The Hunter Captured by the Game

Author: Mei TwoMoons                                                                   Rated: PG-13

I've read allot of pairings in Dragonball fics, but it came to the attention of me and my fellow muses (whom I adore) that both Android 17 and Lime, a little girl about Gohan's age from just before the Cell games, are usually left out of the fun. 

Special thanks to all my beloved muses, who kept my butt in front of the computer writing, and in particular Lexxie, who gave me awesome insights and inspirations for this piece.

Disclosure: I don't own any of these characters.  And if I did, would I be writing fanfiction?  I think not.

Part 5:  Wake-up Call

Had these two spent a fraction of the energy they over the next few days doing something other than getting on each others nerves, they may have prevented much they were destined to suffer through in the days to follow.

But as well you may have ascertained, every day Lime waited till Juu had left to do whatever it was he did all day, feigning sleep so that she could say she hadn't heard him order her to stay in bed until he was out the door.  And in the evening she would have just insist she was cooking to keep him from the opportunity to 'poison her' or to 'bland her to death'.

For his part, Juu spent a good part of the day thinking of new and frighteningly clever ways to insult whatever it was she had cooked that day.  Or as he would say... had scorched, cremated, parched, burned to a cinder, or undercooked beyond legal limits. 

Lime knew he was goading her. No one could be as bad a cook as he made her out to be, and he continued to leave her stew ingredients in the morning when he thought she was asleep.  She eventually came to realize that in some twisted, bizarre, looking glass way she even welcomed the criticisms.  The more devastatingly brutal his comments were, the more they seamed to take the place of a sincere compliment.

Of course, this knowledge did nothing to prevent her from ending every evening in a flustered rage; whilst he seemed to grow even smugger and more calmly aloof the madder he got her.

It also served to conceal from her what her conscious mind subconscious was growing more aware of every day.  She was a woman living in the same house, the very same room as a virile and incredibly attractive man.  At the start, she had seen not much more than his angular features, and coldly piercing eyes.  But as of late she had been able to distinguish emotions beneath his antagonistically smooth skin. 

Though it was just as flawless as the day she had first seen it, his marble facade couldn't hide everything from her.  She caught glimpses of emotions, with mostly consisted of amusement (usually at her expense), irritation (usually at his expense), and just once something akin to worry.  That day she had first tried to stand and had collapsed.  She wasn't sure she had really seen such an alien reaction there in his darkening eyes, but the more she thought about it the more she convinced herself that he had in fact been concerned for her.  And concern intoned caring, so could he actually care for her?  And why the hell did she care if he did?

And maybe she was just going completely wacko.  That would at least explain the dreams she'd been having recently.

At first they had been nice, what she could remember of them.  A phantom embrace by an unrecognized man, a warm kiss on the skin of her neck, a low murmuring voice that comforted her to the very core.  It wasn't until this had gone on for several nights that she realized whose voice it was, soft and low, murmuring in her ear.  Her dream lover was none other than the man she spent every day cursing to the sun and the moon.  Well, he was and he wasn't.  It looked like him, sounded like him, but he was more tender, doting, loving even.

Yep, she was defiantly going crazy.

To even think that arrogant baka male was capable of such emotion was… unnatural.  But still, she had to remind herself she was seeing the real man and not her dream lover every time that cool sky-blue gaze fell on her.

All Juu knew that the woman had developed a tendency to get doe-eyed every so often.  Maybe it had something to do with how restless her sleep seemed to have become lately.  He only dozed lightly in the evening, his senses never totally shutting down, and so any time the girl would toss under her blanket or moan he was aware of it.  And having nothing better to do with eternity, he would often move closer to watch her eyes rolling under their lids.  Whatever she was dreaming, the slight smile that adorned her delicate lips never fled till she woke.

And it didn't take a rocket scientist to surmise what she was dreaming of, which of course made it all the more interesting to watch. 

Her pursued lips, the low smoky sounds she made at the back of her throat, the beads of sweat forming on her delicate skin.  It was really quite fascinating, and it did peak his curiosity as to just what it would be like if he was the one provoking those same reactions from her while she was awake.  After all, no matter how much fun it was constantly teasing and tormenting … he had never indulged that particular aspect of recreational activities.  He's never found someone worth of that level of his… attention.

And she now had his full and undivided attention.

He lost track of how long he sat there and watched her.  He's long ago shut off his internal chronometer as it was quite a distraction to always feel the days and years slipping away, but that wasn't why time no longer seemed a factor.  It was because as the boy sat watching the girl dreaming, his mind wandered, lingering over her.  The way she smell of flowering herbs, that pouty thing she did with her lips, and her long rusty-colored hair, waves and waves of it.  He had always seen it braided, except when it had come undone during her near-fatal fall from the apple tree.  But she must have just washed it because it smelled slightly of lavender and had been laid out flat on her pillow to dry.

He reached out a hand to touch the silken threads.  It was still damp and unbelievably soft, like a coat of some strange and glorious animal that had inadvertently caught.

Or had she caught him?

He pulled his hand back as she surfaced from the shallows of her dream, the sensation of being watched bore though her heavy eyelids and tugged her uncomfortably back to consciousness.  And when she opened her eyes she found that she hadn't been imagining it, for the ice-blue gaze of her dream lover was still riveted on her from across the room.

"What…  are you… looking at?"  Her voice was weak and uneasy, still laced with the paralyzing effects of slumber interrupted.

Juu sat back in his chair, looking at her wipe the sleep from her eyes.  He wasn't quite sure how to answer, or even to answer at all.  So he said the first thing that popped into his head.  And big surprise, it was an insult.

"I was just watching you dreaming about me."

There was nothing else that he could have said that could have surprised and mortified her more than that.  The shock of it was enough to stop her heart beating.  She couldn't breath, couldn't move, and couldn't do anything to prevent the embarrassed flush that heated her face against the cool musty air.  How could he know?  There was no way!  "Why.. what do you know about anything!"  The blushing intensified and spread.

Now it was Juu's turn to be surprised.  He had expected a witty retort or to be ignored completely.  She usually didn't yell till he had pushed her well past her breaking point.  Which could only mean one thing, and the smirk that crept over his face told all he knew why.  He'd just hit the nail on the head without even knowing it.  //Very interesting// 

"So, was I good?"

If lime had thought she couldn't be any more insulted, she had just been proven wrong.  "Wha…  what!?"

The smirk broke into an all-out grin and he leaned forwards in his chair with a squeak.  "I asked you if I was good, when you were dreaming of me just now.  After all, you seemed to be enjoying yourself."

"Stop."

"Moaning the way you were…"

"Don't."

"And thrashing about.  It must have been the best you ever…"

"Stop it, Stop it, STOP IT!!"

She was now standing on her bed, the still warm blankets pooled around her ankles, her hair dancing around her shoulders like a flame in a brisk wind.  She was magnificent, no other word for it.  Eyes flashing, fists clenched at her side, lips pulled back into a primal snarl… a warrior goddess trapped in a weak and winsome human body.

Juu, sitting there watching her, suddenly realized something curious stirring within him.  A yearning that was new to him, and yet as old and familiar as the cravings for food and sleep and shelter, which even he still had.

He wanted her. 

Wanted to crush her gently to him. 

Wanted to silence her contentions with his mouth on hers. 

Wanted to sink into her and make her scream for him over and over again.

And he always got what he wanted.

"I'll stop when you've answered my question."  He stood up and began walking towards her, a playful twinkle to his eye.

Lime groaned as she realized just what a spot she had gotten herself into.  It was obvious that he had been teasing her, which of course she would have realized if her thoughts hadn't been overwhelmed by her own smothered lust and outrage.

And now, anything she said or did was going to come back and bite her in the ass.  "I never said it was you, you just assumed it was.  Just because you a haughty, self-diluted creep doesn't mean you're the only man on the planet you know."

Juu smiled darkly at her.  "True, but I'm the only one your alone with at the moment."

Lime choked back a gasp as she suddenly became aware just how bad the spot she was in was.  She was alone with this guy in a forest, miles from civilization without even a phone to call for help.  "You… you wouldn't dare!"

Juu just loved to be dared.  "Dare to do what?"  He stopped right next to the bed, head cocked curiously to the side to watch what she would do next.  Humanity had always been like a small animal caught in a trap to him, and now more than ever he was feeling playful.  He toyed with people the way a cat might toy with a mouse.  He was almost impatiently curious to see if this mouse had teeth.  "What are you daring me to do?"

Lime felt as though she would pass out.  "To touch me!"

"I've touched you before, those bandages don't change themselves.  And speaking of which, I think they are about ready to come off… since you seem to have gotten your strength back.  You must be pretty much healed by now."  And he reached out towards where the bandages lay under her shirt. 

Lime lost it.  She was tired, frustrated, frightened and outraged… and all she needed was an excuse to lash out.  And this was it.  Without a word she pulled back an arm and smartly whipped her delicate hand across his cheek. 

Juu froze.  //Well now that was interesting//  It didn't hurt him really, most likely it hurt her more.  But still, the sensation of being slapped by a beautiful woman was a new one.  He once again began to reach for her over shirt, only to freeze as her hand struck him again, just as hard as before.

Lime was too angry to care that her hand hurt, or that neither slap had managed to have any visible effect on him.  Her anger bubbled up and exploded a third time, this smack strong enough to make her wish she hadn't done it.  Her hand felt like it was ready to fall off.  Just who was this guy anyway?

Juu looked up at her face, flushed with emotions he couldn't possibly hope to understand and asked the burning question.  "Is that all you got woman?"

Lime was incensed, pushed absolutely beyond rational thought and logic as she flung herself with a yowl at him, intending to scratch out his laughing eyes and wipe that smirk off his damned flawless face.  Juu was ready for her, and caught her as she flew at him, being sure to carefully pin her arms uselessly at her sides. 

Lime was having none of it.  She continued to kick and snarl and snap like a wild animal, cursing him with an unbroken scream.  Well, until the moment he caught the last of the scream in his mouth as he kissed her. 

Lime's brain didn't register the sudden change right away, and her body continued to struggle in his arms until the heat of him started to seep into her, his kiss turning her own attack against her as easily as if he had flipped a switch.  He was kissing her!  And worse yet, she LIKED it.  It had started strongly, but had tapered off to a soft deep kiss, the kind that dotted her dreams like pinholes.

Juu wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but from the much more complacent reaction he was now getting from her he must have been doing something right.  He loosened his grip on her arms as he delved deeper, reveling in the taste of her, not unlike summer-ripened melon.

So this was why humans paired themselves off.

Lime couldn't believe this was happening.  It was so much like one of her dreams, she though she MUST still be asleep.  But she wasn't.  The masculine oak smell of him invaded her senses, fogged his perception.  It was bliss.  She pulled her arms free, but this time pulled him in closer to her, craving his touch.  It had to be real, for if a dream could be this intense she never wanted to wake up ever, ever again.

And when Juu sensed she needed a chance to catch her breath he pulled back to look possessively down at her flushed face and swollen lips.  "Now that's more like it."

Lime blinked in surprise, but didn't have time to think before he dove in for another painfully deep kiss, this one leaving them both almost unable to stand.  It was by all accounts biologically natural to want to lie down at that point, but still something held her back.  A hunger to know.  To know just one thing.

"What is your name?"

For the first time in a very long time, Juu was truly and honestly surprised the simple question being asked by the woman in his arms.  And the warm sincere smile that seemed so new to his face told her so.

"Junanagou, and since were on the subject…"

"Your name is seventeen?  Feh, that figures."  At this point, it would have taken a hell of a lot more that that little tidbit of information to shock her.  There was just so much about this man she was dying to know, if he would just let her in.  And you can bet she was more than willing to try and find out.  "My name is Lime, nice to meet you."

Juu stood, enjoying the feeling of holding the game that had in the end captured the hunter.  "Lime, as in one of those seasons you use in your soup?"  He was taunting her again, but more gently this time.

Lime leaned in towards him seeking a third kiss.  "You could say that."

"I just did." 

"Jerk"

"Stubborn woman, just kiss me already."

Lime laughed as Juu pulled her up to brush his lips over hers, his hands cupping the small of her back.

And in doing so finally realized just how much spice had been missing from his life… not to mention his soup.

FIN

Now I know what you're thinking, and yes I could continue this story and add in more angst, explosions, cool stuff like that.  But as this is my first attempt at an all out romance, even if it's not all that bittersweet or sappy, I think this is a good place to end it.  The rest I'll leave up to the true romantics out there.