Intro: Yo peeps, what up? o.O Yes I know, the sky... Anywho, this story takes place at maybe two weeks after The Goddess War. Well they are all heading back to Earth. Tenchi is excited to be able to see his little girl again/and depressed over Rinoa‘s death, Ryoko herself is still depressed about Rinoa and Ayeka now knows about Tenchi and Ryoko’s relationship. So now, picture this, The screen in your imagination is black and in a water wavy type of thing the title of the story focuses into view in white lettering...? -Blinks- Tenchi Muyo: The Return Home Ryoko sat in the room she shared with Tenchi. She had a single light on. She sat on the bed alone and depressed. A tear slowly made it’s way down her right cheek. She still couldn’t believe that Rinoa gave up her life to save Ryoko. Ryoko held a single and the only picture she had of the girl. They had taken the picture about two weeks after they rescued her and Ryoko for found posters. Rinoa was smiling and looked happy. Ryoko hadn’t let the photograph out of her site since the day she had died. Whenever Ryoko went to sleep Rinoa’s death would replay in her mind. It was a horrible nightmare that would never end. This was the first actual death she had actually gone through. She hated the feeling of loss and grief. She heard knocking at the door, she didn’t reply to it though. The door opened up and to Ryoko’s surprise Ayeka was standing in the doorway. In her right hand she held a box of tissues. She then walked in with a small smile. Ayeka sat down on the bed next to Ryoko. “What are you doing here?” Ryoko asked with a sniff. Ayeka just chuckled. Ayeka has never really seen Ryoko like this before. The thing she was chuckling about was the way Ryoko asked why she was in the room. She handed Ryoko a tissue. “I know that you’ve had a hard time in that war.” she replied. She then smiled some. “I thought you could use some company...” Ryoko took the tissue and wiped her eyes with it. She then sniffed and looked away from the princess. Ayeka just allowed the space pirate’s actions. She knew that Ryoko was grieving for the girl. “I thought you would be mad at me.” Ryoko said quietly. Ayeka looked to Ryoko. She raised an eyebrow at the comment. She didn’t understand what Ryoko was talking about. “Mad for what?” she asked. Ryoko wiped the tears away and turned to the princess. “About me and Tenchi.” she replied. Ayeka just smiled. “I’ll be mad at you later.” she said with a smile. Ryoko smiled for the first time in two weeks and even chuckled. She was glad that Ayeka was being a good sport at a time like this. It seemed to help Ryoko out allot. Ryoko patted Ayeka on the back and said, “You’re alright kid, you’re alight.” with a sniff. Just then Tenchi walked in through the open door. He immediately spotted Ayeka and Ryoko. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s up girls?” he asked. Ayeka brought her left hand to her mouth and giggled. Ryoko just gave a small weak grin. “Ayeka is making me laugh.” Ryoko then hit Ayeka in the shoulder playfully and continued, “Damn you Ayeka” Tenchi smiled and shook his head. He sighed and walked over to the bed. He looked down at Ryoko and Ayeka. “I’m going to get something to eat, care to join me?” he asked. Ryoko’s stomach growled. Washu had taken Ryoko’s gems for research thus she got hungry. She had been ignoring her stomach though, she didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. She and Ayeka both nodded. Tenchi held his hand out and helped them both off the bed one at a time. Ryoko leaned up against Tenchi’s left side and he put his arm around her shoulders. Ayeka was hurt at this but tried her best to hold her feelings back. She knew that Ryoko had gone through allot in the past two years and needed a break from it all. The last thing the space pirate needed was Ayeka freaking out on her. Nobuyuki rushed up to the shinto shrine smiling the whole time. He had just got news that Tenchi and girls where coming home finally. He was also happy to hear that Tenchi had finally made his choice. He was also happy to hear that they were all coming back in peace. Once he reached the top of the long stretch of stairs he shouted out, “Hey dad, Mayuka! Where are you two?!” His voice sounded quick with excitement. Yosho and Mayuka made their way out to the panting Nobuyuki. Yosho looked the same as always. The little girl next to him was dressed in a cute little red dress with a picture of a yellow baby duck. Soon Ryo-ohki trailed along behind the girl. “What is it, Nobuyuki?” Yosho asked. Nobuyuki gave a winning smile to his father-in-law. His glasses gleamed over as he spoke, “Tenchi and the girls are coming home. Oh, and Tenchi has finally made his choice.” Yosho raised his eyebrow. “And?” he asked. Nobuyuki looked a little confused. “And what?” he asked. Mayuka shook her head. She knew her grandfather as nothing more than an airhead. “Who did daddy choose?” Mayuka asked in her cute mannerly way. She could practically get away with anything when Nubuyuki was around. “Ohhhh! He chose Ryoko.” he informed. Yosho had seen that one coming. He turned away and left Nobuyuki and Mayuka alone. Mayuka giggled happily. She had some recollections of her father and the girls from the Yuzuha incident. She remembered mostly the good things. Sometimes it all seemed like a series of weird dreams though. She remembered the final battle too. Though she remember some of those times when her body and mind where 15 she now had the normal mind of two years. “Does that mean I have a mommy?” Mayuka asked. Nobuyuki nodded. Mayuka squealed happily and ran back to the shrine shouting out, “I have a mommy, great-grandpa!” Ryoko was picking at her rice with her chopsticks. Her mind was far off in a distant past. Her face showed little emotion if any, her eyes seemed empty and vacant. She just wasn’t feeling like her old self anymore. Tenchi had noticed this and placed a his right hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?” he asked quietly. She blinked a few times and looked at Tenchi. His face was full of concern. His gentle voice and touch brought her back to reality. A tear once again ran down her cheek. He cupped her face trying to stop her from shedding anymore tears. Ayeka looked up from her food and to Ryoko. “Is she alright, Lord Tenchi?” she asked. Tenchi shrugged lightly as he tried to read Ryoko’s face. He saw nothing but sadness. Ryoko then collapsed into his arms where she began to cry in his chest. Tenchi had never seen Ryoko so sad. She barely slept, she would hardly eat she hasn’t even talked much. It was a major change from her normal carefree self. Ryoko usually wasn’t the type to get depressed so easily and yet here she was. Tenchi looked to Ayeka. “I’m going to take her back to bed, she needs some sleep.” he said. He slowly got up bringing Ryoko with him. “Alright.” Ayeka said as she watched Tenchi help Ryoko out of the dinning area of the Yukanojo. Ryoko leaned on Tenchi’s left side. He had his arm around her waist for support. Once they reached their room he opened the door and helped her over to the bed. He sat her down on it. When he tried to get back up she grabbed him by the wrist and gently pulled him back down. “Please stay.” she said quietly. She didn’t want to be alone, not right now. Tenchi put his right arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Alright.” he said. She sniffed once again. “Rinoa saved me back in that prison camp, then she saved me in the battle with Tokimi.” Ryoko said quietly. Tenchi looked down at Ryoko who was trying to subside her tears now. “How did she save you from the prison camp?” Tenchi asked a little curious. He also figured that if she told him of all the things she and Rinoa did together she would feel better. Ryoko closed her eyes as the memory of the little girl sacrificing herself for Ryoko rushed through her mind. She could feel her heart jump a bit. “She took some of the torture for me. I really don’t know why, we had only just met the day before.” Ryoko said with a sniff. Tenchi brushed her locks away from her face. She turned to face him. “She told me that she took the pain for me in there because there was something in the future that I had to do and when we got out of there she said that you and I where meant to be together.” she continued. Tenchi looked at her with an unreadable face. She took in a deep breath and turned away from him. “What I’m still wandering about is how she got into the middle of our fight.” she confessed. Her tears had left and she seemed more upset now than hurt and depressed. Tenchi shrugged. He really didn’t have the answer for that. “Rinoa was the first person, besides you, to save my life.” Ryoko said quietly. Tenchi took her hands in his and looked at her. Ryoko just looked back at him. She didn’t know what he was going to say or do next. “Think of it like this, she’s with her parents again and with any other relatives that had died in that war. She’s in a better place.” Tenchi said in a soothing tone. Ryoko nodded. Now that he mentioned it in that way it seemed to help Ryoko relax. He smiled at her and kissed her right hand before setting it back in her lap. She turned to face him, a small smile was planted on her face. He was facing her now. He put his right hand on her left cheek. “You feeling better now?” She nodded. He smiled at her. He was concerned about Ryoko’s actions and attitude. He was afraid that Ryoko would do something dramatic. But before he could do anything Ryoko had put her arms around his back and leaned forward. “I love you.” she whispered. He blinked. He felt the hotness in his cheeks as he turned red. She just smiled at him weakly. He then smiled back and held her closer to him. “I love you too.” he said back to her. He then felt her kiss him softly full on the lips. This was the first time she had been so open and so willing to talk to someone in a couple of weeks. Tenchi felt as though he finally got through to Ryoko. Perhaps he even gave hope to her now. He had nothing but undying love for Ryoko, in fact he was still falling in love with her. She then pulled away. “Thank you for being there for me.” she said. He just smiled and nodded. He would always be there for her not matter what the circumstances where. He knew that she would always be there for him too. The week of traveling came to an end. Yukanojo had touched down right along side of the house in the lake. Tenchi looked out the window. It felt so good to be finally home. “Well people, we are home at last.” Kiyone said over the intercom. Sasami rushed down the hall with a backpack in hand. She giggled as she ran past Tenchi. Tenchi bent down and picked up his old high school backpack and hung it over his right shoulder. He then grabbed a suitcase and walked over to the room he and Ryoko where using. Ryoko was just picking up her large duffle bag when he entered. “Ready to get out of here?” Tenchi asked. Ryoko stood back to her full height and turned towards Tenchi. She smiled in that ’I’m glad to be home’ sort of sense. She nodded and walked over to his side. They both walked towards the exit. Once they reached it everyone was standing about. “Well guys, I think it’s time for everything to go back to normal.” Washu said. Everyone had agreed by nodding their heads. Kiyone punched in a code and the docking door opened up. The fresh air entered the Yagami. Tenchi breathed in that country air deeply along with everyone else. They could never get tired of that smell. Everyone piled off and looked around. Nothing had changed, everything was just the way they left it. Bright and cheery. Once Tenchi got off he spotted his dad, grandfather and Mayuka. Mayuka had a large smile on her face when she saw her daddy. She ran to him, arms wide open and ready for a bear hug. Tenchi knelt down and Mayuka ran into his waiting arms. “I missed you daddy!” the little girl shouted. It was all a cute scene. Everyone smiled and awed at it. Once Mayuka and Tenchi released each other she asked, “Is it true about what grandpa said?” Tenchi raised an eyebrow and looked over to his father who had a goofy grin and winked at him. Tenchi looked up to Ryoko who was blushing slightly. “Is it true that I have a mommy?” she questioned. Tenchi turned red at this. Ryoko seemed to have gotten even redder. Ayeka just raised an eyebrow. “How disgusting.” she said under her breath. Ryoko looked over to Ayeka with an icy glare. “Quiet you.” she said. Mayuka blinked a couple of times then prodded Tenchi. Tenchi shifted his view back to Mayuka. “If she wants the job.” he said as he looked back up to Ryoko with a playful grin. Ryoko, redder than ever, nodded at the two. Mayuka broke away from Tenchi and ran up to Ryoko. Once the little girl reached her new “mommy” (-snicker snicker-) she hugged her leg tightly. Ryoko blinked and looked down at the child. She was completely baffled. What was she to do? She had no idea of how to be a mother! Tenchi smiled and chuckled silently at the sight. Now even Ayeka had to admit, this was cute yet funny at the same time. As a matter of fact Ayeka was smiling and chuckling at this. Ayeka had never seen a child with Ryoko like this before, it was quite amusing. Ryoko sat her duffle bag down. Mayuka let Ryoko’s leg go when she heard the light thud of the bag touching down to the ground. Ryoko knelt down to the girl’s level and smiled. Once again Mayuka hugged the woman. Ryoko returned the embrace. (-Giggles- ^.^ Oh my god so cute! -squeals- o.O) It was later in the evening now. Nobuyuki had prepared a large dinner for everyone. The dinner contained fried rice, chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, some fried prong, and lot’s of other good food like that. Everyone was eating like they had never ate before. Especially Ryoko. Since her mother still had her gems she was hungry and never was able to actually taste her food. Besides that she hadn’t eaten good in at least three weeks now. She was still upset about Rinoa but was now to the point where she was able to mostly cope with the loss. “Mm! This is the best meal I have ever had in a long time!” Tenchi exclaimed with a small mouth full of food. Ayeka frowned. “And obviously it’s been a while since you used your dinner manners” she pointed out. Everyone laughed at this. Everything seemed to be returning to normal. It felt nice to know that they could relax and not worry about anything. Yosho pointed at Tenchi and said, “Tonight you get the honors of doing the dishes.” Everyone stopped laughing and talking when they heard Yosho’s order to Tenchi. Ryoko glared at him. “My Tenchi is not doing the dishes tonight.” She then looked to Ayeka and grinned. “But she could.” she remarked as she pointed the back end of her chopsticks at her. Ayeka glared at Ryoko and growled. “Why don’t you do them? You never had helped out around the house!” Ayeka shot back Ryoko stuck her tongue out at Ayeka. She then got an evil grin on her face. “Yeah well, I’m the one that won that war you know.” As the fight between Ayeka and Ryoko continued Tenchi couldn’t help but smile. Everything seemed to be normal once again. Everyone had gone to bed now. Yosho wouldn’t allow Ryoko to sleep with Tenchi yet so she was sleeping in her old room. She was lying on her left side. Rinoa’s picture was in her right hand. Her arms where in a crisscross position at about a foot and a half away from her body. The death of Rinoa was playing back in her mind. But there was something different about it. Something had changed. She knew what it was as soon as she noticed it. Rinoa’s ghostly figure was floating about a foot away from Ryoko. “Beware, he still lives.” Rinoa said. Ryoko didn’t understand what Rinoa meant. “Who still lives?” Ryoko questioned. Rinoa didn’t answer. Instead she slowly faded away. What did she mean ‘he still lives‘? She sat there trying to figure this out. But she soon woke up before she could really ponder at the girl’s words. Ryoko slowly woke up to the gentle shaking that was being caused by someone. She turned over to see Mayuka sitting next to her. Ryoko blinked a few times and yawned. She looked over to the clock on her nightstand. It read 11:42 PM. Ryoko rubbed her eyes. “What is it?” she asked calmly. Ryoko sat up and yawned again. “I had a scawry dream.” the little girl said. (I know I spelled scary wrong, but this is a little girl talkin’ here.... o.O) Ryoko looked at Mayuka. She stretched out and said, “You did? What kind of a scary dream?” Mayuka sniffed and held a little stuffed tiger that looked to be very worn by how it’s stripes were faded and how it’s fur was all ruff closely to her. “This big scawry man came and tried to hurt evewyone.” she said in a small voice. Ryoko was concerned now. “What did he look like?” she questioned wide awake now. Mayuka looked a little confused but answered the woman’s question. “He was tall... Oh an he had white hair with glasses on. He had a big gween glowy thingy too.” Ryoko knew who that was all to well. “Kagato? It can’t be!” she said in a scared/confused manner. Ryoko through her blanket off and looked at the girl. “We’re going to talk to daddy about this.” she said in a calm tone. Ryoko scooped Mayuka up in her right arm and walked for her door. There was no way she was going to get peace yet was there? She made her way to Tenchi’s door and knocked on it. Tenchi shifted around in his bed. “Who is it?” he asked in a groggy tone. Ryoko opened the door and walked in. “It’s me and Mayuka.” Ryoko said. Tenchi was a bit confused. “Is something wrong?” he asked as he suddenly sat up in his bed. He couldn’t but be a bit jumpy. Anymore it was like a natural reaction. Ryoko made her way to his bed. He watched her for a brief moment then turned his reading lamp on. “Well Mayuka had a nightmare about someone we know.” Tenchi was even more confused. Ryoko let Mayuka go and the girl flopped down in between her mother and father. “Go ahead honey, tell daddy what you told me.” Ryoko said in a motherly tone. Mayuka blinked. Did she hear Ryoko correctly? Did she say that they knew the man from her dream? “Well, a big scawry man came and tried to hurt us. He was tall, he had white hair. Oh yeah he wore these little glasses and he held a green glowy thingy.” Tenchi looked from his daughter to Ryoko. “The funny thing is, Rinoa came to me in my sleep and said ‘Beware, he still lives’.” Ryoko took in a deep breath. “Then she woke me up and told me about her nightmare.” Ryoko finished. Tenchi was in disbelief. How could Kagato come back? Tenchi had killed him over three years ago. He shook his head. “It’s just a coincidence. It has to be.” Tenchi protested. Ryoko shook her head in disagreement. “How can our daughter have a dream about Kagato if she never even heard of him?” Ryoko questioned. Mayuka liked the sound of that. She still couldn’t believe she had a mom. Finally after two years of living with her grandpa and great-grandpa she got her daddy back. She even got a new mommy in the same day! Tenchi nodded. Ryoko had a good point. He looked at Mayuka, a renewed smile on his face and asked, “Mayuka, what did the man do?” Mayuka looked up to her father and her face twisted up into concentration. She then remembered what the man had said to her new mother in the dream. “He said something like ‘I want revenge for what you and that Ju-ju,” “Juraian?” Tenchi asked in a sort of helping out his daughter manner. “Ya! Juraian’s done to me’. That’s what he told mommy anyways. ” she stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Whatever revenge and Ju-ju-raian mean.” she said sounding out the word Juraian. Tenchi and Ryoko where sure of this now. It had to be Kagato. Ryoko didn’t understand why Mayuka was dreaming about him though. Then the thought struck her. Maybe Rinoa was trying to warn them! Maybe this was the only way she could! Ryoko looked to Tenchi. “I think Rinoa is warning us! I mean come on! She tells me that he still lives and then Mayuka has a dream about Kagato.” she said calmly. She didn’t want to upset Mayuka. Tenchi nodded. That seemed to be the case. But why now? Why after all this time? Kagato could have taken advantage in the war and caught them off guard. But then again Tenchi was glad that Kagato didn’t attack in the middle of the war. But he didn't understand some things still. Like how could he be alive? Tenchi had killed him... or he thought he did anyways. Ryoko seemed to have been thinking about the same thing. Only Tenchi caught a tear rolling down her right cheek. “Mayuka, are you feeling better now?” Tenchi asked as he switched his eye sight to his confused daughter. She nodded and he smiled. “Why don’t you go back to bed. Mommy and I have to talk privately.” Tenchi said calmly and quietly. Mayuka nodded and rolled off the bed. “Night mommy, night daddy.” she said as she rushed out of the room. Tenchi scooted over to Ryoko. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he asked. She sniffed. “We won’t ever get away from fighting will we?” he heard her say. He knew that they haven’t had much for peace in a long time. He was getting tired of the fighting too but he had to keep everyone’s spirit up. He gently placed his right hand on her cheek. She grabbed his hand and then grabbed him in a exhausted embrace. She felt him put his arms around her. She was so tired of war, fighting, disease and death. She was tired of reality. About the only good things that happened to her in the past two years where, meeting Rinoa, Tenchi confessing his love for her and Mayuka being her new daughter. Everything else just seemed to go horribly wrong. But as she thought of all this she fell asleep in his arms. He gave her a weak smile and kissed her forehead. Screw his grandfather, he thought. Ryoko was just going to stay here for the night. She was tired, angry, confused, and depressed all in one package. This had to be stressing her out. He never thought that things could get so bad for the space pirate. He slowly lied her down on his bed. He then pulled the covers over her. She let out a small yawn in her sleep. He then lied down next to her and carefully pulled the covers over himself. He settled down and folded his arms behind his head. As he stared off into space he began to drift off into a state of sleep. The next day had rolled by. Everything seemed back to normal. This was how life should be, Tenchi thought. Calm yet chaotic in a good sort of way. Ryoko was surprisingly helping Sasami and everyone else clean the house up. Tenchi guessed that in that war Ryoko had matured some. He didn’t mind how she could be a wild woman, but in fact that was one of the many things that he loved about her. So relaxed and care free. But that was one thing she was lacking these days. Ryoko was dusting the TV now. Tenchi had been cleaning the bookcase up. It was obvious to everyone that Nobuyuki hardly cleaned certain things. Tenchi stopped and sighed. He then wiped his brow and said, “Few, all done here.” Tenchi looked to Ryoko who was now wiping the TV screen with a wash rag. He smiled at her. She was wearing headphones and he could just barely hear the music that was playing in her disk man. She was lightly tapping her foot on the floor to the beat. Tenchi chuckled. No matter what happened to her she would always keep at least a bit of that daring side. Ayeka was getting jealous at the way Tenchi was looking at Ryoko. It was so loving and loyal. Ayeka couldn’t keep her feelings to herself any longer. She stood up from where she was cleaning the table top. “I cannot take this anymore!” she shouted Tenchi looked over to Ayeka. Ryoko, hearing Ayeka over her loud music, also turned to look at the princess. Ryoko took her headphones off and raised an eyebrow. The loud music was clear enough for everyone to hear now. “What is it, Ayeka?” Ryoko asked a bit confused. Ayeka huffed and stormed over to the stair case. She then marched up the stairs thumping her feet on them as she made her way to her room. Then Tenchi and Ryoko heard the loud slam of her door. Ryoko looked to Tenchi. “What’s her problem?” she asked. Tenchi shrugged. He honestly had no idea what had gotten into the princess. Whatever it was it made her mad. Ryoko shrugged and put her headphones back on and went back to cleaning the TV. Ayeka paced around her room trying to keep her cool. It wasn’t working. She picked up her pillow and through it across the room. It hit the wall to the far right and bounced off landing on the floor. “Why does he have to flirt with that monster woman?! Why does he have to stare at her so lovingly?!” Ayeka shouted out. She wasn’t quite used to the new relationship that had formed between Ryoko and Tenchi. In fact she never wanted to get used to it. She hated Ryoko’s guts for it. The dreams Ayeka had about her and Tenchi settling down all went down the drain. She was just so angry for what had happened. She wanted to blame it all on Tenchi too. She didn’t understand what Tenchi saw in Ryoko. Ryoko was a mannerless woman that robbed banks and blew up homes and in the past blew up planets. Even now Ryoko was destructive, maybe not as much, but still. Ryoko had ruined her life, so she thought. Ayeka had to let the universe know what she was feeling. She was angry, lost and lonely. “Lunch is ready!” Ayeka heard Sasami say from downstairs. Ayeka huffed and went to her door. She opened it and walked to the staircase. She marched down them in her angry fit. She went over to the table and flopped down on her pillow next to Sasami. Ryoko and Tenchi sat down on the other side of the table where they used to sit before the war. Sasami and Nobuyuki came out of the kitchen holding platters of food. They sat the food down on the table and took their seats. Everyone began to dig in. “I forgot just how good your cooking tasted, Sasami!” Tenchi exclaimed after he gulped down some of his food. Kiyone and Mihoshi agreed and Ryoko cheerfully slurped down some noodles and rinsed with some of her sake. “Yeah! And my sake tastes better aged!” Ryoko chimed in. Everyone laughed, all except Ayeka who was fuming at the space pirate. She hated her guts even more than usual. Actually she felt more betrayed than jealous. Ryoko, one of her best friends, had taken the one man she loved. (Loved being the key word. o.O Don’t ask, It’ll explain itself in due time...) Sasami, noticing the fuming Ayeka, got a bit worried. “What’s the matter Ayeka?” Sasami asked. Ayeka immediately stood up. She pointed at Ryoko and yelled out, “That woman is what!” Ryoko looked up at Ayeka with a confused look. “You! You took him! I will never forgive you, you traitor!” she continued. Ryoko was on her feet now. She never toke Tenchi, he came to her and she was ready to tell the princess this. “Traitor?! I would never betray my friends or family!” Ryoko shouted out angrily. Ryoko was hurt at the sudden outburst that had occurred. Ayeka huffed loudly. “Ha! That’s a new one! Please tell me more!” Ayeka had tears in her eyes now. Tenchi stood up from where he was sitting. He looked from one girl to the other. He never saw them get into such a personal fight before and didn’t know how to handle it. Mayuka was getting upset at the sudden rampaging fight between her mother and aunt. Ryoko was shouting back at Ayeka now with a hint of hurt in her voice. “I would never steal anyone from you or any of the other girls in a million years! Hell, I wouldn’t do it at all!” Ryoko had some tears running down her face now. She wasn’t about to let Ayeka walk all over her though, no not like that. Tenchi looked to Ayeka now. “Ayeka, she didn’t do anything, I made the choice.” Tenchi said quietly. Ayeka looked to Tenchi. Did he say that he made the choice?! This had hurt Ayeka badly now. After three years of knowing him, after seeing him tell Ryoko to leave him alone. He chose her?! Ayeka shook her head as she backed away from the table. Ayeka was devastated. More tears seemed to have gushed out of her eyes as she heard this from him. She looked around to see the others who where still trying to understand what had just happened. “I won’t believe it! You! You could hardly stand having that woman hang on you! How could you chose her?!” she demanded. Tenchi sighed. “The only reason why I told Ryoko to back off was because I was afraid to lose a friend.” The others already knew that. They just could tell. Every time Ryoko would hang on him or force herself onto him and he told her to stop they knew he didn’t really want her to. Ayeka looked back at Ryoko. “This is all your fault!” She yelled. She then turned and ran to her room. They all heard the loudest slamming of a door they had ever heard. The people at the table still couldn’t stop their heads from spinning. This fight had just came out of nowhere at all. Ryoko, who was very upset at the whole thing, said, “This is my fault.” then disappeared from sight. Ryoko was blaming herself for something that wasn’t in her power to begin with. Ryoko just wanted to be alone so she could think. She was having a very hard time with life recently and she didn’t know just how much more of this she could handle. Tenchi sighed and ran outside. Everyone wandered what he was doing but figured that he too wanted to be alone. Once he reached the front yard he turned and looked to the roof. There she was lying on her left side. He ran back to the house and rushed up the stairs and to his room leaving the others with confused expressions on their faces. Once Tenchi reached his room he ran to the door that lead to his porch. He opened it up and exited his room and onto his porch. He walked over to a ladder that went to the roof. He climbed up it slowly and slowly Ryoko filled his vision completely. He stepped onto the roof and slowly walked over to her. Ryoko noticing Tenchi turned to her right side exposing her back to him. Tenchi continued to walk to her and sat by her once he got to her. “Leave me alone, Tenchi.” she said quietly, her voice breaking. Tenchi sighed and looked out to the lake. “Ryoko, it’s not your fault.” he told her firmly. Ryoko sniffed and wiped the tears away with her left arm. There was a slight breeze and flowed through Ryoko’s hair and it cooled the back of her neck. She sighed and then rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. Tenchi never looked away from the lake though. They just sat there in silence and with out movement for what seemed like hours. Ryoko closed her eyes and breathed in the calming smells of the country wood and leaves. It was a relaxing scent. She had always enjoyed the scenery too. “I’m sorry, Tenchi.” she said breaking the silence. Tenchi looked down at her. “For what?” he asked calmly. “For blaming myself.” Tenchi gave a small smile and shook his head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” he told her. She sat up and scooted up next to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on his right shoulder and sighed. He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the forehead. Ayeka had been putting things back in her suit cases. She couldn’t stay here anymore. She wanted to go back to Jurai. She had enough of this life. She was going to help take care of the throne back home. She just couldn’t stay here and continuously see the face of the woman that betrayed her. She left her room still in a mad fit from earlier. Everyone except Tenchi, Ryoko and herself had went back to cleaning the house. “Where is Washu?” Ayeka questioned Kiyone. Kiyone looked to the storage unit and sighed. “She said she was going to ‘clean’ her lab...” she answered. Ayeka turned away from the GP officer and walked over to the storage unit. She knocked on the door and Washu’s face appeared on a little screen. “What is it? I’m busy, go away!” she said impatiently. Ayeka barged right into the lab anyways. Ayeka had left the door wide open when she stormed in. The girls swarmed around the door and listened in on what was going on in the lab. They heard Washu screaming at Ayeka and Ayeka was yelling right back. The next thing they heard was the loud rumble of a space ship. Ayeka then came storming out of the lab. The girls stepped away from the door and watched Ayeka go back to her room. They then swarmed around the window like a bunch of stupid tourists crowding the deer at Yellow Stone Park like they never seen one before. Ayeka came back down luggage in hand and outside to her tree ship that had appeared out of nowhere. Sasami then saw Azaka and Kamidaki float over to Ayeka. A green glowing bubble thing surrounded them and they teleported to the ship. Sasami got scared now. What was Ayeka doing? Sasami ran out to the front yard right as Ayeka came back for more luggage. “What are you doing Ayeka?” Sasami asked as she followed her sister back to the house. Ayeka went up the stairs and to her room. Sasami sat at the bottom of the stairs. Ayeka came out of her room again with more suit cases. “I’m leaving! I cannot stand that space pirate or Tenchi!” she shouted out. Sasami was confused now. Why was Ayeka in such a mood, Sasami wandered. Ayeka left the house and headed for Ryo-oh her space ship. She teleported inside and a minute later was back outside. She looked up to the roof and saw Tenchi trying to help Ryoko stop crying. “I’m leaving now!” she shouted out. The reason why Ryoko was crying was because she saw the ship and knew that Ayeka was going to leave. Tenchi was trying his best to help her stop but he was failing miserably. Ryoko started to cry even harder now. She was upset and hurt at what Ayeka was doing and all Ayeka was thinking about was herself. Sasami, hearing Ryoko crying, rushed outside and to Ayeka. “What are you doing? You aren’t the only one with problems you know!” Sasami shouted. This just didn’t seem like Ayeka at all. She was stuck on her feelings and no one else’s. Ayeka huffed loudly and turned for her ship. She stopped right then, her sanity catching up to her. She blinked a few times and looked around. What was she doing, she asked herself. She turned back around to see that Sasami was starting to get upset at her older sister’s actions. She then shifted her view up to Ryoko and Tenchi. Ayeka sighed and bowed her head. This was no way for the first crown princess of Jurai to act. “I am sorry, Sasami. I must be stressing myself out and I shouldn’t be blaming others for it.” she said quietly. Sasami looked up at her sister and wiped the tears from her eyes. Ayeka then looked up to the roof. Ryoko was crying into Tenchi’s shoulder now. Tenchi had his arms around her trying to comfort her. Ayeka was very ashamed at what was going on. She knew that Ryoko would be very sensitive for a while but she didn't take that into consideration. Ayeka walked past Sasami and back to the house. She slowly went up the stairs and to Tenchi’s room. His door was open and she looked around. The room was still nice and tidy, except he hadn’t made his bed yet. She walked in and to the porch and stepped outside. She could hear Tenchi trying to calm Ryoko down who was still crying in his shoulder. Ayeka climbed the latter and saw the two sitting there. She was going to apologize to them and try to make it up to Ryoko. She felt very bad and ashamed for what she had done to the space pirate. She stepped onto the roof and straitened her kamono out. “Excuse me. I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I have done.” she said quietly. Tenchi looked over his shoulder and to Ayeka. She was fiddling with her right sleeve and had her head bowed. She looked like she had just realized what she did. Ryoko was sobbing lightly now. When she heard the princess’s voice she turned away from both her and Tenchi. “I’m really sorry for my actions and I could understand if you don’t accept my apology but I want to make it up to both of you.” she said. Tenchi looked back to Ryoko who was wiping the tears from her eyes. Ryoko then stood up and turned to the princess. “Well I don’t accept. Not right now. But you can help me by telling me why you blew up on me like that.” Ayeka looked out to the lake. She really didn’t know why she got so angry. It was like she lost her sanity and everything else. She looked back at Ryoko and shrugged. “I really don’t know what happened. I guess I’m stressed.....” she trailed off not knowing what to say. Ryoko sighed and let her body relax a bit. “I’m sorry if Tenchi and I are hanging all over each other in front of you. I can understand that your hurt about that, but like I said before, I wouldn’t steal anyone from you or the others.” Tenchi was looking at Ryoko with a small smile. He knew that she could be understanding at times like this. Ayeka nodded and sighed. “I’m sorry that I.... expressed my feelings about it in the wrong way. I know that you and Tenchi love each other and that it must be hard to restrain yourselves from showing that to each other when you’re around everyone.” Ryoko and Tenchi blushed then nodded. That was exactly the truth. They haven’t even begun to show each other just how much they loved one another. Ryoko had a small smile on her face now. Perhaps she could have some peace after all. But just then Ryoko felt a ping. The ping was the energy of someone. Someone that she knew and was afraid of. Ryoko turned and looked up at the sky. There it was, the new Soja. “It can’t be!” she shouted. Ayeka and Tenchi looked up to the sky now and saw what Ryoko had noticed. Sasami too was looking at the Soja now. Ayeka was in disbelief. “That can’t be Kagato can it?!” she demanded. Ryoko was shaking all over her body now. She sensed his power and it was greater than it had ever been. Sasami was scared also. She was confused too. How was Kagato alive? she wandered. “Sasami, go get the others!” Tenchi shouted down at her. Sasami turned and ran to the house as fast as she could. Once inside she shouted, “Guys! It’s Kagato, he’s back!” Mihoshi and Kiyone turned and looked at the little princess in a confused manner. Kiyone shook her head. “Tenchi killed him almost three years ago.” she said. Mihoshi nodded and continued to clean the kitchen shudders. Sasami ran up to the teal haired GP and grabbed her shirt’s sleeve and pulled her to the window. “That’s the Soja, his ship!” she protested as she pointed to it. It was in the process of reaching their position. Kiyone raised an eyebrow and tore away from Sasami and rushed outside to get a better look. The others ran up behind her seconds after. Kagato grinned as he watched the group from a view screen. Everyone was there except for Washu. He chuckled to himself as he watched a computer monitor. It read 20,000 feet above the ground and they where getting closer by the second. He turned away from the view screen and walked over to another computer. He looked it over and it said ten minutes before they reached the Earth’s surface. “They will all pay.” he said silently. He meant it too. He was going to kill them if it was the last thing he did. Tenchi ran back to the house to get his sword. Kiyone and Mihoshi had ran in after him three seconds later for their uniforms and GP Blasters. Ryoko was scared but she was not about to show the others that. She hated the feeling too and she wished that she could get rid of that emotion. A minute later Tenchi came back out just as the Soja was hovering about 50 feet over head. Tenchi was at Ryoko’s side now and was holding his sword in his hand. Ryoko looked to Tenchi who had a look of amazement and confusion at the same time. Ryoko took his hand in hers and he looked at her. “I’m scared.” she told him quietly. He nodded and put his arm around her shoulder. “It will be all right.” he said in a reassuring tone. She sighed and looked back up to the Soja. Then Kagato appeared from a green glowing sphere. He had a wicked grin and he looked just as evil as before. Tenchi let Ryoko go and stepped out in front of her. He ignited the brilliant blue blade of the Tenchi-Ken. “Well, I see you haven’t lost your spunk, eh Tenchi.” Kagato said with an evil smile. Kagato then shook his head. “I haven’t come here to take my revenge on you, though I should. I just want Ryoko back.” he said in a calm manner. Tenchi didn’t like the sound of that. Just then Mihoshi and Kiyone came out with their blasters in hand and dressed in their uniforms. Washu was also with them. Kiyone, seeing Kagato for the first time, already didn’t like him just by his looks. Her eyes narrowed at the space pirate and readied herself for a fight. Washu glimpsed at Ryoko and then transferred all of her gems to her. Ryoko noticed this and nodded at Washu. Washu smiled at her daughter and then looked to Kagato. Her eyes thinned as she stared at her former student. Tenchi clenched his sword even tighter. “You will not get her. You will have to kill me first.” he said in a low tone. Kagato chuckled. He then shook his head. “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.” he said. Just then an electrical charge surrounded Ryoko. She screamed out in pain then fell to the ground, barely conscious. It was just like before when Kagato had first shown up at the Masaki residence. “Ryoko!” Tenchi shouted as he rushed to her side. Just as he reached her though she and Kagato vanished. “If you want her back so bad, come and fight me. We’ll decide who gets Ryoko.” came Kagato’s voice out of nowhere. Tenchi looked to Mihoshi and Kiyone. “We’ll get Yukanojo ready.” Kiyone said quietly. She and Mihoshi then turned and ran back to the house. Tenchi turned to Ayeka. “Can you, no will you help us?” he asked her in a pleading manner. She nodded in silence. No matter how they acted to each other in front of the others Ryoko is one of her best friends. She wasn’t about to let her down either. She gave Tenchi a weak smile and then looked up to the Soja. They where up in space now. Tenchi, Ayeka, Mihoshi, Kiyone and Washu stood around the cockpit of Mihoshi’s ship the Yukanojo. The Soja was on the view screen and Tenchi was getting more and more angry at Kagato. There was a beeping noise as the robotic machine named Yukanojo came out of the ceiling. A small see through screen appeared and a message quickly rushed into view. Kiyone and Mihoshi both read it over. They both looked at each other and nodded. “Alright Tenchi, Kagato sent a message saying come aboard.” Kiyone said as she stood up from her seat. Mihoshi got to her feet too. Tenchi gave a nod and turned around to Ayeka. “I appreciate what you’re doing.” he said. Ayeka shook her head and waved her left hand. “Ryoko is one of my best friends and I wouldn’t let her down.” she admitted finally. Then a green orb surrounded everyone, except Washu, and they were off of the Yukanojo. Once the shimmering green light dimmed and faded away they found themselves in the middle of a hallway in the Soja. Tenchi was in his battle attire as was Ayeka. Mihoshi and Kiyone where in their regular GP uniforms with rifle blasters in their hands. They where ready for a battle. Tenchi, though, was weary for battle. He didn’t want to fight anymore but he had to save his beloved. He loved Ryoko with everything he was and so much more. He wanted her in his arms and he wanted to feel her soft touch. He was angry now. This time he would definitely would make sure Kagato stayed dead. He wasn’t going to haunt Ryoko any more. Tenchi’s grip on his sword tightened and he gritted his teeth trying to keep calm. It wasn’t working. Just then Tenchi broke out into a full run. As he ran through the halls he ignited the Tenchi-ken. Ayeka and the others where running behind him trying to keep up with his pace. They soon reached a large open room. Pillars where lined up in one long row on each side of the room. The floor was made of what looked to be marble. Tenchi looked around and soon spotted Ryoko. She was chained by her wrists, ankles and waist to a hard vertical metal table. She was unconscious and her head hung. Tenchi got even more pissed at this. “KAGATO!!! COME OUT AND FACE ME!!” Tenchi shouted out. His tone and expression scared Ayeka. She had never seen Tenchi so angry. She looked at him and she could swear he was a different person all of a sudden. She guessed this was what happened when one was in love and their love was kidnapped right in front of them. She heard a small groaning noise and turned to see Ryoko regaining consciousness. Tenchi had also noticed this and had immediately rushed over to her. “Ryoko!” he yelled out. Ryoko slowly lifted her head and saw Tenchi running towards her. Once he reached her she gave him a weak smile. He cupped her face in his hands gently. “I’ll get you out of here.” he said quietly. She took in a deep breath. “I know you will.” she replied. He then kissed her fully on the lips. She tried her best to return the kiss to the best she could. Then a deep laughter filled the ship and Tenchi broke away from Ryoko. He let her face go and turned just in time to see Kagato appear about three feet away from them. “Oh, how sweet.” Kagato began. “So, the mighty prince of Jurai is in love with a worthless space pirate like Ryoko.” he ended in an evil tone. Tenchi didn’t like what he had just heard. Ryoko wasn’t worthless, not in Tenchi’s eyes or the family’s eyes for that matter. “Ryoko is not worthless.” Tenchi said in an angered tone. Kagato just raised an eyebrow. Just then, Tenchi advanced Kagato at full force. He raised his sword over his head and yelled out, “I will take Ryoko with me!” then slashed his sword down at the space pirate. Tenchi got nothing but air as Kagato turned himself sideways. Tenchi landed on the ground with a light thump and turned to face the man. He once again advanced by swinging his sword at his midsection with all of his might. Kagato caught the blade in his hand and grabbed Tenchi by the wrist lifting him off of the ground. “I will tell you what I told you three years ago,” he started. “If you had only left her behind you could have remained alive.” Tenchi, with an angered expression looked Kagato straight in the eyes. “And I’ll say the same thing I said three years ago. I’d rather die than forsake Ryoko.” Kagato threw Tenchi across the room and he hit the wall to the far left with a loud thud. Ryoko watched with horror at the whole scene. Ayeka had then charged Kagato and she too was sent flying across the room and into a pillar. Mihoshi and Kiyone shot off multiple shots with their rifles but they reflected off of him and rickashayed everywhere. Ryoko’s anger was building up inside of her and she was about to explode. This was her family Kagato was messing with and she wasn’t about to let him get away with it. She struggled and tried to break out of the chains. “Stop it! Leave them alone!” she shouted out with anger. Kagato looked at Ryoko. That was a mistake. Tenchi had sliced Kagato’s right arm open. Kagato shrieked out with pain as he held his arm. Tenchi once again advanced noticing that Kagato was bleeding. Perhaps last time he had only fought a shadow of Kagato. It was possible. Kagato had noticed Tenchi attacking again and shot an energy burst at him. Once again Tenchi was sent flying across the room. “I SAID STOP IT!!” Ryoko shouted out in even more anger. She broke out of one of the restraints now. With her right hand free she created her energy sword and freed herself. Kagato turned just in time to see Ryoko slash her sword down at him. He barely got away though by teleportation. Now Tenchi and Ayeka where attacking him at full force. Kagato easily threw Ayeka off course but Tenchi wasn’t as easy to deal with. Kagato had powered up just enough energy though to blast an energy ball at him. He shot it out at Tenchi’s midsection. It connected and he went right through a pillar. Ryoko stopped in mid-advance when she saw Tenchi hit and went through the pillar. She noticed some blood come out of his mouth. “No!” she said in just a whisper. Tenchi hit the floor with a loud thud and was out cold. Large pieces of pillar where falling down towards him now. Ryoko quickly teleported to him and grabbed him, she then teleported away just as one large boulder was a foot above them. When she reappeared she was sitting on the floor. Her legs where folded under her and Tenchi was lying on the hard cold metal floor. She held his upper half on her lap. She caressed his right cheek gently. A tear rolled down her face as she stared at him. It was hard to tell if he was alive or dead. She then gently lied him on the floor. She stood up and faced Kagato. She wasn’t going to lose Tenchi. She loved him and she knew that his daughter needed a father. “I will never let you get away with this.” Ryoko said, her voice seemed to be breaking. The tears began to rush down her face as she clenched her hands into tight fists at her sides. Her gems began to glow and a blue aura surrounded her. Kagato recognized this. He shook his head. “That’s impossible!” he shouted as he backed away from Ryoko. The blue light got brighter and then a white light filled the part of the room where she was. Once the light cleared Kagato looked at Ryoko in shock and in fear. Right in front of her was the ten wings of the light hawk. “How can this be?!” Kagato demanded. Everyone else was also in shock. They had no idea that Ryoko could do that. The only people who knew about it was Tokimi, Rinoa (Who is dead o.O) Tenchi, Ryoko, and Washu. The others had no idea what so ever. Ryoko’s clothes then changed to her battle suit but it was different than before. It was more like a dress, a slit running up each leg to give her more flexibility. She then created the Lightning Eagle sword. (AKA The Light Hawk Sword, if you people forgot or didn’t know...) Kagato was in major disbelief. “But your not even a Juraian!” he shouted out as if trying to make it all seem like it was his imagination. But no matter how hard he tried to block it out she was still standing there with the Lightning Eagle Sword. Ryoko then advanced with great speed and obvious power. She brought her sword to her left side as she flew right for him. “No! You cannot do this!” Kagato shouted. Ryoko didn’t reply, she just sliced his stomach wide open. Blood rushed out and ran down everywhere. His organs where also seen as he fell to his knees. He shook his head. “This can’t be...” he then fell to his right side. He had finally perished. Ryoko stood over him still in her Light Hawk attire. She huffed loudly and made her way back to Tenchi. Once she reached him she knelt down to him. She placed her left hand on his chest. She felt the steady beat of his heart. She sighed with relief. He was alive and would be alright. He groaned quietly and began to come back to the waking world. The first thing Tenchi had noticed was the pain all over his body. The next thing he felt was the gentle hand on his chest. He slowly opened up his eyes and noticed Ryoko. He saw that she was in her Light Hawk transformation. He slowly got up and rubbed his head. “Ouch.” he said with a grunt. A single tear ran down the cyan haired woman’s right cheek. Tenchi didn’t notice this for he was looking around the ship. He then converted his view to Ryoko. She was smiling weakly at him. He smiled back at her. “Is everyone ok?” he asked suddenly looking around for everyone. Ryoko nodded “They all headed back for Yukanojo after I created the light hawk wings. I guess they thought that they would be in the way.” she said calmly yet quietly. He placed his left hand on her right cheek. She placed her hand over his and calmed down at his touch. The Light Hawk Wings then disappeared and she was back to her normal wear. She slowly began to stand. She took Tenchi’s left arm and helped him to his feet. He put his right arm around her shoulder. “Lets go home.” he said with a smile. She nodded and put her left arm around his back and they slowly made their way to the Yukanojo, Tenchi walking with a noticeable limp. Once they made it on everyone greeted them with all the happiness that they could express. Kiyone helped Ryoko get Tenchi to the infirmary where there was some new invention made by Washu. It was an instant heal machine of some sort and they placed Tenchi in it. The machine automatically came to life and healed Tenchi with in two minutes. Tenchi stepped out of the machine to see Ryoko standing there waiting for him patiently. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes. “Thanks for coming to get me.” she said in his left ear. He blushed a bit and nodded. “Well, I love you, and no one will ever hurt you as long as I’m around.” he told her. She knew by the sound of his voice that he was being honest to her. She then kissed him fully on the lips and he was busy returning the kiss. He placed his hands on her waist as he tried to deepen their kiss. Then flashbacks of when he first met Ryoko entered his mind. He couldn’t help but seeing that as funny. She first tried to kill him and then she had fallen in love with him and he had fallen in love with her. Actually he couldn’t help but to continue to fall in love with the pirate. She was beautiful, intelligent, elegant, wild, funny and gentle. He had loved her and will always love her. More Notes: Ok, I admit, not the best fan fic of mine and it was short but there is more to come. oO I have noticed that I can’t quite make a story without some action. Well anyway I will make more stories soon. Well c-ya people around! Watch for my next story coming soon. For comments email me at the_demon_sumoner_ryoko@yahoo.com and label the subject The Return Home comments or I will discard your comments cause I don’t like to open email from complete strangers.