Tenchi Muyo : No Need for Forgiveness

by

Weber-san


Standard Disclaimer: The characters appearing within are the property of AIC 
and Pioneer, and are used without permission. Please don't sue me. 1. I'm 
not making any money on this. 2. I do it for my love of the fine series.

Personal Note: I have no aversions to sex, either in real life or in animes. 
But there is one classification of story that really pisses me off, and 
that's Sasami Lemons, or any lemon that portrays pedophilia or rape for that 
matter. So if you're looking for that kind of stuff, take a long walk off of 
a short pier. Thank you for your support.
Also, I welcome criticism, but please be constructive. An MST would not 
offend me, nor would poking fun at my work. No writer ever got better by 
being handled with kid-gloves. ^_^.
	I wrote this because it was never addressed in the OAV, and I wondered how 
it might have played out. If similar fics exist, and I'm sure they do, I 
haven't found them yet.


	Washuu sat at her terminal, typing away as usual. However, it was getting 
more and more difficult to ignore the random thoughts that were entering her 
head ever since they returned from the onsen. Finally, she decided that 
enough was enough.
	"Ryoko, if you don't talk to her, you're going to drive me nuts!"
	"I never asked you to link to my head, Mom," Ryoko said from the 
structural 
beam she was napping on.
	"Talking helps, Ryoko," Washuu said evenly.
	"I'm not in any mood to talk," Ryoko said with meaning, descending from 
the 
rafters and heading for the door, "To you or anyone else!"
	 The door slammed with considerable force, especially since on Washuu's 
side, there was no physical object for it to slam against. Ayeka came out 
from behind a display terminal, where she'd been hiding, "I never would have 
believed it, but it's really bothering her, isn't it?"
	Washuu nodded, "But, of course, she won't admit it."
	"It isn't her fault," Ayeka said, "Even I'm willing to concede that much. 
She was under Kagato's control at the time."
	"Well, there's nothing we can do. You can't help someone who doesn't want 
help."
	"Should I ask Sasami..."
	"NO!" Washuu said, "Sasami is at the core of Ryoko's guilt. She isn't 
ready 
to deal with it. Forcing a reconciliation could be disastrous, and it 
wouldn't be fair to either of them."

	Ryoko was resuming her nap on the rafters in the Masaki house proper, when 
she heard Sasami's voice, "Dinner time, everyone!"
	"Oh, wonderful," Mihoshi said, coming in from the porch, "I haven't eaten 
since lunch, and I'm starving."
	"Ryoko," Tenchi called, "are you coming?"
	"I...don't feel too good," Ryoko said, "I need some fresh air."
	With that she teleported away.
	Sasami looked at Tenchi, "She's missed all her meals today. And she keeps 
teleporting out whenever I come into a room. Is she mad at me or something?"
	Tenchi shook his head, "I think she's upset with herself at the moment, 
Sasami. I'll talk to her."
	He smiled at Sasami, not wanting her to worry the way he was. Ryoko wasn't 
one to run away from anything, a fact he knew well. So if what Sasami said 
was true, then the situation had to be serious. He glanced at Ryo-Ohki. She 
knew what was on Ryoko's mind, but since none of them spoke cabbit, that was 
a dead end. He knew where to find Ryoko. It was the one place she'd go to be 
alone. He made up his mind to go there after dinner.

	Ryoko stared into the black maw of the cave that had once held her 
prisoner. At that moment, she wished she were still locked up in that inky 
darkness, frozen in the pit of the cave where Yosho had put her so long ago. 
Ryo-Ohki appeared beside her.
	"It's my fault."
	"Meow meow meow," Ryo-Ohki stated.
	"That doesn't matter. I should have fought him. I should have resisted. 
How 
many people did he have me kill? How many lives did I ruin? I should have 
fought the control..."
	"You know you did," Ayeka said, coming up behind Ryoko, "You resisted 
Kagato for all you were worth. So did I. So did Washuu. We all of us lost, 
Ryoko. You did nothing wrong."
	Ryoko turned, her eyes blazing, "Because of me, Sasami was almost killed! 
As it is, she still believes she was. God, how she must hate me," Ryoko 
bowed her head, "How you must hate me."
	"Ryoko, you and I have fought more than anyone I know. And I've said some 
things that were meant to hurt. And you've gotten in your shots too. So I 
want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say.
	"It's not your fault. And Sasami doesn't hate you."
	"Sure, why not? She's so kind, so selfless. Everything I'm not, really. 
She 
spent 700 years thinking she was dead, and I did that to her."
	"Ryoko, you're a fool! You said it yourself. Sasami is kind and gentle. 
She 
has it in her heart to forgive what happened to her."
	Ryoko looked Ayeka in the eye, "And am I deserving of that forgiveness? 
Tell me something, Princess. If I'd never met Tenchi, or Sasami, or you, if 
we hadn't all risked death together fighting Kagato, and you told me that 
700 years ago I ALMOST killed a person, but that they were alive and well, 
what do you think my reaction would have been?"
	Ayeka was silent.
	"I would have laughed at you, Princess. You know it's true. I know it's 
true. Hell, the only person who might think otherwise, bless her heart, is 
Sasami. I would have laughed my ass off."
	Ayeka turned to leave as Ryoko sat at the cave entrance again. Then she 
looked back over her shoulder, "One thing, Ryoko. If you're such a terrible 
person, why aren't you laughing now?"
	And with that, Ayeka was gone, and Ryoko was once more alone in the cold.
	Tenchi had seen the whole thing from a distance, and debated on whether or 
not he should go to Ryoko. He decided against it. As it was, she already 
looked like she was frustrated, and Ayeka's talk had done nothing to resolve 
the situation, and he knew that nothing he could say would make it right.

	Washuu was helping to stack the dishes, when she saw Sasami looking at 
her, 
"Washuu, may I ask you something?"
	"Sure, what is it?"
	"You know what Ryoko's thinking, don't you?"
	Washuu sighed. Ordinarily, she had no problem with broadcasting Ryoko's 
every thought to embarrass her, but this wasn't like her schoolgirl crush on 
Tenchi. This was too solemn to make fun of, and more than that, it was too 
private.
	"I know what she's thinking," Washuu admitted, "But I'm not at liberty to 
discuss it without her permission."
	"I understand," Sasami said, and Washuu suspected that the young princess 
DID understand, "But can you tell me one thing? Did I do something wrong to 
upset her?"
	"It's not what you've done, Sasami," Washuu said, "It's what SHE'S done 
that's bothering her."
	"What did she do? Is she the one who ate the special cake I had set aside 
for Tenchi's birthday?"
	"Well, yes she is, but that's not why she's avoiding you. Sasami, she's 
upset for what she did on Jurai."
	Sasami shook her head, "But that wasn't her fault, Washuu-chan. She was 
under Kagato's control. She couldn't do anything to stop what happened."
	"True enough. But Ryoko's led a life free of consequences until very 
recently. And she just learned that something she did so long ago hurt 
someone she cares about very badly. She's feeling guilty, and she doesn't 
know how to cope with it."
	"This is about what happened to me!" Sasami was shocked, "But...but she 
didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."
	-Do I tell her-Washuu thought -Do I tell her that Ryoko didn't care if 
anyone was hurt or not?-
	Ayeka entered the kitchen, "Has anyone seen Lord Tenchi?"
	"He said he was going to talk to Ryoko," Sasami said.
	Tenchi came back in at that moment, "I'm home!"
	Ayeka walked over to him, and took his coat from him as he sat at the 
kitchen table.
	"It's no use," Tenchi said, "I don't think she'll be back for awhile. If 
she isn't back by morning, I'll try to reason with her."

	As Ayeka and Sasami prepared for bed, Sasami looked at the mark of Tsunami 
on her forehead. It was a reminder to her always of that terrible day when 
she had fallen to her death (for she did not know that she had survived, 
believing herself to be a copy of the true Sasami).
	"Sasami, I did try to talk with Ryoko," Ayeka said, "I don't think it did 
any good. I was trying to be fair, and I was trying to remember that she is 
as much a victim as the people of Jurai. But I think I only made it worse."
	"You tried, Ayeka," Sasami said, giving her sister a reassuring smile, 
"Nobody can ask more than that of you."
	Ayeka sighed, "Perhaps. And what of you, Sasami? You suffered for so long 
because of what happened that day. And yet you've never blamed anyone for 
it. Hiding your secret from us, out of fear that we'd leave you. And yet you 
always managed to be the sunshine of our day. Mother and Father would be 
proud of you."
	"I suppose I was angry," Sasami said, "But not at Ryoko. She was a tool, 
like a hammer. The hammer doesn't choose to hit a nail. Some force makes it. 
But Ryoko and Tenchi and you, all of you worked together to stop Kagato, as 
well as Tsunami. She's a good person."

	It was early in the morning when Ryoko poked her head through the wall of 
the kitchen. She crept to the fridge, starving after having skipped a day's 
worth of meals. She began digging through the leftovers. So involved with 
her early morning snack was she, that she didn't hear the kitchen door slide 
open, or the footsteps on the tiled floor.
	"Ryoko?"
	Ryoko recognized the bell-like voice immediately, and banged her head on 
the top shelf of the fridge trying to get out.
	"Oh, Sasami...I didn't hear you come in. I guess you'll want to make 
breakfast now, so I'll just get out of your way..."
	"Ryoko, wait," Sasami said, grasping onto Ryoko's arm, "Please stay. 
Please?"
	Ryoko sighed and nodded.
	"I haven't seen you much lately," Sasami said, gather food for breakfast.
	There was an awkward silence.
	Finally, Ryoko spoke, "I'm...I'm so sorry Sasami. It's my fault, what 
happened to you."
	"Ryoko..."
	"Please, don't tell me it's not my fault," Ryoko said sternly, "That's all 
I've heard for the last two days, and it's not going to change how I feel. 
Do you think it would have mattered to a space pirate like me if someone 
told me I was responsible for something like that?"
	Sasami was undaunted by the sudden edge in Ryoko's voice, "But you do 
care, 
or you wouldn't be avoiding me. You're not a bad person, Ryoko. I think 
you're one of my best friends."
	Ryoko knelt beside the young girl, "I don't deserve a friend like you, 
Sasami."
	Sasami hugged Ryoko, "Well, you're stuck with me anyways, silly."
	Ryoko hesitated a moment, and then returned Sasami's embrace, "No one's 
ever called me a friend before. No matter what, Sasami, I will always be 
there for you."
	"It's so touching!" Mihoshi was weeping at the kitchen door. Sasami and 
Ryoko turned to see Ayeka wiping at her eyes, while pretending that she 
wasn't. Tenchi and Yosho had serene smiles on their faces. Washuu had a tear 
in her eye. Ryo-Ohki bounded into the room and found her usual perch atop 
Sasami's head.
	"And just how long have you been standing there?" Ryoko demanded.
	"Long enough," Tenchi said.
	"Well," Yosho said, "It looks as if it's going to be another beautiful day 
on Planet Earth."