DISCLAIMER: No, just like every other fan fic writer here, I do not own Tenchi Muyo! or any other related characters/series. I am just a lowly fan with a computer and Internet access, writing because I have way too much free time. Actually, I just don't feel like doing my homework... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO THE READER: This fanfic is NOT related to anything else I’ve written. This series is based off the OAV and the Haruna movie. Ryoko gets annoyed at Tenchi's indecisiveness and leaves. Obviously, this causes everybody else to get screwed up and...well then you have another fic, now don't you? This series is written from many different character's points of view, and could therefore be confusing if your not paying attention (haha! I'm making you all use your brains!) so you can't sleep while reading my fic, sorry. I will make it easy on you and use lines and names written in caps so you can tell who's telling the damn story! Also, I included an excerpt from a song from Mulan Rouge, or however you spell it. Nicole Kidman sang it and that doesn't belong to me either. I put it here in this fic because I thought it portrayed how Ryoko is feeling about the whole situation. It's short, just 4 lines, but I think it gets the point across. One more thing. * indicates a thought from whomever is telling the fic at the moment. Oh yeah-enjoy! And don't forget I love reviews!!!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What Tomorrow Will Bring"-Chapter 1: "Dawn" *One day I'll fly away Leave all this to yesterday Why live life from dream to dream And dread the day when dreaming ends* ~~RYOKO~~ It was such a beautiful morning. Wait, no it wasn't morning yet, the sun hadn't risen. I knew that when it would rise, everyone would wake up and go about their business. Kiyone and Mihoshi would leave to patrol the Solar System. Sasami would do chores for most of the day. Ayeka, well she would wake up early to try and prevent me from getting closer to the one I love. Loved. "Mom" would probably just sit in her lab all day and work on God knows what. She never did try to spend time with me, or anybody else for that matter, why would today be any different? Tenchi would wake up late, go out to work in the fields, maybe train with Yosho later...never expecting this day to be unusual. I wonder what they think I'll do today. Probably wake up late, try to seduce Tenchi, laze around drinking sake, fight with Ayeka, in other words basically do nothing, the same old Ryoko we all know and love, right? Wrong. Surprise! Today's different. I looked up at the moon from my perch on the roof and said to Ryo-ohki, "I used to gain comfort from that moon, you know." My cabbit friend responded to me in meows, but loosely translated she said, "Why are we leaving Ryoko? I thought we were happy here." I sighed and replied, "I thought so too. But I just can't stay here anymore. He doesn't love me Ryo-ohki! How can I stay, having my heart repeatedly broken, waiting for him to just make up his mind? I can't anymore. I'm sick of it. I wanna get out of this place, go somewhere exciting, someplace Kagato didn’t have me destroy. There are many planets we saw back then that I have always wanted to explore. I think it would be fun. Don’t you? I looked down at Ryo-ohki, who just stared back at me with sadness in her eyes. "But Sasami..." she began. "I'm sorry. I know you really cared about that little princess, didn't you?" She nodded sadly. We sat there in silence for a few moments, gazing at the stars. "Why did you find comfort in the moon?" Ryo-ohki asked me suddenly. "Lots of reasons, I guess. Look at it, Ryo-ohki. There it sits, the sole satellite of this tiny planet in the middle of nowhere. It faithfully revolves around the earth, but the earth doesn't notice, no, it's too busy going about its own business of revolving around the sun. It's... it reminds me of myself in a way, because it's lonely." Suddenly the cabbit became defiant. "You're not alone Ryoko! You never have been because I'm here! If you really don't want to stay, then I will go with you!" she meowed eagerly. I smiled and patted her head. "Thanks Ryo-ohki. I'm glad to know I've got at least one friend in this godforsaken universe." I stood up and smoothed out my dress. "Come on, we need to go talk to Washu." *Ugh. I hate talking to Washu.* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~WASHU~~ Something was different about that day. I could just sense it. Usually, the house was dead quiet that early in the morning. But today I could hear footsteps. "Hello?" I called out. *That's strange. My equipment should've detected an intruder in the lab.* Silence. *How strange.* I thought. *Wait a minute.* I opened my mental link with Ryoko. The other end was busy, confused, thinking a lot about... something, I couldn't tell what. But it was a restless mind, that's for sure. I knew Ryoko was in the lab with me. I could feel her presence. "Come out little Ryoko and tell Mommy what's bothering you!" I spoke in a motherly tone. My daughter fazed in a few feet in front of me, looking very serious. Ryo-ohki was with her. "It's not fair that you can read my mind, 'mom,' but I can't read yours," she spoke solemnly. I didn't want to tell her that she could in fact read my thoughts just as I could hers. I don't want her to know that there were...too many bad memories of mine that she doesn't need to see. "What's wrong Ryoko? Why are you up so early and why is Ryo-ohki with you?" I asked quickly in attempts to change the subject. She sighed before she said, "There is much I have to tell you." *Something isn't right.* "Okay, maybe we should sit down?" I snapped my fingers and two red lounge chairs appeared out of nowhere. I took a seat and Ryoko did the same. "What's on your mind?" I asked. She sighed again. "Washu-" "Ahem," I interrupted. “Why won't you call me 'Little Washu'? It's such a small favor!” To my surprise, Ryoko jumped up in anger and started yelling at me. "Damn it Washu! Can't you just LISTEN to what I have to say? I'm trying to tell you something important and you're acting like a damn freak!" She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and sat back down. She opened her eyes then, and just looked at me intensely with her arms crossed. That was like a slap in the face. It's pretty devastating when the daughter you love so very much calls you a freak. But I can't say I don't deserve it. I took a breath and bit back tears. "I'm here for you Ryoko. I'm ready to listen." I spoke in a shaky voice. "Okay. I don't know how I can put this any other way. I'm leaving and I'm never coming back." she said quietly. She looked down at the floor, then back up at me. I just stayed silent. I had learned my lesson and I was going to stay quiet until she asked me for input. "Well say something!" she said defiantly. "Why are you leaving?" "Mostly because I know Tenchi doesn't love me the way I love him. Washu, you saw what happened in Haruna's world. He just doesn't care about me the way I want him to. I just can't stay anymore, mom, my heart's been broken too many times." By this time she was near tears. And so was I. *She called me Mom.* "Do you really consider me your mother Ryoko?" I asked hopefully. For a second she looked liked she was going to get angry again. But her face softened and she said, "Facts tell me that you are my mother, it's true. But I don't have any memories of you doing mother-daughter stuff with me, so in my heart I don't think of you as my mother. As far as I'm concerned, I'm an orphan." *You might as well have just punched me in the face.* "That's not what I'm here to talk to you about though. I said I'm leaving and I'm never coming back, ever. I came to ask one favor of you." my daughter said, changing the subject. "What?" I asked half-heartedly. "I know that because of your link with me you can tell a lot about me. All I ask is that you please don't tell anybody where I am, under any circumstances. I don't want anybody to know, especially Tenchi. So just... just please don't, okay? You haven't done a lot for me so...please." *She looks so sincere, so serious, so...unlike Ryoko.* "Of course Ryoko. If that's what you won't then I won't say a word." *As if I could refuse.* "Great. Oh and when everyone wakes up and wonders where I am, give this letter to Tenchi and tell him to read it out loud. You can read it yourself once I leave, if you want." She pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to me. A moment of silence ensued. The whole time I was fighting back tears and losing the battle. *Damn it! I'm the greatest scientific genius in the universe and yet I can't keep myself from getting emotional!* I think Ryoko noticed and she asked, "Something wrong?" *Yeah something's wrong. Your only daughter that you love unconditionally hates your guts, and the worst part is you deserve it.* "No, nothing's wrong." "Good." Another pause. "Well, I better get going before everybody wakes up. I...guess this is goodbye." She stood up. "Goodbye my Little Ryoko." "Goodbye Washu." And with that Ryoko faded out of sight, Ryo-ohki along with her. For a few moments I just sat there, staring at the spot where she once stood. Then the tears came and for the first time in 20,000 years I cried my eyes out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~TENCHI~~ I woke up late that Saturday morning. Well, as late as I could without getting punished by Grandpa for slacking off. I sat up and stretched, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I was up and dressed before I realized that something was amiss. *Okay. Something weird is going on. What it is?* Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Where's Ryoko?" I pondered aloud to myself. How strange it was, not having her right there, up in my face, first thing in the morning. I mean, yeah that always scares the crap out of me, but... *I kinda miss it.* Oh well. I shrugged it off and headed downstairs to the kitchen. On the way I saw Dad. "Morning Dad!" I greeted my father. "Morning Tenchi! I'm off to work. Yes, I know it's a Saturday but I'm just finishing up on a house and I have to go in. I'll be back for dinner!" And with that, my tired-looking, coffee bearing father was out the door. After I said goodbye to my father I walked into our sunny kitchen. *Such a beautiful day.* Kiyone, Mihoshi, Ayeka, and Sasami were seated at the table. *No Ryoko here either.* "Good morning everyone!" I said before sitting down. "Good morning!" everyone replied in unison. "How did you sleep Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked sweetly, turning to me and smiling. "I slept great, thanks, but something's wrong. Ryoko's missing. Does anybody know where she is?" I asked, taking a bite of the sushi that lay before me. Almost immediately after I spoke those words, Ayeka scowled and said, "Why do you care? She's probably just off drunk somewhere." "Ayeka!" I exclaimed, perturbed. "I know you and Ryoko aren't exactly the best of friends, but I care about both of you very much and I want to make sure she's okay! I mean, every time Ryoko's not in my room to wake me up in the morning I know something's wrong." "Maybe Washu can give us some hints as to where she is," Kiyone suggested. "Good idea Kiyone! Let's go talk to Washu right away," Sasami added. "Hey wait a minute!" Mihoshi said as we all stood up and headed towards Washu's lab. "Has anybody seen Ryo-ohki?" We all stopped dead in our tracks. *Ryo-ohki AND Ryoko gone can mean only one thing.* After our realization we all dashed through the door to Washu's lab. "Washu! Washu! Where's Ryoko and Ryo-ohki!" I cried. *God, please say it's not what I think it is.* We stopped about five feet away from Washu. She was just standing there, with her back towards us, head in her hands. She was holding something and sobbing lightly. "Washu?" I spoke. Slowly, the red-haired scientist turned around. Tears glistened in her eyes and rolled freely down her face. The sight of Washu crying was disturbing. She had always been known as the strong one, the emotionless one, the one who could always keep a cool head in an ugly situation. To see her so vulnerable like that...it was scary. Sasami gasped. "Washu are you okay?" Washu slowly shook her head no. "Everyone, I have some news." she said finally, her voice cracking with every word. *Oh no.* "Washu what is it? Tell us please!" I pleaded. The tears continued to roll down her face when she spoke the ugly words: "Ryoko has left and she is never coming back." And then, Washu fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Ayeka and Sasami rushed over to her, trying to comfort her but to no avail. "Shh shh Miss Washu. Everything will be allright." Ayeka spoke softly, stroking Washu's long red hair. I just stood there, staring numbly at them. "She came to me early this morning with Ryo-ohki, and.. and she...she told me she was leaving and she asked me to give you this letter, Tenchi. She wants you to read it out loud so everyone can hear." Washu held out a shaking hand, an envelope inside. I walked slowly over to her and took it. As I opened it, I kept telling myself, *It's a dream, Tenchi, a crazy dream, and when you wake up Ryoko will be there just like always and things'll be the same as ever.* But in my heart I knew this was a harsh reality. I unfolded the letter. It was quite long. I took a deep breath before reading Ryoko's words to my anxious listeners: ' "Dear Family, By now I suppose Washu has told you all that I've left. I've also asked her not to tell you where I am. I don't want any of you to know. Why, you ask? Tenchi, to tell you the truth, I am just so damn sick of you being indecisive! I couldn't stick around anymore, being let down every single day. "But Ryoko!" I know what you're thinking. "I never meant to break your heart!" Well, you did. Many times. Do you want a recap? Hmmm, let's see- you ran away in terror the first time you saw me- but I can't really hold that against you, when you released me I was kind of scary looking. Still, every time after that you grimaced every time I walked in the room. Now, I'll admit (for Ayeka's sake, because I know what she's thinking right now, too), that I may have been a ‘bit’ forward. Seriously, what did you think I was gonna do, rape you? Maybe you did, I don't know. But let me clarify right now Tenchi, I would have never, ever raped you. EVER. I loved you way too much for that. Hey wait, there's more. Does the name Haruna ring a bell? I know Ayeka knows that name. Ayeka, do you remember when we stayed up all night long during those days, so drunk we couldn't see straight and plotting about 50 different ways to torture and kill her? See Tenchi, I bet you didn't know that. There's a lot of things you don't know about me. But it's too late now. Oh, don't be sad Tenchi! No hard feelings. You just stay there- stay there with your Princess and be happy. I wish you two only the best. Ayeka. You were and still are my best friend and worst enemy. I don't know whether to hate you or hug you, but that doesn't matter anymore. I've known you long enough to figure out that your love for Tenchi equals mine, and I don't want you to be sad about my absence either. Use this oppurtunity! Go after the one you love! Good luck to you. Sasami. Mihoshi. Both of you are the most innocent, bubbly people I have ever met. Never change. I'll always miss you both. Kiyone. I know it sounds hard to believe, but I feel your pain. Keep a cool head and don't let Mihoshi get to you too much. I will miss you as well. Never lose your ability to think logically. Washu. Or is it Mother? Don't know, don't care. All I know is don't you DARE tell anyone where I am. Good luck in your future experiments. And Tenchi. My beloved Tenchi. I have and always will love you, you know. Not a day, hour, or even second goes by when I don't think about you. It's a shame you don't love me. We would've been great together. But no more. I've moved on, Tenchi, and you and your little home in Okayama are a thing of the past. Go on, Tenchi Masaki. Go on and do great things. You certainly have the potential. Good luck to all of you. You will always be in my heart. I love you all so much. Please try to understand why I left, and don't try to look for me, I don't want to be found. Love and goodbye, Ryoko'" After that, I just crumpled to the ground, barely noticing the wails of Mihoshi, Sasami or Washu, barely noticing Ayeka and Kiyone trying to cover up the fact that they too, were crying, and I just sat there, trying desperately to be strong. My lip quivered as I fingered Ryoko's letter, which I could barely see through the tears in my own eyes. "Ryoko..." I whispered her beautiful name. *She really loved me.* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~RYOKO~~ "This is it, Ryo-ohki! We're finally on our own again! It's just like it used to be. We answer to nobody!" I exclaimed excitedly, looking at the small blue planet that was slowly disappearing from view. "It is exciting!" Ryo-ohki replied. "What do you want to do first?" I sighed contentedly. "I don't know, Ryo-ohki. It's been so long. Just...keep going." I sighed again. *Tenchi...by now you've probably noticed I'm gone. It's too bad really, I could be sharing this adventure with you...NO.* I stopped my own train of thought. * Ryoko, it's over and done with before it ever started. Put it behind you, It's time to move on.* And with that, I leaned back in my chair and drifted off, thinking of all the faraway places I was about to visit. *Thought I'd stick around forever, didn't you, Tenchi Masaki.* *So there.* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ END CHAPTER ONE AUTHOR'S FINAL RANTS- So, what did you think? Tell me, because I'm in the process of typing chapter two and I won't submit it if a lot of people tell me I suck. You can tell me I suck, if you want to...just say it in a nice way. Please? Anyway, email me with your opinion at dancengurl92886@aol.com Thanks for reading! Have a nice day! : - ) THIS FIC IS COPYRIGHTED 2002 BY POCAHONTAS