The Widow: Chapter 2

"I don't want to be alone anymore…"

As the two retreated further into the house, Ranma noted the darkness of the house, as every room had the lights turned off. He surmised that it was just due to the lateness of the hour, but as they went up the stairs, he discovered a lot of things were out of place. When they entered the master bedroom, alarm bells blared loudly in the front of Ranma's mind.

The place was a mess! Clothes littered the floor, the bedding was strewn about from the bed, and a smashed picture frame lay at the base of the far wall. Kasumi let out a small gasp, as if seeing the room for the first time.

"I- I'm sorry! I'll clean it up right away!" she spoke quietly and fearfully, her eyes moist and on the brink of tears. She began to move forward into the room when a hand softly held her in place. She turned and followed the hand back to Ranma, whose soft smile was contrasted by the mournful look in his eyes.

"It's ok Kasumi. You go get ready for bed. I'll clean things up in here."

"Oh no! I couldn't possibly-"

"Please Kasumi?" Ranma tried to pout cutely, but in his male form, it only came out looking comical.

"Ah…ok…"

"Just take a nice relaxing bath and you'll feel better in no time. I promise!" Ranma said with a warm, sincere smile. Kasumi felt her heart stir at the sight of it. She nodded slowly before slipping though the door to the bathroom that was connected to the room.

Ranma nodded once before turning to the mess before him.

"Right, let's get started!"

In the bathroom, Kasumi had just finished stripping off her day clothes and was now sitting on a bath stool, dousing herself with cold water. After shampooing her hair and scrubbing a bit, she moved towards the bath, stopping a step before the first stair.

Looking down into the steaming water that was slowly filling the bathtub, she tried to ward away the dark memories that the tiled surface brought forth. Without thinking, her eyes tracked directly to the dark stain in the tiling grout near the far left corner of the bath. It was from one of the many times Tatsuya had beat her after having his way with her in the bath. Drunk as usual, he ordered her to wash his back with her breasts. After he finished with her, he used a wet rolled up towel to whip her back and rear, causing many welts, a few of which bled freely into the water and staining the grout. Tatsuya just laughed and laughed.

The sound of water spilling over the tub walls and slapping onto the floor brought her back from the terrible echoing laughter of her haunted memory. Quickly turning off the tap, Kasumi became aware of how cold she was after standing wet and naked for an unknown amount of time and stepped into the bath.

Ranma waited about thirty minutes after he heard Kasumi enter the bath before knocking on the door.

"Kasumi? Are you alright in there?" There was a pause before he heard the slight splashing of water, indicating Kasumi's movements.

"Oh, sorry Ranma. I'll be out shortly…" came the soft reply.

After a few minutes, Kasumi came out of the bathroom clad in a conservative pair of lilac PJs and carrying her towel. Her skin had a slight tinge of red to it, a clear sign of her long stay in the hot waters of the bath.

"Sorry I took so long…" Ranma waved it off.

"Don't sweat it. I just got worried that you were in too long." He chuckled. "Don't want that wonderful figure of yours to wither away in the heat now do we?" He was rewarded with a rosy blush that rolled across Kasumi's soft cheeks.

"Ah! Ah…no…sorry…" She mumbled into her towel. Ranma laughed again and put a hand on her shoulder before moving into the bathroom.

"I'll be back in a flash!"

After a quick trip to the other side of the gender scale, Ranma sighed as she slid into the steaming waters of the bath; it's warmth returning him to his natural gender. As he soaked, many things flitted across his mind, almost all of them pertaining to Kasumi. He was at a loss as to how he would go about helping her recover from the two terrible years of abuse she suffered at the hands of that sick bastard. He was no stranger to abuse, this much was true, but Kasumi had been scarred on more than just the physical level. The things that that man must have done to her; he couldn't imagine in his darkest nightmares. Even as he thought this, he noticed the bloodstained tile grout in the bathtub. Fighting a tremendous urge to destroy the tiling with one swift bow, he settled for scraping away the stained plaster with his finger.

Rising from the waters, Ranma settled on the one course of action he was sure of. He would stay with her and give her constant support though out her healing, providing her with what ever she would need. Slipping on his clothes, minus his button up shirt, which he folded for the morning, he opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom. Setting his shirt on the dresser, he turned to see Kasumi sitting on the side of the large king sized bed. She was shaking.

"Ah, I'll sleep here on the floor beside your bed, ok?"

"Ranma…" Kasumi began only to look away abashedly.

"Yeah Kasumi?"

"Please…please stay with me tonight…in m-my bed."

Any response Ranma was about to make died on his lips as Kasumi turned to look at him. Her sorrowful, haunted eyes seemed to reach out and seize his heart like the cold grip of Death Himself, causing his breath to catch and a lump to form in his throat. Swallowing dryly, Ranma nodded and mentally went over his vow with a silent fire of complete commitment.

Turning back into the bathroom, he removed his undershirt before turning on the sink faucet and splashing himself with a handful of cold water. Drying off her chest with a hand towel, Ranma put her undershirt back on and re-entered the bedroom.

"Thank you Ranma…so much…" Kasumi sniffed. Ranma nodded grimly and clambered under the covers with Kasumi. Reaching over to turn out the light, Ranma whispered softly to the older woman.

"Anything you need. Anything at all, I'll give you. I will always be here for you, ok Kasumi? Always."

Kasumi sniffed once more before turning and embracing Ranma's petite form.

Sorry for the wait guys! More to come, so just hang in there. I know this story is kinda gripping on the heart chords, but bear with me as it will get better.

Thanks for your wonderful reviews.

ClubCafé