Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer Corp. I'm not making any profit from this fanfic either.
Authors Notes: Sorry for the long delay in updating, I've been pretty busy lately. However, I should be writing a lot more now, so expect future chapters to come out sooner.
Bang the drum slowly
Chapter 4: The longest night
Underneath the thick canopy of the forests twisting brances, two figures sat silently. The only sound which echoed throughout the woods was that of the soft rains which fell. The young man named Tenchi was crouched down on the leaf covered ground, in his hand he held a rotted twig which he idly twirled about. His only companion, Ryoko, was leaning against the trunk of a rather majestic tree which towered into the sky.
Tenchi's dark brown eyes cast a concerned glance at her direction, but quickly moved away onto something else. "We're pretty lucky that it didn't rain too hard, we wouldn't have any dry wood to burn then." he remarked lamely.
Ryoko made a small noise of disinterested agreement, which only served to make Tenchi even more uncomfortable. It hadn't been long ago that the troubling discovery was made that Ryoko could now feel hunger, something which shouldn't normally happen. The overall mood became quite a bit darker after that, with Ryoko wrapped up in her own thoughts and Tenchi struggling to come up with a reason for all that was going on.
Tenchi stood up and stretched his back, popping a few joints in the process. "You know, it sounds like the rain has died down. Maybe we should head on over towards the stream and pick up some more of those clams. It's too late to catch anything bigger now."
Ryoko's unfocused golden eyes blinked a few times in response to hearing his voice and then centered on his standing form. "Yeah, I guess you're right." she said neutrally.
The pair silently made their way towards the nearby stream, the leaves crunching beneath their feet. Tenchi ran a hand through his damp hair and cast a sideways glance at Ryoko before commenting, "These clams don't taste that great, but they fill you up."
Ryoko inwardly snorted to herself. Well, I suppose I should be thankful then that I can't taste anything.
***
Surrounded by towering tree's which seemed to reach the stars, Tenchi and Ryoko sat by a small fire, each one having just finished eating their 'dinner' for the evening. Of all the things Ryoko desired, at the moment, toothpicks were fairly high on her list. Those damn clams were so stringy! I can only imagine how disgusting they must have tasted. she mulled to herself while using a small twig to pick at her teeth. Looking to her left, she watched as Tenchi tossed more wood onto the recently lit fire. The air was thick with humidity after the brief showers earlier, so Tenchi had to work extra hard to make a fire for the evening.
Wiping his sweaty brow, the young man sat down on the slightly damp ground and let out a loud sigh. Trying to relax his sore muscles, he rubbed his aching shoulder and grimaced in discomfort. Roughing it out in the woods sure takes a lot out of you. Though maybe if Ryoko pitched in a little more, it wouldn't be so much work. No sooner had he thought that, did he look over at his unusually quiet traveling companion. Though I guess I can't blame her. She's probably got a lot on her mind.
As his eyes wandered about, he couldn't help but notice how the pale leaves of the tree's seemed to glow under the night sky. The effect had a mystical beauty that was almost awe inspiring to Tenchi. "I gotta say, the forests on this planet sure are beautiful, more so than any on Earth. Say, you've been to a lot of planets Ryoko, which one did you think was the most gorgeous?"
Ryoko's eyes focused on his for a moment as she contemplated the question. I never really thought about that sort of thing before. I guess I try so hard to forget those days, that I don't remember the few bright spots in them.
After several long moments of thinking, the cyan haired girl shrugged her shoulders before replying, "I guess maybe Pervius four. I went there once on a...mission, and I didn't really know what the surface of the planet would look like before I got there. So I was pretty surprised when I saw that there were these vast fields of giant crystals, some of them twenty stories high. They were mainly clear crystals, though some were a light shade of blue or red, and it was just incredible to watch the sunlight pass through them." her voice was soft and her eyes distant as she finished recalling the tale.
Tenchi smiled while resting his head atop his knee's. "Sounds beautiful."
She returned his smile while nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, it sure was."
Noting that the icey tension seemed to have melted, Tenchi felt relaxed enough to speak up again. "Ryoko, we'll get back home, I'm sure of it." he stated confidently in an attempt to bolster her spirits.
Ryoko cocked her head to the side and gazed at the object of her affection. He's always so upbeat about things. Who knows, maybe he's right? Maybe we'll get out of this place and everything will go back to normal. I shouldn't be worrying him, so I think I'll try to lighten things up a bit.
Putting on a devilish smirk, she crawled towards Tenchi on her hands and knee's. "I know the perfect way to take our minds off our troubles." she commented suggestively.
Tenchi's eyes went wide as he stumbled backwards. "Come on! Cut it out!" he shouted in a nervous tone.
Ryoko chuckled while hopping up on her feet and taking a long stretch, arching her back dramatically, causing the already flustered young man to become even more uncomfortable. Even though he yelled at her for her seductive antics, Tenchi couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that she was acting more like herself now.
She let out a long, catlike yawn before gazing down at Tenchi with a smoldering look in her eye. He recognized that look immediately and looked for a way to diffuse the increasingly sexual atmosphere. "Say Ryoko, could you grab a few of those branches over there and bring them to me? I need to break them up for the fire." he quickly asked.
Ryoko let out a frustrated grunt before stomping off to comply with his request. I was hoping maybe he'd be a little more receptive to me seeing as how we're all alone out here. But I guess Tenchi will be Tenchi. She scooped up the long dead branches and tossed them right next to Tenchi's sitting form.
"Thanks." he said sincerely.
"No problem." Ryoko mumbled while slowly walking around the camp site. As she wandered aimlessly, she would occasionally hop up on a fallen log, or pull on a low hanging branch on one of the tree's.
After a few moments of merely listening to the sounds of the crackling fire and of Tenchi snapping branches, Ryoko began to get restless. "Tenchi, I'm bored." she announced. The young man paused for a nervous moment as he recalled memories of what she would usually do when she was bored.
"Why don't we play a game or something?" she asked casually while examining a dead leaf.
"W-what kind of a game?" Tenchi inquired while praying she didn't have anything sexual in mind.
The golden eyed girl shrugged her shoulders while continuing to walk around the area's of the forest illuminated by the blazing fire. "I don't know, I just want something to do."
Tenchi was feeling more at ease now, convinced she was just genuinely bored and not trying to find some way of seducing him. "It is kinda dull around here, if you can think of something fun to do, I'd be up for it." he cheerfully remarked.
She saw a wide open opportunity to make a few lewd suggestions as to the sort of 'fun' they could have, but chose against such a move. After striking out twice already, she was in no mood to further alienate him from her that evening. She rubbed her chin in contemplation for a moment before snapping her fingers and putting on a winning smile.
"I know! We can play some of the games you used to do at the cave." she suggested.
Tenchi scratched the back of his neck for a moment as he thought the idea over. "I don't know, it'd seem kinda silly now since I'm all grown up."
Ryoko let out a frustated sigh while tossing her arms up in the air. "Ok, fine, I got a better idea. How about we have a little mock duel?"
He raised an eyebrow at her while asking, "You mean like with sticks?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, I mean with our shoes. Of course we use sticks you dummy!"
He nervously scratched the back of his head. "I guess that could be fun. Umm, you aren't going to try and use your powers are you?" his tone became more serious as he finished his question.
She shook her head quickly, annoyed that she had to be reminded of the mysterious problems she was having. In a heartbeat though, she seemed her normally energetic self as she scoured the forest floor looking for suitable pieces of wood to use. Her eyes lit up when she saw a relatively straight looking stick which looked perfect for the job. Just as she picked it up and started brushing the dirt off of it, she heard Tenchi call out, "I found one for myself."
Spinning around, she flashed him a feral smile while gripping the makeshift bokken in both hands. "So did I, so let's get this started!" she shouted as she began to charge towards him. Ryoko was never one for pretentious ceremonies before a fight, she believed in getting to the action as soon as possible.
Though Tenchi was surprised that she started the fight so soon, he quickly steeled himself for her coming onslaught. All his years dealing with his grandfathers surprise attacks had helped him learn to adapt to the unexpected. Choosing to match her bravado, he let out a battle cry while springing towards Ryoko.
The two warriors met head-on, both bringing their weapons upon eachother. Though their hopes for an epic battle were sooned dashed as both of their makeshift bokkens shattered upon impact with eachother. The two had rushed past one another and stood still, both staring in confusion at their ruined weapons. Quickly turning around to face eachother, they both raised their now pathetic looking little sticks in a defensive posture in an attempt to show they weren't about to give up.
Ryoko's expression of grim determination disappeared as she struggled to hold in her laughter at the absurdity of the battle. "I guess these things were a little more rotten than we expected." she commented.
Tenchi nodded his head sharply, still seemingly intent on finishing out this fight. Ryoko dissolved into a fit of laughter at she saw the serious look on Tenchi's face, it took a moment before she could get herself under control. "Do you really want to continue this fight? Come on, you've got like two inches of 'sword' there. I've got even less!" she exclaimed while once more bursting out into laughter.
Tenchi's posture relaxed a bit as he took a closer look at the sorry state of his weapon. Realizing just how silly it would be to try and continue the duel, he began to chuckle. "I guess you're right." he remarked while tossing the rotted stick onto the forest floor.
Ryoko quickly stopped laughing when she saw that and then struck a winning pose, her weapon raised high into the air. "Ha! I see you just conceded the fight, so it looks like I'm the victor." she used her most haughty tone as she spoke, trying to get a rise out of Tenchi.
The young man merely shook his head silently with a smile while returning to the campfire, setting himself on the ground once more. His female companion jovially bounded over to him, before hopping down right beside the boy, her previous melancholy mood seemingly gone. Pulling her knee's up to her chest, she set her chin atop them while staring at the hypnotic dance of flames in front of her.
Staying still was not one of Ryoko's specialities, as any of those at the Masaki house would be willing to testify. Her golden eyes looked around her, seeking out something of interest. Not wanting to sink back into the self pitying or worrisome thoughts of earlier, she knew she had to do something to occupy herself. And the only thing around which could do that was a certain dark haired boy next to her.
"Tenchi, I'm bored." she said for the second time that night.
He let out a tired sigh before rubbing his forehead. "I'm not really in the mood to play any more games at the moment."
She let out a little 'hmph' noise while frowning at him. "Alright then, why don't you think of something for us to do?" she asked sharply.
He mulled her request over for a moment, his gaze focused on the crackling fire in front of him, before he slowly turned his head towards Ryoko. "Well, maybe we could...talk." he replied tentatively.
She raised a cyan eyebrow at him after hearing his answer. "Talk?" she asked in near disbelief.
He shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "When you think about it, we've never really had any conversations before. Maybe we could have one now?"
Ryoko stared at him for a long moment, turning the idea around in her mind a few times. "I guess we could...talk." she slowly replied.
He nodded his head silently, his eyes then proceeding to focus on anything but Ryoko. The awkward silence that hung in the air was almost comical seeing as how a few simple words managed to bring it about. Tenchi furrowed his brow in annoyance at the situation. Come on, say something you idiot! You were the one who suggested 'talking' in the first place. He wasn't sure why the prospect of having a conversation with Ryoko seemed to make him uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because he had no experience having a real talk with her, perhaps because he was fearful the topics would wander towards their relationship, and his 'choice', or perhaps it was something else entirely, he wasn't sure.
It may have given him comfort to know that Ryoko was just as confused as he was. The cyan haired girl idly dragged a finger through the dirt, her mind elsewhere. Just talk with him, what's the big deal? she told herself mentally. Finally, after several agonizing moments of silence, Ryoko cleared her throat. "I think we got lucky that we didn't arrive here during the winter, we wouldn't want to freeze to death." She inwardly berated herself for not being able to come up with something better.
Tenchi nodded his head. "Yeah, we did get lucky in that regard."
Once more, a thick silence drifted upon the two, the tension building with every moment. A lone bird squawked out into the night, both Tenchi and Ryoko could almost swear that it was mocking them. "This is a lot harder than I thought it'd be." Ryoko muttered in a downcast manner.
Her statement unintentially brought a certain levity to the air, and Tenchi found himself almost laughing at the absurdity of what was going on. She cocked her head to the side in puzzlement as she watched him smiling broadly while seemingly deep in thought. "What's so amusing?" she asked dryly.
"This is." he replied simply. "Look at us, we can't even seem to have a simple conversation. It's ridiculous when you think about it." he went on to say.
This is ridiculous isn't it? All we have to do is talk about something, nothing hard about that. she slowly realized. She began to match his grin while she leaned up against a tree trunk. "So tell me Tenchi, what's school like?" she asked triumphantly, proud she managed to improve upon her last attempt at starting conversation.
"Most of the time it isn't really exciting, just classes, classes, and more classes. But during lunch hour there's almost always something going on. Some kids fighting with eachother, some playing pranks, of course there's always some guys trying to pick up some girls." he answered in a relaxed way.
She turned her gaze up to the canopy of tree branches above them before saying, "I never got a chance to go to school. Not that I'd ever want to, I mean I'm smart enough as it is." she quipped in her usual self-confident way before continuing, "I just wondered what you do all day."
He nodded his head in understanding and tossed another log onto the fire. Ryoko's eyebrows quirked together in contemplation for a moment before she turned her eyes towards Tenchi. "Say, there aren't any girls trying to pick up guys at that school, are there?" she asked suspiciously.
Tenchi could see through her transparent question easily, and knew exactly where she would go with her line of inquiries. "Some girls do that sort of thing." he replied simply.
Her eyes widened a bit as she swallowed that bit of information. "Have any girls...tried to pick you up?" she asked in a slow, almost nervous manner.
"There have been a few girls who've tried." he answered casually, knowing full well the outcome of his reply.
Ryoko's right eye twitched as jealous anger exploded within her. "I don't believe it! Who are they? I want names!" she shouted. Tenchi just let out an exhausted sigh while Ryoko's eyes widened as another thought entered her mind. "Umm Tenchi, you haven't gone out with any of these girls have you?" she asked timidly.
He shook his head. "Nope, I tell them I'm not interested. I've got enough girl trouble as it is at home, do you think I want to add to that?" He was relieved to see Ryoko seem to relax after his reassurances, the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with her in one of her jealousy fits. There was another reason that he turned down any romantic advances by the girls at his school, but he didn't want to tell Ryoko for fear of how she would interpret it.
Tenchi was a lot of things, but blind wasn't one of them. The exotic beauty of the women who lived at his house was readily apparent to him, and ever since they moved in, normal Earth girls just seemed so plain. While the guys at his school would be drooling over some new cheerleader, he would just inwardly yawn, knowing that the others back home would put any high school girl to shame.
He was brought out of his thoughts as Ryoko spoke again, "You know, I might have to go back to that school and blow it up again." she remarked with a devilish smirk.
"I don't think that'll be necessary Ryoko, destroying my school once was enough." he replied sarcastically. The topic caused Tenchi's mind to invariably drift back to that fateful night when she had showed up at his school, and then went on to chase him around while hurling energy bolts at him. Though Ryoko's behavior often confused him, that night in particular stuck in his mind. Since we're supposed to be chatting, might as well ask about that now. he resolved.
"Ryoko, there's something I've always wondered about the night I met you at the school. Did you really want to kill me?" he asked slowly, unsure of how she would react.
The question took Ryoko off guard, but she nevertheless responded, "Well, at first I was just playing around with you. I was in that cave for 700 years, so I had some energy to burn. But you kept evading me, and you called me a monster, so I got a little pissed off and carried away." she sheepishly admitted. "But deep down I never really wanted to hurt you." she quickly added.
He nodded his head in understanding. "I sort of figured that was the case. I've seen you fight before, and I bet you could've toasted me in an instant if you really wanted to."
She gave him a sly smile while leaning forward. "You're too cute to toast."
Tenchi looked away and quickly tried to change the subject. "I gotta say, you're idea of 'playing around' was pretty messed up. My idea of fun isn't having a near death experience." he remarked dryly.
Ryoko rolled her eyes dramatically in response to his comment. "The mighty creator of the light hawk wings can't handle a few stray energy bolts." she joked. Placing her hand on her chin, she appeared to be deep in thought for a moment before casting him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Say Tenchi, instead of chasing you around then, what if I had done something else instead? Like this..."
She quickly sprung up on her feet and bounded over towards a nearby tree. Gracefully hopping up on a low hanging branch, she crossed her legs and stared at him, looking almost exactly as she did that night so many months ago. "I was in that cave for 700 years. It was cold, and dark, and I didn't like it one bit. But you've freed me now, and I want to thank you for that." she finished in a sultry tone while jumping down to the ground and slowly approaching him, swaying her hips seductively as she did so.
Tenchi was like a deer frozen in the headlights as she knelt in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let me show you my appreciation." she purred while bringing her lips ever closer to his.
He made a strangled gasp while pushing himself away from her and stumbling backwards. "Stop that!" he sputtered out in half panic.
She stuck out her lower lip and pouted. "You mean you wouldn't have let a pretty young girl thank you for helping her out?"
He was clearly unamused by her antics as he sat upright. "First off, you're not young. Second, I wouldn't have done...that with you then because I had just found out that you were from the cave."
Ryoko crossed her arms and put on a mock frown for a moment before slowly beginning to grin. "I just noticed something, you said I wasn't young, but you didn't dispute me being pretty."
He groaned while searching for any way out of the subject. Taking a glance up at Ryoko, he noticed she had moved closer to him, her grin gone and the mischievous gleam absent from her eyes. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" she asked quietly.
Something about her tone gave Tenchi the idea that she wasn't playing around anymore. "Umm...uh...well...y-yeah, I do." he responded nervously, a faint blush creeping over his cheeks.
She smiled broadly, preparing to crush him in a tight embrace, but then decided against such a thing. This was a special moment to her, and she wanted to preserve it just as it was. Deep down she always knew he was at least somewhat attracted to her, but getting a compliment from him was a rarity. Leaning back, she turned her head around, gazing at how the fire cast it's glow around the surrounding forest.
Tenchi shook his head in disbelief. It's amazing how quickly she can change personalities. One minute she could be bouncing off the walls like a little kid, and the next minute she's so serious you'd think she was at a funeral. I could probably live a thousand years and never figure her out.
As Ryoko laid down on the hard ground, her mind went adrift with the memories of those times long ago. It seems like it was only yesterday that I first saw Tenchi, out there by the cave. We've both changed so much since then, it's hard to believe sometimes. I'll never forget how excited I was when he released me from that cave, I could hardly believe that it wasn't a dream.
As had happened before when Ryoko reminisced about her being freed from the dark confines of that cave, a small nagging question floated around in her head. She knew of her own feelings about her release, but what about Tenchi's? He seemed to yearn for a more quiet existance, a normal life, two things which her ressurection seemed to make impossible. Her insecurites usually festered and never were addressed, but something was different about this night. Maybe it was the uncertainity about what lay ahead, maybe it was the fact they were all alone, or perhaps because Tenchi seemed to want to talk, to get to know her a little better.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered her resolve while refusing to look at him while she spoke. "Tenchi, do you ever regret it? You know...releasing me from the cave?" she asked softly, trying not to let on just how much she really cared about his answer.
He was genuinely surprised by her question, but he was starting to become accustomed to the unexpected by now. He knew a quick and honest answer was called for in this situation. "No...not anymore. There was a short time when I did early on, but that didn't last." He took a look at Ryoko's still neutral expression as he finished, watching as she contemplated his response.
She silently digested his words and rolled over what he meant around in her head. She wasn't surprised that he did regret his choice early on, what with her nearly killing him at the school. But she wanted to know why he stopped regretting it, was it purely because she was the catalyst for the other girls coming to stay at the Masaki house? Was he thankful she brought Ayeka to him but sorry that the 'demon of the Masaki shrine' was also staying?
"What made you change your mind Tenchi? Not that it really matters." she quickly added in a hollow attempt at maintaining her tough persona.
"I guess because I realized that without you and the others, my life would be dull. I don't really have many friends at school, and our house was always so quiet and empty. But all that's changed now, and I wouldn't have it any other way." he replied with total honesty.
Ryoko smiled while watching the smoke from the fire rising up into the charcoal black sky. He said 'without you and the others', which means he's not sorry that I'm with him. She felt slightly liberated as relief washed over her. Sitting upright with lightning speed, she brought her knee's up to her chest while resting her chin atop them. "Let's talk about something new, like how much you wish the two of us could elope." she remarked playfully, her usual vibrant energy seemingly restored.
He shook his head with a smile while snapping some dried sticks. "Why don't I tell you about the time I accidentally ruined a wedding at my grandpa's shrine? I was only about 7 years old at the time."
Ryoko knew from her observations from the cave that Tenchi had a mischievous streak in him as a boy. She grinned in anticipation of his story as she silenty motioned for him to continue.
After straining to break one rather large branch apart, he brushed off his hands and turned towards the cyan haired girl. "As you know, back then, our house wasn't up at the shrine, so when I would come by, I would spend the weekends there. During the autumn of that year, this couple, probably in their early thirties, were going to have a traditional wedding there. The bride and groom both had large families that attended, and as I recall, it was the largest ceremony the shrine had seen in 18 years. I wasn't too happy about this, because grandpa had told me to stay inside the shrine office while the ceremony was being conducted. But still, I agreed, saying that I would quietly play with a few toys while the whole thing went on. But of course, I decided to do a lot more than that..." he paused for a moment to stoke the fire a bit with a long stick he had acquired.
"After about...10 minutes of playing with my samurai figurines in the office, I got bored. It was a beautiful sunny day, the weather was cool enough so that you could run around and not get hot, but not so cold that you needed a jacket. It was just too tempting for me to resist, so I snuck out a little window and darted off. I decided to take a peek at the wedding, so I snuck around in the bushes and got a closer look at everything. It was quite a sight, there were more than 100 people all dressed in really expensive clothing. Not wanting to get caught outside the office, I decide to go off into the woods to find something interesting to do. After playing a few games pretending to fight some invisible dragon, I chose to head over to the cave."
Ryoko smiled wistfully at his last remark, remembering how his visits were the sole bright spot in her miserable imprisonment. Tenchi scratched the back of his head for a moment as he tried to recall some exact details of his story. "Oh yeah, I remember now. I was walking along in the woods when I saw this bee hive. I had just learned that honey came from bee's, so I stopped for a moment to get a closer look. Then I started to think about my grandpa, and how he doesn't like any sugar or honey in his tea. But I thought that maybe if the honey was fresh from the hive, he might like it. So I decided I was gonna scoop some out and bring it back, but as you can probably guess, that wasn't a good idea." he was chuckling while he tried to continue the story.
Composing himself, he went on, "Needless to say, the bee's weren't too happy about my attempt. It only took a minute, but I had the whole nest flying after me, and I ran faster than I think I ever have, screaming all the while. The wedding at the shrine was the last thing on my mind, I just wanted to find some place safe from the bee's. So I come charging through this grandiose ceremony, shrieking, with who knows how many thousands of bee's on my tail." By now both Tenchi and Ryoko were gripping their sides while laughing uproariously. Tenchi caught his breath for second so he could gasp out, "You should've seen them run!" That comment sent them into further fits of hysterical laughter.
Ryoko shook her head while still giggling. "You little devil, you seem like you're proud of yourself."
Wiping his eyes, his laughter finally died down. "Well normally I wouldn't be, but this couple was really stuck up. They were bossing around my grandpa, telling him exactly how they wanted him to do the ceremony and stuff like that."
"Stuck up, you say? Were they as bad as Ayeka?" Ryoko jovially inquired.
Tenchi frowned slightly while prodding the embers with a long branch. "I never understand why you two can't make an effort to get along."
The cyan haired girl snorted in derision. "For one thing, she's trying to steal you away from me."
Tenchi let out a tired sigh. "I'm not 'yours' or anyone elses, I'm my own person. I just don't like to see the people I care about fight with eachother."
Ryoko looked away from Tenchi and into the vast expanse of wilderness, she'd heard the same line from Tenchi time and time again, and didn't feel like another lecture now. She idly noticed that a thick fog was now settling in, giving the slightly chilling effect of ghostly walls closing in around them.
Tenchi brushed aside some dead leaves near the fire before taking a glance at the seemingly uninterested face of Ryoko. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I think it's important. I don't hardly remember much about my mother, but from the little I do recall, and what I've heard from my dad, is that she was a very caring person who always stressed the value of getting along with others. You never know if something bad is going to happen, and you might end up never getting another chance to let the people you care about know how you feel about them. And then all you'll be left with is regrets that all you did was squabble." he said in a sagely manner.
She waved her hand dismissively at him. "Ayeka and I enjoy our little fights, we'd be bored without them."
"What about Washu? Like it or not, she is your mother, and you two seem to have a very strained relationship." he commented.
Ryoko's mood instantly darkened. "That's a very different situation. As far as I'm concerned, I have no mother."
Tenchi's shoulders slumped upon hearing her last remark. "I just don't understand why things have to be that way. I lost my mother when I was very young, and I would like nothing more than to have a second chance with her. You have that second chance Ryoko, you lost your mother too, but now she's back. Maybe you two can..."
"NO! We can't!" Ryoko shouted out, immediately silencing Tenchi.
The golden eyed girl stared at the flames in front of her, a steely expression etched on her face. Tenchi opened his mouth to speak again, but she once more interrupted him. "I'll sit with her at the dinner table, I'll watch soap opera's with her, but I won't 'talk' with her, and I won't be her daughter." she said firmly while looking over towards the confused boy. "You just wouldn't understand, Tenchi." she added quietly.
Tenchi cast a defeated look at the stern woman, she seemed to leave no room for a differing opinion on this issue. "I really think that Washu does care about you. She may be a little strange at times, but I think if the two of you talk things out, you can work past your differences.
He's too nice sometimes, always believing everything can turn out alright. Ryoko thought while chuckling a hollow laugh. "You really think she cares about me?" she inquired.
He nodded his head silently, in response to which she gave him a wry smirk. "She doesn't care one bit about me, end of story." she solemnly declared.
"Ryoko, I think that deep down, she wants to be a mother to you." Tenchi insisted.
That last remark finally set her off, and with anger coursing through her veins she lept to her feet. "She wants to be a mother to me? Bullshit! If she wanted to be a mother to me, she wouldn't give me the kind of crap that she does!" she barked at him while beginning to walk around the campfire.
Tenchi was growing ever more nervous around the increasingly angry woman, but gathered his resolve and said, "I know she makes fun of you sometimes..."
She whirled about, her eyes wild with the fury brought about by memories of the past. "It's more than that! So much more..." she mumbled while pacing back and forth for a bit before stopping to face off into the wilderness. A side effect of her anger was that her mouth was moving faster than her mind, and she was quickly losing the ability to get herself under control. "A real mother would try to understand their daughter, a real mother would try to make her daughter happy, Washu's done nothing of the sort. She mocks me at every chance she gets, never once supporting me on anything!" she bitterly spat.
For one moment, with the orange glow of the crackling fire illuminating her snarling visage, she looked every bit as fearsome as the old demon legend had said. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ryoko had a great deal of rage bottled up when it came to Washu, and Tenchi resolved to sit back and listen, hoping it would help ease the burden on her. Ryoko spun around on her heel and stared up into the night sky. "You know what really gets me? Is the fact that we share this mental link, and that she can rummage around and find out all my deepest feelings. But she only uses that info to get under my skin, to piss me off, and to hurt me in any way she can. You know a real mother wouldn't try to seduce the only man her daughter ever cared about!" she shouted out into the air, emotions she held back were now barreling through her like a freight train, and she couldn't stop it, no matter how hard she tried.
She snarled while once more resuming her wanderings around the blazing campfire, her fists spasmodically clenching on their own. "She doesn't give a damn about me! What she wants is some little baby to call her 'mama' so that she can feel special. It's always been about what SHE wants! NEVER what I want! And there's more..." she added barely above a whisper while pinching her brow, struggling to withhold the tears that were destined to fall.
Turning away from Tenchi, so that he wouldn't see the glistening moisture brimming in her eyes, or the quivering of her bottom lip, she spoke up once more, "One night, a few weeks after I assimilated with Zero, the little bitch tied me up in her lab, and left me there for hours all alone. It was dark, and it was cold, just like that damn cave was, and I hated it. I called out to her to let me down, but she just left me there. And then...after awhile, I...started to cry." she exhaled deeply, sniffling a moment before continuing, "So I started crying, and pleading for her to release me, I even called her mommy, hoping she would let me go. But she didn't, and eventually after who knows how many hours, I passed out from exhaustion. When I woke up, I was alone in her lab, but I wasn't restrained anymore, so I got the hell out of there. She knew that I hated the dark and the cold and being alone, she knew it all along! And the bitch did it anyway! But you know the worst part though? I later found out she videotaped the entire thing! She was watching me the whole time, laughing at me! A REAL MOTHER WOULDN'T DO THAT!" She screamed out, her voice echoing throughout the wilderness, seeming to bring the entire forest to a standstill.
Tenchi felt utterly paralyzed, he had no idea how to respond to her emotional outburst. So he sat silently, his mouth slightly agape, and tried to swallow the lump that had grown in his throat. His mind demanded he say something, anything to help her, but his mouth couldn't form any words, so he merely watched as she stood there with her head bowed, taking several deep breaths.
Sucking in another lung-full of air, Ryoko became aware of a stinging pain in her right palm. Unclenching her fist, she duly noted the streaks of blood running down her hand from where her nails had punctured the skin. Wiping away the moisture around her eyes, she wondered why she had opened up to Tenchi like that. So now he knows. It's funny, I thought I'd be more embarrassed about that little display. Maybe I'm just fed up with the amount of bullshit I've had to go through lately.
She didn't really feel relieved or ashamed, she just felt emotionally drained, tired of all the rage, the barriers, the pain. Slowly turning around, she quietly sat down on the ground. "I spent more than a week totally ignoring her, refusing to be in the same room even. But then Sasami came to me, she was upset, saying all the tension was making her sad. So I told her that everything was gonna be fine, and I just buried my feelings and acted like everything was normal." she said in a much more calm tone than before.
Tenchi finally managed to get his mouth to work. "I...I'm..." he lamely stuttered.
Ryoko gave Tenchi a weary smile. "You don't need to apologize Tenchi, you didn't do anything wrong. I'll be alright." she said.
Glad to see that she seemed to be feeling slightly better, Tenchi nodded his head silently while fiddling with a loose thread on his jacket. Many emotions tumbled around in him, such as pity for Ryoko, frustration at his inability to help her, some anger at Washu for her actions.
But Tenchi knew cooler heads needed to prevail, and he swiftly found what he felt to be an appropriate response, "Obviously, you and Washu's problems are deeper than I originally thought. But I think you need to tell her how you feel about the things she's done to you. Washu has been through a lot of pain in her life, and I think you know more than anyone what that can do to a person. Sometimes people are so wrapped up in their own internal sufferings, that their personalities can become warped, and a lot of times they fail to see the effects of their actions on others. You have to let her know how she's been hurting you. What's the worst that can happen? At best, maybe she'll see the light and hopefully try to better herself. Holding in this animosity is only going to lead to something terrible happening further down the road."
She shrugged her shoulders while lazily rubbing her eyes. "Maybe you're right." she muttered.
And so once more, the blanket of silence fell upon the two of them, and the denizens of the forest were only ones making any sounds. He recalled a moment which seemed like ages ago, when he was alone with Ayeka in a wood shed. It was shortly after her arrival, and she had been broken up over the thought of Yosho's death, leaving him in the awkward position of trying to brighten her mood. Crying women weren't something he was used to dealing with, so his efforts to cheer her up left much to be desired. Yet here he was again, with a girl who could use some comforting.
She let out a ragged breath before casting her gaze towards the cold hard ground. "Sometimes Tenchi, I just sit there and wonder why I've had to have such a shitty life. What did I do to deserve being Kagato's puppet for thousands of years? I never had a chance to have a normal life. Hell I never even had a childhood, I was 'born' looking just as I do now. You're the only good thing that's ever been in my life."
His eyes widened a bit at her last remark, but he quickly composed himself in order to respond, "Sometimes we have to go through hardships in order to find the good things in life. Personally I like to think everything happens for a reason." he said while running a hand through his hair.
Ryoko cocked her head to the side while looking at Tenchi with a strange smile. "So maybe I went through all those things so I could get the chance to be with you? Afterall, if it wasn't for Kagato, Yosho would never had locked me away, and then I'd never have gotten the opportunity to meet you. I guess that makes you my destiny." she added slyly.
Suddenly finding the forest floor more interesting than meeting her gaze, he dragged a stick through the dirt while shrugging his shoulders.
She chuckled while reclining back until she was laying down with her hands behind her head. A small plume of smoke wafted over towards her, filling her nostrils with the scent of burning wood, something which she found strangely soothing. I never realized talking could make you so tired. she thought while feeling her heavy eyelids slowly close on their own volition. As she looked back on this night, a sense of calm and warmth spread throughout her. She felt closer emotionally to Tenchi than she ever had before, something which was bound to bring pleasant dreams to her that night.
Meanwhile, Tenchi threw one last batch of dried up branches onto the fire in an effort to keep it going. Casting his gaze towards his now sleeping companion, he noted the peaceful expression on her face with relief. He had been fearful the emotionally draining evening would wear on her, but she seemed to be taking it alright. She's certainly resilient, that's for sure. Most people would probably go insane after going through the hardships she's been through in her life.
He smiled softly as he watched the girl begin to lightly snore, a lock of her cyan hair draped across her face gave her a sort of unkempt beauty. After a few moments of watching her while quietly letting his thoughts drift, he yawned loudly, and decided to take Ryoko's example and turn in for the night. Brushing aside some stray twigs which would hinder an attempt at a comfortable rest, he laid down on the dirt with a small sigh. It wasn't long before the soothing warmth of the nearby fire and the almost musical sounds of nature helped bring about his slumber.
***
Blackness surrounds me, thick and oppressive, I can't see a single thing.
I try to blink, but find I have no eyelids. I can't feel anything, my body is seemingly nonexistent.
A thousand questions swirl around, answers are also seemingly nonexistent.
"The answers are within." a feminine voice whispers to me.
The answers? To which questions?
"Find the rhythm." it tells me.
What rhythm? What's going on?
"Only in the darkness, shall hope spring forth." the voice says. This isn't making any sense! Why does this have to be so confusing?!
"Find the rhythm." it repeats.
I don't understand! I don't...
"...understand." Tenchi mumbled as he woke up in a cold sweat. Rapidly blinking his eyes, he sat upright while gasping for breath. That dream was so strange, yet so vivid. he thought to himself while wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. After a moment, he finally caught his breath and laid his weary body once more upon the ground. Despite the peculiar nature of his dream, he reasoned that returning to sleep was more important.
It didn't take very long for the comforting embrace of sleepiness to settle upon Tenchi. Yet when it seemed he was mere moments from drifting off, the rustling noise caused by a flock of birds flying away caught his attention. He rolled over onto his side and inwardly grumbled at his bad luck. A moment later, his ears picked up a faint crunching sound coming from the tree's. Despite his groggy state, the memories of being attacked by that pack of animals earlier was fresh in his mind. Springing up into a sitting position once more, his eyes adjusted to the relative darkness around him. The only real light was a glow coming from the embers of the earlier fire.
Crawling over towards Ryoko, he gently shook her shoulder. "Ryoko, wake up." he said urgently.
The sleeping former pirate groaned something unintelligible while pressing her eyelids tighter together in an effort to block out what was going on. Tenchi sighed and stood up, quickly looking all around himself. Of course, the fire! They'll probably stay away from it. he thought to himself while quickly prodding the embers. As he bent over to gather some dead leaves and twigs from the ground, a sharp pain lanced throughout the back of his neck. Staggering forward a few steps, he reached his hand behind his neck only to find a small dart lodged into it. His vision began to blur while the rest of his senses started to spiral downward as well, and it wasn't long before rational thought became impossible.
Stumbling around, he tripped over Ryoko's sleeping form, causing him to unceremoniously tumble face-first into the ground. The disturbance finally caused Ryoko to wake up, and she immediately knew something was wrong. Quickly vanquishing her sleepiness, she sat up while her eyes darted around her. Her night vision was superior to that of normal Earthlings, so she had no trouble in spotting Tenchi's now unconcious form next to her. Her heart lept into her throat as she saw this, and she quickly rushed to his side.
"Tenchi? Are you alright? What's wrong?" she nervously asked while shaking the boy.
She could still hear his steady breathing, but that was little comfort to the now frantic girl. The rustling of nearby leaves along with the crunching of branches caught her attention, and she soon realized they were not alone. Leaping to her feet, she narrowed her eyes while adopting a fighting stance. "Alright! Come on out!" she yelled.
A moment later, two stinging sensations were felt on the back of her leg and her shoulder. Growling, she reached back and yanked out the metallic darts, tossing them to the ground. Due to her unique biochemistry, the chemicals injected into her didn't affect her as they would a normal person.
"Is that the best you can do?!" she defiantly shouted while trying to pick up where the attackers may be using her keen hearing.
She heard a low thud sound from behind her, to which she twirled around instantly, only to discover a small cylinder on the ground. There wasn't much time for an examination of the object, as a dense smoke began to issue forth from it. She snarled in frustration as now her vision was obsured. Several sets of rapidly approaching footsteps were heard, causing her to instinctively try to form an energy saber. Yet the only thing which she could manage to form was a few pathetic sparks, as a wave of diziness swept over her. A blunt object smashed into the back of her head, sending her tumbling to the ground as she was knocked out cold.
Eight figures loomed around the fallen pair, each one was dressed in black uniforms while sporting a backpack along with high powered goggles. After checkling both Tenchi and Ryoko's pulse, one of the figures stood up and pulled a sleek metallic disk from a pocket on his shirt.
"Headquarters, this is Commander Folqui of strike force one reporting in. The mission has been a success, both targets have been acquired and are unharmed. No casualties on our team." he spoke into the object.
After a moment of static, a voice came out from the receiver, "Good work, bring them back to headquarters as soon as possible." it ordered.
End of chapter 4
***
Authors Notes: I apologize if the pace seems to be going too slowly. I wanted this to be a sort of 'character development' chapter.