DISCLAIMER: THE CHARACTERS USED HEREIN ARE THE CREATION OF MASAKI KAJISHIMA AND ARE THE LEGAL PROPERTY OF PIONEER/AIC. THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRIBUTED FREELY AS LONG AS THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ARE MET: 1) THE STORY IS NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER AND NO PROFIT, MONITARY OR OTHERWISE, IS TURNED BY ITS DISTRIBUTION (UNLESS I GET SOME, OF COURSE). "Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable." --Theodore N. Vail ____ / \ . | | | | | __ __| __ __ __ | | _ | | | \ / | /__\ | \ /__\ | | / \ \____/ | | | \__/\ \__ | \__ | | \_/\ |\ /| / | \ / | _ / | \ / | | | | | / \ / | \/ | \_/\ \_| \_/ . | \_/ "Demon!" "Shut up, princess! Tenchi's mine and you know it!" Ryoko shot back. The two of them were arguing, as always, about the object of their affections: the nineteen-year-old priests apprentice and first prince of Jurai, Tenchi Masaki. Although they both lived with him and they both were almost constantly fighting over him, usually causing more damage to the house than each other, he had never once shown any signs of affection-at least not the kind of affection they wanted him to show-towards them. The other three girls that lived in the same household had also shown their affection for him, but Ayeka and Ryoko both tended not to consider them a "threat." First of all, there was Sasami, the perpetually _kawaii_ Second Crowned Princess of Jurai and the self- appointed chef in home. She was the only one Tenchi had show affection toward, but that was only because she was just 8 years old and therefore Tenchi thought of her more as a sister than a love interest. Then there was Mihoshi, the impossibly air headed detective first class of the GP and the granddaughter of the GP grand marshal. She had fallen in love with him because he had saved her life from a freak accident, so she had put two and two together and come up with five; at least that's what Ayeka and Ryoko thought, no, hoped, was true. Then there was Washu Hakubi, Ryoko's 20,000-plus year old mother/creator--through genetic engineering--in the body of a twelve year old and the undisputed, for-a- fact, number one scientific genius in the universe--it has been rumored that she was once a goddess who forsook her powers for one reason or another. They did not think her a threat because she was the only one in the household that was actually feared, to some greater or lesser extent, by every one else in the household, mostly for the scientific experiments she liked to conduct on the members of the household. Over the past several years that they had lived with him, they had become a sort of "extended family." "Hmph!" Ayeka then struck a pose saturated with superiority, "Really now, devil woman? You're a demon, how could anyone possibly love you." That comment had made Ryoko want to cry, why did people still see her as a demon? It had been proven beyond a doubt that it wasn't her fault she had attacked and plundered planet Jurai over seven hundred years ago killing thousands and doing hundreds of trillions worth in damage. She had been pardoned and people still blamed her. Why? Why was the universe so cruel? She had to ask herself. But, no, she couldn't cry, not in front of anyone, it would be seen as a sign of weakness and one couldn't show their enemies their weaknesses. So, instead of crying, she gave her typical response in its typically angry tone: "What exactly did you mean by that?" "Exactly what I said!" Ayeka yelled at Ryoko while staring her in the eyes in a very un-princess like manner. "Uptight _uwakionna,_" Ryoko growled at her rival and stared back. She was now levitating a meter from the grown, legs crossed Indian-style, it would have been a very intimidating sight to someone who had not seen it before. "Rotted old hag," Ayeka growled back and stared daggers into her sworn enemy, her force field already forming around her, electricity crackling from its surface. Ryoko held her hand out, palm facing upward and her fingers spread. Almost immediately a crimson glowing ball of yellow energy formed above her hand. "You wanna say that again chipmunk?" she snarled threateningly, she was only 5,000 years old after all. "Shameless whore." That was the last straw. With a loud battle cry, Ryoko hurled the ball of energy at her opponent. It ricocheted off of the princess's force field and knocked a beach ball sized hole out of the wall with a loud explosion. "G' morning girls," yawned Tenchi as he came down the stairs and walked toward the dining room, ignoring the fighting as though it were entirely routine-which, sadly, it was. The girls were too busy hurling explosives at each other to even acknowledge the greeting from the object of their affections. "_Kami-sama!_" he cursed under his breath. _At least Ryoko has enough sense not to use her sword,_ he thought demurely, "Good morning Sasami, what's for breakfast this..." his voice trailed off as he continued into the dining room. The fighting continued, as it usually did, until they were both completely exhausted. In the end they had managed to blow up the TV--they had stopped counting the number of times they had done that after about the fiftieth time-- burn down the couch, punch several holes large enough to crawl through into the walls, ceiling, and floor; knock out several support beams and managed to hurt nary a hair on the other's head, all in all, the typical result when the two fought. Fortunately, Washu was there to fix everything, for money was not an issue for the greatest scientific genius in the universe. "Ryoko?" The princess said between pants. "Yes...princess?" she asked weakly. "How about we make a little bet?" Ryoko gasped in mock shock, "A princess, gambling. No! I never would have thought," she left the sentence hanging. Ayeka laughed lamely, if she weren't so exhausted already she would have tried to kill Ryoko for her brash comment right now, but. "The 10,000th annual Startica ball is in one month," she said. "Yeah, so?" "Well, Ryoko," said the Juraian princess as though what she was trying to say was plainly obvious, "although Tenchi is the successor to the Jurai emperor's throne, he has never been to Jurai. The Juraian people do not even know what he looks like, so Father will probably force him to attend..." "Yeah, so what are you getting at?" interrupted the former space pirate. "Well, if you would just listen, I was just getting to that." She spoke loudly and cleared her throat, then continued in a more resigned tone; "Anyway, we will both go to the ball with him. He already loves us as though we were family, and the romantic atmosphere that will definitely be provided at the ball, will most certainly cause him to fall more deeply in love with one of us. We will not fight and we will not argue, it will be a pleasant evening. And, when all is said and done, we shall see where his feelings lye once and for all." She growled the last part. "And no seducing him!" she quickly added with a yell. Ryoko thought about it for several minutes. "You're on," she said taking the bet. The unspoken prize of the bet being, of course, the subject of the bet, Tenchi. "Good," said Ayeka very blankly and walked slowly up the stairs toward her and her sister's room. Ryoko could hear Ayeka's high-pitched, maniacal, victory laughter coming down the stairs as she closed the door to her room. "What's she so happy about?" she asked herself in puzzlement as she knocked--she had learned, the hard way, not to do otherwise--on the door to Washu's laboratory. If she had her choice she'd rather not speak to her mother; she despised her; but she had to get the living room repaired. Late that night, Ryoko was lying on the support beam in the living room that she had made into her bed; she was fantasizing over what would happen at the ball. Tenchi would be there already at the ball, he will have danced the politically prerequisite dances with the single, noble women and the empresses, his great-grandmother and step-great-grandmother; and at that time Ayeka would be having her dance with him. Then, Ryoko would enter the ballroom, all eyes, including Tenchi's would be drawn to her natural beauty--she was very vain, but not mistakenly so--but she would ignore all eyes but those of her "target," because the moment he saw her, he would immediately walk away from Ayeka. He would walk directly to her, leaving a very downcast Ayeka in his wake. When he reached her he would gracefully bow and ask her if she would like to dance. She would accept and they would dance for several hours, just him with her in his gentle, and now loving, embrace. During the last dance of the night, Tenchi would tell her he loved her and had always loved and then they would kiss... Her flight of the imagination stopped abruptly when a memory of the last time she had been to Jurai hit her like a ton of bricks... She was standing over a man and a woman; they were cowering in the corner of the room, shielding their approximately four-year-old daughter from her with their bodies, her red energy sword barely a centimeter from the man's throat. "Please!" the man begged, "take me; just let my family live!" At that point she managed to free her body from Kagato's control. "No, please, don't make do this," she begged of Kagato, although he was not actually there, she knew he could here what she said. Then she heard him respond telepathically to her please, "Ryoko," he said menacingly, "you shouldn't have emotions; emotions make you week." "Noooo!" she screamed as she felt his mind steeling back the control he had over her body. She begged him with her mind not to make her watch, but he wasn't listening She felt her body move, she had no control whatsoever over what she was doing. She watched through her eyes as she picked up and threw the parents across the room. Tears welling in her eyes, she picked up the crying little girl with one hand, holding her head like a basketball player might hold a basketball. She tried to close her eyes as she felt her grip become tighter, but the villainous Kagato would not let her. The poor girl's head exploded from the pressure, bloody brain tissue, sinew, and shards of bone splattering the walls of the room. She then proceeded to decapitate the man's wife before providing him with a fate similar to his daughter's. She remembered that later that day, after the raid, on board Kagato's planet destroying ship, the Soja, Kagato was having fun giving Ryoko a "lesson," as liked to call it, although most people preferred to call it torture. He was telling her that emotions made people weak and that they were a waste of time. Although she could normally turn him into a smoking cinder in the blink of an eye, she couldn't do a thing to stop him right now, because, like during the raid, he had complete control over her body. The torture ended up lasting throughout most of the night. The whole time she had wished he would just kill her, but he couldn't, no mater what he did. Her body healed so fast that if he were to cut off her arm, which he did regularly, she would have grown another one before her old one hit the ground. Ryoko was curled up in a semi-fetal position and was sweating profusely; her body being racked with sobs. _I can't go to the ball,_ she was thinking to herself, _it's only been 700 years since my raid on Jurai._ Although it was now common knowledge that her actions there had not been hers after all, there were bound to be people who still held a grudge against her, for those deeds had been signed by her own hands. No. She couldn't go, and that's what Ayeka was laughing about that morning. She had know that Ryoko would not be able to attend because of her past and that meant that Ayeka would be at the ball, alone, with Tenchi, and would be able to steel her only chance at ever finding happiness with the man she loved. Ryoko was crying openly now, she knew that she would not get any sleep that night. Which was just the same, really, she didn't want to go to sleep because it would only bring the nightmares of her past. It was now a month later. As Ayeka had predicted, Emperor Azusa had come and managed to talk Tenchi, with much difficulty, into attending the ball. Ayeka and Tenchi were standing at the lake behind the house waiting for Mihoshi to give them a lift in her self-evolving Galaxy Police cruiser, the Yukinojo. Tenchi was wearing a typical black tux with a tie, while Ayeka was wearing a lavender formal Juraian kimono, typically worn by Juraian royalty for formal occasions; it looked very bulky, but according to Ayeka it was really very comfortable. Sasami, standing at her sister's right, had wanted to attend the ball also, but her father, her mothers, and Ayeka had been adamant that she was too young and would not be permitted to attend until she was fifteen. Ryo-ohki, the cute and adorable cabbit was perched atop Sasami's head. Ryoko was not to be seen; she had told them several minutes before that she would come after them because she still had to prepare. Tenchi had suspected there were other reasons, but had decided it better not to pry. Amazingly enough, Mihoshi managed to land her cruiser without crashing it into the lake. The pair quickly but nervously boarded Yukinojo and after they had situated themselves aboard the ship it lifted off and headed for planet Jurai. Ryoko was, in fact, not in the house, getting ready, as she had told them. She was in fact sitting on one of Funaho, the Holy Tree's branches. She was letting the tears stream down her face unhindered by the tough-girl persona she always tried to maintain while in view of others. She wished could go, she deeply and truly did, but there was no way around her past. She now regretted making that stupid bet with Ayeka. How foolish she had been. Tenchi wasn't just some prize to be won at a fair. Where did Ayeka get off on that idea? She asked herself. But, she had made a bet, and would be bound by the results of that bet, if she couldn't be at the ball for Tenchi to fall in love, Ayeka would win the bet and she would resigned to watching Ayeka being happy with the only being, other than Ryo-ohki, that she had ever loved. Oh, and how much she loved him! 700 years ago after having fled Jurai, she had been chased to Earth by Prince Yosho, Tenchi's grandfather and quite possibly the most skilled swordfighter in the universe, both of their ships crashing on the planet's surface. Quickly thereafter, a sword fight of epic proportions ensued. Ryoko, through her power and strength rather than her skill, had managed to fend against the young prince for several hours. But, in the end, skill overcame strength, and with a blue energy sword through the esophagus Yosho had defeated the oni that had been able to destroy entire armies unarmed. Unfortunately--at the time Ryoko had thought it unfortunate--a sword through the throat couldn't kill her. Yosho, realizing soon thereafter that she had not killed anyone of her own free will, decided against killing her, much to her dismay. So, instead, he stripped her of all her powers that could help her escape, and trapped her in a cave. While she was trapped in the cave, Ryoko was conscious the whole time but unable to move. She was able to see the darkness and feel the cold, but unable to move. The first hundred years had been pure hell, as were the next five hundred after that. Then, about six hundred years after she had been imprisoned, she had found out that she had the ability to project her spirit outside the cave. From that point on, she spent ever second, outside the cave. She could finally explore her immediate surroundings; she watched the days give way to nights and the nights fall to the days. Every now and the people would come the cave to see the place where the legendry demon was imprisoned. For the first few months, she tried to speak to them, tried everything she could to get their attention. Her efforts were all in vain. People could not see, hear, or feel her; she was merely just an invisible ghost. She was lonely again, but at least she didn't have to stay in that cave. Then, that fateful day she would never forget came along. She was sitting at the entrance to the cave when an elderly lady passed by the cave. Strapped securely, yet comfortably on her back was a small baby. The baby looked at her, waved, and giggled. She was stunned beyond movement! "Do you see the demon, Tenchi?" the boy's grandmother had asked innocently. That was the happiest day of her life; it was the first time any person had looked at her as not a demon, but as a person, at that moment she swore the she would get out of that cave and meet this boy one day. Fortunately for her Tenchi came back often. By the time he had become old enough to walk, he had lost the ability to see her, but he still came whenever he could. She watched him, as he grew from a cute little baby, to strong-willed young boy, to handsome young adult. When he was a baby the thing she had wanted most, even more than getting out of the cave, was just to be able to hold him, when he was a curious little boy she would have done anything just to be able to play with him, and when he became a debonair young man, she wanted nothing more than to be loved by him. One day, when he was six, he had run to the cave, crying, he had lain on rocks at the entrance and was crying. His grandmother had died. She wanted so much be able to hug him, to comfort him, to tell him everything was going to be okay. She had cried with him that day. Then, on another fateful day, he came to the cave entrance. He had the keys! He actually had the keys! He had entered the cave and was exploring around when he found the legendary sword that was said to be guarding the cave. He extracted the katana from its resting place in a rock and found it to be a "rusty piece of junk," as he had so eloquently put it, and not the awesome piece of craftsmanship that could cut through rocks. He accidentally tapped the sword on an ancient rune effectively splitting the rock in half and opening the passage into her tomb and also caused the sword to shatter into a pile of dust, but he kept the sword's hilt with him. He cautiously entered the newly opened passage. When he finally reached her tomb, Unbeknownst to him, the sword's hilt disabled the paralysis that she had been given to keep her from escaping. When she opened her eyes, he was peering down at her in awe. He must not have seen her open her eyes, because he slowly turned to leave. And so, she moved, it was more difficult than she remembered, but then again, she hadn't moved in 700 years. He heard her stir and turned slowly to face her, when he froze at her sight, she though he was happy to see her. She slowly, painfully, reached her hand out to him and caressed his cheek; it felt soft, and warm. She reached her hand behind his head and slowly pulled him in for a kiss, but he screamed, she thought he was nervous, so she continued to pull him close. Then the sword hilt in his hand shown brightly, blinding her eyes that had not been used in 700 years. He quickly ran away in fear. Why would he do that? She had asked herself. Then she looked down at her body, the seven hundred years of imprisonment had caused it to decay, and she was a mummy, no wonder he ran off like that. One thing Ryoko was happy about, Tenchi had freed her from her prison. And, several days later, after his summer vacation ended, she followed Tenchi to his school. During his lunch break, he had snuck to the schools roof for some reason or another, probably to contemplate what had taken place in the cave a few days ago. While on the roof, he fell a sleep and did not wake until after nightfall that day. He awoke, to find Ryoko perched above him on a water tank. She immediately told him that she wanted revenge for his imprisonment, and since Yosho was dead-or so she thought at the time-he would have to do, so she chased him through out the school, destroying more than half of the school. She had never really planned on killing Tenchi, or even hurting him. The whole time, her plan had been to get Tenchi cornered somewhere where he could not escape her, and just when he thought she was going to separate his head from his shoulders, she would extinguish her sword, tell him she loved him, and plant the most passionate kiss ever on his young lips. In the end, Tenchi managed to thwart her plans by slicing off her right hand just below the wrist and with it the red gem that provided her the majority of her powers. She took the defeat with grace and immediately left Tenchi's sight and rushed back to his house in the countryside. With one of the few powers she still had with out her gems, she quickly teleported back to Tenchi's house with a new plan. When he arrived home a few hours later, he entered his room and lifted the covers of his bed to go to sleep. Under the covers he found Ryoko sleeping quietly in his bed, in a very seductive position--one could see all the way down her very ample bosom, just as she had planned. Her plans were interrupted, again, by the arrival of Ayeka and her sister, Sasami. Ayeka had been searching for her long-lost half-brother and fiancé, Yosho. After she had crash-landed on Earth, Yosho, who was living under the alias of Katsuhito, managed to pass her love for himself onto Tenchi in the processes creating Ryoko's biggest rival for Tenchi's affection. Several days later after certain...unexplained events Mihoshi and Washu had arrived; the rest was history. And now, with all the others around, she could not bring herself to tell him. The last thought only made her crying increase, she looked down through her tears and to her soaked dress. She had been crying here for hours. Why? Why did fate have to play such cruel games with her? Why? It wasn't fair, what had she ever done to fate to deserve this? What? "WHAT!!!" She yelled out in angry frustration. The only answer she got was her voice echoing in the distance. "Ryoko?" asked Washu's concerned voice in her mind. Washu and Ryoko both had a mental link that they could communicate with each other telepathically. Washu must have sensed her sadness coming across the link. "What is it?" she asked back with much anger. "What's wrong dear?" Ryoko contemplated for a few seconds on whether or not to tell her. Ryoko hated her mother more than she did anyone else, except Kagato, and rightfully so too. Her mother had done things to her no sane parent would even consider doing to their children-although most parents wouldn't have the slightest hint of a clue. She had even gone so far as to "make a move" on the one person that meant the world to her, she had actually asked him to help her bear a child. It was not that she was a cruel person; it was just that parenting was not her strongest suite. But, Ryoko thought, she might be able to find someway to get me to that ball. Ryoko quickly explained her predicament to Washu through their link. "Be in my lab in five minutes," Washu said in response and cut-off her end of the link. "Hmm, maybe she's not as bad as I thought..." Ryoko thought to herself aloud. Ryoko opened the door under the stairs at the appointed time; she had been invited so therefore did not need to knock. Every time she came in here she couldn't help but feel amazed. Before Washu had moved into the house, all that as behind the door under the stairs was a small broom closet. Washu's labs, however, consisted of five whole planets, all orbiting each other and were all connected by a network of high-speed elevators. The lab was located in its own alternate dimension and had been built thousands of years before Washu had moved into the Masaki residence. All Washu had done was merely connect the closet door to the lab's door via a dimensional tunnel. "Washu!" Ryoko yelled out as she stepped into the laboratory. Fortunately, Washu usually didn't venture into the deeper areas of her lab when she was expecting people. "Ahh, there's my little Ryoko," Washu called back in a baby voice. Ryoko growled at the title "little" and at the baby tone Washu was using, but then pushed the thought aside. "So, can you help me?" asked Ryoko. "Of course I can, don't ever doubt the number one scientific genius of the universe!" she boasted as she did whenever given a chance, "under one condition," she added dryly. Ryoko growled, "What?" Ryoko's mother's eyes became glazed and she looked up at her daughter with hope and expectation. "Can you call me...mom from now on?" She asked cutely. "Uhh," Ryoko moaned, but it was worth it, "Okay...mom." "Yay!" cheered Washu jumping around like an excited child. "Okay, okay...mom. Let's just get started." "Whatever you say, dear." Washu then raised her hand in front of her, palms down like she was typing on a keyboard and the holographic visage of a laptop computer appeared floating under her hands. She immediately began typing on the holopad, the keys clacked under her fingers. "So, Ryoko, what do you want to look like?" "Huh?" "Well..." said the redheaded scientist, "...I can make you look like anyone or anything you want me to, just say the word." "Um, okay..." Ryoko thought for several minutes as Washu's fingers continued to clack against her keyboard. After Ryoko had decided on her "new look" she quickly relayed the information to her mother through their link, it was faster that way. "Ahh," a smirk appeared on the scientist's face, "not too different, but just enough not to stand-out. Nice." She emphasized the "too." "Thanks...mom." As Washu continued to type on her holopad, Ryoko's face and body slowly started to change. Her feline eyes became more humanoid, but kept their distinct feral yellow color. He sharply rectangular ears became more rounded. The biggest change though, was her hair. Instead of a mass of cyan spikes, it was now long flowing black hair that went down to waist; it was tied loosely in a ponytail and was over her right shoulder. The only change to her figure was a slight decrease in the size of her ample bosom. Washu pulled a hand mirror out of a sub-space pocket and threw it to her daughter, who then examined herself closely. "It's not me," she said almost immediately. "That's the point," Washu reminded her. "Yeah, but how will Tenchi know it's me?" "Don't worry about that, he will." "Okay..." said the demoness circumspectly. _Damn Washu and her damn cryptic answers,_ she sorely thought to herself. "Hey I heard that!" Washu barked and narrowed her eyes at Ryoko. "Umm, sorry." "..." "Mom." She grinned, "Now, you need a dress." Ryoko had already thought that one over thoroughly over the past month and show her mother how she pictured it with her mental link. "Ooh, that's pretty," Washu commented and typed the proper commands into her 'puter. Ryoko's clothes were instantly replaced by a jet-black form-fitting evening gown with a V-neck. The left side of the dress hanged down just below her knees while the right hanged down all the way to the ground and dragged a little when she walked. Ryoko looked at her reflection on a tank holding some sort of whale-sized aquatic alien. She smiled contentedly. "There, you look great!" Washu beamed with maternal pride. "Now, how long do you want this to last?" Ryoko had to think about that one, "'till I decide to change back." "'kay, I can do that for y'," she said and typed a few commands into her console, "now let's get you to that party!" Ryoko stepped out of the portal in an alleyway next to the royal palace. After taking a moment to make sure her dress was straight, she stepped out onto the street and walked toward the ball's entrance. "Hello miss," the doorman said as she approached, "are you here for the ball?" "Yes, I am," she replied evenly, hopping her guise was working. "Good," the man replied with a wide smile and held the door for her. She bowed her head slightly as she entered the large chamber. She knew what that _hentai_ was thinking. When she entered, people did not turn to look at her like she had hopped. But, she thought, this isn't me at my best. The ballroom was huge, and would have made an indoor American football stadium on Earth look like merely a playroom for a small child and there were thousands of people. Her keen eagle eyes quickly scanned the room for Tenchi. As she had fantasized almost a month ago, however, Tenchi was dancing with Ayeka. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Azusa futilely try to hold back an angry frown, he never did like Tenchi, even though he was his great-grandson. She turned her attention back to Tenchi and Ayeka. They were dancing together slowly. Ryoko wondered if Tenchi had noticed the confident smile of a person who had just slain a sworn enemy gracing Ayeka's face. Ryoko circled the dance floor once, to get acquainted with her new surroundings. Just about that time, the song was ending as she saw Tenchi and Ayeka walking off of the floor. She walked calmly up behind them. "Excuse me," she said tapping Tenchi on his shoulder. "Yes? Who are you?" Tenchi asked turning around. He didn't recognize her. _Washu I'll kill you for this..._ she stopped herself mid-thought. She couldn't say who she was because, somehow, she knew that that _uwakionna_ Ayeka wouldn't let her keep her secret. "Ryo, my name's Ryo, Ryo Hâké," she said semi-making the name up on the spot. "Well, Ryo, what can I do for you?" "Um," she said a little apprehensively, now not quite so sure of her "new" look, "would...would you please, dance the next dance with me?" "Ugh," Tenchi groaned, "I was hoping to sit this next one out and rest, but I'll dance with you after that. Does that sound okay?" Tenchi said nervously, he was always nervous when it came to dealing with the opposite sex, but, him being the charitable person he was, he could not refuse this young lady. "Sure, that's fine," she said turning a little uncharacteristically giddy. She noticed Ayeka fuming a bit to Tenchi's side, and, not wanting to ruin a chance to be close to Tenchi, she decided to calm Ayeka the only way she knew how. She turned to face the princess, "Hello princess Ayeka," she said with a respectful bow, "I see you're looking lovelier than usual tonight." Ayeka's anger dissipated instantly at the complement and she smiled a gracious smile for her guest. "Why thank you, eh-eh..." "Miss." "...Miss Ryo." The three of them sat at a table and engaged in small talk while "Ryo" impatiently waited for the current song to end and the next one to begin so that she could finally dance with her one true love. A few minutes later, the song ended with some soft closing notes. Much to Tenchi's chagrin and Ryoko's bliss, the next song was slow, romantic and melodious one. Tenchi was hesitant, but he had promised "Ryo" a dance, so he stood, bowed ever so slightly and said, "Miss." "Okay, let's dance," exclaimed the former space pirate. With that, Tenchi let Ryoko lead him to the dance floor. Upon reaching it, Tenchi placed his right hand just above her hip and held her left hand with his and they began to slowly dance to the music. As they danced, Tenchi examined the girls face more closely. _Hmm,_ thought the young man, _there's something familiar about her eyes._ And, indeed there was, although he couldn't place it, but whatever it was it was definitely there. "So, prince Tenchi..." "Please just call me Tenchi," he interrupted. "Okay... Tenchi, what is it like living on Earth?" inquired the young lady as they continued dancing. "Well..." he thought a little while before continuing, "it's...hectic." "Hectic?" she asked keeping her voice calm and curious, "Why's that? As I hear it Earth is a very peaceful planet." "It is, but..." "But what? It's okay I won't tell anyone," Ryoko was surprising herself, she rarely ever allowed anyone to see through her tough emotional shell as she was now, but, she thought, right now, since she didn't even look like herself, no one would ever know. "Well, um..." he paused to think. He really wanted to be able to talk to someone about his "lady trouble." He could never do so on Earth because no one would ever believe his story and would most likely try to commit him to a mental institution. Whenever he tried to speak to his dad, all the help got was a bunch of veiled, voyeuristic comments, when he spoke to his grandfather he got comments that sounded like they were quoted right out of a fortune cookie. He couldn't speak to any of the girls in the house because they would just jump to conclusions. Maybe this was his chance to get his thoughts cleared up, "...I guess I can talk to you, I mean, I need to talk to someone." "Okay, so, why's Earth so hectic?" "Ryo" asked again. _Hmm... maybe I can use this to my advantage,_ she thought, but then decided better of it. "Well, it's mostly because of the five girls I live with." "Oh, really, tell me about them," she gently commanded. "Where to start?" the reluctant hero thought aloud, "Well... first of all... there's Sasami." "Sasami? Isn't that princess Ayeka's little sister?" "Oh, well yes, she is. Sasami's so sweet. Ever since she'd moved in with me she's been almost like the little sister I've never had and I love her so much for it, as family that is," he added no to sound like a pedophile. "Hmm, she sounds really nice." "Mm, she is." "Okay, who else is there?" "Well, then there's Mihoshi." "Mihoshi... that name sounds familiar, hmm..." admitted Ms. Hâké. "Well it should be, she's the GP grand marshal's granddaughter." "Oh, really?" "Really. She's nice too; she's the most innocent person I've ever met. Most air headed too," he added under his breath. "Ryo" giggled, "Is she really that bad, I mean, I've heard rumors about her but," she left the sentence hanging. Tenchi laughed in response, "yes, sometimes she can be a pain, but she's great to have around. "Then there's Washu," he continued, "she calls herself the number one scientific genius of the universe," Tenchi let out a deep laugh, "and I wouldn't be surprised if that were true." "Wow! She's that smart?" Ryoko acted surprised. "Yup. I'm sorry for her though, she's had a really tough life; some of the things that have happened to her in her long life were really bad. Like, about twenty thousand years ago, her husband, whom she loved very much, was forced by his parents..." Meanwhile, as song had ended and a new one was beginning, Ayeka stood at the edge of the wooden dance floor fuming while she watched Tenchi and this Ryo girl continue dancing. They had only danced one song so far, but they were beginning to dance a second, and she would not allow. But, she thought, they might not have noticed the song change because it was really rather abrupt and the songs were quite similar, so she decided she would let them finish this dance. But, she swore to herself, if they dance just one more song together, she would make it certain that Ryo would leave the palace in a black bag. "...To take their baby and leave her due solely because of the fact that she was of a lower social standing than him." "Oh, that's so sad," cooed the demon in disguise. "Yeah, it is," agreed the formal clad prince. "Then there's Ryoko and Ayeka," he huffed heavily. Ryoko's heart slumped at the tone of his voice when he mentioned their names but she managed to keep her tone even when she spoke, "Are they really that bad?" "Huh? Oh, no not really. I like them both very much. It's just that, well, they're both so busy fighting with each other over my love, it just gets on my nerves once in a while." "Oh, I see. So, tell me about them." "Well, Ayeka, her beauty is more of an elegant graceful beauty than anything else. She's very well mannered, although sometimes she can be a real uwakionna." Ryo giggled an amused laugh, "I noticed." "She's really nice to have around and I don't think I would ever do anything to hurt her. Actually, I know that wouldn't, I can't, because, I've never told anyone else this and doubt that she has, but about a week after she crashed on Earth I promised that I would protect her." So that's why he was acting so strange that day, she realized. "And what about Ryoko?" she asked about herself. "Ryoko," he said pensively with a small laugh, "she's a very free spirited, very beautiful girl. She has the most beautiful yellow eyes I've ever seen. She's always wears her soft cyan hair in large spikes the twist clockwise when facing her with two length ponytails hanging down in front of her ears. Her ears are..." Tenchi spoke about Ryoko for over a minute describing her with exacting detail. With every word he said, Ryoko became more and more happy. He was talking about her as though he...he was in love her. That thought almost made Washu's daughter squeal with delight, but, fortunately, she had more self- control than that. "...Usually she keeps her emotions hidden behind a wall of strength. I don't know why, I guess it's because she thinks it's a sign of weakness or something I'm not really sure. Occasionally, thought, that 'wall' breaks down and she lets her true character shine, and it's hard for me to turn away from her when it does. She's great." Tenchi concluded. She had to ask: "You speak like you're in love with her." "Uh-well-uh-um, I...uh..." all he could do besides stutter was to blush. "Hehe, shh," she placed moved her hand from his hip and placed her index finger over his lips, "I can tell you do. Why don't you tell her?" "I've tried, but I always ended up losing my nerve," admitted the prince. "Oh, well..." her head shot towards a loud yell. "Get her!" Ayeka yelled across the chamber, an army of fifty royal guards clad in forest-green trimmed light blue tunics and wielding long wooden bos for weapons flanking her, "get that assassin!" With the haughty princesses command the guards charge down the steps and towards the large dance floor. They were all heading towards Ryo. Ayeka was fuming. How could the _uwakionna_ dance three dances with Tenchi! He was supposed to dance only with me, she thought. Well now that _baka_ is going to pay for it with her life! "I'm not an assassin," Ryoko calmly whispered into Tenchi's ear. "I can tell." She smiled at him and then jumped back a few feet just before the guards arrived. The guards all stopped in a half circle around "Ryo," the apparent leader of the group step forward. He withdrew the hilt of an energy saber from his tunic and ignited its bright light blue blade. "Ryo Hâké," he said, "by the name of Tsunami, you are hereby under arrest, don't make this more difficult than it has to be." Ryoko grinned evilly at the assembled guards, "Do you seriously think you can catch me? Don't be funny!" she cackled at them. She immediately form a yellow ball of energy in her right hand, but instead of throwing it, she closed her hand into a fist over it causing it to transform into a red-glowing yellow energy sword. Without hesitation, she charged the leader of the group and bopped his sword away with hers and kicked him in the chest with lightning speed, effectively knocking him unconscious. She immediately extinguished her sword and stole a nearby guard's bo and KO'ed him at the same time. At this time actions learned through training to the point of automation by the rest of he guards finally kicked in. By this time Ryoko had managed to knock out half of the royal guards and was slowly backpedaling toward exit while fending of the soldiers' bos with her stolen one. One of the guards dove at her with the tip of his stretched far in front of him, she dodge the attack easily by jumping to its side. She stuck her arm up above her head and as the guard's head sailed by she brought her elbow down into the back of his neck causing him to fly violently downward and cracked the marble floor. She glanced at him briefly, good, she thought, it's only a severely fractured skull, he'll survive, no permanent damage. She jumped a low swing by another guard and knocked him out by shoving her bo into his groin. Tenchi step back from the fight as he fought to hide the happy smirk that was playing across his handsome face. He recognized the fighting style that Ryo employed, and he knew of only one person in the entire universe that fought that way. "So, now she knows," the prince observed to himself in a whisper, "but she doesn't know I know she knows." His smirk changed to an ironic smile. He knew what he had to do. The fight continued towards the doors, she managed to fight of all but the last two guards with out any fatalities. She stopped and held her staff perpendicular to the floor above her head. The two guards saw her move and communicated to each other with nothing more than a glance. At the same time, one guard went left and the other went right. A moment later and also at the same time they both turned and ran so that they were on opposite sides of Ryoko. They paused for a second and Ryoko grinned. With a loud battle cry the two remaining guards charged toward their patiently waiting prey at the same instant and at equal speed with their bos held behind their heads ready to swing. When guards reached the right distance, they both simultaneously swung their bos at he young lady. At just the right moment, Ryoko, using her own powers, teleported a meter behind herself. The momentum of the surprised guards' bos was too great for them to halt their swing. They ended up knocking each other out. "Well," yelled Ryoko, "I'm sorry to ruin your party, but I see I've out worn my welcome. I'll be going now. Oh, yeah, I'm not an assassin!" With that out of the way, Ryoko teleported back to the alley she had arrived in. Washu's portal appeared in front of her and she stepped back to Earth. The sun was setting and Ryoko, who had already changed back to her original self, was sitting on the edge of the Masaki house's roof, where she usually went to think. The dance had been probably the best time of her life. And best of all, she now knew for a fact that Tenchi loved her. She was happier than she had ever been in the past almost nineteen years. "He loves me," she blissfully whispered to herself, "he really loves me." She had known him for eighteen years, and had been in love with him for every one of them. She knew she would be in love with him for the rest of her life--which would be a really, really long time. Now, all she had to wait for was for him to get up the courage to voice his feelings. Maybe now that he's had a chance to talk to someone about it, it would make it easier on him. She hoped it would make it easier on him. But, even if it took him a thousand years, she would be content with waiting. She was deep into her thoughts that she did not notice the sound of a ladder being rested against the house and the footsteps approaching her. So, naturally, when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and chin rest against her left shoulder, she was very surprised. "Hello, Miss Ryo Hâké," came Tenchi's voice, "How was the ball?" "Y-y-you knew?" the surprise and the bliss of the moment made her forget all about the dance. Tenchi had never done something so...forward before, ever. "Yes," whispered the newly emboldened prince. "B-but how did..." she couldn't say anymore because Tenchi's young soft lips were now pressed gently against her equally soft lips in a kiss that said "I love you" all over it. Surprised, Ryoko tried to pull back but was stopped by Tenchi's hand, which was now running through her surprisingly soft main of cyan hair. Realizing that her only wish was coming true, she finally closed her eyes and fully allowed herself to give into the kiss. She brought her arms around her lover's chest and held him tightly yet gently to her. Warm, silent tears of joy slowly began streaming down her cheeks; this was the happiest moment of her life; if someone had told her before this that this would happen she would have laughed them away; how could anyone possibly love a demon and a killer like me? She would have asked. Their first osculation slowly became more and more passionate as the minutes and seconds slowly went by. And for those all too brief minutes, they were able to ignore all the world but the one they held so strongly in their hearts and now in their arms. Over five minutes later, Tenchi slowly, reluctantly broke the kiss. "I...love...you," Tenchi managed to said while gasping for air. Ryoko, who was able to survive forever without breathing and therefore needed not to catch her breath. "I love you too, my Tenchi," she said softly. The young lovers sat there on the roof of the house, over Tenchi's room. Holding each other watching the stars until they started becoming sleepy and retired to Tenchi's--now their--bed for the night. That night, they ended up sleeping more soundly than either of the two had ever slept before, in their entire lives, one dreaming of the other, impatiently waiting for the sun to wake them up so that they could once again hold each other close, although they were doing that as they slept. Fin. ________________________________________________________________________________ I wrote this story for an assignment in my Creative Writing HS class. The assignment was to rewrite the fairy tail, Cinderella, with five major changes but still have the story be recognizable as Cinderella. It was only supposed to be two to three pages in length, but I kinda went over that just a little... Okay, I went over it a lot, but it's Tenchi. I didn't have that much time to write the story, so I'm sorry if the characters are a little (OK a lot) OOC, with the time constraints it could not be help, _gomen nasai._ Thanks for reading my story. Feel free to send any C&C or Q's to me at: yolk@snowcrest.net