Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ A Chance Twice Taken ❯ A Chance Twice Taken ( Chapter 1 )

I receive nothing from this, save delight in crafting something that may give

someone some pleasure to read. That is my only wish.

Kyokki

A Chance Twice Taken

She sat staring at her hands, folded in her lap. "I am leaving," she said,

as she watched her tears make tiny spots on the fabric of her kimono.

Ryoko stared at her, incredulous. "What do you mean, leaving?" The former

space pirate looked at the desolate princess through narrowed eyes. "Does this

mean you're giving up?"

Ayeka's head came up suddenly, and Ryoko could see a fire behind her ruby

eyes, instantly quelled. The princess sighed and stood up, pacing about the tiny

room that she shared with Sasami. Ryoko sat on the floor watching her.

The princess's hands fluttered over the sparse furnishings as she walked,

betraying her nervousness. "I simply can't bear it any longer, the not knowing,"

she paused with her hand on the windowsill, peering in the direction of the

carrot fields. "It has been four years, Ryoko, and he still has not shown any

inclination to either of us. I am needed on Jurai..." She glanced at Ryoko with

a small, bitter smile on her face. "Our people are growing restive...waiting for

me to marry and ensure the succession."

"But..." Ryoko couldn't believe she was saying this, "why don't you ask

Tenchi?"

Ayeka's eyes widened to match Ryoko's. "I cannot believe you actually said

that, Ryoko." But then she smiled. "Thank you."

Ryoko tossed her head, smoothing her hair needlessly. "Don't let it go to

your head, Princess."

"Don't worry, I won't." Ayeka laughed shortly. She sobered quickly,

however, and continued her slow tread around the room. "I will be leaving soon,"

she said sadly, as she reached the door. She quietly slid it open and stood

there for a moment, her head bowed. "I hope, you and Tenchi are happy together."

She said in a rush as she darted out. The door slid shut behind her.

Ryoko stared at the closed door for a moment, then phased up till she came

to perch on the apex of the roof. The sun was setting as she assumed her seat,

but she did not notice. She did not notice the brilliant clouds, or the

stillness of the evening. She did not notice the sweet smelling breeze that

brushed across her spiky hair.

But her eyes looked beyond them, focusing on one distant point, unseen.

She was looking towards the fields that provided her cabbit sustenance, and the

boy she knew would be toiling in them. Tenchi, the one who had freed her.

She sat cross-legged with her chin propped in the palm of her hand.

Staring sightlessly out at the valley, she unconsciously scanned the scenery.

Her eyes were pensive as she sighed and stretched, lying back against the roof

tiles. Her feline pupils went to the heavens as she thought.

Ayeka leaving, it was almost impossible to think. As much as she fought

with the princess, exchanging insults and, occasionally, blows, Ayeka had become

an integral part of her new life. It was confusing, why was she giving up? Why,

after all these years, and all these fights over Tenchi and a host of other

things, was she throwing it all away? It was something Ryoko could not fathom.

When she went after something, she stuck with it, no matter what happened, no

matter what changed. Her eyes glanced back towards the fields where Tenchi

worked.

She sighed and floated off of the roof, flying aimlessly over the

landscape. She did a few swoops and rolls, but the joy that came from flying

free was missing this day.

Ryoko settled into a more sedate glide, and looked around, suddenly seeing

what was actually around her. In the course of her flight she had somehow ended

up at the cave.

It was a place of her deepest fears, and her fondest memories. She

recalled how helpless she had felt when confined in that dark prison. Her mind

shuddered away from those thoughts, then turned, inevitably, to Tenchi. Ryoko

sat on one of the boulders for a few minutes, remembering.

Then she was struck by an epiphany. A prison. Just as she had been

imprisoned in this cave, so was Ayeka imprisoned. But the difference was that

she was released from this dark place, Tenchi released her. Ayeka was still

trapped, trapped within her upbringing, within her duty. Ryoko knew she would

never return to this darkness, but Ayeka, though granted a conditional time

away, knew that she had to return. That was why she always acted the part of the

princess, because she knew she had to go back, she could not shake off the

chains. And Tenchi was the one who granted her a small bit of freedom, the

freedom that Ryoko so relished.

Ryoko floated upwards and settled on the large boulder that jutted out

from the top of the formation. This time, as she looked over the valley, she

truly saw it. A peaceful place, different from anywhere she had been before.

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to see it as Ayeka did. The wildness of the

place contrasted with the sculptured beauty that she had seen on Jurai, though

she was not really in any condition to tell that when she went there. It struck

her that that was the main difference between her and Ayeka. She was the wild

beauty of the Earth, and she felt tied to it. Ayeka was Jurai, beautiful, but

sculpted and controlled, not allowed to grow naturally.

She had more in common with Ayeka than she had ever expected, probably

because she had never taken the time to look beneath the princessly exterior.

Ryoko was used to taking things at face value, and if proved wrong, tended

to try to force people into the mould of her assumption. Perhaps, that was what

she had been doing to Ayeka, unconsciously hitting her in all the wrong spots so

she would display the behavior Ryoko expected of her.

Suddenly, her sensitive ears picked up on the sound of someone approaching

her hidden spot. She let her self become incorporeal and sank down into the

rock, only leaving her eyes and a great deal of cyan hair above the surface,

looking like some odd plant that grew from solid stone.

She was surprised when the form of Yosho came into view, striding almost

hesitantly up to the cave. Ryoko's eyes narrowed, he almost never came up here,

and not since she had been imprisoned could she count a handful of times she had

seen him or sensed his presence. He walked up and sat down on the boulder that

the oni had so recently vacated, staring down into the dark maw of the cavern,

past the open gate, past the tripped locking mechanism. She waited for him to do

something, to leave so that she could be alone with her thoughts. But the prince

just sat there, a nostalgic look of regret on his face.

As this was a day of revelations for Ryoko, she wasn't too surprised when

she had another one. Yosho was one who had slipped his bonds, broken his chains,

and yet...he ever seemed to bear their ghostly weight. Something held him that

was no longer corporeal but rather the memory of its constriction. But he was

the one who had imprisoned her, who had given her centuries of darkness and

fear. He wasn't nearly so scary now, now that he was old and not the swift young

man that she remembered. But wait...

She recalled how she and Kagato had fought against him. He hadn't even

broken a sweat. She remembered how he had tried to bring her around, and only as

a last resort had cut off her hand, and cut her off from the jewel that was the

source of Kagato's control. She remembered vaguely, that Tenchi had called to

his grandfather not to kill her. And even in the midst of her thrall, she had

known that he would not, that he would never hurt her purposely, that he only

did it to save her from herself. Just as he had done centuries before.

Her eyes widened slightly, as she thought of things that had never

mattered to her before. 'Mom?' she thought, but no, this wasn't the same

sensation she felt when Washu was messing with her head. This was coming from

her, from within the depths of her mind, the depths of her heart.

Yosho was silent for a while, content to just perch on the rock. Then he

stood, and Ryoko followed him with her eyes as he started to walk away. She was

just about to emerge from her hiding place when he turned and looked straight at

her.

"I'm sorry Ryoko." He said, and she could see the kindness in his violet

eyes, usually hidden by his glasses. She remained dumbfounded as he continued on

his way.

Darkness fell upon the pirate. She took no heed, due to the feline

components of her body, she was able to see as well in darkness as in the light.

She had not left her perch on the top of the rock, even as the dinner hour came

and went. She just sat there, staring up at the silent stars.

The stars had always been her companions in the time when she was in

Kagato's control. They were always there, never judging her for her actions,

always shining upon her in the tapestry of space. She could depend on the stars

to guide her, to different galaxies, or to home.

'Home' she thought. Was this her home? The earth had kept her for 700

years, had held her deep within her depths. It was the only place she had spent

any amount of time on, a planet anyways, she had lived on the Souja or on Ryo-

Ohki. But here on Earth she had found herself, or what she had thought was her

self. She was made up of many different parts, of many different people. But who

was she? She had never had a chance to find out, to live as a child, with a

mother and a father. She had never known a family, gone through the things that

'normal' young women had to grow through. She was formless.

Why hadn't he killed her, he could have been done with her.

...

'Where is he?' she thought frantically, darting between the pieces of

wreckage that littered the space where the ship once was. "Tenchi! Tenchi!" she

cried over and over again, howling into the empty space. "Oh, Tenchi! Where are

you?" She sobbed.

Suddenly she stopped. "What was that?" A figure floated through space,

nearly unnoticed due to the blackness of his hair against the darkened backdrop

of space. Her face contorted into a mixture of relief and fear. "TENCHI!!" she

screamed, lending all her energy to reaching him as quickly as she possibly

could. It seemed she moved in slow motion, the moments stretched out to

infinity, and it seemed it took her that long to reach him, only a few feet

away. She finally reached the still figure and clutched him in her arms. The ex-

pirate immediately transported the two of them to the bridge of the empty

Ryo-Ohki. She laid his form gently down and carefully turned him over. It wasn't

Tenchi. It wasn't Tenchi! Instead she was staring into the still, cold face of

Yosho, looking just as he did the moment he had defeated her.

She knew she must feel something, happy that he was dead, triumph that her

foe was finally laid low, but instead she was numb. She reached out and touched his cold face gently, with a trembling hand. She felt the scream welling up,

along with the feeling of total and utter despair. "YOSHO!" She clutched him to

her. "Yosho." She whispered.

"NOOOO!" her scream echoed through the ship.

...

"NOOO!" Ryoko gasped as she sat up on her beam. She could feel the sound

of her scream echoing in her ears, echoing in the empty room. She could feel her

heart pounding.

Ryoko was not given to dreams, nor to nightmares. Her waking memories were

usually nightmare enough for her to sleep soundly during the night. It was

Yosho. She swung her legs over the edge of the beam and dangled her feet,

staring at the ground beneath her.

Why was it Yosho, and even more importantly, why did she feel such pain,

such despair upon finding him. She dropped her forehead onto her hands and

stared into the darkness of her damp palms. She could still feel the despair the

dream had caused constricting her chest her, her face was damp with sweat and

tears. She heard a step on the stairs, and hurriedly brushed the tears off of

her face.

"Ryoko?" came a tiny sweet voice below her. She looked down to see Sasami

in her nightclothes, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Are you okay?" Her

pink eyes were concerned in the moonlight.

Ryoko mustered a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine Sasami. I just had a bad dream."

"You did?" Sasami's pale face looked up at her. "I have bad dreams a lot,

they scare me and I can't sleep."

Ryoko stared down at the little girl.

Sasami walked over and sat on the back of the sofa. "It sometimes helps to

talk about dreams." She said seriously. Her face turned reflectively towards the

moon glow lake. "Sometimes I dream things and they happen, or they mean things

that I figure out later, sometimes I dream about things that have happened and

they turn out differently in the end." She sighed, "I have strange dreams." For

an instant her eyes glowed with more than the moonlight, then she blinked and

they were back to normal. Ryoko was still staring down at her, amazed at the

depth of understanding the small girl showed. Sasami looked up at the silent

woman, "Do you want to talk about your dreams?" she asked. "Maybe I can help

you."

Ryoko hesitated for a few moments, undecided. Then she shrugged, she could

tell it without * really * saying what had happened. She floated down off her

perch and phased onto the sofa next to the princess. Sasami was silently looking

at the space pirate as she waited for her to speak. Ryoko was also silent for a

long moment then she began, hesitantly, to describe the dream, leaving out

names.

"So...um...I was in space looking for someone...uh...and...I found

this...uh...person...but it wasn't who I thought it was, it was an old...enemy."

Ryoko paused for another long moment, looking pensively out the glimmering

windows. "But I felt something I didn't expect." She stood up abruptly and began

pacing back and forth, her head down and her hands clasped behind her back.

Sasami watched her with knowing, if sleepy eyes. She, of course, knew what

Ryoko was talking about, even if the ex-space pirate was trying to avoid telling

her.

Ryoko seemed to forget that Sasami was more than she seemed, and Tsunami

knew what was going on. The goddess felt both compassion and amusement on behalf

of the space pirate. She realized this must be difficult for her, coming to

terms with what she so long had repressed and denied. But her reaction,

particularly in the face of the telling of her dream, was a bit funny. Sasami

covered her giggle with a cough. She cuddled more comfortably into the cushions

and propped her arms across the back, resting her chin on her forearm.

Ryoko seemed to remember that Sasami was there when she heard the movement

and continued with her telling, "I felt...horror...I felt like I was being

ripped apart the inside." She stopped her relentless pacing and faced the

kitchen, her hands now balled into fists at her sides. She whispered softly, "It

was even worse than when..."

Sasami rose up on her knees, now fully awake. "Worse than when what,

Ryoko-sister?"

Ryoko jumped, then turned around sheepishly. "Uh...I didn't say that aloud

did I?

Sasami nodded her head in firm affirmation.

Ryoko hurried to cover her little slip of the tongue. "...Never mind." She

walked over and sat beside the little princess, who tilted her head to look up

at the cyan-haired woman. "So, what do you think?"

"Well," Sasami said thoughtfully. "It's obviously a symbolic transfer from

the time that you thought Tenchi was dead, only this time it wasn't Tenchi...and

you were surprised by the depth of the feeling you felt for that person." She

tapped a finger against her lips. "I think it means that your feelings for

Tenchi are for someone else."

Ryoko stared at her, agog. "Wha...?"

Sasami stood up and stretched, stifling a yawn behind her hand. She walked

over to the base of the stairs and paused for a moment, her hand resting on the

rail. "I hope I helped, Ryoko." She turned and started walking up to her

bedroom. Ryoko, her eyes the size of sake dishes, listened to her steps fading

up the treads, she thought she heard the princess murmur something in a satisfied

voice, before the door slid shut behind her.

...

Sasami stood at the window, watching as Ryoko left the house, gliding

along the moon-swept earth. 'Was that really necessary?' she thought.

Her other self answered her softly, 'Yes, it was. She needs to know before

she surrenders herself to unhappiness for all of eternity.'

The princess sighed and went back to bed.

...

Ryoko glided out among the leafy trees, the light of the moon making

dapples on her pale skin. This time she had a destination in mind. She was

heading for the tree.

Ryoko stopped on the edge of the clearing that held the space tree Funaho,

and watched it for a while. Funaho somehow looked dignified as it sat in the

middle of the pool, her branches flurried and ruffled in the errant breezes, for

all like a woman arranging her skirts. Ryoko walked into the clearing slowly,

her eyes fastened on the tree.

There was a reason that Kagato had sent her to get a space tree rather

than going himself. She somehow seemed to feel the soul of the tree, each was an

individual, and each had a distinct personality. That was how she had planned on

finding Tsunami; she could feel her whenever she was near Sasami, a sentience

far above the awareness of any other tree. But right now she was feeling the

soul of Funaho, a sensation of oneness with the spirit of the tree. And when she

felt Funaho, she also felt Yosho. She knew he was alive even before he had

revealed himself. When she had been near Funaho on that day she found Tenchi and

Ayeka there, she had known. That was what she had meant by, "I just came to help

you." But then Ayeka said something and she had stormed off in a huff.

Now she had returned. She was not sure why, but the presence of the tree

reflected the feeling she got when she sensed the presence of Yosho. She paused

under the spreading branches and peered up through the lush greenery. Ryoko laid

a hand on the tree's smooth trunk the phased up to sit among her branches. She

sat there, silent, for a while, running Funaho's silky leaves through her

fingers and inhaling the subtle aroma of her ruby red blossoms. She could feel

the tree's reticence towards her presence and decided the only way to allay the

sentient fears was to talk. So she spoke to the tree of things she had never

vocalized before; the sketchy memories of Washu, her experiences under Kagato's

domain, her battle with Yosho she skipped over due to the tree having witnessed

it, and she didn't want to drag up old wounds, finally she spoke of Tenchi,

Ayeka, and her new found doubts about her feelings for the tree's master.

"...I don't know what to think, Funaho. I thought I loved Tenchi and hated

Yosho. But now, but now...oh, I don't know what to think, I don't know how to

feel."

She sat up from where she had leaned against the smooth trunk. Ryoko

looked up through the spreading branches. "I think...I think I love him."

All was silent for a few moments and then the winds started to pick up,

swirling through the clearing. Ryoko swung her legs over the side of the branch

and looked around in wonder. "What is this?" She stared at one of the tree's

leaves; it started to glow then let off a tiny beam of light that pinged off the

surrounding water.

As Ryoko watched, more and more lights formed and she was soon surrounded

by a gleaming multihued aura. Everything seemed to go to negative. And she was

suddenly staring at the room she knew so well, the place where she had been

imprisoned. The glowing pool hid her figure, but she could see one man standing

next to the glowing light.

As she watched he knelt beside the tomb and reached down. She saw him

grasp her hand and pull it up to his chest. He held it there for a moment then

lifted it to his lips and kissed it gently. He placed it back into the water and

waited another moment, his head bowed, then he stood and turned. That was when

she saw who it was, Yosho, his face damp and glistening in the light of her

prison.

The light, and the image, slowly dissipated.

Ryoko stared at the space that the image had appeared in for a long

moment. Then she turned her face up to look at the spreading branches of Funaho.

She smiled slightly, "Thank you, but I'm just not sure yet." She phased away as

the first lights of dawn stained the horizon. Unseen, a few more lights pinged

off the water.

...

The house was subdued that morning as they all ate breakfast. Some

attempts were made at conversation, but they were instantly quelled as no one

really felt like talking. Ayeka and Sasami were leaving that afternoon.

Sasami had prepared a wonderful feast that no one really ate. They just

sat and pushed the food around on their plates. At one point Mihoshi excused

herself and they could hear her in her room, sobbing.

Throughout the meal, Ryoko spent her time watching Ayeka, who refused to

look up from her plate, Tenchi, who couldn't seem to take his eyes away from

Ayeka's bent head, and Yosho, who looked even more solemn than usual. Ryoko was

still struggling over her feelings for them and that made her a bit snappish,

not how she wanted Sasami to remember her. To make up for her mood, after

breakfast was over she helped the small girl clean the table, occasioning

incredulous looks from everyone. Ryoko just stared at them all and asked, "What,

like I can't help around the house?"

Washu looked at her sympathetically as everyone else shook their heads in

disbelief.

Ayeka and Tenchi retreated up to her room to get her things and bring them

down, while Washu went to put the finishing touches on Ryu-oh's pod; Ayeka would

get a permanent shell built when she returned to Jurai. Sasami sat on the couch

and held Ryo-Ohki in her lap, spending as much time with the little cabbit as

she could before her departure.

A while later, after Noboyuki had returned from work to see the princesses

off, they were ready to depart. Sasami cried unrestrainedly as she hugged each

of them goodbye. Ryoko smoothed the little girl's hair when her turn came, and

was surprised when Sasami looked up at her with pleading eyes, as though only

she could prevent them from going. Ayeka then moved among them giving much more

restrained farewells, her eyes were hooded and Ryoko could see dark circles from

lack of sleep beneath them. Her eyes shone with tears as she bowed to Tenchi,

who took a long moment to bow back.

Then Ayeka took Sasami by the hand and led her to Ryu-oh.

Ryoko came up behind Tenchi and wrapped her arms around him, which

elicited no reaction, none at all. He merely stared after Ayeka with a look of

shock and horror that struck Ryoko to the heart. She could hear him mumbling

something under his breath and leaned her head in closer to hear.

"Ayeka, she...she's leaving." He shook as though trying to shake off a

horrible vision. His voice grew louder. "She can't leave."

Ryoko tightened her arms around him, as though to keep him from the things

he was saying.

Tenchi stood stock still for a moment, then turned and looked at Ryoko,

his eyes held such sorrow that she nearly cried for him.

He gently kissed her on the cheek then removed her arms from around him,

"Ryoko, I'm sorry." He turned, "Ayeka, wait!" he cried, and ran to her.

Ayeka turned to look at him as she heard him approach, "Tenchi?" she

asked.

They spoke softly, but still Ryoko could hear them perfectly. She watched

as Tenchi stopped a few feet away from the princess. He looked nervously at the

ground and shuffled his feet, scratching at the back of his head. Ayeka watched

him, holding her breath, hopeful and yet afraid to hope. Her face betrayed to

those watching a hint of those two emotions. For a shining moment, the girl that

was Ayeka threatened to overcome what she had been trained to be her whole life:

A princess.

"Ayeka, I love you. Please forgive me." Tenchi said quietly.

Ayeka stared at his bowed head as Sasami happily ran back to the group and

scooped up Ryo-Ohki, who miyad in joy. Ayeka made a small sound of complete and

utter happiness, and Tenchi looked up at her, hopeful, to see the princess' eyes

shining with tears and her face positively glowing with joy at the sound of the

words she had waited so long to hear. The words shattered the walls that had

been carved around the princess' heart and spirit and now, finally, she was

released. "I love you too Tenchi!" The two of them embraced. "There is nothing

to forgive."

As they began to walk back, hand in hand, Ryoko phased out, a weak smile

for the young lovers upon her lovely face.

...

She sat staring into the cave, her feet drawn up under her. The stone was

cold and hard beneath her. She paid no attention to how uncomfortable her perch

was, she had had worse. Tenchi had chosen Ayeka. Ryoko knew she should be

heartbroken, but still a part of her was relieved. No longer would she have to

fight the princess for possession of his heart, he had given it away. Still, the

tears came.

She was startled when a hand touched her shoulder. She turned swiftly,

wiping the tears away from her face. Yosho stood there. Why hadn't she sensed

him? He went and sat down gracefully next to her on the rock, looking down into

the cave as she watched him suspiciously. If he thought he was going to talk to

her about Tenchi, then he could just save his breath; she didn't feel like

hearing any comforting things he might say. She was just about to tell him that

he could save his sympathy for someone else when he started to speak, looking

down into the cave as though his eyes could see down through layers of time.

"Do you know why I avoided this place, Ryoko?" He asked, his eyes flicking

towards her, then back into the dim recesses of the cave. He did not wait for

her to answer, but continued as though talking to himself. "Tenchi was not the

only one who could see you. Because of the gems in the hilt of the Tenchi-ken I

was, oh, I don't know," he spread his hands in a gesture of confusion, "given a

connection with you." He sighed. "When you started moving around, I began to

avoid coming here," He then turned around and looked straight at her. "Because

seeing you, and not being able to touch you, tore me apart, just like it did

when you were released and had latched onto Tenchi...although..." He grinned

mischievously, "I did get to touch you a little."

Ryoko's mouth dropped open in surprise, "What...?"

"Ryoko, do you remember anything, anything at all about the time after I

defeated you?" he asked seriously, his violet eyes burning into hers, demanding

to know.

Ryoko shook her head and looked away. "It's all blank." It truly was. It

was rather like someone had taken that part of her memory and wiped it clean.

She knew there must have been something there at one point, but she was at a

loss as to what it was.

Yosho's shoulders slumped, "Well, yes, and it is my fault..." He paused,

"Or, I should say, my decision. You see, I had Funaho hide that part of your

memory when you were imprisoned, I didn't want what had happened during that

time to interfere with what may happen when you woke up. But I see it still

did."

Ryoko was growing more and more confused, what issue was he avoiding. He

was talking around something. She was a person used to being direct and she

expected it in return. But somehow she felt that she shouldn't rush the prince

in his explanation, he might be scared away and she would always wonder…

The prince continued, still not looking at the ex-space pirate. "Ryoko,

did you ever wonder how you knew certain things." He spread his fingers in the

air in front of him, "for example, how you knew to use chopsticks..." he

continued talking.

She hadn't wondered. She had just assumed she had known things such as

those.

Her eyes narrowed as she racked her brain, trying to find the memories

that Funaho had hidden in the vaults of her mind. Nothing... She closed her

eyes, concentrating even harder, this time instead of focusing on that entire

segment of her memory; she instead focused on a single word, 'chopsticks.'

...

The image was hazy, as though her eyes were clouded over, and all she

could see were two slender pieces of wood that someone was extending towards

her. They, by contrast to everything else, were sharply defined in her mind's

eye.

She eyed the two pieces of wood doubtfully, "Are they weapons?" she asked

the person still obscured from her view. The person chuckled, a deep throaty

chuckle.... 'So it was a man' she thought... then the man paused a moment, as

though thinking something over.

"No Ryoko," he said patiently, "But you have given me an idea I will think

on later." It was Yosho, she recognized his voice. The figure in her dream

became slightly clearer. He twirled the chopsticks in his strong supple hands.

"These are eating implements called chopsticks."

"Eating implements?" She asked, "Why do you need those?"

Yosho chuckled again and sat down next to her, she could now see his eyes,

patient and kind. "Because it is not polite to eat with your fingers at the

table." He placed the sticks in her hand and gently showed her how to hold them.

Then he picked up his own and demonstrated how to pick the food up.

Ryoko, so skillful with a sword or an energy blast, felt clumsy wielding the

sticks.

She attempted to pick up a particularly tasty, though she really couldn't

tell if something was tasty or not, looking morsel and was disheartened by the

way it slid off and plopped back down onto the plate.

Yosho noticed her dejected state and moved over to help her, covering her

hand with his as he manipulated a piece of food towards her mouth. Ryoko stared

at his hand as it covered hers, feeling the warmth of his palm on her skin. He

seemed not to notice that his instructions were being ignored. As Ryoko looked

at him, his face emerged out of shadow. His eyes were intent on the task at

hand, teaching her...but as she watched, he looked at her face and their eyes

locked. The food plopped, once again, down onto the plate.

...

Ryoko gasped, the floodgates, it seemed, had been unlocked by that

remembrance. She had learned so much in that short time, she had learned how to

love...and the one she had learned to love was Yosho. She looked at him as he

kept talking, half to himself, peering down into her former prison. She felt

tears welling up in her eyes as the memories came back to her, pulled through

that small hole she had made into the light.

He had loved to see her face above his first thing in the morning, he

would laugh and pull her down for a kiss every time. He had loved it when she

surprised him, appearing out of thin air, her arms entwined about his neck. They

had sparred together, honing her skills and his. They had taken flights among

the clouds, him trusting her enough not to let him fall. She had forgotten it

all...but she could see how some of the things had affected the way she had

treated Tenchi, although subconsciously. Yosho had never been bothered by seeing

her naked; in fact he rather enjoyed it and they would visit the hot spring

nearby and sit and drink sake together for hours, enjoying the soothing water.

He was looking at her now, waiting for a response to the news he had just

given to her, the filling in of a blank in her past. She ignored him for a

moment, still caught in the memories. So that was why she had been so confused

when Tenchi had rebuffed her advances! Everything she had learned, she had

learned from Yosho. Sasami had been right...the little rat...her feelings had

been for someone else.

"Why can't I remember when I was imprisoned?" She asked.

Yosho looked startled, "You remember everything else?" Ryoko nodded. The

prince sighed and sat back. "That was a confusing time. Though you had not done

anything destructive since the time of our battle, the people still feared you.

When we went into town they would lock their doors." He looked at her in

sympathy. "It was your idea really...to be imprisoned. You couldn't stand the

way they looked at you, with scared and suspicious eyes. So you decided it would

be best for everyone if you were placed into stasis until the memory of your

past had faded from their minds." He coughed shortly, clearing his throat. "You

asked Funaho and I to arrange it. I was against the idea, after all, I had faced

prejudice from the time I was born. But you said that you didn't want to be

feared. I caved." He smiled slightly at his own pun. "But I swore to you, though

I knew you couldn't hear me, kneeling beside your stasis pool, that I would

always be there, and that I would be there to greet you when you woke up." He reached out and tapped the jewel on her wrist, "That, as much as those jewels, kept me alive all those years. But when I felt your feelings changing, towards my grandson, I decided to let him be the one to wake you." He smiled sadly, "I regretted what I did those centuries before, but I wanted you to be happy. You seemed happy with him."

He stood and paced to the entrance of the cave, leaning against the wall

reflectively, one of his hands scratching at the back of his head. "When Ayeka

came, I'm sorry to say, I tried to push the two of them together. I still can't

believe it worked." He turned and stared at her, his arms folded before his

chest, "Ryoko, someday...no matter what had happened, Tenchi would have gone to

Jurai. It is his destiny. I know you and as such, I know you would not have been

happy there. But that was not the entire reason."

He looked down at her hands, which were pushing against the rock as though

to launch.

"The fact is; I still had feelings for you...I still HAVE feelings for

you. And I could not give up hope that someday you would forgive me."

Ryoko stared down at her splayed fingers, scraping at the rock. It was

difficult, for so long she had considered Yosho an enemy, but it turned out he

had been a friend, and more...she had loved him. Did she still? She didn't know

for sure, her mind was running in circles... She stood and turned away from him,

attempting to run her fingers nervously through her hair. She felt her fingers

snag and was trying to pull them out, when she heard a familiar chuckle behind

her.

She turned and saw, not the old man whom had been standing there a moment

before, but instead the young man she had seen only moments ago, in her

reacquired memory. He walked up to her and gently disengaged her hand from her

wild cyan hair.

He let his hand linger on hers for a moment, and she felt the warmth of

his palm on her skin. She stared up into his face; he was looking down at her,

his violet eyes endearingly hopeful.

Ryoko lifted her hand slowly, ever so slowly and touched his face, tracing

the line of his jaw gently, brushing his hair back from his eyes with cautious

fingers. As she searched his face, she felt her chest tighten up, it seemed her

heart was growing too much to be contained within. She suddenly felt complete.

She smiled. "Yosho." She simply said, "I remember everything."

It had been seven hundred years since they had last kissed...now they

would make up for lost time.

...

Sasami looked up from where she was cutting carrots for Ryo-Ohki's dinner.

It seemed she had felt the earth move. She smiled broadly as within her Tsunami

rejoiced.