"A Simple Kind Of Life"



Pioneer and AIC owns Tenchi Muyo, not me. Well, anyways, here are the
basics! Ryoko rulez! Sakuya (aka: Suck-uya) must die!! Gotta love No
Doubt! (But I don't own them either...Waaaah) Hi to Ju-chan and Clayton!
On with the fanfiction...




Ryoko sat stiffly on the dull, gray rock that was planted in the ground
directly next to the ancient cave in a deep state of depression. In her
mind, she went over the events of her life, running through them,
searching for a happy moment, something soothing. The space pirate bowed
her head in shame as she began to sing a sad song, her voice quavering
in despair. 

"For a long time I was in love…
Not only in love, I was obsessed…
with a friendship that no one else could touch.
It didn't work out, I'm covered in shells…"

Her voice was high and rhythmic, almost matching the one of the woman
singing the distressed song on the static radio at her side. Once in a
while, the crackle of lightning would deafen her song. The gray sky
began to rumble with the sounds of thunder rolling in the distance. The
echo of raindrops splattering onto the dry earth beneath her. Blinding
flashes of lightning illuminated her face with a sporadic white light.

"And all I wanted was the simple things,
a simple kind of life…
and all I needed was a simple man,
so I could be a wife..."

Ryoko laughed at the thought of her being a wife. The she-demon brought
her hand up in front of her face, studying the lines that were said to
hold her future. As she closed her eyes slowly, a glowing red energy orb
slowly began to dimly light the area around her. The once dry ground was
now sopping mud, staining the hem of the white skirt that dragged along
the ground. As she closed her hand, a glowing energy sword appeared in
her hand. Ryoko took a deep breath, her voice shaky as she ran her
fingers around the rim of the blade.

"I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean…
I don't know how it got to this point…
I always was the one with all the love…
you came along, I'm hunting you down…"

The space pirate ran the blade softly across her neckline, flinching at
the small shocks of electrcity that fell on her pale skin. She lifted
the blade high into the air and speared it into the ground and spread
her hands out over it as if it were a bonfire. Ryoko huddled around it,
looking for some warmth, since she could not find any from her family at
the moment. Tenchi had gotten so angry at her because of the simple
mistake she had made of confusing sake with his tea and getting him
extremely drunk. Ayek ahad said she had done it on purpose. Drops of
water rolled down her fingers, falling onto the sword, causing it to
spark with electricity. Still, she kept singing the sad rhythm from her
song...her theme almost.

"Like a sick domestic abuser, looking for a fight…oh...
and all I wanted was the simple things,
a simple kind of life"

Ryoko began to shiver as her clothes became soaking wet, sticking to her
skin. As her eyes became glossy, lone tears ran down her cheeks,
outlining the details of her face. Her head snapped up at the sound of
wet sneakers slapping against the muddy ground. She smiled gently, but
kept singing her melancholy song. Tenchi was coming nearer by the
minute.

As she had predicted, Tenchi now stood a few feet in front of her, his
two hands balled up into fists at his sides. He called out her name, his
voice hoarse, and the lump in his throat growing larger by the second.
He expected her to come running up to him and throw her arms around his,
and everything would be fine, but that wasn't how it worked out.
Mindlessly, she kept singing, her hair sticking to her face and back.
Her golden, untamed eyes flashed a bright green in the feral moonlight,
like a feline. Tenchi stood motionless in the mud, listening to her sad
song.

"If we met tomorrow for the very first time...
would it start all over again?
Would I try to make you mine?"

Tenchi took a few steps forwards, remembering how they _had_ first met.
How she had crashed onto this distant planet and into his arms. Tenchi
parted his lips to speak, but drew back as Ryoko brought her head up to
look at him.

"I always thought...I'd be a mom..."

As she sung those few words, Tenchi's eyes widened.

"Sometimes I wish, for a mistake…"

In his wildest dreams Tenchi would have never imagined that she would
have wanted to be a mother. Ryoko's lips altered into a distressed
frown, the front of her eyebrows turning upwards, giving her tender face
the saddest, rejected look Tenchi couldn't have ever imagined. 

"The longer that I wait, the more selfish that I get…"

Then suddenly, her lips curved into a saddened smile, her brows
remaining the same, melancholy expression.   

"…You seem like, you'd be a good dad…"

Tenchi took slow steps towards her, the look on his face almost reading
her thoughts. As he kneeled next to her, her gave her a sidelong glance;
yet, she still stared at the ground, tears streaming down her pale
cheeks, her skin freezing cold. Her lips began to show a shade of blue.
She would freeze if she didn't get inside soon.

"Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life…
How'd I get so faithful to my freedom? 
A selfish kind of life"

Her voice was now so incredibly shaky; he could only understand certain
words. As the last words rolled off of her tongue, he reached up a warm
hand to tuck strands of hair behind her ears. As he did this, Ryoko's
hand shot up and caught his hand there. Ryoko held his warm hand against
her icy cheek, her eyes drifting close.

"When all I ever wanted was the simple things
a simple kind of life…"

"A simple kind of life...
A simple kind of life...
A simple kind of life..."

The space pirate repeated them over and over, as if they were a prayer,
a wish only she could make against the starless heavens. Tenchi used his
other hand to turn her head towards his, his fingers shaking against her
cheekbone. Ryoko gathered herself up to look into his soulful, auburn
eyes. 

"Tenchi…" She whispered hoarsely, now with a lump in her own throat.
As more cold tears ran down her cheeks, he leaned in forward, closer to
her face. He could feel her hot breath enter his mouth through his
parted lips. As Ryoko sat there, frozen rigid, her entire body shaking
from the cold, he brought her face much closer to his. In one swift
movement, Ryoko had pinned him against the stone wall of the olden cave
she had been imprisoned in for hundreds of years. 

"You can't kiss me, not now! Not after what happened!" She yelled at
him, her hands clasping his shoulders tightly. The young prince brought
his hands up and placed them on her shoulders, drawing her shivering
body against his. Ryoko began to cry into his already soaking wet shirt
that lay sticking to his chest. Tenchi sighed heavily as he smoothed
back her hair with his brawny hands. With her cyan mane combed all the
way back, she looked up at him, her eyes holding a wounded look. With
her hair combed back, she looked so different to him; like a veil had
been draped over her face and he couldn't see her true expression.
Suddenly, the sad song started again on the old radio at her side. 

'If she was repeating the song, then she must be really depressed...'
Tenchi wondered mentally. 'Poor thing...i feel so awful.'

She was so distressed after what had happened between them in Haruna's
dimension, she couldn't look him straight in the face anymore. 

"Ryoko, that was the past…you have to let it go." He whispered in her
ear.

"You think I want this in my head 24-7!?" She yelled in fury, stumbling
back.

As she staggered backwards, she tripped over a sturdy rock and fell onto
her side. She clasped her arm and began to brush her hand against the
cuts and scrapes that just evolved onto her elbow. 

Tenchi knelt down next to her and quickly clasped her stiff, frozen
hands in his own so she wouldn't pull away from him. As her eyes locked
with his, he caught her gaze and never pulled his eyes away from hers
for one moment. Tenchi took one of her hands and placed it between both
of his strong palms. He began to rub them together hastily in an attempt
to warm her up. Even while he was doing this, he didn't have the feeling
to tear his russet eyes away from hers. He couldn't; it was practically
impossible.

"Why…why do you have to be damn nice!?" Ryoko yelled, allowing him to
warm up her other hand. Soon, her blood began to flow more easily, yet
the rain still pounded against the sodden, muddy ground.

"Would you rather I be mean and just leave you here to freeze!?" He spat
back, angry that she wouldn't allow him to do anything for her without
her thinking it as an act of pity. He lowered his head next to her and
pressed his wet lips against her cheek, causing her to gasp. Her voice
became trapped in her throat as she swallowed noisily. 

"You have to let me…or else, I'll never get this off my chest. I'll
never be able to get rid of this empty feeling." He said in her ear,
barely above a whisper. (Author's Note: Don't start thinking kinky now!)
Ryoko nodded instinctively, and closed her eyes. Slowly, cautiously,
Tenchi laid his hands on her waist, bringing her body close to his. The
warmth from his body radiated around her as she began to go limp in his
arms. 

Tenchi licked his chapped lips, staring down at Ryoko. Her cheeks were
fading into a bluish shade, so he did what first came to mind. He
brought his hands up from her waist to her face and slowly laid them
onto her icy cheeks, instantly making them warm once more.

"I'm so sorry that I never told you… All I wanted to say…" Tenchi
whispered soothingly in her ear. "That everyday I was in that stupid
place with Haruna, I would always start to think of you. I love you…"

Ryoko smiled dreamily, a warm look in her eyes. His only response was a
soft kiss. Ryoko wrapped her arms around his neck as he caressed her
face with his hands. The kiss was deep and long, lasting for what seemed
a lifetime. Tenchi tasted salt on his tongue while tears ran down the
demoness's cheeks. Ryoko ran her hands through his spiky black hair,
enjoying every second of the kiss.

As Tenchi pulled away from the kiss they had shared, he whispered
soothingly in her ear… "All you wanted, was a simple kind of 
life, when you know, that life with you will always be an adventure.
Never simple." Ryoko laughed to herself. All in all...he was right.




I wrote it in an hour, so if it sucks, you can MST it, but e-mail me
first! No Doubt RULEZ!!! -Lau-chan