Had to split the whole chapter into 3 posts....stupid character limits! Abolish it for the fanfic section!
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Chapter 14
Waking up with a woozy feeling in her head for the second time of the day, Aya groaned and shifted to one side, opening her eyes...
...only to see the smugly smirking face of one sneaky pirate, whose smirk widened when she realised that Aya had noticed her presence.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." Miki leaned forward and quickly sneaked in a quick peck on a surprised Aya's lips, before withdrawing a safe distance to avoid getting slapped for her efforts, still grinning roguishly.
Aya glared as she pushed herself upright, rubbing her lips against her sleeve. With the frequency that they have been attacked lately, Aya briefly wondered if it would be a good idea to invest in a face mask of some sort to protect herself against that...that woman.
Deciding that trying to argue with Miki about the whole sexual harassment thing that had been going on ever since their first meeting was going to be pointless, Aya put it aside mentally (at least, as best as she could) and went for the more practical questions.
"Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here?" Three incisive questions, flatly delivered with her best poker face and her most authoritative tone. Miki raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in mood and approach. This was an interesting girl she had here.
"First off, you're at the Sea Coconut tavern. Second, my name is Fujimoto Miki. As for question number three..." Miki trailed off, savoring her planned response. Aya raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"I saved your life and carried you here." Miki was watching Aya's face intently, hoping to see a delightful reaction of some kind. To her profound disappointment, a rock would have had more of an expression than the one currently on Aya's face. The young captain was clearly adept at hiding whatever she was thinking or feeling behind a mask, as long as she has had time to prepare herself for the situation.
"Ah, in that case, I offer you my thanks." The best way to deal with this, Aya decided, was to keep that annoying woman at a distance, and using a professionally unconcerned tone was her usual and most effective defence. Even fully grown men gave her a wide berth when she used that tone and expression on them.
However, this is Miki we're talking about, and Aya's attempts to place a kind of distance between them was duly noted by the knife-loving pirate...and promptly ignored. Actually, the more Aya tried to push her away, the more Miki would be interested in pushing back. After all, it is a law of physics that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
"Is that any way to talk to someone who saved your life?" Miki asked, while pointedly moving closer to Aya, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, about to get up. Aya looked coolly unperturbed as she replied.
"Didn't I say that you have my gratitude?" The young captain stood up, now facing Miki, who was almost nose to nose with her. She didn't even flinch. No sense in showing the same weakness that would only tempt the other to tease her, she realised. Aya had already begun to string together the pattern of Miki's behaviour, and had correctly deduced that Miki particularly enjoyed seeing her reactions to her amorous advances, and so the best way to counter it was to present a calm front.
That was easier said than done, of course. But it was a start.
She's a tough nut to crack. Miki thought as she eyed the slightly taller girl in front of her. The height difference wasn't all that noticeable, but Aya was surprised to find that Miki was actually smaller than she remembered. Maybe it was the fact that the events of the night before had clouded her perceptions. Probably didn't help that Miki had been so aggressively upfront with her then.
Seeing that no response was immediately forthcoming from the pirate, Aya was about to walk around past Miki, heading for the door, when a hand latched onto her arm, forcibly pulling her backwards.
"You're not going anywhere." Miki said with just the faintest hint of triumph in her voice. Their gazes met and sizzled the air between them.
"Oh? And on what grounds are you stopping me?"
"Doctor's orders, you were poisoned and need rest to recover." Miki repeated Kei's words from earlier, still gripping on to Aya's forearm tightly.
Ah, poison. So that's why I fainted. And why I still feel nauseous now. Aya considered the situation briefly. "Well, I'll just have to rest someplace else, can't I?" Someplace where you are not around. She didn't say that last part out loud, but it was clearly implied in her tone, enough that Miki merely sneered at the implication, and pulling Aya a few steps closer to herself.
"Well it's just too bad that you can't get away from this room right now." Miki reinforced that line of reasoning by tightening her hold almost painfully on the younger girl, who winced and glared fiercely at the pirate.
"Is that any way to treat a sick person?" Miki merely shrugged in response.
"Is this any way to talk to someone who saved your life?" A very good comeback. Aya sighed inwardly. She got the feeling that Miki was going to be pulling that line on her repeatedly. And it wasn't something that she could easily refute either. She did owe a debt of gratitude to Miki, whether she liked it or not. It didn't help that the sense of honor that her father had rammed into her head since she was a child was making her feel obligated to the knife-throwing pirate, who was currently unashamedly groping her bottom with her free hand.
Slap. "Do you mind?!" Aya bit out forcefully, her other hand poised to slap Miki's throbbing cheek again.
"Nope." Miki was grinning victoriously at having elicited some kind of a response from the fuming girl in front of her. Riling the girl was becoming a sort of a bad habit, Miki dimly realised somewhere in the back of her head. The knife-loving pirate was feeling a strange desire to irritate the heck out of Aya, just to look at her flustered and/or angered expressions. It was almost addictive.
"Gah." Aya glowered at the defiantly remorseless pirate, who took advantage of the younger's momentary distraction to pull the startled girl into her arms.
"What do you want?" Aya asked flatly, deliberately suppressing her instinctive urge to scream and smack Miki around some more, in favor of her cool approach in order to irritate the other girl. Miki felt mildly disappointed at the lack of any reaction, but then again, there was time enough to rouse a response from the stubborn girl she held.
"You." With that, she leant forward, clearly intending to capture Aya's lips with her own again, but the captain prodigy had already anticipated such a move, and blocked the assault with her palm.
"Other than that." Aya sounded halfway between exasperated and amused. Did this girl have a one track mind or something?
Miki was pouting slightly behind the restraining palm held to the lower portion of her face, but was secretly pleased that the whole situation was becoming more interesting than anticipated. True to form, her hands began to wander around Aya's body, the older girl knowing that this, if nothing else, would surely garner one of those responses she so yearned to see.
Sure enough, Aya's eyes narrowed at her blunt advances, but the young captain bit down firmly on her own lip to stop herself from screeching at the pirate that was currently groping her with a challenging expression in those dark eyes, clearly daring her to do something, anything, to stop those wandering hands.
Aya growled as she released her hold against Miki's face, and using her arms, pushed away from the girl, while simultaneously stepping on Miki's foot to ensure that the grip would be loosened sufficiently for her to break free. The ploy was successful, at least partially, since she did manage to stumble away from Miki. However, Miki had also taken the opportunity to direct Aya's momentum backwards to the bed, and the younger girl tripped and fell over on the rumpled sheets.
And trapped. Miki quite literally pounced, straddling the younger girl easily and pinning her down on the bed.
"Can't you go five minutes without trying to sexually harass me?" Aya blurted out indignantly at the smirking Miki on top of her.
The pirate shrugged carelessly. "Nope." She then leaned down to nuzzle at Aya's neck, paying special attention to tease at the pulse points, and feeling Aya swallow nervously at her efforts.
"Will you please stop?" Aya asked as neutrally as she could, even though her entire body was wound more tightly than a spring now. Miki didn't pay attention to her. Clenching her teeth in irritation and cursing her own body's weakness right now (lingering aftereffects of the poison), Aya tried again.
"Can't we just talk about this first?" Now Miki raised her head curiously from where she had been busily trying to give Aya a number of very visible hickeys, one eyebrow raised curiously.
"What's there to talk about?" Miki drawled lazily.
Desperate to stall another assault, Aya tried to come up with something convincing in a split second.
"Well, didn't the doctor say that I needed rest? I can't very well get any rest if you continue like this, right?" It sounded sort of reasonable, and Aya tensely watched Miki ponder her words.
Miki had to admit that the girl had a point. Not that she cared about what Kei said, of course, but then again, the pirate had never intended to force Aya to submit to her under these circumstances. Groping and stealing kisses were one thing, but Miki strictly abhorred rape as an option. Not that Aya knew that, of course, and Miki certainly wasn't going to explain her complex code of principles to someone she barely knew anyway.
"Hmm, well, it's not going to be fun since your body's weak now. We'll continue when you get better." Saying that, Miki raised her body off Aya's, but remained sitting on the younger girl, just to make sure she didn't run away immediately.
Aya breathed a sigh of relief. Taking a deep breath to reorganise her thoughts, she met Miki's studying gaze.
"Can you let me up now?" Miki didn't say anything, but raised an eyebrow. Aya frowned.
"...please?" Miki hummed to herself in response. Aya twitched irritably, causing Miki to grin widely.
"It'll cost you a kiss." Miki watched Aya's eyebrows knit together at her demand.
"You've already had plenty from before." Aya said matter of factly, giving Miki the evil eye. That was certainly true, but of course Miki wasn't going to let Aya get away like this.
"Ah, but I was the one who started all those times. And each time you cut it short. So now I want a proper one. And I'm not letting you up until I'm satisfied." Miki had a devilish little smirk on her face as she watched Aya pale slightly at her suggestion.
If the situation allowed it now, Aya would have gladly skinned Miki slowly and roasted her on a slow fire. The nerve of that girl! But then again, Matsuura Aya was not a pushover, and she never backed down from a challenge. Clearly, Miki didn't really think she would do it. Or expect her to do it well at all. That was going to change shortly. Aya hated to lose, and especially not to this obnoxious half-child who was presently acting like a spoiled brat.
Miki watched with growing curiosity as the conflict in Aya's eyes solidified into a steely determination that really served to make the pirate excited. A spitfire, this girl. Definitely going to be fun. She was still caught in her own thoughts when Aya abruptly pulled one arm free and yanked the older girl down without warning.
The contact was...electrifying. In an instant, the world around the two girls seemed to vanish, leaving nothing but the two of them in their own plain of existence.
Miki, of course, was shocked to the core by the sudden move. She had half expected Aya to try kissing her, yes, but not this way. The memory of Aya's tentative responses to her earlier kisses was rapidly being erased and replaced by the aggressive, confident, and utterly sexy way that her former captive was currently dominating the kiss. The normally flirtatious pirate was utterly floored by the display, and she found herself quite literally melting on the inside from the searing contact and exploration.
Aya, for her part, was guided mostly by instinct. She hadn't had much experience with kissing in general. The little experiments during her teens didn't really count. She was simply unloading all her repressed agitation (mostly incited by Miki anyway), while recalling the way that Miki had kissed her earlier, attempting to replicate the way Miki had explored her mouth earlier. Her competitive instinct, coupled with her natural urge to lead, took care of the rest. She might not fully understand what she was doing, but she was learning very quickly and improvising along the way. In any case, Miki's moans of approval was a clear enough indication that she was doing it right.
Smirking triumphantly into the kiss, Aya abruptly pulled away, leaving Miki panting heavily, a small disappointed whimper escaping the older girl at the loss of contact. Seeing that Miki was no longer actively pinning her down, Aya easily pushed the still slightly stunned pirate aside and sat up, wiping absently at her lips with her sleeve as she mentally recapped what she just did. Her own boldness surprised her, but overall she was quite satisfied with how it turned out. Surely, she had shown that obnoxious woman that she was not a pushover. Extreme times called for extreme measures, Aya reasoned, as she faced away from Miki.
A hand closed on her right shoulder. Aya turned her head back to see an intense light shining in Miki's eyes. A resolute and determined air seemed to hang over her.
"Do it again." Aya quirked an eyebrow. Miki was staring at her with a extremely serious expression, and that alone sent chills running up the young captain's spine.
"You only said one kiss." Aya rebutted easily, then added. "And you can't say you weren't satisfied, because I know you were." Effectively turning what Miki had said to her before back on the girl. Aya felt proud of that little comeback she pulled.
If only Miki didn't keep using that look on her. A look that seemed to encompass a burning need to know, as well as disbelief and determination. As if she couldn't quite believe that Aya had really been able to kiss her like that, and wanted confirmation. There was a strange light in her eyes that Aya couldn't quite place. It seemed...desperate. Needy, even. There was also confusion, as well as that something else that Aya simply couldn't identify, try as she might.
"I need to know." Again, the flirtatious and teasing inflection was completely gone from her tone. Aya wondered if someone had replaced the Miki she had seen earlier with something else.
But the young captain was not in the mood to indulge Miki's curiosity. With some difficulty, she tore her eyes away from that intense gaze, knowing that if she looked at it any longer, she would have been hypnotised by it. That wasn't what she wanted.
"No."
Miki couldn't help the pout that inched its way onto her face. She couldn't believe that the girl had just turned away from her like that. She had to have felt something in that as well. There was no way that it was all on her side. Miki had sensed something during that heated kiss earlier, but she wasn't quite sure what. She wanted, no, needed to know what it was. And the only way she could think of to find out was to do it again. To try and figure out what was that she had felt. Miki had not felt truly surprised by anything ever since Yuko had rescued her from that slave ship, but this girl had done exactly that. And she was determined to work out what that meant.
"Come on~" Miki pouted and whined a bit, resting her chin on Aya's shoulder, even as her arms encircled the younger's waist from behind. Aya twitched slightly at the strange change in direction the whole situation was taking. What happened to the confidently sexy (she erased that immediately after thinking it) woman who had been shamelessly trying to take advantage of her? In its place was an almost childishly endearing girl who seemed to be begging for a favor (a sexual one, undoubtedly, but never mind that). Did this girl have a split personality somewhere?
"No. And let go already."
"It wouldn't hurt you to do it again." Miki retorted, snuggling close and practically latching herself onto Aya's back. "What's wrong with having a little fun?"
"This is your idea of fun?" The disbelieving tone said it all. "And watch those hands." The young captain snapped sharply at the offending appendages, who were beginning to wander again. Miki only grinned outrageously and nuzzled into the back of Aya's neck, earning a flinch from the latter.
"You're so uptight." Miki declared, earning a scoff from the girl she was holding.
"And you are a brat." Aya bit back, not without justification. The pirate shrugged remorselessly, a cheeky grin on her face as she plotted her next move.
"Well, at least I'm a charming and sexy one. And I kiss better than you." Miki taunted the younger girl, who stiffened in her arms.
"You do not." Ah, the competitive nature strikes again. Miki smirked.
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too~"
"Do NOT."
"Prove it then."
At some point during that little exchange, Aya had half turned around to face Miki, and was glaring at the older girl. At Miki's challenge, Aya's eyes narrowed as she thought it over quickly. Miki grinned tauntingly at her, as if daring her to try.
The distance between their faces closed alarmingly...then stopped. Miki blinked rapidly at the sudden halt. Aya was practically nose to nose with her now, a strange look hovering in her eye.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing..." Aya rasped out breathlessly, before closing that last millimeter between them...and biting down on the same spot as before.
"OW!" Miki cried out, falling back and releasing her grip on Aya, her hands returning to clutch at her mouth, the raw wound on the lip reopening again. "What the hell?"
Aya licked the traces of blood off her lips triumphantly. "Gotcha."
"You have a habit of biting me in the same place!" Miki whined, tentatively poking at her aching lip and wincing.
"And you have a habit of groping me!" Aya retorted, carefully placing herself just out of grope-range. Miki snorted, waving one hand dismissively.
"That's different, I grope everyone equally!"
"Gee, now I feel special." Aya shot back sarcastically, ego slightly wounded. Miki rolled her eyes.
"Take heart in the fact that you're the first one I tried to kiss within minutes of meeting you."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"
"Hey it's an honor!" Miki said defensively.
Aya scoffed at it just as quickly. "It's an honor I rather do without."