Disclaimer: I disclaim
Hi! So…just an F.Y.I, I am planning to update once a week. Probably weekends…that seems to be the best time for me to sit down and actually write. Now…about the characters being OOC…yes, I know they are…but only b/c life's situations have taught them to be so. Their true characters are still the same though; you will notice that as this story progresses, it will climb closer and closer to the actual characteristics that we all know and love. As for Shampoo being so easily persuaded by Mousse..well, she was never overly obsessed with Ranma in my story, b/c they never dueled and therefore she was never given a reason to fully notice him. But she will. Give the characters a chance to develop and bloom….I'm just trying to place a little exposition first.
Oh…..italics are the amazons talking in Chinese, and therefore Akane can't understand them…yet…hee hee
Now….on with the story!
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Ice…. That is the word to describe the exact feeling that invaded Akane's very being. Like pinpricks slowly shooting from the bottom of her feet electrifying her to the top of the head. It was harsh enough to make any person gasp, or awaken (in Akane's case) from an unconscious escape of reality. Akane's eyes shot open and were immediately introduced to a blurry presence of water. She wanted to breathe in, but found herself incapable as the invasion of water continued to proceed forth. Akane knew full well she herself could not swim to save a kitten's life, and therefore began to panic. Kicking, with arms flailing wildly, she did not think to look up to where the surface of the water remained patiently awaiting for her acknowledgement. Just when she thought she was a goner, a hand reached onto her scalp and pulled her abruptly from the blue abyss.
"Huuuuuuuuuhhhh….." Akane gasped for air, gulping it in as if it were the most precious thing she had ever tasted.
Being now completely alert, she darted her eyes around to see who exactly it was that helped remove her from her impending doom. Yet, still being firmly held onto by the hair within her scalp, she wasn't exactly capable of turning around to see just whom it was.
Instead, she was forced to look up, and by doing so her eyes focused on the withered effects of a female hand.
The hand suddenly released her, and she fell back into the water with a splash!
Akane's feet stretched down and hit a bottom, she noticed that she had been in an over sized tub all along, and if she had only put her feet down to begin with, she would've touched the bottom.
Embarrassed, she turned around to face her rescuer with gratitude. Akane's eyes squinted when she saw the old woman standing there, coming into focus she was greeted with a rather somber, ill-humored face.
This woman was tinier and older than anyone she had ever seen before. Her hair was white as snow, and her skin itself was nothing more than the exterior to a shriveled raisin. For a split second, Akane found herself repulsed, but quickly dismissed the feeling in knowing that this woman just brought her out of her nightmare.
Wanting to say something but not quite sure what, a simple "Thank you." escaped her lips. The old woman just starred at her as though she were crazy, this made Akane very uncomfortable (as though she already wasn't) and her body began to shiver. Looking down, she noticed that she was still in the ice cold water, and the opportunity of getting out did not seem to be an option.
Just then, a door to the room that she was within opened, and the young man that was carrying her before walked in. His features were hard, but he had a look of concern that radiated from within his eyes. Still shivering, Akane's teeth began to chatter. The young man approached the old woman and they began talking in a dialect that was recognizable, but not comprehensible to Akane. She starred at them shivering and bewildered as they continued to discuss what she could only guess was her very well being.
"So…she finally came through" stated Ranma
"Yes son-in-law, she simply passed out…probably due to shock"
"I told you, you old gouhl, I do NOT want you calling me that anymore!"
"My apologies… I forgot" Cologne knew this last statement was a lie (as did Ranma) but she felt she had to be cordial; after all, she really had wanted Ranma to marry Shampoo.
"Look…I don't want to deal with this right now, we have another problem at hand"
Cologne glanced at Akane, "Yes, I see that…what is it exactly that you want to do with her?"
"You know perfectly well what she is good for" replied Ranma slightly annoyed that Cologne was trying to make him spell it out.
Cologne gave an evil grin, "You want to give her as a one year peace offering to the Shamit's"
Ranma gagged… "No! are you crazy! I could never hand over anyone to them, I don't care who you are, no person deserves that type of fate!"
Cologne smirked, "Then what may I inquire is your plan?"
Ranma looked at Cologne point blank, she was toying with him, challenging him. He didn't want to make it so obvious... but the outsiders had always intrigued his people; by introducing her to the village they could possibly learn things that they never could have conceived. Ranma's mind was always on martial arts, and he was certain that she was a valuable asset in some way to teach if not something from her foreign land that would better their tribe to fend off the Shamit's. and who knows...maybe if he could somehow ...no...nevermind.
When he found her, it seemed like a great idea. But now, facing Cologne, he was beginning to think it would have been better to have left her on the beach.
"if your brain is too small to come up with a practical solution, and one that benefits our society…then may I suggest handing her over to the Shamit's…We owe it to our people to offer them one year of guaranteed peace"
Ranma shivered.
The Shamit's were the only other people that occupied the island. There had been an ongoing battle between the two tribes, lasting for centuries.
The Shamit's were the lowest of the low… CANNIBALS!
Every once and a while one of their own members from the Amazon tribe would get captured, and the outcome from such captures were always devastating. Offering the foreigner (Akane) would guarantee the Shamit's to stay away from their tribe for one whole year. For Cologne and the other tribe members, offering the foreigner in exchange for one year of absolute peace was a no-brainer, but for Ranma….well…though he had no attachment to the girl, he felt responsible for her because he brought her here. He hated the Shamit's with a loathing passion, and through his own pride, would never offer a gift of any kind.
Yet Ranma was put in a corner that he could not back out of. He knew that it was his fault for bringing the foreigner in, and now the tribe would decide as a whole what would be best. And none of them would pass up a chance to secure their children's future for atleast a year.
"There is no reason to ask me what I want… you have already made your decision" Ranma said bitterly.
"Then it has been decided, I will go through the proper procedure to make sure she is a whole person and all limbs are in tact, and then tonight…tonight will be the trade off. Thank you Ranma, you are a true servant to your people"
"yeah…whatever" Ranma briefly glanced at the young woman still soaking in a tub of frigid temperatures. He felt a pang of guilt and regret flood over him, yet refusing to dwell on the emotions, he quickly turned around and exited the room.
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Cologne went towards Akane and motioned for her to rise out of the tub. Akane chattering to no end obeyed, clothes clinging to her body, she slowly rose from her position.
"Come on child, I need to prepare you for the trade off tonight"Akane just looked at Cologne with a quizzical look on her face, clearly not understanding, but knowing she was being given the opportunity to rise from the icy waters.
Even out of the water, Akane couldn't escape the cold…but Cologne took Akane by the hand, and led her into another room of herbs and spices.
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"hmmm……" Cologne was in a rather irritated mood. This young woman was going to prove to be more trouble than good, "How is this possible?…… I mean, I know how it's possible, but why? This will never do"
Glaring at Akane, Cologne picked up her feet and briskly walked out of the room.
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Bewilderment and confusion. Akane could not understand a word of what had gone on. She just sat there while the old woman pulled out all these strange herbs and spices and did some weird motions over her body. The old woman had been muttering to herself, and though Akane was grateful for being pulled out of the water earlier, she felt that this elderly woman had not been taken too kindly towards her.
So Akane sat. Waiting…
Waiting, alone in a room with shelves and shelves of what she could only guess where ingredients for cooking or doing potions and spells. Akane rubbed her forefingers on her temples urging away the headache that was attempting to claim her, "What is this place?" Akane whispered in a hush tone, moreso just to hear her own voice and reassure herself she wasn't in some strange dreamland.
She could hear people talking outside of the room, and they did not sound as though they were on friendly terms. It sounded like an argument, and one voice that she could distinctly make out was the crackling voice of the old woman.
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Cologne and Ranma re-entered into the room, both with clearly aggravated looks on their faces.
"Just look at her son-in-law! What am I supposed to do with THAT!"
"I dunno…you're the one with all the wisdomly ideas you old ghoul," replied Ranma sarcastically, "so you tell me!"
Cologne shook her head "No respect…"
"Don't get mad at me, just because your plan won't work"
Cologne was thinking… hard. She was going to make this work somehow, granted it would be postponed for a few months, but the end result would not change; no one, not even Ranma was going to change that.
"Come here son-in-law…I want you to see for yourself" Cologne motioned over to Akane and bent down over her.
"No thanks…I think I'll pass" Ranma replied uninterested.
"Get over here and stop acting like that, you brought her here, so now you deal with it!"Ranma sighed. He knew she was right... Slowly he walked over to the young female.
Why was he so nervous?
Impatiently, Cologne grabbed Ranma's hand and placed it over Akane's stomach.
"See! Am I right, or am I right?"
Ranma nodded. Relief swept over him at first, and then disappointment…
Now she wouldn't have to be sent to the other village, but then again, now he couldn't possibly claim…. No, he wasn't going to go there. Clearly, she belonged to some other man...
"yes………she is pregnant…"
Akane starred at the two of them…why were they acting so strange? She had never been so uncomfortable. And why were their hands touching her on her stomach! The old woman fine, but the young man with the pony tail! Honestly, nobody but her husband was allowed to touch her there! And why was this guy blushing? She turned her head in anger, fixating her gaze on the herbs. Then she felt the young man remove his hand slowly from her stomach, almost brushing against her. Akane felt her body react. This caught her by surprise and she quickly flashed her eyes at the young man, only to notice his awkwardness, causing herself to blush….
Wait!She was blushing! what was wrong with her!
"Well…you know very well we can't hand her over till after she is whole as one person. We are going to have to wait till after she has this child…"
Ranma nodded in concession.
"As much as I hate to say this son-in-law……you brought her here, so you are going to be placed as her guardian until the time comes"
"But I…" Ranma attempted to argue.
Cologne continued, "That's final! She will stay with you under your roof, and you will make sure no other harm comes to her."
Even though Ranma could've argued….he didn't really want to. The only problem was simply that she was PREGNANT!
Ranma glanced at her….No, she wasn't that cute.
Ok… so... he was going to have a... female... living under his roof! This made Ranma extremely nervous, he had no experience with women. He had tried to woo Shampoo, and look where that got him! But… he wasn't going to try and woo her.. what was he thinking! Who knows…maybe they could become friends….
Yeah right!
Ranma looked at Akane, she had been starring at him angrily, but when their eyes made contact…somehow her stoned features softened. They held that position for a moment, then both realizing the awkwardness of the situation turned their heads real fast.
Ranma's face was beet red.
So….Ranma figured she was going to have this child in what…8 ½ months…yeah ok…he could handle that…..
Right?
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Whahahahahaha! Let the fun begin!
my next chapter will focus on the awkwardness of their living arrangements...and lack of communication ) look for it sometime next weekend...
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Matrias – I hope my punctuation is better this time…I just got so excited about posting the first chapters that I was rather negligent. Also, this is my first fanfic, so I'm trying to figure out what is the most effective way to communicate. Thank you for pointing it out to me though, I really want to do this right.
Thereviewergirl – so you have been to Palawan! Gorgeous, which is why I wanted to make mention to it…but the plane crashed on an anonymous island within the region (I am choosing to make it uncharted)….though, I am still going to make references to the description of the island later on in the story that will show the characteristic of Palawan and all its glory.. )
Nikki of the Fallen – thank you! I will try to update weekly.
yours truly,
Valentina Fuori