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 Nine


It was a quiet morning at the Masaki household. Ryoko woke up with a 
very big headache and when she turned to her side, she found Tenchi 
still asleep. She smiled at his sleeping visage. She slowly turned her 
gaze away from him and stretched and yawned.

'Better not disturb him,' she thought. She got out of bed and quietly 
walked downstairs, so that she would not awaken those whom were still 
asleep. She walked into the kitchen to find that Sasami was the only 
one to be awake beside herself. She noticed that she was cooking 
breakfast and went to greet her.

"Good morning Sasami!" Ryoko greeted cheerfully as she walked further 
into the kitchen.

The little, blue haired princess turned her head to acknowledge the 
voice. "Huh? Oh! Good morning Ryoko! You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep," admitted the pirate. "Watcha cookin' there kiddo?"

Sasami gave her a cheery smile. "White rice, smoked fish, and potato 
soup."

"Sounds great! Hey Sasami, how would you like to come to Velsa with 
your sister, my sister, Tenchi, and I?" she asked.

"That would be great Ryoko, but would my sister let me?" she asked.

Ryoko gave her a thoughtful look. "Well.since there isn't anything 
going on there with my assassination anymore, I'm pretty sure Ayeka 
wouldn't mind too much, but I would ask her just in case."

"Will do. Anyway, since you're here, would you like to help me with 
breakfast?" she asked.

"Hmm.I could use the practice. Oh what the heck! Why not!" exclaimed 
the pirate.

"Great! First off you need to help me with this." said Sasami.

Three hours flew by as Sasami taught Ryoko how to cook breakfast 
properly. Sasami observed that Ryoko was a quick learner, even with 
things that she wasn't very well adapted to. Another thing she noticed 
was that Ryoko had to be taught, she wouldn't be able to learn on her 
own. When it was time for breakfast, Sasami asked Ryoko to wake 
everybody up.

Ryoko walked back upstairs. She first went to awaken Ayeka. She knocked 
on the door, but there was no answer. She slowly opened the door and 
noticed that Ayeka was still sleeping as soundly as a rock.

'How utterly convenient,' the pirate mused.

She walked up to the sleeping princess and knelt down next her. She 
then took Ayeka by the shoulders and shook her gently.

"Hey, Princess, it's time to get up," Ryoko commanded gently.

All she got in response from Ayeka was a nonsensical mumble. Ryoko 
rolled her eyes and pursed her lips.

'How do you wake up a princess who sleeps like a log?' she wondered.

Ryoko then stood up and put her hands on her hips and in loud voice 
exclaimed, "Hey lazy bones! It's time for you to get your ass out of 
bed!"

As if on cue, Ayeka awoke startled, but when she saw Ryoko in her room, 
she glared at her. "I should have known."

Ryoko gave her friend's pissed off expression a half grin. "Well, you 
wouldn't wake up!"

"I can wake myself up, thank you!" she replied, stonily.

"Sasami asked me to wake everyone up. I was being gentle the first time 
I tried to wake you up, but you were as stubborn as a mule, so I tried 
a different tactic, loud and bossy!" said Ryoko, grinning widely.

Ayeka smirked. "How like you."

"Why thank you Princess! Breakfast is ready, if you would like to 
know," said Ryoko, giving her smirk equal in mirth.

Ayeka growled at her as she got up and shooed Ryoko out of the room, 
while Ryoko was laughing the whole way out. Ryoko noticed that 
Nobuyuki's door was open, so she gathered that he was already up and 
downstairs. She then went to wake up Tenchi. She opened the door to his 
room to find him awake and dressing. She grinned and sauntered up to 
him. 

Tenchi looked at her. "There you are! I've been wondering where had 
gone off to."

Ryoko wrapped her slender arms around his waist, looked up at him and 
smiled. "Well.I woke up before you, so I went downstairs and helped 
Sasami with breakfast."

Tenchi's face grew shocked. "You helped her with breakfast?! Am I 
hearing right?"

Ryoko gave him a mock scowl. "Listen buddy, I can help out if I want 
to. I don't need your permission to do so."

"I know, but I'm still shocked," he replied, shaking his head in the 
meantime.

Ryoko slapped his right arm playfully. "Come on. Finish getting ready 
and haul your ass down to the table before I have to do it for you!"

Tenchi's shoulders slumped slightly. "Yes ma'am."

Ryoko let out a hearty cackle as she made herself downstairs. She 
noticed that Ayeka was already there, eating. Sasami noticed Ryoko come 
to the table and smiled. 

"Thank you for helping me out today," she said.

Ryoko grinned. "No problem kiddo. Oh and by the way, did you ask her 
royal pain in the ass about what we were talking about earlier?"

Ayeka shot Ryoko a cold glare for her smart-ass remark, but became 
interested in the conversation. 

Sasami shook her head. "Not yet, but I will."

"Well, she's right here now. Why don't you ask her now?" asked Ryoko 
with a small shrug.

"Yes, Sasami. What is it that you need to ask me?" asked a very 
interested Ayeka.

"I just wanted to know if I could go with you to Velsa," said Sasami.

"Well, since there is no danger for Ryoko anymore, I see no reason why 
you shouldn't come," replied Ayeka.

Sasami's face brightened even more than it was before. "Thank you 
Ayeka!"

Sasami ran over to give her older sister a hug. "I have to go get ready 
then. You two just eat breakfast without me and when you see Tenchi, 
tell him the same."

Sasami left the kitchen and went upstairs to her room to pack. Both 
Ryoko and Ayeka chuckled at Sasami's eagerness. 

Ayeka turned her attention on Ryoko. "Was it your idea for Sasami to 
come along with us?"

Ryoko gave her a nervous look. "Well.yeah."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" she asked.

Ryoko looked down. "Because I didn't want you to get angry with me."

Ayeka smiled. "Ryoko look at me."

Ryoko looked up to notice Ayeka's kind expression. "So you're not mad?"

Ayeka shook her head. "No, I'm not, but the next time something like 
this happens, be a little more honest with me, alright?"

Ryoko nodded. "Sure, Princess."

Ayeka and Ryoko proceeded to finish eating. Just then Tenchi walked in 
and sat down next to Ryoko.

"Hi there," he said, giving Ryoko a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," she said, smiling.

Tenchi looked around. "Umm.where's Sasami?"

Ayeka and Ryoko shot each other nervous glances. Ryoko looked at 
Tenchi, while scratching the back of her neck.

"Well, Tenchi, darling, she's in her room," said Ryoko.

"What's she doing up there?" he asked, confused.

"She's packing," Ayeka responded.

Tenchi's eyes widened. "You didn't invite her to come along with us, 
did you?"

Ryoko remained silent. Tenchi pressed on, "Did you?"

Ryoko only nodded, while Tenchi let out a sigh of exasperation. "Ryoko, 
it's already bad enough that we're dragging Ayeka along, but Sasami?!"

Ryoko flinched away from him slightly. "Tenchi, please listen to me 
before you get all angry!"

Tenchi crossed his arms. "This had better be good."

Ryoko gulped as she proceeded, "Well, since there are no problems 
anymore on Velsa, I thought that it would be okay to let Sasami come 
with us."

Tenchi sighed. "Very well, just as long as she doesn't go wandering 
around by herself."

Ryoko's face turned from sad to joyful. She then embraced Tenchi in a 
bone-crushing hug. "Oh! Thank you Tenchi!"

Tenchi was trying to break out of her iron grip, but was unsuccessful. 
Ryoko kept on squeezing him tighter and tighter.

Tenchi, about to black out, managed to wheeze out, "Ryoko, 
ai.r.pl.ea.se!"

Ryoko finally noticed that she was hugging him to the extreme and let 
him go. Tenchi grasped the sweet air into his lungs and after about 
twenty minutes, he was okay again.

"Oh, Tenchi! I'm so sorry!" said Ryoko.

"It's okay, Ryoko, but next time, not so tight," he said, pleadingly.

Ryoko smiled. "You got it, my Tenchi!"

Ayeka then noticed something different about her friend. She saw that 
Ryoko's gut had grown much larger in a very quick period of time.

"Umm.Ryoko, why is your stomach so much larger than it was yesterday?" 
asked Ayeka, perplexed.

Ryoko looked down at her stomach and noticed the bulge. "Oh, this?"

Ayeka nodded. Ryoko just patted her stomach and said, "I got Washu to 
speed up the pregnancy to one week yesterday."

"WHAT!" Ayeka and Tenchi blurted out in unison.

"That's right," said Ryoko with a petite smile.

"Ryoko, what would possess you to do such a thing?" asked Tenchi, now 
very confused.

Ryoko blushed at the question. "Well, if you must know, Tenchi."

Ryoko had leaned into Tenchi's ear to give him her explanation. With 
every word being whispered to him, he just turned redder and redder 
until a long drop of blood flowed out of his nose.

Ryoko then pulled away from his ear and continued, "And that is why I 
want to have an early pregnancy. Do you agree with me now, Tenchi 
dear?"

Tenchi didn't know how to respond to what she had just told him, so he 
just nodded his head rapidly. Ryoko grinned at him saucily. "Good boy."

Ayeka giggled at Tenchi's reaction. Before she would have scolded Ryoko 
for saying such brash comments to him, but now she found it amusing.

Ayeka suddenly got up and her friends looked at her. "If you would 
excuse me, I have to go and help my sister." Ryoko and Tenchi just 
looked at her strangely and nodded.

'Hmm.maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring up the idea of sex to 
Tenchi, while she was still in here,' Ryoko contemplated.

Tenchi noticed the worried look on Ryoko's face. "Hey, what's wrong 
honey?"

Ryoko gave him a weak smile. "Oh, nothing's wrong!"

Tenchi raised his left eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" exclaimed Ryoko, forcing a grin.

Tenchi gave her a soft smile. "Alright then, Ryoko."

Ryoko got up and gave Tenchi a quick kiss on the lips. "I have to go 
and take care of something. Just finish eating, okay?"

Tenchi nodded and told her that he would be in his room packing 
afterwards. Ryoko then left to find Ayeka.

Ryoko walked upstairs to Ayeka and Sasami's room. She knocked on the 
door gently.

"Who is it?" a voice asked.

"Ryoko," she answered.

"Alright, come in," replied the voice.

Ryoko made her way into the room to find it strewn with clothing. She 
snickered at its appearance.

'Man, not even my room here was ever this bad,' she thought bemusedly.

Ayeka was sitting on the floor helping her sister pack. Ryoko knelt 
down next to them. "Hey, Ayeka?"

Ayeka turned to her. "Yes?"

"Umm.why did you leave the kitchen so suddenly?" she asked, hesitantly.

Ayeka looked at her curiously. "I left quickly because I wanted to help 
Sasami pack. Why? Is there something wrong?"

Ryoko looked at Sasami. "Hey, Sasami? I need to talk to your sister in 
private. You don't think you could."

Before Ryoko could finish her sentence, Sasami stood up. "I'll leave 
you two alone then. I'll go and keep Tenchi company."

Sasami then left the room and Ayeka turned her full attention on Ryoko. 
"What is wrong?"

Ryoko sighed and looked at her friend. "Well, I thought that you left 
the kitchen because of what I was telling Tenchi."

Ayeka gave Ryoko a shocked look. "Why would you ever think that?"

Ryoko shrugged. "I dunno, I mean, I thought that you would still be 
upset or sad about the whole thing."

"Oh! Is that what this is all about?" she asked.

Ryoko nodded and Ayeka smiled at her. "I am not jealous of you and Lord 
Tenchi, Ryoko. Do you remember what happened when we had that last 
chance to save him from Haruna?"

Ryoko remained silent, but nodded. Ayeka smiled. "I told you that I 
wanted you to go and save him. I did this not only because you were the 
only one who could reach him, but also because I knew that he had loved 
you for a long time."

Ryoko gave her friend a startled look. "How did you know?"

Ayeka smiled sadly. "Before we all came back to Earth, I asked Lord 
Tenchi to stay on Jurai with me. He declined and yes, I was upset, but 
I knew why he wouldn't stay."

Ryoko looked at her friend patiently, waiting for her to finish. Ayeka 
took a deep breath and continued, "It was because of you Ryoko. I could 
tell that he missed you and that's when I figured out that he loved 
you."

Ryoko shot Ayeka a confused look. "Then why did you keep fighting with 
me over him when you knew?"

Ayeka shook her head. "It's because I didn't want it to be true. I 
didn't want to believe that you had won, so I kept on after him, trying 
to win him back to me."

Ryoko took Ayeka's right hand in both of hers. "Ayeka listen to me. You 
are a wonderful person with so much to offer. I am very sure that there 
is someone out there for you."

Ayeka looked up at her friend and graced her with a warm and tearful 
smile. "Thank you, Ryoko. That means so much to me."

Ryoko gave Ayeka a hug. "No problem, babe. If you ever have anything on 
your mind and wanna talk, you know who to talk to."

Ayeka pretended to be thoughtful. "Sasami?"

Ryoko mock glared at her. "No! You know exactly who I mean."

Ayeka giggled. "Yes, I know who you mean and I thank you. You know 
something though? I don't think that I ever really hated you in the 
first place."

"Likewise, Princess," grinned Ryoko.

"I might as well help my sister finish packing or we might here all 
night," observed Ayeka, taking an actual good look at the room's 
condition.

Ryoko chuckled. "Heh, it looks worst than my old room used to."

Ayeka grabbed a pillow and hit Ryoko with it playfully. "Oh, you!"

Ryoko laughed as she got up and left the room. Ayeka remained kneeling 
on the ground, sorting out Sasami's clothes. Ryoko looked at her friend 
once more and smiled. She then left the room unnoticed. Ryoko then left 
to find Sasami.

Ryoko walked downstairs to find Sasami sitting on the couch watching 
TV. She sat down next to the tiny princess and tapped her on her right 
shoulder. Sasami, startled, turned to her rights quickly, and then let 
out a sigh of relief seeing that it was only Ryoko.

"Hey kiddo. Your sister wants ya back upstairs to finish packing," said 
Ryoko.

"Oh! Thanks for telling me Ryoko!" said Sasami.

"No problem kiddo," Ryoko replied. She then watched as Sasami got up 
from the couch she was sitting on and ran upstairs towards the room 
that she shared with her sister.

Ryoko then got up off of the couch and went to find Tenchi. She then 
remembered that he told her that would be in his room. She walked 
upstairs herself and made her way towards Tenchi's room.

She opened the door to Tenchi's room and found it in almost the same 
condition as Ayeka and Sasami's room. She giggled a bit as she entered 
the room completely. She found Tenchi next to his closet, grabbing the 
clothes that he would be wearing and putting them into a pile next to 
him.

She walked up to him and put her arms around him from behind. Even 
though she couldn't see his face, he was smiling.

"Hey, Ryoko," he said in response to her action.

Ryoko grinned. "Why hello, Tenchi dear."

"Would you like to help me out? I would like to get this finished soon, 
so that I may be able to spend the day with you," he said.

"Oh! How sweet! You're rushing so that you can spend the whole day with 
me!" she giggled.

Tenchi swung her around to face him and she giggled again. He smiled at 
her playfulness and he also noticed that there was a glow around her. 
The pregnancy was making her more youthful and vibrant.

"Do you know how beautiful you look right now?" he whispered to her in 
her right ear.

Ryoko blushed and giggled at the same time. "Tenchi!"

At that moment, Tenchi's mouth warmed over Ryoko's. Ryoko was quite 
startled at how bold Tenchi was actually being and in his own house! 
Ryoko just melted into the warm embrace and savored the moment. Once 
they broke apart, Ryoko's face was very flushed.

"What was that for?" she asked, curiously.

"Just because I love you," he said as he hugged her. Ryoko was blushing 
furiously, but she was smiling as well. Sure, he had kissed her plenty 
of times while they were there, on the couch and at the shrine, but 
something about the moment that they were having together right then 
seemed to blow the other moments away. Those other times he had made 
sure that no one was watching them, but this time, he had kept the door 
open to his room and didn't care. She had wanted him to do this while 
they were there, but he hadn't had enough courage. In a way, for her 
anyway, this was admitting that he loved her to the whole world and 
that he wasn't embarrassed to be around her in intimate situations.

'I guess I must be rubbing off on him,' she mused.

"Well then," she started as she pulled away from the hug, "I hate to 
stop this warm and fuzzy moment between us, but we need to get your 
stuff packed."

Tenchi nodded and Ryoko smiled as she got out the suitcase that was 
lying under his bed. She threw it in front of Tenchi and started going 
through the clothes that he had picked, telling him what was 
appropriate and what was not. 

At the shrine, Yosho was sweeping the steps of the shrine. He then 
heard footsteps coming toward him. He looked up and saw his son-in-law, 
Nobuyuki. He looked at the watch on his wrist and it read 11am. 

"Hey dad," said Nobuyuki.

"You're home very early. What time did you leave this morning?" he 
asked.

"Around 5am, why?" asked Nobuyuki.

"You're usually at work until much later. How come you are home so 
early?" he asked.

"Well, I told them that my son was going off somewhere and that I 
wanted to say goodbye to him before he left," replied Nobuyuki.

"You didn't indicate the location, did you?" asked Yosho, eyeing his 
son-in-law carefully.

Nobuyuki shook his head quickly. Yosho had a look of relief painted on 
his face. "Good, we don't need rioters coming around here to see the 
alien women we have here."

Nobuyuki walked up to the steps and sat down. "I'm worried about 
Tenchi."

Yosho looked surprised. "Really? And why is that?"

"The whole assassination deal on Ryoko. It just bothers me and Tenchi 
could've been killed that one night!" he exclaimed.

"Well, it's all over now. Tenchi and Ryoko informed everybody that the 
assassin is now dead. You don't need to worry, besides, Tenchi can take 
care of himself, plus with Ryoko on his side, truly nothing can go 
wrong," Yosho explained.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I should head back to the house now. I 
have a lot of work I need to do in my study," he said.

"I will see you at dinner then," said Yosho. Nobuyuki nodded. "Bye 
now!"

Yosho watched his son-in-law leave. He didn't want to admit it, but he 
was just as worried as Nobuyuki was about Tenchi. He didn't know what 
it was, but he had a feeling that everything bad that was happening to 
Ryoko was not over yet. He knew, though, that Ryoko would do everything 
in her power to protect him. Tenchi could, though, easily take care of 
himself, if need be. Tenchi, thanks to the Juraian Tree Goddess, 
Tsunami, could summon the Light Hawk Wings. 

Yosho was mainly concerned about his grandson because he did not have a 
lot of experience with battles as Ryoko had. Now, if Ryoko were taken 
out, what then? Tenchi may have the skills, but not the amount of 
experience he should have in order to fight someone with the equal 
experience Ryoko had. Yosho would have to be optimistic, for his 
grandson's sake. Yosho then picked up his broom off of the shrine steps 
and proceeded to sweep them again.

Back at the Masaki residence, Ayeka and Sasami are finishing with their 
packing. Ayeka had two suitcases with her, which was decent for the 
First Crowned Princess of Planet Jurai to carry by herself. Sasami only 
had one, but it was large in size.

"Hey, Ayeka? Do you think we have enough?" asked Sasami.

Ayeka took a look at the amount of clothes in Sasami's suitcase and 
nodded. "That's plenty Sasami. Some people may think that this is a lot 
for three weeks, but a princess must always wear clothing that becomes 
her at all periods of the day."

"I just wish my suitcase wasn't so heavy!" complained Sasami as tried 
to lift her suitcase after she had closed it.

Ayeka giggled. "You won't be carrying it Sasami. Ryoko's royal guards 
will be, so you don't need to worry about it."

Sasami gave her sister a cheerful smile. "Well, if you put it that way, 
okay!"

Right then, Ayeka closed her own two suitcases and sat them beside her 
sleeping mat. Sasami had done the same with hers.

"Hey, Ayeka? Do you think that I'll make any friends, while we're on 
Velsa?" asked Sasami.

Ayeka smiled at her younger sister's question. "I don't see why not. 
You're a very sweet and pretty girl Sasami. I'm sure that there will be 
lots of children willing to be your friend while we're there."

"Thank you, Ayeka," giggled Sasami. Right then Sasami's face turned 
from happy to shocked. "Oh no! I forgot about lunch!" She then ran out 
of her and Ayeka's room and rushed downstairs to the kitchen.

Ayeka chuckled at the sight. Her sister was the most innocent person 
she knew. Ayeka then stood up, looked around her room to see if she was 
missing anything for the trip, and then walked out, closing the door 
behind her. She walked downstairs to the family room to find Ryoko 
sitting there watching a soap opera. She sat down next to her and 
became engrossed in the show herself.

Once the soap opera was over, it was lunchtime. Sasami asked Ryoko to 
go and get Tenchi, whom was upstairs in his room resting up for the 
trip and she asked Ayeka to go and get Washu, Nobuyuki, and Yosho.

Ryoko walked into Tenchi's room to find him just waking up. She grinned 
and walked up to him. 

"How was your nap?" she asked.

Tenchi rubbed his eyes for a second, then responded, "Pretty good. I 
just don't want to fall asleep when we're on that Velsan craft. I want 
to make sure that no trouble comes to you."

Ryoko smiled sweetly. "You know, Tenchi, that's my job!"

Tenchi grinned at her. "I know, but I can't help it if I love you so 
much."

Ryoko gave him a swift kiss on the lips. "Come on, Sasami will be 
furious if we don't show up for lunch."

"You are right as always, my angel," Tenchi said sweetly.

Ryoko blushed at the term of endearment. She then grabbed a hold of 
Tenchi's hand and tugged him out of his room. Once they were in the 
hall, she let go and they went downstairs to the dining table. 

Ayeka was doing her own summoning as well. She entered Washu's lab, but 
she was nowhere to be found.

"Miss Washu!" she called out.

"Yes, Ayeka?!" said Washu's voice from a very distant area of her lab.

"It's lunchtime!" she replied.

"Ok! I'll be right out!" said Washu.

Ayeka made her way out of Washu's lab and went to find Tenchi's father, 
Nobuyuki. She opened the door to his study very quietly, so that she 
would not startle him. 

"Umm.Sir? It's lunchtime," she said quietly and gently.

Nobuyuki turned around to see the owner of the gentle voice. "Ah! Miss 
Ayeka! It's lunchtime you say? Well, I'll be on my way shortly, so 
don't wait up!"

Ayeka nodded and exited the study. She walked out of the house's front 
door and made her way towards the shrine. When she got there, she found 
Yosho in the middle of the training grounds meditating. She walked up 
to him and knelt down next to him.

"Hmm? Is someone there?" asked Yosho, still not opening his eyes.

"Yes, Lord Yosho, it is I, Ayeka. I've come to inform you that lunch is 
ready," she said.

"Very well, I'll accompany you back to the house," he said as he got 
up.

They both left the shrine grounds together and walked back to the 
Masaki residence. When they got there they noticed that Tenchi, Ryoko, 
and Sasami were already seated and waiting for them.

"Hey, where are Washu and Tenchi's father?" asked Sasami.

"They'll be around shortly Sasami. I guess Miss Washu wants to finish 
some experiment of hers and Tenchi's father said that he will be here 
soon, but not to wait up for him," Ayeka informed her.

"Ok," said Sasami.

Just then, Nobuyuki appeared. "Hey guys! I'm starved and this, as 
always, looks great Sasami!"

"Thank you," she giggled. "Don't you think that we should wait for 
Washu though?"

"No need Sasami! I'm right here," said Washu's loud and boisterous 
voice.

"That's great! Now, dig in everyone!" said Sasami.

Everyone began to eat and socialize. Once lunch was over, the phone 
rang. Ayeka then ran to answer it.

"Hello, Masaki residence," said Ayeka.

"Oh, hey Ayeka. It's Kiyone. Could you tell Sasami that Mihoshi and I 
are stopping by for dinner this evening," she said.

"Very well, I'll be sure to tell her. Oh, Kiyone, there is something 
interesting that you would like to know about," said Ayeka.

"There is?" asked Kiyone's confused voice.

"Yes, and that is that Ryoko is pregnant," Ayeka announced.

"She's what!" shrieked Kiyone.

Ayeka giggled. "She's pregnant."

"Oh boy. I sure hope that Ryoko knows what she's doing," said Kiyone.

"I'm sure she does and as I said, I'll be sure to let Sasami know that 
you and Mihoshi will be coming for dinner," said Ayeka.

"Thanks, Ayeka. I've gotta go now and scold Mihoshi. She just deleted 
my files off of my computer," said Kiyone in an exasperated tone.

Ayeka chuckled. "That sounds like Mihoshi." She then heard a crash over 
the phone, Mihoshi crying and Kiyone yelling.

Kiyone got back on the phone. "We've just had another incident. Gotta 
go!" Kiyone hung up the phone, ready to kill Mihoshi.

Ayeka then hung up the phone herself and walked into the kitchen to 
help Sasami with the dishes. 

"Sasami, Kiyone and Mihoshi are this evening for dinner," Ayeka 
informed her little sister.

Sasami turned to her sister with a smile on her face. "That sounds 
great Ayeka! I'd like to see them both before we leave for Velsa 
tonight."

"So would I," agreed Ayeka.

They then both finished cleaning the kitchen. Once they were done, 
Ayeka went into the family to read her romance novel, while Sasami went 
outside to play with Ryo-Ohki. 

Ryoko and Tenchi were outside lying on the grass, with Ryoko snuggled 
up into Tenchi's chest. Tenchi had his hands running through Ryoko's 
incredibly soft hair. They were both looking up at the sky and being 
very pensive at that moment.

Just at that moment, Ryoko saw a flying object in the sky. She looked 
at it carefully and noticed that it was her sister's ship.

"Hey, Tenchi? Nagi's here," said Ryoko as she got up.

Tenchi got up as well and stood right next to her, holding her hand. 
Nagi's ship landed right in front of them. Nagi stepped out of the ship 
and Ken-Ohki reverted back into a cabbit. Nagi walked up to Ryoko and 
hugged her.

Once Nagi stepped back, she looked at Ryoko's belly and chuckled. 
"Well, I must say that you've, ahem, grown from the last time that I 
saw you in person."

Ryoko glared at her sister. "I had this done on purpose and don't even 
ask why because I'm not gonna tell ya!" 

Nagi laughed. "I could take one guess that it has to do with the 
wedding night, right?"

Ryoko started to blush. Nagi could see her sister blushing and started 
to laugh harder. "Oh come now, Ryoko! It's not like I don't know about 
that kind of stuff!"

Ryoko grinned sheepishly at her younger sibling. "When you're right, 
you're right."

At that moment, all three of them walked back to Tenchi's house 
together. Dinner wasn't for another two hours, so they had time to 
talk. Nagi and Ryoko were reminiscing about the days when they were 
younger and their parents were still alive.

"Hey, Nagi? Do you remember the time I put super glue in Adrian's 
hair?" asked Ryoko with a mischievous smile.

"It's kinda hard to forget. It took him three weeks to get all of that 
gunk out of his hair!" laughed Nagi.

"Well, at least I wasn't as bad as you were," countered Ryoko.

"I'll admit it. I was actually worst than you were when we were 
younger," Nagi confessed.

"I remember that time you took mom's favorite dress and cut it so that 
it would fit you," Ryoko giggled.

"I remember that. Oh, God! It looked like a rag once I was done with 
it," she moaned, while shaking her head.

"You always got into trouble, Nagi. At times, even when I was the one 
at fault, they still blamed you!" said Ryoko.

"Yes, I know," she said, glaring at her sister.

"This one is a classic. Do you remember the karaoke contest that mom 
and dad had at the palace?" asked Ryoko with a very devious smile 
playing on her face.

"If you even mention that one more time." Nagi started to say, but got 
cut off by her sister.

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad!" said Ryoko, trying not to laugh.

"I sounded like a frog. I sounded like dad!" Nagi retorted.

"Who won, Nagi?" Ryoko asked, feigning innocence.

"You did after you jinxed it for me!" Nagi shot back at her.

"I did not jinx it! It's not my fault that you can't sing," Ryoko 
pouted.

Tenchi smiled at them. He was thoroughly enjoying the stories that the 
sisters were exchanging with each other.

"Oh, yeah! Remember the hotel that we went to that summer. You know, 
with the beach." Ryoko got cut off when she felt something move in her 
stomach.

"Ryoko, what is it? What's wrong?" asked a very concerned Tenchi.

"Yes, Ryoko, is there something wrong?" asked Nagi, also very 
concerned.

Ryoko looked at Tenchi with pure awe written all over her face. 
"Tenchi, it kicked!"

Tenchi looked confused. "What kicked?"

"The baby kicked!" Ryoko exclaimed proudly.

Tenchi rushed over to where she was sitting and put his head to her 
stomach to hear it. The baby kicked once more and he looked up at Ryoko 
with tears in his eyes. "Our baby is moving in there! Our baby!"

Tenchi and Ryoko hugged each other tightly. Nagi watched them with a 
warm smile on her face. Ayeka and Sasami had walked over to see what 
the commotion was.

"What's going on?" Ayeka queried.

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Sasami, who was as equally curious as her 
sister was.

Ryoko smiled at them. "Well.the baby just kicked!"

"That's wonderful, Ryoko!" Ayeka congratulated.

"That's really great!" Sasami declared.

Ayeka and Sasami walked over to Ryoko and crouched in front of her 
belly.

"May we hear it, Ryoko?" Ayeka asked gently.

"Sure, Ayeka," responded Ryoko with a smile.

Ayeka put her right ear against Ryoko's stomach. Once she heard it, she 
smiled and pulled away.

"It really tickles the ear," Ayeka commented.

"It may do that to you, but it's really tickling the inside of my 
stomach!" Ryoko exclaimed.

Ayeka laughed at her friend's comment as Sasami put her right ear 
against Ryoko's stomach. The baby had kicked twice, while Sasami was 
there.

Sasami giggled. "You were right, Ayeka. It really does tickle!"

Ryoko smiled at the little girl. "The baby must really like you, 
Sasami. It kicked twice for you."

Sasami smiled. "I know. It caused twice as much ticklishness on my 
ear!"

At that very moment, they all heard a knock at the door. 

"I'll get it!" said Sasami. When Sasami opened the door, she saw 
Mihoshi and Kiyone standing there.

"Guess what, you guys!" exclaimed the little princess as soon as 
Mihoshi and Kiyone were inside the house.

"What is it, Sasami? You seem so happy," Mihoshi observed.

"Ryoko's baby just kicked!" Sasami said happily.

Mihoshi and Kiyone rushed over to Ryoko to hear it for themselves. 
Sasami followed them there.

"Is it true? Did the baby just kick?" asked a bewildered Kiyone.

"Yep," answered a very happy Ryoko.

"May Mihoshi and I listen to it?" asked Kiyone.

Ryoko beamed a smile at them. "Sure!"

Kiyone and Mihoshi walked over to Ryoko and put their ears on her 
stomach, at the same time. Once the baby kicked, the two GP officers 
looked up at Ryoko and smiled.

"I'm so very happy for you, Ryoko. You will make a great mother I just 
know it," said Kiyone with confidence.

Ryoko gave her a tearful smile. "Thanks, Kiyone."

Mihoshi started to cry. "This is all too beautiful!"

Kiyone began to comfort her crying partner. "There, there Mihoshi."

While everyone was being social, Sasami had gone to cook dinner for 
them. She was preparing a very large and special dinner for everybody.

That one-hour before dinner flew by quickly. Sasami walked back into 
the family room to find them still conversing. 

"Hey everybody! Dinner's ready!" exclaimed Sasami.

Everyone stopped talking and rushed over to the dining table to eat. 
Sasami had many types of food being served that night that no one could 
even identify certain types of food at times. In the center of the 
table was a large cake that said, "Happy Birthday and Coronation to 
Ryoko!"

Ryoko smiled at Sasami. Thank you, Sasami. That was really thoughtful 
of you."

Sasami smiled back at Ryoko. "You're welcome!" 

Ryoko took the cake knife and cut it down the center. She started 
making perfectly neat little squares out of the cake. She put down the 
cake knife once she was done and everybody dug in.

Sasami noticed that Washu was missing. "Umm.where's Miss Washu? Wasn't 
she with all of you?"

Everybody shook his or her heads no. Sasami wondered where Washu could 
have gone to when she appeared out of nowhere.

"Wow, Sasami! You've really outdone yourself this time," the boisterous 
voice of Washu proclaimed.

"Thank you, Miss Washu," Sasami said with smile.

"So, I hear that you, your sister, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Nagi are leaving 
tonight for Velsa," said Washu.

"That's right, Miss Washu!" Sasami exclaimed.

"Well, I hope that you all have a great trip," said Washu.

"Thank you, Little Washu. I have a feeling that we will," said Tenchi.

"Are you sure that you won't come with us, Mi." Ayeka caught the glare 
from Washu and fixed her question. "Little Washu?"

Washu shook her. "I can't, Ayeka and you know very well why."

"I see. Well, we'll see you when we get back then," said Ayeka.

Washu nodded. "Yeah."

Ryoko looked at Washu curiously. 'What could she be so sad about? Maybe 
I shouldn't pry into her life, but I can sense that something is wrong 
with her. I'll wait until the coronation is over to speak with her.' 

With that said, everybody started eating again. 

Once everybody had finished dinner, Ayeka, Tenchi, and Ryoko helped 
Sasami clean up.

"Thanks, you guys. This really helps a lot," Sasami said gratefully.

"Whatever we can do to help, Sasami, we will," said Tenchi.

"Yeah, Sasami. You know that you can always count on us," said Ryoko 
with a wink.

Sasami giggled as they all made their way to the kitchen to wash the 
dishes. 

Once that was done, Sasami looked up that kitchen clock.

"Hey, umm.don't you think that we should get our things down here now?" 
asked Sasami.

The other three in the kitchen looked up at the clock and nodded at 
Sasami. They then all went to their rooms to retrieve their belongings.

In Ayeka and Sasami's room, Sasami was complaining about the weight of 
her suitcase.

"Ayeka, it's so heavy!" cried Sasami.

Ayeka shook her head at her sister. "Sasami, all you have to do is 
bring it downstairs. After that, Ryoko's royal guards will take care of 
it, remember?"

Sasami flashed her sister a sheepish smile. "Oh, yeah, that's right."

In Tenchi's room, Ryoko was helping him with his suitcases.

"Are you sure that you can carry those bags in your condition?" asked a 
worried Tenchi.

"Yes, Tenchi, I'm sure," said a frustrated Ryoko.

"Are you very sure?" Tenchi asked again.

Ryoko was getting annoyed. "Yes, Tenchi. I am very, very sure."

Tenchi sighed. "Alright."

Once everybody got their belongings, they all went back downstairs and 
sat down in the family room where Nagi was sitting. They all sat down 
on the couch as they waited for the Velsan guards arrival, patiently 
and quietly.

The guards arrived forty-five minutes later. They helped everyone carry 
their bags on the ship. Once everyone was inside the ship, it took off.

The ride back to Velsa was completely uneventful. Everyone was quiet, 
while Sasami played with Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki.

When they arrived on Velsa, they were all too tired to think, so they 
all were escorted to the guestrooms. 

Ryoko went to her own bedroom and plopped down on her bed. She had seen 
the looks that Marcos and Adrian had given her when they saw her belly. 
They were definitely not pleased, but when she told them that baby had 
started kicking, they had both given her a gentle group hug and then 
they both pressed their ears up against Ryoko's stomach. Ryoko chuckled 
at the memory, but now sleep was coming over her like a blanket and 
when she finally closed her eyes, she had a peaceful smile on her face.




A/N: Nothing to say on this chapter, so until I have chapter 10 up, ja 
ne!