The Lost Boy's Lost Love

Chapter 6: In the Cover of Night

Out in the Tendo garden, Ryoga found a watering can and filled it from the pond. Besides needing some place to crash for the night, he was already yearning to see Akane's face again.

This day had been perfect. Well, alright - so maybe parts of it had actually been kind of horrible, come to think of it. What with the disaster at Ukyo's, and what had happend between him and that 'Lacy'-girl, and then getting himself and Akane hopelessly lost in Nerima. But even so, it had been one of the best days that Ryoga could remember, because today, he'd finally done it: he'd confessed his love to Akane Tendo at last! And getting lost with her was a far cry from being lost all by himself, that was for sure. They'd really bonded that day; he touched his cheek and beamed happily at the thought.

Ye if truth be told, all this happiness came to him with a heavy heart. The kiss he'd shared with that beautiful blond stranger was haunting him; even if Akane didn't know about it, and even if she didn't want to know about it, that didn't change the fact that it had happened. He wondered whether he'd ever see his so-called 'fiance' again, or if she'd run off for good. He sincerely hoped for the latter; he didn't want anything threatening his new relationship with Akane.

Ryoga started climbing up a tree nearby the house, careful to keep the water-can steady. He stripped down, abandoned his clothes in the branches and prepared to change shape. He lifted the can over his head and tilted it; cold water trickled from its spout. It fell from the treetop and hit the ground with a metallic clang as Ryoga transformed instantly from a virile young man into an adorable baby piglet.

His tiny little legs trotted across one thick branch and hopped over to the first-story roof. He made his way to Akane's window and lifted one foot up to knock on the glass.

Akane stirred beneath her covers. She was very nearly asleep, but a soft tap-tapping sound brought her back to full, irritated consciousness. She rolled over and lifted her head, catching a glimpse of black and orange outside her bedroom window. Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat; she threw her blanket off, hopped to her feet and rushed to slide the window open.

"P-chan!" she screeched, scooping the little piglet up in her arms. "Baby...! How did you even get up there...?"

P-chan snorted sweetly as Akane hugged him to her chest - which happened to be mostly bare, as she had foregone PJ's out of exhaustion and opted to crawl into bed in her underwear that night. Within the little animal's mind, Ryoga was struck with a familiar euphoria. He wouldn't have liked to admit it, but being able to turn into a piglet had its up sides - or, more accurately, being Akane's pet had its up sides. Its warm, soft up sides.

What? He wasn't perverted or anything. He'd never asked to be Akane's pet. It just sort of happened, and it was her loving, nurturing ownership that had so smitten Ryoga in the first place. That's why he didn't consider himself to be taking advantage of her. This was merely the first bond that they had shared, and it was nothing but innocent.

That's what he kept telling himself, anyway.

"Bad piggy... you've got to stop running away all the time," Akane scolded. "What am I gonna do with you...?"

She set him down by her pillow and got back under the covers. A smile spread on her lips as he curled up with her. She never could stay mad at little P for very long.

"Guess what, P?" she whispered as one finger scratched behind his ear. She spoke with a bubbly excitement, as though gossiping with a friend, "Ryoga has a crush on me."

P-chan looked up at her, oinked, and she nodded. "Mhm. You've never met him, but I wish you could. He's gonna come walk me to school tomorrow morning. So don't run away before then, okay?" She tapped his nose playfully and he let out a whimper.

Akane lay on her side, cheek to her pillow as she quietly told him about her day. "Ranma was a bigger idiot than usual today," she said. "I think he was jealous." Ryoga inwardly smirked at that. There was another 'first' today: he was finally beating Ranma at something. He recalled with vengeful pride the furious look in Ranma's eyes as he came storming from the front door.

"What do you think, P?" Akane asked, giving him a poke. "Is Ranma jealous?"

P-chan oinked and snorted enthusiastically, rousing a giggle out of Akane.

"Hmm..." she hummed softly as she eyed P-chan in the dim light. "Hey, P..." She tilted her head thoughtfully and smiled. "I never noticed before, but..." Her fingers traced the cloth of his bandana. "Your collar... it looks just like the bandana Ryoga's always wearing. How silly!"

Ryoga's heart must've skipped two beats when she said that. He froze, staring up at her with two saucer-like eyes, praying that she wasn't about to make a very unfortunate realization. All the many slip-ups he'd made in his pursuit to keep his identity secret from her flashed into his mind, right along with every pig joke Ranma had ever made in his presence. With all of this in consideration, it was truly a wonder that Akane hadn't already pieced together the truth. He was starting to panic, but lucky for him, the similarity didn't make for a lick of suspicion in Akane's mind. If anything, she found it amusing, and had only made the observation because the bandana-wearing boy was still so fresh in her thoughts. She replayed their night together over in her mind, her eyes closing with an easy smile.

P-chan relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. Good, he thought. She's going to sleep. He let his own eyes fall shut, too.

But Akane wouldn't be able to fall asleep for some time; too much was going on in her brain. She was in a good, happy mood, and it was a feeling she decided to indulge in. After all, it wasn't often that she felt this good - that she felt this attractive. She was glowing. Sure, the guys at Furinkan were all over her pretty much constantly, but it was different when the men in her personal life - the ones that she actually cared about - showed any affection for her. Now, Ryoga had a crush on her, and even Ranma had been forced to show a little personal interest, even if he'd done it in the most butthead way possible. Both these developments had their own appeal: on one hand, there was Ranma to think about, who could be sweet sometimes, but who was typically too busy being an insensitive jerk and making her life miserable for them to share anything beyond an argument. Deep, deep down, she knew he had feelings for her - that was obvious. And though she'd hate to admit it, she had some for him too; there was something particularly alluring about being the object of desire to her unwanted house guest.

Then there was Ryoga. Somehow, the fact that he thought of her the way he did was an even bigger boost to her ego than Ranma's frazzled nerves. There was just something about him. There had always been something about him that intrigued her, and that something was this: Ryoga was sexy. Sure, he wasn't, like, movie star sexy or anything, but to Akane, Ryoga was captivating in his own right. First of all, no matter how much she got to know him, she couldn't shake that distant, mysterious stranger quality he had about him, probably because he always made himself so scarce. Secondly, there was more to him than his stuttering tongue and shyness, which Akane had noticed were problems that only arose when he was speaking to a female. When he was talking to another guy, however, like Ranma, then he was a strong and confident personality - probably exactly the type of guy she'd go for, if she were interested in dating. Yep - the strong, sensitive type. She considered his apprehension around women to be an endearing trait; he was the kind of guy that wouldn't touch her without permission, who wouldn't ever put her down or do anything to make her cry. That sense of chivalry had a special appeal to her.

Akane rolled onto her back, her shoulder rubbing up against P-chan. She was beginning to feel that feverish, aching sensation that any girl her age was bound to feel in the wee hours of the morning, and her current train of thought easily adapted itself to her mood. There wasn't much substance to her ensuing fantasy; broken visions of Ryoga came into her mind with little to no linearity. She imagined what he might look like touching her, kissing her, fucking her - absently, her hand situated itself below her naval. The action was a force of habit and initially without purpose, but once it was there, it wasn't long before she was pressing four firm fingers to the bump of her clitoris, intensifying her fantasies with the tickle of nerves.

The stimulation was addicting once she started. Her heart beat went fluttering as the dream intensified, the temperature beneath her blanket quickly rising to something tropical. She kicked the cover off, exposing her hot skin to the cool air of her room. She didn't care at all that P-chan was right next to her while her hand slipped into her underwear. Why should she? She may have talked to him like a person, but P was just an animal, after all. He didn't know what was going on. Her fingers became wet as they rubbed at her naked clit and explored the warm opening of her pussy.

Ryoga hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, right up until the covers came off. P-chan opened his eyes and looked over to see what was the matter. His attention raked to her waist and those sleepy eyes of his shot wide open. No words entered his head, no thoughts, no nothing for several seconds. He sat there transfixed, a rush of excitement washing over him and making his whole tiny faux-body tingle and go weak.

The smallest moan escaped Akane's lips as her exploring hand quickened, and Ryoga became suddenly aware that he should look away. If he was any sort of real gentleman at all, he'd look away. But this was easier said than done, and somewhere in his conscious he denied the raw elation in the very back of his mind that cried out that truly, this was exactly what he'd been waiting for all this time.

Akane began to whimper, a sound that, had Ryoga been in his own body, he was sure would've had him rock-hard in seconds. He just couldn't turn his eyes away. He didn't have the strength. Every time he tried, the sounds brought them back. Moments later, Akane sat up and hurriedly pulled her panties down; she set them aside and laid flat with her legs spread. She was sweating now, and she wanted desperately to finish. She'd only been able to bring herself to orgasm a few times before, but tonight she was getting close with surprising ease.

"Nnnh..." She stared up at the ceiling, her gaze fogged over as Ryoga pounded into her in her mind's eye. P-chan was still at her shoulder, watching with what she would've called innocent curiosity. "Ohh-hh, oh," she groaned, coming closer and closer to her goal. Her brow curled and her eyes shut tight, her pleasure coming to a crescendo. She imagined herself saying his name, getting him heated; without even realizing it, the barely audible whisper spilled off her lips: "Ryoga..."

P-chan's ears perked straight up. Ryoga was made to wonder whether this was really happening or if he'd fallen asleep and didn't know it. If this was real, he was sure he was going to have a heart-attack - there'd be a plaque out in the yard marking little P-chan's grave by morning if he didn't find some kind, any kind of relief. Several feelings more potent than he'd ever felt before erupted in him with dangerous intensity. This became more true by the second as he watched Akane arch her head back, her jaw falling open as she finally met with that frenzy of elusive bliss. Ryoga was boiling inside; all he wanted to do was tell her how absurdly beautiful she was, but all that came out was oinks and snorts.

Akane lay still for a time once she was done, then rolled onto her side and tugged the blanket back over her, satisfied. Lustful thoughts of Ryoga left her mind at once, having served their purpose, and she quickly began drifting off to sleep. P-chan jumped off the bed and bolted for the door. With Akane's mostly-nude body burned into his memory, he had one thing and one thing only on his mind. And he had to do it now.

"Ugh, P-chan," groaned Akane, looking over as he scratched his feet at the door. "Fine, I'll let you out... hopefully this place is all closed up." She reluctantly got up and opened the door.

P-chan scurried out and down the hall at lightning speed. He ended up stumbling all the way down the stairs, his plump little body bouncing to the bottom. He scrambled to regain his footing and continued toward the bathroom.

:::[upstairs]:::

Ranma awoke in a cold sweat. He remembered that he'd been dreaming of a happy place - a warm, sunny park where he and Akane were going to have a picnic. She was carrying a big, wooden basket and he a rolled-up blanket under one arm; they found a shady spot beneath a tree and settled there. Akane smiled at him as they sat down across from each other and placed the basket in between them. When Ranma reached forward to open it, the lid flew up, and Ryoga leapt out to tackle Ranma to his back and engage him in a long, steamy make-out session from which he could not struggle free.

"What the fuck?" Ranma rubbed his tired eyes and groaned to himself - quietly, as his panda of a father was sleeping nearby. He cupped his hands over his face. "What the fuck! Christ."

He lay awake on his roll-out mattress, mentally cursing Ryoga for having forever scarred his psyche. After that, getting back to sleep was nearly impossible. He tossed and turned, but he couldn't get comfortable, and his still-aching back wasn't helping matters.

He heard the sound of a faucet cutting on from downstairs. The torrent was loud and sounded thick, like someone was running bathwater.

A bath at this hour? Seriously? He thought to himself, wondering who it could be. Whoever it was, the noise was making him thirsty. Presently, he realized how dry his throat was. He pushed his blanket off and got up, heading downstairs for a drink.

On his way to the kitchen, he stopped dead in his tracks at the base of the stairs, his attention alerted by a series of noises from outside. Someone was making a racket. First he heard the clang of something striking metal, then a thud followed by what sounded like a tumble and shuffling. Naturally, Ranma was more than a little curious. Quietly, swiftly, he went to investigate, readying himself for the possibility of combat.

But the yard was empty. Out in the grass, Ranma spotted a watering can lying out of place on its side. Eyes narrowed, he walked over to it and picked it up, the pieces of this strangeness easily coming together in his head. Ryoga, he thought, anger stirring. Going for his nightly peep-show, no doubt. He looked up. In the tree overhead, he could see the dark, sagging shapes of clothes hanging in the branches.

He violently tossed the water can back to the ground and went back inside. He'd have liked to go up to Akane's room, kick in the door and strangle that little pervert, but he'd never be able to think up a good enough excuse for murdering Akane's pet. He thought about going up there anyway, with intent to reveal the truth to Akane - that P-chan wasn't at all the cute innocent little piglet that she believed him to be, but this was an idle thought. Yeah, he was pissed at Ryoga; royally pissed. But he wasn't a big enough jerk to break his promise. If anything, Ranma Saotome was a man of his word.

He ran himself a glass of water from the sink and drank it all in one long gulp. His thoughts returned to whoever might have been taking a bath so very late at night - or so very early in the morning, as the case may have been. He noticed that he could no longer hear the water running. Odd, he thought. Again, he wondered who it could be at this hour.

He peeked into the hall, eyes drawn to a sliver of light escaping the cracks around the bathroom door. It was probably one of the girls in there, he figured, doing whatever girly things they do. He felt a pang of hopefulness at the thought of it being Akane in there. Suddenly, he wanted very much to talk to her. On the off chance that it really was her, he went to the door and knocked softly.

"Akane?" he called. "That you?"

On the other side of the door, Ryoga was sitting nude atop the toilet seat, cock in his hand, furiously pumping away. Ranma's voice startled the ever-living-shit out of him, but he didn't stop. He wasn't sure he could stop if he wanted to. He was so, so very close now; he could feel tingling and stirring at the base of his dick as Akane flashed through his mind. He clenched his teeth and stayed quiet, his breath pantingly uneven.

Ranma knocked again when no one answered. "Hello?" he said. "Who's in there?" Still, no response. He was sure someone was inside - he could hear something, some evidence of movement. His shoulders sagged; it had to be Akane. Who else in this house would just blatantly ignore him like that? She must've still been mad. Ranma sighed. Even though it was always by his own doing, he really hated it when she was mad at him.

"Look, Akane," he started, scratching his head. Maybe he could try that 'being nice' thing for once. "I'm really sorry about... everything, okay? I don't know what came over me, I just - ...Just say something, will ya? I hate it when you ignore me like this." He winced. He'd never been very good at apologies.

No answer. Ranma was getting irritated now. "Please," he begged. "I wanna talk to you." More silence. He became impatient. "Say something, or I'll assume you're not in there. ...I kinda need to 'go', so I'm gonna count to three." He began, "Three..."

Oh no, oh no, oh no, Ryoga thought as panic set in. Not now! Why hadn't he kept the light off? He let out one long, fevered breath as he came, curling forward, his head almost between his knees as cum coated his stomach. There was very little time to enjoy the afterglow.

"Two..." Ranma hesitated before counting any further. Maybe she really wasn't in there, he thought.

Ryoga needed an escape route. What to do? There were no windows. He'd have to turn back into a pig. He couldn't be seen like this. He lurched for the faucet, but it was too late.

The door opened and Ranma stood mere feet away from him. Ryoga froze in fear, hands launching down to cover his shame.

Ranma stood perfectly still, staring blankly at the other boy. Slowly, his eyes trailed down, and he noticed the shine of white dripping down Ryoga's stomach.

"Uh - uhmn," Ryoga stammered, not knowing what to say. "I just - I had to use the bathroom."

Ranma stepped into the room and slid the door closed behind him.

"Oh," he said. "You are So. Fucking. Dead."

:::[elsewhere]:::

Unbeknownst to anyone within the Tendo home, a tall, dark figure crept over the rooftop, limping as he went. Mousse was dressed all in black, face covered and hidden behind his massive spectacles. He stopped and set the point of his sword to the roof's shingles, using it to stabilize himself as he bent down and gripped a hand around his throbbing ankle. He'd tripped on his way through the yard and took a bad fall; who the heck leaves a watering can just lying around in the open like that, anyway? He scowled at the thought, and at his own near-sightedness. He hated traveling by night, but it was best for cover. Except now he couldn't even do what he'd come here to do with this silly wound.

He stood back up, trying to ignore the pain. He'd have to do this another time. He lifted his sword and pointed it at the house as he declared in a dangerous, growling tone, "Ranma Saotome has taken the flower of my beautiful Shampoo. ...In revenge, I will take from him what he loves most." His body turned turned, sword pointed still as he finished, "Until next time, Akane Tendo."

With that, Mousse took a one-legged leap to the ground and limped off into the darkness.

~~~
RAEDE