Chapter 3
You have failed me child! You have dishonored our tribe! Ku-lon
admonished her charge with a withering glare.
Bowing her head in shame, the purple hared Amazon nodded and replied, Yes great-grandmother. Shan-Pu sorry..Kitchen destroyer fooled Shan-Pu and then when Shan-Pu's back was turned, she ran. A murderous expression replaced her shamed face as she continued, Shan-Pu will get violent girl back and then I KILL!
Ku-Lon smiled evilly at her great granddaughter's enthusiasm for the hunt. Growling, she hopped closer, jumped off her walking stick and then pointed it directly towards the purple Amazon's nose, You had better find her and kill her quickly..or you will be the one to die! OUR LAWS AND THE COUNCIL! she spat veminently, STATE THAT IF YOU FAIL FOR THE THIRD TIME IT WILL MEAN YOUR DEATH!
Shan-Pu paled at that statement and thought, I have never heard of that lawmaybe it's one of the one's that I missed learning when I tuned great grandmother out during one of her lectures. Gulping in fear, Shan-Pu nodded frantically and asked out loud in mandarin, Great Grandmother, when do you want me to start looking?
You will start looking as soon as the rest of our sisters get here, Ku-Lon glanced skywards at the sun to determine the time. It's almost noon now, they should be here soon. When you find the girl you will have to She started to say but was interrupted by a rustling noise from the bushes.
Turning, the elder glanced towards the noise and spotted several of her Amazon sisters. Smiling, Ku-Lon greeted them, Welcome! You're just in time. But, I'm sorry to say that I have some bad news.
A tall green hared girl stepped forward and asked, What is this bad
news you speak of elder?
Recognizing the girl as Mou-sei, Ku-Lon replied, Unfortunately, during the night, the Tendo girl escaped so we will have to hunt for her and bring her back to the village. Also, I fear that she may have stumbled upon the forbidden valley.
A blue hared girl dressed in loose yellow Chinese pants and a green silk shirt gasped in shock, We cannot enterthe pact that was made over five thousand years ago is still upheld! If we are discovered entering...then we will surely be killed!
The leader of the group turned around and growled at the protester, Silence, Cho-mei! We will do as the Council and Elder demand!
But Mou-sei the girl whined but was silenced by a withering glare from the leader.
Please continue elder, Mou-sei murmured while bowing respectfully.
Nodding, Ku-Lon continued, I want you and Cho-mei to search the northern quadrant, she paused for breath and then pointed towards her great granddaughter and an orange hared Amazon, while Xian-Pu and Mu-ti will search the eastern quadrant. Turning around, she faced the rest of the six warriors and said, I want you to split into two groups. Su-Tan, you will take the northern quadrant and Lu-fa you will take the southern quadrant. I want a report by sundown. We will have to hurry since son-in-law probably has figured it out by now that we are responsible for the Tendo girl's disappearance..Now go!
"Yes Elder," Mou-sei replied. Then, pivoting on her heal, she motioned with her right arm and yelled, "Lets move! You heard the elder! We have until sundown to find the target or we will have to enter the valley!
As one, the group of warriors nodded and spread out into the forest, each hoping that they wouldn't have to enter the valley but somehow deep in their hearts, they knew that it was inevitable. Standing alone in the clearing, Ku-Lon watched as her great granddaughter disappeared into the forest and whispered, "Find that girl Shan-Pu or I will be forced to kill you." Turning away from the sight of the disappearing hunting party she sighed quietly, "I really don't want to be force to kill you like I was with your mother."
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The ship rocked up and down on the turbulent sea causing immense discomfort for everyone except one stowaway hidden deep within the bowls of the engine room. Two days ago they had run afoul of bad weather and now were in the middle of a violent storm riddled with thunder and lightning that was accompanied by fifty mile an hour winds which tossed the ship like a cork in the water. Over the past four days there had been reports of food gone missing and the Captain had suspected that they had an unwanted visitor. He had ordered the ship to be searched but had found nothing.
"Hey Captain!" the stocky navigator yelled as he clutched his stomach.
"What is it, Sho-su?" the Captain asked as he glanced over his shoulder.
"I'm gonna be sick....ulp," he covered his mouth with one hand and quickly dashed out the door. On his way out the Captain vaguely heard his last comment as he disappeared down the hall, "check our position....I think we're close to land!"
Sighing, the Captain shook his head and muttered, "I knew I should have hired an experienced sailor. These newbies can't hold it in...," he then thought back to when the storm had first started. At first he had thought nothing of it. Now, he wasn't sure that he had made a wise decision. "Hmmm, lets see," he muttered while checking their coordinates. "Ah, this is good news!" he exclaimed as he realized that they were very close to mainland China and probably reach landfall in two hours.
Deep within the darkness of the engine room, hidden inside a vent, Ranma slept away his exhaustion and dreamed of his fiancée and murmured," Akane...". before turning to find a more comfortable position and then settling into a deeper sleep than before.
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The next day.
He trudged through the muddy streets of a crowded marketplace as vendors hocked their wares with loud cries in mandarin. Three times he had stopped to inspect a backpack, purchase some rope and supplies for the journey before turning and heading out of the populated areas towards Jusenkyo. Scowling, the pigtailed boy clenched his fists with determination and muttered, "Good thing I got some supplies....I just hope they'll last until I find her."
Pausing, he reached inside his pack and pulled out a map of the surrounding mountains. Quickly, Ranma determined his position and the safest route to travel while avoiding the cursed springs altogether. He knew that it would take him a good two weeks to reach the valley of Jusenkyo, shouldering his pack once more, Ranma sighed before taking the first step to begin his journey while muttering, "Hang in there, Akane. I'll rescue you and then....those stinkin' Amazons will be sorry they ever messed with us!"
During the first week of his journey, Ranma thought of the many ways he could torture Ku-Lon and Shan-Pu when he got his hands on them. His favorite out of all of them was to hang them by their toenails over a pit of alligators. During the second and final leg of his journey, the pigtailed boy's opinion changed. He now favored just slaughtering the entire tribe of Amazons when he got there. Nodding his head, Ranma muttered, "Yeah, killing the whole damn lot of them is the best thing! I don't care what they say....no amount of begging for mercy will change my mind....I'm gonna kill them for touching Akane!
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After two weeks of traveling, Ranma could finally see the mists that surrounded the valley of Jusenkyo. "All right! I made it. Now I've got to find a way around." Dropping his pack, he routed through the contents until he came upon the letter that he had found in the Nekkohanten. Quickly, he read through it to determine the best route and smiled in sadistic pleasure while muttering, "Now I get to snap some Amazon necks when I catch up to them!"
Glancing skyward, Ranma determined the time by the position of the sun. "Man, it must be noon. I better hurry and eat while I'm travelin'." Picking up his pack with a groan, Ranma walked deeper into the mountains. Skirting the cursed springs, he headed towards a heavily forested area at the base of one of the tallest mountains that he'd ever seen. After four hours of travel, he stiffened when a high pitched scream echoed through the late afternoon air.
"Wha...?" he blinked in confusion. Glancing around himself, Ranma tried to determine the position that it had come from but all he could see were trees. "That voice...it sounds like Akane!" Straitening his ears, he tried to listen for it again but the only sound that could be heard were the pounding of feet and rustling of underbrush before a blur ran past him, heading straight towards the rock wall without stopping.
Quickly, he sprang into action, by racing after the blur and then jumping in front of it while yelling, "Hey! Stop or you're gonna hurt yourself!"
The figure windmilled its arms in an attempt to stop their forward momentum but it wasn't enough. Within the space of a second Ranma and the stranger slammed into each other and toppled to the ground, knocking the breath from their lungs. Groaning, Ranma slowly got to his feet, glanced towards the stranger gasped, "Your a girl!"
At the sound of Ranma's gasp, the black hared girl's gaze met Ranma's. It was then, that the pigtailed boy got a good look at the girl. Running his blue-grey gaze over her features, he muttered, "Hey...you look just like Akane but your eyes...their different." Turning his attention towards the rest of her features, it was then that he noticed the one glaring difference between Akane and this girl. Where Akane had round ears, this girl's ears were slender and pointed at the tips. His jaw dropped in shock, before he slowly whispered, "You're not human....w....what are you.....? And who are you?"
The girl opened her mouth to reply, "I...," but was interrupted by a loud snap of a twig and the sound of angry female voices yelling in mandarin. Gasping in fear, the girl jumped to her feet and dashed towards the rock face once more. Ranma winced and yelled, "Wait! What's your name!"
The girl paused briefly just inches from the wall, glanced over her shoulder and whispered, "I'm Storm. Follow me if you don't want to get captured," before stepping through the seemingly solid rock wall.
"Holy shit!" Ranma gasped in shocked surprise at the site of her disappearing through a rock wall. "How the hell did she do that!" he muttered, eyes wide as basketballs. His surprised musings were interrupted by the sound of nearing foot steps. "I don't want to stick around when they get here. I bet that who ever is making that racket was after her." He remembered her features and muttered, "Boy, she sure does look like Akane. Maybe she might be able to help me find her." A shout echoed through the forest, closer this time. Glancing back towards the noise, he jumped to his feet and followed after Storm. Two minutes later, a party of sixteen Amazon warriors entered the deserted clearing and found nothing but wind and flowers.
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Authors note: "Well how'd you like this chapter. And just who is this girl that Ranma bumped into? Why are the Amazons after her and not Akane?"...................Review and tell me what you think and if I should continue with this story. I need at least twenty reviews to continue!