
come break into her cave. So.. why not play with him? She had been so sure he 
would find it fun, and then she'd beat him, and they'd laugh, then she'd kiss him 
and......

Ryouko shook her head to clear away the thoughts of that stupid first meeting 
between them, when everything had gone wrong. Was she cursed by the gods? 
Why was everything she really wanted denied to her? Well not this time, She 
vowed. I _will_ win Tenchi's love, no matter what it takes. No matter where he 
goes, or what he does, I will _never_ stop loving him. Her face firm with 
resolve, she sank onto the roof and wept.


Tenchi was having the same dream again, He was on the bridge of Ryuu, the 
tenchi-ken glowing brightly before him, the bright light from Kagato's beam 
racing toward him, he cried out in terror, and there was a brief lance of pain, and 
then everything was still. He lay in the forcfield made by Asaka and Kamidake, 
and the goddess was there... she glided to him, and he could see her.. sense her 
even though his eyes were closed. She came close to him, kissing him lightly on 
the lips. Suddenly he was able to move again, and he opened his eyes, and she 
was still there, kissing him. He drew his arms up around her, finding himself 
whole once more, and embraced her, holding onto her tightly, as though she 
might disappear. He kissed her deeply, a tingly feeling entering his whole body. 
then suddenly she drew back, giving him a secretive smile.  Behind her the floor 
of the ship Tsunami spread out, and he could see Ryouko in a corner, a bottle of 
sake in one hand and tears rolling down her face. In the other corner of the 
room, Aeka stood, looking angry, whip in hand. "Someday may come sooner 
than you think, Tenchi." Tsunami said. 

Tenchi blinked and sat up. he still had a warm fuzzy feeling all over. The dream 
wasn't an uncommon one, and he'd had it several time before, but that last part, 
where Tsunami drew away was new, as were the words. Tenchi shook his head, 
then went back to sleep, hoping that he would have that dream again.


Washu was working in her lab. It was late, she knew that, but she didn't 
particularly care. She was working on a particularly difficult algorithm to remap 
someone's astral body into whatever she wanted. She gave a bit of a laugh, 
thinking about the possibilities if she could pull it off. (she quickly stopped 
laughing when she realized her "laugh" sounded a bit like a "cackle"). She 
already could do this little trick, but with this new algorithm, she'd be able to do 
it without having to have both parties in elaborate apparatus. 

Suddenly Washu's furiously typing hands paused in their perpetual motion, as 
she felt the presence of someone behind her. She knew who it was. "Tsunami, 
it's been a long time." she said, spinning around to face the glowing apparition.

The beautiful women before her gave a stately bow. "Greetings Washu, I am 
sorry to disturb your work."

Washu sized her up. Somehow, probably using that damn Jurai magic of hers, 
Tsunami had tapped into a holo-projector in Washu's lab and was projecting 
herself through that. "Enough with the formalities, Tsunami, you wouldn't have 
come here if you didn't want something. Now, what is it this humble scientist 
can do for you, hmm?"

"I have come to discuss a rather important matter..." Tsunami began

"Ah, Tenchi.. so tell me,  what plans do you have for the boy? I know you' ve 
been grooming him quietly for something.. Is Jurai going to war perhaps? or 
maybe  your looking to put a new man on the throne?"

"Nothing like that, I assure you. I.." 

Again, Washu cut her off, "So what do you need me for then? I don't have any 
hold over Tenchi, unlike you." Washu said in an accusing tone.

Tsunami paused for a moment, eyeing Washu. "I see. " she said sadly. "I wish 
this could have worked out some other way..."

"Oh come now, you knew from the beginning, as did I, that our goals were 
different." replied Washu.

"Well then, I will let you return to your work." said Tsunami,. preparing to 
leave.

"One last thing, Tsunami-sama. I value my daughter's happiness very highly."

Tsunami raised an eyebrow. "Oh? really? like how you left her to rot for 700 
years? or how you left her hanging alone in the dark for hours, just so you could 
video tape her break down, which you knew would be triggered by putting her 
back in a dark, lonely place!"

Washu's eye's narrowed. "I have my own reasons for the things I do Tsunami, as 
do you. We shall see whose methods work best in the end."

Tsunami looked sad for a moment, then nodded. "Sayonnara, Oneechan."

"Sayonnara."

End part 1.

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author's note
Special thanks to Josh Prismon for his input on this series, and for
filling me in on SOOOooooo much information on Tsunami... Of course, he
gave most of that info to me in the form of arguements we had over who was
going to end up with tenchi but still...

I'm planning on this going at least 5 parts, so stay tunned!
next time:Ryouko and tenchi talk? Aeka and Ryouko don't fight? what is
washu up to anyway? and what about tokimi....

Ryan Anderson
andersor@cs.colorado.edu
Shrine of the Demoness Ryouko:
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/tenchi/ryoko.html