Hi,
Don't ask me where this one came from, I was in the middle of writing
some really nasty Hallowe'en stuff when this ridiculously WAFFy idea
came to me. Enjoy it, get weepy, or tell me to get lost. ^_^ C&C is
welcome.
Oh - and this takes place as an alternate end to episode 25 of the TV
series.
Shunsuke
---
"Bullshit is bullshit, it just goes by different names."
- Paul Weller (The Jam), 1982
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Tenchi Muyo! "Gone To Meet Her Maker"
by Shunsuke -|||
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Kagato was dead.
Jurai was no longer under the control of the power hungry dictator,
now its citizens were free and welcomed the rightful emporer of the
planet. But while Tenchi and his friends appreciated the cheers and
celebration, their celebration was cut short by the return of Nagi.
She landed her ship at the palace to be greeted by everyone, but there
was no joy to be found as the door to the ship opened and she stepped
out.
Carrying Ryouko's lifeless body.
* * * *
Nobukyuki sat on the couch silently beside Tenchi with his arm around
his son's shoulders, comforting him. Ayeka sat next to Sasami trying
to console her sobbing sister, trying to hold back her own tears;
Ryo-Ohki sat very silently on Sasami's lap, sighing, cuddling in
Sasami's arms.
"Stupid Mihoshi," thought Kiyone as she knelt beside her partner who
was crying endlessly, not smart enough to appreciate that this was the
death of someone they were supposed to put a stop to, or so Kiyone
tried to explain to herself.
Through all this, Katsuhiro silently walked about pouring tea for them
all, his face a mask that displayed nothing.
Silence hung over the room for a long time, none of them able to speak
their feelings. To everyone's surprise, including her own, the only
one who could manage to talk about Ryoko's death was Ayeka.
"Lord Tenchi, this...this is not how I would have wanted things to
be. No one would have wished her dead, not even I..."
"I know, Ayeka, I know. Just because you were rivals doesn't mean you
didn't respect each other," Tenchi said, knowing they were more like
friends.
The room descended into silence again as everyone had said what they
felt, all remorseful that their mutual friend, enemy, annoyance, and
partner was gone. The silence was awful, but none knew of any way to
break it and deal with the pain except to remember.
The door to the room opened and Washu stepped in, drying her hands on
a towel. She entered the waiting room, a look of surprise on her face
at the scene that stood before her.
"What's wrong, everyone?" she asked.
"Washu, have you been alive so long that deaths don't mean anything to
you anymore, not even your own daughter?" asked Kiyone, best able to
speak of all of them.
"Of course not! Seeing your friends die always hurts, no matter how
old you are."
"But Washu," choked Tenchi, "This was your own child, even if you
built her and she wasn't flesh and blood."
"I know I built her, you don't have to give birth to something to feel
attachment to it," Washu said, looking at Ryo-Ohki with a wink.
"Miya?!" she cried, her ears perking up.
"Of course, my little friend," Washu smiled as removed the shoulder
straps and brought the pack off her back. To everyone's surprise,
they were all looking at a baby wrapped in cloth, a small, cyan-haired
child who lay fast asleep.
"But, Washu," Tenchi babbled, unbelieving of the sight before him, "No
one...uh, I mean...."
"C'mon, Tenchi, I built Ryoko, everyone knew that. But who else do
you think could possibly have built Ryo-Ohki?" she said with a smile
before she left the room.
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