*laughs evilly* My, I'm glad everyone likes it…I'm certainly enjoying myself. *more evil laughter* I got a lot of 'poor Shun' comments, though…actually, every review had those two words in it…Eh, oh well. *more evil laughing*
Midori: Author-lady…cut it out. That's getting really annoying.
GS: *stops laughing* Aw…Midori, you always spoil my fun!
Haku: *hanging upside-down from a tree* Hey, if she's not gonna do it, I will! *evil laughter…which sounds distinctly like his father*
Midori: O.O That's creepy…
GS: He sounds just like Malik…
Ahem…Will anybody be nice and draw me a picture of Shun in this fic? I mean, either the dress he's stuck in at first or (more preferably) the outfit he gets stuck in here…the same as the Amazons wear. I'm just dying to see it!! ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Shun or any of the original Saint Seiya characters. However, the Amazons, all of them, belong to me and me alone. Got it?
P.S. - If you know the Dragon Knights story I got this idea from, please please PLEASE go read the senseless-humor DK fic my friend Mizuei and I are working on together. It's SO funny, and we haven't gotten any reviews yet…
Among the Amazons
Chapter 2: She'll Do
Shun sighed, standing in an almost-bare cabin on the tiny little boat. He wasn't enjoying this much at all…he'd never been particularly fond of sailing, he was heading to an island that spelled 'death' for any men, and besides all that, he was stuck in a dress.
He tugged disdainfully at the skirt he was wearing, the same one as before. He sighed again, brushing his hair back from his eyes and turning back to the task of re-packing his one bag.
Most of the stuff he was taking with him was pretty simple…A shirt-and-jeans outfit that could keep up his illusion, female socks and tennis shoes, a hair brush, two books from the Foundation's extensive library, the necessary, um…'undergarments' needed to complete the disguise…ugh…
Underneath the visible things were a few that needed to remain hidden. A picture of Ikki and the others back home…the Nebula Chain, separate from his Cloth so that he could use them if needed be…and a small, two-way radio that Saori insisted he take with him, to keep him in contact with the home base.
There was a knock on his cabin door. "Miss?" the captain called. Shun winced at the title…Oh well, better get used to it…
"Um…yes?" he called in the slightly higher-pitched voice he'd practiced earlier.
"We've arrived on the jetty on the island's outskirts…as you know, this is as close as we can take you."
"Yes, I understand…I'm coming." he pulled the bag over his shoulder, smoothed out the skirt, and crossed to open the door.
The captain was a middle-aged man hired by the Grande Foundation. Yes, he knew of Sienna and her Saints, of the Gold Cloth and the problems with Sanctuary, and of the rules on Amazon Island. However, he did not know that Shun was not, in fact, a girl.
He lead 'her' across the deck and to the gangplank, which had been lowered down onto the rocks. Shun stepped off the boat to the slippery shore, sliding a bit but regaining his balance in an instant.
The captain tipped his hat. "Good luck, ma'am."
He nodded in farewell, starting for the sandy shore. He stepped off and sandaled feet sunk a few inches into the sand. He sighed, and began for woods that grew there on the edge.
He hadn't gotten even three feet from the trees before the bushes in front of them began to rustle. Seconds later found him at the edge of three sharply-pointed arrows, held taunt on oaken bows by two brunets and a blonde. All three had tanned skin and were dressed in the same outfit: a short tunic that ended just above their knees, sandals securely tied all the way up their calves, and a small plate of dark bronze armor covering their left shoulders.
"Halt." the tall, green-eyed blonde in the middle ordered, obviously the oldest, and the leader. Shun stopped, slipping the bag off his shoulder and holding his hands up to show that he carried no weapons.
"…Are you Amazons, then?" he asked, making deafly sure his voice was as high as it needed be.
"We're the ones asking questions here!" the brunet snapped, but the larger blonde held her back.
The smaller blonde crossed up to Shun, green eyes glaring seriously. She frowned, looking him up and down. He had to gulp…If they saw through his disguise, he was as good as dead.
"You're awfully scrawny." Ouch. Oh well… "Yes, we are the Amazons. What do you want here?"
"To…To train…" he gulped out, almost wanting to take a step back out partially out of acting and partially of pure nervousness.
"Train?!" the brunet nearly burst out laughing. "You?! Train here?!"
"Anna…" the older blonde chastised, and she fell silent. She now approached Shun, blues eyes focused on his. She looked him quietly up and down, then turned on her heel and motioned for him to follow.
"Come with me." she ordered. "The Mistress Hippolyta has ordered to all females wishing to train here be brought to her council. There will be a test to determine your worth."
Shun nodded in understanding, picked his bag up from the sand, and followed after the three Amazons.
~ * ~ * ~
'Mistress Hippolyta' was a title, the same as the Sanctuary's Master or Pope. But it was also the leader's name, officially. Each one was of the exact same bloodline…the Amazons occasionally brought in foreign dignitaries and the occasional good-looking shipwreck victim…and all were determined when they were born as their future leader. As such, each was named Hippolyta, and each was trained separately from the others.
This Hippolyta was technically Hippolyta XXI, but that's besides the point. She was at least 30 and somewhere around 5'10" inches tall. Her hair was a gleaming black, long and pulled back in a dignified bun and streaked unnaturally with white. Her skin was very pale, and her eyes were a dark, glaring purple. She was dressed in full armor, carrying a large shield in one hand, with a long sword strapped to her waist.
She leveled him with a purple-eyed glare, looking almost like a goddess from one of the old myths. But she was more like Persephone than Athena.
"And who…" she began in a voice just barely higher than a whisper, deep and rich with no accent and confidence to spare. "…Is this, who approaches the Amazon Council?"
"I am An…um…" Shun's mind race. He had to think of a feminine name, and not Andromeda…It would be suspicious. "An…Andrea…"
The woman raised her eyebrow. "Aun-dria?" she pronounced carefully.
"Yes, yes ma'am." he nodded, anxiously. Good enough. "I am Andrea. My origins lie in Japan, and in a small island in the Pacific Ocean." Not technically a lie…and close enough to the truth that he could keep to the story without problems. "I came here for more…intense…training."
"I see…" Hippolyta looked him up and down. "And what drives you to seek the Amazon's training?"
"I wish to further the experience I gained while training on the island, Miss." eh…a bit shaky, but good enough.
Hippolyta smiled a bit, motioning to one of the Amazons standing beside her. She stepped forward, carrying a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. Almost instantly, the group of about 20 women gathered around them stepped far back, as though to give the newcomer room. Shun looked around, tensing automatically.
Hippolyta nodded at the girl. She was about 20 years old, with long, brown hair, and a piercingly dark glare. "Tania here is our best archer. If you can dodge her arrows, you will be accepted here."
Shun couldn't help but gulp. "And…And if I don't?" he asked, his voice squeaking more out of worry than of his fake tempo.
The Mistress grinned. "Then you die."
Shun gulped and the test began.
Tania pulled an arrow back, snapping it forward. Shun leapt back, only to be met by another one. He silently held his breath as he flipped, jumped, spun and dodged the best he could, keeping an eye both on the arrows that were being fired at him, and the ones that rebounded off the gathered Amazon's shields.
After about eight separate shots, he slid on a slick spot and lost a few hairs to a close shave. Around number eleven, he was starting to get fatigued, and they were coming faster than ever. This 'Tania' person was definitely an archer of galactic proportions.
Four shots later, he could hardly see. He was dizzy, he was tired, and…oh, damn that one was heading right for him…
By pure stroke of luck, he tripped over his own feet at the moment the last arrow was fired. He hit the ground, just as the last arrow was fired. It bounced off the bronze shields and jammed into a crack in the ceiling.
A chorus of cheers and clapping echoed through the hall. Shun carefully pulled himself up, hoping his clumsiness didn't give him away, as Tania came down with her empty quiver and smiled at him.
"You're pretty good, girl." she winked. "The last ten training got skewered within the first five shots."
"Um…thanks, I guess…" Shun gulped in a bit of fear.
Tania put an arm around his shoulders like a sister would, looking up at Hippolyta. "Well, Mistress?" she asked politely. "Has miss…Andrea…passed our tests?"
The tall lady gave a cold smile, nodding once without emotion. "She'll do." she whispered. "She'll do."
End Chapter 2.
Heh heh…I had two choices for Shun's fake name whilst on the island. Andrea, which is the name of a good (but kinda creepy) friend of mine, and then one that would probably get Seiya rolling in the aisles…Shina. ^_^ Heh…I think I picked the right one. As for the arrow-scene test…It was the best I could think of, and I still think it came out a bit shaky…
NEXT TIME: Okay, Shun's been accepted. But things go wrong from the start when he finds out he's got a…roommate?! With some serious attitude…poor guy…