THE MEMORY OF YOUR SMILE A Tenchi Muyo Fanfiction By Dave Menard (catthouse@lweb.net) written on and about January 10th, 2000 Tenchi and Co. copyright Pioneer/AIC. Continuity Warning: This story takes place between episodes 24 and 26 of the Tenchi Muyo TV series. If you're only familiar with the OAV series, you might be confused. Spoiler Warning: If, by some freak of nature, you haven't seen the TV series past episode 24, then this tale might spoil episode 26 for you. You have been duly notified. ******************* Ryoko watched him run towards the palace, accompanied by the two Jurai Knights. She almost doubled over from the pain. Not the pain from the seeping, bloody wound in her side caused by Kagato's blast. Oh, no, the pain from her wound was minor, when she compared it to the screaming agony caused by the realization that she wasn't likely to ever see Tenchi again... He was leaving her to go into the belly of the beast, into the heart of darkness to face a monster, a demon from the distant past, in order to rescue Ayeka. Ayeka, the spoiled brat. Ayeka the snobby little bitch who'd made her life miserable for as long as she could remember. Ayeka, the First Princess of Jurai, and he was going to win. Because Tenchi was a Hero. And rescuing Princesses from Evil Tyrants, armed only with a Magic Sword, is what Heroes did. They certainly didn't end up running away to a peaceful, safe hideaway with the Galaxy's Most Wanted Criminal, the Dread Pirate Ryoko. No matter how much said Dread Pirate loved the Hero in question. It didn't matter that the Dread Pirate happened to be bleeding to death at the moment, (not that the Hero was aware of that fact) from a wound she received trying to protect the Hero from the Evil Tyrant. Heroes have to rescue Princesses from Evil Tyrants, otherwise the universe would probably cease to exist. Dread Pirates didn't get rescued by handsome, noble Heroes. Dread Pirates died. Unloved. With fading strength, Ryoko teleported into her command couch on Ryo-Oh-Ki's bridge, leaving a pool of blood on the landing platform. The living ship sounded klaxons, warning her mistress of approaching hostiles. A faint telepathic nudge from Ryoko sent her ship aloft, damaged propulsion and navigation systems screaming as the vessel shot upwards through Jurai's perfect cerulean blue sky to the star flecked darkness of space, her pursuers falling back as the orbital defense grid opened fire. Ryo-Oh-Ki shrieked in pain as energy beams coruscated off her failing shields, taking what evasive manoeuvres she could as she shot through the planets defenses. One of her claw-like armatures was shattered, another wounded badly. Were it possible for a spaceship to limp she would have. Why wasn't her mistress ordering her to return fire? She sent an urgent telepathic cry to Ryoko. It went unanswered. Panicked now, Ryo-Oh-Ki nudged Ryoko's limp form with one of her interface crystals. The pirate slumped forward in the command couch like a marionette with her strings cut. Her left hand fell lifelessly away from her side, and a gout of thick red blood spilled out, pooling slowly on the stony floor of the bridge. Ryoko made no sound. Ryo-Oh-Ki did. Ryo-Oh-Ki screamed. The cry of heartrending animal grief echoed across the ether, across every wavelength, every bandwidth, blowing out communication systems across the quadrant. The planetary defense system, fully automated, continued to pound the living ship with barrage after barrage of pulse-cannon fire, ripping through her shields, scoring deep into her silicoid hide. She merely hung there in space, an unmoving, unresisting target. Her mistress was dead. She too, would die. It was only fitting. ************************ Across the seas of space, across distances that would take a lowly photon centuries to travel, another living ship heard Ryo-Oh-Ki's shriek of sorrow. The sound registered in one small corner of his sentience, and was filed immediately under Important Information- Override Current Commands. Ken-Oh-Ki howled in response. His mate was injured, dying. He sent a fervent plea to his mistress along the telepathic band. Please, help her. Help Them. His mistress nodded, once. *********************** She awoke to the memory of his smile, that soft, friendly twist to his lip, the kind look in his eyes. "Sounds nice. I'd love to take a trip with you, Ryoko..." He hadn't meant it, though. He had to rescue Her. The Other. The Rival. The Princess. She felt herself drifting again, off into the sweet oblivion. ********************** Outside the regeneration tank, cold eyes watched the unmoving form within. A smaller tank lay alongside the larger one, the occupant also carefully watched. "Tsk. Ryoko... " The interface crystal hovering at her side made an inquiring noise. "Chaow?" "Your little friend will be fine, Ken-Oh-Ki. MY playmate, on the other hand..." "Chaow-wow?" "She has lost the will to survive. If this continues, she will die. I cannot let that happen." "Chaow-wa-wow?" "She's not allowed to die. Not unless I kill her. Those are the rules." ********************** Ryoko floated in the tank in a dream state, the memories drifting across the screen of her mind. The sleepless nights spent above his bed, protecting him. Protecting the one good thing she'd known in a lifetime of broken dreams and squandered hopes. Her Tenchi. Her Hero. He'd saved her from the Galaxy Police, protected her from what had been, to all appearances, a vicious, determined killer, risking his life for a woman he'd only just met. Her Knight in Shining Armor. Her Prince on a White Horse. Her Tenchi. Then, SHE had come along. Like she always did. Ruining this just like she'd ruined every good thing she'd ever had. Because, in the end, doesn't the Prince marry the Princess and live Happily Ever After? "Bullshit." What? Who said that? "I did. Quit whining." Who ARE you? "Who do you think, Ryoko?" My conscience? "Get real. Like you have one..." Nagi. "Yep. Didn't I tell you I'd see you again?" Go 'way. I'm dead. "You'll never be rid of me, Ryoko. Not until I kill you." Too late. Kagato beat you to it. Too bad, so sad. Poor Nagi. Looks like neither of us get what we want. "You're not dead yet, Ryoko. You're going to get well, so I can kill you myself." Hah. Fat chance. I'm in heaven, where good space pirates go when they die. "You? Good?" Better'n you. "Prove it. Fight me." No. Wanna die. Don't care any more. "I care. I care whether you die by my hand. Wake up." Fine. I'll wake up, then you can kill me. Makes a lot of sense. "It doesn't have to make sense, Ryoko. It just has to be." ************************* Ken-Oh-Ki set down on the nightside of Cestus VII, a desert world at the very edge of the Jurai Empire. His mistress and two passengers disembarked, and he transformed, becoming a small silver-grey Cabbit. He leapt quickly over to the side of his mate. Ryo-Oh-Ki nuzzled him gently, leaning her smaller body into his thicker frame as they sat, witnesses to the duellists. Ryoko and Nagi faced one another across the dune, the hissing sand painted pale blue and silver by the light of Cestus VII's moon. A warm wind stirred Nagi's cloak, her hood sliding back to reveal her tattooed face. Ryoko floated a foot off the ground, the red and black of her bodysuit blending into a wine-red silhouette against the wheeling stars. Neither woman needed to speak. All the words they might have said to one another had been used up long ago. It had come down to this moment in time, this breathless silence on a barren world. Woman to woman. Pirate to Bounty Hunter. Ryoko to Nagi. The silence was shattered by Nagi's cry of rage, as she lunged across the sand, her sword drawn. Ryoko raised her head, her eyes hidden in pools of shadow. Nagi raised her blade to strike, expecting any moment to feel the hot pulse of Ryoko's energy blast parry the thrust. It never came. Nagi pulled her blow to the left at the last millisecond, her resolve wavering in the face of Ryoko's immobility. The blade clove harmlessly into the sand. "What are you doing?!" Nagi screamed. "Fight me!!" "What are YOU doing, Nagi?" Ryoko answered. "Kill me." Nagi snarled, an inarticulate yell of rage and hate, bringing her weapon to bear once more. Once again, Ryoko stood impassive, as the sword whistled towards her neck. Once again, she pulled up short. Ryoko looked up into Nagi's eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for?" "I... I can't, damn you!! Not like this!!" Ryoko cocked her head questioningly. "Why not?" "You're supposed to be... Scared! Angry! Anything!!" "Oh. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better. Do you want to start again from the top?" "No! Damn you! This isn't the way it's supposed to end! You're supposed to beg me for your worthless life!" "Oh. Well, give me a moment... Ummm, please don't hurt me, Nagi. Oh please. Don't kill me. How's that?" "Nyaarrgh!!!" Nagi threw down her sword, spun, and walked away. "Ken-Oh-Ki! We're leaving! Now!!" The silver-grey cabbit niowed a response, rubbing his head gently against Ryo-Oh-Ki's brown furred side in a gesture of leavetaking, then leapt up into the night sky, his body transforming into spaceship mode. Ryo-Oh-Ki miyaahed once forlornly as her mate and his mistress soared off into space. She turned inquiringly to her own mistress. "Mi-yaaah?" Ryoko sighed. "Fine. Let's go, furball." "Miya miyaa?" "No, not back to Jurai. Never there." "Miyaah?" "Not to Earth either. Take me... Take me home, Ryo-Oh-Ki." "Miyaaa Miya?" "No, I don't remember where that is either..." ************************** The news report was on every subspace station. The pretender to the Jurai throne had been defeated. Princess Ayeka and her band of rebels were now being hailed as heroes. Of course, Ryoko thought. As if there was ever any doubt. Tenchi won, like I knew he would. No mention of ME, I notice. No, it wouldn't do for the Royal Family of Jurai to acknowledge the fact that they were indebted to the Most Wanted Criminal. She watched the victory parade on the viewscreen. Ayeka and Sasami, escorted by the two Knights, Azaka and Kamidake. The crowd cheered, flower petals were thrown. And behind them, the unacknowledged Hero of the day, Tenchi, smiling politely, even sheepishly, as his father and grandfather brought up the rear. The picture switched to an awards ceremony, where Galaxy Police Detectives Kiyone and Mihoshi were presented with awards for valour, by both the Jurai Ambassador and the Galaxy Police Chief. Kiyone looked proud, Mihoshi merely looked confused. The scene cut again to the floor of the Science Academy Hall, where Washu accepted the accolades of her peers with her typical amount of modesty (which is to say, none whatsoever.) But no news flash on the Dread Pirate Ryoko, no official pardon by the Governor of Allied Worlds, nothing but a brief soundbite in other news stating that Ryoko was still at large, her whereabouts unaccounted for ever since the robbery of the Bank of Jurai on Arcadia Prime last month. Ayeka was being installed as Empress, pending her upcoming marriage. To whom, even the most dedicated newshounds had no clue. Ryoko knew. With a sigh, she turned Ryo-Oh-Ki around, towards the third planet in the Sol System. She wanted to see the Masaki Shrine, one last time, before she ended it. ************************ Tenchi looked out the window of his house, out and over the woods that surrounded Ryo-Oh's lake. The Juraiian Tree stood proud. It had grown so much over the past three months, it was truly amazing. He'd turned down Ayeka's offer. He was really just an average, ordinary Japanese kid, not a Prince, not an Imperial Consort, no matter what the Royal Genealogists said. This is where he belonged. Home. Earth. Not Sol III, like the Juraiian starcharts called it, but Earth. At the foot of the mountain, in the shadow of the Shrine his Grandfather tended. The bath was just a bath, now. The storage unit only a closet. The kitchen no longer hummed with Sasami's cheerful industry. Nope, nobody here but us humans. nothing but blessed peace, and quiet, and an ordinary life, just like he'd always wanted. Ordinary. He supposed he'd eventually grow up, go off to college in Tokyo, meet a nice Earth girl, settle down into domestic bliss, just like his father had. No more Princesses, or Galaxy Policewomen, or Mad Scientists... No Space Pirates, either. No one popping through his wall just to say hi, or creeping up behind him and hugging him, telling him he was loved, that he was wanted. No one waking him with a smile and the sweet scent of her hair. He remembered her smile. The little hint of fang, the playful glint in her tawny eye, the faint blush across her nose when she'd had a wee bit too much sake and was feeling affectionate. He remembered the look on her face the last time he'd seen her. Kind of sad, a little regretful. She hadn't wanted him to go, but she understood, he thought. He couldn't let Kagato hurt Ayeka, any more than he could have let him hurt Ryoko. He'd wanted to leave with her. Run away. He'd been sure Kagato would kill him, but he'd had to do it anyway. Trying to save Ayeka was just the right thing to do, that's all. With a sigh, Tenchi turned away from the window. It was time to go to school, just like every other ordinary guy. *********************** Ryo-Oh-Ki set down in the woods behind the Masaki Shrine. Ryoko disembarked, teleporting to the gates. she almost expected to see Katsuhito... Or was that Yosho, now? Sweeping the leaves away. But it was all in her mind. Or was it? She could almost swear that she heard him, humming some mindless little ditty, just like always... He looked up from his sweeping and waved cheerily. "Why, hello Ryoko. So nice to see you again!" "Grandfather! You're here! Does that mean..." She almost didn't dare to hope. "Tenchi?!" "Well, he's at school right now, but he'll be back this evening." Ryoko almost fainted. He's here? He's back? He didn't marry Ayeka? "Really? Tenchi's back?" Katsuhito nodded. "Tenchi's back! Woo-hoo!!!" She leapt up, and up... soaring through the air like a skyrocket. He's back!!!!!! ************************* I guess it's like a carnival, Tenchi thought to himself as he made his way down the path from the bus stop. It stays for a while, and then it's gone... "Myaa?" Tenchi spun. Ryo-Oh-Ki? The small grey cat hopped onto the path, took a moment to groom between it's toes, and then wandered back into the bushes. Of course not. Just an ordinary cat. "I guess the carnival really has moved on..." Ryoko laughed happily behind him. "That's the thing about carnivals, Tenchi. They come back, eventually..." END ****************************** Sort of a paraphrasing of events, I know. But I felt compelled to write this; Ryoko's "death" scene in ep. 24 was terribly sad and lonely, and I was overjoyed to realize she was alive in the end. At the time, I hadn't seen ANY of the Tenchi movies, so as far as I knew, Ryoko really WAS dead. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was quite upset, to the point of tears. But we never really find out what HAPPENED to Ryoko between ep.s 24 and 26, so I thought I'd address that here, at least, from my POV. Liked it? Hated it? Let me know at catthouse@lweb.net Check out my other fanfics at http://www.angelfire.com/anime/spacepiratesguild/