(NOTE! This fic takes place after the movie Tenchi Forever (Tenchi Muyo In Love 2.) This movie is allegedly the conclusion to the Tenchi series, it covers some VERY earth-shattering ground, and this fic contains some MAJOR spoilers to some of the most important plot-twists in all of the Tenchiverse. DO NOT read this fic if you haven't yet seen Tenchi Forever, as it would really spoil the surprises!) Oh, and it's a lemon. If you've read my other works, you know that I don't use the term lemon lightly. There'll be sex involved and stuff. Possibly even something other than two girls going at it. Hey, I'll try anything once... I'll say the important part again: DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN 'TENCHI FOREVER!' Send feedback to warpzone32@hotmail.com Tenchi Muyo: Forever and a Day -part 1 Ryoko hovered, her feet scant inches above the glassy surface of the lake, and pulled her legs up into a sitting position, then extended one leg slightly... She brushed back what hair of hers was plyable, and touched a finger to her lips mischeviously. She winked saucily at the young man who sat beneath an ancient Jurian tree, watching her every bold and graceful movement. Tenchi said something to her, and she held that pose... but only for a minute. His pencil had touched the pad less than half a dozen times before she was moving around again... turning, swinging her arms, arching her back... the woman simply couldn't seem to hold still. Tenchi jested about how difficult to draw this made her. Tenchi's playful tone, if not his words, carried quite clearly across the lake, reaching the ears of the one who watched them silently... Ryoko then winked out of existance... only to glomp him from behind a moment later, placing her hands over his eyes and challenging him to draw her from memory... And just this once, Tenchi did not pull away. Ayeka wrenched her gaze from the sight and forced herself to continue her walk down the forest path. She couldn't keep watching... she knew she musn't. She knew she would loose her composure if they decided to kiss now. It would break her inside to see it. A brown maple leaf fluttered across her field of vision... the trees were nearly bare now. Autumn was almost over. Soon it would be winter, and as the days got shorter and the weather turned colder outside, Aieka felt it grow more and more frigid inside her heart as well. She was loosing. It had been less than a month since Tenchi's return, but already their relationship was advancing in leaps and bounds, exploding exponentially beyond what it had been before... Tenchi's and Ryoko's relationship, that is. Aieka could feel it in the air every time they looked at each other. Trust. Friendship. Intimacy. Love... Not that Aieka hadn't tried to maintain her relationship with Lord Tenchi, but their relationship, even before his disappearance had always been platonic, at best. The way he and Ryoko were getting along now, Ayeka lost more ground with each passing day. Ayeka knew it was only a matter of time before her fate was sealed. And yet, somehow... Ayeka knew that this was the way it was meant to be. She had known it ever since... Ever since... "Hey, Ayeka!" Ryoko yelled. Ayeka blinked and looked where the voice had come from. Out on the Ryu-oh's island. Ryoko was waving eagerly to Ayeka, an intensely friendly grin on her face... "What's up? Come see the picture Tenchi drew of you!" Puzzled, Ayeka looked around. She'd thought she'd been walking away from them for the past ten minutes, but she was only a couple meters from the spot where she had been watching them minutes ago. "Er... yes... coming, Ryoko..." * * * "What'd you say that for?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko simply shruged and leaned against the trunk of the ancient Jurian tree. "I couldn't help it... she just looked so miserable over there all by herself..." "So what am I supposed to do?" Tenchi asked with a hint of playfulness in his voice, "Just magically conjure up a picture of Ayeka, just like that?" Though she showed no outward sign of it, Ryoko's heart was racing within her chest. She loved it when he talked back to her... just hearing him raise his voice anymore gave her goose-pimples... especially since, more often than not, it was not to reprimand her, but to tease her back playfully. Ooooh... if he continued getting bolder at this rate... "Weeeell," Ryoko said, watching the princess pick her way free from the foliage and make her way to the trail of stepping-stones that led across to the tree's island... "You do have a few minutes... and you're a good artist... I'm sure you can come up with *something* before she gets here..." "Riiiiight," Tenchi replied, and calmly flipped a few pages in his sketchbook... Ryoko almost fell over when he turned the page to a nearly-completed sketch of Ayeka in full dress kimono, and began adding a few finishing touches. Ayeka was already in that sketchbook!? For the first time in weeks, Ryoko remembered that she had competition. Aieka finally stepped across the last rock, a bit flushed from the exertion... she'd been hurrying, despite herself. Had he really been drawing *her* that entire time? "Heh... I'm sorry... it's not very good..." Tenchi held up the sketch pad and turned it so Aieka could see it. Aieka gasped. Did he really see her as being that beautiful? That graceful? "Oh, Lord Tenchi, I..." Aieka heard a resonating hiss of displaced air, and turned to see that Ryoko had teleported away. Now she could safely speak her thoughts. But what did she really want to say to him...? "Thank you, Lord Tenchi... it's beautiful." Tenchi laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. It was really just an old character study. * * * Ryoko hovered just above the ground, scratching listlessly at the dirt path with a broom, sweeping a few leaves at a time away from the ground in front of the Masaki residence. Katsuhito walked past her, mildly surprised that she was doing yardwork, but saying nothing. Ryoko sighed. Why leave Ayeka alone with Tenchi? Why go to so much trouble to lift Aieka out of her slump? Seven months ago, she would have tried at every opprotunity to steal Tenchi's attention away from princess. Not the other way around! Why was she giving Aieka an opprotunity like this, after all she'd been through to win Tenchi's heart? Surely she wasn't doing it solely for Aieka's benefit? A thought suddenly occured to Ryoko. "Dammit! I'm not going soft, am I?" Ryoko looked down at the broom in her hand. How had it gotten there? She'd come out here to clear her head, not to do... yardwork! Looking behind her, the path she had swept free of dead leaves mocked her silently. Ryoko dropped the broom in disgust, then blew the rest of the leaves away with a small blast of her power. Just a quick burst of air pressure... no explosions, but generating a sizable cloud of dust in the process. The leaves twirled about in the air before settling back to Earth. Ryoko grinned. Now distracted by something she could safely consider play and not work, Ryoko spread her arms and generated another gust of wind. It was no different from levitating, just to the side instead of down, and in all directions at once... She blew the leaves into a cyclone and let the dust swirl in a ring, close to the ground. A giggle arose in her throat as she immagined herself an all-powerful sorceress, casting the stars and planets about with her magick... Then suddenly, she heard voices in the distance and lost focus on her inborn powers; the leaves and loose dust scattered randomly across the path that had just been swept clean. Ayeka and Tenchi could be seen walking towards her, side-by-side. Almost touching, almost hand-in-hand. Almost. Aieka's face shone with contentment. She looked more animated than she had in weeks as she quietly conversed with Tenchi... Ryoko frowned for a moment, then sighed, and teleported up to her room. No point in interrupting them... it was in the bag, after all. Tenchi was hers. Aieka had practically handed him to her. Besides... Ryoko sighed. No point in denying it, even to herself. She had been HAPPY to see how much more cheerful Aieka had become after some quality time with Tenchi. All that time on the road with Aieka during the six months that Tenchi had been missing... all that time they'd spent together searching for him... working together for a common goal... comforting each other... Hell. She HAD gone soft, hadn't she? "Oh well," Ryoko murmured to herself as she heard the front door open and close, "I've heard that Tenchi LIKES soft girls..." * * * "You know, all of the computer models predicted that this would be the outcome," Washuu chirped as she cleaned herself before her bath, "so there's no point in worrying about it now... you've already won. Hey, Ryoko, wash my back for me, willya?" Ryoko wasn't even paying attention as she did what Washu asked... it wasn't until the wily mad scientist had already rinsed herself that Ryoko realized that what she had just done was a gesture of respect in Tenchi's culture. She balled up the rag and flug it at Washuu, who cackled evilly as she dodged it. "Grrr... Well, did the computer models also predict that me and that royal brat would make friends," Ryoko asked indignantly. Washuu nodded as she and her daughter took their places in the hot bath water. "Seventy-six percent of the time!" "NANI!?" Ryoko's jaw dropped. "THAT OFTEN!?" Washu nodded, folding her hands in a very evil-geniusy manner. "It's quite simple, really... my reseach indicated that, while two of the subjects were divided over the acquisition of the third, there remained several key factors that contributed to a mutually beneficial relationship between the two, should the object of their competition be removed. Furthermore, there was a very high likelyhood that any extended periods of tactical cooperation on the part of the first two subjects, in the abscence of the catalystic prescence of the third subject, would lead to an interpersonal bonding that would reveal and exploit those factors that contributed to an overall compatability between the two subjects, eventually leading to a symbitoic relationship between the two." Ryoko frowned. "But I don't like her!" Washuu grinned. "That's not what you were saying when we first came in here..." Ryoko stopped and thought about that for a moment. Gods, WHY had she brought her problems to WASHU, of all people!? "Well, I mean, yeah, I guess we got a little closer while we were searching for Tenchi for those six months..." Ryoko frowned, other memories floating to the surface. "And, yeah, I guess a little bit before that..." Ryoko's frown deepened. "But I still don't LIKE her... I mean, she's spoiled, and snobby, and prudish..." Washuu grined triumphantly, waving around some rising sun fans that she had pulled from the kamis only knew where. "In other words, her personality traits compliment yours PERFECTLY!" Ryoko even frowned harder and massaged her temples. It hurt to even think about it... "You know," Washuu said, lowering her voice and leaning in closer, "If it weren't for all this messy business with Tenchi, you two might have made a great couple..." "GAAAAH!" Ryoko winced and covered her ears. "WASHUU, DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT!" "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What's the matter, Ryoko?" Washuu taunted, "Did I touch a nerve...? Or perhaps an erogenous zone?" What washuu didn't notice was princess Ayeka standing just behind her in the doorway... "Really now, Miss Washuu," Ayeka piped up, causing the brilliant one to jump in her bath water, "I'm afraid I quite agree with Ryoko... there are some things so morbid that one simply shouldn't speak of them, not even as a joke!" "Bah! You two are no fun..." Washuu suddenly frowned. "Oh NO! I completely forgot about the Interdimmensional Gravity Burst Envelope experiment! Girls, if the Earth falls into the sun within the next two minutes, it's ALL your fault!" Washuu tapped a key on her omni-present holotop, and teleported back to her lab, apparently arriving there stark naked and dripping wet. "You know," Aieka said, "That woman gives new meaning to the term 'absent-minded.'" "Don't I know it," Ryoko said. A moment passed. "Do you suppose she was kidding about the Earth falling into the sun?" Aieka asked. "I sure hope so," Ryoko said. "Hmmm... maybe we should invite the others into the bathroom, just in case? I mean, if anything happened to the Earth, they'd be safe in here..." Aieka paled, if that's possible. "Do we have to save Nobiyuki?" she asked. "Hmmmm..." Ryoko thought it over. Suddenly, Washuu reappeared, still mostly nude aside from some coveralls that didn't quite cover all, brandishing a sonic screwdriver and looking lightly charred. "Good news!" *cough cough* "I fixed it!" Washuu flashed a V-sign and fell over. * * * When Washu had gone again, Ayeka untied her kimono's sash, preparing to strip for her bath. "How much did you hear?" Ryoko asked, refering to Washu's joke... at least, she'd hoped it was a joke... about the two of them being romantically compatable. "Enough to make me nautious," The princess replied. She suddenly felt aprehensive about undressing before Ryoko, in a way she hadn't before. "Tell me about it," Ryoko said, averting her gaze from the princess while she undressed. Ryoko apparently didn't feel like sending mixed signals any more than Ayeka felt like receiving them. "That woman has a damn twisted sense of humor!" "Oh, I know," Ayeka said, "Remember the time she 'accidently' dropped the house into the lake?" Ryoko shuddered at the memory. "I think I've had enough bathing for one day..." Ryoko stood up from the bath and floated towards the door, drying and dressing herself via her powers, almost as an afterthought. "Okay..." Aieka had just begun washing herself... "Oh, by the way, Ryoko?" "Yes?" Ryoko asked. Aieka paused. It was difficult to say this, but not as difficult as she'd have imagined. "Thank you for leaving us alone out there today, Ryoko... I really needed that." Aieka's voice trailed off, and she went back to cleaning her body. "Uh... you're welcome..." Ryoko blinked. What exactly had they DONE out there...? "Umm... Aieka..." Ryoko started, poking her fingers together hesitantly... unsure how to ask what she wanted... no, NEEDED to know... "Lord Tenchi was a perfect gentleman, of course..." Ayeka supplied, almost as if she'd been reading the Space Pirate's mind. "Of... of course." Ryoko started to relax. This WAS Tenchi they were talking about, after all... "Mmmmmmmm... So gentle... " Aieka glanced at Ryoko mischeviously through half-closed eyes. "But... have you noticed how much bolder Tenchi's gotten lately?" "Hey... hey.. HEY!" Ryoko stammered, pointing at Aieka accusingly. "Don't even joke about that! And STOP that, your breasts are clean enough!" Aieka batted her eyes innocently. "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about, Ryoko." Aieka sighed and rinsed herself before lowering herself gracefully into the hot water. "Ahhh.... Tenchi-sama..." she moaned as the heat enveloped her body... "Yeah, whatever..." Ryoko growled, "You wish." Ryoko turned away from the whistful princess soaking herself, and phased through the bathroom door... ...only to recieve a nasty electrical shock as she came into contact with the forcefield that was part of the link between the dimmension the women's bath was in and Earth. Now cursing under her breath, a rather well-done Ryoko slid open the bathroom door and stepped across the dimmensions, back into the hallway of the Misaki residence. Aieka's quiet giggle followed her... "Oh, Lord Tenchi..." *sigh* "Again..." Ryoko slammed the bathroom door. Aieka laughed to herself as soon as the space pirate was gone. "Oh-hohohohoho... Oh my... who would have thought she would react so strongly to her own tricks...?" Aieka helped herself to some sake from the dish floating in the water beside her. * * * Tenchi smiled as he quietly opened the door to his room. There was a familiar form curled up in his bed, concealed under the blanket... Chuckling to himself, Tenchi padded stealthily over to his bed, and pulled back the covers. Two pillows had been strategically placed in the center of his bed, arranged to emulate the shape of a sleeping Ryoko. Tenchi turned around just in time to see it coming, yet too late to do anything about it. Ryoko pounced on him with a girlish squeel, sending him tumbling backwards onto the bed. "Ryoko, what are you doing?" Tenchi asked. The words were the same as they'd always been, but the tremor in his voice was gone. There was a slightly playful twinkle in his eye; the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. He knew darn well what Ryoko was doing. And it didn't seem to bother him one bit... "What?" Ryoko asked, grinning from ear to ear. "You sneak into the room, expecting to find me asleep and helpless in your bed, and now that I've foiled your evil plan, you try to feign innocence?" "Oh... so now I'm the villian, huh...?" Tenchi's voice and grin were just *perfect*. Ryoko wanted so badly to just melt in his arms at this point... but she knew that the moment she tried anything too physical, his defenses would kick in, the old barriers would spring up, and he'd be back to stammering and shouting at her to behave herself again. Oh well. If you can't push, pull. "Nooooo..." Ryoko moaned in her corniest imitation of a trapped damsel, "Please! Somebody, save me..." Far better to play nice. To tempt him gently and gradually until his defenses were worn away to nothingness... She'd been trying this ever since Tenchi had been rescued, and although her results so far had been mixed, it seemed to be working... better than her old tactics, anyway. Ryoko lay upon Tenchi's body just long enough for it to sink in that the poor, innocent damsel was practically jumping the evil villan. Then she teleported to a sitting position, a safe, comfortable distance away at the foot of the bed. "So," she said sweetly, "how was your day?" She was behaving herself, but only slightly. And apparently, that was just the way Tenchi liked it. "Well, after you left us, Ayeka started talking about the autumn leaves... it seems that on Jurai, the trees usually bloom year-round, so..." Ryoko watched Tenchi's lips move as he spoke... it was the only thing other than his eyes to look at, and she knew she wouldn't last long staring into his eyes... His voice was so deep and calm... Ryoko scarcely noticed what he was saying, but she concentrated on the sound of his voice with all her heart. It was like a soothing mantra that cleared her mind of all rational thought, leaving a void in which there was only love... Tenchi suddenly stopped talking and froze... Ryoko seemed to have somehow drifted over to him while he spoke and wrapped her legs around him. "Mmmmmm... Tenchi..." Ryoko ran a hand up the back of his neck, tickling the hairs. "Ryoko," Tenchi replied clamly, acting as if nothing out-of-the-ordinary was happening... but the perspiration on the back of his neck gave him away. (Oh, how cute,) Ryoko thought, (he's trying to keep his cool...) True, Ryoko liked this new bold streak of Tenchi's, but she could tell when it was an act. He was so innocent inside, and Ryoko liked that. Truth be told, she had always enjoyed making him blush, watching him squirm... This was part of why her new policy of tact and mild flirtation hadn't been entirely sucessful; sometimes she just couldn't resist pushing him too far. It was simply too much fun to nudge him a little further than he could take. To make him turn bright red and get all angry and struggle to get away... She especially enjoyed it when he tried to pretend she wasn't affecting him... when he acted all relaxed and confidentin the face of her advances... like he was now. Because Ryoko knew he was the same inside as he had always been. And she enjoyed breaking that cool exterior every time he had the gall to present it to her. She planned to give him more than he could handle right now, and start their chase all over again. "Mmmmmmm... Tenchi... can you feel it...?" Ryoko took his hand and smooshed it over her left breast. "Can you feel my heart beating...?" Ryoko ran her hands up and down the sides of Tenchi's body... And still he remained calm! (What's with him tonight?) Ryoko thought, (Is the old geezer teaching him some kind of new mental technique or something?) Perhaps Katsuhito had specifically instructed him to use all his concentration to ignore her advances tonight? Well, if that was the case, Ryoko intended to have a lot of fun getting him to loose control... And then, Tenchi suddenly and unaccountably leaned forward and kissed her. (Oh,) Ryoko thought as she closed her eyes, (that's nice, too...) * * * To Ryoko, the kiss was infinite. She had no idea how long they were like that... his lips moving against her, her hand still holding his to her breast... the whole time mixed emotions fought and broiled within Ryoko, lending different movements to her lips. She was happy brazen horny scared greedy loving desperate all at the same time. One thing she resolved as she came back to her senses was that she couldn't loose control. Not over one little kiss... after all, what if Tenchi didn't mean it...? "Ryoko..." Tenchi whispered. Whispered? When had his lips left hers? Ryoko swore she could still feel the kiss... Ryoko opened her eyes. "I love you, Ryoko..." And our heroine fell without firing a shot. "Oh Tenchi..." Ryoko kissed him over and over again, all intentions of keeping her composure gone... something that Ryoko's pride swore wasn't a tear slid down her cheek... she started to pull open the front of her dress... "No," Tenchi corrected, his voice still quiet and firm and calm. His hands covered hers, and closed her dress again. "Not yet," Tenchi said, closing his eyes. "But why not?" Ryoko whined, holding Tenchi as closely as she possibly could. "... when?" "I don't know... maybe soon..." Tenchi closed his eyes. "But this isn't the right time," he said. "But WHY!?" Ryoko asked. "I love you! And you love me... so let's... just..." Tenchi looked her in the eyes, and shook his head. "This isn't just about us, Ryoko. Maybe if we were the only ones who would be affected by it... But this whole relationship is bigger than you and me, Ryoko... And I think you know it." Ryoko groaned. Her again. Trust Ayeka to find a way to butt in, even after admiting defeat. "Look, you're talking about *her,* right...?" Ryoko asked. "Don't worry about it, Tenchi! She won't mind..." Ryoko trailed off. That's right, Tenchi hadn't been there when Ayeka had admitted to Ryoko's face that she was the right girl for Tenchi. "Okay, I know that sounds lame, but believe me, Tenchi! Ayeka knows we're... you know, special..." Ryoko held up her pinkie finger. Tenchi sighed. "It's not just Ayeka," Tenchi replied carefully, "it's a lot of things... you know how complicated our lives are, Ryoko... between you, Ayeka, Washu... the people of Jurai... the Galaxy Police... half the known universe has been indirectly affected by my decisions..." Tenchi trailed off. Ryoko didn't look happy. "That's just an excuse, Tenchi," Ryoko pouted, "I want the real reason." Tenchi sighed. "I guess the real reason is... I'm just... not ready yet." Ryoko snorted. "Maybe next time you should make sure you're ready before you go telling a girl that you love her," she said, her eyes downcast. "Ryoko..." Tenchi started, but she sank through the bed and the floor, vanishing like a melting apparition. "I couldn't wait any longer to tell you," he said to an empty room.