AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, everyone.
Not much to say, other than I hope you keep enjoying my fanfiction as much as I am. Today's chapter includes a piece of Japanese mythology: the origin of the Tanabata Festival, starring the loves Orihime and Hikoboshi. I would think that Jack knows a little bit of mythology considering he told the story of Momotaro to a lost baby.
In a similar way, Jack is helping a lost robot girl gain her own footing.
-.-.-.-
DISCLAIMER: Samurai Jack and My Life as a Teenage Robot belong to Genndy Tartakovsky and Rob Renzetti respectively along with any other proprietors. I do not own names that are not obviously mine.
8
A breeze swiveled past them. One by one, the stars began to make themselves known. The sky held no clouds in the summer night.
"Jack, I — "
"Jenny-san."
The robot girl stood without motion, not even blinking as she waited for his words.
Instead, he took her by the hand, and brought her down to sit in the grass with him.
With his other, he pointed at the dark, protruding line across the stars. "Look up there."
"Why?"
"Just look, Jenny-san."
The robot girl gazed into his eyes, trying to find an answer. But as was his nature, he did not give it. And so she looked. "What do you want me looking at?"
"Do you see the two brightest stars up there? Across that river of stars?"
"Yes. Those are Altair and Vega."
"In Japan, where I come from, they are named Orihime and Hikoboshi."
"Orihime? And Hikoboshi?"
He nodded. His gaze turned to the glittering jewels in the sky.
"Orihime is the daughter of the King of Heaven. She and the rest of the gods live on the other side of the Amanogawa River, the river of stars. By the banks of the river, Orihime weaves the most magnificent clothing for the gods to wear. Growing up, young Orihime would work day after day, barely going outside to meet anyone and fall in love. And with each day she worked, she grew sadder and lonelier. Yet once she became of age, her father arranged for her to be married.
"The King of Heaven wished for her daughter to marry someone who was just as strong and hardworking as she was, and so he arranged for a man by the name of Hikoboshi to marry Orihime. Hikoboshi was a cow herder who lived on the other side of the Amanogawa River. The two fell deeply in love, finding common ground in their strength and finding even more strength in their deepening friendship.
"Yet the two had fallen so much in love that they neglected their duties. Orihime would no longer make clothing for the other gods. Hikoboshi would let the cows wander all across the celestial plain. At this, the King grew mad, and would not tolerate the imbalance in his kingdom. Thus he separated Orihime and Hikoboshi, forcing them to live on the separate sides of the river.
"However, the two still did not work. They missed each other greatly, keeping their minds from focusing on their duties. The sight of King Heaven's daughter in tears once more made him reconsider. He told Hikoboshi and his daughter that they would meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year every year, and only that day, for they still had roles to fulfill. At the sound of this, Orihime began her weaving once again, looking forward to the day she could meet Hikoboshi, who was fueled at the thought of seeing her as he herded his cows.
"The two could meet if the seventh day of the seventh month was a cloudless night much like this. In order to do so, a flock of magpies created the bridge across the river that would let them meet and hold each other in their arms. Otherwise, if the night was cloudy, they would have to wait until next year to try again. So far, it has never been the case, and the two lovers have been able to meet ever since."
"Jack…"
"Jenny-san…" The samurai turned to the robot girl, taking both her hands. His expression matched hers: a sadness that did not dare to overflow the river across his heart.
"You are a very good friend and a noble soul. In the land of Aku, such beings are hard to come by, and I thank the gods for bringing me to you. There is no doubt I care for you very deeply, but I am afraid that I do not feel the same way towards you that you feel towards me."
"And even if you did, you wouldn't be able to…" Jenny whispered, her gears stiffening. "Because you're Hikoboshi, and I'm Orihime. We both need to go back to our own worlds and times."
"Even more so, Jenny-san, I am not worthy of your hand, nor anyone else's, in love."
"Sonna koto iwanaide yo!"
("Don't say things like that!")
Jack's hands twitched at her burst. He had forgotten just how much passion this young woman carried.
"Jack, you are the strongest, kindest, most amazing human being I've ever met! I wish you weren't so humble sometimes and just let yourself look at all the things you've managed to do! If there's anyone that doesn't deserve anybody to love, it's me! I should have found Aku the moment I stepped out of that space pod, but it's been months since I've had any kind of lead or found my friends! I've just been so confused! And…"
The robot girl began to hitch, closing her eyes. No tears fell from her face, but the samurai was all too familiar with the human sound of sorrow. He had seen it in the women whose villages had been destroyed at the hands of Aku, whose lives could not be brought back.
The feeling of utter loneliness, confusion, and failure combined.
In that moment, the samurai let go of her hands. He let her cry on his shoulder as he cradled her head in his arms.
It was a feeling he knew all too well.
