Prologue: Book I

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Elysium
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~

Every human being carries a candle inside. Those candles don't distinguish in their height. All that is different is only the strength of the light that comes from it, the flame which burns either weakly and small or powerfully and lightly.

As every human being has such an inner candle there is always a protecting shield that saves the light from going out, once it came to burn.

A long time ago she lighted such a little candle in you and it felt warm and pleasant. You recognized it, you felt it. But instead of using the shield in order to protect that light from the world you only protected the world from the light. And that was how you started to forget about it.

But just like everything else in the vast universe even this seemingly unmeaning little light fulfils a certain sense. And even if your head might believe you are able to forget - your heart will always remember.


~




Book I: Seek of fortune 


Where do I begin
To tell the story of how great a love can be
The sweet love story that is older than the sea
The second truth about the love she gave to me
Where shall I start



***


Rain kept following Ranma throughout his eternal life. That is at least he got cursed. It rained back then when he and his father arrived in Nerima. It rained on the day he ought to look into his 'fiancée's' face for the very first time. It rained on his first school day, just when the slightly insane Kuno challenged him to a fight. It rained and rained and again rained. Whenever he was attending an important fight it rained. Whenever he was on his way to school and had forgotten his umbrella it rained.

And one day…

… it rained again. But on this day he was supposed to be protected by a guardian angel who held her hand saving and kindly above him. That angel had short dark hair which fell fully in her neck, shiny chocolate brown eyes in which you could lose yourself so easily and a smile which even made the biggest ice block melt. That angel was named Akane.

---

Chapter 1: My Warmth, Your Warmth

With her first hello
She gave a meaning to this empty world of mine
There'd never be another love another time
She came into my life and made the living fine
She fills my heart



***


Angrily they both ran under a tree in order to beware of the falling down water. A loud thunder rumbled and made the wet branches quake.

"That sucks!" screamed the young boy without looking at his companion. His long and dark pigtail hit against his cheek when he turned around in a hasty move. "Not only did that stupid Pop send me on a training trip with you, it even has to start raining!!" Completely furious he kicked into the soggy ground.

"Ranma…" replied the girl in a mix of defiance and calmness. "No way we can stay here. Haven't you heard it's thundering?"

Out of control he rolled with his eyes and furiously held his arms up. "So what do you suggest?? Shall I just walk on and continue the trainin' as a girl? Everythin' would be for nothin' then! Girls have nothin' to do when it comes to martial arts. How many times have I told you thi--"

A hard object hit his face before he was able to finish his sentence. "I see…" she retorted and her voice trembled of anger while she was pulling back the small umbrella with which she just had violently made Ranma shut up.  "But all I'm seeing right now is that you as a man should really work at your defence!" With stuck up nose she pushed a little button to open the umbrella. "Anyways, unlike you of course I had thought of such a situation and brought this folding umbrella."

Confused Ranma looked at his companion while rubbing his jaw.

"Now what? Won't you come? I don't know what you think but I'm for heading up straight for a better and above all safer hideout!" Still pouting she did not look into his face and just stole a brief glance at him. However, she was considerately beside her making room for him at the same time.

He hesitated for a moment. A moment that he needed to realize the kindness of hers. With a grateful nod he stepped towards her and kept silent for the next few minutes. While he was walking beside his mostly so mysterious and unchosen fiancée he noticed it had not been that bad to have been sent on this training trip together with her. For if you kept aside that she tended to be a brutal macho tomboy every now and then and she was unnaturally easily hurt, she was still a very helpful person. No matter how mad he was in the last couple of hours - about her presence, her permanent dissatisfaction, about her being a girl who has nothing to do on a trip for guys in the first place - now he suddenly felt more comfortable with it.  His first thought was this weird 'fuzzy something' popped up only because he escaped turning into a girl once more. Now he could comfortably and without fear walk under the umbrella and look for a shelter. But soon he realized that there had to me more somehow. Relief is what you usually feel in your lung. About in the height of your breast. Maybe even a little bit above. All of a sudden instead of the fresh breeze in his chest he more felt a rising fuzzy warmth in his stomach. The world around him disappeared in his mind and he just fixed on that feeling without deeper thoughts of it. Without words he put his trust into Akane's hands when she carried the umbrella and decided the direction they were heading. Sometimes she could really be like someone totally strange. Then she was anything but the brutal macho tomboy.

After a long he was now remembering the day when he stepped into her life. Back then there was a sudden rain just like now. But not only this should those two days have in common. Also her friendly welcome with the offer to make friends gave him eternal warmth in his else cold heart. At least he thought it was cold. When he was still a kid his father used to teach him to avoid emotional  outbursts at all costs since a martial artist's honour would not combine with it. Ranma grew up with contradicts. On the one hand he learned to fight fiercely, on the other hand he watched his father when he suddenly started crying and begging sometimes. With the first hello his fiancée gave him the warmth inside of him had been growing. But at the same time he permanently forced himself to suppress it. The bigger and stronger his inside warmth became the harder he fought against it, told himself he did not even know it. And so he forgot about it by time. He suppressed it by always provoking new fights; subconsciously. But now that this situation made so many memories reawaken on a strange way, he remembered. They both were all alone. And even though he had hardly done anything in the previous three days but to insult her and she tripped into his trap every single time and retorted or pouted she was yet in a for her not too terrifying situation willing to ignore all that in order to be the friend she wanted to be from the very first day. Just how did she make it to be so nice in such situations? Some other girls would definitely had done the same for him. Maybe they had even had a much nicer umbrella or they had given the umbrella to him so that he would not have to share it. But those girls always intended something with such things.  This girl acted completely unselfish. She did it for being friendly, not for getting anything in reward. Didn't she get scared or anything at all? Truly he had done his best to protect her from him, yet she never broke her first promise to him. Either he had done a very bad job till then by not pushing her far enough from himself or… she was an angel.

"A cave!" she suddenly shouted in a high tone. "Ranma, look. We are saved." Happily she turned her face to him for having eye contact.

He did not speak yet. It was not that he did not know what to say. He just did not want to because he had too much to say. There was an annoying fear the words he had thought about would just flow out of his mouth once he opened it. Too meaningful was the gesture of hers. Barely anyone would ever understand it. But she did seemingly. She tried to forget about all what happened before and was there to help him. For he hated it to turn into a girl. He hated it incredibly to feel curves at his body. Curves that were at hips and breast instead at his arms all of a sudden. He disgusted to be short and cute. All his life he had worked on getting strong after all. No matter how long he had been living with the curse already and how often he had to turn into a girl ever since then, it did not change the fact that every single time was connected with terrifying dismay. It meant one more loss. One more proof of weakness. And although she had hated to lose against him in a duel she always respected this of his 'fears' and mostly dealt very carefully with it instead of abusing it against him. That was her for you: Akane.

Carefully she wrung out her wet jacket. Obviously she felt his guilty look at her back. After a while that he did not manage to speak a word she turned around. "What is it?" Her question did not sound as if she had asked it for nothing.

Hesitating he opened his mouth and pulled his shoulders to his face. "You… were gotten wet", he noticed but it almost sounded like a question.

Akane nodded. "I don't care", she said and then continued drying her clothes. "I brought the umbrella for you in the first place anyway. Although you actually don't…"

"Although I actually don't deserve it", he interrupted and finished her sentence. A little surprised she turned to him and saw his serious but nevertheless warm look. Unfortunately it wasn't supposed to remain since he titled his face to his side as soon as their eyes had met. He tried to inform her with a voice as cold as possible that he will make a fire. Then he unpacked his bag and covered the ground of the carve with various things he needed for a campfire. Shaking her head Akane watched his actions.

"I can't believe you brought all this. Matchsticks. And even... logs? What on earth-- And there you didn't even think of taking an umbrella?"

"You just dun understand this 'cause you're a girl. That's just a guy thing." Something was step by step again bothering him about her presence. He could not put a finger on it but he knew that there was such a feeling. While he had to force himself not to break out with a passionate declaration only a few minutes ago he now was in the mood to insult and offend her in any possible way. Or just to keep her from him with it.

Seconds of silence passed by. Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. Soon it was night. Since Ranma's last comment about the oh so stupidity of women's they both kept  avoiding any kinds of conversation. There were not many opportunities to have fun in the small carve. They could not go out since the first slight rain soon became a wild thunderstorm like there were often at the beginning of spring in that area. So they spent their common time with starring into the yellow flame of the campfire.

Ranma did not think about anything in particular. Throughout all the years on the road he had learned to make his head free in difficult situations. This situation was definitely difficult to manage. They were never crowded together like that before.  He did not know whether to be happy or mad about it all. Wasn't that an exertion. Fortunately he knew everything he needed for a good meditation. His spirit flew away, sailed over the far roofs of the wide rain forests, crossed the ocean where never a men had been before and at last flew high and fast through the airs like a creature from an old fairy tale. He was so deepened in his mental training that he did not notice how also time flew. Only when his eyes caught a movement at the other side of the fire he felt his spirit sailing back in his body.

It was Akane. She poked into the fire with a long stick. As it seemed she was trying to keep it on. A look over his left shoulder revealed that it was dark already. The thunderstorm mostly vanished but there were still a few rain drops falling from the black night sky. Only now he recognized the smell of wet trees and sand.

"You tired?" he asked in a low voice and immediately bit on his tongue. How could he forget he did not want to talk to her for the next couple of hours? This situation was just too weird! He did not get an answer though. Already sure she was just pouting again, he leaned forward for seeing her face better and then giving her once more a piece of his mind. But with opened mouth he stopped. The little orange coloured fire that lighted her face from bellow made her look completely different than she used to do. Surprised he titled his head a little. All of a sudden she did not really look like Akane anymore. Of course she had still the same profile, the same figure, the same hair style - just every of her forms were like before. Still there was something strange at her. So pensive was her look when she watched into the fire that gave her warm light. She did not look completely human like that. Of course her appearance was not animal or anything. It was more like superhuman. The soft, warm tones which touched her countenance in a very unusual way, gave her something mystical. She looked like an angel.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked after while with a calm manner. Her body trembled. It was only now that Ranma noticed it after he got an eye for that when he heard the slight vibration in her voice.

"I-i…" he began quite insecure and his head turned red. "I was only wonderin' why you didn't answer my question, is all!" Silently he screamed of pleasure about this brilliant retort of his.

"I DID answer", she said very instant and destroyed all his new won pride and joy. "Just listen closely next time I'll talk to you. I said I am tired but I cannot sleep here for sure."

Ranma gulped. "Why not?" That was all he could bring out for now.


Still she was not looking up from the fire. "My clothes are all wet. Besides you didn't want me to bring my sleeping bag."

He was about to open his mouth but before he could say something she spoke out his words: "A guy thing - I know." Suddenly tiny tears rose up into her eyes. Sobbing she hid her face in her hands and pulled her legs closer to her chin. "But unfortunately-- unfortunately I'm not a guy."

That was definitely too much for him again. Now what was wrong with her? She was usually a tough tomboy after all. Why in the world did she have to start crying now of all times? There was absolutely no one else whom he could ask to comfort her. Now it was all up on him to do the job. Ever since he could remember he was never able to bare seeing a crying girl. Therefore he had to comfort her. But how? He had not the slightest clue why she was crying at all.


"A-akane..." he began rather clumsy and sat beside her while he was putting an arm around her shoulder. Odd feeling. Now there were sitting all alone in a small cave in front of a romantic fire and he practically held her in his arms. Her sudden cringe did not make it easier at all. He gulped. Because she had taken off her jacket earlier she was now dressed only in her t-shirt. His hand was on her undressed arm, on her smooth skin… in a small cave in front of a romantic fire. There's really always a comparison! Oh no... He was supposed to comfort her because she suddenly started to cry. Concentrated he tried to find his inner strength and to avoid all kinds of dumb, distracting thoughts. But now he was noticing something strange. It was not that she only trembled. Her skin was even as cold as ice. He frowned and looked at her face. And only because he got closer to her he saw her pale skin. 


"Akane? You alright?" he asked quite worried though he could clearly read the answer from her eyes.

"I'm cold…" she whispered. Her lips were blue and seemed like frozen.

His concern grew. He grabbed Akane's bag in a hurry and took everything out he found inside. But nothing of it was only partially dry. He cursed angrily while he jumped on his feet and then desperately turned his face to his own bag. Immediately he shook his head and closed his eyes to find a solution. All he had packed was only logs and lots of food.



"Oh that sucks!!" he cursed again and pulled his own hair in despair. Somehow it hurt him to see Akane like that. It hurt him to see her feeling bad because she was so unselfish to give him the most of the umbrella and then got all wet herself. Moreover it hurt him to know one thing positively: He did not deserve it.


"Calm yourself down, Ranma. I'm just cold. That's all."

He turned around. No! No, that was not all. To him it was so much more. But how could she be able to understand? Once more he observed her appearance closely. Although he had noticed her pale face and the blue lips already, the fact that she looked like an angel did not change.


"Y-you'll get my clothes. They're all dry." He forced himself to a very casual smile. "Hey, I even warmed them up for ya."

Akane's pale cheeks instantly glue in the lightest red tones. "You… you can't… you can't sit in the nude here in front of me." She looked down, still blushed. So did Ranma. Getting a new idea he began to speak but once more Akane thought faster: "Forget it. You won't take on my wet clothes. Besides you know they're not your confection. Even if you'd turn into a girl."

He sighed. Right now he really did not felt like offending or even hurting her but it was true. It was not that she was fat but her figure was way too different from his nonetheless. Actually it was more the reversed case; her clothes were too small for his body. Although this could be offending as well when it came to certain parts of the female body.

"And what…" he started after a moment in a flustering tone. "…if I won't take off my clothes?"


Akane looked at him in confusion. Ranma answered her unspoken question by sitting beside her again; closer than he did before. Carefully and with a quick motion as lacking of emotion as possible he pulled both arms around her body. "Dun get me wrong", he warned her in a childish tone. "I'm just doin' this so that you ain't cold anymore."

"Why in the world should I--", she started madly but stopped suddenly and sighed heavily. "Can…. we--? Wouldn't you mind?"

Without words he shook his head and this way told her he was ready to hold her all night long in his arms to make her feel warmer. With a serious manner he starred at the wall of the cave. It was grey and looked kind of slimy. In other words it was the perfect image for his eye. All he had to do was fix on something that looked quite cold, so that he was able to forget all kinds of emotions. So that he soon would not notice anymore how good it actually felt to press Akane's thin body against his. Boy, that was hardcore. But he would manage it though.  Sure, he would.


Suddenly she put both of her hands at his shoulders and gently leaned her face against his chest. She sighed again. But this time it sounded sweet and innocent like when a baby is about to fall asleep. "Good night, Ranma", she whispered.

His face was petrified. It felt as if he had just gotten one of those injections he knew from the dentist. Such things that steal every kinds of normal feelings from you. What is left is a whole, indefinite tickle. Though he had gotten such an injection only once in his lifetime he would never forget its effect. Especially now that his rising feelings were so much alike of those back then, he remembered. Unable to control the muscles of his face his eyes widened. Only inside was an invisible smile touching him.


***

Darkness...

~You remember.

What do I remember?
~Me.

Who are you?
~You know that.
...
~You have felt like that already.


I don't remember.
~You were only six years old when you two first met.

Who have I met?
~Her.

No... I don't remember.
~You were still very young. It was near Kobe. 

What was near Kobe?
~She sat on a stone and cried. You did not recognize her face
~because she hid it behind her tiny hands.


Why did I want to see it?
~Although you did not know her, her sobs hurt you so badly
~in your heart.


Who was she?
~An angel…

...

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Pleaaaase tell me what you think about my story! Although there didn't happen a lot yet. Oh, and I'm not English btw so there might be lots of mistakes. I hope you don't mind too much. ^^°