Pain is the only constant in life. It motivates us to change when without other stimuli we would remain the same. Pain has caused wars and ended them. Pain has saved people and pain has killed them. Pain is god. It is the alpha the omega. The thing one experiences first in this world, the most common experience during life and more often than not… the last thing one experiences…In cases though, Pain itself gives mercy and takes one in their sleep…Is one surprised Pain can give mercy? I am not, for we are his children and I am his son and heir.
It was pain that she awoke to. An agony which rippled across her frame sending fresh waves of fire along her hamstrings as muscles reluctantly obeyed their mistress. Slowly she became aware once more of the world unto which she was a part of. Her eyes protested as she opened them to the glare of the light. Left on it fought its battle against the invading darkness which slowly crept at the corners of the room. The dark invasion had begun as the sun began its decent beyond the horizon. A shadow arched over her bed and as she became more away her attention was drawn to it. The oddly shaped shadow reminded her vaguely of something, she stared at it trying to recall some memory associated with the shape and met with only failure until she shivered and it moved.
Crouched outside her open window was a man, not just any man. But the lithe form she challenged and came up lacking against not long ago. Gasping with fear she tried to get out of bed. Moaning in the pain of her failure brought his slow and heavy gaze to her. When their eyes met, silence reigned.
She broke the contact reluctantly, her gaze battered into submission by his calm stare. He quietly slipped into the room and padded over to the side of the bed. Akane's eyes remained downcast, as if by refusing to look at him gave her the power to deny his presence and his power over her. He reached down a hand to cup her chin and brought her eyes up to touch his once more. His cold demeanor turned gentle, and he gave her a small smile.
"Relax." He commanded with a smooth voice before lowering her head back to the pillow. There was little she could to resist him should he choose to rape her, although his tone made her feel at least somewhat calm. Fingers which had dealt pain so effortlessly picked up her wrist and slowly massaged upward bringing with it a sweet agony of an entirely different sort. When he finished with that arm he proceeded to the next and after that pulled the blanket off of her and moved to the end of the bed. Her only coherent thought was how she could feel so exposed even when clothed in modest pajamas. But he gazed not on her form, but instead focused on his task. With his left hand he gathered up her left foot and slowly worked the muscles within with his right. As pain and soreness left and made way to well worked limpness the man moved from location to location. Eventually he covered her other leg before moving back up to the head of the bed, near the pillow on which her head rested.
"Roll over." He whispered faintly, still a command and laced with trust expected. Akane hesitated a moment as her head cleared from the numb daze enough to bring her fear of rape and abuse back to the forefront of her mind. After a second she refuted it, and shoved the thought back into the abyss from whence it came. If he had truly intended her that malice such an act would have already occurred.
"gnnnnn" Akane moaned as her body's desire to lay motionless fell beneath the power of his command. Her body slowly turned as it fought its owner's intent with pain lancing up her shoulder blades and along the lower reaches of her spine. Inevitably however, the body succumbed to the wishes of its master and exposed its backside to the sky.
Ranma continued his massage at her shoulders working the pain out, to her muscles his hands were an old friend, one come to visit after a long absence. Welcome was given with no hesitation. As Akane continued to relax his hands moved further south working their magic with no ill conceived intent. They relaxed her hips and then skipped briefly over her gluteus maximus, to resume their work on her hamstrings. All too soon the work was finished and Ranma took his place beside her pillow once again.
"Do you trust me?" He asked. The question shocked Akane's overloaded mind into action. This man had done something to her sisters, given her the beating of a lifetime, and then taken all the pain away. Now he asked for her trust?
"What are you going to do?" She asked. Is this where the calm gentleman who had given her the massage of a lifetime turned perverted?
"Finish relaxing you, and put you to bed." He responded as if the question was of no import and as if her answer didn't really matter to him. She considered the request for the moment wondering how else she could possibly be more relaxed. There was of course the chance that he would massage the areas he so skillfully skipped. That thought made her heart beat a bit faster. However he could have felt her up any time previous and had specifically not. Moreover his request seemed too off hand and laid back for such a maneuver. Deciding to roll the dice she simply nodded, yes.
"Sit up," he ordered while slowly helping her. When he was satisfied he sat facing her opposite on the bed and took both of her hands into his. He held them palms upward with both thumbs resting on the veins within her wrist. His grasp was firm but light and he looked deep into her eyes and began to speak.
"Focus on my words, and do not break eye contact with me." Understanding slowly began to show on her face and she nodded her acceptance. He had relaxed her body thus far. Next in line was her mind.
"You are sitting on a rock, the sun is shining down on you with a bright blue sky, the rock is warm and you feel no discomfort. Around the rock moves a slowly flowing river of the clearest water. You can see the smooth stones beneath the surface. The water is shallow, only a hand in depth, and you slowly put one foot out to touch the surface." At this point Akane's breathing had slowed and the remaining tension in her body began to slip away.
"The water is lukewarm, not cold, nor unpleasantly hot. You dip just the tip of your big toe underneath the current and can feel it slowly flowing around it. All of the tension in your toe begins to slowly slip away." As Ranma continued he started to rotate his thumbs slowly at their resting point upon her wrists. The action tied her body to his words and he could feel her heart rate slowing and the internal processes by which she functioned slow and relax.
"You slip the foot into the water further; slowly it descends until it comes to rest on a warm smooth stone resting at the bottom of the river. The rock is slightly warm to the touch. The relaxing warmth of the stone and the lukewarm movement of the river slowly carries away the tension in that foot allowing it to completely and totally relax." Ranma's thumbs stopped their rotation and started to move slowly forward and back along the veins, feeling and slowing the movement of blood throughout her system. After a few seconds of silence he continued, only the quiet chirps of a few birds outside to go along with his vision for Akane.
"You slowly lean forward and put the other foot into the water, it comes to rest on a stone similar to its brother. You can feel the warmth of the stones slowly work its way up your legs causing them to continue to relax and tension to flee into the water." At this point Ranma took both of her hands and placed them into her lap, there they laid limp and without tension as he continued.
"You slip down the rock and come to sit on the warm stones beneath the water." Ranma moved so quickly and silently Akane hardly even noticed the bed move underneath her. One moment he was in front of her the next he had moved behind her and was now providing her support from behind. Her legs had relaxed and now were in front of her only slightly bent. As Ranma held her to him he slowly began to massage just above her hips. In her dream world she could feel it as the water lapping slowly at her hips. She could feel the waters depth and its temperature all along the lower half of her body. All the while she maintained eye contact by twisting her neck this left their lips only inches apart.
"As the water laps at your waist you can feel your stomach still as all of you begins to rest." As Ranma continued leading this journey his voice kept getting softer until at this point it was just a whisper. "You slide forward and lay back, your body is just barely covered by the water, your head rests on the graceful incline of the rock and you can feel the slow movement of the water around your neck. It pulls your tensions away and you want for nothing." Suiting words to actions, Ranma slipped out from behind Akane and slowly lowered her head to the pillow. Their eyes never straying he cemented the dream.
"Now you find yourself completely and utterly relaxed," and then he commanded softly, "sleep." At that her eyes closed and she did fall asleep. Ranma closed the distance and planted a chaste kiss upon her forehead before silently withdrawing from the room, closing the window behind him.
He then entered the open window into the guest room which had been prepared for their stay. It was assumed by Kesumi that he would be staying the night. Neither of the fathers had returned yet and the sun had set a while ago. Nabiki was inside waiting for him.
"I do not understand you." She said.
With a sad smile he responded, "You likely never shall."
Surprised I am updating again so soon? I hope this satisfies some of your requests for a longer chapter. Chapter 2 is what I have had left sitting around without ever posting. I decided to simply post it and continue with a new fresh chapter. Do not worry if you don't understand yet. The in between will be explained in the next chapter.