Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Story (Prologue)

Well, this is my first ever fanfiction. I want to start off by saying that I will always be open to constructive criticism, and if anyone is ever interested in becoming my Beta-Writer, please let me know. I know that not everything will be perfect since this is my first story, but like I said earlier if anyone who winds up reading this ever has any helpful assistance to offer, please let me know! Also, I would like to go ahead and state that Ryuko might be a bit OOC in this particular chapter, but there's a reason for that which will become apparent later.

And now…. on with the very first chapter of "Threads of the Universe!"

AlucardsBro Out!

He could feel every bone and muscle in his body screaming out in both agony and protest as he forced himself to lean up against the nearest wall. Or at least, what was LEFT of the wall…

The entire cityscape around the young man was devastated beyond comprehensible repair, and even if the citizens decided to rebuild this place one day it would have to be after he and his friends finally defeated that demon of a woman.

Ragyo Kiryuin.

Even the mere thought of that monster's name brought a sneer of disgust and contempt to his face, but the sudden movement on account of his carelessness quickly aggravated his already grievous internal injuries. Sharp pain coursed through his chest and midsection, sending him into a frenzy of hacking coughs that forced several globs of blood onto the cracked pavement.

The sharp telltale sound of high heels clacking against the concrete behind him made the teenage boy seize up in momentary panic before the source of the noise let out a curse in an oh-so-familiar voice.

"Oh fuck...Ben!"

Ryuko Matoi let out another stream of curses as she dashed through the desolate streets towards the nearly broken form of Ben Tennyson. Despite the amount of pain he was experiencing, Ben couldn't help but smile weakly at the sight of the Kamui-clad girl.

The raven and ruby haired young woman stabbed her red Scissor Blade into the pavement before sliding down onto her knees and coming to a halt directly next to the battered body of the boy who was without a doubt her best male friend in the world. (Aside from Senketsu of course…)

"Ben! Oh my god, how bad are you hurt?! We all lost sight of you after that bitch threw you through Honnouji Academy."

Ryuko's sapphire eyes were wide with a mix of panic and concern for her friend, and as soon as she glanced down at Ben's left wrist her face turned a pale shade of white. "Fuck…. Ben, your watch-"

"Yeah I know, it's pretty busted up huh?" the brown-haired hero managed to force up just a bit of his sarcastic personality before falling back into another lapse of agonizing coughs. The Ultimatrix was effectively useless; the last attack from Ryuko's mother had all but fried its internal systems, and that didn't even BEGIN to cover the purely physical damages it had sustained.

The blue-eyed girl looked hesitant for a moment, before her face hardened once again. "Alright, we need to get you somewhere away from the fight…. Senketsu and I can at least carry you to the edge of the city befo-"

"Sorry Ryuko, but no. The watch may be busted up beyond repair, but that doesn't mean I get to stop fighting." Ben smiled weakly at the incredulous look on his friend's face before attempting to shuffle up onto his feet. "I'm a superhero remember? Its my job to fight the bad guys for as long as I can until I either win or die trying…."

Ryuko continued to sit in shocked silence as Ben finally stood up and attempted to walk back towards the sounds of battle. He very well couldn't sit idly by while all of their friends continued to fight against Ragyo now could he?

Kevin and Gwen would never let him live down such a thing, even if they had to pester him about it in the afterlife. Not to mention, he had promised Kevin a while back that he would be his best man whenever he finally decided to ask Gwen the big question after they both graduated from college.

He smiled at the thought of his best male friend and his cousin tying the knot one day, before going on to imagine what his much newer allies would have to say to him if he decided to simply give up.

Satsuki absolutely wouldn't hear of it that was for sure. She would probably understand wanting to surrender in the face of such terrible odds, but knowing her she would ALSO personally give him an impassioned speech about how those with power such as his own should utilize their abilities to the fullest against the likes of her mother.

Sanageyama would most likely tell him to continue fighting to his very last breath, and then get up and fight some more. His green-haired friend had a warrior's spirit, which was something Ben could admire. Besides, he'd probably kick Ben's ass two ways to Sunday if he went and gave up before finishing their rematch.

Jakuzure would most likely just mock him…. good-naturedly of course.

Gamagoori would probably shout at the top of his lungs about how someone as strong as Ben simply didn't have the option of giving up.

Inumuta would probably be more concerned about not getting enough combat data on the rest of Ben's aliens….

Mako would probably give some kind of inspirational speech that only she and possibly Ryuko would understand, the thought of which made him laugh.

Ben was brought out of his inner musings by a titanium hard grip on his uninjured wrist, causing him to look back over his shoulder at Ryuko; who appeared to have overcome her state of catatonic shock and was now holding onto him with a strength that Humungousaur could never even hope to possibly match.

"Ryuko, let me go…." The Ultimatrix wielder spoke softly, not wanting to get into an argument with his best friend on what was possibly their last day alive. When Ryuko didn't answer, he attempted to gently pull himself out of her grasp, but she apparently wasn't having any of it.

"I wont let you…"

The Kamui-Wearer whispered in such a low tone that Ben almost didn't even hear her say anything. Her grip on his wrist tightened before she finally looked up from the ground and into his eyes. And all thoughts Ben had of escaping her hold were ruthlessly destroyed.

Ryuko Matoi did many things:

...She cursed often, AND loudly.

…She got into more fights in a single day than Ben could ever attest to having in the span of several months.

…She also (at least in Ben's opinion) had a very weird appetite, as demonstrated by the one time he outright caught her eating a lemon of all things.

Ryuko did many things, but the ONE thing Ben had never seen her do was cry. Which was why when he saw the unshed tears building up in her eyes, he immediately lost all coherent thought and stared at her in unbridled shock. The sapphire-eyed teenage girl standing before him squashed down her pride's attempt to hide her tear-stricken face from her friend, and she continued to state what she felt needed to be said.

"I lost my dad you know…and for the longest time I was always alone." She began, clearly uncomfortable with baring her emotions to one of her closest friends; yet she pushed onward. "When I first came to Honnouji Academy, the only thing that I had in mind was getting revenge on the bitch who killed him…and for a long time I was convinced it was Satsuki…"

Ben already was already aware of all of this; after all he had been there when a good portion of these events transpired. But even so, he continued to be silent and let Ryuko talk.

"When I found out that Nui was the one who murdered my dad, and that Satsuki was actually my sister…I felt like everything I thought I knew was crashing down around me." She paused then, and offered Ben a watery smile.

"But then you and Mako were there to bring me out of my shitty depression, and for about the one-hundredth time I was so glad that I had made some friends here." She took a step forward.

"As it turns out, Satsuki isn't even THAT bad of a big sister," Ryuko let out a genuine laugh, making Ben's chest tighten. "And thanks to all of you, I finally realized that I have plenty of things to live for other than revenge on Nui Harime and my bitch of a mom."

Another step forward.

"And if you think, even for a fucking minute, that I'm going to just sit back and watch one of the people I care about throw their life away, you've got another thing coming…"

She took yet another step, bringing herself into Ben's personal space. And with the nature of Senketsu's released form, the Ultimatrix-wielder was suddenly very aware of just HOW close the two of them had gotten through the span of her little speech. Even as the sounds of battle and chaos reigned around them, Ben couldn't help but focus solely of Ryuko's sapphire eyes and her unique gear-shaped pupils.

The brown-haired hero swallowed audibly before attempting to speak. "What gives you the right to force me out of the fight before jumping right back in yourself?"

The young woman scoffed and gestured towards the Ultimatrix with her chin. "Well let's see genius, your watch is busted to hell and without it you're just an ordinary human with some admittedly above average fighting skills. Oh, and let's not forget that I can literally heal from having my fucking HEART ripped out of my chest while you'd be out of commission with a broken leg."

Ben scoffed but reluctantly conceded that she rose some fairly significant points. Still, that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Like I said before, I'm a hero. And heroes have to be willing to sacrifice their lives even if they stand no chance, as long as they can make some kind of a difference."

Ryuko narrowed her eyes and tightened her hold on his wrist even more. "I'm still not letting you go back up there to basically kill yourself!"

Ben shouted in utter frustration and leveled an equally challenging glare at his friend. "Why are you being so stubborn about this?!"

The teenage boy stumbled a bit when Ryuko suddenly fisted a handful of his tattered green jacket and yanked his face mere inches from her own. She let out an actual snarl and stared him down for several long moments before her eyes inexplicably softened.

"You're such a god-damn idiot…but that's why I love-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A small dark-haired girl wailed as she kicked her legs and flailed her arms around in the air above her. "You have to tell it RIGHT daddy!"

"Hey, what's the problem Haruka? I thought you always loved to hear the story of Honnouji Academy…" Ben Tennyson raised an eyebrow and fixed his seven-year-old daughter with a look containing both confusion and amusement.

Haruka Tennyson huffed and glared at her father as angrily as she could (Although Ben thought his little girl always looked ADORABLE when she tried to pull an angry look). "Of course I do, it's the story of how you met mommy! But you're telling it all wrong!"

"Oh really? Remind me again which one of us was actually there to see everything happen?" Ben replied teasingly, but the young girl refused to rise to the bait.

Ever since she'd been able to form a coherent thought, Haruka had always adored listening to either her mother or father recount the tales of their exploits during high school, especially the battle against Ragyo Kiryuin (Despite the fact that Ben and Ryuko always made sure to leave out the more gruesome details).

Currently, seeing as how Ryuko had gone to visit Satsuki, Ben had been left with the task of entertaining their daughter. And surprise-surprise, she had all but demanded that he once again tell her most favorite story.

Haruka stood up on the couch and placed her hands on her hips. "Aunty Satsuki always tells me that if you do something you always have to do it right! And you're not telling the story right; you have to start from the very beginning!"

Ben chuckled and scratched at his beard in mock-thought. "Are you sure you want to hear the WHOLE story again from the beginning? We could be here for a while you know…"

His daughter's eyes widened at the thought of not hearing the epic tale in its entirety, as if though scandalized by the very notion her father had suggested. "Yes! Pleeaaaaaaaase daddy? Tell it from the beginning."

The elder Tennyson laughed before scooping his daughter up in his arms, eliciting a squeal of surprise and indignation from the little girl. Depositing her back into a sitting position and ruffling her near-black hair, Ben leaned back comfortably and ignored the light glare he was receiving.

"Alright, from the beginning it is then…let's see how did it go again? Oh right! Our story begins when a boy and a girl run into each other on their first day of high school…"

AAAnd there's the first/prologue chapter! Since this is the very beginning of the story, I will try to make longer chapters in the future. I will also try to lay out a consistent update schedule for new chapters, and I'll be sure to post ahead of time if I have to delay anything.

Well, I hope anyone who reads this finds it interesting, and I also hope you guys continue to follow along throughout the story!

AlucardsBro OUT!