"The Romantic Tales of Tenchi" (Tentative series title) #1: "A Peaceful
Moment"
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A Peaceful Moment (#1)
A Tenchi & company short story by Gary Littlejohn
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All Tenchi* characters and the like are trademarks of Pioneer.
I did not invent these characters, I simply thought up the situation
for them to be in.
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        The evening was mild and I was sitting outside thinking to myself.
My thoughts were interrupted by noise from inside the house, and soon after
the noise, I heard Ayeka yelling at Ryoko about breaking something.  Ryoko,
aggrivated about Ayeka's complaints as usual, snapped back.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not always whining about everything!" Ryoko yelled
back, and I could hear the fir ein her voice.  I always hated hearing her
yell like that.  I knew that deep down inside, she was really much more
gentle than that.  Of course, the same went for Ayeka.

"Yes well, we can't expect grace from a freak of nature!" Ayeka snapped
back.
"After all, you WERE created from those freakish masses."

"Ayeka!" Ryoko screamed, her voice breaking. "I... I hate you, you stuck up
little twerp! I hate you!!"

And then I saw Ryoko come through the wall accross the deck and lean against
that same wall.  She stared blankly towards the water, not saying anything.
>From where I was sitting, I was fairly sure she couldn't see me since I was
somewhat shrouded by the shadows.  I looked at her face and into her eyes,
and I saw her sadness.  I could almost feel it deep in my heart.  She was
a bedevilingly beautiful woman.  Her face was fair and sweet, her eyes full
of secrets and surprises, and her body was perfectly formed on top of that.
And somewhere under her cold exterior was a warm heart that beat with a
passion for everything she did.  She truly was marvelous.  I really thought
very highly of her, if only she would stop acting the way she did.  Every
time I would say her name, I would get chills down my spine...

"Ryoko..." I whispered to myself, and I felt goosebumps on my neck.  But
suddenly, I looked up and she was approaching me with her sad eyes looking
right into mine.  I was hypnotized by the very sight of those pools of
radiance.

"Tenchi." She said, as she approached and sat down with me. "I.. I didn't
know you were here." She sat next to me, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Tenchi." She finally said after a moment. "Do you think that I'm a freak
of nature?  That I'm a monster?  Am I really that horrible?"

I froze.  I didn't know what to say to her.  I wanted to tell her that
there was no way anyone as beautiful as that could be a monster!  However
I did not want to say such a thing to her, for it would only encourage her
to go back to Ayeka and boast.  That was the trouble with these two, you
see.
If I compliment either of them, it's just another weapon against the other.

"Ryoko." I managed to say. "How could I possibly think that a friend like
you
is a monster or a freak?"

She looked up and gazed into my eyes, hers sparkling like gems by firelight.
"Oh Tenchi, do you really mean it?"

I smiled back. "Of course I do."

She sniffled, blinked, and then suddenly tears began to flow from her eyes
like a waterfall after a rainstorm.

"Oh Tenchi!" She cried, and buried her face into my chest, wrapping her arms
around me in a warm embrace.

I hugged her back and continud to hold her in my arms until she fell asleep.
I looked down at her, lying there asleep in my arms.  She was beautiful even
when she slept.  So content, so peaceful.  She had lead a hard life of
one trauma after another, but her pure good heart really shone in moments
like this.  I leaned forward and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"Ryoko, you are my best friend." I whispered, and a smile seemed to come
accross her face as she slept.  I then leaned back against the wall and
fell unconscious myself.

The End

(C)2000 Gary Littlejohn (garylisk@shinra.org)