Disclaimer: I don't own Iria (though I wouldn't mind it….) and I'm not making any money off this. (If I was, do you think you'd see this disclaimer?) The only thing I own here is this story and Shiv. She's mine, do you hear me? Mine! *laughs nervously* Okay…on with the show…..
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence, and sexual implications
Ghosts of the Past
Part 9: Proposals
Shiv sat in the bar, toying with shot glass in front of her. She licked a smear of liquor off her lip and pulled several bills from her pocket. As soon as they hit the counter, the bartender scuttled up, all greasy hair and greasy smile. "Get me another," she mumbled. "And make it a double." The bartender nodded and scuttled away. Moments later, he set the refilled shot glass before her. He hovered for a moment, in case she wanted anything else, then hurried to the other end of the bar. Apparently, there was an argument ensuing over a bar wench. Two men pushed each other back and forth for several minutes, the wench seemingly unconcerned. After a few moments more, the wench drew a stun pistol and shocked them both. Sighing, she shouted to the bartender, "Get Kurin to drag these bums to the street! They're impeding progress!" With that, she bent over and removed the wallets from the men, counting the cash inside. She removed the cash, dropped the wallets on the unconscious pair, and tucked the bills in the front of her low-cut dress. Presumably very pleased with herself, she headed off into a back room.
Shiv smirked and returned to her liquor. Suddenly, she had the feeling there was someone behind her. Reaching one hand into her coat, she only relaxed when she felt familiar hands on her shoulders. "Where the hell have you been?", she muttered, not yet withdrawing her hand.
"I…I'm sorry…," Akira apologized softly. "I…I had something I had to do…I didn't mean…to just disappear after we got back…I didn't know it would upset you so much." Tentatively, he sat beside her at the bar.
"Well, it did upset me, thank you very much," she snapped. "All of a sudden you weren't there. I didn't know if you had been captured or killed or if you'd left 'cause…of something important…or something I'd done…I went out of my mind…" She laid her head down on the bar and began to cry softly. "I…I don't know if I'm ready for this, Akira…Jiko…he's only been dead a few months…I don't think…I can really love somebody right now…but I do care about you…so much…You saved my life, Akira…How can I not care for you?…but…I guess…we need some distance…for a little while, anyway…"
Akira nodded, a twinge of sadness in his eyes. "That's okay. I understand. But…when you're ready…just think about this okay? And give me a call." He set something down on the bar by Shiv's head and walked to the exit. Shiv sniffed and raised her head. It was a small, velvet box…No…it couldn't be…He didn't…
With shaking fingers, she raised the lid. Inside, lay a diamond engagement ring with a white gold band. "Oh, God," she whispered. "That's where he was. Oh, God." Leaping from the barstool and clutching the box tightly, she ran from the bar screaming, "AKIRA!!"
She could see him in the distance; he had left the bar walking fast. She screamed his name again and he stopped and turned around. "Akira," she panted, the tears glistening in her eyes. Carefully, she pressed the box into his hands. "If you're gonna ask me to marry you, then have the decency to get down on one knee and really ask me, dammit."
He smiled and did as she asked, kneeling before her. "Shiv…I loved you since the minute I saw you. I knew I couldn't kill you, couldn't see you die. I knew that I wanted to know you forever. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I know…that I can't be to you…what Jiko was…but I'd like the chance to come as close as possible. Will you do me the supreme honor of marrying me?" By the time he had finished, there were tears in his eyes, too.
Shiv smiled and wiped tears from her eyes with her right hand; her left she held out to Akira. "Of course I will, Akira. Of course I will." He slid the ring on her finger, then leapt up and kissed her, holding her tightly.
Slowly, she pulled back and smiled at him. "This is beautiful," she whispered. "Do we have to move and ruin it?"
"It won't be ruining it," Akira corrected. "It'll just be…keeping it going…that's all."
"So…should we head back and tell them, now? Oh, yeah! I…well…I kinda promised we'd do a victory dinner, so…your skills are required…Hope you don't mind."
Akira's grin turned lopsided. "Mind? Please, I revel in the chance to show-off my culinary skills. Ready?"
"Always."
Fujikuro and Iria sat on the couch, worried about the disappearance of their friends. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the pair leapt from their seats. The door slid aside, to reveal Akira and Shiv with their arms around each other. Their smiles were wide and both pairs of eyes showed signs of tears.
"What?", Iria asked. "What's wrong?"
Shiv turned her head slightly, so that her eyes met Akira's. "Nothing's wrong, for once. Um…you guys…we've got something to tell you…"
Iria and Fujikuro looked at each other. "And this would be…," Fujikuro prompted.
Shiv held up her left hand and grinned. "This," she said.
Iria and Fujikuro's jaws dropped. "You mean…," Iria stuttered. "You…and Akira…are…going to…"
Shiv nodded. "Yup. Say it with me now: 'get married'!"
Fujikuro looked like he was going to faint. Iria picked up a pillow off the couch and started fanning him with it. Shiv laughed. "What's the matter, Fuji? You upset it wasn't you?"
"No, just never thought I'd see you married, that's all."
"Never thought I'd settle down?", Shiv teased.
Fujikuro snorted. "Uh-uh. Even married, you wouldn't settle down. I meant I never thought you'd meet a guy who could stand you!"
Shiv chuckled. "That's cruel, Fuji. You used to stand me."
"Used to, Shiv. Used to. Past tense."
She chuckled again. "You know?", she ventured. "I think you are upset it wasn't you."
Fujikuro turned bright pink. Shiv walked over to him, took the pillow from Iria, and smacked him soundly upside the head with it. He blinked dazedly and flopped onto the couch like a ton of bricks.
Shiv put her hands on her hips and grinned down at him. "You didn't think you were going to get away with that, did you? Well, maybe you did, but now you know otherwise."
Fujikuro rubbed his throbbing head. "I get it, already. I get it. Just don't hit me with the pillow again. Anybody got any aspirin?"
Akira called, "I do." He strode smoothly over to Fujikuro and pressed something into his hand. "Well, it's not quite aspirin," Akira admitted, "but I think someone around here will like it, just the same." Almost imperceptibly, he jerked his head in Iria's direction. Fujikuro's eyes widened as he let his closed fingers trace the pattern of a small velvet box in his hand.
"Is this…," Fujikuro whispered.
Akira nodded. "While I was out this morning, I figured there was somebody else who could use one, too. Don't worry. You can pay me back later."
Fujikuro nodded slowly, still amazed at what he was holding. "You knew…you want me to give it to…"
Akira shook his head. "I just got it for you. You give it to who I know you want to give it to. And it's not gonna get much better than right now."
Fujikuro nodded again, his mouth gone rapidly dry. "Fujikuro?", Iria asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "You okay? What's the big deal about these magic aspirin or whatever, anyway?"
Fujikuro got off the couch and on to one knee. Shiv raised her eyebrows and looked meaningfully at Akira; her emerald message flashing, *Did you have anything to do with this and is it what I think it is?*
Akira just nodded. Shiv's face broke out into a huge smile and she leapt forward, hugging Akira tightly. "Did I tell you how wonderful you are today?", she whispered in his ear.
He thought a moment. "Not in the past hour…"
"You're wonderful," she murmured, and kissed him.
"What's up with them?", Iria wondered out loud, then realized just who was on one knee in front of her. "Fujikuro…? What are you…"
"Just…please…let me talk for a minute, okay?", he began, tentatively. "Iria…for a very long time now…I've…I've been in love with you…and…I would give anything to wake up every morning and see you for hours and hours…then go to sleep and see you in my dreams…You are the only woman I've ever loved heart and soul…" He paused for a moment, looked to Shiv for jokes or protests, and found she and Akira were still kissing. He sighed and turned back to Iria. "What…what I'm trying to say is…will you, Iria, make me eternally happy…and marry me?" He opened the velvet box and held out the ring to her.
Iria gasped, completely in shock from the last few minutes. Shiv and Akira getting married and now…possibly…her and Fujikuro? Was it too strange? No…not too long ago…on the roof… that had meant something…and it always would…To have that forever…Oh, God… "Yes, Fujikuro," she whispered. "Yes, Fujikuro, I will marry you."
He smiled, a beautiful and genuine smile. With trembling hand, he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Iria's finger. She smiled back, the tears of joy hovering on the edge of falling. Knowing it was the only thing to do at a time like this, she leaned forward and kissed him. It was deep and wonderful, mind-blowingly tender and sincere. Delicately, their lips parted and the newly engaged couple stood, to the loud clapping of the other engaged couple in the room.
At this point, Bob flicked on. "What?", he mumbled. "What's going on?"
In perfect unison, four people yelled, "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"
There was a long pause. "Bob?", Iria asked, waving a hand in front of his lens. "You okay, Bob?"
Shiv grinned. "I think he's fainted. That is…if computer entities can faint."
"Bob?", Iria tried again, starting to look worried.
Shiv's face brightened. "You know…I just had an idea." Pressing the button on her wristband, she ordered, "Daine? It's Shiv. Listen up. I want you to set up an interface with Bob, then execute Program SLAP."
"Orders acknowledged," Daine chirped. A few moments later, there was a loud "SMACK!" sound and Bob hollered, "OUCH!"
"Yes!", Shiv cheered, jumping up and down in joy. "It worked!"
Fujikuro tapped Shiv on her bouncing shoulder. "Um…what exactly is Program SLAP?"
Shiv's grin was wicked. "Slap Loud And Painfully. It's supposed to be an emergency restart program. Say…you've hacked a system, only it freezes. You don't want to have to shut the whole thing down, so you enable SLAP. It jolts the system back into action without having to go through the whole long damn process. I always wondered what it would do to a computer entity…." She chuckled.
"Well, now you know," Bob grumbled. "Are you happy now?"
Shiv nodded. "Yes, very!"
Kei staggered out from her room, looking rather wild eyed. "Did I hear someone yell 'married'? "Yes," Iria said; she and Shiv held up their left hands.
Kei looked from one huntress to the other. "Oh, crap."
"What? Not happy for us?", Shiv teased.
"Oh, no!", Kei exclaimed. "Delighted…only now…when you all go on honeymoon…I'm gonna have to stay with Grandpa…and he won't be very thrilled…" Kei was grinning like a demon. "I promise you, it'll be beautiful."
Iria and Fujikuro looked at each other.
"Think we should warn him?", she asked.
"Nyah," she and Fujikuro said simultaneously.
"Oh, crap!", Shiv exclaimed. "I completely forgot! Dinner! Ranfan will be here in a few hours, and we don't have anything done!"
Akira pushed up his sleeves. "I work best under pressure. Come, my lovely assistant, to the kitchen!"
"Right behind you, master!", Shiv giggled, and scrambled after him.
"Um…Akira…Is it supposed to catch on fire like that?", Shiv asked, poking the flaming stir fry with her spatula.
"Oh, shit!" Akira leaped across the small kitchen with the stir fry lid in hand, attempting to beat out the blazing entree. After a few minutes, the fire died down and Akira sighed with relief.
"Oookay, now," he said softly. "Think we can salvage it?"
Shiv wrinkled her nose and fanned wisps of smoke away from the stove. "Um…I don't think so…It's charred, 'Kira. Do we have enough for another batch?"
He stuck his head the refrigerator. "I think so, but watch it this time. We can't screw it up again. Hold on a sec, I'm going to see if they've got a fire extinguisher."
"Hey! Don't diss my cooking skills!", Shiv joked.
"It's not your cooking skills I'm afraid of," Akira said. "I don't wanna burn my fingers again. See?" He held up his right hand, with which he'd held the pan lid, and put on an expression similar to that of a wounded puppy.
Shiv laughed. "You are such a wuss," she teased. "What do you want, for me to kiss it and make it better?"
Akira cocked his head to one side. "Hm…sounds good to me."
Shiv laughed again. "Okay, okay, if it'll get us back to making dinner." Tenderly, she wrapped her hands around his wrist and brought his fingers to her lips. She kissed them delicately, one at a time. Gradually, her kisses moved up his arm and at last came to rest on his lips.
"What about dinner?", he asked, in between kisses.
"Dinner can wait," she replied quickly, then returned her attentions to keeping her lips on Akira's.
Iria and Fujikuro stood outside the kitchen, calmly observing.
Iria turned to look at Fujikuro. "Can we make dinner tomorrow night?"
"This is wonderful!" Ranfan exclaimed, viewing the elaborate spread of food before her. "How did you put all this together so fast?"
Akira and Shiv cut their eyes at each other. "Oh…it wasn't as hard as looks…" Shiv confessed, recalling the dozen take-out boxes stuffed in the trash. "You'd be amazed how quickly you can get it all done."
Everyone tore in to the food ravenously, laughing and joking. They drank too much wine, fought over the last egg roll, and dared each other to eat more than sane levels of the spiciest sauces the could find.
"This is the best!" Fujikuro crowed, refilling his wine glass. "Damn," he muttered, having missed his glass by several inches.
Iria giggled. "You're aim never was all that good Fujikuro."
"I propose a toast," Ranfan said, being the least plastered of the diners. She stood on feet more than a little wobbly. "To the happy couples."
Everyone raised their glasses. "To the happy couples!"
Shiv rolled off the couch. "Ow!" she yelped. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and raised her head from the floor. "I need a hangover pill," she muttered. Dragging herself from the floor, Shiv stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. Walking past her room, she did a double take. Ranfan was sprawled across the bed, kimono half undone and snoring softly. Shiv smiled and shook her head as she continued down the hall. Reaching Iria's room, she was in for another shock. Iria was curled tightly into a ball in the very center of the bed. Fujikuro was laying on the floor as though he'd tripped and immediately fallen asleep. His hair was even more wild than usual and there was a good chance he was drooling slightly.
Shiv stood in the doorway, twitching slightly. Very slowly, she moved away from the bedroom and returned a few moments later with her camera. Carefully, she pressed the button and ran from the room almost before the flash had faded. The couple did not stir.
Having popped a hangover pill and still giggling about her newest photo, Shiv set out to find Akira. She was pacing over the house for the third time, when she heard a strange sound coming from underneath the table. With one hand on her blaster, she knelt down and peered under the tablecloth. Her eyes grew suddenly wider. "…Akira?"
The sleeping bounty hunter mumbled something and rolled over, hitting his forehead on a table leg. He twitched slightly, then dozed back off. Hesitantly, Shiv poked him in the shoulder. Akira yawned, stretched, rolled over, and hit his forehead on the opposite table leg. This time, his eyes opened and he looked straight at Shiv. "What are you doing under the table?" he asked.
She smiled. "I was about to ask you the same question."
Noticing his surroundings for the first time, Akira tried to stand up quickly and hit his head for a third time, this time on the underside of the table top. "Oooowww…" he moaned, clutching his head with both hands.
Shiv sighed and shook her head. Tenderly, she caressed his cheek with the back of her hand, leaned forward, and let her lips rest lightly on his forehead. "Tell me, koibito," she whispered. "Is it wrong to love someone so much your soul hurts when they do?"
Forgetting his aching head, Akira looked up into a pair of deep green eyes. "Never," he answered. "The wrong this is when you say you love them and it doesn't hurt."
"Hai," Shiv murmured and prepared to kiss him, when a shrill scream broke the silence.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! There is a drunk, drooling man asleep in MY BEDROOM!!!!"
Shiv winced. "Amaterasu-sama save us, Iria's awake!" Quickly she scrambled out from under the table, Akira following on shaking legs.
"Wait up!" he pleaded. "Some of us haven't had their H.O. pill this morning!"
Shiv skidded to a halt in the doorway to Iria's bedroom. She sat on the bed with her knees to her chest and the blanket pulled up to her chin. Fujikuro, apparently unconcerned, remained asleep. Shiv sighed and leaned against the door frame. "Imoto-chan," she began with her eyes closed, "said drunk, drooling man is your fiancé, which you chose to forget. Secondly, if my past experience is anything to go on, you will find him in much worse conditions later on. And I don't just mean more plastered than he is now. If you can't deal with him hungover and asleep, how can you deal with him irate and bleeding? Third, you're not a vase of roses yourself."
Iria cocked her head to the side. "You heard me," Shiv said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the bathroom. "Go take a look if you don't believe it." Iria crawled off the bed and shuffled across the hall.
Shiv checked her watch. "Five…four…three…two…one."
"Until what?" Akira asked. He was standing behind her, having listened to the dissertation Shiv gave Iria.
A scream came from the bathroom.
Shiv smiled. "That."
"Oh, God!" Iria shrieked. "I…I…I look like shit!" She peered into the mirror at her red-rimmed eyes. "Awe, man, do I look bad!"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" asked Ranfan with a yawn, as she joined the couple in the hallway.
Shiv raised an eyebrow. "You're finally up. Considering you had the least to drink, I was surprised I was awake before you."
The courtesan shrugged. "I get my sleep where I can. But what's with all the screaming? Is someone being murdered?"
Shiv shook her head. "Iria's being introduced to the aftermath of too much wine."
Ranfan cringed. "Looked in the mirror yet?" The bounty huntress nodded and Ranfan cringed again. "That would explain the second scream I heard."
"What's going on?" Fujikuro asked, running one hand through his hair. He stood calmly next to the others in the hall, unfazed.
Iria stuck her head out the bathroom and made an exasperated noise. "It figures!" she griped. "It just figures that he can drink all that wine and not get hung-over. This is so not fair!"
"Who said life was fair, Iria-chan?" Fujikuro leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Some of us are just naturally lucky. And some of us remembered to take their hang-over pill before they went to bed."
Iria let out a small shriek, then glared at him. "So…you drool every night?"
Fujikuro ducked his head while the others snickered. Before further comment could be made, the alarm went off. Everyone moved as quickly as possible to the computer console.
"What's going on, Bob?" Shiv asked, typing with one hand.
The computer entity's icon popped onto the screen. "Nothing life-threatening for once. Shiv, you've got a contract offer."
The huntress licked her lips. "What kind of offer?"
"An assassination. Off-world. Seems some colony world has a problem with a dictator. The opposing party heard you're a good shot."
Shiv pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "How soon do they need me there?"
"Midnight tomorrow. This is a rush job."
"How much kem is involved?"
"Half-a-million, non-refundable deposit. You get another half million when they get the corpse."
Shiv cracked her knuckles. "Easy as hell. Tell them I'll be there as soon as I get my stuff in order."
"You got it."
Shiv stretched and made speed to the room she and Akira now shared. He raced after her. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, while she pulled out a large gray case from the closet.
"I'm…taking…a job," she grunted, flopping back onto the bed and relinquishing the case to gravity.
"We don't need the money!" Akira protested. He bent over her, the better to argue with her, but she placed a finger on his lips.
" 'Kira-chan, listen to me. I need a job to keep me from getting restless. It'll keep me from going stir crazy on you. You don't want to see me stir crazy."
"I bet not," he whispered, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "If you really want to go…I'm not dumb enough to try and stop you. Just be careful, okay?"
"Always," she promised. "Now…I don't have to be there until midnight tomorrow. And I'm a very fast packer…"
Akira kissed her again. "I'll get the door."
*********
HAHAHA!!!! You all knew it was coming eventually! Not one, but TWO marrage proposals in one chapter. How does she do it? (Caffine and sugar. Not much of a trade secret, but if it helps an aspiriing fanfic writer out there, that just warms my heart...)
Have fun with chapter 10.
Ja ne.
~Kat~
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence, and sexual implications
Ghosts of the Past
Part 9: Proposals
Shiv sat in the bar, toying with shot glass in front of her. She licked a smear of liquor off her lip and pulled several bills from her pocket. As soon as they hit the counter, the bartender scuttled up, all greasy hair and greasy smile. "Get me another," she mumbled. "And make it a double." The bartender nodded and scuttled away. Moments later, he set the refilled shot glass before her. He hovered for a moment, in case she wanted anything else, then hurried to the other end of the bar. Apparently, there was an argument ensuing over a bar wench. Two men pushed each other back and forth for several minutes, the wench seemingly unconcerned. After a few moments more, the wench drew a stun pistol and shocked them both. Sighing, she shouted to the bartender, "Get Kurin to drag these bums to the street! They're impeding progress!" With that, she bent over and removed the wallets from the men, counting the cash inside. She removed the cash, dropped the wallets on the unconscious pair, and tucked the bills in the front of her low-cut dress. Presumably very pleased with herself, she headed off into a back room.
Shiv smirked and returned to her liquor. Suddenly, she had the feeling there was someone behind her. Reaching one hand into her coat, she only relaxed when she felt familiar hands on her shoulders. "Where the hell have you been?", she muttered, not yet withdrawing her hand.
"I…I'm sorry…," Akira apologized softly. "I…I had something I had to do…I didn't mean…to just disappear after we got back…I didn't know it would upset you so much." Tentatively, he sat beside her at the bar.
"Well, it did upset me, thank you very much," she snapped. "All of a sudden you weren't there. I didn't know if you had been captured or killed or if you'd left 'cause…of something important…or something I'd done…I went out of my mind…" She laid her head down on the bar and began to cry softly. "I…I don't know if I'm ready for this, Akira…Jiko…he's only been dead a few months…I don't think…I can really love somebody right now…but I do care about you…so much…You saved my life, Akira…How can I not care for you?…but…I guess…we need some distance…for a little while, anyway…"
Akira nodded, a twinge of sadness in his eyes. "That's okay. I understand. But…when you're ready…just think about this okay? And give me a call." He set something down on the bar by Shiv's head and walked to the exit. Shiv sniffed and raised her head. It was a small, velvet box…No…it couldn't be…He didn't…
With shaking fingers, she raised the lid. Inside, lay a diamond engagement ring with a white gold band. "Oh, God," she whispered. "That's where he was. Oh, God." Leaping from the barstool and clutching the box tightly, she ran from the bar screaming, "AKIRA!!"
She could see him in the distance; he had left the bar walking fast. She screamed his name again and he stopped and turned around. "Akira," she panted, the tears glistening in her eyes. Carefully, she pressed the box into his hands. "If you're gonna ask me to marry you, then have the decency to get down on one knee and really ask me, dammit."
He smiled and did as she asked, kneeling before her. "Shiv…I loved you since the minute I saw you. I knew I couldn't kill you, couldn't see you die. I knew that I wanted to know you forever. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I know…that I can't be to you…what Jiko was…but I'd like the chance to come as close as possible. Will you do me the supreme honor of marrying me?" By the time he had finished, there were tears in his eyes, too.
Shiv smiled and wiped tears from her eyes with her right hand; her left she held out to Akira. "Of course I will, Akira. Of course I will." He slid the ring on her finger, then leapt up and kissed her, holding her tightly.
Slowly, she pulled back and smiled at him. "This is beautiful," she whispered. "Do we have to move and ruin it?"
"It won't be ruining it," Akira corrected. "It'll just be…keeping it going…that's all."
"So…should we head back and tell them, now? Oh, yeah! I…well…I kinda promised we'd do a victory dinner, so…your skills are required…Hope you don't mind."
Akira's grin turned lopsided. "Mind? Please, I revel in the chance to show-off my culinary skills. Ready?"
"Always."
Fujikuro and Iria sat on the couch, worried about the disappearance of their friends. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the pair leapt from their seats. The door slid aside, to reveal Akira and Shiv with their arms around each other. Their smiles were wide and both pairs of eyes showed signs of tears.
"What?", Iria asked. "What's wrong?"
Shiv turned her head slightly, so that her eyes met Akira's. "Nothing's wrong, for once. Um…you guys…we've got something to tell you…"
Iria and Fujikuro looked at each other. "And this would be…," Fujikuro prompted.
Shiv held up her left hand and grinned. "This," she said.
Iria and Fujikuro's jaws dropped. "You mean…," Iria stuttered. "You…and Akira…are…going to…"
Shiv nodded. "Yup. Say it with me now: 'get married'!"
Fujikuro looked like he was going to faint. Iria picked up a pillow off the couch and started fanning him with it. Shiv laughed. "What's the matter, Fuji? You upset it wasn't you?"
"No, just never thought I'd see you married, that's all."
"Never thought I'd settle down?", Shiv teased.
Fujikuro snorted. "Uh-uh. Even married, you wouldn't settle down. I meant I never thought you'd meet a guy who could stand you!"
Shiv chuckled. "That's cruel, Fuji. You used to stand me."
"Used to, Shiv. Used to. Past tense."
She chuckled again. "You know?", she ventured. "I think you are upset it wasn't you."
Fujikuro turned bright pink. Shiv walked over to him, took the pillow from Iria, and smacked him soundly upside the head with it. He blinked dazedly and flopped onto the couch like a ton of bricks.
Shiv put her hands on her hips and grinned down at him. "You didn't think you were going to get away with that, did you? Well, maybe you did, but now you know otherwise."
Fujikuro rubbed his throbbing head. "I get it, already. I get it. Just don't hit me with the pillow again. Anybody got any aspirin?"
Akira called, "I do." He strode smoothly over to Fujikuro and pressed something into his hand. "Well, it's not quite aspirin," Akira admitted, "but I think someone around here will like it, just the same." Almost imperceptibly, he jerked his head in Iria's direction. Fujikuro's eyes widened as he let his closed fingers trace the pattern of a small velvet box in his hand.
"Is this…," Fujikuro whispered.
Akira nodded. "While I was out this morning, I figured there was somebody else who could use one, too. Don't worry. You can pay me back later."
Fujikuro nodded slowly, still amazed at what he was holding. "You knew…you want me to give it to…"
Akira shook his head. "I just got it for you. You give it to who I know you want to give it to. And it's not gonna get much better than right now."
Fujikuro nodded again, his mouth gone rapidly dry. "Fujikuro?", Iria asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "You okay? What's the big deal about these magic aspirin or whatever, anyway?"
Fujikuro got off the couch and on to one knee. Shiv raised her eyebrows and looked meaningfully at Akira; her emerald message flashing, *Did you have anything to do with this and is it what I think it is?*
Akira just nodded. Shiv's face broke out into a huge smile and she leapt forward, hugging Akira tightly. "Did I tell you how wonderful you are today?", she whispered in his ear.
He thought a moment. "Not in the past hour…"
"You're wonderful," she murmured, and kissed him.
"What's up with them?", Iria wondered out loud, then realized just who was on one knee in front of her. "Fujikuro…? What are you…"
"Just…please…let me talk for a minute, okay?", he began, tentatively. "Iria…for a very long time now…I've…I've been in love with you…and…I would give anything to wake up every morning and see you for hours and hours…then go to sleep and see you in my dreams…You are the only woman I've ever loved heart and soul…" He paused for a moment, looked to Shiv for jokes or protests, and found she and Akira were still kissing. He sighed and turned back to Iria. "What…what I'm trying to say is…will you, Iria, make me eternally happy…and marry me?" He opened the velvet box and held out the ring to her.
Iria gasped, completely in shock from the last few minutes. Shiv and Akira getting married and now…possibly…her and Fujikuro? Was it too strange? No…not too long ago…on the roof… that had meant something…and it always would…To have that forever…Oh, God… "Yes, Fujikuro," she whispered. "Yes, Fujikuro, I will marry you."
He smiled, a beautiful and genuine smile. With trembling hand, he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Iria's finger. She smiled back, the tears of joy hovering on the edge of falling. Knowing it was the only thing to do at a time like this, she leaned forward and kissed him. It was deep and wonderful, mind-blowingly tender and sincere. Delicately, their lips parted and the newly engaged couple stood, to the loud clapping of the other engaged couple in the room.
At this point, Bob flicked on. "What?", he mumbled. "What's going on?"
In perfect unison, four people yelled, "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"
There was a long pause. "Bob?", Iria asked, waving a hand in front of his lens. "You okay, Bob?"
Shiv grinned. "I think he's fainted. That is…if computer entities can faint."
"Bob?", Iria tried again, starting to look worried.
Shiv's face brightened. "You know…I just had an idea." Pressing the button on her wristband, she ordered, "Daine? It's Shiv. Listen up. I want you to set up an interface with Bob, then execute Program SLAP."
"Orders acknowledged," Daine chirped. A few moments later, there was a loud "SMACK!" sound and Bob hollered, "OUCH!"
"Yes!", Shiv cheered, jumping up and down in joy. "It worked!"
Fujikuro tapped Shiv on her bouncing shoulder. "Um…what exactly is Program SLAP?"
Shiv's grin was wicked. "Slap Loud And Painfully. It's supposed to be an emergency restart program. Say…you've hacked a system, only it freezes. You don't want to have to shut the whole thing down, so you enable SLAP. It jolts the system back into action without having to go through the whole long damn process. I always wondered what it would do to a computer entity…." She chuckled.
"Well, now you know," Bob grumbled. "Are you happy now?"
Shiv nodded. "Yes, very!"
Kei staggered out from her room, looking rather wild eyed. "Did I hear someone yell 'married'? "Yes," Iria said; she and Shiv held up their left hands.
Kei looked from one huntress to the other. "Oh, crap."
"What? Not happy for us?", Shiv teased.
"Oh, no!", Kei exclaimed. "Delighted…only now…when you all go on honeymoon…I'm gonna have to stay with Grandpa…and he won't be very thrilled…" Kei was grinning like a demon. "I promise you, it'll be beautiful."
Iria and Fujikuro looked at each other.
"Think we should warn him?", she asked.
"Nyah," she and Fujikuro said simultaneously.
"Oh, crap!", Shiv exclaimed. "I completely forgot! Dinner! Ranfan will be here in a few hours, and we don't have anything done!"
Akira pushed up his sleeves. "I work best under pressure. Come, my lovely assistant, to the kitchen!"
"Right behind you, master!", Shiv giggled, and scrambled after him.
"Um…Akira…Is it supposed to catch on fire like that?", Shiv asked, poking the flaming stir fry with her spatula.
"Oh, shit!" Akira leaped across the small kitchen with the stir fry lid in hand, attempting to beat out the blazing entree. After a few minutes, the fire died down and Akira sighed with relief.
"Oookay, now," he said softly. "Think we can salvage it?"
Shiv wrinkled her nose and fanned wisps of smoke away from the stove. "Um…I don't think so…It's charred, 'Kira. Do we have enough for another batch?"
He stuck his head the refrigerator. "I think so, but watch it this time. We can't screw it up again. Hold on a sec, I'm going to see if they've got a fire extinguisher."
"Hey! Don't diss my cooking skills!", Shiv joked.
"It's not your cooking skills I'm afraid of," Akira said. "I don't wanna burn my fingers again. See?" He held up his right hand, with which he'd held the pan lid, and put on an expression similar to that of a wounded puppy.
Shiv laughed. "You are such a wuss," she teased. "What do you want, for me to kiss it and make it better?"
Akira cocked his head to one side. "Hm…sounds good to me."
Shiv laughed again. "Okay, okay, if it'll get us back to making dinner." Tenderly, she wrapped her hands around his wrist and brought his fingers to her lips. She kissed them delicately, one at a time. Gradually, her kisses moved up his arm and at last came to rest on his lips.
"What about dinner?", he asked, in between kisses.
"Dinner can wait," she replied quickly, then returned her attentions to keeping her lips on Akira's.
Iria and Fujikuro stood outside the kitchen, calmly observing.
Iria turned to look at Fujikuro. "Can we make dinner tomorrow night?"
"This is wonderful!" Ranfan exclaimed, viewing the elaborate spread of food before her. "How did you put all this together so fast?"
Akira and Shiv cut their eyes at each other. "Oh…it wasn't as hard as looks…" Shiv confessed, recalling the dozen take-out boxes stuffed in the trash. "You'd be amazed how quickly you can get it all done."
Everyone tore in to the food ravenously, laughing and joking. They drank too much wine, fought over the last egg roll, and dared each other to eat more than sane levels of the spiciest sauces the could find.
"This is the best!" Fujikuro crowed, refilling his wine glass. "Damn," he muttered, having missed his glass by several inches.
Iria giggled. "You're aim never was all that good Fujikuro."
"I propose a toast," Ranfan said, being the least plastered of the diners. She stood on feet more than a little wobbly. "To the happy couples."
Everyone raised their glasses. "To the happy couples!"
Shiv rolled off the couch. "Ow!" she yelped. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and raised her head from the floor. "I need a hangover pill," she muttered. Dragging herself from the floor, Shiv stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. Walking past her room, she did a double take. Ranfan was sprawled across the bed, kimono half undone and snoring softly. Shiv smiled and shook her head as she continued down the hall. Reaching Iria's room, she was in for another shock. Iria was curled tightly into a ball in the very center of the bed. Fujikuro was laying on the floor as though he'd tripped and immediately fallen asleep. His hair was even more wild than usual and there was a good chance he was drooling slightly.
Shiv stood in the doorway, twitching slightly. Very slowly, she moved away from the bedroom and returned a few moments later with her camera. Carefully, she pressed the button and ran from the room almost before the flash had faded. The couple did not stir.
Having popped a hangover pill and still giggling about her newest photo, Shiv set out to find Akira. She was pacing over the house for the third time, when she heard a strange sound coming from underneath the table. With one hand on her blaster, she knelt down and peered under the tablecloth. Her eyes grew suddenly wider. "…Akira?"
The sleeping bounty hunter mumbled something and rolled over, hitting his forehead on a table leg. He twitched slightly, then dozed back off. Hesitantly, Shiv poked him in the shoulder. Akira yawned, stretched, rolled over, and hit his forehead on the opposite table leg. This time, his eyes opened and he looked straight at Shiv. "What are you doing under the table?" he asked.
She smiled. "I was about to ask you the same question."
Noticing his surroundings for the first time, Akira tried to stand up quickly and hit his head for a third time, this time on the underside of the table top. "Oooowww…" he moaned, clutching his head with both hands.
Shiv sighed and shook her head. Tenderly, she caressed his cheek with the back of her hand, leaned forward, and let her lips rest lightly on his forehead. "Tell me, koibito," she whispered. "Is it wrong to love someone so much your soul hurts when they do?"
Forgetting his aching head, Akira looked up into a pair of deep green eyes. "Never," he answered. "The wrong this is when you say you love them and it doesn't hurt."
"Hai," Shiv murmured and prepared to kiss him, when a shrill scream broke the silence.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! There is a drunk, drooling man asleep in MY BEDROOM!!!!"
Shiv winced. "Amaterasu-sama save us, Iria's awake!" Quickly she scrambled out from under the table, Akira following on shaking legs.
"Wait up!" he pleaded. "Some of us haven't had their H.O. pill this morning!"
Shiv skidded to a halt in the doorway to Iria's bedroom. She sat on the bed with her knees to her chest and the blanket pulled up to her chin. Fujikuro, apparently unconcerned, remained asleep. Shiv sighed and leaned against the door frame. "Imoto-chan," she began with her eyes closed, "said drunk, drooling man is your fiancé, which you chose to forget. Secondly, if my past experience is anything to go on, you will find him in much worse conditions later on. And I don't just mean more plastered than he is now. If you can't deal with him hungover and asleep, how can you deal with him irate and bleeding? Third, you're not a vase of roses yourself."
Iria cocked her head to the side. "You heard me," Shiv said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the bathroom. "Go take a look if you don't believe it." Iria crawled off the bed and shuffled across the hall.
Shiv checked her watch. "Five…four…three…two…one."
"Until what?" Akira asked. He was standing behind her, having listened to the dissertation Shiv gave Iria.
A scream came from the bathroom.
Shiv smiled. "That."
"Oh, God!" Iria shrieked. "I…I…I look like shit!" She peered into the mirror at her red-rimmed eyes. "Awe, man, do I look bad!"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" asked Ranfan with a yawn, as she joined the couple in the hallway.
Shiv raised an eyebrow. "You're finally up. Considering you had the least to drink, I was surprised I was awake before you."
The courtesan shrugged. "I get my sleep where I can. But what's with all the screaming? Is someone being murdered?"
Shiv shook her head. "Iria's being introduced to the aftermath of too much wine."
Ranfan cringed. "Looked in the mirror yet?" The bounty huntress nodded and Ranfan cringed again. "That would explain the second scream I heard."
"What's going on?" Fujikuro asked, running one hand through his hair. He stood calmly next to the others in the hall, unfazed.
Iria stuck her head out the bathroom and made an exasperated noise. "It figures!" she griped. "It just figures that he can drink all that wine and not get hung-over. This is so not fair!"
"Who said life was fair, Iria-chan?" Fujikuro leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Some of us are just naturally lucky. And some of us remembered to take their hang-over pill before they went to bed."
Iria let out a small shriek, then glared at him. "So…you drool every night?"
Fujikuro ducked his head while the others snickered. Before further comment could be made, the alarm went off. Everyone moved as quickly as possible to the computer console.
"What's going on, Bob?" Shiv asked, typing with one hand.
The computer entity's icon popped onto the screen. "Nothing life-threatening for once. Shiv, you've got a contract offer."
The huntress licked her lips. "What kind of offer?"
"An assassination. Off-world. Seems some colony world has a problem with a dictator. The opposing party heard you're a good shot."
Shiv pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "How soon do they need me there?"
"Midnight tomorrow. This is a rush job."
"How much kem is involved?"
"Half-a-million, non-refundable deposit. You get another half million when they get the corpse."
Shiv cracked her knuckles. "Easy as hell. Tell them I'll be there as soon as I get my stuff in order."
"You got it."
Shiv stretched and made speed to the room she and Akira now shared. He raced after her. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, while she pulled out a large gray case from the closet.
"I'm…taking…a job," she grunted, flopping back onto the bed and relinquishing the case to gravity.
"We don't need the money!" Akira protested. He bent over her, the better to argue with her, but she placed a finger on his lips.
" 'Kira-chan, listen to me. I need a job to keep me from getting restless. It'll keep me from going stir crazy on you. You don't want to see me stir crazy."
"I bet not," he whispered, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "If you really want to go…I'm not dumb enough to try and stop you. Just be careful, okay?"
"Always," she promised. "Now…I don't have to be there until midnight tomorrow. And I'm a very fast packer…"
Akira kissed her again. "I'll get the door."
*********
HAHAHA!!!! You all knew it was coming eventually! Not one, but TWO marrage proposals in one chapter. How does she do it? (Caffine and sugar. Not much of a trade secret, but if it helps an aspiriing fanfic writer out there, that just warms my heart...)
Have fun with chapter 10.
Ja ne.
~Kat~