Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ The Short End of the Stick ❯ Ryoko's Return ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Short End of the Stick Chapter 2:
Ryoko's Return
A Fanfic by EmpressGalaxia
None of the ownership. None. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Zero. Beans. Squat. Nil. Null. Cero. Nothing. In case you don't know, I don't own Tenchi Muyo!.

"Akari, stay down," I tell him. He's only ten, but with me as a mother, he should have learned some stealth by now. "We don't want them to see us." Yet, I think silently.
"Sorry, Mom. I'm just trying to see that little girl over there. She looks like me," he replies. He peeks his head out of the trees again to watch the mother sweeping the porch, her spawn dancing and playing around her. I know what little girl he's looking at: she has purple hair and deep brown eyes with the brightest grin imaginable. I run a hand over his short, cropped, teal hair. They look like they could be related. In fact, they are.
Now how do I tell him that?
"C'mon, Akari, better late than never."
"Mama, why are we here again?" he asks as we both float down from the branches.
"We're visiting an old friend of mine, honey. And an old enemy, in a sense."
The purple-haired woman sweeping the porch sees us approaching and shields her eyes from the sun, trying to get a better look. Her children flock behind her, not used to strangers in this little mountain house.
When she recognises me, her body visibly stiffens. She relaxes politely. "Ryoko."
She smiles the smug smile of a princess. She won him, but only because the stakes were considerably lowered after I left.
"Aeka."
"How have you been?"
"I've been good. Traveling the galaxy with my boy here," I smile.
For the first time, she takes a good look at Akari.
She faints when she recognises his eyes.
Her kids flock around her, shooting me dirty looks every now and then. They definitely inherited that from their mommy dearest.
An older boy runs inside and calls for "Dad."
I see him and my breath catches.
He has only gotten better looking with age. He has small patches of grey at his temples, and small lines stray across his forehead. A thin mustache decorates his lips. I can't even say hello.
He doesn't even look in my direction, but rushes to Aeka. He holds up her head and feels her temperature. He looks at his children, asking, "What happened to Mommy?"
The three of them point to me.
"Ryoko?!"
I am able to form a smile, but I still can't speak.
"Ryoko, what are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you, too, Tenchi."
He picks up Aeka like she's a rag doll. A life in the shrine and at the farm has given him some nice muscles. "Kids, this is Miss Ryoko. Say hello."
They give a nasty "Hi."
He carries his wife inside, flanked by his brood. I follow. Inside, it's cool, the house looking a lot like how I remember it. The couches, the table, everything's perfect.
He carries Aeka upstairs, I assume to their bedroom. Ha. Their bedroom. Never thought about it like that before. But I suppose I should if they have this many kids.
I turn to three precocious little children who wish death upon myself and my son for bringing about this whole event.
"So, what are your names?"
The oldest, a boy with dark hair and violet eyes, replies, "Yosho."
The middle child, a girl who looks exactly like a miniature Aeka, answers, "Sasami."
The youngest, the girl Akari had been so interested in earlier, answers, "Achika."
I smile. "Good to know your mommy and daddy are keeping things in the family."
Achika points at Akari. "What's your little boy's name?" She couldn't be more than five.
I slap my son on the back of his head. "Answer a lady when she asks you a question, boy."
He bows and kisses her hand. "My name is Akari Ginga." The little girl giggles. I taught him how to act in polite society, hoping his father would be proud when they meet.
Ginga is a name I picked up before I left a decade ago. It means "galaxy." That's what I wanted for Akari. Everything in the galaxy.
"Yosho, Sasami, Achika!" Tenchi yells from upstairs. "Come watch your mother and make sure she's okay!" They bolt up the stairs, only Achika waving goodbye.
He comes downstairs and smiles at me. "Hello, Ryoko. Long time, no see."
"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes, I'll say that."
He comes over and gives me a hug.
"That's dangerous, you know. You're even better looking now."
"Oh, stop it." He lets me go and looks at me. "You've hardly aged yourself. But what brings you to Okayama now?"
"You do, Tenchi. I had to come back to see you sometime."
"All right, then tell me what happened to Aeka?"
"She had a fainting spell."
"And what brought on this sudden spell?"
I turn to Akari. "Introduce yourself, kiddo."
He bows. "My name is Akari Ginga. Pleased to meet you."
Tenchi looks at me and smiles, before bowing to Akari. "I'm Tenchi Masaki. Pleased to meet you, too."
Their heads rise up from the bows at the same time and they lock eyes. A tension-filled moment occurs, and then nothing. Tenchi looks like he's scared for his life. Akari looks confused out of his mind.
"Akari, go upstairs with Tenchi's kids and make sure Miss Aeka is okay."
"Okay, Mom!" He bounds upstairs.
"'Mom'?"
"Is it so horrible that I'm a mother?"
"No, it's just that -- you're not someone I expected as the maternal type." He's still getting his bearings from his encounter with Akari. "Ryoko, what was that?"
"You mean 'who was that.'"
"No, I mean what just happened. I feel like there's -- there was some sort of connection there. Why is that?"
"Tenchi, you can be a real idiot sometimes."
"That doesn't explain a thing, Ryoko."
"What did we do the night that I left?"
He laughs bitterly. "Ryoko, I've tried not to think about that night. I feel guilty whenever I do, because I've never told Aeka."
"I think Aeka knows."
"What?! Did you tell her, Ryoko?"
"No. But she took one look at Akari and passed out. She put a few things together."
"What's there to put together? What does Akari have to do with our night together and Aeka's -- oh, no..."
"One of the side effects of sex, Tenchi, is that every now and then reproduction takes place. Whether you view that as a fortunate or unfortunate side effect is up to you."
He falls back onto the couch. "He's mine?"
"Technically, he's ours, and deeper than that, he's mine, considering I've been raising him."
"That's why I felt a connection. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
I sit next to him. "I left for a reason, Tenchi. You had made a choice and I thought I'd leave it at that. I always wanted you to know him, but I didn't know how to approach it. Finally I decided just to be straightforward with it."
"So now what do we do?"
"We do nothing. You're married. Unless," I throw my arms around him, "you want to run away together."
"Ryoko! I'm too old for that, and besides, I've got a family now!"
"Bring along the kids. Just leave Aeka here, it'll be great!"
"Ryoko."
"I know, I know. Can't blame a girl for trying."
He puts his face in his hands. "I just can't believe it. I've got another son."
"Well, I didn't exactly ask for him, and seeing him everyday is torture. He reminds me too much of you, and what could have been."
"Ryoko, I can't stand being drawn into this again."
"Into what?"
"I loved you both once upon a time. But you left. I got over my feelings for you and love only Aeka. You can't come back now and expect me to love you like I did."
He should have just hit me with a sack of bricks. It would have hurt less. "Hey! Who says I still love you? I just thought it was common courtesy to let you know that he exists. A briefing on the matter, you know?" Damn you tears, if you start showing, I'll rip out my eyes. "I stopped loving you a long time ago. He doesn't need a father, you know, I take care of him just fine by myself." Dammit, tears. Stop. "And, I'll -- I'll be fine without you, it doesn't matter if looking into his eyes reminds me of you or what we did or my feelings and love for you--"
And the damn fool does what he did ten years ago.
He kisses me.
I want to say no. This is only going to bring more trouble. This isn't right. This isn't solving anything. This is how we got into this mess.
But instead I kiss back.
He pulls away first and mutters, "Dammit."
"I heard that, Tenchi."
"I heard it, too. And saw it myself."
We turn to the top of the stairs to see Aeka peering down at us.
I teleported to the top of the stairs, grabbed Akari, and disappeared to the back porch.
"Mom, what's wrong?" he asks, dumbfounded.
I can only answer through tears. "Mommy has done a lot of stupid things in her life, and she just did another."
"Am I still the smartest thing you've done, Mom?"
I smile. "Having you was the smartest thing I've done." What I did to bring you into this world was just plain dumb.
I hear Aeka screaming inside. I've heard these words before, but years ago. Demon, monster, whore, vicious, evil. I can't say I blame her; if I had been in her position, I would've killed her by now. But that's the Princess.
I peek inside and see familiar little logs appear around Aeka. She's getting really angry. She's going to attack him!
I hug Akari. "Akari, what has Mom always told you?"
"You love me very much?"
"Yes. Remember that, always. Now," I point inside, "see that nice man in there arguing with Miss Aeka?"
"Yes. Tenchi."
"Tenchi's your daddy."
"I know."
"What?" I hadn't expected this in a million years. "How do you know? Who told you?"
"I just know. When we said hello to each other. I had a connection with him. I know he's my dad."
While we were talking, Aeka's anger continued to visibly grow. Her screaming grew louder. She was going to attack Tenchi, whether she realised it or not.
"Hey Princess!" I yell, appearing right behind her. "I stole him, and you can only have him back if you catch up with me!" I fly right through the door, and move fast enough to stay away from her, but slow enough that she can keep up. As I suspected, she chases after me. I stop by the lake for a good fight. I haven't had one of these in years.
"Ryoko! I hate you! I hate you with every inch of my body and soul! All you do is hurt everyone in your path, do you know that?"
"Hey, calm down, Princess, maybe you're just too sensitive."
"Too sensitive? I'll show you sensitive!" She throws a blast in my direction, which I fly around and dodge. I throw a spark of energy towards her, but her shield stops it and dissipates it.
"Hey, Princess, maybe if you weren't so old, you could catch up to me and actually hurt me!" I fly around her, disappearing and reappearing. I'm a bit too cocky in this endeavour, and she lets me know by catching her fist up with my cheek.
I pause to rub my face, and she lands another fist into my stomach. "Why? Why did you have to ruin everything?" Now she's just throwing her fists aimlessly at me, only hitting sometimes. "I thought I really had him. He had chosen me over you, and that's why you left! Why did you have to have him first! Why did you have to come back with that -- that dirty little spawn of yours?! Why did you have to kiss him?! You whore! You beast! I hate you! I hate you!" She stops punching and drops to the ground. At this point I realise the last few statements had been spat out with tears. "I hate you," she sobs.
I swallow some blood and spit out the tooth she hit. Strong little thing. "Aeka."
"What the hell do you have to say, you monster?"
"You had him first."
She raises her tear-stained face to look at me. I kneel beside her, and she draws back, disgusted. "Aeka, I saw you and Tenchi kiss in the cherry blossom trees. I was going to leave. I was ready to run away. Tenchi told me that he loved us both the same, and he kissed me, too. The only difference was that -- we took it further."
"Do I have to know every detail? Is this supposed to make me feel better, Ryoko?"
"I came back because I thought Tenchi deserved to know about his son."
"Why on Earth would he want to know about your little bastard? How does he even know that's his child? I'm sure you've slept with anything and everything this side of--"
Now it's my turn to hit. I land a good punch on her cheek and say, "If you ever talk about my son that way again, there's no guarantee that I won't try to kill you."
"I should be killing you."
I shrug. "Probably. If I were in your position, I would've killed you by now."
She laughs. "Like you could kill me. I doubt you're powerful enough."
"True. You seem to have gotten stronger these past few years, Princess."
Another laugh. At least she's stopped crying. "That's what happens when a spoiled princess suddenly works a farm and raises children."
I laugh. "Oddly enough, raising a child makes a seasoned space pirate weaker."
"So how have you been raising Akari? Been teaching him how to rob banks?"
"No. He doesn't deserve my life. I've actually gone straight, if you can believe it."
"Hm."
We sit in silence for a while, watching the sun set. A battered princess and a bruised pirate. It must make for a bizarre scene.
"Ryoko, what are we going to do?"
"Go back to the house before everyone gets worried?"
"You know what I mean. Tenchi won't just let his son slip through his fingers. He's going to want him around."
"And I want him around."
"Well I am most certainly not allowing you to live in our house."
"Who said I want to live there? Maybe I don't want to see you and Tenchi fawning over each other every day. Maybe I don't want to be around him all the time."
"You still care for him, don't you?"
"No."
"And by 'no', you mean 'yes.'"
"Basically."
"Ryoko, I'm sorry it had to turn out this way."
"How are you upset? You're the winner!"
"Tenchi isn't a prize to be won, Ryoko. If you don't know that, then maybe you really don't belong with him."
"Hey, Princess, why would you say 'maybe'?"
"He misses you."
"What?"
"He says your name in his sleep sometimes. Just a whisper, but it's enough to make me still hate you."
"Makes me feel peachy keen, though." We stare at the sky in silence again. "Maybe I'll stay on earth. Then Akari and Tenchi can be near each other and I'll be far enough to be out of your hair."
"Seeing that child will be a constant reminder that you were with him first."
"Seeing you is a constant reminder that you're with him from now until eternity."
"So are we agreed that we still hate each other?"
"Absolutely, Princess."
We carefully push ourselves up off the ground.
"Hey, Aeka. Is that nice bath Washu built still around?"
She smiles. "But of course. Right this way."