A Field of Fireflies
(A Tenchi Muyo Fanfic)
by ButtercupSaiyan (formerly Celestialmew)
Disclaimer: All things Tenchi are owned by their respective companies, and in the case of Pretty Sammy, they are more than welcome to them. I am but a humble fanfic author. Do not sue.
Author's note: A short, sweet story of Tenchi looking back at his memories and his present. This is an actual occurrence celebrated in Japan.
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Tenchi sighed, resting his chin on his hand and staring on at long rolling fields of rice. The sun was dipping was below the horizon, and it was a long away from his apartment in Tokyo. It was a long way away from anywhere -- only oak forests, endless fields and artificial streams and lakes were for the eye to linger upon.
The years had aged him out of his adolescence and into his mid-twenties. Ah, how wild his youth was for the longest time! But all things eventually ended, and he had to move away from his wise grandfather and lecherous father.
Washuu found a better place for her laboratory after he moved on, Mihoshi and Kiyone finally fixed there craft, and Sasami went back to Jurai with her sister. They had given up after he had rather callously told them all to let him be. In hindsight, his words must have seemed cruel and hard to swallow.
Tenchi had been just a kid then, and a little thoughtless. He had been smothered with prospects on all sides, and found himself wishing they would all just leave him alone and give him space to breathe and think and consider.
Oh, yes, his memories were swirling tonight. The darkness was setting in, and fireflies winked mysteriously at him. Happy families and delighted children with nets raced about the grass. Ryouko sat down beside him. He looked at her with a gentle smile.
She had chosen to let her appearance age gracefully to match his in the human way, but she was still ravishing. She smiled back at him, seeing his warm expression.
"Thank you for taking me out to see the fireflies tonight," she said.
"No problem, Ryouko. It's a tradition," he explained. She nodded.
His demoness had quieted down some after being given the more mundane task of carrying a marriage. Some, but by no means all! Tenchi was never bored with her. Tonight, though, she was thoughtful as he was, and chose not to make things "interesting."
Ryouko gazed wistfully at the children running about through the fields, laughing and waving their nets at the dancing, tantalizing wisps of light. He knew what she must be thinking about.
It was impossible for her to have a child; even her so-called mother, the greatest scientist in the universe, couldn't change that. Washuu had later apologized reluctantly to him for that. She had never that far of her offspring.
"What were you thinking of just now?" she asked, ever curious.
He shrugged and smiled ruefully. "I was just remembering when I was younger."
"Ah," she said and paused, before saying, "Have you ever had second thoughts, Tenchi?"
"Sometimes... " he admitted truthfully, "But it wasn't that hard. I think Jurai leadership and marital traditions wouldn't work for me."
Ryouko burst out laughing, knowing of what he was talking of. Ayeka had been the hardest one for him to eliminate. Tenchi had taken one look at Ayeka's whip and rope, paled, and bolted in the other direction. He hadn't wanted anything to do with that.
Ayeka had persisted even after he had outright told her his final choice and "no". Ryouko had refused to get involved, even though her heart had been torn apart with fear Tenchi would change his mind. But Sasami had stuck up for the pirate, and convinced her sister to come home.
"And Sakuya turned out to be nothing more than a dream," he added with a twinge of sadness and bitterness. Ryouko nodded. She was no longer jealous: it was hard to be envious of someone who was a pitiful excuse for a living human.
Besides, she was remembering her first date with Tenchi, and smiled. He had held her hand then, and hadn't pushed her away toward the end. She blessed the heavens he had ended up picking her after those hectic years.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
Suddenly, she went cross-eyed, and froze. Tenchi looked at her, wondering why she was behaving oddly. Ryouko grinned and pointed slowly to her face. A firefly had landed on her nose. It flashed a few times, and fluttered off again. They both laughed happily.
He took her in his arms, holding her against him. She looked at him with love reflected in her eyes. Their passion had never died, it had only went through a cycle.
"I think I picked the right one anyway. You're not too bad for the most-wanted space pirate in the galaxy," he said with a smile.
"And you aren't that disappointing for a mere Earth boy," she quipped back.
And the sun inevitably set down all the way, and darkness fell over the rice fields. Light clung to the mountains in the distance, and died out. The stalks of rice amidst glittering water were caressed by moonlight. Most of the families had left by then, leaving them and a few mischevious children that managed to remain.
The fireflies danced, and two lovers found themselves talking about the past and a comfortable present, or just finding moments where no words at all were needed. The stars twinkled like miniature fireflies in themselves, and Tenchi pointed out constellations. The full moon reigned over all of it though.
Ryouko listened to him avidly, pleased just to listen to him talk. For a little while, she forgot all her doubts, her cares in life, and became the carefree girl she once was. In the years, she had matured emotionally and become more responsible.
And at an unholy hour of the night, the couple finally returned to a quiet, peaceful home. Pictures of them, and various members of the family and friends they had known long ago... and a few they continued to know... hung on the walls. A photo of Paris, of New York, of Tokyo, of all the places they had went while engaged.
One picture showed Ryouko hugging Tenchi happily, but all of them held memories and pure and honest emotions captured for one split moment.
The pair of them collapsed into bed the moment they entered the room. Ryouko fell to sleep within a few minutes, but Tenchi stayed awake for a while. He looked at her innocently sleeping form, twirling a lock of tamed silver-blue hair around his finger. She had decided to pull her hair back and brush it tonight.
He smiled and pulled the covers up over himself. He turned over and fell asleep quickly, and his dreams were full of joy and love, childhood fancies, and images of this night that would stay as a treasured memory within him. His life was good.