----------
From:
To: Kawaiix@rocketmail.com
Subject: MMEE1
Date: 28 August 1997 22:59
EVE
Notes for the series...
<xyz> = Chinese or other language (when specified)
Ranma = male Ranma
Onna-Ranma = erm...female Ranma
~xyz~ = sound effects
((Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 created by the great and extremely funny Rumiko
Takahashi and owned by her, Viz., Kitty TV and Shogakukan Inc. and maybe
other assorted companies. I hold absolutely no claim on any of the Ranma
1/2 characters but Eve and Jaden are mine...))
CHAPTER 1 - THE END'S BEGINNING 28/06/97
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Be prepared for what life's got in store for you or you might just buy
it."
....Eve ran across the lonely lot, her feet drummed on the hard
concrete. The heat clung to her chest and the atmosphere bit her face.
She
wasn't going to be captured, ever!
A burst of light shot out and hit her leg.
"Aaaah! Damn it!" The pain dragged her body to the boiling ground,
slamming her face against the rock-hard surface. Blood seeped from her
bruised mouth. Another ray charged towards Eve's direction. With pain
gripping her body, she thrust herself up and away. Leaping over a fence,
she felt her muscles tense as a solid beam of light wrapped around her
healthy leg, slamming her to the ground, face-first.
A low groan emerged from Eve's throat as she felt her leg being
dragged and pulled towards....towards... She threw herself onto her back
and looked at the source. The source grabbed the attention of the empty
lot
it was in, covering vast ground before her struggling form. It was a
circle
of dense, brilliant, intoxicating, white light with strands of dancing
rays, emerging from it - closing in on the stunned victim. Caught in its
glare for a few seconds, Eve's body was drawn by the rope of burning
light
to this mysterious, swirling circle of destiny.
But she didn't buy that mysticism and futilely tried to release
her
leg from the scorched band of light encircling it. The heat from the
circle
started to ripple and rasp across her pale skin.
"I...won't...let...you...get...me...Jaden!...Ever!" Anger and fear
drove her on. Eve dug her long nails into the melting concrete, sinking
deep and hard. Teeth gritted and eyes screwed up, she reflexively dodged
as
a strands of light rasped and twirled round her.
Standing up, Eve dug her feet into the concrete lava, ignoring the
searing pain as her feet cried out against the burns inflicted upon them.
Still holding onto the leg, the circle shot out, from one side a slim
stream of fire which wrapped itself around her neck and then guided
itself
- back into the other side of the circle, wrenching the bones in her neck
out of place. Threads of light then creeped round her weakened body and
knotted at her back. Eve wouldn't let Jaden get her, she wouldn't! She
was
determined to live on! She had no choice but to fight, being the last one
of her kind!
"You've destroyed all the others but I won't let take me! Give up
Jaden and leave me _alone_!" With a shrill cry, Eve snapped her head back
and shook her head wildly in pain, her long, blood red hair, seethed with
fury and stuck insistently to the back of her charcoaled neck, around
which
the noose of the fiery pyrotechnic tightened sadistically, yet again.
The solid fire blackened Eve's skin. Against her will, her body
numbed in shock to the heat. She did know that she was losing and that
her
soul was slowly melting in response to the ever closer ball of light,
which
was growing in size as her now prone form was brought slowly toward its
centre. Her body an unwilling participant in Jaden's mysterious revenge
against Eve and her descendants.
"No...!" Her throaty and bristled voice protested weakly when...
Blackness rather than the strong, white light overtook Eve's mind
as
she felt herself falling into unconsciousness. Her mind slowly being
blanketed by smoky spiritual death. Her last thought before the blanket
covered her completely was "please help me, someone, please..." and Eve
reached out her hand, grabbing air. Her eyes glazed over and a strange
calmness overtook her.
* * * *
* *
Ranma bounced across the rooftops as flying bandana's from below
crossed his path, again and again.
"Cut it out, Ryoga! I'm tryin' to deliver something to Dr. Tofu!"
"You shall pay for your humiliation!"
Ranma jumped towards the avenger and kicked him to the ground.
Standing on Ryoga's chest to keep him down, Ranma glared at him with
annoyance.
"There's an empty lot and an abandoned factory a few hundred yards
down, just at the edge of the city, if you can keep up, pig-boy, we'll
fight there!" Ranma bounded down the street. Ryoga jumped up, bared his
fangs and moved in for the kill.
"You'll pay for that!" Ryoga ran down the street after Ranma, who
occasionally looked back and directed some insult at him. Ryoga ignored
the
intense heat which rippled over his body as he and Ranma approached the
large, open square of littered concrete. His senses fired back, pleading
with Ryoga to stop and turn around. His pride struck his senses and anger
gave the killing blow to any doubts.
On the other hand Ranma seemed to slow down as he approached the
abandoned square. He felt his skin begin to burn as he turned round the
corner, stepping into the supposedly empty lot.
Ranma started at the sight before him and edged back out, causing
a
rampaging Ryoga to collide with him.
"Idiot! We gotta do something!" Ranma stood up and viewed Ryoga
who
seemed ready to pounce. "Look!"
"Don't try to distract me! Tricks won't work!"
"Hey, P-chan, even you couldn't be that thick-headed!" And with
that
Ranma pushed Ryoga into the lot.
"Aaaah!" Ryoga jumped back, his body felt like it was on fire. He
turned his head and stared hypnotically at the sight before him.
To him and Ranma, the sight before them was nothing new but it
still
chilled their minds while their bodies burned. They saw this massive ball
of light occupying most of the space in front of them. Bright white wisps
of light seemed to be emanating from it. Ryoga gasped involuntarily as he
saw a hand reach out from a knot of threaded fire, which slowly retreated
into the nucleus of the blinding creation of Jaden - the ball of alive
light.
Something flashed across Ryoga's dark pupils and he shot across
towards the crisp, blackening hand, closely followed by Ranma. Both felt
the heat glue to their clothes but neither took great notice. Thoughts of
safety and common sense reached neither Ranma nor the lost boy as they
dived to save the hand's owner.
Ryoga snarled as he buried his hand into the pale fire. Ranma tried
to but even his hand couldn't stand the charring furnace that was the
ball
of fire, imprisoning an unknown in it. He felt his face burning right off
of him block and stood back amazed as Ryoga seemed unaware of the pain
and
was pulling back the hand out of the fiery chasm. An unrecognisable
expression crossed Ryoga's face and he continued to drag back with all
his
strength. A battle aura formed around him and his hand once again came
back
out, this time attached to another, but also looking a lot worse for
wear.
As Ryoga pulled out the rest of the red-haired girl, the circle of light
contracted and expanded rapidly.
"Moko Takabisha!!" . Ranma's hands blasted a powerful light of
their
own towards the weak force. Nothing. Ryoga was still helping the redhead
out of the threads. "Moko Takabisha!!!" Nothing. Ranma had just emitted
one
of his biggest energy blasts and it was barely the strength of a passing
breeze. Feeling weak and faint for once, Ranma leaned against a dusty
wall.
"Unh!" Ryoga grunted as he pulled the strange girl out of the
strands
and fiery ropes. The girl is nearly completely black, the smell of
burning
flesh causing Ranma to reel back. "Take her." Ryoga casually thrust the
charred body at Ranma, who held it with doubt, unsure what to do next.
He did see what Ryoga was about to do and shook his head. With the
state Ryoga was in - his hands and arms seemed to have been deep fried
and
his face was scarred too - Ranma wondered how Ryoga could even stand up.
"I tried my biggest Moko Takabisha, yours ain't going to work!
Think
of something else, I am!" But Ryoga ignored him and for several seconds,
nothing happened.
"Shishihokodan!!!"
Ranma saw light explode from Ryoga's hands, and it hit the weak
ball
of light which threw itself back from the bullet of energy and shot
straight up, leaving flames in the air.
The ball of solid air collapsed outwardly in mid-flight.
Ranma started to run, holding the girl close. He realised a pair of
footsteps were missing. "Ryoga, come on, your blast is going to level
these
old factory buildings! Get out of the way!" Ryoga just stood and watched,
his face glistening from the humidity, his eyes dark and unreactive.
Ranma
dashed back, his whole body cursed with burning pain, grabbed Ryoga's arm
and pulled him away as the ki blast hit the walls on either side. The
bricks pulled away from each other, disintegrating inwardly. The walls
attacked the lot, diving into the ground. The ground shuddered and
shifted
in response.
"...!" The air was kicked out of Ranma's as the explosion knocked
the
three back. Ranma started backwards as a piece of masonry flew a little
too
close.
He let out a deep breath as the calm took over the site, his
quickening heartbeat slowed down as the dust rose from the not-so-empty
lot.
"Ryoga, how did you do that?" Ranma gently carried over the unknown
girl, and received no response from the silent martial artist, whose head
was bowed down. "Wake up, P-Chan! This ain't funny!" Ranma felt motion in
his arms, he looked at the girl's face, which was black and still
burning.
The girls eyelids lifted themselves up slowly, revealing startling sky
blue
eyes, almost alien in their intensity. The mouth seemed move but through
the croaks all Ranma could make out is "..Eve...thanks..." The eyelids
weighed heavily down on the strange girl's face and the mouth stopped
moving.
Hearing sirens pierce towards them, Ranma shook one of Ryoga's
reddened
shoulders. He turned round groggily, looking at Ranma strangely.
"Hey Ryoga, why are you acting so weird?"
Ryoga's sleepy eyes blinked and grew large as he surveyed the
destruction. "W-what happened? What?! I--?" His startled speech was cut
off
by exhaustion and pain as he collapsed to the warm concrete road.
"He's not the only confused!" Ranma tensed as he saw not only an
ambulance turn round the corner towards them but a police car too.
A tall figure stepped gracefully out of the police car and strode on
towards the three. Ranma glanced on in recognition and fear. "Ranma! What
have you been up to this time? Getting an innocent involved in your
martial
arts matches just isn't on! I'm fed up having discerning members of the
Nerima ward complain to me about the damage you cause."
"Hey, Sergeant Fujishima, this time it isn't my fault. Me an' Ryoga
here saved this girl, I _think_ it's a girl..." Ranma then felt the
girl's
weight being lifted from his still hot arms, a cool breeze soothing them
gently. He then felt like a feather, with no life and no real energy and
let fate take control of his destiny. To the ground Ranma dropped,
allowing
the sticky, warm concrete to glue to his face as he slipped into
unconsciousness.
* * * *
* *
The blackness cleared as he opened his eyes, just to be attacked by
stark light.
"Where...where am I?"
"Hey Ranma, quick, he's awake," he heard a voice call in the
distance.
Suddenly a vision of beauty came into sight, barely feet away. Followed
by
a sight _much_ less pleasing...
"Hi Ryoga, how are you doing? You're in a room in intensive care.
You've been out for nearly a week, we were worried you wouldn't make it,"
Akane's sweet voice sung through Ryoga's normally dark soul. He slowly
sat
up, feeling the bandages held tightly to him, leaning back, he smiled at
Akane. His smile soured when he saw the person standing next to her, a
little too close for comfort, from Ryoga's perspective.
"Hey, Ryoga, how's it going?" Ranma stood, his bare arms covered in
bandages also, and he was leaning on a crutch. Akane turned and eyed
Ranma
half-angrily.
"Ranma, you're not supposed to be walking about yet! You only woke up
a
few days ago. You should get some rest like the doctor said!" Akane's
voice
barely covered the concern in her voice. Ranma didn't seem to notice,
while
Ryoga winced as his heart broke, once again.
"I'm going, I'm going! I'll leave you two _alone_."
"Hey, it isn't like that! Stop teasing me and poor Ryoga! He saved
you
and that girl's life, you know?"
"I know, I know," a bitter taste of jealousy was obvious in Ranma's
sullen voice as he walked away. Akane turned around to face the bemused
Ryoga.
"Akane.... please don't mind me asking but what do you mean? Who did
I
save?"
"Huh? You mean you don't remember the explosion?"
Ryoga shook his head, blankness in his eyes.
"You pulled a girl from a ball of fire, I was told, and then you let
off a massive ki blast which levelled an abandoned factory? Not sound
familiar?"
"I did...?"
Akane looked away, distracted.
"Weird, I wonder if Dr, Tofu knows anything...? I saw him at that
strange girl's bedside...He doesn't even work here. I'll just go find
him.
I'm sorry, Akari just left ten minutes ago. You'd better get some rest,
I'll tell the doctor that you've woken up, bye Ryoga!"
"No, don't leave Akane-san, I need you!" is what Ryoga was wanting to
say but instead he only murmured "fine."
As she closed the door on his room behind her, Ryoga hit his bandaged
head with his bandaged arm, cursing his thrown away chance to spend time
alone with dear Akane. He shifted in his hospital gown, uncomfortable in
the strange hospital clothes and in his thoughts.
* * * *
*
*
Akane opened the door to the strange girl's room, which was in the
intensive care ward, and saw Ranma sitting down beside her, chatting to
the
unconscious girl. A slither of jealousy crept through Akane until she
opened the door further and saw Uncle Saotome standing over Ranma and
peeked further and saw Dr. Tofu sitting on the other side of the bed,
talking to Ranma. Akane sighed in relief and her anger diminished.
Stepping
in, she heard Dr. Tofu's greeting but she only was paying attention to
stranger.
She saw the burns plastering the barely recognisable face, long,
wispy, red hair sprawling over the pillow, with crisp burnt ends. There
were tubes, needles and wires protruding from her face and arms. The
covers
were raised which suggested that the girl's legs were in a just as a
worse
condition as her face. The calmness of the girl's scarred but peaceful
face
was disturbed by the constant beeping of the EEG, which was the only
thing
reminding the world that this human was still alive.
Ranma noticed Akane's disturbed look and that troubled him greatly.
He
stood up from the plastic seat. "Akane...you OK?" He didn't notice the
concern, plain in his voice, which seemed to please his father greatly.
Akane jolted out of her shock.
"Yeah, fine."
"You sure? You seemed a little strange back then."
Akane smiled inwardly as she noticed that he was worried about her.
Outwardly, she smiled back happily at Ranma, "I'm OK," but there was
still
a haunted look in her eyes, which kept darting to look at the mysterious
girl.
Ryoga hobbled clumsily into the room, his legs had been bandaged as
well as his arms and he had to use a pair of crutches for now as he hurt
too much to walk properly, but he was unnoticed by the rest. He wanted to
know what was happening, he needed answers to his memory loss and to how
he
ended up like this.
Suddenly there was a murmur from the girl and all eyes turned to
her.
Her eyes didn't open but a hand reached up and fell back down again. Her
eyes slowly grated open and she turned to look at Ranma.
"I'm s-sorry..._so_ sorry."
"Akane," Dr. Tofu whispered, "could you get a doctor?" Akane
silently
stepped out of the room. "What's your name?"
"E-Eve..."
"Eve, everything's going to be all right, you're in a hospital," Dr.
Tofu spoke softly.
Her eyes widened when she saw Ryoga and then they darted to Ranma; a
scared feeling came from her. "You...you have to leave, Ryoga, and
R-Ranma
too...Y-you're not safe... not safe at all..," her throat was hoarse but
her words, clear. No-one seemed to care that she knew their names but
that
something was really wrong. Both boys felt their hearts sink and their
heartbeats quicken.
"Why is that, Eve?" Dr. Tofu asked, hoping that she was just
babbling
but from what he had heard from Ranma about the strange being which had
attacked the girl, his heart just did not agree with his denying mind.
Eve
once again focused on Ryoga and then Ranma, both aware of the intensity
of
her gaze.
"Jaden, she knows you now.... she will be angry with you. You
_have_
to be careful." Eve grabbed her head and gritted her teeth, tears
escaping
her screwed-up eyes, "Aaaaahh!"
"Who's Jaden, Eve?" Dr. Tofu observed Eve intently, who was now
tossing her head from side to side, moaning in pain.
"No, no Jaden, leave me alone...!"
"It's OK Eve, Jaden isn't here."
"Oh, yes she is!" Eve coughed out, "she's right here!"
"Out of the way, people!" A figure in a white coat, obviously a
doctor, burst into the room, followed by a blonde nurse. Everyone stood
back as the doctor inspected Eve, shouting out commands in a language
only
Dr. Tofu understood: medspeak. Everyone backed away as the medical team
silenced Eve with painkillers, sacrificing her mind for the sake of her
body. Even in sleep she seemed disturbed. "That's better," the doctor
sighed, "her EEG is stable." The very young doctor turned to look at the
silent crowd. He fixed them with a hard, stern glower which seemed to age
him ten years. "She needs her rest, you better leave."
As the nurse guided everyone out of the room, Tofu felt a tug on his
sleeve.
"I would like to talk to you privately, Dr. Tofu." The young doctor
seemed nervous and shifted his feet.
"Yes, Dr. Koga... Yes, cousin." Dr. Tofu would have smiled at his
younger cousin but the situation meant little time for reunion. He was
proud of his cousin for accomplishing so much when he was only 20.
"It's about this girl..."
"She said her name was Eve."
"What is she? I mean, I've heard you've encountered many strange
things, I thought you might know."
"What's strange about her? Apart the odd circumstances surrounding
her
injuries."
"You didn't see her when she first came in." The young Dr. Koga
seemed
to shiver at the memory. "I was ready just to take her to autopsy as she
was just so... so black," he stared soberly at his older cousin; "I could
smell the charred odour from down the hall. Her face... I couldn't see at
all... We were unsure what sex she was... only her heartbeat told us she
was human and still alive. She had no identity, except now for her name.
Imagine that? And the two boys... seem so young, they're in pain but
alive
and recognisable, with family to comfort them, but this Eve, she has
no-one..." A dark shadow seemed to pass across the young, gifted doctor.
Dr. Tofu put a comforting hand on his younger relative's shoulder.
His
gifted personality had cost him his innocence. Tofu held great respect
for
someone so young to have seen so much pain and still not fall to pieces.
"The thing is, Ono, no-one should have survived what she survived.
No-one." His younger cousin fixed him with a deadly serious glare. "Even
the older doctors thought something was wrong with the equipment when it
dared tell them that the impossible had happened. And the fast recovery
she's making, it's a miracle! Just don't tell anyone I said that, unlike
you, everyone here's a little sceptical of the unknown, most of them are
transfers."
Dr. Tofu smiled as he thought of the cursed teenagers whose form
could
change completely with a splash of water. And the ability of one of these
teenagers to take repeated beatings with tables and such-like and suffer
no
brain damage. Not to his knowledge, anyway.
"Even these martial artists with high endurance, their burns will
take
_much_ longer to heal than Eve's. What _is_ she? Is she even human?" Dr.
Koga theorised.
"I've noticed a strong aura surrounding her, and if that's what it's
like when she's weak, I just don't want to predict how strong she'll be
when healthy."
Koga nodded absent-mindedly, already deep in thought.
"I'd better go research this in more depth, goodbye" Dr. Tofu
politely
excused himself from his cousin's company and went to check up on the
other
two casualties before heading back to the clinic. All the time Eve's
words
repeated themselves over in his head, "Jaden, she knows you know..."
Somehow Dr. Tofu didn't think she was babbling mindlessly.
A hard, uncomfortable feeling took over his chest, swallowing did
not
relieve it. It was then he knew that the boys martial arts training would
be of little help to them.
* * *
*
* *
Ryoga smiled as Akari left the room. She turned back, just once, to
smile at him, he smiled back, putting as much happiness into it as
possible. Her presence always cheered him up, someone who cared for him
as
much as he cared for them. But today had been different, his heart felt
cold as he replayed the events of the past week, and he still remembered
nothing. Nothing past standing at the edge of the lot and seeing the fire
wrapped around someone. His memory was like a blank cheque waiting to be
filled in, no matter the amount.
Leaning his sore head back against the over-starched pillow, Ryoga
felt the cool freshness of it soothe his hot, sticky neck, not yet
recovered from the 'incident'. He wished his mind could be as easily
treated. Occasionally he turned his head painfully to look out of the
window just to the side of his bed. Ryoga saw the sun fall, gradually
closing in on the blue sky, revealing yellow, orange sunsets turning to
dark blue and eventually emotionless black, dotted by the flickers of
lampposts. His thoughts darkened with the falling light, absent-mindedly
letting the nurses and doctors fill him with drugs which barely affected
him.
It wasn't Jaden that Ryoga was worried about it was himself. His
reaction to Dr. Tofu's statement that they had to be careful, in case
this
Jaden was real, that they had to look after themselves. He remembered
very
clearly Dr. Tofu telling him, Ranma, Akane and Genma, that anyone
connected
with him or Ranma could be in danger. Ryoga had taken it to heart and had
immediately thought of Akane, of protecting her from any human or demon
that would try to hurt her and her only. Akari hadn't even entered his
mind, only as an afterthought. His real girlfriend, the one who loved
_him_, an unlovable.
A small, low, gentle sigh, touched with melancholy, escaped from his
mouth. Akane's face was what had been on his mind for the past month
since
the failed wedding. Her beautiful eyes, her bewitching smile, her
perfectly-formed figure and face. It was his heart that had shattered
when
he read the wedding invitation, even though he had Akari. Had he only
loved
Akari because she loved him, was there anything more?
"Do I still love you, dear Akane?!" Ryoga cried out to the empty
room;
"do I love you more than..." than... he left that thought unspoken in his
soul. He didn't want to know that he still loved Akane with all his
heart,
that her willingness to marry Ranma had almost made him lose the will to
live. But the way Akane had looked at Ranma with such concern earlier
today
had just depressed him more than words could ever express.
Akari had kept him going, her sweet, kind face trying to rid him of
Akane's image, her shadow. Akari loved him, Akane didn't. Akari wanted to
be with him above all others, Akane didn't, she lov...loved... R-Ranma.
Why
else would she want to marry him?
But his heart still refused to listen, and that is why Ryoga had
spent
a month trekking, on purpose, around Japan, desperately trying to avoid
the
Tendo Dojo and Akari's farm. He failed. And met Ranma. Old, unforgotten
feelings of hatred stirred themselves to the surface, unable to be kept
hidden. Ranma's denial of any feelings for Akane when Ryoga had renounced
his claim - his non-existent rivalry for Akane's affections - had made
him
want to hurt Ranma more than any other time they had fought. It was
almost
as if Ranma, the jerk that he undoubtedly is, had been mocking him. Only
the weird ball of fire had kept him from trying to kill Ranma.
"How many curses must I have?! Why can't you just leave me alone,
Fate, _why_?!!" He knew no-one could hear him but he needed to shout and
scream but then pride refused him anymore release. Sadly he knew that
there
was only one face which could stop him levelling the building with a
Shishihokadan and so let his thoughts half-reluctantly drift to Akane.
His
anger began to fade as quickly as it had risen. "Dear Akane...why?" He
gripped the covers on his bed tightly, anxiety troubled him.
But soon Ryoga became so enrapt with her image, filling his hungry
soul, that guilt and confusion had a rest.
* * * *
* *
Dr. Tofu stared numbly at the computer screen, his eyes sore and
weary
but unrelenting. He continued to tap away at the keyboard, hearing the
echoing sounds of the keys as he clicked in another web address for
another
search engine. He had tried all other options - the books were mostly
medical, the library wasn't open till the morning - and now it was time
for
technology to help him.
Glancing at his watch he realised that it was now about half-one in
the morning. A thought of going to bed for rest was quickly dismissed. He
had a feeling that this Jaden was real and that she would be angry at
Ranma
and Ryoga for interfering with her plan, whatever it was. But why take so
long? Weariness? Trying to think up a new plan to get the three? But with
her obvious power, why would she need to? All these questions rang
endlessly in Dr. Tofu's head, keeping him awake and his eyes fixed on the
monitor.
The screen was almost hypnotising but he knew that he had to keep on
looking, even though he knew his phone bill was going through the roof
faster than Ranma went through the Tendo's after insulting Akane. Typing
the word 'Jaden' into another search machine, Dr. Tofu yet again expected
nothing but an answer came up: '1 match found'. He calmly scrolled down
the
page and double-clicked on the unnamed link and let out a breath that he
didn't know he was holding.
* * *
*
* *
Eve slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the relative darkness of
her
room, where only a small light by her side fed her eyes with the
information she needed. She was in a hospital. She saw the window
opposite
her, filtering the harsh, bristling light from the hospital corridor
which
threatened to brush her sensitive eyes blind.
Feeling vulnerable in such a low position, Eve tried to sit up.
"Argh!" A burning feeling shot up her back like a white hot poker,
ingraining deep into her bone. It was a feeling that Eve did not want to
have. She tilted her iron-rod stiff neck forward cautiously, not wanting
to
break it or twist it. _That_ would be all she needed! Not only did she
have
a malevolent being chasing after her but now she had....that's
right...she
nearly forgot about them! "Damn drugs..." She had to protect Ranma and
Ryoga - especially - from a vengeful Jaden, not happy with mortals
getting
in her way. If she hadn't been so clumsy, those stupid but brave boys
would
have never got involved... Eve faintly remembered seeing them in
bandages,
alive but injured.
But still, who would know what Jaden would do to them? Eve grimly
remembered all the things Jaden had done over the years to try to hurt
her
fatally. A dark shadow hung itself in her soul, and it was permanent.
Events, experiences, drilled into her memory which were unforgettable.
And
Eve knew that Jaden would try those tricks on the teenagers and if she
was
in a really bad mood, their friends and family also. She had to protect
them, even injured like this. Even if she ever experienced worse injuries
than this, she would gladly end up back in the hospital if it could save
the innocents lives.
From reading their minds briefly while she was awake, Eve knew that
they had experienced some deadly foes in the past year or so. But they
had
their own inner...what was the word.....demons to deal with and Jaden was
surely going to use that to her advantage. Why did things have to be this
way? Why was Jaden so evil?
Leaning over in guilt, her long dark red hair flopped forward,
gently
tickling her damaged face, taunting her. Eve tried to flick up her hand
to
toss it away but found it unwilling to move much, crying out its protests
in the form of jagged pain. She gritted her teeth to stop a shriek
escaping
and flung her head back onto the inviting pillow, her neck screaming at
the
sudden movements. She tried to move her legs but the bandages just
seemed
to gnaw at her skin when she tried to move them. How was she supposed to
protect the boys like this?
She took in a deep breath and decided to try again when she didn't
feel so tired and so in agony. Reciting English poetry in her head to
keep
her company, lines from a certain poem came to mind...
"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
She smirked at the last line, considering that there was one light
she'd gladly see die...
* * * * *
*
Dr. Tofu started to read the file on Jaden, not sure if this is what
he was looking for. He felt his throat dry to a gritty desert and a
pearls
of sweat cascaded down his face. Tugging at his shirt collar, his neck
itching in the heat, he wondered when it got so hot in his house.
"I'll just get myself a cup of herbal tea to soothe me," Dr. Tofu
felt
his body lift him up and guide him toward the kitchen.
* * * *
* *
Ryoga fell to restless sleep and his thoughts of Akane faded, as he
yawned one last time, giving into the sandman's spell. His unshed tears
blinked out of his eyes as the eyelids fell over.
The blonde nurse smiled gently as she came in to check on him, glad
to
see the troubled warrior - she had heard his cries - asleep at last. She
switched off the light at his side, closed the open window and left.
* * * *
* *
Lying there awake and bored and frustrated with herself, Eve talked
to
and berated herself...
"Stupid idiot! You should've been able to save yourself without
anyone's help! Such a fool, _such_ a fool." It was bad enough being
stuck
with a weak body in lousy hospital clothing but not to be able to defend
herself or protect others who were weaker, just made her want to die...
"But what are you up to, Jaden?" She couldn't figure out why Jaden
hadn't struck out the boys before now, however long she had been in some
coma or other. What was Jaden up to? Now she was awake she'd find out
and.... oh my god! Eve suddenly realised what Jaden was doing and widened
her eyes in both terror and shame. "No....!"
End of Chapter 1
I decided to extend the chapters somewhat because I decided they were way
too short. Sorry this took _so_ long to get out but you can blame
writer's
block and Microsoft Exchange for freezing up on me! And then Chickenpox
(at
age 18!). There's more narrative in the second half of this section than
I
thought there would be. Not that Chapter 1 is a waste of time, it
contains
a lot of info which will be important to the plot, but do tell me if you
think it strays from the plot too far near the end of the chapter or if
there's too much thinking and not enough action. (phew need to take a
breath, now) As always C&C _extremely_ well appreciated on any aspect! I
am prepared to revise and revise till it is right. *^_^* BTW the
poetry
Eve spouted was written by the late Dylan Thomas.
BTW, why are people always spelling Ryoga as Ryouga, Ukyo as Ukyou and so
on? I know I should know but I'm still confused! ^_^ Sorry!
PS. I'm thinking (just _thinking_) about changing the title of the story.
Any ideas?
PPS. Due to some fault with our Microsoft Word, certain sentences might
not
make sense as words are often swopped round and deleted and others
("wazzu") added.