Disclaimer:
I do not own any of these Tenchi Muyo! characters, they are copyrighted by AIC and Pioneer. This fic
is for entertainment value only, not for profit. So please don't sue me, I'm broke.
WARNING: THIS IS A SAD AND DEPRESSING STORY
*Sleepless Nights*
By, Heather B. Kytes
It was a brittle cold night, the inky sky an obscure black periodically pierced by silvery
slivers of light from the lonely moon floating high above in the sky. Sounds of nature filled the
still air, such as the chirping of crickets and the occasional gust of wind against the window panes,
the low moan rising, falling, then trailing off into a whisper that dissipated into empty silence.
The rooms of the Masaki house were calm and at peace, except for the occasional tossing and turning
of a restless sleeper.
Ryoko couldn't sleep at all.
*I'm not used to this bed* she thought, shifting uncomfortably in a futile effort to find a
zone of comfort in which she could conceivably sleep. Ever since Kiyone and Mihoshi had left, Ryoko
had "graduated" from sleeping on the couch to the guest bedroom. At first, Ryoko had been excited
about the change, but from the looks of this first night, it appeared that it might not be such a great
deal after all.
It didn't help that it was a sweltering, summer night. The cotton blankets stuck to her like
second skin, and twisted around her legs any time she moved. She ended up kicking them off the bed
in frustration, laying on her stomach, her head turned to the side.
Her neck started hurting.
"Damn," she muttered, rolling over. She raised her arms over her head and stretched her sore
muscles, then using her hand as something of a pillow under her cheek. She found this to be a somewhat comfortable pose, and she closed her eyes slowly, hoping that maybe, just maybe, this would be the
right position she could fall asleep in.
She was just dozing off when she heard the door to her room creak open. It was a low, ominous
sound; someone was obviously being sneaky about entering the room. Ryoko tensed, waiting to leap into
action.
Before she could open her eyes and see who the intruder was, she was shocked into paralysis by a
low sigh.
It was Tenchi.
"Sleeping like an angel," she heard him say softly. She could hear a smile in his voice, as
well as undercurrents of deep, everlasting sorrow. "Ryoko."
*Should I wake up?* Ryoko felt confused. If he wanted her awake, why would he be so quiet
about everything? Why wouldn't he just yell at her or shake her? Also, it was the middle of the
night. Why *would* he want her to wake up?
But if he didn't want her awake, what was he doing here?
Ryoko decided to wait. Maybe he would answer her.
Using her superior hearing, she listened as Tenchi grabbed a chair form across the room and
pulled it to the side of her bed. He sat down silently.
Okay, so he didn't want her awake. That was obvious now. So. . .
Minutes passed. Maybe seconds. Ryoko waited breathlessly, afraid to move an inch lest he
realize she was awake. She was getting more and more curious as to what he was doing here, and she
knew if she opened her eyes now, she'd never find out the truth.
"I can't sleep," Tenchi said after countless moments of silence. "I can't stop thinking about
you."
Ryoko thought she would die. Her heart seemed to stop beating.
"I don't know what I want most of the time. You know how confused I can be sometimes. Well, more
like always. Always confused. But, lately, Ryoko, I just look at you--"
Feeling heat rising in her cheeks, Ryoko shifted slightly, burying more of her face in the pillow
to hide her blush.
Tenchi paused, obviously worried that she was going to awaken. A few moments later when all was
still again, he continued. "I look at you, and I'm saddened."
Confusion entered Ryoko's mind, replacing the blinding joy she'd felt a moment ago. Dread
weighed heavily on her soul. She waited patiently for him to speak again; it was all she could do.
She heard him sigh painfully. "God, Ryoko, you can be such a witch sometimes! I just want
to shake you and ask you what the hell and why the hell you do the things you do! Anything just to
get you to stop hurting people! To stop being such a monster!"
Tears threatened behind her eyelids which she managed to keep at bay somehow. He was yelling
now, somewhat mutedly, but obviously so lost in emotion that he'd stopped caring if she woke up.
Once more, she waited. Waited for him to hurl another dagger in her heart and add to the collection
of pain.
"Ryoko, it hurts, alright? Because I know the other side of you, the human side. The side that--
that cares about people other than yourself. Your heart and soul."
Tenchi took a deep breath, calming himself. He unconsciously placed his hand on the bed, and
Ryoko could feel the slight tremblings that radiated throughout his fingers. He was obviously shaken
and distraught. Ryoko didn't know what to think anymore. She was as confused as he seemed to be.
She still couldn't figure out why he was doing this now, while she was *supposedly* asleep. Couldn't
he say it to her face?
Of course not. He was a coward.
Sure, he could face Kagato fearlessly enough, tossing aside his own life in the blink of an eye
to play the hero role. But when it came to matters of emotion, he ran away with his tail between his
legs. A wimp. A coward.
Yet, in spite of that, Ryoko loved him anyway. Nothing could ever stop her from loving him.
"I can't go on like this much longer, Ryoko. Wanting to kiss you one second more than anything,
and in the next wanting to *kill* you. How can it be this way? How can I love you and hate you at the
same time?"
*He loves me* The thought entered her mind and froze it immediately. Then another thought
cracked the ice quickly and efficiently.
*Yeah, and he hates you as well.*
*What about Aeka? What do you feel for her?* her mind screamed. She wanted desperately to ask
him the question, force him to answer her, for the question weighed on her mind like a rock tied to a
chain, dragging her down to drown in the black waters of not knowing.
"I don't feel this strongly about *anybody* else, Ryoko. Not Aeka, not Washu, not Kiyone, not
Sasami, not Mihoshi. Just you. And I don't know why it's you."
He let out a quiet, strangled laugh. "Sometimes--sometimes I wish it were Aeka, or someone
else. Someone I could just be with so easily and not ride this damn roller coaster of emotions every
time I see her. I tried, dammit, I tried so hard to love her."
Another crack in her heart, more crimson blood trickled out. More tears held at bay, the dam
threatening to burst any second. Yet, even as the pain shot through every corner of her body, Ryoko
continued to sit there and wait, and listen.
"I--I went out alone with Aeka all those times, listened to her pour out her heart and her soul
to me, and gaze at me with those loving eyes of hers, and I just couldn't find any part of me that
loved her as more than a friend. I felt like--like a failure. I had so many beautiful, kind, caring
girls around me, and the only one I could think about was the damn, heartless monster. The selfish,
cruel, enchanting, captivating demon I had resurrected." Tenchi's voice dropped to a whisper, though
Ryoko heard him as plain as day. And every word he uttered hurt like hell.
Each ill word he spoke of her seared a path straight to her heart. And even though he had said
he loved her, her heart was breaking because he obviously didn't want to. He felt his heart was
betraying him by being attached to a *monster* like her.
*Oh, God, I can't take this. It--it hurts. . .*
Ryoko let out a soft moan, unable to repress the anguish inside. Her face scrunched up as
waves of pain racked her body, attacking her insides, her *life*. . .
"Ryoko." Tenchi's voice was worried. She vaguely heard him stand, lean over the bed and place
his hands on her arms, shaking her gently. "Ryoko, wake up."
Managing to stop convulsing, Ryoko lay limp in Tenchi's grasp, feigning sleep. She couldn't
face him. She didn't think she could ever face him again after his revelations tonight. She had to
run away. To get as far away from him as possible and never look back.
"Must have been a bad dream," Tenchi said softly. His grip on her loosened, then he let go.
She lay on her back, and jumped slightly when she felt a warm touch on her forehead.
Tenchi's fingers.
He smoothed her bangs back, his gentle caresses leaving trails of sweet fire on her skin. She
heard him groan under his breath; he knelt by the bed closer to her, so close she could feel his cool
breath on her face.
"You look like an angel," he whispered, somewhat repeating his first statement when he'd entered
the room. "I wish you would always be this gentle and serene. You don't know how many sleepless
nights I crept into the living room and watched you sleep on the couch, and felt my love for you grow
even stronger, just looking at my dreaming angel."
A lone tear pooled in the corner of Ryoko's eye. She hoped he didn't see it, hoped he would
leave the room and let her cry the oceans of tears behind her eyelids. Let her drown in the sorrow
flooding her heart.
"Must be--" Tenchi hesitated. Ryoko felt pressure near her eye. He had stolen the tear as it
escaped her eye and started down her cheek. "Must be my imagination," he finished. "But this--it's a
tear."
The pain doubled, tripled, went off the charts. Ryoko neared the breaking point, but still
hovered at the end of her rope. One more harsh word from Tenchi, and the rope would be gone, leaving
Ryoko to fall forever into the bottomless pit of her emotions and empty love.
"Why would you cry, Ryoko? Why?" Tenchi was talking to himself now, pondering the question.
"Did you--" his voice filled with fear. "--did you hear me? Ryoko, are you awake?"
Her breath caught in her throat. This was it. Should she reveal it now or never?
The coward. The damn coward.
She was no better than he.
She remained quiet.
"Thank God." Tenchi let out the breath he'd been holding. "I don't want to hurt you, Ryoko.
That's the last thing I want."
*You don't want to make me happy, either.*
"I love you so much."
*You hate me even more.*
"Ryoko, you're such an important part of my life."
*Oh, I'm just a monster, or did you forget so soon?*
"God, I hate this. These damn sleepless nights are when I should be holding you, not sitting
here and telling you this crap. Then going back to my room and staring at the ceiling and thinking
to myself, 'Dammit, Tenchi, when are you going to tell her to her face that you love her?'"
*That's okay, Tenchi. Your version of love is so damn twisted it might as well be ashes.
You'll forget all about me someday, but I'll always love you till the day they throw my rotting corpse
in another tomb. And even then, in my sleep of eternal death, I know the only thing I'll see is your
face, and everyday I'll wish to see you again, so you can take another little piece of my heart to break. Another knife in the chest. Just keep 'em coming, Tenchi, I'm ready always. . .*
An affectionate grunt came out of Tenchi's throat. Ryoko felt his hand on the side of her face,
softly stroking and outlining her jaw with the tip of his thumb. "How can I hate you when you're like
this, so vulnerable and beautiful? God, Ryoko, I want to take you in my arms and--"
"I'm just a monster."
The words came out of Ryoko's mouth before she could stop them.
She could almost see Tenchi blink in surprise, as he was so fond of doing when shocked. His
hand shot away from her face. "Ryoko? Are you awake?"
Another chance to tell the truth. *Yes, Tenchi, I heard every word you said. . .*
It passed, and once again she remained silent and limp.
"You never talked in your sleep before," he murmured. She heard him slowly get to his feet, felt
his eyes on her once more. "I should probably get out of here before you wake up for real. I just--had
to talk to you. About my feelings."
*Thank you so much, Tenchi, I'll treasure your words forever*
The brush of Tenchi's lips against her cheek like a burn left its mark. "See you in the
morning," he whispered. There was a steady sound of footsteps moving away, then the door shut as
Tenchi exited the room.
Ryoko opened her tear-filled eyes, stared up at the ceiling for a long time and crying silently.
Just as the darkness of night inside the room threatened to swallow her in its endless depths, the
blackness softened steadily as a deep, charcoal-gray light floated in from the east. The sky lightened
further, revealing towering outlines of black, unmoving trees painted against the dawning horizon. A
soft, grayish-rose warmed the sky; a layer of clouds was backlighted by dawn as it crept across the
horizon slowly and uniformly. The first beams of sunlight appeared through her window, dissolving the
shadows and drying her eyes.
She heard movement outside in the hall. "Morning, Ryo-Oh-Ki! Are you hungry?" came Sasami's
cheerful voice. There was a soft meow in reply.
Ryoko slowly stood and walked out of the room.
Sasami noticed her and smiled brightly. "Good morning, Ryoko. Did you sleep well? You look
tired."
Ryoko gazed at the innocent girl, her face expressionless as she shook her head. "I feel fine,"
she lied. "It was only a sleepless night."
The End
*Flames welcome (I've got the water ready^_^), though I would appreciate suggestions on how to
improve it (it's sort of a first draft). So please review, thank you so much*
I do not own any of these Tenchi Muyo! characters, they are copyrighted by AIC and Pioneer. This fic
is for entertainment value only, not for profit. So please don't sue me, I'm broke.
WARNING: THIS IS A SAD AND DEPRESSING STORY
*Sleepless Nights*
By, Heather B. Kytes
It was a brittle cold night, the inky sky an obscure black periodically pierced by silvery
slivers of light from the lonely moon floating high above in the sky. Sounds of nature filled the
still air, such as the chirping of crickets and the occasional gust of wind against the window panes,
the low moan rising, falling, then trailing off into a whisper that dissipated into empty silence.
The rooms of the Masaki house were calm and at peace, except for the occasional tossing and turning
of a restless sleeper.
Ryoko couldn't sleep at all.
*I'm not used to this bed* she thought, shifting uncomfortably in a futile effort to find a
zone of comfort in which she could conceivably sleep. Ever since Kiyone and Mihoshi had left, Ryoko
had "graduated" from sleeping on the couch to the guest bedroom. At first, Ryoko had been excited
about the change, but from the looks of this first night, it appeared that it might not be such a great
deal after all.
It didn't help that it was a sweltering, summer night. The cotton blankets stuck to her like
second skin, and twisted around her legs any time she moved. She ended up kicking them off the bed
in frustration, laying on her stomach, her head turned to the side.
Her neck started hurting.
"Damn," she muttered, rolling over. She raised her arms over her head and stretched her sore
muscles, then using her hand as something of a pillow under her cheek. She found this to be a somewhat comfortable pose, and she closed her eyes slowly, hoping that maybe, just maybe, this would be the
right position she could fall asleep in.
She was just dozing off when she heard the door to her room creak open. It was a low, ominous
sound; someone was obviously being sneaky about entering the room. Ryoko tensed, waiting to leap into
action.
Before she could open her eyes and see who the intruder was, she was shocked into paralysis by a
low sigh.
It was Tenchi.
"Sleeping like an angel," she heard him say softly. She could hear a smile in his voice, as
well as undercurrents of deep, everlasting sorrow. "Ryoko."
*Should I wake up?* Ryoko felt confused. If he wanted her awake, why would he be so quiet
about everything? Why wouldn't he just yell at her or shake her? Also, it was the middle of the
night. Why *would* he want her to wake up?
But if he didn't want her awake, what was he doing here?
Ryoko decided to wait. Maybe he would answer her.
Using her superior hearing, she listened as Tenchi grabbed a chair form across the room and
pulled it to the side of her bed. He sat down silently.
Okay, so he didn't want her awake. That was obvious now. So. . .
Minutes passed. Maybe seconds. Ryoko waited breathlessly, afraid to move an inch lest he
realize she was awake. She was getting more and more curious as to what he was doing here, and she
knew if she opened her eyes now, she'd never find out the truth.
"I can't sleep," Tenchi said after countless moments of silence. "I can't stop thinking about
you."
Ryoko thought she would die. Her heart seemed to stop beating.
"I don't know what I want most of the time. You know how confused I can be sometimes. Well, more
like always. Always confused. But, lately, Ryoko, I just look at you--"
Feeling heat rising in her cheeks, Ryoko shifted slightly, burying more of her face in the pillow
to hide her blush.
Tenchi paused, obviously worried that she was going to awaken. A few moments later when all was
still again, he continued. "I look at you, and I'm saddened."
Confusion entered Ryoko's mind, replacing the blinding joy she'd felt a moment ago. Dread
weighed heavily on her soul. She waited patiently for him to speak again; it was all she could do.
She heard him sigh painfully. "God, Ryoko, you can be such a witch sometimes! I just want
to shake you and ask you what the hell and why the hell you do the things you do! Anything just to
get you to stop hurting people! To stop being such a monster!"
Tears threatened behind her eyelids which she managed to keep at bay somehow. He was yelling
now, somewhat mutedly, but obviously so lost in emotion that he'd stopped caring if she woke up.
Once more, she waited. Waited for him to hurl another dagger in her heart and add to the collection
of pain.
"Ryoko, it hurts, alright? Because I know the other side of you, the human side. The side that--
that cares about people other than yourself. Your heart and soul."
Tenchi took a deep breath, calming himself. He unconsciously placed his hand on the bed, and
Ryoko could feel the slight tremblings that radiated throughout his fingers. He was obviously shaken
and distraught. Ryoko didn't know what to think anymore. She was as confused as he seemed to be.
She still couldn't figure out why he was doing this now, while she was *supposedly* asleep. Couldn't
he say it to her face?
Of course not. He was a coward.
Sure, he could face Kagato fearlessly enough, tossing aside his own life in the blink of an eye
to play the hero role. But when it came to matters of emotion, he ran away with his tail between his
legs. A wimp. A coward.
Yet, in spite of that, Ryoko loved him anyway. Nothing could ever stop her from loving him.
"I can't go on like this much longer, Ryoko. Wanting to kiss you one second more than anything,
and in the next wanting to *kill* you. How can it be this way? How can I love you and hate you at the
same time?"
*He loves me* The thought entered her mind and froze it immediately. Then another thought
cracked the ice quickly and efficiently.
*Yeah, and he hates you as well.*
*What about Aeka? What do you feel for her?* her mind screamed. She wanted desperately to ask
him the question, force him to answer her, for the question weighed on her mind like a rock tied to a
chain, dragging her down to drown in the black waters of not knowing.
"I don't feel this strongly about *anybody* else, Ryoko. Not Aeka, not Washu, not Kiyone, not
Sasami, not Mihoshi. Just you. And I don't know why it's you."
He let out a quiet, strangled laugh. "Sometimes--sometimes I wish it were Aeka, or someone
else. Someone I could just be with so easily and not ride this damn roller coaster of emotions every
time I see her. I tried, dammit, I tried so hard to love her."
Another crack in her heart, more crimson blood trickled out. More tears held at bay, the dam
threatening to burst any second. Yet, even as the pain shot through every corner of her body, Ryoko
continued to sit there and wait, and listen.
"I--I went out alone with Aeka all those times, listened to her pour out her heart and her soul
to me, and gaze at me with those loving eyes of hers, and I just couldn't find any part of me that
loved her as more than a friend. I felt like--like a failure. I had so many beautiful, kind, caring
girls around me, and the only one I could think about was the damn, heartless monster. The selfish,
cruel, enchanting, captivating demon I had resurrected." Tenchi's voice dropped to a whisper, though
Ryoko heard him as plain as day. And every word he uttered hurt like hell.
Each ill word he spoke of her seared a path straight to her heart. And even though he had said
he loved her, her heart was breaking because he obviously didn't want to. He felt his heart was
betraying him by being attached to a *monster* like her.
*Oh, God, I can't take this. It--it hurts. . .*
Ryoko let out a soft moan, unable to repress the anguish inside. Her face scrunched up as
waves of pain racked her body, attacking her insides, her *life*. . .
"Ryoko." Tenchi's voice was worried. She vaguely heard him stand, lean over the bed and place
his hands on her arms, shaking her gently. "Ryoko, wake up."
Managing to stop convulsing, Ryoko lay limp in Tenchi's grasp, feigning sleep. She couldn't
face him. She didn't think she could ever face him again after his revelations tonight. She had to
run away. To get as far away from him as possible and never look back.
"Must have been a bad dream," Tenchi said softly. His grip on her loosened, then he let go.
She lay on her back, and jumped slightly when she felt a warm touch on her forehead.
Tenchi's fingers.
He smoothed her bangs back, his gentle caresses leaving trails of sweet fire on her skin. She
heard him groan under his breath; he knelt by the bed closer to her, so close she could feel his cool
breath on her face.
"You look like an angel," he whispered, somewhat repeating his first statement when he'd entered
the room. "I wish you would always be this gentle and serene. You don't know how many sleepless
nights I crept into the living room and watched you sleep on the couch, and felt my love for you grow
even stronger, just looking at my dreaming angel."
A lone tear pooled in the corner of Ryoko's eye. She hoped he didn't see it, hoped he would
leave the room and let her cry the oceans of tears behind her eyelids. Let her drown in the sorrow
flooding her heart.
"Must be--" Tenchi hesitated. Ryoko felt pressure near her eye. He had stolen the tear as it
escaped her eye and started down her cheek. "Must be my imagination," he finished. "But this--it's a
tear."
The pain doubled, tripled, went off the charts. Ryoko neared the breaking point, but still
hovered at the end of her rope. One more harsh word from Tenchi, and the rope would be gone, leaving
Ryoko to fall forever into the bottomless pit of her emotions and empty love.
"Why would you cry, Ryoko? Why?" Tenchi was talking to himself now, pondering the question.
"Did you--" his voice filled with fear. "--did you hear me? Ryoko, are you awake?"
Her breath caught in her throat. This was it. Should she reveal it now or never?
The coward. The damn coward.
She was no better than he.
She remained quiet.
"Thank God." Tenchi let out the breath he'd been holding. "I don't want to hurt you, Ryoko.
That's the last thing I want."
*You don't want to make me happy, either.*
"I love you so much."
*You hate me even more.*
"Ryoko, you're such an important part of my life."
*Oh, I'm just a monster, or did you forget so soon?*
"God, I hate this. These damn sleepless nights are when I should be holding you, not sitting
here and telling you this crap. Then going back to my room and staring at the ceiling and thinking
to myself, 'Dammit, Tenchi, when are you going to tell her to her face that you love her?'"
*That's okay, Tenchi. Your version of love is so damn twisted it might as well be ashes.
You'll forget all about me someday, but I'll always love you till the day they throw my rotting corpse
in another tomb. And even then, in my sleep of eternal death, I know the only thing I'll see is your
face, and everyday I'll wish to see you again, so you can take another little piece of my heart to break. Another knife in the chest. Just keep 'em coming, Tenchi, I'm ready always. . .*
An affectionate grunt came out of Tenchi's throat. Ryoko felt his hand on the side of her face,
softly stroking and outlining her jaw with the tip of his thumb. "How can I hate you when you're like
this, so vulnerable and beautiful? God, Ryoko, I want to take you in my arms and--"
"I'm just a monster."
The words came out of Ryoko's mouth before she could stop them.
She could almost see Tenchi blink in surprise, as he was so fond of doing when shocked. His
hand shot away from her face. "Ryoko? Are you awake?"
Another chance to tell the truth. *Yes, Tenchi, I heard every word you said. . .*
It passed, and once again she remained silent and limp.
"You never talked in your sleep before," he murmured. She heard him slowly get to his feet, felt
his eyes on her once more. "I should probably get out of here before you wake up for real. I just--had
to talk to you. About my feelings."
*Thank you so much, Tenchi, I'll treasure your words forever*
The brush of Tenchi's lips against her cheek like a burn left its mark. "See you in the
morning," he whispered. There was a steady sound of footsteps moving away, then the door shut as
Tenchi exited the room.
Ryoko opened her tear-filled eyes, stared up at the ceiling for a long time and crying silently.
Just as the darkness of night inside the room threatened to swallow her in its endless depths, the
blackness softened steadily as a deep, charcoal-gray light floated in from the east. The sky lightened
further, revealing towering outlines of black, unmoving trees painted against the dawning horizon. A
soft, grayish-rose warmed the sky; a layer of clouds was backlighted by dawn as it crept across the
horizon slowly and uniformly. The first beams of sunlight appeared through her window, dissolving the
shadows and drying her eyes.
She heard movement outside in the hall. "Morning, Ryo-Oh-Ki! Are you hungry?" came Sasami's
cheerful voice. There was a soft meow in reply.
Ryoko slowly stood and walked out of the room.
Sasami noticed her and smiled brightly. "Good morning, Ryoko. Did you sleep well? You look
tired."
Ryoko gazed at the innocent girl, her face expressionless as she shook her head. "I feel fine,"
she lied. "It was only a sleepless night."
The End
*Flames welcome (I've got the water ready^_^), though I would appreciate suggestions on how to
improve it (it's sort of a first draft). So please review, thank you so much*