DISCLAIMER: First things first. I DO NOT OWN VANDREAD, any of its characters, etc. They are not mine; they are property of GONZO and their respective owners. So don't sue! Jai Akira is my own character, though, and does belong to me! This plot is also my own, spawn of my unbridled, albeit quite unimaginative, imagination. Any resemblance of any name to any person, living or otherwise, is purely coincidental.

AUTHOR'S NOTES aka RANDOM RAMBLING:

Fic started: April 13, 2004 (during the closing minutes...^_^)

This is my second fanfic and third piece of fiction...I like to keep records.

Something I've got on my mind for sometime now...but I've been too busy to begin earlier. This is gonna be slightly AU (actually, same universe, but different chains of events), so there might (no, wait...there ARE going to) be some inconsistencies with the manga and the anime. Also maybe some OOC-ness, though I try to keep it at a minimum...but that's how it's going to be, people.

Basically, it's the Vandread story (the original of which is NOT MINE) with more than several tweaks to it...many of the dates/details/etc. here, I try to make them as "possible" as...possible. For example, I figure that it would take more than several centuries for the beliefs of the persons in the story to be such, as well as the development of men, women and the Earth. Again, there are a LOT (emphasis on LOT as in many, several, etc.) of major inconsistencies with the manga and anime. But it's what fits the story...or maybe I'm just being paranoid and too serious about things...and that's the way (uh huh, uh huh) I like it!

Thanks to all the writers over at , especially those in the Anime, Game, Cartoon and Book sections, for all the great fics. You guys & girls rock! My gratitude also to those in ...you guys & girls also rock! To authors in both, you doubly rock! ^_^

And thanks to you, dear reader! Yeah, you, for reading this. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Oh yeah, please review, if possible. I mean constructive criticism and non-degrading, non-mortifying comments, that is. Well, if you just HATE the fic, then don't continue reading! It's that simple! You don't have to blab about 'how the story sucks' or something. Well, you can write flames, but you'd just be wasting your time and effort, you can be sure of that. So please. If you don't like this, then just go and write something you do like ^_^. Everyone has the potential to come up with a great story.

Here goes...enjoy!

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Memory

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PROLOGUE

The Present is Past

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Jai Akira sighed inwardly. After spending the entire morning and most of the afternoon at the hospital for daily internship as part of his last year of medical school, he was just about ready to call it a day. It wasn't easy being an intern, taking care of patients in addition to studying for the upcoming board exams, but he always found time to engage in various hobbies, which included a lot of martial arts, anime, painting, reading classical fiction, writing, and playing tunes on his beloved guitar and piano, among others. Of course, studies weren't a walk in the park, but they were extremely interesting and enjoyable, which helped a lot in making them that much easier to understand and gave him that much more "free time". Despite being an almost full-fledged doctor, not to mention a 23-year old adult, he was still quite a kid at heart.

Picking up his rather large shoulder-strap schoolbag and the black guitar jacket that encased his wooden Yamaha 6-steel-string, he made his way out of the medical building to the nearby parking lot where his bike, a sleek Raleigh Aviator slightly modified to accommodate his usual baggage, was parked. His black, short, straight hair was blown roughly by the strong winds, but a flick of his hand saw to its neatness soon enough.

With very little doubt, or perhaps none at all, he felt that this day was one to be remembered. Saturday, December 13, 2003. A lot of things had happened during the day, and he now had to return several documentary CD's to the university and pick up some supplies at the pharmacy.

How little he knew the true significance the date would soon be to him...

'A student's job is never done...' he thought to himself, as he put on his earphones and popped J.S. Bach into the CD player. Soothing music soon filled his ears and calmed him a bit. He wiped his glasses and, taking a look at his watch, gave a start. "6:27! And the university closes at 6:30 sharp on Saturdays! Ah, well...maybe on Monday..." he exhaled, finally deciding to leave the particular task for another time.

The pharmacy, however, was open 24 hours, so that was his first and only stop before home. Soon, he had loaded his now-full bag with various medicines and other supplies he would need for the next week.

It was a quarter to seven. Now he was on the way up the hill that led to his house, a quaint two-storey concrete and brick residence that overlooked the nearby bay. Stopping for a moment at a roadside cliff to catch his breath, he had just looked up in time to see the sun sink below the horizon. A beautiful sight, even he would have to admit, and something that he would always love about the world. Even after all this time, after countless other opportunities he took to marvel the sight, it never ceased to hold him temporarily awestruck.

The place was quiet, serene. At that moment, everything seemed perfect...

'I feel as if I could die happy right now...' he thought wistfully.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when a small, faint light appeared right in front of him, just beyond the cliff.

"Hey? What's this...?" he wondered, adjusting his eyeglasses and straining to see what the mysterious radiance was.

In an instant, the brightness spread, until everything else vanished from sight. A gentle white glow was all that was visible around him.

"Huh?" Jai felt a wave of panic quickly rising in him. "Hey, I didn't really mean that, you know...!" He called out to the powers that be, though silently praying to them as well that he would be safe.

Then he became aware of a shrill buzzing somewhere far upwards. Looking in the direction, however, he saw nothing.

The brightness was steadily growing more intense, to the point where his eyes began to hurt. Squeezing them shut did little to block out the painful luminosity. His head began to feel light, and his body was becoming surprisingly heavy.

'What the heck is happening to me...?'

He felt himself wobble on the bike for a few fleeting seconds before finally slipping into unconsciousness.