A.N: Wish happy holidays to everybody I love summer! Sorry for taking so long to update.

To F-zelda: I'm sorry but I plan only to make Shinosuke a brother for Akane, it would seem a little bit weird to change that after having lived together for so many years and having treated each other like brother and sister.
To Vanechan85: gràcies per la teva review. Hope you like this chapter too…though it's got less dialoge…
Andreuish: happy you said you are getting caught up in the story. Espero que este nuevo capítulo no te defraude.
To Takigirl: hihihi..yeah, poor Ranma had it coming
To Raizard333: quite confusing he apologizes…ne? we'll know soon maybe in next chapter for now…let's just say it's the calm before the storm
To love a lot girl: so really sorry I haven't updated my other stories yet….arghh…but I'll as soon as possible…do not worry!
To Flippy's, Michael85, Mei, Storm, Dizzi & Xochitlakran: Thank you so much for reviewing meit really cheers me up.
To Sailor-fan: hihihi, I had never though of it in such a way…but, you may be right…looks like a twister Romeo and Juliet…must have been because of I read all of Shakespeare works this year…took me long!

Be my beloved enemy

The calm before the storm

Insane.

Utterly and completely insane.

Seconds had ticked by, probably minutes or even hours. She couldn't really tell. Hours since she had officially lost her mind. Hours since she had saved his very living guts. Hours since she had gone INSANE….

And now, he was breathing. His lungs taking in and out the very same air she breathed too. To Akane, the room was filled with his poisonous presence and the thought of sharing the chamber's oxygen with him seemed too much to bear. She swung her legs over the side of the bed as a rush of nausea washed over her and she fought the urge to throw up.

She could hear his soft intakes of air, could see the slow movement of his chest, could feel the rhythmic beating of his cold heart…

Akane picked up a blanket from the bottom of the bed, wrapped it close to her body and inhaled deeply. A cold chill ran down her spine as she, once more, repositioned herself on the mattress; her gaze expertly avoiding Ranma's body. After all, she didn't need to look at him; his image was etched on her mind, his mark branded on her skin…

A gulp of vomit made its way up to her mouth. It was a rotten taste; just as rotten as Ranma was. She clutched her hands at her stomach, gripping at the flesh. It seemed the effects of the pain-killers she had taken had worn off. She tossed and turned settling her gaze finally on the source of her tragedy.

Even in the current situation, when she was eying him resting peacefully in the other bed of the infirmary, her mind continued to come up with different ways she could inflict pain to him.

'sad…?' maybe but the tragedy was slipping through her fingers and she knew that the calmness of the moment would not last long…

Because if anything, their story was a tragedy that had come to stay for a long time and she had decided she wanted the main role in it.

She growled as a heavy weight prevented her from moving; her lashes had frozen because of the water that had been thrown at them. She cracked her eyes open and moved her arms just enough to throw Ranma away from her body.

She had likely blacked out after Ranma had. Akane scanned the area frenetically; scared that whoever had done that to them was still there.

Her teeth chattered and she tried to rub her arms to create friction and therefore heat. Ranma's clothes were covered in ice, his hair had frozen in little crystals of snow. Akane kneeled beside him, pondering whether to leave him there and run away or stick with him.

'What if he attacks me again?'

With a shaky hand she reached out to him and tried picking on his arm; firt softly, then more vigorously.

'Sorry' his voice kept repeating in her mind. It was strangely soft and caring; two words that could never fit for such a bastard.

Seeing as the boy didn't wake up, Akane panicked. The school gates where quite near. She tried to stop the chattering of her teeth biting her lips as she got up. Her knees buckled as she trudged through the snow and into the school's building carrying an unconscious Ranma with her. Kasumi, the school's nurse, saw her at the entrance of the infirmary.

"Help" Akane had pleaded before the darkness engulfed her once more.

Akane sighed heavily as the pain started to disappear; her eyes intend on Ranma. His lips , that had so mercilessly spat insults and threats at her, looked as cold and dead as his words. The sight of his blood all over his shoulder made her cringe. She removed the two top buttons of her uniform to look at her own mark.

Akane panicked at the sight that greeted her eyes; the scream she was about to let out muffled by strong hands. For the hundredth time that day, Akane Tendo lost conciousness.

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Ranma's eyes snapped open all of a sudden; he looked around and in a flash his hand had covered up her scream. Then, when she had fainted, they had moved down her cheek to her shoulder where he grazed the none-existent mark.

Ranma inhaled deeply

'What the hell was going on?'

It was drizzling outside when Akane opened her eyes once more.

"Mine's gone too" his words echoed through the tiny room.

Her gaze, still unsure, rested upon his bare shoulder and a pregnant silent overcame the chamber.

"So, how are you two doing?" the merry voice of Kasumi inquired.

They were so entranced with one another that Kasumi's presence had not register in their brains yet. The nurse smiled cheekily at the sight.

"I'd adventure to say you are doing fine" she tried speaking again.

Akane and Ranma's eyes remained unmoving and wide open.

"Tendo, Saotome. What happened to you both?" at the mention of their family names they turned around to examine the new found human being. Ranma made a throaty sound from deep in his throat at his obvious discomfort with the sudden intruder while Akane just looked mesmerized at Kasumi's presence.

"Well, I'm waiting or have you two lost your voice? Because it happens that today a new student has started school…." She trailed on as she looked through the pages on her notebook

"yeah…here it is. Shampoo. She'll be in your class and by the…" Her babble was lost on Ranma.

"What!" He bellowed

"Nice to see you have your voice with you but will you please keep it down? So, what is it that happened to you both?"

Ranma closed his mouth stubbornly and sighing Akane answered.

"We were attacked this morning near the school gates but we blacked out before we could see who it was"

"Oh my…we should call the police then"

"No police is going to be involved in this" interrupted Ranma in a menacing tone.

"I'd insist you two report this to the…"

"I said NO!" Ranma had taken a step towards Kasumi but, before things got further and out of hand, Akane stepped in.

"We are fine, must have been someone from school who was trying to play a trick on us"

Kasumi seemed to buy the girls explanation and smiled cheerly.

"You can gather your belongings out there" she said pointing at a table "I made sure you were excused from classes today; you should go home and rest"

When she disappeared again, Ranma and Akane's eyes crossed in mutual understanding. They were not going to avoid the subject, something was going on and time was not on their side. A hint of a worried smile showed at the corners of the girls mouth while Ranma's stance was as cold as a stone, his sad blue eyes gave his feelings away.

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As the days wore on, Akane got more and more obsessed over what had happened with Ranma; the mark and his sudden transformation due to the cats. She tried to forget about the mysterious disappearance of the bite as their silent agreement had concluded. Still, she felt the need to know what had occurred that day on the snow, needed to know what had made the jerk transform into such a monster. Though what she wished she could guess was what had that 'sorry' meant.

During the week she had often visited the town library in hope that, between the dusty books, she could find the source of his problem. She'd tried asking Ukyo but it looked as if the girl had banished from the earth; not even Shinosuke knew where to find her.

Ranma had been calm the past few days and although the taunts between them did not cease, they were less harsh, less intense…probably because neither of them wanted to endure a repetition of that day on the snow and because deep down they were on alert, patiently waiting for an answer to their mystery.

He was the same insufferable jerk, the same cocky idiot, the same conceit fool all girls at school mooned over for and she hated him for it all. She hated him for being a puzzle she was not able to decipher.

Time had gone by quickly and Akane closed her books in resignation.

"I don't even know why I try"

The moon was already high in the sky as she stepped out of the library; full and shinny, its reflection travelling through the river. The night was chilly but for a weird reason she felt the urge to sit on the grass that was still wet and frosty and admire the sight. The sounds of the night reached her ears and calmed her spirit while the silver reflection of the moon in the river captured her completely.

A glowing silver light came out of the river's ground; Akane kneeled and peered inside the dark water. Her prying nature getting the best of her and forcing her hand deep into the liquid; she grabbed and pulled hard at the object. Akane felt on her bottom but soon forgot about the pain; a silver rose was now in her hand; glowing like a sun beam. Its petals opening slowly…

….a silver orb falling to the ground from its inside and turning the rose into ice. It broke into a million of crystals that the wind took away. Akane's long fingers touched the orb, her eyes absorbed in its splendour. She examined the treasure as a pang arouse in her shoulder and a thick dark liquid stained the orb. A letter was being drawn, then two, then three… Her eyes opened in shock, blood had travelled down her shoulder to her arm down her fingers to the orb. Trembling, she moved her sweater just enough to look at her shoulder. The mark was back.

The irony of it all was not wasted on her as she gripped the silver orb in her hand and threw it in the river. Water splashing all around.

Soft steps were heard from behind her and a strong hand showed before her eyes. A golden orb stained with blood stood in the center of the palm. She turned around to find Ranma standing on her right; his palm had closed over the orb and in a quick movement it joined hers deep in the rivers ground.

"Stalking again?" She asked quietly as her eyes travelled to the river

"Yes" his deep voice answered her.

She knew he had admitted it not because it was true but because he was as lost and tired as her and just now he wanted a break she was willing to offer him. Ranma's eyes did too stay on the river as the moon's light bathed their worried faces. The teenager's eyes contemplated the quiet water as a soft breeze caressed their skin.

The sounds of the night had died away.

It was the calm before the storm.

A.N: I know there is not much dialogue this time but some things needed to be pointed out. Hope you liked this