Tears In Heaven Written By Kaleb Redrum - "The Red Writer" The Disclaimer: Ok, here it is. I don't own any of the character involved in this story, I'm only using them for my own devices, (Which happens to be other people reading them and hopefully enjoying them). AIC and Pioneer own them, and have made lots of money off of them. With any luck, they will continue to make more (That is, if they finish the series!). Anyway, no attempts at legal action should be taken, as I am the closest thing to a bum you can get without living on the street. Basically, suing me would result in LOST funds, not increased funds. So, in the words of so many others, don't sue me, ok? Authors Note: Hey everybody, this is my first attempt at fan fiction. Love it, hate it, ignore it, but please don't actively try to destroy my works and me! Err, Work, as I only have this one. It is based in the OAV universe. This fan-fic was named after a song by a very talented and successful song writer/performer by the name of Eric Clapton. After his son died, he was out of the music business for a while, and then he wrote this song, dedicated to his son. Every time I hear it, I am grateful for what I do have, and not angry or frustrated about what I don't. I was reading through a fic, and got to a section where Nobuyuki was looking at a picture of his wife, reminiscing about her, when the song came on. It was very fitting. Anyway, no matter what your opinions are, send all emails to TheRedWriter@cs.com. Thank you, and enjoy. Tears In Heaven Dark shapes fluttered at the edges of Nobuyuki's vision, but he ran on. The darkness, so encompassing, so inviting, so very alluring. Nobuyuki slowed, and was tempted to give in, to let the darkness over take him, to swallow him up. NO! He shook his head and kept running. Running for the only spot of light in his vision, the light that made it possible for him to go on, day after day, year after year. To let stop, to let the darkness have him, was to never reach that goal. And to never reach that goal was to fail in so many things. Nobuyuki shook the thought from his head, and concentrated on his task. Don't stop, keep going, and don't stop. To stop is to fail, to fail the one's you love, the one's that love you in return. To fail her. She would not have wanted you to stop. The darkness came closer, whispering promises to him. Sweet eternity in oblivion. Rest for your tortured soul. Peace from the agony you call life. So inviting, these promises sounded, for the instant it took Nobuyuki to remember what he ran from. He shook his head violently, feeling ashamed that he'd even for a second considered them. Nobuyuki stopped and faced the darkness. "Be gone, foul demons! You offer lies and false promises!" Fear lined his voice, made it crack. As in response to Nobuyuki's command, the darkness solidified, and chains of pure darkness snaked out and bound him. A voice of neutral, sexless tones, deep and smooth, yet one that carried the weight of the ages spoke out of the shadows. "False, Nobuyuki? You call me false? How amusing that is from one such as you." A figure, wrapped in robes of black, inky shadows, removed it self from the field of darkness. The figure walked up to Nobuyuki, bound and held off the ground, until the figure was about ten paces from him. Nobuyuki glared at the figure in front of him. "Who are you, and why have you bound me?" Nobuyuki snapped his voice full of anger and frustration, while he struggled futilely with his the chains that held him steady. "You are bold, for one who speaks from a point of such weakness. I am the one who watches the one who waits for the unlucky individual to discover the darkness of their soul. In this case, Nobuyuki Masaki, I am the darkness of your soul. Surprised? Why should you be? I am everything in you that has ever hated, hurt, neglected, or insulted another. Equally, I am the part of you that has been downtrodden, mentally and emotionally beaten, hated, and despised by another. I am you, Nobuyuki Masaki, the part you have hidden from yourself. I am the darkness around you, the darkness you run from, the darkness for your soul. Behind your perverted, hentai mask you assume in day-to-day life lives a pestilence, a diseased soul. It waits and rots, eating itself alive. And you don't notice it until its too late. And Nobuyuki, it is getting to be very late in this game." Fear held Nobuyuki enthralled, and the terror of truth covered his face "What are you talking about? You speak in riddles! Why do you not reveal yourself, instead of hiding in garbs of black? What do you know of me, my problems, or my soul? And what game are you talking about? Let me go!" As Nobuyuki struggled with his chains, a feeling of helplessness began to grip his heart. Laughter, cold and sinister, rang out in the void of darkness. "Denial is a beautiful thing, and you are a master in it's use. Lies, deception, you know it all. But you already know that, don't you? Everywhere, to everyone, your mask is up, fooling, deceiving. Your own son, Tenchi, he does not know you, the real you. The one you hide behind in your hentai and pornographic magazines. All he knows is the man who was there after his mother died; the one who never had time for him. You ignored him when he needed love, neglected him when he needed support. Then these women come here, to live with you, in your house. But you didn't do it out of hospitality, did you? No, you did it because you thought you might get the glimpse of a lifetime. The sight of the universes most eligible princess, naked? Forbidden fruit indeed! Or perhaps the tantalizing visions of flesh from the most notorious space pirate who ever stepped inside a ship? I know when these thoughts touch your mind. "And it goes far beyond that, doesn't it, Nobuyuki? Not only are these women beautiful, sensual, powerful, but they vie for your son's love! Do you think your son is proud to have a voyeur in his home, constantly harassing the girls who love him? Have you ever considered, for a moment, that your son might be ashamed of you? Did you actually believe, for all those years, that your son really loved you? Why-" A scream of primal fear erupted out of Nobuyuki, stopping the figure in mid-sentence. "NOOOO!" Light shattered the world of darkness like a mirror, releasing Nobuyuki, and strong hands were shaking his shoulders. "Lord Nobuyuki! Wake up! You're having a nightmare!" A feminine figure, framed with purple hair, stood over him. "Lord Nobuyuki, your having a nightmare, please wake up." "I'm ok, I really am." Nobuyuki looked up at her, and a smile broke out on his face at the sight of her worried features. "Thank you very much, Lady Aeka. I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll be ok now." "Yes, Lord Nobuyuki. Sleep well." Aeka bowed and left. Nobuyuki laid in bed, staring silently at the ceiling. *Why did this always happen to me?* he thought. Always around this time of year, the nightmares began, never the same, each time much worse. They had always been bad, but this one, this had been the worst of all. Myriad thoughts and ideas flew through his mind, most of them involving sake, most of them not very helpful. Realization came that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep tonight. As he stood up to get a robe, his eyes latched onto an old photograph, one that had been taken the day after he had been married. The light had been just right, reflecting off of the lake, and he had wanted to capture his bride perfectly. *Achika, if you could only see me now *, he thought with a sad sigh. In two days, it will have been nine years since she had died. Each one seemed like it was just yesterday. *The hurting never stops...it only gets worse. * Tying his robe around his waste, Nobuyuki picked up the photo, and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Later that morning... "You don't look good, Dad. Are you ok?" Tenchi asked at breakfast. Sasami had made bacon and eggs, an American dish. It was gone in about 5 minutes. Nobuyuki felt drained, exhausted, and generally bad all over, but instead he said, "No, Tenchi, I'm ok. Just up late last night, that's all. Going to get to sleep earlier tonight." Aeka helped herself another piece of toast. "It came as a surprise to me when I discovered I was the only one you disturbed, Lord Nobuyuki, with all your yelling and screaming last night. I wanted to be considerate of the others and yourself at the same time, so I designated my self to check up on you. Obviously she wasn't going to do it" Aeka said with a finger pointed at Ryoko, who smiled sweetly at Aeka. Unbeknownst to Aeka, a Ryoko double walked out of the wall right behind Aeka, carrying a container of orange juice, and raised it over Aeka's head... At the sight of the Ryoko double, Nobuyuki blanched and quickly stood up. "Umm, I've got to go, guys. See you all later!" He rushed out of the dining room, and heard the beginning of a very loud scream. *God, I hope they don't wreck the house again! * He thought as he exited the house. Even later that day... Nobuyuki sat at his desk, day dreaming, his thoughts filled with days past and gone. Seven cups of coffee hadn't woken him up yet. As he was just coming out of his trance, one of his fellow architect's strolled over to him. "Hey Nobuyuki, want to grab something to eat? There's this new place that just opened up, I figured we might want to try it out." "Not today, Okama, I have some extra work I need to finish up here." "You sure? I hear that it has great sushi." "Yeah, I'm sure, thanks for asking." "Wait a minute, who are you and what did you do with Nobuyuki? The Nobuyuki I know would never pass up the opportunity to get some sushi, or the possibility there might be some attractive waitresses there." "Lay off, I'm serious. I love sushi, and you know I love good-looking girls, but I just don't feel like going out today. So give me a break, ok?" "All right, if that's the way you want it, but the offers still open within the next 15 minutes. Hurry up if you decide to change your mind. I'll be getting my things at my desk, if you catch me." With that, Okama walked out of Nobuyuki's office. *Why did I do that? * Thought Nobuyuki. *All he did was try to be friendly, and I pushed him back, just like everybody else. What is wrong with me that I cant even be nice to people, much less sociable? * He put his chin in his hand and sighed. *I need to get out more often, get a little excitement in my life. Well, I certainly don't need it now; I've got work to do. * With that, Nobuyuki continued working. Later still... *There!* he thought as he finished up the last piece of work. *Finally done. * As Nobuyuki stood up and started to gather his things, he caught sight of the clock. *11:00! Sasami's going to kill me if I'm late for dinner again! And she's making teriyaki tonight, too. Oh well. * Nobuyuki walked out to his car, noticing that it was quiet and empty. Turning the alarm off as he got near. Bringing out his keys, he heard a voice behind him, muffled and speaking quickly, say, "Turn around, slowly. Don't yell, or make any sudden movements, or things will get very, very bad, very, very fast." Nobuyuki froze, fear over taking him. He felt like an animal trapped in the headlights. The thought's *Can my day get any worse? * Flew through his head, as he stood there frozen like a living ice statue. "Don't make me ask you again. Turn around. Now. Or else." Said the voice again. Nobuyuki, still ridged with fright, turned around slowly, his briefcase in one hand, car keys in the other. In front of him stood a largish man, with a black ski mask over his face, making it impossible to identify him. He had on blue jeans and a black leather jacket, with black boots. All this would have been intimidating, but in his right hand was a very deadly looking knife. The other hand beckoned. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. The easy way is you give me your wallet, hope there's enough cash in there to make me happy, and don't ever say anything to anybody. Then we both walk away with something we want. Which would be me with your money, and you with your life. The hard way is... well, I don't think you really want to find out the hard way, do you?" The man chuckled silently to himself, for before he even finished speaking, Nobuyuki dropped his briefcase, and was madly grabbing for his wallet. "Here, take it! I don't need it! Really, I don't!" Said Nobuyuki as he handed over his wallet. "Just don't hurt me, please! I didn't do anything. I have a family." He backed away from the man as he spoke, towards his car. The man looked inside the wallet, nodded, then put it in his pocket. "All right, this will do. The easy ways is always better, remember that." With that, the man ran off. Nobuyuki stood there, feeling like the specter of death was watching over him, his heart beating like a jackhammer. He leaned up against the side of his car, and slid down until he was on the ground. He stayed there, in a state of shock, for about fifteen minutes. Then, realizing that he was alone in a parking lot where he had just been robed, he got up, got into his car, and started the long drive home. You guessed it, sometime in the evening... As he trudged up the stairs to the house, Nobuyuki, depressed beyond belief, was wondering what everybody was going to think about him when he came in looking like he did. *Will they taunt me? I can just see it coming. Ryoko will ask me, "Why didn't you fight him, that's what I would have done?" Can they see that I don't have super powers or space ships? I'm just a normal earthling, trying to live a normal life. Even my own son has weird abilities, something Washu called "Might Lock Wings" or something like that. He could have handled this, would have sent that mugger packing, but not me. I'm just Nobuyuki the looser, Nobuyuki the victim. Well, here goes nothing. * Nobuyuki opened the door, expecting to see Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, maybe even Washu or Kiyone. Instead, he stepped into an empty, quiet house. He walked into the Living Room, thinking that maybe Ryoko and Aeka might be watching one of their soap operas. Empty. A bit disgruntled, he strove over into the Kitchen. Likewise, this room was also deserted. He sighed, and sat down at the table. Siting on the tabletop was a note. "Hey Dad, I know you work late sometimes, but I don't know how late you will get this. Grandfather really took it to me today in sword practice, and I'm dead tired. On top of that, I have a test tomorrow, and I want to be ready and awake for it. So I decided to go to bed early. While I'm writing this, everybody else is saying that their tired too, so we're shutting down early tonight. Just thought I'd let you know. There's left over Teriyaki in the fridge. Love you. - Tenchi" Nobuyuki put his head in his hands and sighed. *Can this day get any worse? I didn't get any sleep, my work is boring, I push all my co-workers and would be friends away from me, I finish up late, then I get mugged by someone that my son could have beaten up without super powers, and finally, to top it off, I get home, and I can't even tell anybody about it, because their all sleeping already! * He slowly let his head slide out of his hands, until he was looking eye-to-eye with the table. "Well, who would want to listen to a hentai fool like me, anyway?" Nobuyuki said aloud as he lifted his head. "All I do is work and horde pornography! What an idiot I was to think that anybody would care." His voice got louder. "Even if somebody was awake, they wouldn't care about what I had to say!" With this final shout, he stood up, crumpled up the note, threw it at the wall, and stormed into his room. Later that... NIGHT! Ha, fooled you... Something woke Nobuyuki from his slumber. He opened his eyes to the sound of the wind blowing through his room, his window open. He stood up and walked from his bed to his window. *There's a full moon tonight* He realized. Clouds started appearing in the sky, obscuring the moon. The light, coming from the moon changed from white light, to red. *What the...? * The clouds started getting larger and larger, covering the sky, and coming closer the earth. At terrifying speeds, the clouds rushed towards the Masaki household, swarming into Nobuyuki's bedroom, obscuring his vision. The world disappeared for long moments, then cleared. *This has to be another nightmare. I just know it. * He was standing on an endless plain of cracked, red earth. The sky was covered with black clouds tinted red, with occasional flashes of green and blue. Steam was everywhere, like mist, coming out of the cracks. Suddenly, in the distance, a huge black tree broke through the red earth, stretching up into the blackish-red sky, growing, ever upward. When it reached about a mile in height, it stopped. A figure stepped out the front of the tree, like Ryoko walked through walls. The figure was short, though odd, and feminine. She was short, had purple hair, orange eyes, and green skin. Suddenly, something Ryoko said came back to him, *Oh my God* thought Nobuyuki, *She looks exactly like Yuzuha. Oh my God...* Suddenly, next to Yuzuha, a figure appeared, looking vaguely familiar. In the figures hands was another person, looking to be female, being carried like a sack of potatoes. It was a young girl, looking to be about 15 to... maybe 18, he thought, with short blue hair, and orange eyes. She had on strange clothing, kind of like Ryoko in her battle suit. *Wait a minute*, he thought, *Thats Mayuka, Back when she was mind controlled by Yuzuha! But she's just a little baby now. * The figure in her hands was wearing long, ornate robes, and had long purple hair. *And that's.... Princess Aeka! What's going on here? * Out of the darkness, more figures appeared. "My son!" gasped Nobuyuki aloud, as Tenchi appeared in full Juraian armor, Tenchi-ken in his hand. Ryoko appeared next to him in her skin tight battle suit, with her energy sword out and ready. A sickening suspicion began to form in Nobuyuki's mind. *This looks like the time when Tenchi and the girls went to rescue Aeka and Mayuka, and fought Yuzuha in the Dark Dimension. But this doesn't look like the Dark Dimension* thought Nobuyuki, *This doesn't look anything like how Tenchi described it. Something is wrong here...* Nobuyuki watched, hidden by the rising steam, as Ryoko first attacked Mayuka. Everything was going as she had told him, with her getting weakened by the darkness of the place. But then things started changing. Ryoko flew at Mayuka and swung her sword, but instead of hitting her mark, Nobuyuki watched Mayuka duck underneath her sword and slashed at Ryoko's stomach. Blood sprayed out from the wound, But instead of acknowledging the damage, or even flinching, she brought her sword down on the top of Mayuka's head. Nobuyuki wanted to rush forward, help in some way, anyway, but the unknown force that doesn't let us control our dreams held him in place. He was forced to watch as first Mayuka fell, with her head caved in, and then Ryoko, with tendrils of green, vile-looking energy crawling up into the wounds caused by Mayuka. Throughout it all, Yuzuha laughed a cruel, mocking laugh that sent icy shivers up Nobuyuki's spine. As soon as the two hit the ground, she casually reached around and picked up an unconscious Aeka off the ground. Holding her up by the throat, she tore Aeka's head from her body. With a scream of anger and torment, Tenchi rushed forward, summoning the Light Hawk Wings. He swung at Yuzuha, but she sidestepped him, and he instead flew at her tree. "NOOOO!!!!", she cried, but she was too late. Tenchi took aim, and swung the Light Hawk Blade through the Dark Tree with all of his strength. His blade passed through bark like a hot knife through butter. Yuzuha screamed as cracks began to run all along the base of her tree. "You may have destroyed me, Tenchi Masaki, but I will not die alone!" Frozen, Nobuyuki watched in horror as Yuzuha siphoned off what looked like all of the energy of the dying tree and sent it in one titanic blast at his son. Tenchi immediately put all of his Light hawk Wings into a glowing energy shield around him. Yuzuha laughed and pressed on more energy. Tenchi gave a strangled cry and the dark energy overtook him. Two large blasts of energy came from the spots where the combatants were standing, one white and one black, and then all was silent. Whatever had held him rigid released him, and with a choked gasp, Nobuyuki ran to the quiet battlegrounds. As he rushed to the spot where Tenchi had been standing, All that was left were white ashes. Nobuyuki fell to his knees, screaming for all the gods to hear him. Nobuyuki frantically sifted through the dust the ashes were rapidly becoming, searching for something, anything, that would help him, help him bring his son back. His hand brushed against something solid, and he grasped for it. Lifting it up from the ashes, he cried at what he held in his hand. It was Tenchi-ken. A noise like thunder exploded throughout the land. Nobuyuki looked up from his torture, and saw that the severed Tree of Darkness was falling. And it was falling very quickly. Right towards him. He got up, and ran. Ran like there was nothing left in the world for him, nothing left but escaping. Running like there was no tomorrow. And looking back over his shoulder, he saw that he wasn't fast enough. Closing his eyes, he waited for the impact that would spell his doom. It never came. Nobuyuki opened his eyes, looking around. He was now in a field of the purest black earth, and there was gray stones, about knee high, every where, looking like miniature obelisks. There were piles of rotting black and green vegetation in front of almost every stone. Waiting for his heart to stop the jackhammer motions in his chest, he sat down in exhaustion and grief, and leaned back against one of the stones. As soon as he hit the ground, though, he felt a sharp pain in his rear end, and stood up quickly. Frustration and anger combined, making him abuse his vocal cords as he stood up, cursing profanities everywhere, and kicked as hard as he could at the dead plants. They went flying in every direction, one of them even sticking to his pants leg. Still cursing, he reached down to remove it, and stood up eyeing what he was holding curiously. It was a bouquet of old black roses. Fear crept into his heart, and he slowly glanced up at the stone. It read: - Here Lies - - Aeka Masaki Jurai - "Not only the Princess of an empire, But the Princess of My Heart." - Tenchi Masaki Terror so cold that it he couldn't breathe gripped his heart. Black roses fell from his frozen hands, and he fell backwards away from the stone. He struggled to breathe, and tried to back away from the cursed sight as fast as he could. He felt something cold and hard touch his back, and turned around. Another grisly vision awaited him. - Here Lies - - Tenchi Masaki - He was loved by many, And he will be missed. His eyes closed, and a tear fell from his eye, vanishing into the black earth below. Suddenly the hand that gripped his heart shattered, and then he screamed. He screamed and screamed and screamed, tears running down his face, his voice going horse. He screamed with the conviction of a man who truly wished to die. When his voice got horse, he got on his feet, and raced away from the grave stone at top speed. Only to trip over another one. Stumbling, fumbling, screaming, he got on his feet, still trying to out- run his fears, his nightmares, his agonies. He passed by countless graves, endless rows of death. They all proclaimed the death of a loved one, every last one. He heard voices call out to him, voices of his son, of Ryoko, of Aeka, of Yosho, calling him. "Nobuyuki, why couldn't you help us?" "Nobuyuki, I was dying, why didn't you save me?" "Nobuyuki, you bastard, you let them kill me. Damn you to hell." "Nobuyuki, you let her kill me, you're no father of mine." "We don't love you, Nobuyuki. Your not fit to be loved by anyone." They seemed to go on forever, spectral voices calling out to him, wailing in their agony, damning him, condemning him, judging him, sentencing him. And all the while, he ran, as fast as he could, trying to block out the voices and the darkness. His leg slammed into a gravestone hard, and was forced to open his eyes. And then, ahead of him, he saw it. A light. A real, tangible, bright, soft light, in all of the darkness. He ran towards it, and the voices and the darkness got stronger, louder, and deeper. Specters of his loved one's began rising from their graves, all of them ghastly and radiating the darkness that infused this place. Faster and faster they started to appear, to chase after him, calling out to him, reaching for him. He couldn't keep ahead, they started to gain on him. And he got closer to the light, closer to salvation. The specter cries got louder and louder, until he couldn't hear anything else but his damnation. The specters inched closer, until they were almost touching him, claws reaching out, grabbing for him. The ghosts were almost there, ready to rip out his soul and devour it. And then he reached the light. Nobuyuki heard the cries of the damned behind him, but ignored them. He had finally reached his safety. His salvation, his light. Nobuyuki just stood there for and let the moments tic past, catching his breath through bruised lungs. The Circle of light was, he found, just a little over 15 feet square, and had a stone in the direct center of it. He bent next to it and rested for a second before inspecting it. It read: - Here Lies - - Nobuyuki Masaki - - Liar and Failure to the Very End. - - May he Never Rest in Peace - His cry could be heard for miles. He screamed once, and only once, before he could take it no more, and he became racked with sobs. He fell to his knees before the stone, crying so hard that it shook his whole body. So distraught was he that he began to speak to himself, to deny the darkness of what he saw. "Why?", he cried. "Why am I so cursed? Have I been so horrible a person that creatures like Kagato are saints by comparison? I must be so vile a being that I am plagued so viciously. I try," he said, trying to find some conviction in his words, but failing miserably. "I try so hard, so, so hard to make a good life for my son and his friends. I try to make him see that I care, that I love him. Is it not enough?" Nobuyuki was on his knees, his head in his hands, a river of tears streaming down his face. He had stopped speaking, and was only crying silently, his frame shaking from the sobs. Unbeknownst to him, a breeze started to pick up around him. The light faded around him, but still he didn't notice, so badly was his spirit torn. The wind started to pick up, faster and more violently. And then it began to rain. Still he sat, reminiscing in his agony. He finally looked up, and found himself not in a everlasting graveyard, not in a circle of light, but in a clearing next to a small field of wild flowers. And the damning stone was still in front of him. The moon was just reaching its peak, and was starting to go down. And the wind and the rain picked up even more, tossing leaves and flowers into the air. Nobuyuki didn't care, just curled up in a ball on the ground, crying. Suddenly the rain stopped, as suddenly as it had came. The wind was still screaming about the field, and then everything was silent. Nobuyuki just lay huddled on the ground, not caring anymore about anything. When everything was perfectly silent and still, that's when he heard the voice. "Nobuyuki." He could not have missed it had the world ended and he was the last person alive. The voice was so sweet, soft, and perfect that had he been deaf, he still would have heard it. It was the voice of his salvation, the voice of his light, the voice of his one true love. It was the voice of Achika. He stopped, dead still, not daring to hope. And then he heard her again. "Nobuyuki" Her voice rang out in the clearing, cleansing the air with its warmth and clarity, cleansing Nobuyuki's soul as well. He stood up, shakily, and looked around and saw nothing. Her voice came from behind him, startling him. "I'm here, Nobuyuki." Nobuyuki turned around slowly, very slowly, one inch at a time with his eyes shut. When he had turned all the way around, he opened up his eyes, just as slowly. And that's when he saw her. He couldn't speak. Nobuyuki felt like a black hole had just taken the moisture from his mouth. She looked exactly like she did on the day that they got married, so full of life and joy that it radiated off of her. She stood there and looked at him with those soft, brown eyes of hers. She had her dark bluish-black hair in a braid that went all the way down her back. "Hello, Nobuyuki." She sighed. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Achika said with a sad smile. Nobuyuki just swallowed and nodded. He felt ashamed to be seen like this. "It's good to see you again. I've missed you, Nobuyuki. I've missed you so much. Sometimes I feel so alone without you with me." As she spoke, she walked towards him slowly. "There's so much that I've wanted to tell you, to share with you, but I can't. I keep reminding myself, patience, patience is the key, but sometimes it just doesn't work. You know what I mean." He did indeed. They used to joke about his lack of patience, and how it got him into trouble sometimes. The thought brought a short smile to his face. As she walked, she stopped a few feet away from him, and began picking flowers from the ground. When she had a small bouquet, she stood up and started her approach again. Nobuyuki was trying desperately to say something, anything, but was still too rigid with shock. He felt like a prisoner in his own body, beating at the bars in a rage to no effect. Finally, she was directly in front of him. All of the contours of her face, every spot, dimple, and laugh line, it was all there. She stood facing him with her head down, the bouquet of flowers in her hands, hanging limply. She spoke suddenly, " I've seen what you've been going through, Nobuyuki. All of it. the nightmares, the stress, the exhaustion, the sleepless nights. Every single occasion I see it, hear and look upon it I feel such helplessness that I weep." There was grief in her voice, and the sad conviction of truth. "What am I to do, Nobuyuki? I wish upon my very soul that I could help you, do something to comfort you, but I can't. The helplessness grips me that I can only watch you and try to help in small, small ways. "I can see the emptiness that grips you, the void of grief that still holds your heart, but I can only attempt to break it's hold. I speak with you now, to try and make you see, to show you that I'm still here, walking with you, laughing with you, every where you go, everywhere you've been, since I left your side. Hold faith, Nobuyuki, that you are needed." Achika stepped closer to him, and pressed the bocque of wildflowers into his shaking, cold hands. They were very much real, and felt warm in his hand. "Hold faith, Nobuyuki, for you are loved," she whispered. She moved, slowly, and kissed him, once, on his lips. Nobuyuki could feel her breath on his face. The light that had filled the small grove of flowers began to fade, slowly. At the fading light, Achika glanced upward with a pleading look, then slowly closed her eyes, and nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She looked back at Nobuyuki, and began to fade away, along with the clearing. Nobuyuki just looked on, knowing that nothing that he could do would extend this, the message that he had needed for so long now. Achika, now only a ghostly outline, looked back at Nobuyuki, and said, her voice only a whisper on the wind, "Hold faith, Nobuyuki, that I love you." With that, the grove, and Achika, faded away to nothingness. The next morning. Nobuyuki awoke to a light-devoid room. He was strangely calm, and had, for the first time in a long time, a sense of purpose. He arose from his bed, and looked out the window. The sun had not yet risen, so he began to dress, with an intention in mind. Three hours later. Tenchi smelled food, and good food at that. Rubbing his eyes and siting up, Tenchi saw that the sun had been up for some time now. *Looks like I slept in today, * he thought. He tried to identify what was cooking. It smelled like, rice and fish, maybe, but he wasn't sure. Dressing and going down stairs, he first thing noticed (thankfully) that Ryoko wasn't there to great him with her usual enthusiasm. Upon coming into the kitchen, he saw that the table was set with full dishes of food. Everyone else was just coming into the room, with puzzled expressions on their faces. Sasami came in last, to see that everyone else was already eating. Aeka looked up long enough to remark, "This food is wonderful, Sasami. As usual." "But Aeka," she answered, "I didn't make it." Ryoko stopped, which was a rare occurrence indeed, and said, "But if you didn't make it, then who did? I sure didn't make it, and Aeka would have burned the house down if she had even tried." "Look, monster woman, You wreak havoc every time that open your big mouth!" "Ladies, please, there is no need to argue," said Nobuyuki unexpectedly from the window, "If it's any cause for concern, I made the food." Everyone at the table stopped eating at stared at him for a long moment. He quickly pulled out a small camera and snapped a picture of the silent table. When everybody still had expressions of amazement on their faces, he replied, with absolute clarity, "What, how do you think Tenchi and me got along without you guys?" With a smile and a wink, he ducked the windowsill and walked away from the house whistling. Ryoko just shook her head in disbelief, and said, "Well Tenchi, it looks like your dad is more then just a pervert after all." Aeka nodded her head in agreement, saying, "Yes, I do believe that your father is certainly looking better then he has lately." Tenchi looked out the window, smiling, and said, "Yeah, I think that he's going to be all right." Back to Nobuyuki. Nobuyuki walked away from the house with a fast, even gait and a smile on his face. *Yes,* he thought, *Everything is going to be all right.* When he neared the site of a certain gravestone, he slowed. Amazingly, a circle of wild flowers had grown up in a circle around it overnight. To no one in particular, he whispered "I love you too." -Tears In Heaven- By Eric Clapton Would you know my name, If I saw you in Heaven? Would it be the same, If I saw you in Heaven? I must be strong, And carry on, Because I know, I don't belong, Here in Heaven. Would you hold my hand, If I saw you in Heaven? Would you help me stand, If I saw you in Heaven? I'll find my way, Through night and day, Because I know, I just can't stay, Here in Heaven. Time can bring you down, Time can bend your knees. Time can break your heart, Make you beg and plead. Beyond the door, There's peace I'm sure, And I know, they'll be no more Tears in Heaven. Would you know my name, If I saw you in Heaven? Would it be the same, If I saw you in Heaven? I must be strong, And carry on, Because I know, I don't belong, Here in Heaven.