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 Seven On planet Velsa, things were generally quiet. The rumor about Angolia declaring war on Velsa, was just a rumor. There were no indications of whom the assassin was, or so it seemed. A man dressed in royal blue Velsan robes was speaking to his apprentice. The apprentice of the Velsan noble had to be no more than twenty-five years old. The Velsan noble looked at his apprentice crossly. "She's still alive," the Velsan noble snarled. "I'm starting to regret asking you to pretend to be me." "I'm sorry my liege. I should have checked the body before leaving the room," the apprentice apologized. "You will not fail me again. This is your only warning," said the noble. The apprentice gulped in fear. He looked up at the noble to find him completely serious. "What will my punishment be if I do fail you?" "Instant death," hissed the noble. The apprentice had sudden fear in his eyes. "I promise that I will not fail you again." "You had better not," the noble replied coldly. The apprentice nodded and scurried out of the noble's main hall. "I cannot believe this. I will have you killed Ryoko, even if I have to spill your blood with my own hands, you will die!" he growled angrily. Back at the Masaki residence, things were quiet as well. Ryoko was spending all of her time with either Tenchi or Ayeka. She was perfectly happy living there, but unfortunately, she couldn't stay. She needed to uphold the duties of the Empress of Velsa to honor her deceased parents. She walked outside of the house and went towards her favorite clearing with all of the cherry blossom trees. She sat down on the ground Indian style and had her elbows propped up on her knees. She was in deep thought until Tenchi snuck up upon her. "Hey," he said. "Hey," she said back. "Whatcha doin' out here?" he asked. She smiled. "I'm just relaxing. I needed to get out of the house and get some fresh air, that's all." Tenchi put an arm around her. "It is beautiful here." Ryoko leaned into him. "Yeah." Tenchi frowned at her tone. "Is something wrong?" Ryoko sighed. "Hmm.I guess I'm just worried." Tenchi looked puzzled. "Worried? About what?" Ryoko looked up at the sky wistfully. "I'm worried about Marcos and Adrian." "I see. So, you don't think that they can handle themselves?" he asked. Ryoko chuckled. "No, that's not it, it's just that I've known those guys for a long time and I wouldn't want anything to happen to them." "I understand your worry, Ryoko, but they'll be fine. They're pretty good fighters, from what I've heard anyway, so I'm sure that they can take care of themselves. You should be enjoying this vacation, not worrying all the time," he said. Ryoko snuggled up to Tenchi. "I know, but I just can't help it. To know that that actual bastard who killed my parents is running around loose in Velsa is just unnerving. I wish that I could stop him so it would all be over with, but I know that as long as his identity remains hidden from me, I won't have that chance." Tenchi was running his hands through her soft, cyan hair. "We'll get him Ryoko. I promise you that. I don't want him hurting you anymore." Ryoko titled her head and looked at him warmly, laying a short, but gentle kiss on his lips. "Thank you, my Tenchi." Tenchi said nothing, but held her tightly. He loved her with all of his heart and he would do everything in his power to ensure her safety. He shot her a loving look and she smiled at him. "I love you, Ryoko." "I love you too, my Tenchi," she said, sighing happily. Things were pretty quiet for the rest of the day. Ayeka was teaching Ryoko how to garden at one point. While gardening with Ayeka, Ryoko found that she actually had many questions about the activity. Ryoko looked at the packet of flower seeds in her left hand questionably. She then looked at Ayeka confused. "Hey, Ayeka?" she said. "Yes, Ryoko?" asked Ayeka. "How do you plant these?" she asked, pointing to the bag that was still in her left hand. Ayeka sighed. "Like this, Ryoko." Ayeka then took the seeds from Ryoko and put them into a flowerpot. "What goes there next?" she asked. "You put some dirt in the pot next," Ayeka explained. "Okay, what goes in after the dirt?" she asked. "Then you put some water in so that the plant will grow," said Ayeka. "Ah! Is there anything else?" she asked. "Not really. The only other thing to do is to leave it in the sun, so that it can help the plant grow," Ayeka finished off. "What type of flower seeds were put in there?" she asked. Ayeka smiled. "Roses. Red ones." Ryoko's eyes grew large. "Really? I love roses.well, after cherry blossoms that is." "Would you like to learn how to grow these flowers correctly, so that maybe you can bring some packets of seeds back to Velsa with you?" asked Ayeka. Ryoko's eyes sparkled. "I sure would!" "Well then, let's get started, shall we?" offered Ayeka. Ryoko smiled. "Let's!" The two of them continued gardening until it was lunchtime. Sasami had made a very large lunch that day. Everybody ate it though and were stuffed afterwards. Ayeka and Ryoko had helped Sasami clear the table after lunch was through. "Thanks you guys!" said Sasami with a smile. "After making us that great meal, it was the least we could do," said Ryoko. "I agree with Ryoko on that one," said Ayeka. At that moment, Tenchi entered the kitchen and walked up to Ryoko, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Hey there," he said to her. "Hey, love," she replied to him with a smile. "I was thinking that maybe you and I could go out later tonight," he said with a smile. "Really? You really wanna take me out on a date tonight?" asked an excited Ryoko. Tenchi nodded. "Sure I would. You and I will be married soon and we haven't even gone out on a date, so how about it?" Ryoko didn't answer with words, but pounced on him and hugged him tightly. Tenchi, by habit, began to turn red and his nose was starting to bleed. Ayeka and Sasami nearly laughed at the sight when Ayeka intervened. "Ryoko, if you want to go out with Lord Tenchi tonight, then I would suggest for you to let him breathe before he dies of suffocation caused by you," said Ayeka with a raised eyebrow. Ryoko sighed and let go of her beloved. Tenchi grasped at the air for a while until he was all right again. "Are you still gonna take me?" she asked Tenchi, fearfully. Tenchi rubbed his sore neck and said, "Well, I don't know anymore, Ryoko. I mean, if I have to give you good news about something, you are always gonna end up giving me a bear hug." Ryoko's eyes started to well up with tears and soon she had phased up onto the roof, sat there, and just let the tears flow down her face freely. Back in the kitchen, Tenchi felt ashamed of what he had just said to her. Ayeka and Sasami were both giving him disapproving looks. Tenchi got the hint and left the kitchen to go and find her, even though he had a pretty good idea of where she would be. Back on the roof, Ryoko kept on crying, trying to figure out why Tenchi had acted so mean to her. 'Does he still love me? If he doesn't, then I'll just leave and move on. I'll raise the child by myself and stay out of his life,' she thought in between sobs. Tenchi walked up onto the roof and just as he suspected, Ryoko was there. He walked up to her and put his arms around her. Ryoko, startled, looked up and saw Tenchi holding her. She just cried harder as she grabbed his shirt and let her tears soak through it. "Why, Tenchi, why?" she asked him. "Why what, Ryoko?" he asked, confused. "Why are you being mean to me again and pushing me away? Don't you love me anymore?" she asked him as she looked up into his brown eyes. 'She's right. I was being rude to her for no reason. She was showing me affection and I pushed her away, just like I always did in the past. She should be the one mad at me. I've hurt her again!' he thought angrily to himself. Ryoko's eyes welled up with tears again. 'Please say something, Tenchi!' Tenchi just held her tighter to him and said, "I'm sorry, Ryoko." "Do you mean it, Tenchi?" she asked. "Yes, Ryoko, of course I do," he said to her with a smile. Ryoko dried off her tears and snuggled into his shirt. "Mmmm..." "I love you so much, Ryoko. I don't know why you could have ever doubted me," he said, while stroking her hair. "Well, you pushed me away again, so I naturally thought that you didn't like me anymore," she replied. "I'm really sorry about that, Ryoko. It's just an old habit that I'm trying to get rid of and sometimes it comes back strong and I react on it. It had nothing to do you with you, it had everything to do with me, though," he finished off. "So are we still going tonight?" she asked. Tenchi grinned. "Of course we are! I want to have the chance to show you off." Ryoko blushed. "Tenchi." "My beautiful Ryoko. You mean the absolute world to me. I want to make sure that everybody knows that," he said passionately. Ryoko blushed once again, this time much more furiously. Tenchi grinned at her and kissed her deeply. Once they pulled apart, Ryoko was still blushing and Tenchi had a smile on his face that would just not leave. "So, my dear, where do you want to go tonight?" he asked her. Ryoko thought about it for a moment and then said, "Any expensive Italian restaurant." "So, you're into European food tonight, huh?" he said. "I guess so," she replied. "Well, why don't we go back inside and call up some restaurants," said Tenchi. Ryoko smiled at him. "Sounds good." And with that they both left the roof and went back inside of the house to make plans for their date later that night. Once Tenchi was done calling all of the most expensive Italian restaurants, he finally got a reservation at La Mandolina. "Okay, Ryoko. We've got 8pm reservations at La Mandolina," said Tenchi once he was off of the phone with the restaurant. "Sounds nice," said Ryoko. "How fancy is it, though?" "Very, so dress up," he replied. "No problem, my Tenchi," she said as she disappeared up into her room. Once Ryoko got into her room, she then remembered that she had brought all of her clothing to Velsa with her and that she needed to go shopping for a new dress. She phased back downstairs and right in front of Tenchi. Tenchi laughed. "Whoa, Ryoko! Watch it there!" Ryoko grinned at him and put her hands in his. "Tenchi, I just remembered something." "What is it?" he asked. "I have no clothes here except for a nightgown," she said. Tenchi sighed. "Let me go to my room and get you some money, so that you can buy yourself a nice dress." "Oh! Thank you, Tenchi!" Ryoko exclaimed happily. Tenchi went upstairs to his room to retrieve the money that he needed to give to Ryoko for her dress. He got it and then went back downstairs and gave it to the awaiting Ryoko. "This oughta be enough," he said to her as he gave her the money. Ryoko looked at the amount in her hand and then smiled at Tenchi. "Thank you, dear." "No problem, Ryoko," he said. At that moment, Ryoko left Tenchi and went off to find Ayeka. When Ryoko found her, she was in the garden pruning the bushes. She floated down behind her and tapped her on her right shoulder. "Hey, Ayeka!" said Ryoko. The startled Ayeka turned around to see Ryoko standing there. She calmed down and asked, "What is it, Ryoko?" "Oh, nothing much, only that I need to go shopping for a new dress because Tenchi is taking me out to a fancy restaurant tonight," Ryoko grinned. "And what did you need me for?" asked Ayeka. "I want you to help me find an appropriate dress that looks good, but is elegant at the same time," said Ryoko. Ayeka smirked at her and said, "Don't you mean sexy and elegant, Ryoko?" Ryoko blushed, nodded and said, "You know me too well, Ayeka." Ayeka smiled at her and said, "I would be glad to help you, Ryoko." "Really?" she asked. "Yes, really, but in return I want you to do me a favor," said Ayeka. "Name it," said Ryoko. Ayeka grinned and said, "Help me finish the pruning!" Ryoko face-faulted at her friend's request. Ayeka grinned at Ryoko's reaction. As soon as Ryoko recovered, she did as she was told and helped Ayeka with pruning the bushes. Once they were done, they went to tell Sasami that they wouldn't be around for lunch. "Sasami?" said Ayeka. "Hey, Sasami?" said Ryoko. "What is it?" asked Sasami. "Well, Ryoko and I won't be around for lunch, so we were wondering if you could save us some food for later," said Ayeka. "Sure, I can do that, but why won't you two be here for lunchtime?" asked Sasami, confused. "Because we are going out to find a dress for Ryoko's date with Lord Tenchi tonight," answered Ayeka. "That sounds nice! I hope that you have fun, Ryoko!" said Sasami with a smile. "Thanks, kiddo," said Ryoko. With that done, Ayeka and Ryoko went to a very fancy dress store called Paradise. Ayeka had said that she had been to this store before and that the gowns there were exquisite. The moment that they had both entered the store; the gowns in there stole Ryoko's breath away. These dresses varied from velvet to silk and sequences to rhinestones. Ryoko looked around the store in awe, finding it hard to decide which one she wanted. "Ryoko?" said Ayeka. "Yeah, Princess?" asked Ryoko. "What kind of a dress are you looking for exactly?" asked Ayeka. Ryoko gave her a confused look. "I thought that I already told you." "Not about that. I mean, what kind of style and design did you have in mind for the dress?" asked Ayeka. "I want a simple dress, but with an alluring style," said Ryoko. "So you want simple and sexy?" asked Ayeka, just to make sure. "Yup!" answered Ryoko. "For the material, what do you want? Silk or satin?" asked Ayeka. "Silk," Ryoko answered quickly. "Straps or no straps?" she asked. "Straps," said Ryoko. "Thick or thin?" she asked. "Thin," said Ryoko. "Low cut in the front, high cut in the front, or a medium cut in the front?" asked Ayeka. "A medium cut for the front. I don't want Tenchi's nose to bleed tonight," Ryoko grinned. "Same question for the back," said Ayeka. "A low cut back," said Ryoko. "Tightness and looseness of the dress," said Ayeka. "Tight all the way down to the waist, but loose all the way down from there," said Ryoko. "How tight do you want it at the indicated point?" asked Ayeka. "Tight, tight," said Ryoko. "And for the bottom, how loose?" asked Ayeka. "Medium loose," said Ryoko. "What about its color?" she asked. "Silver," said Ryoko. "And the thickness?" asked Ayeka. "Medium thin. I want it to show just enough curves off to Tenchi, but not to the whole world," said Ryoko. "Phew! We're done!" said Ayeka. "Umm.Ayeka? Does a dress like that really exist?" asked Ryoko. "Of course it does. It's right behind you on that hanger," said Ayeka. Ryoko turned around and found the dress that she had described. 'It's beautiful,' she thought. "Is it your size, Ryoko?" asked Ayeka. Ryoko went over to the dress and picked up the tag. When she saw the size, she nodded to Ayeka. "Good, now, check the price," said Ayeka. Ryoko checked the price and saw that it was half of the money that Tenchi had given her. 'It's probably on sale,' she thought. She then grabbed the dress of the dress rack and bought it. When they left the store, it was already 7pm. They both rushed back to the Masaki residence and when they got there, Ryoko ran upstairs to her room like lightening to get ready for her date with Tenchi. Ryoko was ready at 7:30pm sharp, while Tenchi was already downstairs and waiting for her. "Is she ready, yet?" he mumbled to himself. "Oh, Tenchi!" Ryoko's voice rang out. "There she is," Tenchi said to himself. He walked towards the stairs and said, "Come on, Ryoko we haven't." Tenchi stopped his voice when he saw her and only one word escaped his voice afterwards, "Wow." Ryoko glided down the stairs gracefully. She was wearing the dress that she had bought at the store that day, along with a pair of black heels and diamond earrings that she was borrowing from Ayeka. Other than that, she was wearing no other jewelry and she had absolutely no make- up on. When she finally reached Tenchi, he took her hands in his and said, "My angel actually looks like a real angel tonight." Ryoko blushed at the compliment, but smiled as well. Tenchi lifted one of her hands and kissed it. She blushed even more when he did that. "Shall we go, my Lady?" he asked her in a gentlemanly way. Ryoko gave him a loving look and said, "Yes, my beloved." Tenchi blushed when she said that and led her towards his father's van, which he had asked permission for to use for the date. He opened the passenger door and let Ryoko in. He then went over to the other side of the van, opened his door and hopped into the driver's seat. With that done, he started the ignition and they took off for their date. When Tenchi and Ryoko arrived at the restaurant, they had dinner first and then some wine. When they had finished eating, Tenchi asked Ryoko to dance and when he did, she smiled and accepted his offer. At that moment, Tenchi and Ryoko started to dance to soft and romantic music. They were holding each other close as Ryoko had her arms wrapped around Tenchi's neck and his arms were wrapped around her waist. "Mmmm.Tenchi. This is so romantic," Ryoko murmured. "Yeah, it is," he agreed, softly. They began to whisper sweet nothings into each other's ears. They were in the middle of a long, lingering kiss when the person that would cause them trouble all throughout the rest of the night interrupted them. A man dressed in a black trench coat walked up to Tenchi and Ryoko. He pushed them apart and Ryoko was about ready to mall him, but Tenchi intervened and calmed her down. "Are you Lady Ryoko?" the man asked. Ryoko narrowed her eyes. "What's it to you?" "Well, I'm supposed to bring you home so that I can marry you," lied the man. Ryoko smirked at him and said smugly, "That's impossible. I'm already engaged to Tenchi." "Things change, my Lady. The Prime Minister told me that I was to marry you," he said, lying once more. "Bullshit!" she growled. "I won't marry you! I will never agree to degrade myself to being with someone as loathsome as you!" The man's eyes narrowed as he smiled thinly. "Too bad." Ryoko's eyes grew large as the man drew out a sword. She snarled at him and formed her energy sword. Fortunately, Tenchi had brought Tenchi-ken with him, so he drew it out and ignited it. He was pissed off beyond all belief. He charged at the man before Ryoko could and slashed at him, giving the stranger a bloody blow in the arm. The stranger looked at his arm and winced in pain. He turned around to see Tenchi standing there, ready to give him another blow. "Ryoko! I want you to leave right now!" yelled Tenchi. "No! I will not leave you in danger, Tenchi! I love you!" she cried. "If you love me, then you'll leave and live for me. I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to protect you," he said, looking at her. Ryoko looked as though she might cry. "Tenchi." "Ryoko, please! Do this for me! Do this for the baby!" he yelled out. Ryoko nodded, as she blinked away the tears in her eyes. She looked at him once more and then phased back to the Masaki residence. Tenchi looked at all of the people in the restaurant that were scared out of their wits. He then turned all of his attention on the stranger. "Listen, we need to take this outside. We're frightening all of the other people in here." The stranger nodded his head. "Point well put. The people here should not be involved." The stranger then turned to the people and bowed as he said, "My apologies to you all. We will now finish this outside, now if you will excuse us." They both walked out of the building and into an empty alleyway. Tenchi pulled out Tenchi-ken again and the stranger pulled out his own light sword. They both charged at the same time, colliding with one another. Tenchi's right cheek was scathed, but not severely, while the stranger's wounded arm was becoming more and more painful to bear. Tenchi turned to his opponent and seized him again. The stranger, with his good arm, was able to shield himself from the attack. While Tenchi had his sword clashed with the stranger's, the stranger pulled out a sharp dagger and pierced Tenchi's leg with it. Tenchi fell to the ground in utter pain. He was screaming inwardly. He couldn't get up or move for that matter. The stranger grinned sinisterly at Tenchi's condition. The stranger had his light sword right above Tenchi's chest. "It's time to say goodbye, Juraian!" With those words, he plunged his sword deep into Tenchi's chest. Tenchi made no attempt to block the blow. Thinking that Tenchi was dead, the stranger walked up to Tenchi and hissed in his ear, "It's time for me to go and pick up your space whore." With those words said, the stranger began to walk away, but that was before he saw a flash of light before him. He saw the light streaming from where Tenchi was laying. He looked through the light to see Tenchi unharmed and unscathed. He was dressed in white armor and on his forehead were three triangles, which were power markings from the gods. In one hand he had a white sword and in the other a white shield. Tenchi looked down at what he was wearing. 'What the heck is going on here and why am I dressed like this?' he pondered. He looked up and saw the stranger advancing towards him. 'Then again, now is not a time to think.' The man attacked Tenchi, but was only hurt by doing so. His wounded arm, which was his left arm, was completely incinerated. He also had deep cuts and bruises all over his body. He turned to Tenchi and glared at him. "You won't win so easily, boy!" Tenchi just took his sword and slashed the man completely in half, thus crushing all of his bones. Blood was coming out of the stranger's split gut and so were many other types of fluids. Tenchi, disgusted by the smell, walked away as fast as his feet could muster him. He ran to the van his dad had lent him for his date with Ryoko and jumped in. Starting the ignition, he drove home as fast as he could, still in his white armor uniform. Back at the Masaki residence, Ryoko was retelling the story of how she and Tenchi were attacked. Everyone was in shock. Ayeka though, seemed more curious than shocked. "Ryoko, where is Lord Tenchi at this very moment?" asked Ayeka. Ryoko hung her head. "I wish I could tell you, Ayeka, but he told me to leave before the fight got out of hand. I wanted to stay, but he wouldn't hear of it, especially with the baby on the way. I wish I knew where he was right now, but I don't. I just hope that he's not hurt." Just then, the door of the Masaki residence opened and there was Tenchi. He looked tired from the battle. He was preparing for Ryoko to jump on him, but it never came. He saw her looking relieved and concerned at the same time. What she did do though was she came up to Tenchi and gave him a gentle hug. "Thank God you're alright," she whispered into his suit. He smiled at her and lifted her chin giving her a gentle kiss. When he broke away, Ryoko graced him with a gentle smile that was playing happily on her lips. He held her close to him. "Ryoko, listen to me. I will not die if you are not there with me. If either of us die, we do it together, ok?" he said to her. Ryoko looked up at him with teary eyes and nodded. She moved back a little with a confused look on her face. She noticed that he was wearing white armor, but she didn't know how he had acquired it. Tenchi looked at Ryoko strangely, but then noticed what she was staring at and told her to sit down so he could explain to the family what had happened on his part. She complied and sat down on the couch next to Ayeka and Sasami. After retelling the part that the family had already heard from Ryoko, he launched into the part, which Ryoko hadn't witnessed. ".So, I was finally hit. I thought I was gone for sure, but then all of a sudden, there was a flash of light around me that engulfed my body and healed it. The light also provided me with new armor and weaponry. I then was attacked once more by that man and I just finished him off in one blow. I don't know how it happened, but it did. I would like an explanation, though," he finished off. The family just sat there in awe of what he had just told them. Yosho gave his armor the one over, trying to figure out where he had seen that kind of suit before. Ayeka and Sasami were staring at the suit with the same kind of confusion. Washu walked up to him and did a scan on the suit and her widened once the information on it came up. "Would you looked at this," Washu whispered. "What is it, Little Washu?" asked Tenchi. "Those are the famous so called Light Hawk Wings!" she exclaimed. Everyone gasped expect for Washu, Nobuyuki, and Tenchi. "Little Washu, what exactly are the Light Hawk Wings?" asked Tenchi. "The Light Hawk Wings are a powerful weapon that only divine beings can use. I don't know how you produced them, but you did," said an astounded Washu. "She's right," added Yosho. "Only the gods and goddesses are able to produce the wings. The only question is how Tenchi was able to use them." Suddenly, a blue light engulfed the room. Everyone covered his or her eyes from the blinding light. When the light disappeared, everyone removed their hands from their eyes to find a beautiful and ethereal being in the room. She was wearing Juraian royal robes and had two long, blue ponytails. Her pink eyes were soft and her very presence soothing. On her forehead were Megami markings. Everyone thought that she looked a great deal like Sasami. Ayeka, Yosho, and Sasami bowed down to her. She smiled gently at them, motioning them to stand up. Tenchi looked at her in awe. She was extremely beautiful. She turned to Tenchi and smiled at him. Ryoko was noticing the looks that they were giving each other and sighed unhappily, phasing out of the room. No one seemed to notice her departure, not even Tenchi. "Who are you?" Tenchi asked the woman. The woman smiled serenely. "I am Tsunami, the first ship and Tree Goddess of Jurai." "Goddess? Why are you here then?" he asked her. "I am the one who gave you the power to use the Light Hawk Wings. You have always had that power buried deep inside of you, but now, you are ready to use it to its full potential," she replied. Tenchi stood there shocked. He couldn't believe that a goddess was helping him out all along. He wanted to thank her, but he didn't know how. He just nodded and smiled. "Thank you for this gift, Lady Tsunami. I will keep it in good hands and always use it to protect my family," he said. The goddess smiled once more at him. "Thank you, Tenchi. That's all I ask for. I shall be leaving now," she said with finality and in a flash, she was gone. Tenchi blinked twice. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He looked down at him clothes and noticed that they had turned back to normal. He then turned towards his family and noticed that Ryoko was missing. He decided to go look for her. Tenchi found Ryoko on the roof, crying. He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ryoko, is something wrong?" Ryoko turned to face him and gave him an icy look. "I don't know. You tell me." Tenchi flinched away from her slightly. What had he done wrong? He tried to remember the events of that day, trying to figure out where something went bad. He then realized that it was when the goddess appeared and the looks that were giving each other had broken Ryoko's heart. He hung his head, ashamed to have looked at another woman, thinking thoughts that he had only thought towards Ryoko. "What does she have that I don't have?" she asked, breaking the silence. "Nothing. Ryoko, no one can compare to you. Sure, she may be beautiful and sweet from what I can tell about her, but Ryoko, I also think that about the other girls. It doesn't mean that I'm gonna go off and marry them when I know that I'm in love with you. Ryoko, please forgive me," he pleaded. Ryoko turned around and looked into his eyes for the honesty in them. She then gave him a gentle smile when she found what she was looking for. She wrapped his arms around him and held him tight. He did likewise. She sighed as she closed her eyes and snuggled deeply into his chest. "You know what, Tenchi?" she asked. "What, my love?" he asked back. "It doesn't matter if you think that that woman is attractive," she said. Tenchi looked curious. "Really? How so?" Ryoko sighed once more. "Well, you may think that she's beautiful, but I have your heart and as long as I have it securely in my grip, I don't have to worry about another woman trying to take you away from me." Tenchi grinned at her. "You never had to worry about other women in the first place." "Tenchi, I want you to be honest with me. What did you think of me the first time I came here?" she asked. "The first time that you came here I thought that my life had turned into a living hell. You were loud, rude, obnoxious, and you would always try to seduce me, which I didn't care for in the slightest. I never liked you in the beginning, but all of that changed at one particular point," he said. "What point may that be?" she asked. "Well, do you remember that time we were all sucked into one of Washu's inventions, the one that created all of the different worlds?" he asked. "Yeah," said Ryoko. "Well, it was in your world that I started to develop feelings for you. Why do you think I let you hold my hand on the way back?" he asked. "You're kidding!" she exclaimed. "No, I'm not. That's also why I gave you that apple. Did you ever stop and think of why I was looking for you?" he asked. Ryoko remembered those moments all too clearly. They were the first times that Tenchi had shown any affection to her. She frowned for a moment, though. "Why did you push me away all of those times, even after then?" she asked. "Well, I didn't want to hurt Ayeka's feelings. With you grabbing me all of the time, pressing yourself up against me, how could I control myself, especially when I started falling in love with you?" he asked, raising his right eyebrow. Ryoko smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Even if you wanted to show me affection you couldn't, but now you can and that's all that really matters." Tenchi pulled her towards him again. "I love you, Ryoko. Nothing can or will ever change that." "Thank you, my love," she whispered quietly into his shirt. He kissed the top of her head. "Ryoko, are you tired?" "A little bit, why?" she asked. "Good, because I'm very sleepy. Could we go to bed early tonight?" he asked. "That would be fine with me, my Tenchi," she said as she teleported them to his room. They both fell onto the bed and pulled the covers over them, cuddling up next each other. They both gazed into each other's eyes and fell into a deep kiss. The kiss lasted over five minutes and when they broke apart, they were very out of breath. Ryoko then snuggled closer to Tenchi. "Sleep, my angel," Tenchi whispered into her ear. Ryoko blushed and nodded. She fell asleep promptly on command. Tenchi looked at her, smiled, and then fell asleep himself. A/N: One note about this chapter. I am very well aware that the Light Hawk Wings are in the OAV. I hope that I transferred them over in a believable enough way to make it valid for this Tenchi series. Again, I hope you like my take on the direction of which the Tenchi Universe series should go in. This has been very fun to write so far, but it won't be over for a while, so I hope that those reading this are very patient. Ja ne!