3 of 5. =)
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Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love...Alpha!
Chapter 3A: Naroda Beach Pt.2
By Long T. Tran
Disclaimer:
I don't own these characters, AIC/Pioneer owns them. I don't intend
to make money off this because I don't want to get a lawsuit. I'm
too poor for that. But this is my original story concept, so don't
plagiarize!
Author's note:
I apologize for the long wait, as you can see, this is by far my
biggest chapter. I hope it was worth the wait for you folks. Sorry
for the suspense and metal torture I might've caused.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Safe Haven
Naroda Beach; blanketed under the cover of the night sky, the beach
house stood silent near the water's edge. Tenchi carried Ryoko in his
arms from Washu's portable boat. Ryoko was barely conscious and Tenchi
was still frantic from the traumatic experience that occurred.
<How could this happen to her!?> The day went by too well to end up
like this! He thought with agitation. <Because of that stupid idea,
she was nearly killed!>
Conveying Ryoko up the flight of stairs of the elevated beach house,
the events which led up to the incident returned to Tenchi...
Ice Cream!
"Good! Good! Do some more of those poses!" Tenchi directed
excitedly.
The cool waters of Naroda beach flowed around Tenchi's feet as he took
pictures of Ryoko in her newly owned sun hat. Ryoko joyfully struck
her different poses at every click of the camera, having a lot of fun.
She mimicked the moves of professional supermodels, sometimes, she
would let loose and look silly intentionally, which made Tenchi lose
control and laugh.
Meanwhile, a few hundred feet away, a small crowd of the beach's young
women were gathered around an object of their fascination.
"Would you look at that hunk!!" said a blonde.
"Yah! Look at those muscles! And that washboard muscles! Sigh!" A
girl replied.
"What a body! What hunk! He's sooo cute!" Said a brunette.
The crowd of women parted allowing Naroda's beach hunk to get up from
his posing positions. He stood up and grabbed a towel from a nearby
bench press and wiped away all the sweat from his rippling chest. The
women swooned and sighed in response. The Iron man obviously loved his
status. As the ladies fainted, the hunk looked over to the water's
edge and noticed a girl with cyan hair running along the beach doing
some poses in front of a spiky-haired guy with a camera.
<Who is that girl? She's so stunning!! I gotta have her!> The
Herculean strongman thought excitedly.
After the half hour photo session, Ryoko and Tenchi sat down at the
water's edge
trying to figure what to do next. Tenchi placed the camera into his
pocket.
"You really like taking pictures of me, don't you?" Ryoko asked.
"Uhh...,I guess you can say that. I'm really getting into this, it
helps me
relax."
"Well, that's nice to hear. So, what do you want to do next?"
"Hmm. I really don't know." Tenchi said. He looked across the sandy
beach and
noticed an ice cream stand. "The only thing that comes to mind is
getting some
ice cream to cool down a bit."
"I'm feeling a little warm, myself. Sounds good to me." Ryoko agreed.
"Besides, maybe some ice cream will help us decide on our next move.
Food for
thought."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Okay, then. You stay here while I go fetch some. What would you
like?"
Tenchi, asked.
"I just want a plain vanilla ice cream cone."
"Alright, I'll be back."
Tenchi stood up and walked off to go buy the ice cream. Ryoko watched
as he
walked away, as soon as Tenchi was gone, Ryoko smiled happily to
herself.
<Alright!! Things are going so well!! I am having so much fun with my
Tenchi!> Ryoko thought as she tipped her sun hat to make it more
comfortable.
As Ryoko waited for Tenchi's return, she watched little children swam
and
played in the water. Suddenly, she was covered by another person's
shadow.
"Excuse me." Said a strong voice.
"Yes?" Ryoko responded.
Ryoko looked up to find, possibly, Naroda beach's most muscular man.
To Ryoko's
awe, he had huge arms, a thick barrel neck, pecks that resembled
concrete
slabs, and legs that could support steel beams. The iron man had a
full mane of
black hair, his skin was fair bronze and his eyes were golden brown.
"I couldn't help but notice how natural you looked, acting like a
supermodel a few
minutes ago. You looked absolutely stunning."
"Thank you." Ryoko said in her most gracious manner, trying not let
the
stranger annoy her.
"And what is your name?"
"My name's Ryoko. Yours?"
"My name is Goro."
"Well, nice to meet you, Goro. I'd love to chat with you but I'm
currently
enjoying my date with somebody else." Ryoko said bluntly.
"Oh. You mean THAT little guy who's pointing his camera at you?"
Goro asked
while pointing at Tenchi.
"Yes. Him." Ryoko confirmed, frowning at Goro's insult of Tenchi.
Meanwhile, it was really hot and Tenchi anticipated the taste of the
ice-cold-sweet-taste of vanilla ice cream.
[Cherish every precious moment you have with her...] those strange
words just
kept lingering in his mind every time he thought about the Fortune
telling
Machine.
It was finally Tenchi's turn to order. He walked up to the window and
found
that the clerk was one of his old school mates (from the currently
undergoing
reconstruction of Okayama High School). A schoolmate that he can never
forget,
the guy was fat, very thick lips, thick octangular glasses, and short
dandruffy
hair.
"Tenchi? Tenchi Masaki?!"
"Amagasaki? Is that you?"
"It sure is! How are you?"
"I'm doing fine and you?"
"Just working and saving up some money. Say, I noticed that girl
you're with.
She looks pretty hot! Is she your girlfriend?"
"Well, no. Not exactly."
"Then what? Your sister?"
"No, no! She's uh,...just a friend."
"Oh, just a friend. Well then, in that case, could you introduce me to
her?"
"What?" Tenchi started.
"You said she's just a friend, right? I find her very attractive."
Amagasaki said, very interested.
Unaware of his facial expression, Tenchi frowned slightly at
Amagasaki's request.
"I would really like to but I can't." Tenchi replied. "You see, she's
not my
girlfriend, family, or just a friend."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Well, um, she's my date. And I'm trying to get to know her a little
better.
You understand that, right?"
"Oh sure! I'm so sorry about that!"
"It's okay, it happens."
"What would you like to order?" Amagasaki said, changing the issue.
"Just two cones of vanilla ice cream."
"Coming right up!"
Amagasaki carried out Tenchi's order quickly and handed the ice cream
cones to
Tenchi.
"Wow! Thanks! How much?" Tenchi asked as he licked his ice cream.
"That'll be 200 yen."
Tenchi paid the clerk. Suddenly, something in the back of his mind
brought back
the words of the Fortune telling machine... "Cherish every precious
moment you
have with her". Tenchi looked over qt Ryoko's direction and noticed a
huge,
muscular man talking to her.
"Uh oh." Amagasaki said uneasily.
"Uh oh, what?" Tenchi asked.
"You better watch out, Tenchi. That guy's hitting on your date."
"You know him?"
"No but I've seen him work his charm. He would hit on some girl
regardless,
single or not, and then later on, he would break the poor girl's
heart."
"Is that so..." Tenchi said, not having realized that he was frowning
even more.
Goro
"So...,Ryoko." Goro addressed, showing off his muscles in different
Iron-man
poses.
"What." Ryoko replied, growing more annoyed of the strongman's
presence.
"What do you see in that little runt?"
"Excuse me?"
"You know, that little runt you're with. What's his name?"
"Tenchi." Ryoko said, growling.
"Oh right, Tenchi." Goro said smugly, rippling his pecks at Ryoko.
Ryoko rolled her eyes and finally lost her patience.
"Look, Goro. I am really getting annoyed here. Why don't you Amscre',
ok?"
"You're telling me? The 'Great Goro' to scram?"
"That's right."
"How can you say something like that? No girl can't resist this!"
Goro said,
pointing at his abs and muscular features.
"I can." Ryoko replied coldly. Ryoko looked over and noticed Tenchi
returning.
Ryoko was relieved to see Tenchi, she smiled. She turned and looked up
at Goro.
"Here comes my Tenchi." Ryoko warned.
"Oh he is, is he?" Goro said confidently and turned around.
Tenchi arrived holding to two ice cream cones in his hands, he walked
passed
Goro and stood in front of Ryoko.
"Here you go, Ryoko." Tenchi said, handing Ryoko her ice cream cone.
Ryoko happily received the cool treat and proceeded to lick off the
vanilla.
Goro cleared his throat and tapped Tenchi's shoulders. "Excuse me."
Tenchi turned around and faced Goro. "Yes? Can I help you?"
"Yes, you can. By handing me over your pretty little date."
Ryoko sighed in an exasperated manner, she continued on with her ice
cream.
"E-excuse me?" Tenchi said, nervously.
"Yeah, you heard me. I'm taking your date."
Tenchi glanced over to Ryoko with a confused looked, trying to figure
out the
muscle man's aggressive intentions. In response to Tenchi's silent
question,
Ryoko shrugged.
"Pardon me but, uh...I didn't catch your name."
"My name's Goro and I am THE hunk of this beach." Goro said with full
bravado.
"Uh, right." Tenchi replied uneasily
Meanwhile, behind the ice cream stand, the funny old man from the Beach
Accessories shop watched as events unfolded between Goro and Tenchi.
***
Washu
Washu watched through the eyes of her invention with full
attentiveness. Ryo-
ohki stood behind her and watched. For nearly half an hour after the
"Cat-Man"
incident, both had been quiet to each other, having agreed not to
intervene on
Ryoko's date. The "Cat-Man" incident nearly exposed Washu's invention
and
things could've escalated. Fortunately for Washu, things didn't. But
as Washu
and Ryo-ohki were about to leave Tenchi and Ryoko alone, a huge man
walked up to Ryoko. After another few minutes, the bigger man started
to harass Tenchi. Washu and Ryo-ohki both frowned at the computer
screen.
"Ryo-ohki, we've got to do something about that big lug. I don't know
about you
but I'm willing to bend the rules of our agreement."
"Miya." Ryo-ohki agreed.
"How should we take care of this big lug, hmm?"
The humanoid cabbit held her little chin and thought for a moment.
After a long
silent minute, an idea finally came to mind. Immediately, Ryo-ohki
transferred
her idea to Washu through their mental link.
"That's a cool idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Washu exclaimed.
Washu
typed onto her holocomputer at lightning speed. Changing the form,
size and
shape of the android.
Ryo-ohki shrugged and sent an insulting thought to Washu.
"Oh hush!" Washu barked. "Don't let it go to your head that you
thought of it
first!"
Ryo-ohki beamed happily as Washu continued on typing.
Aeka's New Bodyguard
Meanwhile, back to the blue-roofed Masaki home, Aeka and Shoji had
just
finished changing into much drier clothing. Both sat across from each
other
from the living room area, waiting on Sasami to bring out some tea.
All day long, the thought of Tenchi and Ryoko being together for one
day worried
Aeka deeply. As if things weren't enough, her father had to send in a
new body
guard to protect her. Aeka studied Shoji for a couple of long, silent
minutes
trying to figure out her father's motives on why he replaced her
guardians with
Shoji. Not wanting to make Shoji feel like a spy under an
interrogating light,
she decided to start a simple, friendly question and answer
conversation.
"Pardon me for being cold to you a little bit earlier."
"No not at all, your highness. I deserved that treatment, after all,
I did get
you drenched and I apologize for that clumsy display."
"It is alright. It is in the past, no need for any further apologies."
Aeka
assured.
"As you wish." Shoji said with relief.
Aeka smiled softly. "I did not quite catch your full name, what was it
again?"
"My name is Shoji Takazawa of the Juraian Royal Guard."
"Takazawa?" Aeka said inquisitively. The name seemed familiar to her
somehow.
"Yes." Shoji replied.
"Hmm..." Aeka sounded as she thought through her memory.
As Aeka dug through her memories, Sasami walked out of the kitchen
carrying a
tray with tea and crackers, ready to serve.
"Here you go!" Said the cheerful blue-haired princess.
Shoji had an awe-struck look on his face. "Princess Sasami, you're
serving tea
and crackers?"
"Yes? Is there a problem?" Asked the young one.
"No, none at all. I just find it very interesting that a Juraian noble
is
serving and cooking."
"Oh! Well, I don't mind doing it. I find it a very fulfilling
experience."
"Fulfilling? How so?" Shoji inquired curiously.
"I enjoy cooking mainly because it feels good. I don't know. It's
just the
fact that I'm just so darn good at it!"
"Very fascinating."
"You think so?" Asked Sasami.
"Yes, of course it is! It's not everyday a Juraian noble decided to
serve food
just for the sheer joy of it. This shows very good character."
"Thanks Shoji!" Sasami blushed.
"My pleasure, your highness."
At that very moment, Yosho walked into the house. He stepped over to
the living
room area. Shoji stood up from the sofa and bowed his head to greet
the old
man.
"Greetings, Prince Yosho."
"No need for formalities, Shoji. You're on earth now and I don't want
the
locals seeing a young man, like yourself, bowing to a Shinto priest in
such a
formal manner."
"Indeed. As you wish."
"So how do you like your new assignment, Shoji?"
"As far as I know, I think it's very unusual."
Yosho lifted an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh? How so?"
"It's just so laid-back back on this planet."
"Do you find this unsettling?" Asked Yosho.
"Oh no!" Shoji replied immediately. "I find that the countryside here
is very
beautiful and it rivals that of Jurai's. And for the sheer fact of
knowing that
the presiding Juraian nobles are happy to be here."
"You are a very perceptive one, Shoji." Yosho complimented.
"Yeah, well, anyhow. That's basically my thoughts."
As the two Juraian males conversed, Aeka watched silently. She found
herself
distracted from thinking about Tenchi and started to focus her full
attention
onto Shoji.
<There is this enigmatic quality about him. His hair color is black
and shorter
compared to most Juraian males; very uncharacteristic for a Juraian. I
wonder
if he has any roots on earth?> Aeka thought. <Even for a Juraian
Knight, his
mannerisms are so informal. Anyhow? Now that is an unusual phrase!>
Aeka
smiled at the thought. <And he doesn't seem to mind being on this
planet.
Unlike Seriyou.> She shivered at the thought of Seriyou.
Sasami tugged at Aeka's sleeve. "Psst! Hey Aeka." Sasami whispered.
"What is it, Sasami?"
"Don't you think he's cute?"
"Sasami!" Aeka whispered back, loudly.
"What?" Sasami asked innocently.
"Do not ask me that sort of question! This is neither the time nor
place!"
"Alright. Then I'll just ask you later."
Aeka sighed exasperatedly. Both girls focused their attentions on
Yosho and
Shoji.
"You are an interesting character, Shoji."
"Thank you. Your words are too kind."
"You're welcome." Yosho responded. Then he had an idea. "By the way,
since I'm responsible for Aeka's safety, I have to make sure if you're
qualified
enough to protect her."
"I understand your concern for the crown princess's well-being. How do
you
propose to test my capabilities?"
"I want to see how well you hold out against me."
The trio were stunned by Yosho's proposal.
Shoji regained his composure. "You mean to tell me that you want to
challenge
me in a mock duel?"
"That is correct." Replied Yosho. "Meet me at the shrine in half an
hour. I
look forward in seeing what you're capable of."
"My sentiment's exact." Shoji said confidently.
***
Goro the Big Lug
"Listen, buddy, get it through your thick skull!" Ryoko yelled. "I
don't want
to go anywhere with you! So quit bugging us!"
"Don't sweat it babe. I'll liberate you from this little runt in no
time."
Said Goro.
"Who're you calling a RUNT?!" Tenchi asked, finally losing patience,
his fists
clenched tightly.
"I don't see any other runt around here, do you?" Goro replied, poking
his
finger on Tenchi. "Or do you want to settle this in a man's way?"
Goro grinned, cracking his knuckles.
"You leave Tenchi alone!!" Ryoko barked, jumped and stood between
Tenchi and
Goro. "You're not laying a finger on him!"
"Stand aside, I'll release you of this burden!" Goro demanded.
"Burden?!?" Tenchi yelled, quizzically. "Why you, stuck up, arrogant,
chauvenistic..." Tenchi's noticed his explosive remarks and realized
his verbal
mistake, too late.
"Oh good! Those sounded like fightin' words!" Goro said excitedly,
flexing himself, warming up for a brawl. He steps closer to Tenchi but
Ryoko pushes Goro back away.
"If you're going to hurt him! You're going to have to get through me
first!"
Ryoko proclaimed.
"Ryoko, let's not get into this any deeper than it should be. Let's
just leave
him." Tenchi said, calmly. He grabbed Ryoko's right arm and gently
pulled her
away from Goro.
"Oh no you don't!" Goro yelled out. He grabbed Ryoko's left arm and
started
pulling. "You're not getting her that easily!"
"Hey! Let go of me, you idiot!" Ryoko screamed. "Tenchi!"
"Let go of her! Can't you see that she doesn't want to go with you?"
Tenchi
said, pulling on Ryoko.
"She's mine, I tell you!" Goro replied as he tugged.
"Tenchiii!"
"I'm doing the best I can!"
"You two stop pulling on me!! This is really getting painful!" Ryoko
cringed.
"No way! I'm not giving up until I have her!!" Goro affirmed.
"Let her go! You're hurting her!!" Tenchi yelled, pulling on Ryoko.
"Ouch ouch ouch! Stop it, the both of you! You're tearing me apart!"
Throughout this ordeal, Ryoko realized something about Tenchi. <This
is what it feels like to be fought over. To have myself and Aeka
pulling Tenchi, hoping to win his love.> Ryoko thought and frowned.
The two continued pulling. Suddenly, a hypnotic, sexy female voice is
heard.
"Boys, boys, no need to fight over one girl. I'm here."
Tenchi, Ryoko, and Goro suddenly stopped and turned their heads towards
the
mysterious voice. A tall, silky brunette, perfect tan skin, full red
lips,
perfect curvy-athletic figure, and last but not least the young lady
was a white
foreigner. Tenchi, Goro, and Ryoko stopped their bickering and were
stunned by
the beauty of the new girl. Ryoko was dropped to the sandy ground.
The
brunette swept her hair back and walked towards the Trio. Tenchi
quickly swayed
his attention from the girl and helped Ryoko to her feet.
"My name is Venus, Venus de Milo. Miya."
Goro straightened up and regained his composure. He brushed back his
black mane
of hair and cleared his throat.
"My name is Goro, uh, Goro de Marco." Goro said and showed off his
sparkly row
of teeth.
"Goro, eh?" Venus said with curious interest. She walked towards
Goro.
Seizing the opportunity, Ryoko turned, faced Tenchi and pointed towards
the
ocean waters. Tenchi nodded back understanding Ryoko's gesture.
Suddenly, both
jumped to their feet and sprinted towards the waves.
Goro saw Tenchi and Ryoko ran off through the corner of his eye, he
ignored the
two and focused his full attention onto the more beautiful girl named
Venus.
"So, Venus." Goro smirked. "Now that we're both alone. How should we
better
acquaint ourselves?"
"You want to know? Miya." Venus asked, seductively. She stepped
closer to
Goro and ran her fingers down his chest.
"Oh yeah."
"Then I'll show you..." She said. Venus stepped away from Goro and
walked
towards a secluded back area of the seaside hotel. "Follow me." She
blew a kiss
at Goro.
Goro happily obliged Venus's enticing invitation. After a few minutes
of
following Venus, they finally reached the seclusion. The seclusion was
perfect,
it's away from any outside contact and they could do anything they
wanted.
Venus turned and faced Goro with yearning eyes.
"So, what now?" Goro asked sheepishly.
"What do you think, you fool?! Kiss me!! Miya!" Venus exclaimed and
ran
towards Goro's open arms. They embraced each other and kissed each
other full
force.
Goro closed his eyes letting all his senses focus on Venus's working
lips. He
held her tighter and kissed like he never kissed before. After a long
sensual
moment, he opened his eyes, his eyes bulged out of their sockets. The
site he
saw was absolutely shocking!
Instead of finding himself kissing a beautiful foreign girl in his
embrace, he
was lip-locking with an old man! An old, decrepit, short, and wrinkled
up man
was kissing him.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Goro screamed, dropping the old man to the ground.
Goro
started to spit and gag all over the sands. "What the-?! Where's Venus?
What
have you done to her?"
"Oh, Venus? Miya! She's gone. She wanted me to take care of you.
Miya!"
"What? Where's Venus?" Goro asked again while gagging.
"Miya! Geez, you are thick-headed, aren't you? Miya! Oh well, makes
it easier
for me." Said, the old man. "Miya!"
"W-What do you mean?" Goro said nervously. "Miya? Why are you meowing
like a
cat?"
The old man did not answer, he suddenly turned into a mass of green
gelatin and
enveloped Goro. Goro struggled vainly for several minutes but finally
gave out. The green gelatin flashed bright red and released Goro. The
green gelatin reverted back to the form of an old man. The old man
clapped and
rubbed his hands together, content with the results.
"There! All finished! No more kitty-cat bugs in the system! I'm
cured!" Said
the old man. Looking down at Goro, who was now crawling around the
sands on all
fours like a cat.
"Miya! Miya! Miya!" Goro meowed.
"I am a genius!"
"Miya!" Goro replied. Then he stopped crawling, he sat on one spot,
lifted
his leg and started licking his underside.
"Well, looks like my work here is done. Switching off..."
***
Washu and Ryo-ohki
"Yes! Alright! We've succeeded, Ryo-ohki!" Washu said, giving the
toddler a
high five.
"Miya!! Miya!" The cabbit toddler exclaimed.
"Okay, we've had enough fun for one day."
"Miya..." Ryo-ohki said disappointedly.
"I know I know. Let's just leave the two of them alone, alright?
We've helped
them enough, they're on their own from this point on."
"Miya! Miya?" Ryo-ohki asked with a hint of concern for Goro.
"Don't be silly! I'm not that cruel! Don't worry, the big lug will
come out of
that cat trance in a day or two."
"Miya!"
Washu switched her holocomputer off and the screen disappeared. Washu
stood up from her chair and stretched.
"Let's go see what the others are up to."
"Miya! Miya!" Ryo-ohki said happily. The toddler jumped up with a
loud pop,
and in mid-air, suddenly turned into a cabbit. The cabbit landed on
top of
Washu's head.
"Heh heh, Cute little furrball." Washu smiled, patted the cabbit, and
made her
way towards the exit door.
Shoji Vs. Yosho
Shoji, Sasami, and Aeka finally arrived at the front of the shrine.
Yosho stood
patiently, ready and waiting. Shoji stepped away from Aeka and Sasami
and stood
three yards in front of Yosho. Aeka and Sasami sat at the steps of the
entrance
of the Shrine.
"Are you ready, Shoji?" Asked, Yosho.
"I'm ready."
"Good, we'll duel with these." Yosho said, he threw a bokken over to
Shoji.
Shoji caught the bokken with his left hand and immediately postured
into a
Juraian ready stance.
"What are the rules?"
"The rule is: First one to successfully strike one blow to the other's
chest,
wins. No rematches, 'three out of fives', or anything likewise."
"Understood."
"Let's begin." Yosho said and stood ready for the duel.
Silence passed over, during this, Shoji knew exactly what Yosho was
capable of
as a Swordsman. Before Yosho left Jurai, seven hundred years ago, he
was
considered the best and greatest swordsman on Jurai. Shoji would hear
stories
about Yosho's powerful skills and how he would devoutly practice his
techniques
daily. Shoji respected Yosho as a swordsman and what he stood for, at
the time
of Ryoko's Attack on Jurai, Shoji was merely a young Royal Squire in
his fourth
year of training. In a way, Yosho was his role model and the pinnacle
of all
the values Shoji believed in. And now, he had the chance to see how
well his
skills will hold out against Yosho's, a chance to see how years of
training and
experience has shaped
him as a swordsman.
As Yosho waited for Shoji's first strike, Yosho thought about the news
that
surrounded Aeka's new bodyguard. A few days ago, after having received
the
message from the king of Jurai that Shoji was to be Aeka's new
Guardian, Yosho
decided to do a little research on Shoji's past. Courtesy of Washu's
hyper
channel communicator that was installed into his room. Yosho was able
to talk
to one of his closest friends from childhood, Shoji's superior
commander. The
talk with his long-time friend, Naoju, proved to be most interesting.
Shoji
had served in the Royal Guard for the past several hundred years and
had shown
great potential as a swordsman. From what Naoju had told Yosho, Shoji
had been
through quite a lot in his service and has attained a great amount of
experience. Yosho considered these points and decided to be extra
cautious.
After a silent minute, Yosho and Shoji charged each other at a
blinding speed.
Running and swinging his bokken, Shoji passed Yosho and missed. He
immediately
turned around and deflected Yosho's strike. Shoji back-flipped over
Yosho's
head and landed behind him and swung. Not fast enough, Shoji missed
Yosho
again, Yosho had leapt forward to avoid Shoji's strike.
As the two Juraian males fought on, Aeka and Sasami watched with great
interest. Aeka watched as her older brother charged Shoji, she was
grateful
that the duel helped her distract her thoughts away from Tenchi. But
then
again, she thought about Tenchi anyways, for some odd reason she knew
that
things were going to change between Tenchi, Ryoko, and herself. Aeka
felt
extreme anxiety, not wanting to know on how things will turn out after
their
date.
<If Tenchi chooses Ryoko to be his love, I will just simply go back
home to
Jurai, I will not look back and will not think about it any further.
Why should
I stay and watch Tenchi enjoy being around Ryoko? I will not be able
to bare
it!> Aeka buried the frightening thought and continued on watching the
duel to
distract herself away from thinking about Tenchi and Ryoko. She
refocused her
attention back to the duel.
"So this is where you girls are." Washu said, sitting down next Aeka.
"Oh, hello Washu." Aeka greeted.
"Hi, Washu!" Sasami greeted happily. Ryo-ohki hopped from Washu's
head and
onto Sasami's. The little princess welcomed the cabbit with a giggle.
"Well! I'm going to go make some lunch!" Sasami jumped up from the
steps and
ran towards the house. "I'll be back with the food!" And ran off with
Ryo-ohki
enjoying her ride, atop the princess's head.
"See you later, Sasami!" Washu yelled out and looked over and noticed
the duel
between Yosho and a person she had never seen before.
"Hey, who's the new guy?" Washu, asked.
"He is my new guardian." Aeka answered.
"New guardian?" Washu inquired further. "Since when?"
"Since this morning, my father has reassigned Azaka and Kamadake to
protect
Sasami and they were replaced by Shoji."
"Hmm. Really..." Washu said curiously.
"Yes. Really."
"I wonder why my father would do that in the first place. The two
guardians did
a sufficient job with my protection. Why would he suddenly replace
them?"
"Gee, I wonder why, Aeka..." Washu said sarcastically.
<Isn't it obvious to you that your father is trying to get you to see
eye to
eye? Are you THAT engrossed with Tenchi to not see the reasons?>
Washu thought
for a second, she checked over to Aeka. <No wait. Stupid question.>
Washu looked over to Shoji and peered back to Aeka, the genius noticed
that the
princess was paying extra close attention to the fight.
<But then again, Aeka does seem to be a bit curious about Shoji. Once
Tenchi
and Ryoko returns, I wonder how this will turn out.> Washu thought and
smiled
deviously.
With a simple whim of her hand, she brought out her holocomputer and
started to
type away. Aeka noticed and faced Washu with a curious look.
"Washu, what are you doing?"
"Oh I'm just doing some miscellaneous study. I just wanted to collect
some data
on Juraian biological fighting mechanics, you know, the study of
movement."
"Oh, I see." Aeka said with fascination. "You never seem to stop
studying,
do you?"
"Nope."
"I figure you would say that. You never-ending bookworm." Aeka teased
and
smiled.
Washu ignored Aeka and continued on studying the two fighters. The
holocomputer
lit up with a flurry of information. Washu beamed at the newly
acquired data.
"Very interesting..." Washu said contently.
Aeka sighed. "You are hopeless."
***
Oh! Hello, Dolphin!
After ditching Goro at the shore, Tenchi and Ryoko swam around in
clear blue
waters for a few minutes. Already putting Goro way back in the back of
their
thoughts, both laughed and enjoyed the cool refreshing ocean waters.
They were
about twenty five yards away from the shore, both stopped swimming and
stood up.
Ryoko stood next to Tenchi, to their surprise, the water was only
chest-level.
Ryoko still wore her red tank top and jean shorts over her bikini.
Tenchi was
just wearing his swimming trunks. Annoyed by the weight of her wet
clothing,
Ryoko took off her shorts and red tank top to expose her swim attire.
"Ah! Now that feels better!" Ryoko said with relief and threw her
clothes
aside into the water.
Tenchi noticed Ryoko's disregard for her clothing. "Uhh..., Ryoko.
Won't you
need to change into those after we finish swimming?"
"Nah, no need. I have another pair back at the beach house." Ryoko
looked over
to the shore of the beach and found that Goro wasn't there. "Phew!
Thank god
he's gone!" She exclaimed.
"Tell me about it. That was the first time anybody knew how to push my
buttons.
That guy was so full of himself." Tenchi said.
Ryoko nodded in agreement. Then, she heard a peculiar squeaking sound
coming
from behind, Ryoko turned around and was suddenly overtaken by
excitement. She
walked towards the source of the sound. Leaving Tenchi behind.
"Well, that's the end of him. I sure hope he doesn't bother us
anymore. So
what do you want to do now, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked. He turned to his
left side
to face Ryoko but she wasn't near. "Uh..., Ryoko?"
Tenchi scanned around for her in the surrounding waters. Ryoko was no
where to
be seen.
"Ryokooo! Where are youuu?" Tenchi inquired. Through the corner of
his eye he
briefly saw a blur pass beside him. "What the...?"
Suddenly, Tenchi was enveloped by a pillar of water. He found himself
briefly
underwater, Tenchi quickly jumped up and broke the water surface. He
spat out
the briny contents of the seawater and heard Ryoko's laughter.
"YIPPEEEE!" Ryoko cheered happily, as she held on to the dolphin's
flipper,
riding through the water.
"R-Ryoko?"
"Look at me, Tenchi! I'm riding a shark!"
"That's not a shark!" Tenchi laughed as he watched the blue dolphin
pulled
Ryoko above the water's surface. Ryoko freed herself from the dolphin
and swam
towards Tenchi.
"Then what was that, I was riding on?"
"That's a dolphin. Blue-nosed, I think."
"Oh yeah, that's right. A shark's a little bit more dangerous, isn't
it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Are there any around these waters?"
"Nope not that I know of. I don't remember hearing about any news of
shark
attacks around the Naroda
area."
"Oh ok, then I won't worry about it."
The little dolphin swam up to Tenchi.
"Uh..., hello!" Tenchi greeted to the porpoise.
The dolphin whistles and click in return.
"Looks like it likes you, Tenchi."
"You think so?" Tenchi asked and looked over to Ryoko.
Ryoko grinned and nodded to Tenchi.
"Ah! I guess I have my ways with animals." Tenchi said happily turned
over to
face the dolphin. "Cute little..." Suddenly, Tenchi was cut off mid-
sentence
by a huge spurt of water from the dolphin's mouth.
Ryoko hugged herself and laughed out loud at Tenchi's wet reception.
As Ryoko
chuckled jovially, Tenchi coughed hard spitting out the salty water
from his
mouth. The dolphin swam vertically atop the ocean's surface and moved
backwards. Then it disappeared below the surface of the water.
"Hahaha!" Ryoko laughed.
"Quit laughing! That's not funny!"
"For you it wasn't, but for me on the other hand..." Ryoko cut herself
off and
continued on laughing.
"Oh yeah?" Tenchi said deviously. He immediately splashed the
laughing Ryoko
with a small wave of water.
Ryoko coughed and gave Tenchi a furious look.
"Now that's funny! HAHAHAHA!" Tenchi chuckled.
"Oh, is that right?" Ryoko challenged. "I am the water queen!" She
immediately splashed water at Tenchi's direction but he ducked into
the crystal clear water to avoid Ryoko's attack. Tenchi suddenly
popped back up and splashed Ryoko even more.
"I've got you! Water queen!" Tenchi proclaimed gallantly, splashing
Ryoko even
further.
"AAH!" Ryoko yelled happily, shielding the incoming water with her
arms. Ryoko
gasped with a shocked look in her eyes. She pointed her finger at an
object
behind Tenchi. "Look! I can't believe it! There's Washu!"
Tenchi's laugh disappeared. "Huh? Where?"
"Sucker! Gotcha!" Ryoko exclaimed and splashed Tenchi.
"Oh! Being sneaky, eh?"
Both continued splashing water at each other, giggling. When suddenly,
they
here a strange rumbling-wavy sound coming from the open sea.
"uhh..., Ryoko? Do you hear that?"
Ryoko nodded. Tenchi and Ryoko turned around to see where the sound
was
emanating from.
"AAAAHHH!" Both screamed simultaneously as a whole pod of dolphins
swam past
by, causing a huge onslaught of water. After being drenched by the
wave of sea
water, Tenchi and Ryoko stood up and stared at the laughing porpoises.
***
Lunch!
Sasami returned to the shrine, carrying with her a tray full of lunch.
The
edibles were mostly comprised of finger foods and enough rice bowls to
feed the
group. Sasami sat down next to Aeka and Washu. Sasami reached into
her pocket
and grabbed an orange carrot. She held the carrot in hand and reached
over her
head and offered it to Ryo-ohki. The cabbit happily accepted.
Washu smiled slightly and switched off her holocomputer. She reached
over to
the food trey and grabbed a deep-fried vegetable. Aeka did likewise.
"Lunch is ready!" Sasami shouted to the dueling Juraians.
"Oh great! I'm starving!" Shoji exclaimed as he deflected one of
Yosho's
strike.
"Mmm..., likewise." Yosho added, as he dodged under Shoji's swing.
Both ran towards the steps of the shrine, swinging and striking at each
other.
Seeing this, Aeka, Sasami, and Washu screamed and quickly moved out of
harm's
way.
"Yosho!" Aeka said angrily. "You are carrying this way out of hand!"
"Relax, Aeka. We're trained professionals, Shoji and I know what we're
doing."
Yosho retorted as he dodged another Shoji's swings and quickly grabbed
a rice
bowl.
"You could have warned us that you were going to..."
"Let them have their fun, Aeka." Washu jumped in. "After all boys will
be
boys."
"Oh fine." Aeka said harshly.
Shoji immediately grabbed his rice bowl and jumped back to avoid
Yosho's bokken.
Holding the rice bowl in his left hand, Yosho poured the contents of
the bowl
down his mouth and rapidly chewed. Shoji charged Yosho while putting
the bowl
back in it's place on Sasami's tray.
"Thanks, princess Sasami." He said as he passed the princess.
"My pleasure!" Sasami returned.
Shoji immediately jumped up again to avoid Yosho's bokken swipe. Yosho
passed
by Sasami and placed his bowl onto the tray.
"Thank you, Sasami." Yosho gratified the princess as he charged
towards Shoji.
"Sure thing, Yosho!" Sasami said happily.
And so, Yosho and Shoji continued on with their battle...
Washu started her way back towards the house. "Well, girls I'm heading'
back home. I've gathered more than enough data for my research and from
what I can
conclude. I can tell where this fight's going to head and it'll be a
VERY long
while until they reach the end. See you two later."
"Alright." Remarked, Aeka.
"See you later Washu!" Said, Sasami.
"Miya! Miya!" Followed the cabbit.
***
S. O. S.
Further away from the beach's shore, Tenchi and Ryoko laughed, played,
and
enjoyed the time of their lives with their new-found mammal friends.
The water
was already eight feet in depth and Tenchi stayed with the main pod.
While
Ryoko wanders off with her favorite dolphin, separating from the group.
She
happily named the dolphin 'Echo', mainly because of the deep sounds it
made.
With the memories of Goro far buried in her mind, Ryoko swam underwater
along
side with the young mid-sized dolphin. Due to her yellow-feral eyes,
Ryoko's
eyesight underwater was ten times keener compared to all humans. Ryoko
swam
close and grabbed onto the left flipper of the porpoise. The dolphin
happily
pulled Ryoko along the water. As the ceiling of water passed over her
head,
Ryoko noticed a little boy a few yards ahead.
<What's a little kid doing all the way out here?> Ryoko thought
curiously. She
signaled the dolphin to swim closer to investigate.
As they drew closer, Ryoko quickly realized that the little kid was
clearly face
down, bobbing up and down in the water. They broke the surface and
finally
reached the boy and Ryoko quickly examined him. His eyes were closed
and he
wasn't breathing.
<Okay, Ryoko. Don't panic. Check for a pulse.> Ryoko thought to
herself. She
did her best over the moving water to check his pulse, she examined the
little
one's neck. She concentrated for a moment. <Oh thank god!> She found
a very
faint but fading pulse.
Ryoko quickly signaled Echo to swim over. She held on to the boy tight
and
grabbed onto Echo's flipper. The dolphin sped towards the beach's
shore.
Meanwhile, Tenchi popped up through the surface of the water, marveled
at being
around dolphins for the very first time in his life.
"I will never forget this day, Ryoko. How are you enjoying it so far?"
Tenchi
asked and waited a moment for Ryoko's reply. "Ryoko?"
No answer.
Tenchi looked around for Ryoko, she wasn't nearby.
"Grrr! I hate it when she does that!" Tenchi growled. "Now where did
she go?"
"Teenchiii!!" Ryoko screamed.
Tenchi quickly looked around and spotted Ryoko.
"I've found a kid! He's not well, I'm going to help him!"
Tenchi found her riding towards the shore of the beach at a very rapid
pace. He
quickly signaled a dolphin over and he held onto it's dorsal fin. The
dolphin
clicked and squeaked, Tenchi patted it's head and the dolphin sped off
towards
the shore like a torpedo.
Ryoko had already carried the kid in her arms to the shore, the
youngster had
lost his pulse. She carefully placed him on a blanket that was laying
nearby on
the sand. A curious crowd started to gather around Ryoko.
"Okay, folks! I need some room!" Ryoko demanded. The crowd curiously
watched
and whispered to each other as Ryoko positioned the boy on his back.
She placed
his back and neck in an upward position to open up a clear airway.
Ryoko opened
his mouth and started to blew in air into his lungs.
Tenchi had reached the gathered crowd. He pushed his way through, he
reached
the center of the commotion and found Ryoko performing CPR to a young
child. He
watched as Ryoko tried to start up the boy's circulation by pumping his
chest
with her clasped hands. He quickly realized that his camera was still
in his
pocket from earlier. He quickly pulled out the camera and started to
take
pictures.
"Come on! Breathe!" Ryoko yelled out. She breathed into his lungs.
After
three breaths, she went back to pumping his heart.
Finally, after a minute of CPR, the boy quickly turned to his side. He
started
to convulse violently, he coughed and spat out water from his lungs.
The
surrounding crowd cheered and celebrated at Ryoko's quick life-saving
actions.
A girl stepped out from the crowd and wraps a blanket around the young
boy.
Several others gathered around Ryoko, they hugged, patted her on the
shoulders
and also shook hands with her.
Tenchi watched as the crowd congratulated Ryoko on a job well done.
Tenchi
smiled at Ryoko, very proud of her. Ryoko looked over to Tenchi and
smiled at
him.
<Cherish every precious moment you have with her...> The same words
ran through
his mind. He took the last two remaining pictures of Ryoko giving out
a victory
sign at the camera. After taking the pictures, he placed the camera
back into
his pocket. He walked through the talking crowd that surrounded Ryoko.
Tenchi finally reached her and hugged her. "Well done, Ryoko."
"Thank you, Tenchi." Ryoko said, hugging back.
"Excuse me, miss?" Said a young voice.
"Yes?" as she turned away from Tenchi and looked down to find that the
little
kid she saved was standing, wrapped in a blanket. A lifeguard stood
next to him, holding him by the arm. "Thank you for saving my life."
"No need to thank me. Sorry I couldn't have been there any sooner."
"Better late than never." The boy retorted. He bowed his head to
Ryoko. "I
thank you again. By the way, my name's Haruo."
"My name's Ryoko and this is Tenchi."
Haruo turned to Tenchi and greeted him with a bow. "Hello, Tenchi."
"Hello, Haruo." Tenchi returned the boy's greeting.
"Is Ryoko you're girlfriend? You're a very lucky." Haruo winked.
"Well..." Tenchi said nervously. "She's more like a date."
Ryoko sighed under her breath. The crowd had begun to disperse.
"Oh, sorry if I said something wrong." Haruo apologized.
"No, not at all!" Tenchi said quickly.
"My father owns that seaside hotel, over there." Haruo pointed towards
the
hotel. "I would very much like to repay you back by inviting you to
the Annual
Naroda Beach dance."
"We'll be there, tonight." Said Ryoko and Tenchi.
"What time will it start?" Asked Tenchi.
"It'll start in an hour at eight o'clock."
"Eight o'clock?" Tenchi said a little startled. He looked at his
sports watch
and realized how much time has quickly passed. The time was seven
o'clock.
"Wow." Tenchi commented.
"Okay?" Asked, Haruo.
"Okay we'll see you then." Said, Ryoko.
"Alright!" Haruo exclaimed. He hugs Ryoko. "I'll see you later then!
Bye!"
Haruo runs off towards the seaside hotel.
"Sweet kid." Ryoko commented.
"Yeah." Tenchi agreed. He turned to Ryoko. "So..."
"So what?" Ryoko asked.
"What shall we do now until eight o'clock?"
"Let's just watch the sunset together, ok?" Ryoko suggested.
"Umm..., Alright."
Tenchi and Ryoko sat down next to each other on the sand and peered out
to the
ocean horizon. The Sun is only a quarter of an hour away until it
actually
starts setting. Still proud of Ryoko's life saving actions, Tenchi
decided to
reach over and hold Ryoko's right hand.
Both decided not to ruin the beauty of the setting horizon, so they
kept silent
for the duration of what's left of daylight. Ryoko felt Tenchi's hand
held her
right hand. Not knowing what to think or say, Ryoko blushed instead
and gazed
onto the sea as the sun begun it's process to kiss it's horizon.
***
The Duel's Conclusion
The crimson sky had begun to sink over the Okayama countryside
approaching the
dark night. Yosho and Shoji had managed to move the fight over from the
shrine,
through the woods, and finally ending up at the lake. For four hours
the duel
carried on, neither one had any intention of losing but they were both
getting
really tired.
Aeka watched the duel from the house, she leaned against the frame of
her
bedroom window and found that the two Juraian males were on opposite
sides of
the lake. She watched as Yosho jumped up from his side of the lake,
leaping
several meters into the air. Aeka looked over and found Shoji doing
likewise.
Both clashed and swung at each other in mid-air over the lake. Their
bokkens
collided with each other as they fell straight towards the water.
Instead
of falling straight through, they landed on the surface of the lake!
Both ran
across the top of the lake, as if on solid ground breaking the rules of
physics.
Shoji and Yosho swung and struck at each other, as they neared the
shore of the
lake, suddenly, at the very last minute before reaching solid ground,
Shoji
slipped on a patch of mud. He fell face forward into the muddy shore
of the
lake. Yosho seized the opportunity and tagged Shoji's chest with his
bokken.
Shoji stood up and noticed that his clothes were completely covered in
muck.
"Great." Shoji commented as he looked at the dark-brown muck on his
clothing.
Then Shoji hears an elegant giggle emanating from the house. He
immediately
spotted Princess Aeka chuckling from a second-story window. Shoji
blushed
slightly.
Yosho walked over and placed his right hand on Shoji's shoulder.
"There there, no need to feel defeated. You held up very well against
me. One
of the longest duels I've ever had."
"Thank you, Prince Yosho."
"Please, just call me Yosho but I rather much prefer Katsuhito. I want
to treat
you as an equal, rather than a servant. Princess Aeka will treat you
likewise
and I expect you to treat us in the same manner."
"Understood. It'll take some getting use to but I'll try,
nevertheless. Thank
you, again."
"Your skills as a knight are exceptional. If you hadn't slipped, the
duel
would've lasted longer. But considering how well you held up against
me, I
consider you the same equivalent to my capabilities. I feel safe that
you're
Aeka's new guardian."
"You're too kind." Shoji said modestly. "I shall do my keenest to
protect her
with my life."
"I don't doubt it. Why don't you go and wash up." Yosho suggested.
Shoji nodded in agreement. He turned and bowed to Yosho, Yosho
returned the
gesture. Then, Shoji walked off to go change. Yosho watched as Shoji
left.
"Eww..." Yosho commented as he looked at his right hand and watched as
the
slimy-smelly mud slipped
through his fingers.
***
Dance Party at the Seaside Hotel
The seaside hotel's outdoor ballroom was filled with music and dancing
couples.
As expected the dress code was casual beach attire and the music was
nice,
soothing and romantic. Tenchi and Ryoko walked along the side of the
wooden
dance floor. Ryoko was still wearing her beach bikini and Tenchi was
wearing a
white T-shirt and his swimming trunks, both sat down at a nearby table.
Haruo
looked all over and finally spotted his special guests, he walked over
to Tenchi
and Ryoko.
"Hello Ryoko! Hello Tenchi! Welcome!"
"Hello Haruo!" Ryoko greeted back.
"Hi Haruo." Tenchi returned.
The ten year old blushed and struggled with his words. "Uhh..., Miss
Ryoko?
Um, uh, can you, uh..."
"What can I do for you, Haruo?"
"Well..., um since you saved my life and all...can you..." Haruo said
fiddling
with his fingers. "I know I'm just a kid and all but..."
"Haruo, spit it out." Ryoko demanded in a friendly way.
"Can you have this one dance with me?"
"Sure!"
"R-really?!"
"C'mon, let's go tear up the rug." Ryoko stood up from her chair and
held the
little kid's hand.
"Yaay!" The boy exclaimed, following Ryoko to the wooden dance floor.
Tenchi watched as Ryoko walked off to the dance floor, he beamed at
Ryoko's
generosity. "Have fun dancing!" Tenchi said to Ryoko. "I'll just sit
here and
watch."
Ryoko turned around and gave Tenchi an evil grin. "You're not off the
hook, that
easily. You're next right after this."
"Uhh, ok." Tenchi returned nervously.
Ryoko winked back in response. Then an easing song started up in the
speakers.
She turned to Little Haruo and smiled softly.
"Okay kid, let's begin."
Haruo nodded and took Ryoko's right hand and placed his left hand on
her lips.
The uneven-looking couple began to dance waltz around the dance floor
with Ryoko
doing the lead.
Under soft roaming lights of the ballroom, Tenchi watched and admired
Ryoko's
fluent yet gentle movements, as she graced the dance floor.
<I didn't know she learned how to dance.> He thought. Tenchi looked at
Haruo's
face and noticed his innocent-boyish smile. <Well, he's definitely
happy about
it.>
Ryoko danced along the floor with Haruo through out the song.
"I'm curious. How did you end up so faraway from shore?"
"I was on my inflatable row boat when I ventured out. I kinda got
carried away
and ended up rowing out too far. So I decided to row back to shore but
when I
did, the float was leaking air! As you can see, the rest is history."
Haruo
beamed.
She gazed at the Haruo's young face and enjoyed the boy's warm handsome
smile.
Ryoko smiled back at him, proud of the fact that she saved his life.
Knowing
that she was the one that was responsible for giving him a chance at
life, love,
and happiness.
The song finally ended, and the dancing lights stopped moving. The
dancers
started to walk off the dance floor.
"Well, I have to go now. Thank you for dancing with me!" Haruo
thanked as he
gave Ryoko a big hug.
"You're welcome, kiddo. Anytime." Ryoko hugged back and patted
Haruo's head.
Haruo laughed happily and walked off the dance floor, waving back at
Ryoko as he
left the Outdoor ballroom, she waved back. As soon as Haruo left,
Ryoko looked
over to Tenchi's direction, she found him sitting at the table looking
at her.
Ryoko held up her finger and pointed at him.
Tenchi saw that Ryoko was the only one left standing on the dance
floor. He
noticed that Ryoko pointed her finger at him. He looked around and
pointed at
himself and looked at her questioningly. "Me?" He asked silently.
Ryoko nodded affirmative.
Tenchi nervously stood up and walked over to Ryoko. As soon as he
reached
Ryoko, the music immediately started and the lights begun to dance
slowly across
the ballroom.
"Hello, Tenchi." Ryoko greeted.
"Hello, Ryoko."
"Ready to dance?"
"Uhh..., sure." Tenchi answered nervously.
Tenchi placed his right hand on Ryoko's hip and held Ryoko's right
hand.
Ryoko noticed Tenchi's apprehensiveness. "What's wrong? Don't want to
dance?"
"No, it's not that, it's just been awhile since I've danced."
"Oh. Well that's no problem just follow my lead and it'll all come
back to
you."
"Um..., okay." Tenchi complied.
Ryoko began to move Tenchi along with the romantic rhythm of the song.
As the crowd gathered onto the dance floor, Tenchi quickly recognized
the song
that was being played over the speakers. He knew the song was from an
animated
movie called X:1999, Forever My Love. He never liked the voice of the
lead singer but he always loved the music went along with it. The
elegant piano, the rhythmic hypnotic sound of the guitars and his
absolute favorite: the sweeping violins. Overall, Tenchi adored the
song. He gazed at Ryoko and did his best to keep up with her natural
rhythm.
Ryoko smiled, she freed her hand from Tenchi's right, placed her arms
around
Tenchi's neck, and rested her head on his chest. Tenchi placed his
right hand
on her hips, he felt Ryoko's body press up against him, Tenchi blushed
a
little.
(Oh tell me why! Forever dream...} As part of the song sung out.
"Tenchi..." Ryoko whispered into his ear in dreamy way. "This is so
romantic..."
"Mmmm..." Tenchi sounded contently. Tenchi found that his arms
embraced Ryoko
from around her waist.
{Will you stay with me...}
Tenchi closed his eyes and found himself neck-to-neck with Ryoko. For
once, he
wasn't nervous around Ryoko and he loved the feeling of the close and
secret intimacy being shared. This was a side of Ryoko he rarely ever
saw, he had the general thought of her having the care-free-bad-girl
persona, except for the time with the Zero incident. <Maybe it's
because of Zero that Ryoko's acting
this way.> Tenchi thought curiously. <She has toned down a bit since
then,
except for the time with the king of Jurai. Oh well, whatever, Tenchi.
Just
enjoy the moment while it lasts.> He told himself.
Ryoko was already floating with joy as she danced with the man she
loved. The
date had went by so well, with a few exceptions, overall, this is the
best day
of her life. She basked in the warm soothing energies that was emitted
by
Tenchi's soul. Letting every part of her being immerse itself into the
surrounding music and to the person she is dancing with. She didn't
realize
until that very moment how good it felt to be assimilated with Zero.
If it
weren't for zero's tapped insight into her true feelings for Tenchi.
Ryoko
would've never been able to come up with the idea of taking Tenchi out
to Naroda
Beach. Because of Zero, Ryoko finally learned how to stay focused
whenever
she's around Tenchi.
As Tenchi and Ryoko danced on, they lost track of the dancers, the
number of
songs they danced to, and the time. The last song of the dance, "Fly
Me to the
Moon", finally ended.
"Tenchi?" Ryoko sounded.
"Yes, Ryoko?"
"What time is it?"
Tenchi held up his wrist behind Ryoko's back and looked at his watch.
"It's
eleven o'clock."
"Really?" Ryoko said, facing Tenchi. "Already?"
"Yep."
"Hmm..., looks like the date's almost over. At midnight, my powers
will
return."
"Oh Really?"
Ryoko nodded. "I have one last thing to show you, before we call it a
night."
"What is it?" Tenchi asked.
"I'll tell you later, as soon as we get Washu's last invention."
"Uhh..., last invention?" Tenchi said nervously.
"You'll see. Trust me."
Ryoko took Tenchi's hand and led him out of the ballroom. They walked
towards
the beach house to retrieve Washu's last invention.
***
Night Time in Okayama
Aeka and Sasami were in their room preparing their futons for the
night's rest.
Sasami tucked herself into her futon, she peered over and watched as
Aeka
prepared her futon.
As Aeka gracefully pulled the blanket aside, she looked through the
window next
to her and noticed that the fireflies were abundant. The summer night
sky was
filled with stars and full moon was out. Aeka observed the fireflies
flying
around in the fields at night, they resembled little orbs of dancing
light.
Then, Aeka spotted Shoji, he was walking along the shores of the lake,
as if searching for something.
"Aeka, what are you looking at?" Asked the little princess.
"Shoji is outdoors, wandering about. It appears like he is searching
for
something."
"So Aeka, do you think he's cute?"
"Sasami!" Aeka snapped. "I told you not ask me that!"
"Come on, Aeka! He isn't exactly ugly."
"No, I have to admit. He is not publicly impaired."
Sasami gasped. "See! I knew you liked him in someway!" She exclaimed
loudly,
as she jumped up and down on her futon.
"Now that is not true! I am only simply stating that he is attractive.
Any
girl would say the same thing!" Aeka retorted.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. He's pretty handsome over all." Sasami
looked
over to her older sister and noticed a frowned look on Aeka. "Sorry
about that
Aeka, I guess I got carried away. I won't say another word about
Shoji."
Sasami apologized while laying down in her futon.
"Thank you for understanding, Sasami. My heart is still devoted to
Tenchi. No
one else." Aeka affirmed. She started to think about Tenchi and Ryoko
all over
again. Trying to bury her worries, she peered over through the window
and
stared at Shoji. After a moment of silent thinking, Aeka stood up and
made her
way towards the door.
"Where are you going, Aeka?" Sasami asked while sitting up in her
futon.
"I am stepping outside to see what Shoji is looking for. I will return
shortly."
Sasami giggled. "Oh really? I am so sure, Aeka." Sasami teased.
"Sasami..." Aeka said sternly.
"Okay, okay! I'll stop! Good night, Aeka!"
"Good night, Sasami. You little joker."
Sasami stuck her tongue out at Aeka. Aeka laughed softly and quietly
stepped
out of the room. As soon as Aeka left, Sasami hid herself under her
covers
continued on laughing.
Meanwhile, out at the lake, Shoji finally found the perfect spot to
sit and
bask in the moonlight. Even though his surroundings were quite alien,
most
planets he landed on had beautiful nights. He laid down on the ground
and gazed
up at the constellations. Fireflies flew across Shoji's view, he
smiled
serenely. <Little stars...> He thought.
"Good evening, Shoji." Greeted Aeka.
Shoji sat up to greet the Amethyst-haired princess. "Good evening,
Princess
Aeka."
"Would you like to join me?" Shoji said, offering Aeka a spot next to
him.
"Sure, why not." Aeka accepted and sat down next to Shoji.
"What brings you here under the stars?" Asked Shoji.
"Actually, I was wondering about the same thing."
"I just wanted to enjoy my first night on Earth by sleeping out here."
"I see. Well, the nights here are very tranquil. By the way, your
fight
against Yosho was very impressive."
"Thank you for your kind words, Princess Aeka."
"My pleasure. If you had not slipped on that patch of mud..."
"On the contrary, I intentionally slipped."
"Oh?" Aeka asked with a startled look. "Why would you do a thing like
that?"
"Because if I hadn't, the duel would've lasted longer. I figured that
the mock
duel was just for his practice, so I forfeited. Yosho knew, at that
moment,
that I slipped on purpose. We were both very tired and we needed an
excuse to
stop. So I volunteered to take the plunge."
"Very interesting. You are just as devious as my brother." Aeka joked
openly.
"Well, I wouldn't put it in such harsh words..." Shoji said
embarrassingly,
rubbing the back of his head. "But yeah, I guess you can say that."
Aeka and Shoji both laughed quietly.
After a minute, the laughing gradually stopped and Shoji looked over to
Aeka
with an inquisitive look. "Princess Aeka, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead. Speak your mind."
"Well, earlier today, as we walked towards the shrine. I've noticed
that you
were in deep thought. What seems to be troubling you?"
Aeka was taken aback by Shoji's question. "Well..., it is somewhat of a
personal
nature."
"I'm sorry to have asked. Please accept my deep apologies for nosing
in on your
personal life."
"No! No! It is alright. You are not here as a mere bodyguard but as an
equal
and a friend. Besides, I am rather glad that you asked."
"You are?"
Aeka nodded. "I needed to talk about this to someone, someway or
another. Even
though both you and I have just met. I know it is strange but I feel
rather
comfortable talking to you."
Shoji smiled. "I'm flattered. I have to admit. Even though you're
the Crown
Princess of Jurai, I feel as though you're not. You make me feel like
an equal
and I appreciate the welcoming feeling."
"You are very welcome, Shoji."
"So, now that we're friends. What has been troubling your thoughts, in
the recent hours?"
"Well it is more of a WHO than a WHAT."
"Oh, I see..." Shoji said, immediately figuring out Aeka's
predicament.
"Well, I have been quite attached to a boy named Tenchi Masaki."
"You mean, the next Crown Prince of Jurai?"
"Yes."
"Where is he? I looked forward in meeting him but he wasn't around."
"That is because he is on a date with Ryoko."
"You mean the space pirate?"
"Yes, her." Aeka said grudgingly.
Shoji was silent and listened on as Aeka told him about the chess game,
how she
lost, and Tenchi and Ryoko's date at Naroda Beach.
Aeka continued on, holding in her tears. "Ryoko and I have been
competing for
Tenchi's love for the past few years and now..." Aeka paused. "Things
seem to
be taking a turn."
"How would you know that?" Shoji inquired.
"I don't really know. I just have a feeling that things will be
different after
they return tomorrow. I just know that Tenchi will finally choose
between Ryoko
and myself within the next few days. And I am not sure if I am
prepared to
see Ryoko walk out as the victor. What should I do?"
"To be honest, I have no real advise as to help guide you in your
situation."
"I understand..." Aeka said disappointedly.
"But!" Shoji added. "All I can say is that, there's no way to predict
the
oncoming events which are about to unfold for you. Especially, matters
involving love. Instead of focusing on Tenchi's choice between you and
Ryoko,
try to focus on the possible outcomes."
"But why? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean. That way, if he chooses you, the joy will be much greater. If
he
doesn't choose you, at
least the pain will be much less than unexpected."
"I understand. Thank you for the advice."
"I'm sorry if it's not what you're looking for but that's the best I
can give
you."
"Don't say that. Your advice is quite helpful. I didn't think about
my
situation on that angle. You sound like you have dealt with this
matter
before."
Shoji made a bitter-sweet smile on his face. "Yes, I have. I had my
fair
share of Love, just like anybody else."
"Really? How many times have you experienced this?" Aeka asked
curiously.
"Very few and not often."
"When was the last time you ever fell in love?" Aeka asked. She looked
over and
noticed that Shoji had a hilt of a Juraian Energy sword attached to his
belt.
She peered in carefully and noticed that the hilt had a green jewel
artificially
melded into its wooden body.
"Last year. It was pure magic." Shoji reminisced with a smile on his
face.
Then his smile disappeared and was replaced by a slightly sad look.
"but like
all good things, it ended."
"I am sorry to hear that."
"No reason to apologize. That's how life is sometimes, harsh and yet
soothing."
"That is most often true." Aeka agreed.
Both silently listened as the sounds of the night came from the
countryside and
watched as the yellow fireflies begun to gradually disappear.
After a while of listening, Aeka was finally getting tired, she stood
up. "Well,
it is getting late. I better leave. It was nice having that
conversation with
you."
"Same here, but before you leave..."
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you a small favor?"
"Sure. Ask away."
"I know this may sound strange, but since this is my first assignment
being a
protective guardian for a crown princess, I'd prefer that you would
think of me
as your Guardian Angel, instead of a typical bodyguard. If you have
any
problems concerning personal matters, please don't hesitate to ask for
my help."
Aeka smiled deeply at Shoji's warm sincerity.
"As you wish, Shoji. Even though you're going to be around for a very
long
while, I truly appreciate your intentions. From this point on, I will
think of
you as my very own guardian angel and nothing less."
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome. Goodnight, Shoji."
"Sleep well, princess Aeka."
Shoji watched as Aeka walked off towards the Masaki home. As soon as
she
disappeared into the doorway, Shoji sat down and laid back onto the
grass. He
looked up into the starry moon-filled night and started to hum out a
small tune
from his past. He closed his eyes and drifted into a dream state.
***
Washu's Last Toy
After returning from the beach house, Tenchi and Ryoko stood at
Naroda's
shoreline looking out to sea enjoying the cool nautical breeze. The
full moon
was out and the night sky was filled with tiny glimmering beacons of
light.
"What is it that you wanted to show me?" Tenchi asked.
"Tenchi, do you know why I chose Naroda Beach to be the place of our
first
date?"
"I am curious as to why or how."
"Well, to answer your curiosity, I was watching a small travelling
program that
showed on TV last weekend. I became so interested because of the
beauty of this
beach."
"You definitely have good taste on your locations."
"Thanks, Tenchi. But besides the obvious, there is also another reason
why I
decided on Naroda Beach."
"Oh? And what was that?" Tenchi inquired curiously.
"Well, the Travelers show mentioned that once every month or so, when
the moon
is full and the tide is right. With the assistance of colliding
underwater
currents, numerous glowing microscopic sea creatures would float up
near the
surface."
"Is it close to shore? Where would we find this occurrence?"
"About a half mile out to sea. You don't mind do you?"
"Hmm..., sounds interesting. How do we get there?" Tenchi asked.
"Not to worry, I have it figured out." Ryoko assured. "I knew this
would come
in handy some time." She reached into her pocket and pulled out
another silver
box. She placed the box into the water and the box automatically
unfolded into
a small boat. The boat was painted white and had thin red stripe that
ran from
bow to stern. On the left side of the boat, Tenchi noticed a small red
crab
icon that held up a small flag saying; "Little Washu's Yacht".
The boat was in the water. Tenchi and Ryoko stepped onto the deck of
the boat
and sat down in their seats at the front. Tenchi noticed that the boat
did not
have any type of steering mechanism or any other controls to help
navigate the
boat.
"How does this thing work?" Tenchi asked looking around.
"You'll see." Ryoko replied.
"Please state your destination." Asked the boat's computer. It had
Washu's
voice.
"Wow..." Tenchi said, dumbfounded.
Ryoko giggled at Tenchi's reaction and turned towards the integrated
computer
system. "Ok, computer. Take us approximately half a mile out to sea."
"Gotcha." Replied the computer.
The Florescent Sea Creatures
The boat had arrived at the illuminated area of the ocean approximately
half
a mile from the shore. The full moon was up and the stars twinkled
brightly in
the azure sky. Tenchi and Ryoko were both fixated and amazed by the
almost
mystic quality of the luminescent sea plankton.
"See what did I tell you! It's so nice to be out here..."
"It sure is, very peaceful." Tenchi, agreed.
Ryoko sat down next to Tenchi and looked into his eyes, trying to read
his soul,
or perhaps even catch a glimpse of his heart. Feeling uncomfortable by
her
gaze, Tenchi looked away.
Ryoko lowered her face dejectedly as he broke eye contact.
<I'm never going to get through to him,> Ryoko thought sadly, a little
discouraged.
Refusing to give up, Ryoko reached out and grasped Tenchi's hand. She
used her
other hand to tilt his face towards her.
"Tenchi... There's something I want to tell you."
"W-what is it, Ryoko?" He stuttered nervously, his warm brown eyes
meeting
Ryoko's gaze once more.
"I've really, really enjoyed being with you today."
"I-uh, have to admit, Ryoko..." Tenchi paused a bit. "Spending time
with you
felt..., really good."
"Really!?" Ryoko asked, feeling her heart flutter with happiness.
Tenchi nodded slowly. Ryoko smiled, her gold eyes dancing.
"Would you like to swim with me, Tenchi? It's very nice out here, neh?
You
don't mind if you took another dip into the water. Do you?"
"No, I don't mind. Let me get ready and I'll join you in a little
bit..."
"Alright!"
Ryoko stood up Clad in her blue bikini, she jumped into the water while
Tenchi
remained onboard. Tenchi kicked off his sandals and started to get
ready as
well, when he remembered he still had his wallet and camera in his
pants pocket.
Not wanting to risk losing them, he reached into his pocket and closed
his hand
around it. As he pulled the wallet out, a piece of paper slipped out
with it and
floated to the floor. Tenchi stared at it for a moment before
realizing it was
from the fortune telling machine he had encountered back on the
shopping strip.
As he bent down to pick up the paper, the words written on it flashed
in his
mind before he even had a chance to read them.
*Cherish every precious moment you have with her...*
Tenchi glanced at the puzzling phrase one last time before tossing it
aside and
moving to the edge of the boat.
"Tenchi, hurry up and jump in!! It's looks so cool out here!"
Tenchi looked over at Ryoko, who was waiting patiently in the green
flourescant
water. She smiled at him, returning his gaze.
He smiled back at her and pulled off his shirt. Ryoko wolf whistled
teasingly
as she viewed his bare chest, grinning widely.
"Woohoo! Look at that stud!"
Tenchi blushed and jumped into the water. He swam over to Ryoko,
smiling as she
came into his view. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she
looked under
the moonlight, her cyan locks damp around her face, her soft gold eyes
smiling
at him. After a minute or so of staring in silence at her, Tenchi
couldn't
control himself any longer. In a swift, surprising move, he swam up to
Ryoko and
did his best to embrace her in the water.
"Tenchi...?? W-what are you...?" Ryoko gaped, feeling her cheeks grow
warm.
"It's my way of thanking you for a great day. I had a wonderful time,
Ryoko.
Most importantly, you saved Haruo's life."
"Don't mention it, Tenchi. I did what I had to do." Ryoko said softly,
smiling
at him. Her heart felt ready to burst with sheer joy; she could
scarcely believe
what had just happened.
"Sorry if I looked frightened up there on the boat." Tenchi added
sheepishly.
Ryoko laughed quietly, returning the hug tenderly. "Hey, it's alright,
Tenchi.
I'm used to it."
"Used to it?" Tenchi frowned at the last remark. "Well, that's going
to surely
change."
"Oh? Change in what way?" Ryoko asked curiously with full intention
of putting
Tenchi on the spot.
Tenchi flinched. "Uhh, well, funny you should ask that, Ryoko.
Uhh..."
"Why am I not surprised?" Ryoko joked.
They suddenly realized they were sinking, due to the weight of their
embrace. As
the water line reached their necks, they laughed and without further
delay,
separated from each other. Ryoko and Tenchi turned and gazed at each
other for a
moment. Ryoko blushed and bit her lip nervously, not wanting to tear
her eyes
away from him. Tenchi swallowed hard, vaguely wondering why there
seemed to be a
swarm of butterflies in his stomach as he stared into Ryoko's feline
eyes.
About a half a mile away, a dog barked from somewhere down the shore.
Upon
hearing the noise, both Tenchi and Ryoko abruptly looked away from each
other.
Not wanting disappointment to stain the incredible moment she had just
shared
with Tenchi, Ryoko decided to distract herself by exploring the lovely
surroundings. She drew in a deep breath and dove underwater.
Hearing the quiet splash, Tenchi timidly glanced to the spot where
Ryoko was and
smiled. He sighed and told himself it was probably for the best,
letting his
thoughts drift to the fortune teller's advice.
Ryoko dove deeper, trying to catch a glimpse of other sea creatures
which may be
lurking in the blue ocean. Her thoughts drifted to her moments with
Tenchi, she
thought about the way he held her during the dance, the way he
approached her to
embrace in the water, she smiled. Ryoko closed her eyes and sighed
blissfully.
Suddenly, the ocean seemed to lurch and she felt herself violently hit
by surge
of water. Startled by the sudden disappearance of the sea creatures,
Ryoko
realized that a strong current had swept her to a deeper and darker
location.
<I'm gonna run out of air! I better get to the top before I'm in
really
big trouble!> She, thought frantically as she tried to swim towards
the
surface but the darkness of the water disoriented her and she lost all
sense of
direction. Her eyes began to sting and her lungs began to burn from
exhaustion.
Ryoko felt herself frightened as she desperately tried to figure out a
way out
of the black, freezing water. The cold isolation started to resurface
memories
she preferred to have kept buried in the far depths of her mind.
Memories
of her long, torturous 700 year imprisonment in the Masaki cave.
Unpleasant
thoughts started to ruthlessly flood her mind. And worse, she was far
away from
Tenchi. The thought of not being able to be see Tenchi ever again
filled her
with terror and caused Ryoko to panic in the water.
Meanwhile, Tenchi was still waiting for Ryoko to resurface. He looked
at his
sports watch and realized that he had already been waiting for nearly
three
minutes.
Tenchi frowned and decided to look for Ryoko. He dove underwater and
swam
around the vicinity, searching the waters for a few minutes. She was
nowhere to
be found. Tenchi resurfaced, hoping to find her on the surface. His
throat
tightened in fear upon seeing she wasn't.
"Ryoko! Can you hear me?!" Tenchi called out frantically in every
direction.
No response.
"Not again. Where are you, Ryoko!!"
Deep in the black ocean, Ryoko fought to keep the seawater from
flooding
into her mouth.
After a few moments of desperate struggle, the remaining air finally
escaped her
lungs and she took in a mouthful of liquid, she helplessly watched her
surroundings began to blur and fade. She felt her thoughts drift into
nothingness.
Feeling herself lose consciousness, Ryoko focused her last thought on
Tenchi...
As Tenchi continued his search for Ryoko, underwater, he felt an alarm
bell go
off in his mind. He had felt this sensation twice before, once in the
Souja,
before his battle with Kagato, and once in Washu's lab, when the whole
Zero
business had begun. He heard Ryoko's voice calling out his name.
Acting more on instinct and feeling than on rational thought, Tenchi
dove even
deeper. As he reached a certain depth, he recognized the first signs
of an
existing undercurrent. The temperature shifted from warm to cold when
suddenly,
Tenchi felt a rush of water surround his body and rapidly carry him off
into the
abyss. After a few seconds of fighting the pressure, the current
finally slowed
down. Tenchi regained his composure, he continued his search, somehow
feeling
Ryoko's presence somewhere nearby.
Off in the distance, Tenchi spotted a familiar light glowing dimly and
realized that it was emitted from Ryoko's gem.
Tenchi quickly swam towards the beacon and to his horror, found Ryoko
suspended
in mid-water. She didn't appear to be conscious. Trying his best to
keep panic
from overwhelming him, Tenchi got a hold on Ryoko and slowly ascended
back to
the surface.
He finally broke the ocean surface and screamed for Washu's boat. The
boat
immediately rushed towards them. Tenchi tiredly climbed onto the boat
and pulled
Ryoko after him. Once inside the boat, Tenchi frantically checked
Ryoko's vital
signs and felt a cold fear in his stomach when he didn't find any.
Without
hesitating, he went to enact what he had learned in the health classes
he had
thought to be so boring in school.
Tenchi turned Ryoko over, laying her flat on her back and placed a hand
on her
forehead, tilting her head and clearing her airway. He leaned forward,
closing
her nose with one hand and pressed his mouth against hers, breathing
deeply into
her. He paused, watching her chest rise, then continued blowing in
breath after
breath of air into her mouth.
"Come on! Breathe!" Tenchi yelled, his brown eyes filled with fear.
Tenchi put his hands together above Ryoko's mid-chest and started to
rhythmically press her heart, trying to start up blood flow.
"Don't you dare give up on me, Ryoko! I know you! Don't you dare
leave me
like this!" Tenchi cried out as he pumped.
'Cherish every precious moment you have with her..." The haunting
words
kept going through Tenchi's mind as he struggled to save Ryoko.
"You're stronger than this, Ryoko! Please, do something to let me know
you're
still here!"
He blew in another deep breath into Ryoko's mouth. After each breath,
Tenchi
pumped her chest, and vice versa, alternating the actions with each
movement.
The ordeal seemed to last a lifetime, with no visible results. Tenchi
bit his
lip hard to keep from screaming in fear and frustration, but he refused
to give
up. As the minutes passed, he felt hope start to diminish. Pumping
Ryoko's
chest, Tenchi shut his eyes tightly and silently prayed.
Suddenly, his prayer seemed to be answered as Ryoko convulsed and spat
out the
seawater that had filled her lungs. She turned from side to side,
coughing
violently then stopped and laid still, gulping in air. Tenchi watched
her in
silence as his eyes welled up with tears of joy and relief. Ryoko lay
quietly
on the deck, catching her breath and adjusting to the atmosphere.
After a moment of uneasy silence, Ryoko burst into tears. She tried to
turn
away, wanting to avoid Tenchi's concerned gaze, but her body felt weak
and
heavy, and she wouldn't respond. Tenchi bolted forward and pulled Ryoko
into his
arms, hugging her as tightly as he could.
"Don't you ever swim away from me like that ever again! I thought I'd
lost
you!" he whispered in her ear, his voice thick with tears. Ryoko barely
managed
a dazed nod and closed her eyes, leaning exhaustedly against him.
"Computer! Take us back to shore!" Tenchi commanded loudly at the
boat.
"Gotcha." Said the computer.
Tenchi grabbed a wool blanket that lay nearby and wrapped it around
Ryoko, then
sat down and held her tightly against him, rubbing her arms
occasionally. They
sat in this position for the remainder of the boat ride, neither of
them
speaking. Ryoko was very still and quiet, tears slowly trickling down
her
cheeks. Worried by her silence, Tenchi glanced at her and saw her
tears. He
gently tried to wipe them away with the back of his hand.
"It's alright, it's okay. You're safe now." he whispered in a soft,
reassuring
tone.
Ryoko remained silent, her mind still in shock from the experience she
had
endured.
Safe Haven
Tenchi quickly opened the door to the beach house. He carried Ryoko
through the
hallway into the replica of his room. As he walked, he looked down at
her to
see how she was doing, he felt Ryoko shivering in his arms. He
quickened the
pace and finally reached the door to the room. Tenchi walked in and
carefully
placed Ryoko onto a nearby bed. Ryoko sat upright near the edge of the
bed
staring blankly at the floor, looking very vulnerable. Tenchi stared
at her
with great concern.
"Everything will be alright, Ryoko." Tenchi assured, putting a hand on
her
shoulders. "I'll look for something for you to wear." He quickly
stepped over
to a nearby closet, hoping to find any dry clothes. Tenchi opened the
closet
door and browsed through the selection of shirts and pajamas.
Tenchi chose a set of pajamas that consisted of white pants and button
up shirt
then walked over to Ryoko and noticed that she was too exhausted to
change from
her wet swimsuit. But before he can actually change her, he had to
wash away
all the salt water from her body. Tenchi noticed the faraway look on
Ryoko's
expression, he became even more concerned. He guided her into the
shower room,
Tenchi looked the other way as Ryoko took off her bikini. After Ryoko
took her
bikini off, Tenchi walked out of the bathroom and headed back towards
the
bedroom.
Throughout the four minute shower, the hot water cascaded her entire
body, Ryoko
tried to wash away her frustration. Suddenly, due to her fatigue,
Ryoko's leg
trembled, she slipped and fell onto the wet-tiled floor. She silently
growled,
slowly, she stood up and leaned against the walls of the shower. Ryoko
tilted
her head up, allowing her face to be bombarded by streaming warm water.
With
all the strength she had that remained, Ryoko punched the shower wall.
Ryoko looked down and her body trembled. After a silent moment, tears
of frustration mix in with the hot shower water. Tenchi waited in the
bedroom while Ryoko did her final rinse off. Then she turned the
faucet over. Ryoko stepped out from the shower, grabbed a nearby towel
and dried off. After she dried off, Ryoko grabbed the pajamas Tenchi
handed her and slipped into them. The white pajamas fitted snuggly and
comfortably. Ryoko walked about clumsily, suddenly, her exhaustion
overtook her and she collapsed onto the floor.
Hearing a loud thump emanating from the hallway, Tenchi walked out of
the
bedroom and found Ryoko lying on the floor, unconscious.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled, full of worry, as he ran to her. He picked up
Ryoko in
his arms and carried her towards the bedroom.
He opened the door and placed Ryoko onto to a nearby bed. Tenchi
pulled the
sheets over to one side and gently tucked Ryoko in. He pulled the
sheets over
Ryoko to keep her warm. Tenchi stood up and stared at her with worried
eyes.
Too consumed with anxiety to stay in Ryoko's presence, Tenchi walked
out of the
room and headed off to the balcony. On his way to the balcony, Tenchi
grabbed a
blanket and pillow from a closet to sleep with. Tenchi reached the
balcony and
seated himself down on the largest pull-back patio chair, planning to
sleep
silently under the stars. Tenchi sat down, positioned his pillow, he
laid back
and looked up at the peaceful starry twilight. He let out a long sigh.
<What a day.> He thought exhaustedly. <Ryoko won't say a word to me.
Can't
say that I blame her. She was nearly killed today.>
Meanwhile back in the bedroom, Ryoko opened her eyes and realized that
she was
in bed. She knew right away Tenchi had placed her there. She angrily
pushed
the blanket off and limped her way towards the patio.
Tenchi sighed and decided to go to sleep. He sat up and pulled off his
watch
from his wrist. Tenchi checked the time and the watch read five
minutes before
midnight. As Tenchi placed his wrist watch onto the patio table, he
felt a
presence.
"Tenchi?" Ryoko asked, leaning against the doorway.
"Ryoko?!" Tenchi said, surprised. "What are you doing here? You
should be in
bed, getting some rest!"
"I know..." Ryoko said and looked away shamefully.
"Do you? Then why are you standing there? C'mon, let me help you get
back to
your bed."
Tenchi stood up and walked over to Ryoko. He gently took her arm and
was about
to guide Ryoko back to her but she forcefully pulled away.
"I don't want to go back to that room, Tenchi."
"Why not? You need your rest."
"No. I'm fine." Ryoko refused again. "I just don't want to be left
alone.
Not after what happened."
With all her strength, Ryoko stepped away from the doorway, but her
legs started
to falter. Tenchi immediately caught Ryoko between his arms. He
guided her to
the patio chair that Tenchi had used. They both sat down. Tenchi
gazed at
Ryoko with great concern but she looked away.
"Please Tenchi, don't look at me like that. Not while I'm looking like
this."
Ryoko said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Tenchi was clearly startled by Ryoko's last statement.
"What do you mean by that, Ryoko?"
"Just take a look at me, Tenchi!" Ryoko yelled out. Tears going down
her
cheeks. "I'm weak! I can't believe that for a few short hours I was
the
Rescuer and now, I'm the Rescuee! I nearly drowned today!"
"But..."
Ryoko cuts Tenchi off. "Me! Drowning! I don't believe this! Nearly
all my
life, I believed I was strong and almost nothing could take me down!
Not even
fate! I chose today to go without my powers and in return, fate played
games
with me!"
"That may be but..." Tenchi tried to jump in but failed.
"I was so foolish to go a day without my powers! I've never felt so
weak and
pitiful in all my life!" Ryoko yelled angrily, held her arms up
clenching her
fists.
"Ryoko..." Tenchi said but it was futile.
"I'll never play little miss weak again! Never! This is the last time
I'm ever
going to go without my powers! The things I do to win your love!"
As Ryoko screamed and cursed herself, Tenchi was at a loss. He
couldn't think
of a way to calm Ryoko's frustration. He stared at Ryoko's face and
noticed the
cascade of tears flowing from her pained golden eyes.
"You just don't realize how much hurt it's caused me! I thought I was
back in
the cave!" She said, her voice heavy and shaky. "I've never felt so
alone, so
cold, so weak, so...stupid!!!"
Tenchi's brow raised at Ryoko's last remark. He became more engrossed
into her
emotional babble.
<Cherish every precious moment you have with her...> Sparked through
Tenchi's
mind for the very last time.
"I am such an idiot to come here without my powers! No! Not an idiot,
more of
an imbecile!"
At the spur of the moment, Tenchi immediately embraced Ryoko and
muffled her babble with a carefully timed kiss. Shocked by Tenchi's
unexpected move, Ryoko's grasp of her tough-girl-persona slipped, her
arms relaxed, she unclenched her fists and relaxed in Tenchi's arms.
She felt his caring energy flow from her lips which brought peace to
her frantic soul. Ryoko felt her mind calm as she experienced Tenchi's
lips kissing along her lips. This was her VERY first kiss, it felt
like an invisible blanket had wrapped around her, keeping her warm and
secure. A long, slow, warm tear rolled down her left cheek, she knew
at that moment, that she was inside...
As Tenchi kissed Ryoko, he opened his eyes and found himself lip-
locking with
the cyan-haired beauty. His tact to calm Ryoko had worked. Slowly,
Tenchi pulled away from Ryoko's lips, he gazed into her tearful golden
eyes and hugged her tighter.
"Don't punish yourself like that! Going on without your powers is
besides the
point! Don't you realize that I've nearly lost you today! I never
realized IT
until to-!" He corrected himself. "Until now!"
"Tenchi...I..."
"Please..." Tenchi said softly. "Don't say another word, you've said
enough as
of tonight. I know you don't want to be left alone, don't you worry,
I'm here
right now. I won't leave you alone. I know what you're going through,
so
please, just sleep it off. I'll be right here, right next to you, to
keep your
troubles away. "
Ryoko's sad look disappeared from her face, she nodded slightly. Both
quietly
laid back against the chair. Ryoko rested her head on Tenchi's chest
and
gathered the warmth of his gentle soul. Tenchi carefully placed his
arms around
her as if trying to wrap the night around her. Ryoko closed her eyes
and
immediately succumbed to her exhaustion. Tenchi watched as Ryoko fell
into
slumber, he felt her tense body finally relax. Then he pulled the
blanket over
Ryoko to keep her warm from the cool sea breeze. He looked at the
sleeping Oni
and felt the returning presence of Ryoko's powers. Tenchi looked under
the
blanket and saw Ryoko's gem emitting a bright brilliant light, he
smiled. He
looked up at the numerous constellations that decorated the night sky.
The day
was one hell of a roller coaster ride, emotionally. Tenchi sighed and
gazed
back at Ryoko. He held her tighter in his arms and felt the comforting
warmth
emanating from her. Tenchi rested his head against Ryoko's and closed
his
eyes.
As his mind drifted off, Tenchi knew that from that point on, he will
do his
best to cherish every precious moment with Ryoko....
Ryoko?
No.
Not just Ryoko.
His Ryoko.
To Be Continued...
Alright folks, choose a new ending song...
Song #1
Fly Me to the Moon
By CLAIRE
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words,
Hold my hand
In other words,
Darling kiss me.
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore!
In other words,
Please be true!
In other words,
I love you...
Only you...
Song #2
Nobody Does It Better
By
Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager
Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it, half as good as you
Baby, you're the best
I wasn't looking, but somehow you found me
I tried to hide from your love by...
Like heaven above me, The Oni who loved me
'Cause keeping all my secrets safe tonight!
And, Nobody does it better
Though sometimes I wish someone could...
Nobody does it...
Quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good!
The way that you hold me
Whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside of you
That keeps me from running
But just keep it coming!
How'd you learn to do the things you do
And, Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it, half as good as you
Baby, baby!
Darling you're the best!
Baby, you're the best!
Or whatever song you choose.
Author's note:
Well folks, there you have it! You have just read the most important
chapter of
the whole FF series! Tenchi had finally chosen! I have to admit, it
was a
great challenge of writing this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! Tell
me what
you think!
Special Thanks goes out to Ryoko MR (especially), Random, Lord Talon,
Cman1701, Laith and of course the Crazy Aussie man, Sir Bean.