Ranbura Ch. 01: Curiosity Killed the Cat

It always began with something. Today was sound. The ocean was frivolous on this fine morning, lapping at the hull with gentle nips and taps, its demeanor relatively-calm and carefree. It rocked my webbed hammock to and fro, and I engrossed myself for a moment or two in the soft swaying before I took a long sniff into each nostril. Saltwater and humidity, carried by a slight breeze that blew from the east, by my guess, or bias, from the direction of the sun that I knew was already up and at 'em. Peeking an eye open revealed what I already knew. The lower deck, where sleep was always as perfect as it was pleasant, shimmered with morning sunlight, and raising my head off my foam pillow for but a second to glance at the open stairs revealed a sunbeam shimmering its way into our compact cavern, marking a new day and a new adventure.

"Hnng!" I moaned in bliss as my heels found roped purchase and pushed my rump into the air, curving my spine, and collecting a forearm within each hand, I rolled my elbows onto frayed hair and head and until they pressed into pliable pillow, coming into a pristine back bridge that stretched my shoulders, hip flexors, spine, and belly in equal parts. "Haaaah!"

Collapsing back onto the still-swaying hammock after a moment of morning relief, I slung my torso up and used my hands and hips to pivot my feet onto cool hardwood, only to then spread my legs and slide into a comfortable, flat-out pancake.

"This... is... the life!" I hissed in pleasure as I rolled my hips into an anterior tilt, using my toes to clamber over spine and torso alike until my pelvis was directly overheard my noggin, which was still attached to hardwood via throat and chin.

Then, with a push and a shove, my arms, chest, and shoulders put me into an impromptu handstand, and after a good ten seconds of the upside-down straddle, I clicked my heels together and flipped my lower half on-over the rest of me, coming to a stand with a soft huff and a wry grin.

"Welp, time to start for real," I whispered, twisting at the waist one way, then the other, stopping front and center once more to give my best friend, Asahi, who slept soundly across from me on a conventional mattress, that same, wry grin. "How can you sleep through such a wonder... ful..."

My grin, wry as it had been, turned awkward as I spotted something rather curious. I'd bunked with him plenty on our adventures over the last couple years. The boat, whilst a relatively new addition, had kept us confined in the same sleeping space for a month now, and during that month, and during every other time we'd shared sleeping quarter, I'd never seen the curiosity I was now observing.

"Oh..." I breathed, almost giggling at the odd sight of his covered erection.

It looked about a half-foot tall, average from what I'd been told many a time during my school days.

"Jeez, Hi-chan, what on earth are you dreaming about?" I quietly teased as I padded my way up to his sleeping form.

Giving the sight another glance, I felt the barest hint of curiosity to see it. I'd seen pictures before, heard descriptions lots of times from my school girlfriends back in the day, but I'd never actually seen areal one before. Never seen one, never touched one, neverexperienced one underany capacity. Truly... it was acurious thing.

"Shigure..." he suddenly whispered, and had I been less of a balanced person, I would've assuredly toppled over backwards instead of catching my footing as I recoiled in shock and in embarrassment at being caught staring at something so... not-supposed-to-be-stared-at.

"I... I wasn't st..." I rapidly began, my tone more high-pitched than I was used to, but I trailed off as my bulging eyes landed upon his still-sleeping face.

"Shi... gure..." he whispered again, only this time there was more.

His back arched slightly, his heels, though covered and unseen, had to have pressed into his mattress, as in the next moment, his hips jerked off the bed.

"What in the world are youdreaming about, Hi-chan?" I quietly queried, losing all embarrassment and shock to stark-confusion and curiosity renewed.

I tilted my head to the left, then to the right, then I scratched at a particularly nasty cowlick near the back of my neck as I tried to put the pieces of this strange puzzle together. Only after another moment of perplexion did it dawn on me the connection. The stiffness, the name, the... motion. He was dreaming about... me... and him, doing... thedeed.

"Oh, jeez..." I whispered to no-one in particular, feeling embarrassment anew.

With a soft, shaky sigh, I turned and headed for the staircase to top-deck, and upon my arrival into morning light truest, I shivered in bliss as a gentle, northeastern breeze caressed my face and caused my messy hair to sway within its light current. With a happy sigh, I began to stretch my arms this way and that as I made for my spot furthest along the bow, where obvious wear upon hardwood could be found, thanks to a month of intense practice.

My stretching, wondrous as it was, came to an end there, and it was time for a different sort of bliss. My stance became wide, my toes aimed straight, my thighs and glutes squeezed in tandem, my elbows tucked into my ribs, my belly sucked into my spine and compressed. There I stayed, in my prayer pose, my personal mantis-horse stance. One minute. Two. Three. Five. Ten. Until the muscles warmed and exhausted their fatigue, until my mind focused entirely within, there I stayed. There was nothing particular that gave me my signal, nothing in particular that set some queue. One moment I was still, sweat covering every inch of my body, the next I was just as motionless, my stance changed to that of a power lunge, left foot toward, toes aimed straight, right leg still where it had started, toes pointed out, grounding me into hardwood. My right fist had flown, fast and true, vanquished its sweat, striking something unseen and unheard, something,someone merely imagined.

Every minute or so, the pattern repeated. Continue warming muscles, exhausting fatigue, then impulse, an explosion of force, of power rightly earned. On and on it went, maybe for fifteen minutes, maybe for thirty. On and on it would go, until something, someone stopped me. Normally it was Asahi and the bliss of promised breakfast. Normally, but not today. Instead, on this fine morning, it was something different, something new, something curious. It was a splash, and it had come from the starboard, close enough to the boat to be heard, close enough for me to see.

Peering over the railing, I found a small fish, bright blue with yellow lining, its look familiar, but its name entirely unknown. It was flipping and flopping, remaining upon its side for a measure of time, then going right side to swim about for another round of floundering. I watched it for a moment, then decided to resume my prayer, but something stopped me. Something lapping and tapping. The ocean waves rolled and spiked, small and gentle as could be, until they touched the hull, then they exploded into mist, into fragments of their former selves. Up they rose, I watched transfixed, sharply, swiftly, a triangular design. Up they slammed, battering at the hull without thought and without stoppage. Up and up, into that sharp yet somehow soft shape, up and up until they sprayed their foam. Up and up came that little fish, too, up and up into the hull with a watery spike.

"You done already?"

I blinked once, then twice, then tilted my head back and to the left, spotting Asahi coming onto deck through a set of disarrayed, sweat-soaked curls.

"Yep," I replied, coming to mountain pose to give my waist another roundabout, and from there, I adopted a sly smirk and gave him a once-over. "So, did you have a... hard time waking up today?"

I puckered my lips to hide the snicker, and watching him stretch for a moment, then yawn, I puffed my cheeks out to keep my peace.

"Honestly, Shi-chan, I don't know how you have such an easy time in the morning," he replied through his gaping yawn, which caused my smirk to turn a hint more sly.

"Oh, it's not... hard. I just have to... erect myself," I said, going for a serious tone and failing spectacularly, which earned a funny look from him, which, in turn, made me change the subject before he had a chance to, god forbid,ask. "Any fish for the rice?"

The remainder of the day was like any other over the last couple of years. We trained, together at times, alone at others, steered and managed the boat for a few hours in turns, ate, drank, did our dishes and our laundry, then we hit the hay. Nothing was different. Nothing had changed. Not until the next morning, that was.

I was bad at remembering dreams. I knew I had them, everyone dreamt, I was faintly certain, but not everyone could remember, and I was one of those that rarely did. Except... when the humid saltwater hit my snout and my eyes opened in delight to greet morning light, I remembered... something. I had been... a kid again. I had been bathing with my mom. I had been laying against her large, soft bosom, drifting in and out, and then it hit me, that sensation when one first enters a hot bath. It was like having all the abdominal muscles contract in a way that exercise could never imitate. It was taut and tight, burning yet soothing, compression without discomfort, rather, withcomfort. Contractions of bliss. Contractions of a hot soak.

"It's been a while..." I murmured to myself, referring to the length of time it had been since my last hot bath rather than my last dream.

There was no morning back bridge today, no pancake or handstand in my wake-up routine, and, instead, I simply sat up and hopped out of my swaying hammock, my eyes locking immediately onto Asahi, who was once more showing a curious sight. It wasn't all that different from the morning prior, but it somehow seemed... bigger.

"I'm... pretty sure that's not how it works," I mumbled, giving my head and wild mess of hair a solid scratch in confusion, a tilt to the left, then one to the right.

It had been half a foot yesterday, whilst now it was... half that over. I hadn't been the best biology student, but even I'd paid enough attention to know a male's member couldn't suddenly grow some fifty percent in size. Notovernight. That wasnot how it worked.

Glancing above his covers revealed a bare chest, a change from yesterday's black tank-top. Maybe...

"Are you sleepingnaked, Hi-chan?" I whispered, wishing forno answer, whether it be in the positiveor the negative.

But... was it possible? If he'd been wearing underwear, at the very least, yesterday morning, then maybe it had... sort of acted as a... dampener? Was...that how it worked?

I let out a soft sigh, my expression going from confused and curious to outright sly as an idea came to me. I drew in my breath, all the way down to the depths of my diaphragm. With bated breath, I snuck forward, the bottom of my bare feet more akin to the paws and pads of a stealthy jungle cat, and stopping next to his bed, I noticed his cover came up to only the bottom of his belly button. Sending my sly eyes to his sleeping face, I watched him, listened, observed every contour of every tiny detail carved into his features, searching for any sign of awareness.

Finding none, I glanced to where it stood, eight or nine inches tall, if I wasn't mistaken. My eyes then traveled to the edge of his cover, to that spot an inch below his navel. My right hand began to twitch in anticipation, my eyes went wide, my cheeks became quite warm, my heart began to race, and I was suddenly having second thoughts about my curious investigation. My smirk, even, once sly, turned into an awkward half-smile, and my hand, twitching still, lifted away from my side, stopping a half-inch from the cover's fold. Slowly, ever so slowly, it began its descent, until, after what felt like a solid minute, I was pinching the thick cloth between the tip of my forefinger and thumb.

Once more, my sight traveled to his sleeping face, to ensure this wasn't some ploy to embarrass me, and as if to defy such a thought, my cheeks puffed out in a raspberry, though only to better keep my bated breath, as dizziness slowly settled in. With no time to waste, I whipped my head around to where I still had a hold, nearly blinding myself on an erratic curl as I did, which caused a slight hiss to escape my pouting lips.

"Sh... Shigure..." he quietly groaned, causing my eyes to roll into the back of my head and for my fingers to instantly release their latch.

I whipped my head about again, not even registering if I'd woken him, his face a mere blur, my dark-brown, alarmed orbs finding the staircase to the upper deck. Too far! A sharp whiplash back to the right had me zeroing in on the shared bathroom. Good enough!

I dared not sprint, so I padded, painfully as could be, slowly as could be, silently as could be, until I was through its melamine-covered, particle-board door, which I promptly sealed shut and began to gasp for much-needed oxygen, gulping and gagging like nothing could be more rare a resource. All I could do for the next thirty seconds was pant and stare. At myself through the door mirror, at the sweat I hadn't even realized I'd been covered with, at the stupid face I was making.

"Stupid..." I gasped out, marking my features with inward ire. "So... haaaah... so stupid!"

Indeed, it had been astupid idea. A stupid idea borne of stupid curiosity, and yet... even as I gazed at myself in ire, even as I continued to pant like a dog run down too far and for far too long, I still wanted to know, to see it, to maybe even...feel it. Now, more than ever, that stupid curiosity was nagging me on. I'd come so close... so very,very close.

"You know, I could just...ask to see it..." I halfheartedly whispered to my reflection, adopting a familiar, wry grin. "But... yeeeah, that's not... actually going toever happen..."

It wouldn't. It really and truly wouldn't. I knew myself. I knew what I was capable of asking to...of Asahi, and asking to see his erection, his...member wasn't something I'd ever vocalize, no matter the intensity of my curiosity. Notever.

With a loud sigh, I stepped back and continued my staring contest with myself. Blinking, the action slow and methodical, I glanced down to where pajama top met pajama bottom. Reaching for the spot, I lifted the lower fold of my upper apparel and stared at the location in the mirror. My belly button wasn't... well, it wascute, but...not attractive. Not in my opinion.

I shifted my lower jaw about and sucked on the tip of my tongue using my left teeth as I recalled another belly button, one I'd seen many a time before, yet one, before now, I hadn't given much thought to.

Asahi was beautiful. I'd always thought so. Even when we were kids, I'd found him beautiful. Not in the way a unicorn was, not in the way the Mona Lisa was, just... beautiful in the way my martial arts-crazy mind would understand. To me, beauty was like... litheness, bio-efficiency, power. It was something like that. It meant lean but soft muscle, pliable, explosive, powerful, ever-there, ever-ready to crash like the waves of the ocean. It meant removing what was unnecessary so only raw efficiency remained. Asahi was chiseled. Even as a child, he'd been quite toned, practicing martial arts at my side as though it was religion, chiseling him beautiful flesh from the earliest days of our friendship. Chiseled, but not ripped, not buff, not vascular or overly thin. Enough muscle was there, enough fat too. He was just beautiful in a way a gun nut might find their firearm beautiful. Deadly, sharp, efficient to a tee. Perfection that was to be admired and respected, even loved, in a way.

Lifting my pajama top higher, I exposed the rest of my belly, all the way up to my xiphoid process. I was also beautiful, but not to the same degree. Not tohis degree. My waist was thin. It was strong, it was my core, the most necessary muscle group for any martial artist aspiringto be strong, but it wasvery thin. I could see the outline of my abdominals, the sharpness of my obliques, a hint of visible serratus upon each side of my ribcage that continued up past the fold of my pajama top. I could see such outline, such sharpness, such definition, such tonage, but... it wasn't chiseled. It wasn't like looking at Asahi's abdomen. It was there, under more fat than I could safely be rid of, and it was strong, but it was mere outline, mere impression upon thin waist.

Lifting the top higher and higher, until it went over my shoulders and over my head, I dropped it onto the bathroom floor and continued my examination. His pectorals were wide, sharp, feathered at the sides and the center,chiseled. Mine were... hidden behind a set of springy mounds.

"Mounds," I whispered, giving the a-cup barely-bulges a dry smile.

My chest... wasnot chiseled in any way, shape, or form, and it failed, in my opinion, as anything even effeminate. Said chest, I'd long-since learned, was my biometric kryptonite.

Shifting my tongue to the other side in annoyance, I shot each arm an appraising look. My hands and wrists were too small and too thin, much like my waist, my forearms not much better, but at least I could once more see some definition in the biceps, triceps, and my shoulders, though, even then, I failed horrendously compared to Asahi, whose arms were his strong suit.

"Strong suit, huh?" I whispered to my reflection, giving my lower body a sly smirk.

I didn't hesitate, not in the slightest, to shove my pajama bottoms onto the floor, then I stepped out of them and admired wheremy beauty had previously been hidden. My hips were wide and round, thanks to strong, defined, well-developed glute muscles, powerful as they were large. My quads and hamstrings were much the same, though still not nearly as chiseled as Asahi's, they fared better than my upper body, that was for sure, and they were stillvery beautiful to me. I stared and stared at the contours of my thighs and my rear, not finding anything attractive, per say, but rather pleased with all my hard work and the obvious signs of explosive power there within, pleased, immensely so, with how developed they were compared to what was above.

"Attractive..." I muttered, sending my suddenly-curious eyes towards my medial, stopping once I reached the small bush that rested above my secret spot.

Pointing the toes of my right foot straight down, I lifted my leg until my knee rested against my right breast. It was hard to see much through the pubic hair, but, even so, I couldn't find much to be thrilled about. I knew there was something about what was hidden within said pubic hair that had an effect on Asahi, giving him some sort of unknown thrill, but I didn't know what.

With narrowed eyes, I lowered my leg back to the floor, then I turned around and sent a glance at the cabinet beneath the bathroom sink. Squatting down so that my elbows were over my knees and my butt cheeks were only a couple inches from the bathroom tile, I stared for a second, trying to decide if it was a worthwhile venture to explore, and, after a moment of musing, I decided why not. I was now as curious to know of my own nether region as I was to know of Asahi's. Opening the cabinet revealed a plethora of cleaning supplies off to one side and a black pouch to the other. I gently picked the pouch up and unzipped it, and there, sitting in pristine condition was his shaving razor. He only used it once a week, sometimes once everytwo weeks, when his chin stubble became too much, he'd say. Never was it used for anything else, to my knowledge, until today, until now, and certainly never bymy hand.