EVE      
                                                             
                                              
Notes for the series....           
<xxx> = Chinese or other language (when specified)         
_xxx_ = accenting words.           
~xxx~ = sound effects.          
((Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 created by the great and extremely funny Rumiko Takahashi and owned by her, Viz., Kitty, Fuji 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          
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"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, Eve 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 Eve's 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 Eve didn't buy that mysticism and tried to futilely 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 Eve's 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 Jade get her, she wouldn't! She was determined to live on! She had no choice but to fight, she was 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 and 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 Eve's now prone form was brought slowly toward its centre. Her body an unwilling participant in Jaden's 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.
     
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      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 in 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 and 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 her 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, he leaned reluctantly 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, he 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 his 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. "I'm not feeling too good..." He then felt like a feather, with no life and no real energy - all burnt out - and let Fate take control of his destiny. To the ground he dropped, allowing the sticky, warm concrete to glue to his face as he slipped into unconsciousness.

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   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!" Her 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.
                      
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    Akane opened the 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 am s-sorry... _so_ sorry"
    "Akane," Dr. Tofu whispered, "could you get a doctor?" Akane silently stepped out of the room. "What's your name?"
    "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 are not safe... not safe at all...," hHer 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 O.K. Eve, Jaden isn't here."
    "Oh, yes she is!" Eve coughed out, "she i's right here!"
    "Out of the way, people!" A figure in a white coat, obviously a doctor, burst into the room, followed by a nurse. Everyone stood back as the doctor inspected Eve, shouting out commands in a language only Dr. Tofu understood, medspeak. Everyone backed away as they 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.&amp;quot;
    As the nurse guided everyone out of the room, Dr. 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 young cousin but the situation meant little time for reunion. He was proud of Koga 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 from her luck and the odd circumstances surrounding her injuries."
    "You didn't see her when she first came in," 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 at first 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 and friends 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. Koga'a 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, Tofu, no-one should have survived what she survived. No-one." Dr. Koga 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, who have abnormally high endurance, their burns will take _much_ longer to heal than Eve's. What _is_ she? Is she even human?"
    "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," Dr. Tofu answered.
    Dr. Koga nodded absent-mindedly, already deep in thought.
    "I'd better go research this in more depth, goodbye," Tofu politely excused 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 he 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.    

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    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 the 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. Although Ranma had dismissed the warning, Ryoga had taken it to heart. He 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- ....." tThan... hHe left that thought unspoken in his soul. Ryoga 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 have agreed to marry him? That near-miss wedding was no bad dream.
    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 Ryoga 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 Ryoga. 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_?!!" Ryoga 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.

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    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 - his old books held nothing about Jaden or Eve or that alien ball of fire Ranma had described or Ryoga's trance and 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.  

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    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 sensation 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 you neck forward cautiously, not wanting to break it or twist it. _That_ would be all she needed! She had to protect Ranma and Ryoga from a vengeful Jaden. 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. She put the tip of her finger on her mouth absent-mindedly and pondered the consequences.
    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 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 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 did that.
    Taking in a deep breath, she 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....
   
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    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.
    A 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.


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   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.

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     Jaden grinned as she looked down on the city of Tokyo; Eve was awake now. It's time to get the show started, wouldn't want to keep Eve waiting...


End of Chapter 1
Thankyou for reading this far. C & C _extremely_ well appreciated!
There's more narrative in the second half of this  section than I thought there would be so the events I thought would happen in Chapter 1 will now possibly happen in Chapters 2 and possibly 3. 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!) . I am prepared to revise and revise till it is right.   *^_^*. The poetry Eve spouted  was written by 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! ^_^  Gomen!
PS. I'm thinking (just _thinking_) about changing the title of the story. Any ideas?



CHAPTER 2 - BITTERSWEET MELODY OF THE SOUL, PART 1   
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"If you gaze into the fire within, you must be careful not to get badly burned."


    Dr. Tofu drank in the atmosphere of his kitchen, swimming and meandering with aromas of soothing, cooling, scintillating herbs which filled the room with healthy smoke, as he lightly cooked and steamed the extra special herbs which only he - with the possible exception of Cologne - had in this country. The unusual concoction was used to cool instead of warm up the drinker.
    The doctor stirred the mixture in his mug, almost forgetting what he had been doing a few minutes before. His lungs were almost softened by the sweet and silk-like wafting smell of the drink. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the momentary calm.
   What first came to disturb his peace was a low hissing sound, snaking its way round his ears and through his head. Dr. Tofu looked around but saw and felt nothing to indicate an intruder.
    "My imagination... I have been in Nerima too long." Dr. Tofu remembered why he had stayed in Nerima, even through all these hassles. He smiled gently as he thought of her smile, her beautiful long hair, her kind and peaceful nature...
    ~Hsssssshhhhhhh~
    _That_ he didn't imagine! Clattering his mug down on the cluttered table top, Tofu went off to investigate.  Preparing to switch on the light in the hall....
    "Aaaah!"
    ...Tofu jumped back as the light switch violently hissed and spat sparks at him. Suddenly the lights blinked off and the house was left in a complete state of black. He felt like he was trapped in a blanket of darkness and shivered, but not quite sure whether it was the cold or something else, trying to hold onto his calm and not let his impending sense of danger come forward. The floor boards creaked and groaned as he moved towards the window, hoping that it was a neighbourhood blackout. But the lights of the other houses laughed and flickered at him, almost alive in their brightening brilliance.
    He tried to subdue his quickening heartbeat to stop it becoming louder than his heavy breathing. He was not supposed to react like this, what was wrong?
    ~Wssssshhhh~
    His muscles tensed and froze as he finally sensed a presence, so faint only his acutely-heightened senses told him it was there. But he couldn't see it. Hardly heard it. Faintly felt it. What could he do? Was it Jaden? His martial arts training might come in useful but he could hardly sneak up on something that he didn't know the whereabouts of. Something which could easily match him, even with his level of skill.
    Soon, but not soon enough for Tofu's liking, something happened.
    A strange smell rested upon his dry lips and wandered casually up his nostrils. It was bitter but sour. Recognisable but unfamiliar. He saw shadows creep and wander over the walls in the open room opposite. The darkness soon covered the walls completely. Soon the room was unrecognisable and smoke captured it. But a different kind of smoke to the gentle herbal ones in the kitchen. This was stuffy, acrid, stinging smoke.
    Immediately the dusty mist, Tofu calmly entered the room with a mask over his mouth and turned to look at something in the room. The smoke quickly dissipated, almost as if it had never existed and Tofu knew the intruder had gone, their task complete.
    "Oh well, nothing I can do now to change the past," Tofu sighed sadly as he look at the black and grey ashes of what once used to be his computer. It was all in a good cause though, the computer had become the first martyr to the rising against whatever Jaden was. An odd martyr. Strangely, only the computer was destroyed. His table and chair were intact but were sooty, like the walls, with smoke.
    Feeling queasy, and knowing that if he did not leave the house now the poisonous fumes of the burnt plastic would kill him, Dr Tofu left his house sadly, only stopping to open a few windows to clear the air. Once outside he savoured the fresh but cold air of the night which balmed his hot, sticky and slightly sick, body. Gasping in a few deep breathes of air, he reached into the pocket of his black trousers and pulled out something Jaden hadn't smoked out of him. Smiling inwardly at his slight success over the mysterious being, Tofu fingered gently the disc which he had saved the contents of the web page on before his sudden thirst had overcome him. This Jaden obviously underestimated mortals because one thing he knew she was, was not human.
    The bespectacled young man saw, through the light of the lampposts, neighbours coming to investigate why smoke was coming out of one of his open windows. Glad that someone had noticed, Dr. Tofu asked one of the neighbours if they could phone the fire service as his phone was not currently available due to an electronic mishap.
    He then promptly decided that the Tendo's would be a sensible port of call - he knew Nabiki had a computer and Ranma's parents were staying there temporarily - and headed in that direction, leaving bewildered witnesses wondering what the latest strange going-on in Nerima was all about.

                                                            *    *    *    *    *    *
    
    Deep in not-so-peaceful slumber, Ryoga tossed and turned, mumbling in his sleep. His eyes screwed up, his face glistening with greasy drops of sweat, a strangely neutral smile crossed his face, his hands scrunched up into tight, white fists, the doctors pondered whether to let him get his sleep or to wake him up.   
    The dream was even more disturbing.....
    Ryoga was in a hot spring, surrounded by nothingness but not really noticing it.
    In real life, he moaned out loud in the relative safety of his hospital bed as the nightmare continued....
    But this was not an ordinary hot spring and Ryoga was not the normal Ryoga. Desperately trying not to drown, he shouted out loud, confused, but only a high-pitched squeal came out. Yes, that's right, a _squeal_. In this fake reality, Ryoga was a little black pig submerged in a strangely alien but awfully familiar substance: hot water.
    Spluttering and gasping for air as the slippery substance slid and swimmed smoothly around him, Ryoga tried to cry out - no, scream out - with shock and horror: "What is happening to me?! Why am I not changing?!!! What hell is this?! I don't want to suffer like this, I can't take it!!!". But all that really came out was "Bu-keeeee! Bwweeeeee!!!!! Kweeeeee!!!"
    "Noooooooo.....!!!!!!!" Ryoga screamed inwardly, his body futilely fighting against the bewilderment and now total incomprehensibility of his mind. The body needed a plan to survive but the mind seemed to be suicidal and refused to co-operate causing his small body to lock up. The paralysing effect of this was not helped by a force which seemed to want to pull him beneath the noisy surface into the quiet, fluid graveyard.
    The pig body went limp and overturned, while the boy's mind was running around in confusion and panic, not quite sure what to do. Ryoga blankly stared up to the black void-filled skies above but soon that sight was lost as the warm water covering his face caused him to close his eyes.
    Peace was all he wanted now, the terror left the cursed body as it wafted slowly down through the water to an end that would never come.
    A permanent peace seemed in sight for the lost soul but Ryoga was shaken out of his self-induced stupor by the burning sensation on his skin. The water was hot and getting hotter as he drowned further.
    Unable to breathe, he wondered what the _hell_ was going on. Bitter tears stinged his eyes as they reacted with bubbling, boiling water around them. Why him? Why couldn't he die peacefully? One thing he wanted and it could not be granted. What a wretched life he had had.
    But the boiling, fiery water demanded his attention and so continued to scald him as he fell further downwards. Becoming so unbearable both mentally and physically that Ryoga felt the need to scream more than he had ever before, not caring if the alien water hurt him even more.
    "Bu-kweeeeeuaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!" Ryoga did not notice the change in voice as he sat up in bed. "What happened to the hot spring? M-my voice, it's back again! Thank god, it was just a dream!" His fluttering heart and his extremely rare burst of ecstasy was interrupted by a weird smell, it was a burning smell? Odd. What could it be? Sniffing the dark air some more, Ryoga choked it back, gagging the putrid fumes in, accidentally. "What is that?" He coughed and spluttered out loud,  a disturbingly familiar odour pushed up his nose, "it smells like burning... flesh?" A few seconds spent contemplating were interrupted by a few milli-seconds spent screaming in realisation. "!!!"
    He screwed up his eyes and gazed forward at the sight lit before him in his darkened room. His bed was on fire. His bed. On fire. And he was in it. In a bed on fire.
    "Eeeeeeeyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!" Ryoga shot out of his bed, sleepy and panicked, thrusting his legs towards the door. But they were too weak and collapsed under him. He felt the air brushing through him as he fell to the ground. "Nooo!"
    ~WHAM!~
    "Pain," he croaked as he rubbed his head; "extreme pain. Blindness. Agony. Must escape." Using all of his strength, Ryoga pushed himself up from the floor, pain grabbing his whole bandaged body. "Uh!" Convulsions and shudders controlled his wrecked being. An involuntary gasp escaped his lips as he realised that his bandages were on fire, too. "Argh!" Why him, oh why him?!
    Unable to stop the savage substance from invading him. Ryoga did the most sensible thing which came to his mind at the moment. He ran.
    ~RUMBLE~
    Through the wall and down the corridor, screaming like a deranged madman. His mind was white and blank. Only one thing registered. Water. Need water. He tore through the speed barrier as he ran - no, _flew_ - down the hall. Doctors, nurses and somnia-challenged patients dived for cover as they saw this raging human bullet barely missed them.
    "FIRE! FIIIRRRE! I'M ON FIIIRRRE!!"     
    "What the - ?"
    "Wai - ack!"
    "Run! Run for your liv - aargh !"
    "Ryoga? Wha - ?"
    ~SLAM!~
    Ranma looked at his bruised fist and then at the unconscious lost boy. Pain didn't register in his mind at that moment as he leaned on his crutch and gazed down at the now _very_ peaceful Ryoga, out for several hundred counts, on his back.
    "What is his problem this time? I only got up for a drink of water." Ranma was bemused, if Ryoga wanted to attack him, then why not launch a proper battlecry? He didn't bother to think of a reason for Ryoga's rage, it was too early in the morning, or too late at night, for that.
    A dazed doctor stumbled towards the pigtailed boy, who was only wearing a hospital gown and dressing robe.
    "How did you... how did you do that?" The doctor gasped for air, his body having temporarily freezed up a few seconds ago.
    Ranma shrugged his shoulders casually, not really caring.
    "I sensed danger and struck out at pig-boy here."
    "Y-you know him?"
    "Unfortunately."
    "Then perhaps you can tell me something...?"
    Gulping down the water, Ranma resisted the temptation to pour the rest of it over Ryoga.
    "What?"
    "Does he often go down corridors shouting "fire! Fire!" when there is none?"
    Ranma frowned, that was weird, even for Ryoga. "No, no. Ryoga may be a tenacious, short-tempered, perverted, idiotic, moronic jerk but he isn't seriously delirious." Apart from him thinking he could beat me in a match, though, Ranma added to himself.
    "Hmmm... probably just had some terrible dream," the doctor grunted wearily.
    "Probably..."
                                                             
                                                        *    *    *    *    *    *

    Hearing the scream a few minutes before, Eve tried to move but her body still wasn't co-operating. The pain still took control of every sense she had apart from her mental ones, which refused the idea of giving up. "Nggghhhhh... must get up."
    "What do you think you're doing?!" A nurse shouted in surprise as she entered the room, "You can't! You're not well enough to get up!"
    "Have to help them! She will hurt them with me awake!&amp;quot; Eve continued to get up, with mild success, until some other nurses and doctors came in and restrained her. She fought against them, her muscles tensing and her bones felt like they were breaking.
    "You're not well enough! You could do yourself some damage by resisting!" Doctor Koga snapped back.
    "NO! I do not care! Let me go!" Eve shrieked shrilly. She was too weak to overpower them.
    "I don't think so," calmly replied Dr. Koga as he jabbed a needle into her.
    A glazed look began to form in Eve's eyes and she collapsed back.
    "You doo no't know what you have done..." Eve whispered shakily as her body gave in to the tranquilliser. The young Dr. Koga stood back and began to assess the situation in his head. This young woman called Eve suffered supposedly fatal burns and a week later she is able to nearly hold her own against healthy doctors? It shouldn't be possible. And who was 'them' that she was trying to save? Chewing on his pen, Koga wished he knew the answer to all the questions in his head. Especially one of them: was Eve right?

                                                                 *    *    *    *    *    *

     Darkness. Fading darkness. Light. Harsh light. Faces. Inquisitive faces. Ryoga was waking up and wondering why he was being peered at by strangers. Their faces edged back slightly when he snarled at them.
    "What do you want?" He didn't know if this was some weird dream and eyed suspiciously the two well-dressed strangers, one a relatively young woman and the other a gnarled up old man. "I'm trying to get some rest here, I had a bad night."
    "So you remember your outburst?" The old man asked with a gravelly voice which was like a ton of pebbles being shaken about in a steel trunk; it was very off-putting. Beside him the young woman was scribbling madly on a small pad of paper.
    "Who are you?!" How dare these people interrupt his sleep and stare at him incessantly!
    "I am Dr. Hakowa," spoke the old man and motioned to the young woman, "and that is Dr. Chan. We've just transferred from Akita General."  
    Ryoga frowned in puzzlement. "You don't look like doctors."
   "We are psychiatrists, we -"
   "What?! There's nothing wrong with me!!! Ranma put you up to this, didn't he? The jerk!" Ryoga prepared to jump out of bed and give the hospital some more work when he stopped suddenly. The woman was writing everything he said down. "What are you doing?!"
   The man calmly put down his hand on Ryoga's shoulder, as if it would soothe him. Not that it did. But Ryoga stayed on the edge of his bed, trying hard not to make an outburst in front of the shrinks. He wasn't crazy, he wasn't and he'd prove it! Taking in extraordinarily deep breathes, Ryoga could fell his heartbeat slow down gradually and the blood rushed a little slower through his veins. He counted to ten, then to twenty, forty was soon after but it took 5.2 minutes for Ryoga to regain his offbalance composure. The doctors watched with interest.
    "Why do you think I'm crazy? I'm not Kodachi!"
    "We don't think you're crazy," the doctors answered together, wondering who Kodachi was.
    "You don't?"
    "We just wondered why you  ran through the wall and screamed 'fire, fire, I'm on fire' until a patient knocked you out."
    "Why would I? Because my bed was on fire and so was I -" Ryoga stared in amazement as he saw the teenager-shaped hole in the wall. "There was a fire! How did you people put it out so fast?"
    "This wasn't a dream of yours, was it?" The old man asked.
    "No, I remember it, it felt so real. I felt the fire, I felt it burning on me."
    "There was no fire, Mr. Hibiki."
    "Dr. Hakowa, there was a fire. My bed was in flames, I saw it!"
     The young woman stepped forward and analysed him, making him feel like some sort of test subject.     "Have you been under much stress lately?"
     "Quite a bit... but nothing that would make me see things that weren't there." Ryoga couldn't believe this was happening, he _saw_  the fire, he _felt_ the fire, it was more real than even him.
     "What sort of things?"
     "Well, that fool Ranma knocked me into a spring when I chased him to China, so now I turn into a... animal. Then I fall in love with his beautiful fiancee but he treats her so badly, he flaunts around blatantly with two other fiancees, the lech. The fact that he's cursed to turn into a girl doesn't make up for it -"
     "Mr Hibi -"
     "- Do you know he's got a panda for a father? Deserves it. And then dear Akane looked at _him_ gratefully after we defeated this serpent with nine or ten heads. I was _so_ angry with that that I walked to Texas where I was then nearly served up as a main dish! The injustice of it all!!" Ryoga screamed. He let out his breath, had he said enough?
     "We're done now, thank you for your time," the old man look ten years older as he left. The woman  glanced back once just to check that this mad boy wasn't too cute. Seeing that he was, she cried something about 'a terrible, terrible waste' and left.
    Ryoga slumped back against the soft pillow, lying there in quiet for a few moments. Suddenly, he bashed the pillow, his bandaged fist went right through it. He wasn't crazy, he wasn't! His temper got a little out of control sometimes but he was not like the Kuno's, he was perfectly in touch with reality. But who would tell those shrinks that he was off-kilter?
    His eyes flashed red. "Ranma..."

                                                             *    *    *    *    *    *
    
    Yawning, Dr. Tofu rolled over in his bed, only to fall out of it.
    ~Ka-thump!~
    "Oh my," came a sweet voice to his head, "are you OK?"
    Dr. Tofu blinked open his eyes but they were a bit fuzzy. He stood up but couldn't quite focus on the person in front of him. "Kasumi, what are you doing here?" His heart was full of joy at her arrival and he would have danced around the room but he was confused.
    "Why, I live here."
    "How long _have_ I been asleep?"
    "Just a few hours, you came here earlier this morning. Akane was still up and let you in and you then fell asleep on the sofa." She smiled at him but he couldn't see that, very lucky for the computer disc he had taken out of his pocket just a few seconds before.
    "Is Nabiki awake? I have an important d-document to look at on her com-computer," Dr. Tofu felt dizzy and didn't know why; not enough sleep, probably.
    "The others aren't up yet, do you want some tea?"
    "No thank you, I feel a little faint, is it all right if I take in some fresh air?" Whereupon he dashed out of the house, leaving a bemused Kasumi standing.

                                                       *    *    *    *    *    *
    
    Eve opened her eyes as she realised that no-one was there anymore. Removing the straps which held her to the bed, she sat up and checked the room and the corridor outside her window: empty.
    "Perfect." She noticed a pair of crutches against the wall, now all she had to do was get out of this bed and crawl over to them, to hurt to walk for the moment. "Not that I' am beneath crawling on the floor, not that I a'm beneath anything..."    

                                                       *    *    *    *    *    *
    
    Jaden smiled as she again sensed Eve's consciousness. Now that the first interval was over, it was time for the second act...

                                                       *    *    *    *    *    *

     Ryoga charged down the corridor, ignoring the scorching pain which branded his body. He stampeded towards Ranma's room, choked with fury. His heart slammed repeatedly against his ribcage, blood stampeding around his body. His hormones tore through his mind as anger shook him up.
     "Raaanmmmmaaaa... wake up!!" Slamming the door open, Ryoga prepared to dive into Ranma when his whole body froze at the sight before him. His heart cracked as lightening ripped it. "Akane... n-no..." His darkening eyes were fixed at the couple beside the window, where light streamed in, almost blinding the two. He could make out the outlines of the two who were locked in a kiss. It was Ranma and Akane... kissing... Kissing. He couldn't take this, he wasn't even supposed to care about Akane anymore, he knew that Akane was in love with Ranma... but his heart of glass had never had to face it before. And it shattered at the sight.
    His mouth was dry as it hung open and a nauseating feeling quenched and knotted his stomach. It was true, he still loved Akane, more than anything. He was trapped in unrequited love and no amount of denial could fade the passion. A melancholy sense of sorrow drenched him.
    But he knew she would never be his. Never.
    "I cannot take this," he barely breathed. A need to leave, to escape, overcame Ryoga.  Tears threatened to burst free from his eyes. "Goodbye, Akane." Ryoga stepped slowly out of the room, and made for the exit, his walk graduating into a trot and then to a run and then to a mad dash through the corridors . Unable to find it, he was as lost as his feelings.
    ~Smash!~
    Ryoga shattered an unopened window as he jumped out of it, not caring what floor he was on. The air rushed past him as he fell three floors. The breeze felt liberating but barely. Landing without injury, Ryoga stood there for several minutes and gazed at the morning sun.
    "I no longer have the right to claim you as mine, Akari, as I am not yours," Ryoga softly spoke to the sky, imagining Akari's sweet, smiling face between the clouds. "I am no-one's..."
   A long, moaning scream then emanated through Nerima for exactly a minute, saddening those who heard it.    
     
                                                             *    *    *    *    *    *
    
    Akane sneezed as she woke up, a long shiver shuddered down her body.
    "Must be catching a cold." Yawning, Akane dragged herself out of bed. Hearing voices downstairs, she wearily got dressed. She shouldn't have stayed up that late, she had been so worried about this Jaden character that Eve talked about. Akane wasn't able to rid this strange feeling that something horrible was going to happen. It wasn't like she cared about Ranma.... "But I do." No point denying her feelings anymore, even if Ranma did.
    Akane glanced at the clock realised she had slept in, it was 10:00am already. She was about to go downstairs when she heard voices in Nabiki's room. Nabiki... had visitors?

                                                           *    *    *    *    *    *

    Ranma stumbled out of bed, and swiftly locked onto his crutches. What a weird night's sleep. He could've sworn he heard someone a couple of minutes ago at his door. Maybe it was the evil Jaden, come to wreak vengeance on those who dare defy her all-consuming wrath. Yeah, right. Chuckling a little, he hobbled over to the water fountain just outside his door. There was long thread of doubt over his scepticism wriggling uncomfortably around his body but he preferred to ignore it. The whole situation was just too... too...
    Two doctors were standing, leaning casually against the wall, chatting away.
    "Did you here about the guy who jumped through the window?" The tall one spoke with incredulity.
    "A closed window, on the third floor of all floors! And he survived, screamed, and cried and ran off without a scratch. These martial artists, think they can do anything," said the other one, completely unaware of Ranma's presence behind him. Ranma himself was worried with where this conversation was going. Were they talking about who he _thought_ they were talking about?
    "Wasn't he the one who thought that his bed was on fire and that he had defeated a ten headed serpent? A complete maniac I tell ya'."
    "Um, excuse me?" Ranma interrupted. The student doctors turned to face him, miffed that their gossip had been stopped short.
    "Yes?" asked the taller one, Ranma completely oblivious - or unafraid - of his dominant demeanor.
    "Who're you talking about?"
    "Just some nutter who jumped out of that window over there." The shorter one pointed to the source of an unexpected new draft, with people huddled round the shards of what was once double-glazing.
    "Who, though?"
    "Uh, I dunno... I think he was wearing a bandanna on round his bandaged head, a real weirdo."
    "Thanks." So his instincts were right... What's up with that moron this time? Jumping through windows for no reason? Hallucinating? What has gotten into Ryoga?
    "I think I can answer that question for you, Ranma Saotome," a smooth, light voice whispered loudly.
    "Who?" Ranma twisted his head to see slightly burnt young woman with long, blood red hair and intensely bright blue eyes, leaning on a pair of crutches. "You're Eve...."
    "Wow, am I? I would have never guessed," she grinned wryly; "we need to talk."
    "But you were in a coma yesterday and now..." Ranma gasped in surprise for once, maybe something more was going on than he had first thought.
    "Don't be scared, Jaden i's the one with the fiery personality."
     He pointed to himself, angrily. "I am not scared of _anything_!"
    "Apart from cats and commitment," Eve flatly countered, folding her arms in disapproval.
    "I... how did you know?! About cats, I mean."
    "How about we do breakfast, at the cafeteria, say about... now? You, and your friend Ryoga, are in deep trouble."
    "My... friend?!"

                                                        *    *    *    *    *    *

    Akane watched Dr. Tofu load a disc into Nabiki's computer. What was going on?
    "Hello Akane, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Tofu asked politely, never taking his eyes off the computer as he waited for the disc to kick in, revealing it's contents for all.
    "I - what are you doing?!"
    "He's got the lowdown on the Jaden chick," answered Nabiki, sitting beside Dr. Tofu. _Nothing_ was going to get past her. She was seeing the truth first. "You just going to come in or just stand there, admiring my room?"
    Akane sent a mildly sour stare Nabiki's way before stepping up behind the two, watching as the contents were loaded into the machine.
    "Here it is," stated Dr. Tofu. The three spent a few minutes digesting some of the infomation.
    "This doesn't look too good for anyone..." Nabiki responded, as cooly as possible.
                                                  
                                                         *    *    *    *    *    *

    Ryoga treaded wearily around the streets of Nerima, too tired and too weak, from all the drugs, to do much more. He didn't notice all the stares - some of them complimentary - due to the fact that he was still in a traditional hospital gown. Bandages hung untidily from his arms, exposing physical wounds to the air. It was an unusually hot and humid day, the sticky heat gluing his hair to his head. But he didn't notice, he didn't care. The passionate and psychotic Ryoga was gone, there seemed so little left for him to fight for.  
    Blinking back the few tears left in him, Ryoga's listless body drooped forward as he scuffled his bare feet along the hot coals they called a pavement. What did he have left out of this long, years-old rivalry? A better skill at martial arts? A debilitating curse? An overpowering need for someone who didn't need him, who'd never really needed him? A self-hatred that consumed him as he watched his mortal enemy capture all these girls hearts and play around with them, cruelly?
    ....Akari? A true friend, an anchor. She was all he had left and even if he could never love her, he needed her love and attention right now. If not, what did he have to keep his sanity from taking a long walk off a cliff?
    Walking aimlessly for a few more minutes, he stopped abruptly when he recognised the lightly crowded place infront of him.
    "Ucchans," he mouthed. Konatsu observed this miserable sight as he served tables outside. Dashing inside with Ryoga not even detecting his movement, Konatsu came back, followed by a harried looking Ukyo.
    "Ryoga...? What happened to you? Weren't you in hospital?" Ukyo noted down mentally his ragged, greasy hair, his tattered 'attire', his barely bandaged burned body but most of all, his eyes. There was no spark in them, or fear, or love-sickness - as usual - just nothingness.
    Disturbed by this, Ukyo gently guided him inside, to the back of her cafe, to a quiet, shadowed spot, which no-one had taking. Ryoga sat down robotically and stared into space. She handed him some trousers to put on. He couldn't walk around like that. He whisked them on before she could look away. When had he practised getting dressed so quickly? You'd think he had a curse too!
    "Ryoga...? What's wrong?" Ukyo was going to visit the hospital this afternoon to see Ranma but events had taken an unexpected turn.
    Ryoga lifted his head up to meet her gaze. He dismissed telling her about the incident. An angry and upset Ukyo would be too much to deal with. "N-nothing... just needed the fresh air."
    Even knowing he was lying, Ukyo didn't say anything. What would cheer him up, put life back into him? "I just remembered, a cute girl with long hair dropped by, asked if I knew you."
    "Akari...?" He looked agitated and confused about something.
    "That was it! She asked me to pass this on to you." She handed Ryoga a sealed letter. Maybe this would brighten his mood...? "I have hungry customers waiting, I'll come back and talk when it's quieter, alright?" Ukyo waited for a response, all she got was a sullen nod of the head and a quiet 'thank-you'.
     As Ukyo fried another okonomiyaki, she observed the lost boy as he opened his letter and read. His eyes widened as he read it, a choking noise emanated from his mouth. He seemed to be souring to stone. What had shocked him so much? What was the matter, now?
    "Ryoga...?" He didn't even seem to notice her standing near him.
    "Akari... why?" He was on the verge of collapsing, his whole body shaked erratically. Ukyo gasped as she saw how pale he had become, his skin whiter than the ribbon in her hair. She wasn't sure what to do. Did she comfort him or leave him alone?
    "Ryoga, I'll just close up the restaurant and take you back to the hospital, OK?" Yet again, she received no response. Walking back to the grill to turn it off, she motioned to Konatsu to start closing up and to clear everyone out. Konatsu nodded back silently, aware of Ukyo's concern for her friend.
    A swift breeze fluttered passed Ukyo as she turned her back to the booths.
    "A draught? In this weather?" She whirled back and spotted a lack of Ryoga.  A piece of paper was scrunched up beside the table where he had sat. She picked it up, unsure of whether to read it or not. And soon she decided to because that would be the only way she'd find out what was wrong with her sort-of friend.
    Sure enough, it was the letter addressed to Ryoga from Akari. Didn't she hear Ranma talk about Ryoga's girfriend? Was Akari that person? Ukyo took a breath and started to read:

____________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Ryoga,
                I couldn't face you with this news. The space you left me when you went away has given me time to think. I've realised something. I don't love you. I never did. I just wanted to because you defeated my pet pig. The fact that you were half-pig helped me to accept my destiny. And then I found out about 'P-chan' a few weeks ago. How could I love someone who was someone's pet pig? How pathetic. When you fell into that coma, I only wanted you to waken up so I could leave you, and leave with no guilt. But I found myself being nice to you, anyway, just for old times sake.
               I've also met someone else, he's brave, he's confident and handsome and much more of a man than you'll ever be. He was even more skilled at defeating Katsunihiki than you were!
               Goodbye forever,
                                        Akari Unryu.
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    Ukyo was stunned and saddened as she lay the letter down on the table. She slammed her fist down onto the hard surface. How could she be so stupid?! Ryoga was already pretty badly mixed up over something and now this?! Ukyo shivered involuntary as her imagination envisioned reluctantly what Ryoga might do next. She had seen how upset he had been over that stunt Ranma had pulled on him during his set-up date with Akane. What could he be capable of? What _wasn't_ he capable of?
    "Oh, Ryoga, please don't do anything stupid, please..."
 

End of chapter 2
There will be some Akari in later chapters, I don't know how long this thing is gonna be, please hold on. Plenty of action to come, I promise! ^_^ It's not just going to be mental anguish for the whole story (though there will be plenty of it) and Ranma will take a bigger part later on, it's just Ryoga's 'turn', heheheh.... Do you like the way the stories going so far? Remember, nothing is as it seems..... or "The truth is out there... but I couldn't possibly be sure of that." ...