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 Eleven Ryoko woke up the next day with a happy smile on her face, despite the enormous headache she had. She looked to her left and saw Tenchi still there and asleep. 'I guess I should wake him up,' thought Ryoko. Ryoko slithered over to where Tenchi was on her bed and climbed on top of him. She smiled at her sleeping lover's face. She then grabbed one the front locks of her hair and began to tickle his nose with it. "Wake up, my love," she cooed, gently. Tenchi groaned and turned away from her. Ryoko frowned and then turned towards him and kissed him gently. She then began to leave a trail of kisses all the way down his neck. Tenchi's eyes opened slowly and they saw Ryoko kissing at his neck. He made no move to stop her, but when she saw that he was awake, she stopped herself. "You didn't have to stop, you know," he said to her. "You have a very naughty mind. I think that I've been rubbing off on you a bit too much," she chuckled. "I'm glad for it actually," he said. "And why is that, my Tenchi?" she asked. "Because now I can make love to you without getting a nosebleed," he pointed out. "I underestimated you," said Ryoko. Tenchi looked at her confused and Ryoko grinned. "Your mind is dirtier than mine!" "Gee, thanks," he said, sarcastically. "Listen, lazy bones. We've gotta get up now, or there won't be any breakfast left for us," said Ryoko as she got out of bed. "Look who's talking, Ryoko," said Tenchi as he got out of bed. Ryoko had a clearly confused look on her face. "Huh?" "You called me lazy, Ryoko," he said. "Yeah, so?" she asked, still confused. "I do more work than you do, actually, you never do any work and you're calling me lazy?!" he pointed out. "Are you mad at me, Tenchi?" she asked, fearfully. "I don't know. Should I be?" he inquired. "Oh! Please don't be mad at me, Tenchi! I didn't mean it!" she cried. Tenchi looked at Ryoko's face closely and noticed that she was crying. He walked up to her and gently wrapped his arms around her. He also noticed that she didn't stop crying when he did that. She ended up crying even more. 'Mood swings,' he figured. He began to cradle Ryoko, trying to soothe her. "There, there, Ryoko. I'm not mad at you." Ryoko sniffled for a little bit, then asked, "You're not?" Tenchi smiled warmly at her and said, "No. I'm sorry that I made you think that I was." Ryoko just held onto him tightly and said, "I almost thought that you didn't love me anymore." "Ryoko, even if I do get mad at you I could never stop loving you," he said. "You mean it?" she asked. "Yes, of course I mean it. Why shouldn't I?" he asked. "I just wanted to make sure," she said. "Oh," he replied. "Tenchi?" said Ryoko. "Yes, Ryoko?" he asked. "I think I need to go see Washu today," she said. "Ermm…why?" he asked, confused. "Because I need her to speed up my pregnancy," she explained. "Umm…Ryoko? Didn't you already do that?" he asked, confused. "Yes, but…I need to know if Washu can speed it up to today," she said. "TODAY!" Tenchi cried out and looked at her as if she were insane. "Yes, Tenchi. Today," Ryoko replied calmly to his outburst. "Are you out of your mind?" he asked. "No, Tenchi. I'm perfectly fine. Why? Do you have a problem with this?" she asked. "Yes!" he yelled. "What's your problem then?" she asked. "It might hurt you, Ryoko. You're in a very delicate condition and you shouldn't push yourself so much," he explained. "I'm doing it, Tenchi. I need to have this child before we get married. It's as simple as that. Besides, I won't be able to wear a cloak at the wedding, so I believe that my people would be overly suspicious if they saw my enlarged belly," she said. Tenchi sighed. "I guess you have a point there." Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Duh!" Tenchi ignored her comment and asked, "Is there any other reason why you would want to do this?" Ryoko blushed fiercely and said, "Well, yeah." "And that is?" asked the now curious Tenchi. "Well…I was hoping that we would have our wedding night," she said, still blushing. It was now Tenchi's turn to blush. "Oh, I see." "Is there anything wrong with wanting to be with you, Tenchi?" she asked, innocently. Tenchi's blush increased in redness as he managed to choke out, "Of course not, dear." Ryoko smiled at him. "I knew you would agree with me!" Tenchi didn't say anything, but kept on blushing. She grinned at his still shy nature, even though he had been with her three times already. "Well then, why don't we go get some breakfast first and then we can use Washu's portal to bring us back to your house. Are you ok with that?" she asked. Tenchi shrugged. "I don't see why not." "Great! Now, let's go get some breakfast!" she exclaimed as she dragged Tenchi out the room with her. Once they were finally downstairs, they noticed that everyone was already in the breakfast room eating. "Good morning, everyone!" Ryoko exclaimed cheerfully as she sat down at the table. "Good morning, Ryoko. Are you feeling better?" Ayeka inquired politely. "Yeah, I'm fine now. I need to go and see Washu after breakfast, though," she said. "Whatever for?" asked Ayeka. "I have to ask her to speed up my pregnancy," said Ryoko in between bites. "But, haven't you already done that?" asked Ayeka. "Yup, but I need her to do it again," Ryoko explained. "But why?" asked Ayeka. "Because I need to have this child by the end of the day, so my people won't know that I was pregnant at my wedding," said Ryoko. "I see. So, you're going to have Miss Washu speed up the pregnancy. Hmm…are you going to have her deliver the baby?" asked Ayeka. Ryoko finished off her last bite and then said, "I suppose so. She's done a pretty good job on accelerating by pregnancy without any side effects, so I guess it would do me no harm to have her deliver my baby. Besides, it would be for free doing it that way," said Ryoko. "That's true," said Ayeka. Ryoko looks at her empty plate and said, "Well, it looks like I'm done eatin'. I'm gonna go and see Washu now." "Do you want me to come with you, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked worriedly. Ryoko shrugged. "Sure, if you want." "Then I'm coming," said Tenchi as he followed her to the portal. Once they entered the portal, they both found Washu hard at work on some experiment. Ryoko walked up to her and made the first move to talk. "Hey, Washu!" she exclaimed. The tiny genius was startled, but then relaxed when she saw that it was only Ryoko. "What can I do for ya, Ryoko?" asked Washu. "Well, first off I want to say that the Prime Minister of my planet changed the date of my wedding," said Ryoko. "Oh, to when?" asked Washu. "August 27th," said Ryoko. "That's three days away!" exclaimed Washu. Ryoko sighed. "I know." "What did you need from me, Ryoko?" asked Washu. "I need you to speed up my pregnancy to today," Ryoko said calmly. "You want me to what?" whispered Washu who was in total shock. "Speed up my pregnancy to today," Ryoko repeated. "Are you out of your mind?" asked Washu, the anger inside of her building up. "Umm…actually…no," said Ryoko. "That stuff can kill you if you overdo it!" yelled Washu. "Why do you think I'm asking you to do it for me?" Ryoko asked somewhat angrily. Washu sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ryoko." "Of course I know what I'm doing," growled Ryoko. "Whatever you say," said Washu as she led Tenchi and Ryoko back to the injection chair. "Sit down, Ryoko," Washu ordered. Ryoko sat down in the injection chair and looked at Washu expectedly. "Well?" "Ryoko, I'm gonna have to give you drugs to numb the pain this time," said Washu. Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" "I mean that if I don't numb the pain this time, you'll be screaming so loud that would be able to hear you in Tokyo," Washu explained. "Are you telling me that it's gonna be worse than last time?" she asked, shocked and afraid. "Yes, Ryoko. That's exactly what I'm saying. Now, hold still so I can inject the drugs into your body and then the pregnancy accelerator fluid," said Washu. "Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with," Ryoko grumbled. Washu sighed and placed a small needle into Ryoko's left arm. Ryoko then let out a small gasp of pain, but then she immediately fell asleep after the needle left her arm. "She's already under the influence of the drugs. Now, I need to inject the acceleration fluid," said Washu. "Umm…Little Washu?" said Tenchi. "Yes, Tenchi?" she asked. "Just how fast will this fluid make her pregnancy go?" he asked. "Well, she'll probably go into labor three hours after I give her this stuff," said Washu. Tenchi paled. "Three hours after?" "Yup!" Washu confirmed. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "You shouldn't be worried about that part, Tenchi. What you should be worried about is after Ryoko goes into labor," said Washu. Tenchi looked at her nervously. "Why should I be worried about that?" Washu smirked at him. "Because it'll take forever to get the baby out of her." "Why do you say that?" asked a confused Tenchi. "Because Ryoko's system is different from that of humans. The reason that Velsans want to have people marry people of their own race only is because that way the child and the mother won't risk their lives during the pregnancy," said Washu. Tenchi still looked perplexed. "What do you mean by that?" "It means that when Ryoko goes into labor, there will surely be complications during the birth," Washu explained. "Complications? How serious will they be?" he asked, worriedly. "Deadly serious, Tenchi. She or the baby could easily die during the process," said Washu. Tenchi looked as though he had been stabbed in the heart. He felt tears come down his cheeks as he looked at Washu pleadingly. "Washu! You have to fix it! You can't just let her die!" he said, desperately. Washu narrowed her eyes at him. "I won't let her die, Tenchi. She's a big part of this family and I would feel like I'm losing someone important in my life if I lost her as well. This genius scientist is gonna do everything in her power to make sure that Ryoko and the child survive." Tenchi was still worried, but he trusted Washu, so he put on a brave smile. "I trust you, Little Washu. I know that you'll keep your word no matter what the cost." Washu smiled at him and said, "You're damn right I'll keep my word! For now, I need to inject the fluid into her body, so move out of the way please." Tenchi got out of Washu's way so that she could reach Ryoko's left arm again. She took the large injection needle from the machine and carefully placed the fluid inside of the tube attached to it. Once she was finished with that, she slowly injected the needle into Ryoko's skin and watched the tube slowly filter out the fluid into Ryoko's body. Once the fluid was inside of Ryoko's body, Washu removed the needle and then grabbed a bottle of pills that would wake her up. "Tenchi, could you give Ryoko one of these?" asked Washu, holding one of the pills from the bottle and presenting it to him. "Sure, Little Washu," he obliged as he gently opened up Ryoko's mouth and placed the pill onto her tongue. "What if she doesn't swallow it?" he asked. "Don't worry, she will," said Washu. After about a minute of waiting, Ryoko subconsciously detected the pill on her tongue and swallowed it. A few seconds afterwards, she awoke. "Welcome back to the world of the living," said Washu as she looked at Ryoko. "Ah, shut up, Washu. Where's Tenchi?" she asked. "I'm right here, Ryoko," he said as he appeared by her side. "So, how long am I gonna have to wait for the child to be born?" she asked. "Well, not including the part of you going through labor, the process of giving birth shall begin in three hours," said Washu. "Three hours!" Ryoko shouted. "Hey, you asked for it," said Washu. "Damn," muttered Ryoko. "It's not so bad, Ryoko. At least you'll have the baby out of you today like you asked," Tenchi pointed out. Ryoko sighed. "That's true." "Well, until then I suggest that Ryoko stays in bed and lying flat on her back," said Washu. 'She's not to move once she gets there, right?" asked Tenchi. "Well, just her body," said Washu. "Should I stay with her?" he asked. "Of course you should stay with her! Who's gonna carry her here once her water breaks?" asked Washu in an annoyed tone of voice. "I guess I will," said Tenchi with a nervous laugh. "No duh, genius! Did you just now figure that out? Yeesh! If I didn't know any better I could have sworn that you were related to Mihoshi," said Washu with a raised eyebrow. "Now that's harsh," muttered Tenchi. Washu grinned at him and said, "I know." Tenchi looked at Ryoko and gave her a reassuring smile. He then gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He went over to the portal and walked through it, bringing them back inside of the palace. Washu watched them depart as she thought to herself, 'I hope you know what you're doing, Ryoko. I truly do.' Washu then began to prepare the lab for when Ryoko went into labor. Back at the palace, Tenchi had carried Ryoko back up to her room and put her gently down on her bed, lying flat on her back as Washu had instructed him to do so. "Tenchi?" said Ryoko as she looked up at him. "Yes, Ryoko?" he asked as he sat down on the bed next to her. "What was Washu telling you while I was asleep?" she asked. Tenchi sighed. "She said that there most assuredly will be complications when you give birth to our child." Ryoko looked at him horrified. "How bad?" "Bad," he replied, sadly. "Shit," she whispered, fearfully. Tenchi put a hand on one of hers and smiled gently at her. "Washu is doing everything in her power to make sure that nothing happens to either you or the baby." "I'm still scared," she said as she clutched onto his hand tightly. Tenchi leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Everything will be fine, Ryoko. You'll see." Ryoko didn't say anything, but just nodded. Tenchi looked at her severely vulnerable form and lied down next to her, stroking her cyan colored hair. "I'll stay with you, Ryoko. You don't have anything you need to worry about for right now. Just relax," he said as he continued soothing her. Ryoko did as she was told and rid the horrible thought of death from her mind, focusing on her happiness with Tenchi. As soon as she was relaxed, she fell asleep. 'The poor thing must be exhausted,' thought Tenchi as he wrapped an arm around her still form and fell asleep as well. Back downstairs, everyone was wondering where Tenchi and Ryoko were. "Ryoko and Lord Tenchi should be here by now, shouldn't they?" Ayeka asked Nagi. Nagi nodded. "Maybe we just missed them coming back. I'll go and check Ryoko's room to see if she's there." Nagi then made her way upstairs to her sister's bedroom. When she opened the door, she found Tenchi and Ryoko sound asleep on the bed. Nagi smiled at the scene and then closed the door quietly. Once Nagi was back downstairs, she walked up to Ayeka and said, "They're both here." "When did they come in?" she inquired. Nagi shrugged. "Dunno. I just saw them lying on Ryoko's bed sleeping." Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "Lying on Ryoko's bed?" Nagi rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. They were clothed." "Thank goodness. Ryoko shouldn't be performing those particular kinds of activities in her condition. Lord Tenchi won't let her for sure," said a relieved Ayeka. "I know. I trust him implicitly with my sister," said Nagi. "I trust him as well," said Ayeka with a small smile. "Lunch should be ready anytime now," said Nagi. "Well then, let's go eat. We should leave Lord Tenchi and Ryoko be for now," said Ayeka. "I couldn't agree with you more," said Nagi as she and Ayeka made their way to the dining room. Those three hours passed quite uneventfully. Tenchi and Ryoko were sound asleep, while Ayeka, Nagi and Sasami were just sitting in the family room talking. Washu kept up with the preparations for the birth. Back in Ryoko's room, Tenchi and Ryoko were sleeping until Ryoko let out a sharp gasp of pain. "Tenchi!" she screamed. Tenchi awoke with a start a looked over at his beloved. "What is it, Ryoko?" "I think that my water just broke!" she said in pain. "Are you sure?" he asked, hurriedly. "Yes!" she said in even more pain then before. Tenchi wasted no time in carefully taking Ryoko off of the bed and rushing down the stairs as fast as possible with her in his arms. Ayeka, Nagi, and Sasami all noticed Tenchi practically running with Ryoko in his arms, so they all rushed forth to him to see what was going on. "Lord Tenchi! What is it? What's wrong?" asked a very concerned Ayeka. "Ryoko's gone into labor," said Tenchi. "We should all go with you to see Miss Washu then," said Ayeka. "Why all of us?" he asked. "Because you might need the help in keeping Ryoko down," said Ayeka. "Okay, fine. You guys can come along. Now, let's go!" said Tenchi in a rushed voice as they all went through the portal and into Washu's lab. Washu looked over at the portal and noticed everyone come through it. She rushed over to them and then looked up Tenchi. "Tenchi, follow me quickly!" instructed Washu. Tenchi did as he was told, while the others followed him. Washu led them to a great, big bed. "Place Ryoko onto this bed as gently as possible," said Washu. After Tenchi did so, Washu looked at everybody sternly. "I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Are you all willing to do so?" she asked. They all nodded and then Washu said, "Let's proceed then." "Tenchi, you will help Ryoko with her contractions. Ayeka and Nagi, you two will be my assistant nurses. Sasami, I want you to do whatever I need you to do whenever I tell you to do something. Does everybody understand?" she asked. They nodded once more and then went to work. "Ryoko, do you know how far apart the contractions are?" asked Washu. "No, Washu. I don't," said Ryoko, trying to hold in all of the pain she was experiencing. "Damn. Well then, I guess the machine will have to tell us," said Washu as she hooked up a strap to Ryoko's right wrist. "What are you doing, Washu?" Ryoko asked wearily. "I'm checking the contractions on this machine that you are now hooked up to," Washu explained. "Great," said Ryoko. Washu looked at the machine and then said, "It seems normal. The contractions are five minutes apart." "Alright, whatever. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! Washu, help now!" screamed Ryoko. Washu rushed over to Ryoko's side and then looked over towards Tenchi. "Tenchi you're gonna have to pant in time with her in order for me to determine whether this is the real thing or not, okay?" Tenchi nodded and then turned his attention towards Ryoko. "Okay, Ryoko. Now on the count of three. One…two…three. Push, Ryoko!" Ryoko was in extreme pain as she attempted to push the child out of her. She had no luck the first time. "I guess it was only another contraction then," said Washu. Tenchi wiped the sweat off of his beloved's forehead. She looked over at him gratefully. "Ryoko, do me a favor," said Tenchi. "What?" asked Ryoko. "Please don't start yelling profanities and death wishes towards me while you give birth. I don't think that my ears could take it," said Tenchi. Ryoko smiled weakly at him. "I'll try." Tenchi let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." Washu walked over to Ryoko and Tenchi and gave them a grim look. "What's wrong, Little Washu?" he asked, concerned. "Yeah, Washu. What is it?" asked Ryoko. Washu sighed. "I have to put you to sleep again, Ryoko." Ryoko's eyes widened. "Why?" "Because there will be severe complications with the pregnancy. Much more severe than I thought," said Washu. "But why do you have to put me to sleep?" asked Ryoko, annoyed. "I have to put you to sleep because I need to perform a cesarean section on you," said Washu. "What the hell is does that mean?" Ryoko growled. "It means that I'm gonna have to cut open your stomach in order to get the baby out. Any more questions?" asked Washu. Ryoko looked at her in horror and said, "Oh no you don't! You are not gonna cut up any part of me!" "Ryoko, if you take the drugs you won't feel a thing. Besides, you want this baby out of you, right?" asked Washu. "Yes," muttered Ryoko. "Good girl," said Washu. "Just hurry up and get it over with before I change my mind," said Ryoko. Washu brought a small needle over to Ryoko and pricked her bare stomach with it. Ryoko gasped at the pain, but then she fell asleep. "That's some pretty potent stuff," Tenchi observed. "Yup! Even a very small amount of it can knock you out," said Washu. "Are you gonna do whatever you need to do now?" asked Tenchi. Washu rolled her eyes. "Well…what do you think?" "I was just wondering because I wanted to know if I had to stay while you worked on her," said Tenchi. "Nope. You and Sasami are free to leave. I'll need Ayeka and Nagi here to help me out, though," said Washu. "So, Sasami and I can go back to the palace?" asked Tenchi, just making sure. "Well, I wouldn't wait at the palace. I would suggest that you wait in the house because you never know when the baby will arrive and you'll want to be nearby when that happens," said Washu. "That's true. Sasami and I will be in the living room. Just call us when you need us," said Tenchi. "Don't worry, I will," said Washu. "Sasami!" Tenchi called out. "Yes, Tenchi?" asked the little girl. "We're gonna have to leave the lab now," said Tenchi. "Why?" she asked. "Because she is going to need space in order to work on Ryoko," said Tenchi. "Oh," she said, sadly. "It's ok, Sasami. Look at it this way, in a little while Ryoko will be a mommy and you'll kind of be like an aunt. Won't that be exciting?" asked Tenchi. Sasami smiled a little bit and nodded. "Now, let's just go in the living room and wait until they're done, ok?" said Tenchi. Sasami nodded once more as she followed Tenchi out of the lab and into the living room. Ayeka walked up to Washu with a questionable look on her face. "Miss Washu, will you still be needing any assistance from Nagi or myself?" she asked. "Yeah, I'll still need you two here to help give me the supplies I need," said Washu. "Alright," said Ayeka as she and Nagi followed Washu over to the bed that Ryoko was lying on. Washu looked at Ryoko's numb form and sighed. "Let's do this." Washu then began the process of the cesarean section on Ryoko, while Ayeka and Nagi helped her. Sasami and Tenchi were waiting in the living room. Tenchi had an ultra nervous look on his face as he wondered if Ryoko and the baby would make it through all right. Sasami was equally worried for Ryoko, but she didn't know of the amount of danger Ryoko was truly in. Washu was in the lab struggling over the process. Ayeka and Nagi had nearly passed out from the amount of blood they saw. Washu finally made the last cut and then opened up Ryoko's stomach to reveal a crying, baby girl. The only problem was that the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around the child's neck, so Washu had to be careful when she cut it off of her. Washu grabbed the incisors from Ayeka's left hand and slowly cut around the sides of the cord, which in turn released the baby's neck from its clutches. Washu then handed the baby over to Ayeka and Ayeka smiled at it. Nagi looked at the baby shocked and bewildered all at the same time. "That's my niece!" The baby had stopped crying and was now making gurgling sounds, which made Ayeka and Nagi giggle. Washu, in the mean time, was stitching up the bottom of Ryoko's open stomach, which was the place that Washu had to cut at. Nagi and Ayeka were playing with the baby, while Washu was putting the finishing touches on Ryoko. Washu then grabbed a liquid medicine in order to wake Ryoko up, since she was out of pills. She put the liquid on a spoon, opened Ryoko's mouth slightly and gently poured it down her throat. She woke up in five seconds flat. "Is it over?" asked Ryoko in a groggy sounding voice. "Yep! I'm all done! Would you like to see your baby girl?" she asked with a smile. Ryoko's eyes started to well up with tears. "My baby girl?" "Nagi and Ayeka are playing with her at the moment. I'll bring her to you," said Washu as she went over to Ayeka and Nagi to pick the baby up. Once Washu returned to Ryoko, she had the infant in her hands and a tender smile was playing on her lips. "Congratulations, mommy," said Washu. As Ryoko was handed the infant, she started to cry even more. She was smiling brightly through her tears, though. "Hi there, honey! I'm your mommy," said Ryoko as she cooed the baby. The baby giggled as Ryoko tickled her belly lightly. Washu was smiling at the whole scene. Ryoko looked at her Washu and smiled, mouthing a word of thanks. Ryoko then turned her attention towards her baby. The child looked just like her mother, but her hair was straight and it was cyan with black streaks, which looked like stripes. "I guess the hair would be the only way to tell that she yours and his," Washu said with a light chuckle. Ryoko chuckled too and said, "Yeah, I guess so." "Would you like me to get Tenchi now?" asked Washu. Ryoko nodded. "Yes, please." Washu then walked out of the lab to where Tenchi and Sasami were waiting. Tenchi then stood up with fear in his eyes. "So, how'd it go?" "I'll be honest with you, Tenchi. It wasn't easy. I nearly lost Ryoko in there a few times and the same thing goes with the baby," said Washu. "Are they all right, though?" he asked, hopefully. "Yeah, they're fine. You have a baby daughter, Tenchi. Congrats!" exclaimed Washu with an enormous smile. Tenchi looked relieved and shocked at the same time. "I'm a father." "Well don't just sit there! Come on you two! You do wanna see the baby, don't ya?" asked Washu. They both nodded their heads quickly as they followed Washu back into her lab. Washu led them, along with Ayeka and Nagi over to the emergency bed that Ryoko was on. They all found Ryoko cooing the baby in a gentle and motherly voice. Tenchi walked over to her and placed a hand on one of hers. "Hi." She looked at him and smiled tenderly. "Hey." "Is that out baby girl?" he asked, not being able to believe that he was a father. "Yes," Ryoko confirmed. "She looks just like you," said Tenchi. "She does have my face, but she has your hair and ears," said Ryoko. "She truly is ours," said Tenchi with a tearful, yet happy smile. "I love you, Tenchi," said Ryoko. "I love you too," he replied. "What should we call her?" she asked. "I don't know," he said. "May I name her?" Ryoko asked shyly. "Of course you can! She's yours too!" said Tenchi with a slight grin. Ryoko grinned back and said, "Alright then. I name her Hisui Ryo Masaki." "Hisui," said Tenchi. "I like the sound of that." Ryoko blushed. "Thank you, Tenchi." Tenchi leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her right cheek. "No, thank you, my love. You produced such a beautiful child!" Ryoko blushed again and then said, "She's not only my doing, Tenchi." "But mostly," he pointed out. "Tenchi?" said Ryoko. "Yes, Ryoko?" he asked. "Would it be all right if we stayed here for tonight?" she asked. Tenchi shrugged. "I don't see why not." Ryoko yawned and then said, "Thank you." "Are you sleepy?" he asked. Ryoko nodded. "Uh huh." "Washu, could you take the baby for a minute and follow me to my room, so that way I can put Ryoko in my bed?" he asked. "Sure, Tenchi!" Washu obliged. The two of them walked out of the lab and the rest of them followed. They were all tired, so they went to their rooms to sleep, while Nagi took the couch in the living room. Once Washu and Tenchi reached his room, Tenchi placed Ryoko on his bed and then he took the baby from Washu. "Thank you for all your help, Washu," he said, gratefully. "No problem, Tenchi," she said as she left the room. Tenchi had Hisui cradled in his arms as he noticed that she was sound asleep. He didn't want to wake her, so he lied down next to Ryoko with Hisui still in his arms and gently placed the infant in between them. He then fell asleep himself. Back on Velsa, the noble was infuriated. Everything he had done to try and get rid of Ryoko was a failure. "No more. I will expose you, Ryoko. You will die on your wedding day!" he cackled sinisterly. "The people will then bow to me as their new leader! Ryoko, prepare yourself because I swear to you that this time you will die!" A/N: If anyone wants to know, Hisui is Japanese for Jade. Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Ja ne!