I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 72: Ramen

We both took a fairly quick shower and I changed the bandage on my hand before helping Alisha apply some antibacterial ointment to her stitches, which were so much neater compared to mine. The thread was finer and the stitches quite a bit smaller and closer together. Mine were clunkier. I felt a little annoyance at Tye for this but considered he had done everything he could to get us out of there safely and quickly. Alisha simply had an actual doctor tend to hers, so it was only natural hers would be more cosmetically appealing. At least they were healing, I noted, as there was no sign of blood and the wound looked clean and normal. I replaced her bandage for her, being gentle when pressing my fingers down to make sure the adhesive stuck.

“We should find some dinner,” she commented.

“I’m not quite hungry yet,” I informed her.

“Yes but it’ll be late soon,” she informed.

I shrugged. “This is the city, right?” I asked. “Is there anything you want to do before we eat?” I got redressed, and put on a clean pair of underwear before doing a quick smell check of my dress.

“We could go for a walk, I suppose,” she said. “Though we really shouldn’t get lost.”

“Aren’t the streets numbered?” I asked.

She nodded. “But they’re long. So you need to remember the intersection.”

“Right,” I agreed. It was apparent she had spent some time in this city, which really shouldn’t surprise me but if she hadn’t taken a vacation in a decade… I supposed business might have been handled between large city families.

But Alisha would be small fry compared to the families here. Which might be why she wasn’t stressed about getting recognized, not to mention the population density meant everywhere would be crowded and we could simply blend in. In a way this was one of the best possible places to hide. 

“Lets walk, then,” I decided. “Although, if we’re walking at night I should probably carry my sidearm on my person.”

She nodded. “Yes. Let’s figure something out for that.” She looked at me in the sundress. An elastic band held the waist of it fairly tight to my body, while the skirt ruffled and flared out. With a casualness the action should not have, she lifted the skirt up to look at my thighs. “Put your knees together,” she advised and I adjusted my stance, finding it a bit uncomfortable to force it.

Her eyes continued to scrutinize me. “I can work with this,” she decided and went back to her purse.

“Huh?” I asked curiously.

“You have a thigh gap,” she said. “Which means,” she pulled out that ribbon we had used as a dress belt for her. “If we tie it to you,  it won’t be the most uncomfortable thing in the world. Just until we get you a purse or a proper thigh holster.”

I nodded, though this felt weird.

She used the remainder of that ribbon to tie a loop and then did some fancy knotwork to get it around my thigh in such a way that the more the holster pulled on it, the tighter it got. It was not the most comfortable. At all. But it was invisible as long as nobody tried to look up my skirt. Alisha might shoot someone for trying that though. She also looped the remaining length around the body of the holster so it was pretty snug against my skin and not hanging down.

“If it gets too uncomfortable I can carry it,” Alisha told me. “But this shouldn’t come loose, at least.”

I nodded as she put my skirt back down. 

“Alright, let’s go for a walk,” she gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head and checked the burner phone again. I had a feeling it didn’t matter if the phone would ring loudly when Tye needed to reach us. She would still be anxiously checking it frequently to be sure she didn’t miss anything. It was simply against her nature to take time off at this point, a sad reality that came with having one's life turned over to a career like hers. I had not forgotten her father had forced her into this. I hoped she had made him suffer before he died… but then again, as abusive as my father was, I still didn’t want to see him in pain. I knew logically he deserved it, and if I had said something as a child he probably would’ve gone to prison for his crimes against me. But I was too young to understand, and too scared to say anything.

We walked the street. There were a lot of people bustling about in various levels of hurry. Some were like us, leisurely looking at the sights. And others that were obviously locals, wanting to catch the train home.

The city really did stay alive at all times, a pulse of traffic and cars always flowing, and people always doing business, legal or not.

There were also smells strong enough to reach me. Some of them were unpleasant, like cigarettes and weed, but others were nicer, like the smell of a charred gyro or a bar serving something savory that I couldn’t identify. 

Alisha blinked at one point at a business across the street with a line outside.

“Hm?” I questioned and followed her gaze. It was a Japanese restaurant of some kind.

“I didn’t know they had an Ichihana here,” she said.

“Ichihana?” I repeated, trying to replicate that particular inflection she gave the words.

“It's a chain in Japan,” she explained. “It’s really popular, too.” She looked at me, even took my hand with a gentle squeeze. “You like ramen, right?” she asked.

I nodded. “I’ve only had the instant kind, though,” I told her.

“Hm…”

“We can get it,” I told her. There was a line, certainly, but the temperature was cooling into a pleasant evening and I was far from ravenous. We could wait, and simply chatter, maybe. There could be inane things to talk about… we didn’t get to do that a lot. 

We went over and stood at the end of the line. It certainly didn't move fast. There were only about ten or so people but the first two went inside after about ten minutes.

“I gather you’ve been to Japan,” I commented.

She nodded. “One of the few trips my father came with us for. It’s a nice country. A lot safer than this one.”

“Is it pretty?” I asked. “I know the photos always look nice, but I never know… photo manipulation is very easy nowadays.”

She nodded. “It has a lot of natural beauty, and the standards there are generally higher when it comes to cleanliness.”

“That sounds nice.”

She nodded.

“Where else have you been?” I asked. “If it’s not too personal to talk about.”

“Oh, it’s fine. There’s just so many. Paris, Italy, London, Hong Kong, Thailand, a lot of tropical islands both in the Caribbean and the Philippines. There was Switzerland and Holland, we went to Singapore…” she rambled on for a while, and I could see her actively remembering these places. This was probably the first time I saw her remember something positively. 

“I’m glad something from your childhood was fun,” I told her. “I think you didn't get enough of that.”

“My mom— Angela— She knew how to have a good time,” she told me. And then her hand clenched into a fist at her side.

“Have you ever had instant ramen?” I asked, changing the subject.

“No. Is that the stuff that comes in like a bright orange package?”

I nodded. “It’s supposedly very inferior to a bowl of proper stuff. But I don’t know from experience.”

“You will in just a little bit,” she pointed out.

I nodded. This was actually quite exciting. Ramen always looked so tasty, so delicious, in anime. 

We did wait quite a while, long enough the sky got as dark as it would. There was so much light pollution there would always be a grey haze that obscured any stars. People continued to bustle about us, and the cars never stopped. There were always headlights moving through this part of the city at least.

When we were finally welcomed inside, Alisha handled ordering the ramen, explaining the options to me, as it was a different system than I was used to. We were each handed a slip of paper and a pen to fill out what exactly we wanted.

“I would recommend going with all of the standard options,” Alisha advised. “It’ll have some spice, but it won’t be overwhelming. And then choose the recommended toppings. It looks like it's all good things.”

I was a little overwhelmed. I didn’t know what chashu was, or why the eggs were specified as soft boiled or why there were noodle cooking options. But I followed her advice. She knew what she was talking about enough that the girl behind the counter asked her something in Japanese and she answered, although it was notably a little unnatural for her. There were a few more exchanges, and even though I could identify a few Japanese words, I didn’t understand what they were talking about.

We were finally seated at booths. There was a window in the back with a shade. This was rolled up briefly so whoever was the waitstaff back there could take the order slip and then rolled the shade back down. 

I sat on the chair, feeling the pinching of the make-shift holster. A moment later we were brought tea, something Alisha had ordered for herself and that I had replicated. I looked down at it. It was cloudy green tea but at a sip, I found it to be the usual flavor profile, stronger and with a different mouthfeel, but still a delicate and earthy tea.

The shop was noisy. Alisha and I were sitting next to each other but at individual booths, so it felt a little like we were separated.

I talked at her a bit, even when she was looking a little distracted. Our bowls came with quite a bit of speed. This place ran like a well oiled machine.

I stared at the ramen. The noodles were straight rather than wavy and the broth almost milky looking. I looked for chopsticks and noticed Alisha already had a pair. At my confusion she reached over and opened a drawer under the booth, revealing a basket of them and napkins and things.

“Thank you,” I said a little sheepishly.

She patted my leg. “I forgot you wouldn't know.”

I nodded and used the chopsticks to stir the broth a little bit, getting the toppings dunked in and the pile of bright red sauce mixed in a bit before picking up one of the chashu slices. It smelled so good. I took a bite, finding it tender but meaty. The broth flavor had soaked into it and I understood why people said instant ramen did not compare. The noodles had a chew to them that was quite pleasant. Kind of like al dente spaghetti but not quite the same.

Alisha was enjoying her ramen as well. She had her eyes closed as she slurped the noodles up to her mouth.

Evidently she had not had this dish since before her father forced her to become such a perfect little mobster with all the poise of the elite. I didn’t imagine Mr Santos approving of slurping up noodles with such obvious appreciation of them.

It was nice to see her more casual and relaxed. I gave up on twirling noodles after a while and instead replicated her slurping. It was a little sloppy and that delicious broth spattered here and there. It was hot enough it stung my abused taste buds a bit but it was by far worth it.

I was stuffed by the time we finished and Alisha was quick to put her bowl up by the screen and get up.

I hurried to follow, feeling that lethargy from being so pampered.

The Japanese girl gave Alisha a friendly ‘arigato’ and a little hand wave that was rather cute as we passed through the front lobby area. It sent a spark of jealousy into me, but Alisha only gave her a respectful dip of her head and continued out.

And then we were back in the noise of the street.

Alisha took my hand, making me feel a bit more blushy.

“What now?” she wondered.

I lumbered behind her, still stuffed, still warm from the inside and out and still completely and utterly satiated. Part of me wanted to just curl up on the bed and sleep. Alisha glanced over at me and smiled that special smile she always reserved for me. 

“Should we call it a night?” she asked.

I hesitated to nod, but finally did so.

We turned around and avoided another rowdy crowd spilling out from yet another bar. 

It was a while before we ended up back at the hotel. The same desk clerk that had checked us in looked up  briefly before turning his focus back to the computer. I was suddenly very aware of my hand in Alisha’s. We were being pretty openly gay. But so far no one had dared say anything and Alisha’s glare could freeze hell over when necessary.

Note: If you ever have the chance to try Ichiran ramen, I do feel that its worth it. There's a couple shops in NYC.