by Gie (phowah@cs.com)
Ranma and his familiars are not mine.
But I can braid my hair into an
all-too-familiar pigtail, soooo I claim
that! *grin*
Timeline? Who needs a steenkin' timeline?
If you want one, you can
put it after the series is over, and everything.
*shrug* This story
came to me during a nice long heatwave--actually,
several
heatwaves...lucky me, ne? But I'm
not complainin'! It's summer, ne?
Anyway, let's continue!
Gie-chan
Heavenly smells greeted the slowly-awakening
Tendo household,
but it was not a willing action from all.
High humidity hung like a thick
blanket for the past several days, making
everyone feel uncomfortable
and irritable, and when the meterologist
said that it would last
through the rest of the week, a quick unaminous
decision to trek to
the shore was voted upon. Although
the tempting call of the salty,
refreshing breezes was beckoning, it fell
on deaf ears for one member
of the household.
Akane was the last to arrive at the
table and was dressed in a
similar manner as everyone else: as
light and airy as possible. Or as
scantily, in some cases. Falling into
her normal spot, she threw the
bare-chested boy next to her a dirty look.
"Must be nice to run
around naked."
Ranma tossed back a questioning look
and continued to inhale
the bowl of rice. "Uh...yup."
She snorted and took a long sip of
the rapidly melting
ice-water in front of her. "What
time are we leaving?"
"As soon as the breakfast table is
cleaned up," Kasumi replied
to her.
Nabiki threw her sister a measured
glance. "So what side of
Hell did you wake up, Akane-chan?"
"The side that will rip out your spleen
and feed it to the koi,"
she spat back.
"Nabiki! Akane!" Kasumi
admonished her younger siblings,
"That is no way to talk to each other."
"You're right, Kasumi, I'm sorry."
Akane stood up roughly and
leveled an evil glare to her accuser.
"Next time I'll follow through
with my actions rather than just toss empty
threats." She turned
away from the table and Kasumi's horrified
gasp and stormed out of
the room. A house-shaking slam informed
all at the table that she
locked herself away in her room.
The sound of Genma and Ranma stuffing
their faces were the
only sign that others were in the room.
Nabiki blinked, her cool
exterior once again reforming after the
hellish lashing given by Akane.
"Well, isn't she little miss Mary Sunshine
this morning."
Kasumi waved a hand in front of her
face, her cheeks red from
more than the heat. "I have never
seen her in this bad of a mood.
The heat must be affecting her more than
normal."
"Nah, she's just actin' like an uncute
tomboy, nothin' to be
worried about. Ya know, normal."
Ranma eyed the still full bowl of
rice and miso soup next to him. "Do
ya think she's gonna come back
down?" He glanced back up to Kasumi,
who shook her head. "Great!
Then I'll take her share." He quickly
switched his empty bowl for her
full one.
"Aren't you in the least bit worried about her, Ranma?"
"Why? Should I be?" He
raised a curious eyebrow to the
middle Tendo daughter.
"Well," she rolled her eyes and
twirled a chopstick around her
fingers. "You'll have to be the one
to deal with her temper at the
beach, ne? Wasn't the term of your
bet to teach her to swim the
next time we went to the beach? Or
did you forget about that?"
A funny look came over the young male's
face as he finally
remembered what Nabiki was talking about.
Him and his ego had bet
Akane that he would be able to master some
technique or...something
before she did. If he won, she'd have
to stay out of the kitchen for a
month. If she won, she'd have to teach
her how to swim. It was
awhile ago, and he had comepletely forgotten
about it. Looks like
Akane remembered...
He swallowed and grimaced. "Does
she really expect me to
teach that brick how to float? You
can only do so much...youch! What
in the hell was that for, Oyaiji!"
He glared at his father, who had
conked him over the head with his elbow.
"Don't insult your intended in such
a horrid manner, Ranma! It's
your responsibility to take up on any hole
in her training, if you want
her to stand by your side! Mold her
into the proper martial artist her
potenial is craving for!" Genma crossed
his arms and nodded his head
wisely. "Of course, you'll have to
start at the beginning. I hear
Jusenkyo is lovely this time of year..."
"Saotome! You dare suggest that
horrid place to train my
daughter! And are you saying that
her training is insufficent? That is
an insult against me, friend." Soun
glared daggers at the larger man.
"No insult to you, Tendo. Just stating the obvious."
"Saotome! How could you!"
Nabiki turned away from the bickering
fathers with a sigh.
"They're almost as bad as Ranma and Akane.
Hey, Kasumi," she fixed
her brown eyes on the blue ones of her sister,
"which beach are we
going to this time?"
"Well, Point Beach is closed to visitors
due to a graduation
ceremony taking place. So I thought,
since the weather is going to be
this way for several days, we could rent
a cottage at Southshore."
Kasumi stood up and started to clear away
the dishes.
"Kon'wa, minna!" Ukyou entered
the room, a large box clutched
to her side. "Hope you don't mind
that I just came in, Kasumi."
She shook her head. "Not at all,
Ukyou-chan. We're just
finishing up with breakfast, then we were
going to head for the beach,
since it is so hot."
Ukyou's face lit up as she sat down
next to Ranma, placing the
okynomiyaki in front of him. He quickly
dug in. Genma quickly tried to
take his 'share'. "Really? That
sounds so refreshing! Mind if I tag
along? It gets extremely hot sitting
in front of a grill all day long."
"Oh, you poor dear! Of course,
you're more than welcome."
Kasumi smiled and left to go into the kitchen.
Nabiki stood up from her spot.
"We're going to be leaving in a
few minutes, Ukyou. Why don't you
meet us there? We'll be at Point
Beach; the same one as before."
Ukyou nodded and stood as well, giving
Ranma a quick hug.
"That sounds like a plan. See you
later, Ranchan!" He grunted,
snatching the last bite from his father's
fingers. She waved to the
others and left.
Kasumi came back in the room.
"Ukyou? Oh, I thought she was
going to come with us?"
"I told her to meet us there."
Nabiki grinned and left the room
to get ready.
"Ranma, you better go get ready; we'll
be leaving in a few
minutes. Your swimsuits are in your
top drawer."
"Thanks, Kasumi." He stood up
and gave her a quick smile,
leaving the room, Genma following behind
him.
"Father, yours is on your bed.
I am going to get dressed and
coax Akane out of her bad mood." Kasumi
left, leaving Soun in the
room by himself.
He blinked a few times, and then got up to change, as well.
*******
Half hour later, the four Tendos and
the two Saotomes were
on their way to find some cooling refreshment
in the refreshing
breezes of Southshore.
Akane stared out the window, watching
the rapidly moving
scenery as it flashed by her, mere blurry
blobs of color to her
unfocused eyes. I really don't want
to go to the beach... She glanced
at the reflection of her fiancée
in the window, who sat across from
her. Their fathers were in another
seat farther up, and Kasumi and
Nabiki sat across the aisle. He had
thrown a skimpy white tanktop
over his once naked torso, and was wearing
a pair of black swimming
trunks with a bolt of white lightning zigzagging
across the front. His
eyes were closed as he took advantage of
the lulling rhythm of the
train's movements and the quietness of the
ride. He probably doesn't
even remember.
She broke her gaze from him and turned
it to the other
occupants of the room. There weren't
many other passengers in their
car, only a few scattered groups, since
the commuter rush was just
about over. But most had the same
idea as they, and were dressed in
a similar fashion; they wanted to escape
the hot city for the cool
shores of the beach, as well. She
sighed and turned her brown eyes
back to Ranma, and was startled by the concerned
look in his smoky
blue ones. She frowned and turned
back to the window. "What?"
"Hey, is somethin' botherin' you?
Not that I care, or nothin'."
He stole a glance to the pair of females
across the aisle, but they
were both engrossed in magazines.
And a quick glance over his
shoulder let him know that their fathers
were well out of hearing
range. He turned back to Akane, who
was still looking out the window.
"Nothing is wrong."
He hesitated. "Uh, you sure?
You weren't actin' normal at the
breakfast table."
She let a sigh escape her lips and
turned back to him, her
brows furrowed in frustration. "You
won't leave me alone until I tell
you, will you?"
"Uh, well, if you want me to, I will."
He blinked a few times,
confused by her mood. As of late,
they had been getting along fairly
well; the fights had gone down to a few
spats here and there, and he
hadn't taken a shortcut home via LEO in
quite some time. And several
times, they've stayed up through the wee
hours of the morning, talking
and laughing, and enjoying the other's presence.
You could say that
the level of chaos around him had dimimished
to tolerable levels. Not
that I'm complainin'. The peace is
actually nice. After a few moments
of silence, he cleared his throat.
"So, are you gonna tell me?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I
was just grouchy this morning,
that's all. I haven't been sleeping
very well in this heat, and I really
didn't want to go to the beach today."
"Well, I can understand the not sleepin',
but I thought you
liked the beach. At least you didn't
mind the last time we went."
"You mean when we shipwrecked on Prince
Toma's Island?" Her
eyebrow raised as a blush lit up the bridge
of his nose. "Oh, yeah, I
had a blast and a half." Ranma started
to sputter out a reply, but she
shook her head. "That's not what I
mean, Ranma. I just..." she
shrugged again. "It's kind of hard
to get full enjoyment out of the sea
if you can't enjoy it to the fullest, you
know what I mean?"
He blinked a few times. "Actually,
I completely understand
what you mean." Akane cocked her head
to the side and he explained.
"What do you think is in this bag?"
He held up the backpack sitting
next to him.
"Towels?"
He rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah,
but this is also in there." He
reached in and pulled out a deep green and
black striped swimsuit. A
female-cut suit.
"Ahh..."
"Yeah," he nodded with her, and
put it back inside. "I have
some waterproof soap I bribed off the old
ghoul, so I'll be able to go
swimmin' as a guy, but once that wears off,
I'm gonna haveta change."
"But at least you can enjoy the water
in either form." She
pointed out.
"Well, yeah," he scratched his
head, "but it's not the same, ya
know? And besides, you're gonna be
able to enjoy it just as much as
me by the end of the day."
"How will I be able to do that?"
She scoffed at him, crinkling
her nose.
"Because I'm gonna show ya how to swim."
He crossed his arms
smugly. "Didya forget our bet?"
"Nani?" She yelled, standing
up. But she quickly sat back down,
her face red with embarrassment when everyone
turned her way.
"What? You remembered?"
He looked insulted. "Of course
I did. Saotome Ranma never
forgets a promise."
"What about the time..."
He held up a hand. "Don't even
start, Akane." He narrowed his
eyes. "Unless you don't want to learn?"
"I do, I do! It's just that so
many people have tried..." she
sighed, slumping in her seat.
"Well, that's because I haven't tried
yet. And I never lose,
ne?" He flashed her a confident smile.
Slowly, she nodded,
straightening up, her own smile spreading
across her face. "All right!
Now, that's what I like to see. If
you think you're gonna lose before
you start, you already lost, ne?"
She nodded again. "Right."
"Train 392, destination, Southshore
Beach has arrived. Please
wait until the train has come to a complete
stop before debarking.
Before you leave, please make sure you have
all your belongings.
Thank you and have a wonderful day."
"Oh, we're here." She stood up,
making sure she grabbed her
bag. She held out a hand to Ranma.
"Coming?"
He glanced at the offered hand for
a moment, and slowly,
reached for it, clasping his long fingers
around hers and pulled himself
up. "Hai." He smiled and gave
it a squeeze before letting go. She
smiled back and left the car, him following
directly behind her.
Unbeknownst to them, Kasumi and Nabiki
gave each other a
meaningful glance before they followed in
their path.
******
After settling into the two-bedroom
cottage they would be
spending the night in, everyone who needed
to changed into beach
wear, and headed for the main attraction
of the day.
The beach was fairly crowded, as they
had expected, since this
was a popular spot for swimming, and the
Tendo-ke searched for some
time to find a decent spot to set up camp.
After claiming their own
section of the beach and setting up the
chairs, unbrellas, and towels, a
loud sigh of relief echoed from each of
them.
"Ah, this is the life," Ranma
quickly ripped off his tank top and
fell face down onto the large towel.
"I feel better already."
"The air is definitely nice.
That breeze is refreshing." Ranma
peeked open one eye to see Akane settle
down beside him on the
towel. His gaze wandered over her
small frame and the even smaller
swimsuit she wore. It was a two piece
outfit, deep blue with white
blotches scattered throughout. He
intently followed the motion of
her hands as she rubbed sun lotion on her
legs. He smiled to himself
and reclosed his eye quickly, in case she
caught him looking. "This is
definitely better than drowning in our sweat
in Nerima."
"Most definitely. Last one in
the water is a wet panda, ne,
Saotome?"
"I resemble that remark, Tendo!"
Akane smiled as she watched the fathers'
race to the edge of
the water. She blinked as she watched
Genma enter the water and
not change into his cursed form. "Did
you give your father some of
the waterproof soap, Ranma?"
"Yeah, I couldn't bear to see him sweat
in the thick coat of
his." At Akane's giggle, he looked
up, confused. "What's so funny?"
"You know, bear, bear..." She
sighed at his still confused look.
"Oh, never mind." She flopped down,
face-up, on the towel and put a
pair of sunglasses on.
He shook his head, not getting the
joke, but couldn't help
himself from talking a quick view of the
flesh laid out next to him. He
glanced up when Nabiki cleared her throat,
blushing hotly at the
knowing smirk spread across her features.
"Um, I uh, oh never mind."
He grunted and buried his face in his arms.
"So easy." Nabiki shook her head.
"Well, I'm going to check
out the local scenery. Wanna come
along, Kasumi?" She pulled the
t-shirt off over her head and revealed to
the public the golden bronze
leaflet that covered her svelte frame.
"I guess I could. Are you going to go into the water?"
"Probably, but not very far out."
"All right. Akane, are you going to go out soon?"
She shook her head, not sitting up
from her flat position. "Not
for a bit. I want to soak up some
sun first."
"Then I can leave our belongings out?"
"Of course. I'll be here for
awhile. Have fun." The warm rays
of the sun and the cooling breezes off the
sea countered each other
for a perfect day at the beach, and the
pair of suntanning martial
artists absorbed it all happily.
After a few minutes, Ranma flipped
over, gasping. "It's too hot
to breathe that way." He grabbed a
towel and wiped off the river of
sweat from his face. He sat up, shielding
his hands from the glare of
the sun and looked into the water.
He picked out the fathers jumping
in the waves and the pair of sisters wading
about knee deep in the
water, several children surrounding them.
He turned to the
motionless figure next to him. "Hey,
Akane, do you wanna go out into
the water?"
She shook her head slightly.
"You can, if you want. I'm going
to stay here and watch our stuff."
She held her head up a bit. "You
better put on some sunscreen, Ranma, or
you're going to burn."
"Nah, I'll be fine. I've never burned before."
"Ranma," she sat up, frowning.
"you'll be in a lot of pain later
on." She patted the towel in front
of her open legs. "Come here, and
I'll do your back." He hesitated but
sat down in front of her. "Give
me your hand." He held it up and she
squirted a generous amount of
the warm cream into his palm. "Here,
do your front."
Carefully, she spread the burn blocker
onto his back, making
sure she got his shoulders, upper arms and
the back of his neck.
Several times she had to move his pigtail
out of the way. She tried
not to pay attention to the muscles that
rippled under her fingers as
she kneaded the cream into his smooth skin,
but it was hard. Plus, it
didn't help that she felt him stop moving,
and unconsciously lean into
her the longer she massaged the wiry cords.
A blush, not from the
sun, spread across her nose when she heard
him let out a satisfied
moan when she worked out a large knot.
Slowly she ran her hands
back up to his shoulders and gave them a
small squeeze. With some
hesitation she announced, "I'm done."
"Already?" A small whine surprised
her. "That felt really good,
Akane. You give good back rubs."
He shifted slightly and held up
greasy white palms. "I still have
some left. Turn around, and I'll do
your back."
She blinked, her blush darkening.
"Ranma..." He smiled and
made a circling motion. "O...okay."
Quickly, she turned around, her
spine stiff, baring her back to him.
She closed her eyes tightly and choked
back a gasp when his
rough fingers sent electric tingles up and
down her spine. Her head
unconsciously fell forward when the nimble
digits brushed away her
hair and massaged her neck and shoulders.
"That feel good?" His
murmur against her ear tickled her insides,
turning her into jelly. She
felt his fingers tug at the strap that held
her top closed and she sat
back up, her spine once again a steel rod.
She was about to lash out at
him for his blunt motion, but he murmured
again, his baritone making
her stop mid-word. "Relax, Akane,
I'm just making sure I get
everywhere. I'm not doin' anything
perverted." She closed her mouth
and nodded. She felt his fingers dance
up her spine and rested
heavily on her slim shoulders. His
breath against her ear told them
how close their heads were. "I'm done."
She nodded weakly. "Okay, thank you."
The pair didn't move from the position
they were in, but she
felt his fingers flexing against her shoulders,
and it sent wonderful
chills up and down her spine. "Are
you sure you don't wanna come out
in the water with me?"
She turned her head slightly, meeting
his blue eyes, intense
with an emotion she didn't want to name.
"Are you going to give me my
lessons now?"
He shook his head slightly, and backed
up, putting some space
between them. "Not now. I'd
rather do that when there are less
people around ta laugh at your flailing."
He winked at her, and
immediately bolted down the beach, sand
flying up behind him.
"Ranma!" She cried out, but all
she got in response was his
laughter carried back on the sea winds.
Akane watched as he dove
into the water, emerging next to their fathers,
still male, and
immediately dunked his dad under the next
rising wave. "Honestly!"
She fell back down on the towel with a huff,
but soon a silly smile
creeped across her face as she remembered
the feel of her hands on
his skin, the soft moan echoing in her ears.
And the blush returned
full-kilter when her tummy tingled with
his touch on her. She let out
a sigh and closed her eyes.
*****
The rest of the morning and afternoon
passed with lots of
laughter and smiles from everyone.
After the lunch of sandwiches
and fruit that Kasumi had packed to bring
along, Ranma finally
convinced Akane to go into the water.
They only waded out to chest
deep, but the splashing and dunking quickly
soaked them both from
head to toe. After the drowning session,
Ranma and Akane settled
down in a fairly deserted spot of the beach
to build one of the largest
sandcastles ever seen. Their activity
quickly gained them an audience
of small children, and with their help,
the empty spot became a small
town of towers with shallow moats winding
throughout the expanse of
the sand.
A growling sound echoed and Ranma covered
up his noisemaker
with a sheepish smile. He stood up,
brushing off the layer of sand
from his moist skin. "I'm gonna go
get somethin' ta eat. Want
anything?"
Akane shook her head. "I'm fine,
thanks." She nodded her
head at the deep hole she was digging with
the help of two young girls
and their shovels. "I'm going to stay
here and help finish Lake
Toadie." She scrunched up her nose
at the name one of the small girls
insisted on calling the large puddle they
were digging.
"Gotcha." He smiled and jogged
up the large beach to where
the rest of the family was sitting.
The pair of fathers had a travel
set of Go, and were currently arguing about
a legal play one of them
made. He fell down next to Kasumi
and started to riffle through the
large basket.
"Having fun, Ranma?" the elder female asked.
He emerged with an apple in his mouth
and a vine of grapes in
his hands. "Yeah! We're really
turnin' the beach into its own little
town." He scratched his back and made
a face at all the sand that fell
off.
Kasumi chuckled. "That's what
happens when you get buried in
the sand, Ranma."
"Yeah, yeah. But they all teamed
up on me," he tried to defend
himself. "Didn't help that Akane did
nothin' ta stop 'em." He turned
his gaze to where she was still digging
out 'Lake Toadie,' and he let a
smile play upon his features as he watched
her show one of the little
girls the best way to dig.
Both Kasumi and Nabiki saw that smile
and they shared another
meaningful glance between each other.
"So, are you going to give
Akane those swimming lessons sometime?"
He nodded absently, not taking his
eyes of the figure in blue
and white. "Uh, yeah, later on."
He quickly polished off the fruit and
stood back up. "Thanks, Kasumi."
The pair of females watched as he
trotted down the beach to where the showers
and rest rooms were.
Kasumi smiled and turned her gaze back
to Akane, who was now
getting pelted by buckets of water that
were supposed to be filling
Lake Toadie. She laughed along with
all the little children at Akane's
feeble protests. "I'm glad she's feeling
better. She really didn't want
to go today."
Nabiki shrugged and leaned back in
her chair, pushed her
sunglasses back over her nose. "I
didn't think she was all too keen on
coming, either, especially after that comment
this morning." A shadow
fell over her and she pushed her glasses
down slightly to see the
figure of a dark-haired male, his hands
behind his back and a slightly
nervous look on his tanned face. "Yes?"
"Hi, I was standing over there and
wondering if you wanted to
go get an ice with me since you looked like
you needed one."
She turned to Kasumi, who was wisely
ignoring her nervous
guest as she had her nose in a book and
sipping from a cool drink. She
turned back to the guy and looked him up
and down appraisingly. She
smiled at the sweat that broke out on his
forehead. "I suppose." She
stood, sliding on a pair of sandals.
"Your name is...?"
"Oh, yeah, um, it's Seijitsu." He bowed slightly.
She raised an eybrow. "Nabiki."
She nodded back, ignoring the
giggle behind the book. "Well, Seijitsu,
now that you mentioned it, I
am thirsty."
He nodded. "Okay, let's go." The pair left.
A few minutes later, Akane came back
up to where Kasumi was
sitting. She glanced around.
"I thought Ranma was up here?" She sat
down next to her sister and took a sip of
her drink.
"He was, but he left again."
She pointed off to the right. "He
went off in that direction. More than
likely to wash off all the sand
from earlier."
She stood back up. "Okay, thanks, Kasumi."
"Wait, Akane," the blue-haired sister
turned a questioning look
to long-haired one. "You might want
to take along his things." She
pointed to the knapsack. "He might
need a change of clothing."
Akane stared confusedly at Kasumi,
but shrugged. "If you say
so." She grabbed the bag and headed
for the shower area.
The eldest Tendo female smiled as she
watched the youngest
search for her fiancée. Her
attention was diverted when a familiar
growl was heard. "Saotome, have a
heart! You smell like wet fur!"
She shook her head at the sign the
large, wet panda produced.
*It's not my fault!* She turned back
to her book with a smile.
****
Akane kept her eyes open for the familiar
tall male with black
hair braided into a pigtail as she roamed
around. "Ranma? Where are
you? Ranma!" A hissing sound
caght her attention as she passed the
door for the men's showers. "Ranma?"
"Akane! Man, I'm glad to see
you! Come over here!" The door
opened slightly and Ranma stuck his head
out of the door. His
redhaired, female head.
"What are you doing female? Did
the soap wear off? Why
didn't you change back?" She hissed
as she crept over to the door.
Ranma spotted the bag in her hand,
and his eye lit up with
relief. "All right, you brought my
stuff!" She opened the door up a
little wider. "Here, hand it over."
She tossed him the bag and he disappeared
behind the door
again. "Are you okay in there?"
"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec."
Akane quickly moved away from the
door, ignoring the questioning looks the
other people were giving her.
She made sure she was in spotting distance
from the door and waiting
for Ranma to emerge.
After a few moments, and a few male
exclamations of 'There's
a girl in here!' Akane sighed when Ranma
came out dressed in the dark
green one-piece suit he flashed her earlier
on the train. "Thanks,
Akane, you're a life saver."
Akane crossed her arms. "Why didn't you just change back?"
"The showers are all cold water,"
he explained, his frustration
evident. "And I didn't think the soap
was going to wear off this soon,
so I didn't bring any clothes. If
you didn't come along then, I was just
gonna make a run for it."
"Well, can you use the soap again?"
she asked, a small amount
of hope in her words. She had been
enjoying the day immensely with
his male form.
"Yeah," he nodded, shouldering
the pack, "but I'm gonna wait a
bit, so it'll last for longer." he
glanced around and spotted the ice
cream booth. "Wanna get some ice cream?"
"Sure." After they ordered their
dessert, they walked along
the path, looking in the different shops
and restaurants they had to
offer. They followed another path
that led down to the edge of the
water, and quietly walked along the shore.
Not many people were
around, since this part was not part of
the public beach. Akane sat
down on a large rock that jutted over the
water, dangling her legs
over the edge. She closed her eyes
as the breezes played with her
bangs. "It's nice here; quiet."
"Hn." Ranma sat down next to
her, leaning over his knees to
stare into the water below. After
a few moments of peace, he spoke
quietly. "Akane, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, Ranma." She turned her
gaze to look at him. He still
was hunched over, staring into the water.
"We're friends, right?"
She blinked. "I hope so."
She wondered where this was
leading.
"I consider us friends. Have
for a long time, actually." He
paused, wrapping his arms around his dangling
legs so he was bent
completely over. "Have you ever wanted
to," he paused and she could
see that he was wrestling with what he wanted
to say by the play of
emotions on his face. "Have you ever
wanted to be more? More than
just...friends?" He turned his head
slightly, his ocean blue eyes wide
with questions, and that same emotion she
didn't want recognize
earlier.
"Ranma, I, uh..." she closed
her mouth and turned away, to
stare into the depths of the water below.
"I've thought about it, yes,
but I also thought about what everyone else
would do and say if we
did become more than...just friends."
She sighed and traced a pattern
in the air with her toes. "Have you?"
He turned back to the water as well. "Yeah, I have."
The quiet surrounded them once again,
as they feel deep into
their own thoughts about the delicate subject
matter brought up.
And when Akane spoke again, she finally
voiced the question both were
mulling over: "Do you want to
become more than friends?"
He glanced over at her, her brown eyes
searching his own for
the unvoiced answer, as he delved deep into
hers. He swallowed hard,
but nodded. "Yeah, I do."
Her smile melted the hard lump in his
throat, and his ears rang
with her reply. "So do I. I've
really enjoyed the past couple of
months, Ranma. The talking, the not-fighting;
it's been nice."
The tension rolled off his face.
"I thought so, too. An' I've
been having a lot of fun, today, too.
It's nice to just, well, play, with
ya, ya know?" Akane nodded.
"And, I've actually been thinking
about...this...for some time, but I wasn't
sure what you'd think of it."
"Well, we are engaged, Ranma,"
she said and rolled her eyes at
his snort. "It's not like if we forget
about it and it'll go away. But, I
am glad," her red cheeks got a little
redder, "that you brought it up.
I've been thinking about it for awhile,
too." Her face got serious as
she brought up another topic. "What
about everyone else?"
"What about them?"
"What about our fathers? And
the other fiancees? They'll flip
out if they find out." She snorted.
"Actually, I'm surprised that they
hadn't shown up today to ruin our fun."
He smirked. "Actually, after
you stormed upstairs during
breakfast, Ucchan showed up, and Nabiki
sent her to Point Beach. An'
Shampoo and the others are there, too.
They were hired to cover the
graduation party bein' held there.
So I wasn't expectin' any of them
to show up. And the fathers agreed
to knock off the marrying crap
for awhile." Akane's eyes widened
and he nodded, his cheeks tinting
pink at the thought. "Yeah, I sorta
told them I was gonna talk to you
soon about this stuff, and so they agreed
to stop pushin'."
"I was wondering why they haven't been
in our faces about
getting married lately." She pulled
her knees up to her chin, and
wrapped her arms around them. "But
what are we gonna tell them? If
we say anything resembling dating, they're
gonna start insisting on a
wedding."
Ranma sat up as well, but turned to
face Akane. "Well, we'll
just see how it goes. I really want
ta do this, Akane, I..." he blushed
and turned his head away. "I really
like you, Akane, a lot."
"I really like you too, Ranma."
Akane reached out and took his
hand. His small fingers curled around
hers and squeezed. She stood
up, pulling him up with her. "Come
on, the others are probably ready
to eat dinner."
"Okay." They started back down
the path, but Ranma stopped
after a few steps. Akane stopped a
few steps ahead, their entwined
fingers held out between each other.
"Ya know, Akane, we're both
girls, now." He glanced at their hands,
blushing.
Akane blinked and blushed as well,
but firmly held onto his
hand. "I don't mind, if you don't."
Ranma shook his head hard. She
grinned and squeezed his hand again.
"You're Ranma, no matter what
form you're in. And I like holding
Ranma's hand." She smiled and
turned forward again. "Come on, let's
go." And the pair left, hand in
hand.
*****
After a quick stop at a booth for some
hot water, then the
showers once again, the pair met up with
their families under the
shade of a large tree. "It's about
time you got back," Nabiki sat next
to an unidentified male, her arms crossed
impatiently. "Where have
you two lovebirds been? We looked
up and down the beach for you."
"We were just walking," Akane frowned. "Who's your friend?"
She made introductions. "Seijitsu,
this is my younger sister,
Akane, and her fiancé, Saotome Ranma.
He's going to be joining us for
supper."
"Nice to meet you," Seijitsu smiled.
The newly-arrived pair
smiled back in greeting, Akane going over
to Kasumi, who held a pair of
shorts and a shirt to throw over her suit.
Ranma grabbed the tank
top from earlier and quickly pulled it over
his head.
"Did you see Ukyou anywhere?
I thought she was going to join
us, but I haven't seen her at all."
Everyone shook their heads, and
Nabiki threw Ranma a knowing grin.
He shook his head again. "Oh
well, but now that the wanderers are back,
we can go eat. Does
anyone have any place in mind?" Kasumi
asked, shouldering a small
purse.
Akane ran a brush through her hair.
"Well, there was an
Italian place on the boardwalk that sounded
good." She glanced at
Ranma. "It had an all-you-can-eat
pasta bar." He lit up.
Genma brightened up as well.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" The
seven of them headed for the restaurant.
***
As they were eating, Kasumi asked Akane
a question, "So, did
Ranma get to teach you to swim, yet?"
She shook her head. "No, not
yet." She turned to him. "Are
you going to?"
But before he could answer, Seijitsu
spoke. "If you want,
Akane, I can show you. I'm a certified
lifeguard." He quickly glanced
concernedly at the choking Ranma.
"Are you okay? I know the
Heimlich maneuver, as well." Ranma
just waved him off. He frowned
down at his plate.
"Really, a lifeguard?" Kasumi
said, surprised. "That's hard to
do. You must be a very good swimmer."
"Well, I like to think I am.
Today's my day off, but I normally
lifeguard at this beach." He turned
back to Akane. "Do you want me
to show you? It's no problem."
"I was gonna show her after supper,
right, Akane?" Ranma
narrowed his eyes at the wide-eyed Seijitsu.
Akane rolled her eyes, but let a smile
escape. "Thank you for
the offer, Seijitsu, but I think I'll take
Ranma up on his. It was
actually part of a bet between him and I."
She turned to look at
Ranma, a smug smile on his face as he returned
to inhaling his pasta.
"But if he fails, I'll take you up on your
offer tomorrow, okay?" She
smirked inwardly when he started choking
again.
The new young man nodded, glancing
warily at the red-faced
Ranma. "Sure, Akane." The rest
of the meal continued with no
further events, save for some caught side-glances
here and there.
****
After dinner, Kasumi and the fathers
retired to the cottage
for the rest of the night; Seijitsu and
Nabiki decided to hit the hot
spots of the evening. And Ranma and
Akane headed for the beach to
start on her dreaded, but highly anticipated,
swimming lesson.
The sun was on its way to setting,
but there was still enough
light to see comfortably. There weren't
many people on the sand, and
even fewer in the water. Ranma started
by pulling off his tank top.
Akane began to get undressed as well.
"Okay, now whatever I show
you out here, or tell ya, I wantcha to promise
me, Akane, that you're
not gonna haul off and hit me, okay?" He
rolled his eyes at her frown.
"I'm just sayin' that because I know you
and your temper. You're
gonna have to trust me, Akane, otherwise
this isn't gonna work out.
We'll start off in fairly shallow water,
so you don't have to worry
about anything like that." He crossed
his arms and stared at her. "Do
ya promise to trust me?"
She sighed and nodded. "I promise.
But if you get me really
mad, or you do something stupid, I can't
promise not to."
He frowned and nodded his head.
"I guess that'll work." He
waded into the water until it came to just
below his waist, and on
Akane, just above hers. "Okay, the
first thing we're gonna do is float.
He moved over to her and put an hand on
her back, in between her
shoulder blades. "Now I want you to
relax. I'll be holdin' you at first,
and when I think you got it, I'll slowly
let go, okay?" She nodded. "All
right now, lean back, and let my hands support
you." She did, slowly,
and Ranma's other hand came under her to
push up on the back of her
upper thighs. He could feel that her
muscles were stiff as a board.
"Relax, Akane, I'm not gonna let you go
under."
"It's hard, okay!" She frowned,
her eyes focused upwards as
she concentrated.
He shook his head. "You're thinkin'
too hard. Floatin' is one of
the easiest parts of swimmin'. Also
the least energy-consuming. Hmm,
okay. I want you to start recitin'
the English alphabet. Don't think
about floatin', just say it."
She blinked and mentally shrugged.
"Okay." She let out a
breath. "A, B, C, D, E, F, G..."
Slowly, Ranma felt the tension go out of
Akane's legs, and he moved his hands down
them, and completely off.
"H, I, J, K, L M, N, O, P..."
He moved his free hand and pushed
up her rear, but quickly removed it when
she jumped. When she
relaxed once again, he pushed on it again,
alternating between her legs
and the small of her back.
"Q, R, S, T, U, V..." Gradually,
he lowered his first hand so all
he was supporting has the small of her back.
"W, X, Y and Z." Akane
blinked as she realized the only spot his
hands were resting was above
her rear. "Am I doing it, Ranma?"
She glanced at him, her eyes wide.
He nodded, a smile lighting up his
face. "Yup, you are. Spread
out your arms." She did and slowly
he started to move her over the
water. Her eyes widned even further,
and he quickly explained what
he was doing. "It's easier to float
if you move with the water, instead
of trying to resist it an' stay in one place."
She nodded and closed her
eyes.
For several minutes he moved her over
the top of the water, a
smile lighting his face as he watched the
expression on hers get
brighter and brighter, and more peaceful
as she floated. Soon, he let
go of her completely, and watched her float
upon the waves, rocking
with the natural movements of the current.
"Akane, open your eyes."
She did, and realized he wasn't by
her side anymore. "Ranma?"
she started to panic, and she sunk under
the water, but immediately
came back up, for the water was only up
to her knees. "I was doing it,
wasn't I? I was floating all by myself!"
She fell to her knees in the
water.
"Yeah, you were. You're a natural!"
He smiled and moved in
front of her. "I told ya you could
do it, ne?"
"Oh, Ranma! Thank you!"
She leapt into his lap, throwing her
arms around his neck. "You don't know...urk!"
Her momentum sent
them under the water, and both came up within
a few moments,
sputtering, but laughing.
Ranma had an arm curled around her
tight, holding her to his
chest as they emerged from the once calm
waters. He gazed into her
face, pushing away a few clumps of dripping
bangs from her smooth
forehead. "I do know, Akane."
She swallowed hard, her breath catching
in her throat as that
intense emotion burned bright in his eyes
again. "Are...are you going
to kiss me now, Ranma?"
He blinked a few times, and then smiled. "Do you want me to?"
She nodded, and licked her lips, tasting
the salty water on
them. Her eyes wandered over his face,
until they were drawn once
again to his eyes, the churning pools of
raw emotion, so full of... "Yes."
He ducked his head closer, his eyelids
slowly falling shut, his
voice a harsh whisper, "Then, I will."
Their salty lips met, a light
brush of flesh on flesh, tentative in their
first true meeting. The
contact was brief, but the intent was ever-lasting.
They separated, both having their eyes
closed for several
moments after the inital contact was over.
Akane blinked a few times
rapidly, trying to reorient her cloudy mind.
She finally focused on the
male in front of her, and smiled at the
blush spreading over his nose
and cheekbones. She ducked her head,
nestling it in the crook of his
shoulder. "That was nice, Ranma."
His arms automatically tightened around
her, and he leaned his
forehead against the crown of her head.
"Yeah, it was. I wanted to
do that for a long time." His voice
was husky in his throat.
They knelt in the chest-deep water,
wrapped in each other's
arms, content to let the waves rock against
their still forms. Akane
was the one to break the embrace as she
backed out of his arms.
"Um, can we try floating, again?"
"Do you want me to support you again?"
She nodded shyly. "Until I get
my balance." He nodded back
and put an arm behind her and she slowly
leaned against it until she
was parallel with the water. She felt
his hands gently push up her
legs and hold them there. She closed
her eyes and mentally tried to
relax, counting to herself to help find
her center. Gradually, she felt
his hands leave her, and she doing it on
her own again. She opened her
eyes and saw that he was not next to her
again. Her eyes darted
around and found that he was on his back
as well, floating next to her
as the waves rocked them both. She
sighed and let her arms drift
away from her sides, and soon felt one of
his hands clasp around hers.
She wound her fingers around his own long
ones and let the current
carry them where they needed to be.
******