I apologize for the last chapter if it wasn't funny, but I DIDN'T HAVE ANY INSPIRATION FOR ANYTHING BUT STUPID KENSHIN INDUCED COMEDY!!
Finally, we are starting to get into my sci-fi volcano of ideas. If you don't like sci-fi, chances are you will skip through some of the 'unnecessary' paragraphs. But Doooooon't worry, there is plenty of mush and comedy in this chapter to save those people! If you do like sci-fi, I hope you like my writing style, and if you don't, tell me how I might improve.
Warning: Um… I have trouble writing this fic a lot of the time… I hope that I will get more into it soon, that's why the chapter took so long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, it is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and Jump comics as well as some anime ppl… ^.^ However, the characters of Sawyer and Tackets are mine.

< b>This is not an actual chapter… actually, as the title says- it is a bonus scene. This is a chapter I started writing when I was only going to have Kaoru and Kenshin go into the future, it's a goodbye scene between Sano and Kenshin that no longer fits in, but I was told to put it in because it was funny.

Bonus scene ^.^

Ack! I can't find it!!!!!!! Nyoooooooooooo----- Well, I guess that means I'll have to actually write a chapter… :sigh: >

^.^ Vocab ^.^
Ore wa dake Tackets desu- I am called Tackets only… This might not be right, which is the point, b/c he's mocking them.
Abunai- Its dangerous! or Look out!



Chapter 6: Introductions, chaos, sci-fi, and mush.

The misfit crew aboard what they discovered to be a ship named Alexandria seemed to get along well. That is, Tackets and Sawyer got along with Kenshin-gumi, and Kenshin-gumi got along with Tackets and Sawyer. However… Tackets AND Sawyer couldn't get along for their life and… well, Kenshin-gumi… let's put it this way:

"YAHIKO WHERE THE HELL IS MY UNDERWEAR YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!!!!!!"

Chaos ensued, Kaoru sat on Yahiko for an hour until he passed out to try and get him to confess. Her and Kenshin had an argument about the treatment of children (while Yahiko was unconscious- otherwise he would have protested) and Sano spent most of his time ignoring them all. After Kenshin and Kaoru's "argument", Megumi was busy treating Kenshin's wounds.
There were three rooms on the ship. One had belonged to Tackets, one to Sawyer, and the other was reserved for Kaoru. Tackets and Sawyer (after an hour of arguing) had "decided" (Sawyer decided) that all the provisions that had been stored in Kaoru's room should be moved to Tackets room and Sawyer would also sleep in there. You see, that was the only other room with a bathroom. Originally Sawyer's room was the room for storage and Sawyer roomed with Tackets, but when Sawyer got sick of Tackets' uncleanliness Sawyer decided he preferred to live in the pantry rather than with Tackets.
Sadly enough, that pantry that wasn't even made for human residence became the room of -you guessed it- two fully grown (cough cough Kenshin) men and one little boy who swore that he still felt like he wasn't getting enough air.
Meanwhile Megumi and Kaoru stayed in their nice, large, clean room all alone and comfortable with their own bathroom. More arguments followed, usually between Sano and Megumi, and Yahiko and Kaoru. After much debating, which Yahiko proved fair at, it was decided that Yahiko would sleep in the room with Kaoru and Megumi, and Kenshin and Sano would share the hole in the wall- I mean, the pantry… room… thing.
After the rooming was arranged, Sawyer called everyone into the common room on the ship's system audio links (or Ssal) for "reintroductions".
As always, there was still only one translator- and it went to Kaoru. It was decided that anything Sawyer had to teach would be taught to Kaoru first since her skills would be needed, and then she could teach other interested members. For this meeting she served as translator for all.
"Welcome aboard the star ship time compressor, Alexandria (named for the Roman Empire). I'll be your captain, Dominic Sawyer. That is, Dominic. I really would prefer if you would call me by my first name. I am not used to being called 'Mr. Sawyer', frankly, it's disturbing." He smiled. "So, will you call me that? Dominic?"
"Do mi ni ku…"
"Do me ni ku…"
"Do ma-"
"Okay! Stop!" Dominic yelled amiably. "Call me 'Dom', I don't mind, all my friends call me 'Dom'"
"Dom."
"Dom."
"Dom-san."
"Dom-dono."
"Dom-kun."
"That's wonderful," Dom smiled. "Now, there are some more important pieces of information I have to give you in case of an emer-"
"Is there anything we should call groucho?" Yahiko pointed his thumb sideways at a quiet, pissed looking Tackets.
Dom translated and waited for an answer for Tackets to give. "*You call me Tackets.*" Tackets glared at them all, then mocked them, "Ore wa dake Tackets desu."
"ANYWAY," Dom continued before a glaring contest could break out, "There are some very important things that you need to know in case anything happens to this ship and Tackets and I aren't around." As Kaoru translated Dom rose and walked over to the semi-circular consol. He waited for everyone to follow his lead before slowly and purposefully pressing four buttons. Out of the side of the wall near the consol, out to the left, eight cylindrical canisters spun out to a stop for their convenience.
"These are oxygen masks inside the canisters. If anything ever breaks and the ship starts loosing air, press those buttons and use these." Then Dom started talking mostly to Kaoru, "I think it would be wise if I started teaching you how to fly this ship in case of emergency, then, if the others are interested, you can teach them."
The rest of the audience was growing impatient, and with that Dom left promise in his eyes for a conversation later. "Okay, this would be outlandishly improbable, but in case of an attack, either let Tackets and I handle the defenses, or if we are somehow impaired, still, do not try to arm the ship. There is one escape pod… it was meant to fit three but it could probably fit five or six-"
"Five or six?!" Kaoru yelled, everyone wondered what she was talking about. "There are seven of us!"
Dom smiled even though Kaoru had grabbed him in a death grip and was shaking him by the collar. "Yes, I know, and that's counting Ya- Yakiko? Yahiko as half a person. So at best one of us would be left behind."
Kaoru crossed her arms, "I'm afraid that's not good enough." She challenged Dom to resist with her eyes.
Somewhere behind the fight, completely clueless, Kenshin sighed, Poor man hasn't yet learned that it is never a good idea to argue with Kaoru-dono… she's so stubborn ^.^x he thought affectionately.
"There's no need to get worked up! There are slim chances that will happen anyway, even the Nomkinor haven't attacked a human vessel in two years- and we'll be by Earth! There's no room for other aliens on earth- its known as the most crowded 'prison' in the galaxy!" Dom backed away from the wrath of Kaoru's shinai.
"You would leave one of us behind?" She brandished the weapon threateningly.
"No! Just Tackets…"
"Hey!" Besides that protest there was a long pause.
"I don't think I would leave anyone behind," Kaoru commented. "Not even him."
"Kaoru-dono! Abunai!" Kaoru turned to question just in time for a gun to go sailing by towards Dom's currently goosebumped forehead.
However, Dom had no time to be swirly-eyed, "What do you mean, 'Leave me behind'?!"
"Oh good, you had the safety on… I mean- Of course I was only kidding!" Dom shook his head, "Just a joke… we would never leave you…" the fact that Dom looked away like a lying four-year-old and contained doubt in his voice did not soothe Tackets. The man contented himself with murmuring curses whiles Dom continued.
"That's another thing I must address. Now that we have breached the atmosphere it's time to 'time compress'. You may feel some slight discomfort at first but that won't last. I will have to charge the ship from the back so I won't be around, but if any of you get seasick, this isn't much different." Kaoru and Yahiko paled. "Our compression will only last about a day, you can probably sleep through a lot of it-"
Kaoru and Yahiko's hands shot up, "Yes?"
"What if we do get seasick?" They asked.
Dom blinked in understanding, "In that case…" he disappeared into his room and came out with some sturdy plastic bags that weren't as flexible as, say, grocery bags, "In that case I will teach you all how to dispose of wastes first!" His finger went up and he smiled.
The bathroom was the next lesson from the organic encyclopedia- I mean, Dom. After being shown the glory of waste disposal everyone went back into the cockpit and took their respective seats, whether that be in the seat next to Dom (like Tackets), or around the circular table connected to the wall (like everyone else). After setting some calculations, Dom said a silent prayer in hopes that Tackets would be a dependable navigator and left his seat to disappear into the back hall, which had not yet been toured. He headed down the white corridor to the end of the short hall and opened the first door to the LE chamber (Life Energy Chamber). In that area he rid himself of his clothes, donned a skintight uniform that connected to a helmet and left only his hands and the underside of his forearms bare.
The next door, with heavy locks and an airtight seal was opened and locked from the inside. On the wall Dom pulled off a band to go around his arm that would monitor his bodily functions. The prick of the needle on the inside hardly hurt to someone that was so used to it by then.
Back in the cockpit Tackets saw the monitor click on and checked the energy readings. When the go button clicked on he affirmed the energy withdrawal and readied the compressor. When the energy levels of the ship started to climb he activated the compressor and hoped for the best.
All experienced a tight feeling in the chest and a faint dizziness before the motion sickness started. Kaoru was the first to hide her head in a bucket. Yahiko would not have started to throw up if he hadn't been reminded he was supposed to feel sick by Kaoru, and soon both of them were making unpleasant sounds as they puked their guts out into a bucket-bag. When they looked up they were rather annoyed to see that Sano had squeezed tightly away from them and was currently suffocating Megumi, and Kenshin seemed very interested in the floor that was at the bottom of the other side of the booth, out of the line of fire, so to speak. But when Kenshin heard Kaoru groan while Yahiko continued to barf he looked and saw her in the epitome of misery, she sunk down into her booth and was very pale, her whole aura seemed to scream: "comfort me Kenshin", or maybe that was just his subconscious throwing that in for fun. Anyway, he moved over next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Daijoubu de gozaru ka?"
Kaoru only groaned and shook her head, then decided that that was too much to bear and buried her mouth in her bucket-bag.
Aw, Kenshin thought, I wish there was something comforting I could say or do. I would do anything, even take her pain, to make her feel better de gozaru. Kenshin opened his mouth to say something nice, but he quickly reconsidered after thinking about how far his mouth had helped him. Instead of making Kaoru feel worse, as he was slightly aware he frequently did, he looked to Sanosuke for help.
"Man, I wish those bags weren't see through."
Thank you, Sano.

The ship was finally peaceful. Tackets was busy navigating, Dom was gone, and Yahiko was sleeping on Kaoru, who in turn was sleeping on a smug looking Kenshin. For once, Sano and Megumi were managing not to argue as they looked out of the front window at the awing, sparkling space. There were more stars shining from space than one could ever think imaginable, and although the ship never moved from its spot, there was quite a show without movement. Comets and shooting stars sped across the view in flashing lines of white light and the twinkling stars glimmered and vibrated in the eyes of their onlookers.
Sano had just smiled at something that Megumi had huffed at and all seemed right with the world. When she commented on how beautiful Earth looked from space out of the port view window Sano noticed how the shivering stars reflected beautifully in Megumi's mahogany red eyes with the contrast of the bright ocean and thinned clouds over Earth.
"So when did you stop being freaked out about being on this ship?" Megumi raised an eyebrow without turning to Sano.
He knew that she was just playing games with him, but at least they were nice, quiet, safe games. "I always shove my fears to the side when I see something I like. Right now I can see Earth reflected in your eyes."
Megumi returned his stare questioningly, but soon the gaze became amused. "That was a pretty good one, did it take you long to think it up?"
"Just tellin' it like it is," Sano put in. The two had an unspoken game going on to see how many pick up lines one could incorporate on a daily basis. It didn't just include pick up lines though, the game had stretched into witty comments and Megumi had tried to include flirtations, but Sano didn't like to joke. He was a ladies' man, but he didn't like using people like that.
"Well, you're on a roll today; did you take your vitamins?"
"Ha ha."
"That was a cheap comeback."
"You're ruining the view."
"Do you suddenly feel more chicken-like? Should I lay you down?" Megumi tried her best to say that innocently, but ended up in a chorus of her signature laughter.
"Point, and point."
"I had to catch up with you."
"Kick a man when he's down," Sano said distractedly, he was considering using one of those oxygen masks to shut the fox up.
"At least I get points for it." She smirked.
"Yea, you win, kitsune, you're the better vixen." Sano pocketed his hands and walked back to his end of the couch after that. He didn't feel all that into playing games at the moment, although they were distracting him from his metal surroundings, but he was getting to serious about some deep romantic bull and he needed to recoolify his manly manliness. In other words, he and kitsune had some big emotional game going on and frankly he was afraid of becoming Kenshin. He also didn't want to lose his chances with Megumi forever. If he took it any slower he would go insane- and it wasn't because he was madly in love with her. He liked her enough to move on to some sort of relationship, but, as said, he wasn't Kenshin. Kenshin's pace of "I like a girl, let me do something about it" was slower than an egg being fried by hot gravel in February. Then again, kitsune didn't seem very willing to start anything, only to play around, and sometimes, when that just wasn't enough, Sano didn't feel like playing, this was one of those times.
After sitting around aimlessly for a while, Sano got bored; "I want some grub…" he wandered off.

Mwahahahahaha! Shorter chapters! Oh well, They are still pretty long, 5 pages. Verdana 11. This fic has been giving me so much trouble that I thought of dropping it. If you like it, if you read it, PLEASE give me feedback! Its so disheartening when I realize that the reason not many people review is because not many people read and if your reading please review! This is not easy for me to write and so I will have to take it slow. I have to admit that not getting many reviews makes it less fun to write- bc what the heck are you writing it for?!
In short:
Reviews = I write more often with longer chapters!

Its not a choice, Jimmy, that's just the way it is. Here lassie! Here boy… girl… dog! Hey you!