Disclaimer Tenchi Muyo!, and all its characters belong to Pioneer and AIC, I'm just writing about them and I'm not making money off this. Don't sue me. Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. Well my second fic is finished. I've gotten favorable reviews for the first one (Thank you Christ!). I initially thought it wasn't all that great, but to hell with what I think. I hope this one is even better. Thank you for reading my pointless drivel. Anyhoo, enjoy! Yatojo found himself staring into darkness. . "No, my son, you are quite alive" a voice echoed in the black. He recognized the voice as Tsunami, his creator. "My creator . . . forgive me, for I have failed you.", he said with reverence. "No. Don't apologize, Yatojo. You did what I wanted you to do." "But, how? You gave me specific instructions to keep my presence hidden." Tsunami sighed, then said, "Yatojo, why did you save Ryoko's life?" He thought for a moment and realized he cared about this stranger called Ryoko, and how the strangers in that house would feel if she had managed to. . . "I don't know.", he said in denial "Yes, you do. It's because you started to care about others. An hour before, you made a prediction that Ryoko would take her own life . . . and you didn't care if you were right or wrong. ‘Ryoko being as passionate as she will probably kill herself. No matter. As long as I keep Tenchi breathing, nothing matters.'", his exact thought echoed through the darkness . . . and it made him shiver. Not at all surprised she knew all this information, he asked, "Why do I, all of a sudden, care now?" "Washu and myself have been putting emotion in your mind. You will need all of them to help me in this war against Tokimi. I cannot explain why at this time, but you will need to learn how to be human. To do that I must keep you from regenerating your power." Not at all liking the idea of being weakened, he stammered "But, but, but. . . " trying to find a reason that she shouldn't do that. Tsunami beat him to the mark. "Tenchi Masaki is to become my greatest warrior and I will protect him myself, so don't worry that, but you must also train him for the trials ahead. You cannot have your powers back until you are human." she said with a ‘that's final' tone in her voice. "What must be done, must be done." And with that, he was thrown back to consciousness **************** Ryoko sat up and looked around, thinking the Masaki's attic was her eternity. She saw a person in a mask lying prone on the floor. She then saw, she sitting in a pool of her own blood. she thought, sadly. Just then Washu, burst into the attic ran to Ryoko and gave her a hug that would make Misaki wince. "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!!" she screamed into Ryoko's somewhat confused face. The tears were now flowing freely from Washu's eyes. "I thought I had lost you. Damn it to hell Ryoko!!! Don't you realize what that would do to me?! Don't you realize what that would do to Tenchi? If you cared for him at all, you would be willing to forgive him his mistakes!" "Mom. My. Ribs." she struggled to say. Now thinking straight, Ryoko began to think of the hurt and sorrow Tenchi would feel, and it would have been her fault. Knowing he would blame himself and live with that guilt the rest of his life. Ryoko began to cry too. "I promised I would never hurt him and look how close I came. You won't tell him will you?" "No. I won't tell him" said her mother quietly. After holding each other for a long moment, Washu stood up and walked over to Yatojo. She removed his mask to reveal, much to her surprise, a boy who looked only a little older then Tenchi. The youth had long black hair and a handsome, though very pale, face, with three silver triangle's on his forehead. "Ryoko, this man is the one who saved you" Washu said solemnly. Ryoko looked at his face for a moment. "He's not dead, is he?", she asked worriedly She checked his pulse, it was very weak, but it was there. "Come on, we gotta get him to the lab." Ryoko tried to teleported them, but found her powers didn't function. "Huh?" "What? What's wrong?" Asked Washu, her voice full of concern "It's my powers, they won't work." "He used his last ounce of power to nullify yours. He was afraid you might try it again. It'll wear off in a couple of hours. C'mon. Help me carry him. They carried Yatojo to the lab and Washu put a sign that read ‘DO NOT DISTURB' on the door handle. **************** For a moment Ayeka thought she saw Ryoko and Washu, both covered in blood, carrying an unconscious, or dead, stranger into Washu's lab. "Uh . . . Mihoshi did you see that?" "See what Ayeka?", said Mihoshi absently, too hypnotized by a soap opera to notice the bizarre sight. "Never mind, I must have imagined it." , she thought but her eyes widened as she looked back at the door to the lab and saw the DO NO DISTURB sign. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Mihoshi" "Uh huh" "Devoid of brains", Ayeka muttered to herself. She walked up the stairs and into her room, trying to forget what she had just witnessed **************** Ryoko and Washu carried Yatojo over to a medical table. Washu phased into her tight fitting nurses uniform. "Uh, Mom, I don't think he'll appreciate that." "I think he will. Here, put this on." She handed Ryoko a uniform. Ryoko just blinked at her, "Your joking!" "It's the only thing I have that's sterilized, put it on." Washu demanded. Although disgusted, Ryoko complied. Washu summoned her transparent computer, pressed a few keys and a very large amount of synthetic life energy was injected into Yatojo. "That should do it." Washu said with relief. "That's all we had to do! Then why do we have to wear these!" "You still need to be sterilized." Washu explained. "I have no idea what could affect him when he's this weak." "Who is he anyway?" Washu told her who he was, why he had come, and what he still had left to do. "This is Yatojo? I thought he was just a legend." looking at his tranquil face, not believing that the heart beneath it could be capable of such terrifying deeds. "Tsunami told me she had created him but I wouldn't have believed it, had I not once met him." "You know him?" "No one knows him. That was the way he preferred it. It would be easier getting to know a wall." "So are you saying he's evil?" "Not at all. He can't be good or evil. Those both require intent. Tsunami's orders are all he does and nothing more." "Then if he's so uncaring, why did he save me." "I was putting the emotions in his mind. He took pity on you. He has them all now, but I don't know how he'll react." "Why should we worry about that?" "Aside from the fact he almost died to save you, he's now almost powerless, and all those gadgets he has won't work without a majority of his own power. He doesn't know us and in his mind we're a threat." "Why should he think that?" "That's the way he was designed. Tsunami made him to be the best military genius in the universe and when he doesn't have any power, he is to look at anything that moves of it's own accord as a possible threat." , Ryoko thought. "I don't think if you should have two love interests, lil' Ryoko. Isn't your life complicated enough as it is?", said Washu tauntingly. " Shut up, MOM!" , very annoyed that her mother was reading her thoughts. Washu looked at her monitor and it showed that Yatojo was conscious and apparently eavesdropping on their conversation. "He's awake" Washu whispered "What does that mean?" "It means he's been playing us for fools!" Getting the idea, Ryoko walked over to where he lay. warned Washu, telepathically. Ryoko replied, throwing caution to the wind. **************** Yatojo had been awake for some time now and he had found out where he was quite easily without opening his eyes. There was no smell that he could sense, The only voices her heard were Ryoko and Washu's, he felt he was on a metal table, and there were things buzzing and whirring in the background. He regulated his breathing and heart rate so that it would appear he was unconscious. After hearing their discussion, he thought dripping with as much sarcasm as possible. When he heard Washu whisper something, he knew he had been found out. A moment later he felt someone breathing on his face. He immediately realized two things. Number one healing oneself was not considered a power, so that had escaped his nullification. Number two he wouldn't need to. He scolded himself. That was new. Death had always been a viable solution to any problem he had ever had with a mortal, but not now. "Thank you." Ryoko whispered in his ear. "You can stop pretending, no one's going to hurt you." Seeming to read his thoughts after a long silence he asked "Why should I trust you?" keeping his eyes closed. Ryoko, who hadn't expected a response, stuttered, "Well, uh, uh, uh. . ." "Because she's my daughter and you know me" Washu interjected. He opened his eyes and sat up. "That was quite some time ago, you are a much different person now." "And you aren't?" "Not until yesterday, no." He noticed the garb they were clad in. He narrowed his eyes at Washu and said "Why are you wearing that? You look ridiculous." Washu looked at him then down at the uniform. She started to blush. "Well you see, uh. . ." "Hi you guys! Whatch'a doing? Playing doctor again? " said Mihoshi, seemingly coming out of nowhere All three of them looked at her dumbfounded at how she could get into this fortified place without even trying. "Washu, please explain." "She is truly one of the great scientific mysteries of the universe. That's honestly the best I can do" "Can I play too?" asked Mihoshi, earnestly. Yatojo cut his eyes at Mihoshi and then back to Washu "A great amount of stupidity is stronger then a great amount of intelligence" "What are you guys talking about? Wait a second who are you?" "You don't want to know and I'm not going to tell you" "Huh?" "Oh, for Christ's sake, can't you stop playing mercenary?! She's not a danger to you!" Washu yelled at him. "How can I know that!" "You guys, stop fighting." Mihoshi whimpered. She started to cry. he thought. "I think that will do." He swung his legs over the side of the table and was about to leave. "Yatojo, I wouldn't. . ." Washu warned To late. He hopped off the table and promptly collapsed on the floor of the lab. "You're still weak. You need to wait a couple of hours." Washu explained as she helped him back onto the table. "The hell with what you think I need. There are other ways to skin the proverbial cat" he began to float upwards, then over toward the exit. "Stop! You need to rest first!" Washu called out. "I don't ‘need' anything" more to himself than to anyone else "I can force you." Warned Washu appearing in front of him "You can't force me to do any-" was as far as he got. The same spherical droid that had once captured Tenchi wrapped it's servitors around Yatojo before he could react. "-thing." He looked at his predicament and rolled his eyes. "You couldn't come up with anything more original than this? Somehow I would've expected something more creative from the greatest scientist in the universe. Oh well." he shrugged He was trying to arouse her ego and she knew it. "You can play on my pride all you want I'm not going to let you go." Knowing she saw through his rouse, he half-smiled. She could not be tricked so easily and that deserved respect."Very impressive. All right, I will rest, willingly. I don't need to be strapped down." "How can I trust you?" she said playfully This was getting tiring. "Washu, your wasting my time. Whatever you're going to do, do it now." "Is that any way to talk to your aunt, little Yatojo?" in her most annoying voice. He gave her a look that could melt stone. "Tsunami is not my mother. I am not related to you. Don't ever call me that again." his voice was quiet but threatening. "Jeez, just kidding." The droid released him. "Ryoko will show you to your couch" "Huh?" said Ryoko, who had hoped to stay out of this as much as possible Washu sent through their mental link. Ryoko hesitated, then did so. Ryoko walked toward the exit and Yatojo, floating centimeters above the ground, followed. "Washu, who was that?" asked Mihoshi She told her the whole story. "So. . .who is he again Washu face-faulted. "I'll tell ya tomorrow, go to bed" said an exasperated Washu. It had been a very tiring day. **************** Ryoko led Yatojo out of the lab and into the Masaki's living room. She showed him the couch. "Sorry. It's not exactly the Ritz" stated Ryoko. "Ritz?" "Uh, never mind." with that she floated up to the rafters. Obviously, her powers had returned. Once Yatojo had lied down, he felt a wave of exhaustion crash upon him. He had never needed sleep even though it was a convenient to pass time whenever. Uncontrollably he fell to it. Immediately he was with Tsunami and she was uncharacteristically angry. "Don't you understand the importance of this?" she said angrily. A little surprised at the way she spoke, he answered "Yes, I do. But I need time. I can't be heartless one day and be sociable the next. It is beyond my abilities." "It doesn't even look like your trying" "What else was I supposed to do?! No one has ever gotten to see my face and lived, let alone gotten close enough to whisper to me. I'd say that's rather good progress." he said. "I must do this my own way and I must do it alone." And he broke out of the dream, leaving Tsunami to stare into nothingness. "Don't you see? You can't do this alone. There are limits. . .even for you. Boundaries even you cannot pass on your own" She said sadly. If she could magically make him human, with human feelings and human personality she would do it gladly. But things such as this were not so simple. Nothing was simple anymore. "If only you could swallow your pride. . .Why do you think I bade you to go here?" The Masaki residence had the widest range of emotions in the universe under one roof, if anyone could help, it would be them, but in light of what she just saw, it looked doubtful. He would have to learn on his own to trust in others. He would need to. Then the goddess had to smile. For better or for worse this would prove to be quite entertaining. **************** When Yatojo awoke, he was on the Masaki's couch. It was 5a.m. Making sure no one was around, he silently hopped to the floor, and made his way to the door. He was about to open it And that memory was only one of many thought Yatojo sadly. , Tsunami projected. , and with that she was gone. Did Tsunami just tease him? He decided this was far too much. He was about to leave, but, in her sleep, Ryoko rolled over so that she was facing him. For some reason, beyond his comprehension, he hesitated. He looked upon her face and saw what could only be beauty. She seemed so sedate. Her facial features looked almost elven. Her spiky cyan bangs came down to the bridge of her nose. Her mouth was curved in just a hint of a smirk, as if she knew something he didn't. A few moments before she had taken off her mask of toughness, and showed someone who was strong enough to try and bond with a heartless bastard like himself. In some ways, she was stronger, smarter, and more powerful then he could ever hope to be. And yet she was still a child. he asked himself <.......> , he scoffed and he tried desperately to hate her for doing this to him, but he failed miserably. After looking at her for what seemed an eternity, before his denial could stop him, he took of his right glove and gently caressed her soft cheek. Ryoko, in her sleep, gently grasped his hand and held it. In all his knowledge regarding humanoid unconscious (which wasn't all that much, but it was enought) that should not have happened under any circumstances. This seemed a work of fate. Painful, joyful, horrible, fantastic realization crashed on him like a tidal wave. Much like herself and Tenchi, she was the only one to look into his eyes without fear. She was the only one to see beyond his past, and find it in her heart to try to help when she, herself was torn apart inside. She had, had the strength to reveal her true self to him. He could no longer deny it. He loved her. That's why it was so pathetic. Having unrequited love was not a thing he would've hoped for. he told himself Something formed in his eye. It was unmistakable. A tear. His very first. Today would be quite a day for new experiences. **************** Tenchi awoke to feel the same unbridled guilt he had felt the night before. He looked at his clock. "Six, huh. Better get ready for school." He got dressed and came downstairs. Sasami was already cooking breakfast. "Morning Sasami!" "Oh, hi, Tenchi" she said cheerfully "What are you making?" Can't tell you, it's an old family secret. Sorry." "Oh that's all right, Sasami, I like surprises. Have you seen Ryoko anywhere? "No, I haven't. Why are you looking for her? She the one that usually finds you." He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily, "I, uh, kinda hurt her feelings last night, and I'd like to apologize." He said, sadly. "Well if I see her, I'll tell her your looking for her. Breakfast is almost ready, could you go get everyone?" "Sure, no problem." He walked over to Washu's lab's door and went inside, cautiously. Who knew if she might be interested in getting that special "sample." When he walked in, he saw Washu, asleep on her computer, wearing the nurses uniform. Not believing his luck he thought Realizing not to push it he opened the door and got ready to run if he heard or saw anything conspicuous. "Little Washu, breakfast is ready." he called out anxiously. "Huh? What?" the red-haired scientist said groggily. "Sasami's got breakfast ready" Rubbing her eyes, she said "Gimme a few minutes, I'll be right up." "Have you seen Ryoko around here?" Last time I saw her she was (yawn) upstairs" still trying to wake up. "Oh, all right then. See you in a few minutes" He then went to wake up Ayeka, and Mihoshi. ***************** Ryoko awoke in Yatojo's arms. He wasn't moving and his eyes were staring into space, but she saw a single tear run down his cheek. "What's wrong?" she asked with concern Surprise showed on his features, but he quickly regained his composure. "Nothing. I'm. . . I'm fine" she thought. "It's alright. You can tell me." she said sincerely. "No. I can't. You could not help me." "Aren't we friends?" she asked, sitting up. "Friends? Ha!" he laughed humorlessly. "I don't even know what friendship is." thought Ryoko. Not knowing a soul in any universe. Just being a haunting presence made only to kill, had to be just that, she knew. She herself had once been that. She knew she would never live like that again and she didn't want anyone else to have to either. "You know, it doesn't have be that way. I'll be your friend." she said with earnest. He recoiled at this, like she had just hit him, scrutinized her for a long moment, then finally said "Why do you care so much about my well-being?" in a voice barely above a whisper. "Because I owe you that much" He stared into her golden eyes, as if trying to find lies or deceit. Giving in, he said, "Alright, Ryoko, I'll try." "I'm glad. We should probably go back." "If you say so" They both levitated out of the tree and walked toward the Masaki home. While they were walking, Yatojo asked, "Ryoko, since, we are more or less friends now, I must inquire, have you ever told Tenchi what you told me?" Ryoko stopped dead in her tracks. No, she hadn't. Was that why Tenchi was so defensive around her? Was it because she had never told him about herself that he could react to her in no other way than resentment? And if so, was it her fault? "Have I said something wrong?" asked Yatojo. "No, it's nothing, never mind."she said hastily. Ryoko had tried every other road to get Tenchi, . She had never told Tenchi that she had seen him by the cave. She had never told him how she felt. she thought. Now maybe Tenchi would understand. Just maybe. They came to the gate and they happened to meet Tenchi on his way to school. "Uh, hi Tenchi" Ryoko said glumly, not meeting his eyes. Tenchi looked really ashamed of himself. "Ryoko, I just want to say I'm sorry. I blamed you for something that wasn't your fault. Forgive me?" Tenchi asked solemnly. Instead of receiving an answer he was tackled to the ground and was being kissed all over his face. "Oh Tenchi, I'm so happy!" Ryoko exclaimed happily. "Hey c'mon Ryoko!" he yelled. They then heard the sound of a throat being cleared loudly. "Oh, right." said Ryoko, standing up "Tenchi this is Yatojo. Yatojo this is Tenchi" "Uh, nice to meet you" said Tenchi extending his hand. "Likewise"Yatojo said, shaking Tenchi's hand. "I need to ask for your hospitality. You would not mind?" He knew Tenchi wouldn't have a choice, but that didn't stop him from being polite. "Um, sure the more the merrier. Well I gotta go. Bye!" and Tenchi made his way to the bus stop, leaving Ryoko and Yatojo by themselves. "He won't need to go to school much longer." Yatojo said knowingly. "Why not? Not that I want him to but doesn't he have to go?" asked Ryoko "He has a power that makes the lighthawk wings look like trinkets, and he will have to fight many battles, but I have to train him and that takes priority over education." "Are you serious?" "What cause do I have to lie to you?" "No, I believe you, it's just that it seems too much for him" "Faith in a boy. . .faith in a boy" Ryoko looked at him funny for a second then said "What do you say we have some breakfast. I don't know about you but I'm hungry." "Yes, I should eat something" And they entered the house. Then it hit him. With his energy sustaining her, Ryoko had become for more powerful, then yesterday. And with all three gems combined. . .she would be equal to a goddess, and he would have to train her as well. When anyone was that powerful, looks and thoughts could kill. This was going to be a LOT of work. But on the upside, Tokimi was as good as dead now. But what saddened him was that Ryoko loved Tenchi, and there was no place in her heart for himself. It was all for the better he supposed. Still, there was a feeling of emptiness welling up inside him. It seemed almost like a cancer and all because of that little red whore in chest!. As he walked in new faces looked at him with curiosity. A new day. A new day. Author's notes So how was it? If it was good, tell me. If it sucked, tell me how I can make it better. Some C&C would be appreciated. Question. In episode 5 of the OVA, Ayeka tells Ryoko "It's annoying to be seduced by an old woman". We all know Ryoko is a little over 2000. Now how old is Ayeka? Remember 700 years ago, when Sasami looked about 4. Well she's 8 now, so I figure every 700 years, Jurian's age about 4 yrs. Ayeka looks about 18. Don't bother figuring it out It's 2450 yrs! This proves Ayeka is a @#$%&*# hypocrite!!! What I'm really trying to say is Yay Ryoko! Boo Ayeka! Plus, how does Ayeka know that being seduced by an older woman is annoying, unless it's happened to her! On that happy note. I bid you adieu.