Blush
Chapter Three
Ranma was pouting.
Everyone knew it but only two people knew why.
He had to beat her! After all the stuff he tried to pull to get her to blush she won with a bunch of words! Words that he, most unhappily, had to admit still made him blush like the setting sun. Had she meant what she said or was it all for the challenge?
"What's wrong with him?" Ukyo whispered to the purple haired Amazon as the Nerima crew walked toward their destination.
"Shampoo no know. Airen has been like this since we left Doll Inn."
Shampoo never liked being left out of the important things and this was important. It was her husband after all! A week ago they left the Doll Inn and ever since she would catch Akane smiling softly and knowingly at Ranma. Ranma, when he wasn't pouting, sleeping or eating, would notice the violent girl's smile and start to blush lightly.
This was not a good sign. Any girl in a race for a boy knew that much.
Desperate, the purple haired Chinese woman sought out the chef and asked for her assistance. Ukyo, not believing Shampoo at first, invited the couple to eat at her restaurant one day and got all the confirmation she needed when Ranma reflected Akane's smile. The two girls were not going to stand by and let this happen without a few causalities!
Not able to conjure up anything on the spot, they decided to back track to the last place they had tried to bust the couple up. The infamous Tunnel of Lost Love. It had been done, but the way the couple had been steadily growing more comfortable around each other had the girls were ready to try anything. Anything but let Ranma and Akane be that was.
"You seem happy," Nabiki fished unsuccessfully to Akane, who was in her own little world, until her sister poked her in the arm. "Are you in there?"
"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I guess I was just thinking about—the color red." As subtly as she could, she glanced at the boy beside her and sure enough he shot her a cool look of amusement. He had understood at what she was playing.
Nabiki hadn't missed the casual exchange but it irritated her to no end to not understand why they were acting this way. Neither Akane nor Ranma had offered to enlighten the group. In fact to the passer-by they appeared not to have changed at all.
"Why do I have to go in with her again?" Ranma's voice was irritated and clearly unhappy.
"Like it was some great dream of mine to get stuck with a pervert like you in a dark cave!" Akane replied hotly.
The couple, still with their backs to each other, watched as once again, Genma and Cologne disappeared into the dark. Ranma was the first to turn, Akane shifted uncomfortably as she faced him.
"This is round two," Ranma stated with a smile that edged closely to being dark. "I don't lose."
"W-what?" Akane squeaked as the pigtailed boy grabbed her hand and led her into the cave.
"You know me well enough by now, 'kane, to know I don't lose."
Akane wanted to pull back and snap at the determined teenage male in front of her, but something in her mind knew he was telling the truth. Whether she planned it or not, she had won their last match and Ranma never took kindly to losing. He hated it so much that he never let it happened. The blue haired girl's mind raced with all the different 'tortures' he might have planned.
"B-but Ranma!" The girl protested, "in a cave with the others able t-to see?"
"They're all ahead of us," He pointed out, looking slightly over his shoulder enough for Akane to see his smirk. "And after that fight we just had, they won't be turning around for us anytime soon."
Another gulp could be heard coming from behind the boy. It was going along swimmingly. Akane was trapped in the cave with him. Since she was deathly afraid of, well, the dead, Ranma didn't have to worry about her running off without him. The only problem he might have was getting her to agree to the round two of their little 'challenge'. Soatome even thought ahead enough to have a defense ready for her moment-to-moment offense.
The tunnel wasn't all too familiar to him but he ducked and weaved off the main path, trying to find an appropriate place for them to resume their challenge. She started this dumb thing and Ranma would have let it be-if he had been the one to win.
This time he wasn't going to lose. This time was going to be different. He was going to be the one who set the rules. He was going to be the one who manipulated his opponent. It would be him who wore the smile as they left the cave.
Perhaps both would be wearing smiles, but for different reasons. The thought made him smirk, though he refused to acknowledge it out loud.
Once he found a secluded enough area, the martial artist left his victim there and back tracked to see if anyone had followed. Satisfied that there was no one, and even if there was going to be a search party the likelihood of finding the small space was one in a million.
When he got back to the cavern, Akane looked afraid. Ranma's heart felt sick. Did she really think he'd force her to do something against her will?
"Come on 'kane, it's only a challenge." He crossed his arms behind his head. Saotome cocked his head to the side. "If you just want to give this round to me and call it quits, I won't object to that either."
Akane had been a bit fearful of getting caught or even the minute possibility of getting carried away, but Ranma's arrogance had shoved both thoughts out of her mind.
"Name your terms, pig-tail." Her words were ground out as she crossed her arms over her chest.
A smirk couldn't help but magically reappear on the black haired boy's lips.
"Fine. You did have some good ideas last time, but I decided that the way you won last time you can't use now. You aren't permitted to talk." The girl's chocolate colored eyes lost their glare and snapped into a surprised expression. "Still no inappropriate anything. No groping or grabbing or anything perverted."
This did not bode well for the girl. If she couldn't use the same method as last time she had to think of something and quick.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, there is only going to be two minutes since we don't want the others lookin' for us and if we're missin' too long they'll know something's up." Akane's shoulders seemed to relax slightly, Ranma smile tightened. "And, you have to go first."
She choked. This meant she wouldn't have any time to think, only to act. Chewing the inside of her mouth Akane weighed her options. If there was a chance she could stall or even talk him out of this—no, Ranma would never be talked out of a fight.
Stalling, maybe that would work.
"Gee, Ranma, you seem awfully eager to get cozy with me again." It was a childish thing to say, but any time wasted was a few seconds more for her to think.
"This is nothing more than round two of something you started, 'kane. Stop stalling. Are you going to participate or wimp out?"
He was baiting her just as she did him, and Akane was falling for it just as stubbornly oblivious as Ranma had.
"You're on. You are going to regret this, Ran-ma."
The smirk of arrogance was his immediate reply.
"Great, then. Ah-kan-a." Checking out the watch he wore on his left wrist, the boy ticked off the seconds with his finger before looking once more at his fuming fiancée. "Start."
Akane tried to control her jerky movements, and strolled up to Ranma. He crossed his arms over his chest. Never did they say anything about blocking your opponent. She seemed to realize this and pouted.
The girl observed his actions and thought it best to go for a full physical attack. Smiling as innocently and as cutely as she could under the circumstances, Akane walked to a jutting piece of rock, just the perfect height for sitting on. The boy rolled his eyes and followed her lead. With a little push Ranma sat down on the ledge.
Tipping her head to the side, Tendo couldn't fathom what to do next until she saw the ever ticking second hand on the other martial artist's wrist. One minute forty seconds to go. Throwing past insults down a mental garbage disposal, the girl crawled into Ranma's lap. Almost instinctively the boy shifted and uncrossed his arms to let Akane sit on his legs. She guided his arms around her waist and leaned close to his handsome face.
This was proving a bit more trying than he originally thought and this acknowledgement had Saotome slightly worried about his winning.
What to do, what to do. Akane's mind whirled with all sorts of thoughts, but none which would help her at this particular moment. Try as she might the only thing she could think to do is something which would cause her to blush like a glowing cherry. Then again, the rules never said she couldn't blush while pulling her tricks.
Of course, knowing Ranma he'd instate that rule as soon as she started to color.
Better play it safe then, Akane thought as she began her task.
Ranma's mind began to scream with warning. Akane shouldn't be this forward, heck, she shouldn't even be participating! His breath caught in his throat as he felt her shift in his lap, allowing her hands to roam his shirt covered chest.
Just think about Cologne in a bikini, Ranma's mind whispered the instructions and instantly he had a grotesque mental image. To say the least, he felt seriously ill and shivered against the thought of a 300 year old woman running around in a string bikini.
When he shivered, the girl inwardly smiled and thought her attacks were working. Now to further it just a bit more.
The image in his mind kept getting worse. Now he was picturing Cologne running up to him with her lips puckered. In that instant, he felt a hand at the base of his pigtail, another one on his chest and a pair of very smooth, soft, and warm lips kissing his neck slowly.
Suddenly the Cologne image morphed into a taller, but still short, young girl. The girl had short hair and suddenly the image became crystal clear as Akane's face appeared in his mental mirror.
The girl on his mind and lap, smiled as she kissed from his collar bone just to the second tie of his white sleeveless shirt. When his hands slowly reacted, she thought for sure she had him. With a quick check, there was still no blush. One of his hands was resting lightly on her waist while the other one got lost in her hair.
Ranma's expression seemed a million miles away, which irritated the girl beyond no end. Here she was acting like Shampoo and he didn't have the decency to even pay attention? Akane's anger caused her to bite down roughly and unwittingly on his neck, causing him to jump in surprise.
His eyebrows shot up, but no blush. Ranma certainly hadn't expected that! Of course, he thought slightly amused, that Akane wouldn't be herself without a klutz attack somewhere in the operation.
Of course, this reaction of pleased astonishment encouraged the girl who mentally tallied up that she was close to only thirty seconds left. Akane, gathering up her wits again and trying to smoother her anger, started to 'nip' at the boy's throat.
The more she did that, the harder it was for Ranma to focus on something other else besides the warm girl currently making his neck her snack. She ran her free hand behind his neck, caressing it tenderly. His arms tightened around her, bringing Akane closer to his body if it was possible.
She kissed his jaw line and was coming closer to his lips. Ranma tilted his head slightly down when he thought he was sure of her goal, sucked in a quick breath. Akane, with eyes half lidded, leaned forward, licking her lips—at the same time the small alarm on the watch sounded.
The mood was shattered and both pulled back as if they were about to kiss the bottom of a cow's hoof.
It took a while for Ranma's voice to work as he stared at Akane who seemed to have an equally hard time of forming words.
"Looks like it's your turn, Ranma."
Nodding slowly, the black haired boy drew her back to him gingerly. The Tendo girl didn't offer any resistance as she leaned comfortably on his chest. Ranma smiled a genuine smile at the girl who seemed so at home with him.
His pride slapped his tenderness upside the head, this was a challenge! Marvel and drool over her at a later time, like in less than two minutes from now when he had won this fight! Taking a breath, he shifted and repositioned the girl so her head was resting on his shoulder.
"Akane," He whispered in a lowered tone, delightfully close to her ear before lightly rubbing his cheek against hers.
Ranma could feel the petite girl tremble underneath his hands. Words were the most embarrassing thing and the best thing to use when trying to win a challenge like this. Akane had proven words could triumph where actions had failed last time they were fighting this unique type of battle. With a smirk, he chose his words careful making sure they would invoke embarrassment and not rage.
"What will it take, Akane," he paused to ghost a finger down the side of her neck, "for you to finally kiss me for real?"
In his mind's eye, he saw her eyes snap open, mouth drop, and her heart beat speed up to an alarmingly high rate. Not wanting to miss the blush he knew was covering her face, Ranma pulled the girl away from him slowly. It was just as he had thought; she was doing her best fish impression—a very red fish.
"You lose," he remarked with his voice still in the deep register he used earlier. Akane wanted to be mad that he'd used her tactic against her, but he had clarified that only she couldn't use the same method.
Darting her tongue out to wet her suddenly dry lips, she failed to notice the blue eyes that watched the motion with great interest. Her blush deepened when she felt calloused but gentle fingers under her chin, tipping her face slightly upward until her eyes locked with Ranma's.
Her breath caught in her throat when she watched, transfixed, nervous, and excited as Ranma let his eyes fall shut as he guided their mouths closer together—
"Ranma-honey!"
Just like the alarm on his watch, Ukyo's voice sent them reeling away from each other.
Akane hurried off Saotome's lap and quickly adjusted her clothes and hair. Ranma shortly followed suit, retying his top of his shirt. Grabbing the blushing girl's hand, he led her through the winding caverns he'd taken them through earlier. Thankfully, Ukyo and the others weren't waiting at the mouth of the exit.
Jumping from the hiding spot, the couple resumed their trip through the cave. Ukyo had questioned where they were and what had taken them so long but both just said 'lost'. Shampoo and Ukyo shared a glace and a suspicion but choose to keep it quiet. Ryoga cracked his knuckles and said if Ranma ever tried to do anything with Akane…well, it would be the last thing he'd ever do!
The normal cave ruckus happened all around them but the couple made it through with little to no trouble when both sides erupted into a battle of insults and names. They made it across the stone bridge leading to the exit without the spirits haunting them only because Akane was too busy trying to whack Ranma with her mallet.
As soon as they cleared the cave and were alone once again Ranma dropped his side of the act for the briefest of moments in order to take a rare opportunity of crowing his triumph over the girl.
"So, 'kane, what do you have to say for yourself now?" Ranma asked as he folded his arms behind his head.
Akane's smile wasn't something he was expected, but neither were her words.
"Best two out of three?"