*Dodges as various things are thrown at him*  Okay, okay. I know it took forever 
to come out with the next chapter, but it always takes me a long time to write 
anything. It took me over a month to write the first chapter, and this one is 
about 5 times longer, so you do the math. So anyway, here's the fic. I hope you 
enjoy it.

Disclaimer: As per the first chapter, I don't own Tenchi Muyou! or its 
characters. They are trademarks of AIC and Pioneer, and anyone else who may own 
rights to the franchise. So don't sue me. Besides, I don't have any money 
anyway. :p   All other acknowledgements will be after the end of this chapter. 
This chapter is rated PG-13 for mild language and depictions of brief nudity.


"Bonds" by Jason Goodman

Chapter 2:  "In Your Eyes"


It was morning at the Masaki household on this day in late spring. The sun had 
since risen over the eastern sky a couple of hours ago. Azaka and Kamidake were 
ever-vigilantly maintaining their posts at the gate of the wooden fence.

"Ah. It seems like another beautiful day," said Azaka.

"Yes. The weather is great today," agreed Kamidake.

"It seems the new paperboy isn't afraid of us."

"That's good. We've gone through several in the last few months." The person 
they were discussing waved good-bye to the robotic logs and continued his way 
down the path leading away from the house. Meanwhile back inside, Sasami was 
busy cooking breakfast for everyone and Mihoshi was helping as well. Instead of 
the usual Japanese fare, Sasami opted for a more Western-style meal. It was a 
typical American breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, and waffles.

"Wow! This smells great," Mihoshi commented.

"Yeah. I decided to try something different for breakfast today," replied Sasami 
as she reached over and cut off the stove's burners. "It's finished now. Could 
you set the plates while I go wake everyone else up?"

"Okay." Mihoshi got the plates from the cabinet to put the food on. If there was 
one thing there wasn't a ditz about, it was helping Sasami out with the cooking. 
As Mihoshi began distributing the food, Sasami headed out of the kitchen towards 
Washuu's lab.

Back in the laboratory, Washuu was sitting in front of her holographic computer. 
She was going over the analyses she made on her daughter last night. As she 
began looking over Ryoko's brain patterns, something caught her eye. "Strange. I 
wonder why I wasn't aware of this. That's bizarre." Washuu began cross-
referencing her findings with all the information in her database. It only took 
a split second for the computer to shown the results. There was only one showing 
a complete match. "Interesting," was all she could say.

Washuu nee-chan! Breakfast is ready," chimed Sasami.

"Oh, Sasami. I didn't hear you come in. I'll be there in a minute," Washuu 
responded.

"Okay. Hey, what are you working on?"

"Oh, just some routine life-form readings. Nothing really important."

"Well, I'll see you at the breakfast table," Sasami concluded as she headed out 
of the lab. Right as she stepped out of the door, she found herself standing 
right in front of Aeka. "Good morning, onee-sama," Sasami said cheerfully.

"Good morning Sasami. I haven't seen Tenchi-sama anywhere this morning. He's 
usually up at this hour. Have you seen him?" Aeka questioned.

"No. I was about to call him in to the breakfast table. I'll go see if he's 
still asleep. You can go ahead and eat. Mihoshi is setting the table," she said, 
pointing to the dining platform, which already had almost everyone's food on it.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Ryoko either," Aeka said suspiciously. "Of 
course there's no telling where she is or what she's doing. I just hope that she 
hasn't dragged Tenchi off somewhere."

"You worry too much, Aeka. I said that I'd go look. Now sit and eat before it 
gets cold."

"Oh, alright. If you insist," Aeka said as she sat down at the dining platform. 
Sasami sighed in exasperation at her sister's irritable mood, but she quickly 
put it out of mind and began heading upstairs to look for Tenchi.

Ryoko awakened to the combination of the sunlight beaming through the window and 
the smell of just-cooked food. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing Tenchi's 
face mere inches from her own. He was still asleep. A mischievous grin played 
itself across Ryoko's face as an idea came to mind. She slowly and slid her hand 
down his side, resting it above his hip. She used her other arm to prop her head 
up. "Tenchi. Wake up," she said aloud as she began tickling his side.

"Mph, cut it out," Tenchi mumbled.

"What's wrong? Ticklish?" Ryoko taunted playfully.

"Yeah-huh?" he said groggily as his eyes flashed open. "Oh. Good morning Ryoko."

"Good morning, sleepyhead. It's time to get up."

"What time is it?"

"I dunno, but I think it's time for breakfast."

"Yeah, I can smell it." It was at this time that Tenchi noticed Ryoko's smirk. 
"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"I was just thinking of how cute you look when you're asleep."

That last statement made Tenchi blush slightly. "Oh really?" he asked timidly.

"Uh huh. And I love it when you blush like that. It makes you even cuter," she 
commented, her grin deepening.

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Tenchi nii-chan! Breakfast is ready!" 
Sasami called out from the other side of
the door. Tenchi got up out of the futon and walked to the door. He pulled it 
open just enough so that he could poke his headthrough.

"Uh, good morning Sasami. I'll be down in a couple of minutes."

"Okay. Hey, have you seen Ryoko?"

"Yeah. She's in here. We were just talking."

"Well, you two hurry up before your food gets cold," Sasami stated as she began 
heading back down the hall towards the stairs. 
Tenchi shut the door and walked back to where Ryoko was laying. He extended his 
arm out to her. "Come on. Let's go eat." Ryoko accepted his gesture, allowing 
him to help her out of the futon. As she got up, she was still keeping the 
blanket held over herself.

"Uhh, Tenchi. I don't think I can go to the breakfast table like this," she said 
nervously.

"Huh?" Tenchi replied with a puzzled look on his face.

"I'm still wearing nothing but this shirt."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about that." Tenchi walked over to his dresser drawers and 
pulled out a pair of adjustable sweatpants. "Here you go," he said, handing them 
to Ryoko. "You can wear these until you get a chance to change."

"Thanks," Ryoko said with an embarrassed smile. She sat down on the bed as 
Tenchi faced away to give her some privacy. She quickly slipped the pants on and 
then walked up behind Tenchi, grabbing his hand. "Okay. I'm ready," she said 
cheerfully as she led Tenchi by the hand out of the bedroom.

Back downstairs, Sasami had just sat down at the breakfast table, where Aeka, 
Washuu, and Mihoshi had already started eating. "Did you find Tenchi?" Aeka 
asked her sister.

"Yes. He's upstairs with Ryoko."

"With Ryoko?" Aeka inquired, sounding surprised.

"Yeah. He said that he was talking to her and that they'll be down shortly."

"Talking?" Aeka's voice sounded more shocked than before.

"Yes. Why are you acting so surprised?"

"No particular reason," Aeka concluded with an exasperated sigh. Just then, 
Tenchi and Ryoko walked into the living room. Aeka was staring with suspicion at 
the unusually bright and cheerful space pirate as she and Tenchi sat down at the 
table.

Breakfast was rather quiet. There was no arguing, and about the only talking was 
from Mihoshi, who mentioned a recent arrest made near Ganymede. When the meal 
was over, Tenchi stood up from his seat and looked down at Washuu, with a rather 
angry looking expression on his face. "Washuu. I need to have a little 
discussion with you."

For a second, Washuu was taken aback, not only by Tenchi's tone of voice, but 
the way he was looking at her. She quickly regained her composure, though, as 
she had a pretty good idea as to why he looked so dreadfully serious. The 
scientist rose from her seat as well. "Ah, yes. Well, I needed to talk to you 
about something as well." She headed towards the entrance of her lab.

As Tenchi began to follow her, Ryoko stopped him by tugging on his pants leg. 
"Tenchi..." He looked down and gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, and 
the boy followed the scientist into the lab. Aeka, Sasami, and Mihoshi looked on 
at the scene in utter confusion. They had never seen Tenchi act quite like this 
before. They then looked at Ryoko, their gazes seeming to implore some kind of 
explanation from her. The space pirate simply smiled, teleported to the living 
room couch, and began watching TV.

Back in the lab, Washuu had sat down on her floating cushion. She figured that 
if she was going to have a serious discussion, she might as well make herself 
comfortable. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"You know good and damn well what," Tenchi snapped.

"It's about Ryoko, I presume?"

"Yes. She came to my room last night. The poor girl was in tears. Now would you 
mind explaining what the hell you did to her?"

"I was running some tests on her, just like the ones I run on you."

"'Just like me' huh? That's what I should have expected from you. You always tie 
me up, against my will mind you, leave me half-naked, and then you usually do 
something twisted for you own personal amusement after the tests. Now from what 
Ryoko was able to tell me, you did all three. She told me that you had tied her 
up without her consent and after you were through running tests on her, you left 
her alone in the dark. Not to mention she was wearing just a tank top when she 
told me this, which I assume was also your doing. I suppose you also got some 
amusement from leaving her alone like that?" he accused, the angry tone in his 
voice never leaving his voice during the entire tirade.

"You're right on both accounts Tenchi. Though I didn't leave her alone, per se. 
I was right around the corner videotaping the whole thing."

"You what!?"

"Tenchi, I don't understand why you're so angry. You don't ever get this bent 
out of shape when I try stuff on you."

"Yeah, but you haven't every done anything to traumatize me like you did to 
Ryoko."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I let her go when she started calling 
for you."

"Not really. You shouldn't have done what you did in the first place."

"Oh. You didn't enjoy spending the night with her?"

Tenchi started at the question. "Uh, um. Well, no, it's not that. She was 
actually good company. I did enjoy it but that doesn't change the fact that you 
had her in hysterics last night."

"Actually, this whole incident might have been beneficial."

"What do you mean by that?"

"First off, did you hear Ryoko calling for you?"

A puzzled look spread across Tenchi's face. "Yeah. Why?"

"Now, what did it sound like?"

"Really upset," he stated matter-of-factly. "But there was something else with 
her voice. I didn't seem like it was an actual sound."

"It sounded like a voice in you head, didn't it?"

"Yeah. It was really strange."

"Hmm. Just as I thought."

"What is it that you thought?"

"Tenchi, this is why I wanted to talk to you as well." Washuu conjured up her 
holo-computer and typed in a sequence. "Come look at this."

Tenchi walked over to where Washuu was and looked at the computer screen. "What 
am I supposed to be seeing?"

"These are brain wave patterns from EEG scans. But they're just not just any 
ordinary brain patterns. These are indicative of telepathic communication. As 
you know, Ryoko is capable of telepathy between both Ryo-ouki and myself. As you 
can see here, her brain wave patterns from telepathic contact with me are 
different from those with Ryo-ouki. However, her pattern and the patter of the 
individual she is communicating with will always be identical during said 
communication."

"Washuu, this is interesting and all, but what does it have to do with me?"

"I'm not through yet. When I was having my little bit of personal amusement at 
Ryoko's expense, I still had my computers analyzing her." Tenchi fought back the 
urge to smack the runt for the first part of the statement and decided to 
listen. "I came across something unusual when I was going over the results this 
morning. I found a new set of brain waves coming from Ryoko. At first, I thought 
it might have been a stress-induced aberration, but I quickly determined that it 
was actually telepathic activity. I ran the patter through my database and a 
match came up. Look at this date. This was when I was running tests on you a 
couple of weeks ago. Remember when you said that you thought you heard someone 
call your name?"

"Yeah. That was when the whole mess with Dr. Clay started." His eyes gave the 
screen a closer examination and noticed that the graphic with his name on it was 
identical to the one with Ryoko's. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me 
that...?"

"Yes. You and Ryoko have a telepathic bond with each other."

Tenchi was immediately stunned by this revelation. "Oh God. Why didn't you tell 
me that in the first place instead of saying all that scientific stuff?"

"Because you didn't ask me to. Besides, if I told you straight out, you would 
have asked for an explanation, right?"

A large sweat drop formed on Tenchi's forehead. "Yeah, I guess so. But this is 
really important, right? What does this all mean?"

"Well, Ryoko really shouldn't have been able to contact you on either occasion. 
Telepathic contact doesn't normally work if the person being contacted is in 
another dimension, like my lab for instance. Also, theoretically speaking, Ryoko 
should only be able to communicate with either Ryo-ouki or me. She would have to 
have a strong emotional bond with another person to communicate with them at 
all, especially for cross-dimensional contact like this."

"You mean she is attached to me that much?"

"More than you can imagine. Tenchi, Ryoko loves you. Not just as a friend 
either. It's much, much stronger than that. I'm able to tell these things since 
I can read her thoughts. You may think of her as just a really good friend, but 
to Ryoko, you're the most important person in her life, ever."

Tenchi was bewildered by this new information. "I... I had no idea that she felt 
that way. But why hasn't she told me this herself in the last 9 months since 
we've lived together? Why does she always to stuff to aggravate me instead?"

"You're going to have to find that out from her. I just wanted to tell you how 
she felt. I will tell you one thing, though. If Ryoko does something to 
aggravate you, like you said, remember that she doesn't have what most Japanese 
call 'good social skills.' These last 9 months are the first time in her life 
where she has had any normal company. So try not to get bent out of shape if she 
does something you don't like. Understand?"

"Yes, I'll try. And Washuu...?"

"Yes?"

The angry look he had on his face earlier returned. "Don't you ever, ever, try 
anything like you did to Ryoko last night to anyone ever again. If you want to 
run any tests on anyone again, you had better ask them first. You got that?"

Washuu drew back in surprise. "Uh huh, I get it," she said as she nodded her 
head slowly.

"Good. And remember, I'm keeping my eye on you." Tenchi turned around and headed 
out of the lab. After he left, a wry smirk appeared on Washuu face.

"I knew it wouldn't be too long before he started falling for Ryoko," she 
thought to herself. "I'm glad I was able to help." The scientist turned back to 
her computer and began working on her routine work once again.

As Tenchi walked out of the lab and back into the living room, he quickly 
spotted Ryoko's spiky cyan hair peeking above the top edge of the couch. He 
walked silently up behind where she was sitting and leaned down so his face was 
next to her head, but not where she could see him. "Hey, Ryoko," he whispered in 
her ear.

"You know you can't sneak up on me like that Tenchi. My hearing is a lot better 
than yours," she said in a flat tone of voice. She then quickly turned around to 
look at him face to face, revealing her bright yellow eyes and a cheerful grin. 
"So how did it go with Washuu?" she inquired.

"Good. It would suffice to say that she won't be running any more of her 'tests' 
on anyone anymore unless she gets their permission first."

"Hmph. It'll be unlikely that she will get it. She'll be bored, but so what?"

"No kidding," he concurred. "Ryoko, I have to go do my chores now. There's 
something I want to talk to you about in private," he said, indicating Sasami 
and Mihoshi in the kitchen. "I would talk first, but you know how Grandpa is. He 
might make me do double-time on training. I'll come and get you as soon as I'm 
through."

"Okay," she said with a smile. Tenchi smiled back and then began heading to the 
front door. Before he stepped outside, Ryoko called out to him. "Tenchi. Thank 
you for standing up for me."

"You're welcome. It was no problem. Well, I'll be back in an hour or two. Bye."

"Later," she said as waved to him. He returned the gesture and then stepped out 
the door.

As Tenchi made his way out to the fields, Aeka, who was tending a small flower 
garden that she recently planted next to the house, spotted him. "Tenchi-sama!" 
she called out as she ran up to him.

"Hey Aeka. What's up?"

"What was that scene about at the table? You looked like you were about to 
strangle Washuu. And what was Ryoko doing wearing a pair of your pants?" Her 
last question was filled with suspicion, and it caught Tenchi completely off 
guard. He took a moment to collect himself before answering.

"Well, Ryoko came to my room last night. She was really upset about something, 
which that something turned out to be her mother. Washuu had done some of her 
so-called experiments Ryoko and had left her alone in the dark. Ryoko was really 
shook up from that, so I decided to have a talk with Washuu."

"Is that why you looked so angry at her?"

"Yes. I'm not going to have her traumatising anyone in this household. I've told 
her to not do any experiments on anyone anymore unless she has their permission. 
If she tries anything on you, just let me know and I'll handle it."

"Okay. I'll be sure to. Now about my other question."

"Oh. Yes. Well, Washuu had left Ryoko, *ahem* uh, half-naked. She was wearing 
just a shirt, so I let her borrow a pair of pants. And I just couldn't send the 
poor girl away the way she was feeling, so I let her stay the night in my room."

"You two didn't..."

"Didn't what?" he asked, obviously not understanding the suggestion.

"Make love."

Tenchi face-faulted. "What?! No, no," he said frantically. "Nothing happened."

"So she didn't try to seduce you or anything?"

"No. Why do you think that?"

"Just for the simple fact that she's spent the last 9 months trying to do so."

"Point taken. But in all truthfulness, she didn't do anything. She was actually 
very nice, and she also seemed embarrassed about her lack of clothes. She 
thought I was going to kick her out of my room because of it. I've never seen 
her act so timid before."

"Hmph. Maybe Washuu straightened her out by doing what she did." Tenchi shot 
Aeka a glance not too dissimilar from the one he gave Washuu earlier. "Uh, 
sorry. That was uncalled for."

"Aeka, you and Ryoko are two of the best friends I've ever had. I really wish 
you two would stop fighting each other and become friends yourselves."

"Okay, I'll try," she agreed reluctantly.

"Promise?"

"I promise. I'll try not to fight with her anymore, though it will be difficult 
for me to be friends with her."

"I guess I shouldn't ask too much from you. You don't have to be friends with 
her if you don't want to, but at least be civil with each other."

"Actually, you don't ever ask for much from any of us. You've done a lot for me 
and Sasami over these past few months without asking for much of anything in 
return, and I thank you. The least I can do to repay you for your kindness is to 
act peaceable. I'll do what I can to do so."

"Thank you Aeka. That would really mean a lot to me."

"You're welcome. But what about Ryoko? How can I get along with her if she's not 
willing to do the same?"

"I suppose that would pose a problem. I was going to have a discussion with her 
this afternoon about some things, so I'll bring this up to her."

"Thank you, Tenchi-sama."

"No problem. Well, I had better get to work now. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Take care. Don't work to hard."

"I wont. Bye." Tenchi waved to Aeka and headed out toward the fields. Aeka waved 
back and then went back to her flower garden. As she worked on it, her pace 
slowed gradually. She eventually stopped completely, setting her watering can on 
the ground. A sullen look spread across her face, and she sat down on the front 
porch to contemplate to event of the last couple of hours.

"This isn't good," she thought to herself. "I don't like this. Not in the 
slightest. But, what can I do if it is his choice?" She dwelled on this new 
chain of event for quite a while, but she soon resigned her thoughts on it for 
the time being. With a heavy sigh, the princess rose from the porch to go inside 
and cool off.

***

	The afternoon went without a hitch. Aeka tried her best to avoid Ryoko the 
whole time. The spiky-haird girl tried to initiate contact with her one time, 
but the princess simply said that she was busy and walked off. Ryoko dismissed 
the other girl's behaviour as nothing out of the ordinary. After than encounter, 
Aeka wasn't even seen by anyone for most of the afternoon, as she had decided to 
stay in her room until supper.

	As 2:30 rolled around, Ryoko realised that Tenchi would be coming in soon. 
She quickly dusted and polished the living room furniture, which was her only 
chore since not much was to be done around the house. After she was through, she 
remembered that she was still wearing Tenchi's pants. She went upstairs to get a 
change of clothes and some other things before meeting up with him.

About ten or fifteen minutes later, Tenchi came walking in through the front 
door. He was looking rather worse for wear and was holding his upper left arm. 
As he walked in the living room, he saw Sasami and Mihoshi playing video games 
together. "I'm back," he called out.	
	
"Hi, Tenchi," they replied in unison.

"Do either of you know where Ryoko is? I was going to meet up with her after I 
was through working outside."

"I think she went to the laundry room a couple of minutes ago," Mihoshi 
answered. "She's probably still in there."

"Thanks Mihoshi," he said, and he then headed to the laundry room. When he got 
there, he slid the door open. Upon seeing what was on the other side of the 
doorway, he paused in fascination. He saw Ryoko, her right side turned toward 
him. She was wearing a long silk robe that was a deep blue in colour, with 
designs of cherry blossoms the same colour as her hair embroidered on it. He 
wasn't quite aware of it, but he always reacted this way when he saw her wearing 
such things (though this was only the third time as such). However, Ryoko was 
fully aware of the attention he was giving her, and she enjoyed every second of 
it. She turned the washing machine on and then walked up to Tenchi, stopping 
just a few inches away from him. She looked down into the slightly shorter boy's 
eyes and spoke.

"Hey, Tenchi. Are you going to say anything to me or just stare?" Ryoko asked 
jokingly.

Tenchi blinked and shook his head dazedly. "W-what? Oh, sorry."

"Not that I don't mind you gawking at me," she said, smiling. She reached over 
on top of the dryer and picked up a mesh bag that contained some clothes, 
towels, and a small bottle of sake and two cups. With her free hand, she grasped 
Tenchi's arm. "Shall we go?"

"Go where?"

"To the onsen. You said you wanted to talk with me after your chores. Well, I 
want to pick the place. We would have some privacy there, and," she paused 
sniffing the air, "you need a bath."

"Yeah. I did work up quite a sweat outside, and I did want to talk without being 
interrupted."

"So will you join me? I usually bathe around this time of day anyway."

"Uh, okay," Tenchi answered and smiled bashfully.

"Well, let's go." Ryoko completely encircled Tenchi's arm with her own. "Hold 
on," she instructed as she prepared to teleport herself and Tenchi to the 
floating onsen. A second later, Tenchi found himself at the proper destination 
with Ryoko still holding on to him. He remembered how being teleported used to 
always disorient him, but he was used to it now.

"Hey Ryoko. Could you teach me how to do that? Teleport I mean. It seems better 
to get around with than walking is."

"I don't know if I can or not. I was never taught how to do it. It's just 
something that comes natural to me. I could try to teach you some of my 
abilities, though."

"Eh. Let's not worry about it right now. We'll have plenty of time to talk about 
that later. Let's go," he finished, cocking his head towards the door. As the 
pair walked through the entrance and onto the main platform inside, Ryoko 
finally took notice that Tenchi had been holding his left arm ever since he came 
into the laundry room and that he seemed to wincing in pain, if ever so 
slightly.

"What's wrong with your arm? Did you hurt yourself?" Ryoko inquired, concerned.

"Yeah. Some things fell off of the shelf in the tool shed and landed on me. I'm 
okay though."

Ryoko frowned at Tenchi. "Let me take a look at it." She gently took hold of his 
arm and lifted the torn short sleeve up, revealing a large bruise with a cut in 
the middle of it. Inquisitively, she gave the wound a light touch, making Tenchi 
flinch in pain. "It's not too bad, but it'll hurt like hell for a couple of 
days. We can wash it off in the bath and patch it up afterwards." Ryoko walked a 
few feet over to a bench sitting next to the wall. She set the bag down on it 
and began sifting through the contents, quickly retrieving a pair of towels. She 
tossed Tenchi one of them and left the other on the bench. Ryoko turned her back 
to him, reached down to her waist, and began slowly untying the sash of her 
robe. Seeing this, Tenchi's face coloured, but he found himself unable to divert 
his eyes from the scene. Instead, his gaze remained fixated on Ryoko as she 
began disrobing. He watched as Ryoko parted her robe and began slowly sliding it 
down her body, revealing first her s!
houlders and finally her entire backside as she let the garment pool around her 
feet. Ryoko could tell that Tenchi was watching her, since the only sound her 
keen ears heard from him was his increasingly heavy breathing, so she made sure 
to take her time undressing for him. She then reached down and grabbed her 
towel. "Hey Tenchi," she called out, making him gasp sharply and face away from 
her.

"Ah, uh, yes R-ryoko?" he replied, fumbling over his words. *Damn,* he thought, 
cursing his excessive shyness. *Why can't I ever be confident around her? I 
mean, she is pretty and I have seen her like this before, but I can't keep from 
feeling like I'm going to burst into flames from blushing or dying from shock 
every time.*

"Aren't you going to get undressed?" she asked as she finished donning her 
towel. "You can't bathe with your clothes on, you know."

"Yeah, I know," he said, feeling more nervous as each moment passed. He wasn't 
quite sure of what was making him more nervous, though, their setting, what they 
were going to discuss, or Ryoko herself. He did admit to himself, however, that 
Ryoko was being unusually courteous (at least from his point of view) compared 
to the way she normally is, especially in this setting. Tenchi's thoughts were 
interrupted though when he felt hand on his shoulder, startling him. He looked 
over to see that Ryoko had walked up next to him. 

"What's wrong? You looked like you were spaced out or something."

"Um, I'm okay. I was just lost in thought." He added, "Where can I change at?"

"Right here on the platform like I did. Don't worry. I won't peek," she said, 
grinning. Tenchi complied and walked over to the bench, sat down, changed out of 
his clothes, and wrapped his towel around his waist. Ryoko kept her word and 
gave him his privacy. After he was finished, Tenchi stepped into the water and 
found a comfortable place to immerse himself in. He still felt tense, though, 
despite the warm water. He turned to his left to look at Ryoko, who was 
rummaging through the bag again. A moment later, she produced a small bottle of 
sake and a pair of drinking saucers. With those items in hand, she waded into 
the pool and found herself a spot to sit at. She nestled up against a smooth 
stone facing Tenchi's spot not but a few feet away from him. "You look like 
you're all wound up," she said as she offered him one of the saucers.

"Yeah, I suppose I am," he replied flatly.

"Well, how about a drink? It should help you relax. You don't have to if you 
don't want to, but I did bring this for us to share."

"Okay, I'll have some," he said, taking the saucer from Ryoko's hand. She poured 
some of the sake into it, and Tenchi took a sip. "Mmm, good. Thanks."

"You like it, huh?" she asked as Tenchi downed the rest of his drink. The young 
man simply gave a rather enthusiastic nod. "You want some more?"

"Yes, please." Tenchi extended the saucer to Ryoko, who poured some more sake 
into it. She then poured herself some drink and took a long swig of it.

"So, what made you decide to have a drink with me?" Ryoko asked.

"I don't know really. I rarely drink at all. Usually only if I'm feeling really 
depressed or stressed out. And I always drink alone."

"I know. I saw you go in the kitchen one night about a month ago and make 
yourself a drink. You were looking down in the dumps. I wanted to comfort you, 
but I didn't want to disturb you, so I phased out enough to where I couldn't be 
sensed physically. I stayed next to you like that for a while, my hand on your 
shoulder. And, and..." she paused her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Tenchi 
just stared at her, amazed. "And then you fell asleep at that small table in 
there, so I teleported you to your room and put you in bed before I went back to 
my own bed."

"You did that?" Tenchi remembered that that day was the anniversary of his 
mother's death, an event that always made him depressed.

Ryoko nodded her head. "Yes, I did."

"I don't know what to say, but thank you," he said, smiling awkwardly. Ryoko 
smiled back with one of her typical cute smiles. "Well, uh, why don't you join 
me from now on? I would enjoy having you for company."

"Alright," she agreed, taking another sip of her beverage. "I just might do 
that."

After those words, the two of them subsided to silence. They sat there like that 
for the next few minutes, enjoying the drink that they were sharing. Seeing that 
Tenchi had finally become more relaxed (his cheeks were slightly flushed from 
the effects of the alcohol), Ryoko decided to initiate conversation again.

"Tenchi." "Ryoko" They both spoke at the same time.

"You go first," Tenchi insisted.

"Tenchi, before you say what you brought me in here to talk about, there's some 
things that I wanted to get off of my chest first."

"Like what?" Tenchi asked curiously.

"Well, first I want to thank you for taking care of me last night."

"Your welcome. It was no problem."

"It's not that. You see, when I... when you..." she fumbled over her words, and 
a sullen expression crept itself over her previously cheerful visage. "Last 
night after I was released by Washuu, you were the only person I could trust to 
help me and stay with me. But I was also scared to go to you."

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid that you would reject me."

"What? That's ridiculous. I would never do such a thing. Especially in a 
situation like last night."

Ryoko's expression brightened. "Really? You mean it?"

"Of course I do. I hate seeing you hurt, emotionally or physically."

Ryoko's face saddened again, though she was still smiling, showing a mix of 
emotions. "Tenchi, you confuse me sometimes. One minute you're the sweetest, 
kindest person I know, but the next you'll be so irritable and unsociable 
towards me. I-I just need to know how you feel about me, honestly and 
truthfully."

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," he said, causing Ryoko's 
expression to change into one of complete and total surprise. "You see, over all 
these months we've lived together, and especially these last couple of weeks, my 
feeling for you have changed a lot." He paused and took a deep breath while 
Ryoko looked on with keen interest. "When I first met you, I was afraid of you 
because of the legend that grandpa used to talk about. He said that you were 
supposed to be a vicious demon, and I thought so myself that night on top of the 
school. But after that night, I was that you weren't the horrible monster that 
the legend made you out to be. I wasn't quite sure what to think of you then. 
But as the days passed and I got to know you better, I started considering you 
my friend. Just a few weeks later, I found myself doing something I never though 
I would do. I found myself fighting and almost dying to save a person I cared 
for, and when I was brought back, I saw!
 her fighting to avenge me.

Ryoko knew that he was talking about the time they fought Kagato. "Why are you 
saying all this? What are you trying to get at?" she asked, though she had a 
good idea what the answer was.

"I'm not finished yet. Just hear me out," he said in a calm voice. "After that, 
things were pretty much the same, though I felt a lot closer to you than before. 
Ever since then, you've been quite possibly the best friend I've ever had, even 
despite the bad moments. And then there was two weeks ago during that incident 
with Dr. Clay and last night as well. Over these last couple of weeks, I've seen 
a side of you that I've never seen before. I've never seen you act so timid 
before. You seem to have lost most of the brashness you had, and you've been a 
lot more open, polite, and, well, everything. But this morning, Washuu told me 
something. She, said," he paused again, licking his lips. "She said that you 
love me. And after last night and what she said today, I finally realised that I 
love you as well."

Ryoko's jaw dropped in utter amazement. "Wha-? Y-you love me?" she stammered.

"Yes," he said softly, his face downcast. "I feel so stupid for not seeing this 
before. I'm so sorry R-," he was cut off when Ryoko grabbed his right arm with 
her own. She advanced toward Tenchi while pulling him forward, quickly closing 
the distance between them. She switched her hand from his wrist to his left 
shoulder and then slowly moved her other hand to his face, caressing his cheek.

"You really do?" she asked again. Tenchi nodded. A small smile played across 
Ryoko's face as her eyes began to tear up. "Oh, Tenchi. You don't know how long 
I've been waiting to hear that from you or how happy I am because I finally have 
heard it. This is and always will be, now and forever, the happiest day of my 
life. Thank you, my love." As she said those words, Tenchi could see the 
sincerity in her eyes. He knew then that Ryoko really and truly loved him. He 
tried to think of something to say, but he was at a loss for words. He instead 
remained fixated on Ryoko's face, lost in her golden, cat-like eyes. Ryoko 
leaned forward, her face stopping only a couple of inches from his. She traced 
her index finger over his lips, eliciting a small gasp from them. Tenchi placed 
a hand on the back of Ryoko's neck and leaned forward himself. Unable to focus 
on her anymore, her closed his eyes. Though she could still see him perfectly, 
Ryoko closed her eyes as well and leaned forward ev!
en more, pressing her lips softly against Tenchi's. They could both feel their 
faces flush from the gentle touch. Tenchi brought his arms around Ryoko, 
encircling her body as he drew the cyan-haired beauty up against him in an 
amorous embrace. Ryoko copied the motion, wrapping her arms around the back of 
his neck. She thrust her fingers into his short, black hair as she began 
increasing the intensity of the kiss, months of both pent up and unfulfilled 
emotions making themselves known in this one perfect, blissful moment. She began 
sliding her tongue across Tenchi's lips, seeking entrance into his mouth. He 
accepted her, opening his mouth to let her in. Ryoko gladly accepted his 
invitation and slid her tongue across his teeth, the roof of his mouth, and his 
own tongue, making a rough map of the area. A chill went down his spine from the 
sensation. Feeling his desire to return Ryoko's affections mount, he slowly 
snaked his own tongue into Ryoko's mouth, twining his with hers. !
 She moaned into his mouth as they continued to kiss with increasing fervour. As 
she continued stroking his hair, Ryoko used her free hand to rub Tenchi's 
shoulder. Quickly losing his capacity for coherent though, Tenchi simply 
mimicked Ryoko's actions. He loved the way her hair felt-its wondrous texture 
something he only first noticed last night. The two of them thoroughly enjoyed 
these sensations that were new to the both of them. However, the physicality of 
their intimacy was nothing compared to the emotions they were feeling.

For Tenchi, this was something he never thought he would be doing, but deep in 
his heart he had always wanted to. He just wasn't aware of it until today. His 
true feelings for Ryoko remained buried in his subconscious for the most part, 
showing themselves only in times of extreme emotional stress-the times he 
mentioned earlier. He really had felt himself growing closer to Ryoko each time, 
but he hadn't fallen in love with her. At least not until last night. Now, after 
last night's events up to this moment, Tenchi's feelings were right up in his 
face. There was no denying what he felt for the woman in his arms. He knew he 
wasn't good at expressing himself verbally, so this was his way of returning 
Ryoko's love. This was also his way of alleviating the guilt he felt. He 
couldn't help thinking about every time he snapped at, yelled at, or shoved off 
Ryoko, and how much he probably hurt her. He remembered what Washuu had told him 
about Ryoko' social skills and immediately came t!
o the conclusion that she was trying to be friendly, not irritating. He had some 
apologies to make now as well as questions to ask. For now, though, he let Ryoko 
do this as long as she wanted. She deserved whatever her heart desired.

As for Ryoko, she was in absolute heaven. Here she was, with her Tenchi. She was 
holding him and he was holding her back. She was kissing him and he was kissing 
her back! He wasn't struggling, shoving her off, or anything like his typical 
behaviour. Vastly more important, though, was that he said that he loved her. 
Ryoko was ecstatic. This was the happiest she had ever been in her entire life. 
In the past 2000 or so years she had been alive thus far, happiness was 
something she only got to truly experience for the last 18 years, and it was 
also something she wholeheartedly appreciated. She was grateful to be able to 
watch Tenchi grow up from a baby into a young man. She was thankful that he 
released her from the cave so that she could be with him. And now he had finally 
confessed that he loved her. Ryoko thanked whatever god or gods there were for 
this moment, and she wished that it would last forever. As she felt her heart 
melt in Tenchi's embrace, a single thought remained!
 in her mind.

*I love you Tenchi*

*I know Ryoko. I love you too*

Ryoko's eyes fluttered open as she slowly, reluctantly broke the kiss. Tenchi 
opened his eyes as well as he felt her back ever so slightly away from him, 
curious as to why she was doing so. He was an extremely puzzled expression on 
her beautiful, tear-streaked face. Tear-streaked? She had been crying, and 
Tenchi's brain now registered the saline taste on his mouth. He brought his hand 
to caress the back the side of her face, brushing the tears away with his thumb.  
Ryoko's jaw opened to speak, her lips trembling. "Tenchi? Y-you? Me? A-link? In 
the head, uh, mind, I mean. But how?"

"Ryoko, when I was in Washuu's lab earlier, she told me that you and I had 
developed a telepathic connection like you have with her. She wasn't even sure 
how at first. She said that there would have to be a strong emotional link 
between us to have a link. That's all she really said about it."

Ryoko's expression once again went to one of extreme enthusiasm. "Tenchi, this 
is great. This is wonderful! Don't you know what this means?"

"Uh, that we can talk to each other with our minds?"

Ryoko sweatdropped. "Well, yeah, but don't you think that this must mean that 
we're a lot closer to each other than we realise? I mean... it's... I, I... oh, 
Tenchi!" She leaned forward again, kissing Tenchi on his lips, the bridge of his 
nose, his cheek, and the crook of his neck. As she rested her head on his 
shoulder, Tenchi slowly ran his hand through her hair.

"I'm not sure what it means exactly, Ryoko, but it's definitely a good thing. 
It's something we have just to ourselves to share together. It'll be part of our 
relationship."

"A relationship," she said dreamily. "You really want to have one with me?"

"Of course. It would be stupid of me not to, and stupid is something I've been 
too much of for too long. When I was outside earlier, I was trying to take in 
all of what Washuu said and think of what I wanted to say to you. At first I 
wanted to know why you never told me straight out that you love me, but I got to 
thinking about what she told me. All those times I thought you were being ecchi, 
you were just trying to be affectionate, to show me that you love me. I should 
have seen it myself, if not those times, then that time when Kagato attacked 
us." He paused for a short moment, hugging Ryoko tight against himself. As the 
guilt built up inside him, a tear of his own ran down his face. "Ryoko, I'm 
sorry. I'm sorry for being so stupid. I'm sorry for being ignorant of your 
feeling. I'm sorry for every time I hurt you. I never apologised for what I said 
when you tore my mother's kimono or any other time. Is there something I can do 
to make it up to you?"

"Tenchi, you already have. Just saying that you love me was the best thing you 
ever could do for me." Ryoko lifted her head off of Tenchi's shoulder to look in 
his face. "Besides," she continued, grinning ", you may be almost as dense as 
Mihoshi sometimes, but you're definitely not a jerk or an idiot. I know you 
would never deliberately do anything to hurt me. Anyway, how could you possibly 
not love a beautiful woman like me?"

"You have a point, my little kitten," he replied.

Ryoko brought a hand up to ruffle Tenchi's hair. "Kitten?"

"Yeah. It's your eyes. They're like a cat's. I thought it would be cuter than 
'Ryo-chan'."

"I'm not really one for pet names. Just call me Ryoko. I don't want any special 
names. I just want you," she said sweetly, tracing her index finger in small 
circles on Tenchi's chest. "Now, how 'bout we get out of here and wash so I can 
fix up your arm?"

Tenchi leaned forward and kissed Ryoko softly on the lips one last time. "O-," 
he started to speak, but he suddenly found himself on the washing platform in a 
standing position. "-kay."

Ryoko disengaged herself from Tenchi. "Sit here," she instructed, indicating on 
of the tiny stools that were lying around. As he did so, Ryoko picked up a 
washcloth and a bar of soap off the floor. She knelt down behind him and 
lathered up the cloth. "Hold still. This might hurt," she warned. She brought 
the cloth to Tenchi's arm and began washing the wound. He gasped sharply in pain 
at the contact, but he maintained his composure. As she moved from his arm and 
began washing his back, Tenchi relaxed as he felt himself melt under Ryoko's 
ministrations. When she finished his back, she slid her arm around to Tenchi's 
front side. "Here," she said, handing him the cloth. "Wash the rest of yourself 
while I get your hair." She then reached up and pulled out the small red band 
that kept his hair tied back. "Tenchi. Why don't you let your hair down more 
often?" she inquired, picking up the shampoo and squirting a small amount on the 
top of his head.

"I don't know," he replied, scrubbing his chest, stomach, and extremities as 
Ryoko washed his hair. "I've always had it tied back since I was little, to keep 
it out of the way."

"Well, I think you look cuter with it down. It would be something different," 
she commented flirtatiously. Taking note that Tenchi was sufficiently cleaned, 
Ryoko hoisted up a large bucket of water and doused him with it, rinsing the 
suds off of his body. "Now it's your turn," Ryoko stated as she produced her own 
blue hair band out of thin air and began tying her cyan mane back. "I wash your 
back, you wash mine."

"Ah, yes. Very well, then." Tenchi stood up and he and Ryoko switched spots. 
Before he started washing her, he noted an obstruction. "Ryoko. I can't wash 
your back."

"And why not?" she teased, her smirk unseen by Tenchi.

"Well, your towel is in the way. You have to remove it," he said, blushing.

"Mmm. Really? So you want me to take it all off, do you?" she purred.

"Yea- Heeey!" He nudged her shoulder playfully.

Ryoko chuckled at her love. "So, my Ten-chan isn't such a prude after all," she 
commented as she loosened her towel and slid it down to waist level.

"I am NOT a prude. I've just always been really shy about women," he stated, 
bringing a nervous hand up to wash Ryoko's back.

"Well then. I guess we'll just have to work on that." Just as she finished her 
statement, she felt Tenchi's lips press lightly against the nape of her neck, 
making a chill run down her spine.

"Is that a step in the right direction?" he asked, feeling rather bashful.

"I think so."

As they continued washing, the newly formed couple chatted about various things, 
from the mundane to the important. Tenchi told Ryoko about his earlier 
conversation with Aeka, and Ryoko agreed as well to be at least civil around her 
rival. They also discussed their mental link and how they should develop it. 
When they finished, Ryoko took the first-aid kit she kept in the onsen and took 
a gauze bandage from it to wrap around Tenchi's injury. They then dressed (with 
Ryoko in her blue-and-yellow-striped dress and Tenchi in a black T-shirt and 
denim shorts) and went back in the house. The rest of the day went by just like 
any other, though it was a bit quieter without the usual arguments between the 
pirate and the princess. During dinner, Sasami noted that Tenchi and Ryoko were 
sitting unusually close together and were continuously exchanging glances, 
something that made the small princess's heart swell. She even noted Tenchi's 
new hairdo, stating that she liked it. When it cam!
e time for the Masaki household to retire for the evening, everyone went their 
respective rooms, and went to bed. Tenchi, however, found himself unable to 
sleep. After nearly a half-hour of tossing and turning, Tenchi headed out of his 
room and downstairs. Upon reashing the living room, he began looking up at the 
rafters. When he saw the silhouetted form of Ryoko, he called out for her in a 
light voice.

"Hey Ryoko. Are you asleep yet?"

"No, not yet. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was thinking about something and it was keeping me up."

"Hmm?"

"Those rafters-it just doesn't seem to me like a suitable room for you. I know 
you said that you liked it when you first came to live here and that you wanted 
to sleep there, but it's not even really a room."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I want you to sleep in my room from now. It's not fair that you don't have a 
room to sleep in at night." When he finshed his statement, he saw her quickly 
fad out and then reappear directly in front of him.

"Really? You mean it?" she asked. Her shadowed features, now clearer from her 
proximity, showed an enthusiastic expression. Even the tail-like attachment of 
her dress was looping around in a wildly excited manner.

"Sure I do. Besides, I, uh, enjoyed you company last night," he said, blushing 
for the umpteenth time today. Ryoko's perfect vision picked up on this. She 
really liked this mix of bravery and shyness he had been showing lately. She 
could definitely get used to this new aspect of his personality.

"Yes. I noticed, and I enjoyed it too," she remarked.

"Well, let's go then." He took Ryoko's hand in his own to lead her to his room. 
He couldn't take one step, though, when she pulled him close and engaged him in 
a deep, passionate kiss. Though he was caught off-guard by this, he regained his 
composure and returned the kiss. After a few seconds, they broke their amorous 
exchange. Tenchi noticed that they were now standing at the side of his bed. 
Ryoko stretched her arms and yawned, her prominent canines noticed easily by 
Tenchi. *I told her she reminded me of a kitten*

"I'm tired. Let's go to bed." Tenchi nodded in agreement and then pulled the 
covers back. He lay down on his side with his back against the wall. Ryoko slid 
into the bed right afterwards, her back up against Tenchi. As sleep stole over 
her, she wrapped her dress-tail around her man's waist. "Good night, Ten-chan," 
she mumbled.

Tenchi placed his left arm around Ryoko's midsection. "Good night, Ryoko." 
Finally able to relax, Tenchi quickly fell asleep. The Juraian prince and the 
ex-pirate-now a couple. They were only just starting their relationship, but 
they were content. Ryoko now had the one thing she truly wanted, needed, the 
most, and Tenchi would make it his duty to continue fulfilling that need of the 
woman he loved. Indeed, they would prove to develop an unbreakable bond and 
remain at each other's side for a long, long time to come.



TO BE CONTINUED


Next Chapter of "Bonds" - After nearly a month, the new couple's relationship 
progressing well, and Ryoko is expecting! However, an emotionally distraught 
Aeka finally snaps, but what will the consequences of her actions be? Meanwhile, 
Washuu tries to form a closer relationship with her daughter and even helps with 
wedding arrangements! We even go into the distant future to see what will have 
happened over the years. All this and more next time in "Bonds," chapter 3: 
"Time after Time."


Authors Notes: First off, I would like to thank Ryoko and Ryoko's Avatar for 
pre-reading this fic. I wasn't sure how this new chapter would turn out (I 
thought it might have ended up too WAFFY), so I asked for some assistance with 
people who reviewed the first chapter. This chapter's title was inspired by a 
beautiful song by Peter Gabriel that goes by the same title. I thought that it 
reflected Ryoko's emotions toward Tenchi very well. Lyrics to the song can be 
found here: http://www.thewolflair.com/misc/lyrics/gabriel/in_your_eyes.html

Second, I wanted to go back and redo some scenes before I started transferring 
the fic from paper onto a word document. I wanted the layout of the house to 
conform to the way it looked in the OAV, and I also took the liberty of adding 
some extra additions that were not seen, like a laundry room. I couldn't quite 
make out where the front door was, so I just stuck it in the living room. As for 
the next chapter, don't expect it out for a rather long time. I am planning on 
doing an Evangelion fic or two soon, but I am by no means abandoning "Bonds." 
There will still be at least the next chapter, and I may have a nice little side 
story involving the new couple before chapter 3 comes out <nudge, nudge, wink, 
wink, say no more> Oh, yeah, now it's time for the Omake. But before that, check 
out this image I found: http://lirillith.homestead.com/files/HerKiss6.jpg

Omake, or "One last thing": As Ryoko broke the kiss with Tenchi, she surprised 
him by quickly snatching the towels off both him and herself. "W-what are you 
doing?" a nervous Tenchi asked.

	Ryoko grinned at him ferally. "Oh, I just remembered that we were in the 
onsen, in each other's arms, and the only thing between us was a pair of towels. 
Now that those obstructions are out of the way, let's you and me progress a 
liiitle further than just kissing, ne Ten-chan?"

	Tenchi gulped in fear, but nodded his head in agreement. He knew there was 
nothing he could do against this fiercely strong, yet gorgeous and very naked 
woman.  "Yes, ma'am."

	And so, what was once a WAFFY romance story de-evolves into a pointless 
lemon with no chance of a follow up. THE END.