Disclaimer: Not mine, and unless you're Rumiko Takahashi, not yours either.
Chapter 5
There he was. THE most gorgeous man ever to wear swim trunks. He was walking along the fencerail surrounding the pool, tan and bored in his off- white tank top with the big red letters: LIFEGAURD. He threw a few punches at the air, a few kicks, and all the time retained his impeccable balance. She sighed, daydreaming. He must be at least sixteen to be qualified to be a lifeguard. Which made him at least three years older than her. If ever there was a time he wouldn't think of her as a child. . . if she could get him to notice her. . .
"Kayako?" a soft voice asked behind her. Kayako jumped and rounded on the smartass trying to scare her to death. When she saw who it was, she took a step back, raising her arm as if to ward of a blow.
"Wh. . . what do you want, Gombe?" she asked, glaring at him. The boy who'd startled her looked up from his meager height ( a whole two inches less than her own) and frowned in confusion.
"If you wanna swim, why not just go to the pool? Your family bought summer passes, right?" he asked. She glanced at his dirty jeans and scuffed elbows and sniffed. Gombe would never be as graceful as Ranma-kun. Or as tall. Tall counts for a lot when all the boys your age stand half a head shorter than you.
"I don't have to answer your childish questions," she said haughtily. He blinked at her, then looked over to where Ranma-kun was punching the air. A snide smile spread slowly across his face.
"Well, I can understand. . . if you just want to be some creepy stalker chick, that makes perfect sense," he said. She glared at him.
"I am NOT a stalker!" she cried. She looked over at the pool in apprehension. "Besides, there are so many girls over there, I'll just be another flesh-filled bathing suit."
Gombe rolled his eyes.
"Girls are sooooooo stupid," he muttered, walking away from her. "You could just TALK to him, baka. Stupid stalker."
"I am NOT a stalker!" she yelled after him. That idiot Gombe, following her around all the time, calling HER a stalker. . . she hated to admit that the jerk had a point.
_________________-------------------------______________
Ranma was bored. Ranma couldn't even remember the last time he'd been this bored. When he'd applied for this job, he'd thought he'd be pulling drowning kids out of pools all day. Or people like Akane, too clumsy to learn how to swim. He was beginning to wish he'd taken her advice and applied for the job with the little kids, at least then the days would be eventful.
He couldn't even train while he was working. His first week, that was all he'd done. He'd done one-handed headstand push-ups all day long, flips and twists and somersaults on the fencerail. It wasn't helping a lot, but it was something to do. Then the manager, a short, plump woman with long blonde hair, had yelled at him. He grinned to remember the conversation.
*Ranma-kun, you won't know if your patrons are drowning unless you WATCH THEM,* she'd growled. He'd looked at her in surprise.
*I can hear them.*
*You can't hear what they're doing!*
*Sure I can.* he closed his eyes. *A kid just threw another kid into the air, he'll surface in a second. There he goes. The chubby lady just jumped off the diving board. All those middle school girls in the corner are STILL in the corner, refusing to get wet except. . . the one that somebody just pushed in. A little girl is crying because she got splashed in the face. . . NO SPLASHING! And the little boy I just yelled at is now hiding under the water. . .*
*Fine, Saotome. You've made your point. But the people who pay to use this pool do so with the confidence that they will be well protected. If they can't see you watching them, their confidence in us is damaged. So, Saotome, WATCH THEM!*
He sighed. He wished the manager had never caught him. There was nothing to do all day but watch a bunch of middle school girls and some kids. . . why were they all middle school girls anyway? He looked around, frowning. They were! Almost three-fourths of the people at the pool were thirteen-year-old girls. He looked around at them suspiciously. A group of females this large never seemed to bode well for him.
::On the other hand, if Happosai were to somehow find out I work here I would never have another boring day,:: he speculated.
"Hey, Mister?" a small voice asked to his left. He turned his head to look down at a girl with long, dark hair and an orange bathing suit. She was staring at her feet, which were painted with the most garish color of green he'd seen in all his life. He guessed she would be about twelve. Another one. Perfect.
"Can I help you, miss?" he asked, politely. She glanced up at him, then blushed and looked away again. He quirked an eyebrow at her.
::What's with this kid?:: he wondered. She held out a pack of playing cards.
"Do you wanna. . . play? You look bored," she said softly. He hopped down from the fencerail and plopped down on the concrete.
"You bet I am! What's your name?" he asked. She blushed, taking the cards out of the box. Maybe it was just a sunburn. There was no reason for this kid to be blushing, unless she was just unbearably shy.
"I'm Kayako," she whispered.
"Well, Kayako, I'm Ranma. What shall we play?" he asked amiably.
"Old Maid?" she suggested, timidly. The cards were dealt, and the game began. At first, when she began to win every round, she thought he was going easy on her. However, as the afternoon wore on it became painfully obvious that he was just bad at card games. Really, really bad.
Just before the pool was supposed to close, a pretty woman with short, dark hair in a long navy blue skirt appeared on the other side of the fence behind Ranma. She motioned for Kayako to keep quiet, and picked up a stick.
"Akane, don't even think about it," he said, his tone bored. She let the stick fall to the ground and folded her hands behind her back, feigning innocence. He turned to grin at her.
"You and I are going to do some serious training later," he promised. Akane, the pretty woman, stuck out her tongue at him.
"Good thing, you probably need it," she replied. He snorted.
"Not half so much as you, slowpoke," he reminded her.
"Humph. And after I walked all the way out here to see you, too," she replied.
"Yeah, I thought you'd be at work?" he asked. She shrugged.
"For some bizarre reason a lot of kids left early today. Are you almost done?" she asked.
"Yeah. Oh, Akane, this is Kayako, she's been keeping me company today," he announced. "Kayako, this is my wife, Akane."
"Hello, Kayako," Akane smiled. She frowned at the stricken look on the young girl's face. She looked around the pool and saw that for some inexplicable reason, all of the young girls at the pool, and there were QUITE a lot of them, were staring at her.
"Ranma's wife?" Kayako asked. She nodded, confused.
"What?" Ranma asked, somewhat defensively. The silence dissolved immediately into the loud, high-pitched chatter of thirteen-year-old girls. They all, rather noisily, exited the pool. Even Kayako, with a final glare for Akane, ran out to the locker rooms. Ranma surveyed the empty pool with a look of bemusement on his face.
"Wonder what got into them," he muttered. He got even more confused in the weeks to come, when the number of young girls coming to the pool every day dropped drastically.
_________________---------------------_______________
Akane opened the door, sighing. It felt so wonderful to be free of vomit and drool! Her light was still on, and Ranma was lying on her bed, reading a manga. He looked up when she walked in, and smiled. Smiling softly back, she walked over to the bed and kissed his forehead gently.
"Ooouph!" she grunted, as he pulled her down to him, laughing. The manga fell to the floor. He rolled over with her, the laugh ending in a kiss. His lips were warm and soft, she could still taste the tea on his tongue from supper. He pulled away, and she gasped, her eyes flying open.
"Akane. . ." he whispered, his blue eyes uncertain. His hand came up to caress her cheek, and she exhaled softly.
"Do you think. . ." he continued, backing away slowly, ". . .that this is a good idea? I . . ." he turned away. "I don't want to make you cry again. Maybe we should just. . ."
"Ranma," she said, and her tone made him turn around. He looked down at her, his fists clenched at his sides. She reached out for him, her fingers brushing his arm and then falling back. "Please don't," she said softly. "Just. . . just stay."
He took a deep breath, and sat back down on the bed. She reached out as if to touch him, but retracted her hand. Ever since their abortive wedding night, it was as if he were afraid to ever kiss her. She hated this wall between them, this uncomfortable silence. . .
"It's only me, Ranma," she said softly. He took her hand as she was pulling it back and laced his fingers through hers. They looked at each other for a moment. Hesitantly, he leaned toward her. He stared into those big brown eyes, soft and familiar. He could feel her breath warm on his lips just before they brushed hers, soft and moist. Something tight in his stomach loosened and he lost his uncertainty in the warm glow of her skin. She pulled away from him for a moment, smiling as she loosened his hair of its braid. He gazed into those bright eyes.
And lost himself.
_______________------------------______________
"Saotome, do you think we can do that last move over?" Soun said, desperately trying to keep his mind on shogi. It was difficult to concentrate with the third world war going on upstairs.
**Gee, what do you think?** the panda sign flashed. Soun glowered at his friend, but didn't argue. That would require more brain power than he was willing to use at the moment. Because if he allowed himself to think too much, he'd begin to wonder what all the racket was.
"Wow, I hope I have that much fun when I'm married," Nabiki said dryly, glancing at the ceiling. Soun rounded on his daughter.
"Nabiki! What are you thinking?" he asked, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. Akane was married now, he didn't have to worry about her. . .
"Well, judging by the screams and the thumping, either they're beating the hell out of each other or. . ." she shrugged, letting the subject drop. "I don't know why I bother to visit. I can't wait to get back to America!" she moaned. Soun frowned at her.
"You shouldn't be so eager to leave your family, Nabiki," he admonished. She smiled cheerily at him.
"Oh, Daddy. Don't you want me to get a good job? Be independent? You know there are no good jobs for women in Japan," she winked at him, rising to her feet. "As long as the kids are having fun upstairs, I'll just get out of earshot," she said, making for the door. She would much, MUCH rather wander around Nerima than sit and listen to her baby sister scream.
_______________-----------------______________
He shuddered, a last, strangled sigh breaking from his lips as he collapsed on top of her. Akane gasped at the sudden weight. His arms slipped under her back and encircled her, holding her tight to him as though gravity weren't enough.
"Ranma. . ." she said softly, beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic.
"Mnmmmmnhm?" he mumbled, his breath tickling her ear.
"I can't breathe," she admitted. He chuckled, weakly, and rolled over with her so that she was on top, maintaining his death grip around her torso. She sighed happily and laid her cheek in the hollow of his shoulder. So many new and strange sensations at once, the feel of his bare skin against hers, of his hair brushing across her shoulders like a soft, light curtain, not to mention . . .
"Love you," she murmured. His chest rose and fell with a deep breath.
"Love you, Akane," he replied, his voice soft. She smiled, and drifted off to sleep convinced that the world was rolling in the right direction for once.
Chapter 5
There he was. THE most gorgeous man ever to wear swim trunks. He was walking along the fencerail surrounding the pool, tan and bored in his off- white tank top with the big red letters: LIFEGAURD. He threw a few punches at the air, a few kicks, and all the time retained his impeccable balance. She sighed, daydreaming. He must be at least sixteen to be qualified to be a lifeguard. Which made him at least three years older than her. If ever there was a time he wouldn't think of her as a child. . . if she could get him to notice her. . .
"Kayako?" a soft voice asked behind her. Kayako jumped and rounded on the smartass trying to scare her to death. When she saw who it was, she took a step back, raising her arm as if to ward of a blow.
"Wh. . . what do you want, Gombe?" she asked, glaring at him. The boy who'd startled her looked up from his meager height ( a whole two inches less than her own) and frowned in confusion.
"If you wanna swim, why not just go to the pool? Your family bought summer passes, right?" he asked. She glanced at his dirty jeans and scuffed elbows and sniffed. Gombe would never be as graceful as Ranma-kun. Or as tall. Tall counts for a lot when all the boys your age stand half a head shorter than you.
"I don't have to answer your childish questions," she said haughtily. He blinked at her, then looked over to where Ranma-kun was punching the air. A snide smile spread slowly across his face.
"Well, I can understand. . . if you just want to be some creepy stalker chick, that makes perfect sense," he said. She glared at him.
"I am NOT a stalker!" she cried. She looked over at the pool in apprehension. "Besides, there are so many girls over there, I'll just be another flesh-filled bathing suit."
Gombe rolled his eyes.
"Girls are sooooooo stupid," he muttered, walking away from her. "You could just TALK to him, baka. Stupid stalker."
"I am NOT a stalker!" she yelled after him. That idiot Gombe, following her around all the time, calling HER a stalker. . . she hated to admit that the jerk had a point.
_________________-------------------------______________
Ranma was bored. Ranma couldn't even remember the last time he'd been this bored. When he'd applied for this job, he'd thought he'd be pulling drowning kids out of pools all day. Or people like Akane, too clumsy to learn how to swim. He was beginning to wish he'd taken her advice and applied for the job with the little kids, at least then the days would be eventful.
He couldn't even train while he was working. His first week, that was all he'd done. He'd done one-handed headstand push-ups all day long, flips and twists and somersaults on the fencerail. It wasn't helping a lot, but it was something to do. Then the manager, a short, plump woman with long blonde hair, had yelled at him. He grinned to remember the conversation.
*Ranma-kun, you won't know if your patrons are drowning unless you WATCH THEM,* she'd growled. He'd looked at her in surprise.
*I can hear them.*
*You can't hear what they're doing!*
*Sure I can.* he closed his eyes. *A kid just threw another kid into the air, he'll surface in a second. There he goes. The chubby lady just jumped off the diving board. All those middle school girls in the corner are STILL in the corner, refusing to get wet except. . . the one that somebody just pushed in. A little girl is crying because she got splashed in the face. . . NO SPLASHING! And the little boy I just yelled at is now hiding under the water. . .*
*Fine, Saotome. You've made your point. But the people who pay to use this pool do so with the confidence that they will be well protected. If they can't see you watching them, their confidence in us is damaged. So, Saotome, WATCH THEM!*
He sighed. He wished the manager had never caught him. There was nothing to do all day but watch a bunch of middle school girls and some kids. . . why were they all middle school girls anyway? He looked around, frowning. They were! Almost three-fourths of the people at the pool were thirteen-year-old girls. He looked around at them suspiciously. A group of females this large never seemed to bode well for him.
::On the other hand, if Happosai were to somehow find out I work here I would never have another boring day,:: he speculated.
"Hey, Mister?" a small voice asked to his left. He turned his head to look down at a girl with long, dark hair and an orange bathing suit. She was staring at her feet, which were painted with the most garish color of green he'd seen in all his life. He guessed she would be about twelve. Another one. Perfect.
"Can I help you, miss?" he asked, politely. She glanced up at him, then blushed and looked away again. He quirked an eyebrow at her.
::What's with this kid?:: he wondered. She held out a pack of playing cards.
"Do you wanna. . . play? You look bored," she said softly. He hopped down from the fencerail and plopped down on the concrete.
"You bet I am! What's your name?" he asked. She blushed, taking the cards out of the box. Maybe it was just a sunburn. There was no reason for this kid to be blushing, unless she was just unbearably shy.
"I'm Kayako," she whispered.
"Well, Kayako, I'm Ranma. What shall we play?" he asked amiably.
"Old Maid?" she suggested, timidly. The cards were dealt, and the game began. At first, when she began to win every round, she thought he was going easy on her. However, as the afternoon wore on it became painfully obvious that he was just bad at card games. Really, really bad.
Just before the pool was supposed to close, a pretty woman with short, dark hair in a long navy blue skirt appeared on the other side of the fence behind Ranma. She motioned for Kayako to keep quiet, and picked up a stick.
"Akane, don't even think about it," he said, his tone bored. She let the stick fall to the ground and folded her hands behind her back, feigning innocence. He turned to grin at her.
"You and I are going to do some serious training later," he promised. Akane, the pretty woman, stuck out her tongue at him.
"Good thing, you probably need it," she replied. He snorted.
"Not half so much as you, slowpoke," he reminded her.
"Humph. And after I walked all the way out here to see you, too," she replied.
"Yeah, I thought you'd be at work?" he asked. She shrugged.
"For some bizarre reason a lot of kids left early today. Are you almost done?" she asked.
"Yeah. Oh, Akane, this is Kayako, she's been keeping me company today," he announced. "Kayako, this is my wife, Akane."
"Hello, Kayako," Akane smiled. She frowned at the stricken look on the young girl's face. She looked around the pool and saw that for some inexplicable reason, all of the young girls at the pool, and there were QUITE a lot of them, were staring at her.
"Ranma's wife?" Kayako asked. She nodded, confused.
"What?" Ranma asked, somewhat defensively. The silence dissolved immediately into the loud, high-pitched chatter of thirteen-year-old girls. They all, rather noisily, exited the pool. Even Kayako, with a final glare for Akane, ran out to the locker rooms. Ranma surveyed the empty pool with a look of bemusement on his face.
"Wonder what got into them," he muttered. He got even more confused in the weeks to come, when the number of young girls coming to the pool every day dropped drastically.
_________________---------------------_______________
Akane opened the door, sighing. It felt so wonderful to be free of vomit and drool! Her light was still on, and Ranma was lying on her bed, reading a manga. He looked up when she walked in, and smiled. Smiling softly back, she walked over to the bed and kissed his forehead gently.
"Ooouph!" she grunted, as he pulled her down to him, laughing. The manga fell to the floor. He rolled over with her, the laugh ending in a kiss. His lips were warm and soft, she could still taste the tea on his tongue from supper. He pulled away, and she gasped, her eyes flying open.
"Akane. . ." he whispered, his blue eyes uncertain. His hand came up to caress her cheek, and she exhaled softly.
"Do you think. . ." he continued, backing away slowly, ". . .that this is a good idea? I . . ." he turned away. "I don't want to make you cry again. Maybe we should just. . ."
"Ranma," she said, and her tone made him turn around. He looked down at her, his fists clenched at his sides. She reached out for him, her fingers brushing his arm and then falling back. "Please don't," she said softly. "Just. . . just stay."
He took a deep breath, and sat back down on the bed. She reached out as if to touch him, but retracted her hand. Ever since their abortive wedding night, it was as if he were afraid to ever kiss her. She hated this wall between them, this uncomfortable silence. . .
"It's only me, Ranma," she said softly. He took her hand as she was pulling it back and laced his fingers through hers. They looked at each other for a moment. Hesitantly, he leaned toward her. He stared into those big brown eyes, soft and familiar. He could feel her breath warm on his lips just before they brushed hers, soft and moist. Something tight in his stomach loosened and he lost his uncertainty in the warm glow of her skin. She pulled away from him for a moment, smiling as she loosened his hair of its braid. He gazed into those bright eyes.
And lost himself.
_______________------------------______________
"Saotome, do you think we can do that last move over?" Soun said, desperately trying to keep his mind on shogi. It was difficult to concentrate with the third world war going on upstairs.
**Gee, what do you think?** the panda sign flashed. Soun glowered at his friend, but didn't argue. That would require more brain power than he was willing to use at the moment. Because if he allowed himself to think too much, he'd begin to wonder what all the racket was.
"Wow, I hope I have that much fun when I'm married," Nabiki said dryly, glancing at the ceiling. Soun rounded on his daughter.
"Nabiki! What are you thinking?" he asked, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. Akane was married now, he didn't have to worry about her. . .
"Well, judging by the screams and the thumping, either they're beating the hell out of each other or. . ." she shrugged, letting the subject drop. "I don't know why I bother to visit. I can't wait to get back to America!" she moaned. Soun frowned at her.
"You shouldn't be so eager to leave your family, Nabiki," he admonished. She smiled cheerily at him.
"Oh, Daddy. Don't you want me to get a good job? Be independent? You know there are no good jobs for women in Japan," she winked at him, rising to her feet. "As long as the kids are having fun upstairs, I'll just get out of earshot," she said, making for the door. She would much, MUCH rather wander around Nerima than sit and listen to her baby sister scream.
_______________-----------------______________
He shuddered, a last, strangled sigh breaking from his lips as he collapsed on top of her. Akane gasped at the sudden weight. His arms slipped under her back and encircled her, holding her tight to him as though gravity weren't enough.
"Ranma. . ." she said softly, beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic.
"Mnmmmmnhm?" he mumbled, his breath tickling her ear.
"I can't breathe," she admitted. He chuckled, weakly, and rolled over with her so that she was on top, maintaining his death grip around her torso. She sighed happily and laid her cheek in the hollow of his shoulder. So many new and strange sensations at once, the feel of his bare skin against hers, of his hair brushing across her shoulders like a soft, light curtain, not to mention . . .
"Love you," she murmured. His chest rose and fell with a deep breath.
"Love you, Akane," he replied, his voice soft. She smiled, and drifted off to sleep convinced that the world was rolling in the right direction for once.