Tenchi Muyo Fanfiction: These characters don’t belong to me, blah, blah, blah… Comments? magdalena_gv@hotmail.com Malena ( magdalena_gv@hotmail.com ) Regular The Sea of Change Chapter 2: Oblivion Set after Tenchi Forever, Ryoko is tired of the current love triangle, and begins painful steps to mature. An introspective look. If you are new to this story, please read chapter one named accordingly like the title. Other than that enjoy!!!! Please comment, I like to see if readers like or no like. (*.*) This is intermission, a song by Fiona Apple that I think describes wonderfully how Ryoko feels right now. If you have a chance to actually listen to the song, you’ll be amazed an how well it fits! The cd is from “When the Pawn” Chapter 2 coming soon!! " The Sea Of Change " Intermission 1 : “Love Ridden” Love ridden, I've ever looked at you With the focus I gave to my birthday candles I've wished on the lidded blue flames Under your brow And baby, I wished for you Nobody sees when you are lying in your bed And I wanna crawl in with you But I cry instead I want your warm, but it will only make Me colder when it's over So I can't tonight, baby No, not "baby" anymore - if I need you I'll just use your simple name Only kisses on the cheek from now on And in a little while, we'll only have to wave My hand won't hold you down no more The path is clear to follow through I stood too long in the way of the door And now I'm giving up on ... you No, not "baby" anymore - if I need you I'll just use your simple name Only kisses on the cheek from now on And in a little while, we'll only have to wave No, not "baby" anymore - if I need you I'll just use your simple name Only kisses on the cheek from now on And in a little while, we'll only have to wave Song copyright: Fiona Apple Story: Copyright 2001 magdalena_gv@hotmail.com Tenchi Muyo Fanfiction: These characters don’t belong to me, blah, blah, blah… Comments? magdalena_gv@hotmail.com Malena ( magdalena_gv@hotmail.com ) Regular The Sea of Change Chapter 2: Oblivion Set after Tenchi Forever, Ryoko is tired of the current love triangle, and begins painful steps to mature. An introspective look. In this chapter I tried to relay the feelings of each character as the family looses an important member. I think the hardest will be Washu. If you are new to this story, please read chapter one named accordingly like the title. Other than that enjoy!!!! Please comment, I like to see if readers like or no like. (*.*) " The Sea Of Change " Chapter Two : “ Oblivion ” Dawn slowly but surely made its rise into the sky. Its rays illuminated the fading stars, giving one the illusion of intruding in a intimate moment between the sun and the vast endless sky. Seeing the glorious sea of shining stars, one got the sense that nature was crying. The dew settled comfortably on every plant and tree, the birds tuning their voices for the morning’s symphony. Although all this enchantment in the air could have inspire even the most insensitive brute to become a poet, two members of the Masaki household couldn’t have cared less. Ayeka had forcefully fallen asleep on the base of the majestic Funaho. Being close to Jurai had always made her feel loved and protected. This was not an exception, yet when she was finally able to stop crying long enough to fall asleep, her dreams plagued her. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “No! I’m sorry Ryoko, you got it all wrong! I didn’t go behind your back, I was DRUNK!!!” Ayeka dropped to her knees in front of a stoned faced Ryoko. Her features failed to reveal her thoughts and emotions, a living breathing statue, Michelangelo’s secret work of art. Ayeka grabbed hold of Ryoko’s legs, much like a scared and repenting child would do to avoid the punishment that lay ahead. “I’m so, so sorry Ryoko, please you ... you’re my only friend. The only one who treats me like a person and not a doll.” At this point tears rolled freely down Ayeka’s face, her body shook with every ragged breath. She honestly had no intention of betraying Ryoko, she just loved Tenchi and couldn’t accept the fact that she would never ever have him. It was just an innocent kiss, really?! “Innocent? Who are you fooling Princess?” Ayeka looked up in surprise. She wasn’t aware she was thinking out loud. Ryoko ever quite so calmly and smugly looked at Ayeka with a gaze of indifference so penetrating that Ayeka had to turn her head away. Ryoko had heard Ayeka’s entire mental confession. How can this be Ryoko? Ryoko if nothing else, bears her soul in her eyes. Even while being controlled by Kagato, you could see the agony she lived with if you were only brave and skilled enough to hold her gaze. Those beautiful golden orbs who recently had offered Ayeka unrelenting support and love, now held emptiness. She quickly looked up to see Ryoko again. Ryoko towered over her. Her face had not changed a millimeter. Her voice was a complete monotone, and that is what scared Ayeka the most. She wasn’t scared for her life, she knew better than to think Ryoko would ever willingly kill her, she was her FRIEND for gods sake! But, she was terrified of loosing her, loosing Ryoko. Ryoko had unknowingly shaped her past 700 years of life. She had given her a validating excuse to leave Jurai, to look for her brother/fiance Yosho, to become closer to Sasami, and to ultimately meet Tenchi. She owed Ryoko her life, she had been her salvation from the empty useless existance she would have led on Jurai. “You will die alone princess. You will go back to Jurai, marry some pussy faced snob and have sick, demented children who will turn on you to get your throne the first chance they get.” “Nooo...!!!” Ayeka swallowed hard, trying to rid herself of the immense lump that had begun accumulating steadily in her throat. How could she say those things to her? She looked into Ryoko’s eyes, trying frantically to find some sign of her friend. “Or maybe, Tenchi will marry you, and you will know he does not want to be with you, to touch you, he will inwardly gag every time you lay in bed together. Tenchi will think of you with DISGUST and HATRED for the chance at life you STOLE from him.” “STOP! STOP IT! SHUT UP!!!” “He will never tell you of course. You will live false, empty lives and you will wither away inside. Never knowing what it is to love and be loved in return. You will die inside. Only an empty shell of you will remain, F-O-R-E-V-E-R ...” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “Ayeka! Ayeka wake up! What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Please wake up!” Sasami, her sister, had become alarmingly worried about her when she had not come to bed last night. The last she saw of Ayeka, she was heading to the cupboard for a little drink. She had looked all over and finally decided to look for her at Funaho, although she had silently prayed she wouldn’t find her there. The only times when Ayeka spent the night on Funaho, something was seriously bothering her. Her suspicions had been affirmed when she had found Ayeka lying on her side in a fetal position, crying her eyes out and moaning incoherencies under her breath. The only thing she could comprehend out of Ayeka’s hoarse admonitions was, “Please, don’t leave...” Ayeka kept repeating this over and over, while having more and more difficulty breathing since her nose was clogged up from crying non-stop all night. * Tenchi had spent a sleepless night near the opening to the cave, her cave. The only place that he had felt safe and secure since before he could remember. His mind went over the newly found memories of his childhood playing near the cave with her. He had started to remember by accident really. After his return from Haruna’s world, he realized he was quickly forgetting the past six months he had spent in her dream world. He very hesitantly decided to ask Washu’s help on the matter. She gave him a pocket-sized device that held no added surprises from the eccentric scientist. “Place it on the back of your neck. It will radiate your brainwaves and counter act it’s degenerating process,” Washu informed Tenchi with hands clasped behind her back and a white lab coat on. Speaking to him much like a doctor would do with her patient. He had been surprised that the device contained no added questions from the curious scientist or requests for “special” samples that were too intimate to be given. Perhaps she had taken note of the gravity of the task he had confided in her, yet Washu being Washu, she waved him off with a seductive wink and a lingering pinch and slap on the butt. He wanted to recover his memories not necessarily because of the mystery Haruna’s name held over the household every time she was mentioned, but because he felt he had finally realized or accepted something fundamentally important. Just as important to him he felt as breathing or eating, he just wasn’t sure what “ it ” was. So, as he slowly started to unraveled his stay with Haruna, at the same time began to remember the wonderful times he had had near the cave as a child. His dad had told him at the time that the lady he was so certain existed, was actually a figment of his imagination. Tenchi knew better. After both Nobuyuki and Achika were certain he needed psychological help, his “friend” wisely advised him to keep his mouth shut. All the stuff they would do together would be their “little secret.” He especially remembered her feline grin and playful wink every time he ran towards the cave, out of breath and adrenaline pumping a thousand miles per hour through his veins with the promise of another exciting round of “Space Pirates.” “Halt! Who goes there?” Ryoko would bark out at him when he was just inches away from the cave entrance. It was now his turn to play. With the biggest smile, he stood up tall. ( he had seen a movie called “Super Man”, and modeled himself after the impressive alien) So with hands on hips, chin held high, chest pushed out and his best interpretation of a death stare, Tenchi tried to look as powerful and strong as possible before he answered, “ It is I Tenchi, the MOST wanted space pirate in all the UNIVERSE! HA! HA! HA ! HA ! No one can defeat me, I am here to rescue ... “ ( “Ah! Do I have to rescue the girl every time? Can’t I just send one of my trustee sidekicks and go after some treasure or something?, young Tenchi would ask his friend.” ) “I told you Tenchi, any legendary pirate needs a damsel.” At that Ryoko would faze into a shimmering gown and feign helplessness as monster after monster would attack Tenchi. Looking back at the treasured memory, Tenchi realized it was actually an astral projection of Ryoko. She was still trapped in the cave and it would be a couple of years until he would release her. As a child would play with her as often as he could. Ryoko wasn’t always the damsel, that got too boring for her. Sometimes they would be partners in crime and steal the most valuable treasure and become rulers of the world. They played like this, Ryoko conjuring up new monsters and adventures, he defeating them. Good winning over evil, until he learned of his mother’s fatal disease. >From that point on, he forgot about Ryoko and all the adventures they had had together. The last time he felt her presence near the cave was when his grandfather Yosho told him his mother was dead. When Tenchi’s mother died, so did his courage and will. Achika had been his pillar of strength and when she left, he unconsciously closed a part of himself of from everyone, even his father. He could not get hurt like that again. Not if he could help it. Perhaps that is why he stopped playing with Ryoko and forgot their time together. She was dangerously close to his heart of hearts, so close in fact that he would not be able to deal with so important leaving him again. Better to cut her of, then have his heart broken again. He was sure that if someone left him a second time, he would not be able to put the pieces back together and he would forever be “broken”. He ran, ran with no sense of direction or purpose and ended up at the cave despite himself. The cave was his north star, his compass. He felt comforted there, as if someone was watching out for him. It had been Ryoko, his Ryoko. Now he had to find her, had to explain to her before she misunderstood and got out of control. He knew whenever Ryoko got mad, no one could control her, and things would almost certainly blow up. Tenchi just hoped Ayeka wouldn’t find her first. Ayeka, I love her, just not the way she wants or deserves. I need to talk to her, explain to her how ...... what explanations? I need to apologize for kissing her back, for leading her on for the past four years, for being a coward and not owning up to the feelings that had always been there for Ryoko. . . . my Ryoko * “Hey! Where’s breakfast I’m hungry!! “Mihoshi quiet down, maybe Sasami slept in late,” her Galaxy Police partner Kyone replied with the usual annoyed tone she reserved when being exasperated by Mihoshi. Which happened quite often. “Who is gonna cook? I tasted your cooking Kyone and your awful…” “Haven’t you ever heard that it’s not nice to be so blunt?” “But the Galaxy Police manual states how a Galaxy Police Officer doesn’t lie, EVER. Besides, you really do stink, of course not as bad as Ryoko and Ayeka.” Mihoshi giggles and sits down on the counter. “Remember when Ayeka and Ryoko decided to make a barbeque and we all had stomach aches for a week? Ha! And the look in Tenchi’s face when Ryoko handed him the plate with the most icky food I have ever seen, remember? And his eyes began to water just by smelling it?” Her giggles becomes stronger while she motions for Kyone to sit down on the stool next to hers. “How could I forget? Even grandfather Kashuito couldn’t keep it down and shoved Nobuyuki out of the way to the toilet. He barely made it, which is more than I can say for everyone else. Atleast there are lots of trees outside to hide while you throw up. No wonder Washu installed fifteen different luxury bathrooms around the house. If that ever happens again, we‘ll be ready to hurl in style.” “I’d rather forget that embarrassing incident girls.” Nobuyuki closed the door ironically to one of the fifteen luxury bathrooms Kyone and Mihoshi had been talking about. While crossing the living room to get to the table, he quickly put away a magazine he was reading in his suitcase resting on the sofa and made his way to the table. Kyone gave her partner a look of “In the bathroom with his girly magazines again” look with a exasperated sigh and eye roll. Mihoshi smiled and shrugged. “Where are the rest of the members of this house? It is not rude to keep the chef waiting.” He leaned backed on his knees and looked towards the kitchen. “That’s just it Nobuyuki, nobody’s here.” “And I’m HUNGRY!!!” Mihoshi’ eyed swelled up, and she clutched her stomach with both hands as she sat down on her knees next to Tenchi‘s father. Nobuyuki said nothing, but cocked his head to one side to better judge if any noise came from the second floor. Then all three heard both the front and back door open and close instantaneously. From the front they see Tenchi quickly glance to the rafters before bolting up the stairs. He passes right in front of them and acts like they’re not even there. He looks disheveled and his face is agitated. As in a tennis match the trio next turn their heads to the left where from the back door come Sasami and Ayeka. Both had been crying, but Ayeka especially had a severe tear blotched face. * “Ayeka wake up!” By now Sasami was close to tears as Ayeka kept moaning under her breath. She shook her shoulders with more force now, desperation getting the better of her. {What’s wrong with her? Who doesn’t she want to leave? Maybe I have finally been called to Jurai for my lessons? But why is she so shaken up? } And just like that Ayeka opened her eyes. She did not scream or shoot to a sitting position. She awoke much like a person simply winking. Her mind had not gone to oblivion as she slept, instead worked to increase her guilt. She blinked a few times, focusing her blurry vision on the person currently holding her and crying. All the angst in her face left, only to be change to confusion to worry to shame. “Ayeka you’re all right!” With a relieved gasp, Sasami forces Ayeka to a sitting position while giving her an immense bear hug. Ayeka only sighs deeply, trying to hold back a fresh trail of tears. She melts into Sasami’s hug and returns the gesture in kind. She embraces Sasami with a weak but firm grasp, as if she was afraid her sister would disappear. “Sister you’re as cold as ice! Please, tell me what happened.” Sasami forces Ayeka to weaken the hug a bit, so they can be able to talk. With a hoarse, jagged voice the princess after taken a deep, deep breath and looking at the lake instead of Sasami, quietly relays the happenings of the night before. Purposely omitting the some issues which she isn’t ready to face just yet. * “Ayeka! What happened are you hurt? Did someone attack you two?” Kyone exclaimed while quickly rushing to examine the sisters, trailed by Nobuyuki and a confused Mihoshi. Sasami offered Kyone a forced smile while she answered, “We’re fine.” The trio next turned to the woman who was leaning on Sasami as if she were a life saver. “Ayeka you don’t look so good. You know what I think you need? How about some breakfast?” Mihoshi offered. Everybody turned to look at her with quiet glares, except Ayeka herself. The princess actually laughed. Although it wasn’t a carefree or enjoyable laugh. She laughed like when someone is nervous or scared, and being to exhausted to cry, laugh instead. A unsteady, uncontrollable, creepy laugh which gave the rest of the household chills up and down their spines. “Has anyone seen Ryoko this morning?” Tenchi asked while bolting down the stairs. He looks towards the rafters again and not seeing the familiar batch of cyan hair peeping out, focuses his attention to the group near the back foyer. He gasps and quickly looks down as he realizes Ayeka has been staring at him the whole time. He freezes two steps away from reaching the ground floor. Now the left-out trio were certain something heavy had recently occurred. And by the way both Ayeka and Tenchi’s body stiffened when in each other’s presence, it was romantically related. And when something romantic happened, Ryoko was sure to have been in the thick of it. The princess never looked down, but continued to stare at Tenchi. Trying to figure out what he was thinking. He would apologize, profusely. Ayeka didn’t want pity, she would not stand for it, so she decided to go first, if anything she would try to maintain their friendship, with both Tenchi and Ryoko. After clearing her throat, at which time everyone turned to see her speak, Tenchi with a look similar to a dear caught in headlights, she in a quiet but firm tone replied, “I have not seen her this morning Lord Tenchi.” Ayeka held her head high, but her body posture was so tense she would have muscle aches the following the day. With her quiet affirmation, she gave Tenchi the permission to explain to Ryoko what had happened first. She would not interfere in the matter, at least not before Tenchi had his chance. “Ayeka I, I’m so…” “No Lord Tenchi, I am the one at fault here. And I am sorry for … (Ayeka meant to say kissing you, but instead said,) for having hit you…” Their four person audience quietly gasped and stared at the princess with shock sketched plainly on their faces, but none made move to leave. Ayeka had failed to tell Sasami about her quick boxing lesson with Tenchi’s face. The tennis match was back on as they turned their heads from the right where Ayeka was standing in the foyer, to their left where Tenchi still stood on the stairs. Curiously they mentally examined Tenchi’s body, trying to figure out where the princess had hit him. As they’re eyes raked his torso, all focused on the fast growing and darkening bruise on his right upper cheek. Mihoshi mouthed the word “oh” and nodded her head slightly as she realized Ayeka had slapped him on the cheek. Kyone jabbed her with an elbow, and gave her a look that threatened torture if she didn’t remain quiet. “How come I wasn’t invited to the family meeting?” * “Washu is the best family member ever!” * “The best EVERYTHING! EVER!!!” Both mecca Wahsu’s cheer in unison and clap before disappearing into the scientist’s wild mane of red hair. She enters the house from out of midair, sitting on her floating cushion, seemingly out of nowhere. Although if you were dumb enough to ask her, after a sixteen hour lecture, she would give up on your apparent retarded-ness and say that she used low power black holes in subspace, linking them to fixed locations around dimension five. Which is the dimension we currently occupy. For instance, her lab is located in dimension two-point-six-seven with subspace level four. “What meeting? Hey nobody invited me either!” Mihoshi stated to the group with a pout on her lips. Now everyone shook their heads and Kyone was about to explain what she thought was happening, when Washu’s eyes got wide and she took a quick inward breath. “Where the hell is Ryoko? She is not present through our link! Neither is Ryooki!” The family looked up at her in astoundment, she always knew everything, could it be Ryoko had outsmarted her? Nah!!! Without waiting for an answer, her hollotop appeared out of nowhere, much in the same way she had, and she started typing away with a frown. Meanwhile Tenchi and Ayeka had frozen on the spot. Both held their breath, not even blinking. Ryoko couldn’t have seen Ayeka and me, right? Besides, she wouldn’t go, she would blow something like always. - But Ryoko has been acting differently lately. Less erratic, well less erratic for her. And she has been avoiding you, maybe she has finally realized your not worthy of her. You fooled around with her emotions too long, this is your fault. - Washu will find her, Tenchi told his conscious. He knew it was right, but if he got a second chance, he would never let her get out of his site again. He just couldn’t shake of this feeling, it was like a premonition of something catastrophic happening under their noses, and they oblivious to what it could be. Same went for Ayeka, she simple looked to Washu and prayed for Ryoko to be alright. She should not be so worried she told herself. After all, Ryoko still knew nothing of her betrayal, but Ryooki was gone and that kept bothering her incessantly. Sasami took her sister’s hand in between hers. She was just as scared. She cared for her friends. Ryooki had failed to come to bed to. Although at the time she thought Ryooki had simple gone to try to find the carrot bin she had reserved for her dinner tonight. “Voila!” Washu with a huge self indulgent grin, turned the hollotop around to give the family a view of her discovery. “Ryoko thought she could outsmart me.” ? Impossible! No one can outsmart you! ? Yeah! You’re the Greatest most Beautiful!!! Her mecca washu’s delighted in shouting it to the family. “Be quite!” Washu said, slightly annoyed at their interruption. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, (she gives her mecca washus a evil stare and they speedily retreat to their domain in her hair) “Ryoko wanting to outsmart me is currently located in your room Tenchi. She simply mixed her left wrist gem’s energy with the other two you have on Tenchiken. I have to say I’m impressed! I had no idea Ryoko had any level of thought process whatsoever.” “Well if you spent a little time with her you’d have noticed a long time ago.” Ayeka said under her breath. “But I was already in my room, and she wasn’t there Washu.” Tenchi informed her. “Well now I’m really impressed with my little Ryoko.” At that she teleported everyone to Tenchi’s room. When everyone got their bearings, Ryoko wasn’t anywhere to be found. Washu burrowed her eyebrows and with a huff, went to re-checking her hollotop. “She has to be here. Here signature aura is centrally located in this room.” “Where Washu? I don’t see her anywhere.” Mihoshi stated while opening and closing Tenchi’s drawers, acting like Ryoko would be hidden somewhere in between his clothes. “I don’t understand? Ahh!!” Washu pulled at her own hair. No one had been able to outsmart her for as much as a nanosecond, much less this a few minutes! “Ryoko, Ryoko, where have you gone?” Washu said under her breath. As the family anxiously waited for a logical explanation from the scientist, Mihoshi kept opening drawers. She reached for the bottom one, and as she opened it, Ryoko’s aura reading went through the roof on Washu’s holotop computer screen. She jumped down off her floating cushion and dove for the opened drawer. She gasped and grabbed her face with both hands in surprise. No one had been able to fool her before, ever. She knew it was bound to happen sometime, it was a simple fact of trial and error. It was only fitting that the person who did it be her own daughter. She took a deep breath and genuinely looked impressed. “What is it Washu? Where is Ryoko?” Nobuyuki asked. She stepped back from the opened drawer. Everyone crowed around the minute scientist. They plainly saw three glowing red gems settled comfortably in Tenchi’s sword hilt. { She’s gone. } { My friend, she saw us, she found out I betrayed her and left. } { Ryoko is gone, and Ryooki? } { What the hell happened between Tenchi, Ayeka, and Ryoko that forced Ryoko to leave?” } { My son lost his chance with one of the girls, he better hurry up and choose from the ones that are still left. } { Those gems look pretty. I wonder if I ask Ryoko really nicely, she’ll let me keep one? } { She’s gone. My Ryoko is gone.} “ Touche my Little Ryoko, touche. ” Copyright 2001 Comment : magdalena_gv@hotmail.com