Legal Info- I do not own any of the characters represented in my story. They are the sole property of AIC/Pioneer. The only characters in the story that belong to me are the ones I made up, other than that I don't own the rest of the characters. A/N- This is a Tenchi Universe based fic. This story occurs right after Tenchi Forever. To Rule Or To Love Chapter One Ryoko woke up that morning with a splitting headache. She cursed herself for drinking too much sake the night before. 'Damn hangover. I wonder if Tenchi's awake yet,' she thought, slyly. She got up and then phased out of her room. Once she was in the upstairs hallway, she walked towards Tenchi's room in order to give him her normal wake up call. She just loved getting him riled up. She phased through his bedroom door to find that Tenchi was indeed still asleep. She grinned and sauntered over towards his bed. She then floated up into the air and hovered right over his sleeping form. She looked at him and smiled. She leaned in closer and closer until their noses were practically touching. 'Hmm.well, time to give him my good morning kiss before he wakes up,' thought Ryoko. Her face leaned in even closer to his and her lips touched his. What she didn't expect was that Tenchi would wake up at that exact moment. Tenchi's eyes widened in shock when he found Ryoko's lips on top of his, but he made no move to push her away. He was actually enjoying the closeness, even though he didn't know why. What shocked Ryoko even more was that he actually began to kiss back. 'Oh my, oh my, oh my! He's letting me kiss him! He's also kissing me back! Oh, I hope that this isn't a dream!' Ryoko thought feverishly. After a few good minutes of kissing, Ryoko was the first one to pull away. She looked at Tenchi in disbelief; still trying to reassure herself that what had happened between them wasn't an illusive dream of hers. "Tenchi, why did you kiss me back?" Ryoko asked curiously. "Well.I.umm." Tenchi stuttered. He, of course, did things without thinking. Ryoko raised one of her eyebrows and looked at Tenchi questionably. He began to open his mouth to say something, but he was saved by Ayeka's voice. "Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka called out. "Yes, Miss Ayeka?" asked Tenchi. "Breakfast is ready!" she beckoned. "Ok! I'll be right down!" he responded. Tenchi then noticed that Ryoko was not in the room with him anymore. He sighed in disappointment. 'Why can't I just say something?' Tenchi then got out of bed and got dressed in his usual field clothes. He walked out of his room and downstairs to eat breakfast once he was done. "Good morning everyone!" Tenchi said cheerfully. "Good morning, Lord Tenchi," said Ayeka with a smile. "Good morning, Tenchi!" Sasami giggled. "Where is Ryoko? She usually comes down with you," noted Ayeka. "In all truth, I have no idea where she is right now," said Tenchi. "Tenchi? Would you go and find her? Her breakfast is getting cold," Sasami said sadly. Tenchi smiled at the little girl. "You got it, Sasami!" Sasami smiled happily at him. Tenchi then went off to find Ryoko. 'Now, where could she be?' he questioned himself. He first looked into the cave that Washu was imprisoned in a long time ago, but Ryoko wasn't there. He then looked in the only other place she could have been hiding and that was the roof. Sure enough, that's exactly where he found her as well. As Ryoko sat on the roof, many questions floated through her mind. 'Why did he kiss me? How does he feel about me? Why won't he say anything?' At that moment, Tenchi crept up behind and put his right hand on her left shoulder, which in turn startled her. "Tenchi! Wha.what?" she asked, fearfully. "Why didn't you come down for breakfast?" asked Tenchi, worriedly. "Umm.I had some thinking I needed to do," said Ryoko "Thinking, huh? What were you thinking about?" he asked, curiously. Ryoko smiled. 'About your indecisiveness.' "Well?" Tenchi pressed. "Just about why you kissed me," Ryoko blurted out. Her eyes widened as soon as she shut her mouth. 'Oops!' Tenchi hung his head low. 'How am I supposed to answer that? I don't even know how I feel about her.' Ryoko flashed him a wry smile. "Now look who's stalling?" Tenchi smiled nervously at her. 'Before I say anything, I need to know how she feels about me.' "Well?" said Ryoko, repeating his very words. Tenchi cleared his throat. "Now, before I say anything, I need to know one thing." "Which is?" Ryoko asked impatiently. "How do you feel about me?" he asked. Ryoko was taken aback. "What?" "How do you feel about me?" Tenchi repeated. Ryoko blushed. "Well, I.I." "Come on, Ryoko. I know you can answer me," said Tenchi. "I love you," she whispered under her breath. Tenchi still heard it. "Yo.you do?" Ryoko blushed again. "Ye.yes." "You do realize that I'm going to need time to think this through," said Tenchi. Ryoko only nodded. Tenchi smiled at her. "Thank you, Ryoko." "We should go to breakfast now. Sasami and Ayeka are probably wondering where we are," she said. "You're right, let's go," he said. At that, they both climbed down off of the roof and went back inside of the house. When they made back into the dining room for breakfast, Ayeka and Sasami acknowledged them. "Well, it looks like you found Ryoko," Ayeka observed. "Yeah, well, she needed to think some things out," said Tenchi. "Where did you find her, Tenchi?" asked Sasami. "On the roof," he replied. "Well, since you found her, why don't you two start eating then?" asked Ayeka. Tenchi looked at Ryoko. "Actually, that might not be such a bad idea." "He's right," Ryoko agreed. "I can't go around seducing him on an empty stomach!" Ayeka shook her head. "Really Ryoko, you are so incorrigible!" Ryoko grinned at Ayeka. "Why thank you! I try." "Well, Ayeka and I are going to put our dishes away. Ryoko, after you're done eating you have the duty of washing the dishes for the rest of the day," Sasami said plainly. "Do I have to?!" Ryoko complained. Ayeka glared at her. "You don't do anything else around here. The least you could do is help with the dishes!" "But I don't wanna!" she complained again. "Do you want to see Sasami cry?" questioned Ayeka. Ryoko shook her head no. Ayeka smirked at her. "I didn't think so." "I'll help you if you like, Ryoko," Tenchi offered. Ryoko beamed. "Thank you, Tenchi. I would like that." Ayeka was about to protest when Sasami shot her a disapproving look. Sasami was right, though. Ayeka and Ryoko had learned to be much nicer to each other ever since the Haruna incident. Sasami was just trying to prevent the old habits from coming back into play. Sasami and Ayeka then put their plates into the sink. They returned to find Tenchi and Ryoko already halfway through their breakfast. "Tenchi? Ayeka and I are going to be watering the flowers in the garden. If you need one of us, that's were we'll be," informed Sasami. Tenchi smiled at her. "Okay, Sasami. Thanks." Sasami smiled back at him as she and her sister made their way towards the garden. Once they were gone, Tenchi turned his attention on Ryoko. "So, Ryoko. What's up?" asked Tenchi, trying to make conversation. Ryoko shrugged. "Not much. How about you?" He shrugged as well. "Not much either." Ryoko sighed. 'He has such a royally dense brain. Doesn't he understand that I do want to talk about that incident that happened between us earlier today?' At that moment, Tenchi cleared his throat. "Ryoko, don't you think that we should talk about what happened earlier?" "I was wondering when you were gonna bring it up," said Ryoko. Tenchi scratched the back of his neck. "Listen, Ryoko. I have no idea why it happened." "Tenchi, either you love me or not," said a frustrated Ryoko. "Hey! I thought you said you were going to give me some time to think things through!" Tenchi yelled. "Well, I lied!" Ryoko spat out. "Why can't you understand that I'm not sure of who I love, yet?" asked Tenchi. "Because I can't, Tenchi! I want you all to myself!" she yelled. "Why do you have to be so selfish, Ryoko? I don't belong to you or anybody else!" he shouted. Ryoko remained silent for a minute, then she spoke, "Fine, Tenchi. I stayed here because of you, but now, I don't know if I should stay anymore." Tenchi looked at her in horror. 'I never wanted this. I don't want her to go.' Ryoko looked down at her plate. "I have to go and do the dishes now. Are you finished eating yet?" Tenchi nodded and Ryoko collected his plate and put it on top of hers. She then got up out of her chair and made her way into the kitchen. Tenchi just sat there for a few more seconds and then followed her in there. Tenchi found Ryoko washing the dishes and he walked up to her. "May I help, Ryoko? I promised you that I would." Ryoko shrugged. "If you want." Tenchi felt guilt wash over him. 'I've hurt her so many times, but this time, I think I crossed the line.' Tenchi then walked over to help her. He noticed that all of the dishes that she had cleaned were spotless. He had never thought of her being so good at housework. "Ryoko, did you do these?" he asked. Ryoko nodded silently. Tenchi smiled at her. "That's great!" "Tenchi, don't try to get all friendly on me again. It would be just useless," said Ryoko. Tenchi sighed. "Ryoko, I'm sorry, ok? It's just that you can't make my decisions for me, especially those concerning my love life," he explained. "I wish I could believe that you are sorry, but you've done this too many times. How do I know that you won't do it again?" she asked, venomously. "I don't know," he admitted. Ryoko smirked at him. "I thought so. I will leave tonight, so you won't have to deal with me anymore. You'll live a nice life with Ayeka. Isn't that what you always wanted, Tenchi?" she asked, sourly. "No, Ryoko, that is not what I always wanted! All I want right now is for you to stay in this house!" he shouted. "Whatever for, Tenchi? You said it yourself that you don't love me, so why would you want me to stay?" she asked. "Because you're important to us, Ryoko. We all love you! Sasami would miss you terribly and so would Ayeka. I'm more than sure that the others would too," he voiced in anger and desperation. "What about you?" she asked, calmly. "I would miss you as well," he answered, quietly. "Why?" she asked. "Because I don't want to lose, my best friend," he whispered. Ryoko sighed and walked towards him. She wrapped her slender arms around his waist, leaning her head onto his chest. Tenchi made no attempt to move. "Do you really think of me as your best friend?" she asked, gently. Tenchi began to stroke her soft, cyan hair. "Of course I do." She snuggled deeper into his chest. "Then I'll stay." Tenchi smiled at her. "Good, now, why don't we finish those dishes?" Ryoko's eyes widened. "Dishes! I forgot all about them!" Ryoko ran over to the sink and began to wash the remaining dishes in the sink. She then turned her head towards Tenchi and flashed him a coy look. "I thought you said that you were gonna help me." Tenchi slapped his forehead. "Oh, that's right!" Ryoko chuckled at his expression and splashed some water on him. He grinned and did the same to her. She grinned back at him and said, "Listen, if we're gonna have a water fight, let's at least do it when we're done here." Tenchi nodded in agreement and helped her finish cleaning the dishes. Ayeka and Sasami were watering the flowers in the garden at that moment. Ayeka had a far off look on her face and Sasami noticed it. "Hey, Ayeka? What's wrong?" asked Sasami. "Hmm?" asked Ayeka. "You had this weird look on your face, Ayeka. Is anything wrong?" Sasami asked again. "Nothing is wrong, Sasami. Why do you ask?" Ayeka inquired. "No reason. Just curious," her sister answered. The two went back to gardening, but on that day, Ayeka's heart wasn't as into it as it usually was. 'I did it. I was stupid enough to let it happen and now I'm paying the consequences. I should have never let Ryoko go. She wanted me to go, but I wouldn't listen. Oh well, the damage has been done. There isn't much that I can do about it. The only thing that I still can do is to tell Tenchi exactly how I feel about him. He hasn't actually made his choice yet, so there is still hope,' thought Ayeka. "Hey, what are you thinking about, Ayeka?" asked Sasami, breaking the quietness. "I was just thinking about some decisions I have recently made. They are nothing that you should concern yourself with, Sasami," said Ayeka. "Are you sure that I can't help?" asked Sasami. "Very sure, Sasami. These are just things that I have to care of on my own," said Ayeka. "Oh, okay," Sasami said quietly. "Isn't it almost lunchtime?" asked Ayeka. "Oh yeah!" said Sasami. "Then why don't I help you out with the cooking once we're done here?" asked Ayeka. "Okay, Ayeka," said a smiling Sasami. Ayeka smiled back at her little sister. She has happy that she had finally cheered her back up. The two of them went back to gardening until it was time for Sasami to cook lunch. Ryoko was on the roof once more after she and Tenchi had finished washing the dishes. Lunch was in an hour, so she had plenty of time to think. She had already been up there for three hours doing that, but she could always review. 'Hmm.I'm glad I told him. It feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Ayeka will win his heart, though. She's a much better person than I am. Even though I have changed for the better over the six months Tenchi was gone, Ayeka became much stronger during that time. Ayeka has both strength and gentleness now. I wish I were more like her. Tenchi would like me much better if I were more like her,' Ryoko thought. Ryoko sighed, knowing that it would be impossible to win Tenchi's love if she weren't gentler. She knew that she needed to back off and give him space, first of all. Second, she needed to become more dependable and less lazy. Lastly, she needed to be less rowdy than she usually was. She knew that if she could accomplish those three things, she could have a chance with Tenchi. Ryoko then closed her eyes, lay down on her back and let the breeze carry her thoughts away. Back inside the house, Tenchi was having his own pestering thoughts over Ryoko and Ayeka. Tenchi was in his room, sitting at his desk, thinking over the love triangle dilemma and how to go about breaking it as gently as possible. He now knew that Ryoko loved him, but how deep did Ayeka's feelings run? That was the one question that was bothering him. He looked at his bedroom clock. Thirty minutes till lunch. Since he had enough time, he began to think even deeper. 'Why can't I choose between them? Am I destined to never choose between them or is it something else? No, it must be something else. I care for them equally right now, but what will happen in the future? Let's go over both girls. Miss Ayeka, first. She's very sweet, very beautiful and has grown much stronger recently, but I feel very nervous around her. I feel like I have to speak and behave in a certain way around her. I can never relax or be myself around her. Now, Ryoko is very sweet and beautiful herself, along with the fact that she has an absolute self-confidence and determination, but the problem with her is that she's rowdy. The other fact is that she's my best friend and, well, I shouldn't fall in love with my best friend. It's just not right. Ayeka's the more housewife type, while Ryoko's not, but I'm not attracted to Ayeka like I am to Ryoko. I wish I could choose between them, but until I hear Ayeka's feelings towards me, I can't. I'll just have to wait and see what happens,' thought Tenchi. It was lunchtime and Sasami and Ayeka were in the kitchen getting all of the food together. Everyone was already seated at the table and ready to eat. At that moment, Sasami and Ayeka came out of the kitchen with plates full of steamed rice, tossed salads, and sushi. Everyone made a mouth watering look at the food and once it was on the table everyone dug in and began to socialize. Ayeka had taken her usual seat by Tenchi. She kept on making small glances at him and fortunately for her, he didn't notice. 'I need to get him alone, possibly before he goes to the fields. I need to tell him how I feel before it's too late,' thought Ayeka. Ryoko noticed the silence at the table. There used to be much more liveliness to lunchtime, but now, Washu was the only one who actually talked at all. She shot a quick glance at her "honorable rival", Ayeka. She then looked over at Tenchi, who at the moment seemed very engrossed in his meal. Ryoko sighed and thought, 'Ayeka and I haven't fought in a long time. It seems so lifeless at the table right now. Maybe if I can rile up Ayeka, then maybe we can both loosen things up here.' "Oh, Tenchi!" purred Ryoko as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Tenchi was sweating bullets, knowing exactly what was coming. "Ye.yes, Ryoko?" "I need to tell you something," she purred in a low and seductive voice. Tenchi felt his face turning red. "Wha.what is it?" Ryoko placed her lips on his right ear and nibbled gently on his earlobe. She then proceeded to whisper lewd and sexual comments into his ear. Tenchi was getting redder and redder, until not only one side of his nose was bleeding; the other side was bleeding as well. Ayeka noticed this and decided to put a stop to it. "Ryoko, could please not do that? There are people trying to eat here, including Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said as politely as possible. Ryoko then feigned a look of innocence. "Whatever could you mean, Princess?" Ayeka just sighed. "You know very well what I mean, Ryoko." 'Damn, it's not working. Well, I have one more thing I can try to rile her up. If this doesn't work, I don't know what else will,' Ryoko thought. "Okay, Princess, whatever you say," said Ryoko, shrugging. Ayeka went back to eating just as Ryoko was putting her plan into play. Ryoko had stopped whispering things to Tenchi, but it didn't stop her from touching him where it counted. Ryoko reached over to Tenchi with her left hand and placed directly over his crotch. She began to massage it over his pants and Tenchi's face flushed several shades of red. She continued her actions upon him, until Ayeka had doing that. "Ryoko! I demand that you stop it right now!" yelled Ayeka. Ryoko's hand left Tenchi's pants. "Or what, little Princess?" Ayeka glared at her. "Or I will have to go to drastic measures to make sure that you stop harassing Lord Tenchi!" "Ayeka, you should very well know by now that I can take anything you can dish out, so bring it on!" Ryoko demanded. Ayeka's Juraian mini-logs appeared in the sky. They circled around Ryoko and just when they were about to shock her, Ryoko had phased out. Ayeka looked around the room for her and when she found her, she saw her floating right below the ceiling. Seeing that they were going to get into one of their routine fights, Tenchi, Sasami, Washu and Yosho left the dining room and hid in the kitchen. "I thought that they were through with this," said Tenchi. Sasami shook her head. "I thought so too, but I guess that old habits are hard to break." Yosho nodded in agreement. "Very true." Washu observed the fight between the two girls with interest, thus drawing a conclusion from it. "I believe I know why they're fighting." Tenchi looked at her confused. "You do?" Washu grinned at Tenchi. "Uh huh." "Well then, why are they fighting?" he asked. "It's the only way that they can express their friendship to each other, that's why. In conclusion to that, they're just playing with each other," Washu declared. "I need to be warned the next time they try to be "friendly" to each other," muttered Tenchi. Sasami observed the fight between her sister and the pirate. When she noticed that Ayeka and Ryoko had stopped fighting, she signaled to everyone that it was ok to go back to eat. "Did you two enjoy yourselves?" Tenchi inquired. "Oh, yeah," replied Ryoko with a big grin. "That's good, but the next time you two want to fight, could you move your little battle outside please?" asked Tenchi. "That will be no problem, Tenchi. Right, Ayeka?" asked Ryoko. "Right, no problem at all," Ayeka replied. "Good, now, let's finish eating. Shall we?" asked Tenchi, gesturing towards the food. Everybody nodded vigorously as they dug back into the food that Sasami and Ayeka had cooked earlier. Once everyone had finished eating, since it was dish duty for Ryoko all day, Ryoko went to go and wash the dishes. Once again, Tenchi offered to help her. "Hey, Ryoko?" said Tenchi. "Yeah, Tenchi?" Ryoko replied. "What was the real reason you started a fight with Ayeka?" he asked, curiously. "Do you really wanna know, Tenchi?" she asked, slyly. "Of course I do," he replied. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't." "Well.all I wanted to do was liven things up a bit. Things aren't usually that dull at lunchtime," Ryoko explained. Tenchi shook his head. "That sounds like a plan of yours." "Hey, Tenchi? Could you hand me the soap?" asked Ryoko. "Huh? Oh, sure," said Tenchi as he gave her the soap. "Well, it looks like I can manage on my own now. You can leave, if you like," said Ryoko as she was looking at the stack of clean dishes. Tenchi nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you, Ryoko." Ryoko smiled back at him and went back to cleaning the last few dishes in the sink, while Tenchi left to go work in the fields. On his way out the door, Tenchi ran into Ayeka. "I'm sorry, Miss Ayeka," he said, apologetically. Ayeka smiled demurely at him. "No, Lord Tenchi, it is quite all right. I actually needed to speak to you before you left to work in the fields." "What about?" he asked. "Come with me and I'll tell you," she said. Tenchi nodded in agreement and made his way to where Ayeka wanted to take him. When they got there, Tenchi noticed that it was a secluded part in the forest. He looked at Ayeka curiously as she knelt down on the grass. Tenchi did the same. "The reason I have brought you here is because I have something important to tell you," said Ayeka, nervously. "What is it?" he asked. "Lord Tenchi, I am in love with you," she blurted out. Tenchi just sat there shocked. "Yo.you too?" "Huh? What do you mean by that?" she asked. "Well.Ryoko told me the same thing earlier today," he answered. "I see. Have you decided between us?" she asked, hopefully. Tenchi shook his head. "No, Miss Ayeka. I haven't chosen yet and I don't know if I ever will." Ayeka lowered her eyes. "I.I understand." "I'm sorry, Miss Ayeka, but that's just the way it is for right now. I'm glad that you do understand, though," he said with a smile. "I'm just glad that you were honest with me. I shall be going back to the house now," said Ayeka as she got up. "I need to go to the fields. Bye, Miss Ayeka!" he said as he made his way out of the forest and into the fields. "Goodbye, Lord Tenchi," she said as she made her back towards the house. When Ayeka finally got inside the house, she saw Ryoko sitting on the couch, watching her soaps. Ayeka looked at the screen and knew that she didn't like the soap opera that she was watching, so she began to fight with Ryoko over the remote. "Give it back, Princess! I was here first!" Ryoko growled. "I really don't care! Besides, you've probably been sitting here for quite a while and I haven't had a chance to watch anything all day!" Ayeka shot back. "I was still here first, so give me back the remote!" Ryoko shouted. "Never!" Ayeka snarled. The girls continued fighting over the remote control, while Tenchi worked in the fields. Tenchi put down his hoe and began to think about what Ayeka had just told him. 'So, she's in love with me too. Now how do I choose? I can't exactly choose between them without hurting the other. Jeez, I'm definitely gonna need more time in order to sort this out.' Tenchi then picked up the hoe off of the ground and went back to work. Somewhere in space, two men were sitting inside of a spacecraft and were on their way to Earth. "Do you think she'll be surprised when she sees us?" the younger man asked. "I certainly hope so," the older man replied. "What if she doesn't remember us?" asked the younger man. "I have a feeling that she will, so don't worry about it," said the older man. "Hmm.I guess you're right," the younger man replied. The older man smirked. "I'm always right." The younger man glared at him. "Oh, stuff it!" The older man just laughed as they made their way closer to Earth. First Class Detectives Kiyone Makibi and Mihoshi Kuramitsu were on duty controlling the Solar System. Kiyone noticed that a spacecraft was going to enter the Earth's atmosphere. She decided to hail them to see what they were doing. "This is First Class Detective Kiyone. I would like to know what you two are doing trying to enter the Earth's atmosphere," she said. The two men looked at each other and then at her. They then launched into an explanation. "The only thing that we are trying to do is visit one of our friends on that planet," the older one started. "We haven't seen her in a long time and all we wanted to do was surprise her," the younger man finished. Kiyone didn't know why, but she believed them. "Alright, I'll let you pass." They both bowed towards her. "Thank you, ma'am." The hailing frequencies were turned off and while Kiyone began to focus on her work again, the two men were headed towards Earth. Back at the Masaki residence Ryoko and Ayeka were still fighting over the remote control, until the doorbell rang. Ayeka ran to get it thinking it was Tenchi. She opened the door with anticipation, but to her disappointment and aroused curiosity, two royal guards were standing there. Ayeka straightened out her kimono as she greeted them. "Um.hello.who are you?" she queried. The two guards looked at her and bowed deeply. "You are Princess Ayeka of planet Jurai, are you not?" Ayeka glared at them. "Of course I am!" she huffed. "And just who are you two?" "We are royal guards from planet Velsa," the replied in unison. Ayeka was now puzzled. "What could you two want here? We have no other royalty living here besides my sister Sasami and I." "We are here to collect Lady Ryoko," said the younger guard. Ayeka's eyes grew as large as saucers. "Lady Ryoko?!" "That is right. Could you please take us to her?" asked the elder guard. Ayeka led them inside and to the living room where Ryoko was sitting on the couch watching a soap opera. Ayeka went up to the television and shut it off. Ryoko jumped up from her sitting position and glared at the princess. "What's the big idea, Princess! I was watchin' that ya know!" she growled. "Well, now you are not watching that. We have guests and they came here for you!" she bellowed at her. Ryoko's face looked worried. "Oh, dear God! Ayeka, did you let the GP into the house?" Ayeka ignored the pirate's question as she led the two Velsan guards closer to Ryoko. Ryoko looked up at the guards as her eyes widened with recognition. She walked up to them and shook her head ruefully. "I never thought I'd see the day. Marcos and Adrian have come to visit the space pirate Ryoko. Now, are you two gonna just stand there like statues or do I have to squeeze the life out of ya?" she asked playfully. The two guards walked up to Ryoko and hugged her. She hugged them back and she had tears falling down her cheeks. As soon they all pulled away, Ryoko wiped away the tears and motioned them to sit down. As soon as they were seated, Ryoko bombarded the guards with questions. "Dear God, you guys! What in the world are you doing here?" she asked. Both guards looked at her seriously. "We are here to bring you home." Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "What?" The young guard, Marcos then said to her, "Lady Ryoko, or should I say Princess Ryoko. You are nearing your twentieth birthday soon and you know that once that happens, you must ascend to the throne." "I don't want it," she said stubbornly. "Princess Ryoko, please consider. If you won't do it for your planet, then at the very least, do it for your parents," pleaded the elder guard, Adrian. "My parents would have wanted me to be happy, not miserable," Ryoko pointed out. "We know that, but how would you like to get revenge on the men who assassinated them?" asked Marcos. "What do you mean?" Ryoko asked softly. "What we mean is that once you have enough power, you can do anything you want. You could find your parents assassins much more easily with that kind of power," said Marcos. Ryoko remembered what had happened to her parents, eight years prior to the present time. It wasn't a pleasant time and she tried again and again to catch the murderer, but she had always failed. 'Maybe with the amount of power that I'm being offered, I can actually find where those rat bastards are.' After she had contemplated the whole situation, she looked at the two guards and slowly nodded her head. The two guards were elated. "I just need pack in order to prepare for this trip. I hope that you can understand," said Ryoko. The two guards smiled and nodded their heads in unison. Ryoko smiled back as she stood up and made her way towards her room. Ayeka was shocked at what just happened. She got up as well and followed Ryoko. "Ryoko!" Ayeka shouted. "Yeah, Princess?" she said from the steps of the stairs. "Why didn't you say anything about this before?" asked Ayeka. "Because I didn't know that they would actually send someone to find me and pick me up. I honestly wish that my sister would take this stupid position. I don't wanna be Empress of planet Velsa!" she shouted. "Sister? You have a sister?" asked a very confused Ayeka. "Yep, I sure do, Princess," she said. "Who is she?" asked Ayeka. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," she replied, dryly. "Try me," replied Ayeka. Ryoko sighed. "Nagi is my sister." "WHAT!" exclaimed Ayeka. Ryoko shrugged. "It's true." Ayeka regained her composure and looked at Ryoko squarely. "Tell me Ryoko, why are you to become the Empress of Velsa?" "Because my mother was the Empress of Velsa and my father was a Jurian noble," she replied. Ayeka looked at her in disbelief. "What happened to them?" Ryoko's eyes were brimming with tears. "Didn't you hear anything that my guards and I were talking about? They were assassinated when I was twelve years old." Ayeka's gaze softened towards the distressed pirate. She walked up the steps to where Ryoko was and put a hand on one of her shoulders. "How old was your sister, Ryoko?" asked Ayeka. "Nagi was eleven at the time," the choked up pirate replied. Ayeka shook her head sadly and gave the pirate a hug. Ryoko looked at her in shock. Ayeka looked at the pirate's tear stained face. "I am very sorry I ever made fun of you. You have obviously gone through so much in your life. What I do want to know is why you became a space pirate?" Ryoko pulled away from Ayeka's hug and straightened herself out. "I became a pirate because I wanted revenge on the sick bastards who killed my parents." "Do you know how they were killed?" Ayeka asked uneasily. Ryoko nodded. "I know exactly how they were killed because I saw it and so did Nagi." "That must have been terrible!" exclaimed Ayeka. Ryoko looked at her grimly. "You don't know the half of it." "Ryoko, I know we've had our differences in the past, but I always thought of us as good friends," said Ayeka with a warm smile. Ryoko grinned. "Likewise, Princess." "How many days do you think you'll be leaving in?" asked Ayeka. "I'll probably leave today, why?" she asked. "I was just wondering," Ayeka replied. "I hope you know that you can have Tenchi now, since I'm leaving that is. Plus, even if he did love me, he wouldn't of been able to marry me anyway," she said, sadly. Ayeka looked at her in shock. "What do you mean?!" "Why do you think my parents were assassinated in the first place?" Ryoko asked plainly. Ayeka paled. She sure hoped that it wasn't what she thought it was. "Why were they assassinated?" "Because on Velsa it is shunned, but not illegal to marry a Juraian. Tenchi is a Juraian," she said. Ayeka understood right away. "If Lord Tenchi were to marry you, you both would be killed!" "See? Now you won't have to worry about me taking Tenchi away from you," said Ryoko. "How do you think Lord Tenchi will react to your news?" Ayeka asked curiously. "I don't think he'd care. Besides, I know that he's always liked you best," said Ryoko. "Ryoko." Ayeka faltered. She couldn't understand why her friend and rival was giving up on Tenchi so easily. Just then, Tenchi walked through the front door. "I'm home!" he called out. "Oh, Lord Tenchi!" exclaimed Ayeka as she went to greet him. Ryoko sighed unhappily as she made her way to her room. "Uh, hi Miss Ayeka!" he greeted. He then noticed that Ryoko wasn't around. "Um.where's Ryoko? She usually comes with you to greet me." Ayeka's smile faltered. "Um.she's .well.she's." Tenchi looked at her expectantly. "Yes?" "She's upstairs getting her things packed," she said, slowly. "Huh? Why would she do that?" he asked. "She's leaving us," she blurted out. Tenchi grabbed Ayeka by the shoulders. "She's what?! No, she.she can't leave! I don't want her to leave!" "Well, like it or not, that's what she's doing," she replied as Tenchi backed away from her. "Well, I'm going to stop her then," he declared as he made his way up the steps and to her room. Ayeka smiled a bit. "Good luck, Lord Tenchi." Tenchi made it to Ryoko's room and knocked. "Yeah! Who is it?" she called out. "It's Tenchi. May I come in?" he asked. "Go right ahead," she replied. As soon as he opened the door he was welcomed by a sight that he never thought that he would see in his lifetime. Ryoko was wearing a long white gown, which reached her feet with long sleeves. Around her was a white cape with a hood in back of it. On her ears were two diamond earrings shaped like teardrops. Her wild cyan mane was tamed and put up into a tight bun on top of her head. Holding the bun in place was a round silver crown, which encircled around the bun tightly. On her feet, she wore a pair of white high-heeled shoes. Tenchi looked at her in awe. He had never seen her look so lovely before. Tenchi walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He looked at Ryoko sadly. "Ryoko, I heard that you are leaving," he started. "Yes, I am leaving for planet Velsa with my two royal guards today," she replied. 'I have probably only a few hours to convince the most stubborn woman in the Universe to stay. Oh boy,' he observed, mentally. "Well, since I'm already packed, I might as well leave at this very moment," she noted. "Don't leave, Ryoko," he said, firmly. "What?!" she asked, startled. "I said don't go," he replied. "Tenchi, I know you're in love with Ayeka. You have always favored her over me and when I'm gone you two will live a happy life together," she said as calmly as possible. "I thought we already went over this, Ryoko!" he exclaimed. "I know, Tenchi, I know, but this isn't about you, it's about my parents. I have to go for them. Goodbye, my love," she said, sadly. Ryoko was already half way out the door with a suitcase in each hand when Tenchi grabbed one of her shoulders. Startled, she turned around to see what he wanted. "Are you sure that you won't stay?" he asked, almost pleading. Ryoko looked into his begging eyes and almost gave into his wishes, but remembering who is this was for, she turned away from him. "Yes, I'm sure that I won't stay," she replied. "Well, why not!" he cried out in desperation. Ryoko heard the pain in his voice, but she stood her ground. "I have an obligation to fulfill as the First Crowned Princess of planet Velsa," she said. 'First Crowned Princess of planet Velsa?! She's a princess?! Jeez, no wonder she's decked out in formal wear,' he noted, mentally. "You're starting to sound like Miss Ayeka. Ryoko, this isn't like you at all, so tell me, what kind of obligation would pull you away from this family forever?" he asked. "I will be twenty in a week from tomorrow. Once I am twenty, I will become the Empress of planet Velsa," she said. "So that's it? Your damn pride is getting in the way of your family, huh?! Well, I don't care! If you have to go, then I'm going with you, end of story!" he shouted. "Why do you even care so much Tenchi? You have Ayeka! What the hell more do you want?!" she cried. "You're my best friend Ryoko! I care very much about you and I want you to stay here!" he yelled. "That's no reason for you to want to go with me Tenchi!" she countered. "I think it's a very good reason!" he shot back. "Fine, if you wanna come you're more than welcome. Once we're there I'll have Ryo-Ohki send you back to Earth. Ok?" she asked, impatiently. "I'm not leaving your side until I can convince you to come back to Earth with me," he said in a very determined voice. "You can try, but you will not succeed," she said smugly. "We'll see about that," he replied, just as smug. The both of them walked downstairs and Ryoko pulled the hood to her cape over her head. They didn't notice how much time had passed while they were arguing, but by the time they had gotten down there, it was already dinner time and everybody was already home and she also noticed that Kiyone and Mihoshi were visiting. "Well, it took you guys long enough," Sasami scolded. "Sorry, Sasami," Ryoko and Tenchi said in unison. Sasami had made steamed vegetables, rice balls, and shrimp tempura. Ryoko and Tenchi's mouths were watering just at the sight of it, so they quickly sat down and dug in. Sasami then noticed that Ryoko was dressed differently than usual. "Ryoko why are dressed like that?" Ayeka and Tenchi kept quiet, while everyone gave her strange looks. Ryoko swallowed the last bit of food in her mouth and then proceeded to tell everyone what was going on. "Well, you guys, I'm leaving today for good," Ryoko announced. Kiyone and Mihoshi looked shocked, Sasami started crying, and Washu looked somewhat sad, even though nobody could know about the actual grief that she was feeling by covering it up so well. "Why?" Kiyone asked. "I'll let Ayeka explain. She's better at words than I am," said Ryoko, attempting some humor. "You see, Ryoko needs to leave because she is the First Princess of Velsa. She needs to take position as Empress of Velsa, since her parents were assassinated a long time ago. When she becomes twenty, next week, she will become the Velsan Empress. She is also doing this because she wants to find out who her parent's assassins are. Plus, this is the one that shocked me the most.Nagi is her sister. Any questions?" asked Ayeka as she finished her explanation for Ryoko. Everyone was stunned, including Tenchi. There was some information that Ayeka said to them, which Ryoko had completely forgotten to mention to him. Tenchi then stood up. "I'm also going to Velsa with Ryoko for a little while. I want to try and convince her to stay here." The guards looked at Ryoko and Ryoko just smiled and nodded to reassure them that she knew about this. Kiyone looked at the guards curiously then her eyes widened with recognition. 'Oh my God! They're the same two guys who wanted to come to Earth. I never would have thought they were coming to visit Ryoko.' The two guards noticed that Kiyone was staring at them and then they realized why. They both recognized her as being the GP officer from earlier that day. Everyone regained their composure and began to eat again. Once everyone was done, Sasami took all of the plates into the kitchen and began to wash them as fast as she could, that way she could see Ryoko, Tenchi, and Ryo-Ohki off before they left. That night, after dinner, everyone was outside. "Listen everyone, I promise to come and visit you guys from time to time, ok?" said Ryoko, trying to reassure her friends. This made Sasami a little happier. Ryoko noticed that Sasami had tear stained eyes, so she walked up to the little girl and hugged her. "When I come back to visit, I want you to teach me how to cook." This made Sasami giggle. She then hugged Mihoshi, Kiyone, Washu, Yosho, and Nobuyuki in a big group hug. "I'm gonna miss you guys!" "We're gonna miss you too," they all said in unison. She then broke away from the group hug with a sad smile on her face. She finally walked up to Ayeka and hugged her. Ayeka hugged her back, while trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. "Listen, chipmunk, I want you to take care of everyone here, since I'm gonna be gone, ok?" asked Ryoko. "I promise you that I will, Ryoko," said Ayeka, letting the tears finally spill down her cheeks. Ryoko also had tears falling from her eyes as she finally walked away from the group with Ryo-Ohki on her shoulder and her guards and Tenchi standing beside her. Ryoko made one final wave to her friends. "Goodbye, everybody!" "Goodbye, Ryoko!" they all said together. At that moment, she, Tenchi, her two guards, and Ryo-Ohki boarded the ship that her guards came to Earth in. As soon as they were in the vessel, they departed for planet Velsa. A/N: Hope you are enjoying this. I know that I stopped it at a very critical point, but I had to stop somewhere, right? Anyway, read on if you're still interested. This whole series will be twenty-two chapters long. Yep! Long, huh? Well, I'm also expanding the chapters that I already have up (chapters 1-9). Once I'm done with doing that I promise that I will write chapter 10 and upload it. For now, enjoy what I'm giving you. Ja ne!