Chapter Seven: Blue Reunion — Part 2

Sleep might have come quickly, given the odd rock of the ship, and the near darkness of his chamber, if not for his neighbors. The foursome whom he suspected were close when back in Tó Naneesdizí, are obviously much closer than Kiyoshi previously believed, and noisy enough in their behavior that he finds himself with a mix of envy and frustration. As he hears what can only be the slow build to climax, his own mind is suddenly entranced by the vision of Heath, her shirt drawn down so that Blake can service her wounds. Kiyoshi listens carefully to his neighbors, cautiously trying to hear if Heath has joined them, ashamed at the thoughts the squirm and scurry unbidden into his mind. He cannot imagine someone so young being allowed to partake in such behavior. Nor can he imagine Heath having such an interest. Yet the thoughts are there, his mind filling in details that are best left to the imagination.

At the thought of Heath, Kiyoshi feels as if his entire body has tightened with heat, a stiffness that gnaws all the way into his soul. Almost of their own accord, his fingers shift gently to pull off his underwear, while his mind rebuilds Heath’s image. She’s young, he knows. Maybe too young to be thought of while in a state of arousal, but he has never made love to another, not even a kiss, and she is most certainly of age to be called a woman. Despite this, he focuses on her eyes as his fingers work to release the tension of a body denied an outlet too long. Though sopping and sticky, his orgasm is brief and fulfilling, and once it has run its course, Kiyoshi is suddenly stuck with the sound of noisy neighbors, and a messy sense of loneliness. The results of his actions catch him a little off guard, and he finds himself looking in his closet for something to clean up with. He finds a small set of absorbent linen handkerchiefs that seem to have been intended for just such needs.

Once he is clean, he stuffs the rag with his clothes in the hamper set inside the closet, and Kiyoshi falls onto the cot belly first, listening to the rush of wind, the moan of metal and wood and bamboo, the slap of sails. He listens to any quiet noise, anything to keep him from hearing Daria’s lustful moan, anything to block out the heavy breath of Jynx trying to be quiet. The men, or the man and the guy who is sometimes not, are absolutely silent right now, and then, finally, the women become quiet, and all is calm. Kiyoshi finds himself napping with the lull and flow of the ship. Then a knock on his door sneaks into his unconscious mind, but fails to rouse him. The door opens quietly, and a mousy creature creeps in, gathering his clothes and replacing them with a fresh uniform. He opens his eyes just a crack, watching Heath leave through the door, locking it behind her. He feels his body tighten at the sight of the back of her legs, concealed by black stockings with cherry pompoms to just under the knee.

Closing his eyes, Kiyoshi pushes all the thoughts of her aside. He does not want to know her, in any sense, because she looks too young. By the time he is called to duty, Kiyoshi has suppressed his own thoughts almost to the point where he has almost forgotten about Heath. Then He is surprised to find himself paired with Heath to help manage one of the guide sails on landing. Her soft sweat catches his nose, bringing heat back to him again. Heath explains the rigging cheerfully, and Kiyoshi listens, not saying a word.

“As you can see, the main line is controlled by the Captain’s gears, always keeping the extended sail taught and angled for proper lift. But these grips here, and here, allow us to man handle the sails, pulling them above ship’s base during descent, or pulling them up completely when we shift to sailing over water. They put me with you because I have the brains, but need the muscle. The guide sails are like dragonfly wings, ya know, and we have to shift those wings when the Captain calls, so that the ship will nose up with gravity, and settle into the fall. Does that make sense?”

“Not at all.” Kiyoshi says, surprising himself.

Blake whistles heavy, and Heath grabs the sail guide. “It will in a minute, sugar. Now help me pull the sail to standing, so we can slow this puppy down.”

Kiyoshi feels his insides wrench as the Edgewind drops violently toward the arch base. The ship shifts its belly toward Earth as the bowl of gravity warps outward, and then Kiyoshi feels nothing pulling at him in any direction at all. The percussion flies out from the ship, and then echoes back in, bringing a wave of wind with it. This wouldn’t have been particularly important if Kiyoshi’s hands hadn’t slipped off the sail guide. It might not have mattered even then if he had remembered to strap in, when he finally gets his bearings, is about fifty feet above deck, expecting to fall at any minute, but not. In fact, he is continuing to drift away. Kiyoshi has no idea where he’s going, but the main masts are now out of reach and Heath is staring up at him in shock. She stammers something incoherent, and Kiyoshi can’t hear it. He knows Captain Joe is laughing, and the odd boy in the dress is rising gently after him.

Kiyoshi starts to slide along the gravity plane toward ground, coming to a slow stop in the middle of the air. Without fans or fins, he feels stuck. ChoCho is along shortly, trailing a thick fishing line. ChoCho takes his hand, smiling. Kiyoshi looks back toward the ship until his body is pulled at an angle that keeps him from seeing. He had stopped at a distance about that of a football field. Minutes pass, and then he is on the deck, and Joe is strapping him to a guideline, smiling.

“On the upside, we now know which way to move the Edgewind for the next jump. And you won’t forget to strap down ever again, will you?”

“No sir.” Kiyoshi says, feeling almost as ashamed as he had the evening before, thinking of Heath.

Soon he is back at the sail, helping Heath settle it. “Sorry I got you in trouble with the Captain.” Heath says, “I should have checked your harness.”