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 4 by Leeman It was now dinnertime at the Misaki residence. It was a very quiet and uneventful dinner due to the absence of Ryoko, Tenchi, and Washu. Washu had announced earlier that she was working on something very important in her lab and could not be disturbed. Kyonei and Mihoshi were glancing and smiling at each other frequently, but no one noticed except for Ayeka. "Even they have found love in one another," she muttered under her breath. "Did you say something, Ayeka?" Her little sister questioned. "I was merely commenting to myself on how delicious this food is." "I’m glad you like it." The little princess gave her a big smile, which temporarily eased her frustration. Mayuka’s crying interrupted the peaceful meal, and Kyonei immediately took her into another room and changed her diaper. After she was done, she came back into the dining room and placed the little girl on the floating crib that Washu had designed. When everyone was finished eating, Ayeka and Sasami cleared the table, and then took Mayuka into the onsen with for a bath. Kyonei and Mihoshi announced that they were really tired, and that they were going to go to bed early. Although it was noticed that they were smiling at each other and blushing as they made their way out of the room. Nobilyuki took quite a bit of interest in this, and he soon disappeared. Yosho knew where he went and what he was doing, and he hung around the house for a good laugh which he knew would come sooner or later. It didn’t take very long until Nobilyuki stumbled down the stairs with his video camera smashed over his head. Yosho burst out laughing, and he didn’t stop until he fell off of his chair and hit is head on the floor. He groaned and rubbed his head. He went back to the shrine soon after. Washu sat in her lab typing away on her holotop. She couldn’t tell exactly where Tenchi and Ryoko were, but she had narrowed down their locations to within a 200-mile margin of error. She needed to slow down Ryo-ohki to improve Tenchi’s chances of catching her. The virus she was working on would completely shut her down for about 10 minutes which would allow Tenchi to gain considerable ground on her. It took her twenty minutes, but finally she completed it. "I’m very sorry to have to put you through this, Ryo-ohki, but it is for your and Ryoko’s own good." She hit the enter button and the virus was sent. Ryoko was relaxing in her chair, when suddenly it became very dark, and Ryo-ohki slowed to a stop. "What the hell! Why are we stopping, Ryo-ohki?" There was no reply. "Ryo-ohki, are you okay?" There was still no reply. She opened up her link with the ship and discovered a haywire signal from its brain had put it to sleep. She could tell that it caused quite a bit of damage in many of her cells, but she was quickly regenerating them. What could have caused this? Was it a flaw in her design? She sighed. She would just have to wait until the ship was fully regenerated. Tenchi was growing impatient. He had to catch up with her soon, or it would be too late. "How long before we reach Jurai?" The ship displayed 3 hours on the screen. Can’t this damn ship go any faster? She could already be there. He silently prayed for her safety before laying his head back against the chair. Time was running out. His thoughts were interrupted by an incoming transmission. He accepted it, and Washu appeared on the screen. She told him what she had done to Ryo-ohki. "Don’t give up hope Tenchi. We won’t let her die. She has too much to live for." She smiled at him, and the screen went blank. Thanks to Washu there was still a chance to save her from herself. Twelve minutes later, Ryo-ohki came back to life. "What happened, Ryo-ohki?" "Miya Miya Miya Miya Miya Miya Miya. Miya Miya Miya." "Damn it, Washu!" Why does she always have to meddle where she has no business? "Ryo-ohki, continue on to Jurai, and fly at maximum velocity." She would allow no more interruptions. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. "How long before we reach Jurai?" The screen displayed 2 hours. Washu was fully aware that the virus wouldn’t allow Tenchi enough time to be able to catch her, but it bought her some time. She had to figure out a way to stop Ryo-ohki for a more extended period of time. She knew that Ryo-ohki has probably already taken preventive measures which would stop her from being able to send another virus. She had one last hope...Tsunami. Sasami had convinced her sister into playing a game of chess. Ayeka almost always won, but that was because she had more training in tactics. All members of the Jurai royal family were throughly trained in military and political tactics. Ayeka was older than she was and therefore ahead of her in her studies. Jurai tactics could be applied to many walks of life which was why they were emphasized so much. Sasami was still not an easy opponent to defeat, though. She was very bright and used very subtle means to trap her opponents. Ayeka had agreed to the game because she knew it would take her mind off Tenchi and Ryoko, and she needed to spend some quality time with her sister. The game only lasted about a half hour which was pretty short by their standards. Sasami had lost her queen early, but she had been able to take out a rook and a knight. It was a pretty evenly matched game until Ayeka blundered her queen in a very poorly planned attack. After that, Sasami was able to get a pawn down to the opposite side of the board and get her queen back. Soon, Ayeka was put in checkmate and the game was over. "Good game, Sasami" "Good game, Ayeka." They shook hands in the customary manner, and then Ayeka bowed. "You’re getting much better. One day you may be able to defeat Yosho." Sasami blushed. She knew that Yosho was perhaps the best in the universe at chess. He had been undefeated since he was a child. He was the one who taught Ayeka how to play. He always said, "The key to chess is not attacking your opponent, but it is positioning your pieces to take advantage of their attacks." She always applied that in her strategies, and it was finally paying off. Just then, Washu walked into the room. "Sasami, I need you to come down to my lab." "Why do you need her to go to your lab?" Ayeka questioned. "I must speak with Tsunami, and she is the only one who can contact her." Sasami’s reflection in a nearby mirror was replaced by a gorgeous woman in flowing white robes. "Washu, if you need to speak with me, all you have to do is call out my name and ask." Washu blushed a little from embarrassment because she hadn’t thought of that. She explained the situation to the blue-haired goddess, then waited for her reply. She just smiled which confused everyone in the room. "Tenchi is the only one who can save her. All he has to do is trust in his own power. I’ve already told him that, but I guess he is quick to forget such details." Everyone face-faulted. When they got up, the goddess was gone. Sasami smiled as Tsunami explained inside her mind what she meant by her comment. She had a mental link with the goddess ever since she had assimilated with her. She never told anyone about this though because she still felt like she wasn’t the real Sasami. She thought that if anyone knew about it that they would think she was a freak. She didn’t know that her family would fully and unconditionally accept her, but one day she would. Until that day when she would completely merge with Tsunami, and their minds and bodies became one, she would feel like an outsider who didn’t belong. Ayeka and Tenchi told her that they loved her just the way she was, but she still wasn’t completely convinced. Washu went down to the lab to relay Tsunami’s message to Tenchi. She wasn’t sure what Tsunami had meant, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to tell Tenchi about it anyway. She typed in a few commands on her holotop and sent her request for a conversation with him. It didn’t take him long to respond. "Hello Tenchi." "Hello Little Washu." "I contacted Tsunami for help, but all she said was that you are the only one who can save her, and you should trust in your own power." "What does she mean by that? Is she talking about the lighthawk wings?" "I’m not sure, Tenchi, but if she believes in you, so do I." "Thanks Washu." "What did you call me!?!?" "I mean Little Washu." He scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh. "That’s more like it. I have to go now and see if there is anything else I can do. Good luck, Tenchi." "Thanks." The screen went black and Washu was left to think in silence. Despite how smart she was and how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with any more ideas. It truly was in Tenchi’s hands. Tenchi reflected over what Washu said to him for a few minutes. What could Tsunami have possibly meant? He was pretty sure it had something to do with the lighthawk wings, but what? He knew he could materialize objects with them, but nothing he could materialize would do him any good. He was very frustrated, but he knew he had to figure it out before Ryoko arrived at her destination. "Ryo-ohki, how long will it be before we arrive?" The screen displayed 1.5 hours. She sighed heavily. Time seemed to move slower and slower as she got closer to Jurai. She spent the next hour and a half thinking about the person most precious to her, Tenchi. Ryoko was brought out of her thoughts by the ship alerting her of their imminent arrival on the planet. She skillfully guided her ship to a good landing spot. She noticed that a crowd of people gathered soon after she landed. She could see many of their faces from the ship. Their eyes were so full of fear and hate. "Ryo-ohki, I want you to protect our family from any and all harm that ever threatens them. As soon as I leave your deck, fly off the planet and back to earth as fast as you can. Do you understand?" (Mournfully) "Miya. Miya." Ryoko phased out of the deck and reappeared in front of the crowd. Ryo-ohki did as she was told and flew away. The crowd wanted to tear her limb from limb, but they were paralyzed with fear. She materialized her energy sword which made them panic and back away from her. She just smiled at them and cut of her left wrist. Her hand and gem fell to the ground. She regenerated her hand, and then she then took of her two self-made gems that she wore as earrings and tossed them to the ground. "Those gems are the source of all my powers. Without them, I cannot harm any of you. I came here to allow you to have your vengeance for your loved ones whom I killed over 700 years ago. Do with me what you will." Her smile never faded as the crowd argued amongst themselves about what to do with her. They finally decided that burning her at the stake would be the most fitting way for her to die because the fires she caused had claimed thousands of victims, even after Yosho had chased her off of the planet. One of the men in the crowd stepped forward and punched her in the mouth. She fell to the ground, and he took a step back. He didn’t know how she would react or if she really did have some power left to fight back with. She stood up and wiped the streak of blood that flowed from her cut lip. He lip healed almost instantly, but soon she was under a barrage of punches and kicks. Her healing system was slowed down immensely because of the lack of her gems. She was being stomped repeatedly by anyone who could force their way through the crowd and get a hit in. She was very close to death after only a couple of minutes. "Wait! Don’t kill her yet! She must feel the flames burn away her flesh before she dies!" A few men in the crowd proceeded to drag her to a suitable spot where a stake had already been put in place. Tenchi saw Ryo-ohki fly towards him and proceeded to intercept it. He ordered his ship to beam him onto Ryo-ohki, but Ryoko was no where to be found. "I’m too late." He said just barely above a whisper. He told Ryo-ohki to beam him back on his other ship and continue on her way. Tears began to flow from his face, then he remembered what Washu had said. He knew he would never make it in time in his cabbit ship, so he had to rely on his own power. He materialized the lighthawk wings, but he wasn’t sure how to get on Jurai. An idea popped into his head, though, and he began picturing himself phasing out of his ship and onto Jurai. It worked. He looked around and didn’t see anything. How the hell was he supposed to find Ryoko now? Ryoko had been tied onto the stake and wooden fuel for the fire surrounded her. "Set the monster on fire!" "Kill the demon!" "Now you will know how it feels, bitch!" These were just a few of the many shouts of the people. Finally, the fire was started, and it didn’t take long for it to spread. As the heat increased more and more, Ryoko winced in pain. Tenchi concentrated on an image of Ryoko and imagined teleporting to her location. In a flash he saw what appeared to be a huge bonfire surrounded by a mob of people. He knew Ryoko was in that fire, and he hoped she was still alive. He flew towards it at an incredible speed. In mid flight the lighthawk wings washed over him and formed his armor, and he flew right through the fire and grabbed Ryoko who had passed out and flew out of the other side. The crowd stood in shock at the boy clothed in heavenly garments who cradled the space pirate in his arms. He pictured himself on the deck of his ship and within a second they were there. He noticed that Ryoko was badly burned from the fire, and that her healing processes weren’t kicking in. He placed her in the chair and grabbed the Tenchi-ken. He prayed that the two gems be returned to her, and they immediately took their places on her right wrist and neck. He knew she could even heal herself faster if she had her third gem and he teleported to where it lay in the dirt. He grabbed it and her two earrings and teleported back to the ship. He then ordered the ship to fly back to earth at full speed. He pointed the Tenchi-ken at the third gem and absorbed it into the hilt of the sword. Then, he prayed that it would be returned to Ryoko, and it took its place on her left wrist. He then put on both of her earrings, and smiled down at the pirate. He noticed that the burns on her flesh were starting to heal. He held up the Tenchi-ken and prepared to order the ship to contact Washu, but he decided that could wait until later. He sat by her side until he became sleepy and finally dozed off in the chair that he had the ship materialize for him. Washu knew that they both would have had to reach Jurai by now. She prayed that everything worked out okay, but she couldn’t ignore the dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach. What would Tenchi do if he wasn’t able to save her? She knew he would be overcome with guilt, but how would he handle it? "I hope your love for her was enough to beat the odds," she said just above a whisper. Tsunami appeared behind her. "Washu, you must have faith in Tenchi. He capable of things you haven’t even imagined. Tenchi wouldn’t let her die. I know how much he loves her." "How can you be so sure, Tsunami?" The goddess smiled down at the redhead. "Wait and see, sister." She disappeared, and Washu was left baffled. Why had Tsunami just called her, her sister? She decided to question it later and go to bed. She was really tired mostly because of worry. A few hours past before Ryoko started to stir. She moaned in her sleep, and rolled over onto her side. She then rolled over onto her other side. She moaned again and rolled onto her back. She moved her right arm from her side and placed it on Tenchi’s face. This caused him to wake up. He grabbed her arm and moved it off of his face. He sat up, and looked at the beautiful space pirate. She was so angelic in her sleep. He smiled down at her and held her hand in both of his. She smiled in her sleep. He had an urge to wake her up, and tell her how much he loved her, but he didn’t want to disturb her either. She needed her sleep after going through that ordeal. He sat like that, unmoving, for a few hours. His sleepiness eventually got the better of him though, and he laid his head on her stomach and fell asleep. He lay on his side with his lower half being supported by his chair. His upper body was supported by her chair. Her stomach served as a comfortable pillow, and his breathing soon became in sync with hers. Washu awoke around seven o’clock in the morning. She decided to contact Tenchi and see how things worked out. The dread she felt in her stomach returned, and it intensified as she typed in the last commands on her holotop. She hit the enter button and waited in absolute silence. Ryoko was awakened by the beep that accompanied an incoming message. She felt something heavy and warm on her stomach and glanced down to see Tenchi’s sleeping figure. She smiled, and it occurred to her, that he might just love her after all. The last thing she remembered was the intense heat of the fire before everything went black. She figured Tench must have somehow saved her. She told the ship she would accept the message, but it didn’t respond. She tried contacting it telepathically, but she was unable to. She guessed that it would only respond to Tenchi. She decided that it wasn’t important, and she ignored it. It beeped for about another minute before ceasing. Ryoko just looked down at him and ran her fingers through his hair. She had dreamt of being close to him in scenarios like this since he was a small boy. She knew he would grow up and rescue her from the cold, dark cave, but she hadn’t even considered the possibility of him rejecting her once she was free. Finally, when he hadn’t rejected her, she had rejected him. She figured he was lying to her because he didn’t want her death on his conscience, but she knew now that he had been telling her the truth. He wanted her to stay because he loved her, but he didn’t want any of the others to know about ti because he thought it would hurt them. He didn’t realize how much it hurt her, though, when he would always act like he was disgusted by her. She knew that she didn’t exactly help matters out though. She always forced herself on him, and she always fought with Ayeka whenever she got the chance. She never let her true feelings show, and she wasn’t exactly the most honest person in the world. She could see where all of this played a major role in his not trusting her. Now everything was going to change. She wouldn’t hide her true feelings anymore, and she would earn his trust. The dread in the scientist’s stomach seemed to knot up. She knew that just because she got no response, it didn’t mean anything was wrong. For all she knew, they could be consummating their love for each other, but she realized that Tenchi would never be bold enough to do something like that. She sighed. She was desperate to know what had happened, but she would have to wait. She decided to make breakfast for everyone to get her mind off of them. Tenchi finally awoke from what was probably the most sound sleep he had ever had. He felt her running her fingers through his hair, and he smiled inside. He decided to pretend to be asleep for a while longer. There was no telling what she would try to do with him once she found out he was awake, and he almost got a nosebleed just thinking about it. After laying there for about a half hour though, he was getting a little anxious. He needed to contact Washu and tell her that everything was fine. He knew that she would be quite worried by now. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked. He sat up and turned around to say good morning to her, but she phased out of her chair, and phased back in with her arms around him. She hugged him very tightly and rubbed up against him. His nose started to trickle blood, and she realized that this was no way of earning his trust. She let him go and backed away from him. He just smiled at her, and he decided it was time to confess. "Ryoko, I can’t live a lie anymore. You nearly died because of me, and I don’t want anything like that to happen ever again. It hurt me when you thought that I wanted you to leave. In fact, it would hurt me more if you left than all of the other girls combined. I guess what I’m trying to say is...well...um..." She took a step forward and put a finger on his lips to silence him. Then she slid her hand back behind his head and pulled him closer to her. Finally their lips met, and they kissed passionately. Time seemed to slow down. What was only 3 minutes seemed like a lifetime. Tenchi poured all of his emotions into the kiss, and they were matched by hers. When they finally broke the kiss, a new euphoria consumed them. They hugged each other and stared into each other’s eyes. Love was all that could be seen in the depths of their souls. It was a unity like no other in the universe. Finally, they couldn’t take it anymore, and they kissed passionately anew. Hormones and emotions were at an all time high, and there was only one way to quench their thirst for each other. (This is not a lemon. You have my permission to write a fic about what they do in the next half hour, but you must let me read it before you submit it. I don’t want anything written in bad taste to be submitted to the archive.) Washu had almost finished cooking breakfast, when Sasami entered the kitchen. "Good morning, Washu." "Good morning, Sasami. I decided to make breakfast for everyone today." "Thank you. I really didn’t feel like cooking anyway. Have you spoken with Tenchi?" "The last time we spoke, he was nearing Jurai, I tried to contact him once today, but I didn’t get a response. I plan on trying again after breakfast." "I hope everything worked out okay." "Don’t worry, Sasami. If Tsunami has faith in him, so should we." "I guess you’re right. Do you want me to wake the others?" "Please do. Make sure that when you reach Mihoshi and Kyonei’s room, that you knock and wait for them to answer, though." "Okay." She smiled and ran out of the room and up the stairs. Washu smiled to herself. Sasami was probably the happiest and sweetest person she has ever known. Sasami went to wake up her sister first. This was usually a moderately difficult task, but today Ayeka was awake and on her feet in seconds. She went to Mihoshi and Kyonei’s room next and knocked as Washu had warned her to do. She heard scurrying and voices coming from the room. She even thought she heard someone say something about having the wrong bra on. Another minute passed before Kyonei answered the door. "Good morning, Kyonei." "Good morning, Sasami." "Breakfast is almost ready." "Thank you. We’ll be down in a few." Sasami nodded and headed to Nobilyuki’s room. After waking him, she went into Mayuka’s room, and brought her downstairs. Everyone gobbled down their food quickly except for Ayeka, who just stared at her meal. She was getting more and more depressed the more she thought about losing Tenchi. It wasn’t fair. Everyone she fell in love didn’t love her back. What was wrong with her? She was attractive enough to be most men’s dream woman, and she was quite intelligent. She was also very powerful. What did Ryoko have that she didn’t? Why would Tenchi choose the space pirate over her? Was it because she was related to him? She had learned that, on earth, it was considered immoral to be with a relative. She didn’t understand why at first until she learned that the offspring from related couples would often have birth defects. This never happened on Jurai, and she assumed it was because humans were genetically less stable than Jurains. She figured that since Tenchi had been raised on earth, he would consider it immoral for her and him to be together, even though he was of Jurai royal blood. She would never admit that Ryoko had won because her love for him was much stronger than hers was. Sasami noticed that her sister hadn’t even touched her food. "What’s wrong, Ayeka?" "Oh, nothing Sasami. I’m just not very hungry." Sasami knew that she was lying, but she decided not to press the issue. After the meal, everyone began doing their various chores. Ayeka announced that she wasn’t feeling well, however, and she went up to her room to rest. Washu decided to try contacting Tenchi again, and typed in the commands on her holotop. Ryoko and Tenchi lay in each other’s arms. Both of them were smiling broadly and thinking about each other. Their moment was interrupted by an incoming transmission. They quickly got dressed and accepted the message. "Hello, Little Washu." "Hello, Tenchi." She smiled at the sight of Ryoko. She was very relieved that everything had worked out okay. Then she noticed that both chairs were pushed together, and she grinned at the implications of this. Tenchi noticed what she was looking at and began turning red. Ryoko was puzzled, but she soon figured it out and began blushing as well. "Tenchi, I didn’t think you had it in you." He grew much redder, and Washu laughed at this. "Cut the crap, Washu." A very solemn look came over Washu, and she looked directly into her daughter’s eyes. "Ryoko, I was afraid that I had lost you. I have already felt the pain of losing one child, and I cannot bear to lose another. Don’t ever do something stupid like this again." Ryoko looked at Washu with a thoughtful expression on her face. Maybe Washu did care for her and was being sincere. She didn’t see how this could be any kind of trick to embarrass her. "I won’t, Washu. I promise." Both of them looked at each other for another minute. Washu finally looked away. She knew Ryoko would never accept her as her mother, and it was very painful. It was all her fault. If she hadn’t been so blind and saw Kagato for what he really was so many years ago, she would have never been imprisoned in that crystal and Ryoko wouldn’t have been put through hell. He seemed totally devoted to science, and he was very brilliant. He was her best student, and he soon became her lover as well. She thought she would never love anyone again after her husband and child were stolen from her. Kagato was very charismatic, and he stole her heart. She didn’t know that he was only playing her to gain control of the most powerful weapons in the universe. (Soja, Ryo-ohki, and Ryoko) Washu had just finished her greatest work of all, Ryoko, and was about to throw the switch that would drain the tank she was in and awaken her, but it didn’t happen. Kagato, who had been given access to her laboratory at the Science Academy, knocked her out before she could do it. Ryoko’s gems were already in place and he saw them as a means of controlling her. He was the one who threw the switch, and he took her and Ryo-ohki to the soja. He integrated himself with the ship’s computer and put Washu inside of a crystal on the lower half of the ship. If she hadn’t been so easily fooled by him, maybe her daughter would love and respect her today. Tenchi finally broke the silence and cut off the scientist’s thoughts. "How is everyone doing at home?" "Everyone is doing okay. Ayeka is pretty depressed, but she’ll be okay in time. By the way, where are you?" Tenchi answered, "We’re about ten hours away, but we’re going to stop at the nearest populated planet and get some food. We will probably stay there over night and be home tomorrow." Ryoko added, "Ryo-ohki will be home later on today." Everyone said their goodbye’s and the screen went black. Ryoko turned to Tenchi, "I thought were going straight home." "I am starving, and I thought it would give us a chance to get out of this ship and get some fresh air. We could have some fun and relax." "As long as we’re together, I don’t care where we go or what we do." They kissed each other again. Tenchi gave the ship orders to stop at the nearest populated planet. Author’s notes: That really was a fun chapter to write. I know the romance seen was pretty weak compared to the one in my other story, "A Valentine’s Day to Remember," but oh well. The next chapter will contain details of Tenchi and Ryoko’s day together. I’m not sure what else it will contain, but it’ll come to me when I start writing it. Please send me all of your comments and criticism. I would really appreciate it.