Chapter Thirteen

It was early morning when they reached the Earth.

Ryoko rested her hands on the ship's controls, gazing out with fondess at the surrounding scenery as Ryo Ohki made her careful descent into the mountain greenery, yowling with pleasure that they were finally in familiar territory.

"Well, Ryo Ohki. I guess we're here." The pirate said softly, a pensive look touching her expression as the craft let out a mew of agreement, touching her jagged exterior down between the trees. She let out a soft red light, and Ryoko allowed herself to be transmitted down onto the ground, pausing and examining her surroundings as the ship transformed back into her cabbit form. It was Spring now on the Earth, she noted. The trees all around her were heavy with pink blossoms, proof that they had been away a long time.

Ryo Ohki yowled, leaping up onto her shoulder with a tired purr.

"Home?"

The thought transmitted into Ryoko's brain as a question, and the pirate cast Ryo Ohki a smile, hesitating, then nodding her head.

"I sure hope so." She agreed. "It feels like we've been travelling forever, Ryo Ohki."

She sighed, looking rueful as she leant up against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Would you believe I'm nervous?" She murmured softly. "He's left Jurai - but what if he doesn't want to see me? I mean, he made his choice aboard Yagami. He went to Ayeka, and even if he didn't choose to see it through, it doesn't mean that he'll want me any more than he did her. What if he just wants us to all leave him alone, Ryo Ohki? We did all upset his life once...what if he just came back here for some peace and quiet?"

She glanced at her hands.

"I know, I sound like a fool." She muttered. "But when you're apart a long time, doubts creep in. I never thought I could be sick of seeing stars...but it does seem like this is the longest trip we've ever made. Not knowing...that's the worst thing in the world. After everything, not knowing how he even feels..."

Ryo Ohki let out a peculiar noise which might have been a snort, burrowing her nose into her mistress's neck. Ryoko grimaced.

"All right, no need to rub it in." She retorted. "So, I guess we could hang around here all day, or we could head up to the house. The house or...or the shrine. What do you think? Will Tenchi be helping his grandfather this morning, or will he be at home?"

Ryo Ohki hesitated, then jumped down to the ground, her body stiffening as her ears pricked up. Ryoko's brows knitted together in confusion.

"Ryo Ohki?"

Ryo Ohki turned her head, flicking her ears as she did so, and Ryoko's frown deepened.

"Footsteps?" She echoed. "But I don't hear anything. Are you sure?"

Ryo Ohki nodded her head. She cast her mistress a glance, then turned her back, disappearing into the undergrowth. Ryoko hesitated for a moment, then drew herself upwards into the branches of the tree, perching carefully on the end of the sturdiest branch as she did so. Her heart jumped inside of her chest.

It could be anyone, she knew that. And yet, somehow, she knew that it was him.

"Why am I hiding? Don't be so stupid." She muttered. "This is Tenchi, not the Galaxy Police. You came all this way to see him. Why are you shy of him now, Ryoko? Get a grip on yourself, will you? This isn't like you at all!"

Ryo Ohki's thoughts buzzed against hers, echoing her sentiments, and she sighed.

"I just don't want him to tell me to go away." She admitted to herself. "I don't want to be anywhere else. I just want to be here with him. That's all. I just don't know what I'll do if he doesn't want me to stay."

At that moment a young man stepped into the clearing, clad in smart high school uniform and with his bag slung over his shoulder as he walked. Ryoko's heart stilled in her chest as she saw him, emotion flooding through every bit of her body as she struggled to keep her composure. After so much and so long apart, he was right there. Within touching distance, almost. And still she stayed where she was, afraid to break the moment with her impulsiveness.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Tenchi stopped in his tracks, turning to glance behind him. For a moment, nothing moved, and Ryoko froze, holding her breath as she waited for him to look upwards. But he did not. As he turned back to her, Ryoko thought she saw dejection on his face, and her heart leapt into her throat.

Was it Ayeka that he was missing? Or was it something else?

Well, whichever one it was, she could stand the suspense of it no more. Taking a deep breath, she lifted herself out of the tree's protective branches, dropping down onto a large smooth boulder with all of her usual grace. At first, she thought he had not seen her, so lost in thought was he. But then, as he swung around to face her, Ryoko saw the mixture of emotions run through his eyes. Surprise, relief, and even joy flooded his face as he stared at her, unable to believe what he was seeing.

A smile touched her lips, as a warm glow flooded through her.

"Hey." She murmured softly.

Her companion did not answer, seemingly spellbound and tongue-tied by her sudden appearance, and something in his expression made her realise that her fears had all been misplaced. Launching herself from her rock pedestal with a joyful cry, she flung herself on him, his bag slipping from his fingers as he hurried to catch her in his arms. As they came together, Ryoko felt a surge of happiness welling up inside of her. Now it would all be all right, she knew.

Now she was finally home.

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Well, so now she was alone.

Ayeka carefully fastened the door of her chamber, hesitating for a moment, then making her way slowly back towards her bed, dropping down onto the covers as she ran over the events of the past few days. In a blur of meetings, discussions and negotiations, she had felt the heavy weight of her old life fall once more onto her shoulders, and she knew that, before too long, the words 'marriage meeting' would once more be uppermost on the Council's lips.

She felt trapped.

"Trapped...and alone." She muttered, rolling onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. "And fed up with both of those things. I'm a Princess of Jurai, but Tenchi is right. I have no choices - he had no choices. Nothing here happens because I tell it to. I get told what to do and everyone else expects me to be perfection - no cracks, no wrong decisions. It's all such a strain. But I always managed it before. Now Tenchi is gone, it's twice as hard to do. It was nice having someone to share it with for once. Now it's all on me again. All on me."

She sighed, sitting upright and drawing her knees to her chest, hugging them to her tightly.

"I always handled this in the past." She mused. "But I suppose it's true, what they say about a caged bird who has a few moments of free flight. No matter how big the cage, or how much food or attention that bird gets, she'll always long to fly free again. I'm the bird in the gilded cage and I know it better than ever, now. I don't want to be on Jurai. I want to be back on the Earth - with Tenchi and his family, where I can be free. Why do I have to be burdened with so many things? Sasami has never had half the pressure on her that I've had on me! And it's not fair...it's just not. I'm not even a direct descendant of the last Emperor. Why should it all fall to me? There are a lot of branch families. Why does it have to be mine that the Council settled upon?"

For a moment she just sat there, trying to control the tears as they slipped silently down her cheeks, soaking the ends of her thick silken hair. Then her expression became one of determination, and with one sharp movement she dashed the tears away, forcing herself to take control of her emotions. She got to her feet, making her way resolutely across her chamber to the elegant wood desk that stood on the far side of the room, sitting down in the hand-carved chair and pulling a sheet of scroll paper from the roll that lay carelessly to one side.

"I know what I want to do, and I know what I should do and they're two different things." She muttered to herself. "But I know what I'm going to do, nonetheless. None of my life has ever been mine, and none of it ever will be if I don't take my chance now, while it's still there. Tenchi didn't leave me - he left Jurai, because he didn't want the responsibility of being Emperor. Well, I understand that. And I don't want it - not yet. If it is my future, then it can wait a while. I'm not done experiencing things yet."

Taking the stylograph in her hand, she paused for a moment, then slowly, she began to write, her words looping quickly across the page as she struggled to put her thoughts and feelings into a coherent message. At length she stopped, signing the screed with her own name and then smoothing it out, re-reading back the contents.

'Sasami-chan,

You might be upset when you find out what I've done - and I know a lot of people will be angry with me. But I know you'll understand better than anyone when I tell you that I can't stay here...not now so much is different. I've been trapped in this life for a long time, and it's time I spread my wings a little. I know now that there is a world outside Jurai and the throne and I want to savour more of it before I submit to the Council and their wishes. I'm not ready to marry, and I'm not ready to become Queen. There's so much more I need to do and to explore before I get to that point.

Please don't be angry with me and don't worry about my safety. I will be quite all right, I assure you of that - I know where I'm going and what I plan to do when I get there. Be good, little sister, and don't let anyone bully you into doing anything you don't want to do.

With all my love,

Ayeka.'

Satisfied, she rolled the single sheet into a tube, fastening it with a ribbon and setting it down on her desk. Then she got to her feet, hurrying to her wardrobe as she rummaged through, gathering together a random array of her belongings as she pulled them into a ramshackle pile. Fastening them tightly together, she pulled her cloak from it's hook, slipping it around her shoulders as she unfastened her bedroom door, leaving it ajar as she slipped out along the high-roofed corridor towards the Royal Garden where all of the Juraian tree-ships slept.

Ryu Oh was still grounded on the Earth, she knew that - but even so, she was sure that she could find a craft to give her safe passage.

"After all, I'm the Crown Princess of Jurai." She told herself firmly. "And for once, I'm going to do something that I want to do, instead of what the Council want me to do! Tenchi was right - life is for living and Kagato or not, I'm going to make sure I get a chance to live it!"

-------------------------

"I thought you were dead."

As they walked slowly through the falling cherry blossoms, Tenchi shot his companion another disbelieving glance, almost afraid he was still hallucinating, and that his imagination had now taken control of all of his senses. She eyed him thoughtfully, mischief sparkling in her golden eyes as she shook her head. Gently, she reached across to touch his cheek.

"Tenchi. Have you no faith in me at all?" She asked reproachfully. Tenchi frowned.

"Well, you didn't come back." He said softly. "After you left me on Jurai. I didn't think that it would be the last time...well, I didn't realise it was a proper goodbye. I thought..."

"You think too much, sometimes." Ryoko shook her head. "I couldn't have stayed on Jurai or come back to Yagami. You must have known that."

"I suppose I didn't realise."

"And it wasn't the last time." Ryoko added playfully. "I'm here now, aren't I? And so are you. So you see, it wasn't a final goodbye after all."

"No, I know." Tenchi acknowledged. He stopped, turning to look at her, and she paused alongside him, sending him a quizzical look.

"Well, Tenchi? What is it?" She murmured. "Are you not happy to see me, after all this time?"

"Oh Ryoko." Tenchi's expression became sad as he took in the hurt in her expression. "Of course I am. It's just hard to believe you're here, that's all. Washu had me believing you'd taken a mortal injury against Kagato, and when I came back to Earth and you weren't even here...well, I thought she was right. If you must know, it's like seeing a ghost."

Ryoko let out a peal of laughter, the hurt fading from her eyes. She shook her head.

"I'm no ghost." She said, tweaking at his cheek playfully, and for once Tenchi did not mind the familiarity of her touch. "See? Besides, ghosts don't take battle scars and I assure you, Kagato left his mark on me. Takes more than that to kill a pirate, though. You should have known that."

Ryo Ohki let out a miaow at this, and Ryoko's expression became sheepish.

"Oh well, yes. I suppose I did have your help." She acknowledged, turning her gaze on the small creature. "But the details aren't important. What is is that we're all together again now. Right?"

She eyed Tenchi thoughtfully, then,

"Were you worried about me, Tenchi?"

"Yes, I was." Tenchi nodded. "I felt that I should have known you were hurt...and that it was my fault, if something had happened to you because you helped me. I didn't like that at all, Ryoko. I should have realised you were injured...I was just so distracted, with Grandpa so ill."

He smiled.

"I owe you his life, also. He's made a full recovery, and he wouldn't have been able to do that without your intervention into the battle. I seem to owe you a lot of favours, Ryoko, don't I?"

"We-e-ell..." Ryoko began, then she relented. "Oh, don't be silly. The only thing I want from you is to know that you don't mind me being here, that's all."

Her eyes twinkled.

"And knowing you were worried about me. That's enough."

"Ryoko..."

"No." Ryoko shook her head, pressing a slender finger to his lips. "I don't want you to say anything else. I don't know why you left Jurai, or why you didn't stay with Ayeka. And I don't want to know, either. You did, and that's all that matters to me now. I couldn't have gone there or seen you again, if you'd stayed, but here, I can see you as much as I like. And that makes me happy, Tenchi-kun."

She paused, resting her hands on his shoulders as she met his gaze with an uncharacteristically thoughtful one of her own.

"One day, I hope you'll understand how important you are to me." She murmured. "And maybe, you'll come to feel the same way for me as I do for you."

Tenchi's cheeks blazed red at this, and she laughed, shaking her head.

"Now I've embarrassed you." She observed, her tones unrepentant. "It is like old times already, isn't it?"

"Ryoko, you know you mean a lot to me." Tenchi began, but Ryoko shook her head.

"I know that, but I also know that the others do, too." She said quietly. "Washu. Miho-Kiyo. Sasami. Ayeka. You miss all of them as well, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Tenchi agreed. "It's strange but it's been like the breaking up of my family, in some ways. Saying goodbye to everyone after all we've been through. Noone else here really understands what that was like, except Dad and Grandpa and they seem to have gone back to everyday life as if it never happened. I've found it harder to do that. Things remind me, and I've missed it more than I realised I would."

He pursed his lips.

"Do you really think they'll come back?"

"I'm certain of it." Ryoko nodded her head. "You're like a magnet, Tenchi. The thing that brought us all together in the first place. How else would such a motley group of people wind up living together in such a remote part of the universe? It's all you...you're the thing that binds us together. And I'm sure it will bring them back here, too. Just you wait. They'll come."

"I hope you're right." Tenchi admitted. "I'd like to see everyone again. I really would."

Ryoko sighed, and a wistful look entered her golden eyes.

"Yes, I know." She acknowledged. "But it would be nice to have some time with you on my own. Just a few days...just for a change. I didn't know if I would ever get back to you, Tenchi. I didn't know a lot of things for a while. And now I'm here...is that too much to ask?"

Tenchi stared at her, his heart skipping a beat as he took in her expression. He shook his head, hesitating and then reaching out to take her gloved hand in his. He squeezed it gently, and she stared at him, surprise crossing her features.

"Tenchi?"

"It's not too much to ask." Tenchi said gently. "I missed you a whole lot on Jurai, Ryoko. It was tense and busy and full of things I couldn't get my head around. It's such a beautiful planet, Jurai. But there was something missing there. And I'm starting to think that it was you."

Ryoko's eyes became big at this, and he smiled sheepishly, suddenly feeling very conscious of her fingers in his. He released her hand, reaching up to scratch his head awkwardly. "I mean that..."

"It doesn't matter." Ryoko held up her hand to stop him, shaking her head. "Some things don't need explanation, Tenchi. In fact, sometimes they're better left unsaid."

Tenchi glanced at her, then nodded slowly.

"Yes. Maybe you're right." He agreed.

He glanced down at his watch, letting out an exclamation. "And I'm going to miss my bus! I'm going to be in so much trouble if I'm late for school!"

"I guess Noboyuke-san and Lord Katsuhito won't be too happy with me if I make you late on my first day back here." Ryoko looked pensive. "And they might not let me stop with you again, if you get into trouble because of me. Oh well. I guess that cuts our conversation a little short, doesn't it? We'll just have to make time to go further into it later, when school is done."

"But the bus leaves in ten minutes! I'll never get there in time!"

"Never say never, Tenchi." Mischief flickered in Ryoko's eyes and she put a gentle hand on his shoulder, reaching up to touch his cheek once more. "Not when you're in the company of a space pirate."

She tightened her grip, tilting her head slightly as she took in his confusion.

"You'll catch your bus, I promise you. And then, when you get home tonight, we can continue this. All right?"

"All right...but what are you going to...?"

Anything else Tenchi might have said was lost as suddenly the world around him whirled and twisted into light. He screwed up his eyes, aware of Ryoko's laughter echoing distantly in the background. And then, as soon as it had come, the uncertainty was gone, and he opened his eyes, realising that they were only a few feet from the bus stop, sheltered from the view of the road by trees and hedges. He stared at her, then a smile touched his lips.

"Thanks." He said. "My head now feels like it's made of spaghetti, but at least I won't be late."

"You're welcome." Ryoko's eyes twinkled. "Till tonight, Tenchi. I look forward to it."

She paused, blowing him a kiss. And then, as he watched, she flickered and faded into nothing. He sighed, tightening his grip on his school bag as he made his way slowly up to join the other waiting commuters at the bus stop. A warm feeling settled in his heart as he did so, glancing up at the sky and taking in anew the clear, sunshiny spring day. Suddenly everything seemed a lot brighter than it had done when he'd left home that morning, and he wondered at it.

"You know, I look forward to it, too." He murmured. "I think we have a lot still to talk about, but right now, I'm just happy to have you back."