No Need For A Runaway Space-Pirate Ryoko ran through the darkness, tears filling up from her eyes like rain forming in a puddle. Her heart was pounding like a drum and she knew she couldn't run forever. She slowed to a stumbling walk and let her tears fall. Nothing could have prepared her for the day she had just endured, and that was why she was in a forest at midnight. She slumped down on a fallen log, her head in her hands. She was buried so much in her grief she didn't notice the boy approaching her. "Ryoko?" Tenchi said, sitting beside her. Ryoko looked up, seeing his deep brown eyes full of worry staring at her. "Tenchi.how could you!?" suddenly Ryoko was angry, her tear stained face taking on an expression of hatred. "What do you mean how could I, how could I what?" Tenchi stood up and faced Ryoko "You don't rule my life, Ryoko. I have a right to do what I want to do," "Oh really. After all I've done for you and how do you repay me. I'd have given my life for you Tenchi, and you the same, or so I thought. You're nothing but a lying, stuck up little prince and I hate you!" Ryoko cried, wanting only to be away. She turned to run from him once again but he caught her arm "You have no right to say that, just because you didn't win! Ryoko snap out of this and come home!" "Never! Not after what you did to me!" Ryoko screamed, pulling away from his grip "Ayeka's nothing but a little slut and you know it!" "Don't say that!" Tenchi yelled, and with a cry of fury he swung his arm back and hit her, hard on the cheek. Ryoko staggered back, staring at Tenchi as if he has just killed her. Her hand was on her face and she shut her eyes, letting tears slid from them. She turned away from Tenchi and dissolved into the shadows, leaving Tenchi alone, staring astounded at his hand. Ryoko was standing at the ball shaped controls of Ryoohki. Her mind was in a whirl, her face still stinging from the slap and her heart still full of pain and hatred. She ordered Ryoohki to go at full speed, and as she left Earth she didn't look back. Things would be easier for her without Tenchi to worry about, yes she would be fine, back to taking risks and being space pirate Ryoko. It would be fun. The vast emptiness of space spread out before her and she smiled a wicked smile. Yes, fun. Let Ayeka have him, she didn't want to be tied up by love any more, she steered Ryoohki into the first worm hole she found and waited to see where she would end up. "Get the hell off me Treize!" Duo Maxwell struggled to free himself from Treize Kushrenada's grip "I said get off a me!" "Sorry Shinigami but I have no way of making sure you won't escape unless I keep hold of you, and I know from past experience that hand cuffs are about as useful air when used with you," "I'll take that as a compliment," Duo murmured, knowing there was no way out of this mess, he would just have to go with it. "Come on then, I have a nice cell waiting for you, we'll decide your sentence tomorrow," Treize smiled evilly and steered Duo towards the waiting van. It was that moment that Ryoohki emerged from the worm hole and landed on top of the van. Ryoko stared at her surroundings, she new she hadn't been here before, but it looked a lot like Earth. She scanned for life and found only two people standing awed at her ship. One had the other in a firm grip around the waist, he was tall and about eighteen years old, his light brown hair flicked into a short fringe. The other was around fifteen with long brown hair in a braid. His spiky fringe was half covering his eyes but from what she could see they were a strange shade of blue-violet. This boy was struggling and kicking the other man, his face screwed up in anger. Ryoko stepped out of Ryoohki and into the gloom of early evening. "Hello?" the older man said, not letting go of the writhing boy "You are?" Ryoko asked, voicing the mans un-worded question "I am Treize Kushrenada, this is Duo Maxwell. May I be so bold as to ask your name?" "No you may not," Ryoko answered, moving closer to peer at Duo. He wriggled away from her, an expression of wonderment flashing across his face. Treize jerked his arms up his back and he cried out in pain. Treize's movement forced him to face Ryoko, who smiled at him with interest. "Well Mr Maxwell, you are an interesting person. What do you do for a living then?" "I.aah!" he cried out again as Treize slid a pair of handcuffs round his wrists and jerked his arms further up his back. Ryoko instantly new who's side she was on. She bent low to Duo's level, for he was no on his knees where Treize had pushed him. She whispered in his ear: "You stay still and keep low, as soon as he lets go knock him out in some way!" Duo nodded slightly and bowed his head, crouching as close to the ground as was possible in his position. Ryoko smiled sweetly and created an energy blast in her hands, the last thing Treize saw before crashing to the ground was a red light coming closer to him. Duo kicked him hard in the head as promised and smiled satisfied as he blacked out. "Need help with those?" Ryoko asked, coming towards him, sword ready to cut his hand cuffs. "Nah, I'm ok," Duo grinned lithely and reached into his hair, pulling out what looked like a computer chip. He clicked it into the cuffs and they broke free. "Now, who are you and why did you just appear out of nowhere" Ryoko sat down on the log that had been pulled aside to act as a seat for now. The small fire was burning bravely against the slicing wind. Duo was on leaning his back against the log, his head tipped back and his eyes closed. Ryoko smiled a small tight smile as he pulled himself up beside her and grinned: "So, as I was saying, who are you?" He asked it innocently enough, but the mischievous glint in his eyes made her wary. "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked "You don't, but I trust you, so why not?" Duo smiled, the mischief gone, he looked into her eyes and giggled as she blushed. "Stop it! Why are you laughing at me?!" Ryoko cried, angry with herself for being so easily embarrassed. Duo just shook his head and murmured: "Nothing," "If I tell you will you promise not to tell anyone?" Ryoko asked, turning his head to hers again with her hand on his cheek. He drew in his breath sharply, blushing himself. "I won't tell, I know what it is to have to be secret all the time. I won't tell if you don't want me to," Duo promised, a sad look descending over his sparkling eyes. Ryoko began her story, slowly at first, but gaining confidence. "My name's Ryoko Masaki. I'm a space pirate, wanted throughout the galaxy. I'm on the run from a princess called Ayeka, she rules over planet Jurai. I.used to live in Japan with a boy called Tenchi Masaki, he was a wonderful person. I loved him but so did Ayeka. We all lived in the same house: me, Tenchi, Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Kiyone and Washu. We were all happy until Ayeka suddenly decided that she wanted to go back to Jurai, with me as a prisoner. Tenchi and I had just had an argument, I don't quite recall what about, but he was angry. I wanted him to help me, defend me from Ayeka and her bodyguards. But he was angry, he told Ayeka where I was, said he loved her not me. So I ran away. I went through a worm hole in space and landed here," "Masaki?" Duo wondered "Yes that was his name," "But it's yours as well, were you married or something?" "No, I took that name because I had no other," Ryoko explained, "I'll have to change it now I guess." She trailed off, not knowing what to change it to. She sighed and looked up at the stars. She didn't know how long she sat there like that, because when she came back down to Earth there was a weight on her shoulder. She looked round to see Duo, breathing gently, leaning on her shoulder fast asleep. She smiled down at him, and slipped herself into sleep. Ryoko woke first, the glade they had slept in looked different by daylight. Very sheltered in, no-one could see them from above or if they were walking by, Duo had chosen it well. She changed into her red and black battle costume. The sun was high in the sky by the time Duo woke, and when he did the glade was empty. "Ryoko?" he called, nothing answered. "Dammit, she's gone!" Duo cursed, sidestepping the log and running into the thinning forest. Ryoko smiled sadly from her ship "Sorry, Duo, but this is what I have to do," Ryoko lifted Ryoohki into the sky and began to fly off when Ryoohki stopped. Ryoko looked puzzled "What are you doing?" She shouted "Move!" Ryoohki did nothing. Duo dived from the top branches of a tree onto on of the long spikes of Ryoohki. Ryoko gasped, "How did he get up here?" she wondered to herself, opening the hatch for Duo to get in. "What you doing running away like that?" Duo asked, mock anger in his voice. "I can't stay here, what if he comes looking for me?" Ryoko asked, desperation in her voice "Who? Masaki? You really think he would?" Duo asked, sadly. Ryoko stared at him, trying to see what point he was making, then slowly it dawned on her. he didn't think Tenchi would bother to come for her, he thought that now she was gone he could stay happily with Ayeka. But then he didn't know Tenchi, guilty conscious. "He will come, he'll feel bad for me, not that that will change anything. Even if he does find me, which he won't, I won't go back with him!" she cried defiantly "No, I wouldn't either, not unless he offered to pay me," Duo grinned and stood beside her "How does this thing work?" Heero smiled grimly "Mission complete," he murmured into the night, into the wreckage of what had once been a military camp, into what was now a pile of boulders and burning wood. Heero turned into the shadows and disappeared. "Miss Washu, you think you'll find her?" Tenchi asked, standing beside Washu's computer "I can't detect her anywhere in this galaxy, but there is a probability that she isn't in it at all!" "What do you mean?" Tenchi leaned over, looking worried. "I mean she could be in a different galaxy. Ryoohki has the ability to travel between dimensions via worm holes (Passages through time and worlds) in space, although most other ships would be torn to pieces. It is possible that Ryoko took one of these passages. She was pretty sore about yesterday," Washu explained, looking accusingly at Tenchi, who squirmed uncomfortably. "Can you find her if she has?" Tenchi questioned after a pause "The only way is to go through to that dimension. I could probably detect which world she has gone to, but where in that world is impossible to find out. I can construct a machine to transport you and someone else to that dimension, but from there on you're on your own!" The light was blinding, Heero raised his hands to shield his face and staggered backwards as the force from nowhere pushed at him. He staggered, falling onto his back, all the breath getting knocked out of him. He gasped, drawing his gun automatically. Then suddenly it all stopped, and a boy of about seventeen was blinking in the sunlight. Heero stared for a moment, then jumped to his feet. "Who are you?" He asked, suspicion rising in his face, the gun level with the boy's head. "Aarg! I'm not anyone! I mean I am someone it's just I'm not any harm! I mean." he trailed off as Heero stepped forwards. "Just tell me your name," he growled "Tenchi Masaki!" Tenchi cried hurriedly "Where are you from?" "Japan." he was cut off by an angry cry from behind the two. Heero swung round, aiming his gun at Trowa who was running towards him, dragging Quatre behind him. "What are you doing!?" Quatre screamed "Getting us outa here," Trowa said, voice as always level and calm "What the." Heero began, then he saw the soldiers coming up from behind the bombed out building ".!!!" Tenchi started as he saw them to. He felt Quatre grab his arm. Explanations would come later, he thought, now just run. Ryoko sat back and watched Duo. He had his tongue poking out of his mouth slightly as he concentrated on powering Ryoohki. "This is hard!" he complained, leaning slightly to one side as Ryoohki turned "You're doing okay," Ryoko complimented, in fact that wasn't true. Duo was doing brilliantly for a first timer, normally it took at least six months training to learn to control something like Ryoohki. "Yeah, but I prefer Deathscythe," He said it without thinking, but Ryoko pricked up her ears "What?" she asked, trying to sound casual "What?" Duo returned with a question, putting her off calmly as if he was used to it "What did you just say?" "I said it was hard," Duo answered, grinning. He was enjoying her frustration and that made her angry. She looked away sulkily, but that was just what Duo wanted. He turned his attention back to Ryoohki and soon Ryoko had forgotten all about it. Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Tenchi came to a stop when they found the building Heero had been heading for, Relina's home. Tenchi was panting but the others looked fine, as if they could run for days without tiring. Tenchi turned to Quatre "Could you please explain where I am, who you are and why those people were chasing you?" "This could take a while," Quatre said "You'd better come in." Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters in Tenchi or Gundam Wing! All the characters in this story are not mine! Author's notes: I know it's kinda short, but I can't write that much at a time, sorry and all that. hope you like it anyway! Email me with your comments please, so I can improve the next parts! This is my first fanfic to go easy ok? ^_^; Sakura Maxwell