I don't own these characters or profit from them Tenchi's Freaky Friday (Yes this is a knock off) By, Clayton Overstreet Ryoko sighed and looked up at the moon. She smiled, considering carving her and Tenchi's faces onto it in a large heart. That would show Aeka. But Tenchi wouldn't like it. She sighed, looking out at the stars. Ryoko was prettier than the princess was. But Tenchi always seemed to favor her more. Maybe it was her grace, her upbringing, or that famous Royal blood that Aeka was always harping about. Phasing through the roof Ryoko sighed. If only she could find out what it was. Then maybe she wouldn't scare Tenchi so much. "I wish I could be her for just one day." Closing her eyes Ryoko settled into bed. Meanwhile Aeka was standing in front of her full-length mirror. There was nothing wrong as far as she could see. Smooth skin, deep red eyes, long silky hair, and small pink lips. So why was it Tenchi didn't fall head over heals for her? It was that damn Ryoko. She was the only one Tenchi even got a nosebleed around any more. It had to be because he knew Aeka was his aunt. And because or Ryoko's ridiculously large chest. She didn't like to think that way about lord Tenchi, but he was a man. If only there was a way to know for sure. As distasteful as it seemed Aeka whispered, "I wish I could be her for just one day." Then shuddering at the thought she turned to go to bed. Tenchi yawned and stretched as he woke up. It was a nice bright morning and a beam of sunlight hit him in the face. Smiling he got up and headed to the bathroom. He almost had his pants down to use the toilet when he felt arms wrap around him and a familiar voice whisper in his ear. "Good morning Tenchi, did you miss me?" Ryoko asked. Tenchi bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. Instead he sighed and tried to sound exasperated. "Ryoko, you need to stop doing this." "But why Tenchi, aren't I pretty enough?" Ryoko pouted. Tenchi sighed and turned to face her. "You know that's not it, it's just... Aeka?" He stopped and stared in shock. Ryoko turned quickly behind her. "Where?" Not seeing anyone she turned back to Tenchi. "Aeka, what are you doing? And why are you talking like Ryoko?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko looked at him confused. "Tenchi, what the heck are you talking..." He eyes locked on the mirror behind him. Aeka's reflection looked back. Ryoko raised her right arm and the reflection did the same. Reaching to her head Ryoko pulled some hair where she could see it. It was dark purple. Suddenly Ryoko began laughing. Rolling on the floor she laughed so hard tears came from her eyes. "Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, beginning to figure things out. Suddenly there was a high-pitched scream from down the hall. Tenchi and Ryoko ran to Aeka's room. When they got there Ryoko was staring at herself in the mirror and screaming in Aeka's voice. Ryoko laughed from the doorway. "Oh this is perfect! Hey princess, look at this." Aeka turned and saw Ryoko standing there in her body with her finger up her nose. "You! This is your fault! Give me back my body you pirate!" She jumped forward and grabbed the hand Ryoko had in her nose and pulled on it. Something in Ryoko's hand cracked and pain shot through her body. "Ahhh, let go! Let go before you rip it off!" Aeka was so surprised that she dropped Ryoko. "I...I didn't mean too. I didn't even squeeze you that hard. You never hurt me like that." Ryoko glared up at her, holding her wrist. "That's because I was never trying you royal twit!" Without thinking Tenchi bent down next to Ryoko. "Ryoko are you alright?" Through gritted teeth she nodded. "Yeah, I've been through worse. Of course then I could heal myself. Ahhh!" Tenchi pet her hair, trying to calm her down. "It's alright Ryoko. I'll go get Washu. She'll know what to do." Aeka watch Tenchi lavished attention on Ryoko. Even when she was in her body he liked her better. It wasn't fair. She just wanted to... they all looked up as a hole appeared in the wall. Then a bright red light shone through the hole and window, followed by a huge roar that deafened them all. When it stopped they all looked at Aeka's hand in shock and fear. Outside the mountains were missing something: A mountain. "I think I'll go get Washu now." Tenchi said and ran out of the room. Aeka managed to collect her jaw and looked down at Ryoko. "How could I do that? I mean you only have one gem. How could you be so strong with one gem?" Ryoko, now that the shock had passed, was once again holding her hand in pain. "Actually princess that was without the gem. To use that power you'd have to know what you were doing." Aeka shuddered. "You mean to say... you've been playing with me this whole time?" Ryoko was in too much pain to respond. She simply took a deep breath, shaking slightly. Just then Tenchi and Washu came in. Without glancing at Aeka they kneeled down next to Ryoko. "This is going to take a little time to heal Ryoko." Washu said and ran a green beam over her hand. "How long?" Ryoko asked. Washu grinned. "It's done. I also replaced the mountain and fixed the hole in the wall." Aeka frowned, and almost got upset that they weren't paying attention to her. Then she remembered the mountain and calmed down. They were only fussing because it was her body that was hurt. It had nothing to do with Ryoko or Tenchi would be focused on her... right? By now Sasami, Ryo-oki, Mihoshi, Noboyuki, and Yosho had arrived. They had watched the exchange and realized that Ryoko's voice was coming out of Aeka. Sasami looked up at her and said, "Aeka? Is that really you?" Aeka nodded. "I'm afraid so Sasami. Somehow I've ended up in this disgusting body. I can only hope that I can get out of it soon so I can bathe." Ryoko snorted. "Like I'm having the time of my life huh princess?" Sasami giggled. "Well you're going to have to put up with it for a little bit." Everyone looked at her in shock. Noboyuki scratched his head. "What do you mean Sasami?" Sasami laughed again and looked at them. "Well last night Tsunami heard the two of you wish that you could trade bodies for a day. So she did it." Washu laughed along with her. "Oh that's a good one. I wish I'd thought of it." At first everyone was confused, then they all joined in the laughter. Except for Aeka of course. "Well I am glad you are all enjoying this. But I don't want to be stuck in this body for another minute." Sasami shrugged. "Sorry, but you asked for a day." Ryoko grinned at her. "Oh come on princess. Where's your sense of adventure?" Aeka shook her head. "I don't care about any adventure. I want my body back!" As she said the last she vaporized the mountain again. Washu sighed. "It seems that I need to tone down your powers for today. Ryoko, how much power do you usually use at most when you fight Aeka?" Aeka looked at Ryoko too. "Yes, how much? Half?" Ryoko thought about it. "I'd say about 0.01 percent." Washu nodded and began to make the changes in Aeka. Aeka however wasn't going to stand for it. "Wait, that can't be right. Yosho, you've fought her for real. What do you think?" Yosho nodded, "That sounds about right." Aeka just sat and stared. Ryoko had been toying with her this whole time. She barely even noticed the sudden weakness she felt. "O.K., that does it." Washu said. "Let's go get breakfast before something else happens. Mihoshi looked at her. "So why is Ryoko talking like Aeka?" Breakfast was interesting to say the least. As usual Ryoko and Aeka sat on either side of Tenchi. The others watched fascinated as Ryoko used Aeka's body to gulp down at least twenty pancakes. Meanwhile Aeka was eating at her usual pace, but kept bending her fork and shattering her glasses. Suddenly Ryoko stopped eating and grabbed her stomach. "Ow! Crap, I feel like I'm going to puke." Aeka smirked. "That's what you get for eating too much Ryoko." Then her stomach growled. "Oh my..." Ryoko laughed. "And you aren't eating enough little girl." Aeka sniffed, but began eating more. "Well at least now I know why you are such a pig." Sasami stepped in before Ryoko could respond. "So who is doing what chores today?" Ryoko growled. "I finished mine last night. I don't care if I am in Aeka's body, I won't do her work for her." "And I don't want you to Ryoko. Just because I am stuck in your body doesn't mean I'll be as lazy as you." Aeka said. Tenchi sighed. "I can see where this is going so will one of you please just come help me in the fields today?" Ryoko grinned and spoke up while Aeka had her mouth full. "I'll do it. My chores are done already so that's no problem." Aeka growled in her throat, but couldn't think up a good excuse since she had insisted on doing her own chores. Oh well, it didn't matter. Ryoko was in her body so it was obvious that any feelings Tenchi showed her were really meant for Aeka. "I can agree to that. It will spare Tenchi the horror of having to look at Ryoko's ugly face." Ryoko frowned. "You don't get it do you princess? Love is about the soul, not some body." Aeka laughed. "There you are wrong Ryoko. True togetherness is destined by blood." Ryoko grinned wickedly. "But isn't your blood in me now?" Aeka snorted. "It's still my body Ryoko. You have none of the refinements that go along with it, does she Tenchi? Tenchi?" Both of them looked at the empty spot Tenchi had been in a moment before. Looking around they saw him outside with his gardening equipment. Ryoko immediately got up to follow him. "Tenchi, wait for me." Noboyuki got up to. "Well I'm off to work. I'll be back late tonight around..." He leaned down to Sasami. "When is this over?" Sasami giggled. "Midnight tonight." Noboyuki smiled. "On second thought I think I'll stay in a motel tonight." He grabbed his briefcase and ran out the door. Yosho followed. "I'll be in the shrine tonight." Mihoshi, who wasn't quite as dumb as they thought, decided that it was time for her to report to headquarters and would be off the planet for the rest of the day. Sasami was going to ask what Washu was doing today when the door to the lab slammed shut and locks clicked into place. Ryo-oki looked up at Aeka. "Is it just me or is this place suddenly empty?" Aeka nodded absently. "No kidding... did you just talk?" Ryo-oki nodded and inside her head Aeka heard, "Yup." Aeka sighed and put her face into her hands. "Could this possibly get any worse?" "According to my calculations, yes." Washu's voice rang in her mind. Aeka sighed and laid her head on the table. Sasami patted her head and smiled. Ryoko sighed and absently twirled Aeka's tiara on the end of her finger. For the last hour she had tried to help Tenchi out, but it had been so boring and Aeka's body wasn't used to hard work. Plus, despite her expectations, Tenchi wasn't treating her any different than usual. After a while Tenchi decided to take a break. He looked over at Ryoko. "So why did you wish for this?" Ryoko looked up at him and smirked. "Can't you guess Tenchi?" He shook his head and Ryoko looked down sadly. "It's the same reason I do everything else. I wanted it because of you Tenchi." Tenchi looked at her shocked. "But what did I do?" Ryoko smiled and reached out a hand to rub his cheek. "You didn't do anything Tenchi. You are just so sweet and I love you so much. I wanted to know why you don't love me. I started wondering if what Aeka said about blood being the basis for Juraian relationships was true. And I thought... that you might not be as afraid of me." Tenchi sighed and looked at her hand. "Ryoko, I haven't been afraid of you for a long time. And as far as the blood thing goes, people on Earth don't marry close family." Ryoko sniffled slightly and looked up at him. "Then why Tenchi? Why don't you love me like I love you? Whenever I try anything you either get a nosebleed or tell me to go away." Tenchi frowned. "Now you're not being fair Ryoko. Did you ever think that you're not the only one who doesn't like this?" Ryoko turned away. "I don't care if it's fair or not. I know Aeka says she loves you, but she just wants you to replace Yosho." "Ryoko, I know that. I wasn't talking about Aeka!" Tenchi yelled. She looked back at him. "Then who were you talking about Tenchi? Washu, Mihoshi, Sasami, who?" Tenchi looked at her, staring straight into her eyes. They were Aeka's eyes, but he could see Ryoko behind them. It was now or never. "Me Ryoko, I was talking about me." Ryoko stared at him for a minute confused. "What do you mean?" "You think I like having to push you away from me? To never spend enough time with you so I can get over that nosebleed." He said. "Then why do you do it?" Ryoko asked. "I thought that maybe if I was like Aeka, without all my powers, you might just love me." Tears fell down her cheeks. Tenchi found himself thinking of how different Ryoko and Aeka were, even when they cried. Hesitantly Tenchi reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ryoko please don't cry." Ryoko took a deep breath and pushed her cheek into his hand. "Then just tell me why." "Because I don't want anybody to get hurt. If I say that I love you, you'd just tease her about it. And even if you didn't she'd still be mad and would probably kill us. Then there's what you would do again. You'd probably get excited and do something I'm not ready for. So no matter how much it hurt, I couldn't tell you." Tenchi closed his eyes, trying to get control again. Ryoko watched him quietly for a minute, and then turned to look out at the field. "So why tell me now? Because I look like Aeka or what?" Tenchi shook his head. "Because I want you to know so you don't do something like this again. I care too much about you and the others. The fights and things have to stop Ryoko." She reached out and touched his hand. "Then just say it Tenchi." Tenchi smiled and looked up at her. "If I do, will you promise to wait at least until tomorrow to tell the others? I don't think Aeka should know until she doesn't have your powers anymore." Ryoko grinned and hugged him. "It's a deal Tenchi." She glanced down at her wrist. "I don't want any more broken bones in Aeka's body anyway." Tenchi put his arm around her and hugged her tight. "I love you Ryoko." She smiled. "I love you too Tenchi, but will you feel the same if I get stuck like this?" Tenchi smiled. "Like you said Ryoko, it's not the body it's the soul." Ryoko laughed. "Alright then, let's give Aeka a little something." She leaned in and kissed him. After a minute he kissed her back. "That should hold me until I get my body back." "I hope so... I love Aeka and all, but that was like kissing a sister." Tenchi grinned. Ryoko mock-pouted. "Well now who's not being fair? Besides, how many sisters have you kissed?" She laughed and put her arm around him. They were suddenly interrupted by Aeka's scream echoing across the valley. Aeka sighed as she sat on the couch. All day she had been breaking things and blowing stuff up. Even though Washu insisted that she was only at 0.01 percent of Ryoko's strength. She couldn't even use the gems. Doing the chores had been a disaster. She didn't know which was worse, the torn apart laundry or the ripped off washer lid. Sasami had finally decided that Aeka should just try to relax. "Well it's time for my soap operas anyway." She reached out and absently grabbed the remote control and pushed the on button. The television came on all right, but her finger stuck through the remote where the button used to be. "How does Ryoko do this?" She yelled. It must take Ryoko incredible control not to break everything in sight. Despite herself Aeka felt a slight respect for Ryoko, if only for a minute. Then she remembered that Ryoko was with Tenchi right now in her body. Aeka gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Suppose what Ryoko said earlier was right? Aeka had always thought that blood was all that mattered to bring people together. But since coming to earth she had gotten to think there might be a flaw in there somewhere. She had said as much to Tenchi that time they had been caught out in the rain. And on this planet close blood seemed to be a turn off. "So why don't you just let Ryoko have him?" Ryo-oki asked, hopping into her lap. Aeka frowned. "Because I love him and I won't let her take him away from me. Besides, what do you know you little fuzz ball?" Ryo-oki yawned and stretched out on her lap. "Who me? Oh nothing, I just spent the last two millennia linked to Ryoko's mind." She opened one eye and looked up at Aeka. "And right now I also know what you think and you do not love Tenchi as anything more than a brother." Aeka stood up, dropping the cabbit onto the floor. "Shut up you little creep. You don't know what you are talking about. Besides, blood is all that matters." Ryo-oki meowed, then giggled in Aeka's mind. "You don't believe that any more. You aren't even sure if you ever did. And you know Tenchi doesn't feel that way." Aeka screamed. "Just shut up and get out of my head!" She turned to walk away and found herself floating in air, unable to go anywhere. Sasami peeked into the room. "Aeka, what's wrong?" Aeka frowned, trying to steady herself. "I'm fine Sasami, it's just that Ryo-oki was a lot cuter before I could hear her talk." Sasami nodded. "Yeah, she's a lot like Ryoko really. But I still think she's cute." Ryo-oki turned into her child form and ran over to Sasami. With one last laugh in Ryoko's mind they disappeared into the kitchen. "Rotten little rat..." Aeka mumbled, still spinning in the air. "Well, my daughters do have attitudes, but they aren't that bad." Washu's voice rang in her head. Aeka sighed. "Not you too. Don't I get one minute's peace?" Washu laughed. "O.K., I'll make you a deal. I'll leave you alone and cut off the link if you'll... call me mom!" Aeka let out a squeal of outrage. "I most certainly will not. I have parents, thank you." "In that case you're out of luck. So what's got your panties in a twist now?" Washu asked. Aeka sighed. "Well aside from breaking everything, being stuck in the air, and having an annoying little creature say that Tenchi and I weren't meant for each other, nothing." "Ryo-oki said what? Why that little traitor. She swore not to say anything until tomorrow." Washu griped. Aeka stopped spinning. "What? What are you talking about Miss Washu?" Washu stuttered. "Um... well... I must be going." Aeka's mind was quiet. Aeka clenched her fist and dropped onto the floor. "No... No they're just trying to trick me. I'll go ask Tenchi right now." Picking herself up off the ground Aeka ran out the door and towards the carrot field. She didn't even notice the tree she literally ran through, sending splinters in every direction. But as she got closer she began to slow down. Maybe she was acting rashly. Aeka decided just to watch. See what was what and then figure out what to do. After all, there was no chance she would ever lose Tenchi to Ryoko, no matter what body she was in. Then again Aeka always said it was her royal blood that attracted Tenchi and not her soul. Was she supporting Ryoko's stupid argument? No... but if she didn't then right now Tenchi belonged with Ryoko... even for one day. It was no wonder why Ryoko had made her wish. If she had even suspected that Aeka was right then Ryoko must have felt like this all the time. Aeka worked her way through the bushes, still thinking. If she was right then Tenchi belonged to Ryoko right now. If Ryoko was right and it was the soul that mattered, then Aeka still had a fifty-fifty chance. And if both of them were right then Ryoko currently had it all. The only thing missing would be if Tenchi loved Aeka's soul. Aeka had spent so much time emphasizing blood and training, she had barely let Tenchi see that. Meanwhile Ryoko, despite her crude behavior and fights with Aeka, had always shown the real her. The only time Aeka did that was when she fought with Ryoko. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. There was Ryoko, lounging around in her body, just twirling Aeka's crown. Aeka grinned to herself. Ryoko was just being her lazy self. There was nothing at all for her to get worried about. Aeka had known she was just being silly. Then Tenchi stopped working and sat down next to Ryoko. "So why did you wish for this?" Aeka thought about it while Ryoko talked. Why had she wished to be Ryoko, even for a day? Aeka looked down at her body, running a hand over her waist. Ryoko did look a bit prettier than Aeka in some ways. But even if he were attracted to that he wouldn't pick Ryoko. Mihoshi had a bigger chest than the rest of them put together. In fact the blond police officer fit the Earth's idea of beauty almost perfectly. Her attention was taken back to the conversation in front of her. Tenchi had just said that people on Earth don't marry close family. Ryoko then asked why he couldn't love her. Despite herself Aeka wanted to know the same thing. She listened as Tenchi talked. He asked Ryoko not to cry, and then said she wasn't being fair. "I don't care if it's fair or not. I know Aeka says she loves you, but she just wants you as a replacement for Yosho." "Ryoko, I know that. I wasn't talking about Aeka!" He yelled. Aeka and Ryoko both stared at him. "Then who were you talking about Tenchi? Washu, Mihoshi, Sasami, who?" "Me Ryoko, I was talking about me." He said. Aeka stood there in shock as Tenchi continued. "You think I like pushing you away from me? To never spend enough time with you to get over that nosebleed?" He told Ryoko how he was afraid of what Aeka and she would do, how he didn't want to hurt anyone. He told Ryoko that he was telling her this now to stop the fighting so that this wouldn't happen again. She was too stunned to even comprehend the whole thing. Pieces of the conversation drifted through her brain. "Will you say it? If I do can we wait until Aeka doesn't have your powers anymore? I love you Ryoko. I love you too Tenchi, but will you fee the same if I get stuck like this? It's like you said, it's the soul not the body." It all swirled around in her head. Then Ryoko said something about giving Aeka something and kissed him, kissed Tenchi! "That should hold me until I get my body back." Ryoko said when they broke apart. "I hope so... I love Aeka and all, but that was like kissing a sister." Tenchi said. That more than anything else was what caused her to snap. How could he love Ryoko and still love Aeka? It didn't make any sense. And she couldn't think nor do anything about it. Deep in her throat the scream started, then before she knew it, she heard it echoing back to her ears from the mountains. Sasami sighed as Ryo-oki lay in her lap. "Tsunami, are you sure this was the right thing to do? I mean this is going to hurt all three of them a lot." Tsunami's voice filled her head. "You agreed to it Sasami. The pain that they were causing each other and ever5yone else was worse. This will be over by tomorrow." Suddenly from off in the distance they hear Aeka scream. Sasami sighed and pet Ryo-oki. "I just wish there were another way." Tenchi and Ryoko knelt over Aeka. After her scream she had simply toppled over. Tenchi ran his fingers over her head. "Do you think she hit her head? I mean I know it wouldn't normally hurt you, but Washu took away a lot of your power." Ryoko bit her lip. "Oh I hope she's alright." She gently patted Aeka's cheek. "Come on Aeka, be alright. I know that body you're in is tougher than that. Just wake up and I swear I'll never fight with you again." Finally Aeka let out a tiny sob. Tenchi and Ryoko looked at her anxiously. "Are you going to be O.K. Aeka?" Tenchi asked. Aeka frowned through her tears. "Of course not! How could you pick her over me and then still say you love me?" Ryoko smirked. "She's fine." "Ryoko, could you please show some kindness here? Besides you just promised not to fight with her any more." Tenchi said. Ryoko smiled. "You heard that huh? Well alright... but if she starts the fight all bets are off." Tenchi looked back down at Aeka. "I'm sorry you found out that way Aeka. I wanted to wait until..." "Until I couldn't snap both of you in pieces like sticks?" She asked. "Maybe I should just kill myself now. Then either Ryoko will be stuck in my body, or she'll be dead... no. I won't do that. That would be too nice." She turned away from them. "Aeka, please... I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else. I just had to do what was right." Tenchi said. Aeka looked up at him. "But you said you loved me too." "I do, but it's like the way you love Sasami or your parents." Tenchi said. "Come on princess, you can't take it that badly." Ryoko said. Aeka looked up at them, and then smiled pleasantly. Tenchi smiled back. "See, I knew you would see this reasonably." Aeka nodded and grinned. "Very reasonably. Now you have ten seconds to run before I kill you." Tenchi laughed nervously. Then Ryoko said, "Tenchi, I don't think she is joking." She pointed to Aeka's hands, which were digging into the ground. Aeka's smile spread out. "Seven seconds..." Tenchi looked at her, "Miss Aeka please..." "Five seconds..." She said. Ryoko and Tenchi looked at here, then at each other, then at Aeka again. The ground under Aeka's began to crack, "Three seconds..." Tenchi and Ryoko jumped up and began running through the woods. From behind them they heard Aeka jump up and star after them. "Time's up lord Tenchi." She said cheerily as se ripped a tree out of the ground and hefted it like a club. They ran faster as the tree crashed into the ground behind them. "Miss Aeka, please calm down and think about this for a minute!" Tenchi pleaded. Aeka let out a loud cackle. "Oh I'm perfectly calm! Just hold still a second and everything will be just fine." The tree swung just over their heads. Ryoko ducked and yelled back. "Come on Aeka, I could understand you being a little upset, but..." "Oh you understand do you? Well let me tell you a secret Ryoko..." She lifted the tree up. "I don't care!" The tree came crashing down right where they had been standing. Tenchi and Ryoko had barely dodged in time. The top of the tree splintered and cracked as it hit the ground. Tenchi and Ryoko were up and running again, with Aeka cackling at their heels. Ryoko turned to him, "Tenchi, if we die, remember that I love you." Tenchi gasped out. "I... love you... too Ryoko." They burst out of the bushes near the shrine office. Tenchi and Ryoko ran past Yosho, followed closely by Aeka. Yosho stood up and yelled sternly, "Princess Aeka control your self! This is no way to behave!" Aeka stopped then so did Tenchi and Ryoko. She looked at Yosho and nodded, lowering what was left of the tree. "You are right Yosho. I have been acting in a manner unbecoming a princess." Then her smile returned. "But like I told Ryoko, I don't care!" She lifted the tree again and took a swing at Yosho, who quickly dived, to the side and joined Tenchi and Ryoko in running away. "Tenchi, what did you do?" Yosho yelled. Tenchi looked at him. "I told Ryoko I love her and Aeka heard." "In that case we are dead! If we live through this you're doing extra chores for a year." Yosho yelled, ducking under Aeka's swing. Ryoko growled. "Don't blame him Yosho. If you'd just married her when she showed up we wouldn't be in this mess! But no, you had to push her off on Tenchi." She dropped and rolled to the side, almost being smashed by Aeka's tree. "Will you please just hold still?" Aeka yelled. "It's hard to hit you if you keep dodging like that!" She swung the tree, pulverizing a log that Tenchi jumped over. At about 10:00 Aeka finally cornered them. She had been trying for twelve hours to smash the three of them into dust. Now they were trapped against a cliff. "Any last words?" She asked. Yosho nodded. "Yes, I have something to say. Aeka as the crown prince of Jurai, the man who saved Jurai, and master of the Masaki shrine I just want to say..." He dropped to his knees in front of her and sobbed. "Please don't kill me!" Ryoko kicked him in the back. "Pull yourself together Yosho. This is no way for someone who beat me in battle to act." Tenchi looked up at Aeka. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" Aeka smiled and nodded. "I'm positive." The three of them closed their eyes. Ryoko said, "I don't suppose it would help if I said that I'm sorry?" They stayed there with their eyes closed for a minute, waiting to die. When the deathblow didn't come they peeked and saw Aeka standing there thoughtfully. "Do you mean that?" Ryoko looked straight at her and nodded. "Yes, I do Aeka." Aeka looked at Tenchi and Yosho. "Do you?" They nodded quickly. "Aeka I am sorry," Tenchi said. Aeka sighed. "Oh that's just great. Here I am trying to kill you and you apologize." She tossed the tree aside. "Oh well, I'd have hated smashing in my beautiful face anyway." Tenchi bit his lip. "So you aren't mad any more?" Aeka shook her head. "No Tenchi, I guess I'm not. But I really wish..." Tenchi looked at her. "You wish what Aeka?" Aeka sighed again. "I wish I had smashed you all when I was still mad." Tenchi grinned. "Can we go home now? My legs are killing me." Aeka nodded and said, "Yeah, let's head back. I'm starving and I want my body back." Ryoko smiled and stepped up, putting her arm around Aeka's neck. "Then let's get going." She grabbed Tenchi and pulled him along too as they began walking back, leaving Yosho still kneeling on the ground. Ryoko turned to Aeka. "Kind of fun being me isn't it?" Aeka grinned in her best Ryoko imitation, which was pretty darn good at the moment. "It had its perks. But I want to be me again. How do you keep so much control over yourself? I've been breaking things all day." Ryoko laughed. "Well I haven't been able to do hardly anything. First thing tomorrow I am going flying." Tenchi looked between them, shaking his head in amazement. "Wow, who would have thought you two would get along?" Ryoko laughed and squeezed him slightly. "Aw come on Tenchi. This is what you said you wanted." The next day Ryoko was flying over the house with Tenchi holding onto her tight. At midnight she and Aeka had hugged one time, then when they parted they had been themselves again. Washu had returned her powers and Tenchi had even given her gems back. Now she was enjoying herself with the man she loved. Aeka had been perfectly fine with it. She seemed to actually see Tenchi as a brother now. Their brief experience in each other's bodies had done both of them some good. But they were glad to be themselves again. Tenchi looked into her eyes and smiled, "Are you happy now Ryoko? No more regrets?" Ryoko smiled at him. "No regrets. I've got everything now Tenchi." Tenchi smiled and kissed her cheek. "Me too Ryoko, me too." From below Sasami watched the two of them. "You were right Tsunami. Things have gotten a lot better." "Thank you Sasami, but I couldn't have done it without you. I chose well when I joined with you." Tsunami replied. As Tenchi and Ryoko disappeared into the distance on their picnic, Aeka sighed. She still envied Ryoko, but wasn't mad at her any more. Things were good, she had her family, and she had her body back. Smiling she turned and picked up the laundry basket. Today was a good day. The end Author's note Well, it wasn't my best story, but some people wanted me to do an Aeka story. Since I won't do that I decided on a compromise. Hope you enjoyed it and I'd like your feed back at clayton_n@hotmail.com