Nimble Wish
Chapter 1: The Black Ruby
The Black Ruby
Sounded more like the name of a pirate's ship then that of the Ezru Capital's most notorious tavern. Notorious for its unusually large crowd of criminals, outlaws, thieves, the usual drunks, runaways, prostitutes, the good, and the bad. It might as well be a pirate's ship.
Even the house specialty drink was as infamous as the tavern's name; guaranteed to knock a person out within minutes no matter how good a drinker he is.
You would expect, when you walk in, to find the dark and gloomy atmosphere of most of the other pubs in the city where drunks gathered to get their quiet drinks and lazily drink until unconsciousness overtook them. The Ruby, however, is nowhere near quite. The Black Ruby's regulars, most of them practically lived there, always filled the place with drunken laughter of the men and flirtatious giggles of their less-then-decent female companions. Crude humor and the daily skirmish of drunken men and sometimes women were always the tavern's best source of entertainment.
The place is situated at the far end of the city, nearest to the Ezru Capital's West entrance. It looked like any other large building in the city; a two story structure with a large courtyard, a stable for the horses, and a back house near the stables. The tavern's inn is the twelve rooms on the second floor of the main house situated above the bar. Fifteen more rooms of the back house are for the employers and 'special' guest. A fountain isn't a very common courtyard ornament in this part of the city but considering the owner of this place, a solid gold grand fountain could be place here if he willed it to be. However, it might have been stolen from a rich Lord's estate somewhere. The only thing that could be considered out of the ordinary is a carefully concealed stepladder above the stables that lead to a dark window of one of the room of the back house.
Apart from the regulars, people of the lower classes came often to get their desired dose of rum, beer, sake, or whatever the alcoholic beverage that the lady bartender could whip up. Bounty hunters are there often enough but they tend to avoid conflict with the criminals until they were out of the tavern. The local law enforcers no longer visited, not wanting to bother with all the men there but they do come often for drinks and to flirt with the ladies. Even Lord Hiroshi didn't bother with the place anymore; he always managed to catch his criminals without going to their headquarters. After all, they can't possibly stay there forever.
You'll find the oddest group of people around here. Only on the rarest of occasions would someone of the upper class step through those well carved black doors.
***
A young man, looking more like a boy, entered the black painted double doors of the Black Ruby. His shirt and pants, though plain, were very well made and of rich materials. Amber eyes, a part his slightly feminine features, and long bluish black hair, tied together in a high ponytail, gave him an aura of attractiveness and-much to his discomfort-a lot of attention from the pub's ladies. A short sword hung loosely on a belt at his hip to top off his appearance. A glitter of a jewel around the young man's neck flashed as the moonlight momentarily hits it.
Few care to glance at the new arrival. They were either too drunk or found the fight between two men at the back of the room more interesting. He was just about to step forward but stopped himself in time for the drunken old man to fall down in front of him, drunk and unconscious. Unfazed, he stepped over the man and weave through the bawling crowd, avoiding the lady waitresses and flower girls as much as he could.
"Aye! The Young Lord's hea!" cried a man as he was passing by the bar. He turned around to face the older man. "Care to buy a drink for ye old pal?"
So maybe "on the rarest of occasions" may be a bit of an exaggeration. Despite his status, he was a regular at the Ruby and made a lot of friends that his father would most definitely shake his head at. He earned his respect from these unrudely men and charm them with his personality.
The man that called to him was Knos, the best unknown blacksmith in the city. He's a fairly kind man who is in his mid forties and had a very tart humor. Knos' among many of the ruffians here that called him 'the Young Lord' whenever he visited. They didn't know his real name nor do they care what it is. They only know that he's the son of some rich Lord in Court and that he's very able with that sword he carried around that small frame of a boy of his. Picking on this young man, thinking he's scrawny and weak, would only result in fueling his quick temper and end up facing more than half the men in the tavern.
"The Young Lord" gave the half drunken man a smile and turn to the female behind the counter. "Shille, just give Knos whatever he wants and put it all on my tab." The young lady nodded and filled the half drunken man's glass once again. Knos grin broadly at his drink then took a nice big gulp, hiccupping afterwards.
"Thank you son." Knos said between hiccups. "By da way, da sword you *hic*ordered ish done. An' ye no need to pay *hic*, ye be buyin' me drinks often *hic* often enough to pay for ten of mi bessst swords. Pick it up tah- morrrrow mornin' at dah shop *hic*."
He thanked the older man before turning to push himself through a crowd of particularly large men, none of them under 6 feet. From what she learned, most are veterans of past wars so they're all built like stone fortresses. The biggest of the lot, Coren, turned around when he felt someone bumping into him.
"Hey! Watch where ya go-Well, wat do we have hea! It's the Young Lord!" The giant called to the others around him then look back down at the boy before him. "Back from ye trip?"
The boy nodded in reply, giving everyone around a friendly greeting.
"Care for a drink with us poor folks this time?" asked another large man from Coren's right.
"Not today. I'm looking for Shinosuke." Amber eyes continue to scan the large room, frowning when he spotted the curtains of Shinosuke's private room open and unoccupied.
"Aw! *hiccup* ye never hea for a drink lad." cried another, Fingers, sitting at the table. Why is he called Fingers? Well, Finger's fingers used to have a particular liking to moneybags and gold coins. He is a thief after all. Currently, Finger's a "retired" pickpocket at twenty-nine years old. "Retired" is just what Fingers mean by instead of stealing a lot like he used to, he would settle for enough to have a good time at the Ruby. That's about five or so silver Nobles or a gold Noble depending on how much 'Fingers wants to get drunk. And he promised that he would only still from the insanely rich.namely the Young Lord that would always have to keep a careful eye on his moneybag.
"Leave the lad alone 'Fingers." Scolded a passing waitress named Lulu. She giggled as Fingers gathered her on his lap. She playfully whacked the man on the shoulder then turn to towards the grinning men. "Shinosuke's out in the back, with the horses."
He gave her his thanks and politely excused himself from the group. Shinosuke*, the owner of the Ruby, is a renowned thief, criminal, dealer, martial artist, expert swordsman, scholar, and whatever else that Shinosuke like to do. The typical most-wanted-man with a bounty of 10,000 gold Nobles on his head, alive. Shinosuke was even tempted to turn himself in just to get the 10,000 gold Nobles. Though only 25 years old, he was respected and known by many crooks and feared by many of them.
(*a/n: Shinosuke's character based on a book I once read. I read the book awhile ago so it may not be so much like that character. I don't remember the name of the book anymore otherwise I'll mention it hea. *Thanks to Nikka and konton, the character is named George Cooper from the Alanna the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. Good book, go out -n- read it)
He found Shinosuke inside a stable grooming a magnificent chestnut bay, Shinosuke's horse.
Without looking up, Shinosuke greeted him. That was no surprise. Shinosuke read ki like it's an open book. He had been out of town for several weeks and missed this boisterous man greatly.
"Hello Shinosuke." He leaned on the stable doors and waited patiently as Shinosuke finish the last stroke. The darkness of the stables shields his features somewhat but his broad shoulders and dark hair can be noticeable through the faint moonlight beaming through.
Without warning, Shinosuke spoke up.
"So Akane, I heard you're getting married and to the Prince too." Shinosuke said in a matter-of-fact voice. He looked up and flashed one of his dazzling similes. "Am I invited to the ceremonies?"
"There won't be any ceremonies." He, or rather she, retorted. "And I would hate for my Lord Hiroshi to get his hands on you if you did chose to come."
Out of all the men here, Shinosuke is the only one that knew of her secret. Coming into the city dressed as a lady would cause too much unwanted trouble so for mere convenience and safety, she dressed up as a boy whenever she visited the city. "Father said that Lord Hiroshi is dying to get his hands on you. If he found you in wrong doing, he'll arrest you on the spot. You know that some of his men DO know what you look like."
Shinosuke merely chuckle, amused and touched that she would care for him. "Trust me, my lady, I've been well informed that Hiroshi is keeping a close eye on me. And as of late, I've been a good citizen...well sort of."
Akane snorted at his last statement. She then realized that she hadn't said a word to him about her engagement yet. In fact, she just found out two weeks ago about it.
"Why is it that you always know what I'm going to tell you before I tell you?"
That earned her a mischievous grin from the handsome man. "I have my ways little Lady." She glared at him but it was promptly ignored. "Come on. We'll talk in a more private place."
Sometimes, Shinosuke can be so paranoid. But after some personal experience, when he said that a place is unsafe, then the place was most definitely unsafe and unsuitable for such a conversation. He has as much men after him as the amount of dresses she possessed. And as the daughter of the Court's most respected Lord and the King's most close adviser, she has many, many dresses.
She followed Shinosuke out of the stables, cross the courtyard, into the back house, down the row of corridor, up a small flight of stairs, and into the room at the far end of the second floor corridor, Shinosuke's private chambers. They could have taken a short cut, the stepladder* above the stables, but Shinosuke had said that it's best not to use it so often. She sat down on one of the chairs as Shinosuke proceed to the wine cabinet for a drink.
(*a/n: Again, this tiny tiny tidbit was from the book. The character in the book, George (I think) is the King of Thieves (I think) and he has a ladder going into his window as a secret exit. I thought it would be a cool thing. I always wanted a secret exit/entrance to my room. Ya now...like the ones with revolving bookcases that lead into a long tunnel.)
"So how are you planning to get away from this marriage?" he asked. He knew her well. She's not about ready to marry yet even thought many girls younger then her would have already started a family. But she's too willful to be tied down especially when she's only seventeen years old. She'll be eighteen in a week and that most definitely won't quell her sense of adventure and ways.
"I don't know yet." Marriage with royalty is practically impossible to get out of, especially since the King was the one that arranged the engagement. Unless she were already engaged to someone else or the King decided to marry his son to some princess elsewhere, she would have no choice but to comply with the royal decree otherwise disgrace her family's name.
Shinosuke offered her a glass of wine as he poured himself something slightly stronger and settled down comfortably on a chair across from her. Sometimes, she wondered where all the alcohol goes. Shinosuke drinks gallons of the strong stuff but almost never go completely drunk.
"What am I going to do Shinosuke? I don't want to get married, not yet anyways. And the marriage is in a week's time, how the fuck am I supposed to get out of a wedding to Prince Shinji by then?"
He watched her thoughtfully and slightly amused that she had picked up his habit of cursing every so often.
She took a sip of her wine as her eyes turned thoughtful once more, deepening in thought. Shinosuke smiled at her cute look. He had been keeping an eye on this little one ever since they met four years ago. No way would he allow anything to harm her and he would do everything within his power to make her happy. Though he'd grown to lover her more then just a sibling way, he knew that she could never be happy with him and he had accepted that a long time ago. She is nobility and he is one of the most wanted men in the Realm. The prince is a good man, as his spies in Court had told him. He has no doubt that the prince would treat her well and give her what he could not. "What do you want to do then?"
She thought for a second and answer in a mild tone, a hint of excitement behind it. "I want to travel."
"Travel? To where?"
Her golden eyes dance and sparkle as if rivaling the brightest star in the sky in response to his inquiry. "To everywhere! I want to travel, see people, and places. Have adventures to go on and travel to as many realms as possible." She swung her hands above and around her head to add to the effect and smiled brightly at him. Her expression reminded him so much of a child that he wanted to kiss that innocent face. He quickly trampled on that feeling.
Her expression saddens once more as she continued "and if I do get married, then I would be forced to be the good little wife, worst, the properly quite and gentle wife of a prince." And kami knows that Akane hates to be so proper and gentle; it makes her uncomfortable even though she was raised that way. Time with Shinosuke at the Black Ruby completely change her view on things.
Her sadden expression lasted only for another heartbeat before lighting up again, thinking of the brighter side of things. Typical of her to do that. "Hey, at least I won't be far from my family since father practically lived at the palace."
"That's not what you should be worrying about." Mumbled Shinosuke as he took a sip of his drink, eyes casting to the floor.
"What?" His tone was different and more serious then before which alerted her that Shinosuke had something important in thought.
"Akane, two weeks ago, I found out that King Hisashi had recently acquired a new advisor." He paused to make sure that she's listening before continuing. "His name is Naraku Tagata-"
She was startled with the name. Naraku Tagata. How come her father didn't mention him to her? "The Naraku Tagata? The Duke Naraku Tagata? The general warlord that took over the Saotome Realm twelve years ago? What is he doing here?"
He wasn't surprise at her knowledge. Not many people knew of the covert episode of the Saotome Realm twelve years ago involving Naraku. Even if they knew, nothing can be done to the great warlord that controlled a very vast, not to mention powerful, army. Obviously she got her knowledge of the Court's politics all from her father. Soun Tendo spoke highly of his daughters and obviously taught them a lot.
"Yeap, the same Naraku Tagata. My sources told me that he was the one that suggested to Prince Shinji to ask for your hand in marriage a few weeks ago." He stood and walked over to a table buried underneath books, scrolls, and an assortment of papers. "I got a sneaky suspicion that the prince was merely enchanted by your beauty and took the suggestion."-He shot her another grin-"You are, after all, the youngest and most beautiful daughter of the great Lord Tendo."
"Gee Shinosuke, I feel much better now about marring the Prince." Came her sarcastic reply, her face slightly pink from the praise. He shook his head at her reply; a smile crept on his lips at her sarcasm. Only she could pull that off and she, alone, is the only Lady in Court that didn't want to marry royalty. She is truly unique. Maybe that's why he was attracted to her. Again, trample that feeling.
"How come my father didn't say anything as important as a warlord entering the Courts?"
"That's because Hisashi haven't announced his arrival. Thus far, only the royal family and a few selected servants knew of his presence in Court during the past weeks." He stated as he rummaged through the papers and books on the table. She shook his head. Only Shinosuke who have no care for the law would call the king by his name straight out and casually like he did.
"Why is he here then? Aren't they worried that he might try taking over as he did with the Saotome Realm?" There was need to worry. Because of the rich fertile lands south of the Nerima Realm, Naraku Tagata easily took over the small countries ten years ago and established himself, though not by title, ruler over the two small Realms in addition with his rule of the Saotome Realm through the Queen. Her questions hung in the air for a while. After finding what he was looking for, an ancient book. The language of the book is in Ancient, the grandfather for the all the realm's languages and scripts. Luckily, Shinosuke taught her how to read and say these ancient scripts and she had mastered it within time.
"No, they don't seem too worried much about that possibility. As for the reason he's here..." He hand her the ancient book. Her attention immediate drawn to the images and old characters in the book as Shinosuke point at the picture in the book. "I have reasons to think he's after that."
He pointed at a nicely drawn image of a glittering jewel to the left of the text. Above, in bold ancient characters reads...
"The Shikon no Tama."
A/N: In case you're still confused, Akane dressed up as a boy and often comes into the city, going to the worst parts of the town. A bit adventurous isn't she. That's why I started the story out saying "he" this and "he" that just to throw you off.
Updated: I rewrote the chapter a bit and correct a few grammatical mistakes (I think). You might notice that there's more noticeable hint of Shinosuke's affection towards Akane. I think there's going to be a four- cornered love triangle. Won't that be interesting?
Hope ya like it. Review if ya do. Review anyways if ya don't cuz I wanna make it better.
Ciao for now! - Miaishme
oOps... almost forgot: Disclaimer: Don't own the characters of the Ranma ½ universe, if I do.well, you don't need to know what I would make the poor Ranma characters do.
Chapter 1: The Black Ruby
The Black Ruby
Sounded more like the name of a pirate's ship then that of the Ezru Capital's most notorious tavern. Notorious for its unusually large crowd of criminals, outlaws, thieves, the usual drunks, runaways, prostitutes, the good, and the bad. It might as well be a pirate's ship.
Even the house specialty drink was as infamous as the tavern's name; guaranteed to knock a person out within minutes no matter how good a drinker he is.
You would expect, when you walk in, to find the dark and gloomy atmosphere of most of the other pubs in the city where drunks gathered to get their quiet drinks and lazily drink until unconsciousness overtook them. The Ruby, however, is nowhere near quite. The Black Ruby's regulars, most of them practically lived there, always filled the place with drunken laughter of the men and flirtatious giggles of their less-then-decent female companions. Crude humor and the daily skirmish of drunken men and sometimes women were always the tavern's best source of entertainment.
The place is situated at the far end of the city, nearest to the Ezru Capital's West entrance. It looked like any other large building in the city; a two story structure with a large courtyard, a stable for the horses, and a back house near the stables. The tavern's inn is the twelve rooms on the second floor of the main house situated above the bar. Fifteen more rooms of the back house are for the employers and 'special' guest. A fountain isn't a very common courtyard ornament in this part of the city but considering the owner of this place, a solid gold grand fountain could be place here if he willed it to be. However, it might have been stolen from a rich Lord's estate somewhere. The only thing that could be considered out of the ordinary is a carefully concealed stepladder above the stables that lead to a dark window of one of the room of the back house.
Apart from the regulars, people of the lower classes came often to get their desired dose of rum, beer, sake, or whatever the alcoholic beverage that the lady bartender could whip up. Bounty hunters are there often enough but they tend to avoid conflict with the criminals until they were out of the tavern. The local law enforcers no longer visited, not wanting to bother with all the men there but they do come often for drinks and to flirt with the ladies. Even Lord Hiroshi didn't bother with the place anymore; he always managed to catch his criminals without going to their headquarters. After all, they can't possibly stay there forever.
You'll find the oddest group of people around here. Only on the rarest of occasions would someone of the upper class step through those well carved black doors.
***
A young man, looking more like a boy, entered the black painted double doors of the Black Ruby. His shirt and pants, though plain, were very well made and of rich materials. Amber eyes, a part his slightly feminine features, and long bluish black hair, tied together in a high ponytail, gave him an aura of attractiveness and-much to his discomfort-a lot of attention from the pub's ladies. A short sword hung loosely on a belt at his hip to top off his appearance. A glitter of a jewel around the young man's neck flashed as the moonlight momentarily hits it.
Few care to glance at the new arrival. They were either too drunk or found the fight between two men at the back of the room more interesting. He was just about to step forward but stopped himself in time for the drunken old man to fall down in front of him, drunk and unconscious. Unfazed, he stepped over the man and weave through the bawling crowd, avoiding the lady waitresses and flower girls as much as he could.
"Aye! The Young Lord's hea!" cried a man as he was passing by the bar. He turned around to face the older man. "Care to buy a drink for ye old pal?"
So maybe "on the rarest of occasions" may be a bit of an exaggeration. Despite his status, he was a regular at the Ruby and made a lot of friends that his father would most definitely shake his head at. He earned his respect from these unrudely men and charm them with his personality.
The man that called to him was Knos, the best unknown blacksmith in the city. He's a fairly kind man who is in his mid forties and had a very tart humor. Knos' among many of the ruffians here that called him 'the Young Lord' whenever he visited. They didn't know his real name nor do they care what it is. They only know that he's the son of some rich Lord in Court and that he's very able with that sword he carried around that small frame of a boy of his. Picking on this young man, thinking he's scrawny and weak, would only result in fueling his quick temper and end up facing more than half the men in the tavern.
"The Young Lord" gave the half drunken man a smile and turn to the female behind the counter. "Shille, just give Knos whatever he wants and put it all on my tab." The young lady nodded and filled the half drunken man's glass once again. Knos grin broadly at his drink then took a nice big gulp, hiccupping afterwards.
"Thank you son." Knos said between hiccups. "By da way, da sword you *hic*ordered ish done. An' ye no need to pay *hic*, ye be buyin' me drinks often *hic* often enough to pay for ten of mi bessst swords. Pick it up tah- morrrrow mornin' at dah shop *hic*."
He thanked the older man before turning to push himself through a crowd of particularly large men, none of them under 6 feet. From what she learned, most are veterans of past wars so they're all built like stone fortresses. The biggest of the lot, Coren, turned around when he felt someone bumping into him.
"Hey! Watch where ya go-Well, wat do we have hea! It's the Young Lord!" The giant called to the others around him then look back down at the boy before him. "Back from ye trip?"
The boy nodded in reply, giving everyone around a friendly greeting.
"Care for a drink with us poor folks this time?" asked another large man from Coren's right.
"Not today. I'm looking for Shinosuke." Amber eyes continue to scan the large room, frowning when he spotted the curtains of Shinosuke's private room open and unoccupied.
"Aw! *hiccup* ye never hea for a drink lad." cried another, Fingers, sitting at the table. Why is he called Fingers? Well, Finger's fingers used to have a particular liking to moneybags and gold coins. He is a thief after all. Currently, Finger's a "retired" pickpocket at twenty-nine years old. "Retired" is just what Fingers mean by instead of stealing a lot like he used to, he would settle for enough to have a good time at the Ruby. That's about five or so silver Nobles or a gold Noble depending on how much 'Fingers wants to get drunk. And he promised that he would only still from the insanely rich.namely the Young Lord that would always have to keep a careful eye on his moneybag.
"Leave the lad alone 'Fingers." Scolded a passing waitress named Lulu. She giggled as Fingers gathered her on his lap. She playfully whacked the man on the shoulder then turn to towards the grinning men. "Shinosuke's out in the back, with the horses."
He gave her his thanks and politely excused himself from the group. Shinosuke*, the owner of the Ruby, is a renowned thief, criminal, dealer, martial artist, expert swordsman, scholar, and whatever else that Shinosuke like to do. The typical most-wanted-man with a bounty of 10,000 gold Nobles on his head, alive. Shinosuke was even tempted to turn himself in just to get the 10,000 gold Nobles. Though only 25 years old, he was respected and known by many crooks and feared by many of them.
(*a/n: Shinosuke's character based on a book I once read. I read the book awhile ago so it may not be so much like that character. I don't remember the name of the book anymore otherwise I'll mention it hea. *Thanks to Nikka and konton, the character is named George Cooper from the Alanna the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. Good book, go out -n- read it)
He found Shinosuke inside a stable grooming a magnificent chestnut bay, Shinosuke's horse.
Without looking up, Shinosuke greeted him. That was no surprise. Shinosuke read ki like it's an open book. He had been out of town for several weeks and missed this boisterous man greatly.
"Hello Shinosuke." He leaned on the stable doors and waited patiently as Shinosuke finish the last stroke. The darkness of the stables shields his features somewhat but his broad shoulders and dark hair can be noticeable through the faint moonlight beaming through.
Without warning, Shinosuke spoke up.
"So Akane, I heard you're getting married and to the Prince too." Shinosuke said in a matter-of-fact voice. He looked up and flashed one of his dazzling similes. "Am I invited to the ceremonies?"
"There won't be any ceremonies." He, or rather she, retorted. "And I would hate for my Lord Hiroshi to get his hands on you if you did chose to come."
Out of all the men here, Shinosuke is the only one that knew of her secret. Coming into the city dressed as a lady would cause too much unwanted trouble so for mere convenience and safety, she dressed up as a boy whenever she visited the city. "Father said that Lord Hiroshi is dying to get his hands on you. If he found you in wrong doing, he'll arrest you on the spot. You know that some of his men DO know what you look like."
Shinosuke merely chuckle, amused and touched that she would care for him. "Trust me, my lady, I've been well informed that Hiroshi is keeping a close eye on me. And as of late, I've been a good citizen...well sort of."
Akane snorted at his last statement. She then realized that she hadn't said a word to him about her engagement yet. In fact, she just found out two weeks ago about it.
"Why is it that you always know what I'm going to tell you before I tell you?"
That earned her a mischievous grin from the handsome man. "I have my ways little Lady." She glared at him but it was promptly ignored. "Come on. We'll talk in a more private place."
Sometimes, Shinosuke can be so paranoid. But after some personal experience, when he said that a place is unsafe, then the place was most definitely unsafe and unsuitable for such a conversation. He has as much men after him as the amount of dresses she possessed. And as the daughter of the Court's most respected Lord and the King's most close adviser, she has many, many dresses.
She followed Shinosuke out of the stables, cross the courtyard, into the back house, down the row of corridor, up a small flight of stairs, and into the room at the far end of the second floor corridor, Shinosuke's private chambers. They could have taken a short cut, the stepladder* above the stables, but Shinosuke had said that it's best not to use it so often. She sat down on one of the chairs as Shinosuke proceed to the wine cabinet for a drink.
(*a/n: Again, this tiny tiny tidbit was from the book. The character in the book, George (I think) is the King of Thieves (I think) and he has a ladder going into his window as a secret exit. I thought it would be a cool thing. I always wanted a secret exit/entrance to my room. Ya now...like the ones with revolving bookcases that lead into a long tunnel.)
"So how are you planning to get away from this marriage?" he asked. He knew her well. She's not about ready to marry yet even thought many girls younger then her would have already started a family. But she's too willful to be tied down especially when she's only seventeen years old. She'll be eighteen in a week and that most definitely won't quell her sense of adventure and ways.
"I don't know yet." Marriage with royalty is practically impossible to get out of, especially since the King was the one that arranged the engagement. Unless she were already engaged to someone else or the King decided to marry his son to some princess elsewhere, she would have no choice but to comply with the royal decree otherwise disgrace her family's name.
Shinosuke offered her a glass of wine as he poured himself something slightly stronger and settled down comfortably on a chair across from her. Sometimes, she wondered where all the alcohol goes. Shinosuke drinks gallons of the strong stuff but almost never go completely drunk.
"What am I going to do Shinosuke? I don't want to get married, not yet anyways. And the marriage is in a week's time, how the fuck am I supposed to get out of a wedding to Prince Shinji by then?"
He watched her thoughtfully and slightly amused that she had picked up his habit of cursing every so often.
She took a sip of her wine as her eyes turned thoughtful once more, deepening in thought. Shinosuke smiled at her cute look. He had been keeping an eye on this little one ever since they met four years ago. No way would he allow anything to harm her and he would do everything within his power to make her happy. Though he'd grown to lover her more then just a sibling way, he knew that she could never be happy with him and he had accepted that a long time ago. She is nobility and he is one of the most wanted men in the Realm. The prince is a good man, as his spies in Court had told him. He has no doubt that the prince would treat her well and give her what he could not. "What do you want to do then?"
She thought for a second and answer in a mild tone, a hint of excitement behind it. "I want to travel."
"Travel? To where?"
Her golden eyes dance and sparkle as if rivaling the brightest star in the sky in response to his inquiry. "To everywhere! I want to travel, see people, and places. Have adventures to go on and travel to as many realms as possible." She swung her hands above and around her head to add to the effect and smiled brightly at him. Her expression reminded him so much of a child that he wanted to kiss that innocent face. He quickly trampled on that feeling.
Her expression saddens once more as she continued "and if I do get married, then I would be forced to be the good little wife, worst, the properly quite and gentle wife of a prince." And kami knows that Akane hates to be so proper and gentle; it makes her uncomfortable even though she was raised that way. Time with Shinosuke at the Black Ruby completely change her view on things.
Her sadden expression lasted only for another heartbeat before lighting up again, thinking of the brighter side of things. Typical of her to do that. "Hey, at least I won't be far from my family since father practically lived at the palace."
"That's not what you should be worrying about." Mumbled Shinosuke as he took a sip of his drink, eyes casting to the floor.
"What?" His tone was different and more serious then before which alerted her that Shinosuke had something important in thought.
"Akane, two weeks ago, I found out that King Hisashi had recently acquired a new advisor." He paused to make sure that she's listening before continuing. "His name is Naraku Tagata-"
She was startled with the name. Naraku Tagata. How come her father didn't mention him to her? "The Naraku Tagata? The Duke Naraku Tagata? The general warlord that took over the Saotome Realm twelve years ago? What is he doing here?"
He wasn't surprise at her knowledge. Not many people knew of the covert episode of the Saotome Realm twelve years ago involving Naraku. Even if they knew, nothing can be done to the great warlord that controlled a very vast, not to mention powerful, army. Obviously she got her knowledge of the Court's politics all from her father. Soun Tendo spoke highly of his daughters and obviously taught them a lot.
"Yeap, the same Naraku Tagata. My sources told me that he was the one that suggested to Prince Shinji to ask for your hand in marriage a few weeks ago." He stood and walked over to a table buried underneath books, scrolls, and an assortment of papers. "I got a sneaky suspicion that the prince was merely enchanted by your beauty and took the suggestion."-He shot her another grin-"You are, after all, the youngest and most beautiful daughter of the great Lord Tendo."
"Gee Shinosuke, I feel much better now about marring the Prince." Came her sarcastic reply, her face slightly pink from the praise. He shook his head at her reply; a smile crept on his lips at her sarcasm. Only she could pull that off and she, alone, is the only Lady in Court that didn't want to marry royalty. She is truly unique. Maybe that's why he was attracted to her. Again, trample that feeling.
"How come my father didn't say anything as important as a warlord entering the Courts?"
"That's because Hisashi haven't announced his arrival. Thus far, only the royal family and a few selected servants knew of his presence in Court during the past weeks." He stated as he rummaged through the papers and books on the table. She shook his head. Only Shinosuke who have no care for the law would call the king by his name straight out and casually like he did.
"Why is he here then? Aren't they worried that he might try taking over as he did with the Saotome Realm?" There was need to worry. Because of the rich fertile lands south of the Nerima Realm, Naraku Tagata easily took over the small countries ten years ago and established himself, though not by title, ruler over the two small Realms in addition with his rule of the Saotome Realm through the Queen. Her questions hung in the air for a while. After finding what he was looking for, an ancient book. The language of the book is in Ancient, the grandfather for the all the realm's languages and scripts. Luckily, Shinosuke taught her how to read and say these ancient scripts and she had mastered it within time.
"No, they don't seem too worried much about that possibility. As for the reason he's here..." He hand her the ancient book. Her attention immediate drawn to the images and old characters in the book as Shinosuke point at the picture in the book. "I have reasons to think he's after that."
He pointed at a nicely drawn image of a glittering jewel to the left of the text. Above, in bold ancient characters reads...
"The Shikon no Tama."
A/N: In case you're still confused, Akane dressed up as a boy and often comes into the city, going to the worst parts of the town. A bit adventurous isn't she. That's why I started the story out saying "he" this and "he" that just to throw you off.
Updated: I rewrote the chapter a bit and correct a few grammatical mistakes (I think). You might notice that there's more noticeable hint of Shinosuke's affection towards Akane. I think there's going to be a four- cornered love triangle. Won't that be interesting?
Hope ya like it. Review if ya do. Review anyways if ya don't cuz I wanna make it better.
Ciao for now! - Miaishme
oOps... almost forgot: Disclaimer: Don't own the characters of the Ranma ½ universe, if I do.well, you don't need to know what I would make the poor Ranma characters do.