The Night Was Calm, a tenchi muyo fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.

Okay, this is my first fanficton, so go easy on me!! This came to me in a dream, and I thought, what the heck? I'll make something out of it! Most likely, this will not affect any Tenchi Muyo fanfiction I write.

My Email is kittie-kat@alloymail.com feel free to email me comments or questions

The Night was Calm

The night was calm. It was hot and humid, not a single cloud covered the deep sky. The stars were set so deeply in the sky, they looked as though they had been carefully placed so that their brilliant colors interweaved with the dark navy blues of the midnight sky. The moon shone high in a crescent shape, and reflected gently over the calm waters of the lake just outside of the Masaki household.

Ryoko lay on the roof, gazing at the night sky. It had been too hot in the house for her too sleep, and she couldn't stop tossing and turning. Finally, she just kicked off her covers entirely and flew out onto the roof. It's cooler out here, she decided as she closed her eyes. Not a single breeze was blowing, and the night was so still, that the crickets' chirping seemed to be magnified over a hundred times. Ryoko could hear what she thought to be every sound around the house because of the cloudless, silent night. She could hear what she thought to be Aeka snoring, and she chuckled to herself. She looked over to the porch that Tenchi's room led to, and realized why she couldn't manage to lull herself to sleep. It was a night just like this, a night just the same when it all happened.

"Hello Mister, what is your name?" a small child asked, "I'm lost can you help me?"

"Hello…my name is Tenchi," the boy said, offering the child his hand, "Are you lost?"

"I'm scared Tenchi…I'm very scared," the girl said frightfully.

"Of what little girl? There's nothing to be afraid of,"

"But Mister Tenchi…the monster is coming…he will get you too, you must leave me alone so that no harm will come to you…"

Ryoko sighed. She disappeared and then reappeared on Tenchi's balcony. She slid the door open to see Tenchi sleeping peacefully, and she longed to wake him up, to see his face smiling back at her. To show her he was alive and well.

She leaned against the doorway, and rubbed her sweaty forehead. It was so hot. The back of her nightdress clung to her back.

"Tenchi…?" she whispered, her voice was dry and hoarse. She looked around his room, and it was so peaceful. It was so calm and still. She forced a weak smile. He couldn't hear a single word she was saying.

"Nonsense!" Tenchi said, "No monsters are going to get you little girl," Tenchi said, "Now come with me and we'll get you to my house and we can talk about it there,"

"No!" the little girl yelled, breaking away from his hold on her hand, "No! I won't let you! I won't put you in danger!" she shouted.

"I don't understand!" Tenchi said, shocked, "You aren't putting me in any danger! These woods are perfectly safe!" he said.

The little girl burst into tears, "Yes…I am…the monster will take your life as well…" she sobbed, tears streaming down the side of her face.

Ryoko was now almost into tears, the tears she had fought, the memories she had repressed for so long. She choked them back; fighting the feelings she hadn't felt for thousands of years. They had only come back to her now, ever since she met Tenchi again, the mysteries of her past now breaking through.

"Tenchi…?" she whispered again, her voice now cracking. She slid to the floor against the doorframe, trying to fight the memories, trying to get rid of them. She sat leaning against the doorframe, wishing this night to be over, wishing for this strange feeling to go away.

"Please…please understand," the girl begged, tears sliding down the sides of her face, and hitting the moist ground below her.

"Don't cry, everything is going to be okay," Tenchi said.

A twig snapped some hundred feet away. A long, snapping sound echoed through the silent woods.

"NO!" the girl whispered, "The monster is here…you have endangered you life! It senses you with me…you must run Tenchi, run for your life…" she cried.

"I won't leave you, I won't let you be afraid, and I won't let anything hurt you,"

Ryoko found herself on the verge of tears. What the hell is wrong with me? She asked herself. I haven't cried like this for thousands of years!

"Damn," she muttered, finding it almost impossible to stop her tears from coming. She was showing all her true feelings right here, right now, in Tenchi's bedroom, and Tenchi was asleep. He had no idea as to what was happening a few feet away from him right this moment.

"Why…? Why Tenchi…? Why did you have to let your kind heart win you over…?" she asked quietly.

The little girl's breaths came in short gasps now, she shivered in the hot night, and chills came over her back. She was shaking miserably. Her cyan hair was dirty, and her clothes were torn.

"Little girl…" Tenchi said softly, trying to calm her. He looked up to see the monster she had been warning him about.

It loomed high, and was awful looking. Its head was a dark navy blue, and its body was black. It was very ugly, with spikes on its head, and rough skin covered its large, cumbersome body. It glowered menacingly, and was pleased to see the little girl and the young man in its long shadow.

"What the hell is that?" Tenchi shouted angrily.

The girl screamed, "No! Tenchi!" She yelled, "This monster wanted me, and now it'll destroy you too!" she yelled.

The monster put up its ugly hands and a ball of energy began to glow fiercely red. The light of the energy shone so brightly, Tenchi and the little girl had to cover their eyes. The monster's laughter pierced the night. Hideous, evil laughter that thundered through the calm night that sent chills through your heart.

The little girl sobbed harder. She was so afraid of the monster, so afraid.

"No!" Tenchi cried, standing in front of her, "I won't let you harm her,"

The monster let go of the blast, and it surged forward. Everything went white, and then the light vanished. The monster had disappeared.

Ryoko began to cry, ever so softly. She let go and began to sob, and she found it impossible to stop or slow down. She buried her face in her arm and muffled her cries.

The laughter of the monster still sent chills over her spine with remembrance of that awful night.

Ryoko sobbed even more as the memories of the blast cut through her like a hot knife, the stabbing pain of the memories echoed through her. She could almost feel the burning sensation on her skin, the heat of the blow, the pain that ricocheted through her body until she fell unconscious. She felt weak as though she never felt in her life, even more so than when an enemy defeated her. She slumped further to the ground, and lay there for a few moments. Gathering some strength, she found enough to get up and sit on the edge of the bed to watch Tenchi sleep, while gently rocking back and forth, tears still managing to streak across her reddened cheeks.

A young man and a little girl lay lifeless in the woods, surrounded by a deep hole in the ground. Both had died from a terrible monster, one had died trying to protect the other. The headlines in the paper rang out the headline 'Tenchi Masaki and little girl Ryoko found dead in the woods this morning'.

It was almost unbearable now, Ryoko couldn't help but shaking all over. Her mind was spinning, and she was crying still. She had repressed these memories, kept them hidden for so long not wanting to remember, and even forgot them until these last two years or so. When she met Tenchi for the second time she felt almost dizzy, and then slightly remembered. It was only until now that the night's sheer resemblance revealed it all to her

"T-Tenchi," she sobbed, her mind was racing, and her heart was pounding.

It is said a goddess came to the spirits of the two and granted them each new lives to make up for the ones they had lost. Tenchi had tried to save Ryoko; the monster had attacked her on her way home. She got lost in the woods by the Masaki Shrine and that was when she met Tenchi. Only Tenchi would be reborn the same as he is today, Ryoko must be reborn very different so that she wouldn't remember. Tenchi's mind was easy to erase. Not so Ryoko, so that is why she would be reborn as a space pirate…

Over 40,000 years ago Ryoko was born again as the infamous space pirate that she remains today. Tenchi Masaki was reborn again about 17 years ago. They were meant never to see each other again, because it could spark memories for Ryoko, but unfortunately the two met each other by mistake.

"We…we were given a second chance Tenchi," she said her mind was spinning, her forehead donned with sweat and the tears still coming. Her voice was so dry, that it hurt to swallow, "I-I had to be reborn as the space pirate…" she sobbed, "So-so that I would repress my memories and not show my true feelings…" her voice was cracking now, "I-I had to somehow forget everything, since the memories could not have been erased from my mind. The monster hunted me all my past life, it had been after all of my family, and I was too afraid. It will be etched in my mind forever now that I have met you again. This wasn't supposed to happen!" she cried. She buried her face on his bed covers and muffled her crying for a moment. She felt almost ashamed for being so unlike herself.

"B-but I'm kind of glad this happened," she sobbed, finding her voice again, "All my life I have known my past had a secret," she continued, swallowing hard with much difficulty, "Now I know why I feel the way I do about you," she cried, "I have always thought of you to be special, and to be brave," she said, "Though I never really knew why. You died just so that I wouldn't be alone. Just so that I wouldn't be scared," she cried, her vision was blurred, everything was a mad furry of swirling colors and rippled lines. She looked at Tenchi, who was still sleeping. Unaware of anything that she had said.

She sat there, for several moments, and then finally was able to stop her tears. She didn't know how long she sat there, but finally was able to stand up. She stood up and walked over and sat beside Tenchi, looking at him, she said, "You will awaken tomorrow like it is just another ordinary day, but to me it will be a whole new beginning. Just think of all the fun you and me will have, tending the fields, sitting in trees, watching the sunset…" she said, running her hand over his cheek, "And it will be your smile that encourages me to love you more each day," She stood up again.

She walked to the door leading to the hallway. Where she reached it, she looked back at Tenchi, peacefully sleeping. The room looked just as before, just as when she first set foot in it, "Thank you for listening," she said softly, "Even though you don't hear me now, I feel much better knowing what secrets of myself I never knew until now," she said, "I love you Tenchi," she said, "I love you," she smiled, "Sweet dreams," and she shut the door behind her, smiling weakly all the way back to her futon, where she finally slept peacfully, dreaming of the adventures tomorrow would bring.