ClubCafé presents
The Widow : Chapter 5
As Ranma guided the motorcycle down a gradual decline in the road that swept beautifully across the side of a mountain, Kasumi marvelled at the wonderful scenery that was presented to her from her perch on the back of Ranma's machine. The outskirts of the small prefecture she lived in crept by below them as the gentle turns of the mountain pass eased through the valley. The ocean glistened in the midday sun, peeking through the mountains on the horizon. Kasumi felt her soul clench in wonderment from witnessing such beauty. The fact that such marvellous scenery was only a short trip from her or Ranma's home sent a tingling rush of excitement down the center of her spine. After a moment though, the tingling kept growing, but seemed to stem from a different location. Realization of what was happening soon dawned on her as Ranma twisted the throttle and pushed the bike around a corner. As they broke the apex of the turn Kasumi let out a stifled gasp and clutched Ranma tighter. Ranma quickly focused on Kasumi and noted the change in her aura.
"Oops…" Ranma mumbled "forgot about that."
Pulling his bike onto the shoulder in a clearly visible spot, he shifted into neutral and thumbed the killswitch, turning off the engine. Setting the bike on the sidestand, Ranma turned his body so he could see how Kasumi was doing. Taking off his helmet, he saw Kasumi flip up her visor which had fogged up slightly.
"Sorry about that Kasumi, I completely forgot that that can happen with girls when they ride…" Ranma stumbled, fiddling with the strap on his helmet, embarrassed about what they were discussing.
"Ah, no…it's alright." Kasumi stuttered, still coming down from her flustered state. 'That hasn't happened in a long time…' she thought.
"You think you're ok to ride the rest of the way? It's only like two minutes from here…" Ranma hedged.
"Oh I'll be fine, Ranma. I'm a grown woman. It just caught me off guard." Kasumi assured him with a smile. Ranma nodded and began to put his helmet back on, trying to clear his mind of the image of a leather-clad, biker Kasumi who had just climaxed.
'You're really not helping here…' he thought to himself.
As Kasumi climbed back on the bike, she took a moment to absorb what had happened and gazed around at her surroundings. While things were still in a state of disarray in her life, she knew one thing for certain; she very much liked motorcycles.
--
When they pulled up the Ranma's apartment a short ride later, Kasumi noted how quiet everything was, and how peaceful the area seemed, which was a very odd state for things to be in, considering Ranma was living there. Ranma seemed to clue in on this as he noticed her surprise.
"Yeah things aren't the way they used to be, that's for sure. I mean, there's still people around who are out to beat me an' stuff, but it's much more of a competition kinda thing, rather than 'I'm out to kill you cause your old man did something stupid', ya know?"
Ranma seemed to grow distant as he obviously drifted back through his memories.
"Much more controlled…"
Kasumi watched him as he gazed at nothing but the past, as she too had done many times before.
"You miss it, don't you?"
"Feh, a little. Those constant challenges and surprises…that chaos…" Ranma took his helmet and fastened it to the side of his motorcycle. "That's how I got to be so good, how I learned. I had to, to stay on top. To survive." Ranma turned to Kasumi, his confident grin returning to his features. "But that's all the past. I wouldn't trade what I have no for nothing."
Kasumi couldn't help but smile as well.
"And besides! I'm still the best!"
Kasumi giggled as he strode towards the staircase adorning the side of his apartment complex.
"Still hefting that slight ego, I see."
"Who me?" Ranma grinned. "Naah!"
"Yes you!" Kasumi softly punched him in the shoulder as she caught up with him at the stairs. "By the way…"
"Mm?"
"How come you happened to have a women's jacket and helmet on hand?"
"Uh, hello? Still cursed you know." Ranma winked.
"Oh…well. That makes sense…"
"Hehe, that and I do get a few girls on the back of that thing quite a bit." Ranma admitted with a sly grin.
"Ah I thought so! It wouldn't be right if you weren't being pursued by girls anymore." Kasumi teased with a smile.
Ranma was bouncing with happiness on the inside. The playful banter and teasing they had often shared before Kasumi was married had returned, their friendship resuming as if it had only been a couple days between the last visit, and not a couple years. Hoping that the mood would continue the way it had been going, Ranma pulled his keys from his pocket as they stopped in front of his door.
"Heh, yeah. Anyways, this is my place here." Kasumi read the worn numbers on the door '205' and saw the name plate actually read 'Saotome' instead of some alias. As Ranma opened the door, he moved to the side to let Kasumi enter first before following and turning on the lights.
"Welcome to chateaux Ranma!"
It was a modest 2LK complete with a balcony. The living room was small but cozy, and the kitchen was moderately sized. Two old but comfortable looking leather couches sat in front of a small flat screen television and Kasumi could see a decent looking bathroom at the end of the hallway. A couple posters showing a few motorcycles and an old martial arts movie adorned the walls, and there were some small house plants in the corners of the living room.
"Oh my, what a lovely place Ranma! Who lives in the other bedroom?"
"Well I used to have a roommate, but he moved out a while ago. Well, you remember Dai, don't you? Daisuke, one of my buds from high school?"
"Oh yes I remember him, Did he ever get together with Akane's friend Yuka?"
"Ah for a little bit, but anyways, me and him roomed together for a while. He was the one who actually got me started on bikes. In turn, I taught him some martial arts. He's off with Hiroshi, our other buddy we hung out with. His dad owns a paper business over in Osaka and he wants Hiroshi to take over, so Dai went out an helped him out with it."
"I see, well that's good for him and Hiroshi. Isn't it expensive by yourself though?"
"Meh a little bit, but not as bad as you'd think. The rent's only eighty five thousand a month."
"Oh my, that's pretty cheap!"
"Yeah, the landlord cut me a deal cause I help out alla' time at the children's hospital. See one of his kids has Leukemia, so she has to be there a lot."
"Oh the poor girl…"
"Yeah it sucks, but Mika's tons of fun. She loves to ride around on my shoulders an' stuff while I jump around. All the kids there are great really. Hey I know! You can come with me and meet her when I go in sometime! You can meet all the kids!" Ranma said with excitement.
"That sounds fun. Which days do you volunteer?"
"Well I usually go Monday, Thursday and Saturday, but sometimes I just drop in."
"Ok, since it's Tuesday today, then we can go Thursday. Will we be going on your motorcycle?" Kasumi said with a hint of anticipation.
"Yeah sure, if you want to." Ranma was a bit surprised, as he thought their little experience before had soured Kasumi on the whole motorcycle thing, but he was apparently wrong.
"Yes, I would, if you don't mind taking me again…"
"Haha yeah no problem! Like I could say no to you." Ranma said with a smile, to which Kasumi blushed a but. "Anyway, lemme show you around."
"Alright, lead the way."
--
Author's Notes:
Wow, this story spans nearly two years…with only 5 chapters Anywho, I'd had this one written down for a while (on real paper n' stuff!) but had forgotten about it until someone had StoryAlerted this. I will definitely be writing more as soon as I can, so don't kill me just yet ;) I'm back home now, so I have better computer access, but my working life is still as random as ever. At least I'm not rambling about as much now. Times are still tough, but definitely looking up.
Thanks for sticking it out with me guys, it means a lot!