Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Short End of the Stick ❯ The Dumbest Thing ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Short End of the Stick
A Fanfic by EmpressGalaxia
Owning characters. Hahahahahahaha. Yeah, right.
When I think about it, I don't even like the taste of alcohol. But it sure as hell blasts away the real world, which I dislike even more. Fake people trying to be interesting who come across as boring and stupid, that's what makes up the real world. Frankly, I'd love to kill one a day. But I suppose that's the "old me" talking. Whatever that means.
I throw the empty bottle off of the roof and wait to hear the smash of glass against the ground. I hear nothing. I peer over the side and see that it landed on a soft mound of grass. Great. I can't even destroy inanimate objects now. I'm sure I couldn't even go back to being a space pirate. I'll go knock on Kiyone and Mihoshi's door now and hand myself over. I'm sure in prison I at least have a reputation.
Teleportation is a very excellent quality to have. It allows me to go to the kitchen and return to the roof without waking anyone. They tell me how much they hate that I drink, and then they keep the house stocked with sake. Crazy.
Or maybe that's what I am. I'm the one on the roof, drunk, all because of him.
Tenchi Masaki. Not an impressive name. Who knew I would fall in love? Love. Hell. What a shitty emotion. Anger, anger accomplishes things. When I'm angry, I can attack. I can do something about it. What do I do about love? I'll tell you what I do: I dress up, I follow, I bare my feelings, I protect. And then I get up on the roof and get drunk. Thrilling.
Of course, she's in love with him, too.
And apparently, he's in love with her. It certainly wasn't a friendly kiss they shared.
Damn you, Aeka. Damn you to Hell.
Not to say it wasn't fun. All the times we fought, we were a perfect combination; I was strong offense, you had great defense. We couldn't hurt each other physically, and emotionally, our barbs were equal. No one won.
Until now. Well, bully for her. The best girl won.
But I always at least thought I had a chance. She was just a pretty little princess. She had no great skills, no great body, and she was certainly the snootiest little bitch I've ever seen. Me? I'm a glamourous criminal; I've got a body, I'm funny, I've seen the universe, and I'm powerful. What man could ask for more?
He could. The one man I don't want to ask for more.
Damn you, too, Tenchi.
Oddly enough, my thoughts turn to Hotsuma. All right, maybe he didn't love me, but he certainly got closer than anyone else did. Maybe if I had gotten my mind off of Tenchi and taken a few romps with him, he wouldn't have tried to kill me. I know I certainly wouldn't be in this situation if I had left Tenchi dearest.
I can't even get the sight out of my head. Aeka was supposed to be helping Tenchi sweep up the cherry blossoms on the ground. I figured it would look good if I helped, so I went out back in search of them. All I found was two brooms on the ground. And Aeka against one of the trees. And Tenchi against her, lips together, his hands on her face. He was holding her so gently, as if she would break if he did anything further. Heh. She probably would. Delicate little porcelain doll Aeka. Fragile little princess Aeka.
Why couldn't I be delicate little Ryoko? Why couldn't I be his princess? Didn't I try hard enough, Tenchi? Did I do something wrong, Tenchi? Or have you known all along that you love her more than me, and you've been stringing me along? Damn you, Tenchi!
I make sure I hurl this empty bottle to the ground now. It smashes beautifully. I don't care who I wake up at this point; none of them would care. They've seen me drunk before, and they expect this now.
Would this hurt as much if he had chosen Mihoshi or Kiyone over me? I somehow doubt that, believing that it hurts because Aeka is my main enemy out of this motley group. I don't even think it hurt this much when I saw him kiss Sakuya. And that hurt. I don't even have words to describe this.
"Ryoko?" It's Tenchi. He heard my bottle, and he probably wants to send me to bed, like a child. Bah.
What do you want?
"What are you doing up this late?" He barely misses stepping in the broken glass. After staring at me for a moment, he joins me on the roof. "Why do you like coming up here?"
The solitude, I answer. It's hard being alone with your thoughts in that house.
"I can understand, Ryoko, believe me," he laughs. It's such a musical laugh. I always love making him smile. He's so handsome. I can't believe I'm still thinking things like this. "You're pretty quiet this evening, Ryoko."
I saw you, Tenchi.
"What do you mean?"
I saw you and Aeka in the cherry blossoms today.
Silence. "Oh," is his reply. "Ryoko, I-"
Don't explain. It's your life, live it how you want. I speak slowly, partly because I'm trying not to cry and look completely pitiful in front of him, and partly because I don't want to slur my speech. I wonder why I still care what he thinks.
More silence. "No, you deserve an explanation."
No one deserves anything but a good, swift kick in the pants.
"Just listen." I nod. "It was a sudden thing. I was watching her sweep the blossoms, and I just thought about how beautiful she was, and-"
You certainly know how to make a woman feel special, Tenchi.
"Ryoko, I didn't mean--" He sighs. "This hasn't been an ongoing thing if you were wondering."
I was.
"All right, now you know it wasn't. It just happened today. And this doesn't mean that I don't love you, it just means that..."
We can still be friends.
"Exactly."
I suddenly wish Tenchi had brought another bottle with him. I'd break it over his head.
"Ryoko, I do love you. This is a battle that's been going on inside me for what seems like forever. You don't know what it's like to have so many people fight over you."
Gee, thanks.
"Oh, you know what I mean!"
I sigh. Yes, yes I do know. I suppose it's been just as hard on you as it is on me, right?
"Yes."
All right, so what does this mean for us? Do you want me to leave, or...
"I don't know, Ryoko. I don't want you to leave; I've grown accustomed to your being here. But I don't want to cause you pain by seeing Aeka and I together all the time."
It's a little too late for me to be pained by seeing you and Aeka together.
Silence again. Both of us stare up at the sky. I laugh bitterly, At least she's real.
He laughs the same way. "I suppose."
I love you, Tenchi. I love you the same way Aeka does.
"I love you, too, Ryoko, just not the way I love Aeka. Aren't you at least glad I've made a choice finally?"
I suppose, but whenever I envisioned you making a choice, you always picked me.
I haven't told him yet that I plan on leaving Earth as soon as I'm sober. He'd only convince me to stay. There's no need for me here; to watch him play house with Aeka all day could only drive me insane. And if I have anything left, it's my sanity, I guess. That, and an ability to teleport, which I use to grab another bottle. When I reappear, Tenchi is looking around, trying to find where I've gone. I shake the bottle in front of him to silently tell him I took a trip to the kitchen.
He promptly grabs the bottle away from me. "No. I don't want you to drown out this conversation."
I'm drowning out my sorrow, not this conversation, idiot. I remember everything you say to me, don't you know that?
"You do?" he asks. His eyes look sorry, embarrassed. While he's distracted, I grab the bottle back.
I need this.
He grabs it again. "No, you don't."
True. I need you, but I can't have you, so this'll have to do.
"No, Ryoko, you don't need either one. You're an independent woman. What happened to the space pirate we know and love?"
The space pirate you know and love has always been a drunkard. Give it back, dammit!
I don't want to hurt him over a bottle of sake. Why won't he just give it back?
"Ryoko, you've had plenty already tonight. For me, don't have any more."
For you? For you! I've spent all of my time on Earth doing things for you, and look what it got me! Now, I'm back to doing things for me, and that includes drinking myself to death, if I please!
This is where the fool surprises me.
He kisses me. Not a friendly peck on the cheek, not a quick friendship kiss on the lips, but a deep, soulful kiss. Neither of us pulls away, and I feel his hands on my cheeks. For this moment, I'm his fragile doll. His princess, Ryoko.
After letting it go on for a few moments, we both slowly pull away. It happened. It finally happened. We kissed. None of it was forced; we kissed like normal couples do. Unfortunately, I'm far from normal, so my first words after it, when our faces were millimeters apart, are:
What the hell was that for?
"I'm sorry - I didn't mean to do that."
Don't tell me that. Tell me you love me and that was a goodbye kiss before you marry Aeka.
He stands up in frustration. "That's the problem! Even if I try to choose one of you, I still love the other! I hate this! I thought I finally had everything worked out! I had picked a girl, and my life was fine! But now...now..."
You've picked a woman and you're life's topsy-turvy once again?
He shoots me a look. "In a sense."
I sigh and walk to the area of the roof over my room. I'm going, Tenchi. I'm leaving Earth.
"Why? Is it because of me?"
I smile. Everything I do is because of you, Tenchi, haven't you gotten that yet? I wave good-bye and start to sink through the roof to my room.
My feet have only gone through when he runs over and grabs hold of me. He starts sinking through the roof with me. Once we're in my room, I ask, What do you think you're doing?
His reply is another kiss. And another, and another, and another. We fall onto my bed and do the worst thing possible for a pair trying to break off a relationship.
We make love.
It was exquisite for a boy who wasn't entirely sure of what he was supposed to do. I had to help him along in some areas, but once he got the gist of it, it was superb. Afterwards, I watch him sleep. You idiot, I whisper, why did you have to go and do that?
When I'm sure he's asleep, I get up and pack some things. I'm still leaving. I can't do this forever: fight with Aeka over who he really loves. He loves us both, in the same way; I realise that now.
But everything I do, I do for him. He wanted Aeka first, so he can have her. Isn't it easier on him if one of the women is out of the picture?
I don't leave a note when I leave (as many men have done to me), but I kiss him on the forehead. He smiles slightly, and then resumes his sleep. I love you, Tenchi, I whisper. Goodbye.
As I fly away, I know that I will always remember this night. I know that it's best that he stays with Aeka, she'll be a good housewife for him. I know I will always love him, but he'll forget me. I know they'll have adorable little Jurain children. I know I'll miss him like nothing else. Above all, I know I'll always wonder what would happen if we hadn't done that...
I know that he'll probably never tell Aeka about this night, but I can if she ever gets snippy with me in the future. If I ever come back. Who am I kidding? Of course I will...