Chapter Twenty-Five: A (More or Less) Modest Proposal
Inuyasha was momentarily without words or thought when Ruri opened the door. She had chosen to wear a traditional kimono to the dinner instead of her uniform, and had her tied her hair behind her head at the neck instead of the twin ponytails she had sported up until now. Inuyasha was pleased to note that she was wearing the necklace he'd given her a few hours before. She took his offered arm and they enjoyed each others company to the officer's galley.
Dinner wouldn't have been bad at all if it had been just the two of them, but the presence of so many people in the room made it difficult to carry on a conversation with just each other, even if they were seated at the head table.
'Ruri-chan, do you enjoy leading a military vessel?'
Ruri paused to sort through her thoughts. 'I'm good at it, and it's not a bad life, but... I guess it's not what I want to do the rest of my life.' Ruri let the introduction for nii-chan's speech end the conversation for the time being. The introduction ended, and Inuyasha stood.
"Good evening. All of us have come a long way to be here this evening. Both on the physical description, and the spiritual description. We are here to open up a new chapter in Nergal's history, and hopefully to help usher in an era of peace for our solar system."
Several cheers sounded, and he let them die down before continuing. "Today is also the day of birth for the dear Captain of this vessel, whom we all admire and cherish." On cue, a rather large cake was wheeled out with "Happy Birthday, Captain!" scrawled across it.
'Baka. You're quite the conspirator.'
'Damn straight. And I'm not done yet.'
Once the applause died down, he turned to look at Ruri and offered his hand. Blushing slightly, Ruri took his hand and stood.
"One more chapter I'd like to open, ladies and gentleman." Ruri watched as he dropped to one knee. His free hand produced a small box. "'Hoshino Ruri, will you marry me?'"
She jerked him back to his feet and embraced him, eyes full of joyful tears.
"'Baka, yes.'"
The room cheered as Inutaishou Inuyasha fulfilled the promise he made to Hoshino Ruri in a forest in Sengoku Jidai.
--owari--
