The afternoon sun continued to beat down gently on Lita. The heat was comfortable and made her drowsy. Without a second thought she put Ken's postcard in her pack and fell asleep, paying no attention to the quickly brewing storm in the distance.

***

The storm was entirely an accident on its own, but what was to happen shortly thereafter was slightly arranged. A dark figure stood in the shadows of the cliffs (AN 1) waiting and watching for when the time was right. She knew that this was meant to happen, but sometimes fate and her sisters prodded her to make sure things … went according to plan.

The storm should take care of it. Lita was sleeping entirely too close to the sea and the tide had begun to rise…

Just in case it didn't, then she was there to lend a hand.

On that same note, if things were to go horribly awry she was also there.

She stood in the shadows and waited for the inevitable to come.

In order for it to really happen as it should though she knew she needed to not influence the process in any way shape or form. Lita's life had not originally been heading this direction, and when the course changed from its intended path on the account of destiny - well destiny needed to set it straight all on its own.

It was just a matter of time.

She was only there to make sure the timing was impeccable, if destiny did manage to botch it up again.

***

Destiny smiled from overhead. All the mistakes weren't really mistakes. It was just up to the two of them to find it.

She waved her hand a little bit more causing the lightning to begin. The thunder clanged and burst the sky open. The wind picked up.

But it all fell on Lita's deaf ears.

It wouldn't do any good to have her plans ruined…

***

Lita slept soundly. She didn't hear the storm approaching closer and closer to where she slept. Nor did she hear her puppy barking as the water moved ever closer.

What finally woke her was not the noise or the water touching her toes. Destiny didn't like to do things in half stages and didn't need any help in getting anything for this right. That's why she hadn't felt the water or the storm moving closer to shore. She should have though since wind, lightning and nature were her elements, but it was not meant to be. She only woke from her solemn sleep when the water of a tidal wave fell over her head and pulled her out to sea without a chance to fight it.

The tide tumbled and rolled her head over heels along the bottom of the sea, pulling her farther out. Lita struggled to get back to the top in order to get a breath of air, but the sea was not forthcoming.

She could feel the water starting to fill her nose, and no matter how strong she was, she knew she couldn't fight the undertow forever. In a brief moment of kindness, the water let her go. When she felt her self rising Lita took a chance and kicked with all her might. She exerted all of her energy and some how managed to escape the water and raise her nose above the sea. However, the generous sea was only toying with her. She was up just long enough to catch a breath before a wave crashed over her head and pushed her back into the current.

She struggled a bit longer, but her energy finally gave out. She couldn't fight it, nor did she really want to any longer. She let the water fill her nose and flow into her lungs. Then the darkness came.

***

She felt warm again and happy for the first time in a long time. Her eyes were still shut, but she could hear a voice; his voice.

"Li, Lita. Wake up," he said.

"No, I don't want to. Can't I just stay and sleep?" she asked.

"Lita, we only have a short time. Wake up honey," he said.

Hearing his voice a second time made it click. It was him. He was alive again; she was alive with him! She suddenly woke up and sprang off the ground, looking for him.

"Ken, where are you? Please Ken, I can't see you!" she screamed. She wondered around and around in the pink fog looking for him, yet there was no sign. When she thought that she wouldn't find him, she collapsed onto her knees. It was all some cruel joke, some cruel dream.

As if to prove her wrong though, she looked up and could see a form emerging from the clouds and smoke. It was his form. She stared in his astonishment at his figure moved forward and then spoke to her.

"Lita, I'm here. It's okay. I'm here again. But we can't stay together. You can't stay. Not here, not by the sea. You have to go home. You have a destiny to fulfill."

She begged him and her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't cry. "Kennie, I want to stay. Stay here with you. Why can't I stay?"

"Lita, it's not your time to be here yet. You're not dead. You were so close, but you're not supposed to be here. You have to go home to Tokyo and your friends. We weren't meant to be. I know that this hurts. I miss you everyday, and someday you'll be here with me. But not for a very long time I hope."

"Kennie, what's going on?"

"You were drowning Li. But someone has found you. I came to say good-bye, to tell you I love you one last time. It's not our time anymore. It's over and you have to go back. I am happy now Li, but I don't like seeing you suffer. You have to move on."

"Please don't make me leave you. I don't want to go on. I don't want to leave here!" she begged. She jumped on him then and hugged him close to her.

She felt his warmth press against her. But his figure began to evaporate and she felt her self leaving the place of pink clouds. "Kennie! Don't go!" she screamed.

"It's okay Li. You're going back to where you belong. I love you, Lita. Always remember that. Promise!" That was the last thing she heard as the darkness grabbed her again and she felt herself pulled away from the splendid warmth.

***

She felt cold and wet. The wind was all around her, and she felt the damp sand sticking to her clothes and every inch of her, the protectiveness and warmth of Ken's body and the pink clouds now gone. Someone was pushing on her chest, and then opening her mouth to breathe for her again. She pushed her hand up against the person though, and coughed to breathe on her own. She didn't open her eyes; she wished she had died, but the cold hard ground was an indication that unfortunately she was still alive. She had seen him though; talked to him, although she was unsure whether her longing for him was worse or better now because of it.

He had told her to go on and she knew she must after leaving him, because Ken never would have made her go if she didn't have something else to do or discover. That thought was enough despite her silent death wish. She forced her eyes open and rolled onto her side, coughing and spitting up more water. She felt someone's hand on her head, smoothing her hair off of her face. It was all she could do to gain her breath, and that took so much effort.

She closed her eyes again, and hacked up more water until she couldn't any longer. Then she passed out, remembering his words that he loved her, but she had to go on.

***

Destiny just looked on and waited.

***

Pluto sighed and in a whisk was gone. It was out of her hands now.

***

He had been walking back from the market in town when he noticed the storm brewing. He tried to hurry up for fear of being rained on and ruining some of his groceries. He watched in the distance and noticed that the storm was moving ever closer to the shore, and he only hoped that he would make it home in time.

He focused on walking; paying little attention to what else was going on. Thoughts of what he wanted to do that night and cook for dinner ran through his head. His eyes were kept to the ground and he marched on.

His walk to his cottage from the market in Menton proper always took him along the boardwalk and then off onto a sidewalk that bordered the sandy shores. He had been there hundreds of times and the scenery was no different then before. So he paid it no attention.

What woke him from his reverie however was the sound of a small barking dog coming from the direction of the sea. Normally there were very few people out there in the spring since tourist season hadn't started yet. It was even more peculiar that anyone would be out there due to the weather. So he paused long enough to scan the beach for once since a puppy on the beach was such an oddity.

When he found what he was looking for, he was mesmerized by what he saw. There on a checked blanket was the picture of serenity.

However he didn't have time to get a look at her face. The scene started in slow motion. The water lapped near her feet and then out of nowhere a huge wave rolled in from the storm. As he saw it was about to go over her head and pull her into the water the scene resumed normal speed.

His expression of calmness became one of horror as he watched the girl swept away. His reaction was instantaneous. He dropped his bags where they were and ran for the ocean.

He scanned the water, looking for some indication of her. He thought she was gone, doomed to die under the sea. He stripped off his shoes and shirt and waited, hoping.

It was the briefest of moments, but it was enough. He knew that when her head appeared above the water he had a chance. She was a fighter and so was he. He would be damned if he lost her.

Without a moment's hesitation he swam.

***

When he got to where her head had popped up he searched in desperation. There was no sign of her.

He swam around for a minute and then dived under, trying to find her in the darkness.

He surfaced again for air, knowing that if he didn't find her soon there wasn't much hope.

However destiny was smiling that day.

He dove down one last time in a frantic attempt.

And then there she was lying limp, floating in the murky depths.

He grabbed her and kicked with all his might towards the surface. He then swam the two hundred yards back to the shore, holding tightly to her, never letting his precious discovery slip away.

***

Once he reached a point where he could stand, he picked her up and carried her out of the ocean. He laid her on the wet sand, far away from the water so that it couldn't sweep them out again.

He put his head to her chest to listen for her breath.

There was none.

He did the only thing he could and began CPR. He tilted her head back and breathed into her mouth and then began a series of compressions.

This continued for another half a minute, but his work was well rewarded.

She pushed up against him, and then rolled over onto her side, coughing up more water. He ran his hand over her face while she did so, trying to provide some comfort. Her coughing and hacking continued for a minute longer and then he noticed she had gone quiet. He scooted over to her other side since she had rolled away from him and noticed that her eyes were closed. He could see her chest rising and falling on its own now.

He puts his head down to hers and listened. She had fallen asleep. So he did the only thing he knew to do. He picked her up and wrapped her in her beach blanket, which was remarkably dry considering she had been laying on it when she was swept in (AN 2).

He wrapped her in it to keep her warm and then set her back down. He gathered up his shirt and shoes and tossed them in his bags. He slung her backpack onto his shoulder. He almost forgot the puppy. Had it not been for her soft whining next to her owner's face he would have. So he put her on her leash and slipped it over his hand. When he had everything situated he picked her up again and then started on the last length of his journey homeward.

***

Lita awoke to find herself wrapped in a warm terry cloth robe, under a goose down cover in an old wrought iron queen size bed. There was a fireplace across from her, and the fire was glowing, warming the room for Lita. The floors were made of wood and the walls of were a pale plaster painted in yellow. Old burnished ship beams used to construct the house hung down from the ceiling.

She struggled to sit up, and only managed it after a few minutes of shifting and rearranging pillows. When she was propped up she was able to look around more. On the floor beside her was her puppy, wrapped in a little ball on a towel that someone had placed down from her.

It occurred to her that she wasn't at her room in the hotel, but in a complete stranger's house. That disturbed her slightly and while she was weak, the desire to know her present situation drove her forward. Carefully she stepped out of bed despite her body's protests. She found herself wobbly.

She wondered how she had gotten here; who had taken care of her and been so kind, despite her worry. Clearly someone had to have taken care of her and rescued her from the water. She could remember someone's hand on her face as she hacked up the water and that thought told her that at least she was safe.

She listened to the noises for a minute and rationalized her location. She knew that she wasn't in the hotel, but she wasn't far from the sea either. She could hear the waves crashing outside her window. Only going to find the owner of the house would help her now.

Lita made her way to the door and wondered down the hall until she saw a staircase and a light coming from the lower floor. Carefully she made her way down the stairs, but found it difficult to stand, and held onto the wall tightly.

The steps creaked a little and must have made enough noise for someone to hear, because she could hear the footsteps on the old floorboards approaching the stairs. It was fortunate for her that someone was coming though.

As she descended onto the next riser her weight finally gave out, and her knees buckled, causing her to come crashing down. Before she could fall down the stairs though someone dashed up the last few steps and caught her.

The hands gripped her tightly, pulling her close and helping her to catch her balance. She clung to him as she struggled to stand on her own.

She heard his voice speak and she followed his hands to his arms and face.

" Are you okay? You shouldn't be out of bed yet. My name is . . ."

The man's arms were bronzed strong and muscular. His face held blue eyes as liquid as the water. He had a chiseled visage and brown locks. The complete portrait stunned her. Recognition hit her like a plane flying at full speed and she could have sworn that it was Ken. However, before she could confirm her suspicions, she passed out.

*****

Destiny just smiled and chuckled.

AN 1: If any of you acutally know where Menton is and what it's like (which I do), then please don't get accusatory that I'm not being faithful to its depiction. I will bring in Menton proper soon.

AN 2: And you expected Pluto to do nothing to ensure her safety?

I know I'm evil. But don't you like a good mystery?