It's in His Kiss - Part Three
The ornamental gardens within the complex of the Kuno Estate were quiet and still, with only the occasional sound of a light breeze ruffling through the trees to disturb the perfect tranquility. Beside the small lake at the center of the gardens, a handsome young man knelt with body held stiff and back straight. Dressed in dark blue samurai robes, his eyes were closed and his face was a mask of absolute peace and repose. A wooden bokken rested across his lap.
Though he appeared to be deep within the thrall of meditation, his trance was only superficially deep, for this was a young man endlessly plagued by beautiful visions of the two desires of his heart. If it were possible to project one’s thoughts onto a screen for all the world to see, Tatewaki Kuno’s personal movie would be filled with alternating images of two girls, one with dark hair and eyes, the other sporting a red pig tail. And if the two girls in question knew exactly what types of pictures this handsome martial artist was imagining, they would have both killed him.
Unbeknownst to Kuno, one of these girls happened to be hanging from the top of his very own garden wall right at that moment. Peering over the edge with large eyes of dark sky blue, she blinked several times and let her gaze drift over the grounds, making certain that the young man was alone. He was often accompanied by a servant ninja, and she did not want him around to witness what she was about to do.
"All right," Ranma decided after several careful moments. "Looks like the coast is clear, and he’s right in there by the water. No problem."
Clinging to her back, which should have been impossible for his particular species, P-Chan looked over Ranma’s shoulder, his eyes slanted off dangerously. "Bwee," he grunted, sounding as if he were mumbling expletives under his breath.
"Watch your language," Ranma told him, using the strength in her arms to launch herself up onto the top of the wall. She paced along its length for a moment then hopped down into some bushes that were near the lake. As her slim body dropped through, the branches and leaves rustled just slightly.
Tatewaki Kuno looked up sharply, as thin streak of light jetted across his eyes which opened and narrowed immediately. His hand tightened around the hilt of his practice sword.
Ranma crouched under the cover of the bushes, nudging P-Chan off her back. "Wait here," she ordered, her whisper a soft hiss. The black piglet grumbled to himself in a rather patronizing ‘yeah yeah’ sort of way.
Ranma rolled her eyes at him, then crawled out of the brushes keeping low to the ground to avoid the branches and rather painful thorns that she was unfortunate enough to discover. P-Chan followed her, small enough that he had no difficulties with the foliage, to the edge of the cover offered by the leaves. Muttering a few choice words herself, Ranma brushed the grit off of her hands and the sticks out of her hair as she got to her feet.
She turned, raising a hand with the intention of calling to Kuno and waving, but stopped up short as her nose came in contact with the business end of a wooden bokken. She yiiiied softly and froze in place, gritting her teeth, all of her hair standing on end.
"Fiend!" the man on the other end of the sword yelped importantly. He held the sword straight out towards her, but was turned away, looking in a different direction as if to illustrate his superiority with the fact that he didn’t even need to be paying attention to defeat a foe. He casually flipped his dark bangs away from his eyes. "If you think to infiltrate the sanctity of the Kuno Estate, you will meet with naught but regret and defeat."
Ranma stared at him for a moment, settling herself back down. A fleeting look of annoyance vanished quickly in favor of a rather devious smile. She glanced back at P-Chan with a "Watch this action," expression, then proceeded to put on her best girly girl act.
"Upperclassman Kuno!" she gasped breathlessly, bringing her fists up to her mouth, while turning her knees inward to create a helpless and vulnerable looking stance. She made her eyes as wide as she could, letting them shimmer with huge crystalline tears. "Oh please!" she swooned. "You’re frightening me!"
Kuno’s blue eyes flashed open at the sound of her voice, a sound he adored, a sound he heard in his dreams nearly every night. He turned to look at her, mouth agape, as he lowered the sword. "Pig tailed Girl?" he asked in bewilderment.
Surrounded by a halo of hazy angelic light, Ranma nodded, shivering, making small fearful whining sounds.
"PIG TAILED GIRL!!" Throwing his arms wide, the Blue Thunder of Furinkian High threw himself at Ranma, attacking her with a fierce embrace that squeezed all of the air out of her lungs. She wasn’t entirely certain that she didn’t hear a few things crack inside of her as she was crushed against his chest and lifted off of the ground.
Under the bushes, P-Chan made a small amused-sounding noise. If he had been capable of it, he might have been snickering.
"Oh, my Pig tailed Goddess!!" Kuno gushed. "How I, Tatewaki Kuno, have dreamed of the day when you would break free of that wretched sorcerer Saotome and come willingly into mine arms! Tell me that this is not just some beautiful vision! Tell me that you have escaped so that we may be together at last!"
Ranma tried to disengage herself from Kuno’s iron clutches, leveraging herself against his chest with her hands. "Eerrrrrrrr!" she strained, clenching her teeth. "Kuno! You’re going to suffocate me! Please! Not so hard!"
Her plea had the exact opposite effect of what she wanted. He squeezed her tighter. "Curse this much exalted strength of mine!" he wailed. "For I would sooner plunge a blade into mine own heart than crush the delicate flower I hold! Pig tailed Girl! Can you forgive me my exuberance?!" He mashed her even closer, which had the disturbing effect of making her eyes bulge out.
"Grk!" Ranma replied and took the only course of action available to her. "Sure . . . I’ll for . . . give you," she gasped, chokingly. "If you . . . let GO OF ME!!" With this, she brought her right knee up with as much force as her slender frame possessed. This produced the result she was hoping for.
It was Kuno’s eyes that bulged this time, both becoming impossibly large. His hair sprang out in all directions and his faced turned fire engine red as he dropped his precious arm load and then stiffened in reaction to the unexpected blow. A high pitched sound emitted from him and continued for quite some time.
Ranma picked herself up off the ground and regarded the deformed statue that Kuno had become, a rather weary expression on her face. With a great show of dramatics, she leaned forward and blew a puff of air in his face. This light breeze managed to tip the stunned kendoist over and he crashed into the grass, landing in a rather disorganized pile.
The pig tailed girl smirked devilishly, then turned on the estrogen again. "Oh! Oh! Kuno! Did I hurt you?!" she exclaimed in an overly sugary tone, rushing to his side. She patted his cheeks, perhaps a little rougher than necessary, trying to bring him around, all the while looking as if she were on the verge of tears. "Oh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Kuno! Are you awake? Can you hear me?!"
Kuno’s voice was strained and cracked. "I . . . hear you, Pig tailed Girl . . . and your melodious . . . voice is as some . . . ambrosial euphony to mine unworthy ears . . . " He took a moment to groan. "Fear not, my Love . . . it will require more than . . . a single strike to . . . undo Tatewaki Kuno . . . "
Ranma suppressed a giggle. She slid in to straddle Kuno’s lap, reaching down to grab him by the front of his robes and haul him upright. "Good," she smiled, eyes twinkling with a light of anticipation. "Because I would sure hate for you to miss this."
Kuno blinked at her, his head clearing rapidly at this new development. Surely this could not be happening? Was she actually sitting in his lap, actually smiling at him? His precious little jewel was not usually so forward, this was the stuff of dreams! "My Love?" he questioned as she yanked him close enough that their noses were only inches apart.
Blue eyes stared into blue eyes for a long sure heartbeat. They both analyzed each other, Ranma trying to decide if she felt ‘it’, and Kuno desiring to fix this situation into his mind. If it did turn out to be a dream, he wanted to be able to remember it later. He gazed at her features, marveling at how fine and delicate they were, but at the same time sturdy with a strength he felt he should recognize. The color of her eyes, the way she wore her hair, her faint musky warm smell; these things were imprinted within as Ranma leaned forward to close the gap between them. Slowly, he realized that each of these attributes were very familiar . . .
In a rare moment of recognition and lucidity, Kuno breathed, "Saotome . . ?"
"Bingo," Ranma purred, fixing her grip tighter into the front of his robe. "Give the man a prize."
Their lips met. Ranma was surprised at how yielding Kuno’s mouth was, for she might have expected him to be more forceful, more resisting. Instead, he seemed dazed for a long moment, not really responding to her warm eager kiss, allowing her to dive into his mouth fully and completely. Something about that sparked a little something within Ranma. Shyness . . . uncertainty . . . bewilderment . . . they were very attractive characteristics. She liked the blush of warmth that rose in his face and the brief but violent trembling fit he had beneath her.
Recovering his senses, Kuno yanked sharply away from her mouth. He glared at her for a moment, looking as if he were trying to sort this all out in his head and come to terms with it. His fierce expression unsettled Ranma, and she was just beginning to wonder if it might be smart to grab P-Chan and run, when the Blue Thunder seemed to arrive at a suitable mental conclusion.
"Ranma!" he wailed, throwing his arms around her once again, literally attacking her with a new kiss. She certainly hadn’t expected that, and was caught off guard as he rolled them both. Ranma’s back hit the ground, and she found herself beneath Kuno, locked deep in the thralls of a deep probing heated kiss.
P-Chan sat abruptly on his plump little bottom, eyes huge. Around him, the world faded into dreary obscurity, and a stark spot light from some unknown source clicked on to highlight the porcine look of extreme shock, surprise, and rather fierce disapproval on his face.
Though her body clearly liked having Kuno on top of it, aggressively pressing it down, and her mouth loved the feel of his, Ranma’s mind was a little disappointed that his hesitancy had vanished. Still, not one to pass up an opportunity that presented itself, she wrapped her arms around his neck and yanked him in as close as possible, making the most of this rather unexpected and stimulating situation. Kuno responded appropriately, his kiss going deeper, and hands wandering perhaps a little too freely. Ranma squeaked in surprise when his fingers encountered lower regions that were literally virgin territory.
Seeing that was a little too much for the gaping P-Chan to stand, and the little black piglet fainted dead away, his round body rolling out of the bushes as it hit the ground.
Ranma was a bit too busy to notice this, as she was now occupied with trying to ward away Kuno’s nomadic hands, which were trying to find a home in all of the personal areas of her body at once. He was also kissing rapid- fire down her jaw and neck, enthusiastically spouting quaint phrases of love poetry to her whenever his mouth wasn’t firmly attached to her skin. She squirmed frenetically and slapped at his hands, trying to drag herself out from under him.
"Kuno, wait a - WHOA! Watch where yer - HEY!" Ranma’s eye’s widened as the kendoist hit a particularly sensitive area. She reacted automatically, drawing her arm back and slamming her elbow into the side of his head, kicking upwards with her legs at the very same time. Even in her girl-form, Ranma had enough strength to send the young man flying, and he soared gracefully overhead with an amusing whistling sound, landing in the lake with a satisfying splash.
"Oh brother," Ranma sat up, shaking the dirt and leaves off of herself. "What a flake. He’s definitely going on the ‘no’ list."
She looked up to find her piggy companion passed out, little x’s where his eyes usually were. "Cripes," she said with mild disgust in her tone, addressing him even though it was blatantly obvious that he wasn’t hearing anything. "You certainly were a big help, ya dumb pig." Grimacing, she got to her feet and took a couple steps towards P-Chan.
Only to be immediately grabbed from behind by a soaking wet Tatewaki Kuno. His embrace crushed her once again, and whether through intent or sheer dumb luck, his hands found her breasts.
"Pig tailed Girl!" he exclaimed, barking out the words like a battle cry. "Ranma!!"
"Yiiiiiiike!" Ranma replied. She was about to elbow him in the stomach, but he scooped her into his embrace before she could, and set off immediately towards the house, intent on luv’n.
"Come! Let us away to mine secluded abode where we might consummate our all-encompassing love!" Kuno declared loud enough that his neighbors for several blocks looked up in surprise at the amorously delivered words.
"WHAT?!" Ranma shrieked, proceeding to kick and scream for all she was worth. "Let go of me, you moron!! I ain’t consummating nuthin’ with you! Ryoga!! Wake up, ya worthless Christmas ham!!"
As Ranma’s abductor made off with her, a shadow fell over P-Chan’s still form and an ominous chuckle drifted through the air. With a well practiced and precise grace, a young dark-haired woman wearing a beautiful and expensive black kimono leaned down and carefully lifted the pig by the striped yellow bandanna around his neck. Straightening, she held him up level with her almond-shaped brown eyes, smiling at the way he hung limp and unresponsive.
"Now, where have I seen you before, little piglet?" Kodachi Kuno mused, tapping the elegant fingers of her free hand against her chin in a thoughtful gesture. Before she could recall, she was distracted by the sound of a crash coming from the house behind her. Cradling P-Chan in her arms, the gymnast turned just in time to see her brother flying through the air, apparently after having been launched through the roof. In a few seconds, his form disappeared into the sky with a star-like twinkle and a *ting!*
"Hmmm," Kodachi looked pleased, eyes shining brightly. "Tatchi’ll will be hungry by the time he makes it back. As his loving and devoted sister, its my duty to have a good nourishing meal prepared for his return. Come little piglet," she purred down at P-Chan, who was still oblivious. "Let us go make dinner. I think we’ll be having ham tonight. o~hohohohohohoho!!"
_________________________________________________________________________________