The pale moonlight shone through the flimsy curtains of a derelict hotel at the very edge of Nerima. Inside the sparsely furnished room, a figure sat quietly, her pale skin in stark contrast with the dark coat she wore, and her long, pure white hair almost luminous in the dimly lit room. Tenshi opened her ice-blue eyes, and under the moonlight filtering through the curtains, tears shimmered in them.

No matter how cool she appeared to be, she was after all a stranger in this world, and only one hundred and eleven years of age. She missed Yume terribly…and most of all, she missed Okami Kaji, the first and only man she had loved, who was now the one and only man she hated.

It seemed not too long ago, when they were still in Cefiro, and she was only just past her fifteenth birthday. Okami-san had been her teacher, a caring and attentive teacher, who had taught her and Yume everything they knew. And in Tenshi’s young heart, she knew he was the one for her…

But one day, Okami-san was called away by Princess Emeraude and told to go on a trip to Earth. He was gone for a very long time, and every second he was away was an eternity to Tenshi. Yume had tried to comfort her sister and Tenshi was grateful for it. But Yume often reminded her that Okami-san was their teacher, and that Clef probably would not allow his star pupil to marry her—for it was rumored that the Madoshi of Cefiro was not allowed to marry, and that was why Clef was still single, as had been the Madoshi before him. And if Okami-san was to be the next Madoshi…

Then after three years, Okami Kaji finally returned. But he was never the same man again—he always seemed to be lost in a world of his own, and he now ignored Tenshi and had bluntly rejected her. Tenshi was heartbroken, but she never gave up—he loved her…he must! Nothing would make her accept anything else, and Tenshi was very determined to break the barrier between them.

Then one day, Okami-san went to Princess Emeraude and confessed—he had fallen for a girl in the other world, and he wanted to be with her. So he was stripped of his powers and he left Cefiro for good. It was then that Tenshi made up her mind. She couldn’t stand to lose him, especially not to an Earthling girl! She would go to Earth and bring him back! It was against the rules of Cefiro—anybody who went to Earth without permission faced severe punishment if he was caught. But nothing would make her change her mind once it was made up, so Yume had no choice but to follow her sister. But when they finally got there, they found out that Okami-san had died of a fatal illness not long after leaving Cefiro, and now the sisters were stuck on Earth because Tenshi’s half-baked magic skills weren’t enough to bring them back—not that they could ever return to Cefiro now.

And so Tenshi waited for the day Okami-san would return to Earth, searching relentlessly for his reincarnation, confident that he would return, and he would love her. But the years went by, and he never returned, and Tenshi’s anticipation and excitement every time she heard of a new possibility turned into disappointment when it turned out to be another false alarm. She turned bitter, and the love she had became hatred…

Tenshi wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill out fiercely. Never was she going to shed another tear for that heartless Okami Kaji. She had already wasted too many on him, tears he had never appreciated, tears that never moved him in any way.

“So what if your name is now Ranma Saotome? So what if you can’t remember me anymore?” Tenshi said to herself, her voice trembling with a mixture of sorrow and anger. “What matters is I remember you…”

Clef looked at the flurry of snowflakes falling outside his window and scowled. He had been thinking about that girl Hikaru had brought back…*Yume, that was her name. * A rather familiar girl, though he remembered the sister better. It was hard to forget Tenshi Kori…a girl as white and icy as her name…an “Angel of Ice”. He had guessed she would make trouble for Kaji, but now she was bothering his next life too! It was too much, and Princess Emeraude would have agreed. Okami Kaji might have disgraced him, and most of all, disappointed him by falling in love with a girl from the other world while on a mission, but Kaji’s willingness to give up everything he had for the one he loved had been most touching. *To fall in love is not a crime, * Clef mused. After all, he might be the Madoshi of Cefiro, but he had once loved too, when he was young and didn’t know better, like Tenshi doesn’t know better now.

“Love is a painful thing.” Clef whispered to himself. Then Lantis and Hikaru burst into the room, interrupting his thoughts.

“Oops!” Hikaru giggled. “Didn’t know you were here, Clef. Sorry!” she said, and left the room dragging a rather amused Lantis behind her.

A slight smile touched Clef’s face, as he watched them leave. “And yet, it is sometimes very beautiful.”

It was a peaceful morning, and there was quiet everywhere. At Tendo Dojo, the little pond had long been frozen over, and everywhere was a thick layer of the still-falling snow. Ranma sat on the steps, admiring the scene and sighed. Ranma liked this weather, for it was almost impossible for him to fall into ponds and swimming pools, unless…

“Ranma! We haven’t trained in a long time!” Genma shouted out. “Come, let me see if your skills have improved.” Then out of nowhere, Genma appeared from behind and tried to grab Ranma, but Ranma was too fast for him and leapt out of the way quickly. “Geez! Dad!” Ranma grumbled, and the two of them started to wrestle in the middle of the snowy field. “It’s cold!” Ranma yelped, trying to get out of the snow, his bare feet already freezing. “Concentrate on your opponent!” Genma shouted. “Easy for you to say!” Ranma shouted. “You’re wearing your boots, I’m not!” Then, taking advantage of Ranma’s distraction, Genma grabbed Ranma and threw him at the pond. The thin ice that had formed started to crack. Ranma made a desperate attempt to get off the ice, but it was too late…

“Really, Uncle,” Kasumi reprimanded Genma gently, “You shouldn’t have thrown Ranma into the pond in such cold weather.” Ranma mumbled his agreement, shivering badly although his was wrapped in about ten blankets. Nodoka took the thermometer out of his mouth and a frown crossed her delicate features. “It is quite bad.” She said. “I think we need to get Dr. Tofu.” Gingerly, Akane placed her hand on Ranma’s forehead and gasped. “He’s burning up!” Hurriedly, she rushed to the phone in the hall and dialed Dr. Tofu’s number, but all she got was a busy signal. She ran back to check on Ranma, but he seemed to be getting worse. His face was now as white as the snow that was falling outside, and he kept shivering. His mother tried to get his up to eat something, but he didn’t respond. Akane quickly grabbed her coat and rushed out into the night.

It was snowing very heavily now, and she could barely see a thing. The cold winds cut at her face like a knife and she was shivering despite the thick coat she had. She drew the coat closer to herself, straining her eyes to see in the dark. When she saw the familiar outline of the teahouse, she felt an incredible urge to go in for a cup of hot tea before continuing, but when she thought of Ranma’s pale, drawn face, she quickly decided against it and quickened her steps. After what seemed like eternity, she finally reached Dr. Tofu’s place. *Please let him be in… * Akane thought as she knocked on the door. After a while, the door finally opened. “Akane! What are you doing here in such freezing weather?” Akane had never felt happier to see Dr. Tofu. “Dr. Tofu! Ranma, he’s...”

But she didn’t complete her sentence, because she collapsed at Dr. Tofu’s feet before she could.

“Akane! Akane!”
Akane stirred. It seemed to her that someone was calling her, but the voice was so far away, so far…she forced open her eyes and saw a blurry image of Ryouga’s concerned face hovering above her, and tried to sit up.
“Ryouga…I…” but the room started to spin again and she winced. “No, no…relax, don’t try to get up.” Ryouga said frantically. “Ranma’s okay, Dr. Tofu is with him now.”

Akane heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back on the pillow. Her head still hurt terribly, but at least Ranma was okay now. “What’s wrong with me?” she whispered. “The last thing I remember was standing outside Dr. Tofu’s house, and then…”

“You were just over-exhausted.” Ryouga explained. “You shouldn’t have gone out in the cold like that. I guess you probably haven’t really recovered from the dehydration when we were fighting those bird-people.” Ryouga said, referring to a time that seemed so long ago to Akane, when she had been dehydrated until she had shrunk to the size of a little doll…a time before the wedding. “Don’t worry, Akane.” Ryouga said gently. “Go back to sleep. If you need anything, I’ll be right here.” Akane smiled weakly at Ryouga. “I’m okay, I really am,” she protested. “I just need to rest a while and I’ll be fine.”
Ryouga nodded and backed away reluctantly. “If you need anything, just holler, okay?”

Akane tried to go back to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Ranma’s pale face on the pillow, his dark hair in stark contrast with his unusual paleness. She sat up slowly. She was feeling much better now. Surely it wouldn’t matter if she just made a trip to Ranma’s room before she had her rest…Akane forced herself to her feet and stumbled towards the wall. Clinging painfully to the wall, she managed to move very slowly towards the stairs, every excruciating step sending a dull throbbing pain through her head. When she finally reached the stairs, she held on tightly to the railing, but she still slipped and lost her footing…