This assumes you've seen Tenchi Forever.

                                    Subtext
                                by Ken Arromdee

    "Come on, Tenchi."  I touched his shoulder.

    He suddenly swung around and pushed me away.  "Ryouko, get away from me..."
And then his eyes met mine.  He must have seen how it hurt me when he refused
my touch.  "I didn't mean it...  but please, leave me alone..."

    "Act like a man, Tenchi" said his grandfather.  "Ever since Washuu's memory
wipe wore off you've been acting like this."

    "It didn't just wear off, grandfather.  It hurt so much that there was no
way I could keep it all inside.  I didn't remember anything, but sometimes at
night I'd wake up screaming because I saw *her* face.  All I could see was
Haruna touching me, making me think I wanted her no matter what I really
wanted."

    "Well, it's over now.  You're back with us, and Haruna, rest her soul, is
gone.  I don't understand what's gotten into you, Tenchi.  Most boys your age
would love to have slept with someone who looks like her."

                                *   *   *   *   *

    We were missing the point.  I wasn't completely sure what we were missing,
but we were missing it.  All the time he was with Haruna, he couldn't
completely forget about me.  And now... he couldn't forget about her.  Only
there was nothing pleasant about this far away feeling.

    I knocked on his door, careful not to excite him by suddenly appearing in
the room.  "Tenchi?"

    "Come in, Ryouko..." he said.  I walked through it and floated towards his
side.  He was just sitting, staring at the wall.  I looked at him.  "It's
okay..." he told me.  "It's not your fault." I moved my hand to touch his, but
the moment I touched his arm I could feel him cringe.

    "Tenchi?"

    "I...  Well, I...  it's not you, Ryouko.  It's..., well...  every time a
woman touches me I can't help but feel it's *her*.  That I'm going to be
violated again and think it's something I really wanted...  Ryouko, she raped
me.  Nobody seems to understand that.  You, Aeka, and especially Dad and
Grandfather."

    "Tenchi, if you think I wouldn't like you because you were with her before
you were with me, I'm not going to be like that at all.  I can understand."

    "Do you?  You understand that she used mind control to get me to have sex
with her but you don't seem to understand what that *means*.  If a guy did
that to a girl nobody would ever act like they did to Haruna.  It's 'the poor
Haruna, what a tragedy'.  Haruna isn't the main victim here...."

    It still wasn't clear why he was so upset.  I've always been a direct kind
of person... but I had to try using tact this time.  "Tenchi, she didn't
exactly have a gun to your head.  She didn't really force you."

    "Maybe not the space pirate kind of force."

    "Tenchi, I would never...!"

    "I don't mean it that way.  B... but I didn't really *want* to...  I *had*
to.  I thought I wanted to, but it was like being drugged.  Maybe you should
just go, Ryouko."

    "I don't want to go!  I want to see you come out of this depression or
whatever it is.  Tenchi, I love you...."

    He looked down, then turned away and started crying.  I tried to touch him
again, but that only seemed to make it worse.  I didn't have any choice then; I
left.

                                *   *   *   *   *

    When I flew away I heard a knock.  I left just in time to see Aeka walk
in.  Old rivalry or not, I hoped she could say something to Tenchi where I
couldn't.  She was a princess, she had to be trained in talking to the
people... right?

    I descended and waited outside.  I could hear talking; I could hear Tenchi
alternatively crying and yelling.

    When she came out, I looked at her.  She lowered her head slightly and
told me "It's no use.  Something is wrong with him and I can't figure it out.
And I can tell you haven't, either, or you wouldn't be standing here."

    "He told you he was raped, right?"

    "Right...  and I tried to make him understand how unreasonable he was
being.  But there's got to be *something*...  some reason why he's acting like
this."

    "There does, Aeka", I replied.  "I just wish I could figure out what we're
missing."

END.