Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Ayeka's attack... and a new villian ❯ Chapter 6
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: metallica_wedo 
Tenchi has some things to think about...
Anime/Manga: Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.02.2003 | Updated On: 02.02.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 245 | Status: Completed
Tenchi has some things to think about...
Anime/Manga: Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.02.2003 | Updated On: 02.02.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 245 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: As per usual, I don't own Tenchi and it still isn't worth suing me.
A/N: Last time Tenchi got really mad at Ryoko but apologized to her, he and Ayeka had a talk about his intentions, though nothing came of it except a promise to make a decision soon, and Tenchi told the rest of the family that he was the attacker.
A/N#2: I wrote several pages on this until I got stuck thinking about Ayeka and Tenchi's reaction to the attack. I did some research on WebMD on post traumatic stress syndrome and that will be reflected in this chapter and probably following ones too. Fortunately, I found that people often don't develop any symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome until a month after the event that would have caused it, so I won't need to change any of my previous chapters since only two weeks have gone by since the attack. I also found that it is common for people to experience unusual amounts of guilt and it is easy for people to panic, just so you aren't confused by any of the character's actions in this chapter. Considering what Tenchi alone must be going through I've decided that he won't be making 'the choice' this chapter for sure and maybe not for quite a while.
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Tenchi headed out the door and walked to the tool shed to get ready to harvest some carrots. He thought about the conversation he and Ayeka had this morning and how much his life would change once he made his decision. No matter who he chose he knew someone would get hurt, especially Ryoko or Ayeka. Beyond that though, his own life would change drastically. Even if he chose Ryoko he was sure he wouldn't be staying on the Earth for much longer, he could tell that she would want to roam the universe with her adventurous spirit. It would be one heck of a roller coaster ride, that's for sure. On a trip like that she would be his guide from one adventure to the next.
It was a little harder to tell what being with Ayeka would be like. When she had first arrived she had been so adamant about returning to Jurai, but now, she seemed very happy with a simple life; excluding the last couple of weeks of course, he really didn't know what she wanted. Tenchi was fairly sure she had been so happy here because of him, but could that be enough for her for a lifetime when she had grown up on Jurai? For that matter, was he ready to step in and become a prince of a galactic Empire? Before the girls had arrived his answer would have been an immediate yes because he was so bored with the life that came with being the grandson of a shrine keeper, but he had seen how that lifestyle had affected Ayeka when she first got here. Before the incident with Kagato, and then with Dr. Clay, she had bottled up her emotions and had seemed almost cold except for a very few times, like in the tool shed or at the onsen. Now, especially ever since the attack, she seemed slightly less shy and freer with her feelings; heck, she had outright said she loved him this morning. One thing he was sure of though, in a life with Ayeka by his side they would learn about the universe together.
Tenchi was sure he'd be happy with either Ryoko or Ayeka; the problem was how much he would be hurting the other one. From what he knew of their pasts they had both had very dark and trying times in their lives before they met him, he was sure one of the reasons they had grown so attached to him so quickly was out of loneliness and a need to be loved. He could see it had grown into much more than that as they all went through so much together, but that just meant he would be hurting one of them that much more. How was he to choose one when it would force the other back into darkness? Or would it? After all, everyone in the family would remain friends even if he did make a choice, wouldn't they? He was sure they would, although there would be some resentment at first too.
Tenchi finally got to the tool shed and fetched a basket for the carrots and a spade to help dig them out. Once again he was reminded of Ayeka and the time they'd spent in the tool shed. That was the first time he had caught a glimpse of what he considered her true self; beneath those layers of pride and etiquette lay a girl who simply wanted to be loved for who she was and not what she was. It was that time in the tool shed that Tenchi first noticed her attraction to him despite the search for her then-fiancé Yosho. When he had run in and held her in his arms he had felt complete, almost like when his mother held him when he was younger.
Tenchi's thoughts made him think of his grandfather. Before he'd released Ryoko, Tenchi had always had the utmost respect for Katsuhito, but when Kagato arrived and his true identity had been revealed Tenchi had come to somewhat resent him. Even then he had grown to care for his new family a great deal and he found what his grandfather had done to Ayeka to be extremely dishonorable. Since the Funaho tree had been able to take root Tenchi was sure that it must have been able to repair itself sufficiently to become a space ship again, so there was no good reason Yosho hadn't returned to Jurai. If he hadn't wanted to marry Ayeka then he should never have gotten her hopes up and he most definitely should have told her his feelings rather than let her hopes die and make her into the emotionally suppressed person she had been when she first arrived. The only thing Tenchi truly respected his grandfather for any more was his swordsmanship; in all other things Tenchi cared little for his grandfather's opinion.
When Tenchi finally reached the carrot field he shook his head to clear his thoughts of the old man. One of the reasons he actually enjoyed tending to the fields so much was because he could use his time as 'thinking time' or he could put all his heart into his work and not have to think at all.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen…
Ayeka's thoughts were on par with Tenchi's as she helped Sasami clean up. As she thought about the time she had spent with Tenchi in the tool shed she had mixed feelings for the encounter. At the time she had still believed Yosho was in love with her so she had been embarrassed with the attraction she felt to Tenchi. When Ryo-Ohki had scared her and Tenchi ran in and held her she had felt safer than she had ever before. It had been a difficult decision to ask him to stay inside with her, but the combination of her feelings and the fact that it really was quite cold outside allowed her to ask Tenchi without going completely against her morals. She remembered fondly the time they spent discussing Jurai and her search, but she truly treasured the memory of the end of the stay at the cabin. Tenchi had offered her his hand and when they touched she had felt…exhilarated. She was glad for the excuse of her ankle being hurt because it allowed her to not only be close to Tenchi, but also to show her affection in her own way; she had been able to hug him subtly as she was carried. The greatest highlight of the day though was her own boldness when they left Funaho; not only was she bold enough to take Tenchi's hand and lead him, but he easily accepted it.
As Ayeka's thoughts drifted back to the present they also became somewhat darker. Ever since Tenchi's revelation concerning her attack she knew that this vacation of herself and Ryoko competing for his affections would soon end. Though she wasn't about to force marriage on him, Tenchi would have to make a choice soon enough because if he remained undecided she would have no choice but to return to Jurai. Ayeka wasn't blind, she had noticed the extra attention Tenchi gave her since the attack, but she was sure it was only compassion for a friend in pain that drove him, not love. In truth, she had been glad Tenchi had not automatically decided to marry her just because she was pregnant. No matter how much she loved Tenchi she couldn't bear to be married to him only because someone had mind controlled him and as a result she was with his child. If they did marry she wanted it to be for love, not just because of the baby.
If Tenchi did choose her there were many issues that needed to be resolved. Foremost amongst them was how to tell her family the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy without Tenchi being put to death. Her father already didn't like Tenchi as it was, when he found out about the attack he likely wouldn't care about the mind control, it would just be an excuse to order Tenchi's execution. Her mother and aunt would likely be more understanding, once they found out about the virus in any case. The next most important thing they would have to decide on was basically what they would do with their lives. Though her parents wanted her to come back home and eventually rule, she had come to enjoy the simple life she lived on Earth. If they stayed on Earth Ayeka had no idea what she would do, she had been raised to rule but most of what she had learned wouldn't be very useful for a normal job here. As much work as it would be she was sure it would be worth it to learn new things so she could get a job. She would also be happy if Tenchi wanted to rule by her side, but she found that to be very unlikely. No matter what she was sure she would be happy if Tenchi were by her side, she didn't care about anything more than that.
Ayeka shook off her daydream and realized that the clean up was already done. There was little use in dwelling on how her life would go with Tenchi right now; the way things were going she wasn't confident that Tenchi did love her as more than a friend. Ayeka was going to sit down and watch one of the soaps on the galactic television Washu had installed, but saw Mihoshi asleep on the couch and didn't want to disturb her. What she could use right now was a relaxing soak in the onsen; it usually helped clear her thoughts and that's exactly what she needed at the moment.
In the subspace lab Washu was busy trying to find Yamato. Fortunately, she always had her scanners on in case something happened and she needed to go back to look into it. Although she hadn't been alerted when it happened some of her scanners had detected the telepathic link Tenchi had generated and she was busy tracing it. She was sure it couldn't have gone very far considering the length of time the link was active, as a matter of fact Yamato would have had to have been in the Sol system. Despite all the clues she had to follow; however, she knew Yamato would be difficult to find unless he wanted to be found. Back when he was her assistant he had specialized in stealth and particularly in creating subspace dimensions that were well hidden. She had a feeling he would show himself eventually; he had to have controlled Tenchi for a reason after all.
Washu thought back on what Tenchi had brought up about the power of the baby. Although what she said concerning Ryoko's ability to conceive a child was true, it would have been as easy for Yamato to capture Ryoko as it had been for Dr. Clay, if not easier. She simply didn't want to upset Ryoko by saying that there must be a very good reason Yamato arranged for a child to be conceived between Tenchi and Ayeka and that most likely it was because it would be even more powerful than she would originally have thought. If only she could obtain that last sample from Tenchi and an equivalent one from Ayeka she could easily find out what was so special about combining them, but despite her 'advances' on Tenchi, she didn't really want to do that to him and she sure as heck wasn't about to risk trying to get one from Ayeka. The best way to find out would be to run a complete set of scans on the baby once it had developed some more.
Washu was brought out of her thoughts by an alarm from her scanners. The telepathic link had finally been traced and she wasn't surprised in the least. The trace led back to Saturn, with all the gasses and the rings most scans would have been rendered useless, but she was the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe after all. She didn't want to alert Yamato that she knew where he was just yet though; she needed to know more about the baby first. Washu activated some of her more powerful passive scanners to keep an eye on him without alerting him.
Washu's thoughts shifted back to Tenchi and Ayeka. Soon enough she would need to start treating them for any symptoms they may show from going through the attack. She would also need to get a handle on Ryoko; otherwise, her antics could cause Tenchi or Ayeka to go into a depression. The hardest part about this was going to be explaining how she was going to treat Tenchi and Ayeka to Ryoko; since the best way to treat post traumatic stress was a combination of reliving the experience and sharing it with another who had gone through the same thing or a something similar she had decided to create a holodeck; much like the one in the American show Star Trek, and have both Tenchi and Ayeka watch what had happened while sharing their feelings on the event between themselves and herself; the bad part for Ryoko was that this would probably bring Tenchi and Ayeka that much closer to one another. Coming back to the problem at hand, Washu decided to start working on a way to penetrate or disrupt Yamato's stealth technology.
It was finally lunchtime and Tenchi had just gotten his basket of carrots put away in the storage shed. He went into the kitchen to see how the meal was coming along. Sasami was just finishing cutting up some fish and a vegetable sauté and was nearly done. Sasami turned around upon hearing Tenchi enter the kitchen.
"Hi Tenchi, lunch is almost ready, can you go get the others for me?"
"Sure Sasami, I'll be right back."
Tenchi stopped in the living room first and sent Mihoshi and Ryoko to the table; Ryoko was surprisingly 'hands off', for which he was quite grateful. His next stop was Washu's lab, he found her doing what appeared to be some welding, but she left for lunch readily enough. Tenchi searched the rest of the house but wasn't able to find Ayeka. He started to get worried when he didn't find her outside either; remembering the guilt he already felt for what had happened two weeks ago he started to get frantic as he ran to the last place she could be, the onsen. As he was teleported up to the floating baths he didn't pay attention to the entrance he took, so he didn't notice he had entered the woman's side. Right as he went through the door he found Ayeka, but she was in an 'undressed' state and was quite surprised to see Tenchi.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
"Ahhhh!!!"
Tenchi quickly turned away from Ayeka with a profusely bleeding nose and very bright blushing face as she covered up.
"I'm sorry Ayeka, I wasn't looking where I was going. I didn't mean to just barge in like this."
Ayeka was also blushing quite a bit; she had just shed her towel when Tenchi came in. She believed Tenchi of course, but she wondered why he was in such a hurry.
"Is something wrong, why were you in such a rush Tenchi?"
"Well… you see… I was looking for you to tell you lunch was ready, but when I didn't find you in the house or outside I guess I started to panic."
"You started to panic? Why…Oh, I see. Thank you for your concern Tenchi, but I can usually take care of myself."
"I know, it's just that… well… I care about you and I don't want to see you hurt again. I don't know what I would do if I failed you again. In any case, I am quite sorry."
Ayeka was touched that Tenchi cared about her enough that he panicked so easily, but then she reminded herself that he would most likely do the same if any of the other girls were in her position.
"Your apology is quite unnecessary Tenchi, but I gladly accept it none the less. If you could please wait outside I'll be ready to go to lunch in just a minute."
During the conversation Tenchi had almost forgotten that Ayeka only had a towel covering her decency because he'd been looking into her eyes almost the entire conversation, once his nose had stopped bleeding. He always found himself getting lost and nearly starting to daydream whenever he looked into her beautiful crimson eyes…
"Oh! Of course, sorry Ayeka, I'll be right outside."
With that Tenchi went outside to wait for Ayeka to get dressed; as he was waiting he started to think of the girls again. Thinking back on what had just happened he gave a small chuckle to himself. It was quite ironic; in a way, that although Ryoko showed herself off every chance she got, he only got a serious nosebleed when he saw Ayeka in the nude. Perhaps it was guilt at seeing something not seen so often. He had actually gotten to the point that even if Ryoko tried hugging him in the nude, he didn't get a nosebleed anymore, though he did find it annoying.
It was harder to compare the two then one might think. Though at first they may seem complete opposites, Tenchi saw just how similar they really were, even if they did not. They both tried to cover their true selves with a façade; he rarely was allowed to see what lay beneath their mask. Both had gone through a great deal of pain before meeting him, not to mention the fact that they've both been manipulated most of their lives. At least Ryoko was free now though, Kagato was dead so she could no longer be controlled and she had been given a full pardon so she wasn't a wanted criminal anymore either. Tenchi knew that Ayeka wasn't free though. Sure, she had convinced her father to let her stay on Earth since he'd beaten that idiot Seiryou, but being a princess she could only stay on Earth so long before her long 'vacation' would have to come to an end. His upcoming decision could very well determine if her vacation was over or if it became permanent, if she were willing to stay on Earth that is.
Thinking about Ayeka's predicament Tenchi began to think about the obstacles he'd have to overcome to be with her. First he'd have to deal with her father concerning the baby, though he felt he'd have to do that either way. Hopefully her parents would allow him to explain and even then still not kill him. After resolving any more issues with the baby, he would have to decide if he wanted to stay on Earth or become royalty on Jurai and maybe even the future Emperor of Jurai. Just thinking about what his future on Jurai would be like was a little overwhelming; he didn't have any experience or training that could help him as an emperor, he wasn't even familiar with all of the advanced technology or the culture he would become an important part of.
Tenchi thought about what being with Ryoko might be like again. He wouldn't have any obstacles to overcome if he decided to be with her, besides dealing with the baby of course. It would probably be pretty fun to go gallivanting around the universe, which shouldn't be too difficult with Ryo-Ohki and Washu to help. One thing he wouldn't like would be that he didn't think he would have very much control over where they went or what they did; granted, he didn't know much of anything about the rest of the universe, but he would want to have some say in what they did. From the way Ryoko acted he was sure she would want to have lots of 'fun in the bed' too; though if he thought about it, he wasn't sure she was really like that so much as she just wanted him to pay attention to her.
Tenchi came out of his thoughts just as Ayeka came out of the onsen. Looking at her he noticed her long lavender hair was in a single braid rather than the ponytails she usually put it in. He thought it looked very good on her, but kept himself from expressing his thoughts as he didn't want to hurt her more by getting her hopes up in case he didn't choose her; he didn't want to treat her like his grandfather had.
As Ayeka came out she noticed Tenchi was staring at her and blushed a little. She wondered what was wrong until she realized she had done her hair differently, she decided Tenchi was only staring because he'd never seen it that way before; it was just that it took much less time to do it this way and she hadn't wanted to keep Tenchi waiting since dinner was ready.
"Are you ready to go Tenchi?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Shall we?"
Tenchi offered to support her as he had often come to do recently and she readily accepted. Thinking back on what he had thought about while he was waiting for Ayeka to get changed he decided that he should find out more about Jurai as it would help him get to know more about Ayeka as well as help him learn more about what his life with her would really be like.
"Ayeka?"
"Yes Tenchi?"
"Could you tell me about Jurai? What it looks like, what the people are like, stuff like that?"
Ayeka was rather pleased that Tenchi wanted to learn more about Jurai. She had been able to tell him a little bit about her home world when they were in the shed the day Ryo-Ohki had hatched, but hadn't had an opportunity to tell him more about Jurai since then.
"Well Tenchi, we don't have any pollution problems on Jurai because we grow our buildings out of trees, which provide the energy we need through photosynthesis, much like the plants you have here on Earth. The people on Jurai are as varied as the people on Earth, though a single government unites us unlike the Earth and it's many different countries. There is much more I could tell you, I just don't know where to begin."
"Yeah, I guess I knew that, I just wanted to know a little more about Jurai. Maybe we could visit Jurai once we've tracked down this Yamato guy; I think it would be a lot easier to learn about Jurai's culture that way."
Ayeka's heart nearly skipped a beat when Tenchi suggested going to Jurai; she'd known that going to Jurai itself would be the easiest way for him to learn about the culture but she hadn't suggested it because she wasn't sure Ryoko would be willing to go and she didn't want Tenchi to think that she was trying to manipulate him by getting him to go somewhere with her without Ryoko to bother them.
"I… would very much enjoy that Tenchi. But you're right, we do need to deal with the issue at hand before we take any vacations."
Tenchi and Ayeka walked the rest of the way to the house in silence, both contemplating the future and what it might hold for them and both trying their hardest not to notice just how much they were enjoying being so close as neither wanted to contemplate the consequences of what might happen should they truly come together. When they reached the porch Tenchi released Ayeka and helped her to the table much more subtly then he had on their walk so as not to further upset Ryoko. Ryoko seemed to be seething at the table, most likely because it took a while for Tenchi to get back.
"What took you so long Tenchiiii?" Ryoko said as she hugged him while he sat down.
"Jeez Ryoko, leme go. I just had to wait for Ayeka to get dressed 'cause she was in the onsen."
Ryoko became a little upset at this. It was bad enough her Tenchi was giving Ayeka more attention, but now she was trying to seduce him too, that was too much.
"What?! You mean to tell me that she was seducing you while I'm waiting at the dinner table for you?! That's it! I'm going to kill her, baby or not!"
Tenchi hadn't realized how upset Ryoko would become just because he'd taken a little longer; he certainly hadn't expected anything like this though. For once, he decided he'd stop this fight before it went too far; he couldn't allow Ayeka or his baby to come to harm and he didn't want to see Ryoko hurt either.
"Don't you dare follow through with that Ryoko, or you will not be a guest here for much longer; I want an end to these fights from now on, especially since a baby is involved now."
Ryoko was about to get up and follow through with her threat when Tenchi spoke in an acidic voice. Her fears from last night came back ten fold and she started to quietly sob into her plate. Tenchi saw her reaction and knew why she was probably crying, he hadn't wanted to hurt her again, but he couldn't risk a child's life for her antics, especially his child's life.
"I don't want you to think that I hate you Ryoko, but if you had started following through with your threat I would have stopped you no matter what it took because you'd be risking hurting MY child and I can't accept that no matter what the circumstances of it's conception may have been."
Ryoko was reminded yet again that Tenchi seemed to care for them all equally, except that Ayeka was now carrying his baby. None the less, his reasoning did seem sound and didn't really indicate that he cared more about either one of them so much as he didn't want to see anyone hurt. She calmed down a bit and finally started eating normally.
Throughout all of this Ayeka had sat quietly thinking to herself as she ate. She'd been contemplating what it would be like going back to Jurai until Ryoko had threatened her. She'd been ready to fight back until Tenchi spoke up and calmed everyone down. She was reminded of yet another reason she loved Tenchi so much once he kindly explained his motivations to Ryoko, he was always trying to make sure that no one got hurt and that everyone was happy.
Washu spoke up after everyone was silent for several minutes; she decided that she'd talk to Ryoko about this after it was started so she wouldn't burst into the lab to stop her treatments.
"Tenchi, Ayeka, I'm going to need to see the both of you in my lab after dinner."
"What for Miss Washu, you aren't going to try to get any more 'samples' from me, are you?"
"No, No, nothing like that Tenchi. I just want to run a few tests on both of you for stress and possibly set up a treatment plan if either of you are going through too much to deal with it naturally. I also would like to check up on the baby, I've never had a chance to observe the development of a child from a Juraian and an Earthling before."
Tenchi and Ayeka agreed and everyone ate the rest of dinner in peace contemplating his or her own thoughts. Ayeka and Tenchi both helped Sasami clean up after dinner before going to the lab together to talk to Washu. They stood in front of the door, both still thinking about their possible futures.
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A\N: Ok, well, I think it's long enough for a chapter and it's been awhile since I posted, so there you go. I probably won't bring in the royal family for a few more chapters and the next one will concentrate almost exclusively on treating Tenchi and Ayeka. Please, review and or criticize my work, its how I become a better writer; it's the reason I even bothered researching Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome before continuing. I have noticed that the review function on ff.net hasn't been working lately, at least for me, so email me your reviews if you have to at: metallica_wedo@hotmail.com.
A/N: Last time Tenchi got really mad at Ryoko but apologized to her, he and Ayeka had a talk about his intentions, though nothing came of it except a promise to make a decision soon, and Tenchi told the rest of the family that he was the attacker.
A/N#2: I wrote several pages on this until I got stuck thinking about Ayeka and Tenchi's reaction to the attack. I did some research on WebMD on post traumatic stress syndrome and that will be reflected in this chapter and probably following ones too. Fortunately, I found that people often don't develop any symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome until a month after the event that would have caused it, so I won't need to change any of my previous chapters since only two weeks have gone by since the attack. I also found that it is common for people to experience unusual amounts of guilt and it is easy for people to panic, just so you aren't confused by any of the character's actions in this chapter. Considering what Tenchi alone must be going through I've decided that he won't be making 'the choice' this chapter for sure and maybe not for quite a while.
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Tenchi headed out the door and walked to the tool shed to get ready to harvest some carrots. He thought about the conversation he and Ayeka had this morning and how much his life would change once he made his decision. No matter who he chose he knew someone would get hurt, especially Ryoko or Ayeka. Beyond that though, his own life would change drastically. Even if he chose Ryoko he was sure he wouldn't be staying on the Earth for much longer, he could tell that she would want to roam the universe with her adventurous spirit. It would be one heck of a roller coaster ride, that's for sure. On a trip like that she would be his guide from one adventure to the next.
It was a little harder to tell what being with Ayeka would be like. When she had first arrived she had been so adamant about returning to Jurai, but now, she seemed very happy with a simple life; excluding the last couple of weeks of course, he really didn't know what she wanted. Tenchi was fairly sure she had been so happy here because of him, but could that be enough for her for a lifetime when she had grown up on Jurai? For that matter, was he ready to step in and become a prince of a galactic Empire? Before the girls had arrived his answer would have been an immediate yes because he was so bored with the life that came with being the grandson of a shrine keeper, but he had seen how that lifestyle had affected Ayeka when she first got here. Before the incident with Kagato, and then with Dr. Clay, she had bottled up her emotions and had seemed almost cold except for a very few times, like in the tool shed or at the onsen. Now, especially ever since the attack, she seemed slightly less shy and freer with her feelings; heck, she had outright said she loved him this morning. One thing he was sure of though, in a life with Ayeka by his side they would learn about the universe together.
Tenchi was sure he'd be happy with either Ryoko or Ayeka; the problem was how much he would be hurting the other one. From what he knew of their pasts they had both had very dark and trying times in their lives before they met him, he was sure one of the reasons they had grown so attached to him so quickly was out of loneliness and a need to be loved. He could see it had grown into much more than that as they all went through so much together, but that just meant he would be hurting one of them that much more. How was he to choose one when it would force the other back into darkness? Or would it? After all, everyone in the family would remain friends even if he did make a choice, wouldn't they? He was sure they would, although there would be some resentment at first too.
Tenchi finally got to the tool shed and fetched a basket for the carrots and a spade to help dig them out. Once again he was reminded of Ayeka and the time they'd spent in the tool shed. That was the first time he had caught a glimpse of what he considered her true self; beneath those layers of pride and etiquette lay a girl who simply wanted to be loved for who she was and not what she was. It was that time in the tool shed that Tenchi first noticed her attraction to him despite the search for her then-fiancé Yosho. When he had run in and held her in his arms he had felt complete, almost like when his mother held him when he was younger.
Tenchi's thoughts made him think of his grandfather. Before he'd released Ryoko, Tenchi had always had the utmost respect for Katsuhito, but when Kagato arrived and his true identity had been revealed Tenchi had come to somewhat resent him. Even then he had grown to care for his new family a great deal and he found what his grandfather had done to Ayeka to be extremely dishonorable. Since the Funaho tree had been able to take root Tenchi was sure that it must have been able to repair itself sufficiently to become a space ship again, so there was no good reason Yosho hadn't returned to Jurai. If he hadn't wanted to marry Ayeka then he should never have gotten her hopes up and he most definitely should have told her his feelings rather than let her hopes die and make her into the emotionally suppressed person she had been when she first arrived. The only thing Tenchi truly respected his grandfather for any more was his swordsmanship; in all other things Tenchi cared little for his grandfather's opinion.
When Tenchi finally reached the carrot field he shook his head to clear his thoughts of the old man. One of the reasons he actually enjoyed tending to the fields so much was because he could use his time as 'thinking time' or he could put all his heart into his work and not have to think at all.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen…
Ayeka's thoughts were on par with Tenchi's as she helped Sasami clean up. As she thought about the time she had spent with Tenchi in the tool shed she had mixed feelings for the encounter. At the time she had still believed Yosho was in love with her so she had been embarrassed with the attraction she felt to Tenchi. When Ryo-Ohki had scared her and Tenchi ran in and held her she had felt safer than she had ever before. It had been a difficult decision to ask him to stay inside with her, but the combination of her feelings and the fact that it really was quite cold outside allowed her to ask Tenchi without going completely against her morals. She remembered fondly the time they spent discussing Jurai and her search, but she truly treasured the memory of the end of the stay at the cabin. Tenchi had offered her his hand and when they touched she had felt…exhilarated. She was glad for the excuse of her ankle being hurt because it allowed her to not only be close to Tenchi, but also to show her affection in her own way; she had been able to hug him subtly as she was carried. The greatest highlight of the day though was her own boldness when they left Funaho; not only was she bold enough to take Tenchi's hand and lead him, but he easily accepted it.
As Ayeka's thoughts drifted back to the present they also became somewhat darker. Ever since Tenchi's revelation concerning her attack she knew that this vacation of herself and Ryoko competing for his affections would soon end. Though she wasn't about to force marriage on him, Tenchi would have to make a choice soon enough because if he remained undecided she would have no choice but to return to Jurai. Ayeka wasn't blind, she had noticed the extra attention Tenchi gave her since the attack, but she was sure it was only compassion for a friend in pain that drove him, not love. In truth, she had been glad Tenchi had not automatically decided to marry her just because she was pregnant. No matter how much she loved Tenchi she couldn't bear to be married to him only because someone had mind controlled him and as a result she was with his child. If they did marry she wanted it to be for love, not just because of the baby.
If Tenchi did choose her there were many issues that needed to be resolved. Foremost amongst them was how to tell her family the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy without Tenchi being put to death. Her father already didn't like Tenchi as it was, when he found out about the attack he likely wouldn't care about the mind control, it would just be an excuse to order Tenchi's execution. Her mother and aunt would likely be more understanding, once they found out about the virus in any case. The next most important thing they would have to decide on was basically what they would do with their lives. Though her parents wanted her to come back home and eventually rule, she had come to enjoy the simple life she lived on Earth. If they stayed on Earth Ayeka had no idea what she would do, she had been raised to rule but most of what she had learned wouldn't be very useful for a normal job here. As much work as it would be she was sure it would be worth it to learn new things so she could get a job. She would also be happy if Tenchi wanted to rule by her side, but she found that to be very unlikely. No matter what she was sure she would be happy if Tenchi were by her side, she didn't care about anything more than that.
Ayeka shook off her daydream and realized that the clean up was already done. There was little use in dwelling on how her life would go with Tenchi right now; the way things were going she wasn't confident that Tenchi did love her as more than a friend. Ayeka was going to sit down and watch one of the soaps on the galactic television Washu had installed, but saw Mihoshi asleep on the couch and didn't want to disturb her. What she could use right now was a relaxing soak in the onsen; it usually helped clear her thoughts and that's exactly what she needed at the moment.
In the subspace lab Washu was busy trying to find Yamato. Fortunately, she always had her scanners on in case something happened and she needed to go back to look into it. Although she hadn't been alerted when it happened some of her scanners had detected the telepathic link Tenchi had generated and she was busy tracing it. She was sure it couldn't have gone very far considering the length of time the link was active, as a matter of fact Yamato would have had to have been in the Sol system. Despite all the clues she had to follow; however, she knew Yamato would be difficult to find unless he wanted to be found. Back when he was her assistant he had specialized in stealth and particularly in creating subspace dimensions that were well hidden. She had a feeling he would show himself eventually; he had to have controlled Tenchi for a reason after all.
Washu thought back on what Tenchi had brought up about the power of the baby. Although what she said concerning Ryoko's ability to conceive a child was true, it would have been as easy for Yamato to capture Ryoko as it had been for Dr. Clay, if not easier. She simply didn't want to upset Ryoko by saying that there must be a very good reason Yamato arranged for a child to be conceived between Tenchi and Ayeka and that most likely it was because it would be even more powerful than she would originally have thought. If only she could obtain that last sample from Tenchi and an equivalent one from Ayeka she could easily find out what was so special about combining them, but despite her 'advances' on Tenchi, she didn't really want to do that to him and she sure as heck wasn't about to risk trying to get one from Ayeka. The best way to find out would be to run a complete set of scans on the baby once it had developed some more.
Washu was brought out of her thoughts by an alarm from her scanners. The telepathic link had finally been traced and she wasn't surprised in the least. The trace led back to Saturn, with all the gasses and the rings most scans would have been rendered useless, but she was the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe after all. She didn't want to alert Yamato that she knew where he was just yet though; she needed to know more about the baby first. Washu activated some of her more powerful passive scanners to keep an eye on him without alerting him.
Washu's thoughts shifted back to Tenchi and Ayeka. Soon enough she would need to start treating them for any symptoms they may show from going through the attack. She would also need to get a handle on Ryoko; otherwise, her antics could cause Tenchi or Ayeka to go into a depression. The hardest part about this was going to be explaining how she was going to treat Tenchi and Ayeka to Ryoko; since the best way to treat post traumatic stress was a combination of reliving the experience and sharing it with another who had gone through the same thing or a something similar she had decided to create a holodeck; much like the one in the American show Star Trek, and have both Tenchi and Ayeka watch what had happened while sharing their feelings on the event between themselves and herself; the bad part for Ryoko was that this would probably bring Tenchi and Ayeka that much closer to one another. Coming back to the problem at hand, Washu decided to start working on a way to penetrate or disrupt Yamato's stealth technology.
It was finally lunchtime and Tenchi had just gotten his basket of carrots put away in the storage shed. He went into the kitchen to see how the meal was coming along. Sasami was just finishing cutting up some fish and a vegetable sauté and was nearly done. Sasami turned around upon hearing Tenchi enter the kitchen.
"Hi Tenchi, lunch is almost ready, can you go get the others for me?"
"Sure Sasami, I'll be right back."
Tenchi stopped in the living room first and sent Mihoshi and Ryoko to the table; Ryoko was surprisingly 'hands off', for which he was quite grateful. His next stop was Washu's lab, he found her doing what appeared to be some welding, but she left for lunch readily enough. Tenchi searched the rest of the house but wasn't able to find Ayeka. He started to get worried when he didn't find her outside either; remembering the guilt he already felt for what had happened two weeks ago he started to get frantic as he ran to the last place she could be, the onsen. As he was teleported up to the floating baths he didn't pay attention to the entrance he took, so he didn't notice he had entered the woman's side. Right as he went through the door he found Ayeka, but she was in an 'undressed' state and was quite surprised to see Tenchi.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
"Ahhhh!!!"
Tenchi quickly turned away from Ayeka with a profusely bleeding nose and very bright blushing face as she covered up.
"I'm sorry Ayeka, I wasn't looking where I was going. I didn't mean to just barge in like this."
Ayeka was also blushing quite a bit; she had just shed her towel when Tenchi came in. She believed Tenchi of course, but she wondered why he was in such a hurry.
"Is something wrong, why were you in such a rush Tenchi?"
"Well… you see… I was looking for you to tell you lunch was ready, but when I didn't find you in the house or outside I guess I started to panic."
"You started to panic? Why…Oh, I see. Thank you for your concern Tenchi, but I can usually take care of myself."
"I know, it's just that… well… I care about you and I don't want to see you hurt again. I don't know what I would do if I failed you again. In any case, I am quite sorry."
Ayeka was touched that Tenchi cared about her enough that he panicked so easily, but then she reminded herself that he would most likely do the same if any of the other girls were in her position.
"Your apology is quite unnecessary Tenchi, but I gladly accept it none the less. If you could please wait outside I'll be ready to go to lunch in just a minute."
During the conversation Tenchi had almost forgotten that Ayeka only had a towel covering her decency because he'd been looking into her eyes almost the entire conversation, once his nose had stopped bleeding. He always found himself getting lost and nearly starting to daydream whenever he looked into her beautiful crimson eyes…
"Oh! Of course, sorry Ayeka, I'll be right outside."
With that Tenchi went outside to wait for Ayeka to get dressed; as he was waiting he started to think of the girls again. Thinking back on what had just happened he gave a small chuckle to himself. It was quite ironic; in a way, that although Ryoko showed herself off every chance she got, he only got a serious nosebleed when he saw Ayeka in the nude. Perhaps it was guilt at seeing something not seen so often. He had actually gotten to the point that even if Ryoko tried hugging him in the nude, he didn't get a nosebleed anymore, though he did find it annoying.
It was harder to compare the two then one might think. Though at first they may seem complete opposites, Tenchi saw just how similar they really were, even if they did not. They both tried to cover their true selves with a façade; he rarely was allowed to see what lay beneath their mask. Both had gone through a great deal of pain before meeting him, not to mention the fact that they've both been manipulated most of their lives. At least Ryoko was free now though, Kagato was dead so she could no longer be controlled and she had been given a full pardon so she wasn't a wanted criminal anymore either. Tenchi knew that Ayeka wasn't free though. Sure, she had convinced her father to let her stay on Earth since he'd beaten that idiot Seiryou, but being a princess she could only stay on Earth so long before her long 'vacation' would have to come to an end. His upcoming decision could very well determine if her vacation was over or if it became permanent, if she were willing to stay on Earth that is.
Thinking about Ayeka's predicament Tenchi began to think about the obstacles he'd have to overcome to be with her. First he'd have to deal with her father concerning the baby, though he felt he'd have to do that either way. Hopefully her parents would allow him to explain and even then still not kill him. After resolving any more issues with the baby, he would have to decide if he wanted to stay on Earth or become royalty on Jurai and maybe even the future Emperor of Jurai. Just thinking about what his future on Jurai would be like was a little overwhelming; he didn't have any experience or training that could help him as an emperor, he wasn't even familiar with all of the advanced technology or the culture he would become an important part of.
Tenchi thought about what being with Ryoko might be like again. He wouldn't have any obstacles to overcome if he decided to be with her, besides dealing with the baby of course. It would probably be pretty fun to go gallivanting around the universe, which shouldn't be too difficult with Ryo-Ohki and Washu to help. One thing he wouldn't like would be that he didn't think he would have very much control over where they went or what they did; granted, he didn't know much of anything about the rest of the universe, but he would want to have some say in what they did. From the way Ryoko acted he was sure she would want to have lots of 'fun in the bed' too; though if he thought about it, he wasn't sure she was really like that so much as she just wanted him to pay attention to her.
Tenchi came out of his thoughts just as Ayeka came out of the onsen. Looking at her he noticed her long lavender hair was in a single braid rather than the ponytails she usually put it in. He thought it looked very good on her, but kept himself from expressing his thoughts as he didn't want to hurt her more by getting her hopes up in case he didn't choose her; he didn't want to treat her like his grandfather had.
As Ayeka came out she noticed Tenchi was staring at her and blushed a little. She wondered what was wrong until she realized she had done her hair differently, she decided Tenchi was only staring because he'd never seen it that way before; it was just that it took much less time to do it this way and she hadn't wanted to keep Tenchi waiting since dinner was ready.
"Are you ready to go Tenchi?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Shall we?"
Tenchi offered to support her as he had often come to do recently and she readily accepted. Thinking back on what he had thought about while he was waiting for Ayeka to get changed he decided that he should find out more about Jurai as it would help him get to know more about Ayeka as well as help him learn more about what his life with her would really be like.
"Ayeka?"
"Yes Tenchi?"
"Could you tell me about Jurai? What it looks like, what the people are like, stuff like that?"
Ayeka was rather pleased that Tenchi wanted to learn more about Jurai. She had been able to tell him a little bit about her home world when they were in the shed the day Ryo-Ohki had hatched, but hadn't had an opportunity to tell him more about Jurai since then.
"Well Tenchi, we don't have any pollution problems on Jurai because we grow our buildings out of trees, which provide the energy we need through photosynthesis, much like the plants you have here on Earth. The people on Jurai are as varied as the people on Earth, though a single government unites us unlike the Earth and it's many different countries. There is much more I could tell you, I just don't know where to begin."
"Yeah, I guess I knew that, I just wanted to know a little more about Jurai. Maybe we could visit Jurai once we've tracked down this Yamato guy; I think it would be a lot easier to learn about Jurai's culture that way."
Ayeka's heart nearly skipped a beat when Tenchi suggested going to Jurai; she'd known that going to Jurai itself would be the easiest way for him to learn about the culture but she hadn't suggested it because she wasn't sure Ryoko would be willing to go and she didn't want Tenchi to think that she was trying to manipulate him by getting him to go somewhere with her without Ryoko to bother them.
"I… would very much enjoy that Tenchi. But you're right, we do need to deal with the issue at hand before we take any vacations."
Tenchi and Ayeka walked the rest of the way to the house in silence, both contemplating the future and what it might hold for them and both trying their hardest not to notice just how much they were enjoying being so close as neither wanted to contemplate the consequences of what might happen should they truly come together. When they reached the porch Tenchi released Ayeka and helped her to the table much more subtly then he had on their walk so as not to further upset Ryoko. Ryoko seemed to be seething at the table, most likely because it took a while for Tenchi to get back.
"What took you so long Tenchiiii?" Ryoko said as she hugged him while he sat down.
"Jeez Ryoko, leme go. I just had to wait for Ayeka to get dressed 'cause she was in the onsen."
Ryoko became a little upset at this. It was bad enough her Tenchi was giving Ayeka more attention, but now she was trying to seduce him too, that was too much.
"What?! You mean to tell me that she was seducing you while I'm waiting at the dinner table for you?! That's it! I'm going to kill her, baby or not!"
Tenchi hadn't realized how upset Ryoko would become just because he'd taken a little longer; he certainly hadn't expected anything like this though. For once, he decided he'd stop this fight before it went too far; he couldn't allow Ayeka or his baby to come to harm and he didn't want to see Ryoko hurt either.
"Don't you dare follow through with that Ryoko, or you will not be a guest here for much longer; I want an end to these fights from now on, especially since a baby is involved now."
Ryoko was about to get up and follow through with her threat when Tenchi spoke in an acidic voice. Her fears from last night came back ten fold and she started to quietly sob into her plate. Tenchi saw her reaction and knew why she was probably crying, he hadn't wanted to hurt her again, but he couldn't risk a child's life for her antics, especially his child's life.
"I don't want you to think that I hate you Ryoko, but if you had started following through with your threat I would have stopped you no matter what it took because you'd be risking hurting MY child and I can't accept that no matter what the circumstances of it's conception may have been."
Ryoko was reminded yet again that Tenchi seemed to care for them all equally, except that Ayeka was now carrying his baby. None the less, his reasoning did seem sound and didn't really indicate that he cared more about either one of them so much as he didn't want to see anyone hurt. She calmed down a bit and finally started eating normally.
Throughout all of this Ayeka had sat quietly thinking to herself as she ate. She'd been contemplating what it would be like going back to Jurai until Ryoko had threatened her. She'd been ready to fight back until Tenchi spoke up and calmed everyone down. She was reminded of yet another reason she loved Tenchi so much once he kindly explained his motivations to Ryoko, he was always trying to make sure that no one got hurt and that everyone was happy.
Washu spoke up after everyone was silent for several minutes; she decided that she'd talk to Ryoko about this after it was started so she wouldn't burst into the lab to stop her treatments.
"Tenchi, Ayeka, I'm going to need to see the both of you in my lab after dinner."
"What for Miss Washu, you aren't going to try to get any more 'samples' from me, are you?"
"No, No, nothing like that Tenchi. I just want to run a few tests on both of you for stress and possibly set up a treatment plan if either of you are going through too much to deal with it naturally. I also would like to check up on the baby, I've never had a chance to observe the development of a child from a Juraian and an Earthling before."
Tenchi and Ayeka agreed and everyone ate the rest of dinner in peace contemplating his or her own thoughts. Ayeka and Tenchi both helped Sasami clean up after dinner before going to the lab together to talk to Washu. They stood in front of the door, both still thinking about their possible futures.
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A\N: Ok, well, I think it's long enough for a chapter and it's been awhile since I posted, so there you go. I probably won't bring in the royal family for a few more chapters and the next one will concentrate almost exclusively on treating Tenchi and Ayeka. Please, review and or criticize my work, its how I become a better writer; it's the reason I even bothered researching Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome before continuing. I have noticed that the review function on ff.net hasn't been working lately, at least for me, so email me your reviews if you have to at: metallica_wedo@hotmail.com.