Ranma ½ – Happily Ever After
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the property of Takahashi Rumiko and all those other large corporations that publish and distribute Ranma ½. No profit is gained from this work, just a great deal of enjoyment writing it.
Chapter 35 – Not Necessarily the Best of Ideas
Ranma could not see any way this would turn out to be a good idea. In the end, it couldn't end in anything other than disaster. Akane felt the same way… maybe for different reasons, but still she felt that the whole idea wouldn't lead to anything but trouble.
And yet Aka-chan remained insistent. "Please, I need you to go. If you go, I think Akio will go too. He hates going to the beach, but I think that if you go, he'll go too."
Aka-chan brought up the matter after dinner. Her grandmother had announced the excursion to the beach during dinner, indicating that the bus would be leaving the inn after breakfast the following day and would return late that evening after a fireworks display.
Both Akane and Ranma knew that Ranma at the beach would attract cold water like a magnet attracts steel. Through what could only be described as an excellent turn of luck, the nature of Ranma's curse remained hidden from Aka-chan and the others at the inn and Akane and Ranma decided it might be best to keep it that way.
Akane and Ranma thought that they had come up some excellent reasons not to go to the beach with the others from the inn, but no matter the excuse, Aka-chan found some solution for it.
The most obvious was to say that Ranma had not brought a swimsuit with him. It wasn't a lie. Ranma didn't own a swimsuit… at least a men's swimsuit. He did own several girls' swimsuits that he had found necessary to wear on the occasional trip to the beach he had made with the Tendo family. But that was beside the point… Ranma had not brought any of them with him.
Of course Aka-chan quickly pointed out that there were several stores nearby where Ranma could purchase one, even to accommodate the special needs that Akane had mentioned. Ranma wasn't sure what special needs Aka-chan thought Ranma might have for the swimsuit to accommodate, but he was sure that he didn't want to take that line of thought any further.
Even Akane's admission that there were major rock formations that could swim better than she could didn't seem to matter.
"You and Ranma don't have to actually go into the water," Aka-chan explained. "You only need to take the bus trip with us. There is a small amusement park there. You can spend the day there if you like. I just want to take Akio out someplace special… so I can tell him something special. Please… Please…. Will you come with us? Pleeeeeease…"
Akane now had a pretty good feeling of how her mother and father must have felt when she or Nabiki had set their mind to wanting something and would not relent until they got their way.
"If we stay away from the beach it self," Akane commented as she and Ranma entered their room, "there shouldn't be too much risk."
"That's true," Ranma replied. "And I don't remember the last time I was to an amusement park. It was certainly before I went on the road with my father. It might actually be fun… as long as I stay dry."
"Why are you so concerned about that?" Akane asked. "Is the curse really bothering you that much?"
"It's not that it's bothering me," Ranma explained. "It's just that it's been nice not to have to explain it over and over again."
"I have to admit that has been nice," Akane reflected. "So that's all that's bothering you about going to the beach?"
"That's pretty much it," Ranma replied. After a moment of thought Ranma smiled and added, "That and the thought of all those guys seeing my wife in a swimsuit."
"You have a problem with me wearing a swimsuit?"
"I don't have a problem with you wearing a swimsuit, but I don't think the other guys deserve to see someone as pretty as you dressed like that."
"Nice save… Would you like to see me wearing a swimsuit?"
"I wouldn't mind," Ranma answered. "Did you bring one with you?"
"Actually," Akane responded shyly, "I brought two. Just in case we did do something like go to the beach."
The swimsuits that Akane had brought were nothing like what Ranma had expected. Akane's taste in swimwear leaned more toward the conservative one-piece style. What Akane was wearing when she stepped out of the bathroom (where she had changed) was a two-piece style that Ranma would expect to see Nabiki wear. In fact Nabiki might feel uncomfortable wearing a swimsuit made from this little cloth.
"What do you think?" Akane asked doing a fashion spin to give Ranma a full view of the suit.
"Wow!" was the only word Ranma could manage to utter after his jaw bounced after hitting the floor.
"Do you think the color suits me?"
That was a difficult question to answer. There really wasn't enough cloth visible to clearly discern the color, and what was surrounding what little material there was sufficiently distracting it was almost impossible to focus on something as insignificant as the color.
But Ranma forced himself to focus on the color. The two triangular pieces of cloth that made up the top and the singular triangle of cloth that made up the bottom were definitely pink (maybe). Almost invisible strings held what cloth there was together. It was quite possible that Ranma had used heavier fishing line when he went fishing while he was on the road with his father.
"Uhhh… I ahhh… the color uhhh…" Ranma stammered.
"Do you have a problem with the color Ranma?" Akane asked coyly.
"No," Ranma answered, trying carefully to select his words. "I think the color suits you."
"Then is there some other problem?" Akane pressed.
It suddenly occurred to Ranma that he would not have been nearly as shocked if Akane had stepped out of the bathroom completely naked. In fact she had done that on a number of occasions since they had arrived at the inn and Ranma's reaction was simply an appreciation of the view.
"No, Akane," Ranma finally said, "There isn't a problem. It's just that I wasn't prepared to see you wearing a swimsuit as ahhh… skimpy as that. I guess I'm just used to the more conservative one-piece swimsuits that you normally wear."
"Miyuki said that might be your reaction when she gave them to me."
"Miyuki gave you that swimsuit?"
"This one and the other one that was in the bag she gave me at the reception," Akane replied. "She told me not to open the bag until I was ready to model them for you. She probably thought that if I saw them before we left I might not even bring them with us. But she said that the look on your face would be priceless."
"I wouldn't have been nearly as shocked if you had walked out naked."
"When I opened the bag and saw them I almost decided to skip the whole thing. I'd be far too embarrassed to wear something like this out in public."
"There isn't all that much cloth."
"That… and I'd be afraid that I'd bounce right out of it if I walked too fast."
"You said that there were two swimsuits. How about the other one?"
"I picked this one because it was the more modest of the two. I think the other one is made from about half as much cloth… I was thinking that maybe you would like to try it on."
Akane and Ranma decided that it was still too early to get involved in the mischief that would assuredly happen once Ranma tried on the other swimsuit, so they changed into clothing they could wear to take a walk through the nearby shopping district.
They really hadn't ventured all that far from in inn after dinner (except for the festival with Aka-chan and Akio), but they decided that an evening walk would be a nice change of pace.
"Ranma, what did you think of the champagne we had the first night at the hotel?" Akane asked as they finished dressing.
"It wasn't bad," Ranma replied. "I liked it better than the sake. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if there might be someplace where we could get more."
"I don't think we'd be able to walk into a liquor store and buy it," Ranma said.
"I know," Akane said smiling. "Although I know there are members of our class who don't have any problem finding someplace to buy beer. Maybe Aka-chan might know of someplace."
As it turned out Aka-chan did know of someplace. Not from personal experience mind you, but there were always young newlywed couples who wanted to celebrate their new life together, so the inn had a quiet arrangement with one of the liquor stores in the shopping district.
Aka-chan gave Ranma a card that Ranma was to give to the proprietor (along with a modest service fee) and they would be allowed to purchase what they were looking for.
"Don't go crazy" Aka-chan warned. "He probably won't sell you any hard liquor… only beer, wine and sake… and champagne. Plus I don't want you to get sick so that you miss the trip to the beach."
The warning did not fall on deaf ears. Both Akane and Ranma had seen their fathers after a long night of overindulging and neither wished to experience the pain and suffering they had observed on those occasions.
Finding this particular liquor store was in the end the real challenge. Aka-chan's instructions were to turn left onto the main street of the shopping district and then to turn right onto the second small street and then to turn right onto pedestrian walkway. The liquor store was the sixth storefront on the left.
Those were the best instructions that Aka-chan could give since none of the streets in the shopping district (and in fact many of the places they had seen during their trip) had street names. Ranma thought of Ryoga trying to follow these directions and tried to imagine where he might end up.
The other challenge was that neither Akane nor Ranma had ever been inside a liquor store (at least as a customer), and even though this liquor store was by no means large nor did it have an extensive selection, the number of items available was sufficient to totally confuse the novice buyers.
After several minutes of inspecting the various products in the store and still having no clue exactly what they were looking for Akane asked the storekeeper for help. It was at that point Akane wished that she had kept the bottle from the love hotel. She had considered packing away and keeping it as a souvenir, but in the commotion of oversleeping that morning it was left behind and long gone.
When Akane explained that they were looking for a bottle of champagne, the storekeeper asked questions using terms that lost Akane almost immediately. Akane could only remember two things about hat they had that night… It tasted sweet and the label was black with gold lettering. That narrowed the selection to about a half of a shelf.
Akane and Ranma exited the liquor store with Ranma carrying a bag with three bottles in it. Akane was sure that the bottle she had found was the same as the one from their wedding night, but Ranma was as certain about the bottle he had found. In the end, they decided to buy both bottles.
Ranma wasn't sure about what the third bottle was, but the label intrigued him so he decided to buy it. The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows at the selection, but he let Ranma purchase it nonetheless.
After they had settled their bill (which was significantly more than they had expected even if the service fee wasn't taken into account) they decided to look for somewhere to buy some ice cream. Akane was beginning to have 'gooey treat' withdrawal symptoms, since it had been more than two weeks since her last 'fix'.
The ice cream parlor they found more than fit the bill. Maybe the girl behind the counter sensed Akane and Ranma's newlywed aura… or maybe she was just as much of a chocoholic as Akane, but the double chocolate, double hot fudge sundae was almost too much for Akane to eat (almost). Ranma's chocolate ice cream with mint sauce was equally as huge.
Full of ice cream, an extended walk around the shopping district was in order, so Akane and Ranma arrived back at the inn a little later than they had originally intended. Waiting in their room was an ice bucket (full of ice) and two champagne glasses.
"Aka-chan must have brought this for us. That was very thoughtful of her," Ranma said as he put the bottle Akane had selected into the ice bath. Cold water from the ice bath splashed up onto Ranma's arm, changing his voice (and his sex) in mid sentence.
"She really is," Akane said in reply. "I hope whatever she has planned for tomorrow works out for her. I wonder what she wants to tell Akio?"
"I really don't think that's any of our business," Ranma answered. "But if I had to guess I think Aka-chan would like a more serious relationship with Akio."
"I think so too," Akane agreed. "So, what would you like to do now?"
"The man at the liquor store said to cool the champagne before we drink it," Ranma replied. "I think he figured out that we didn't have a clue what we were doing."
"What do you think gave it away?"
"I think when the only information we could give him about what we wanted was a vague description of the label… and that the bottle had a cork in it."
"I didn't know that all champagne bottles had corks in them. That was the first bottle of champagne I'd ever seen."
"Don't feel bad," Ranma said with a broad smile on his face. "If you hadn't said it, I would have. What would you like to do until the champagne is cold?"
"I don't know," Akane answered with a slightly wicked smile on her face. "How would you like to try on the other swimsuit?"
"You really want to see me in that swimsuit, don't you?"
"You got to see me. I think it's only fair."
"You have to put yours back on."
"OK, it's a deal."
"Then what would you like to do after that?"
"By that time the champagne should be cold and after that I'm sure we'll think of something to do."
"I still think your boobs are bigger than mine," Akane said as she sipped from her glass of champagne.
Akane and Ranma (still in his girl form) were sitting cross-legged on the floor of their room, facing each other, with the ice bucket (with the second bottle of champagne in it) between them.
Akane was wearing the pink swimsuit while Ranma wore one that might have been a floral pattern if there had been enough cloth in any part of it for there to be a whole flower. The top just barely covered what it needed to cover and one could argue that the bottom didn't come close to doing that well.
"That's just because this swimsuit shows more of my boobs," Ranma replied after finishing a sip of his champagne. "I can't imagine any girl wanting to wear this. I'd feel more comfortable walking around naked. The bottoms are cutting me in places that I'd rather not mention."
"I certainly wouldn't wear this in public," Akane said finishing the contents of her glass. "Is there any more?"
Ranma took the bottle from the ice bucket and turned it to view the contents. "It looks like there is enough for one more glass for each of us."
"I can't believe we went through both bottles of champagne," Akane said sounding somewhat disappointed. "What do you want to do now?"
"We could take off these silly swimsuits and go to bed," Ranma replied after draining his glass.
"We could do that…" Akane said in reply. "Or we could try what's in the other bottle you bought. Any idea what it is?"
"No clue," Ranma said as he poured the last of the contents of the bottle of champagne into Akane's and his glass. "The label is written in English. I just thought that the label and the bottle looked neat, so I bought it. Do you really want to try it? We've had quite a bit to drink already."
"Awww, you're such a spoilsport," Akane giggled. Akane quickly downed the contents of her glass and then made a vain attempt to stand. The attempt failed miserably and Akane ended up back on the floor in a very unladylike pose.
"Akane are you all right?"
"I'm fine… I'm fine," Akane replied, still visibly wavering. "I'm just feeling kind of light headed."
"That's because you're drunk."
"You're probably as drunk as I am," Akane said as she slid herself on her hands and knees next to Ranma. "You've had as much to drink as I have."
"Of course I'm drunk," Ranma said as he finished the champagne in his glass. "I just don't want to get any drunker."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I don't know. It depends on what you want to do. Would you like me to change back?"
"You don't have to," Akane said as she inched closer and kissed Ranma, first on the cheek, then on his shoulder… then above his left breast. "You know… you really do have beautiful boobs."
Akane balanced herself on one hand and reached out and grasped the bottom edge of Ranma's swimsuit, lifting it to expose Ranma's breasts.
"Akane," Ranma called out. As the cloth from the swimsuit brushed across his breasts a shiver ran throughout his entire body.
"Yes, you really do have beautiful boobs," Akane said and then she kissed Ranma's breast. Ranma closed his eyes and lie back under the gentle pressure of Akane's kisses.
Akane's left hand found it's way down Ranma's side to the tie of the swimsuit bottoms. Quickly undone Akane's hand moved the small piece of cloth out of the way.
"Akane," Ranma moaned as Akane continued to kiss Ranma's breasts and caress Ranma gently with her hand.
Akane and Ranma (still in his girl form) awoke the following morning with mixed feelings. They were both glad that they had not consumed the contents of the third bottle they had purchased, since their heads were already pounding from what they had consumed. Akane could now understand why her dad didn't appreciate Ranma and her arguing at the breakfast table after one of his long and late community planning meetings.
They awoke in the middle of the floor, not very far from the ice bucket (which was now full of room temperature water). Both were quite naked, the parts of the swimsuits they had been wearing scattered on the floor near where they finally fell asleep.
Luckily they had not overslept as they had at the love hotel. It was still early enough for them to get in their run and workout before breakfast… but the thought of their morning regimen only made their heads pound all that much more. Even the thought of breakfast didn't sound all that wonderful.
"Ranma, remind me that next time we do something like this again, not to do something like this again."
"What part?" Ranma asked. "The two bottles of champagne or what we did afterwards?"
"I wouldn't mind doing what we did after the two bottles of champagne again… if I could just remember everything that we did."
Ranma chuckled a bit, but that set off a new wave of pain in his head. "That was nice. I don't think I'd mind doing that again either. When I think about it, it makes my whole body tingle."
"Are you sure that isn't the after effects of the champagne… or you thinking?"
"Very funny," Ranma replied. "Would you like a bath, Akane? It might make some of the edge away from the hangover."
"Sure, why not." Akane said. "Then we can get ready to go to the beach with Aka-chan."
Ranma stood up and extended his hand to Akane who also stood up.
"I'll go get the bath ready," Ranma said.
Ranma put his arms around Akane, pressing his breasts against Akane's. He kissed Akane and said, "I think you have beautiful boobs too."
Akane had barely gotten her robe on when Aka-chan knocked at the door.
"You weren't in the dojo for your workout," Aka-chan said standing in the doorway, "so I thought you might need a wake up call."
"No, Ranma and I are up," Akane said trying to block Aka-chan's view of the mess in the room. "We didn't feel up to doing our workout this morning."
"A bottle of champagne can do that to you," Aka-chan said with a snicker. "And if you're worried about the mess, don't be. The staff will come in while we're at the beach and clean up. We have one couple that trashes their room every night. I'm not quite sure what they are doing in their room. And those high school students… the girls are worse that the guys and they are always so rude to the staff."
"How much longer are they staying?" Akane asked.
"I think they are leaving Friday," Aka-chan answered. "And not a moment too soon. I'm afraid what their rooms are going to look like after they party the last night."
Without either even realizing it Aka-chan moved into the room.
"I see you were modeling swimsuits for Ranma," Aka-chan said looking around the room.
Akane began to blush realizing that the swimsuit pieces were still on the floor where they had been removed the previous night. "A friend of mine gave those to me as a joke. I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing that little to the beach."
"That's too bad," Aka-chan said as she bent down and picked up the top from the floral print swimsuit. "You would look really good in this. You have such a beautiful body. You should really think about it. I know I'm going to wear something really skimpy."
"Something special for Akio?"
It was Aka-chan's turn to blush. "It will probably embarrass him, but I'd like today to be special."
"I hope it is special," Akane replied. She so much wanted to ask Aka-chan what she was going to tell Akio, but it wasn't any of her business, just like Ranma had said.
'A good hot bath is exactly what Akane and I need,' Ranma thought to himself. Often times after his father had overindulged with sake, a hot bath would return his father to his normal obnoxious self… rather than his hung over obnoxious self.
Ranma rinsed himself with hot water, returning him to his male form, but the memory of the previous night lingered. Akane and Ranma had cuddled a few times now with him in his girl form, but last night the feeling was far more intense that he could remember for the previous occasions. Akane's kisses and touches had driven Ranma over the edge a number of times and even though he had returned to his male physique, he could still feel the touch of Akane's lips on his breasts. Ranma shivered under the hot stream of water from the shower.
The bath was almost ready, so Ranma turned off the shower and the water filling the tub. He began to wonder what was keeping Akane. She was only getting a robe for Ranma. Maybe she was trying to clean up the room a bit, but that could wait. The bath was ready, so Ranma stepped out from the bathroom and announced, "Akane, the bath is… ready… for… us."
Of course Ranma had no reason to know that there might be someone in the room with Akane. Over the bath water and the shower running it would have be difficult to hear anyone entering the room, even it they were being loud about it. Nothing that Ranma could think of as to why he couldn't step out of the bathroom… naked… into full view of Aka-chan.
Time seemed to freeze. In reality, Ranma was sure that he didn't stand there, displaying his manly attributes, for more that a second, but it seemed like forever giving Aka-chan far more of a view than she probably wanted.
When the clock started ticking again, Ranma made a mad dash back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Aka-chan looked at Akane, nodded her head and said, "Impressive."
Submerged up to his chin in the bath, Ranma had already told himself any number of times what a dumb move that had been, but he was ready to hear it again from Akane. Ranma assumed that the reason that Akane had still not come into the bathroom was because she was still apologizing to Aka-chan for the actions of her perverted husband. On the other hand, Ranma didn't hear any raised voices, which made him worry all the more. A silent Akane could be far more dangerous than a screaming one.
To Ranma's surprise, when Akane finally entered the bathroom, she was smiling, almost laughing. She was wearing her robe and carrying Ranma's robe in her hands.
"I'm really sorry about that," Ranma said quietly. "I had no idea that Aka-chan was in our room. I'm really sorry."
"Relax Ranma," Akane said as she hung Ranma's robe on a hook and then took off her own robe and hung it next to Ranma's. "Aka-chan didn't think you did it on purpose."
"With the bath water and the shower running I never heard anything."
"That's what Aka-chan and I thought… and as Aka-chan pointed out, it's not as if she hasn't seen a naked man before. Maybe not one who is as good looking as you, but it's to be expected at an onsen."
"So you're not angry with me?"
"Why should I be angry with you? It was an accident. We were more worried that you might have hurt yourself when you ran back into the bathroom."
"I'm fine."
"Aka-chan said that she'd be back and bring our breakfast to the room, so we have about a half hour for our bath."
"She didn't have to do that."
"I know. I told her that. But I think she's getting really tired of that group of high school students."
'Well, I promise that I will be more appropriately dressed the next time Aka-chan sees me."
Akane had made the effort to clean up in the room, so the swimsuits were no longer on the floor, the empty champagne bottles were out of sight (Akane was thinking of keeping them as souvenirs) and the ice bucket was drained and set by the side of the door.
True to his word Ranma was properly dressed when Aka-chan arrived. And true to her word Aka-chan was carrying a tray with breakfast… and by her side was Akio, carrying a second tray of food.
Aka-chan had brought sufficient food for them to eat breakfast together, explaining that the high school students were being particularly annoying this morning and she had no desire to spend any more time with them than necessary.
Once they had finished breakfast Akane and Ranma gathered their things and all four of them walked to the main lobby. The bus was already parked outside the gate and many of the guests who were going to the beach were already aboard the bus (including the high school students who were occupying the seats at the back of the bus).
Kano, who was the bus driver, had reserved the seats in the front row for Aka-chan, Akio, Akane and Ranma, which was more than agreeable to them.
The bus ride was slightly more that two hours which was for the most part quiet. About a half hour into the bus ride a familiar voice (the student that Ranma had introduced to the floor of the dojo) began to comment loudly about the 'girly-boy' in the front seat. Without a word Ranma turned around and glared at the offending student with a look that said, 'If you thought it hurt the last time, you haven't felt anything yet.'
Nothing further was said.
When Aka-chan wasn't occupied with Akio, she explained that the beach was located on a lake was fed by various hot springs and there were a number of ryokan situated around the lake. Originally the beach and amusement park were developed for the inns around the lake, but in recent years other inns had been invited to use the facilities.
But for most of the ride though, Ranma sat with his arm around Akane watching the scenery go by.
Once the bus arrived in the beach parking lot Aka-chan stood up and explained that the bus would be leaving to return to Kyoto a half hour after the end of the fireworks display and that anyone who was late would have to find their own transportation back to the inn. And with that admonition everyone exited the bus and headed off in their own direction.
Most of the people from the bus headed toward the changing rooms and then to the beach, but Akane and Ranma decided they would spend most of their time at the amusement park. It had been quite some time since she had been to an amusement park (probably a field trip during elementary school) and Ranma couldn't remember ever having been to one.
Aka-chan grabbed Akane to come with her while she changed for a day on the beach but Akio chose to stay with Ranma.
"Aren't you going to change?" Ranma asked.
"No," Akio replied with a sigh, "this is as changed as I get for the beach. The last time I wore a swimsuit I was told by a guard that I needed to wear a top. Even dressed like this people will say, 'She would really be pretty if she wasn't so flat.' It doesn't bother me but it really gets Akane going."
"Even if it doesn't bother you, it's still rude."
"It's not really rude," Akio said. "You have to admit that I really do look like a girl. How about you? Aren't you going to change?"
"Akane and I usually stay away from the beach," Ranma explained. "It's a really long story, we'll spend most of the day in the amusement park."
"Akane said that your wife can't swim."
"It's not that she can't swim," Ranma said with a smile. "It's that she sinks to the bottom faster that a large rock." Ranma added after a moment of reflection, feeling guilty for laying all of the blame on Akane, "But there is more to the story than that."
"It isn't much of an amusement park," Akio said. "Pretty tame by today's standards."
"I haven't had much experience with amusement parks of any kind," Ranma replied, "so it will be a unique experience for me."
"I'm sure we'll run into each other there," Akio said. "I don't think Akane will want to spend the entire day on the beach or in the water."
Standing and waiting, it seemed like an hour had passed for Ranma and Akio before Akane and Aka-chan returned, but in fact it was only about fifteen minutes.
Akane was still wearing the clothing she had worn on the bus, but she had an uncomfortable smile on her face. Aka-chan on the other hand had changed into a modest, dark blue, two-piece swimsuit… modest at least in comparison to Akane's two swimsuits. Aka-chan's swimsuit was made of more cloth than both of Akane's swimsuits combined.
Ranma thought that the swimsuit did a fine job of accenting Aka-chan's very pretty body. Ranma was impressed. Akio was turning bright red.
"What do you think?" Aka-chan said as she turned to give Akio and Ranma a rear view.
"It's very pretty," Ranma replied. "It's perfect for you."
"What do you think Akio?" Aka-chan asked.
Akio remained silent. In fact the silence was becoming quite painful.
"It's all right, isn't it?" Aka-chan asked as the smile on her face changed to a look of concern.
"Akio thinks it fine," Ranma said giving Akio a little nudge. "He's just trying to come up with the right words to express how he feels, isn't that right?"
The nudge brought Akio back to Earth and he stammered, "You're beautiful… I mean it's beautiful… I mean I think you look good wearing it… I mean you would look good even if you weren't wearing it… I mean…" The blush on Akio's face became more intense as he spoke.
The look of concern on Aka-chan's face vanished and the broad smile returned. She walked over to Akio who was still frozen in place and wrapped her arms around Akio, giving him a huge hug.
Akio didn't hug Aka-chan though. It looked as though he was trying to find an appropriate place for his hands, but he was too shy to touch Aka-chan on her bare skin, but the only place that was covered with cloth didn't work either.
After a moment Aka-chan released Akio from her hold, took him by the hand and then said to Akane and Ranma, "I'm going to show off my boyfriend to the people on the beach. We'll catch up with you later."
With that Aka-chan led Akio away toward the beach, but Ranma was sure that he could still feel the heat of Akio's blush as they walked away.
As Akio had said, the amusement park was tame by most people's standards. Most of the twenty-five or so rides were designed specifically for young children, but there was a roller coaster, a carousel and a Ferris wheel. In addition there were various games of skill that Ranma had seen before at the festival (although there were some that Ranma had never seen before but they definitely looked as if the odds of winning were greatly against the player). And the smell was almost overwhelming from the booths where all kinds of foods where being sold.
It may have been tame for everyone else, but Ranma's eyes were wide with amazement. He didn't quite know where to start, although Akane and Ranma quickly discounted the ride that looked like a hollowed out log going down a chute of water.
Ranma's favorite ride was the roller coaster, but after riding it six times in a row Akane requested that they try something else. The carousel was more Akane's speed but it was boring for Ranma. Before very long they had tried almost all of the rides that were appropriate for their age and size (except for the water chute ride).
The only rides that remained were the Ferris wheel and the boat ride through the tunnel of love. Even though the tunnel of love involved water Akane and Ranma decided they would chance it, but it would also be more appropriate for later in the evening. The Ferris wheel would be the first ride they would try after lunch.
Akane and Ranma discovered all kinds of foods in the area of the food booths. Everything seemed available… from traditional Japanese fare like ramen and okonomiyaki and takoyaki to traditional western food like hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza. They also discovered Aka-chan and Akio.
Aka-chan and Akio were walking hand in hand investigating the food options that were available to them. And although Akio was no longer blushing, it still looked like he was being very careful not to touch Aka-chan in a place that might be considered inappropriate.
At first Akane and Ranma thought it might be best to let Aka-chan have some private time with Akio but that changed when Aka-chan spotted Akane and Ranma.
"So have you ridden all of the rides yet?" Aka-chan asked as she and Akio walked up to them.
"Most of them," Akane answered. "We're going to ride the Ferris wheel after lunch and the tunnel of love for after dark."
"That sounds romantic," Aka-chan reflected. "Maybe I can convince someone to do that with me."
That only began another round of blushing on Akio's part… not as intense as before… but it was still quite noticeable.
"Maybe we should think about something to eat," Ranma said trying to change the subject for Akio's sake. "What would everyone like for lunch?"
"I don't know," Akane responded picking up on Ranma's lead. "Japanese or western?"
"We can have western for lunch," Aka-chan replied, "and have sushi for dinner. There's a restaurant about a block from the entrance to the park that has some of the best sushi I've ever eaten."
"Then western it is," Ranma said. "Any suggestions?"
"The pizza is pretty good," Aka-chan replied.
"Then pizza it is," Ranma said. "Lead on."
Akane and Ranma followed Aka-chan while Akio followed behind in silence.
After lunch Akane and Aka-chan went off together to do whatever girls do when they go off together, leaving Ranma and Akio to clean up after lunch.
"What do you think about the amusement park?" Akio asked as he gathered up the debris from the table.
"I really liked the roller coaster," Ranma said as he gathered what remained on the table, "but I think the carousel is more Akane's speed."
"I'm not much for any of the rides," Akio said. "I guess Aka-chan and I are more like your wife. The carousel and the Ferris wheel are our limits."
Ranma smiled. "I see you're calling Aka-chan 'Aka-chan'."
"She asked me if I would," Akio replied, "at least while you and your wife are here. She said that it would be far less confusing."
Akio stood silent for a moment and then said, "Aka-chan thinks very highly of you and your wife. She is quite impressed with how mature you are and how committed you are to each other. She's never talked about any of the other guests like that, especially about people the same age as you. The third year high school students staying at the inn right now are driving her crazy."
"They are rude," Ranma agreed. "Especially that one guy. You think he would have learned his lesson after his attempt at challenging me."
"He actually challenged you," Akio said with a laugh. "He really is an idiot. From what Aka-chan was saying, I would have like to have seen that."
"The first time he went down or the second time?"
"He didn't learn his lesson the first time?"
"Apparently not."
"He's dumber than I thought," Akio said and after a moment of reflection continued, "Where this is all leading is that Aka-chan seems to have a very high regard for your opinion and advice. I was wondering if I might ask you something."
"I'm not sure how valuable my advice is," Ranma replied, "but go ahead and ask."
"How do I tell Akane… ahhh… Aka-chan that I'd really like to spend more time with her?" Akio asked quietly but then added defensively, "I don't mean to do anything perverted or like that. How do I tell her that I really want her to be my girlfriend?"
Ranma smiled and did his best not to laugh. "You are really asking the wrong person about how to tell someone how you feel about them. I was never able to tell Akane how I felt about her. I was always so stubborn about it because it was our fathers that had arranged our engagement. But one day I hurt her feelings very badly all because I was so stubborn. That's when I realized that I had to stop being so stubborn and tell her… honestly… how I felt about her… and that was the day I proposed to her. My suggestion would be to find some quiet place and tell her. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at her answer."
"You really think so?" Akio said, finally smiling.
"I think so."
"May I ask you one more question? I'd really like to put my arm around Aka-chan, but with her wearing that swimsuit I don't know where to put my hand so she won't think I'm some kind of a pervert."
"I think anyplace you put your hand," Ranma answered, "will be fine as long as your hand isn't underneath the swimsuit."
Aka-chan had grabbed Akane on the pretense of going to the restroom, but once Aka-chan was out of earshot of Akio she asked, "Akane, am I doing something wrong?"
"What do you mean?" Akane responded.
"Am I being too pushy?" Aka-chan continued. "Did I scare him by wearing this swimsuit?"
"You may have startled him," Akane answered, "but I don't think you scared him."
"But when I mentioned the tunnel of love he just got so quiet," Aka-chan said with a saddened look. "I'm afraid that I'm pushing him too hard… faster than he's ready to go. I don't want to lose Akio as a friend just because I pushed something on him that he's not ready for. I really would like Akio to be my steady boyfriend."
"I don't think you need to worry about losing Akio as a friend," Akane said, "but you need to give him a chance. You were the one who said that he was always shy around girls because they would pick on him. It may take him a while to get used to a girl being nice to him."
"But he won't even put his arm around me."
"Probably because he's afraid that you'll think he's a pervert if he touches bare skin," Akane said. "Has he ever embraced you before?"
"That night at the festival was the first time," Aka-chan said with a smile. "It felt so nice when he hugged me."
"Then you'll have to let him know that you don't mind if he touches your bare skin."
"Speaking of bare skin," Aka-chan asked, "When are you going to lose those clothes and show off the swimsuit you have on underneath?"
"I'm still not sure I want to show off that much skin," Akane replied. "At least not to anyone else other than Ranma."
"That's too bad. That suit really looks good on you. I can't think of anyone it would look better on."
Akane sighed and smiled and quietly said, "I can."
It was more than twenty minutes before Akane and Aka-chan returned and their returned was marked with the commotion of the tuning heads of men and the quiet gasps of the women.
Aka-chan was still wearing the same swimsuit but it looked like something Aka-chan's grandmother might wear compared to the swimsuit Akane was wearing… the floral print that Ranma had worn the night before. Akio stood and stared, but it would be an understatement to say that Ranma was any less than absolutely flabbergasted.
Akane, knowing how much attention she was drawing, blushed brightly. She still wasn't sure how Aka-chan had talked her into actually taking off the clothing she wore over the swimsuit. Aka-chan had talked Akane into wearing the swimsuit under her clothing that morning when they arrived. Akane, at that point, had decided that she wouldn't be comfortable actually walking around wearing just the swimsuit. If she had worked up enough courage on her own, she might have taken off her blouse but kept on the shorts she had been wearing.
Nervously Akane approached Ranma who was still standing with his mouth open. "How do you think this swimsuit looks on me?"
Ranma did not reply at first. He just continued to stare at Akane.
"Don't you think that swimsuit looks great on Akane?" Aka-chan asked.
Ranma continued to stand silently looking at Akane.
"Ranma, I'll put my blouse and shorts back on if you would like."
"That won't be necessary Akane," Ranma finally said. "Seeing you wear that swimsuit took me by surprise."
"I think it took everyone by surprise," Aka-chan added. "You should have seen some of the looks that she got while she was walking here."
"I can imagine," Ranma replied. "I think Akio is impressed."
Aka-chan turned her attention to Akio who was still looking intently at Akane.
"I think you're right," Aka-chan agreed. "Maybe I should try wearing a swimsuit like that."
"Aka-chan," Akane said, "you promised me that you wouldn't do that. It was part of the deal."
"Sorry," Aka-chan said to Akane. She turned to Akio and took him by the hand saying as she led him away, "Come on Akio. I think your eyes need a rest and there is something I'd like to talk to you about."
Once Aka-chan and Akio were out of earshot Akane turned to Ranma and asked, "Are you sure it's all right for me to wear this?"
"It's OK, "Ranma answered. "I'm not crazy that it shows off parts of you that I would prefer that you only show off to me, but it does look very good on you. Maybe I'm a bit jealous."
"Jealous that other men are seeing me wear this swimsuit?"
"No. Jealous because it looks so much better on you than on me."
"Your silly. Come on. You promised that we could ride the Ferris wheel after lunch."
"Yes I did. Is there something else you would like?"
"Maybe some cotton candy…" Akane answered and then after thinking for a second, "or Ranma, will you buy me a balloon?"
"A balloon?"
"Yeah! Ranma will you buy me a big red balloon?"