Well here it is... finally... so you can stop bugging me Dav! This was originally planned as the second chapter in the series, but when I looked back on what I had done in chapter 1, I wanted to do a rewrite. I was not happy at all with how it turned out. So I have been spending some time practicing and hopefully my writing has improved immensely. Even if you've read the original chapter 1, I suggest re-reading that part of the story, as there were a few changes. This story takes place in the OVA + MnE continuity and is the first part of an OVA continuity I have started called "Heaven and Night." I'm foreseeing five to six chapters for this story, but we'll see how things turn out. Special thanks go out to Thomas "Davner" Doscher, Megami-Ryoko *huggles*, War-Ouki, and Bobert for their help during the process of creating this thing. That's it from me, so you can go ahead and enjoy... well... read the story. ^_^ Tenchi Muyo! is the property of AIC/Pioneer. I don't own it nor the characters from it. Please don't sue me, I'm flat out broke. "Back in Love" is from El Hazard, also the property of AIC/Pioneer. The story itself is mine and I ask that you don't post it or use it in any way without my permission or use it for any means of profit. Tenchi Muyo! Heaven and Night Episode I : Happy Birthday Ryoko! Chapter 1 : Sins of the Mother by Cav “Hello Washu!” the young girl exclaimed. Sasami entered the confines of Washu’s laboratory with her small furry friend perched on her shoulder.” What did you want to talk to me about?” she inquired. The small woman finished typing a few keys on her ethereal computer, then turned around to greet her guest. “Welcome Sasami. I’m going to have to ask you first to send Ryo-Ohki back to the house.” Sasami looked puzzled. “Well... ok,” Sasami finally said. “Wait for me in the kitchen and when I get back I’ll give you a carrot if you behave.” “Miyaa! Miyaa!” Ryo-Ohki ran excitedly back through the door into the Masaki household. Turning her head to face Washu again, her large pink eyes looked at her innocently. “Why didn’t you want Ryo-Ohki here? What do you want Washu?” “Well you’re getting right to the point of the discussion,” replied Washu. She leaped up off of her chair and clasped her hands around her back and began to speak as she walked towards another portion of her lab. “Walk with me Sasami.” Sasami followed behind her, listening to her friend speak as they strolled through the lab. “A very special day is coming up for me Sasami. You see...” Washu turned her head to look at her. The soft, very mature voice she spoke with indicated to her that this was a very serious matter for her friend. The redheaded woman stopped walking and spoke. “Well, I doubt she’d call it that, but it happens to be Ryoko’s birthday.” Looking at Washu puzzled, Sasami inquired, “Why would she think that?” Hanging her head a bit, Washu replied softly, “I... I don’t know why.” Seeing the effect the question had on her, Sasami decided to not inquire further on the issue. The pair had reached the end of a long corridor, where a single door was in front of them. Sasami could see that this area of the lab was newly constructed. Outside of the corridor’s windows she could see a beautiful underwater environment. Aquatic life of all shapes and sizes were swimming around in the vast ocean outside. Just with a quick glance Sasami could see life forms from at least a dozen different planets, all living peacefully together. Washu opened the door to let Sasami enter first and then followed behind her. “Wow!” exclaimed Sasami as she looked around the room. There were computers all around the room; wires leading in and out of different contraptions Sasami couldn’t even begin to describe. In the center of the room was the most notable of the devices though. A chamber of some sort was integrated into this machine. Inside the chamber was a seat with some sort of headpiece hovering above it. The machine itself stood about twenty feet tall and was about ten feet wide. Everything in the room seemed to lead in or out of it. “Impressive eh?” Washu asked with that arrogant spark entering into her voice again. Her normal smile returned. Perhaps it was best to lighten the mood a bit. “What does it do Washu?” inquired the blue haired girl. “Sorry that’s for me to know only for now,” she replied. “Part of the surprise, but you know the greatest scientific mind in the universe wouldn’t build something that wasn’t impressive!” Sasami looked up and giggled. Washu led her to the back of the room where there was a door. They entered into the room and Sasami let out a small giggle. “You want me to bake a cake for her don’t you?” The room was a brand new kitchen. Cabinets, oven, tables, and fridge: everything was brand new and Sasami was almost drooling at the prospect of getting to bake a birthday cake in this kitchen. “Of course I do! I’m too busy to bake the cake and you’re just about as good a cook as I am after all,” she said as she winked at Sasami. “Of course Washu! I’ll do anything to help out,” Sasami said enthusiastically. “Good, then you’ll have to start reading up on these now,” Washu said as she handed Sasami the instructions. Sasami had never seen such a detailed set of instructions for baking a cake. And the first thing it said was “You will follow these instructions to the letter,” followed by a short note informing Sasami of how vital this cake was, and that if not baked precisely as the instructions dictated, the party would be completely ruined and Ryoko's birthday an unmitigated disaster. The final words on the note were, "But hey! No pressure!" She already had the feeling this would take more work then usual. “Is there anything else you want me to do Washu?” “As a matter of fact yes,” she replied. “You need to tell everyone about the party, but make sure Ryo-Ohki doesn’t know as Ryoko might find out through her. I’m sure she’ll want to get Ryoko something, but you’ll have to wait until the day of the party to tell her. Don’t worry about Tenchi though I’ll take care of him.” Washu turned around and started to leave. She then looked back at Sasami. “I almost forgot: use that door on the left to leave. It’ll take you back to the entrance to my lab and you can use that from now on. I need some privacy in the other room so don’t even think of trying to go in there.” Sasami looked at Washu as she was leaving and said, “you can count on me Washu.” Sasami could just barely hear Washu as she was exiting the room. “There’s some other instructions on what to do about the party on that note on the fridge.” Sasami walked over to the fridge and looked at the “note.” She gulped at what turned out to be about thirty pages of instructions on what to do including pictures, graphs, and a long set of instructions. She looked down as she sighed. It was a peaceful and quiet summer day. Children were out playing in the grass, swimming in the lakes, and playing in the fields. The sun was shining peacefully across the beautiful landscape. and birds were flying peacefully in the air over a beautiful lake. Unfortunately, the lake happened to be in front of a rather nice looking house where soon the echoes of battle would once again be heard. “... And what exactly were you trying to do to Lord Tenchi!” “Perhaps you have a bad memory or something little princess! What did it look like I was doing?” Tenchi looked out the door of his room at the two bickering women. Tenchi had dropped off his stuff in his room after returning from working at the shrine and was about to head over to the training ground for his daily routines when Ryoko had appeared out of nowhere, wanting to thank him for his help the previous day taking care of Mayuka. Of course, her idea of “thanks” involved an extremely affectionate embrace. He could’ve sworn it was less then ten seconds later when Aeka had appeared to put an end to that. “You vile creature! Haven’t you realized yet that your attempts to defile Lord Tenchi will never succeed? He is too good for someone like yourself!” Right on cue, Aeka fired the first shot. “Oh and I suppose he’s interested in a stuck up, cold blooded, spoiled brat who doesn’t have the goods to show off!” Ryoko shot back. “Just because I don’t fly around naked like a little hussy doesn’t mean I don’t...” Aeka responded, stopping all of a sudden embarrassed about where the conversation was heading. “What’s the matter your highness? Don’t tell me that you’re trying to hide your hormones again.” “Mi...Mi...Miss Ryoko I am *not* a woman of loose morals!” “Uh huh, I bet,” Ryoko said as she suddenly turned her head, resting it on her cheek, and began to speak, mocking Aeka's proud tone of voice. “Oh no Miss Ryoko, I never feel any sexual desires whatsoever! How dare you try to drag me down to your level.” Tenchi looked on as Aeka’s face became a mask of fury and annoyance. Before she could explode though, her more regal side got the best of her and she resorted back to a more dignified approach as she turned her head to the side and retorted, “It still amazes me that Lord Tenchi was kind enough to allow a monster like yourself to remain in his house.” This wasn’t going to be pretty. Tenchi had to get out of here. He was sweating enough to fill a bathtub as he searched desperately for some method of escape. From his hidden position he could hear the two girls beginning to power up for battle. He was trapped in his room though, and there was nowhere to hide from the upcoming destruction. He placed his head between his legs, put his hands together, and prayed to several dozen gods in about ten religions to save him from the two alien women about to duke it out. However, there was no explosion. He raised his head slowly, listening for some sound of combat, but he could hear nothing. Tenchi rose to his feet nervously, slowly opened the door an inch, and looked outside. “Once again the number one scientific genius in the universe has saved the man she loves!” exclaimed the redheaded scientist as she jumped up and hugged Tenchi, shaking him around like a rag doll. “My poor Tenchi was in danger from those two bickering little girls. They should learn to make up and play nice or they won’t get a chance to go out for recess.” Washu looked into Tenchi’s face and winked. Tenchi slowly moved his head to the side of the spiky redhead’s huge mane. There, in front of him, were the two girls encased in two separate force fields being formed by some contraption of Washu’s. He suddenly began to sweat again. Tenchi didn’t even want to imagine how loud they were screaming, but luckily the fields appeared to be sound proof. “Um... Little Washu don’t you think that... um... this isn’t such a good idea.” "Oh? And why is that Tenchi dearest, beloved, my one true and only love?" She looked at him with a puzzled expression and batted her green eyes coquettishly. "Before, just this floor of the house was in danger. Now we'll all be lucky to make it through lunch in one piece!" Washu looked at the two and began to think about Tenchi’s comment. “You just may be right about that one.” Materializing her holo-computer and typing a few keys, Washu spoke, “now you two didn’t take your little time out seriously, so you’re going to have to cool down for a couple of hours.” With that thought, she pressed a key and the hotheaded females were cooled down as they were encased in two thick blocks of ice. "Well that should hold them over for a few hours," Washu exclaimed proudly. Tenchi lowered his head, feeling a bit of relief for the moment, but fearing what the girls would be like when they were thawed out. The images of Ryoko’s and Aeka’s energy blasts slowly destroying the house as they tried to hunt down Washu for interrupting their feud were playing out in his mind. “Washu please at least release the girls somewhere other then in the house,” Tenchi pleaded. “Tenchi, it’s me here! Why are you so worried?” Tenchi looked at her and with a very sarcastic tone replied “I have absolutely no idea whatsoever.” “Well ok then!” Washu replied. Now, I have something I want to talk to you about.” Looking a bit worried, Tenchi grit his teeth and asked, “And that is?” “Well…” Washu started. “You see… Ryoko and I… have had our differences in the past…” Tenchi had a hard time containing his laughter. Despite the fact they were mother and daughter, it seemed like they couldn’t be in the same room without a war erupting. “It’s so sad!” Washu cried out. “My poor Ryoko has been hurt so much. Do you know she stays up late nights *crying*?” Grabbing Tenchi by the collar, she pressed her head into his chest and started to wail. “It’s so sad!” Tenchi looked down at Washu unsure of what to do. “Well… um… Little Washu I wasn’t aware of that…” Turning her head to the side and resting it on her arm now, she continued. “And I want to help her… but for some strange reason she seems to not like me!” Rolling his eyes, Tenchi replied in a heavy sarcastic tone, “I have no idea how she could hate you…” “So you do understand!” Washu said as she hugged Tenchi. “Well… despite her seeming intolerance to me, I actually would like to be able to speak to my own daughter, and thus I am making a peace offering.” Looking perplexed, Tenchi inquired, “And what would that be?” “Well… it just happens that Ryoko’s birthday is coming up…” “Ryoko’s birthday?” Tenchi asked surprised. “I didn’t even think she had one…” Grabbing him by the shirt, Washu picked him up in the air. “DESPITE THE FACT THAT SHE WAS BORN IN A LAB, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SHE CAN NOT HAVE A BIRTHDAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THIS?!” Washu screamed in Tenchi’s face. “I understand! I understand!” Tenchi responded in fear. Dropping him, Washu coughed and smiled again. “Well ok then! Anyways…” she started to speak again as she suddenly became much more melancholy. “Tenchi… I really want this to work out. I would like to actually know my daughter.” Her tone was so much more serious then before. Tenchi wondered if she was actually being serious about this. “Will you help me Tenchi?” she asked with pleading eyes. Pondering her request for a moment, Tenchi sighed and put on a smile. “Of course I’ll help you, Little Washu.” Washu’s face suddenly changed from the very serious look she had before into one of complete happiness. “Thank you Tenchi!” Washu grabbed Tenchi and began hugging him. In fact, she was hugging him so tight Tenchi was having a great deal of difficulty breathing. “Little... Washu... can’t... bweathe....” the out of breath boy attempted to mutter out. Washu released him and before Tenchi could speak again, ran down her request. Washu began to type on her holo-computer and the dimensional gateway to her lab opened and began to shoot out various items in Tenchi’s direction. “Here are the plans for the day, money, tickets to the movies, a schedule, clothing, flowers, chocolates....” Tenchi lay on the floor attempting to regain his breath as Washu sent him the items. Actually it was more like burying him as Tenchi now was covered in the various items Washu was flinging out at him. Tenchi looked up weakly at Washu and inquired to her, “Um... Little Washu... what exactly is it that you are expecting me to do with all this?” As Tenchi was saying this, beads of sweat began to form on the back of his head. “Well they’re for your date with Ryoko of course! Let’s see that’s about... no wait I forgot you’ll need...” Washu continued. Tenchi had suddenly turned absolutely white and began muttering to himself. “A d...d...d...d...d...date?” Unfortunately, Tenchi didn’t even realize Washu wasn’t noticing how he looked, or more like she was intentionally not paying any attention to the expression on his face. “Well that should do it. Now you treat my little Ryoko like the lady she is and show her a good time. Thanks a bunch Tenchi! Don’t forget to pick her up a gift also.” Washu began to walk away as Tenchi continued to look around trying to figure out what to say. “Wait Little....” Tenchi attempted to finally tell Washu that this was out of the question, but as he looked around he saw Washu had already left. What had he gotten himself into? Ryoko held Mayuka in her arms, cradling the small baby, allowing her to drink from the bottle in her hand. Under her breath, she swore at Washu for today's earlier events, although at least she had prevented a fight between her and Aeka that could never have helped her out with trying to get Tenchi. Thinking back on it, the fights were becoming a rare occasion around the house, although if they ever got an opportunity outside with nobody around it wouldn't take more then a few seconds to start one of their classic brawls up. She began to wonder if she was going soft. Mayuka continued to drink from the bottle as Ryoko looked on. Adjusting to the role as the baby's caretaker had been quite an interesting experience. When she had volunteered last year to be Mayuka's "personal trainer," Ryoko did not know a year later she'd be almost her full time mother. It just didn't seem to fit her style with such a role. Although she had to admit it was a lot of fun and didn't in general mind the work in comparison to the normal jobs most of the others fielded. Ryoko laughed at herself again when she thought about the idea. Well of course she wasn't the only one in the house to take care of her, but it was she that Mayuka called "mama" ever since she spoke her first words several months ago. That had been quite a huge event in her life. Ryoko thought to herself. It wasn't a big deal, although she was a bit worried about Washu going back on her promise. At least she had held her end of the bet for the past few months. Actually, Ryoko had to admit that she was amazed at how well Washu had behaved and was almost feeling a bit guilty for how things turned out in the end. < Don't sweat too much over it. It's not like she'd act any better if you back out on the deal. > Just then, Ryoko looked down to see Mayuka start coughing. She took the bottle out of her mouth and let her regain her breath. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention," she told the baby, putting a smile on her face. Mayuka finally stopped coughing. Unfortunately, she didn't stop with that and proceeded to spit up on Ryoko's shirt. The baby started to giggle as Ryoko's smile turned to a frown. "Thanks I really appreciate that," she said carrying the baby over to the crib and putting her down. Unfortunately, this was one of the few pieces of clothing she had that she simply couldn't rematerialize, being a present from Sasami last year for Christmas. She started to take off the red silk blouse... Tenchi walked up the stairs towards Mayuka's room, figuring that that was where Ryoko would be at the moment. He didn't know what he couldn't believe more: that he once again fell for one of Washu's acts or that he was actually going to go through with this. Refusing Washu's request was an option. It wasn't like he had to do this. Still, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to go out for a day on the town and if this was as important an event for Washu as she made it sound, he didn't mind playing his own role in things, as long as it somehow didn't end up with the need to rebuild the house. There was no telling what would happen either when Aeka found out. The only hope he had of pulling this off would be to somehow keep this whole thing simple and a secret from Aeka if possible. Now the only hard part would be convincing Ryoko of that same thing. Stopping in front of the door to the baby's room, he took a deep breath and collected himself before opening the door. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of a half naked Ryoko standing only five feet from him. He blinked and promptly collapsed. Tenchi finally felt himself starting to come around. He began to fight his way through the blurriness in his vision, where his eyes set upon Ryoko standing directly above him. She appeared to be just finishing putting on a new shirt. Reaching down, she gave him a great big hug. "Oh my Tenchi you're finally awake again! I was afraid you'd be asleep forever after what happened!" Ryoko proclaimed energetically. "What happened...”? Tenchi began to mutter as he finally realized the situation he was in. Looking to the left, he saw his discarded kimono lying on the floor. he began to think frantically. Looking down, he noticed that his pants were undone. "What the hell did you do Ryoko?!" he demanded. "I just borrowed your sword, Tenchi," she replied with a mischievous grin "Borrowed my what?!" he asked with a hint of annoyance growing in his voice. "Oh you know. I wanted to see how good your techniques are." "Techniques?!" "Yeah you know. That thing is a loaded weapon. Got to be careful or it gets set off too easily." Tenchi kept telling himself. "You really have to learn to handle it better," Ryoko continued. "Handle it better?" he asked nervously. "Oh you know you're very sloppy handling that thing. Too many parries when you should be using long and fast thrusts. Although it did set off quite an explosion for a climax!" Tenchi proceeded to pass out again. Once again, Tenchi started to come around to a similar image that he came around to the previous time. "Oh Tenchi, you performed so much better that time! I can see you're improving with your sword handling!" Ryoko cried out excitedly. "Ryoko, would you please stop," Tenchi finally said. Ryoko proceeded to burst out laughing. "Oh come on Tenchi, can't you take a joke." Tenchi gave her a bit of a cold stare. "Real funny. What the heck were you doing with your top off in here anyways?" Tenchi asked as he began to stand up and fix up his pants. "Well... little Mayuka had herself a little accident and spit up on my clothes." While picking up his shirt, Tenchi shot her another look. "And you didn't have any of this planned out." "Oh come on, Tenchi. You’re hurting me. I don’t think I’d ever play with your equipment without the teacher’s permission, do you?" "No, I have no idea what would give me an idea like that," Tenchi said with a bit of sarcasm as he put his shirt back on. "Tennnnnnnnn-chiiiiiiiiiii," Ryoko exclaimed as she teleported over to where he was and glomped him. "I can't believe you'd ever think I would honestly take advantage of you." If there was one thing Tenchi had learned to hate about being around Ryoko, it was her constant playing around with him. he thought to himself. An idea sprung to life in his head. "And here I was coming to ask you to go out for a day on the town with me, but now I'm worried you're going to knock me out and "unsheathe my sword,"" he said with a grin on his face. Ryoko's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You were going to ask me out on a *date*?!" she asked excitedly. Walking over to the crib and picking up his daughter, he smiled at Mayuka who started to giggle. "No not a date, but I was going to ask you to come with me. You know just you and I. Together for an entire day without interference from anyone," he said as he was really enjoying the look on Ryoko's face at the moment. "Oh of course..." Ryoko began. "I said I was going to," Tenchi continued. "However, I just can't seem to trust you alone with me, so I don't think I'll be able to anymore." "But Tenchi!" Ryoko cried with a pleading look on her face. Tenchi walked over to Ryoko and placed Mayuka in her arms as she continued to give her pleading stare. "It's just so hard of me to believe I could trust you. And here I was thinking to myself "you know Tenchi, Ryoko's been working so hard lately she probably could use a nice day out to show your thanks," but you had to go and do this." "Tenchi I'm so sorry!" Ryoko cried out. Pausing in his walk, Tenchi turned his head to look at Ryoko as he still had the sly grin on his face. "You really mean it?" Ryoko ran up to Tenchi, still holding Mayuka in her arms. "Yes Tenchi! Please give me another chance!" Smiling, Tenchi decided he had enough fun with her. "Ok, I guess I can forgive you." "Oh thank you Tenchi!" Ryoko said as she tossed Mayuka up in the air over her arms, sending her across the room as she glomped Tenchi. The small child began to giggle hysterically as she went through her trip in the air. Tenchi's face turned absolutely white as he was waiting for the sound of his child to splat against the ground. Freeing his head from the loving embrace of Ryoko, he was able to look to the side and saw Ryoko's shadow had caught her and was now rocking her back and forth in her arms as the baby giggled. He breathed a sigh of relief. Aeka was in a really bad mood at the moment. She thought to herself. Not only had she spent the last few hours locked up inside her lab as an ice cube, but then when Washu finally let her go she apparently decided she wanted to use Aeka for some test on Jurai power. Somehow she had managed to get out of there unscathed, but she was reminded of why Tenchi and Ryoko always cringed at mention of the lab. Walking into the onsen, Aeka decided a good soak would probably help her calm down. She stripped down out of her clothing and wrapped a towel around her before heading towards her usual spot in the baths. Moving into the water, she noticed that the floating tray was already present along with several flasks of sake and sipping dishes. Without a second thought, she gathered that Ryoko must've already brought them up and would be heading towards the bath very soon. she decided and moved her way towards the tray. Flying towards the onsen, Ryoko was at an all time high at the moment. Sure, Tenchi had rambled on forever about how it wasn't really a date, but that didn't mean it still wasn't something to celebrate over. She proceeded to teleport into the onsen, where she noticed that Aeka was already in one of the baths off to the side. "Miss Ryoko would you care to join me," the princess yelled out from where she was sitting. She already had the floating tray sitting nearby and had started on the sake Ryoko had brought up a few minutes ago. Ryoko teleported out of her clothes and landed next to Aeka in the bath. "Ryoko... I was meaning to tell you I was sorry for today's earlier events." “Um… well it was no big deal,” Ryoko replied as she helped herself to some sake. “I… I know we’ve been trying to keep the fighting out of the house. It was my mistake,” Aeka said as she bowed her head. Ryoko looked at her. She wanted nothing more then to shout triumphantly at her rival that she had scored the first big victory in their long running competition to win Tenchi’s heart. The more mischievous side of her just wanted to let the princess know that the “evil demon” had beaten out the high and mighty noble. Of course, that was only half of her. “But you still shouldn’t have done that!” the princess said regaining a bit of her dignity. Ryoko thought to herself. Ryoko thought to herself. “You know that Lord Tenchi does not like to be attacked all the time by his overindulgent house guest!” the cyan-haired woman thought to herself as she felt a bit of rage forming. “I’m… I’m going to go now,” Ryoko said as she started to get out of the bath. “Oh come now, Ryoko! We’ve still got…” Aeka said as she looked at the empty bottles of sake. “We’ve still got… eight bottles to go…” Aeka started to laugh. “Um… no thanks… just not in the drinking mood right now…” Ryoko said as she made a sudden dash to the exit, noting there were really only six bottles of sake originally and Aeka had already downed two of them. “More for me then!” Aeka said with a bit of glee. “Later, Miss Ryoko.” As Ryoko made her way out of the onsen, she could hear Aeka starting to sing Juraian opera, which did not sound very good at all given her current drunken state. Washu exited the kitchen, carrying a bowl of ice cream as she was heading into her lab. It had appeared as if everything was working out good so far. Ryoko would be in an absolutely great mood after this and with the party thrown in it was even possible she might give her a second chance at things. Just as she was about to walk into the lab, she caught Ryoko turning the corner after coming down the stairs, staring directly at her. she thought to herself. "Um... Ryoko can I speak with you for a minute?" Washu asked politely. Ryoko seemed to just ignore her and try to pass by without having to reply. She looked like she was still in her good mood, although Washu wondered if something had spoiled it a bit. "Ryoko," she repeated. Stopping in her flight towards the kitchen, Ryoko turned to Washu. "What the hell do you want? I thought..." she tried to say before her mother interrupted. "Yes I know. I'm supposed to stay away from you, but... well... Tenchi told me about your date..." "Oh he did, did he?" Ryoko asked with a bit of annoyance in her voice "Mmm hmmm. He wanted a few things for the day and of course came to yours truly," Washu replied. "And your point to all of this is?" Ryoko inquired beginning to get really agitated. "Well... you know, Ryoko. I was thinking... maybe I could um..." "Would you spit it out already!" the cyan haired woman growled. "I was thinking maybe I could help you out," Washu said nervously. Ryoko began to laugh. "And why do you think I need any help on a date with Tenchi? Don't think I can take care of myself." Washu bit her lip as she didn't want to bite back at her about how most likely she'd manage to reply with the obvious “of course not.” It wasn't that she thought Ryoko would intentionally blow it, but she just foresaw the little trip lasting about three whole minutes before Tenchi ran home screaming. "Well... Ryoko dear you have never exactly been on a date before now have you?" she replied. "And what if I haven't? How hard can it be?" Ryoko spit back. At this moment, Washu was having the hardest time she could imagine not throwing an insult at her ignorant daughter. "Well it isn't exactly as easy as you're making it sound," she calmly replied. "Oh and I suppose you actually think you could help me?" Ryoko said in response as she folded her arms in a doubting gesture. The boiling point for Washu was quickly being reached. "Ryoko dear, I'm twenty-thousand years old and I've certainly had my share of men." "And you're saying you don't think I can handle it by myself, right?" the cyan haired woman snapped back. "Look, Ryoko," Washu began. "If you want to stay out here and yell at me about how you have everything under control go ahead. You can run out on your opportunity of a lifetime and just pray that somehow it all works out from all that wonderful experience you have accumulated over the years with romance," she continued, throwing in a heavy sarcastic tone. "However, if you actually want my help you can come with me into my lab and you can actually listen to your mother for once and you might actually benefit from it," she finally finished. Looking at Ryoko, Washu could see she was having a debate within her at the moment. she thought to herself. Finally, Ryoko gave a sight and replied with a somewhat defeated tone, "fine, but don't think this means we're on speaking terms again." Smiling back at her, Washu said in a bit more confident of a tone then earlier, "wouldn't dream of it" before she entered the lab with her daughter trailing behind. Typing a few keys on her keyboard, Washu watched as a hologram version of Tenchi appeared in the center of the room. "Ok first things first: show me what you're planning to do when you greet him and get ready to leave," she said. Ryoko looked as the hologram for a few seconds, then proceeded to jump up in the air and glomp it. "Hello Tenchi, sweetheart. I'm ready for our date!" she said with a great deal of enthusiasm. Washu facefaulted. After picking herself up, she groaned. Sitting at the desk in his room, Tenchi looked over his itinerary for tomorrow. At the moment, that consisted of a nearly blank piece of paper. He was absolutely stumped at the moment. Somehow, he had to find some way of pulling this off without turning it into a real date. Giving up for the moment, he got up from his chair and decided to go get a drink. "You look absolutely beautiful," Tenchi said to Ryoko. "Oh, Tenchi!" Ryoko screamed as she tackled the hologram Tenchi. "What the hell are you doing?!" Washu screamed as she was really getting tired of trying to drill this into her daughter. Snarling, Ryoko responded to her angry mother, "I'm trying to show my affections for him!" "What you're trying to do is get yourself arrested for sexual misconduct or get Tenchi to try to find the quickest way back to the house!," Washu responded back. Turning her back towards Washu, Ryoko began to walk towards the door. "I don't need this, I can handle myself." "Now stop right there," Washu said. This caused Ryoko to stop where she was, but she didn't turn around to face the red headed scientist. "Look Ryoko, you've got an entire day alone with Tenchi. Now ask yourself, has your flirting and "affections" ever gotten you anywhere with Tenchi before?" When she offered no reply, Washu continued. "Exactly. Now, there's no reason for you to have to hang all over him every second on this date. Aeka isn't there to stand in your way. If you could actually calm down around him, he might actually be able to relax enough around you to perhaps enjoy himself. And if he enjoys himself, he might even learn to *like* spending time with you." Giving a bit of a snarl in reply, Ryoko hung her head, but still refused to move. Washu thought to herself. "Ok, now if you realize that I'm right, and I think you do, you'll get over here and start paying attention," she finished with a more cheery tone of voice then before. Turning around finally, the woman started trudging her way back towards the practice area. Washu thought. Taking a sip of his soda, Tenchi looked down at the list again, and realized he still had no idea as to what he was doing. Never really getting involved in any romances in high school, he just didn't have any experience at what to do. He certainly didn't want to find out Washu's idea of what a good date would be like, having an idea of it from the earlier mess today. he began to think as he heard someone from behind him approaching. "Tenchi, is there something troubling you," Noboyuki said as he walked into the kitchen and moving towards the fridge. Tenchi knew that his father had... experience in this area, but he was rather leery about asking him about it. Still, he was not getting anywhere at this rate, and his father was as good an option as any. "Um... Dad... well you see...." he started to speak with an intense amount of nervousness showing. "Well what is it, Tenchi?" Noboyuki spoke as he eyed his son. "You act like you just slept with one of the girls and you're worried the others will find out." "I didn't sleep with any of them!" Tenchi shouted. "Getting rather defensive aren't we?" Noboyuki said with a smile. Tenchi knew his father was rather fond of teasing him about his "women troubles." "Well... um..." the boy attempted to speak again. "Now this definitely concerns the girls!" his father exclaimed as his smile widened. "Tell me I'm right." Turning his head to the side, he let out with a defeated sigh, "Yes." "Spit it out!" "Well... you see... I have to take Ryoko out tomorrow...." "You're taking Ryoko on a date?!" Noboyuki exclaimed with a triumphant cry. "Oh my wife in heaven! He's finally coming around!" "Would you quiet down!" Tenchi shouted as he put a hand over his father's mouth. "If the others find out...." "I'm sorry." Taking a sip of his soda, Noboyuki finally asked, "so what seems to be the problem?" "Um...." Tenchi began to speak as he scratched the back of his head. "I was upstairs making an itinerary..." "You were making ^what^?!" Noboyuki exclaimed in horror as he saw the piece of paper in his son's hand. "Give me that." Taking the paper from his son, he proceeded to tear it up and toss it in the garbage.” Are you some kind of geek? Did I not raise you properly?! Oh the shame...." "What the hell did I do wrong?!" the boy shouted back at his father. "What did you do wrong?! Son...." he began to speak. "You see... you don't make an itinerary when bringing someone on a date..." "It's not a date!" Tenchi shouted back for emphasis, but quickly clamped his hands over his mouth when he realized one of the girls might hear him. "Anyways," the man started to continue. "My advice is this: wine is a man's best friend, make sure she drinks a lot of it. If it starts to rain..." he spoke as he reached into his pocket. "... Here's some money for a hotel. And make sure to emphasize you need to get your wet clothes off," he said with a wink. Tenchi thought to himself. "And finally," Noboyuki began to finish up as he walked towards the door. "... Just think about what she'd probably like to do and go from there. I'm sure Ryoko is happy enough just to be with you, so enjoy yourself. And if it isn't a date like you claim, she's probably not expecting much anyways." A bit taken aback by what actually had been good advice, Tenchi smiled a bit. "Thanks, dad." "Oh! I almost forgot." Noboyuki turned around and headed back towards Tenchi. Opening his wallet, he took out something and handed it to Tenchi. "I assume you know how to use one of these," he said as he handed a condom to Tenchi. "Dad!" "Well, it never hurts to have protection." With that, Noboyuki exited the kitchen. "Ok let's try this scenario out now," Ryoko could hear Washu say as she typed away on her keyboard. A new set of scenery appeared, as she found herself standing in a different neighborhood from before. Ryoko thought to herself. All alone with her Tenchi and now she was practically supposed to not make any moves on him whatsoever. They had been going at this for the last two hours, and according to Washu she had already improved quite a bit. Standing beside her as they walked down the street, Tenchi and her were supposedly walking towards the movie theatre. So far, Washu had been putting up random situations she wouldn't tell her about beforehand to see how Ryoko would react. So far, it had been going fairly well. Walking down the street, Ryoko eyed what was an absolutely beautiful sight. She has seen these buildings in Noboyuki's mangas and on TV before. If what they said these were was right... "Tenchi I want to go in there!" Ryoko said excitedly to a dazed Tenchi, who was beginning to get extremely nervous. "Ry... Ry... Ryoko do you know what... that is?!" Tenchi asked, looking like a scared animal. Putting on a mischievous grin and blinking, Ryoko quickly shifted into her "naive girl" mode. "Oh no Tenchi! Tell me what it is!" "That's... that's..." Tenchi tried to say as he was shaking uncontrollably. "Well... we call them "love hotels,"" he finally spit out. "Really?!" Ryoko asked with a giddy tone of voice. "Ooo I want to go inside! It sounds so romantic!" she finished as she was looking at Tenchi like a kid in front of a candy shop. "But... but... Ryoko do you know what... people do in there?" Continuing to play dumb, Ryoko put on a questioning look, "No, Tenchi. What do people do in there?" "Well..." Tenchi started to say nervously. "Um...uh... that's where couples go to um... consummate their love for each other." "Oh Tenchi!" Ryoko screamed as she glomped him. "You want to make love to me in there!" Tenchi facefaulted. "No I don't want to make love to you in there!" However, it was far too late for him. "Oh Tenchi, I'm so happy you want to express your love for me!" she exclaimed as she started to drag Tenchi towards the building. "No!" Tenchi started to scream. "Ryoko stop it!" "Oh this is going to be...." Ryoko started as she started to hear the sound of something banging up against something else. Looking over towards the source of the noise, she found Washu hitting her head against her keyboard. "Is something wrong, Washu?" Washu looked up from the keyboard towards her daughter, her face showing a great deal of pain. "Just... just let's start this one over Ryoko." Ryoko thought to herself. Somehow, she had managed to get past all the challenges Washu had thrown up for the last hour and was quickly reaching the last challenge her mother could throw at her. "I had a lot of fun today, Ryoko," Tenchi said as they walked along the path towards the house. "Really?" Ryoko asked with a sparkle in her eyes. "I really did. And... you know Ryoko, I actually wouldn't mind going out again with you." Nearly glomping him, Ryoko prevented herself from doing it and bit her lip. "Thanks." Washu giggled to herself at seeing the reaction on her daughter's face. "You know Ryoko... I... I don't really know how to say this," Tenchi continued. < Say it Tenchi....> Ryoko began to think to herself "Well... you see...." "Um... you see... I sort of left one of the shopping bags on the train." Ryoko facefaulted. "What the hell was that?!" she screamed at the redheaded scientist. "Ryoko dear, you didn't actually expect him to confess his love to you on the first date did you?" Washu asked. "And why not?" Ryoko shot back. "Exactly who do you think you're dating?" Stopping for a moment to think Ryoko started scratching the back of her head. "I don't see the point you're trying to make." Washu started to sweat. "Are you sure you're my daughter?" "Well, you're still not perfect, but you're doing much better then when you came in here earlier," Washu said as she looked at the results of Ryoko's performance. It was true, she still was not as ready as Washu had hoped, but she certainly had a much better chance of getting somewhere with Tenchi then when they had started earlier in the day. "Thanks, I think," Ryoko replied. After materializing back into a more comfortable set of clothing, she started to fly towards the door. "Oh, so now that I've helped you, you're trying to sneak out of here before you have to talk to your poor ol' mother any longer eh?" Stopping in her flight, she said in a somewhat saddened tone, "Why? What is there to talk about?" "Ryoko..." Washu began to speak. "Um... well I thought... you know we were getting along today weren't we?" Turning around suddenly, Ryoko snapped at Washu, "And what's your point?" Washu's face was filled with seriousness and sadness. "Ryoko, I've... made mistakes in the past. One of the worst ones I made was agreeing to that stupid bet," she said as she looked away from her daughter. "The last few months... all I could think of is how I wished things had turned out differently." Inside of her, Washu could feel tears almost forming at her eyes. It wasn't the same melodramatic act she pulled on Tenchi earlier, this was real. "I... I thought maybe that I proved to you today I could change." Standing there in silence with her arms crossed, Ryoko's face was a mixture of emotions, nearly impossible to read. Washu wasn't sure whether Ryoko was seriously paying attention to her words or just taken back that she was acting like this. "Ryoko... I think you can see I'm being serious. I..." Washu continued as she choked back tears. "I... want you to please consider lifting the bet and giving me another chance." All Washu could do now was wait for Ryoko's response. "I've got a date to worry about right now," she said as she continued to move towards the door. Washu's heart stopped. "But..." she continued. "When I get back, I just might be in a good enough mood to consider it," the cyan haired woman finished as she flashed Washu a slight grin before finally exiting the lab. Sitting back in her chair and finally being able to breathe again, Washu smiled. It seemed like she was finally going to awaken from the nightmare of the last few months. Sitting up again, she stared at her computer screen and began typing. After a few moments, she suddenly stopped. For some reason she just didn't feel in the mood. Looking over to the side, she saw the ice cream she had brought with her a few hours ago had melted. "Guess in all the excitement I forgot about it," she said to herself. Pressing a few keys on her keyboard, she brought up a new image on the screen. Smiling at the image, a few tears came to Washu finally. "I'm sorry I didn't do anything sooner Ryoko." She stared at the image of Ryoko, almost laughing at the same time at the ironic choice of pictures. It was one of the few she could find: the image from her now deleted galaxy police file. The memories of the event that had started this nightmare started to come back to her. At the time, it seemed like a wager she couldn't lose... "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Washu asked with contempt as she entered Mayuka's room. Her faced was filled with rage, her eyes sending daggers towards her target who just happened to be a certain daughter of hers. "Shhh would you quiet down, you're going to upset the baby," Ryoko shot back, as she held little Mayuka in her arms, rocking her back and forth. "Mihoshi and Kiyone both tell me you talked them into giving up their duties with Mayuka," Washu snapped. Ryoko moved over to the crib and placed the baby in it before she replied to her mother. "And what if I did? What business is it of yours?" "What business?! Look maybe you think it's no big deal to do something like this, but..." the petite scientist started to say before Ryoko threw her a furious look. "And what the hell are you suggesting?" "Oh like you don't know little Ryoko," the furious woman replied. "You're trying to get closer to Mayuka so it'll help you with Tenchi." "What?!" Ryoko snapped back. "Oh come on Ryoko. What other reason would you have to want to do this?" "I don't suppose you even considered that I might actually want to take care of Mayuka because I like it," Ryoko said as she crossed her arms. "Sure, Ryoko. That's right suddenly you love to do work and not just lounge around all day," Washu continued. "I can't believe you! Taking care of a baby is a huge responsibility and you're just using..." "Stop right there!" Ryoko started. "Don't you *dare* suggest that!" "I'm suggesting it," Washu said as she pointed a finger at Ryoko. "You're using this poor kid here in some sick game of yours. Have you absolutely no shame? Jeez I know Kagato..." Without warning, Ryoko slapped Washu right across the face. "I've had enough of you. I..." Ryoko tried to say as she turned around, her whole body shaking in rage. "Get the hell out of here." Washu stepped back for a moment, a bit shocked by Ryoko's move. she thought to herself. Continuing in a more serious tone of voice, "Not until I make sure Mayuka..." "I'm not going to stop taking care of her," she replied before Washu could finish. "And I'm not expecting you to!" the redhead shot back. "I'm expecting you to adhere to the schedule we agreed to on sharing time in taking care of her!" "Nobody forced Mihoshi and Kiyone to give up their time," Ryoko replied, starting to speak in a more serious tone of voice. "You seem to be the only one with a problem with it." "I guess I'm the only one concerned with the Mayuka's well-being then." "Enough!" Ryoko finally snapped. "I've had more then enough of this "mom." It's bad enough having to put up with you all the time, ...now you're trying to interfere with my life?! My decisions?!" "I'm trying to make sure you don't do something stupid! After all a mother does have to clean up after her delinquent daughter doesn't she?" "What right do you think you have to suddenly act like a mother with me?" Washu turned away in shock. Her face became a giant expression of anguish and pain. If she had spent another thousand years on the Soja it would not have been as bad as the words her daughter had just spoken. "Take that back," Washu said in the most serious tone of voice she had ever spoken to Ryoko in. "And why should I?" Ryoko quickly responded. "You know what I think? I think you're scared of this." "What?" Washu said with a mixed tone of anger and surprise. "That's right. You're frightened your little "delinquent" is going to actually show you she can be a good mother. That someone other then the "greatest scientific genius in the universe" can actually take care of a child." "Why the hell would I be frightened of that?!" the petite woman spat back with a mixed amount of amusement and hatred. "You can't even take care of yourself, never mind a child." "And what the hell does that mean?!" Finally as expected, the wails of baby Mayuka started to be heard from her crib. Walking over to it and picking her up, Ryoko started to rock the baby back and forth. Washu watched in amazement. she thought to herself. "So what do you plan to do about this?" Ryoko finally said quietly. "I'm going to make sure that you don't use that child as a method of getting to Tenchi and that she actually gets taken care of properly," Washu calmly replied. "I won't let you," she began. "You don't control me "mom." Last time I checked this child happens to be Tenchi's, and unless he tells me to stop taking care of Mayuka I won't." "I can stop you if I want to," Washu spat back. "Oh so should I start calling you Kagato now?" Washu furiously approached her daughter and came within inches of striking her before remembering she was holding the baby. "How *dare* you call me *that*." "I've had it with you," Ryoko said as she turned away from her mother. "I'm tired of you interfering in my life. I..." Ryoko started to say, choking back tears. "I want you out of my life." Taking a few steps back, Washu was in shock of her statement. "You can't be serious." "Oh I'm damn serious," the cyan-haired woman fumed. "I'm sick of you. You somehow think that you have the right to control me and my life!" "Ryoko wait..." Washu started to say. "No I've had enough!" Placing Mayuka back in the crib, Ryoko once again turned away from her mother and thought for a moment. The silence filled the room as the two angry females waited for the next move. An idea sprung to the mind of one of them. "You want me out of your life and I want you to stop using Mayuka like this, right?" Washu asked. Ryoko slowly nodded her head, refusing to look at her mother. "Well alright then. I think I have a solution." Gazing at the picture on her computer, Washu cursed herself over what she had done next. She had been so sure of herself at the time. How could she lose? Finally, the tears couldn't be held back any longer. The "solution" that was reached was just that: a bet. A bet she placed over Mayuka. Ryoko surrendered Kiyone's duties over to Washu to even up the time, and the two women were to battle over something simple: whoever Mayuka decided was her mother first would win... Washu couldn’t help bug laugh as she watch Ryoko rushing between the kitchen and the living room, trying to get Mayuka’s diapers changed as she also tried to cook her dinner. “Fire!” Ryoko yelled out as smoke began to come out of the kitchen. Falling onto the floor in another fit of laughter, Washu could barely see past the tears the smoke coming out of the kitchen. Ryoko, sticking her head through the ceiling of the Masaki living room, looked down on her mother who was tending to Mayuka. The baby was asleep in her arms as Washu looked down on her. She seemed… so tranquil… so happy. Ryoko had never seen her mother like that before. Extremely upset at herself, but noting it might help, she jotted down a few notes on her notepad about what Washu was doing. she thought as she sighed to herself. Ryoko let out a bit of a groan as Mayuka started to wail again. Something just wasn’t settling with her tonight. “Alright… let’s try something else…” she said out loud. Letting out a cough, she cleared her throat, and then began to sing softly: “’I never could explain it, Or even try to name it, All I feel whenever I'm alone with you, But there's a certain sweetness, I find a true completeness, Deep inside that never goes away whatever we do.’” A pair of voices started to join in from behind as Ryoko was singing. A quick glance revealed it to be Mihoshi and Kiyone who apparently had heard her singing while passing by. They all continued, growing a bit in intensity: “’We start, we stop, we fight it but we lose, It's always so confusing, 'Cause at that moment you hold and kiss me goodbye like a friend, Our hearts begin to pound again!’” Another pair of voices apparently decided to join in, as Ryoko heard the voices of Sasami and Aeka joining in: “’We're back in love, Although I know it's crazy!, Right back in love, Everyone cringed for a moment as the familiar voice of Noboyuki joined in, and as the girls had learned over the years, Noboyuki couldn’t carry a tune at all. Still, they continued on, gaining in intensity: My mind becomes so hazy!, I gambled again 'cause I feel lucky when I see, There in your eyes you're back in love, YOU CAN'T DENY YOU'RE BACK IN LOVE WITH ME!’” Washu peered from around the corner at the group of singers in Mayuka’s room. The image of Mayuka was not what she was expecting. She wasn’t crying, she was giggling. Completely confused, she tried to sort things out. Giving up, Washu turned the corner and went back towards her lab. Sitting on the couch in the living room, Ryoko cradled Mayuka in her arms, trying to calm her. She had started wailing at what must’ve been two o’clock in the morning, and it was rather annoying. Of course, Ryoko didn’t actually need sleep, but she rather did enjoy it. Ryoko thought to herself. It had been a month earlier that she had made her wager with Washu. She had spent the last month regretting it. Washu was going to win. That’s what her mind kept telling her. Where she would struggle with one task, Washu would have three done at the same time. And unfortunately for her, Ryoko doubted that Mayuka could understand which woman cared for her more. Oh, she was definitely past the point of tolerance with her mother. Worst of all, when she lost this bet, it would mean having to actually spend time with her. For some reason, it sounded actually worse then being stuck on Kagato’s ship. The thoughts of the night that she was stuck in the lab, hung up in that contraption of Washu’s half naked… If only she could win… Then it would be over. No more of her prodding in her mind when she didn’t want her mother to be there. No more trying to kidnap her for experiments. No more treating “Little Ryoko” like she was still a child… “Ryoko?” Turning her head, Ryoko saw Tenchi walking down the stairs. “What’s up?” “Oh, Mayuka just needed her diaper changed,” Ryoko said in a rather melancholy tone of voice. Tenchi looked up at her perplexed. “What’s the matter?” “Nothing really…” “You know Ryoko, it’s amazing the way you’ve been acting lately,” Tenchi started to say, changing the subject. “Really?” Ryoko inquired with a bit of cheeriness replacing her earlier bleak tone. “Well… I don’t mean to insult you, but you’ve never really done much work around the house before.” “Oh…” Ryoko said as her head dropped down a little. “I’m sorry, did I insult you?” Tenchi said as he looked a bit worried. “No… I probably deserved it,” Ryoko said with a half-smile. “I have to admit I’m rather lazy sometimes.” “A lot lazy,” Tenchi said with a big grin.” Pausing for a moment, the room became eerily quiet. “Well… it’s just that… I wanted to um… say thanks for all the work you’ve been doing.” Taken back for a moment, Ryoko suddenly popped out of her depression. “Tenchi… it’s nothing really. And… and I enjoy doing this.” “Why?” “It… it’s complex…” “Tell me.” Ryoko paused for a few moments. The silence overwhelmed the room again. “Tenchi… I don’t want to discuss it.” Staring at her for a moment, Tenchi looked confused as to what to do next. “Ryoko, if you won’t tell me anything about what’s going on, how am I supposed to help?” “I don’t need your help.” Tenchi sighed to himself. In the years Ryoko had been at the house, she’d always been like this. He’d never met someone who them self kept so bottled up before. Despite the fact she was constantly battling with the others to spend more time around him, it seemed like he knew less about her then the others. “So… um… did you watch the Osaka Tigers game the other day?” he said as he started to sweat a little. Startled a bit at first, Ryoko giggled. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up,” she said, clearly seeing through his façade. “No, I was being serious. It was a really good game,” he said as he started to laugh. Ryoko followed suit and began to laugh with him. Apparently Mayuka picked up on the mood and started to giggle herself. “Mama.” The laughing completely ceased. Tenchi looked towards Mayuka in shock. Ryoko looked down at the baby with him, both completely puzzled. “Mama,” she repeated. Ryoko’s face was completely stunned. “She… she…” Tenchi smiled back at her and patted Ryoko on the back. “I better go get the others. This is cause to celebrate!” Opening up the door to the lab, Washu stepped out into the Masaki living room. She looked over to see an entire crowd of people huddled around the couch. “What’s all the fuss,” Washu asked. Apparently nobody heard here the first time above the sound of everyone talking. “Hey, is anyone listening over there.” “Oh, good morning Mi… eh… Little Washu,” Aeka finally said to her. “What the heck is everyone doing at this hour of the morning?” she said as she approached the group. She finally was able to see Ryoko sitting on the couch with Tenchi sitting behind her and Mayuka in Ryoko’s arms. “Well it seems like the demon actually did something constructive for a change,” Aeka said as she flashed Ryoko a half smile. Ryoko returned the gesture. “It seems little Mayuka was convinced by some evil force that Ryoko’s actually her mother,” she said with a giggle. Washu’s mind screamed out. “Well I guess someone will have to teach her about good taste in the near future.” Washu looked around in horror. The room was practically spinning, and everyone was laughing… Her mind was taunting her. She looked towards Kiyone. Kiyone wasn’t speaking though. this time it was Mihoshi she thought she could hear. She grabbed her head and started to scream at her mind to shut up. came the inquiring voice of what she thought was Tenchi. came the chanting… the awful chanting that wouldn’t stop! Washu could hear the entire group mocking her. They all were. “Washu, are you alright?” Washu snapped back to reality as she heard Sasami’s voice. “Um… oh I’m fine Sasami,” Washu replied as she returned to reality. “Well this calls for a celebration!” Noboyuki exclaimed as he stopped recording the gathering and lowered his camcorder. “But first… we need sleep. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m going back to bed.” Mihoshi yawned. “Yeah, I’m beat.” Kiyone nodded in agreement with her partner. “I’m going with them. The rest of you can stay up if you want, but it’s far too early for me.” During this entire time, Washu wasn’t even paying attention to what they were saying. She had hidden herself in the kitchen while they talked. Listening… listening to their joy… their laughter… She’d lost… Washu continued to hide there for the next five minutes. She stared out at the remaining occupants of the room. “I’ll put her to bed for you,” Washu heard Tenchi say. Taking Mayuka from Ryoko’s arms, he proceeded up the stairs towards the baby’s room. About twenty seconds later, Washu heard another voice. “You can come out now,” she heard Ryoko say. Oh it was there… her voice.. filled with so much pride… so much triumph… without even trying she was mocking her mother. Gathering herself together, Washu entered the room, preparing for one of the hardest things she ever had to do in twenty thousand years… accept defeat. “Ryoko…” Washu started to say before her daughter stopped it. “Cut it.” It wasn’t even a request. It was a demand. “I… I can’t Ryoko!” Washu said as she turned away from the woman sitting on the couch. A hand grabbed Washu and spun her around. Looking down at her was the cold determined face of Ryoko. “You knew the terms. You lost. Now I want this over with now so I can get back to sleep.” Washu stood there in complete horror. Ryoko grabbed Washu by the shirt. “Do it. Or prove yourself to be a liar.” Washu turned her head away from Ryoko again. She just couldn’t look at her in the face. Her own daughter was throwing her out of her life. “Ryoko… please reconsider… anything but this!” Ryoko simply stood there continuing to stare at her. Washu continued to look away from her. Then, she did the most painful thing she had ever done in her entire life. With a thought, she felt the telepathic link between her and her daughter cut… forever. Ryoko started to fly away. “Remember the terms. You stay away from me and out of my life. I don’t want to even see you unless I have to.” With that, Ryoko disappeared into her makeshift room. Washu stood there for a few more moments. Finally, she ran into her lab, sobbing uncontrollably… “How?! How did she beat me!” Washu screamed as she threw another piece of sensory equipment into the wall, smashing it into a thousand pieces. She armed herself with her light sword and lunged towards one of the larger mainframe computers, slicing right through it and causing it to explode. “I’m the better parent. I’m the one who knows what she’s doing!” She fired off a set of energy blasts towards the equipment in the corner of the room. She collapsed in on the floor finally, put her heads between her legs, and let the tears flow. “I’ve lost my daughter…I’ve… I’ve lost my daughter…” Well I hope you all had fun reading this. I'll *try* to get more chapters out quicker from now on. If you have any questions or comments on the fic, email me at cav@wpi.edu. Email is always appreciated... except if it's a virus... or a solicitation... or an offer for a credit card... or... you get the picture ^_^.