Starway 02: A Traipse Bonus Chapter

I nodded, "My time is your time, tootse."

We headed to Kurasuma's shop and saw him through the window. He was switching his digital sign from opened to closed, but when he saw us, he smiled broadly and waved us in. We entered, and I felt a little bad about keeping him, and I could tell Kya did as well. He was so friendly though, as usual, and seemed genuinely glad to see us.

"To what occasion do I owe the sudden visit of these two beautiful women I have the honor of being acquainted with?"

Kya hit him lightly on the arm and grinned, "Michael, cut it out, you're such a devil!"

Michael chuckled, "I merely speak the truth. At the end of the day an old man like me couldn't ask for better company."

Kya cocked her head then said nervously, "Oh psh, you're not that old yet, Michael. I'm sorry to bother you right when you were about to close up. We were just shopping around and I decided to drop in to say hi."

He beamed, "No apology necessary. But please my dear, do tell me why you're really here. What can I do for you?"

She averted her eyes, "Um... well, it's about the sword. I'd like to... see it again, if you don't mind."

He smiled knowingly, his famous Michael Kurasuma smile, the same smile he'd given Trask when we first met him, "Of course. It's yours my dear, I am merely holding it for you. Follow me."

We followed him to the back of the shop and he knelt down beneath the counter and brought up and old looking wooden box, "Here it is, I've been taking care of it for awhile now. Don't worry, it's been oiled regularly and inspected by me at least once a month."

Kya took a deep breath and pulled the box toward her. She opened it carefully and I watched with interested, wondering what could be so important that it made her that nervous. It was a sword (duh), but she looked at it like she was both awed and scared by it. She reached in and pulled it out of the silk lined box carefully and I looked at it more closely. Now, I don't know squat about these things and Trask would make fun of me for trying to describe it, but I'll do my best. It was a long sword, a rapier I think, and straight as a whistle. It had a long, shiny groove in the middle and was sharp all the way down on one side. The other side was sharp too, but only like halfway down the blade from the tip, and the bottom of the blade disappeared into the handle. The handle was like a basket, it was ivy green and silver, with sweepy metal things surrounding it all over. I'm not really doing it justice with my description, but it was gorgeous, and it looked just as elegant as it did lethal. She gazed at it for a moment and hesitantly grasped the handle with her right hand.

Michael had his arms crossed and was looking at her with a patient smile, "Would you like to try it out Kya, my dear?"

She looked at him a little nervously, then took a deep breath, "Yeah."

A few minute later, we were standing in the back of shop in Michael's little practice dojo. There were four bamboo mats rolled up and propped up on stands in the middle of the room, each about five or six feet apart from each other. Kya shrugged out of her denim jacket and walked into the middle of the room, stopping just in the center of the four bamboo mats. Kurasuma gently put his hand on my shoulder and led me to the far side of the room to give her some space. She stood there for a long time, holding the sword and breathing deliberately. I looked up at Michael and he smiled and nodded to me knowingly. After another minute or two, Kya finally started moving. She didn't swing the sword at all, just kept it close to her body and began stepping forward and backward, like she was trying to remember something. I watched her move a little bit faster, and she began spinning gently around the mats and facing them while still keeping the sword held close to her.

Michael leaned over to me and spoke lowly, "It's been three years since she's even touched that sword. It belonged to her grandfather, he was a fencer back in the day, and Japan's Olympic gold medalist in the event for a number of years. It's a beautiful antique, a Scottish heavy rapier. Only the best fencers can fight well with one, since they are so heavy. If you hit too hard, you lose your balance, too soft and you leave yourself open. Hundreds of years ago, when the English invaded Scotland, many Scots used such swords to punch holes in the heavy English armor. It's a strange weapon, hard to use, but adaptable, like the Scots... like Kya. I don't know what you did my dear, but she seems to be getting her old fire back. It's good that she has a friend like you, fresh and full of perspective."

I smiled as I watched Kya move gracefully around the mats. She extended the sword out straight in front of her and began turning her wrist left and right slowly. Finally, she pulled back slowly, then glided forward and thrust into the nothing in front of her. It was so fast that I hardly saw it, and I kept my eyes glued on her even more intently to see what she would do next.

Kurasuma continued whispering to me as we both watched Kya in action, "Starway... I know about what your husband is doing right now and I want to tell you that he's going to be fine."

I broke concentration for a minute and looked at Michael hopefully, "How do you know? Kya seems sure about it too and I'm trying not to worry about it."

He smiled, "I fought with him, that's how. He won't be put down so easily, and his friends are very formidable in their given fields. More importantly though, is that you know how important your role is in this. In feudal Japan, during the shogun wars, many, many men fought and died for their lords. So many men died in fact, or were enlisted, that women began doing all of the men's work. The men would wear armor before they went out to a big battle, but ironically they couldn't dress themselves in it without the help of their wives. In the end, the men killed and died, while the women farmed, cleaned, cooked, marketed and managed. Eventually, the war had ravaged the land so badly that merchant's began buying all the land and goods they could, which ultimately ended the war. A lot of those merchants were women, either widowed or unmarried. The point is: don't underestimate yourself, either as a wife or a woman. The man you love will go to the ends of the universe for you, but it's your job to convince him that he doesn't have to do something so stupid. Sentiment for the sake of sentiment will lead him to destruction, you need to guard his heart from his own sentiments and draw him close to the reality of your affection, not the idea of it."

I listened carefully then nodded, not really sure if I understood completely. Michael was the kind of guy that would order a pizza and make it sound mystical and deep, but his tone was very neutral and I could tell that he was trying to make me feel better while still giving me some advice. Truth be told, I was open to any advice I could get. I was feeling a bit useless too, even though I had killed a mafia lord, but when he put it like that, I started thinking about how much little ol' me had actually accomplished.

I continued to watch Kya spin and thrust, and she began slicing the air deftly and I whispered back to Michael, "Thanks Mr. Kurasuma. I think I understand, but... did something like that happen to you?"

I saw him nod slowly In the corner of my eye, "A long time ago when I was a different person. I just don't want Trask to make the same mistakes I did. That girl... my first love, I tried to take care of her, but in the end I smothered her. She was ambitious, and I mistook her wanting to work as a false indicator that I should work harder because she wanted more. I think I became more obsessed with the idea of making sure she was comfortable than I did with the idea of loving and supporting her, but she didn't want comfort. I was a fool, it was my first relationship and I was young. Trask may be so concerned with supplying your needs and protecting you that he'll miss the whole point of your relationship. Don't misunderstand me, I know he is deeply in love with you, but I'm talking about down the line. Just keep reminding him that you want to live your life with him and not for him."

I felt sad for Michael, but he seemed like he'd taken a lesson from it. Kya had stopped moving completely, and she was standing completely still in the middle of the mats. I watched her with intensity as I whispered back to Kurasuma, "Kya told me something similar and I think you're both right. I promise I'll make sure he knows about my goals and how I want to contribute."

Kurasuma smiled, "It might be hard for him at first, watching you work hard at something you want, but that's only because he won't want you to have to work at all. Shatter that idea of his as quickly as you can and you're relationship will blossom to perfection."

I was about to reply to Kurasuma when Kya finally moved. I'm not sure if I can get the sequence right, but I heard her shout as she thrust the rapier right through the middle of one of the mats. Immediately after, she swung the back of the blade upward and nearly cut the thing in half, then span the sword over her head in the same motion and slice it horizontally. That's pretty much all I can remember to be honest, the rest was a blur. She did a half spin I think and cut left and right all over the place, and in less than five seconds all the mats were on the floor cut into several pieces. My mouth was hanging open and I was beyond impressed. The only person I had ever seen move that fast was Trask, but even he wasn't nearly as graceful. It was amazing, watching her move like that, and it was hard for me to believe that she hadn't touched a sword in over three years.

She relaxed and walked over to us, not even breathing hard. She smiled at me and handed the sword to Kurasuma, "Michael, I want to fight again," she said definitely.

Michael grinned, "Happy to hear it. We'll be glad to have you back in the roster, although I will miss my favorite shapely centerpiece."

Kya shot him a -_- look, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He laughed, "Calm down my dear, I'm joking. But seriously, someone with your passion and talent should be competing."

She nodded and hung her head a little, "Kurasuma I..."

He put his hand up, "Don't worry, I told you I would wait for as long as you needed me to. Regardless of your reasons, I'll be glad to have you back. Just between you and me, since you haven't been defending your title (ahem) there are a few naysayers who have been talking about how they could whoop you like a dead horse, no incentive there."

She laughed, "We'll see."

Kurasuma looked the blade over and said absently, "Not that it's my business, but what made you come back?"

Kya looked at me like we shared a secret that only we knew, "I've been sulking long enough, it's just... well, it's time."

When we finally got back to Kya's place, we threw down all the crap we bought and both of us raided the leftover sushi. We sat around the kitchen island polishing it off and talking, when her mini PDI rang.

She looked at it and smiled at me excitedly, "Its Trask, they're coming home and everyone is ok!"

I felt so relieved that I felt like melting, "Oh thank god," was all I could say as I felt tears rushing to my eyes.

She nodded, "See, I told you it was gonna be fine. At the rate their going they should be here around eight or nine tomorrow morning."

I nodded, "I still don't understand space time and planetary weekdays, but I'll settle for tomorrow morning. I can't thank you enough Kya, for taking me in. I hope I haven't been too much trouble."

She laughed, "Starry, you've been nothing but trouble, and I'm loving every minute of it. Let's celebrate with another bottle of girly champagne!"

I laughed, "How long have you been keeping these bottles lying around? Or are you just a boozer?"

She shoved a piece of tuna in her mouth, "I never drink, not until recently. I've had these things around collecting dust like forever. You've just been bringing out the animal in me."

"Hm, I guess I do that to everyone. So, earlier, with the sword and everything. What was that about?" I asked while I confiscated the remaining California rolls.

She sighed, "Long story short, it was my grandfather's. He was a Japanese gold medalist, but more importantly he's the one who encouraged me to take up fencing. He died when I was seventeen, and a lot of people in my family didn't even seem sad. He didn't leave behind a lot of money, despite his career, so that's probably why they didn't care too much, but he was more of a father to me than my dad ever was. He left me that sword and all of his medals, as well as his collection of antique knives. I used to practice with the sword a lot, every time I used it I felt like my Grandpa was with me, training me and telling me how to improve. I guess that sounds kinda crazy, right?"

I shook my head, "No, not at all. I would have done anything to have a father figure in my life like that. My first experiences with men weren't very healthy."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Most of the men in my family aren't much better, let me tell you. But my Grandpa was on my mother's side, the Korean side. He was a little shunned by the rest of my family on my father's side, if not because of his ethnicity then because he had no money."

I nodded slowly, "So, I'm just assuming here, but you kinda stopped fencing when you and Jason split?"

"Yeah... I didn't do much except work when all that went down. I kept telling myself I would compete again, enter some tournaments and stuff, but I kept putting it off. I knew the real reason behind it; I just felt like such a failure. I couldn't make anyone happy, my boyfriend, my family, or myself. It sucks to win a bunch of medals and trophies if no one is even happy for you. If someone didn't have a problem with one thing then someone else would have a problem with another. I was either too headstrong or not motivated enough, working too hard or relaxing too much. My parents were upset with me because supposedly it was my fault that Jason left me, I guess they were planning on us being their retirement plan. I kinda gave up for a while to be honest with you, and even though work has been good lately, it's only because I dedicate so much of my time to it."

I finished the rolls and burped softly, "So... what happened to make you want to visit your grandpa's spirit again?"

She smiled at me, "Honestly Starry, it's got everything to do with you and Trask. You guys came into our lives so suddenly, just when things couldn't get any more boring. You brought trouble with you sure, but we need a little trouble. Us fighters get itchy after a while if we can't get into a good scrap. I've been fooling myself for too long. I love my escrow business and I love selling houses, but it shouldn't be my life. You guys swept in and caused all kinds of upheaval, and I thought to myself, 'what the hell am I waiting for? These two are starting from scratch together, they're almost total strangers but they're falling in love and staying together despite their situation.' I have no excuse, the past is over and I need to stop moping," she looked away from me shyly for a minute then and paused. "And last night Starry... you made me feel alive again. It wasn't just sex for me, it was inspiration. How do you do it? I mean, how do you live your life so casually and care so much about other people even though you've only been kicked around?"

I felt my cheeks getting flushed, "Um, heh, you're gonna give me a big head, Kya. I guess it's just that I've always been closer to death than life. So many times, more times than I can remember, I was either starving or running away from someone. I was sick, then I was healed, but only to suffer from a different kind of sickness. I have to remember that this is all new for Trask, but for me, running and fighting to stay alive is normal. I don't know how to worry about tomorrow because survival in the here and now has been the priority. Life happens to me, and whether someone is directly at fault for my suffering or not, it's not EVERYONE'S fault that I'm suffering. I guess, because of that, I do a lot of the things that I want to; things other people only think about. I try to be understanding of others because everyone's got problems, and who am I to say that I'm any worse off than they are? It's just how I live my life, I'd rather throw myself into it and see how it turns out than try to ease in and make the inevitable more painful. The upside is that I do whatever the hell I want and deal with the consequences later," I laughed lightly.

She nodded and looked a little embarrassed, "Yeah, I really admire that about you, I think people try to plan too much. Like yesterday... when I undressed you and you were a little drunk, I couldn't help but stare at you. I wanted to touch you so badly, but I kept repressing it. I never, never would have acted on those urges if you hadn't initiated it."

I giggled, "I wouldn't have stopped you! But I see your point. Most people live their lives like that, second guessing themselves and questioning everything, but I say what I'm thinking and I do what I want for the most part, unless tact is absolutely necessary."

"Yes, I figured that one out," she said wryly.

The night went on pretty uneventfully until Kya poured me too much champagne... AGAIN. I knew she wasn't trying to get me drunk, I think she was trying to get herself tipsy so she could convince herself to fool around with me again. I was game for it with or without the booze, but aren't I always? Finally, as we were sitting around the couch again she gave me a look and smiled mischievously, "Starry, do you want to test out that thing I bought for you and Trask?"

I grinned nervously, "Uh, okay, if you want."

She hit my arm playfully, "Oh, so now you're the shy one?"

I shrugged, "I guess I'm a little nervous about using toys, I don't have a lot of experience."

She stood, "I'll teach you then. I guarantee you that your husband will start buying them for you, because you're such a handful."

I nodded and stood as well, feeling a little aloof, "Yeah, he told me that already."

Kya led me to a door on the far end of downstairs hallway and opened it up. A light switched on automatically and I saw a gorgeous hot-tub room surrounded by beach colored ceramic wall tiles.

"What the hell! You have a hot tub and you didn't tell me!" I said loudly, about to freak out.

She nodded and smiled, "I would have offered It to you last night, but we were both tired."

I frowned, still a little upset that she kept something so awesome from me, "Okay, I forgive you, but this better be good."

She laughed and tore open the bag that she grabbed on the way over, "It will be, I promise. Now pay attention, I'll show you his first."

I did a double take, "What do you mean his? There's two of them in there?!"

She nodded and produced a shiny metal ring, "It's a twofer pleasure pack for couples, it's cheaper to buy them that way. This is a corona halo, a state of the art vibrating c-ring."

I looked at it curiously, "I'm not sure it will fit him."

She shot me a look, "What? Its adjustable Starry, it better fit him!"

I laughed, "I didn't know it was adjustable, give me a break."

She continued to look at me unsurely, "Is he really that hung?"

I nodded, "Not like godzilla, but trust me, its enough. It's not like I measured it or anything, but I'd guess probably close to eight inches from the base. He's thick though, and I'm so tiny, it's the thickness that really does it for me." I finished and felt myself beginning to feel a little feverish from talking about my husband like that in front of Kya.

She looked jealous, "That's... impressive."