A/N – Okay, I know I said that this update would be the finale, but I'm afraid that's not the case. You see, the 'final' chapter turned out to be much, much longer than I thought it would be, so I split it into two separate ones, of which this is the first. The second one plus the epilogue will be on their way soon enough. Enjoy the chapter – you'll finally get some answers in this one!

Twenty-Eight

Somewhere along the line Ruri's world had become so much simpler. In fact she could only discern two concrete facts about her current reality. The first was a dull throbbing pain at her temples, which, while subtle, still ached enough to prevent her doze from becoming a deep sleep. The second factor was the darkness that surrounded her. It was blackness beyond compare, as if she had awoken in a world from which all light and colour had been banished. It was the darkness that belonged to death and indeed, Ruri might have assumed that was the case had she not had the headache to contradict that. The pain told her that somehow she was alive. She found that surprising – she was sure she wasn't meant to be for some reason. She shelved it as a matter to be dealt with later. For now she would sleep.

            She snoozed dreamlessly for an indefinite period of time. It could have been a minute or a year later when she felt conscious enough of think again. Weariness ensnared both her body and mind like a trapper's net, meaning the more she struggled for consciousness and order in her thoughts, the more tangled in confusion she became. Part of her wanted to lie here in formless slumber forever, but some inner instinct demanded that she rose and faced the day.

"Omoikane, lights," she murmured sleepily.

Nothing happened. Her request faded unanswered in the air and the darkness around her remained.

"Omoikane?" she repeated, a tad concerned. "Put the lights on, please,"

Still there was no change. For some reason the computer was not responding to her voice. She couldn't be sure why, but she doubted it was due to any kind of computer error – Omoikane was too reliable for that. Perhaps it was simply a faulty bulb?

Then she remembered. She was no longer on the Nadesico. That life had ended weeks ago and was gone forever now.

"But if I'm not on the Nadesico, where on Earth am I?"

In the desire to find out she forced her unwilling eyes open, breaking the crust that had formed on them. At first she saw only darkness and all she could tell was that she was lying down in a bed somewhere. Gradually her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she could make out the vague shape of the small room. When she rotated her head on her pillow to face her right side, she could see a considerably array of equipment beside her bed, their tiny red and green lights puncturing the absolute darkness. Most of it was unfamiliar to her, but she did recognise a heart-monitor, which peeped quietly with her every heartbeat. The sound reassured her – it was regular and moderately spaced. In other words, it was normal. 

"Wherever I am, it seems that I am alive."

The relief that washed over her was more refreshing than any drink, wash or night's sleep she'd ever had. She'd done it. She had survived the ordeal. And in truth, aside from her pounding headache and drowsy mind, she'd never felt healthier. It was like all the pain and trauma of her recent life had just been some dreadful nightmare from which she was now awakening. Of course, she wasn't so naive to assume that was the case – she had the bruises to prove otherwise.

            The realisation that she was no longer dying furthered fuelled her curiosity as to her current whereabouts, so she decided to sit up. It would be a major operation – she was barely awake enough to think, let alone move – but nevertheless she would try it. Calling upon all the energy she had, she forced her head off the pillow and her back off the bed.

            No sooner was she upright then some force caught her, cutting off her motion so that she rebounded back horizontal. Before she knew it, she found herself on her back again. The prickly shock that barbed through her body was matched by a smarting sting in her upper arms.

            "Huh? What happened?"

It didn't take her long to find the cause. When she brought her hand up to clutch the site of the pain, it encountered something odd. Ruri investigated it with her fingers – it felt like some kind of plastic piping, leading into her left shoulder. Utterly bewildered, she opened her eyes again, yelping in surprise at what she saw. Several mysterious black tubes ran into her arms and shoulders like veins. They were each only a few millimetres in diameter and came from some unseen source behind her, making her look like a disused puppet with her strings loose around her. Seeing them there explained what had just happened – they'd been pulled taunt when she'd lunged up, stopping her going any further forward. And then, her forward momentum had been strong enough to throw her back down again, similar to when a dog tried to break his leash by running against it. It made sense now, but what in the name of Mars were they?

            By carefully moving her lower-body backwards, she was able to attain an upright seating position within the demands of her bonds. A quick inspection revealed that not only were they attached to her arms, but from places all over her body. There were at least twenty of them altogether, most of them protruding from her upper body and head. Each one connected a seemingly random point on her body to a sinister-looking machine at the head of her bed. They were fairly short and severely restricted her movement, making her feel unnervingly like a fly caught in a spider's web. Ruri had no clue as to their purpose, but had a feeling that removing them herself would be a very bad idea. They had obviously been put there for a reason and she wasn't prepared to jeopardise her survival just to alleviate her foolish impatience. 

            As if these strange tubes weren't enough, Ruri was in for a further surprise when she rested her hands on top of the covers. The sight of her nanomachine implants on the backs of her hands made her gape in shock. Normally when they weren't in use, they reflected light, but produced none of their own. Now however, they were blazing so brightly that they were painful to look at. It was as if the delicate markings on her hands were windows into a very sunny midsummer's day. Ruri was astonished at seeing them this way – sure, they glowed when she accessed the Nadesico's interface with them, but never like this. They were so dazzling that it was impossible to stare at the directly. She had no clue at all as to what it meant, but the effect proved useful since it provided enough light for her to be able to scan the rest of the chamber.

            Well, it certainly had all the makings            of a hospital room. It was sparsely furnished, with only a couple of chairs aside from the bed she was in. There was a distinct 'hospital smell' hanging in the air, supporting Ruri's guess as to her current location. She saw a door in the corner, while the far wall was lined with windows into the dimly lit corridor beyond. Surrounding the bed were various medical apparatus, possibly the very devices that were keeping her alive. Among those high-tech gizmos was a plain bedside table, on which a tall glass of water sat. Seeing it there made her suddenly aware of how desperately thirsty she was, so she instantly reached out for it. Initially she was frustrated by the tubes that held her back, but at full stretch she was just able to seize it in her hand. Without hesitating, she threw the deliciously cool water down her throat, spilling much of it down herself in her eagerness. She gasped in relief as her thirst subsided.  

            Letting the empty glass roll out of her grasp onto the floor (it would have been too much hassle to replace it on the table), she rested her hands on her lap and took a deep breath. By now she was more awake and desperately wanted to rise and search for some answers. Of course, that would be impossible unless she removed these tubes that restrained her. With them in place, she was a prisoner confined to this bed. She exhaled hard in frustration.

            "You have no right to be annoyed. You're lucky to be alive."

            Taking that thought to heart, she willed patience on herself and accepted that she wasn't going anywhere until assistance came. With a sigh, she ran both her hands through her unbound hair, grimacing at how greasy it felt under her fingers. A shower suddenly seemed a heavenly prospect. A meal would be good as well, if only to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth. She'd have to wait for both those desires to be fulfilled, but they were certainly worth waiting for.

            As it turned out she didn't have as much time to kill as she first thought. Five minutes later, the impossible came to pass.

The first signs of difference came when her acute hearing picked up some very faint footsteps in the distance, breaking the monotony of the bleeps around her. Instantly alert, she sat up and listened attentively as the steps became louder and louder. Someone was coming! Eyes wide in anticipation, Ruri held her breath as she watched the inside window for the first glimpse of this visitor.

It was a young girl, perhaps a year or two older than herself, who appeared in the corridor. Ruri studied her curiously, pale lips parting in scrutiny. She looked all too familiar. Yes, that superior poise, contradicting a slight stature, was unmistakable. Could it possibly be who she thought it was?

"Yukina?"

A second later the girl turned to her and Ruri's hopeful suspicions were confirmed.

The instant of recognition sent wild electricity shooting down her spine. But the look that burst onto Yukina's face – it was as if she'd seen her brother's ghost. Her eyes doubled in size and her mouth plunged open in sheer disbelief at seeing her sitting up in bed. Still reeling with her own shock, Ruri gaped back at her with an expression that mirrored the other girl's perfectly. For a moment they just stared dumbly at each other, refusing to believe their respective visions. The elder girl recovered first and turned to shout out to someone further down the corridor, so loudly that Ruri could hear her perfectly even from inside the room.

"She's awake! She's awake!"

A frenzied exclamation answered her call, followed by pounding footsteps in their direction. Three more figures burst into view, each one turning to gawk at her like a goldfish. Ruri choked on a silent gasp – she recognised all three of them. Akito, Yurika and Minato. A trio engraved deeply in her memory and deeper still in her heart.

"I don't believe it! What are they doing here!?"

She didn't have time to speculate. In the space of a second, the group's shock turned to ecstasy and they all cried out as one.

"RURI!"

Without the slightest hesitation, they all scrambled into the room, falling over themselves to get to the girl within. Someone hit the lights, causing her to slam her eyes shut as she was blinded. Before she even knew what was happening, two slender arms swooped around her, pulling her face into Yurika's considerable bosom. 

"Oh Ruri, you're finally back!" the blue-haired woman squealed, her face dripping with delight as she hugged the child. "We were just so worried about you! We thought you'd never wake up, but you have! You have!" She pulled her closer, nuzzling the top of her head and chuckling with glee.

Ruri was dumbfounded. The suddenness of this appearance, not to mention this display of affection, had caught her completely off guard and unsure of how to react. Had her arms not been tied down by the strange black wires, she would have considered hugging her back, but at the moment all she could do was sit and accept Yurika's cosy embrace.

"Oh, I'm just so happy!" her former captain cried, her voice cracking in emotion. "We thought we'd lost you forever!" She laughed soundlessly to the air as she clutched the child to her chest. Despite herself, Ruri found some gladness amongst the shock within her. Unbelievable as it sounded, she'd missed this ditzy nature so, so much.

"Captain…"

Yurika eventually released the girl, surprising her with a quick kiss on the cheek before she withdrew. She was instantly replaced by Minato, who engulfed her with the same motherly warmth and boundless merriment that Yurika had. "Oh it's just so great to see you again, Ruri-Ruri! You won't believe how relieved we were when they told us you'd recovered!" She released her grip slightly to look the pale girl straight in the eye. "Don't ever scare us like that again, okay?!" Squeezing her tightly once more, she parted with a smile to make way for Yukina.

            "Hiya Ruri!" the Jovian teenager exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around her. "I'm so happy that you're all better. I always knew you'd make it!"

The strange familiarity in her embrace puzzled Ruri – she'd barely had a conversation with Yukina and yet there was genuine fondness in this gesture. As if sensing her confusion the Jovian girl pulled away quickly, seemingly embarrassed by what was an abnormal display of warmth from her. Her departure left only one person yet to come. Ruri looked expectantly at Akito, who gave her a friendly smile and slowly walked over to take his turn. When he bent down to hug her, she saw unspilt tears shining in his brown eyes, telling of the passionate relief that underlay his happy façade.

"Welcome back, Princess."

Hearing him call her that stirred something within her. Forgoing any fears of pain, she leaned forward and put her own arms around him, crushing her face to his chest and stretching her puppet strings to the limit so that she could claim the embrace she'd been denied in her dream. The gesture seemed to surprise him, but he accepted it gladly and held her close. Ruri could feel his body quivering against hers with some unknown emotion as they clung to each other.  

"Oh Ruri, Ruri. I'm so sorry!" he told her in a tremulous whisper. 

            Ruri blinked, confused. "He's sorry? For what?" She didn't speak the question though, not wanting to spoil this wonderful moment in the adoring arms of her champion. She hung onto him stubbornly as if he'd vanish again unless she held him as tightly as she could. For some time, they just stayed there together in their divine grasp, blissfully savouring each other's company after being separated for so long. When they eventually did part and Akito drew away, she saw that his eyes had burst and silent tears were running helplessly down his cheeks. Ruri was stunned.     

"He's crying? How come? Are those tears really for me?"

The former pilot took a few steps back, looking away from everyone to regain his composure. In the meantime Yurika and Minato had occupied the chairs and were both grinning at her like idiots, while Yukina had sat herself on the end of her bed, holding a somewhat more dignified happiness about her. Yurika had taken Ruri's hand affectionately in her own and was squeezing it in joy, while beaming encouragingly at her. They seemed to be waiting for her to make a contribution, but Ruri found that she couldn't form proper words as of yet. All this high emotion had left her dazed and light-headed, unable to think straight. Fortunately, Yurika was more than happy enough to fill the silence for her.

"Oh Ruri, we can't tell you how glad we all are that you've recovered! Do you feel okay now? Are you hungry at all? Or would you like a glass of water?"

"Yes, yes and yes," Ruri thought. But more than anything, she wanted answers. Her mind was abuzz with a million different questions – she couldn't ask them quickly enough. She breathlessly delivered the foremost one, forcing the words from her reluctant throat.

"W-What are you all doing here?"

Judging by the looks on their faces, the question seemed to baffle them. "Whatever do you mean Ruri?" asked Yurika, genuinely confused. "We weren't going to leave you here while you were sick, where we? We had to stay and make sure you made a full recovery!"

Ruri rubbed her head – all this excitement wasn't helping her migraine any. "But you were all detained by the UEAF," she said, stating the obvious.

            "We were, but we managed to weasel our way out of it!" said Minato, grinning brightly. "But that's more than enough about us. How are you feeling?"

            "Relatively healthy overall, although I have a minor headache and feel a little tired," Ruri replied in her bland, 'status-report' voice. "I doubt it's anything that a bit of rest won't cure."

            "That's so wonderful to hear!" beamed Yurika, softly stroking the girl's delicate hand with her thumb. Her long blue hair swung around her, as enthusiastic as she was.

            "What do you mean you're tired? You can't be tired!" Yukina stated with an accusing glare. "You've been asleep for three whole days!"

            "Three days!?" inquired Ruri, her face lengthening in amazement. "Was I really out for that long?"

            "Yep, it's nearly three o'clock on Thursday afternoon now," said Minato. "You've been in a coma since Monday."

            "A coma," Ruri murmured thoughtfully, taking the notion onboard. "Yes, I remember being poisoned on the Nadesico by that horrible assassin. But I was dying, I know I was." She turned her eyes back to the group. "How did I survive?"

            "I think I can explain that."

            Ruri's eyes shot to the door. Another familiar figure had entered in the tall, blonde form of a Miss Inez Fressange, Nergal scientist and former science officer of the High Mobile Battleship Nadesico. Ruri's astonishment hit a new level. 

            "Miss Fressange? What are you doing here?"

            Inez smiled in response. "Treating you, if you want to know."

"She did it all, Ruri!" chirped Yurika, eyes closed in joy. "She cured you and made you all better!"

Inez coughed self-consciously. "Well, I certainly helped."

"But why are you here?" Ruri shook her head, dismissing that question. "Actually never mind that. How were you able to cure me?"

"Do you want the full explanation?"

"Yes, very much so."

"As you wish," Inez adopted her familiar explanation tone and began.

"The poison injected into you was a real enigma. It was like nothing we'd ever seen and seemed incurable by normal remedies. It was horrible concoction, whatever it was and we estimated that the dose you received would have killed a normal human in a matter of hours."

"So why did I survive?"

Miss Fressange smiled. "You hardly count as a 'normal human', Ruri. The genetic modification conducted on you before your birth equipped you with an incredibly powerful immune system, meaning your body was able to fight back against the poison, at least to a certain extent. And although it wasn't able to fully counteract the substance, it did keep you alive long enough for me to apply nanomachine therapy."

"Nanomachine therapy?"

"Yes. It's a relatively new process, still in experimental stages. It involves taking control of the nanomachines inside you in order to stimulate certain reactions in your body. With all that machinery around your bed, it is possible to manipulate the nanomachines within you for healing purposes, using those wires attached to you as a link. While highly dangerous if not administered correctly, this form of treatment can nevertheless be very effective since it allows us to take almost full control of your bodily functions. In this case, we concentrated on removing the toxins from the blood and repairing the damage inside you. And I'm glad to say it worked like a charm. As of Tuesday lunchtime all traces of the poison had been purged from your body and it was clear that you would live. Naturally enough, the treatment left you totally exhausted and I'm not surprised you needed a couple of days to rest up before you awoke."

"I see. I assume this treatment is also responsible for this as well?" Ruri held up her hand to show her glowing implants.

"Yes, that's right," replied the doctor, squinting as the intense light hit her eyes. "You are still linked to the machine, so your nanomachines are still functioning at an increased rate. I'd like to leave them like that for a while longer, so I can monitor your condition and make sure no unforeseen effects crop up. After all there's no point in being hasty when it comes to your health, is there?"

"I guess not," Ruri replied, a little frustrated. In her opinion, the sooner she was rid of these bonds, the better, but it looked as though she'd have to spend a while longer trussed up like a turkey on Christmas Day.   

"You're a very lucky girl, you know," continued the Nergal scientist. "You're the only person in the world with both your superior genes and nanomachines, the combination of which was vital to your survival. Your unique nature is what ultimately saved you."

            "It was my unique nature that endangered me in the first place," Ruri murmured, somewhat bitterly. She then brought her head up with a question to cut off any reply Miss Fressange might have had.

            "I sent you an e-mail last Friday. Did you ever receive it?"

            Inez bit the edge of her lip as she formed a guilty smile. "Yes, I did eventually," she replied steadily. "Unfortunately, it was old news by the time I read it. I did try and contact you at the orphanage but you were long gone by then. Not knowing where you could possibly have gone, I wasn't sure how I could find and aid you. Fortunately soon after you were admitted here, the hospital staff contacted me to chase up your medical records, me having been your medical officer onboard the Nadesico. Of course, once I heard you were here I immediately came to offer my assistance."

            "I see," breathed Ruri. She bowed her head in gratitude to her, allowing a mass of chaste white hair to drop over her face. "Your treatment saved my life. Thank you Miss Fressange, I am in your debt."

"Oh, think nothing of it Ruri," replied the scientist, dismissing it with a small flick of her hand. "I'm just glad I got here in time to help. Besides, if anyone deserves your thanks, it's Akito and Yurika. After all they're the ones that found you and brought you here."

"Huh?" Ruri inquired, tucking loose hair behind her ears as she looked up questioningly at the couple. "You're the ones who found me?"

"Well yeah, kind of," said Akito, scratching the back of his head self-consciously. "When you weren't at the orphanage, we figured the Nadesico was the only other place you would be."

"Yes, we came onboard literally minutes after that horrible assassin poisoned you," added Yurika. "In fact, he was still there when we arrived."     

"You met Matador?" Ruri said, voice wavering as she spoke the demon's name.

"Yeah, we did," said Akito. "We had a fight, but he got away from me." He spread his arms. "But the irony is that the UEAF found his body a day later amid a whole load of wreckage at the bottom of one of the ship's elevator shafts. Apparently, he had a fatal accident with one of the lifts."

"Good thing too," murmured Yukina under her breath.

"An accident?" mused Ruri thoughtfully, a dubious look momentarily displayed on her face. "I wonder." She shook her head, abruptly dismissing the thought. "Well, it doesn't matter now in any case," Turning back to the couple, she held them in her gorgeous gaze.

"Captain, Mr Tenkawa, thank you. I can never repay you for what you've done for me." She ducked her head in their direction, solemn gratefulness on her face.

"Oh don't talk like that Ruri! We did what we had to do." said Yurika, sandwiching the girl's hand with both her own.

"Yeah," Akito added. "We're just happy that you're alive and well. And in any case, well…" He trailed off, despondent all of a sudden. Noticing his rapid drop in demeanour, Ruri asked him about it.

"What is it?"

The cook shrugged negatively, his smile now gone. "It's just that I don't really deserve your thanks." His head and voice fell as one at the end of the sentence. 

Ruri leant forward and seized his eyes with her own. "What do you mean?"

Akito grimaced awkwardly, as if the words in his mouth were painful to say out loud.  "I…I should have defended you from that assassin, Ruri. I shouldn't have allowed him to hurt you like that," He closed his eyes in sincere shame. "You nearly died because I wasn't there to protect you."

"Let me get this straight," said Ruri, not quite believing what she was hearing. "You're blaming yourself for what happened to me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I should have…"
            "Mr Tenkawa, you are such an idiot!"

Normally she only used her favourite word behind her fellow crewmember's backs, but this time she just couldn't hold it in. The sheer irrationality of his guilt was too much to take. Her little outburst had a clear effect on the others – Akito was gaping at her, astounded by this sudden affront, while the other three girls were all clasping their mouths to contain their laughter. Reprimanding him with her gaze, Ruri spoke heavily. 

"Mr Tenkawa, while I was a target for assassination you were behind bars. There was nothing you could have done to help me even if you'd known that I was in trouble, which you didn't. How could you have possibly been expected to protect me under such circumstances?"

"But all the same I should have…"

"Please, no buts Mr Tenkawa. I don't blame you for what happened in the slightest, so there is no reason for you to blame yourself. And in any case, you did help me in the end." The ends of her lips curved upward the tiniest fraction. "You saved my life. You were there for me when I needed you the most."

"She's right, Akito," laughed Minato. "Honestly, didn't you listen at all when we talked about this before?!"

With a minute chuckle, Akito shook his head. "I guess not. Look, thanks for forgiving me, Ruri."

"I did not forgive you Mr Tenkawa," Ruri replied, shaking her head in exasperation as much as rebuff. "Before a person can forgive there has to have been a transgression first and you have never ever done anything to offend or harm me. Please drop it, Mr Tenkawa. If you feel guilty about this, so will I."

"Well, okay Ruri," said Akito, taken aback by her strength of her insistence. He had to concede to her demand – not only was her logic infallible, but it was impossible to argue against those remarkable eyes.

A brief silence descended on the group, indicating that the conversation was anyone's for the taking. Minato started to say something, but closed her mouth when Yukina butted in first with a question.

"Hey Ruri," the Jovian redhead started. "What exactly was the deal with the assassin?"

Ruri granted Yukina her gaze. "Matador?"

"Yeah," said the elder girl, leaning forward and regarding her with a suspicious interest. "I still don't understand why Akatsuki sent someone to kill you.  And also why he'd send you to an orphanage first." She made it sound like an accusation.

"Yukina, I don't think she wants to talk about that now," murmured Minato, interrupting her quickly.

"No, it's alright," Ruri assured her. For some reason, she had an urge to tell them everything that had happened to her. Perhaps sharing her experience would help her straighten out the events in her own mind and relieve some of the emotional stress they'd caused her. "It's a long story though," she added. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Absolutely, Ruri!" said Yurika. "You've had such an adventure. We'd love to hear it if you're up to it!"

"Very well," Ruri nodded. Everybody gathered in closer to her to hear the incredible tale of her recent life. Taking a long breath, she began.

"It started out on the day we returned to Earth. I was manning the bridge alone, when Mr Akatsuki came in and made me an offer..."

*          *            *

The day passed much quicker than the anxious ones preceding it had. The restless hours of waiting for Ruri to awaken had been replaced by moments of glorious euphoria in Akito's schedule. He felt great and why shouldn't he? Against all odds Ruri had escaped the icy grip of death to come back to their world. The girl, whose life had been in the balance only three days ago, had woken up to full recovery and everything was right with the world because of that.

The past few hours may have been dull to another person in different circumstances, but to Akito they had been absolutely magical. Yurika, Minato, Yukina and himself had all sat around Ruri's bed and swapped their story for hers over a tasteless hospital lasagne. Even though he'd already heard the shocking details off her orphanage roommate, he was newly fascinated by Ruri's first-hand account of her brushes with death. Listening to it had been like watching a film which he knew had a happy ending, and because of that he had felt positive throughout. It was just so wonderful to see her talking and moving around again, as if she'd never been sick at all. Akito felt more elated then he'd ever been and he knew everyone else felt the same way. In fact, Yurika had literally not stopped smiling ever since the girl had awoken.

            When the meal was over, they had given Ruri some privacy to shower and change into some clean clothes. Yurika and the girls had wandered outside to get some fresh air, having sent him back to the hospital cafeteria to hunt for ice-cream. He'd been successful on that front and was now on his way to meet up with the others again, quick as he could since the freezing tubs he carried were making his hands numb.

He walked outside into the glaring sunshine to see Yurika sitting on a bench, waiting for him. Her smile was radiant as he approached her and she shot to her feet to greet him.

 "Akito?"

"Yes Yurika?"

"Give me a hug!" She spread her arms to him, smiling like an angel.

After placing his load down on the bench (to the relief of his frozen hands) Akito obliged her. Their embrace was one of love and relief, similar, but ultimately very different, to the hugs of hope and comfort they'd exchanged over the past few days.  

"She made it Akito!" Yurika whispered blissfully.

"Yeah. Yeah she did," Akito replied, affectionately stroking her arm.

She brought her head up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before burrowing her face into him again. "You know," she murmured into his chest. "It's time for us to tell her."

"Tell her?" stammered Akito. "Tell her what?"

"Silly!" chuckled Yurika, snuggling further into him. "Tell her that we want to adopt her of course!"

"Oh yeah, right," replied Akito uneasily. "But are you sure that's a good idea right now? I mean, she's just woken up. Is now the right time to drop this bombshell on her?"

"Of course it is! We've just come back into her life, so I think it's best if she starts thinking of us as parents as soon as possible. Don't you think so too?"

"Well, maybe," said Akito uncertainly, "But I think you're assuming a lot. I mean, what if she doesn't accept our offer?"

"Then she will still have us as friends and no harm will be done," Yurika declared, as if she'd had that response all lined up. "She needs to know, Akito dear. I don't want her to think that she's going to be chucked back into an orphanage again when she leaves the hospital. I want her to know that we've got a life to offer her if she wants it." Her eyes were gleaming with excitement as she said, "And think of what we'll have if she says yes!"

"Yeah. We'll have a family." Akito thought. "I'd be a dad. Yurika would be a mum. And we'd have our very own little girl too…"

He gulped at the prospect – it was as frightening as it was wonderful. Not that there was doubt in his mind, he was just, well, nervous, truth be told. It wasn't that he didn't want Ruri as a daughter – few things would make him happier than to be a Papa to the girl who had none. It was the effect their proposal would have on her that concerned him most. He couldn't tell if she would accept it, reject it, or indeed be offended by it. That was part and parcel of their Ruri – while her nature was as logical as clockwork, her inner mind remained a true mystery. Who knew what she really wanted? The uncertainty scared him and he dreaded the scenario of a refusal. It would hurt deeply if Ruri turned them down, and worse still, she would feel guilty as well. He didn't want to be the one who dampened her good mood, now that she'd finally found it.

"But Yurika's right, she needs to know our intentions. Maybe we should just go for it and deal with the consequences later."

            "Akito?" Yurika's voice broke through his thoughts and he realised he'd been silent for a long time. He swallowed and spoke. 

"Okay Yurika. We'll tell her."

"Oh Akito, you're so wonderful!" Yurika kissed him once again, then grabbed his arm and eagerly pulled him back towards the hospital. "Come on, let's do it!"

"Hey wait a minute!" stammered Akito, flustered by her haste. "We have to work this out first! How are we going to do it!?"

"We'll play it by ear, Akito dearest!" Yurika replied lightly. "I'm sure we'll know what to say to her once we're in there. After all, we want our offer to come straight from the heart!" She beamed in confidence and doubled her stride, as obliviously composed as she always was when she had her mind set on something. Akito sighed in her wake. Sometimes his girlfriend was too impulsive for her own good. And though he'd assured himself over the past few days that he definitely wanted to do this, he was still deeply concerned with the ultimate question.

"Will Ruri really want to be our daughter?"

            They'd know soon enough.