055. Pay Yuki to cook for you.

My stomach growled again and then I caught a whiff of something wonderful. Looking around I spotted Yuki, still at her family vegetable stand, but she also had a new cart next to it that seemed to be a portable stove for cooking food right here. It smelled so go I just couldn’t resist and came up to talk with her.

"Hi, Kenji!" she said happily. "Look!" she then waved her arms to display her new venture. "This the new Yamada Dinner Wagon mobile restaurant cart," she said proudly. And that is exactly what it was, a cart with two big wagon wheels with a stove inside along with dozens of cups, bowls, and utensils for cooking and serving up meals on the fly.

"Wow, Yuki, you are as inventive as you are a good cook," I complimented her and she grinned ecstatically. "What do you got that’s hot?"

"Right now I have Sesame Stir-fry Shrimp Ramen," she answered.

"Well, serve me up a bowl," I said excitedly and she got to work filling up a bowl.

"Sure!" she cheerfully ducked down before quickly popping back up with a bowl and began ladling up a steaming hot bowl that smelled terrific. "Here you go, but careful, it's hot," she cautioned handing it to me.

I took a deep sniff of the divine scents assaulting my nose. "I can already tell it’s gonna be great!" I complimented honestly as I took the wooden chopsticks in one hand and lifted the ceramic bowl to my lips with the other.

Suddenly the ceramic bowl exploded in my hand causing the boiling hot ramen to splatter in my face and run down my arm. Yuki shrieked in fearful surprise, and for a moment I thought that I’d once again forgotten my amazing strength, but then I heard the booming laughter of Natsumi. She stood perhaps twenty yards tossing up and catching a stone braggadociously in one hand.

Quickly scanning the ground, I found a similar stone, and I reached down to pick it up. "What is your problem with me Natsumi?" I angrily shouted at her holding up the hot wet rock she had thrown.

"Easy," she said haughtily as she approached. "You are a lazy, good for nothing, perverted asshole. And I’ve made it my mission to try and make you an honest man. It’s a fool's errand, I know, but hey, it could be fun and I got nothing better to do."

"How the fuck is attacking me while I’m trying to eat supposed to make me a man?" I growled.

"Easy," she said, then wound up to powerfully hurl the stone at me, rather than answer.

"Kenji!" Yuki cried with concern.

I think Natsumi expected me to dodge as the fast-moving rock came shooting right at my head, but instead I held up my hand and caught it, stopping it cold as if the impact was no more than a gentle toss.

"Wow! Kenji! That was so cool!" Yuki cheered behind me.

"Hmrp. Not bad," Natsumi said, obviously unexpectedly impressed.

"Oh, yeah?" I said and then dropped the rocks and cracked my knuckles. I’d had enough of her bullying and now that I had the power it was time for me to use it. "Then what do you think about this?" I yelled as I launched myself at her ready to fight.

She did dodge my clumsy punch, but not by as much as she thought she was going to. My strength made me faster, but I knew I really had bad form and no actual martial arts training. Still my ****, wild and untrained, made her retreat, and I think she could tell that something had changed in me and she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a punch if she could help it. I pursued her and only barely heard Yuki cry out, "Be careful Kenji!" as we were soon running down the street away from her.

I could tell she was headed back to her dojo for a proper duel, and I allowed her to lead me there. I could have jumped to block her off, but I wanted her to think she had the advantage for now so I could surprise her later. Still, I didn’t make it easy for her, throwing a few kicks and punches, but for as big a woman as she was she sure could move quickly. Once we were alone in the center of her dojo floor she turned and tried a block. My arm hit hers and pushed her back five feet, but still prevented me from injuring her.

"When did you get so strong, Kenji?" she said shaking off the sting of our impact.

"Wouldn’t you like to know?" I laughed circling her and she circled around me to keep me at a distance.

"I’m betting it was last night when you stole my katana," she said confidently.

"How did you know about that?" I shouted at her.

"I didn’t until you just told me," she smirked. "So tell me, what changed, boy?"

"I grew a pair," I responded snarly and launched at her again. I couldn’t lay a finger on her if she didn’t let me, and that was starting to get a little frustrating.

"News to me," she laughed as she kept just out of reach, never attacking, just continuing to move out of the way.

"Stay still!" I growled getting increasingly more annoyed. Then I overextended in making a very wide punch and that was when she finally struck me by kicking me in the gut. I was so sure it was going to hurt that I doubled over and dropped to one knee.

"Give up, Kenji?" she said gloating over me, "Even with whatever power you stole, you’re still too impatient to use it correctly."

"You’re right," I said standing up, "But since that kick felt like that of a baby I think you will come to regret that." Then I dropped all pretense of defense and went on full attack. That got me closer forcing her to have to block several more that she just couldn’t dodge, yet every one of her own punches and kicks that connected was barely more than an inconvenience to me. I could tell I was quickly wearing her down, so much so that in just a few minutes she was breathing hard and had several good bruises and a black eye.

Then I got in a trip, and with her weakened state, she fell. In a heartbeat, I was on top of her and she yelled, "I yield."

<Finish her!> my ego yelled inside of me, but that wasn’t who I was. I still almost hit her again, but then I saw something in her eyes. I don’t know what it was, but it was like looking in a broken mirror. Something soft, and familiar, even loving, though distant. I let her go and stepped away.

"Pathetic," I grunted and just walked out. I hadn’t noticed that our fighting had lasted so long, but the sun was already low when I came back by Yuki’s stands.

"Kenji, you're alright?" she asked shocked, and that kind of pissed me off. I understood rationally that given our history that Natsumi should have wiped the floor with me, but the comment just struck a nerve.

"Sorry to disappoint you," I said sarcastically. "Did you lose a bet?"

She huffed and put her hands on her hips, "I’m not Hazuka."

She was right, and I had said that a bit crueler than she deserved. Then I remembered I’d never paid for my food, or the bowl Natsumi had broken. Reaching in my pocket I pulled out a gold coin and flipped it to her. "Keep the change," I grunted and started walking home.

"I…" Yuki stammered and froze. Having such blabber-mouth finally at a loss for words was totally worth it. Content with my double successes I walked on, never looking back.

I considered what I should do with my power now that I knew Natsumi was no threat anymore. I could leave town and head north to fight off the remaining barbarians and be a hero for real. That thought held a lot of appeal, and I fantasized about capturing dozens of young girls and taking them as my sex slaves, having them serve me in little transparent clothes and fucking them stupid whenever I wanted. That almost had me turn around and go do it right now, but then I heard a cry.

It was soft and almost nonexistent, but clear enough on this quiet night standing on top of the hill as the sun was setting. It pulled me on closer to home and passed the open window to the Takahashi manor I tracked the sound of tears coming from Chizu as she worked on her diner meal.

"Chizu," I asked as I walked up to the window to speak with her, "What’s wrong?"

She stifled up her sobs, but couldn’t stop the drops still welling up in her eyes. "Nothing. Thank you."

"Come on, Chizu," I smiled at her. "You can tell me."

She wavered, but quickly looked left and right before whispering, "Chizu punished for stealing."

"What did you steal?" I asked not quite believing she would do such a thing.

"Chizu not steal," she answered then explained, "Mistress find Chizu holding coin Kenji-san give Chizu."

"That bitch!" I shouted getting mad again. "You wait here and I’ll be right in to talk to Azami."

"No!" Chizu said with fear. "Please, Kenji-san" she pleaded, "Please no. Chizu is okay. Just… please no." I thought for a moment and she was right. Azami wouldn’t believe anything I’d say. She’d just call me an accomplice.

But that didn’t really matter anymore. I could always **** Azami to do anything I wanted, her and her pretty daughter. I could take anything, Chizu, my home, Setsuko’s virginity. That brought a grin to my face. It sure would teach both of those stuck up bitches a lesson they would never forget. But I was snapped from my perverted fantasy by Chizu’s pleading with me just once more, "Please, Kenji-san. Chizu is okay with Kenji-san. Okay." Then once she was sure I had heard her she closed the window and moved away.

That honest concern for me made my conscience real. Confused at why my brain was getting so nasty and mean I wandered back home slowly before I had an idea. "Wait. What was I just thinking?" I said to myself smacking my forehead for being a dummy. I didn’t have to be a beast and take Chizu by ****. I still had the massive gem buried out back. I could just buy Chizu’s freedom along with almost anything else I wanted. I almost went right past my house to go dig it back up, but I heard talking coming from my house so stopped to listen.

"And how do you explain the blood all over the floor!" Kouki said exasperated.

"I don’t know," Hazuka unconcerned said. "Maybe he cut himself?"

"No way! There was way too much!" she exclaimed.

"So much you didn’t even notice until after you talked with him?" she asked doubtfully.

"It was dark first thing in the morning," my sister said in her defense.

"And where is it now?" Hazuka asked, clearly skeptical.

"Well I cleaned it up of course," Kouki groaned. "It was already dry so I just swept it out the door."

"Maybe it’s your time of the month and he was fingering you while you slept?" she teased.

"Ewww! Gross! Don’t even joke about something like that!" she squealed back in disgust. I’d heard enough to get the gist. I’d worried her enough to bring Hazuka in for a consultation. Now I felt really bad, but with at least some of the money, I’d gotten maybe I could make it up to her. Yuki was still in town with her stand. Maybe she’d be willing to cook us all a good meal. Naw, Kouki probably already had dinner ready anyway, but maybe even just as a gesture it’d be a nice idea, and I still didn’t get a chance to taste Yuki’s great cooking anyway.

I looked up to the sky and picked a random star, hoping my ancestors could hear me and answer my prayer. "What should I do?" I whispered and just hoped the universe would give me an answer.