Tenchi Muyo: No need to be a Ghost, Tenchi's Funeral The following day was the day that they had set aside as Tenchi's funeral. He was to be laid to rest beside his mothers' grave. As he looked about it seamed such a lovely sight, but everyone was sad and was on the brink of tears or crying already. Everyone was seated in front of an elaborate casket that Washu had designed. He looked at himself in the casket and he knew that something was not right. He could not be dead and still able to touch Ryoko like he had. As his grandfather performed the ceremony everyone was crying and his dad was the worst. Tenchi noticed Ryoko was next to him so he took hold of her gem and moved her arm to his shoulder. As her hand touched him Tenchi saw a panicked look appear on Ryoko's face. When his dad patted her hand he did not even look up at her, as he took it to mean that she understood. Katsuhito saw her look and pondered why she had done that. It did not occur to him that he had stopped talking. He began speaking again where he thought he left off as he kept an eye on Ryoko. Tenchi saw her look too and he knew that he moved her arm in broad daylight with her awake! So he must still be connected to this world somehow. Tenchi concentrated hard and removed her hand from his father shoulder. He looked at Ryoko and told her to relax. Ryoko was very scared at seeing her arm move without her say so, but she heard the word relax so she tried. She felt her arm pulling her forward so she moved with it. It moved her so that she was standing a few feet from his casket. Again the feeling of her arm tugging down caused some fear but she went with it. Everyone was watching her, and wondering what could she be doing. Concentrating hard with his hand on her gem an energy ball appeared in her hand. Ayeka stood up, "Ryoko what's gotten into you?" Ryoko looked at everyone and crying she said, "I don't know what's wrong I'm not doing this!" Looking into Ryoko's eyes he saw her fear and he said, "trust me." Ryoko nodded. "Good now take it in your hand." Ryoko looked at the energy ball and noticed that it had a blue sheen to it instead of her normal color. She squeezed her hand and everyone was surprised to see a blue energy sword form. Still holding her gem Tenchi moved the sword to the ground and wrote the words that nearly caused several to faint. He began to write as they repeated out loud each character slowly. "Don't bury," they all said in unison. Washu stepped over to Ryoko. "Ryoko, I know you don't want to see him go, but..." She froze as her daughters' hand wrote the word, "me." Everyone looked on as Ryoko cried Tenchi looked at her smiled. Ryoko felt a calmness wash over her as she looked at her wrist. She stood up and turned to everyone. "For the past few days I have felt something strange around my gem and it looks like Tenchi can use it to communicate with me." Sasami nearly fainted. Ayeka looked horrified again. Turning to Washu, "mom, if he can still talk to me and do this then is it possible that he's... alive?" Her mom searched for an answer then her face lit up. "Yes! He can be, but I'm not sure where or how. Ryoko, when you two fought it must have separated him from his body, that's why he appears dead!" She began crying for joy as she finished, "which means that all we have to do is find out where he went and then he can return to his body!" Everyone cheered as Ryoko and her mother hugged each other. Ayeka realized that this was how Ryoko knew that Tenchi had forgiven her. Quickly they all took his body back to the lab where Washu told them that she created a stasis tube and put his body in it as she could not allow it to deteriorate. Even when he was about to be buried he would be buried in that tube. Washu spent the next several hours working in her lab trying to locate what dimension or plane of existence or whatever he was at. So far she was not having any luck. Since Ryoko seamed to be the only one he could communicate with she had wanted Ryoko to stay in the lab with her. Ayeka, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Mihoshi, Katsuhito and Noboyuki all stayed in the living room waiting for word of his condition. Tenchi's father was a nervous wreak as in one week he had lost his son, was attending his funeral and then found out that he was not dead after all. While Ryoko waited in the lab she continued to feel that sensation around her gem and she now associated that with Tenchi being there. Every time she would feel it she would look up expecting to see him. Every time though all she could see was the lab before her, but she could feel him smiling at her. It was getting late in the day and everyone was getting restless. Ayeka's brother had returned to his shrine while Mihoshi and Sasami tried to make dinner. Unsure if they should include Tenchi or not. Ryoko had fallen asleep in a chair in the lab knowing that Tenchi was close. As she slept he asked her, "Ryoko, how was it that you could see me as a child?" In her dream she could picture his face and hear the question but she could not reply. After waking up she went to an extra bed in the lab and closed her eyes. This time not to sleep. Remembering from back in the cave she tried to separate herself from her physical form and after just a few moments she could feel herself pulling away again. Now in her astral form she sat up and looked around. She could see her mom there and her body, but not Tenchi. She sat on the edge of the bed and wished that it had worked. It was then that she heard a familiar voice, "Hello Ryoko." She jumped up and turned around and she saw him standing there. Joy over took her as she jumped at him. In this form they both could feel and touch the other, but nothing else around them. Resting her head on his shoulder as she hugged him she tried to regain her composure. He just held her close and caressed her back and head. When she finally could look at him she said weakly, "Tenchi, I missed you. I was lost and alone without you!" "I know, I watched over you as you slept in my bed these past few days." She looked up at him and could not help but wonder why or how could he stand to be near her with she caused this. Seeing her questioning looks he spoke, "Ryoko do you know how you got in my bed the other day?" After shaking her head he responded, "because I put you there. I did not think you looked comfortable sitting in that chair. And nothing happened physically between us." Barely able to talk she asked, "what, what do you mean physically?" He smiled that smile that always calmed her down and spoke gently, "as I watched you sleep I thought those times that we have spent, um, together and I knew that I would do anything to protect you and keep you with me." She gazed into his eyes as he leaned in close to her, "Ryoko, it's because I loved you that I put you there and that is why I have gone to rescue you from Kagato and from Clay. I cannot live my life with out you." She hugged him close as she spoke and in her mind all she ever wanted was someone to love her, even though she did not know love she craved it. He lifted her head up and kissed her on the lips before pulling away. "Ryoko, now that you have seen me you can help Washu locate me. Return to your body." She did not want to, as she had not seen him for so long. All she wanted was to be with him again. But grudgingly she did return to her body. When she woke up she was crying and it took her a few moments to stop before she could talk. "Mom...I mean Little Washu." At the sound of the word 'mom' Washu had turned around to see her daughter crying. "What's wrong Ryoko?" Her mom came over to her and sat beside her with genuine concern that only a real mom can show. "I, I saw him. He touched me and we talked." Washu's eyes' widened at this, but before she could ask Ryoko told her. "I separated from my body like I did while in the cave and again like when you brought me back on the Soujya. In my astral form I could see and talk to him!" Ryoko was near crying for joy as she told her mom what she just experienced. Washu jumped up and shouted, "Eureka! I got it, I know what happened!" Washu ran over to her computers and began typing away furiously. She kept babbling that she knew where he was and how to get him back. Overcome with emotions Ryoko cried for a moment before leaving the lab to tell everyone else what was going on. In short order the lab was a buzz of activity as everyone was milling about behind the frantic genius as she worked on how to bring Tenchi back. When everyone was assembled Washu finally spoke. "Back about two days ago something happened that shocked the whole household. It seamed as though Ryoko and Ayeka were about to kill each other when Tenchi in a desperate moment put himself in between them. The result was that his body and spirit separated. Having never experiencing that his body went into shock and shut down giving all appearances that he was dead. Since I put him in suspended animation his body has stopped deteriorating and is the same as it was at the time of the attack. We all now know that in fact he lives on and has been communicating through Ryoko's gem. Since we know how it happened and since Ryoko has now been able to see him as well." Washu paused so that the surprised looks would pass. "I think we can bring him home, but it is possible that the injuries that his body suffered can cause him to die when they are joined." Everyone looked down at the idea or bringing him back just to loose him again. "That is why, I am not going to bring him back yet, instead I am going to repair his body so that he can come back without fear." All but Ryoko looked down at this as they could not talk to him or see him yet, but she could. Ayeka thought it was a ploy at first by Washu to allow Ryoko time with Tenchi, but after re-examining his body she knew that they were right. "Ryoko, will you talk to Tenchi and see if this is ok?" When she said that all eyes turned to Ryoko, and she felt that tingling feeling in her arm again. Tenchi was holding her gem. He looked at her smiling, "I understand, and will you repeat after me?" Ryoko just nodded. He began to tell her something that he wanted her to repeat, once she had the whole message a tear formed as she told them, "he said that it is OK, and he knew it would not be a problem for the greatest scientific genius in the universe." The others laughed, but Washu was touched that he had so much confidence in her after all the experiments she tried on him. When Washu began work again everyone left Ryoko, Washu and Noboyuki there in the lab. He looked at Ryoko and approached her, "Ryoko can my son hear me? Can he really be alive?" "Yes, he is with me now, I can feel him holding my gem." Ryoko was almost smiling, as she knew who it was with her now. At first she thought someone was trying to take control of her again like Kagato had done, but when she discovered Tenchi was just using her to communicate she started enjoying it. "Why, why did you put your hand on my shoulder at the funeral?" He was confused and seamed to be having a hard time accepting all that was going on. Smiling back at him she responded, "When I felt my arm moving it was not me that was doing it. Actually at first I thought Kagato was back and trying to regain control of me. But when I heard someone tell me to relax and then asked me to help I began to wonder. So it was not me, but Tenchi that placed a hand on your shoulder." It was hard to accept, his son, who was supposed to be dead was trying to console him. Just like when his mom died they tried to console each other. He smiled weakly as he thought about his son still trying to help. Giving Ryoko a quick thank you he left the room.