A/N – Many thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! You've given me the emotional uplift I needed to complete this chapter. I'm afraid it's a bit depressing, but enjoy it anyway!
'The War of the Worlds' was written by H.G. Wells. Thought I'd better mention that just in case.
Four
It was seven-thirty on the dot when Miss Nishida poked her beaming mug around the door to call her for dinner. Ruri had been thoroughly engrossed in her copy of 'The War of the Worlds', and this abrupt summoning felt like being woken up after not having enough sleep.
"Dinner's ready dear!" she'd called merrily. Reluctantly putting the old book to one side, Ruri went with her.
"I read in your records that you're not a vegetarian. That's right isn't it?! It's just that we had one girl who was, but she didn't tell us at first and ended up eating meat for three days! Isn't that silly? Nevertheless she was a shy girl so it wasn't that surprising that she didn't say something, but you would have thought…"
"She speaks far too much. Idiot!" thought Ruri.
"…..anyhow I'm sure you'll be eager to meet the other children. Have you meet any of them yet? I told them to come and say hello, but they were a bit shy, you know what it's like! But they're really nice once you get to know them!"
Children's voices could be heard from another room as they descended the stairs. Ruri felt apprehension flow through her as her steps took her towards them.
Miss Nishida took her through to the large dining room, where a great many children were seated around three long tables. There must have been around somewhere around twenty-five children in total in the room, of all sizes, ages and descriptions. The noise of juvenile voices was deafening. Ruri noticed that an adult was seated at the head of each table.
"Settle down please children!" called out Miss Nishida. Surprisingly, her gentle voice penetrated through the din. With a little assistance from the other adults, she managed to restore calm. The quiet served to amplify Ruri's anxiety.
"Children, today we welcome a new member to our household. Say hello to Ruri!"
Every face in the room turned to look at her. Some were curious, some were disinterested and some were openly hostile. Ruri saw that girl from earlier give her a particularly ugly look. In true Ruri fashion, she didn't let her expression reveal anything.
"Hello," the children chorused. Ruri still kept her face neutral, not totally sure whether she should say anything. In the end, she was saved since the door at the other end of the room opened and the food came through which grabbed the attention of the other children with almost indecent speed. Within a few moments it was being dished up and the talking resumed.
"You can sit here Ruri," said Miss Nishida, pulling back a chair for her. Ruri nodded slightly as acknowledgement and sat down, just as a steaming plate of food was put in front of her. A few of the other children were giving her strange glances, but none of them tried to speak to her.
Miss Nishida, now sitting at the head of the table, said, "So I'm sure we're all interested to hear about the new girl. Why don't you tell us about yourself Ruri?"
Talking about herself wasn't exactly Ruri's favourite pastime, especially amongst a crowd of strangers, but nevertheless she attempted.
"My name is Ruri Hoshino. I was born in Scandinavia by test-tube fertilization. Before I was born I was genetically altered to improve my learning ability and resistance to disease. I was intellectually nurtured in a lab from a young age and when I was four, I was adopted by a couple who worked at Nergal Heavy Industries and trained to become a crewmember of Nergal's new gunship, the Nadesico. When I was eleven I was hired by Nergal and instated aboard the Nadesico as computer operator. Over course of the next year I…"
She was interrupted by soft laughter from several of the children at the table. They were all exchanging amused glances, clearly thinking she was joking with them. Miss Nishida coughed, obviously not believing Ruri's story anymore than the children, though there hadn't been any trace of mockery in the child's voice.
"Now Ruri!" she said, with a smile. "That's not really true is it?!"
Ruri shot her an incredulous glance, as if she'd just accused her of murder. "Of course it's true,"
The laughter became louder as they saw she was sticking to her story. Ruri simply sat there, unsure of what to think. They clearly didn't believe her. Did her story sound so far-fetched? Maybe it did, but in any case what possible reason would she have for lying? It's not as if she'd stand to gain anything!
"Idiots!" she murmured under her breath.
"Well," said Miss Nishida. "That sounds quite interesting," There wasn't much else she could say since both pretending to believe her and accusing her of lying would be improper. She did take steps to silence the laughter though, using a few cross glances.
Deciding not to continue talking if she was going to be laughed at, Ruri turned her attention on to the meagre meal of beef, potatoes and carrots that had been placed in front of her. She took a bite of the meat. The taste wasn't all that bad by ordinary standards, but she'd become accustomed to Miss Howmei's excellent cooking over the past year, so found it a little bland. Another change in her life which she'd have to get used to.
She finished her meal in silence, not even making eye contact with anyone else. They'd lost interest in her now and had resumed their normal conversation. After finishing the meal, the children were herded into the games room. Most of the children instantly crowded around the television to watch an anime show, while others gathered around a table to play some kind of card game. Ruri felt a little out of place, but nevertheless walked into the room and seated herself on the floor near the television. She recognised the show – it was that one in which Megumi had voice-acted, Princess Lychee or something. Though it was pretty poor in the storyline stakes, Ruri found it strangely comforting to hear a familiar voice, although it was acting as someone else entirely.
"Hey it's Space-Girl!"
Looking around, Ruri saw that purple-haired girl from earlier, this time flanked by three others of a similar age, two boys and a girl. She stood up and faced them all, her expression typically blank.
"You're right Mikoto. She's well weird!" said the new girl to the purple-haired girl.
"Man, what's wrong with your skin?" asked one of the boys, a stocky lad with very short black hair. "Did they drain all of the blood out of your body or something?"
The other children responded with giggles. Ruri merely stood regarding him. "Of course not. The human body needs blood to function. Like I told your friend earlier, my pale skin tone is due to…"
She was cut off by a brutal laugh. "Ha! Listen to her! She's a bloody robot!" continued the boy.
"I told you so, Leon!" said Mikoto. "And I have to share a room with her! Can you believe that?!"
"You'd better be careful Mik," laughed the other girl. "She may kill you in the night!"
"Ew! Don't say that!" Mikoto shuddered.
This was idiotic. They were accusing her of murderous intent based merely on her appearance. "I would never kill an innocent person on purpose," she stated.
"Oh sure! That's what she says to throw you off guard!" continued the boy called Leon. "She's an alien you know, Mikoto. She'll take you back to her home planet!"
Ruri wasn't sure what disgusted her more, his rudeness or the irrationality of his statements, but she wasn't about to stay around for any more of either. Breaking off her gaze, she walked slowly past the small group with the intention of returning to her room.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked Leon.
"To my room," she replied quietly.
Within a second of speaking, she found herself face down on the floor. She'd managed to break her fall with her hands, but her foot hurt from where Leon had caught it with his own and caused her to trip. She casually picked herself up to the sound of cruel laughter, trying to salvage what little dignity she had left.
"Having trouble, robot?" Leon sniggered.
Ruri dusted herself off and faced him. "Why do you get so much pleasure from making other people's lives a misery?" she demanded, her tone more forceful now.
For no discernable reason other than spite, the group began to laugh at her again. "Just listen to her! She's definitely from another planet!" laughed that obnoxious Leon kid.
Exhaling despairingly, Ruri turned and slowly walked from the room, not so much as glancing back at them. A whole mixture of unfamiliar feelings were flowing through and she needed time alone to analyse them. With any luck, she'd be able to steal a couple of hours alone in her room, away from these immature bullies.
* * *
"Why am I here?"
Her first night in a different bedroom, Ruri lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, troubling thoughts occupying her mind. The events of this day had left her feeling confused, anxious and very much alone.
She didn't belong here, she'd seen enough evidence from today to prove that. She cursed her own ignorance at not anticipating this situation while she was still on the Nadesico.
"What did you expect to happen?"
She didn't have an answer to that. Somehow, she'd avoided thinking about the future and had expected things to naturally work out when the war was over. She had never allowed herself to imagine this bleak scenario. Was this what she'd fought for a year for? To become a lonely, forgotten orphan? To completely leave the best times of her life behind?
It was amazing how little time had passed. Only yesterday lunch-time, she'd been sitting at her post on the Nadesico doing her job, and now, less than thirty-five hours later, she was, well, here. Yet, it felt as if her time on the Nadesico had occurred years ago. She already found herself missing the rest of the crew. She longed to see a familiar face, to see the reassuring smiles of Minato, Yurika or Akito. Gosh, even seeing Erina's face would have been comforting at the moment. She just wanted to see something which she knew, to prove that her life aboard the Nadesico hadn't been just a dream.
She looked up at her fish mobile, which she'd hung over the foot of her bed. For now that would have to be enough.
Inevitably her thoughts strayed to the people she now lived with. Miss Nishida had seemed a nice enough person and had made an effort to make her feel at home, which she guessed she should appreciate. The other children had been another matter completely though. They'd been rude at best, downright malicious at worst. It wasn't just their distaste that bothered her, it was the way they made her doubt her own humanity. She knew what she was – an artificial genius, instilled with knowledge at the cost of emotion. An unnatural creation, but still human scientifically. But humanity can be defined on many levels and after seeing the reactions of the children today, Ruri was beginning to wonder if she truly was little more than a walking computer.
She turned her head on to its side to look at her roommates. Both had been asleep for hours now. Mikoto was in the bed closest to her, murmuring to herself in her sleep, while Tina, a girl with short blue hair with whom Ruri hadn't talked yet, occupied the bed next to the far wall. Ruri envied their peace of mind which allowed them to sleep so soundly.
Turning on her side to face away from them, Ruri closed her eyes and hoped sleep would come. Minato had told her once that problems always seemed much worse in the night. She knew that was probably true and the best thing to do was to get her head down and try to get to sleep. A good few hour's slumber would make everything seem better tomorrow. Or at least, would grant her some time away from the painful thoughts that haunted her mind.
