Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma ½ belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The
original plot of the children's story Peter Pan belongs to JM Barrie.
For this chapter, I used some influence from "The True Confession of Charlotte Doyle" by Avi. Don't sue me for plagiarism!
Please review this story! It's been a long time since I thought to make a fanfic on any anime, so I hope you enjoy this...
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"You're getting much better," Peter said approvingly. Akane turned and took another swing.
"You think?" she asked eagerly. It had been a week since she'd arrived in Everland, and the wound on her arm had healed amazingly fast. Her ankle was no longer swollen at all. Peter had insisted that she learn how to use the dirk for the fun of it.
Thus the two of them spent the days in forest clearings, Akane learning to swing the blade as fast as Peter did, and Peter learning to high kick as well as Akane did. Ranma, on the other hand, went dueling with Moussee and Ryogae. He also practiced escaping from Shampooe, who always tried to defeat him for some reason.
Akane sidestepped as Peter made a swing at her with his sheathed dirk. Akane swung back and whirled around, bringing her dirk across her chest and toward him. They were both agile people. Peter ducked and while she hovered above him, he made a stab for her stomach. She twisted her body just in time, and while he was still reeling from the missed swing, she made to swing the dirk downwards.
And so their friendly duels were very enjoyable. But Tink, jealous fairy that she was, couldn't stand to see her precious Peter Pan being smitten by some ordinary little girl. For the past week, she'd watched for the past week Peter drooling over Akane, and she was sick of it.
And today, the friendly dirk game was the last straw. Tink felt her heart break as Peter laughed and came from above Akane. Why couldn't the she and Peter have the same dirk games? Never mind the obvious size difference. Tink finally made her decision and flew away from the clearing, unnoticed.
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"Someone Pan cares about?" Hook asked eagerly. Shmee, his assistant, looked on with interest as he poured Hook a cup of brandy. Hook stroked his long curly black beard thoughtfully. Tink nodded eagerly.
She flew again to go beside Hook's ear and whispered Akane Tendou's name.
Hook leaned back on the cushioned chair and smirked at the idea of using this Akane Tendou as bait. The Jolly Roger swayed underneath his feet as he considered Tink's information. So she'd been thrown aside by Peter Pan, and now she wanted him to get rid of someone Peter clearly cared about.
"But how do I get this Akane to come to me alone without Pan at her side?" Hook mused. Tink was prepared for this. She gave a devilish grin and leaned close...
============================================
"Where is it supposed to be?" Akane asked Tink, who flew near her. It was late in the evening, and Akane wanted to get back to the hideout, but Tink had insisted that Akane follow her and not tell anyone else.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Tink stopped mid-air and turned around, as if testing the air. Then she zoomed straight forward, past a line of trees, and was gone. Akane stepped forward tentatively, following where Tink had disappeared. The darkness of the forest made it hard for her to see her step, even with the lantern she carried.
When she emerged from the line of trees, she saw a shoreline, and there, bobbing merrily with lanterns all over the deck, was the Jolly Roger. The mermaid bowsprit glowed from the moon's light. Everything Peter hand warned her about the ship now snapped to her attention. Tink flew a little closer, and Akane saw in horror the sneer that was on her face.
Akane stepped back to try to flee into the forest, when an unseen blunt force hit her straight on the head. She fell to the sand, unconscious.
============================================
Ranma woke up in the middle of the night with a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach. Like always during the night, the cave was completely engulfed in darkness. He wondered for a moment what had been bothering him and then he realized that he wasn't sure if Akane had come back since the bonfire.
She'd suddenly gone off to some point in the forest, and everyone assumed that she had to do her 'business.' At that time, the bonfire was already burned out, so they'd all gone to the hideout to sleep. As soon as his head had hit the bearskin, Ranma had fallen asleep.
"Akane?" he said to his left. He didn't sense anyone breathing. After hesitating, he stuck out a hand and his arm came across nothing.
"She's not here," Shampooe's voice floated from her bed. Ranma stiffened.
"Do you know where Akane went?" Ranma asked sharply.
A moment of silence passed. Shampooe's voice came hesitantly.
"No I don't," she said. "She'll be back in the morning." Ranma was silent. In her bed, Shampooe closed her eyes. She knew the truth. Akane wasn't coming back. Tink had specifically asked her and Ukyoe to keep Ranma busy so that she could lure Akane away without anyone noticing. It was the perfect plan. With Akane gone, both Peter and Ranma were free for the taking.
'That annoying Akane Tendou is in the Jolly Roger now,' Shampooe thought to herself in an amused manner. Ukyoe knew, too, that Akane was in the mercy of someone named Captain Hook. After all, they'd both been part of the scheme.
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Akane came to slowly. Her head was pounding with a vicious headache. She was in a very cramped up cabin room, at least, she assumed that was what it was. It was four feet wide and only six feet long. Four and a half feet tall, from what she could feel with her hands. She was lying down on a built-in wooden platform covered with a blanket that was clearly meant for a bed. There was no window. The room was pitch black.
Akane hesitantly staggered to her feet, and nearly bumped her head on the extremely low ceiling. Her feet swayed underneath her with the waves. With a start, she realized that they might be at sea.
She groped around the sides of the room until her hand came in contact with something that might be a doorknob. Flinging it open, she was surprised to discover that it was unlocked. She was in a narrow wooden hallway, the steerage. On one end, there was a short flight of stairs bathed in sunlight. Akane made towards the shallow steps.
The sunlight burned her eyes and made her squint. Momentarily, she was blinded. When she could finally see, she saw that the crewmembers were watching her warily. They were only four all in all.
"Captain Hook wants to see you," a voice suddenly broke in from her side. She turned to see a short fat man wearing round-rimmed glasses.
"I'm Shmee," the man said. "I'm the first mate of this ship." He gestured towards the crewmembers. "There were nine crewmembers in the beginning," he said cheerfully. Akane fairly shuddered. She now saw that they were indeed in the middle of the ocean. The island from which they had come from was now a mere speck in the distance.
"Come along," Shmee said. He gestured towards Akane. There was nothing she could do but follow. At least she wasn't hand-tied.
They went into the cabin, where Captain Hook was staying. Akane looked around. Compared to the little rat hole she had just come from, this was a suite. The walls were papered with lush red wallpaper with gold emphasis. The floor was covered with a red carpet of the same color. The table in the center was hardwood oak, with delicate carvings of sea creatures at the sides. Hook was sitting at one end of the table, heaps of food set before him.
"Ah, there you are," Hook said. He beckoned Akane closer with a wave of his hook for a hand. Akane stood her ground, gathering her courage.
"Why am I here?" Akane asked sharply. Her hands formed into fists at her sides. Shmee hurriedly left the cabin before all hell broke loose. Hook gave her an amused look.
"Guess," said Hook. Akane glared at him. She took a step closer towards the table and raised her fist menacingly. By this time, her head had stopped throbbing, and all she wanted to do was bash the leering captain in the head.
"Ah- ah- ah," Hook suddenly said. With amazing speed, his good left hand went into his shirtsleeve and pulled out a pistol from the ruffles. He then brought it forward, slamming it onto the table, and simultaneously cocking it. It crashed onto the table with such a force that the platters jumped.
Hook leered. His left hand lay on the pistol, finger on the trigger. The pistol was pointed in Akane's direction. Akane froze, suddenly unable to move.
"Well," Hook said. "Your purpose here is done. Your little friend Peter knows that you're here. He'll be here anytime soon."
Hook's eyes gleamed with delight at the thought of Peter dying. Akane gulped. Hook sighed, and took his hand off the pistol. Instead, he rearranged his shirttail and gave a patronizing gesture to Akane.
"In other words," Hook said patiently to Akane's dumbfounded face. "I can kill you now without losing anything. In fact..."
Hook's hand snapped to the pistol. Akane sputtered to life.
"Wait," she said, holding her hands in the air. "Let me become a crewmember!"
Hook looked at her incredulously.
"A girl, become a crew member?" he spat. Akane swallowed and willed her mouth to move.
"Y-You're lacking crewmembers," she said. "If I become a member of the crew then you can't-"she couldn't bring herself to say: 'kill me.' Instead, she said: "If I become a member of the crew, then you can't shoot."
Hook seemed to consider this. His hand left the pistol and he stroked his curly black beard.
"Okay," he finally said. "If you get those bums outside to accept you into the crew, then you'll live."
He waved her away with a flick of his wrist. Only when Akane had closed the door of the cabin did she allow her annoyance to show. She wanted desperately to hit him. But at the moment, there were more pressing issues, like her life. She looked around. Shmee was standing outside the door.
"Well?" Shmee asked, fully expecting a request from Captain Hook to throw the girl off the side of the ship.
"I'm going to join the crew," Akane said. Shmee simply stared at her, his jaw slack. Then he took a whistle from hanging from a string around his neck and blew into it. The shrill noise seemed to be in tune to Akane's desperation at the moment.
Immediately, the four crewmembers came on the waist of the ship, looking tired and haggard from the continuous shifts and lack of sleep. Shmee asked them to introduce themselves.
"Fin."
"Harry."
"George."
"Robin."
After they did this, Shmee turned to Akane.
"Go on," he told her. "Tell them what they've been called for."
Akane stepped forward and threw her chin up in a prideful stance.
"I'm going to join the crew."
Immediately, the four bronze men looked at each other and laughed. Fin stepped forward. He was a blond man in his late thirties, grimy from head to toe.
"There's no way a girl's joining our crew," he said brusquely. From behind him, the other crewmembers gave their own hoots of agreement. Akane felt her palms start to sweat. Hook was behind the door just a few feet away. He'd hear everything.
"It's bad enough there's a girl onboard," Harry cut in. He was a short, bald man of forty. It seemed that every inch of him was covered in tattoos. "You know what I say?" he asked. Akane took an involuntary step backwards as spat on deck.
"Let her walk the plank!" George cut in happily. He was a tall, thin twenty something year old. He raised his fist and pumped it in the air. Soon, Akane realized that the plank was something special to these pirates. Even Shmee seemed to be getting enthusiastic about the idea.
Harry even started to go for the side of the boat where she'd be walking off. Akane started to brace herself in attacking position. She didn't know how many of these men had pistols, but she'd rather kill herself than submit willingly.
"Stop!" Came a sudden voice. It was Robin, a healthy man in his early thirties. He had one glass eye, which popped out slightly. With his one good eye, he looked at Akane.
"If there's one thing we sailors love more than a person walking the plank," he started. "It's watching someone squirm. The ball is in your court. Give us an offer we can't refuse."
Akane saw that the other crewmembers were practically holding their breaths. She realized that they held some sort of respect for the headstrong Robin. She stepped forward, trying to be brave. She glanced around the ship, and her eyes fell on the lowest of the sails on the main mast: the lower-main topsail. It was only a few tens of feet into the air.
"I'll climb that," she said, pointing to the sail. "If I reach that top end of it, then I'm part of the crew."
Robin barely batted an eyelash when he took a look at it.
"That's child's play," Robin scoffed. He considered her. "Climb the main royal yard."
Akane looked to where he was pointed, and her jaw dropped. The swaying motion of the ship only made her feel more sickened. Robin was pointing to a sail that was at least one hundred thirty feet into the air. The top seemed very far away from where Akane stood.
She felt the crew's eyes on her. She was certain Harry was gloating. If she fell down from the climb, she hoped she'd fall into the ocean. Otherwise, she'd crash onto deck. Her skin prickled at the thought of that.
"It's now or never," Robin said, barely concealing his amusement. It had been so long since someone walked the plank. Part of him hoped the girl would back out. He motioned towards the mast. "Climb up the shrouds using the ratlines as your ladder."
Akane looked towards the rope ladder and nodded. She built up her courage and marched up to it. The crew stood at the base of the mast, muttering how bad luck would come their way while a girl was aboard.
"The mast tilts some," on of the crewmembers said. Akane didn't even turn. She just grabbed the ratline with her hands and started to climb.
The first ten feet or so were okay. It was something like wall climbing. But as Akane reached a point ten feet from the base, she understood that the further she went, the more prominent could she feel the tilting of the ship. She resisted the urge to throw up.
When she reached the end of the first sail, she realized something. The rope ladders were in four separate sets, like the sails. So what she had to do when she reached the end of one ratline was that she had to actually reach out before her to get to the next set of ratline.
The second set of rope ladder was around two feet away from where she clung desperately twenty feet from the ship. For a grown man, he would have been able to grasp the other rope ladder easily, but Akane found that her arm was short of some inches.
So she wedged out her foot, trying not to look down or up. Her focus remained on her leg reaching out slowly, carefully... Her foot hooked around the first rung. She used her foot to bring the rope ladder closer. She took it and continued to climb, looking only at her hands before her and concentrating on putting one hand on top of the other.
And the ship continued to sway and dip. Akane's hands grew slippery as she climbed higher. The air was growing thinner as she ascended. She reached the end of the second rope ladder and started a grab for the third set. Then the ship bobbed below, and Akane's world reeled.
Only then did Akane realize the idiocy of her actions. She would never reach the top without falling and breaking her neck! She'd sent herself to her death! But the thought of dying anyway by walking the plank made her continue.
There were about thirty more feet for her to continue. What seemed like gentle breezes on deck were actually cruel gusts of wind up high. Akane still refused to look down. She finally reached the final set of ropes.
The final ascent was the worst of all the climbs. With each rung, the rocking of the mast seemed to increase. It seemed her world was being tossed to the right and left back and forth every few seconds.
At last, she reached out with violently trembling fingers and touched the spar of the main royal yard. She had reached the top. She had to get down. Glancing down, she immediately wished she hadn't. The ship seemed like a small tiny bug. The ocean was a huge space to which had no end. She could even see the island, about the size of a fly.
Akane hastily put a random foot downwards for the lower rung, and realized with utter terror that the trip down was going to be even harder. She couldn't see where she was going unless she looked down.
She clung to the ropes, a strange sight. She was a young girl in her pajamas climbing the highest mast on the ship. Though she tried to stop herself, Akane started to cry tears of frustration and horror.
'Ranma!' she thought desperately.
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"The mermaids say that she's aboard the Jolly Roger," Peter told the Lost Friends. They were in the underground hideout in a circle on the dirt floor. Ranma started.
"How do I get to the Jolly Roger?" Ranma asked sharply. He had already stood up and was flexing his arms. Peter merely looked at him, unimpressed.
"Relax," Peter said. "All of you stay here, and I'll rescue Akane. If you come, you'll just get in my way."
Ranma glared at him. "I won't fall behind," he said through clenched teeth. The two considered each other for a moment. Ranma, the Saotome heir and martial artist, and Peter Pan, the yeti-costume boy with the adolescent complex.
Then Ryogae stepped forward, his thoughts on rescuing Akane.
"I'm coming too," he declared to Peter and Ranma.
"Fine," Peter said finally, and grinned. His grin was met by Ranma's grim look. "I'll go find you some fairy dust."
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Akane stepped back onto the deck, nauseated and sickened, but extremely proud at the same time. The crewmembers looked at her, clearly at loss for words yet fully impressed. Akane had turned around to face them, and was proud of herself.
"Well," Robin said, being the first to recover from his initial shock. "So you're part of the crew. Welcome to the Jolly Roger."
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END CHAPTER THREE
PLEASE REVIEW MY WORK AFTER EVERY CHAPTER IF POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN IMPROVE IT. IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO ME IF YOU'D TAKE TIME TO COMMENT ON MY WORK. YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME PERSONALLY IF YOU WANT...
AT: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com
For this chapter, I used some influence from "The True Confession of Charlotte Doyle" by Avi. Don't sue me for plagiarism!
Please review this story! It's been a long time since I thought to make a fanfic on any anime, so I hope you enjoy this...
============================================
"You're getting much better," Peter said approvingly. Akane turned and took another swing.
"You think?" she asked eagerly. It had been a week since she'd arrived in Everland, and the wound on her arm had healed amazingly fast. Her ankle was no longer swollen at all. Peter had insisted that she learn how to use the dirk for the fun of it.
Thus the two of them spent the days in forest clearings, Akane learning to swing the blade as fast as Peter did, and Peter learning to high kick as well as Akane did. Ranma, on the other hand, went dueling with Moussee and Ryogae. He also practiced escaping from Shampooe, who always tried to defeat him for some reason.
Akane sidestepped as Peter made a swing at her with his sheathed dirk. Akane swung back and whirled around, bringing her dirk across her chest and toward him. They were both agile people. Peter ducked and while she hovered above him, he made a stab for her stomach. She twisted her body just in time, and while he was still reeling from the missed swing, she made to swing the dirk downwards.
And so their friendly duels were very enjoyable. But Tink, jealous fairy that she was, couldn't stand to see her precious Peter Pan being smitten by some ordinary little girl. For the past week, she'd watched for the past week Peter drooling over Akane, and she was sick of it.
And today, the friendly dirk game was the last straw. Tink felt her heart break as Peter laughed and came from above Akane. Why couldn't the she and Peter have the same dirk games? Never mind the obvious size difference. Tink finally made her decision and flew away from the clearing, unnoticed.
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"Someone Pan cares about?" Hook asked eagerly. Shmee, his assistant, looked on with interest as he poured Hook a cup of brandy. Hook stroked his long curly black beard thoughtfully. Tink nodded eagerly.
She flew again to go beside Hook's ear and whispered Akane Tendou's name.
Hook leaned back on the cushioned chair and smirked at the idea of using this Akane Tendou as bait. The Jolly Roger swayed underneath his feet as he considered Tink's information. So she'd been thrown aside by Peter Pan, and now she wanted him to get rid of someone Peter clearly cared about.
"But how do I get this Akane to come to me alone without Pan at her side?" Hook mused. Tink was prepared for this. She gave a devilish grin and leaned close...
============================================
"Where is it supposed to be?" Akane asked Tink, who flew near her. It was late in the evening, and Akane wanted to get back to the hideout, but Tink had insisted that Akane follow her and not tell anyone else.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Tink stopped mid-air and turned around, as if testing the air. Then she zoomed straight forward, past a line of trees, and was gone. Akane stepped forward tentatively, following where Tink had disappeared. The darkness of the forest made it hard for her to see her step, even with the lantern she carried.
When she emerged from the line of trees, she saw a shoreline, and there, bobbing merrily with lanterns all over the deck, was the Jolly Roger. The mermaid bowsprit glowed from the moon's light. Everything Peter hand warned her about the ship now snapped to her attention. Tink flew a little closer, and Akane saw in horror the sneer that was on her face.
Akane stepped back to try to flee into the forest, when an unseen blunt force hit her straight on the head. She fell to the sand, unconscious.
============================================
Ranma woke up in the middle of the night with a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach. Like always during the night, the cave was completely engulfed in darkness. He wondered for a moment what had been bothering him and then he realized that he wasn't sure if Akane had come back since the bonfire.
She'd suddenly gone off to some point in the forest, and everyone assumed that she had to do her 'business.' At that time, the bonfire was already burned out, so they'd all gone to the hideout to sleep. As soon as his head had hit the bearskin, Ranma had fallen asleep.
"Akane?" he said to his left. He didn't sense anyone breathing. After hesitating, he stuck out a hand and his arm came across nothing.
"She's not here," Shampooe's voice floated from her bed. Ranma stiffened.
"Do you know where Akane went?" Ranma asked sharply.
A moment of silence passed. Shampooe's voice came hesitantly.
"No I don't," she said. "She'll be back in the morning." Ranma was silent. In her bed, Shampooe closed her eyes. She knew the truth. Akane wasn't coming back. Tink had specifically asked her and Ukyoe to keep Ranma busy so that she could lure Akane away without anyone noticing. It was the perfect plan. With Akane gone, both Peter and Ranma were free for the taking.
'That annoying Akane Tendou is in the Jolly Roger now,' Shampooe thought to herself in an amused manner. Ukyoe knew, too, that Akane was in the mercy of someone named Captain Hook. After all, they'd both been part of the scheme.
============================================
Akane came to slowly. Her head was pounding with a vicious headache. She was in a very cramped up cabin room, at least, she assumed that was what it was. It was four feet wide and only six feet long. Four and a half feet tall, from what she could feel with her hands. She was lying down on a built-in wooden platform covered with a blanket that was clearly meant for a bed. There was no window. The room was pitch black.
Akane hesitantly staggered to her feet, and nearly bumped her head on the extremely low ceiling. Her feet swayed underneath her with the waves. With a start, she realized that they might be at sea.
She groped around the sides of the room until her hand came in contact with something that might be a doorknob. Flinging it open, she was surprised to discover that it was unlocked. She was in a narrow wooden hallway, the steerage. On one end, there was a short flight of stairs bathed in sunlight. Akane made towards the shallow steps.
The sunlight burned her eyes and made her squint. Momentarily, she was blinded. When she could finally see, she saw that the crewmembers were watching her warily. They were only four all in all.
"Captain Hook wants to see you," a voice suddenly broke in from her side. She turned to see a short fat man wearing round-rimmed glasses.
"I'm Shmee," the man said. "I'm the first mate of this ship." He gestured towards the crewmembers. "There were nine crewmembers in the beginning," he said cheerfully. Akane fairly shuddered. She now saw that they were indeed in the middle of the ocean. The island from which they had come from was now a mere speck in the distance.
"Come along," Shmee said. He gestured towards Akane. There was nothing she could do but follow. At least she wasn't hand-tied.
They went into the cabin, where Captain Hook was staying. Akane looked around. Compared to the little rat hole she had just come from, this was a suite. The walls were papered with lush red wallpaper with gold emphasis. The floor was covered with a red carpet of the same color. The table in the center was hardwood oak, with delicate carvings of sea creatures at the sides. Hook was sitting at one end of the table, heaps of food set before him.
"Ah, there you are," Hook said. He beckoned Akane closer with a wave of his hook for a hand. Akane stood her ground, gathering her courage.
"Why am I here?" Akane asked sharply. Her hands formed into fists at her sides. Shmee hurriedly left the cabin before all hell broke loose. Hook gave her an amused look.
"Guess," said Hook. Akane glared at him. She took a step closer towards the table and raised her fist menacingly. By this time, her head had stopped throbbing, and all she wanted to do was bash the leering captain in the head.
"Ah- ah- ah," Hook suddenly said. With amazing speed, his good left hand went into his shirtsleeve and pulled out a pistol from the ruffles. He then brought it forward, slamming it onto the table, and simultaneously cocking it. It crashed onto the table with such a force that the platters jumped.
Hook leered. His left hand lay on the pistol, finger on the trigger. The pistol was pointed in Akane's direction. Akane froze, suddenly unable to move.
"Well," Hook said. "Your purpose here is done. Your little friend Peter knows that you're here. He'll be here anytime soon."
Hook's eyes gleamed with delight at the thought of Peter dying. Akane gulped. Hook sighed, and took his hand off the pistol. Instead, he rearranged his shirttail and gave a patronizing gesture to Akane.
"In other words," Hook said patiently to Akane's dumbfounded face. "I can kill you now without losing anything. In fact..."
Hook's hand snapped to the pistol. Akane sputtered to life.
"Wait," she said, holding her hands in the air. "Let me become a crewmember!"
Hook looked at her incredulously.
"A girl, become a crew member?" he spat. Akane swallowed and willed her mouth to move.
"Y-You're lacking crewmembers," she said. "If I become a member of the crew then you can't-"she couldn't bring herself to say: 'kill me.' Instead, she said: "If I become a member of the crew, then you can't shoot."
Hook seemed to consider this. His hand left the pistol and he stroked his curly black beard.
"Okay," he finally said. "If you get those bums outside to accept you into the crew, then you'll live."
He waved her away with a flick of his wrist. Only when Akane had closed the door of the cabin did she allow her annoyance to show. She wanted desperately to hit him. But at the moment, there were more pressing issues, like her life. She looked around. Shmee was standing outside the door.
"Well?" Shmee asked, fully expecting a request from Captain Hook to throw the girl off the side of the ship.
"I'm going to join the crew," Akane said. Shmee simply stared at her, his jaw slack. Then he took a whistle from hanging from a string around his neck and blew into it. The shrill noise seemed to be in tune to Akane's desperation at the moment.
Immediately, the four crewmembers came on the waist of the ship, looking tired and haggard from the continuous shifts and lack of sleep. Shmee asked them to introduce themselves.
"Fin."
"Harry."
"George."
"Robin."
After they did this, Shmee turned to Akane.
"Go on," he told her. "Tell them what they've been called for."
Akane stepped forward and threw her chin up in a prideful stance.
"I'm going to join the crew."
Immediately, the four bronze men looked at each other and laughed. Fin stepped forward. He was a blond man in his late thirties, grimy from head to toe.
"There's no way a girl's joining our crew," he said brusquely. From behind him, the other crewmembers gave their own hoots of agreement. Akane felt her palms start to sweat. Hook was behind the door just a few feet away. He'd hear everything.
"It's bad enough there's a girl onboard," Harry cut in. He was a short, bald man of forty. It seemed that every inch of him was covered in tattoos. "You know what I say?" he asked. Akane took an involuntary step backwards as spat on deck.
"Let her walk the plank!" George cut in happily. He was a tall, thin twenty something year old. He raised his fist and pumped it in the air. Soon, Akane realized that the plank was something special to these pirates. Even Shmee seemed to be getting enthusiastic about the idea.
Harry even started to go for the side of the boat where she'd be walking off. Akane started to brace herself in attacking position. She didn't know how many of these men had pistols, but she'd rather kill herself than submit willingly.
"Stop!" Came a sudden voice. It was Robin, a healthy man in his early thirties. He had one glass eye, which popped out slightly. With his one good eye, he looked at Akane.
"If there's one thing we sailors love more than a person walking the plank," he started. "It's watching someone squirm. The ball is in your court. Give us an offer we can't refuse."
Akane saw that the other crewmembers were practically holding their breaths. She realized that they held some sort of respect for the headstrong Robin. She stepped forward, trying to be brave. She glanced around the ship, and her eyes fell on the lowest of the sails on the main mast: the lower-main topsail. It was only a few tens of feet into the air.
"I'll climb that," she said, pointing to the sail. "If I reach that top end of it, then I'm part of the crew."
Robin barely batted an eyelash when he took a look at it.
"That's child's play," Robin scoffed. He considered her. "Climb the main royal yard."
Akane looked to where he was pointed, and her jaw dropped. The swaying motion of the ship only made her feel more sickened. Robin was pointing to a sail that was at least one hundred thirty feet into the air. The top seemed very far away from where Akane stood.
She felt the crew's eyes on her. She was certain Harry was gloating. If she fell down from the climb, she hoped she'd fall into the ocean. Otherwise, she'd crash onto deck. Her skin prickled at the thought of that.
"It's now or never," Robin said, barely concealing his amusement. It had been so long since someone walked the plank. Part of him hoped the girl would back out. He motioned towards the mast. "Climb up the shrouds using the ratlines as your ladder."
Akane looked towards the rope ladder and nodded. She built up her courage and marched up to it. The crew stood at the base of the mast, muttering how bad luck would come their way while a girl was aboard.
"The mast tilts some," on of the crewmembers said. Akane didn't even turn. She just grabbed the ratline with her hands and started to climb.
The first ten feet or so were okay. It was something like wall climbing. But as Akane reached a point ten feet from the base, she understood that the further she went, the more prominent could she feel the tilting of the ship. She resisted the urge to throw up.
When she reached the end of the first sail, she realized something. The rope ladders were in four separate sets, like the sails. So what she had to do when she reached the end of one ratline was that she had to actually reach out before her to get to the next set of ratline.
The second set of rope ladder was around two feet away from where she clung desperately twenty feet from the ship. For a grown man, he would have been able to grasp the other rope ladder easily, but Akane found that her arm was short of some inches.
So she wedged out her foot, trying not to look down or up. Her focus remained on her leg reaching out slowly, carefully... Her foot hooked around the first rung. She used her foot to bring the rope ladder closer. She took it and continued to climb, looking only at her hands before her and concentrating on putting one hand on top of the other.
And the ship continued to sway and dip. Akane's hands grew slippery as she climbed higher. The air was growing thinner as she ascended. She reached the end of the second rope ladder and started a grab for the third set. Then the ship bobbed below, and Akane's world reeled.
Only then did Akane realize the idiocy of her actions. She would never reach the top without falling and breaking her neck! She'd sent herself to her death! But the thought of dying anyway by walking the plank made her continue.
There were about thirty more feet for her to continue. What seemed like gentle breezes on deck were actually cruel gusts of wind up high. Akane still refused to look down. She finally reached the final set of ropes.
The final ascent was the worst of all the climbs. With each rung, the rocking of the mast seemed to increase. It seemed her world was being tossed to the right and left back and forth every few seconds.
At last, she reached out with violently trembling fingers and touched the spar of the main royal yard. She had reached the top. She had to get down. Glancing down, she immediately wished she hadn't. The ship seemed like a small tiny bug. The ocean was a huge space to which had no end. She could even see the island, about the size of a fly.
Akane hastily put a random foot downwards for the lower rung, and realized with utter terror that the trip down was going to be even harder. She couldn't see where she was going unless she looked down.
She clung to the ropes, a strange sight. She was a young girl in her pajamas climbing the highest mast on the ship. Though she tried to stop herself, Akane started to cry tears of frustration and horror.
'Ranma!' she thought desperately.
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"The mermaids say that she's aboard the Jolly Roger," Peter told the Lost Friends. They were in the underground hideout in a circle on the dirt floor. Ranma started.
"How do I get to the Jolly Roger?" Ranma asked sharply. He had already stood up and was flexing his arms. Peter merely looked at him, unimpressed.
"Relax," Peter said. "All of you stay here, and I'll rescue Akane. If you come, you'll just get in my way."
Ranma glared at him. "I won't fall behind," he said through clenched teeth. The two considered each other for a moment. Ranma, the Saotome heir and martial artist, and Peter Pan, the yeti-costume boy with the adolescent complex.
Then Ryogae stepped forward, his thoughts on rescuing Akane.
"I'm coming too," he declared to Peter and Ranma.
"Fine," Peter said finally, and grinned. His grin was met by Ranma's grim look. "I'll go find you some fairy dust."
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Akane stepped back onto the deck, nauseated and sickened, but extremely proud at the same time. The crewmembers looked at her, clearly at loss for words yet fully impressed. Akane had turned around to face them, and was proud of herself.
"Well," Robin said, being the first to recover from his initial shock. "So you're part of the crew. Welcome to the Jolly Roger."
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END CHAPTER THREE
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