Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger: Beyond the Stars

It had been five weeks since the Gokai Galleon had left Earth. The Zangyack Home world was only a solar system or two away, and it was about time.

Gai's enthusiasm needed a break from everyone – scratch that, everyone needed a break from Gai AND his enthusiasm. Luka had already been through most of her jewelry, cleaning and arranging every speck on every pearl, diamond, and gem, and they were getting lonely (according to Luka, anyway). Joe was in control, training rigorously for whatever may come the Gokaigers' way, but even HE wouldn't mind getting off of the ship to see whatever would come their way. Ahim was content, if only the curiosity of the destination and what it would be like weren't an occasional slip of the mind. Don was the only Gokiager who loved the five week break from all the fighting and adventure, not only for the peace and sanity it brought to him, but the spare time allowed some new technological tinkering and experimentation, with Navi, Gai, and even Ahim being enthusiastic and helpful assistants.

The only one who wasn't too restless amongst the Kaizoku was without a doubt the most reckless one. When he wasn't eating most of the food, arm wrestling Joe, or wrangling Navi, Captain Marvelous was on top of the ship, sitting, staring – gazing, in fact, at the stars. He would gaze at the planets, the constellations, EVERYTHING in the cosmos. It would have seemed out of ordinary to the humans on Earth. Captain Marvelous was without a doubt honorable, but he was also very unpredictable. He would be in the tightest pinch, but like a royal flush, he would come out of nowhere with a move that made everything fall right into place for him. He had intense strength, masterful cunning, and when the chips were down, he would always come through. And here was that young man, looking up at the stars atop his Galleon.

The others were at first baffled. When asked about such behavior (usually from Gai, Don, or Navi), he would walk away or look the other direction. And I wasn't in the usual, "I'm hiding something about how AkaRed saved me" way. It was completely ambiguous. Luka was thrown off, but asked nothing. When Marvelous would walk up to the top of the Galleon, he and Joe simply would exchange nods and that was that.

Ahim was the only one who seemed okay with such behavior. In fact, she was pleasantly surprised. Captain Marvelous was a quintessential "man's man", tough, ruthless, and to the point. To see the sensitive behavior of a child and dreamer in a man interested in gold and treasure was quite refreshing. So much so, that one night, it finally happened.

Marvelous' late night gazing was common knowledge to all on board, but starting a night ago, when the whole crew was asleep, Marvelous did something else. Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, he would take out a small, gold necklace. Hanging from the necklace was a golden left side of a heart, which, when opened, had the picture of a baby inside. As the locket opened, a chime version of "Hush, Little Baby Don't Say a Word" would play. And it was all by accident that Ahim de Famille decided to spy on Marvelous on a night he took the necklace out to play.

Ahim was looking at Marvelous from the crow's nest of the ship. Marvelous was not simply sitting on the top of the ship, he was on beakhead, simply standing, arms folded, looking up at a blanket of stars. His back was to Ahim. She was simply intrigued. Marvelous wanted everything to be stimulating, to be exciting. And here he was, simply taking in the simple things, awestruck at the wonders the universe offered.

Instead, Marvelous held his half-heart necklace in his left hand. He opened it, letting the chime melody play. He closed his eyes, letting the music and images of his childhood flood his head…..

Ahim heard the melody, but did not know the source of the sound. When the idea that Marvelous was the one behind it, she tried to lean out at and angle to see what was in Marvelous' hand. In her own way, however, she leaned out a bit too much…..

"Aaahhhh!"

A jolted Marvelous turned, stunned to see Ahim hanging from the crow's nest of the ship. He jumped to the roof of the ship, then leaped to the outer edge of the crow's nest, where he grabbed Ahim and lifted her back into the nest for safety.

Ahim sat down, a little shaken from her brush with death, soon felt guilt settle in. "I'm so sorry, Marvelous-san " she said, looking down into her knees. 'I should not have intruded on your privacy away from us". She brought her knees to her chest.

Marvelous simply put his hand on the top of her head. She looked up nervously to a concerned captain. "Be careful when you look out of the crow's nest," he calmly explained. "You could drift into space, or fall when we are a planet, okay?"

It wasn't the reaction she was expecting, but she smiled and nodded right away. "Hai!".

He helped her stand up and decided to take her back to her room. Marvelous may have been a tough Captain who demanded 120% out of his crew, but he was not heartless. The whole crew looked after Ahim with special affection and care. Luka may have fulfilled the role of older sibling more than anyone else, but everyone - Gai, Don, Joe - wanted not to shield her, but to see here smile, and look after her. Marvelous was always more reserved with his emotions, but in private, he reassured Ahim with his sincerity.

Ahim looked at her captain in the crow's nest "Marvelous-sa…"

She knew she was taking a risk. "… Why haven't you told of us of your locket?"

Marvelous looked completely befuddled. She continued.

" You can tell us of your past. You can trust us."

So much for taking her to her quarters and staying quiet about the incident, thought the captain. But for all his wit and unpredictability, he had no idea what to do, or how to end this conversation.

"….I'm sorry, Marvelous-san". She looked down and gripped the front of her dress.

"I just… admire this whole new side of you, Marvelous-san. I know you are the captain, and must stay strong for us,….but now, up here….you seem….vulnerable. You always talk about the power of achieving your dreams. In fact, the Gokaiger Greater Power is based on the belief in one's dreams. And….. it was nice to see where it all comes from. It was wonderful to see the dreamer in you."

She looked down, ashamed. "It won't happen again…Captain."

She turned to leave the crow's nest. But Marvelous grasped her hand before she could leave. Ahim turned towards him, his back still turned to her.

"Ahim…." he turned. "How would you like to gaze at the stars with me?"

Her eyes went from startled to delighted. A smile Marvelous had come to love grew wide on her face. Marvelous put his arm around her waist. He grabbed one of the ropes from the sails and, climbing atop the crow's nest, he and Ahim swung across to the beakhead of the Galleon. He let the rope go, and the two next to each other sat amongst the stars.

Marvelous looked at Ahim with a smile. She smiled back, but he couldn't help but notice her body shivering. "Here." He took off his signature red coat and wrapped it around Ahim. Her eyes widened. "Marvelous-san…" She settled into the jacket, and leaned against Marvelous' shoulder. She looked up at the stars with utter delight, but his eyes were…. elsewhere.

Her hair was blowing due to the motion of the ship in auto-pilot. The look of pure joy on her face radiated brighter than any star in the sky. In fact, all Captain Marvelous saw, was the stars in eyes of Ahim de Famille. "I sometimes wonder where my old planet was in the sky….. I sometimes wonder if we should have used the Greatest Treasure in the Universe to restore everything." She looked somewhat despondent. "I wonder if…. bringing back my planet was my dream….. and not simply encouraging others to protect other planets."

Marvelous was listening to Ahim's heartfelt speech….. but in his head, others were talking… whether it is Gavan talking about courage, AkaRed telling him to seize his dreams, or just himself telling Basco that he always gets what he wants. He didn't know why such messages where going through his head….

"Marvelous-san…." He turned to her big, chocolate eyes. "What were your dreams before we obtained the treasure?"

He turned away unsure. He blood was racing, his heart was pounding, sweat dripping from every pore. He quickly turned to Ahim and held her shoulders. "Ahim", he gulped. He quickly looked at her open, glowing eyes, quickly looked down, looked up at her, closed his eyes and leaned forward.

It lasted about ten seconds. As terrifying as the prospect of such an action was, it was what he wanted, but would it work? She wasn't the first one to let go, he was. He wanted to look her in her eyes, articulate all the raging emotion inside his heart….. but the rough-and-ready, showy Captain wasn't used to expressing the romantic feelings inside him. He simply looked at her. Finally, the tension was too much. "Ahim-san….. ." He turned to walk, but stopped at the edge of the beak head. He looked down. It may have been chilly outside in space, but Captain Marvelous, GokaiRed, was sweating in his palms, forehead, and shirt.

In fact, he stood there motionless, until his right hand felt the grasp of Ahims' palms. "I've never had any suitors before," she spoke softly. "I always wondered if I wasn't good enough back home, why no man approached me." He nervously turned to the pink gokaiger. With big black eyes, she innocently asked, "Do you feel I am beautiful enough…. for you to court me? Because, I think you would be a wonderful husband. I know you seem reckless, but I have a sincere feeling that if I gave you the chance, we would be good, as spouses….. as parents….."

"Ahim… I've never done this before. I…. just know…. that everything is alright…. when I'm with you….. it just…. feels….. right…." For the first time since the kiss, Marvelous smiled. Ahim mirrored his. "Mother and father would never approve of a pirate suitor….. All of Famille would be in a panic."

Silence. A long…. silence. After it finally registered, Marvelous began laughing. Hysterically. Basco, AkaRed, Gavan, and Alata would all have a good laugh about it as well. After a moment of recomposing, Marvelous looked at his new girlfriend, and held her close. "We'll figure how to do this as we go along. I don't give up on my dream. Okay?"

Ahim de Famille could only snuggle close with glee. "Hai!"