Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Lies and Closed Hearts ❯ Captured by Arrogance ( Chapter 1 )

Captured By Arrogance

She had never expected to get caught. A warrior of her stature would have never stumbled

into such a poorly planned trap. But making a mistake is the trait of a normal human,

unfortunately. She gave an inner sigh as she shifted the ice cold chains on her hands. It was

freezing and all she had on was a tattered ronin uniform. Smears of dirt were everywhere and

the fabric, once a rich blue, had faded down into an nondescript color. Her gi was torn on the

bottoms and there were holes that littered the plants. Her normally pale skin was dark from

lack of cleaning and her long hair, tied in a high ponytail, was grimy. In all respects, she

looked more like a scrawny beggar than a spy. Except the tough leathery armbands

connected into short gloves that gave away her knowledge of swordsmanship. And all it took

was an ill-placed blow, a few untrained soldiers, and rusted chains to finally capture the

infamous spy of the Empire. Oh the shame she would bear if her comrades ever heard of her

capture. It wasn't stupidity that got her into this predicament, it was her pride. Pride that she

was the best, an elite spy that nobody could catch. Which was why she had sauntered through

the dense forest without a worry. Which was why seven men dropped down from the

surrounding trees and trapped her with her arrogance. She gave an angry kick at the wooden

box around her. The wagon gave a jerk as it went over a large bump and she winced as her

bottom hit the floorboards hard. There was sure to be a bruise there by now, considuring the

countless hours in which her body made imprints in the cramped wagon space. Her muscles

screamed from the inactivity and the awkward position she had been in. Four days....just

where were they taking her? For certain, they knew part of her identity, since they had placed

iron weights on her legs and arms to prevent escape. She had to get out, it was imperative of

her to get to her destination. The information she had received last week needed to get back

to the emperor. Without it, the revolution could not be stopped. And without her, the empire

could fall.

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He waved away the plates of exquisite food, scrunching his nose at the delicacies. The servant

gave a deep bow and whisked the plates away to other tables. His father was already drunk,

guffawing and spitting flecks of spit as he laughed at his advisors. Head perched on his hand,

the prince was the ultimate picture of boredom. Japan was not to his expectations and he

wondered what had ever gotten into his father's head to visit the country. Worst of all, there

were hot springs galore here, a reminder of that fatal day three months ago. He grimaced as

another court lady began to serenade a song on cherry blossoms and love. He carefully

looked around the room, making sure all of the Chinese embassy was occupied and slipped

down from his chair. He was almost to the door when small hands grabbed his shirt and

turned him around. He looked down at the pouting daughter of a Japanese noble. Her long

hair was pulled up into that ridiculous loose bun that all of the native women wore. She had

loosened her cherry red kimono enough to show the delectable curve of a breast. She was

pretty enough with her wide spaced eyes and plump lips, but her wandering hands were

beginning to annoy him and he pushed her away, quickly stealing out the door. He jogged all

the way back to his room and tore off his court clothes, trading them for his preferred red

Chinese style shirt and long black pants.

He was halfway out of his window when his ears detected the soft step of a person. He gave a

sigh and climbed back in, turning around with his arms crossed.

"Oy, Ryoga, what do you want?" he said impatiently.

The door slid open to reveal his twin brother. They were born on the same day but shared no

similar appearances or personalities. Ryoga was a bit shorter and had unruly hair that grew

out from behind a black spotted yellow headband. He leaned against the doorway, already

out of his own court clothes and in a long sleeved yellow shirt and black pants that were

cross-laced on the bottom with yellow strings. He smirked and walked up to his brother,

clapping a hand on his back.

"If you don't attend the dinner, then why should I?" he replied, starting to climb out of the

window.

"Fine, but don't go blaming me again if we get caught." the prince replied as he followed his

younger brother out the window. They stole into the stables and leisurely picked the best

horse. They were saddling them when they could hear the padding of servants running

around the stableyard.

"Damn it, he must have found out!" Ryoga whispered, his hands moving faster on the buckles.

The elder prince, his horse already done, jerked his head towards the back entrance. The two

quietly walked their horses out and into the forest that bordered the palace's land. They

quickly followed a worn down path that led to the city situated below the palace.

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The constant rumbling of the wagon wheels suddenly stopped and her ears rang from the

absence of the sound. She perked her ears, they were in some sort of street, perhaps in a city?

It couldn't be too late since there were still lots of people about, around dinner time. And

judging from the muted sounds of voices, the wagon had stopped at the back of a building.

The wagon door creaked as someone began to unlock. Light blinded her eyes as someone

held a lantern before them. Strong arms grabbed the chains and roughly pulled her out. She

almost fell when her legs gave out but the arms kept her up. Half dragging and half pushing,

she was led inside a dimly lit storeroom. There was crates and barrels of food stacked neatly

in tall piles. A door connected to the storeroom brought in the loud sounds of drunken men

and giggling girls. A typical Japanese bar; men with the money, girls with the bodies. She was

thrown to the ground of the storeroom and the room emptied, only to be filled with loud

females in overly bright makeup. She twisted her body and sat up, her hands still in those

heavy chains. They all looked at her up and down, assessing every feature on her face. From

her chestnut brown eyes to her stubborn chin.

"He looks too hard headed. Check out that nasty little look he's got." one of them said.

"Not that bad looking, a few girls might come for him. Got a soft sort of look that might lull the

girls." said another.

While the other girls began to discuss amongst themselves, their prisoner was burning with

embarassment but relieved at the same time. They didn't know who she was but.....did she

really look the part of a man? Of the three daughters of Soun, she had been the perpetual

oddball. The one daughter who was never proper, mannerly, gentle, or pretty much every

other quality that distinguishes a well bred lady. She was studying the fighting arts at age five,

donning male clothing by age seven (after finding out that neither a kimono nor a yukata was

practical during fights), and was branded the "son" of Soun by age ten. Her only beauty was in

the exquisite blue hair that reached down to her waist. The discussion between the bar girls

was cut short and she was hoisted up by two girls. One of them took a tiny key out from her

kimono and unlocked the chains bounding the girl. She was rubbing her hands when three of

them pounced on her and immediately began to brush out the tangles in her hair and pulling

her clothes off. She jumped up in a yelp and backed into a corner.

"Nobody touches my clothes or my hair, got it?! I don't care what you have in plan for me-"

"Oh for kami's sake, give it a rest, we won't touch you, ok? But our customers don't like seeing

anybody dirty, so try to clean up, got it?" a tall girl said. She had the least make up on of any

of them and had a more decent looking kimono than the others. She gave a flirty smile and

patted the girl's shoulder, though caressed is more the word. The leader gave a nod of the

head to the other girls in the room and everybody filed out.

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They were trotting down a busy street when shouts started up behind them. Ryoga turned

around and cursed, the king's personal guard had found them. The brothers jumped off the

horses and slapped their hindquarters, making the animals gallop down the street.

Meanwhile, the brothers ducked into the nearest building to hide. The second they entered

girls were all over them. Giggles and batting eyelashes were overused and their hands were

everywhere. Shaking them off, the two princes were led to a corner table where another set of

females were waiting.

"Ranma!!!! Ryoga!!!!" someone yelled from the entrance.

"Damn!" Ranma spat. "She must have found us."

"Let's give it up, you know she'll be more lenient that way!" Ryoga whispered as they

scrambled under the table.

"Forget it, she knows we left the dinner, if we have a good excuse for being out-" Ranma

whispered back as guards began to fill the bar.

"Well what kind of excuse do you have?!" Ryoga hissed as a several guards and one cane came

closer.

"Come out." said an old voice, weathered by years of living. The boys crawled out from

beneath the tables and stood straight. A tiny old woman stood before them, if standing was

the word. More like balancing herself on top of a gnarled cane as old as herself. Her bulbous

eyes betrayed nothing but annoyance at little children. Five guards flanked her back and

stood ramrod straight.

"So?" she said, waiting for the excuse she knew would sprout from the princes' lips. Before

Ryoga could confess Ranma spoke up.

"We were just out shopping." he said calmly, inspecting the invisible dirt underneath his nails.

"What more do you have to buy after the horses, the clothes, the books, the weapons, the-"

Ranma's eyes frantically looked around and caught sight of a dirty boy coming out from the

backroom of the bar.

"A personal servant for myself." he said, calmly looking straight at the woman's eyes. "I don't

like the servants the emperor are giving us. I want one I chose on my own, one I can trust.

And since father was preoccupied Ryoga and I decided to go look for one by ourselves. And

you know we are capable of handling ourselves in trouble."

"Since you two are the ones always starting the trouble." she replied.

Ranma gave a small sigh, she had bought it and now she would go on and on about what a

disappointment the two were. All of a sudden he was flying in the air and crashing down into a

table. He flinched from the hard impact and heard a similar crash as his brother landed right

beside him. The woman gave a smirk and began to hop out the bar.

"That's for leaving dinner. Now hurry up and get your servant boy, we'll be waiting outside.

And no more tricks Ranma. Not tonight."

Silence reigned the bar and Ranma picked himself off, not bothering to dust off the splinters

of wood or dust that was on his clothes. He motioned a waitress to come to him and

whispered instructions in her ear, slipping a handful of gold in her hand. The girl gave a curt

nod and rushed to the newcomer that had come out of the backroom. There was a loud

whispered argument which ended when the boy was pushed to Ranma by a group of girls.

Ranma surveyed his new servant carefully. Rather short, maybe 13 years old, long blue hair,

a stubborn expression, and curiously enough, armbands and gloves meant for males who

practiced the fighting arts. He nonchalently gave an unexpected punch towards the boy who

blocked it with ease. The boy's eyes were narrowed and Ranma gave a reassuring slap on his

shoulder.

"Just testing a theory. Don't worry, I won't beat you."

"What right have you to simply buy a person?" the boy asked, anger clearly in his rather soft

voice. "I'm not cattle to be sold and bought."

"Welcome to the real world." Ranma drawled, motioning his guards to take the boy. "And

don't try anything funny, you won't last a second." The boy glared but made no resisting

movements. Ryoga looked on, his arms in their usual crossed way.

"Nice excuse, but what are you gonna do with the kid?" he asked as they walked out the bar.

Ranma hopped onto his horse and had the guards hand him his new servant. The boy was

strangely silent and very tense as he sat in front of Ranma.

"I'll use him for a while and dump him when we leave for China." Ranma said and kicked his

heels.

*This is my first Ranma story and I wanted to give it a try since it's an awesome anime. I'm pretty sure you guys have figured it out by now who the girl is: Akane! and everybody thinks she is a guy! let's see if Ranma ever figures out her secret, and just what the heck is her real identity? (don't forget to review and tell me how the story is, do you like it, blah blah blah, oh, and hint hint, i love long reviews!)