And It Came Again
By Diana Tsukino

~*~

~ The Carnival

Yesterday you said good-bye.
Yesterday you had to cry.
Yesterday you said my name.
Yesterday you left
As quickly as
The carnival came.

Today I wonder where you are.
Today I see a shining star.
Today I hope for you my dear.
Today I sigh
But as for now
The carnival is here.

Tomorrow I will sigh again.
Tomorrow I will lose my friends.
Tomorrow I will not see your face.
Tomorrow I will cry
Because my carnival
Will disappear
Without a trace.

And the next day I will sigh,
And the day after that I will cry.
The following day I will try to forget,
And after that I will not regret.
Soon you will return once again
With our family and our friends.
For though the carnival has run away
I know I will see it when it comes
Again, again, another day. ~

~*~

It was a never-ending carnival.

And the carnival went away.

I didn’t realize it then, but now I know.

The carnival never truly goes away.

It may leave for a while, but it will always come back.

~*~

Tenchi looked up at the trees as he walked home from school. It was a
beautiful spring day. The sakura trees were full of blossoms, just
waiting to fall and grace the ground with their presence. A small sakura
petal floated down from the tree and landed on the surface of the lake.
Tenchi smiled. It was so peaceful.

At last he could have peace. A few months ago, if asked, he would have
said that peace was a myth, a legend, something he would never see
again. But here it was, soft and happy and serene, just for him.

Sometimes he wished he could have the carnival back. He missed them all.
Even though he wasn’t being attacked by aliens, or fought over by girls,
or fighting enemies left and right, he really missed them. He missed
hearing the sounds of Sasami cooking in the mornings, or watching Ayeka
and Ryoko fight over him. He missed hearing Mihoshi’s crying and
Kiyone’s yelling. He missed hearing Washu announcing another random
ingenious experiment of hers. It was just... peace. That’s all it was.

Tenchi always wondered what it would be like if it had happened
differently. If they had stayed. If they hadn’t went their own ways. If
he had chosen.

He didn’t know who he would have chosen. Mihoshi was sweet in her own
way, but she would never leave Kiyone. Kiyone was smart and quiet, but
he didn’t think she’d do all that well without Mihoshi, to tell the
truth. Washu was mature, but her scientist ways scared him, frankly.

Sasami was a close friend. She was great to talk to, a fabulous cook,
and would make a wonderful mother and wife someday. But that’s all she
was. A friend.

Ayeka and Ryoko. If it came right down to it, he didn’t know who he
would choose. Both were good and bad in different aspects. Ayeka was
quiet, demure and a princess. Ryoko was loud, obnoxious and a space
pirate. But sometimes Ayeka could be mean, and Ryoko could be nice. He
knew both women were fragile and delicate underneath, not matter how
much they tried to hide it. And he also knew they both loved him
unconditionally, or at least very close to it.

He wasn’t too sure if Ayeka would have chosen him over her heritage, if
she had to. Even if it broke her heart, he knew she would take her place
as the Empress of Jurai. She wouldn’t betray her people like that. He
knew she wouldn’t.

Ryoko, however...

He had a feeling that Ryoko would never leave him. She didn’t have a
specific job or heritage, except her space pirate business. Even with
that, he was sure that she...

“Tenchi...”

A familiar sing-song voice broke his reverie, one of many to fall into
his thoughts on his walks home. Since the house was so far away from
school, sometimes Tenchi didn’t have a choice on what intruded his mind.

“Wha..?”

The voice giggled. It sounded familiar. Terribly familiar. “It’s come
back, Tenchi...”

The way it said his name... That was something he had missed over the
months... Was it back...? Was she back?

“Tenchi...”

A figure appeared in the path a-ways from him. Sakura blossoms
surrounded the figure as it walked toward him. The outline was so
familiar. The voice was haunting him. Who was it?

Light fell on the figure. Amber eyes. Cyan hair. That smile. He had
missed that smile. It was her... It was...

“Ryoko...?”

“Tenchi.” She smiled. It was a gentle smile. She looked happy. “You
wanted it back, Tenchi. It came back.”

“Wha...?”

“Life is like a never-ending carnival, isn’t it, Tenchi? You go up and
down, you see many wonderful things, and you never want the fun to stop.
But soon it goes away, doesn’t it, Tenchi?”

“A carnival...”

“The carnival leaves, right, Tenchi? Everything goes away. You wait so
long for it to come back, and when you are about to give up hope, it
appears again. Do you know why, Tenchi?”

“Tell me.”

“The carnival has to leave because it has other places to visit. But it
will always come back, because you are on the list of places to visit as
well. Did you know that, Tenchi? The carnival always comes back.”

“Ryoko...” He was standing beside her. She looked at him, smiling.

“They’re all coming back, Tenchi. They’re all coming back, and we can
have more rides and fun and see more wonderful things. I’d like that,
Tenchi. Would you like that?”

He smiled. Truly smiled. For the first time since the house had been
empty, Tenchi smiled. “Ryoko.”

“Let’s sit here, Tenchi. It’s peaceful before the carnival comes. Once
the carnival comes we’ll be too busy for peace. Let’s sit together.”

So they did.

And the carnival came again.

Just like it did before, and just like it will again.

~*~

The Carnival
© 2001 Kawaii Minds Inc.
Written by Diana Tsukino, a.k.a. L. Gibson
The characters portrayed in this poem belong to Pioneer and not the
author. No infringement intended. This poem is not to be distributed or
reproduced without the author’s permission. All rights reserved.

And It Came Again
© 2001 Kawaii Minds Inc.
Written by Diana Tsukino, a.k.a. L. Gibson
The characters portrayed in this fanfiction belong to Pioneer and not
the author. No infringement intended. This fanfiction is not to be
distributed or reproduced without the author’s permission. All rights
reserved.

Author’s Note: Red Tears, Salty Blood has been put on delay for the time
being. And as for the misspelling of Kagato’s name, I frankly was not
thinking and didn’t know I misspelled it until I got 50 emails about
this. I’m sorry for the delay, but I hope to have the next few parts up
by the end of school. ^^. Luff ya!

~Di-chan~