Mirai Muyo!
***********
A Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki fanfiction.

Tenchi Muyo! in all it's incarnations, and all its characters, are owned by
Pioneer and AIC.  Please don't sue me.

***

1 - Ryoko V2.0

***

*Damn you, Ayeka!* cursed Ryoko for what felt like the millionth time.  She
sat on the roof of the Masaki household, staring at the star's reflection on
the lake.  *And I was getting so close, too...*

"No, you weren't," a voice said from behind her, its nasal tone at once
expressing unbelievable age and an excess of youth.

Ryoko didn't turn, she merely twisted her face into a grimace and sighed.
"Washu," she growled bitterly.  "Why are you here?  Have you come to gloat?
Or maybe to tease me about my...Visual Tactics?"

A sigh came from Washu as she stepped down and sat beside Ryoko.  "I'm here
because I care.  Is so hard to believe that I might care about my daughter?"

"Some mother," Ryoko snorted.  "You created me, and then handed me over to
that bastard Kagato!"  She placed her forearms on her knees and laid her
head on them.  "Where were you for those five thousand years, huh?"

Washu didn't say anything as she stared out into the night.  Every
accusation Ryoko made was true.  She had trusted Kagato, believed in him in
a way as she had only one man before, and like that time, she was betrayed.
Except this time, her daughter paid the price as well.  She took a deep
breath, and let it out before answering.  "I...I thought I loved him,
Ryoko."

Ryoko started and turned her shocked gaze on her mother.  "NANI?"

"Kagato didn't kidnap me from the Academy, I went with him willingly.  We
were going to explore the Universe, together, just him and I.  But as the
years passed, he became more and more obsessed with power."  Washu paused
and grimaced as the painful memories came back to her.  "Before you were
born, we were growing apart.  I...I fell into the old trap of believing that
a child would bring us closer.  It did, for a time."

She sniffled once, and smiled wanly.  "You should have seen him when we were
designing you.  It was like the old days again.  He was so...so..." she
trailed off and finished in a whisper.  "So much like the man I had loved in
the first place."  She looked over at her daughter, who was staring at her
with wide eyes.  "I was blind to his true intentions.  Soon after your birth
he imprisoned me and took you over, turning you from the wonderful child I
had created you to be into a monster."

"Gee, thanks," Ryoko bristled.  "Nice to know you think so much of me."

Washu looked sternly at Ryoko, her memory-induced sorrow forgotten in
irritation.  "The Ryoko who attacked Jurai is not the one who is sitting
beside me.  That creature knew nothing of love, of the goodness in the
hearts of mankind.  You should thank Yosho for what he did."

"He stuck a sword through my throat and locked me in a cave for seven
hundred years!"

"Would you have met Tenchi if it wasn't for him locking you up?" at the
mention of Tenchi's name, Ryoko's anger vanished, to be replaced with a sort
of wistful longing.  "I was not a mother to you before, let me be one to you
now.  I know how you feel about him.  Let me help."

"I don't need your help," Ryoko snapped.  "I can handle the others just
fine!"

"You don't need my help, hmm?  And that's why Tenchi panics when you're
alone with him?  That's why to anyone else, it looks like Sasami's closer to
winning his heart than any of you?  Do you really think killing the rest of
them will give you any chance?"

Ryoko's head slumped and she began to sniffle.  "But what can I DO?" she
half pleaded, half wailed.

"There is one thing," Washu began, "but it carries a risk.  Are you willing
to risk losing him?"

"I'd rather I at least have a chance."

The red-head grinned.  "Good.  Meet me in my lab in half an hour, we'll
start the lessons then."

A sneaking suspicion formed in Ryoko's mind.  "What do you get out of this,
anyway?"

"Oh, just a little sample..."

Ryoko glared at Washu, then smiled as she saw the playful gleam in her eye.
"Thanks."  She stood, and smoothed her skirt a little.  "Okaasan."  With
that, she faded through the roof to return inside the house.

Washu stared at the spot her daughter had disappeared from, and shook her
head in frustration.  "Okaasan," she whispered, and smiled, before  looking
out into the night one final time.  "Che...do I have a lot of work to do,"
she sighed.

***

Ryoko gritted her teeth.  *This is not going to be easy,* she thought to
herself as she turned away from Tenchi's door and went downstairs.  She
mentally repeated the lecture Washu had given her.

***

"First things first," she said. "No more staying up all night to watch
Tenchi sleep." She waggled her finger as Ryoko began to protest.  "Do you
really want Tenchi's first picture of you in the morning to be your
exhausted face?  On the same note, stop following him into the bathroom.
Tenchi's been brought up to need his personal space."

***

"Ohayo Ryoko-neechan!" Sasami cheerfully called out upon seeing Ryoko fly
down the stairs.  "Where's Tenchi-niichan?" she asked, noting his absence.
Ryoko shrugged and settled on the couch.

Ayeka looked up from her tea and glared at the pirate.  "What have you done
with Tenchi-sama, bakemono?"  She stood up from the dinner table and stormed
over to Ryoko.  "If you have harmed him in any way..."

For once, Ryoko actually felt hurt by Ayeka's words.  "Do you REALLY think I
could ever hurt him?" she returned, and Ayeka began to laugh.

"Oh, don't give me that innocent act, Ryoko, I know what kind of person you
really are, and so does Tenchi-san!"

*How DARE she?* Ryoko mentally seethed, and all of Washu's words cleared
from her head as her rage escalated.  She began to gather her power to teach
the impudent girl a lesson, when she heard Tenchi's footsteps start to come
down the stairs.  She reighed in her temper, releasing the power, and turned
to the stairs, smiling brilliantly.  "Ohayo Tenchi!"

***

"Second," Washu said, "don't throw yourself at him.  In Tenchi's culture,
women who are as...open and...affectionate as you are considered to be
undesireable."  She sighed at Ryoko's confused look.  "Girls who chase guys
as agressively as you are called sluts," she translated.  "Go slow.  Don't
glomp him in the morning, don't hang on him."  She paused.  "Try actually
TALKING to him for once."

***

Tenchi blinked a couple times and tentatively smiled back.  "Ohayo, Ryoko."

"Did you sleep well?" Ryoko asked pleasantly, inwardly giggling as she
noticed Ayeka sputtering out of the corner of her eye.

Her question was rewarded with a surprised look, as Tenchi tried to wrap his
mind around the concept of talking to Ryoko, and not having to fight her
off.  "Hai, I did," he responded.

"Breakfast is ready," Sasami called.

Tenchi went to sit as the table, resigning himself to being the object of
another one of the morning fights.  To his surprise, instead of being
sandwiched between Ryoko and Ayeka, he found himself facing Ryoko with her
usual place at his side taken by Mihoshi.

The meal began peacefully, with the girls listening on Noboyuki's
interrogation of Tenchi regarding his forthcoming school year.  "So, my boy,
how do you think you're going to do this year?"

"Probably not as good," Tenchi admitted.  "The Senior year is supposed to be
pretty tough, and I'm going to have to start studying for the Juken soon.
Besides," he muttered under his breath, "I doubt I'll get much studying in
around here."

"An education is always a good idea," Washu agreed, and looked pointedly at
Ryoko.

It took her a minute to grasp the meaning of Washu's statement.  Tenchi
wanted to go to school, and to college.  Going off and being a prince on
some other planet WASN'T what he wanted.  He wanted a life on Earth.  She
considered that a moment, and made her decision.  If that's what he wanted,
she would support him.   Another thought intruded.  *How?* she wondered.
*I'm just a space pirate.*

"Do you have a career in mind, Tenchi?" Noboyuki asked.

Tenchi considered that for a moment.  "Well, I bet I would make a lot of
money as a science fiction writer," he laughed, and then sobered a bit.  "I
always thought I'd follow in your footsteps, Otousan.  Being an architect
sounds like fun."

"That's a lot of school," the elder man warned.  "Four years college, a two
year apprenticeship."

Ryoko's mind was in a whirl.  She flashed a look at Washu, who nodded
slowly.  "Tenchi?"  He looked at her, and she gulped nervously.  "Would it
be alright if I went to school too?"

The entire rest of the house stared at her.  "NANI?"

***

Tenchi couldn't help but smile as Ryoko twirled beside him, almost flying
she was so happy.  He frowned.  She WAS flying.  "Ryoko," he said warningly,
"you're doing it again."

"Oops," Ryoko said, and dropped to the ground.  They walked on for a few
minutes, and then she tripped and fell.  "Kuso," she growled.  "Now I
remember why I prefer flying.  It's safer."  She felt a hand on her shoulder
and looked up into Tenchi's concerned face.  Her heart fluttered for a
moment, and she mentally shook herself to stop the urge to hug him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and helped her up.

Ryoko dusted off her school dress and picked up her bag.  "I'm fine.
Arigato."  She began to walk down the path more, and stopped when she
realized Tenchi wasn't following her.  "Daijobu?"

"Why do you want to go to school?" Tenchi asked as he started to walk with
her.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Washu asked Ryoko as she forged documents for
Ryoko.  They were alone in the lab.

"Hai," Ryoko answered.  "I want to be with him forever.  That means learning
to live a life here on Earth."

"What if he goes to Jurai?" Washu asked.  Her daughter growled in anger.

"He won't."

"But what if he does?"

"He doesn't WANT to!" Ryoko yelled.  "Doesn't what he wants matter?"

Washu grinned at her daughter.  "You're learning," she said, patting her on
the cheek.  She turned back to her terminals, and a bunch of clothing
appeared out of a hyperspatial hole.  "Here's a uniform for you."

Ryoko gathered them up and went nude.  She picked up one of the objects and
held it in front of her.  "What's this?"

"You don't know what a bra is?" Washu asked incredulously.  "No wonder
you're sagging!"

"I AM NOT!"

***

"Ryoko?" Tenchi repeated.  "Why do you want to go to school?"

It took her a few seconds to formulate her response.  Simply telling Tenchi
she wanted to be with him wasn't right.  There was more to it, she realized
as she thought about her decision.  Much more.  "I'm five thousand years
old, but all I know is fighting and killing.  For once in my life, I don't
have to worry about the Galaxy Police breaking down my door, and I like
that.  I want to know more than war and death.  I want to become something
other than a pirate."

Tenchi looked at her with a lot of shock.  "I...I didn't know," he
stammered.  "I thought you liked being a space pirate, I thought you liked
the freedom and the power."

"I did," Ryoko admitted with a smile.  "It was fun a lot of the times." She
sighed.  "But it was also lonely having everyone either hate or fear me.  I
don't want to feel that way again."

"But why Earth schools?" Tenchi asked.  "Couldn't Washu teach you more
advanced material?"

Ryoko stopped, and looked at Tenchi.  She realized her answer here could
make or break everything she's done.  "I could ask you the same question,
you know."  Tenchi got a panicked look on his face for a moment.  "But you
know the answer.  What's the use of Washu's super-advanced science on a
planet that hasn't even gotten past their own solar system?  I want to make
a life on Earth, Tenchi, not anywhere else.  Washu's knowledge is useless to
an ordinary Earth girl."

"No one would believe you're an ordinary girl," Tenchi muttered with a
chuckle, not seeing Ryoko's hurt expression when she overheard him.  "I hope
you get what you're hoping for," he said in a louder voice.

*So do I, Tenchi," Ryoko thought.  *So do I.*

***

Ayeka was not having a good day in any sense of the word.  Ryoko's behavior
this morning was odd.  In many ways, it reminded her of the behavior of the
Zero copy.  Much more meek and - she shuddered to think of it - civilized.
She had actually backed down from a confrontation.

And then there was this whole schooling idea.  The absurdity of it make
Ayeka chuckle.  Imagine a monster woman like Ryoko actually trying to get an
education!  She recalled the stories Tenchi had told about his first 'fight'
with Ryoko, and how she had blown up his last school.  If Ryoko went true to
form, her little scheme would probably result in more casualities and
another destroyed school.

Even as she told herself that, something in the back of her mind insisted it
wasn't that easy.  Ryoko had actually seemed sincere about her desire to get
an education.  But if that was true, why on Earth?  As much as she loved and
respected Tenchi, his people were backward barbarians stuck in a dark age of
ignorance.  If she truly desired an education, she merely had to ask Azaka
or Kamidake for lessons - after asking Ayeka for permission, of course.
Even better, Washu could teach her.

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that the Ryoko she
had seen today was a fake.  Another copy here to implicate poor Tenchi in
another adventure that would end up with his playing the gallant knight for
Ryoko.

That was unacceptable.

Ayeka reviewed her reasoning to herself one more time, and then made her way
to the door to Washu's lab.  Knocking twice, she opened the door and made
her way in.