CHAPTER TWO: Meet Me Where the Skies Are Red
Akane wandered into the courtyard, she stared at all the girls in the courtyard. It seemed they had segregated themselves into class groups... Akane glared at those who dared look her in the eye. She didn't look as though she fit in any of these groups.
Her face was aristocratic, her dress as fancy as a Lady's (though where Nabiki found it was a mystery even to Akane) but she didn't where make up of any kind, her breasts were bound and you could see the top of the bindings over the dipping neckline, and her hair was tied back in a plait and not the fancy headpiece of the ladies gathered here. Akane owned little jewelry, only what had once belonged to her mother, and she didn't wear all of it now, instead she wore a gold chain with a diamond medallion hanging from it and her mother's wedding band was on her middle finger.
Heads turned to look at the strange boyish girl standing there as if she owned the world. She was not snobby but she had an air of authority that struck most to silence. Akane returned their strange looks with a furious glare.
"WOULD YOU LET GO?" A loud irritated voice echoed into the courtyard. The speaker had a strange accent and Akane turned to look at who was being dragged in. A hooded stranger was being dragged into the courtyard in shackles, she was shorter than Akane and sounded incredibly annoyed, "WOULD YOU PUT ME DOWN? YOU SNUCK UP ON ME! DISHONORABLE JERKS I COULD HAVE TAKEN YOU ALL! I WAS SLEEPING!!! THAT IS SO NOT FAIR!!"
"What going on here?" A purple haired girl had stepped forward, "Why do you have that girl in chains?"
"Lady Shampoo this girl refused to come to the competition. She is of Royal blood but is not from Japan... she was specially requested by the king and so we were made to go fetch her," The guard said nervously, "This here lady is from the Magic Isles... She's their princess..."
"AND THEY ARE GOING TO KILL YOU FOR TAKING ME!!!" The girl screamed at them, and then she moved slightly and with a loud snap her bonds broke.
The guards struggled to hold her down, "Miss your father said you were to enter this competition, you cannot leave, he wishes it!" It was the truth and a last ditch effort for this girl was going to escape, but it worked.
"Fine," She sighed, "And my name is Ruby so quit calling me Miss ok?"
Ruby lifted milk white hands and pulled back her hood; there was a resonating gasp as she did so. Ruby glared, "Ya ok stare then! I don't care!"
Akane felt her jaw drop; the girl was really pretty! She had bright red hair and the tips where blonde. Her eyes were a vibrant emerald green framed by long lashes, her lips were full and pink, and freckles were sprinkled across her nose. Ruby was short with curves that were far more prominent than all the other girls. She had long milky legs and her limbs were all perfectly formed, muscles that were almost invisible under her skin rippled with hidden power. Akane smiled as she realized she had found a sparring partner.
"Hello?" Akane stepped forward, "I'm Akane Tendo."
"Hey 'Kane!" Ruby smiled, "I'm Ruby Lynn."
Akane went out on a limb, "You wouldn't happen to be a martial artist would you?"
"Um..." Ruby stared down at her feet, "Sorta..."
Akane grinned, "I think you and I will be good friends."
Another voice joined the conversation, "Shampoo and Ukyo are fighters too, we also be friends with you?"
Akane turned to see a purple haired girl and a girl with a spatula standing there. It was the two ladies from the center of the court! Akane was shaken, they wouldn't like her if they knew she was a peasant...
"I've heard of the Tendo line," Ruby tilted her head, "Didn't a rich Lady marry a peasant and then die? She had three daughters I think..."
"You mean my mother was a... was a LADY?" Akane stuttered in shock.
Shampoo looked closely at Akane's features, "Yes you definitely have Kinoyuui in you, I can tell from your bone structure. My friend back home named Kinoyuui Lee, he very nice boy, your age I think. Shampoo must enter competition to marry Ranma but she not want marry him, Law say Shampoo must come and compete, not want to win but then she not want to lose either..."
Ruby grinned, "I know I don't want to win, I think I would be happy back home and never marrying, I could be a spinster really!"
Akane laughed, "I agree with you Ruby!"
"I was actually engaged to Ranma before I came here, so was Shampoo but I don't want to marry him either..." Ukyo spoke then, "Well girls, since we're all fighters why don't we have a little sparring session?"
"Ok!" Akane agreed enthusiastically, "Lets get to it!"
"Shampoo fight Ruby yes?" Shampoo asked the red haired fighter.
Ruby blushed a bright red, "Well you see... back where I come from we do a different sort of fighting. We do kempo and karate and all that but we also do something we call Dekara..." She looked at her feet, "So if I fight its always an anything goes battle ok?"
"Shampoo agree," Shampoo smiled, "ANYTHING goes!"
Akane turned to the girl with the spatula, "Same with us ok? Lets go!"
A strange little man appeared, "3, 2, 1... FIGHT!"
~
Up on a balcony four men watched the battle: Prince Ranma, Lord Shinosuke, Lord Mousse, and Captain Ryoga. These four men would each pick a bride from those competing and the King would pick those who went into the harem. They watched the girls fight, first up were: Lady Shampoo and Princess Ruby.
Shampoo and Ruby faced off. Ruby just stood waiting for Shampoo to attack her. She didn't have to wait long, Shampoo launched at her with both feet. Ruby bent herself backwards and under the attack, and then planted both hands on the ground before flipping over them and with extreme balance tapping Shampoo on both shoulders. The fight continued like this Shampoo attacking and Ruby contorting out of the way of every attack before retaliating with a light tap. Ruby hardly moved from her spot, she just bent herself under Shampoo's defenses. Finally Shampoo moved in full force and Ruby was forced to leave the 1-foot-square area she had inhabited for most of the fight. Ruby flipped over Shampoo's head and landing on her hands dropped one arm and leaning on an elbow knocked Shampoo off her feet. Then still resting on a hand and an elbow she put the foot closest to the ground flat on Shampoo's stomach and placed the toe of her other foot just under Shampoo's chin. Ruby had won.
There was a scattering of applause as both fighters smiled and bowed to each other. The applause increased when as a joke Ruby bowed again and this time continued down until she had both shoulders through her legs and she was standing on her hands, then she flipped her legs around, stood again, and laughing moved off to the side.
"That girl down there, the red head," Ryoga said quietly, "That is really interesting the way she bends..."
Ranma and the others looked at Ryoga with wide eyes, "It's REALLY cool!"
Ranma patted Ryoga on the back, "Hold your nose." Ryoga did as told and Ranma continued, "Now think of what she could do with that flexibility."
Ryoga's nose began to bleed, and he fell back in a faint.
Mousse laughed, "We all know who Ryoga likes. Personally though, I like the purple haired one..."
"Sssh!" Shinosuke interrupted them, "There are two more!"
Ranma did a double take; it was the girl from this morning! He watched intrigued.
Akane and Ukyo faced each other and bowed, once again the little man appeared, "3, 2, 1, and FIGHT!"
Ukyo didn't wait a second, she launched into a full attack straight off the bat: punching and kicking at Akane who was always a step ahead. The blue haired girl simply dodged all of Ukyo's attacks. Then suddenly she was moving forward, slicing through Ukyo's defenses, Ukyo retaliated by pulling out her battle Spatula and slicing at Akane with fervor. Akane simply slid around the weapon and looped her legs through Ukyo's knocking the girl on the ground flat on her back. Akane slid down and locked both of Ukyo's legs with one of her own and with a hand at Ukyo's neck and another poised to punch the fight was over. Akane had won.
Ranma watched each of the fighters closely, they were all talented but they differed in fighting style. Ukyo had power but she didn't have the skill to beat the other girls, Shampoo was fast and had really accurate but she didn't have the power or agility of the other two, Ruby was good at dodging, she was powerful, accurate and REALLY fast. In fact Ranma considered Ruby close to his equal in skill, but that other girl, Akane, she was even better than Ruby. Ranma knew that she could be trouble, if she defeated him; he would be forced to marry her, unless she bombed all the other tasks, which was highly unlikely. Ranma chuckled as he realized each of the boys had picked a girl who was could beat them in the final battle; Mousse and Shampoo would be matched very well and Ruby was definitely a match for Ryoga (who after Ranma was the best fighter in Asia). But Akane, she was an exotic beauty who was definitely more than she seemed, Ranma had a feeling that she would win this competition... he shook his head, why did he care who won?
"Guys! Look! It seems like Ranma has picked his gal!" Ryoga laughed awake once again, "Might as well send the rest home."
"It isn't the black haired girl is it?" Shinosuke asked nervously, he had taken a fondness to Ukyo.
Ryoga grinned, "No it's the one with the blue hair. He's been infatuated with her since she told him off this morning."
"Shut up! Who would like that uncute macho tomboy anyways!" Ranma glared at Ryoga, when his gaze returned to the girls his jaw dropped, "Hey Ryoga! Look at the red head, she's actually sitting on her head!"
He waited for Ryoga to answer but the other boy remained silent, Ranma turned only to see Ryoga unconscious on the ground. The boy had passed out AGAIN! Oh well...
~
"That is so cool!" Akane said as Ruby continued to bend her body in incredibly unnatural ways, "How did you ever get your body to do that?"
Ruby stood and smiled, "I had to train my whole life, like all the fighting I do. It took me years of constantly training my muscles, but I started young; it's a traditional fighting style where I come from..."
Shampoo leaned forward, "Why do they call them the Magic Isles?"
Ruby sighed, "The founders of the Isles had fallen into a lake, the lake of Drowned Sorceress. If you've heard of Jusenkyo it's much like that. Only you don't change when hit with cold water, you change when you fall in and its permanent. Your appearance is the same except for minor changes, your skin is paler and your hair grows longer. Usually to the insides of your knees like mine, and your skin is usually Akane's tone. Then your eyes get flecks of gold and are larger than normal. And the last thing is you get a strange star shaped mark on the base of your spine. Well all those on the Isle are descended from those cursed by the lake and so have the same curse. We have inherited strange powers that the Sorceress who drowned there so long ago once called her own."
"Ooooh!" Ukyo and Shampoo breathed in awe. Akane was strangely silent this tale ringing a few too many bells.
"LADIES! PLEASE COME FORWARD AS YOUR NAME IS CALLED, YOU SHALL BE STAYING AT THE PALACE UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF THE COMPETITION AND SO HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED ROOMS," An announcer stood at the front, "PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY FOR YOUR DESIGNATED AREA AND ROOMMATES!"
Akane and the others sat in silence all lost in their own thoughts as the announcer read out names in alphabetical order, "ADA! Blue Room! AKANE! Gold Room!" Akane smiled and stood ready to go to her rooms. The list of names grew longer and longer, "RUBY! Gold Room!"
"Cool I'm with Akane!" Ruby stood and followed the guard, "Good luck guys!"
"SHAMPOO! Silver Room!" The announcer continued until finally he came to Ukyo's name, "UKYO! Silver Room!"
Shampoo and Ukyo stood and together they made their way to the Silver Room following the large hairy palace guard. Just as they swung open their door they noticed the room directly next to them on the right was labeled: GOLD ROOM.
Shampoo grinned at her friends, "Look Spatula Girl, we near Akane and Ruby, Shampoo happy she and friends stay close!"
A/N: So guys what do you think? I know the characters are REALLY OOC but I want it that way and this is my fanfiction so ppph! *sticks out her tongue and gives everyone the "eye" in the fashion of a small child* N e ways I hope that you guys like my story!
Akane wandered into the courtyard, she stared at all the girls in the courtyard. It seemed they had segregated themselves into class groups... Akane glared at those who dared look her in the eye. She didn't look as though she fit in any of these groups.
Her face was aristocratic, her dress as fancy as a Lady's (though where Nabiki found it was a mystery even to Akane) but she didn't where make up of any kind, her breasts were bound and you could see the top of the bindings over the dipping neckline, and her hair was tied back in a plait and not the fancy headpiece of the ladies gathered here. Akane owned little jewelry, only what had once belonged to her mother, and she didn't wear all of it now, instead she wore a gold chain with a diamond medallion hanging from it and her mother's wedding band was on her middle finger.
Heads turned to look at the strange boyish girl standing there as if she owned the world. She was not snobby but she had an air of authority that struck most to silence. Akane returned their strange looks with a furious glare.
"WOULD YOU LET GO?" A loud irritated voice echoed into the courtyard. The speaker had a strange accent and Akane turned to look at who was being dragged in. A hooded stranger was being dragged into the courtyard in shackles, she was shorter than Akane and sounded incredibly annoyed, "WOULD YOU PUT ME DOWN? YOU SNUCK UP ON ME! DISHONORABLE JERKS I COULD HAVE TAKEN YOU ALL! I WAS SLEEPING!!! THAT IS SO NOT FAIR!!"
"What going on here?" A purple haired girl had stepped forward, "Why do you have that girl in chains?"
"Lady Shampoo this girl refused to come to the competition. She is of Royal blood but is not from Japan... she was specially requested by the king and so we were made to go fetch her," The guard said nervously, "This here lady is from the Magic Isles... She's their princess..."
"AND THEY ARE GOING TO KILL YOU FOR TAKING ME!!!" The girl screamed at them, and then she moved slightly and with a loud snap her bonds broke.
The guards struggled to hold her down, "Miss your father said you were to enter this competition, you cannot leave, he wishes it!" It was the truth and a last ditch effort for this girl was going to escape, but it worked.
"Fine," She sighed, "And my name is Ruby so quit calling me Miss ok?"
Ruby lifted milk white hands and pulled back her hood; there was a resonating gasp as she did so. Ruby glared, "Ya ok stare then! I don't care!"
Akane felt her jaw drop; the girl was really pretty! She had bright red hair and the tips where blonde. Her eyes were a vibrant emerald green framed by long lashes, her lips were full and pink, and freckles were sprinkled across her nose. Ruby was short with curves that were far more prominent than all the other girls. She had long milky legs and her limbs were all perfectly formed, muscles that were almost invisible under her skin rippled with hidden power. Akane smiled as she realized she had found a sparring partner.
"Hello?" Akane stepped forward, "I'm Akane Tendo."
"Hey 'Kane!" Ruby smiled, "I'm Ruby Lynn."
Akane went out on a limb, "You wouldn't happen to be a martial artist would you?"
"Um..." Ruby stared down at her feet, "Sorta..."
Akane grinned, "I think you and I will be good friends."
Another voice joined the conversation, "Shampoo and Ukyo are fighters too, we also be friends with you?"
Akane turned to see a purple haired girl and a girl with a spatula standing there. It was the two ladies from the center of the court! Akane was shaken, they wouldn't like her if they knew she was a peasant...
"I've heard of the Tendo line," Ruby tilted her head, "Didn't a rich Lady marry a peasant and then die? She had three daughters I think..."
"You mean my mother was a... was a LADY?" Akane stuttered in shock.
Shampoo looked closely at Akane's features, "Yes you definitely have Kinoyuui in you, I can tell from your bone structure. My friend back home named Kinoyuui Lee, he very nice boy, your age I think. Shampoo must enter competition to marry Ranma but she not want marry him, Law say Shampoo must come and compete, not want to win but then she not want to lose either..."
Ruby grinned, "I know I don't want to win, I think I would be happy back home and never marrying, I could be a spinster really!"
Akane laughed, "I agree with you Ruby!"
"I was actually engaged to Ranma before I came here, so was Shampoo but I don't want to marry him either..." Ukyo spoke then, "Well girls, since we're all fighters why don't we have a little sparring session?"
"Ok!" Akane agreed enthusiastically, "Lets get to it!"
"Shampoo fight Ruby yes?" Shampoo asked the red haired fighter.
Ruby blushed a bright red, "Well you see... back where I come from we do a different sort of fighting. We do kempo and karate and all that but we also do something we call Dekara..." She looked at her feet, "So if I fight its always an anything goes battle ok?"
"Shampoo agree," Shampoo smiled, "ANYTHING goes!"
Akane turned to the girl with the spatula, "Same with us ok? Lets go!"
A strange little man appeared, "3, 2, 1... FIGHT!"
~
Up on a balcony four men watched the battle: Prince Ranma, Lord Shinosuke, Lord Mousse, and Captain Ryoga. These four men would each pick a bride from those competing and the King would pick those who went into the harem. They watched the girls fight, first up were: Lady Shampoo and Princess Ruby.
Shampoo and Ruby faced off. Ruby just stood waiting for Shampoo to attack her. She didn't have to wait long, Shampoo launched at her with both feet. Ruby bent herself backwards and under the attack, and then planted both hands on the ground before flipping over them and with extreme balance tapping Shampoo on both shoulders. The fight continued like this Shampoo attacking and Ruby contorting out of the way of every attack before retaliating with a light tap. Ruby hardly moved from her spot, she just bent herself under Shampoo's defenses. Finally Shampoo moved in full force and Ruby was forced to leave the 1-foot-square area she had inhabited for most of the fight. Ruby flipped over Shampoo's head and landing on her hands dropped one arm and leaning on an elbow knocked Shampoo off her feet. Then still resting on a hand and an elbow she put the foot closest to the ground flat on Shampoo's stomach and placed the toe of her other foot just under Shampoo's chin. Ruby had won.
There was a scattering of applause as both fighters smiled and bowed to each other. The applause increased when as a joke Ruby bowed again and this time continued down until she had both shoulders through her legs and she was standing on her hands, then she flipped her legs around, stood again, and laughing moved off to the side.
"That girl down there, the red head," Ryoga said quietly, "That is really interesting the way she bends..."
Ranma and the others looked at Ryoga with wide eyes, "It's REALLY cool!"
Ranma patted Ryoga on the back, "Hold your nose." Ryoga did as told and Ranma continued, "Now think of what she could do with that flexibility."
Ryoga's nose began to bleed, and he fell back in a faint.
Mousse laughed, "We all know who Ryoga likes. Personally though, I like the purple haired one..."
"Sssh!" Shinosuke interrupted them, "There are two more!"
Ranma did a double take; it was the girl from this morning! He watched intrigued.
Akane and Ukyo faced each other and bowed, once again the little man appeared, "3, 2, 1, and FIGHT!"
Ukyo didn't wait a second, she launched into a full attack straight off the bat: punching and kicking at Akane who was always a step ahead. The blue haired girl simply dodged all of Ukyo's attacks. Then suddenly she was moving forward, slicing through Ukyo's defenses, Ukyo retaliated by pulling out her battle Spatula and slicing at Akane with fervor. Akane simply slid around the weapon and looped her legs through Ukyo's knocking the girl on the ground flat on her back. Akane slid down and locked both of Ukyo's legs with one of her own and with a hand at Ukyo's neck and another poised to punch the fight was over. Akane had won.
Ranma watched each of the fighters closely, they were all talented but they differed in fighting style. Ukyo had power but she didn't have the skill to beat the other girls, Shampoo was fast and had really accurate but she didn't have the power or agility of the other two, Ruby was good at dodging, she was powerful, accurate and REALLY fast. In fact Ranma considered Ruby close to his equal in skill, but that other girl, Akane, she was even better than Ruby. Ranma knew that she could be trouble, if she defeated him; he would be forced to marry her, unless she bombed all the other tasks, which was highly unlikely. Ranma chuckled as he realized each of the boys had picked a girl who was could beat them in the final battle; Mousse and Shampoo would be matched very well and Ruby was definitely a match for Ryoga (who after Ranma was the best fighter in Asia). But Akane, she was an exotic beauty who was definitely more than she seemed, Ranma had a feeling that she would win this competition... he shook his head, why did he care who won?
"Guys! Look! It seems like Ranma has picked his gal!" Ryoga laughed awake once again, "Might as well send the rest home."
"It isn't the black haired girl is it?" Shinosuke asked nervously, he had taken a fondness to Ukyo.
Ryoga grinned, "No it's the one with the blue hair. He's been infatuated with her since she told him off this morning."
"Shut up! Who would like that uncute macho tomboy anyways!" Ranma glared at Ryoga, when his gaze returned to the girls his jaw dropped, "Hey Ryoga! Look at the red head, she's actually sitting on her head!"
He waited for Ryoga to answer but the other boy remained silent, Ranma turned only to see Ryoga unconscious on the ground. The boy had passed out AGAIN! Oh well...
~
"That is so cool!" Akane said as Ruby continued to bend her body in incredibly unnatural ways, "How did you ever get your body to do that?"
Ruby stood and smiled, "I had to train my whole life, like all the fighting I do. It took me years of constantly training my muscles, but I started young; it's a traditional fighting style where I come from..."
Shampoo leaned forward, "Why do they call them the Magic Isles?"
Ruby sighed, "The founders of the Isles had fallen into a lake, the lake of Drowned Sorceress. If you've heard of Jusenkyo it's much like that. Only you don't change when hit with cold water, you change when you fall in and its permanent. Your appearance is the same except for minor changes, your skin is paler and your hair grows longer. Usually to the insides of your knees like mine, and your skin is usually Akane's tone. Then your eyes get flecks of gold and are larger than normal. And the last thing is you get a strange star shaped mark on the base of your spine. Well all those on the Isle are descended from those cursed by the lake and so have the same curse. We have inherited strange powers that the Sorceress who drowned there so long ago once called her own."
"Ooooh!" Ukyo and Shampoo breathed in awe. Akane was strangely silent this tale ringing a few too many bells.
"LADIES! PLEASE COME FORWARD AS YOUR NAME IS CALLED, YOU SHALL BE STAYING AT THE PALACE UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF THE COMPETITION AND SO HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED ROOMS," An announcer stood at the front, "PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY FOR YOUR DESIGNATED AREA AND ROOMMATES!"
Akane and the others sat in silence all lost in their own thoughts as the announcer read out names in alphabetical order, "ADA! Blue Room! AKANE! Gold Room!" Akane smiled and stood ready to go to her rooms. The list of names grew longer and longer, "RUBY! Gold Room!"
"Cool I'm with Akane!" Ruby stood and followed the guard, "Good luck guys!"
"SHAMPOO! Silver Room!" The announcer continued until finally he came to Ukyo's name, "UKYO! Silver Room!"
Shampoo and Ukyo stood and together they made their way to the Silver Room following the large hairy palace guard. Just as they swung open their door they noticed the room directly next to them on the right was labeled: GOLD ROOM.
Shampoo grinned at her friends, "Look Spatula Girl, we near Akane and Ruby, Shampoo happy she and friends stay close!"
A/N: So guys what do you think? I know the characters are REALLY OOC but I want it that way and this is my fanfiction so ppph! *sticks out her tongue and gives everyone the "eye" in the fashion of a small child* N e ways I hope that you guys like my story!