Disclaimer: I don't own Tenchi or any other characters residing at the Misaki house. They all belong to Pioneer/AIC. I am not making any money off of this story so please don't sue me. Fragile Hearts, Chapter 2 by Leeman Ryoko put Mayuka in her crib, and she prepared a bottle for her. She couldn’t believe she had been so careless while singing to her. She could just picture Tenchi and Ayeka laughing their heads off about it. It was hard for her to face Tenchi after that night a little over two weeks ago. She had sung Mayuka to sleep after changing her diaper. Then she went to watch Tenchi sleep. It relaxed her, and made her feel warm inside to gaze at his peaceful state of sleep. She phased in above him, but he was by no means sleeping peacefully. He tossed and turned for a while, and she considered waking him up. She could just hear him scold her though, and she thought better of it. This went on for about ten minutes before something snapped. He suddenly became very calm. She was happy that his nightmare had finally ended. Then a very mean scowl spread across his face, and he uttered the most painful words she would ever hear. "I hate you, Ryoko, and I never want to see you again." It hit her like a ton of bricks. She sat in utter silence for an extended period of time. His face had immediately returned to a calm, peaceful state after he said this, but Ryoko felt as if she had been stabbed by a thousand jagged-edged blades. A tear traveled down her cheek and was followed by many more. He had told her he hated her once before, when she had torn his mother’s kimono, but all was forgotten when Tenchi forgave her and told her he said that out of anger. But this time he told her in his sleep! That meant he really did hate her, and he only put up with her because of his kindness. She decided to leave in that moment. She phased out of the room and reappeared outside. "Come Ryo-ohki!" She commanded. Ryo-ohki phased through the wall in Sasami’s room and landed at Ryoko’s feet. Ryoko picked up the cabbit and was ready to throw it in the air so it could transform into a spaceship. However, she was stopped by the cries of Mayuka who had probably wet herself again. Ryoko was then hit with a realization. Tenchi wasn’t the only person in the universe she cared about anymore. Ryoko felt guilty about the way she treated the adult Mayuka when she was under Yuzuha’s control. It was, in a way, the same situation she herself was in when Kagato had control of her. Her guilt was what compelled her to help take care of her at first, but soon she became attached to the little girl. As she spent more and more time with her, she realized she loved her like a daughter, and she would protect her at all costs. She decided she would stay for Mayuka’s sake, and she would avoid Tenchi whenever possible because of the pain it caused her to even think about him. Tenchi commenced work again, but he really wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing. He couldn’t stop thinking about Ryoko. He cared for her a great deal. He missed her perfect smile and beautiful golden eyes. He missed her flirting with him. What could have happened to stop her advances toward him? Had she lost interest in him? He decided he couldn’t work anymore until he talked to her. He threw down the hoe and began walking towards the house. Washu typed a few commands into her holotop, and a subspace portal opened in front of her. She stepped in and the portal vanished. It reappeared in her lab, and she stepped out with that grin still on her face. The two gp officers’ lives were about to become a little more interesting. Tenchi walked through the front door very quietly. He didn’t want anyone to bother him right now. He was determined to find out why Ryoko was acting so strangely. Today was his lucky day though, and no one noticed him as he made his way to the stairs. He began creeping his way up in hopes of not alerting Ryoko to his approach. Ryoko was feeding Mayuka the special formula Washu designed for her. She then heard someone coming up the stairs. Judging from the light footsteps it had to be Washu or Sasami, and it was most likely Washu. She listened as the footsteps grew closer. Any second, the door would open and Washu would probably have a comment ready to tick her off and make her day that much worse. The door didn’t open though. She waited a few minutes, and then dismissed it as her imagination running away with her. Tenchi stood outside of the door trying to think of something to say to her. He was sweating profusely, and it wasn’t because of the heat. He finally decided to go with the flow, and he forced himself to reach down and turn the knob. Ryoko was burping Mayuka when she heard the door open. She was quite surprised to find Tenchi standing in the doorway. She finished burping Mayuka and laid her in her crib. "What is it Tenchi?" For some reason she had become really nervous, and Tenchi could tell this by her voice. "Ryoko, I need to talk to you about something." "W...What about?" She was suddenly afraid. Was he going to tease her about her singing, or was he finally going to overcome his kindness and kick her out of the house? She couldn’t take either of those scenarios at this moment in time. "Ryoko, why have you been avoiding me lately? Is it something I said or did to you?" He was apprehensive of what her answer could possibly be. Maybe she fell in love with someone else, or he had offended her and hurt her feelings somehow. He would hate himself if he hurt her in any way, and he would be hurt if she did love someone else. After looking at him for a few minutes she replied, "Tenchi, I know how you feel about me, and I know that you want me to leave. I promise you that I will not bother anyone else in the house. I love Mayuka and I don’t want to leave her. Please let me stay." Tears began rolling down her face. Tenchi was absolutely stunned. What in Tsunami’s name brought this on? He was hurt that she would actually think he wanted her to leave. "Ryoko, you’re not making any sense. I don’t want you to leave. Why would you think something like that?" "You’re very kind Tenchi, but I found out how you really feel about me. You hate me. You said so in your sleep. You also said you never wanted to see me again. I have tried to appease you by avoiding you when possible. Even though you hate me, I want you to know that I love you, and I would do anything for you except leave Mayuka. I must make sure you are both safe." She began sobbing uncontrollably, and she phased out of the room. Tenchi shed a tear. How could he have told her he hated her again?!?! Even if it was in his sleep, he still hurt her. He hated to see her hurt more than anyone else. He didn’t know if he loved her or not, but he felt very close to her. He must set things right. Kyonei had dried herself off with the towel Mihoshi had gotten her, and she was finally calming down. She wondered how Mihoshi could be such an idiot. She graduated at the top of her class, and she had an impressive arrest record. It didn’t make any sense. "Kyonei, are you still mad at me? I didn’t mean to get you all wet. I...It was an accident. I’m soooo sorrrrrry!" Mihoshi began wailing and crying. "Stop crying. I’m not mad at you anymore." Upon hearing this Mihoshi immediately got up, ran over to her partner, and proceeded to hug the life out of her. "Mihoshi...I...can’t...breathe." She was starting to black out. "Oops, sorry." Mihoshi let her go, and Kyonei quickly drew in a deep breath of air to give her oxygen deprived body a big dose of the necessary element. Washu watched the two gp officers on the large, 30ft by 30ft screen in her lab. Her plan was working perfectly. Soon, she would have enough preliminary data to begin her experiment. Sasami just went into the kitchen to begin making lunch. She noticed Tenchi coming down the stairs with a sad expression on his face. "What’s wrong Tenchi?" She was very concerned about him. He looked like he just lost his best friend. Tenchi noticed Sasami’s worried expression and forced a smile. "Nothing, I’m just feeling a little depressed about the homework I have to do over vacation." He lied. "I have to go do some more work in the fields right now. I won’t be joining you for lunch." He then headed out the door. She watched him leave. She knew he was lying, but she decided that it would be best not to question him any further about it. Tenchi thought about where Ryoko usually went when she wanted to be by herself. He decided to check the cave first. Ryoko had waited for Tenchi to leave the room and phased back in. Why couldn’t he just tell her the truth? Why did he have to be so damn nice? She looked down at Mayuka who had fallen asleep. She was such a beautiful baby. Her dark blue hair was already growing thick. Washu said she would develop twice as fast as a normal human baby. She also said she would get all of the memories of her previous life with the family when she got older. Ryoko finally quit crying. Mayuka had the same calming affect on her that Tenchi used to have when she watched him sleep. Soon, she fell asleep as well. Tenchi couldn’t find her anywhere. He checked the cave, Funaho, and the shrine. Then it hit him. He hadn’t checked the roof of the house. He just knew she would be there. He headed back to the house. Sasami had just finished cooking lunch. Ayeka was already seated at the table when Mihoshi and Kyonei came in and sat down. "Ayeka, would you please tell Washu that lunch is ready?" "Sure Sasami." She got up and headed for Washu’s lab. "Mihoshi, Kyonei, will you help me set the table?" "Yes Sasami," they said in unison. They got up and helped her set the table. They had just finished when Ayeka and Washu entered. Then they all sat down. "Where’s Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka inquired. "Tenchi is working in the fields, and he said he wouldn’t be eating lunch today." Sasami answered. While no one was looking, Washu typed in a few commands on her holotop under the table. A subspace portal opened up outside of the house. A small bomb fell out of it into the spot Washu had designated for it. When it hit the ground, it caused a large explosion. Everyone at the table got up and ran outside to see what happened. Washu slipped a small blue tablet into the gp officers’ drinks. Then she ran to catch up to the rest of the group. Tenchi had just checked the roof only to discover she wasn’t there. He was entering the attic window when the explosion occurred. He immediately began to head down the attic steps. When he reached the bottom, he flew down the stairs and out the front door. He spotted the rest of the girls gathered around a small crater. "What happened here?" He said as he approached them. "We’re not sure," answered Kyonei. "It had to be that devil woman," Ayeka said, although she didn’t sound too convinced. After a quick scan of the skies, the group dismissed it as a freak occurrence, and they headed back to the house to finish their meal. Tenchi headed back to the fields to finish his work for the day. He wondered if Ryoko did have something to do with the crater. Where was she anyway? He had looked all over, and he still wasn’t able to find her. He figured she would be back from wherever she was to eat dinner. He pushed all thoughts of her out of his head and concentrated on the work at hand. Both Ryoko and Mayuka had been awakened by the explosion. Ryoko was about to phase out to investigate when she was stopping by the cries of Mayuka who had been upset by the explosion. Ryoko picked her up in her arms to calm her down. After holding her for a few minutes, the baby finally calmed down. She began to sing to her in hopes of putting her back to sleep. She sang a song called "Forevermore." She had composed it herself a few months ago when Tenchi returned one of her hugs, which made her very happy and put her in the mood to write. It started out as a poem, but she transformed it into a song. After Mayuka had finally fallen asleep, Ryoko placed her in her crib. She decided to go sit up on the roof. She stared up at the blue sky and thought about Tenchi. She loved him more than life itself, and she wanted him to love her more than anything. It hurt her so much that night when he told her he hated her in his sleep. She realized that he would never return her feelings for him. He knew she was a monster. She was a murderer who was responsible for the death of over a million people. She thought of the faces of the people as they begged for their lives. She acknowledged them by stabbing them or cutting off their heads with her energy sword. She wished she could change her past. She wished she could have somehow killed Kagato during the 1300 years of torture and pain he put her through. She wished she could somehow bring back all those people. Tenchi didn’t know about the multitudes people she killed, but he could just instinctively tell how evil she was. "Well Tenchi, I will give you your wish. Tonight I will leave. I will take Ryo-ohki and go." She thought. She hated the thought of leaving Mayuka though. She really loved that little girl, and she would miss her very much...almost as much as she would miss Tenchi. If she stayed though, she would only bring more pain and grief to Tenchi, and she would end up causing Mayuka grief as well. She knew that they wouldn’t be safe with her around because her past attracted many dangers to their home. Everyone else had just finished their lunch. After helping Sasami clean up, Mihoshi and Kyonei were walking into the living room. Suddenly, both of them began feeling very ill. They became extremely dizzy and lost all sense of balance. Mihoshi fell backwards and Kyonei fell forward. By the time they hit the ground, they were both unconscious. Washu calmly walked up to the teal-haired gp officer and began dragging her towards the couch. After she had placed her on the couch, she began dragging Mihoshi to the nearest chair. She propped her up in the chair, and smiled wickedly. "It has begun." She whispered to herself. Ayeka was sitting outside on a picnic table that Nobilyuki had built on a small knoll a few hundred yards from the back of the house so everyone could eat outside if and when they chose too. She was admiring the beautiful scenery. She sat out here quite a bit. It was a place where she could escape all the madness that went on at the Misaki residence. She could gather and focus her thoughts on a variety of issues that troubled her. The main issue and the one she usually pondered was Tenchi though. Did he love her? Was he hiding his feelings so he didn’t hurt any of the other girls in the house? If so, he was hurting all of them in the long run by not telling the truth. What if he loved that bitch, Ryoko? "No, that’s preposterous. Tenchi could never love that skank," she said to herself. She hated Ryoko because she was the cause of Yosho’s departure. She could be happily married to him if it weren’t for that slut. She ruined her life with Yosho, and, as if that wasn’t enough, now she was trying to steal Tenchi away from her. Suddenly, another thought occurred to her, Ryoko has saved her life more than once, and she has saved the lives of other members of the family as well. They have also shared a few good times with each other. "Despite all the evil things we have said and done to each other, I consider her my friend." Next to Kyonei she was probably her best friend. She comforted her when she was upset about the adult Mayuka’s sudden appearance. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she noticed that Ryoko was also crying that night at Funaho. Ryoko does have feelings, and she is just as fragile as any other person. She puts on a good act, but she finally realized that Ryoko isn’t really a monster after all. Of course, she would never admit this to anyone though. She was still competition for Tenchi’s heart, and that made her an obstacle, one she intended to go right through. Tenchi and she were meant to be together after all. Ayeka finally decided it was time to go back to the house, but she pictured herself in Tenchi’s arms to put herself in a better mood before she headed back. The day went by slowly and was uneventful for the most part. When dinnertime rolled around, everyone had gathered around the table except for Ryoko. Even Yosho ate with the family instead of eating by himself at the shrine quarters. Nobilyuki also managed to get off work early enough to eat with everyone tonight. Everyone was busy eating and chatting except for Tenchi. He was wordlessly staring down at his plate. He was concerned about Ryoko. She never missed a meal, but today she hadn’t eaten at all. Where was she? What was she doing? He needed to talk to her and try to undo the damage he had done. He had been unsuccessful in his first attempt to assure Ryoko that he didn’t hate her, but the next time he vowed to succeed. He didn’t think she would do anything irrational, but she did have a tendency to react out of emotion without thinking things through, however. He suddenly realized that no one was watching Mayuka. "Hey, why isn’t anyone watching Mayuka?" "Ryoko is watching her. She said she didn’t want to be disturbed." Sasami answered. Ah ha! Ryoko was with Mayuka the whole time. She must have phased back into the room when he left. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking about this earlier. "Please excuse me, but I have something to take care of." He got up to leave, but Yosho spoke up. "Tenchi, why don’t you eat first? Whatever it is can wait until you finish your meal." "I’m not hungry anyway, and this can’t wait." "Lord Tenchi, what could be so important." Tenchi was caught off guard by Ayeka’s question. He had to think of something to say quickly. "I need to take care of a personal matter. It’s nothing you should be concerned about. I have to go now." He hurried out of the room before anyone could say anything more. He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked up. He had to get up there without Ryoko hearing him, or she would most likely phase out before he would be able to say a word to her. He stood there thinking for a moment then an idea struck him. He activated his lighthawk wings and materialized a floating platform to stand on with them. He had learned to activate them at will after the Dr. Clay incident, but he didn’t tell anyone for fear of Washu finding out. She would run a million tests on him, and that was not something he looked forward to. He began floating up the stairs. When he reached the top, he took a left and floated down the hall towards Mayuka’s room. When he reached the door, he eased the platform to the ground before he deactivated it. Without another thought he reached down and turned the knob. He eased the door open slightly and peered inside. He saw Ryoko asleep on the old sofa they had put in there for anyone who was watching the baby to sit on. Mayuka was also asleep in her arms. Ryoko looked like a goddess of peace with her child of purity in her arms. His heart fluttered. Ryoko was so peaceful and vulnerable right now. He wanted to just stand there and stare at them for the rest of the night, but he needed to talk to her. He slowly and carefully removed Mayuka from her arms and placed her in the crib without waking either of them. He then looked back down at Ryoko and smiled. He decided to enjoy the moment for a bit longer. She had always watched him sleep, but this time the situation was reversed. If there had been room on the sofa, he would have laid beside her and showed her that he didn’t want her to go. He decided to do the next best thing. He went into his room and gathered his pillows and blankets he kept in his closet, and put them in Mayuka’s room next to the sofa. He made a bed on the floor and laid down. Everyone else ate dinner in silence after Tenchi left. It wasn’t like Tenchi to act in such a way. What was going on? That was the basic question that everyone had on their mind. Well, everyone except Washu. She was too busy observing Mihoshi and Kyonei to care. Things weren’t going to be the same around here after tonight. Her experiment would be concluded, and the two galaxy policewomen’s lives would be forever altered. Right after everyone finished eating, Kyonei and Mihoshi announced that they both were feeling unusually tired and were going to bed. Sasami and Ayeka cleared the table and washed the dishes. Yosho went back to the shrine, and Nobilyuki went into the study. Washu headed for her lab with a huge grin on her face, which worried the rest of the family. It didn’t take long before Tenchi fell into a deep sleep. He began having dreams about Ryoko. He could see himself slap her and tell her he hated her over and over again. It was stabbing at his heart. He could see the hurt expression, and her sad eyes. It was becoming too much to bear. "Stop!!!!!!! I can’t take this anymore!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryoko had been awakened by his screaming. She started shaking him to wake him up. The images stopped flooding through Tenchi’s head, and his eyelids began to open. Everything was out of focus, but it didn’t take long for him to see the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Ryoko was looking down him with pure concern in her eyes. She held him in her arms and comforted him. Tenchi began to smile. He felt so calm under her gaze. All apprehension and guilt left him, and a new realization came over him. He knew Ryoko was the one he truly loved. He wanted to tell her right then, but he couldn’t make his lips move. All he could do was stare into her beautiful golden orbs. He had lost himself in them, and he wasn’t even able to think. A few minutes passed and neither of them moved. Their moment was completely shattered when Mayuka began crying though. Ryoko blushed, stood up, and helped him to his feet. She then picked Mayuka up and carried her over to the table where she changed her diapers. Tenchi began to think rationally again. He couldn’t lose control like that again, if he did he would hurt all of the other girls in the house. He had admitted to himself that he loved her, but he could not and would not act upon it, yet. He did, however, need to talk to her before she phased away from him. "Ryoko, about the night when I told you I hated you. I didn’t mean it. I am so sorry, and I wish I could take it back. You are very special to me, just like all of the other girls in the house. I would never do anything intentional to harm any of you. Will you accept my apology?" Ryoko changed Mayuka’s without saying a word to him. She picked up the giggling baby and tossed it into the air. She gently caught her, and placed her back into the crib. She then turned to face Tenchi. "Tenchi, I want to accept your apology, but I can’t. I am the one who should apologize. I have put you, and everyone else in this house, into too many dangerous situations. You were almost killed by Kagato because of me, and you were nearly killed again because you went to rescue me from Dr. Clay. I have done nothing but bring heartache upon this family. That is going to end now. I am leaving with Ryo-ohki now. I will not cause any more harm here. I love you, and I have for a very long time. I have decided to leave you and Mayuka so that both of you can truly be at peace. Goodbye, my love." She took one last look at Mayuka before she phased out. Tenchi was torn apart on the inside. How could this happen? He had to stop her. He took of in a dead run, and practically flew down the stairs. He heard a loud, "Meeeeoooooowwww!" right outside of the house. His legs began pumping even faster. He finally reached the door just in time to see Ryoko teleport up into the spacecraft floating above the lake. He saw it speed off into the sky and disappear. He was too late. Washu was observing Kyonei and Mihoshi with her spy cam when an alarm went off. She phased in her holotop and began fiercely typing in commands on the keypad. "Ryoko, why?" was all she managed to choke out before a tear made its way down her cheek. She tried contacting her through their mental link, but she didn’t get a response. She would never have a chance to be a mother to her now. Why had she been so wrapped up into her damn experiments? She should have been there for her daughter. "No!! The greatest scientific genus in the universe won’t give up that easily!" She began rapidly typing in commands in her laptop once more, desperate to find a way to contact her. Ayeka and Sasami had both heard Ryo-ohki and went to investigate. As they neared the door, Tenchi ran past them like they weren’t even there. What happened? Why was he in such a hurry? Both princesses watched him disappear up the stairs with very concerned expressions. Ayeka was the first to speak up. "Do you think we should go talk to him?" "I don’t think that would be a good idea. He looked pretty upset. We should leave him alone right now." "You’re right Sasami, but I am very curious about what would cause him that much distress." "Where’s Ryo-ohki? I heard her meow. I wonder if that has anything to do with Tenchi’s actions?" "I’m not sure. Let’s wait until he calms down before we talk to him." Ayeka took the clues into account and acquired a suspicion as to what was bothering him, but she didn’t want to let Sasami know just yet. She had to be sure first. She needed to speak with Washu. Author’s notes: Well, that concludes the second chapter. I have more of an idea where this story is going now, but I am still uncertain about many details. In the next chapter the details of Washu’s experiment will be revealed. I am quite sure of that. I hope you have enjoyed my story so far.