Disclaimer: I do NOT own ANY of these characters or ANY other character in ANY of the Tenchi Series OR Movies. If I did own them, then the whole series would be shot to hell and would have never ever been popular. The characters in this story are property of AIC and Pioneer. Please do not pick me out of the pile to be sued. I can not afford to be sued. This is my FIRST time writing a fanfic EVER and I'm not usually drawn to these kinds of things, but I haven't written in a LOOONG time and I like the Tenchi series so this sparked my interest. Anyway, sit back and enjoy the story. Oh yeah, any resemblance of this story to any one else's story is purely coincidental! And REMEMBER…PLEASE DO NOT SUE ME! Information: As I mentioned earlier, this is my first time writing a fanfic of any kind (I plan for this fanfic to be particularly long). I would really appreciate it if you would e-mail me your thoughts on my particular story. You can E-mail me at hwnboy7@hotmail.com. Keep in mind the characters' voices, attitudes, feelings, actions, and the way they would say every word in here. If you do this, the story will come to life. Thank you very much and enjoy. The Choice is yours…Tenchi Part Four Breakfast was quiet. Ryoko and Aeka hadn't fought and Mihoshi didn't spill or break anything. As usual, Tenchi took his seat between Mihoshi and Sasami. Sasami couldn't help noticing Washu, who kept looking at Ryoko and Tenchi. Instead of eating, Ryoko just looked down at her plate. She lifted her head to look at Tenchi. Tenchi noticed her and acknowledged her with a smile before continuing to eat. Ryoko quickly looked down at her plate again. She had blushed when Tenchi smiled at her and she didn't want him to see it. "Is it really true?" Ryoko thought. "Does he really love…me? She glanced at Tenchi one more time. "Please…" "I've got some good news everybody," said Kiyone, breaking the silence. "Mihoshi and I found a part time job as waitresses at a restaurant nearby. The pay is pretty good so we should be out of your hair in no time, Tenchi." "That's great Kiyone," Tenchi said. "But can't you just stay a little longer?" "That's sweet of you to say that, Tenchi," Mihoshi said smiling. "Don't worry! Kiyone and I will come visit everyday!" "You're not leaving today are you?" asked Sasami. "No," Kiyone said, "we'll head back to our apartment tomorrow." "Good," Sasami said smiling. "I was planning on making something special tonight!" "Really?" asked Aeka. "What's it going to be?" Washu asked. "I can't say, you'll just have to wait until dinner," said Sasami as she started to gather the dishes from the table. "Okay, time to clean up." As everyone got up to clear the table, Kiyone noticed Ryoko take a quick glance at Tenchi. "Hmm?" Kiyone said as she examined Ryoko. "Her eyes are…different." "Come on Kiyone," Mihoshi said as she tugged on Kiyone's shirt, "let's clean up fast so we can start our patrol." As they both headed for the kitchen, Kiyone glanced back at Ryoko. "Ryoko?" asked Tenchi. "Huh? W-what is it, Tenchi?" Ryoko answered nervously. "You're…helping us clean up?" Tenchi asked, pointing at the dishes in her hands. "Oh," Ryoko said as she scratched her head, "I…uh…just figured you would need an extra hand since Kiyone and Mihoshi are gonna be gone for a bit." "Wow, that's very thoughtful Ryoko!" complimented Tenchi. "I never would have expected this out of you! I'm impressed!" "Oh, it's no big deal, Tenchi." Ryoko said smiling and blushing from his compliment. "Maybe you can help me out in the field later, okay," Tenchi said as he disappeared into the kitchen. "Oh, okay…" Ryoko said as she went after him. In the kitchen, everyone was doing their part to help clean. Sasami was washing dishes, Kiyone was drying them, Mihoshi was separating them, and Aeka and Washu were putting them away. As soon as Ryoko entered the kitchen, everyone stopped and stared at her, then at the dishes in her hands, and then back at her. "W…what is everybody looking at?" Ryoko asked. "Ryoko…" started Aeka, "you're…cleaning?" "Yeah, so?" answered Ryoko as she put her dishes in the sink. "Sasami, you're always cleaning up after us. Here, let me do the dishes for you." Everybody's mouth was agape and their eyes were twitching as soon as Ryoko had finished her sentence. "I don't…" started Aeka. "…Believe it!" continued Sasami. "It's impossible!" said Washu as she went over end examined Ryoko by poking her in the side. "There's no way this can be happening!" yelled Kiyone. "That can't be Ryoko!" Mihoshi screamed. "What did you do to our Ryoko you imposter?!" By now, a rather large vein had appeared on Ryoko's head. Ryoko took a deep breath and turned around. "Look," she said. "I just feel that Sasami needed a break. I mean, besides Tenchi, she does most of the cleaning." "Thank you, Ryoko!" said Sasami gratefully. "But you don't have to worry about me! I enjoy cooking and cleaning! You just go ahead and leave everything to me." "Umm…okay." Ryoko said as she made room for Sasami. "I guess I better meet Tenchi in the field now," she thought. As Ryoko disappeared, the other girls let out a sigh in unison. "That was weird," Mihoshi said. "Yes," said Aeka, "I wonder what all of that was about." "Anyway, we better finish," Kiyone said. "Mihoshi and I are gonna leave for patrol and we might be a little while." "You four can finish up," Washu said as she walked out of the kitchen. "I have to do something real quick." The spring breeze blew constantly out in the carrot fields, making the day nice and cool. On top of that, there wasn't a cloud in sight. This allowed the sunlight to make everything outside radiate, even Ryoko. Tenchi had noticed her as he first stepped onto the field. Ryoko was standing up with her hands behind her back and her head down. The sunlight had made her seem even more beautiful than before. Tenchi had gasped as soon as he saw Ryoko, which caught her attention. As she turned around, Ryoko noticed Tenchi staring at her. "Oh, Tenchi," Ryoko said as she nervously kicked around the dirt, "it's you…umm…is there something wrong, Tenchi?" "Hmm? W-what?" Tenchi nervously said, breaking out of his stare. "Oh, nothing. Ryoko, you're…" "I'm…what, Tenchi?" Ryoko said, blushing. "You're…here," Tenchi managed to say. "You IDIOT! " he thought, "You meant to say beautiful! Damn it. Why can't I say it?" Ryoko stared at him in confusion for a moment then smiled. "Of course. You told me I could help you out in the field later." Tenchi, still scolding himself mentally, smiled back. "I did say that, didn't I? Well, shall we begin?" "You'll have to help me Tenchi," Ryoko said. "As you know I'm not used to doing these kinds of things." "It's easy," Tenchi said as he knelt down and motioned for Ryoko to come toward him. "Come here. I'll show you." "Umm…" Ryoko said as she knelt down next to him. "Okay, first you grab the crown of the carrot," Tenchi said as he grabbed hold of the crown. "Then you just wiggle it so the roots break and pull it out. Simple as that. Now you try." "That's it?" Ryoko asked. "This is gonna be easy." As soon as Ryoko pulled, the crown broke off. This frustrated her and a vein became visible on her forehead. "That's okay, Ryoko," Tenchi said. "Like I said, you have to pull gently." He moved toward another carrot and grabbed Ryoko's hand, which made her blush. He placed her hand, along with his own, around the crown and gently pulled the carrot out. "See? Pretty easy…" Tenchi said as he realized he was holding Ryoko's hand. He turned completely red and was about to jerk his hand away when Ryoko grabbed it with her other hand. "Tenchi…" Ryoko said softly. Her golden eyes were now focused on Tenchi. "Please…don't let go." The two looked deeply into each other's eyes. Tenchi suddenly noticed that her beautiful golden eyes had started to well up with tears. "Ryoko…why are you crying?" Tenchi asked breaking the silence. Ryoko slowly looked down at the ground to hide her face. "Tenchi, I…" Ryoko started to say before being cut off by Tenchi's touch. "Ryoko…please don't cry," Tenchi said softly as he wiped Ryoko's tears with his finger. As she lifted her head up to look at him, Tenchi noticed something. "You're eyes…Ryoko your eyes are different…somehow." "Tenchi?" Ryoko asked. "Yes…Ryoko?" replied Tenchi as he wiped more of Ryoko's tears off of her face. Ryoko looked at her hands, which were now being held by Tenchi. She sniffed, smiled, and looked back up at Tenchi. "Do you love…?" Ryoko said as Tenchi let go of her hands. "Ryoko…I can't," Tenchi said as he stood up. Ryoko's tears were now in a constant stream. She looked at her now empty hands and silently hugged herself as if she were cold. "But…why?" Ryoko said softly as she stood up and looked at Tenchi. "Why can't you…can't you…" "Ryoko, you know what will happen." Tenchi said as he stared into Ryoko's eyes. She was now sobbing softly and all Tenchi could think about was comforting her and holding her. He hated to see her cry like this and it pierced his heart. Tenchi wanted to tell her because it pained him to see her cry, but he couldn't…not now, not ever. "Why, Tenchi?" Ryoko said between sobs, her voice steadily rising. "Why can't you say it?!" Ryoko screamed as she rose in the air. After taking another glance at Tenchi, she quickly flew towards the lake. As Ryoko flew away, Tenchi reached out as if to stop her. "Ryoko wait! I…" Tenchi said before he realized it was too late. He felt a tear drop on his face as he watched her leave. He had hurt her and he knew it and he hated himself for it. "It's all my fault," Tenchi thought. "I…made her cry." Damn it, Tenchi! Why? Why can't you say that you…that you love her?!" "You know," said a voice behind Tenchi. "It would have been easier if you told her that you loved her." As Tenchi spun around, he was shocked to see who it was. "A-Aeka!" said Tenchi in surprise. "W-what are you doing here? How long have you been there? Did you see…" "Yes," interrupted Aeka, "I saw it all." "Aeka, I'm sorry," Tenchi apologized. "For what, Tenchi?" replied Aeka as a tear formed in the corner of her left eye. "You love her, don't you? I saw it in both of your eyes. That's when I knew…that you loved her. If you love Ryoko that much, Tenchi, you shouldn't be sorry. Your feelings towards her are the same feelings I have towards you. I only wish that it would have been me instead of Ryoko, but…you can't change love." "Aeka," Tenchi said, "thank you…for understanding." "You shouldn't worry about the rest of us either, Tenchi," said Aeka as she grabbed Tenchi's hand. "We'll still love you no matter what and we'll always be with you. Now go after her." "Thank you again, Aeka," said Tenchi. As Aeka watched Tenchi run off, she let loose her tears. In a few minutes she dried her eyes and returned home.