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 Twelve Ryoko opened her eyes and noticed two other people in bed with her. One of them was Tenchi and the other one was her baby daughter Hisui. She smiled tenderly at the sleeping pair. She then took Hisui out of Tenchi's arms and put the infant in her own arms. Ryoko looked at her child's slumbering face and smiled at the innocence that it portrayed. She then looked over at Tenchi. She smiled once more at her lover's own sleeping face. She had felt so blessed that God had given her a second chance to set things right. Ryoko stretched her arms and let out a silent yawn. She placed Hisui back onto the bed gently and went to awaken Tenchi. "Tenchi?" she said, quietly. Tenchi murmured something unintelligible and rolled over to the other side. Ryoko grumbled inwardly at his reaction and went over to the other side to attempt to wake him up again. "Tenchi darling, it's time to get up!" she exclaimed loudly into his left ear. Tenchi woke up in one shot after that and then glared at Ryoko. "What the hell was that for?!" he asked, angrily. Ryoko glared back at him. "You wouldn't wake up!" "You could have tried another method!" he shot back. Ryoko crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. "Listen. I'm not in the mood to listen to your bellyaching. I just wanna get downstairs and eat breakfast before it's all gone." Tenchi just sighed and got up. Ryoko crawled across the bed to where she had placed Hisui and picked her up, cradling her gently in her arms. Tenchi looked over at the pair and smiled. "You're really getting into this parenting stuff, huh?" "Well, it's about high time that I learned. I could also say the same for you, though," said Ryoko. Tenchi looked confused. "What do you mean?" Ryoko had a thoughtful look on her face and then said, "Well, when I woke up this morning, I noticed the way you were holding Hisui. You were holding her tightly and gently at the same time in a very protective way. It looks like your own fatherly instincts are kicking in as are my motherly ones." Tenchi just shrugged. "I guess you're right, Ryoko." Ryoko grinned at him and said, "As usual, I'm always right." Tenchi didn't answer her, but instead rolled his eyes. She caught the look and then glowered at him. "What the hell was that for?" she barked. "You think that you're always right," said Tenchi. "Well...I am!" she exclaimed. "Please, Ryoko. You're not always right. Nobody is," said Tenchi. Ryoko was still glaring at Tenchi, but she soon calmed down and sighed. She looked at him with a half smile and said, "You know what, Tenchi? You're actually right for once." "See," he pointed out. Ryoko pouted slightly at his point and then walked out of her room with Hisui in her arms. Once she was gone, Tenchi sighed once more. 'She's become so strange ever since she had the baby and it's only been one day1' Tenchi thought exasperatedly. Tenchi then cleared his mind and went downstairs himself. Once Tenchi was downstairs and inside the breakfast room, he saw Ryoko sitting at the table bottle feeding Hisui. Tenchi walked over to her and curiously asked her, "Isn't the baby too young for bottle feeding, yet?" "Not this baby, Tenchi," said Ryoko. "Why not?" he asked. "Look closely at her teeth," said Ryoko. "She has teeth already?" Tenchi asked incredulously. "Oh, yes. I had teeth on the same day that I was born," said Ryoko. "How long are they?" he inquired. "Not very long, but her fangs are already getting to where they're supposed to be," said Ryoko. Tenchi gulped. "Fangs?" "Is there a problem with that?" asked a confused Ryoko. Tenchi waved his hands at her with a nervous smile and said, "No, no problem." Ryoko smiled at him and said, "Well, that's good to hear." Changing the subject, Tenchi asked, "What do you want to do today?" Ryoko shrugged and said, "I just wanna relax. I just had the baby yesterday and I don't feel like moving around too much for today." "So, you just want to stay inside today?" he asked, making sure. Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, I don't wanna overexert myself for now." Tenchi smiled softly at her and said, "That's understandable." At that moment, Ryoko removed the bottle from Hisui's mouth and placed it on the table. She then placed the infant carefully over one of her shoulders and patted her back gently. Hisui finally let out a tiny little burp. Ryoko then placed Hisui back in her arms and began to rock her gently to sleep. "I thought you said that you didn't know anything about raising a child," said Tenchi, amazed at how she handled Hisui. Ryoko shrugged and said, "I guess it's just coming naturally. I truthfully am enjoying it, though." "I think that we should put her in her crib," said Tenchi who was looking at the sleepy Hisui. "Yeah, I'll do that. You just wait down here for me," said Ryoko. "Alright," said Tenchi. Ryoko then walked back upstairs with Hisui in her arms. Tenchi sat down at the table and waited for her. Five minutes later, Ryoko came back down and sat down next to Tenchi with a bored look on her face. "Okay. I might have said that I didn't want to get out of the house for today, but I need to do something before I explode!" Ryoko exclaimed in exaggeration. "We could play a board game," Tenchi suggested. "True. Do you know how to play any?" she asked. "Some," he replied. "Like what?" she asked. "Checkers, chess, stuff like that," he said. "I know how to play a little chess, but I have no clue how to play checkers," said Ryoko. "Do you have a chess board?" he asked. "I think, but it'll be very dusty because the last time I used it was when I was ten," she explained. "That's ok. We can clean it off," he said. "Alright. It should be in a closet somewhere down here. I'll be right back," she said as she ran off into the corridor. When Ryoko returned into the kitchen she had in her hands a large, but very old chess board and the chess pieces were in a plastic bag. She carefully placed both the board and the bag onto the table. "You weren't kidding when you said the board was dusty," said Tenchi as he examined the board. "I told you so. There are some rags in the drawer behind you. Could grab some?" she asked. Tenchi turned around and opened the drawer, grabbing a few rags and placing them onto the table. He grabbed one of them, attempting to do one side of the board, while Ryoko did the other. Once the board was clean enough, Ryoko opened the plastic bag and placed the chess pieces onto the board. "How long has it been since you've played?" Ryoko asked Tenchi. "Just last month was the last time I've played," said Tenchi. 'Damn. He's gonna be hard to beat,' thought Ryoko. "Well, let's start. You want to be white or black?" he asked. "Doesn't matter. You choose first," she said. "Okay...I'll be white," said Tenchi. "Move your piece then," said Ryoko. "Hold on, Ryoko. I'm still thinking," said Tenchi. After a minute, Tenchi made his first move. Ryoko then made her move. The game was playing itself out well for Tenchi, but Ryoko was not so fortunate. She had already lost many of her pieces and had gained very few of Tenchi's. "Ryoko, you need to practice more often. I hate to say it...but your skill is terrible," said Tenchi. Ryoko sighed. "I know, I know." "I can play with you more often, if you're interested, that is," said Tenchi. "I would like that," said Ryoko. "Do you want to try again or do want to call it quits for today?" he asked. "Well, we could always play tomorrow," said Ryoko. "Alright. We can place the game in your room," said Tenchi. "Fine by me," said Ryoko. Ryoko then folded up the board and placed the chess pieces back into the plastic bag. She lifted them both into her arms and brought them upstairs to her room with Tenchi trailing behind her. Once she reached her room, she opened the door quietly, so as not to disturb Hisui's peaceful slumber. She then walked inside with Tenchi not far behind her and placed the items in her arms onto a chair in her room. Tenchi sat down on her bed and watched her. She turned around and then walked over to him and sat down on his lap. "You want to go to my room?" he whispered. Ryoko nodded and then they left her room as quietly as they had entered it. They then walked into Tenchi's room and closed the door behind them. "I wonder where everybody is?" Ryoko said questionably. "My guess is that they're all preparing for the wedding," said Tenchi. "Then they all probably went out," said Ryoko. "That is plausible," said Tenchi. "We're here all alone then," said Ryoko. "Yep. Why don't we do something to prepare for the wedding?" he asked. "Like what, Tenchi? There is nothing for us to really do except for try on our wedding outfits, which are still being made," said Ryoko. "Then we truly have nothing to do," said Tenchi. "You could say that," said Ryoko. "Are you sure that you don't want to go out?" he asked. "I'm sure, Tenchi. I'm just too tired to go anywhere," she replied. "Did you want to take or something?" he asked. "Yeah. I just don't know why I'm so sleepy," she said with a yawn. "Just sleep then. I'll take care of Hisui," said Tenchi. "Are you sure, Tenchi?" she asked, worriedly. "Of course I'm sure," Tenchi said warmly. "Okay, but if you are having any troubles at all, don't hesitate to wake me up," said Ryoko. "Do you promise not to get all cranky on me if I do try to wake you up for that reason?" asked Tenchi. "You know that I can't promise that, but I'll try," said Ryoko. "I guess that'll have to be good enough," said Tenchi with a sigh. "If Hisui doesn't give you any troubles, wake me up when everyone is home," said Ryoko, shutting her eyes and falling asleep quickly. "Okay," Tenchi whispered down at her now sleeping form lying on his bed. Tenchi then left his room and closed the door behind him and went downstairs to the living room. Once he was down there, he sat down on the couch and let his mind drift. After fifteen minutes of blissful silence, he went back upstairs so that he could check up on his daughter, Hisui. Once he got upstairs and into Ryoko's room, he walked over to the crib and noticed that Hisui was still sound asleep. He then sat down on Ryoko's bed and was soon lying down on it. He was falling asleep himself and he guessed that it was because the house was way too quiet. He let out a yawn and decided that a small nap wouldn't hurt, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep. One hour had passed and Ryoko, Tenchi, and Hisui were still sound asleep. The others were still out as well, so the whole entire palace was deathly quiet. Marcos and Adrian had left the palace to help out with the large wedding preparations. Another hour later, Tenchi finally awoke to the sounds of people talking downstairs. He got up and walked over to the crib and saw that Hisui was too starting to wake up. He picked her up gently and brought her downstairs with him. Once he was downstairs, he noticed that Ayeka, Sasami, and Nagi were assembled in the living room talking. He walked up to them and greeted them. "Hey, what's up?" he asked them. Ayeka turned around, startled, but smiled when she saw that it was Tenchi. "Oh, Lord Tenchi! We just came back from shopping." "Shopping for what?" he asked. "For things for the wedding," said Ayeka. "Ah. How much stuff did you find?" he asked. "Well, since we know that the palace servants will be taking care of most of the details, we just bought some small things along with gifts. We did find a lot of stuff to buy, but it just wasn't necessary for us to buy them," said Ayeka. "I see. I'm going to go and wake Ryoko up now. She was taking a nap while you guys were gone," said Tenchi. "Alright, Lord Tenchi," said Ayeka. Tenchi then went upstairs to awaken Ryoko. He walked into his room and saw her still asleep. He nudged her gently and she opened one golden eye. "Yeah, Tenchi?" she said, wearily. "Everyone's home now," said Tenchi. She opened up the other eye and said, "I'm up." Ryoko then lifted herself out of bed and followed Tenchi downstairs. Once she and Tenchi got downstairs, Tenchi led her into the living room where Ayeka, Nagi, and Sasami were waiting for them. "Hey guys," Ryoko greeted them casually. The three girls turned around and smiled at Ryoko. "Hello, Ryoko. Did you rest well?" Ayeka inquired. Ryoko stretched her arms and said, "Yup. I needed it too. I think that giving birth to Hisui was overly exerting." "I'm sure," said Ayeka. Ryoko looked over at Tenchi and noticed that Hisui was in his arms. "Here, Tenchi. Let me take her for a while," said Ryoko as she lifted Hisui out of Tenchi's arms and placed the infant into her own. "Ryoko, Hisui will look just like you when she grows up. I just know it," Nagi said observantly. "Is that an insult or compliment?" Ryoko asked her sister with narrowed eyes. "A compliment, Ryoko. Why would you ever think that it would be insult?" asked Nagi. "Because...it's just habit...I guess. Sorry about that, sis," Ryoko amended. "It's ok, Ryoko. I guess that it will take some time getting used to being sisters again," said Nagi. Ryoko nodded in agreement and said, "It sure will." "May I hold the child now, Ryoko?" asked Ayeka. "Sure, Ayeka," Ryoko replied with a smile. Ryoko gently handed Hisui over to Ayeka. Ayeka looked down tenderly at the infant now lying in her own arms. "She is so innocent. So beautiful and untouched like all babies are when they are born," Ayeka mused, while holding the child. "Yes. I was once like her, but then I grew up," Ryoko said ruefully with a grin. "I can see that, Ryoko. You grew all up all right. In more ways than one," Ayeka smirked. "Hey!" Ryoko exclaimed defensively. "Well, it's true. I believe that your innocence was lost when you and I first met," said Ayeka. "Oh, yeah! The flower wreath that you made. It was the very first thing that I ever stole," Ryoko reminisced. Tenchi's eyes widened. "So you were the one who stole the flower wreath!" "Yes, but I had a good reason to," Ryoko said defensively. "And what may that be?" asked Tenchi. "She said something that pissed me off," said Ryoko with a shrug. "What was it?" asked Tenchi. "Something that would be considered stupid now. I was just a little idiot for letting her get to me," said Ryoko with an embarrassed blush. "But you still let her get to you even now at times," Tenchi pointed out. Ryoko scowled at him. "Oh, be quiet you!" Tenchi chuckled softly at Ryoko's reaction. Ayeka's lips quirked up into a small smile and Sasami giggled, while Nagi was restraining herself from bursting out laughing. Ryoko clenched her fists and growled quietly at the group that was teasing her. She then calmed herself down and left the living room. Tenchi stopped chuckling and went after her. "I hope that Ryoko's not too mad at us," said a worried Sasami. "She'll get over it. She always does," said Ayeka. "You don't know my sister too well, do you?" Nagi questioned Ayeka. Ayeka flinched at Nagi's tone of voice slightly. "What are you implying?" "What I'm implying is that Ryoko is probably mad at us and will be for a while," said Nagi. Ayeka looked puzzled. "But she's been in situations like this before and she has always behaved normally towards whoever insulted or teased afterwards. She has never acted mad at me or Sasami or anyone else in the house for teasing her." "It may seem that way, but she will still feel anger towards you even if she isn't exuding it profusely. She will attempt to hide and act like nothing had ever happened," Nagi explained. "That's terrible!" exclaimed Ayeka. "Yeah, it is, but what can we do about it?" asked Nagi. "Well...Tenchi's attempting to try and talk to her right now. We'll just have to see how that comes through," said Ayeka. "True," Nagi said in return. Upstairs, Tenchi was trying to talk to Ryoko just like Ayeka said he was. "We didn't mean anything by it, Ryoko!" Tenchi exclaimed in an exasperated tone of voice for the millionth time. "Then why did you have to go off and make fun of me like that if you didn't mean it?!" Ryoko yelled back at him furiously. "It was just a joke! Yeesh, Ryoko! You've always been able to handle them before, why not now?" he inquired. Ryoko looked down at the floor in her room and said, "Because that was when I thought none of you cared about me, so I hid all of the repressed anger inside of myself." Tenchi looked at his beloved's face and saw how distraught and sad it truly was. He walked over to her and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Ryoko. I never knew. Why didn't you ever tell me this before?" he asked. "Because I thought that you'd laugh at the fact that the Space Pirate Ryoko can't take jokes too well," she said, quietly in reply. "You do know that what you just said is not even close to the truth," replied Tenchi. "I know that now. I guess I was being silly and foolish for letting people get to me," said Ryoko with a soft giggle. "Well, at least you admitted that you were," said Tenchi as he tightened his embrace around her. Ryoko then gave him a playful slap on his left shoulder. You didn't have to agree with me, though." Tenchi laughed and so did Ryoko. Back downstairs, Ayeka and Nagi were sitting in the living room quietly. "I wonder what's taking them so long," said Ayeka as she glanced over at the staircase. "Ryoko's probably giving him hell and he's probably being as stubborn as an ox and not listening to her complaints," Nagi theorized. As soon as Nagi had finished saying that, she and Ayeka both heard the sounds of footsteps on the staircase. They both turned their heads at the exact same moment to see Ryoko and Tenchi descending the staircase. "How was the fight?" Nagi asked her sister with a mischievous grin. Ryoko mock scowled at her sister and declared, "We did not fight." "How refreshing that you actually kept your temper this time. I'm impressed," Nagi said sarcastically. Ryoko ignored Nagi and proceeded to sit down next to Ayeka. "Ryoko, it's almost seven now. When does the dinner usually get served around here?" asked Ayeka. "You don't remember?" asked Ryoko. Ayeka shook her head and Ryoko sighed in response to that. "Dinner will be served in an hour and a half," said Ryoko. "Two more days until you get married, Ryoko. What will you do tomorrow for fun?" asked Ayeka. "Well, I've gotta invite Mihoshi, Kiyone, Washu, Nobuyuki, and Yosho over to the palace before I start having any fun tomorrow. They'll be staying overnight for the wedding and I've gotta make preparations for their rooms. After I've got that all done, I'm gonna go out shopping!" Ryoko said enthusiastically. Everyone face-faulted at her declaration. Ryoko looked at her friends confused. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked. Ayeka gave her a weak grin and said, "Not at all, Ryoko. Whatever you say." "Great! Well then, I'm tired so I'm going to bed," said Ryoko as she got off of the couch. "You're not going to eat?" asked Tenchi, looking at her with a concerned gaze. "Nah, I guess that giving birth to Hisui was enough to tire me out for two days. I'll see you all in the morning," said Ryoko as she picked up Hisui from Ayeka's arms. While Ryoko went upstairs to her room, the others went to the dining room to have dinner. Back at the Velsan noble's home, the noble was finishing the last of his plans on his attempt to kill Ryoko. The noble grinned at his nearly finished plans and said, "This time, Ryoko my dearest, you will die by my own bare hands and I don't care if you know who I am this time! I have your own people go against you. This time, nothing will stop me!" A/N: Gomen! I meant to have this posted, but school started and I got delayed with a ton of homework. Well, at least this chapter is finished, ne? Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter and it will probably end up coming out at around the end of this month or at the beginning of the next one. Ja ne!