I as always am not claiming these characters as my own and am not making a dime off them. I also want to say to my fans that I know this isn't my usual thing; writing a fic based on the Tenchi in Tokyo series. But watching it lately I realized that despite the goofy lines, squeaky voices, and horrible animation when they get excited (they look like bugs then don't they?) the series had one saving grace. The last few episodes from 'Sakuya's secret' on Ryoko and the others come back to Tenchi despite his choosing someone else, Ryoko falls for him all over again, and the story line got a lot better. So if you aren't too put off I hope you'll sit back and enjoy my story.

Apologies

By, Clayton Overstreet

The others had just popped out of the tree next to Tenchi when he was trying to get up the courage to tell Ryoko what he wanted. Tenchi looked at Ayeka and the others in the tree; "This is why I had Washu close down the portal in the first place!" He turned and lay against the hole, sealing off the dimensional tunnel.

Ryoko looked at him slightly startled, "Tenchi are you alright?" Tenchi smiled and nodded. Inside the lab the girls pouted, but shrugged it off. Ayeka had realized a while ago that Tenchi's choice had come down to Sakuya and Ryoko. She was no longer in the running. Sighing they all went back to the house. As long as Tenchi wasn't leaving everything was all right.

On the tree Tenchi looked at Ryoko and a blushed. "What's wrong Tenchi?"

Tenchi took a deep breath, "I wanted to apologize to you Ryoko."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

He looked out at the forest, "For Sakuya..."

Ryoko looked down, "Oh... It's ok Tenchi. I don't really mind. Yugi was probably reading your mind so she knew exactly what to do or say."

Tenchi shook his head, "That's no excuse. I didn't really choose her for that. It would be easy to blame Yugi. I did it because I thought I wanted an ordinary girl."

Ryoko bit her lip and a tear trickled down her cheek, "Is that why you don't love me Tenchi? Because I'm not normal?"

Tenchi reached out and wiped the tear away, "No Ryoko. I do love you. That's what scared me. I've never felt like this before, so I..."

Ryoko looked at him, a look of surprise on her face; "Did you say you love me?"

Tenchi nodded and smiled, "Yes Ryoko I do."

Ryoko smiled and hugged him close, never wanting to let go, "You know if you had just said so earlier it would have saved us all a lot of grief."

Tenchi hugged her back, "I know Ryoko, and I am sorry."

Ryoko shook her head, "Don't worry Tenchi. I didn't exactly handle it well. Ayeka promised to pardon me for my actions in space because I was under an influence, but I could have resisted. I just hurt so much when I saw you kiss her."

Tenchi hugged her closer, "I was scared Ryoko. Sakuya seemed like a way out of all the crazy things. But you know what?"

She shook her head "No, what?"

He pulled back and looked at her, "The whole time I was with her I would always start thinking of you."

Ryoko looked him in the eyes, "Really?" He nodded and she hugged him again, "Thank you Tenchi. For everything. When I was in space, the only thing that kept me from doing anything really bad was my thoughts of you." More tears followed their earlier ones as they say there. Ryoko looked and saw the tears on Tenchi's face; "Well it's over now. Let's agree to put the past away and just concentrate on now, all right? Sakuya never existed, the guy I was with was working for Yugi, and she's asleep in the cave. Right?"

Tenchi smiled and nodded, "Right. So what would you like to do now? Another date?"

Ryoko's eyes lit up, "You mean it Tenchi?"

He nodded, "Anywhere you want to go."

Ryoko sucked on her lip. "Do you think I can have some time to think about it Tenchi? I'd like to make sure it's perfect."

Tenchi hugged her again, "Anything you want Ryoko."

Suddenly a hand pushed Tenchi from behind, "Ok lovebirds, out of the way so I can close this thing." Washu laughed at them as they hit the ground and the portal closed.

The end

Authors note