EVE      
@---{-----     
By Kayu-chan
                                               
Notes for the series....           
<xxx> = Chinese or other language (when specified)         
_xxx_ = accenting words.           
~xxx~ = sound effects.     
*xxx* = the memory spell voice     
((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 5: HOW SLEEP THE BRAVE 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When a person has lost everything, do they have anything left give those
who haven't?"

      ~Knock, knock.~
      Kasumi opened the front door, wondering who could possibly be
calling: maybe another one of Ranma's friends. What she saw was a
red-haired girl of her age helping the Ukyo girl hold on to an
unconcsious Ryoga. Shouldn't he be in hospital? "Hello, can I help you?
I'm afraid Ranma and Akane are not home." 
      "Yes, Miss Tendo, my name is Eve," she politely greeted. "I was
hoping that I could rest here with Ryoga for a night or two. Ryoga here
has just got out of hospital and he's recently...become homeless. Ukyo
has a school and restaurant to deal with so I didn't want to
inconvenience her for too long."
      "It would've been-" Ukyo started to say.
      "I assure you  that I will pay board for Ryoga and I for the short
time we will be staying here..." Eve said to Kasumi, ignoring Ukyo's
'humph'.
      Kasumi looked at the wreck that was the lost boy and at the
distressed state of Eve's physical appearance: "Are you sure that you
shouldn't take him back to the hospital?"
      Eve's polite, calm face fell into momentary sadness. "I assure you
that there is little the hospital can do for him now. I would not
endanger his life under any circumstances. All I ask is for a small,
quiet room to look after Ryoga in."        
       Kasumi's slight anxiety faded away when she heard the sincerity in
Eve's voice. "There's a small storage room at the back of the house that
you can use. I'm afraid that we're quite crowded in here."
       "No, you've done more than enough. Thank you," replied Eve
graciously. 

.........Eve and Ukyo cleared a space in the cramped, dusty room and lay
Ryoga back on some blankets and a pillow. Slumping to the floor along
with Ukyo, Eve sighed with relief and yawned. She still felt so sore and
tired but she couldn't afford much sleep, even as she heard the sandman
sprinkling his magic dust over her. But Ukyo's suspicious gaze fanned the
dust away from her; she stared at Eve from across the other side of
Ryoga.
      "What's going on?" the sixteen-year-old demanded. "I know you were
involved in what happened to Ryoga and Ranma, that fireball thing that
nearly killed them."
      "Ukyo Kuonji, I told you that I was going to- "
      "I don't care. Something bad's happened to my friend and Ranma. You
know what's goin' on, and now I wanna know, too," she snapped back
firmly. "Who are you and what've you got Ranma and Ryoga wrapped up in?"
     Eve held Ukyo's gaze as she spoke, "My name's Eve..."
     "Eve what? Surely you've gotta a second name."
     "No, I don't; I'm not like everyone else."
     "How so?"
     "None of your business," Eve flatly stated - the sincere, polite
tone disappeared like a feather in the wind. "Anyway, do you want to hear
what I have to say or not? I know you're worried and confused but..."
     "Tell me and I won't be confused anymore. Tell me who is doing all
these nasty things, who's creating all those funny dragons and why
Ryoga's not in a hospital. Tell me and I might even trust you." Ukyo
crossed her legs but didn't relax, her whole body tense and stiff with
worry and wariness. 
      "Her name's Jaden, the one who is chasing me. I don't know exactly
who she is, just that she's very powerful and dangerous and killed all my
family, destroyed my race." Eve went quiet at this and looked away,
obviously forcing tears back.
      Ukyo seemed to be a little sheepish. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know..
Hang on, did you say _race_? You're not human?"
      "I am human, just a different kind of human, a different branch you
might say. But not different enough to be another species. My race was
arrogant enough to call themselves a different race." Eve smiled
wistfully. "I guess it's just habit for me."
      Eyes widening, Ukyo continued to stare at Eve, who grew an amused
smile. "It's OK, the differences are not that visible, they're more
internal. We have a..." Eve seemed to be looking for the right words but
decided just to tell the truth. "No, you deserve to know the truth. We,
well, just me now, have heightened telepathic abilities and are unable to
die under all but one of circumstances."
     "You're immortal?!"
     "Mostly, with one exception. One I can't tell you." Sighing with a
hint of bitterness and grief, she began to talk, "My race did not even
know of Jaden's existence till ... Well, they never did because they died
before they could know. Too damn arrogant to even take precautions when
Jaden began to get serious and issued death threats.  Even when people
began to disappear...they did not care...didn't do anything...so sure
of their immortality." Taking a deep breath, she looked up at a stunned
Ukyo, who somehow knew that Eve was telling the truth, though she didn't
know how.
      "I...I'm so sorry ... Are you the only one? I hope you don't mind
me asking but how did you survive?"
      "I saw how they died, destroyed, made into nothing ... I watched my
mother die." Eve gazed down at the floor, the unbearable silence rested
on the two until she lifted her head back up. "I escaped Jaden's wrath
because I somehow knew that the disappearances were something to be
scared of. She terrified me but I never even saw the bitch's face till my
mother's death. Maybe it was because I was the youngest but I could
sometimes hear Jaden's thoughts, and she could hear mine, at least my
conscious thoughts anyway." 
      "What did you do, then? After...after what happened?" Ukyo asked,
feeling compelled to listen to this.
     "I ran away and just kept on running till I didn't recognise my
surroundings anymore. I just collapsed onto the ground and just cried and
cried till I fell asleep. It was so confusing, I was only ten." A strange
look caught Eve's face and she suddenly stood up and opened the door,
turning her head to face Ukyo. "Look after Ryoga." She quickly left
before Ukyo could even start to protest. 
      "She's led some life, hasn't she Ryoga?" Instead of going after
her, Ukyo turned her attention to Ryoga's still form and, with a soft,
sympathetic gaze, started to stroke the hair out of his face. Teardrops
fell from her eyes onto his pale face. "You big dummy, I hope you're
all right in there. I don't know why you're like this but I promise you
that we'll get you better...I promise."

*    *     *    *    *    *

        Eve stumbled down the corridor, looking for a safe place to rest.
The memories were coming back, the ones locked up long ago, to protect
her sanity. But now they wouldn't leave her alone, flooding her mind like
torrential rain. Her hands gripped fiercely to the sides of her head, as
if it was going to be explode. Pain continually thumping and slamming
into her mind.  Her walls against the dark memories that the memory spell
brought, now on Ryoga, once on her, crumbled against the weight. She
shouldn't have said anything to Ukyo but - shouldn't have shouldn't have
shouldn't have....
      Shallow breath she did breathe, her head dizzy with pain and shock,
she slumped against the wall; Eve wasn't expecting so much so soon.
Fighting back the cloudiness in her, she willed herself not to faint ...
Recollections and thoughts and feelings touched her senses like sandpaper
rubbing against sensitive skin.
       Mother... beautiful, sweet mother... shrieking... screaming... her
face full of agony... dead before her eyes.... slow...can't get to her...
paralysed... with fear? Father... helping? no... he screaming too.. won't
stop screaming... useless scared no good to anyone no good to anyone...
have to get out of here.... run run run run run run run... have to run...
nasty, scaring thing laughing.. mocking... in head... head drowning in
her soft, strong, bitter voice... keep running.. so scared... why? WHY
WHY WHY???!!! parents dead... screaming won't stop, why won't it stop?...
everyone dead... friends dead... all gone... nobody's left... cold, so
cold, so dark, so dark.... where is this? ...why Mother leave? why did
she leave me??! all alone....scared... cold... no people... where is
everyone?... scared run run run run..... mustn't run away... must run
away... coward... have to hide... have to stop voice... and the
screaming... and the laughing... want mother... want daddy... lost...
don't want to die... DON'T WANT TO DIE!!! don't want to live... all
lonely... so tired... but so scared.... not fair not fair, this is not
fair!... sleepy... go to sleep... all a dream all a dream-
       "Are you all right, Miss Eve?" a gentle voice played through Eve's
head. Her hands were clammy with sweat, her face feeling like a hot
grill, burning and rasping all over her skin. She lifted up her head to
see who it was. "You seem to be in some pain, is there anything I can do
to help? Are your burns still hurting?"
       Glad that the ordeal was over - mental and psychic pain always
seemed to hurt more than physical pain - Eve brushed her sticky, red hair
away from her face and smiled at the speaker. "Thanks for offering,
Kasumi Tendo, but it's nothing serious, it shall soon pass ... Though, I
wouldn't mind a drink."
        "Come into the kitchen and I'll fix you something," Kasumi
answered back, glad to be of help to someone.

*     *    *    *    *    *
       
        "Where am I, now?" Ryoga moaned, his voice betraying the resigned
tone. He didn't think that he would ever leave this place of dark abyss'
and darker memories. Ranma and the school had been left behind and the
image had warped into tall mountains and scenic countryside, vaguely
familiar, like the last recollection he'd been forced to go through. His
body was almost back to normal but something still felt different ...
something...  
       *Just walk up to the edge of this ledge,* the Voice ordered. 
       An uneasy feeling tingled over his skin but Ryoga did as he was
told...these were only his memories, he couldn't escape or fight them. He
gazed over the edge of the cliff edge and saw more of the same, scenic
countryside, reminiscent of rural China. China?  With a sick, queasy
sensation floating round his stomach, he leaned over the edge and stared
at what was below. He saw springs, lots of little springs. Springs? Oh
dear god, no.. NO! Not this! Not this! He had to get out of there before
this happened ... Not again!
       *Too late.*
         Ryoga stood still, his heartbeat rattling away, unable to move.
His eyes wide, he watched as girl Ranma barrelled towards him. He wanted
to move but his body didn't co-operate. All he could do was watch the
girl chase the panda. He could hear his cold, shallow breath and his
heartbeat pulsating through his head but nothing else registered. And
then the girl came too close and...
        Falling, falling so fast, yet each second seemed so long and
painful. So drawn-out with sick remembrance of how he felt when this had
first happened. Confusion. It had happened so fast. Too fast. No! He
didn't want to remember this! The dry air brushing through him, the
inability to think, to save himself.
       ~Splissshhhh!~
       Relief and horror plunged into Ryoga as the cursed water enfolded
him. Humanity lost. Confusion. Despair. All those old feelings came
rushing back, hitting him like his body hit the water. Change. His hands
changed to something inhuman in front of his eyes. He felt his body
shrivel up and recalled how confused and scared he'd been: drowning,
changing, scrambling for the surface, vulnerable, alone, so much
darkness, what's going on?!, help, where's my body??! Gargling bubbles
parodied the screams. The light shined through the water's surface,
slowly getting smaller and smaller. Going down, down, down, down...so far
away from the light. 
       Stop this! Stop this!
       *I'm only showing you the truth, how you felt.*
       Stop this, please!
       There was an abrupt tug on his collar, his head jerked forward as
his neck was pulled backwards to the surface. Choking, choking, couldn't
breathe, choking. So helpless, so weak, so helpless. Couldn't do
anything. Just like a powerless little animal not a strong martial
artist, so weak. The light got brighter and soon the heaviness of gravity
overcame Ryoga. Fresh air...could finally breathe!!
       Ryoga shuddered as he recollected the mess he had been in, unable
to think, just screaming and screaming to be let go, and only hearing a
horrible squealing sound, not a human voice, not his own voice. Just a
pathetic squeal.  But hadn't he become used to it? Obviously not, as he
flinched from the memory which polluted him.
       "Get me out of here, you think I don't know how horrible my curse
is??! How much I hate it?! How it changed my whole identity, made me an
object of mockery, even more than before??! How every insult Ranma made,
unable to apologise for his actions, lacerated me, added to my indefinite
humiliation!!" Ryoga shouted out to the sky, even though he knew only
pathetic pig cries came out.
       *Not completely...but now you do.*
       And so, the pig-body returned to human form and the view of
Jusenkyo fizzled away like a bad TV picture into the darkness of the
Tarturus-like nothingness. Breathing a short sigh of relief, Ryoga
stopped when he realised that there was more to come but still...he did
not feel ready to give up on life but only just...
      
*    *    *   *    *    *
       
       Heat wafted through the house - the air-conditioning was on full
speed but fighting a losing battle. 
       Taking a long sigh, Eve eased herself up from the sofa, even
though her rest was not complete. The problem with the memory spell that
Jaden had inflicted on Ryoga was that it didn't happen on the same
time-scale as Earth, for all she knew Ryoga had already chosen his fate.
Then again, he might not have even started the trawl through specially
selected, out-of-context, upsetting experiences with that horrible
drone-like voice going on and on. She knew it wasn't Eve's voice but that
hadn't helped her. Maybe it was for the best that she remembered
everything, however disturbing, so she had a chance to work out how to
help Ryoga.
      As Eve walked back to the storage room, she looked at her the skin
on her arms and legs - it was healing quite well, that rest had done her
much good. But Ryoga was the priority now, she would have it no other
way. Saving him was all she could think of.
      She opened the door on the storage room and saw that Ukyo had
turned on the light, leaving no shadows for her to steal a silent cry or
melancholy mood. Oh well, there were more important thing to worry about.
"Hello Ukyo."
      Ukyo was still sitting beside Ryoga but she had a wet cloth and was
dabbing Ryoga's feverish forehead with it. She turned to face Eve. "Where
have you been? It's been nearly an hour. Ran-chan'll be back soon."
      Eve kneeled beside Ryoga, also, her back to the door. "He figured
out my lie about twenty minutes ago, he should be home in the next
half-hour or so as he made a detour towards Ryoga's house. Akane is a few
feet from the front gate; she's quite worried about Ryoga and angry at
Ranma and me."
       The young chef stared at Eve for a few moments before realisation
dawned. "Oh, yeah, you're telepathic, must be nice." She continued to dab
Ryoga's forehead, even though it had cooled down.
       "I do read  people's conscious thoughts without permission. Only
if I have their permission or if there's no other choice do I look any
further into a person's psyche," Eve explained. "So, you have no need to
worry, I don't know your deepest, darkest secrets, it's only what someone
is thinking at that precise moment that I let myself read."
       "I'm not worried, I can take care of myself." Ukyo felt the need
to defend her dignity.
       "Whatever you say, Ukyo Kuonji," Eve smiled back. "I believe you.
Your aura reveals that much."
       "It's just Ukyo and...you can see my aura? You're full of
surprises," Ukyo grinned, but her heart was not totally in it. "You'll be
telling me that you can programme a VHS next."
        "Oh, I'm not that good, yet." She shared a small laugh with Ukyo.
"Nobody is...right, Akane?"
        "How did you..?" Akane asked, bemused and her mask of anger
faded. It was soon replaced with surprise as Eve turned around. "Are
you...her?" She thought back to the unrecognisable girl, lying in a coma
with burns making her anonymous, without identity. Glancing back at the
red-haired girl, who seemed to be of Kasumi's age, Akane studied the red
but healing face and suddenly the face of the girl in the coma - calm but
scarred - overlapped with the mysterious girl in front of her. The
beeping of the EKG monitor came back to her and echoed in her head but
then stopped abruptly.
        Eve smiled gently at her; sorrow in her bright, shining eyes.
"Yes, I am her: I'm Eve. I'm sorry you had to see a sight like that. And
I'm sorry you and Ukyo see Ryoga like this..." Her voice took a
determined tone; "I'll try to make sure that you don't have to see him
like this, ever again. I'll protect Ranma better - I promise."
        "Oh, Ryoga..." Akane looked past Eve to where a pale and peaceful
Ryoga lay on a futon, his eyes eerily wide open. "Is he...?"
        "Alive? Yes. Out of danger? Not yet," Eve bluntly answered. "If
you want to help Ryoga, could you phone Akari and get her to come here?"
        "Akari? But I don't know her number," Akane replied.
        Eve tossed her a small piece of paper. "Here it is. I could have
just put it in your head but I didn't think you would appreciate it."
        "Oh, right." Akane examined the number. "I'll do that just
now...to help Ryoga."
        "Don't worry, I am going to explain this whole situation once
Ranma gets back," Eve reported. Akane smiled nervously and left the room
hesitantly.
        Ukyo frowned at Eve. "Why didn't you ask me? I've been here an
hour."
        Eve cleared stray pieces of junk away to the side of the small
room. "I wanted Akari to be phoned by someone she knew."
        "I know Akari," Ukyo asserted, becoming bemused as Eve handed her
a small pillow. "She came in today to hand in that letter I gave to
Ryoga. We had quite an entertaining chat about him; pity she was about
to..." 
        "That wasn't Ryoga's girlfriend."
        "What? But, I-" 
        "When I mentioned Unryu's name..." Eve looked into her eyes,
gravely serious. "...Your mind contained a picture of the girl you met
with today. That wasn't Akari. Akari is Ryoga's age, for a start."
        "I thought she looked a bit old for Ryoga."
        "And Akari has long, black hair, not blonde hair."
        "Oh."
        "Could you put that pillow down beside Ryoga's head?" asked Eve.
"Thanks."     
        "What are we doing?" Ukyo looked genuinely confused as Eve
shifted objects and junk around into abstract patterns on the floor.
        "While I was resting, I was thinking of ways to help Ryoga and I
came up with an idea. Ah, that can go right there..." Putting the last
piece into place, she moved to one side of him, opposite Ukyo. "That's
the last ward into place. Now, we can start."
         "Start what? What is it with you and not wanting to answer my
questions?"
          Eve took Ukyo's hands, placing them firmly on the sides of his
head, damp with cold water from the cloth ... Hang on, Eve thought, cold
water on Ryoga and nothing? How odd - must be a side-effect of the memory
spell. "You want to know what we're doing? Trying to save Ryoga from his
past, unpleasant memories he was forced to live through, again - that's
what. Now keep your hands there. Now..." Eve leaned over Ryoga, meeting
his empty eyes with her own and put one hand behind his neck. "Slowly rub
the sides like this...and only stop if his neck jerks in any way. Got
it?"
          "Could you tell me what's happened to him? You haven't told me
why he's like this!"
          "Quick summary, then," Eve asserted, taking her intense stare
off Ryoga's eyes. "He is in a coma of sorts where he is forced to relive
all the bad memories in his life and there is a voice that encourages him
to end his life. Ryoga can die without moving a muscle; he can commit
mind death in which his body just stops working. What I'm going to do is
to try and get into his mind, which is blocked, by intense psychic
invasion."
           "Okay..." Ukyo unsurely replied, "how do you know what's
happening to him with this memory spell thing."
           "Because I went through it three years ago," Eve stated
distantly, her voice almost steady. She looked back at Ryoga's eyes,
black and deep, and stared trying
to get past the barriers, concentrating intensely. She blanked out any
background noise and her eyes, the shining sky blue, became brighter as
they dilated. Was this going to work, what was she going to see? Only
mind would tell...

*    *    *    *    *    *

	Ryoga stared at the inky liquid that surrounded him, flowing like oil
around his body. Once again, he was stuck in this desolate dimension and
soon more harsh memories would weigh upon him. Reaching out to this mass,
his shaky hands withdrew suddenly as pure white started to infect the
blackness, struggling against the darkness. Within the swirls of candy
white curled dribbles of blood red that pushed the black farther and
farther away. He watched on in stunned surprise as eyes warped from
traces of the white and red with unnerving accuracy. They bored right
into his and he flinched at the pain hidden in them.
	"Ryoga, are you there?" a new feminine voice, as smooth as melted
chocolate, called to him. "Ryoga, don't go. Ryoga! Don't listen to the
voice...it's lying, lying!! If you can hear me, please reply!"  
	He couldn't think, captivated by the intense eyes and they way they
seemed to see right through him, into him. His eyes went black as dark
mist scattered over his pupils and clouded his vision.
	"I...I...can't see! I can't see! Someone help me!"
	"Ryoga, listen to me, it's an illusion..."
	"I can't see! I'm blind!!"        
	"I'm here to help you. Please listen."
	"My eyes, my eyes, did you do this?!"
            "I'm here to get you out."
	"Why?! Why?! Why did you do this to me?!"
            "I didn't!" 
	"Yes, you did, the voice said so. It just told me."
            "No, it's lying! Ryoga, I want to get you out of here
before- "
	"Before what?! Before I commit suicide?! Is that how little you think of
me, how everyone thinks!!"
	"Ryoga..."
	"No! I don't want you here!" he shrieked. With a strange sparkle in his
clouded eyes, Ryoga drew back his fist and thrust it into one of the
surprised eyes, tearing through it. The eye fragmented like a shattered
window and pieces fell into the abyss. But some backlashed and were
strewn across his face and raked like a searing hot liquid across his
bare skin. "Yow!" The smoke in his eyes dissipated and Ryoga stared
bemused at his stained fist and the rapidly healing hole in the black
wall that surrounded him. Straining his ears, he thought he heard the
last, fading echoes of a scream belonging to a voice that was familiar
but distant. What had just happened?

*    *    *    *    *    *

         Ranma and Akane came, looked and left, Kasumi brought food and
drinks, Akari was coming tomorrow and Ukyo didn't move from where she
was. Night fell over Nerima and Ukyo reluctantly fell asleep as Eve's
mission seemed to drag on for hours and hours ... Her eyes closed against
her will and her hands dropped away from Ryoga's head as her sleepy head
drooped over his chest. 
          She snapped her eyes open as a short, piercing shriek snapped
into her mind. She lifted her head up to see Eve with her head bowed
forward and her hands covering her eyes, crying.  It was so dark in the
spare room but when Eve removed a hand from one of her eyes, its
illuminance lighted her face like a small, weak candle. 
          "What's wrong?" a dozy Ukyo asked. 
          "N-nothing, just go back to sleep." Eve's voice was steady but
forced.
          Ukyo peered at Eve's face and noticed one hand still covered an
eye. Some sort of liquid dribbled from in-between her long fingers,
winding a torturous, slow path down her hand and arm. 
          "Go to sleep, Ukyo, I'm fine."             
          Switching on a lamp she'd borrowed from Kasumi, Ukyo caught a
glimpse of Eve's face before an inward explosion shattered the lamp. 
        "Jeez, your eye's bleeding!!" the young chef cried in shock.
        Eve put a finger to her lips and 'shushed' her frantically.
"Don't wake everyone!" she whispered fiercely. "I'll be perfectly fine, I
can take this."
        "But...your eye." Ukyo pointed at it shakily. "What happened?"
        "I reached Ryoga but he freaked and...this happened," Eve sighed,
her hair slicked back over her shoulder as she lifted her head up and
turned away from Ukyo's questioning eyes. "Please don't ask any more
about this, you're better off not knowing." Eve shuddered inwardly as she
remembered fighting back that bleak shroud that was obviously a
manifestation of Ryoga's soul. Even darker than hers, it was so vile and
yet pathetic that Eve wondered if she missed something about Ryoga that
Jaden had inflicted upon him. What could've done this to someone who used
to have some lightness in his soul, albeit a small light? She could
almost taste the black liquid crawling over her and how dirty it had made
her feel, how dirty she still felt, now. And it wasn't the memory spell
that had done it to him, she sensed it in the liquid.
        "Do you want something for that eye?" Ukyo interrupted her
thoughts.
        "No need to worry, it was painful but it heals quickly. The wound
should be gone in less than hour."
        "You sure I can get some sleep? Don't you need company?"
        "No," Eve affirmed gently. "As the eye heals, I shall think of
another way to help to Ryoga. I'm quite used to being alone."
        "Only if you're sure..."
        "Oh, don't worry, you can go back to sleeping on Ryoga's chest if
you want," Eve bluntly replied while grinning.
        "What??! I-I was?!!" Ukyo gasped. With her night vision, Eve
watched the teenager's cheeks blush a deep red.
        "Quite comfortable and lovely, I imagine."
        "I-I!" Ukyo began to calm down as she caught the grin on Eve's
shaded face. "Y'know, it was nice and firm." 
        "Oh, really?" Eve smiled as she saw that Ukyo's mind had
been taken off the bleeding eye. It was going to be an arduous day ahead
of them, they would need all the humour they could grasp... 

       ...The morning began with the burst of bright, rapid sunrise.
People woke up in their beds, drenched with sweat and hungering for a
drink. In one particular house and dojo in Nerima, Tokyo, one girl 
enjoyed a lie-in, too tired to wake and partly sheltered from the 
wafting heat by the lack of windows in her makeshift bedroom. 
But the claustrophobia of the enclosed, small room also trapped
 the heat like an oven, slowly baking those inside it. 
      A fully clothed and baking Ukyo was lying on a crumpled blanket on
the hard, uncarpeted floor a couple of feet from Ryoga. With no cool,
cotton pillow she hugged the white blanket as if it was her favourite
teddy bear. Her face was nuzzled happily in the dusty but comfy and soft
material of the blanket. Her long, shiny hair lay sprawled untidily
around her and she softly sighed in her sleep. Sparkles of slight sweat
shimmered on her smooth, bare skin and enticed slips of her hair to stick
against her moist neck and face.
      Murmuring to herself, she rolled over to her other side to come
right up to the unconscious lost boy, catching the edge of his pillow.
She then cuddled it, her warm breath settling on the edges of his cheeks.
     The click of a light switch roused her from sleep and she rubbed
her eyes awake, moaning, "I need summore sleep. Go 'way, daddy."
      "Hey, Ucchan, had a good night's sleep?" chuckled a familiar,
playful voice.
      "Hmm?" mumbled Ukyo drowsily. She opened her eyes and blinked in
disbelief at the sight of Ryoga's pale cheek. "Wha..??" Her cheeks
burning red, Ukyo flinched away and scrambled away, hampered by the
cushion wrapped around her. She sat up jerkily and stared in horror at
the open doorway where a grinning, gorgeous Ranma stood with crutches,
accidentally posing in his usual red Chinese vest and trousers. Once,
when she slept in Tendo's or when Ranma had slept at hers, she
would get up early just to see if Ranma had still to get dressed.
Unhappily, he was in both places. But at this moment, none of that
mattered. 
      "I...I ... It's not what you think! He-he's..." she stuttered,
pointing at a still Ryoga and then at herself. "I...I didn't do anything!
I...don't know h-how I got to..." She bowed her head, shadowing her
shameful face with her tangled web of hair. "...Over there," she
whispered. "Oh, please don't misunderstand this!"  
      "Hey, no need to get bent outta joint," Ranma replied warmly,
flicking his ponytail back. "I was just joking. I know you probably had a
rough night, so s'alright." Before Ukyo could hold a mini-celebration in
her head over Ranma showing her affection, he decided to continue: "Hey,
what's that piece of paper on the floor and where'd that Eve girl go
to?" 
      Noticing the lack of Eve, Ukyo frowned and looked back up at Ranma.
"I don't know; isn't she in the house?" Ukyo reached over and picked up
the envelope.
      "Well, I just had some breakfast, did a little training in the Dojo
and had a bath; I didn't see her anywhere."
      "Maybe this'll explain it." Greasing the envelope with her moist,
sweaty hands, Ukyo realised how hot it was. If it wasn't for the sheen of
sweat glistening on both Ranma and Ryoga, Ukyo would have put it down to
her seeing the pigtailed but handsome martial artist. She took out the
small note inside the makeshift envelope and read it, at first with a
frown and then with a little happiness. 
      A curious Ranma kneeled down beside her with difficulty and read
the letter, oblivious to her increased heartbeat at his proximity and his
intoxicating smell. He read the letter, still in Ukyo's hands, out loud:
"To Ukyo. Sorry for leaving you but I've to go help Akari. Don't worry,
I'll take care of it, it's just a safeguard - Man, her handwriting
reminds me of Ryoga's - From Eve." His finger brushed down the letter to
where a 'PS' lay. "By the way Ukyo, keep a close eye on Ryoga and Ranma.
Watch them carefully and if something strange happens, just scream for
help in your head..." He tossed the piece of paper away, not as overjoyed
as the young, besotted chef obviously was. "What a weird letter she wrote
... I can take care of myself."
      "But...Ran-chan? She's only trying to help."
      "I don't take orders," he grumbled, troubled.
      "She didn't order you to do anything," Ukyo countered, her
heartbeat steadying as she pondered her fiancee's moody behaviour.  She
looked into his eyes seriously, trying to stay serious and not go
gooey-eyed but a small smile crept along her face, anyway. "What's up
with you today?"   
       "Nothing, I'm just not gonna stay in this cramped room all day,
waiting for her to come back. I don't need _her_  holier-than-thou help."
       A genuinely confused Ukyo tried to think of a time Eve had
appeared self-superior. "Ran-chan, why don't you like her? You seem to
get on with her okay yesterday."
       He broke eye-contact and rested his head one of his hands holding
the crutches, brooding. "I don't know, she seems genuine enough...but
there's just something about her that isn't right. I just got this
strange feelin' about Eve."
      "What kind of feeling, Ranma?" a jealous voice crowed. Ukyo and
Ranma snapped their heads up to face an angry Akane, practically fuming
at the door. Unconsciously, they stumbled back and stood up quickly and
Ranma, very nervously. "What do you feel for her, huh? And why are you so
near to Ukyo?"
      "Hey, A-Akane, did you...aheh...had a good night's sleep?" Ranma
rambled, the right words fleeing for safety into the back of his
choked-up throat.
      "Well?!"

End of chapter 5.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not the biggest of cliffhangers, I know, and I was going to write more
but I decided that what I had planned would be better starting off the
next chapter because it doesn't really belong in this one. I hope I'm
making a little sense. Oh, and if anyone can give me any detailed info
about where and what like Akari's farm is, I'd be real grateful.
As always comments and criticism (but hopefully more of the former than
the latter) welcome. :)
Easy cut-and-paste C&C for those who don't have time to spare (inspired
by an author named PHOOsun):
1) I hate this story! It sucks! (because...?) 
2) I couldn't care less what happened either way.
3) I like this story. :) 
4) I like this story but it needs improvement with regard to X (i.e.
characterisation, action, atmosphere, grammar).
5) I volunteer to be your pre-reader and don't worry, I'm good at
waiting, _really_ good. 
6) I volunteer to be your pre-reader for grammar and punctuation as I'm
good at that part of C&C.
7) Um...anything else you can think of.