The debate of the morning between the two lovers was whose job was currently more boring. The debate raged on until the Lackeys, Greg and Dean, proposed that the chairman double their number. While Inuyasha didn't have to think and just said yes they could, he forfeited the debate by default for making a decision. Ruri then decided to rag on him until he came to get her for lunch because he lost, which was all of five minutes.

The two walked slowly to the mess hall, neither sure which was better - to not be "working," or to be with each other.

'Each other,' Inuyasha decided.

'But I was awoken early this morning and I'm grumpy.'

'But you're kawaii when you're grumpy.'

'Baka.'

'Oh, that's right, you're always kawaii.' Ruri sighed in defeat and let her head tump against his shoulder three or four times in protest.

They rounded the last corner and entered the cafeteria.

'Alright,' the youkai resolved, 'you aren't kawaii.' He continued before Ruri could react. 'You were kawaii when you were thirteen, which as you pointed out earlier you are not. Therefore,' he concluded as he picked up trays for them, 'I have no choice but to call you beautiful.'

'Baka,' came the reply, although she didn't get much effort into it and the bloodflow to her face multiplied.

They walked up to the counter which was manned by a bald and bearded ox of a man wearing an apron.

'Ruri-chan, what's good?'

'The house special's always good.'

"Two house specials."

"Alright, bell peppers and beef it is for the Captain and the Chairman."

"Arigato, Jet-san."

"Arigato," Inu echoed.

They, well the youkai, carried the trays to a quieter corner of the hall, passing the Lackeys on their way in. Dean and Greg were heavily involved in negotiations with several members of Ruri's bridge crew concerning evening plans, and both parties failed to notice their bosses passing by them.

'It would seem that the two crews are getting along rather well,' the youkai commented.

'Perhaps I should come down on the fact that Nergal does not smile on fraternization, or has that policy changed with the new administration?' Inu knew when he was being teased by Ruri.

'Considering the trend set by the captain of the first vessel to bear the name Nadesico, I'd have a hard time enforcing the old policy. Besides, if I enforce the policy then I wouldn't get to make out with the captain, would I?'

// \\

"I'm on the HIGHway to Heeellyellyell!"

The sound from the stereo was unparallel in its quality. The sound of the V12 at his back was divine. The sound issuing from the mouth of the Lord of the Western Lands, however, was neither and frankly the opposite. He was well aware that while he was in a vehicle he was quite the embarrassment to his son. Outside of the doors of one of his cars, he was the epitome of cool, calm, and collected. Inside those doors, well, it was his car and he could do as he damn well pleased, no matter how out of character his son considered it. He stomped the emergency brake at his ankle and slid sideways into the intersection, gunning the engine forward as soon as he was aligned with the lane he wanted. The light was yellow; it wasn't illegal. Besides, if traffic on the freeway hadn't been snarled then he wouldn't have had to rush through the back streets to get to this "Hinata House", which was the domicile of the Professor Urashima he had seen on the news the night before.

He flew down the final streets as if he were a bat out of hell instead of on a highway into it. Sesshoumaru was never late, never early. He was always present at the exact moment he wanted to be. Except right now. Right now he was five minutes later than he wanted to be. Had it not been a Ferrari he was driving, then he would remain five minutes late, but the car needed to stretch its legs. At least, that made a good excuse to make good use of the sixth gear.

Finally, he pulled into Hinata's driveway. Since there apparently wasn't going to be a lot of room to turn around, he ever so gracefully gunned it then tossed the car into a one-eighty spin, letting it roll the final feet backwards in neutral.

"Perfect."

// \\

Professor Urashima's wife poured tea for the professor and his guest, as Sesshoumaru prepared to come directly to the reason for his visit.

"So, I take it a relative of one of my grandfather's students saw our little find on the news, eh? I must admit, it's rather odd to find such a thing within Tokyo, and after this long as well."

Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Urashima-sensei. I believe that it may match some legends which have been passed down in my family for generations, and am curious to know what the tomb contained."

Urashima waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing actually. It was quite sealed up, yet it didn't contain anything."

Sesshoumaru's face darkened, ever so slightly. "Sensei, are you sure there was no evidence of robbery? One would not seal up an empty tomb with enchantment unless there were something worth sealing, something which one did not want to escape. Or do I speak wrongly?" Bingo. Sesshoumaru had danced around the fact he knew exactly what was in there and got the professor to squirming. Although in this case "blanching" might be a more appropriate word.

Blanching soon became an understatement as professor's hands began to shake. The tea almost sloshed out of his cup, and he set it back on the table. "Such things are simply the misunderstanding of a simpler people of something that they did not understand. Magic items don't exist, seals don't keep out - or in - evil, and demons... don't... exist!"

"Sir, you sound as if you were convincing yourself, not me." Sesshoumaru measured his tones carefully.

"Nonsense, my good man! You-you're the one the suggested that the tomb had something undead sealed inside!"

"Sir, I never said 'undead.'"

"It's been rather nice meeting you," Urashima rose, and Sesshoumaru followed suit, "but I have classes I need to get to and-"

Sesshoumaru whipped Toukijin from its home and laid the blade on the man's shoulder. "Do you feel that? It is an 'enchanted' item which you just said does not exist. And yet, feel how it pulses with a life of its own, and radiates with malice." Damn, he still had the intimidation touch. He hadn't had to use it in ages, and it still worked like a charm.

The professor's knees quaked and he fell back to his pillow on the floor. The youkai allowed his blade to rest on the man's shoulder for a moment longer before replacing it at his side and sitting back down.

"Urashima-sensei, I have no desire to harm you. However, it is of life and death importance that you take me to the grave, tell me exactly what happened when you broke the seals or, more preferably, both."

// \\

Ruri wrapped her arms around Inuyasha and pulled him towards her as they reclined in her quarters. The office of Inu's quarters should have been declared a disaster area, as the neat orderly piles that had existed two days ago were now simply mounds. It would seem that her betrothed had underestimated the amount of paper that Nergal could generate. Of course, if he'd just asked her how much paper she alone was forced to generate, he might not have been caught unaware.

'A hit, a very palpable hit.'

'Hmm?' Ruri's mind drifted back to the man propped against her shoulder.

'Hamlet. Of course, that's The Big Death Scene, so it's not quite analogous.'

'Baka.'

'Yep. Happily so. You're settling back to your old self, by the way.'

'Is that a bad thing, Inu-kun?' Ruri asked, with nothing but seriousness behind her thoughts. 'I want to be a good wife, and Yurika-san-'

'Is not Ruri-chan.' Inu sat up and turned to pull her with him until they had exchanged positions, and now it was she on his lap. 'Yurika-san is a... vibrant type of person. Charismatic. You, my love, are not the charismatic type. You do not need people to love you as Yurika-san does. Yes, everybody needs love. Far be it for me to argue with John or Paul.'

'Christian philosophy, now?'

'Baka, Beatles.' He hummed a few bars into her ear, which jogged her memory. He tightened his arms around her. 'Ruri-chan, we've both been... giddy... since becoming engaged, and that's fine. However, there is also nothing wrong with returning to our 'old' selves. There's nothing wrong with being shy, quiet and introspective. You don't ask me to change, and I have no desire for you to change.'

"'Inu-kun, I love you.'"

"' I love you too, Ruri-chan.'"

It was then that Omoikane flashed the incoming call light and popped open a terminal in front of them. Before them was the face of Inutaishou Sesshoumaru, looking darker than Ruri had ever seen him. She was more afraid of him now than she had been when Inu and Sesshoumaru had faced each other in Sengoku Jidai.

"Good evening, son and daughter. I am afraid we were correct."

// \\

Ruri contained herself until the transmission with her father-in-law-to-be ended. She sat silently for a moment, trying to not even think anything, knowing that Inuyasha was well aware of her thoughts. She leaned her head back against the couch until she was staring up at the ceiling, and wished for the thousandth time that the ship's designers would have given at least the captain's quarters a porthole into space to stare out of.

"This isn't fair," she said aloud, as much to herself as the one seated next to her.

"No, it's not," her youkai responded, crossing his legs where he sat on the couch and then mirrored that with his arms, mimicing one of his uncle's favored poses.

"We're supposed to be planning a wedding, I'm supposed to be leading a ship, and you're supposed to be leading a corporation. We're not supposed to be fighting demons. We did that already. We shouldn't have to do it again just because some aho broke a mirror. There're already enough things we... I... have to deal with. Why shouldn't the princess get to just live happily ever after with her prince? I've already lost my knight..." Inuyasha watched as a single tear formed before she finished "Where are you, Akito?"

Inuyasha reached over and quietly took her hand.

"You're not mad?" Ruri whispered.

He shook his head like a dog, with the successful intention of making Ruri smile. "As far as I know, I'm the only being in existence who has the luxury of being able to read my beloved's mind. If I don't understand something you do or say, I only have to wait for fullness to come. There's no need for me to be upset. I know what Akito-san means to you. You just called me your prince, but I also know that Akito is your knight in shining armor."

'Arigato, Inu-kun,' she thought as she leaned against his shoulder.

'Ruri-chan, why don't you call Yurika-san after you get a chance to calm down? To my knowledge, it's been a while since the two of you just talked, and I know she isn't aware of our engagement yet.'

'It's just.. Alright. It's good a time as any, I guess. Tomorrow we dock for supplies and that's going to be boring yet incredibly busy.'

'Such is the life of a warship in a time which is evolving into peace.'

"'Hai.' Omoikane, call Yurika-san."

Omoikane blinked a working sign for a few seconds as he secured a channel for her.

// \\

Misumaru-Tenkawa Yurika stared at the two framed pictures sitting on her desk in her and Akito's apartment. One was of herself and Akito shortly before they were married, and the other was of the two of them and Ruri at the wedding. Why couldn't things be now like they were then? She stared down at the melting ice in the glass before her. She had always hated alcohol for the effect it had on people until she had lost Akito. She only drank when the pain was especially unbearable, like now. Ruri's birthday (well, what everyone had agreed was her birthday, to this day no one was one hundred percent sure) had passed a few days ago and with it all her memories were dredged back. Akito still hadn't come back to her, where was he?

She watched as the incoming call light flashed. Probably someone asking for something from the office. The former captain of the Nadesico, now pushing papers around a desk and calling it "strategy." Who cared? They could go hang themselves. She had scheduled this week off to mope. Still, it could be something about Akito. Screw it. She punched the answer button and watched as a familiar face blinked before her.

"Ruri-Ruri!"

"Ohayo, Yurika-san."

Ruri blinked slightly. She knew that Yurika kept alcohol in the house, but had never seen her consume any of it. She was obviously tipsy, especially for this early in the morning local time. For her part, Yurika tried to smile for her adopted daughter.

"Happy Birthday, Ruri-chan."

"Arigato. How are you?"

"I'm... okay. Have you..."

Ruri shook her head. "I still haven't heard from Akito-san yet. But, I did hear from someone else," Ruri's shyness claimed her face as she became redder than Yurika. She slowly lifted her left hand into the frame. Yurika blinked and recognized what that meant.

"Did Hari finally come out and ask you? Ruri-Ruri, that's wonderful!"

"Er, no, he did though, but, it's not him..."

Sensing the need for his presence, Inu leaned into the frame and rested his chin on Ruri's shoulder. Yurika blinked to try to push the alcohol from her brain so she could remember who it was she was looking at.

"Inuya-- but you're older than Ruri!"

The youkai thought before responding. "Tenkawa-san, if an age gap in human years truly matters, then I'm too old to marry your grandmother. Remember, I'm over 200 years old in human terms, although that's nothing for a youkai. If it makes you feel any better, in terms of my lifespan I've gone through less of it than Ruri-chan has, and she'll outlive yourself by a longshot."

The memories of the Inutaishous slowly rolled back to Yurika. It truly had been a long time since that blissful time before they were kidnapped. Those days with Sesshoumaru and his son were certainly the most bizarre she'd gone through. Demons exist, Ruri's part demon, and, now, she's marrying a demon.

"If this will bring you happiness, Ruri-chan, then I guess I'm okay with it. May I ask what made you choose him over Hari?"

Ruri paused, trying to figure out a way to explain it. "You try spending your life with one person while having your mind totally open to someone else" wasn't going to cut it. A few of the particulars of that line of thought caused Inu to lose a few coolness points as a slight rosiness appeared on his cheeks.

"Yurika-san, I don't... trust Hari. He has a dark side, I think, that he won't show to me. Inu isn't a white sheep by any means, but he trusts me with knowing his dark side."

"He's not violent, is he?" The fear was evident in Yurika's face, even if Ruri knew it was unmerited. She shook her head. Ruri paused, sorting through the images from Inu's mind which she'd never tried to explain even, to a certain extent, to herself.

"In two hundred years, everyone does things which they aren't proud of to survive, and to keep yourself hidden from the public means behaving like the shadows at times."

Yurika didn't bother trying to completely understand what her adopted daughter had just said. Ruri had proven years ago that her wisdom could exceed her age.

"Okay," Yurika responded, catching Ruri slightly off-guard by slipping in an English word. "So, any details on the wedding yet?"

Inu left the screen to let the two talk for a while longer. They were both carefully dodging the subject of Akito, he knew, but they didn't call each other often. Winter wedding, probably in January sometime, blue and white, or yellow and orange, small wedding, big wedding, small wedding, big wedding. It was the most "girly" conversation he'd ever heard Ruri involved in.

'Baka, I heard that.'

'Yeah, but you can't claim I'm not right,' he retorted, setting a cup of tea at her elbow.

// \\

Tenkawa Akito awoke suddenly and slowly sat up. The house was quiet at this hour. It was not a rambunctious boarding house by any standard, but it was large enough that a few hours from now when the day began that he would have no peace until it ended again. He cast one last look at the sleeping form beside him, then got up to prepare for the day.

Granted, it had been quieter around the house the last few weeks, he thought as he mechanically ran a toothbrush through his mouth. Irritation rose up within him as he remembered the reason for the temporary slowdown, which promised to end today.

One of Nergal's warships was docking in a few hours and would offload several muckety-mucks. Kagura had managed to get a contract with Nergal to provide housing for any that were offloaded while the bigwigs waited to return to their respective homes. Granted, it guaranteed business for his restaurant (which was slowly building as he slowly regained his former sense of taste), and certainly lined Kagura's wallet.

However, it was still Nergal. His memory was still missing large gaps, but he had pieced together enough of his past to know that he hated Nergal. Once again he stared at the reflection returning his gaze in the mirror and tried to remember.

He remembered two women, one dark haired and one light. He knew he was a protector to both and loved each, albeit differently, but all be could see was the vague outline of their faces. Though he couldn't remember their names, he did know that he used to be lover to one of them and protector to the other.

"A knight in shining armour," Akito whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Hey, what're you doing up?" Akito asked his landlady as he slathered foam on his face. "I didn't want to wake you."

"It's quite alriqht," Kagura purred as she watched him drag the razor across his face. "I need to get up early today anyways. The Nadesico will be docking this afternoon."

"N-Nadesico?" Akito's razor fell into the sink. A thin line of blood formed on his as face some of the jumbled pieces in his mind fell into place. It was far from clear yet, but it was indeed clearer.

"Akito?" The concern in Kagura's voice was genuine as she grabbed a towel and pressed on the small wound. As he raised his hand to cover Kagura's he caught a glimpse of the circuit embedded into his right hand.

Aestivalis.

Nadesico.

Nergal.

"Kagura-san, do you have a picture of this Nadesico?"

"H-hai," Kagura replied, slightly frightened at the force in his voice as she ran into the bedroom to retrieve some P.R. materials which she remembered had pictures of the ship on them. Of course, she never had to worry about him getting violent, he was only human after all, but...

Akito wiped the shaving cream from his face and followed her. She grabbed some papers from her desk and handed them to him. He thumbed through them quickly until he found the picture that she had remembered. It was close to the ship that he saw in his mind, but not exactly. Could he be thinking of an earlier version of the ship? One odd thought stuck in his mind.

"Do you happen to have a picture of its captain?" Kagura was relieved to hear the fierceness leave his voice.

"No, my love, unfortunately I don't. Come with me to the docks though, we may get to see both the captain and the new Nergal chair. They announced him onboard the ship, but general news of who he is hasn't leaked out yet. Come with me today, love."

"Hai." Akito nodded, but suddenly was unable to return her affection for him. Something was gnawing on his mind, and it wasn't a Ceti Eel.

// \\

Next up, Akito and Ruri reunited with side orders of Tiramisu and mutiny, and it ain't on the Bounty...