Chapter
Two
Akane
Tendo padded softly up the stairs, carefully avoiding the creek in the third
step so not to wake anyone in the quiet household up, well almost quiet. She glanced behind her and rolled her eyes at
the passed out snoring fathers near the table. Idiots. . I just wish I
could sleep as soundly as them, forgetting everything that's happened, ignore
everything around me. . Walking
past her room and down the hall, Akane went out onto the laundry porch. She stared out into the night sky, looking
for some vague resemblance to the night before, the night when the stars shot
brightly across the sky, reflecting through the eyes of herself and many others. That was the best Santa Day ever. Everything went perfectly. A smile graced her face, the same smile that
often caused a certain male in the household to blush and stammer. It was so nice, Ranma. Just, just having you hold me like that, so
safe and warm, without pulling away. That moment seemed as if it were going to last forever. A small breeze picked up suddenly, tossing
the dark blue strands of her hair about her face, ruffling the trim of her
yellow pajamas. Akane lifted her arms
to wrap them around herself, over the shoulder that last night, hadn't been
vacant. If only it could have lasted forever. The smile vanished without a trace. I only wish that for once we could just-
"Get away from me!"
"Huh? What was that?" Akane muttered to herself as she turned
towards the source of the sound. Ranma?
* * * *
Diaki
growled in frustration as he pushed through the thrick brush that covered the
forest. Aha! Victory is mine! With a triumphant grin, he finally entered the small
clearing. The small brown cottage was
nestled between evergreens and what he assumed to be its owner knelt infront of
it, tending to what looked like a be of lilles. Well that's a site you don't see too often. A pleasant looking house, a woman calmly
tending to her flowers. Although,
knowing the woman who supposedly dwelled there, it's no wonder the land here
was left untouched. Lets just hope she
isn't as nasty as the rumors say. He cautiously came up to the crouching
woman with her back to him. Many times
his mouth came open but he had yet to utter a sound.
"No
need to cower like a worm, boy. State
your business here." The audible
gulp he made in response caused Seiya to smile. She turned, her pale blue eyes glinting in the faint light
peeking through the gaps in between the tall evergreens. He took a step back. As he stared upon the woman, Seiya, only one
word came to mind; colorless. Her skin
was milky white, her long hair matching the shade perfectly. Any features present would not be
distinguished very easily for they seemed to melt into the endless depths of the
pale complexion. What caused him to shy
away most, however, were the eyes. The
blue in them was so faint it was difficult to decipher. Seiya had 'dead eyes.' The kind of eyes that could see into your
soul because the owner of the gaze had no soul of their own. Diaki avoided that gaze, his own green eyes
moving toward the small lizard resting on a nearby tree trunk.
"Um.
. I . . well, that is . . I. . ah. . "
"Spit
it out, boy. I do not have all day to
listen to your stuttering." Seiya
rose to grasp his chin with her cool hand, turning him to face her.
"I,
ah," his lids clenched shut. "I came for your assistance in a matter of. . ah. . grave importance."
"Oh,
I see. You've came to seek my vision,
is that it?" The grip became
slightly tighter.
"Y-yes." The fingers fell away and Diaki hesitantly
opened his eyes to view her back once more. Somehow, he found himself not finding her so intimidating when she was
not facing him. "Can you. . Will
you help me?"
"I've
come for your visions, they say, it's very important, they say. What about what's important to me? Would it trouble them too much to stop by
for tea? Some friendly
conversation? A biscuit or two? No, it's always for the power, always the
power. Kami forgive they just-"
"Um,
ma'am? I, ah, don't mean to be rude
but. . " He was once again frozen
in his speech when she turned towards him again.
"Oh,
yes, you want my help. So tell me, why
is my help so important to you?" Seiya crossed her arms, a wry smile crossing her face. "Why should I help you?"
"Well,
you see, it's not exactly for me." the frightfully empty gaze was upon him
again. "It's for my master."
"I
see, your master. And who, pray tell,
would that be?" Diaki's face
immediately took on a panicked expression.
"I-I
can't tell you. If he knew I came to
you, he would, he would. . well, let's just say he and your kind don't mix very
well." The woman looked down to the glistening soil at
her feet.
"I'm
not surprised, boy. Not many mix with
my kind, not many mix with me. You're
afraid of me too, aren't you boy." It came out as a statement, not a question. She stepped up to him once more, narrowing her eyes on his.
"N-n-n-yes,
I am afraid of you." She smiled
and his eyes widened. It was a
beautiful smile, not frightening or terrifying in any way. It was warm, comforting; totally at odds
with the absence of color in her form. It made him think of a smile he had seen long ago, before he had been
taken by Ayatori. He found himself
forming a smile in return.
"You
know, I think I like you, boy. How
about this; I help you find what you are searching for, and in return, you give
me some afternoon company." The
sun shifted for a moment, and he caught a glimpse of the loneliness in her
eyes. He wanted to make it
disappear. He suddenly wanted to make
this woman smile again, anything to receive that warm feeling inside that he
hadn't felt in the past fifteen years.
"I
would like that, ma'am." The
soulless eyes twinkled merrily as she touched his hand, motioning him to follow
her into the thatched roof cottage a few feet away.
"Call
me Seiya. And your name would be?"
"Diaki,
ma'am . . I mean Seiya."
* * * *
Seiren
strolled through the empty corridors of the castle, a trail of ice crystals
forming behind her. A pane of glass
caught and revealed her form. Now at
the tender age of twenty-one, she stood tall and full of pride at what she had
become. The closely cropped blue hair
stood almost frozen in place, her eyes the color of frost on a fierce winter
day. As she continued her walk, the
glass slowly swirled to form a faint
image of the same woman but younger, smaller, her long blue locks flowing
around her, warm waters churning in her gaze. Seiren raised a hand back towards the glass and its delicate mirror
shattered, the broken pieces falling to the ground with an earsplitting
clatter.
"Now,
Tsunami, what did that glass ever do to you?"
"Akito?" She was startled for only a moment. "Get out of my way, Akito." She shot out a hand and a clear ice shard formed,
shooting towards the man in question. He deftly dodged the spear, his mahogany eyes briefly filled with
mischief.
"Ah,
you know better than to try and hit a wind like that, Tsunami."
"Why
are you here, Akito? You know very well
that if Ayatori finds you here, he will kill you." The amusement vanished without a trace.
"Oh
yes, the marvelous Ayatori. And I
suppose it is true, he would kill me if he found me here. But what do you care, Seiren? You despise all of us, remember? You sided with him. You clearly stated that all of us betrayed you;
Misora, Hogosha, me, even your own mother. We are all traitors to you because we didn't agree with the man you say
you. . love. . "
"Do
you want to be killed?" He
flitted in front of her, gazing at her quizzically.
"That
depends, do you want me killed?" Her eyes narrowed and he could feel the cold that radiated from her
body. Akito sighed and stepped
back. " I came to get you back,
Tsunami."
"Don't
call me that!"
"Because
that's not you anymore? Because I'm not
your friend anymore? Why? Why did this happen? How could you. . with. . with that evil
bastard?" Even with his speed, he
did not have the chance to avoid the hand that cracked against his cheek.
"Leave. Now."
"You
really have changed beyond recognition. They all said that you were a hopeless case, that you didn't even want
to be saved. And now I see that they
were right. It's not that you can't be
saved, you don't want to be. To think I
spent all that time, all that energy training just so I could penetrate these
walls and get to you. What a waste,
just to come for a person that doesn't even exist anymore." And on the last word, he disappeared,
leaving Seiren staring at the space he had occupied moments before, his small
speech repeating itself over and over again, echoing like a hail storm in her
ears.
Was
he right? Have I really changed that
much? (No, you haven't changed, they
have. They just want to hurt you and
the person you love again.) The
confusion in her eyes vanished as the familiar, cool voice entered her
mind. That's right, they're wrong,
they betrayed me. (Yes. . . ) Yes.
* * * *
"Ranma?" Akane opened the door to her fiance's room quietly,
peeking her head in as she whispered out her call.
"Daddy.
. please. ."
He's
having a nightmare. .
"Please.
. let me out, let me out, let me out, let me out, let me out. . "
About
what, I wonder. Akane pushed
through the rest of the way and went over to kneel by Ranma's thrashing
form. A sheen of sweat glistened on his
forehead, a frantic expression on his face as his hands desperately clawed
through thin air. Maybe I should
wake him up. "Ranma. .
" Akane took a quick look around her
for prying eyes, then cautiously began to reach out towards him.
"N-n-no! Get away from me!" Akane retracted her hand at his violent
protest.
"Ranma.
. " She tried once again, putting
her hand forward, her intention to slightly shake him out of his slumber.
"No.
. no. . no . . " His breaths were
becoming shallow, his voice hoarse. His
head tossed back and forth on the pillow, his hands coming down to grasp the
sheets beneath him.
"Ranma.
. " Akane gritted her teeth as a
panic started to enter her mind. What
should I do? He looks so scared. She leaned her upper body over him.
"N-No! Get away! Get away from me!!" His
hands came forward to push her away, only succeeding in getting them tangled in her shirt.
"Ranma! Stop it!" Her whispers grew harsh as she grabbed his wrists to restrain
him, only to have them ripped out of her hands to thrash wildly at her
again. He's hysterical. And who knows what will happen when everyone
wakes up by his screaming.
"No! NO! NOOOOOO!!!" He lashed out
at her again, this time catching her harshly on the chin. The pain and fury at being struck began to
well up in her.
"Ranma! Wake UP!!" Akane accompanied her furious whisper with a strong slap to his
right cheek. Ranma gave a slight jerk and
them immediately quieted. Akane brought
her hand up to cover her mouth. Uh
oh, maybe I shouldn't have hit him that hard. At that moment, Ranma stirred.
"Man,
what a nightmare." Ranma at up and
rubbed a hand through his hair, noticing that his scalp was soaked with
sweat. Damn, stupid dream. Now I gotta take a bath. He looked up and his eyes widened at the
site before him. "Akane, what are
you do-" He then noticed the
bruise forming on her chin and a red haze settled over his eyes. "Who did it?" Akane's brown eyes widened slightly in
confusion.
"What do you
mean?" He reached forward to bat
away the hand still covering her mouth, and tilted her chin up.
"Who hit you? Why wasn't I there to stop it?"
"Well. . ah. .
" She looked away from the
blue-gray stare, nibbling nervously on her bottom lip. "Well. . that is. . well, you did,
Ranma. But-" His hand fell away to drop heavily on the
ground.
"I did it?" His look went from her to the floor. "I-I hit you?" Akane felt her breath catch when she saw the
tear drip down his face to land softly onto his sheets, dissolving immediately.
Ranma. . "Ranma, it's not your fault, you
were-"
"Will you look at that Saotome?"
"Ah yes, Tendo, I say we should fall asleep
downstairs more often."
"Is it at all possible that you two could keep it
down for once?"
"Really, they shouldn't be encouraged like
this."
"It's not what you think!" Akane was left alone to fend off the family at the door for Ranma still sat in the same place, now staring at his hands. "When will you all get it and see that there's nothing going on between us?"
"Then what were you doing in his room, Akane?"
"Oh, Nabiki! I was just, oh never mind, it's not
important. If you will all excuse me, NOW, I have to go to bed. There is school tomorrow, you
know." Seeing as the opportunity
to embarrass the two further was over, the entire spying group shrugged and
went off to their rooms, Genma joining Soun. The two would most likely be up most of the night, plotting the next
compromising situation between their children. "Finally, they're gone. Well, goodnight Ranma." Akane sent a small grin backwards and walked out the door, shutting it
softly behind her.
Hours passed and silence prevailed
in the household once more. Panning the
rooms; the two fathers were again, passed out next to an empty sake bottle;
Kasumi wore a peaceful smile, her hands clasped to her chest over smooth
blankets as she slumbered on; Nabiki, snoring softly, her head pillowed in arms
that were folded and resting on her desk, the lamplight still shining on
various incriminating photos; Akane
tossed and turned about in her small bed, muttering quietly; Ranma. . well, Ranma was still sitting in
the same position he had been in before, his hands outstretched in front of him
while his eyes looked on in horror.
"I hit you?" He finally lifted his head up, pure
self-hatred visible in his eyes. It was
then that he realized he was speaking to an empty room.
To Be Continued. . .