Uncommon Heroes - Prologue

A speck of white on an endless blue field, the
sailboat rocked gently in the nearly calm waters. 
Basking in the late afternoon sun, an attractive young
woman in a an indecent bikini sipped her drink as she
relaxed in a lounge chair affixed to the deck. 
Gazeing over the top of her designer sunglasses, she
scanned the horizon for a moment, an annoyed frown
marring her pretty face.  Schooling her features from
long practice, she gazed across the deck before
speaking.

"Any luck yet Kuno-baby?"

The object of her query, a handsome young man dressed
in a wrap around robe that was entirely to warm for
the current balmy weather, glared at her from the aft
deck where he was fiddling with a complex looking
radio.

"Nothing yet Nabiki Tendo.  Perhaps you believe that
you might do better?"

Grinning at the acid in his voice, Nabiki pushed her
sunglasses back into place before responding, her tone
ever so slightly mocking.

"Moi?  Surely you jest Kuno-baby, Im just getting my
tan the way I like it."

Chuckling at Kuno's muttered imprecations, she spread
a little more lotion on her nearly nude form as she
settled once more into her chair.

Hunched behind the shortwave marine radio, Tatewaki
Kuno was slowly travelling from annoyed to worried. 
To the best of his knowledge, the radio was working
correctly, there was simply no signal.  Since the
squall that had blown them off course two days ago,
neither the radio, nor the rather expensive Global
Positioning System he'd had installed were functioning
properly.

To make matters worse, instead of the quiet holiday
he'd planned with Akane Tendo and the Red Haired Girl,
he was instead playing host to the entire Tendo
family, their house guest Genma Saotome and two
amazons.  With the extra bodies onboard, he was
finding himself running short on drinking water as
well as...

His thoughts were interupted by a large bald man in a
gi poking his head up from below decks.  The man
looked about for a moment, then, spying Kuno,
addressed him.

"Err... Kuno, did you know we were almost out of food?
 Truly, I am surprised that you stocked so little for
this trip..."

"Actually Saotome-san" Kuno interrupted; "There was
plenty of food...  FOR THE THREE PEOPLE THIS TRIP WAS
INTENDED FOR!"  Kuno's temper, frayed by two days of
worry and aggervation, finally snapped as he shouted
at the older man.  "This trip was supposed to be a
quiet getaway for MYSELF the beauteous AKANE, and the
RED HAIRED GIRL!  I Did Not Invite The Amazons!  I Did
Not Invite Hibiki! I Most Definately Did NOT Invite
You! Had the rest of you not invited yourselves, there
would be PLENTY of food!"

Taken aback by the young mans vehemence, Genma Saotome
hastily employed the Saotome Final Technique and beat
a quick retreat below decks, slamming the hatch closed
behind him.  Walking back to his cabin, Genma sat
across from another older man, this one dressed in a
brown gi and smoking a cigarette.  Looking down at the
shogi board on the table between them, he discovered
that he was loosing, badly.  Sighing in resignation,
he made the only move left to him and conceded the
match.

Their setup for the next match was interrupted as a
buxum red haired girl came plowing head first through
the cabin door followed by a resounding "Ranma You
Jerk!" from the hallway.  Hurtling through the shogi
table she sent game pieces flying as she impacted the
cabin wall with bone jarring force.

Groaning, the girl sat up, muttering of uncute tomboys
and crazy amazons.  Looking at the remains of the
shogi table and the irate glares of the two older men
she grinned sheepishly.  "Err...  Sorry 'bout that..."
  The pain promised by her elders was averted by the
sudden clanging of the ships bell and Kuno's
exhuberant shout of "Land Ho!"

Grinning at her stroke of luck, Ranma-chan was up and
out the door before the other two could react. 
Dashing up the stairs, she burst through the deck
hatch seconds ahead of the rest of the small crafts
passengers.  There she found Kuno rushing about like a
madman, securing lines and winding pulleys, bringing
the boat about in short order.  Looking over the prow,
the cursed martial artist was barely able to make out
the splotch of darker color on the horizon that
indicated land, and the failing light of late
afternoon / early evening was rendering it more
indistinct with each passing moment.  Looking back at
where Kuno was now manning the wheel, she gave voice
to a minor concern.

"Uhhmm...  Kuno?  You sure it's safe to take this
thing towards shore this late?  Aintcha worried about
wrecking it after dark?"

Kuno, his face a mask of concentration, kept his eyes
firmly focused on the rapidly fading shoreline as he
answered.

"'Tis true pigtailed one...  However, as the elder
Saotome pointed out to me earlier, we are very low on
provisions, and can ill afford the risk of drifting
astray in the night.  At the very least we must reach
a point where we can effectively drop anchor."

Moments streched endlessly on as the shoreline
vanished in dusks fading light and Kuno was forced to
rely on the compass to maintain his course.  Turning,
he was about to request that someone drop anchor when
a powerfull jarring blow tore the wheel from his hands
as he felt something on the craft 'give'.  With
mounting horror he realized that the sailboats keel,
some 2/3 the height of the mast in length, had just
been sheared off, possibly by a coral reef.

Without the weight of the keel to balance it, the
craft was listing dangerously to port, as all on deck
scrambled for hand and foot holds.  The pigtailed
girls scream caught his attention as she struggled to
keep a panicking Akane from going overboard. 
Straining with the flailing girl, the pigtailed
goddess called out to him, galvanizing him into
action. "Kuno!  Do Something!  Akane cant swim!"

With the weight of the mast rapidly drawing the craft
over, he could see only one option.  Putting his
lifetime of training in the art of the sword to use,
he threw himself forward across the tilting deck
drawing his bokken in one smooth motion.  Focusing the
energies of his soul into his blade, he severed the
mast at about a meter from the deck.  With the weight
of the mast gone, the vessel began to right itself
while Kuno slashed through the rigging, allowing the
entire assembly to slide overboard into the murky
depths.

After reasuring himself that Akane and the pig tailed
girl were safe, he took stock of the rest of his
passengers, insuring that all were accounted for. 
Doing so, he noted the expresion of concern on the
face of the eldest Tendo daughter, Kasumi, as she
approached him.

"Kuno-san, you are hurt.  Please sit down and let me
tend your wound."

It was only then that he noticed the warm wetness on
his cheek.  Trailing his fingers across his face, he
came to where an unknown piece of debris had struck
him, leaving a ragged tear in the flesh above his
temple.  Smiling at the Tendo girls concern, he
reassured her.  "No need m'lady, 'tis merely a flesh
wound."  Before collapsing in her arms, his legs
having turned to jello as his adrenaline rush faded. 
The last thing he recalled as darkness faded was the
concerned look on her face and her quiet gasp of "Oh
My!"

Kuno awoke to a nauseating combination of pain and
daylight as he awoke to find himself lying on a
mattress in shade of a crudde hut with a bandage on
his temple and a cool damp cloth across his brow. 
Blinking in a vain attempt to get his eyes to focus,
he became aware of another in the room with him and
his heart soared with joy.  His two loves were caring
for him, of this he was certain, and wincing at the
throbbing pain it caused him, he turned to thank them
for their efforts on his behalf.

But Lo!  Instead of his two loves, he once again found
himself face to face with the serene contenance of the
eldest Tendo daughter as she knelt at his side and
held a cup of water to his lips.

"I am glad you are awake Kuno-san.  Please, drink this
before trying to speak, as you have been out cold for
quite some time."

Fighting a wave of vertigo, he took the cup from her,
sipping it slowly he felt his throat loosen slightly. 
Finally, confident in his ability to speak he asked
her.

"What happened?  Where are the others?"

Kasumi paused to refill his cup before answering.

"You were injured while righting the boat and
collapse, I believe that you suffered a minor
cocussion.  Shortly before dawn, we ran aground and
the boat tipped on its side so we all came ashore and
made camp.  As for the others, Mousse left yesterday
morning to look for help while the others have been
gathering fruits and fishing, I have been watching
over you while you were out."

Noting the lines of weariness and fatigue on her face,
Kuno grew curious.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"For three nights and to days now."

"And you have watched over me this entire time?  Truly
Kasumi Tendo, you have my thanks for-"

Holding up a hand in interruption, Kasumi bowed deeply
from her kneeling position before speaking.

"No Kuno-san, you have _my_ thanks.  Were it not for
your quick thought and action, my sister would likely
be dead today.  She is unable to swim under the best
of conditions, and I fear that had the ship actually
turned over that night, no one would have been able to
find her in time, not even Ranma.  Caring for you was
the least I could do."

Rising from her bow, she looked Kuno directly in the
eyes, her expression conveying no doubts as to her
sincerity and resolve as she continued.

"My sisters and my family are all that I have
Tatewaki-san, they are truly everything to me.  My
debt to you cannot easilly be repaid, but it shall be.
 Sould you desire anything of me, anything at all,
simply ask.  If I have it to give, it shall be given,
regardless."

Holding his gaze for a moment longer, she let her eyes
convey the full import of her statement before
breaking eye contact, rising to her feet and leaving
the hut.

Rendered momentarily speachless, Kuno could only watch
her leave, his jaw agape.  Even his often deluded mind
hadnt missed the inner meaning of her declaration, and
for once, he was at a loss for ny response, let alone
a proper one.

Meanwhile, many miles away, a large white duck peered
through thick glasses held on his bill by a hope and a
prayer at the bustling port city below.  'A good sixty
to seventy miles,' he mused, 'Maybe more if we hike
along the coastline.' Turning toward the south he
began the long flight back to camp.

Of course, being Mousse, he could barely see even with
his glasses, so one could hardly expect him to notice
that many of the figures below were not human
beings...

End Prologue


C&C is begged for!  I know Im a louse and dont return
the favor, but I will try to change that.

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