Ok, this story has been a *really* long time in getting here, even though
it was mostly written 2 months ago. I'm very sorry for the long dely, and
hopefully it won't happen again.
enjoy!
Ryan
---
Tenchi fanfic
Love's Labor Lost
by Ryan Anderson
Part 2:Friendship is a four letter word.
Ryouko quietly floated up through the floor of Tenchi's
room, hovering cross-legged before Tenchi's bed, watching
him sleep. It was hardly the first time she'd watched him
sleep, several times she had crept through the walls at
night, just to watch his beautiful face, so peaceful in
sleep. It was late, the moon getting low on the horizon,
but it was shinning into the room just enough to create an
eerie glow. For awhile she just sat there, feeling the
power that flowed from him, watching him sleep, then
her resolve firmed.
Gently she reached out a hand and shook him awake. Tenchi
sleepily blinked the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. As
his vision adjusted to the glow of the moon, he spotted
Ryouko sitting at the foot of his bed, facing away from
him.
He started sweating profusely. Ryouko, in his room, at
night, _alone_ usually meant trouble... But she just sat
there. Slowly thoughts besides fear began to creep into
his sleep-fogged mind. He noticed that for once she wasn't
glomping onto him, and her entire demeanor seemed
different, almost sad.
"Ah... Ryouko... what do you want? It's the middle of the
night..." he said quietly.
Still facing away from him, Ryouko was racked with
indecision. What could she say? She'd never tried to
"talk" to anyone before... she'd always lived by the
philosophy that actions spoke louder than words.
However, she just _had_ to talk to him, she couldn't take
the silence anymore. Quietly she replied, a pleading note
in her voice. "Tenchi... I-I need to talk to you."
That caused Tenchi to come more fully awake. Ryouko, talk?
This was getting more and more strange. She sounded
concerned though, so he decided that he'd better pay
attention. "What is it Ryouko? Couldn't it have waited
until morning?" he asked.
"No Tenchi, it couldn't. Every time I try to have a real
conversation with you during the day, someone interrupts.
This seems to be the only time I can get you alone." she
replied.
Tenchi pondered for a moment. He supposed it was true, he
had complained to Sasami earlier that neither of the girls
ever really talked to him, but when did they get the
chance? Their lives had been so full of adventure that
they'd been too busy dealing with the situations
developing around them to really talk.
Ryouko continued, "Tenchi... What do you remember about
your early childhood?"
That was a new one... Why would Ryouko want to know about
his childhood? "Well, not very much... I remember vague
impressions of my mother, and my father before he turned
into a hentai..."
"Do you... remember anything about the cave where I was
imprisoned?" asked Ryouko hesitantly.
"Hmm...." Tenchi had always been fascinated by the cave.
He remembered it as a place that always seemed... magical.
A place where his childhood dreams came to life. The
mysterious cave had always been his favorite play place,
and his imagination had always populated it with goblins
and dragons for him to slay, and, of course, a wicked
Oni which he would always single-handedly beat back in
titanic battles... He looked over at Ryouko, that same Oni
he had imagined battling so many times, sitting at the
edge of his bed, looking very small and very alone. "I
remembered it always seemed like a magical place...
something more than real. It was a fun place to play as a
child, and an enigma to be explored as I grew older... Why
do you ask, Ryouko?"
"Did you know, Tenchi, that I could see you? When you came
there to play as a small boy, you were so full of life..."
Ryouko choked for a moment, struggling to remain in
control of her voice and emotions, as the flood of
memories came back to her for a second time that night.
"...It was you who inspired me to do everything in my
power to escape the cave. I had been trapped in their for
_seven hundred years_.... hundreds of times longer than
you have even been alive. When we first met, I told
you you could never understand what I had been through in
there, and I'll tell you the same thing now... You simply
cannot know, and if I have anything to say about it, you
never will."
"Ryouko..." Tenchi started, feeling the pity welling up
within him creep into his voice.
"Oh stop it!" she said, turning to him at last, a playful
smile on her face, though there was an infinitely sad look
in her eyes. "It was nothing less than I deserved... and
it gave me the opportunity to learn that there was more to
life than piracy and death... I needed that, even if it
took me seven-hundred years of hell to learn it."
Tenchi returned her smile, wondering what had come over
Ryouko. This was a totally different side of her than he
had ever seen. Ryouko had always been an enigma to him, so
beautiful but so violent, always ready to use violence to
solve any problem. Inwardly he chided himself for thinking
that was all there was to her. "You must have experienced
so much in your life time...."
Ryouko smirked. "Ha! experienced maybe, but I never
learned anything from it." She looked away again. <It
wasn't until I saw you playing by my cave that I learned
what it really meant to live.> a voice in the back
of her mind said.
Tenchi was at a loss for what to do, then decided to do
what felt natural. He scooted over next to her and put a
hand on her shoulder. He instantly regretted it, however,
as she turned to face him, her eye's wide with shock at
his action, a look of fear mixed with longing on her face.
He smiled at her anyway. "Ryouko, I'm really glad I could
be here to help you out. I count you as one of my closest
friends."
The look of shock disappeared from her face, and for just
a moment there was a look of pain... but it was gone in a
flash, replaced by a smile. So sudden was the change that
Tenchi wasn't sure if he'd actually seen it or if it was
some trick of the fading moonlight. Ryouko slowly stood
up. "Sorry I woke you up so late..."
"Oh, don't worry about it Ryouko, it was nice to talk to
you for once. But next time, just try to find sometime
during the day, ok?"
"Sure Tenchi, good night."
***
Ryouko exited Tenchi's room (actually using the door,
instead of just walking through it). For a while she just
stood in the hall, listening to the sounds of people
sleeping, her fists clenched. Her heart felt like
it'd just been flung into the deepest, darkest black hole
in the Universe. Determinedly, she blinked back her tears.
<No, I won't give up to despair. He still considers me a
"friend" at least. That's something... From friendship
perhaps more can grow.> She thought to herself.
She disappeared from the hallway, heading toward the roof
to watch the sunrise. As she disappeared, Washu stepped
from her hiding place among the shadows, staring sadly at
the spot Ryouko had just vacated.
"Ah, Ryouko-chan... If only you could understand the world
without having to experience the pain it can bring...."
***
As Tenchi drifted back off to sleep, a new dream came to
him. He stood outside of the dream, a helpless observer.
He watched the scene unfold before him; Tsunami stood
calmly to one side as Ryouko threw herself at her, beating
on her impenetrable shields again and again, tears rolling
down her face. Tenchi was surprised to see that Tsunami
was also crying, but neither was letting up for an
instant. Ryouko's amazing abilities beat relentlessly
against Tsunami, but never once did the goddess budge.
Finally, as Ryouko staggered toward her, tired beyond
caring, her sword raised for another futile strike,
Tsunami reached out and touched her lightly on the
forehead, her first offensive movement throughout the
battle. Ryouko instantly crumpled to the ground, fading
from view. Tsunami turned toward the watching dream-
Tenchi and quietly said "Someday may come sooner than you
think, Tenchi."
***
Tsunami let the dream fade and gave a deep sigh. Things
were getting desperate. Tokimi was making her move
against this dimension, and Washu wasn't going to help
her. Tsunami was the youngest of the three sisters, and
this had always been _her_ pet dimension, and only she had
invested a significant amount of time (as immortals tell
time) here. Now Tokimi was out to make this dimension part
of her domain, and Tsunami wasn't at all sure she could
stop her. Tokimi was by far the most powerful of the three
goddesses, with hundreds of dimensions subservient to her,
yet Tsunami had been preparing to defend her dimension for
eons, and had finally succeeded in creating her
champion.... but would he be enough? Tokimi had her own
champion, and it was a good bet that he would be more
powerful than hers. Tsunami bit her lip in frustration.
<Damn Washu anyway> she thought. Why wouldn't she help her
fight? With both Goddesses aligned against Tokimi, there
was no way they could lose, but if Washu fought against
_her_ instead of Tokimi....
It was a three way stalemate, yet something HAD to tip the
balance, and Tsunami intended it to tip her way. Already
she was marshalling her forces in this dimension,
increasing the number of Jurai Tree ships, doubling the
number of recruits for the GP, calling in favors from
everywhere... Yet as Tokimi's pre-emptive strike against
Tenchi had shown, she had been woefully unprepared for
such underhanded and small-scale tactics. If it hadn't
been for Washu's subtle gamble to win Zero over to her
side, Tenchi would have been lost to them all forever.
That set her back a moment, a feeling of fear racing
through her. <Damn> she thought. Tenchi had become more
than just a pawn in all this though, she knew. Perhaps it
was Sasami's Juraian feelings affecting her, or maybe it
was the way he refused to give up in the face of
overwhelming odds. Of course, she would never have allowed
him to die, but even though he had been deathly afraid, he
had been willing to go in alone after the girls... Tsunami
sighed again. She knew she shouldn't feel this way for a
mortal, but she just couldn't help it. She had spent so
many centuries playing with blood lines, tinkering just
enough to one day produce Tenchi... she had been there
influencing his life from the very beginning. She had wept
with him when his mother died, laughed with him when he
had played by the cave....
Silently she cursed herself. Yes, that damn cave. Why
hadn't she seen that coming? Why hadn't she felt Washu's
presence? Before she had been able to stop her, Ryouko had
almost taken Tenchi from her, almost brought him over to
Washu's side, an action which would have completely tipped
the scales in Washu's direction. If it hadn't been for
the timely arrival of Aeka, it would have ended right
there. And yet... she had a feeling she was still missing
something. Washu had failed in her gambit, but she hadn't
left, as she usually did. Instead, she had brought herself
physically to Tenchi, forcing Tsunami to once more
show her hand and come physically to earth as well. What
was Washu up to?
Tsunami paced over the deck of the ship that bore her
name, plotting for the war to come, and she knew it would.
There was only one thing to do, as much as she dreaded
doing it. She would have to bring Tenchi to her once and
for all. She had hoped to wait a few more years to let
Sasami finish her childhood, but there just wasn't any
time left. If Washu had changed her tactics so much that
Ryouko was trying the sweet and gentle approach, Tsunami
had to act now before Washu could snatch Tenchi out from
under her nose.
Tsunami shed a silent tear, taking one last look out at
the cosmos, then descended toward earth.
***
The next morning at breakfast, everything had seemed back
to normal. Ryouko had nearly gotten in a fight with Aeka
(narrowly averted by the timely use of "please" by Sasami,
causing both girls to glare at her, as neither of them had
told her about their little agreement), Mihoshi had wolfed
down thirds and made empty headed comments, and Sasami had
been her bright cheery self. Yet something seemed amiss to
Tenchi, some ineffable quality was missing from the group.
He went out to work in the field again that day, and again
Sasami brought him lunch. They talked about the weather
and other nothings for quite sometime, until finally
Tenchi maneuvered the conversation toward that mornings
meal.
"Sasami-chan, did you notice anything.... different at
breakfast this morning?" he asked.
Sasami looked at him funny. "Nope! Did you Tenchi-
niichan?"
Tenchi shrugged. "I guess it was just my imagination.
Something just seemed... well, different!"
Ryouko, who was watching from the brush a little ways
away, could have told him what was different. It was
Sasami, she looked... well, older, for one thing. It was
as if she'd aged overnight. Ryouko was pretty sure that
Aeka had noticed too, but Tenchi seemed oblivious.
"Hey Sasami, wanna hear something else weird? Last night,
Ryouko came and just _talked_ to me! Is that strange or
what? I think I probably ought to ask Washu if she's
replaced Ryouko with a robot again or something." Tenchi
laughed.
Sasami looked blank for a moment, then she too laughed.
"Ah, maybe she's just growing up or something."
"Yeah, maybe..." replied Tenchi.
"Well, I gotta get back to start on dinner, see you later,
Tenchi-niichan!" said Sasami, running off.
Again Tenchi seemed oblivious to anything strange
happening to Sasami, thought Ryouko. Ryouko certainly
hadn't missed her delayed reaction to Tenchi's statement.
Quietly Ryouko crept off.
***
Sasami looked sadly at Tsunami in the water of the lake.
"But... but Tsunami-chan... why?"
Tsunami also looked sad, as she stared up into little
Sasami's eyes. "I'm sorry Sasami-chan. I had hoped to let
you grow up into a normal girl, letting this come on you
slowly, but the situation has forced my hand. I have to
have you grow up faster, in order for you... for us to be
able to fight the things that are coming."
Tears fell unchecked down Sasami's cheeks now. "Tsunami-
chan, I'm scared... I'm not ready to... deal... with these
new grown up things!"
"I'm sorry Sasami-chan.. The fate of the Universe depends
on us to see this through! I wish there were some other
way, but there just isn't anymore time! Please Sasami, be
brave. I'll try not to let too much of my consciousness
spill over into yours too quickly."
"I...I..." Sasami put her head down in the grass and
sobbed.
***
Washu shook her head sadly. It really was too bad for
Sasami. Washu had grown quite fond of the little girl.
Still, Tsunami had to learn from her own mistakes. Washu
gave a bit of sigh, there was so much pain here...
and she was pretty sure there was going to be a lot more
before too long. She just wished that she wouldn't have to
be the cause of so much of it... Still, it was the only
way.
***
Ryouko crept back through the brush, doing her best to
keep Sasami in sight without giving away her presence.
Sasami was obviously not heading back toward the house,
instead she made her way to the far edge of the lake.
Ryouko knelt down behind a bush, strategically out of
Sasami's sight, but close enough that Ryouko could still
see her. It appeared Sasami was talking to herself, and
Ryouko strained her ears to make out what she was saying.
"But... but Tsunami-chan... why?"
Suddenly Ryouko heard a twig snapping to her right, and
looked up just in time to see Aeka beginning to walk
toward Sasami. Ryouko quickly reached and grabbed
the elder princess, dragging her behind the bush and
clapping a hand over her mouth. "Shh! Quiet Aeka!
Listen!.." she said as quietly as she could, slowly
releasing Aeka.
Aeka shot her a mean glance at having been handled so, but
reluctantly she did as Ryouko said.
As the two girls watched Sasami break down into tears, all
the missing pieces seemed to fall into place. Tsunami
wanted Sasami to grow into her *now* not in ten years when
she should. Ryouko cursed under her breath. This was just
what she *didn't* need, another rival for Tenchi...
especially one that looked like Tsunami.
As Sasami got up and ran back toward the house, Ryouko and
Aeka sat up, staring at each other, their rivalry
momentarily forgotten. "This is bad.." started
Ryouko.
Aeka seemed to have a different take on it. Instead of
being depressed at having another rival, she looked _mad_.
"How... how dare she! Tsunami is robbing poor Sasami of
her childhood!" Aeka's fists clinched in rage.
"Woah woah woah, Oujosama... If it hadn't been for
Tsunami, Sasami would never have even *had* a childhood."
Aeka seemed to deflate a little, pondering that. Finally
she hung her head. "That doesn't make it right!" Aeka
looked up again, fixing Ryouko with a fierce stare. "We've
got to do something Ryouko-san! We've got to stop
Tsunami!"
"Uh, sure Aeka... but how? Its not like we can go fight
her or anything."
"We'll find a way... We've got to!"
***
Dinner was an interesting ordeal that evening at the
Masaki residents. Conversation seemed non-existent, though
Tenchi still couldn't figure out what was wrong. Aeka and
Ryouko actually sat peacefully, neither speaking to the
other, while Sasami seemed wrapped up in her own thoughts,
rarely glancing up from her food.
Mihoshi, at least, hadn't changed a bit. She quickly
gobbled down everything she could get her chopsticks on.
Tenchi sighed. <At least some things never change.>
Unable to take the deafening silence any longer, Tenchi
decided it was up to him to start the conversation. "So,
uh... What did you all do today?"
Ryouko looked up at him, "Oh, you know... Just watched TV,
nothing special... right Aeka?" she said, elbowing Aeka in
the side.
"Oh, oh yes... nothing interesting, just you know...."
Aeka trailed off.
Tenchi eyed the two of them skeptically. Something was
definitely amiss here. As he examined the two girls, he
couldn't help but notice that they would both occasionally
take secretive glances at Sasami... Looking to the object
of their consideration, Tenchi took a good long look at
Sasami himself.
The blue-haired girl immediately looked up and met his
gaze. He found himself looking into eyes that just weren't
right. It was as if their were two sets of eyes staring
back at him, both the same hue, but one innocent and
slightly sad, the other one ancient and powerful. There
could only be one explanation for it... Tsunami.
Sasami looked decidedly uncomfortable under the secretive
scrutiny of the table, and found herself fidgeting every
few minutes, picking at her food but not really consuming
anything. It was almost like she could feel her body
growing as she watched... she felt all awkward and
strange, as though she was in someone else's skin. She'd
been constantly bumping into things and knocking things
over all day, completely unused to the length of her
limbs. However, worse than her physical state, her
emotional state seemed to be going through so many fluxes
she had no idea what she was feeling at any given time...
one minute she would feel like she was on top of the
world, the next it would be all she could to do keep from
breaking into tears.
Suddenly Sasami became overly aware that everyone was
watching her... and she looked up, meeting Tenchi's gaze.
"What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
Tenchi just swallowed hard and looked away, embarrassed to
have been caught staring. Secretly though, his heart leapt
at the thought that perhaps his blue-haired goddess
wouldn't make him wait 10 years for her to grow up...
Aeka, however, answered Sasami's question. "Tsunami..."
she hissed, staring at Sasami. "Why are you doing this? I
demand that you leave my sister alone!"
Sasami just stared at her sister in shock, not knowing how
to respond to that, but then she felt something else well
up within her, pushing her consciousness to the side.
Suddenly she was completely without control of herself,
but she could hear herself saying. "Aeka, I do these
things for my own reasons, reasons that I cannot explain
to you at this time. Sasami will always be your sister..."
As quickly as she was forced to relinquish control of
herself, she had it back, and she found herself staring
into several very shocked faces. Everyone was looking at
her with a mixture of surprise and horror, and suddenly it
was just too much for her. Feeling tears begin to run down
her face, she dashed up the stairs and into her room.
***
Tokimi's ship drift across the blackness of space, the
goddess herself staring out the window. Slowly she looked
away, a smile creasing her usually emotionless face.
Tsunami was far too inexperienced to be any sort of a
threat. She'd never even see Tokimi's attack coming.
---
Author's note:
Phew! Well, this chapter has certainly been a long time in
coming. I started love's labor lost all the way back in
march, and wrote the first chapter (which was the first
thing I posted to RAAC and the FFML) and wrote about half
of this chapter... then promptly stopped writing it until
today. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from this
series, and I really do want to do a lot of exciting and
interesting things with it, but I've just found it so hard
to get in the mood to write Tenchi lately that I haven't
really been willing to pick it up. Anyway, hopefully I'll
be doing more of it now, though I wouldn't expect another
chapter for at least a month, PHD is just taking up too
much of my limited writing time (which I should, probably,
have been working on instead of this, but oh well.)
An update of PHD 3's progress: it's about half done. I
know I posted that teaser last week saying I'd have it
finished last weekend, but I just haven't had time to
write, things have gotten really hectic around here.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and please let me know what
you think! C&C always appreciated, even flames, so drop me
a line!
Ryan Anderson
andersor@cs.colorado.edu
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/fanfic/fanfic.html
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/tenchi/ryoko.html
End Part 2