Disclaimer:  Thank God that I don't own Shin Tenchi/Tenchi in Tokyo.  Most of 
that series bites.  I wouldn't mind owning Hotsuma though.  ::sigh::


Author's note:  I never was happy with how the Shin series concluded.  Tenchi 
more or less abandoned everyone, but faced no consequences for his behavior.  
His actions were completely glossed over, so that things could return to 
"normal".  If they intended to hit us with an emotional ride for Tenchi and 
Ryoko, I think it was stupid for them to go that far only to pull the final 
punch.  The series itself gave many clues to Hotsuma really having feelings for 
Ryoko, but then it seemed forced to suddenly make him entirely evil to support 
their ending.  That's why I've started this fiction just after Episode 18: Game 
Over-to give an alternate version of events.  I don't like to cross my 
Tenchiverses, so I'm keeping within Shin, but without making the characters 
as...well...extreme of character as they wrote them.    If you don't like the 
Hotsuma and Ryoko pairing, you'd probably be happier not reading this.  This is 
the first fanfic that I'm posting, and reviews are welcome.  Constructive 
criticism is fine, but I will always tell this story the way that I deem best 
for it.  My goal is to tell a really complete story (not just a lemon), and I 
hope you all like it.
**************************************************


The cold metal doors slid into place behind him as Hotsuma strode into his 
private quarters.  Gaiyan was a large ship, and with only two passengers he 
should have had plenty of privacy.  But even locked away in this room, he could 
feel her presence.  Damnit!  Why had he convinced Yugi to follow his plan?  
Hotsuma knew that somewhere in his little black heart, he was far too happy with 
his current situation.  That happiness was dangerous.  Since meeting Ryoko at 
the House of the Eternal Pledge, he had wanted to drive her away from that boy.  
He'd wanted her for himself, and only himself.  But he'd never expected his 
feelings to go beyond a possessive lust!  

Hotsuma rubbed his injured arm, as he thought back over the day's events.  The 
duo had just attempted the heist of the century, and he'd finally succeeded in 
earning a marginal degree of the nefarious Space Pirate's trust.  Albeit, she'd 
only begrudgingly given it, after he'd taken a shot to the arm to protect her.  
But still, she'd finally begun to view him as a partner.  For the first time, 
the cold genius believed that he might really have a chance at making her forget 
about Tenchi--even if there was only a very slim one.  The more unattainable the 
goal, the more glorious the victory, Hotsuma reminded himself with a wry grin.  

He jumped as a loud knock on the door behind him roused him from his private 
thoughts.

"Hey, I thought you were going to let me look after that arm for you!" Ryoko's 
voice exclaimed from the other side of the steel doors.  "If it gets infected or 
something, it's going to cost us on our next job," she cajoled in a sweet voice.  

Hotsuma rounded quickly, hitting the door button, and meeting her surprised 
golden eyes with a seductive grin.   His large frame blocked the doorway, and he 
loomed over her with only a scant couple of inches between him and her tiny 
figure.  "I told you, I'd be fine.  Still, if you really want to see me without 
a shirt that badly..." he let the thought trail off as he lowered his face 
closer to hers.  "Come on in princess." He finished with a purr that nearly 
washed over her skin like heat.

The cyan-haired space pirate stiffened under his gaze.  "Now you listen here, 
you baka!  This is NOT a social visit!  This partnership is strictly on a trial 
basis!  And I've already told you that I have no intention of just falling into 
the arms of..." her yelling stopped abruptly, as she noticed the mischievous 
mirth filling his normally cold blue eyes.  He enjoyed getting her riled up, and 
she always seemed to stumble right into it.  In fact, she felt like he was 
always quietly laughing at her.  He could reduce her to a bumbling schoolgirl, 
just as certainly as Tenchi could.  She took a deep breath as she summoned up 
her composure and some vestige of her normally feline grace.  "I'm just here to 
fix your arm," Ryoko finally declared in a firm tone.

Hotsuma merely nodded as he turned sideways and beckoned her in with a movement 
of his arms.  The movement cost him, and he found himself grasping his injured 
arm close to his chest and clenching his jaw in pain in the next instant.  He'd 
closed his eyes and begun pushing the pain back to present his normal fa‡ade of 
amused detachment, when he felt Ryoko's delicate fingers examining his injury.  
"Ouch!  That hurts!" he yelled at her angrily.  

Ryoko grinned to herself, having finally gotten the upper hand.  "And here I 
thought you were a big, tough space pirate," she laughed gleefully.  "Now take 
off your shirt and have a seat over there!" she commanded pointing to the edge 
of the bed.  

Hotsuma let his jacket slip to the ground, and unbuttoned his orange shirt 
without taking his eyes off her.  He wasn't sure if it was more to see her 
reaction to his body, or just fear that she would start maliciously poking 
around at his arm again.  He was indeed gratified as he caught Ryoko having to 
look away when he slid the soft orange fabric away from his tanned chest.  He 
very carefully guided the sleeve down his sore arm, folded it once and, laid it 
across the foot of the bed.  Then he took a seat on the edge of the sage-colored 
comforter and waited.  

Ryoko recovered quickly and pulled a small first-aid kit from the med lab out of 
her pocket.  She set it on Hotsuma's leg, and sat beside him as she gingerly 
examined the laser wound.  The heat seemed to have cauterized it, and she could 
already detect signs of healing.  He might not heal as rapidly as Ryoko, but 
Hotsuma was apparently a very fast healer.  Still it looked pretty deep, and 
some stitches would have helped.  Remembering his earlier reaction, she decided 
that stitching him up would be about as pleasant as getting stuck in a closet 
with Ayeka.  So she contented herself with giving it a good disinfecting and a 
couple of butterflies to hold it closed until it healed.  

His warm skin felt very soft beneath her tentative touch, and she could feel 
strong lithe muscle just below the surface.  Ryoko tried very hard to narrow her 
concentration to the task at hand.  The scene must have appeared quite intimate, 
and she was having difficulty trying not to sneak the occasional glimpse of his 
golden skin.  She could feel those blue eyes staring through her as she worked, 
but the blonde pirate made no further complaints.  Finally, she wrapped her work 
with a clean gauze bandage to protect it.  

"There!" she proclaimed triumphantly, as she gathered the handful of supplies 
back into the case.  "Just don't use it too much for a couple of days.  
Absolutely no heavy lifting with it either!  Once the skin has started to knit 
together, you can use it more."

Hotsuma rolled his arm a few times testing out the feeling of the bandage and 
her handiwork.  It still hurt, but the compression of the bandage seemed to 
help.  He felt rather at a loss staring at the satisfied woman beside him.  He 
wasn't used to being in such a situation.  "Ryoko," he said softly as he stood 
and walked over to the window.  

"Uh, yeah?" Ryoko replied uncertainly, as she tried to gauge why he suddenly 
seemed to be acting differently.  He was often the serious type, but he never 
seemed ill at ease around her like this.  She studied the outline of his back 
and the way that the ends of his hair danced over the back of his shoulders at 
his slightest movement.  She wondered suddenly what it looked like down, but 
instantly chastised herself for the thought.  How could she think of anyone else 
when she had Tenchi?  Tenchi.  No, she didn't have Tenchi anymore, and she was 
still at a loss as to what could possibly fill that bleeding hole in her heart.  
Her thoughts stopped as Hotsuma's deep, soft voice filled the silence of the 
room.

"Thank you, Ryoko," he said simply.  "I think that's the first time, anyone has 
ever cared for me."  His voice sounded funny, somehow empty as he spoke.  Not 
his usual calculating cold or warm seduction, but something that she else that 
she couldn't put her finger on.  But his words stirred up her own memories--
memories of the first time someone had cared for her, when she was hurt.  She 
hadn't been sure afterwards how to react, and had ultimately given her heart at 
the first sign of human kindness shown her.  She didn't believe that Hotsuma was 
about to do the same, but she understood the dilemma that he was working 
through.  

"What?  Not even when you were a child?  You must've had a mother," she 
responded lightly.  She knew full well just how long a person in their lifestyle 
could go without having experienced tenderness from another, but she was giving 
him an opportunity to brush off the suddenly personal atmosphere his words had 
created.  

His long ponytail swung gently against his bare skin, as he looked over his 
shoulder at her.  His expression was unreadable.  "Mother," he responded with 
the slightest trace of a snort.  "I wonder if I ever was a child."  He let the 
cryptic words hang in the air, as he turned away from the window and strode 
towards the large planning desk in the center of the room.  

His usual fa‡ade slid back into place, and it was as if the past few moments had 
never been.  He unconsciously pushed his glasses up, as he began studying a 
collection of news reports on a computer console.  

Ryoko grinned.  "Don't tell me you're already scouting for our next job," she 
laughed.  

"Well, it's going to take some work to top this particular venture," he grinned 
back at her.  He cocked an eyebrow at her.  "Although ripping off an entire 
planet did sound like fun, after you mentioned it.  It would take precision and 
intense calculation."  

"Yeah," Ryoko replied stretching and looking up at the ceiling a little blankly.  
She really didn't want to think about anything at the moment.  "But I'm a firm 
believer that a pirate should always take time to savor her victories.  After 
all, what point is a glorious victory if you don't take time to enjoy it!"  She 
crossed her legs and leaned back on her arms casually as she spoke.  

"And just how do you normally celebrate your victories," Hotsuma smirked as he 
crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table.  His teasing voice 
prickled at her.

"Well," Ryoko rolled her eyes while she thought, "...do you have any sake on 
this ship?"  At his nod, she grinned exuberantly.  "Then I suggest a party!  You 
must have some music around here.  Hey, have you ever sung Karaoke?"  She began 
rattling off ideas happily.  Many of them were inspired by her happiest moments 
back at the Masaki home, and even if the memories were now tinged with pain from 
seeing Tenchi in the arms of another, she felt a need to experience as much of 
that joy as she could.  It was the type of feeling that had to be shared she'd 
finally come to understand.  

An hour later the pair of them were sharing a friendly drunkenness on Gaiyan's 
observation deck.  They sat together cross-legged on the floor with a half empty 
bottle of sake between them and laughed as they recounted their observations 
about the heist to each other.  Hotsuma had had far more chances to laugh at 
Ryoko during the whole affair, than she'd had chances to laugh at him.  But they 
both seemed to find all of the misadventures and obstacles that plagued them 
funny in retrospect.  "Hi, honey!  I'm home!  Please open up?  Now that was a 
superior bit of hacking, if ever I saw one," Hotsuma was laughing and holding 
his sides, while Ryoko growled and swatted at him half-heartedly.

Despite his many protests, Ryoko had even finally managed to wrangle Hotsuma 
into one karaoke song.  She figured it was in no small part due to the sake.  
He'd picked one of the shortest songs he could find, obviously uncomfortable 
with looking silly in front of her.  Ryoko had felt silly and stupid around him 
enough to consider it a very fair revenge.  She found herself only mildly 
disappointed to learn that the man could indeed sing.  She would have been far 
more upset, had she not enjoyed the sound of his voice so much.  She pestered 
him into promising to sing for her another time, since he flatly refused to do 
it again that evening.  

Gaiyan intercepted a news report chronicling their robbery, and they greeted it 
with wild cheering.  Most of the facts were wrong, but in their favor, as they 
made the theft seem even grander and more dashing.  

"Come on!" Ryoko yelled.  "We have to commemorate this moment!  You must have 
some kind of camera on this ship, partner."  She put her hands on her hips and 
winked.  Hotsuma took the opportunity to notice just how revealing her pirate 
garb really was, and he quickly forced himself to look away, before she could 
catch him.

Hotsuma paused thoughtfully.  Well, he didn't have a camera after the fashion 
that Ryoko meant, but there was Gaiyan's internal surveillance and 
communications system.  "I've got just the thing!" he declared with 
satisfaction.  "Grab our loot, and we'll let Gaiyan record our victory for 
posterity!"  He rose a little unsteadily, and pulled her close as she snatched 
the bag of money.  Pointing to the security camera he grinned, then he rested 
his chin on top of her head as she made a victory sign with her hand and held up 
their money.  

"We are the greatest team to ever plunder together," Ryoko laughed as they 
changed poses.  "This is the life!"

After dancing and a victory dinner, the two felt tiredness engulf them.  So they 
reverted to watching the stars in companionable silence.  

Ryoko was starting to be able to envision a world outside of Tenchi and earth.  
She wasn't sure yet, what it would consist of, but she had decided to consider 
Hotsuma a friend.  And she already trusted him more than she had ever expected 
to.  She was dimly aware that she had snuggled against his shoulder.  She tried 
to remember whether this was the good arm or the bad, but finally gave up with a 
yawn.  She knew this close proximity should be bothering her, but she was just 
too tired to worry about it.  

When Hotsuma realized that she'd fallen into a sound sleep, he brushed back her 
soft bangs and studied her peaceful, sleeping face.  "Completely hopeless," he 
sighed.  His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and he simply continued to hold 
her in the darkness as the stars sped by.  This had been what he'd wanted since 
meeting her.  He had her alone in a world that seemed just for them.  More than 
an hour passed by before he lifted her in his arms and carried her back to her 
room.  Carefully, he removed her shoes and covered her with the comforter.  

"Goodnight, Princess," he whispered.  

Hotsuma returned to his own room, filled with demons.  He could have easily 
killed her tonight, and then Yugi's plan would be guaranteed success.  All it 
would take was one energy blast, and she'd have never known.  She'd have died 
without so much as waking.  For that matter, he could have let the robots back 
at the bank shoot her.  It would have been a fatal shot to the chest.  But no, 
he'd pushed her to safety, and taken a shot in the arm for her.  He wanted to be 
with her, and he was betting not only Yugi's plan but also his own continued 
existence on his ability to win her away from that Earthling boy.  

Hotsuma lay awake for a long time as he tried to decipher his feelings.  He 
could clearly picture her laughing face.  He could smell her subtle perfume from 
where she'd sat on the bed tending his arm, and his nerves still danced with the 
memory of her simple touch.  In his mind he could hear her laughter mocking him.  
It was as he'd feared; she gotten to him since they'd been in space.  Perhaps, 
it had started even before then.