A little later (the man was still leading them through the forest), Usagi could hear the sounds of many drums.
"Ah, so this must be their camp," Usagi realized. "Perhaps he wants to take me to their centurion..."
"Usagi, how many times do I have to tell you, he isn't a Roman!"
Then the first tents appeared in front of them, and Usagi could only stare.
The tents looked nothing like any tent she had ever seen... Pointy, made from cloth that was wrapped around wooden poles.
In the middle of the tents, many of the bronze-skinned people were performing some weird dance around a tall, wooden pole, while musicians were beating their drums. Everyone was chanting in that strange language.
But then Usagi saw her friend Ami... in their middle, bound to the wooden pole which they were circling.
Luna and her new friend wanted to stop her, but Usagi didn't listen. She just ran through the tents, pushed away two of the dancing men and hugged her bound friend.
"AMI! So here you are! What did those meanies do to you?"
"Usagi!" Ami sounded surprised, but relieved. "Boy, I'm glad you're here... but how did you find me?"
Usagi grinned. "Luna and I met someone who led us here."
The dancers, so rudely interrupted in the middle of their performance, were glancing at the foreign girls with puzzled looks. Some of them looked ready to draw their weapons.
But then, a big, bulky man stepped out of a tent. He was bald, but wore a very striking headdress, decorated with many, many feathers.
"That's got to be their centurion," Usagi guessed.
Luna groaned. "Their chief, Usagi..."
The man who Usagi had met in the woods stepped before the chief and raised his hand in greeting.
----
Chief Black-and-White-Bear was surprised when yet another pale girl appeared within the camp and attempted to save the first one.
Just then, Lost Boar stepped in front of him.
After the formal greeting, Black-and-White-Bear asked Lost Boar what he was thinking when he led the other girl to the camp.
Lost Boar explained how she had been searching for her friend... he didn't know that the other hunters of the tribe had captured her.
The Chief told the boy the reasons why he had ordered to capture the blue-haired stranger: He didn't want another suitor for the courtshipping of his son, Pig-Tailed-Horse. And because the stranger was an outsider, he believed this fact would allow him to get rid of her quite easily...
But Lost Boar protested: He reminded his chief (with all due respect) about the law that EVERY girl, may it be a member of the own tribe or an outsider, should be allowed to challenge the other suitors to a fight... would they win, the chief had to officially declare them suitable fiancees.
Black-and-White-Bear thought about this for a moment, but couldn't find any possible excuse for not letting the two strangers participate.
----
After the chief and their scout had finished their little conversation, the chief raised his arms and declared something in their strange language. Afterwards, all of the tribe members seemed to brim over with enthusiasm, yelling with joy and excitement.
Ami and Usagi looked at each other. "Now what's up?" Usagi asked.
Ami shrugged. "No idea. Maybe they want to grant us a chance to get free..."
But then, a buxom girl with lavender-colored hair approached them. Her pretty face snarled at them as she raised a long spear and rammed its tip into the ground in front of them.
Ami looked at the spear with interest. "I think she's challenging us to a duel."
----
Sleek Cat was the strongest female warrior of the tribe, and she had the best chances of becoming the chief's son's bride. She was beautiful, strong and a skilled hunter... and she wasn't going to let some flat-chested outsider stand in her way. No... she would remove the obstacle!
After all, how strong could those wimpy girls possibly be...?
----
Usagi grinned. "Okay then... let me fight first. You okay with it, Ami?"
Ami nodded. "Sure, go for it... You're stronger than me, after all."
"All right! Be right back..."
Usagi and the warrior-woman were facing each other. The other tribesmen were forming a circle, in the middle of which the two opponents were standing.
The other girl bellowed a warcry and stormed forward. Her intention was very clear: She wanted to pound her enemy into the ground.
Usagi didn't even blink as the purple-haired girl rushed towards her. The girl raised her weapon high over her head, ready to strike...
...and was being hit by a simple uppercut of Usagi!
POW!
Everyone's eyes followed the flying path of Usagi's opponent, as she was flying high into the air, until she seemed to turn into a twinkling star in the distance...
And after she came down again, she was dizzily looking out of the crater her impact had created and seemed to be ready for a long, long vacation...
The chief looked at the spectacle, nodded and raised his right hand... the side where Usagi was standing.
She was the winner, and the whole tribe seemed to cheer her on. Never before had they seen such a strong warrior!
Usagi went back to Ami, who smiled. "Congratulations, Usagi! That was a good fight!"
"She never stood a chance," her friend grinned in response and hugged her.
Just then, another woman stepped into the circle...
Ami sighed. "Looks like it's my turn now..."
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Wed, 25 Oct 2006 16:40)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.