Swirling images. Dark.
Silence.
Daytime? Nighttime?
Should I be somewhere?
Eyes, opening. Darkness still.
It must still be early morning, Shampoo thought to herself. Plenty of time to sleep, to rest, to ...
That dream! The Amazon could only recall bits of it, fragments of memory as if it took place eons ago, the way dream memories usually are. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the images that floated behind her closed lids and drift back to the sleep from which she had awoken. A dream about her and Ranma together back in Nychiezu, happy and in bed…
But the visions insisted, nagging.
Streetlights, glaringly bright. Then the dark pavement coming up to meet her. Did she trip? No, that was impossible. She never tripped…
But if it was a dream, why did she remember being so afraid before falling?
And why was she suddenly aware of the distant sting in her palms, scraped as she reached out to catch herself on the rough, dirty pavement?
Shampooo opened her eyes to the blackness, stared around realizing that even the usual dim outline of her bedroom window, which faced the street, was black. She sat up slowly; wincing as her tender hands slid across the hard, rough bed.
“Great-grandmother?” She asked, knowing the old woman should be next to her.
The silence that answered her, the vague realization that her bed should be neither hard nor rough and the soft sound of metal broke through her foggy consciousness simultaneously. As she twisted her head around, seeking some source of light, some bearing of direction, she felt the hard collar at her throat. Her hands reached up to feel what was resting on her neck and found a smooth band of metal. It was snug, but not tight. It had warmed to her skin temperature, but felt cold nonetheless.
Still groggy and not yet panicked, Shampoo ran her hands around the collar seeking some method of removing it. Toward the back, a little to one side, she felt a protruding ring, and her fingers discovered what must be a chain attached to the ring. She fumbled to find the catch, pulling and twisting, trying in vein to open the band. Unsuccessful, she gave up for the moment and instead took hold of the chain. She turned the collar on her neck so that the chain was at her front. She had to shift her body somewhat to accomplish this, since the chain was apparently stuck on something close by. She tugged, but couldn't get it loose.
A chain on a collar around her neck…both of which she was unable to break. Realization was starting to creep through her confusion, but panic hadn't yet arrived. Her rational mind was doing its best to maintain that this all was a dream. It just didn’t make sense.
The motion of turning her body made her again aware of the surface she sat upon. Shampoo let go of the chain and with her fingertips tenderly felt around the area where she sat. The surface was hard, but not cold. Concrete. Not bare -- covered with some kind of material. It was rough and thin, just the lightest of barriers between her naked body and the hard cement.
Naked…body?
Her hands moved from the rough fabric to the slightly cool skin of her thighs, then slid up to her hips and belly, and then on to her bare breasts. From there her hands once again found the metal collar that encircled her throat. She tugged at the unyielding band with one hand, while her other found the chain and pulled. She turned over onto her knees and crawled toward whatever it was stuck on. She walked one hand along the chain, using it as a guide in the blackness. She didn't have far to go. In just a few feet the chain ended abruptly against a cool cement wall. There was another ring attached to the wall where the chain ended. It was low, close to where the wall met the floor. She pulled once more, still confused, but somehow accepting the illogical conclusion that she was no match for the thin chain.
Her fingers, inquisitive seemingly of their own accord, felt outward in all directions from the ring on the wall. Lines. Squares. It was a brick wall. No, a cinder-block wall. Moving as far as she could to both the right and to the left, she felt no other break on the surface aside from the regular lines of the mortared bricks. She felt the urge to slam her fist into the stone to break it, but a small voice at the back of her head advised against it. If the wall shared the unnatural resistance of the chain, she would break her hand.
Shampoo got up, her knees crackling as they straightened. The chain was just long enough to allow her to stand. Stretching up as far as her fingertips could reach she again encountered nothing but the even surface of the cement cinder blocks.
Unnerved and slightly scared, the Amazon turned her back to the wall, leaned against it, and slowly slid down to a squatting position. Her rear and shoulders were abraded by the slightly rough cement surface, but she didn't take notice.
"Ni Hao?" she said very quietly. The softly spoken word sounded loud in the thick silence. Her voice was somewhat rough. She cleared her throat and spoke again. "Someone here? Where…am I?..."
There was no answer. There was no echo. The surrounding space and thick blackness seemed to absorb the sound like a sponge as soon as it passed her lips. A tear welled from one eye and fell down her cheek and onto her thigh. Only a few times in her life had she felt this terrified, during those special training session endured back at Nychiezu. She wondered numbly if this was perhaps a test placed by her Great-grandmother. Or was it maybe a punishment? Had the Council of Elders decided the chase for Ranma had taken too long? Had they taken her back home? Was this her penance for failing again?
Shampoo sat all the way down and brought her knees up to her chest, clasping both arms around her shins, hugging her legs. The collar was a noticeable weight on her neck now, and the chain lay cold on her shoulder. She propped her chin on her knees and stared into the darkness, crying silently.
She flinched violently when the sound of metal on metal resounded in the darkness. Desperation and sadness shoved violently down by the instincts of a hard trained warrior. Shampoo rose to her feet and stared blindly towards the source of the sound.
It had stopped, followed almost immediately by the distinct sound of a bolt-lock being turned and opened. A searing bolt of pain flashed through her head as the door directly in front of her was suddenly opened. In the instant it took for her to squeeze her eyes shut the bright light stabbed her like a knife. She covered her face with her arms, a bright rectangle of light burned onto the inside of her eyelids. She felt wetness on her cheeks and thighs as her eyes immediately began to tear.
“Sorry about that…” A familiar voice said, sounding amused rather than regretful. “It’s kind ‘f dark in here, isn’t it?”
“A…Akane?” Shampoo ventured, still unable to see. “What…where is we?”
“I can’t tell you that. But it’s a safe place. For me, anyway.”
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light and she squinted at Akane. Shampoo stared at her for a long time. Gone was the ugly uniform she always used. She was wearing a brilliantly polished dark blue one-piece leather dress that ended just below her knees. On her feet were laced a pair of glossy, black, leather knee high boots with 5 inch stiletto heels. There was a tight, black, leather corset over the outside of the dress (or the corset was a part of the dress, she couldn't tell for sure) that narrowed Akane’s seemly square waist down to an impossibly petite size. And her breasts, usually hidden under layers of cloths, were proudly displayed over the black material.
But what stunned Shampoo the most was the expression on her face and the fire on her eyes...She felt strangely vulnerable under that burning gaze, so unlike the gentle eyes of humble stupid Akane…
The Amazon’s face hardened suddenly.
“Who you? What you did to Pervert Girl?!”
Akane’s eyes grew wild and the small smile on her face tightened into a neurotic rictus. Her lips parted slightly, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. Shampoo swallowed, realizing the woman in front of her was probably insane. She stood and settled into a fight stance. Perhaps the chain could withstand her strength, but she was the Champion of Nychiezu, defeated only once by one of her own generation…
“You little bitch have been insulting me, and bullying me and trying to take MY FIANCEE away from me for far too long…” Akane growled.
“Feh!” Shampoo snorted. “I going make you regret doing this to….Aiya!!!”
Akane had cut the distance between in a second. Grabbing Shampoo by the throat, the tomboy slammed the Amazon hard against the wall and then threw her to the ground. Shampoo grunted and struggled to get back to her feet, but Akane twisted her arms so that she was forced to lie flat, her front pressed onto the cold concrete floor. Then she felt Akane’s weight settle on her back. She was straddling her body and sitting on her…and there was nothing she could do!
“Wha…why I no can lift you?!”
Shampoo wailed, starting to hyperventilate as Akane took hold of both her arms and twisted them at her back. She felt something wrap around her wrists and tighten.
“Oh, just a little trick Mr Happy taught me a few months back! Zapped all the strength out of you!”
Shampoo heard a soft 'click', then Akane got off of her and moved to one side.
The Amazon tried to bring her hands to her front, but they were bound together behind her. She wiggled and squirmed on the floor until she was able to roll over onto her side and work her way into a sitting position. It didn’t matter how hard she strained against her bindings, they would not break. Tears of fear and despair gathered in her eyes and she looked up at Akane, now standing above her with a triumph smirk on her face.
“What you do to me?!”
“Oh, calm down! It’s reversible. But if I do this right, once you get all of your nasty strength back, I’ll still be able to wipe the floor with you.”
It was comforting to know whatever was done to her was reversible. And the fact Akane planned on reversing it in the future helped even more. Her threats, however, were harder to digest. They did confirm her suspicion that this girl just wasn’t who she seemed to be. But how that realization made the situation any better escaped her.
Well, when one was defeated, the only thing to do was to recapitulate…and then get revenge once things were favorable again.
“What you want from Shampoo?”
Akane-or whoever was impersonating her- grabbed the chain attached to the collar around her neck and yanked it firmly. Shampoo was forced forward inches away from the tomboy’s leering face.
“I’m sure you’re familiar with the old saying ‘if you can´t beat them, join them’, right?”
“Uh…yes?”
“I can’t get rid of you…so I’ll make you part of the family.”
Akane leaned forward, her lips brushing slightly against hers. Shampoo moved by instinct, forced into action by years of hard training. Like a hound to blood, she leapt at the opening and tried to bite hard the lips of her captor. Akane pulled sharply back…and laughed.
“I’ve always admired you, you know?” She said. “You’re beautiful and fierce and wild…You’re everything I’m not…”
A dark pain flashed through her eyes of Akane and Shampoo wasn’t sure if she was a fake or not again. Life at Nychiezu was hard and madness would more often than not, claim the sanity of many experienced warriors. But Akane was a pampered child from a tranquil suburb of Japan….What could have pushed her over the edge?
Akane licked her lips. She was staring at her…hungrily. Shampoo was suddenly very aware of her nakedness and she lifted her legs to hide as much of her body she could from those avid eyes.
“You’ll be mine and Ranma’s little kitten.” Akane assured her with a sinister smile, before turning and walking away.
“Wait!”
Shampoo rose to her feet and ran after her. The chain attached to the metal collar around her neck jerked taunt and forced her to a painful stop. Gagging and sputtering, Shampoo fell on her ass, hurting her bound hands. The door closed, taking the light away and submerging her in darkness. She cried desperately for Akane to return, but there was no answer.
Moaning, Shampoo crawled back towards the wall and sat against it. She had to lean on her shoulder as to not press against her bound hands. It was not fear what she felt. A Nychiezu warrior could not be afraid of some mad Japanese child…But whatever it was she was feeling was definitely unpleasant. She lifted her legs against her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Maybe this was just a dream, some weird nightmare. Maybe she was back at home and this was punishment. Maybe that wasn’t Akane after all…
And again she wondered how that possibility made the situation better.
Akane’s façade dropped as soon as the door was closed. She shuddered and covered her face in shame. It had been pretty hard to act so lofty and cold in front of a naked Shampoo. It was even harder to stay indifferent at the sight of her tears and wide scared eyes. But it was for her own good…or so Cologne said.
The old woman approached her from the other side of the room, balancing perfectly on a long pogo staff. Ranma stood next to her, looking slightly intimidated.
“Very good, child! That was impressive!”
“Yeah, well…how long do we have to do this?”
The old woman fetched a parchment from somewhere between her cloths and offered it to her.
“You should know that by now, child. Study the words of this document carefully.”
Akane grabbed the parchment and nodded. She had been studying all week to be ready for that short encounter with Shampoo. The way to speak, to look at her, to move and bound her…it had all being carefully studied and practiced. It’s being a hard work and she knew the difficulty of this mission would only increase. Ranma came to stand next to her. He smiled and that lone reassuring gesture was all she needed.
Cologne’s looked on sadly at them. Akane noticed and she felt a pang of compassion. Since Ranma and she had married, the old woman looked as fragile and old as she was. Gone seemed to be the spirited and urban matriarch they had both come to respect and even care for.
“I can’t say how much I appreciate this, Akane, Ranma. If you had refused, I’d been forced to take my Shampoo back home in disgrace and to a life of misery.”
“Yeah…how’s being a sex slave any better?” Ranma asked, scratching at the back of his head.
Cologne smiled.
“This’s just formalities. I know…you two will treat her kindly. In Nychiezu…” She sighed and her smile disappeared. “We are, I’m afraid, a cruel breed. She will not survive slavery back at home.”
Ranma sighed and looked away. Akane asked excused herself. She picked her uniform from the ground and walked to a small bathroom at the back to change. On her way, she placed the parchment in her bag and patted it softly.
