Unexpected Confrontation (#3)
A Tenchi & company short story by Gary Littlejohn
-------------------------------------------------

All Tenchi* characters and the like are trademarks of AIC/Pioneer.
I did not invent these characters, I simply thought up the situation
for them to be in.
--------------------

I couldn't have been more pleased with myself if I tried.

I sat in my bed, wide awake, my arms wrapped around my legs, thinking about
what had just happened.  I had been waiting for years now for that one
moment
of bliss.  I had been a little deceptive, and a little conniving, but I got
what I wanted.  I was used to getting what I wanted, of course.

Many thoughts suddenly rushed through my mind, and I thought hard on each
one.
The first thought was of Ayeka.  I wonder how she would react if she knew
what
had happened...  Well one thing's for sure, I'm not gonna tell her.  That
would only cause trouble if I did.

Then I thought of Tenchi.  I still couldn't believe he had let me do that.
What
was even more surprising was that he was actually inviting me to sleep with
him.  What did he mean by that?  Surely not... no, there's no way he'd be
ready
for anything like that yet.  I know him so well, and I know he must have had
some other
reason for saying those things.  Maybe he was curious as to how I would
react.
Whatever his reasons, maybe I'll never know.

Then I thought more deeply about Tenchi.  He had never been with a woman
before,
so he was a virgin, as pure as snow.  Compared to my lecherous past, anyway.
I was
as filthy as they come.  I had never thought back to those days, really,
until now.
I had tried anything and everything there was.  You couldn't name the
position I had
not been in, you couldn't utter an act I had not done.  In this moment of
horrible
memory, I realized something which scared me beyond anything else.  Have I
been
taking Tenchi's purity away?  Had I been trying to steal from him the last
of his youth?  What if he doesn't want a woman who has done so many things?
What
if he will be repulsed by the truth?  Am I just damaged goods, unfit to
present
to him?  I was, and I knew it.

In that moment of revelation, I fell to the bed and cried.

After a few minutes with my tears, I decided to do something that I normally
would not.
The next day, I would go to his room again, this time to confess to him
everything.  I am not sure why I had decided on it, and I am not sure why
I felt it necessarry.  Hell, we weren't even in a serious relationship.
But I loved him so much, I wanted him to know everything about me, just
like I knew everything about him.  No matter how he reacted, I would take it
and be strong.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door.

"It's open, come in." I beckoned.  The door opened to reveal Sasami, a
concerned
look on her face.

"Ryoko-oneechan... I heard you crying.  What's wrong?" She asked, her voice
innocent and genuine as always.

"It's nothing, Sasami.  I'm fine." I said.  "Don't worry about me."

She stood there silently for a moment and then stepped forward slightly.

"Ryoko-chan.. I mean..." she held back, as if she was trying to say
something. "What I
mean is that... I didn't mean to peek, but I was walking past Tenchi's room
earlier,
and well... I saw..." she finally said, shying away at the end.  I couldn't
believe it.
She'd seen Tenchi and I kissing.  Had she watched the whole thing?

"Well, Sasami, it was dark.. so maybe you just thought you saw something.
Right?" I asked,
hoping she'd either believe me or get my hint.

"Ryoko-oneechan..." she whispered. "I promise not to tell anyone.  Not even
my sister.  It's just that I..." she stuttered. "I...."

I could hear the tears trying to come out from her voice, which was shaking.
I
could tell she was holding back.  This was something I had not expected at
all.
Could it be that Sasami was in love with Tenchi, too?  But she had never
mentioned
anything about it.  What was she trying to accomplish in telling me this?
I suppose when a heart is broken, some things just come out.

"Sasami..." I said, standing up and walking towards her. "I'm sorry.  What
happened
in there earlier was completely my fault.  I'm sorry." I said, reaching out
to hug her.

She looked up at me, almost angrily, and backed away from my embrace. "No,
Ryoko.  It
was Tenchi, too.  He invited you to stay in there with him! I heard it!"

Ouch! Had she been standing at his door that long?! The situation was
beginning to
scare me a little bit.  I wasn't sure how to deal with this.  If it were
Ayeka, I would know what to do, but this was Sasami!

"I swear, Ryoko." She sternly spoke "I will, from this day forth, try my
hardest
to show Tenchi that I am a woman, too!  This body of mine decieves the
eye, but I am Juraian, never forget that!  I am old enough to understand
the ways of the heart!  And I understand my heart completely!
I love Tenchi so much, but I never acted because I felt I would only
get in the way of you and my sister, but no more!  Believe me when I say
this.  I
will do my best to show Tenchi that I have so much to offer him!  There will
be no way he will be able deny it...  It's time for me to grow up!"

I couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth!  Never in all my time
at
this house would I ever have suspected such harsh words to come from the
tongue
of this fair, sweet princess!  It was true though, it was obvious how much
she loved
Tenchi.  She cooked his meals, she kept him company, she comforted him.  She
loved him so much, and it was right in front of all our noses from the very
beginning!

"Sasami..." I said, at a loss for rational though. "I... I knew all along...
but I
never suspected somehow.  All I can say is that I am sorry."

Then, Sasami surprised me again.  She lifted her head and smiled.  That
smile was
so huge and so powerful, it was as if she had lifted the biggest weight
off her back.  Her energy erupted all around, I could feel it...  Her heart.

"Ryoko.  You won a kiss from Tenchi tonight, but that's only the beginning."
she
laughed. "Eventually, you will see that in this battle, it will take more
than a kiss to win! I'll never give up!"

We both stood there quietly, and then suddenly began laughing out loud.
It was as if we had been possessed to do so, we fell to the floor laughing.
There was
then a knock, and Ayeka's head popped in, her eyes groggy, still half
asleep.

"What's going on in here?" she asked "There are those of us who need to
sleep!"

She blinked. "Sasami! Why are you in here?"

"Don't worry, Sister!" Sasami laughed. "Let's go back to bed."

"Right..." said Ayeka, trudging back to bed.

"I'll never give up, Ryoko-oneechan.  Never!" Sasami said, smiling at me.

I smiled back "Same here, kid!  Get ready for a real fight if you're goin'
up
against me!"

She walked to me and hugged me tightly. "Still friends forever no matter
what?" she
asked.  Now this was the Sasami I was used to.  All in all, she really
wasn't
that much different, even when she was serious.

"Of course, Sasami.  I wouldn't dream of letting something like a man come
between
us.  I'm stronger than that!" I chuckled.

She smiled up at me, let go, and went back to her room.

All in all, this has been the most eventful evening I've had in a long time.
I layed
down and went to sleep, thoughts of the coming "battle" running through my
head.

"You know, Ryoko." I said to myself. "This might be your toughest fight
yet!"

The End

(C) 2002 Gary Littlejohn (dragon@icon-stl.net)