BLISS

                                part 1

                               a fic by

                     Mike Loader and Lara Bartram

                           ***   ***   ***

	She woke up as another wave washed over her. Sitting up 
slowly, her entire body screamed at the effort, her muscles stiff, 
her skin dry. Opening her eyes brought its own agony as the light 
assaulted her vision and salt and sand stung her.
	Another wave washed over her, splashing her gently in the 
face, causing her to sputter. Salt water. Ocean water. She looked 
out at what was in front of her and could only stare. Water. Lots 
of it. An ocean. And she was...
	Looking around, she was nowhere. Some beach, somewhere, no 
place she recognized, seemingly sitting on the edge of forever, 
the limitless expanse of blue before her. Far off into the 
distance, the ocean and the sky seemed to merge, becoming a single 
massive entity, making her feel like she was the only person in a 
great blue void.
	She felt... awful. She must have been passed out on the 
beach for days because exposed skin, and there was quite a bit of 
it, was angry red, sunburned. Her lips felt dead, dried out, and 
she was intensely hungry. Possibly worse was how dry her mouth 
was. Water... She desperately needed water.
	Standing was a struggle. She felt weak all over and hoped 
that it was only temporary. If it wasn't, she just might end up 
dying on the lonely beach and becoming nothing more than a dried 
out husk. And she wouldn't allow that to happen to herself.
	Forcing herself to stand and to look away from the endless 
blue, she looked at the land behind herself. Jungle. Alien. Green 
and lush, and it looked hot, while the blue had at least looked 
cool. Maybe it would be better to just wander out into the blue 
and relax. The green looked so much tougher to handle.
	Yes, the blue looked better. She was about to turn and head 
into that blue, the cool, refreshing blue that would soothe her 
pain, when she heard it. A moan from somewhere nearby. At the edge 
of the green, hidden partially by shade and a fallen tree...
	Stumbling as much as walking, she approached the mystery, 
unable to even care if there might be danger involved. The only 
thing she did care about was that she might not be alone. And 
indeed, waiting on the ground, moving feebly, was another person. 
A young man.
 
	Somehow, she managed to drag him back among the green, but 
in the comforting shade. Sitting next to him, basking in the 
slight coolness of the shade, away from the killing sun, she knew 
she couldn't allow herself to fall asleep. She might not wake up. 
But food... And water. And the young man.
 
	When she opened her eyes again, there was darkness. Maybe 
she was dead, but she didn't think so. There was still so much 
oppressive heat, and she was still hungry, and so thirsty.
	"Drink this," a tired sounding voice said.
	Something rough was placed at her lips and tilted, sending 
something wet and cold impacting with her lips. The sensation 
almost made her cry out, but she greedily began to slurp at the 
liquid.
	"Not so fast," the voice said. "You'll get sick."
	She didn't care. The feeling of that cold liquid was enough 
for the moment. Whether she could actually stomach it or not was 
not an issue. It felt good against her dried lips and washing over 
her parched gums and tongue. And down her throat... She had 
suddenly been transported to heaven.
	Moments later, she was doubled over, retching it up, her 
stomach refusing the offering as too much, too fast. The act of 
vomiting was almost too much for her to handle and it felt like 
she might faint again, but something wet and cold was placed 
against her forehead and that seemed to bring her back to reality.
	After she recovered, the cold liquid was offered again, and 
this time, she sipped it. Her stomach gurgled ominously, but 
decided not to reject the liquid that was offered. Sighing with 
relief, she leaned back and relaxed as the cold cloth was passed 
across her forehead again. "Thank you," she said weakly, her whole 
body feeling drained.
	The cloth was removed, but the offered liquid remained. 
"You're welcome."
	She turned to see the face of the speaker and discovered the 
young man that she had found on the beach sitting behind her, 
supporting her. He was wiping his neck with the cloth he had torn 
from his shirt, his face looking as tired as she felt.
	"Drink more if you think you can hold it," he offered.
	Nodding, she turned and looked at exactly what was being 
offered. It was some sort of dried out gourd maybe, or shell of 
something like a coconut. It was filled with cold, clear, sweet, 
refreshing water. Not pausing again, she drank the rest of it 
down, spilling some out of the sides. Once it was drained, she 
lowered the vessel and wiped her mouth on the back of her arm. 
"Where'd you get this water?" she asked.
	"A river, not very far away. It empties into the ocean." His 
answer was simple and concise.
	She was about to wonder aloud why she hadn't thought to look 
for anything, but then, she hadn't been totally conscious. "I'm 
hungry," she said instead. If he had found water, maybe he had 
food too.
	"Now that you're awake, I'll look for something." He draped 
the cloth over her shoulder and started to stand, so slowly like 
he was an old man, pulling away from the girl.
	She started to stand as well, wondering if it was a mistake 
as her legs almost immediately collapsed beneath her.
	"Don't try to stand. Wait here. You're not in shape to be 
wandering around like that. Rest. There's more water if you need 
it." His voice was so sincere, so serious.
	She nodded. "I'll wait here." It was actually surprising 
that she could even speak at all, but that water had done all the 
wonder in the world for her. Even though her throat still hurt, 
she could at least manage words without sounding like she was part 
frog.
	"I think I saw some sort of fruit by the river. I'll see 
what I can find."
	She watched him move off into the darkness and wondered 
absently who he was. Maybe she'd find that out once she could 
remember who she was.
 
	She was asleep when he returned, though she looked peaceful 
this time, not the fitful half sleep she had been in before. He 
set the bananas he had managed to pull down in the sand and sat 
next to the sleeping girl.
	He noted that she had finished off the water he had left and 
was clutching the still damp cloth to her chest. Thankfully she 
was breathing evenly, deeply, and her skin was cooler to the touch 
than it had been when he had awakened to find her sprawled out in 
the sand.
	Whoever she was, she was strong. The condition she had been 
in... she probably should have been dead. The only thing that had 
saved him from death was the fact that he had been in some shade. 
Some investigating had revealed where the girl had been, 
apparently unconscious on the beach, right out in the open. The 
print of her body hadn't quite been washed away by the waves.
	He couldn't recall a name for her, but she must have been 
some sort of acquaintance. Maybe. Not that it mattered since they 
were the only two people around it seemed.
	Gently moving the girl to an area he hoped would be shaded 
then sitting next to her again, he grabbed one of the green 
bananas and peeled it. Eating it slowly, he pondered what could 
have happened to put the two of them on the beach together. The 
fact that he couldn't remember anything didn't help either.
	There had been no sign of wreckage, nothing that might 
reveal how they had gotten there or gave any hope that there might 
be more people on the island. He hadn't gone far from the beach to 
positively say that there was no other human life there, but he 
could guess.
	Either way, once the girl was healthy enough, once he was 
for that matter, they would make sure to explore the island to 
their satisfaction. He didn't want to live on a diet of bananas 
alone.
	Finishing the banana and discarding the peel, he reclined in 
the sand and stared at the sky. The stars were familiar enough to 
see, but they looked strange otherwise. He knew one thing: he was 
very far away from home.
 
	The images in her dream were vague, but unsettling. Lots of 
people with hazy faces and names she couldn't remember were all 
around her. There was something huge, something evil there as 
well, and it caused her to tremble. Then there was brightness, a 
light of such strength she didn't think possible. And then 
nothing.
	Waking up was a nightmare in itself. All her memories were 
gone, simply vanished. She had no idea why, she had no idea where 
she was, she had no idea about anything except that she was pretty 
damn miserable.
	Sitting up slowly, already sweating in the heat, she looked 
out from under the plants. Hoping to see something, anything, her 
meager hopes fell when she saw the blue staring back at her. 
Nothing.
	She wanted to cry, wanted to cry at the unfairness of the 
world and yell and scream her hatred out. But something inside her 
would not allow such a weak show of emotion. Something inside her 
prevented her from losing her control so utterly.
	So instead, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying 
to somehow flush the bitterness from her body. Surprisingly, it 
worked, and while she was still angry, she felt under control. 
Exhaling heavily, she opened her eyes and prepared to...
	A small smile made its way to her face when she saw the 
dried out gourd filled with water and a bunch of bananas. She 
would have to remember to thank her companion, whoever he was. And 
he was indeed her companion in this little adventure. Until she 
figured out what was going on, she would need to rely on him.
	That was when her hunger reappeared in full force. Hands 
suddenly shaking, she grabbed the bananas, even foregoing the 
water, and broke one off. She peeled it as quickly as she could, 
it almost falling from her hand, and once the peel was gone, 
practically shoved the entire thing into her mouth at once.
	She didn't taste it, didn't need to because she was already 
peeling the second one. He had left her half a dozen, and within 
minutes, they were all gone. For the time, her hunger had been 
partially satisfied. She would need more food shortly, but for 
now...
	She picked up the water and drank it down, appreciating it 
differently than the way she had last night. It had been life 
then, but now, it was a simple joy. Her body practically sang with 
health as she downed it, and she knew she wouldn't need to 
consider wandering off into that field of blue again.
	Her quest to stand wasn't as bad this time, her legs had 
some strength to them, but she was still a bit wobbly. Yet, to be 
standing and not feel like her legs were rubber... She sighed with 
relief. For some reason, the idea that she might not be able to 
stand again had passed through her mind. That kind of weakness, 
she would rather die than live with.
	"Good, you're awake."
	She looked over and saw her companion walking out of the 
greenery with an armful of fruit.
	She waved at him tentatively, not sure what to say. She 
didn't know his name, what kind of person he was... The only thing 
she knew is that he had saved her with that water. "Hi," she said 
simply.
	"Are you still hungry?" he asked, noting the pile of banana 
peels.
	"Yeah, I think I am. And I... Um..." She blushed, not sure 
how to put it delicately. Or at least so she wouldn't embarrass 
herself.
	He looked at her strangely for a moment, then understanding 
dawned on his face. I will fetch more water until..." He trailed 
off, unsure how to finish. Instead of prolonging the awkward 
moment, he set down the different fruits he had collected, picked 
up the gourd and headed for the river.
	Sighing with relief, not sure exactly what she was so 
nervous about, she went a bit into the trees to do her business.
 
	"Here, you've got a cut on your arm." She kneeled behind him 
as he was eating a fruit with red skin and sweet meat. It was on 
the back of his arm where he hadn't noticed, and was already angry 
red. There wasn't anything she could do to help heal it, but she 
could bandage it just in case.
	She tore one of the sleeves off her shirt and wrapped it 
around his arm, then tied it snugly. "There. That should help a 
little."
	"Thank you. More water?" he offered.
	She nodded and accepted the gourd, almost pulling her hand 
away when their fingers brushed against one another innocently. 
She blushed and took the gourd, avoiding looking in his eyes. 
Sipping the water, she looked out at the ocean, the waves lapping 
at the beach in a hypnotic rhythm.
	"I think that we should make an effort to explore this 
island before we... give up. What if we sat here and there was 
some sort of resort on the other side?" he suggested, looking 
behind himself at the rather daunting looking jungle.
	Nodding, she said, "Yeah. I don't know how much longer I can 
look at this beach before..." And that hopeless blue void.
	"Agreed. With no sign of wreckage, I can't believe that any 
sort of rescue party will be out here looking for us." He looked 
over at his companion, hoping he wasn't being too nihilistic. "Are 
you feeling well enough to walk possibly a long distance?"
	"I think so. I just needed some water and something to eat. 
I'm feeling a lot better now." She finished off the water in three 
large gulps and stood up abruptly. No, she couldn't stand looking 
at that blue any longer. "Well?" she asked, looking down at the 
young man.
	He looked up at her, rather surprised. "You mean... Now?"
	She nodded, a confident smile on her face. "I want to get 
away from this beach, the ocean. I'm ready... Now."
	"Then, I guess we go." He finished the piece of fruit he was 
eating and stood up, brushing the sand off his tattered clothing. 
"It might be best to follow the river since we have no way of 
carrying fresh water," he suggested.
	"Good idea. We'll probably see animals along the river too. 
Maybe we can catch some." As her body felt refreshed, her mind did 
too. It was quickly coping with the reality of the situation and 
trying to think of ways they could survive.
 
	It was hot and humid, but the trees shaded the two from the 
sun. They were lucky in that respect as they were both without any 
sort of covering for their heads. That was the greatest danger now 
as they followed the river upstream, deeper into the jungle.
	The two didn't talk, the only noise coming from them was the 
heat-labored breathing as they made their way through the brush. 
Footing was slippery with the muddy ground and fallen leaves, 
causing the two to often cling to trees to keep from falling or 
going into the river.
	There was one point, a small waterfall, where the two were 
making their way up the large stones that made a natural stairway, 
that something... odd happened.
	"Watch your footing. These rocks are slippery," he warned as 
he slowly climbed onto the next rock. He looked back briefly.
	"I know." She was concentrating on her feet, the trees 
overhead casting partial shadows on the wet rocks, making footing 
even more treacherous. She swore under her breath as her foot 
slipped and she momentarily lost her balance.
	He looked back at her quickly. "Are you OK?" He took another 
step, meaning to plant his foot on the next rock, but missed. His 
foot slid off the side, and he was suddenly teetering backwards, 
about to plunge to the shallow water and rocks below.
	Looking up at the sudden movement of flailing arms, she was 
frozen. Frozen for a heartbeat while her mind determined just what 
she could do to save him. Her body acting on its own, her legs 
propelled her upward where her hand latched on to an overhanging 
branch. The momentum swung her forward where she was somehow able 
to grab her companion's hand. She turned her body in mid-swing and 
let go of the branch, landing lightly on her feet on solid ground 
and pulling him with her.
	He was jerked forward where he tripped over a protruding 
root of the same life-saving tree and tumbled into his savior. The 
two of them fell to the ground, chest to chest, him on top of her, 
their faces inches apart.
	They stayed in that position, each of them genuinely 
surprised, before it suddenly occurred to him what was pressing 
into his chest and he scrambled to remove himself.
	Breathing heavily, but not because of the heat, he stood up 
and backed away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
	Standing up not as quickly, slightly winded from the fall, 
the hero of the moment brushed herself off even though there 
wasn't anything on her. "It's..." She started shaking her head. 
"No problem. Don't worry about it." She exhaled a bit shakily and 
laughed a little.
	"Whoo. That was a close call, wasn't it?" she said loudly, 
looking up and smiling.
	"Yeah," he answered, looking back at what he would have 
landed on if she hadn't caught him, "it was. Thanks again."
	Trembling a little, she tentatively patted his arm. "We've 
got to stick together, right? I didn't want to lose you so soon."
	"I didn't want to be lost so soon." He was standing, but he 
wasn't sure his feet would allow themselves to be lifted from the 
ground at the moment. One of the most surprising things, besides 
the amazing show of athleticism, was the way his companion, his... 
friend? It was the confidence she was showing.
	When she had first awakened, he had been so afraid that she 
would be helpless, useless, expecting to be catered to, but she 
was showing herself to be much different. She seemed more capable 
than him, only hindered by her injuries. There was no doubt that 
when she was recovered, he would be hard-pressed to find anything 
in which she needed his help.
	"We should keep going," she said, interrupting his thoughts. 
She looked up the river, the path it was cutting partially 
obscured by trees, and nodded. "At the speed this water is 
traveling, there's probably some pretty sizable hills at least."
	"You're right. Maybe going to a higher elevation will get us 
out of this heat a little." Thankfully, his body was convinced it 
was back on solid ground and was ready to get moving again. "Maybe 
we should keep a little farther from the river this time," he 
offered.
	"Yeah, the footing'll be better, but the plants..."
	He was already coming up with a minor solution. He broke off 
a sizable branch, the wood still moist and green, and pulled off 
the branches. "This'll work a little. Better than nothing," he 
said smiling, looking at the implement he was holding.
	"Now we've got a plan... Some plan." She snorted and kicked 
a rock into the river.
 
	The pair followed the river, but this time, they were at a 
safer distance. The brush wasn't as thick as they had feared, and 
only the occasional tall bush got in their way. The sturdy whip-
like branch being used to clear such nuisance vegetation was 
working quite well.
	"That was a pretty good move you did back there. Are you a 
gymnast or something?" he asked, whacking some leaves aside.
	"I don't know. It felt like my hand was going to slip off 
that branch the entire time." It wasn't saying much, but that was 
the most afraid she could remember being.
	He shook his head, and she knew it was with disbelief, maybe 
a little awe. "Like I said, it was a good move. Great, actually... 
Uh..."
	"What is it?"
	"I was just wondering... what should I call you? I feel kind 
of uncomfortable not even knowing your name," he said, pausing for 
a moment.
	"Oh." She tried to dig up something, anything from her 
memory that might tell her who she was, but there was only a 
maddening blank. She growled with frustration. "I can't remember!"
	He blinked. "You too?"
	Oh no. "Don't tell me you can't remember anything either..."
	To her dismay, he shook his head. "I remember waking up on 
the beach, and smelling the ocean, and wondering why I was here. 
Everything before that..." He shrugged. "I feel like a newborn 
babe, save that I can talk and walk."
	She sighed. "Damn. I was hoping that maybe you knew who I 
was, or what we're doing here." Again she tried to seize the 
memories, and again found only an unnatural hole, like a tongue 
probing a missing tooth. "I guess... well, I know what we're 
speaking is Japanese, so that's probably where we're from."
	Frowning slightly, he stared at her. "I do think I know you. 
There's something just out of reach..."
	...no! i won't let it hurt aka...
	He blinked, shook his head slightly.
	...i lo...why does she hate me...no! akan...
	"Akane?" he said, hesitantly. "Are you Akane?"
	Her eyes widened. "Akane... Akane..." The word had meaning, 
it was important, it fit her...
	...akane, teased a male voice, uncute tomboy...
	"That must be me," she said wonderingly. "I'm Akane." The 
sound of the name was strangely comforting, and she repeated it 
again. "Akane. I have a name."
	"I'm happy for you," the boy replied, amused. "It suits you. 
Fiery."
	She stuck her tongue out at him. "So what do I call you, Mr. 
Nameless?"
	Shrugging, the boy slashed at another stand of vegetation 
with the stick. "I don't know. But if I know who you are, it would 
stand to reason that you know who I am."
	That made sense. Frowning, she concentrated on his face, 
trying to fit the image to the hole in her mind, trying to call it 
back...
	...why you! i'll...
	...ranm...
	She shook her head, a wave of dizziness washing over her. "I 
think we were sorta friends, but we weren't. You liked me, but you 
didn't. I can't... it's hard to tell."
	He glanced back at her, slicing away more foliage as he did. 
"If I was your friend, do you remember a name? Someone who was 
your friend, who was angry and not angry at you?"
	...friends...
	...uk...no! no!...
	...no! don't! not for me! no! my fault!...
	...ukyo!....
	"Ukyo," she gasped, sweat streaming down her brow. "Ukyo, 
jumped in front of me, I fell, jumped in front of me..."
	His eyes widened, the name echoing in his ears, the 
description rising from his mind...
	...no! hellthing, i won't let you hurt aka...
	...dived in front of her, weapon raised, burning searing 
flame pain screaming...
	"Yes... yes... I jumped in... you didn't want me to..."
	"Ukyo..."
	The name surfaced again, with some great feeling tied to it. 
"I suppose I am. Ukyo. Yes." It sounded good in his ears, now that 
he said it. "A fine name for a man." He frowned, feeling something 
wrong with the statement, then shrugged. "I'm Ukyo, of the Ku..." 
He blinked, the word slipping away. "Of something," he finished 
lamely.
	They stared at each other for almost a minute, pale and 
shaking.
	"There was some sort of fight," Akane said slowly.
	Ukyo nodded. "I don't remember much." He shuddered. "I do 
not really wish to, at the moment. I think perhaps we should 
continue exploring."
	She nodded. "Anything to get off this smelly rock. If I have 
to have no memory, I could at least be somewhere comfortable, damn 
it."
	Chuckling, Ukyo swung again, looking back at Akane as he 
did. "This certainly is no..."
	"Ukyo!"
	He stopped, alarmed. "What?"
	Akane said nothing, just pointed to the tree that was slowly 
toppling over. The tree he had just sliced in half. With a stick.
	Slowly, Ukyo looked down at the branch he held.
	"What... how did you..."
	He shook his head. "I... I don't know..."
	"Whoa," was all Akane said in response.
	"Um..." The uncertainty in Ukyo's voice was obvious. "Maybe 
we should... just keep going." He was giving Akane a weak smile, 
but she was still staring at the stick in his hand.
	Feeling suddenly self-conscious, he dropped the stick to his 
side, drawing her attention back up to his face. "Let's go," he 
said a little more harshly than he meant to. Turning, he ignored 
the fallen tree in his path and started walking.
	"Whoa," Akane said again quietly before following.
 
	They followed the river until it started to get dark. 
Neither feat that had been performed earlier was repeated, and 
each of them was secretly happy at that. Something so... so 
freakish was unnerving.
	Akane openly watched Ukyo to see if he might repeat whatever 
he had done before. He seemed to treat the incident like it hadn't 
even happened, but Akane knew there was something more to him than 
what she could see.
	Sometimes, when she was watching him, she would catch him 
looking back at her. When their eyes would meet, he would quickly 
look away, turning his attention back to the path they were 
cutting through the vegetation.
	For some reason, this brought a small, secretive smile to 
Akane's lips. She wasn't sure why, but those stolen glances were 
things she found a little scandalous, a little daring, and 
quite... exciting.
	"I think we should stop for the night," Ukyo said, leaning 
against a tree, the stick still held tightly in his hand, like it 
was fused with his flesh.
	Looking around doubtfully, Akane shook her head slightly. 
"Right here?" she asked.
	"Unless you have a better suggestion." It was evident that 
Ukyo was taken a bit aback at her rebelliousness.
	Akane looked around, then eyed a tree. "I think I do."
	Ukyo's knuckles turned white as he gripped the stick. 
Whatever Akane was planning, it couldn't be safe.
	Tentatively hugging the tree's trunk, Akane looked up, then 
with ability that seemed inherited from a double jointed monkey, 
she shimmied up the tree. At the top, she surveyed the area 
through the trees.
	"There! A little bit up the river, it looks like a clearing 
or something," she called down. Peering down at Ukyo, she 
continued, "I think it'd be better if we went to the clearing 
instead of stopping here."
	Barely able to see her face up in the tree, Ukyo nodded. 
"OK. You can come down now," he said nervously.
	"Right." Instead of climbing back down, Akane untangled 
her legs from the leaves and stubby branches so they were hanging 
in mid- air. Lowering herself slowly, gripping the same branches 
tightly, Akane began to drop from the tree.
	Seeing this, Ukyo started waving his hands, actually setting 
the stick down. "Don't do that! You're going to..."
	Akane released her hold and dropped down, almost landing 
right on Ukyo. She landed on her feet with a small grunt of 
exertion, but Ukyo crumpled to the ground, groaning.
	"Oh... Oh crap." Akane kneeled down next to Ukyo and patted 
his cheek "Ukyo? Ukyo, are you OK?"
	"Yuh... yeah. I'm fine. Just caught me by surprise." He sat 
up slowly, rubbing his head a little.
	"Are you sure you're not hurt?"
	"No, really, I'm fine." He got to his feet, Akane helping 
him, and grabbed his stick again. Receiving a curious look from 
Akane, he shrugged. "I just feel better with it." He hefted it 
experimentally. "It doesn't feel quite right, but a weapon in my 
hand..."
	Akane nodded. At the moment, she was thinking how a weapon 
in her hand might feel better. "Why don't we get going. I don't 
feel comfortable in this jungle when it's getting dark like this."
	Nodding and recovering his breath, his stick held 
comfortably if a tad awkwardly, Ukyo set out with Akane at his 
side.
	They walked for 15 minutes more, the sky darkening overhead, 
stars taking the place of the glaring sun, until they reached the 
mysterious clearing. And mysterious it was. But maybe more like... 
unnatural than mysterious.
	There simply wasn't any natural way for a clearing of the 
sort the two were standing at the edge of to exist and actually 
maintain itself in a jungle. It should have lasted for maybe a 
month before it was completely over grown, but here...
	There was an easy way to tell that the strange clearing was 
considerably older than it should have been, and that was the 
large pillar that was sitting in the middle of it. Even from 75 
feet away, it was obviously ancient, looking just like a prop from 
a movie.
	It was formed from some sort of dark gray stone, one giant, 
unbroken piece, and it had been brutally weathered, that much was 
obvious. But the most telling thing about it, the one thing that 
told them the clearing was older than it should be was that the 
stone was bleached, sun bleached.
	It was easy to tell the stone's original tone had been very 
dark, but sitting in the sun, day after day, even it couldn't 
resist and had lightened under the constant rays.
	"What's that?" Akane asked in a whisper. Why she was 
whispering, she didn't know, but it seemed appropriate.
	"I don't know. It's... It's..."
	Akane nodded. It was eerie, the way it had such a dramatic 
presence even in the darkness. She had a weird feeling that the 
night was when its presence would be most powerful, only muted by 
the sun. "I'm not sure this was a good idea." She was getting the 
weird feeling, like a wave of invisible goosebumps, that they were 
being watched, like the night was alive and watching them.
	"It'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about." And he knew 
it was the truth, but he sure didn't feel that way.
	The night did have eyes and it was most definitely watching 
the two. It watched them with multiple pairs of yellow, feral eyes 
that moved with the speed of the wind and with the same stealth.
	Akane and Ukyo slept fitfully in the mooncast shadow of the 
pillar, unaware of the encroaching danger. If Ukyo hadn't been a 
light sleeper, they possibly both would have been dead before they 
could have further considered their chances of rescue.
	Upon waking, Ukyo's hand went groping for his makeshift 
weapon automatically. It was only a moment after that he heard the 
noise, a soft growling. Instead of bolting upright, he moved his 
head slowly to look off to his right. The source of the growling 
was there.
	And the smell, the smell of death and decay... Eyes that 
seemed to shine with their own inner fire, nearly glowing were not 
more than five feet away. There were others as well, all with the 
same ferocious glares of bloodlust.
	Ukyo didn't know how many there were, but he knew he had to 
fight them. If he didn't, he and Akane would be little more the 
scraps of flesh in the morning. "Akane," he whispered, hoping it 
was enough to wake her.
	"I'm already up," she answered. No doubt, she had already 
assessed the situation and knew it was dangerous.
	"What do you think?" he asked.
	"We don't have a choice." And then she was up like a shot, 
fighting, and he was hypnotized by the way she moved. "We kick 
ass!"
	Ukyo was shaken from moment of admiration when several of 
the beasts next to him joined the fight against Akane. They 
charged over him, drawn by the motion of the girl. Without even 
bothering to check how Akane was, Ukyo rolled to his feet quickly 
and started swinging. Now he just had to hope the stick would be 
enough to scare the beasts away.
	They seemed to ooze out of the darkness, their slim, ragged 
bodies seemed to absorb any light directed at them. Except for 
their eyes. Whether it was a trick by Ukyo's mind or something 
supernatural, he was drawn to the yellow glow in their eyes. And 
so was his weapon.
	When one moved in to attack, fangs bared and quite visible 
even in the dark, he swung downward and struck the beast on the 
top of the head. It let out an abbreviated howl of pain, then 
dropped to the ground.
	There was no time to consider whether he had just killed it 
because the others were beginning to attack, and they in turn were 
joined by more forms from the dark.
	It was about then that Akane wished she had something to 
start smacking the little monsters with. She was doing adequately 
with her fists and feet, but her reach was sorely lacking. The 
animals, wild dogs, drawn by their scent, had to be almost upon 
her to take care of them effectively.
	And the fighting was a necessity, but when her fist impacted 
with bone, and there was a crunching noise, like the sound of 
firecrackers, it made her almost sick. A weapon would have made it 
much more impersonal. The kick, even in bare feet, that snapped a 
head back and broke the neck...
	Something seemed to fly at her, and her arm moved 
automatically to swat it away, something wet showering her face on 
impact. But she couldn't stop. They wouldn't stop. She couldn't 
die. She wouldn't allow it.
	The tide of living darkness seemed to ebb, and then as 
quickly as they had attacked, the dogs fled. Their prey hadn't 
been as vulnerable as it had appeared, and it had hurt their 
numbers deeply. It might be a time before they returned in an 
attempt to taste of their flesh, but they would return.
	Ukyo and Akane knew it.
	"I think maybe a fire would help," Akane said, panting 
slightly. "At least, I don't know... At least...."
	Ukyo nodded and understood. It would be a comfort even if it 
didn't serve any other purpose. He looked around in the night and 
had only one question. "How?"
	Akane laughed a little. "That's the sticker, isn't it?" She 
walked around to the other side of the pillar, away from the 
bodies of the dogs and sat down heavily in the grass. If she never 
had to repeat a fight like that, it would be too soon for her.
	"Akane, are you hurt?" Ukyo asked, crouching at her side and 
putting his hand on her shoulder. He leaned the stick up against 
the pillar and patted her knee.
	"I'm fine, just a little tired. Just... tired." She leaned 
her forehead against her knees and sighed heavily.
	Ukyo looked at her, trying to determine if she was actually 
hurt, and when she seemed only... tired, he decided a fire was 
necessary. "Right, I'll try and get a fire started for... 
something."
	Try. That was the important word. Just how he planned on 
making a fire in the middle of the night, in the middle... well, 
kind of the middle of a humid jungle where everything around him 
was green, and when he had no idea where to even begin looking... 
The idea of a fire was starting to look like wishful thinking.
	It took him one trip around the pillar in a wide circle to 
figure this out, and then he returned to Akane. "Um, I think the 
fire is going to have to wait," he said sheepishly.
	She laughed a little, not lifting her head. "I'm not 
surprised. We don't seem to be much into survival, do we?"
	"I suppose not. Maybe we'll do better in the daylight." 
After they'd had a chance to recover from being attacked by a pack 
of wild dogs.
	Smiling grimly, she glared out at the surrounding jungle. 
>From several places, a pair of red dots glared back.
	"Get some sleep," she said, suddenly feeling very tired. "If 
we're going to be attacked, we might as well grab as much rest as 
possible in preparation. I'll wake you when it's your shift."
	Ukyo nodded. "Wise."
	He curled up in the shadow of the hideous column, and tried 
to sleep. It was a long time before he could.
 
***
 
	Akane awoke to the smell of roast wild dog.
	Yawning, she sat up, shaking the stiffness from her bones. 
In the back of her mind, the images of faces faded away into the 
dream they had emerged from, like mist in a harsh sun.
	Ukyo sat hunched in the shelter of the monolith, roasting a 
haunch of canine steak over a crude stick spit. He smiled wanly at 
her as she yawned and wandered over.
	"How'd you get the fire going?"
	Ukyo smiled sheepishly. "I am a bit embarrassed. It wasn't 
until almost morning that I noticed the huge stone pillar was, in 
fact, a huge flint pillar."
	Akane chuckled. "Whoops."
	"I broke off a fragment to use in a future camp," he said, 
fumbling behind him to show her. "Staying here probably is not 
wise..."
	"It's stone. How did you break it off?"
	He blinked, surprised by the flatness in her tone. "I took 
my stick and shattered..." Ukyo trailed off. "I shouldn't be able 
to do that, should I?"
	Akane slowly shook her head. "Nope. People don't just 
shatter stone with..."
	...bakusai ten-ket...
	...focus, release....
	...she lashed out, shattering the stone wall with the force 
of her blow...
	"Akane? Akane, are you all right?"
	She nodded, feeling a little nauseous. "I... I just 
remembered a little. I can do that too, with my hands." She stared 
at him helplessly, frustration welling up. "Damn it, we can smash 
rocks to powder and fight off rabid wolves with bare hands and 
branches, but we can't remember our own last names. What the hell 
are we, and what are we going here?"
	Ukyo frowned. "I don't know. Perhaps we were in a shipwreck, 
and were washed ashore..." He shrugged helplessly. "There wasn't 
any wreckage on the beach, but I suppose it could have been a 
small boat, far at sea..."
	"And we both happened to have the exact same type of 
amnesia?" Akane asked skeptically. "I don't think so."
	Shrugging, the boy turned the haunch again, sending spatters 
of grease sizzling into the fire. "Then I don't know. Perhaps we 
have been drugged, or brainwashed, and managed to escape."
	Akane shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe we're secret agents or 
something." She grinned, poking him. "Hey, Bond, when's that gonna 
be done? I'm starving."
	"It should be finished soon." Ukyo carefully poked the meat 
with a fire-cleansed stick, noting the result with satisfaction. 
"I'm a good cook. You'll like it. Wild Dog ala Stick."
	She smirked. "Good thing you're the one cooking. I'm 
terrible at it, it'd be burnt and everything."
	Ukyo carefully turned the haunch again. "Who taught you?"
	"Well, it was when I was little, and..."
	...terrible, but will have to...
	...cooking? you, akane this stuff is tox...
	...akane, why can't you make something edible for once? 
jeez, are you trying to poison...
	A low scream ripped from her throat. Shaking, she turned on 
him, furious, her stomach churning. "Don't you ever do that again. 
Never. I'll remember when I'm damn well ready, do you understand? 
When I'm ready." Her face had gone pale, and she could feel the 
fever-sweat dripping down her face, running into her eyes. That 
voice talking about her, saying those horrible things, damn it, 
damn it, go away...
	"I'm sorry," Ukyo said awkwardly, worried by the sudden 
explosion. "I was just trying to help..."
	"Well don't. Please." With an effort, she forced her 
breathing and heart rate to slowly return to normal. "That kind of 
help I don't need."
	"Very well." He carefully removed the haunch from the spit, 
deftly tore it in two, and handed half to her. "Bon appetit." The 
nausea quickly faded under the delicious aroma wafting from the 
steak, and she wolfed into it like a starving animal. It wasn't 
half bad, she thought, pleasantly surprised. Ukyo actually did 
seem to be a decent cook.
	"Hey, not bad. Best wild dog I can remember eating." It was 
a pretty feeble joke, but he smiled anyway.
	As they finished and wiped their mouths, Ukyo stood. "We 
shall need to find a spot with adequate protection from the dogs. 
Perhaps a canyon, or maybe we can build a palisade."
	Akane nodded, scrambling to her feet. "Yeah. We'd better get 
moving; no sense in hanging around that creepy old thing." She 
shuddered. "Dunno why I wanted to make for it in the first place. 
C'mon, let's find us a new campsite."
	Ukyo put out the fire as best he could manage, not figuring 
it would really catch considering the conditions. "Should we just 
keep following the river? Right now it's a pretty good landmark 
feature."
	Akane chuckled. "You don't really have any idea what you're 
talking about, do you?" she asked, smiling at him.
	"Well, not really. But it seems to be a sound plan." He 
collected the flint pieces he had broken off the pillar and tied 
them in a piece of his shirt. "I suppose if they get lost, we can 
come back and get more, but... this not a place I wish to return 
to."
	Akane nodded. "Me neither. Let's go. Up the river is as good 
a direction as any."
	They left the pillar and clearing behind as nature took hold 
to remove the evidence of their presence. As they entered the 
jungle again, Akane spared one glance back at the eerie unnatural 
stone and shuddered.
 
	Akane jumped up and managed to pull a coconut off the tree. 
She squeezed it in both her hands, snapping the bristly outer 
shell and revealing the smooth inner shell. She discarded it over 
her shoulder and went to work on the inner shell.
	Ukyo glanced back when he heard the snapping sound, and 
whistled appreciatively as the shell broke like so many twigs in 
Akane's hands. The "milk" spilled out onto the ground as she 
nearly shattered it and offered him a piece.
	"Thanks," he said, reaching for her offer. There was 
something... not right about things, but he dismissed the feeling. 
It could have been any number of things, but until something made 
itself evident, he could only try to relax. Taking the coconut 
piece, he bit on it and scraped the meat off with his teeth.
	"You know," he said, idly munching, "I think we're going 
uphill."
	"I could have told you that about a mile ago." Akane stopped 
and pointed up through some tree. "If you would have looked, you'd 
see the stupid mountain right in front of us."
	Ukyo stopped and looked where Akane was pointing. There was 
indeed a mountain looming above them. It appeared that they would 
be climbing it to some extent very soon. "Well I guess I can't be 
as perfect as you are. I've got other things on my mind, like 
figuring out who I am!"
	Letting out a disgusted breath, at Akane, at himself, he 
turned and continued to march ahead.
	Akane sighed. Stupid stupid stupid. "Ukyo! Wait up! I didn't 
mean it like that!"
	"Oh? And just how did you mean it then?" he replied, 
obviously with wounded pride.
	"I just meant that... Just... I don't know." She seemed to 
sag. "I didn't mean it the way I said it though."
	"I understand. It's quite difficult for me to... remain calm 
under the circumstances. Something in me wants to crawl into a 
hole and stay there, not believing what's happened. I have to... 
force myself to focus on the reality of the situation and not let 
myself get... too idealistic."
	Akane nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound 
so... mean. I think it's the heat."
	"I shouldn't have been so touchy. I know you didn't mean any 
harm by it."
	The silence was almost deafening as they looked at each 
other awkwardly.
	"Next time, I'll... I'll try not to get so hot-headed about 
it. I think we're both on edge from all this. Truce?" Akane asked, 
smiling tentatively at Ukyo.
	"Of course. We just need to know when our lines have been 
reached and take care in not stepping over them." He looked back 
at the mountain then. "I'm sure we'll find something of interest 
there."
	"Then we go." Akane started their trek again, trying to 
retain her center of calm.
 
	The uphill walk was quite gradual, but pleasant. Even in the 
heat, the pair walked swiftly, comfortably. They didn't speak, but 
only because of the lack of discussion material. In a different 
place, they would have looked like two experienced hikers.
	They stopped at one point, the sun high overhead, and ate 
fruit and drank water from the river. Still they avoided talking. 
There was an unspoken understanding that they simply couldn't get 
on each other's nerves. If they started to annoy each other, being 
the only people on the island, things would get very dismal very 
quickly.
	"Shouldn't be too much further and..."
	"And what? I don't think we're going to find anything we 
haven't seen on this island already, Ukyo. I really don't."
	He nodded a little. "But we have to try. Even if it's only 
to look for things that will make... our lives easier here from 
now on." But no, he refused to give in. Not yet. He would search 
the island completely until he finally decided there was no other 
choice. "Let's keep going."
	Akane stood, refusing the offer of his hand, and brushed 
herself off, frowning. "I don't care where it is right now, I just 
want to be home." She clapped her hands suddenly in an effort to 
break her out of her self-pitying. "But I am NOT going to get 
down." She got a fiercely determined look on her face as she 
looked in the direction they would be heading. "Yet," she added 
quietly.
 
	It got to be a maddeningly boring jungle. There was so much 
to see, but Akane and Ukyo didn't care. More than once, they had 
seen monkeys swinging in the tallest trees, and brightly colored 
birds calling out, but such wildlife didn't interest them.
	Beautiful flowers in every color of the rainbow decorated 
the jungle, but still, their eyes rested on those sights for 
moments before turning back to what lay ahead.
	And they were both on alert for the appearance of any more 
of those wild dogs. Even if they didn't show themselves in the 
daytime, there was still the night, and Ukyo and Akane had no 
shelter. The dogs would be back.
 
	Akane was getting tired. Not physically tired, but just... 
run down. A combination of everything just made her want to lay 
down and relax and forget about their troubles. Even if it was for 
only a little bit, she was really starting to drag her feet over 
it.
	She watched Ukyo move through some trees and out of her 
sight. No, things were just not working out, and that scared her 
more than anything. She should not have been so pessimistic about 
it all. The two of them should have been able to conquer anything 
they came across, and that included getting off the island.
	The sounds of the jungle all around seemed to mock her. 
Birds squawking, monkeys hooting, leaves rustling, water 
rushing...
	"Akane!"
	Ukyo yelling for her. Akane was immediately sprinting ahead, 
wondering what was wrong. Damn, she had let him get really far 
ahead of her. Why hadn't he waited...
	Her feet slipped out from underneath her on the wet grass, 
and she landed hard on her rump. Ukyo was grinning madly at her, 
and she couldn't help but return it. Why, she wasn't entirely 
sure, but this was definitely a very pleasant discovery.
	Towering above them, water gushed over the cliff and 
thundered down into the small lake that drained off to form the 
river they had been following.
	Akane was immediately on her feet and testing the water with 
foot. She shivered happily. "Nice and cool," she said, still 
grinning.
	Ukyo's eyes got wide and his face turned bright red as Akane 
started to shed her shirt.
	She stopped suddenly and looked back at him. "Could you not 
look?"
	He nodded slowly and turned around, his face still red. He 
listened to the rustle of clothing and was first hit in the head 
by her shirt. Then her pants fluttered over him and rested on his 
shoulder.
	Akane's whoop of delight was followed by a splash. "It's 
safe to turn around now," she called.
	He turned slowly and the blush kicked back into full force 
when he saw her treading water, the tops of her breasts just 
visible. "Come on in. It's great!" she said, splashing some water 
in his direction.
	Ukyo shook his head. "Really, I couldn't. It wouldn't be..."
	"Come on. You don't know what you're missing. It feels nice 
just to be clean for a little bit."
	"I really shouldn't. It just wouldn't be proper."
	Akane couldn't help but laugh. "You're standing there with 
my pants over your head and talking about what's proper? No one's 
going to get upset. Come on." She clapped her hands at him. "Let's 
go."
	Turning a deeper shade of red, Ukyo gave a little nod. "If 
you could..." He made a turning gesture with his hand.
	Akane turned and started to swim to the opposite bank, 
giving Ukyo a rather surprising glimpse of her naked rear.
	Staring wide-eyed for a moment, he quickly averted his eyes 
and began to remove his own clothing. He carefully folded Akane's 
clothing, then his own as he removed it, and set it all on a rock. 
He tested the water with his toe and started to enter it slowly. 
That was when he noticed Akane had reached the bank and was 
beginning to turn around.
	Yelping, he dove into the water before she got a look at 
anything private. The cool water sluicing over his body as he swam 
to the shallow bottom of the lake was incredibly refreshing. Ukyo 
hadn't really thought of just how hot and sweaty he had been while 
they had been walking, but he was now realizing how bad it had 
been.
	He broke the surface of the water and smiled. "You're right. 
This is nice."
	"Told ya. You should learn to listen me," Akane said, 
swimming in a lazy circle around him.
	Ukyo briefly ducked under the water and came back up, 
spitting out a mouthful. "Yeah, it's starting to look that way.
	She smiled at him, broad and cocky. "You're getting there." 
She swam away toward the waterfall, giving Ukyo another water 
distorted view of her body.
	"Are you... doing that on purpose?" he asked, feeling light- 
headed.
	"Doing what?" she called back, her voice being drowned out 
by the noise of the water.
	Ukyo watched her swim away and shook his head, smiling.
	Akane swam to the waterfall, the churning water pushing her 
away, and turned to her back. Floating, she rode the water as it 
carried her to the river. Arms out, she closed her eyes and 
relaxed, feeling the most relaxed since she had arrived on the 
island.
	"Don't let yourself go too far or you'll be down the river 
before you know it."
	Rolling over in the water, Akane began to swim powerfully 
back toward the waterfall. "I'm not going anywhere. This is way 
too nice." She noticed, but didn't mention the glances he was 
throwing her way as the water teasingly revealed her bare flesh.
	After all, it was different for guys. The naked male chest 
was nothing that needed to be hidden, but a female chest, breasts, 
the most natural things in the world were treated like important 
government secrets. Well, she had nothing to be ashamed of. Unless 
Ukyo was some sort of... freak.
	She had started to rise a little bit more out of the water, 
watching Ukyo's eyes widen, when she suddenly sank back down. Nah, 
it wasn't worth it. That didn't mean she couldn't appraise him 
though.
	That line of thought made her blush for some unknown reason. 
It was only natural, but it was somehow... wrong. But still... 
Akane looked up, almost shyly, and scanned Ukyo's bare chest 
before looking back to his face. And yes, he was definitely 
built... well enough.
	"Akane, are you..." Ukyo couldn't bring himself to finish 
the sentence. It was far too embarrassing, for himself and her.
	"Am I what?"
	"Nothing. It's nothing." He turned quickly and looked at the 
waterfall. "Pretty impressive, eh?"
	Akane looked at him suspiciously and nodded slowly. "Yeah, 
it is. How high do you think?"
	Shrugging, Ukyo shaded his eyes from the sun. "Maybe 20 or 
30 feet. High enough to hurt if you had to jump."
	Akane suddenly splashed him and chuckled. "You're so 
serious, Ukyo. I think you need to relax a little. At least for 
now."
	Ukyo turned and blinked the water from his eyes. His gaze 
narrowed in false menace. "Is that so?"
	"Sure is," she answered, backing away slowly. "Why? You've 
got a problem with it?"
	"Well," Ukyo answered slowly, "not really." He lunged at 
her, causing a sizable rush of water, but she was quick and 
twisted out of the way, his outstretched hands grazing her back.
	She made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a squeal of 
delight and tried to swim away from him. But she was beginning to 
laugh harder and was starting to get water in her mouth. In truth, 
she was about three seconds from choking.
	Ukyo cut through the water, completely submerged, and groped 
to get a hold on one of Akane's thrashing legs. He was moving 
quicker than he thought though and his hands slid up Akane's 
sides.
	Her whole body froze at the foreign touch, which only made 
it worse as one of his hands slid over her left breast. Her eyes 
and mouth were both wide with surprise, which shifted to outrage.
	Ukyo feeling the... not leg in his hand, let go and got his 
head quickly above the water. Before he had cleared the water 
away, he was already apologizing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
	"Pervert!" Akane yelled and slapped him hard across the 
cheek. She swam away quickly toward one shore, then altered her 
path and swam beneath the waterfall.
	Ukyo watched her go, a sick look on his face. That most 
certainly hadn't been his intention. He was only being playful and 
had accidentally... done something really dumb. Sighing, he swam 
back to shore and sat in the water, staring at where Akane had 
disappeared under the water.
	Akane sat in the little alcove behind the waterfall 
frowning. Pouting was more like it. Ukyo had grabbed her breast, 
and she hadn't liked that at all. She was having a fine enough 
time before that, but... He had really ruined the mood...
	She stopped herself. There hadn't been any sort of mood. She 
had just been having fun and things had gone a little too far. And 
it had only been an accident. Still, it had been a bit...
	Her thoughts were interrupted by a break in the water as 
Ukyo came through the powerful falls. Akane quickly covered 
herself as best she could, still frowning.
	Seeing her frown, Ukyo looked down at the water swirling 
around his waist, partly in embarrassment in seeing her nudity and 
partly in shame. "I'm sorry. I did something crude and wrong."
	Akane snarled at him. "You're damn right you did! Can you 
just leave me alone for a while?"
	Sighing, Ukyo nodded, turned and exited back through the 
water.
	Akane rested her elbow on her knee and put her chin in her 
hand. The look on her face was less than enthused.
 
	Ukyo swam with the vigor of a triathlete, powering himself 
around the lake over ten times. Each time he mentally berated 
himself for being so careless in his actions. It was just so 
stupid. What was expected when they were both... naked, swimming, 
maybe she was flirting with him and he was certainly enjoying it. 
A stupid accident, totally harmless. Meant to be totally harmless.
	He couldn't stay like this. He needed to resolve this 
between the two of them. Back to the waterfall he swam, breaking 
through the wall of water, expecting her to be sitting there and 
glaring at him. But she wasn't.
	He saw her pale shape in the darkness, lying in the cool 
sand. She appeared to be asleep. Well, they _had_ been in the 
water swimming for a while. He was feeling pretty close to wiped 
out himself.
	Approaching slowly, he stopped so he was still concealed 
form the waist down in the water. "Akane?" he asked quietly. He 
could see her side moving as she breathed, but other than that, 
she didn't stir.
	Daring to leave the water, Ukyo approached Akane's 
motionless form. "Akane?" he asked again. It was difficult because 
at the same time he didn't want her to respond, and he did want 
her to respond. If she was awake and turned to look at him, 
well... His face was turning red already from embarrassment.
	But she wasn't responding, wasn't moving. Getting bolder 
with sudden concern, he kneeled down next to her and looked over 
her shoulder at her face. Ignoring the shapeliness of her body, he 
put his hand on her arm. She was still warm at least. And when he 
actually saw her face, she was indeed sleeping peacefully.
	Somehow, in that way that men always curse and thank 
themselves for, she had also managed to cover herself with her arm 
just *so* to tease Ukyo's sudden wandering eyes.
	Realizing he was staring at the swell of Akane's bosom, Ukyo 
jerked his hand from her arm and tore his gaze away. If she needed 
sleep, then she should probably have it. He headed back into the 
water, planning on sunbathing a little to dry off. It might have 
been wiser to wait with Akane, but he didn't think she would take 
kindly to him seeing her naked, or him being naked with her. And 
it was impossible to get the clothes in under the waterfall 
without them getting soaked.
	As he entered the water, Akane opened one eye slowly and 
turned her head. She watched Ukyo walk away, almost clinically. 
She closely observed the way the muscles in his legs flexed as he 
found purchase on the slippery lake bottom.
	And maybe a little at his back, the way the water from the 
falls beaded on his smooth skin. Maybe there were other things she 
noticed, but this little peeping session would remain her secret.
	As Ukyo stepped under the falling water, the water up to the 
middle of his back, the sun shone through the pause in the flow, 
around his body and giving the impression that he was glowing.
	Only when the waterfall had reformed its wall did Akane sit 
up slowly. Ukyo certainly wasn't the most objectionable looking 
man she had seen. She thought. Yet, there was something holding 
her back, some little instinct that stopped her from exploring 
these feelings within her.
	Why, she didn't know, just that any overt actions directed 
at Ukyo were inexplicably reigned in. Feeling a little frustrated 
and a lot confused, Akane stood up from the sand, shivering a bit. 
Suddenly, whether she was mad at Ukyo or he was upset with her, 
being with another person in the sun was sounding very comforting.
	Plunging into the water and under the falls, she swam 
directly for the shore and her clothing. The sun sparkled 
magnificently off the water, making the lake look like it had been 
sprinkled with gold dust. Pausing to admire the coloring, Akane 
drifted slowly until her feet were able to touch bottom, then she 
started to make her way to shore purposefully.
	She smiled a little when she saw Ukyo asleep in the sand, 
covered by his clothing. He wasn't dressed, he had just covered 
himself with his shirt. "Hey, Ukyo," she called, waking him.
	He sat up slowly, scratching the side of his head and 
yawning. He looked at Akane in the water and waved hesitantly.
	"Good morning," she said, still smiling. "Truce again?" she 
offered.
	He nodded. "It's all my fault."
	Akane shrugged. "It was an honest mistake. Right?"
	"Yes. I would never, never ever..."
	"All right, I believe you. Besides, isn't it just too great 
right now to be upset. I mean, look at the lake. It's just 
beautiful. The way the sun is setting the rays are..." Akane 
ground to a halt and stared blankly at Ukyo.
	"Hm? What's wrong? The rays are what?"
	"The sun," she replied numbly. "The sun."
	Ukyo tried to get a look at the position of the sun through 
the trees. "What about the sun?"
	"It's setting, Ukyo. The sun is setting."
	"So?"
	"The sun is setting and we're just standing here!" she 
suddenly shouted at him.
	Ukyo blinked. "I don't... Night." Understanding dawned on 
him. He stood quickly, ignoring Akane's presence as he started 
putting his clothes on. "Come one, get dressed. We've got to find 
some place..."
	Akane hurriedly exited the water, kicking up water 
everywhere until she was standing on the narrow beach. She grabbed 
her clothes and threw them on, not bothering with her modesty. 
Survival was a hell of a lot more important than whether Ukyo saw 
her boobs or not.
	"Where should we go?" Ukyo asked, yanking his shirt over his 
head. "We don't have time to build any sort of shelter..."
	"I know! Maybe we..." She looked around, somewhat 
desperately. Akane slapped Ukyo on the arm. "Behind the waterfall. 
Bet's on that they won't get back there."
	Looking hesitant, eyes worriedly scanning the jungle, Ukyo 
shook his head a little. "But what about..."
	"Do you want to worry about breakfast in bed or surviving?" 
Akane had a hold of Ukyo's tattered shirt and was yanking on it.
	"If we don't have any other choice..."
	"We don't. Let's grab some fruit before it gets too late."


...

[more parts to follow]