Washu's fingers flew wildly over the keys of her computer. Everything 
was working out perfectly. She congratulated herself repeatedly on 
thinking of such a wonderful plan.

Oh, she wasn't on the rampage to stir up the entire Misaki household, 
far from it. Washu was testing the effects of a little information 
here, and a little hormonal stimulation there. There was no doubt in 
her mind that Tenchi had rather deep feelings for Ryoko at the 
moment, but whether or not that was the result of her tests remained 
to be seen. True, Ryoko would be hurt by a sudden change in Tenchi's 
emotions, but that would only create more information for Washu to 
gather. She knew that she was treading on thin ice here, but all evil 
geniuses must take their chances.

She wanted to test how Tenchi would react to being suddenly released 
from being constantly fed electronic impulses to stimulate his 
hormones. Again, of course, Washu knew that all of this wasn't quite 
the nicest thing to do, but it was necessary. Over twenty thousand 
years had passed since she'd really ever felt anything in her heart. 
The recent experience that she'd had with little Taro had sparked an 
interest in reviving her old emotions.

Ryoko's emotional output was practically off of the charts right now. 
That made her a perfect specimen for her experiment.  If she were 
asked, Washu would be more than happy to confess that she'd induced 
Ryoko's sleep and current dream state. This current form of REM sleep 
that Ryoko was experiencing was not truly different from any of the 
other dreams that she had all too often.

However, she always made sure that no one was ever around when she 
was going to sleep. Washu had purposely deprived her of that comfort 
this time. Ryoko definitely had a lot of pride in her, and Washu 
wanted to see how she'd respond to a slightly humbling experience. It 
was going to be very difficult for her daughter.

Washu knew only too well all that Ryoko had suffered on those cold 
days. Those scars ran deeper than could be truly comprehended, and 
she sympathized with the cursed demon, but for the moment she put 
that aside. Perhaps one of her next experiments could be to 
selectively erase portions of Ryoko's memory. Just a thought...

For a moment, Washu glanced over at the video screen where Tenchi was 
to be seen, still holding Ryoko. A motherly smile crossed the 
scientist's lips as she thought of how flustered her daughter would 
be when Washu decided to allow her to awaken. There was no doubt in 
her mind that Ryoko would instantly know what and who had caused her 
to sleep in such a way.

Washu made a mental note to ready a few of her dolls. 

Her laboratory was completely silent aside from the faint but 
constant clicking noise that came from her fingers dancing nimbly 
over key after key. Information appeared like magic on the screen 
before her, and a few seconds later, it was full of data. It wasn't 
going to be much longer before this particular experiment would 
finally be over. This was all certainly tiring.

This one short study on human emotions was turning out to be longer 
than a college dissertation, but that was more than common whenever 
Washu was involved. No detail ever escaped her keen observance. She 
even recorded excess data that didn't really have anything to do with 
this experiment.

There was no telling when such information might be useful. And not 
only to her...

"Washu, it's almost tea time!" Sasami's cheerful voice broke through 
Washu's thoughts and jarred her back to reality. This was one of 
their favorite times of the day.

SOPA OPERAS!!

Before she left her lab, Washu turned on her recording device and 
tapped a few keys that would disable Ryoko's sleep within the next 
ten minutes, and Tenchi's emotions would return to normal when Ryoko 
discovered the truth. Washu needed only to wait.

*

Ayeka listened to the twigs crunching under her feet and thought 
about Tenchi. The remembrance of his lips on her hand was lovingly 
fresh in her mind. That pleasant thought spread a sweet smile across 
her face. That act had banished a few of her fears.

Perhaps it hadn't banished them, but it alleviated them for the 
present moment. There was a girlish glow all about her, and she could 
have sworn that had she not had complete control of herself, she 
would have hopped around like Mihoshi. There were many occasions 
where she wished that she could be as free with her feelings as the 
bubble-headed blond. Ayeka smiled again at that thought and didn't 
even notice the development of a slight bounce in her step.

For a moment she took the blessed hand in her other and held it close 
to her heart. She loved Tenchi so blindly that she was sure that 
nothing would ever stand in the way of her happiness. For so long 
she'd believed that she and Tenchi were destined to be together and 
that he was to be the emperor of the most powerful kingdom in the 
known universe.

Ayeka had so many expectations for her life together with Tenchi. She 
dreamed of long days in the Jurian gardens and quite nights together 
just talking as friends and lovers. Perhaps she never really stopped 
to think of just how much did she really love Tenchi. What lengths 
would she go to for him? But can a person really form their love with 
words of future deeds?

No...love is something that can only be measured by the person that 
gives it and feels it. Loving someone is not a give and take 
relationship. It is a give and -give- relationship. No one must 
expect anything from the person that they love. So far, Ayeka had 
been living that way from day to day. 

Expect nothing, and the heart will not be disappointed. However, even 
if hopes are low, there will always be sadness. Hearts will always be 
broken, and rarely mended.

Ayeka wiped a tear of joy from her cheek and hurried on to the house 
so that no one would wonder where she was. It was most likely close 
to teatime, but she wasn't really hungry or in the mood to watch 
silly soap operas today. She hoped no one would notice her far away 
looks, but she also remembered that Ryoko would not be there. As she 
walked, worried thoughts about Ryoko began to drift through her mind. 

She wondered about how she should behave whenever it was that Ryoko 
and Tenchi returned to the house. Doubtless, Ryoko would feel 
extremely uncomfortable about anyone seeing her in that sad state. 
The thought of being polite to her, though, made her own pride boil 
inside of her head.

If there was anything that Ayeka knew about Ryoko, it was that she 
was a very proud woman. Neither of them would yield to the other and 
be humbled. Perhaps it would be best if Ayeka tried to behave as 
normally as possible. However, it was going to be difficult to look 
into those cat-like eyes and not see a piece of the tortured past 
that lay behind them. Not a morning would pass without Ayeka 
wondering if her rival had slept the night before. 

Ayeka now shed a tear for Ryoko, her dear rival. True, that was an 
odd statement, but Ryoko was the closest companion that ever she had 
in her confusing life. If a day passed without a fight or insults, 
they both would consider the day to be a failure. Nothing must ever 
change between them.

For a moment, Ayeka beheld a vision in her mind of she and Ryoko 
looking old and wizened, and yet they were both still fighting over a 
decrepit Tenchi. The thought made her giggle, and she knew that would 
never come to pass.

Sooner or later (preferably later) Tenchi would choose a bride. Ayeka 
hoped with all of her heart that he would not be forced into a 
decision, and that he would choose a woman that he truly loved. 

Somewhere deep in her heart, Ayeka always believed that Tenchi would 
choose Ryoko. If that came to pass...well...she could not see what course 
of action she would take, because she could not really conceive a situation 
in which Tenchi would fall in love with Ryoko. 

It was laughable! What could possibly happen to stimulate such a 
reaction from Tenchi that it could cause a permanent change in his 
heart?

*

"Kagato...please...stop..." New tears ran out of Ryoko's eyes just 
when Tenchi thought that she was finally calming down. Her struggle 
began again as she tried to jerk her arms out of his gentle but firm 
grasp. All that Tenchi could think of doing was to hold her. It 
seemed like an eternity had passed since he'd sat on the ground with 
the fretting pirate in his arms. Ryoko's body once again reverted 
from struggling to shivering, and Tenchi hugged her closer to his 
chest as he actually felt her body temperature drop. 

"You've gotten all that you wanted...please...spare him..." Tenchi 
remembered those words all too well. Ryoko was powerless, as Tenchi 
stood seemingly helpless before a monster that was ready to kill him. 
Although the domination of the universe was within Kagato's grasp, 
Ryoko didn't care. All that she cared about was Tenchi.

She behaves in silly and obnoxious ways in full view of everyone, but 
Tenchi time and again caught glimpses of a more tender side to her 
being: a smile here, a gentle word or glance there. Ryoko loved 
him...more than her life and the lives of everyone in the universe. 
She deserved to be loved and cared for, and now, Tenchi somehow felt 
unworthy of her.

He wiped the tears away again with his fingers, but new tears 
immediately replaced them. Tenchi's eyes darted over her beautiful 
face and he reached down to take her hand in his own. They'd both
done so much for each other in the past, but now Tenchi wondered if 
he'd done enough...could he ever do enough?

Wild thoughts were racing through his head. He'd never felt anything 
like this in his entire life. There was something changing in his 
views of everything. It was difficult for him to put his finger on 
it, but for some reason, he didn't want to be anywhere but here. He 
belonged at the side of his friend whenever she was in trouble. 
Tenchi wanted to help her, and yet something was nagging him in the 
back of his mind. 

There was a sense of fear in his heart; not only the fear of Ryoko, 
but he was also afraid -for- Ryoko. Tenchi could hardly look at 
Ryoko's face without seeing that emotionless expression that had 
filled her eyes as she looked at that little girl. That precious 
child's features would be forever implanted in his memory from her 
lustrous blond curls, to her frilly blue dress that complemented her 
sky-blue eyes. A tiny life had been snuffed out.

He knew that she couldn't control what she had done, but it was still 
too much for him to comprehend. There was so much that he wanted to 
ask Ryoko, but he was still too afraid to know. Tenchi didn't want to 
know how many other people Kagato had forced her to kill. How many 
tear-filled eyes had she stared blankly into? How many families had 
she destroyed? How many people did she kill that had loved ones 
elsewhere? What kind of agony did those people feel when they 
received word of the death of their child, friend, spouse, lover?

"Don't make me kill them." Ryoko's struggling subsided, and she lay 
there for a few moments without saying anything more. What about 
Ryoko? How many nights did she lay awake in tears as the guilt of 
that day's lesson consumed her heart? How many times did Kagato 
decide to teach her -extra- lessons? Ryoko's life must have been 
lived in a haze of stupefied control and soul-wracking guilt. Tenchi 
wanted to do anything that he could to help her. 

A warm breeze swept through the clearing, and Tenchi looked up to the 
sky. Birds were flying freely high up there with the clouds and the 
sun. Rays of sunlight came streaming through the trees creating an 
almost magical setting as they randomly danced off of rocks, leaves, 
and the pair of troubled humans sitting in the clearing. The world 
was oblivious to anything occurring within these two tortured minds 
on this, the most beautiful of days.

Tenchi's eyes gazed over the surroundings and despite the current 
situation he smiled. It was so peaceful here. He'd been up in the 
mountains for a good portion of his life whenever he came to visit 
his grandfather, but he never stopped to really contemplate the 
absolute beauty of nature. Ryoko's breathing became more even, and 
everything was peacefully silent. 

"Ryoko?" Tenchi looked down into her face again, because her 
movements changed. She was now smiling and she tried to embrace him. 
The only thing that came to Tenchi's mind was to hold her. He knew it 
was impossible, but he wondered if she was dreaming of a scene just 
like this. It would have calmed his heart to know that she was at 
peace in her tumultuous dreams.

He wrapped his arms around her body and held her head against his 
shoulder with his hand. Tenchi's heart skipped a beat as she 
whispered his name in her sleep. Perhaps she was finally coming out 
of it. However, Tenchi now wondered if he really wanted her to come 
back to reality.

This was a moment that he just didn't seem to want to lose. No one 
was around to bother him about acting on his emotions, and there was 
no one really here to return them in an improper way. He just wanted 
to hold Ryoko, and he didn't want her to say a word...at least not 
now. 

* 

Yosho had taken to walking around the shrine at about this time. He 
clearly heard Tenchi and Ayeka's movements through the forest. 
Occasionally he considered himself to be a bit of a meddler, but this 
time he decided to leave them alone. There were some times when one 
just knew when it was better to let things take their own course.

However, it was amusing to observe the events in recent times. These 
girls were all impossible. It would be a dark day on this world 
whenever it was that Tenchi chose one of them. In all probability 
there would be nothing left of the earth after the fight that would 
follow his decision.

Maybe not.

Tenchi certainly had a good heart, and he would never want to hurt 
any of the girls. It was more than Yosho could say for himself. There 
were many broken hearts in his past that were left untended.

There was one particular girl that he remembered very well. Her name 
had been Sylvie, and he knew her about three hundred years ago. As 
far as physical appearances went, there were no women that could even 
be compared to her. The thought of her beauty caused this old man's 
heart to flutter.

Needless to say, Yosho had been immediately drawn to her. She had 
countless men running after her, and unfortunately it had gone to her 
head. Her ego couldn't be compared to anyone's as well. It was her 
not entirely her fault, but she had brought most of her future misery 
upon herself.

She made a bad habit of luring men to her and then leaving them 
broken hearted. Her life was full of lavish flings, but then she came 
across Yosho. At first he fell into her charm and beauty; however, it 
didn't take too long for him to see her true purpose.

Yosho was the first man that she was unable to seduce, and before she 
knew it, she was falling in love with him. It was too late though. 
He'd seen into her soul and knew that years of coldness had formed a 
permanent shield of ice over her heart. Sylvie tried for years to 
turn away from her past lifestyle, but in the end she was sent away 
to a neighboring city where she was passed from man to man.

Some people can change, but unfortunately, some cannot. There were 
many women that Yosho thought of from time to time. He'd loved so 
many times in his life that one might think that he'd had enough. 

He only hoped that Tenchi would never ask him for any real advice on 
women. That was probably the most confusing subject that the male sex 
has ever had to face.

*

Ayeka walked into the house just as Washu, Sasami, and Mihoshi were 
sitting down to watch their favorite soap opera. Without another 
thought, she took her place next to Sasami and waited for the action 
to begin. Of course, she couldn't help but notice Ryoko's vacant spot 
on the sofa.

"Where's Ryoko?" Sasami asked innocently. Ayeka's mind chugged to try 
and think of anything to say that would not arouse their suspicions. 
Much to her relief once again, the superior mind in the room detected 
her nervousness and knew just what to say. Washu simply shrugged her 
shoulders and let forth the brilliant excuse that Ayeka had been 
desperately waiting for.

"She went into town to get some sake, so she'll most likely be back 
later tonight." Ayeka silently thanked Washu and sighed. She was 
never good at concealing anything, and she suddenly wondered why 
Washu didn't pry. It was plainly obvious that the universe's greatest 
scientist saw right through the nervous princess's exterior. 

It was commonly known throughout the Misaki household that Washu was 
a meddler. That may have been an understatement, but it was the best 
word that Ayeka could think of to describe her. This was certainly 
odd behavior for Washu, and somehow Ayeka insinuated that Washu had 
something, if not everything, up her devious sleeve.

She decided to let go for the present time, but she made a mentally 
note to inquire as to what was going on after tea. 

Calmness...that word was repeated over and over again in her mind. 
Ayeka picked up her tea and tried to pay attention to the television 
screen. For some reason every character on the show reminded her of 
Tenchi and Ryoko. She half expected to see herself walk onto the 
screen and begin fighting with the other woman or women.

Sasami arched an eyebrow at her sister. It was blatantly obvious that 
something was bothering Ayeka. Then again, perhaps bothering wasn't 
the right word to use. She looked like she was sitting on a porcupine 
and she wanted to hurl her tea at the screen. However, it was also 
obvious that she wasn't paying attention to the show, because a 
slightly inappropriate scene came on, and she did not bother to cover 
Sasami's eyes.

Sasami was quite sure that she could have waved her hand in front of 
her sister's face without receiving a reaction. The temptation was 
strong, but she decided to resist it. It would have been a little 
rude, and she'd get a strong reprimand from her zoned out sister.

A puzzling expression came over her face as she scratched Ryo-ohki's 
ear. The cabbit purred happily and nuzzled further under her hand. 
Sasami looked over at Washu and saw another out-of-place look. The 
scientist stared blankly at the television screen, oblivious to what 
it issued forth.

It was never a good feeling being left out of everything that was 
going on; however, Sasami never really wanted to look like her sister 
and the scientist did now. There was a very good chance that their 
lost looks were the result of the same situation, and unfortunately, 
Sasami sat here oblivious to what had happened. She -really- wanted 
to know. According to her sister, though, gossip and idle chitchat is 
not the proper way for a princess to spend her time. Whenever Ayeka 
said that, Sasami was tempted to remind her of numerous occasions 
when the "proper princess" got completely sloshed with Ryoko and 
talked for hours.

Well, it obviously wasn't presently any business of Sasami's, and all 
that she could do was glance at the two women who were far away from 
this quaint little house in the mountains of Japan. 

A laugh erupted from Mihoshi's mouth, and she giggled for several 
minutes without ever noticing that she was the only one in the room 
laughing.

*

Nature is a world that exists in peaceful silence. The soft sounds of 
rustling leaves and chirping birds were followed by a beautiful 
stillness. This kind of peace can be rivaled by nothing. A person 
would have to be fairly insanely determined to try and find a place 
better than this. 

A sigh escaped Tenchi's lips as he relished this moment. The silence, 
the beauty, it all consumed his mind and spirit. He really wasn't 
sure if he'd ever been this at peace with himself and everything 
around him. Everything seemed perfect...everything...

"TENCHI!" An ear-splitting scream violently shook Tenchi from his 
pleasant daydreaming. Needless to say, he almost had a heart attack 
as Ryoko began to violently protest, but he held her protectively 
against his shoulder. For a moment he had almost let her slip through 
his arms, but he dug his fingers into her clothes and used all of his 
strength to subdue her. However, she did not continue to struggle. 
She was breathing heavily, but she did not try and fight his embrace.

At first, Tenchi did not even dare to breathe. He waited an eternity 
for Ryoko to do something. There were a few startled pauses in her 
pattern of breathing, and she tried to turn her head to look around. 
Tenchi was for some reason unable to release her. His arms would not 
loosen their hold on her. Ryoko slowly raised her hands and put them 
on his chest so that she could push back from him. Tenchi finally 
commanded his arms to obey his command. However, they refused to 
release her completely, but she was allowed some freedom.

Ryoko's cat like eyes gazed into his.  She seemed confused, and she 
turned her eyes towards the surrounding area, and remembered where 
she was. Then a look of shock and horrified realization came over her 
face and she clasped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes immediately 
shifted to a lower position, but that was Tenchi's chest, and a 
desire to sink back into his embrace washed over her.

"Was I dreaming?" Her voice was barely audible, and Tenchi simply 
nodded. Ryoko tried to turn her face fully away, but Tenchi drew a 
trembling hand up to her chin and turned her face towards his. He 
tried desperately to grasp any words to say. All phrases failed him 
and all that he could think to do was stare into Ryoko's eyes. Those 
two oceans of sorrow that now encompassed their hearts. Each of them 
grieved for her past, but Ryoko did not know that Tenchi had seen...

"Ryoko, did you really kill that little girl?" He didn't really mean 
to say that, but it was the first thing that came to his mind. At 
first Ryoko looked confusedly into his eyes, but then realization 
crept into her face and tears filled her eyes. Shame and guilt 
reached an all time high in her heart as she looked into Tenchi's 
innocent eyes.

"You know?" Her voice trembled as she dreaded his answer that she 
didn't need to hear, for she knew that it was true. Tenchi knew what 
she had done. Somehow he knew, and yet Ryoko's eyes darted furiously 
as she searched his face waiting for him to put her fear to rest. 
Fear was etched into her features as he mustered up the courage to 
give his affirmative.

Tenchi nodded.

Ryoko's breath emptied from her chest in several enormous and 
tortured sighs; the floodgates were opened, and tears washed down her 
cheeks without any sobs. How did he know? Each and every one of those 
events was a different secret that she had protected viscously. She 
knew exactly what little girl he was talking about, because Ryoko had 
seen the precious child in her frantic dreams. That had been one of 
her worst lessons. It was possible that Tenchi heard her talking in 
her sleep, but the expression in his eyes seemed to be one of deep 
sadness. He knew. Somehow...he knew.

She could not even think let alone respond to his question. Her mouth 
hung dumbly open, but she could form no words to tell him what had 
happened in her past. Random thoughts raced through her head. She 
wondered if Tenchi now despised her for what she'd done to that poor 
child. For a moment, she tried to shut her eyes to avoid the world; 
all that she saw was blood. All that she had known then was blood, 
screams, torture, hatred, and fear. Tenchi had tapped into her world, 
and now she saw it in his eyes.

If she told her only love about her tumultuous past, then she would 
never be able to look into those eyes again. Seeing him would be just 
as painful as sleeping. She'd see the blood and the faces. She'd hear 
the screams and the pleas for freedom or a quick and merciful death. 
Now escape from her past seemed as impossible as changing it.

Tenchi was her symbol of innocence. He'd never known the carnage and 
death that she'd experienced in her life. She never wanted him to 
know the truth of it all. Ryoko wanted him to always remain innocent. 
All of her time on Earth had been an escape from the universe. She 
wasn't just running from Jurian authorities, but countless others as 
well. She was hated by billions of people in the universe. Tenchi had 
given her the hope of a life with the one thing she'd always wanted: 
love.

Now all of her hopes and dreams had truly been shattered. 

"Ye...yes..." Ryoko hung her head as she whispered the word. "I 
killed her, and now, her innocent eyes are forever burned into my 
memory. Tenchi..." Once again Tenchi gathered her trembling body into 
his arms; however, his eyes remained locked on hers. Of course, he 
had known that it was true, but somewhere deep in his heart, he'd 
hoped that the dream had merely been a blown up version of the truth. 
Now it was confirmed, and he had to accept it.

Ryoko studied the look in his eyes and shook her head. It was too 
painful to look into his eyes, so she squeezed her own shut and tears 
trickled out of the corners of her eyes. She almost cursed Tenchi as 
he gently pushed her head into his shoulder and ran his fingers 
through her hair. This wretched creature did not feel worthy of such 
affection after what she had done with her life. 

How could this have happened? Why did she let her guard down and fall 
asleep in plain sight of everyone? After all of her careful planning 
and hiding, it all came down to this. Even though she'd done 
everything so perfectly, Tenchi still found out. But how did he know 
so much? No words were needed to tell Ryoko just how much he knew 
about her past. She could read everything in his face. He had not 
just heard her talking in her sleep. Tenchi had SEEN it.

Washu...

She could feel her face burning with so many emotions now. Her body 
began to shiver with new realization. Washu had somehow shown all of 
it to Tenchi. For a moment it was too much for her to handle. Did 
that woman really want Tenchi so passionately that she would stoop so 
low as to ruin her "child?" Somehow that even seemed too low for the 
scientist. 

Rage slowly began to seethe in Ryoko's mind. 

Washu had done enough experiments on Ryoko, but this was too much. 
"Why..." Ryoko whispered through their mind link as fresh tears rushed 
down her cheeks. Tenchi pulled back from her and affectionately wiped 
her tears away and held her again. Despair ravaged her heart and 
anguished sobs erupted from her chest. Her "mother" had ruined her 
life. 

"I will never forgive you...mother..."

*

Well there ya have it! 

*Runs from cattle prod* Sorry it took so long, but when I first wrote 
this chapter, I wasn't satisfied with the ending, so I wandered 
around for a few months with writer's block, trying to think of what 
to do. And here it is!

Yet another insane chapter constructed for your enjoyment. (And I 
certainly hope that you did enjoy it *please please please please 
please*) 

Oh! and as always, I LOVE FEEDBACK 

horse_w_no_name@cheerful.com 

hey and while you're at it, zip on over to my page and see some more 
of my insanity http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/elfin/311/ 

Special thanks to Magus the Dark for previewing my junk, and an extra 
extra special special thanks to all of the people who send me 
comments about my story, you may not believe it, but it really makes 
my day!!! 

toodle-pipsky! 

horse_w_no_name