For The Love of Kiyone
A Tenchi-Muyo fanfic by Keiichi Masaki
(Keiichi_dono@hotmail.com, Keiichi_dono@scifianime.com)
Tenchi and Kiyone Masaki (did I hear a collective faint? Good!), as
well as the rest of the cast from Tenchi-Muyo!, are the property of
Pioneer and AIC.
Author's note/rant: This is my response fic to Dr. Tran's challenge
on the FFML, and to a similar one made at GenSao's this weekend.
Ten-Kiyo fics are my stock in trade (no apologies whatsoever to the
RFFC), and so, being the High Priest of the Temple of the
Teal-tressed Goddess, it falls to me.
(Author ducks rocks and bricks thrown by various RFFC members bearing
the words "traitor" and "heretic")
Well... on with the fic:
Chapter 3: No-one is to Blame
The three of them walked up the steps to the shrine. Since
Katsuhito was in Tokyo visiting a friend for the week, the shrine
would be empty-and as safe a place for this conversation as possible,
since neither Ayeka nor Ryoko were stupid enough to damage a holy
place.
Once they were seated, Ryoko took the initiative (natch).
"Okay, Tenchi. Spill it."
"All right..." Tenchi took a deep breath and looked at Ayeka
and Ryoko. "Before I say anything else, I want to apologize for the
last two years, for leading the two of you on in any way. I didn't
mean to, and I'm sorry if I did."
The two of them were silent. Tenchi was unsure whether that
was denial or concurrence, and he was even less sure that he wanted
to know.
He pushed on. "In the beginning, I thought that I was
falling in love with you, Ayeka. You were sweet and shy, and a lot
quieter than Ryoko--except when you got angry, and that seemed to be
predominantly Ryoko's fault."
Ayeka's face lit up, and Ryoko's expression darkened, but
Tenchi held up a hand. "I'm not finished.
"As time went by, Ryoko, I started to see that there was more
to you than the capricious girl I first met. I started noticing this
after you rescued me from Nagi, and after you gave up your ideal
world to help us return to ours. I... my feelings shifted." He
bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry I can't find a better way to put
that."
He looked over at them. Ayeka was doing her best to maintain
an unruffled expression, but he could see the hurt in her eyes.
Ryoko, on the other hand, had a smug smile on her face.
"I'm still not finished," he repeated softly.
Their expressions changed again, this time to utter
confusion. He could almost hear their thoughts: Where is he taking
this now?
"But, as time kept moving... and as things settled down...
those feelings..."
The two girls leaned forward, hope and trepidation warring on
their faces.
"As time passed..." Tenchi paused, to try and gather his
thoughts into some semblance of cohesiveness. "...and as your
fighting continued, I started to feel less like either of you were in
love with me, and more like I was a prize to be won."
"Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka gasped.
"You've got a lot of nerve," hissed Ryoko.
"I'm not finished," Tenchi replied. He took another deep
breath, then plunged ahead. "For the past year, I've been trying to
sort my thoughts and feelings out, trying to see if my earlier
feelings would return... trying to make myself fall in love with
one-or both-of you again. It... didn't work.
"I'm sorry. I'm... not in love... with either of you."
In retrospect, Tenchi had been prepared for everything but
the slap Ryoko hurled at him. One minute she was looking down at the
floor, her amber eyes struggling to hold in the tears; the next he
had toppled over, wincing from the sharp sting on his left cheek.
Ryoko was on her feet now, glaring down at him. "How could
you?" she hissed in a tear-choked voice.
"Ryoko-"
"It's her, isn't it?" This came from Ayeka, who had also
risen to her feet. Her face, as Ryoko's, was reflecting a dangerous
combination of sadness and anger. "It's Kiyone!"
Oh, shit.
Ryoko slammed one fist into the palm of her other hand. "I
should have known. Of everyone here, she was the last person I
expected..."
"Wait a minute." Tenchi hauled himself to his feet. "Kiyone
didn't do anything-"
"I'll just bet she didn't." Ryoko disappeared from the
shrine. Ayeka rushed out the door a moment later, her defensive
field already crackling around her.
"Dammit..." Tenchi shot out of the shrine as well, his feet
barely touching ground or step. I should have known this would
happen. Be careful, Kiyone...
"I'm not sure this will help matters, Kiyone," murmured
Mihoshi as she watched her partner throw clothes into an overnight
bag.
"Maybe not, Mihoshi," acknowledged Kiyone, "but this ought to
take some of the heat off of Tenchi for a while, at least."
"You said that you were starting to see what they see in
him," Mihoshi reminded. "So why are you walking away now?"
Kiyone stopped in midpack, and turned to look at Mihoshi. "It's
because I... I don't want him to get hurt-and I don't want to get
hurt either."
"By Ayeka and Ryoko, or be him?"
"All three." Kiyone smirked at her partner and childhood
friend. "Y'know, sometimes I like it better when you don't have a
clue. It's a lot easier to make decisions without you
second-guessing me all the time."
Mihoshi grinned. "What're friends for?"
The door to their room banged open, and Ryoko stood in the
doorway, glaring at Kiyone. "You bitch," she hissed.
"Excuse me?"
Before Kiyone could move, Ryoko was across the room and
hefting the detective up by her shoulders. "You know full well what
I mean!" She pushed Kiyone away and opened her hand. A ball of amber
light began to form in her palm, and she thrust it at her adversary.
Kiyone's reputation was well earned, however, and she hurled
herself out of the ball's path. It slammed into the wall, leaving a
gaping hole. Her roll had landed her on the bed next to her bag, and
she grabbed her pistol, arming it as she brought the barrel up.
A squeeze of the trigger and a lance of blue light streaked towards
Ryoko.
Ryoko laughed and danced out of the way. Before Kiyone could
aim again, she flew at and grabbed her, sending both of them tumbling
out of the wall. By some miracle they hit ground unharmed, but
Kiyone's pistol was gone.
And Ryoko's fist was flying right at her face.
It had been a long time since Kiyone had been in a real
fistfight, but instinct quickly kicked in. (There was a reason,
after all, why she had won so many competitions at the Academy for
unarmed combat...) Her right hand came up to catch Ryoko's fist as
the left one curled into a fist and buried itself in Ryoko's gut.
Ryoko winced slightly, but grinned at Kiyone. "Not bad." It
was Kiyone's turn to wince as Ryoko sent an energy burst into her
side. The impact of the blast sent Kiyone tumbling several yards.
"Oww..." Kiyone felt like Yagami had fallen on her, but she
managed to rise to her feet. She suddenly became aware of a small
array of logs floating around her, crackling with energy. Her vision
was starting to get hazy, but she thought she saw Ayeka standing a
few meters away, a smug expression on her face.
"Ah. Thank you, Ayeka." Ryoko's voice. "I must say,
Kiyone, of all the girls, you were the last one we ever thought would
be a threat. Funny how things happen that way. It's nothing
personal--well, nothing too personal. I promise, we'll try to make
this quick." The pirate's lips curved upward in a sardonic smile.
"Of course, there is something you could do that would stay our
hand..."
Kiyone had a sneaking suspicion what that "something" would
be, but she grated out, "What?"
"Simple, really." Ayeka's voice. "Leave Earth. Now. Never
come back, and never speak to Lord Tenchi again."
It took Kiyone less than a minute to make up her mind.
"Forget it."
"Suit yourself." Ryoko's eyes narrowed, and an audible hum of
building energy surrounded her.
Kiyone squeezed her eyes shut, tears trickling out of them.
This was not how she'd wanted to do... not when she was so close
to... to...
Goodbye, Tenchi, she thought, as she heard the shriek of
Ryoko's energy blast.
And her eyes opened a moment later as she heard what could
only be the sound of energy blasts being knocked from the air.
But only another blast could do that... or an energy sword...
Her vision abruptly became clear again, and she rose onto her
knees.
Tenchi was standing in front of her, Tenchi-ken in both hands
and the blue-white blade ignited. His face was a study in grimness.
Several meters away, Ryoko and Ayeka wore shocked expressions.
Not taking his eyes off of either the princess or the pirate,
Tenchi backed up next to Kiyone and reached a hand down to her.
"Sorry I took so long. You okay?"
Kiyone took his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
"Yeah..." Right now her emotions were wavering between relief at her
rescue, girlish giddiness at being the damsel in distress being
rescued by the dashing hero, and irritation at having to be rescued.
"Tenchi..." Ryoko's voice, amazingly, was now calm and
questioning. "What are you doing?"
"I should ask you two the same," Tenchi responded. Kiyone's
eyes widened at the unexpected coldness in his tone.
"Lord Tenchi..." Ayeka began.
"Tenchi, don't you get it?" Ryoko's voice was almost
desperate. "It's her! She's the one who's causing this! All we
have to do is get rid of her and-"
"And what?"
All three women winced at the sharpness in Tenchi's voice.
Tenchi's face softened, and he continued in a softer tone,
"Ryoko, do you really think that this would make me love you?"
"But Kiyone-"
"The only thing she told me to do was what I thought was
right. If we hadn't talked... Ryoko, Ayeka, we might have been here
the rest of our lives playing this routine over and over."
"But you stepped in to save her..." Ayeka protested.
"Kiyone's my friend," Tenchi replied, the coolness back in
his voice. "Moreover, she's a guest in my house. I would have done
the same for any of you. The only reason I never interfered in your
fights was because you always did more damage to the house than to
each other!" His voice rose steadily as he spoke; by the end, he was
virtually shouting at the princess and the pirate. After stopping
for a moment to regain his composure and breath, he continued. "If
this happens again... if you two do something like this again... I'll
have to ask you to leave."
"Wha...?" All three girls blurted out at the same time.
Ayeka and Ryoko exchanged glances, then slumped their
shoulders in defeat.
The next two weeks... were very strained, for everyone in the
house. Nobuyuki had come home from his business trip, and Katsuhito
from his friend's, to find that the normally boisterous-but-happy
atmosphere of their house was now very tense.
Ryoko and Ayeka were extremely quiet, speaking little but saying much
with their eyes-particularly with poisonous glances toward Kiyone.
Mihoshi and Sasami tried to remain cheerful, but most of the time
their efforts
flat.
Washu only emerged from her lab for meals and stayed in there the
rest of the time, even more than normal.
Most telling of all, though, were Tenchi and Kiyone. They were doing
their best to avoid each other, to avoid doing any more damage, but
it was becoming clear that something was growing there, regardless of
how hard they tried to hide it.
One morning, during a tensely quiet breakfast (of the type that had
become all too common in the Masaki household), Ryoko slammed down
her rice bowl and chopsticks, glared around the table, and got up.
"Ryoko?" Tenchi got up and followed her up the stairs. "Ryoko, what
are you--"
"You know," Ryoko bit out. Her back was still towards him.
"Ryoko..."
She spun around to face him. Her expression was pained, and
her eyes weren't quite dry, but her voice was steady. "Tenchi, I
know what you've been trying to do, and I appreciate it... but things
can't go back to the way they were. You knew that when you talked to
Ayeka and I, and I..." She sniffled, and wiped her nose. "I can't
stay here any more. Neither can Ayeka."
Tenchi was surprised (not by Ayeka's reaction, but that Ayeka had
apparently confided this in Ryoko), but this wasn't the best time to
show it. "She told you?"
Ryoko nodded. "Yeah. Last night, Mihoshi let her onto Yagami to use
the comm equipment. A ship from Jurai is on its way here. Ayeka and
I... we're gonna go away for a while."
This time, Tenchi didn't bother to hide his shock. "You're what?!"
Ryoko cracked a slight smile. "Nothing like that. It's just that...
in spite of it all, I think we understand each other better than
anyone else does. Funny how that happened... anyway, maybe it's time
we started trying to communicate in ways other than throwing energy
blasts."
"Are you sure you want this?" whispered Tenchi. His heart was
running a gamut of emotions right now.
"No. But I think I... I think we need this. Besides... you really
do love Kiyone, don't you? Or at least you're falling in love with
her."
Tenchi's cheeks flushed red, and he opened his mouth to protest, but
Ryoko stopped him with an upraised finger. "Don't deny it. I can see
it every time you look at her. You have a look in your eyes, like a
husband watching his wife."
Tenchi met her eyes for a moment, then dropped his gaze. "I... I
never meant to hurt you or Ayeka."
"I know you didn't." Ryoko reached down and grabbed Tenchi's chin,
bringing his eyes back up to hers. "My advice, Tenchi: tell her.
Before... before what happened with Ayeka and me happens again."
She released Tenchi's chin and resumed her path up the stairs.
The Jurai ship arrived that evening. As Ayeka had requested, the
star yacht was fully stocked but manned only by guardians.
"Are you sure you don't want to go with us, Sasami?" asked Ayeka as
she and Ryoko pilled their luggage into the guardians.
Sasami shook her head. "I'm needed here... this is home, after all."
Ryoko gave Sasami a quick hug. "Take care of everyone for us, okay?"
"I will," promised Sasami.
Ayeka also hugged Sasami, and then the two women straightened up and
made their good-byes to the rest of the Masaki "clan."
Their last stop was Kiyone, who was standing beside Tenchi.
After staring into her eyes for a long moment, Ayeka spoke.
"Kiyone... we leave Tenchi in your hands. Take good care of him...
because if you don't..."
"...you'll regret it," completed Ryoko. She turned to Ayeka.
"Anytime, Princess."
Ayeka nodded and reached up to her forehead. She, Ryoko, and the
guardians vanished in a flash of blue-white light.
"Kiyone? Can I come in?"
Kiyone looked up from the novel she was reading. That was Tenchi's
voice... "Yeah, come on in." Her heart skipped a beat or two as
Tenchi entered the room, and she smiled. "Hi. What's up?"
Tenchi smiled back and sat down next to her. "I just... I just
wanted to talk to you. We... we really haven't since that night, you
know."
Kiyone sighed. "Yeah, but there's kind of a reason for that." She
shifted around so that she was facing Tenchi. "Something I haven't
told you... or them... although with the past few weeks, you may have
figured it out already."
"Go on," Tenchi prompted gently.
Kiyone nodded. "I wasn't trying to get you to shun Ayeka and
Ryoko..."
"I know that..." agreed Tenchi.
"But after we talked, I... well, I started seeing what they see in
you."
Tenchi's eyes widened slightly. "What... what exactly do you mean by
that?"
"You, Tenchi. You're sweet, loyal, smart, generous... and cute..."
Her cheeks flushed red as she said the last word, and her hand flew
to her mouth.
Tenchi's smile softened, and he reached for her other hand.
"Kiyone... when Ryoko left the table this morning, and when I
followed her, she... she observed something. She said I was in love
with you."
Kiyone's face was a study in fast-changing emotion. "She... she
did?"
Tenchi nodded, his own face slightly red. "I didn't answer. I
didn't know what to say... but she wasn't wrong."
Kiyone's face finally settled on quiet hopefulness. "So, is that why
they told me to take care of you?"
"I think so." Tenchi clasped both of her hands between his.
She managed a smile. "This will be interesting..."
'Probably," he agreed. "Kiyone, I can't promise you a perfect life,
but--"
"Shh," she whispered, bringing a finger to his lips. "No promises,
not right now."
"--I promise I'll do my best to make you happy, for as long as I
can," he finished, unfazed by her efforts to stop him. He
tentatively reached out for her, wrapping his arms around her
shoulders.
"I know you will," she whispered, relaxing into his embrace. "Can we
just... lay here for a while."
"As long as you want," he agreed.
They lay together on the bed for a long time that night.
Author's notes:
NO ONE IS TO BLAME
"You can look at the menu but you just can't eat
You can feel the cushions but you can't have a seat
You can dip your foot in the pool but you can't have a swim
You can feel the punishment but you can't commit the sin
And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
You can build a mansion but you just can't live in it
You're the fastest runner but you're not allowed to win
Some break the rules
And live to count the cost
The insecurity is the thing that won't get lost
And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
You can see the summit but you can't reach it
It's the last piece of the puzzle but you just can't make it fit
Doctor says you're cured but you still feel the pain
Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain
And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
No one ever is to blame
No one ever is to blame...."
That song, by Howard Jones, is one of the reasons that I think
that 1986 was the high water mark for popular music. Moreover, there
is a reasone why this chapter has taken that song's name as its own.
No one is to blame for what's happened. Not Tenchi, not Kiyone,
not
Ayeka or Ryoko. Sometimes love ends, and all we can do is pick up the
pieces and move on.
And sometimes we fall in love with someone else, and we follow our
hearts.
As to Ayeka and Ryoko's reactions, yes, they're certainly
extreme, but well within
character for them (rational or reasonable reactions don't seem to
come easy to them), and
quite understandable as well. When you're hurt like that, the first
thing you want to do
is lash out at the one who's "responsible" for it. And as for their
relatively graceful
departure, I'm sorry if you didn't like it. I guess I'm crazy for
thinking that those two
are capable of acting maturely, or stepping aside gracefully, or
doing what most people
consider to be intelligent actions.
Sorry this one has taken so long. Blame it on finals and a
##*&ing cold that
still isn't gone. The next one will be out before too long.
Keiichi Masaki, High Priest of the Temple of the Teal-tressed Goddess, Kiyone Makibi
Member of the Kiyone Ring and the Tenchi Ring
Silver Knight of the Knightly Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
Member of the Ayeka Fan Page
Co-writer, Mugen Tenchi Muyo!
http://members.xoom.com/RC_Books/mugen1.html
Visit my Temple of the Teal-tressed Goddess
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Palace/9909
ICQ #: 18044248
"I am the one you think I am."
--Katsuhito "Yosho" Masaki
"The carnival comes and goes. If you wait for a while,
it'll always come back to you."
--Ryoko
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