Calling Benten rough was like calling the sun (or her) hot. She was the kinda chick that didn't take too kindly to bullcrap, didn't take well to being coddled, and was always up for a laugh as and when the situation demanded. She was also like the other Lucky Gods, in that she adored a good challenge and would hardly turn one down when it was staring her right in the face.
That was why she was sitting in Oyuki's living room on Neptune grasping hands with this copy of Lum's fiance in the time-honoured tradition (and yes, time actually does honour it. The gods of time throw a festival and everything) of arm wrestling. Nothing like it. A real test of strength and skill, with a little taste of underlying strategy for those in the know. Just you. Looking into the eyes of another person. Holding onto their hands. Pushing. Straining. Sweating. Pushing for that blissful moment when, at last, you're finally able to accomplish -
"Gotcha!" Benten yelled as Ataru #5's hand smacked the back of the table. He pulled it away and shook off the pain from having your arm twisted back in an unnatural position. "Hah! Who's gonna spank whose gorgeous ass now?"
"Just getting warmed up, babe!" #5 grinned back in response. Ah, he was so much more fun than that regular Ataru! "Even you ain't hot enough to counter the cold."
"Aw, poor baby gonna catch a chill?" Benten teased. She gestured down at herself. "I ain't wearing much, and I ain't complaining either! Or didn't you notice?"
"I'd haveta be blind not to notice," he answered with a twinkle in his eyes. That was definitely the kind of comment Ataru'd be making, but the rougher way he was saying it made it seem weirdly charming to her. More genuine, sorta maybe? The thought was distracted when all of a sudden he started unbuttoning his shirt. "Still, ya got a point. How can I show I'm tougher than you if I let the cold bother me?"
"You? Tougher than me?" Benten scoffed. "Yeah, right! That'll be the -"
His shirt hit the floor. The sight of washboard abs and the musculature of a bronze god greeted her eyes. Benten's eyes roamed that torso, and the last word of her sentence stumbled out of her mouth from more force of momentum than having any of the bite the rest of the sentence had behind it. Hence, she said the word "day" as if she'd been starving in the desert and a well-cooked steak dropped out of the sky.
Well, this sure explained a couple things about why Lum was so protective about her man. Then again, the guy in front of her wasn't exactly Lum's man, was he? Benten frowned a little. She wasn't exactly unaware of what it was like to have male attention focused on her. She knew the kind of effect her body had on them. Nor was she unfamiliar with the idea of finding guys attractive. Hell, she'd even checked out that lunk Rei from time to time.
"Alright, babe," #5 said. His breath visible in the air. Come to it, if Benten squinted she could probably see the words frozen a little above his mouth. He shivered, but tried to pretend it was just him flexing his muscles. "How about we make this a little more interesting?"
"What did you have in mind?" she coolly asked.
"Arm wrestling's getting a bit boring -"
"Just because you lost!"
"Nah, babe, I just want something a little more intense. How about a friendly little sumo contest?"
<hr>
Wow, but there were a lot of people in here. The place was packed! The seats were a little dark, but right there in the middle of the arena was what looked like a boxing ring. Moroboshi sat down next to her and offered her a drink with two straws in it.
"Thanks," Ryunosuke grunted, and took a sip. Eh, not bad. "So what's the deal here?" she asked. "How does all this work?"
"They got a programme right here," Ataru said. "Oh hey, looks like a kickass lineup! Looks like a triple-threat electric deathmatch between Crimson Skull, Anthony the Butcher and King Infamous! That's gonna be blow the house down!"
Before Ryu could ask if these three men were planning to murder each other, the lights came down all around the arena except for the stage, drawing the attention quite naturally towards that single central area. A man with a microphone was standing in the middle of the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the man said. "Welcome to tonight's show. Our first match tonight is for one fall to the finish with a ten-minute time limit." Suddenly this really intense-sounding music started playing, and half the audience got to their feet in thunderous applause. Ryu could already feel her heart pounding, and nothing had even happened yet! This atmosphere... She'd never felt anything like it before! Ataru grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, grinned at her, and started cheering along with the rest of them.
"Making his way to the ring!" the announcer said, his voice only clear at all because of the speakers placed around the arena. The Dragon Slayer, Bunzo Shigeki!"
A man arrived from an entranceway, projecting this heroic aura that seemed to spellbind the entire arena. Anticipation. Excitement. Ryunosuke felt herself being swept up by it all, that infectious enthusiasm, that mob mentality. It was wonderful, it was glorious and it was terrifying all at the same time.
As soon as the man entered the ring, a man in a black-and-white suit walked up to him and began what seemed like an examination while the announcer spoke up again.
"And his opponent, coming down the aisle," he said, gesturing to an opening on the opposite side of the arena, "the Lightning Count, Manabu Konishi!"
This time, the audience had a very different reaction and in an instant Ryu knew why. There was some foppish guy with lightning symbols painted on his face and costume, walking to the ring with a cane tucked under his arm, and he was completely giving off this arrogant aura that made Ryu wanna walk right down there and smack it off his face. Seriously, the guy made even that Mendo asshole seem humble by comparison. Ugh! Now she was really hoping this other guy would clean his clock something fierce!
"See?" Ataru said, nudging her shoulder. "Now you're getting the hang of this!"
"I am?" Ryu asked. She dipped her head to take a sip from the straw. In the process her cheek brushed against Ataru's, as he was doing the same thing from the other straw. Oh, he was being a bit cheap, huh? Eh, whatever. Not like she wasn't used to that. "What happens now -"
And the next thing she knew was a flurry of action that caught the breath right out of her throat. Fast-paced athleticism the likes of which she'd only ever dreamed of. Ataru whispered the names of moves into her ear, although his voice was kinda hard to hear so she had to lean a little over to hear clearly. "Flying headscissors," he might say. "Springboard dropkick," he might add a little later. The list went on with move after move. "Hurricanrana, back body drop, small package... A low blow while the ref couldn't see! That shoulda gotten him disqualified!" The pace of the match slowed noticeably, and the audience's mood soured when the Lightning Count took control. "Armbar, methodical stomps, headlock... But he's reversing into a bridged-back suplex! A pin for three counts wins the match... And he kicks out at two!"
The match went on like that, with a steady back and forth. The Dragon Slayer would use a variety of fast-paced, exciting and high-impact moves to dazzle the audience, then the Count would do something underhanded to take control over the fight, slowing it down with moves that obviously hurt like hell, but weren't nearly as exciting to watch. Stomps, kicks, basic submission holds. He was methodical, trying to grind his opponent down - but in so doing accidentally leave openings for his opponent to counter, regain control of the fight for a time until the next dirty trick turned the tides again. So it went on for the longest ten minutes of Ryu's life, until -
"The Count's going for his finisher," Ataru warned, as the man picked up his weary opponent and put him in a fireman's carry. "The Lightning Strike! This match is about to end."
And so it was, but not with the Count's victory. Instead, the Dragon Slayer slipped out of the grapple, landing behind his opponent, whereupon he grabbed the man by the chin, then dropped to his knees and made the back of the Count's neck collide with the top of the Slayer's head.
"It's Excalibur!" Ataru excitedly called. "He countered into his own finishing move! One... Two.. Three! It's over!"
"Hell, yeah!" Ryu called, pumping her fist in the air. "You show that smug, cheating asshole what's what! Go, Dragon Slayer! Is it like this all the -"
She had merely turned around in her seat to ask him a question. That was all. She hadn't realised he was so close. Otherwise, she might have been a little more careful. Taken a little more care to ensure their lips didn't touch, even if only for a moment. The two of them pulled away. Just an accident. Nothing intentional. Before they could even think about anything, another match was already starting - this one a "tag team" match, which would also require Ataru explaining the rules and moves and stuff, whispering into her ear with his hot, hot breath. Making her feel kinda funny, but good. Ensuring she enjoyed the show.
Making sure to keep hold of her hand, which he hadn't let go of since he'd grabbed it earlier on. Not that Ryu had noticed that fact quite yet. She was enjoying herself far more than she yet realised, certainly far too much to notice a trifle like that....
- The sumo match interrupts Oyuki and her negotiation.
- Lum and Shinobu try talking with their Atarus, but can't resist their charms.
- Sakura begins training her new disciple.
- Mendo sticks his nose in where it doesn't belong.
- The prank war begins!
- Something else
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