Legal Info- I do not own any of the characters represented in my story. 
They are the sole property of AIC/Pioneer. The only characters in the 
story that belong to me are the ones I made up, other than that I don't 
own the rest of the characters.

A/N- This is a Tenchi Universe based fic. This story occurs right after 
Tenchi Forever.




To Rule Or To Love
Chapter Three


Ryoko woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. For the first 
time in the three years she had known Tenchi, she was happy. He loved 
her, but there was a problem though. She wouldn't be able to marry him. 
What she had done the night before was sacrilege on her planet. It was 
now August 17th and her birthday was seven days away, which meant that 
in seven days, she wouldn't be able to be with Tenchi anymore. The very 
thought of it made her shudder. She then heard a groggy sound coming 
from above her. 

"Hey there lover. Sleep well?" she inquired.

He smiled at her and nodded. Ryoko grinned and kissed him. Once they 
broke away, Ryoko snuggled up next to him. She was supposed to be 
ecstatic that morning, but the thoughts of her ascension to the throne 
were making her uneasy. Tenchi sensed this and faced her.

"Is something wrong, Ryoko?" he asked.

Ryoko sighed. "My twentieth birthday is coming up soon and you know 
what that means, Tenchi."

Tenchi nodded and sighed as well. He knew very well that if he married 
her that they would be killed just like her own parents were. He knew 
that whatever little time he spent with Ryoko were probably going to be 
the moments that he'd treasure forever. He looked down at his beloved 
trying to find a way to cheer her up. None came to mind, but then they 
both heard a knock on the door.

"Princess Ryoko?" said the voice on the other side of the door.

"Ah...shit!" she muttered under her breath. "Tenchi, hide now!"

Tenchi did as she said and hid in one of her three closets. She threw 
on a nightgown and sat back down on her bed.

"Yes?" she replied.

"It is I, Marcos. I would like to speak with you," he said.

"Very well. Enter," she said.

Marcos came into the room and his nose caught a scent. He didn't want 
to believe what is was, but he just had to ask. "Umm...Princess Ryoko, 
was anyone here last night?"

'Shit, he can smell it! I knew that shouldn't have let him in,' she 
growled, mentally. She flashed Marcos her most winning and angelic 
smile. "Why no, Marcos. I have been alone all night."

Marcos was not buying it. "Are you sure, Princess?" 

Ryoko was becoming tense. "Why yes. I'm positive."

Marcos' raised his right eyebrow. "Come now, Princess. You know that 
you can't hide anything from me."

Ryoko flashed him an innocent look. "Whatever do you mean?"

Marcos rolled his eyes. "You had sex in here, Princess! Anyone would be 
able to smell it!"

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Even if I did, what's it to you?"

"You were betrothed last night!" he cried.

Ryoko's face turned from anger to extreme shock. "I was?"

Marcos nodded his head rapidly. "Yes, Princess, you were."

"Who ordered this?" she demanded.

"The Prime Minister," replied Marcos.

Ryoko looked defeated. She couldn't lie anymore. "Yes, Marcos. I had 
sex with someone last night."

Marcos just sighed. "I figured as much. So, who is he?"

Ryoko turned her head away from Marcos. "It's Tenchi."

Marcos' expression of sadness turned to one of complete joy. He grabbed 
Ryoko in a bear hug. 

"Oh thank God!" he cried out.

Ryoko gave him a confused look. "What?"

Marcos gave her a big smile. "Don't you see Ryoko. Tenchi is your 
betrothed!"

Ryoko's eyes grew large as her lips quirked up into a big smile of her 
own. To imagine that she was betrothed to the one that she thought that 
she couldn't be with. Her smile was suddenly replaced with worry.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" asked Marcos.

"What are the people going to say about this?" she asked him.

"They aren't going to say anything because they're not going to know," 
he replied.

"Has the Prime Minister arranged it to be so?" she asked.

"Yes, so you don't need to worry. You and Tenchi can love each other 
freely," he said.

Ryoko was so happy that she thought that she would cry and she almost 
did. She thanked Marcos for the good news and as soon as he left her 
room Ryoko called out for Tenchi.

Tenchi came out of one of the three closets in her room and looked at 
her. "Is it safe now?"

"It'll be safe forever! We're engaged!" she cried out happily.

He smiled at her happy expression. He loved her very much and if an 
arranged marriage was what it took to be with her, so be it. He 
embraced her gently.

"So, who arranged this?" he asked.

"The Prime Minister of my planet," she responded. "I love you, Tenchi. 
Life wouldn't be worth living without you."

"I will never leave your side, Ryoko. You can always be sure of that. 
Wherever you go, I'll always be there with you," he said, passionately.

"Oh Tenchi," she murmured in response.

It was noon and Tenchi and Ryoko were late for lunch. They rushed 
downstairs as quickly as possible and sat down at the table. They both 
had nervous smiles planted on their faces and Marcos gave them a 
knowing look, which in turn made them blush. Adrian saw these 
transactions, but thought it best to not inquire.

"Well Marcos, did you tell them?" he asked.

"Yes, and they are very happy about it, right Ryoko?" he asked, 
grinning at her.

Ryoko's blush deepened. "Oh.umm...yes, very happy."

"It turns out that the two were in love anyway," said Marcos.

"Thank you for pointing that out Marcos," Ryoko said sarcastically. 
"While were all here talking about my love life anyway, why don't you 
tell Adrian about the other known factor that you figured out this 
morning dealing with my relationship with Tenchi?"

Marcos shut up right away. Adrian looked confused for a moment, but 
then, after figuring it out, turned several shades of red, but decided 
to keep quiet. The afternoon passed quite uneventfully until the Prime 
Minister showed up. 

"Princess Ryoko, it's so good to see you," said the Prime Minister.

"It is good to see you as well, Milos," she said smiling.

"I'm sure that your guards informed you of your betrothal to Lord 
Tenchi of Jurai?" he asked.

Ryoko smiled happily. "Yes, they did."

"And is your Ladyship pleased?" he inquired.

"Very much so," she replied.

"Do you love this young man?" he asked.

"Yes and he loves me as well. We were beside ourselves with happiness 
when we heard the news," she said.

"I am glad to hear it," he responded.

"When will the wedding be held?" she asked.

"Two weeks after the day of your birthday and ascension," he replied.

"Will Tenchi be crowned Emperor of Velsa?" she asked.

"Of course he will. On the day of your marriage to him, he will be 
crowned Emperor of planet Velsa, but you will have more power over the 
throne since you are a direct descendant of the royal blood line of 
planet Velsa," he reminded her. 

"I know that part, but it doesn't matter anyway. As long as we have 
each other, we'll always make it through all right," she replied.

"Very well put, my Lady. You remind me of your mother. She would have 
been so proud to see you take the throne," he said sighing. "I miss her 
and your father. They were excellent people and good rulers. I know 
that you and your future husband will bring back the memories of the 
days that they were here."

"Thank you, Milos," she said. Milos bowed to Ryoko and then left the 
palace. Ryoko turned to her guards and smiled. "Thank you for always 
being by my side. You two are the best personal guards I could ever ask 
for. Again, thank you."

"You are very welcome, Princess Ryoko," said Adrian.

"Yes, you are very welcome indeed. I just know that you will become a 
wonderful ruler," said Marcos.

Ryoko jumped a little bit as a hand was laid upon her shoulder. She 
turned around and saw Tenchi smiling at her. She returned his smile as 
he embraced her.

"My love, just think! This is only the beginning. We still have so many 
roads to cover that lie ahead on this journey. I would not want to 
spend this journey with anyone else, but you," said a happy Ryoko.

Tenchi just held her close and said, "I know Ryoko. I feel the same 
way."

Back on Earth at the Masaki residence, the family was beginning to 
wonder if Tenchi and/or Ryoko would ever come back to them. Just then 
Washu slammed open her labs door and said that she received a link from 
Tenchi and Ryoko on her telecommunicator. Everyone rushed into Washu's 
lab to see what news they had to tell.

"Why hello, oh dearest family!" said a cheerful Ryoko over the viewing 
link.

"Hey there, Ryoko! Didn't think that you would contact us anytime soon, 
so what's up?" asked Washu.

Ryoko noticed the looks on the faces of the people residing at the 
Masaki home. They looked very expectant to see why she would actually 
contact them.

"Well, everyone...I'm engaged!" she exclaimed happily.

The whole family went silent. They were not expecting Ryoko to be happy 
with that sort of an engagement, which of course, it was plain to see 
that it was arranged. After a good five minutes of silence, Ayeka broke 
it.

"So, whom are you engaged to?" she asked.

"You would never guess, Princess," Ryoko said, with a hint of smugness 
smearing her voice.

"Well, who is it?" Ayeka asked again, now becoming impatient.

"It's...Tenchi," she said finally.

The whole family gasped at her news. They couldn't believe that Tenchi 
would go along with something like that, that was indeed if he did know 
about it.

"And what about Lord Tenchi? Has he agreed to go along with it?" asked 
Ayeka.

"Yes, he has," replied Ryoko.

"But, didn't you tell me that people of your race would be shunned of 
they married someone out of their own race?" Ayeka now asked, confused.

"The Prime Minister of my planet arranged the marriage! He told me that 
no one would ever find out about Tenchi's true origins," said Ryoko.

"Let me ask you this, Ryoko. Why would Lord Tenchi agree to this?" 
Ayeka asked suspiciously.

"Because last night he told me that...he loved me," Ryoko replied 
hesitantly.

This resulted in another gasp from the family. All of their eyes were 
as wide as saucers and their faces held a look of disbelief upon them. 
Just then, Tenchi appeared on the screen.

"Hey guys," said Tenchi.

"Hiya Tenchi!" said Sasami in the background.

"Hey Sasami," he replied. He then looked directly at his father. "Hey 
dad, so how's everyone doing?"

"Everyone's doing fine, but they miss you and Ryoko," said Tenchi's 
father Nobuyuki.

"I would have figured as much," replied Tenchi.

"Ryoko tells us that you're going to marry her and she also told us 
that you love her. Is this true son?" asked Nobuyuki.

"Yeah dad, it is," replied Tenchi.

"So, you're in love with Ryoko," said a voice in the room.

Tenchi looked in the direction the voice was coming from and found that 
it was no one other than Ayeka. She had a sad and heartbroken look on 
her face. Tenchi wished he could make her pain go away, but he only saw 
her as a sister. 

"Miss Ayeka...I'm sorry. I know that this must be hurting you, but I 
can't help the way I feel. I have been struggling with these feelings 
ever since I came back after those six months I was gone from God knows 
where. I have always loved her, Miss Ayeka. As I said before, I am very 
sorry that this is hurting you, but I can't help the way I feel," 
Tenchi concluded sadly.

Ayeka looked at him and said, "Never be sorry for being true to your 
heart, Tenchi."

"So, no hard feelings?" he asked hopefully.

"None whatsoever," she replied. "It hurts, that I can't deny, but I 
can't stop you from loving the girl of your choice."

"Miss Ayeka, there is something that I would like to clear up with both 
of you," said Tenchi.

Ayeka and Ryoko looked at him confused as he proceeded. "There was 
never any competition in my mind. I could have fallen in love with any 
other girl on the planet, but I didn't. The reason I chose to be with 
Ryoko was because of the way she makes me feel. Out of any other girl 
I've ever known, she has always stuck by my side, even when she was 
injured that one time."

Ryoko gasped in shock. "How did you know, Tenchi?"

Tenchi gave her a warm look. "Azaka and Kamidake told me about it after 
the battle with Kagato. Why didn't you say anything?"

Ryoko had a pained look on her face. "Because I didn't want you guys to 
worry and most of all...I didn't want any of you to pity me."

Tenchi grabbed Ryoko and hugged her. "Don't you ever think like that! 
If any of us show you any compassion, it's because we care about you, 
not because we pity you."

"Lord Tenchi is right, Ryoko," said Ayeka.

"I know that, Ayeka. I would like you to promise me something," said 
Ryoko.

Ayeka looked at her strangely. "What?"

Ryoko's face held the mischievous grin that everyone was so used to. 
"When I get back there and we're talking in the onsen, please don't hog 
all of the sake!"

At that point, everyone face-faulted, including Tenchi. Ryoko grinned 
at the expressions on their faces. She shook her head and thought, 'It 
looks like things are back to normal again!' Ryoko smiled because she 
wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Once everyone regained their composure. Ryoko spoke, "Listen, you guys. 
Tenchi and I will definitely come to visit all of you before we get 
married. Who knows, we just might drag some of you guys back with us!"

They all grinned at her and then Ayeka spoke, "Ryoko, I want you to 
take care of Lord Tenchi. Please be good to him."

Ryoko gave her friend a tearful smile. "Of course I will, Ayeka. I 
wouldn't have it any other way."

Washu looked at her niece with pride. 'She's really changed ever since 
we all came to live here. I know for a fact that she is making her 
mother proud by doing this.'

"Oh Ryoko!" Washu piped in.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I've been working on something ever since you two left. I know that I 
have portals in order to get into all of the hard to reach places in my 
lab, but now, I'm creating a portal that will be connected to planet 
Velsa! Isn't that wonderful, Ryoko? You and Tenchi will be able to 
visit us whenever you like, once I'm done working on it, that is," said 
Washu, hoping to make Ryoko happy by doing that.

And thus, Washu succeeded. Ryoko's face erupted into joy unspoken. 
"Washu! That is so great! Thank you so much! Tenchi, isn't that the 
best gift you could have ever received?"

"Well, it's the best conventional gift I could ever receive, but the 
best gift I have ever received was your love, Ryoko," said Tenchi, 
wording his sentence carefully.

This elicited a blush from Ryoko and a bunch of giggles to follow. 
"Tenchi! That was one of the sweetest things that you have ever said to 
me!"

Tenchi placed his lips on her right ear and whispered the things that 
he had whispered into her ear the night before when they were making 
love. Ryoko turned beet red at every word he said.

"Umm.Tenchi? Everyone is watching us," said Ryoko.

"Umm.oops.I forgot," said Tenchi, his face turning redder than Ryoko's 
was at the moment.

Everyone was just looking at them with grins plastered upon their 
faces, including Ayeka. This caused the lovers faces to flush several 
shades of red.

Washu had a grin on her face that would not go away. 'So, Little 
Ryoko's gotten curious. How very like her, but how very unlike Tenchi!'

"Okay! That's enough entertainment for you all to see from us!" 
exclaimed a very flushed Ryoko.

"Umm.yeah. We've gotta go now. See you all later!" said Tenchi as the 
visual communication screen was disconnected. 

Everyone burst out laughing as soon as they were off screen. Washu was 
laughing the hardest, though.

"Well now! He's getting bolder by the minute. The next thing you know, 
he'll be knocking her up in no time!" crowed Washu.

"I'm just glad that he finally made up his mind to marry her. I knew 
that he had his eye on her," said Nobuyuki.

Ayeka looked at Tenchi's father curiously. "Umm.Sir.what exactly do you 
mean by that?"

"I mean that I have known that Tenchi was in love with Ryoko for a long 
time. I'm just glad that he had enough guts to tell her before he lost 
her for good," said Nobuyuki. 

Ayeka had a small smile on her face. "I suppose so."

"Come on everyone! I made lunch ten minutes ago and it's probably 
getting cold, so let's go eat!" said Sasami.

Everybody nodded and made their way to the dining table, except for 
Washu. She stayed in her lab and on her face was a happy smile.

'I know that Tenchi will treat her right. I just hope that Ryoko 
doesn't end up like her mother did,' Washu thought sadly as she made 
her way out of her lab and towards the dining table.

The rest of the day at the Masaki residence was quiet. They all missed 
their friends terribly and they couldn't wait until they could see them 
again.

Back on Velsa, Tenchi and Ryoko were going through the same kind of 
distress. They were soothing each other, while they thought about their 
friends.

"You know something, Tenchi?" asked Ryoko.

"What?" he asked back.

"Not only am I gonna miss everybody there, I'm also gonna miss Washu! 
Doesn't that sound a bit weird, Tenchi?" she asked.

"Not at all, Ryoko. You've grown to like her as a friend and I'm sure 
that not only everybody else misses you, but that she misses you too," 
said Tenchi.

"Hmm.I guess you're right, Tenchi," she replied, with a smile. "I guess 
you're right."

Tenchi grinned at her. "Why thank you, my dear!"

Ryoko just smiled back at him and then kissed him gently. Tenchi 
returned this kiss and made it a bit more passionate.

"Dear?" said Ryoko once they broke away from each other.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I can't wait until Washu has that portal up," she said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he replied. "Still, patience is a 
virtue."

"You're starting to sound like your grandfather," she said with a grin.

Tenchi looked at her shrewdly. "That isn't funny!"

"Who said I was joking?" she asked innocently, trying to hold back her 
laughter. 

Tenchi looked at her in horror. "You can't be serious!"

Ryoko couldn't hold it in anymore and she ended up laughing 
hysterically. Tenchi shot her a withering look. Ryoko stopped laughing 
all together when she caught the look that he was giving her.

"Okay, okay, I've stopped," she said.

"Good," he replied.

"I'm sorry, Tenchi," she said.

Tenchi looked at her puppy dog eye expression and he found it very hard 
to be mad at her. "Okay, fine, I forgive you, just don't say things 
like that again."

Ryoko smiled at him and nodded. She then remembered something. 
"Umm.Tenchi?"

Tenchi looked at her suspiciously. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to my room now. If you need me, I'll be up there reading a 
book, okay?" she said.

Tenchi shrugged. "That's fine."

Ryoko pouted. "Oh, okay."

Tenchi sighed and pulled Ryoko into a hug. He then said, "Ryoko, I'm 
sorry for snapping at you, okay?"

Ryoko nodded. "Okay."

After a few minutes they both pulled out of the embrace and went to 
their own bedrooms to relax for later that night.


A/N: About Ryoko's OOC behavior in this chapter it is because she had 
never been as happy before. Remember that her life was not all that 
great, so she purposely kept a rough exterior over her true emotions, 
but now she has absolutely no reason to hide her feelings anymore, no 
matter how corny they seem to be. Well, ja ne!