Disclaimer: I don't own this. I don't. Really. The plot's probably been used, the characters aren't mine, and I probably don't own the writer, either. Meh.

Genre: AU/SF/Romance . . . do I really have to keep repeating myself?

Summary: If you READ the other chapters, you would KNOW what's happening.

Key: word = description; 'word' = thoughts; "word" = speech; WORD = emphasis; not exactly rocket-science, here, but I have no html skillz. Otherwise, I would use italics and such. But I can't. So there.

===============================================================

Rapture

Chapter Four

The blond scowled, letting his face convey his inner emotions to his reflection in the sturdy window in front of him.

'So . . . you've found someone, eh, Eiri? It's about time. . . .'

His chuckle was the only sound that filled the dark, cold room.

'I hope you're happy,' Seguchi Tohma thought bitterly, smirking.

Five hours earlier. . . .

The sun was shining brilliantly off of the Fenikkusu's hull, blinding passerby as they stared at it.

Today was a remarkable day. The Fenikkusu was a great ship in her prime: one of Japan's best, most valuable, most treasured, and most recognized charter ships. After extreme overuse through the years, though, the ship lost its luster and became an old relic, putting its crew out of commission, as well.

But, due to technological advancements and a much needed hull repair, along with a few additions due to funding from an anonymous source, it had narrowly avoided becoming scrap metal.

And now, the Fenikkusu was becoming reborn again, ironically enough.

The captain, one Seguchi Tohma, was preparing for its first voyage in over a decade, happily speaking to the press and such, charming the mass of onlookers and reporters alike.

His wife, Mika, was standing at the helm with a bored expression on her face and her arms crossed. She didn't even have much of a duty, only to keep the captain company and, being his wife and all, she was naturally suited for it. But damned if she didn't hate every minute of it.

She stared at the rest of the crew with disinterest; most of them she had known for years. Most of the former members of the Fenikkusu were chomping at the bit to return to work.

She sat down next to Sakano, the ship's . . . well, he didn't do too much, either; however, Mika had never really asked, so she just assumed that he was in charge of personnel.

"Oh! Hello, Mika-san," he said nervously, dabbing sweat off his brow. "What brings you to my station, today?"

The brunette flipped her hair out of her face and she sighed. "I'm bored."

" . . . Aa."

She glanced at his console, not knowing what else to do, since Sakano rarely initiated conversation and he always seemed to be nervous and uptight about every little thing. Mika was almost positive the man would die from hypertension when he was forty. But, compared to the other freaks, Sakano was relatively normal.

RELATIVELY, anyway.

"What are you looking at?"

He flashed a tense smile and turned the screen in her direction. "Uh . . . the passenger list."

Mika's eyelids drooped. 'Doesn't he ever look at porn, or SOMETHING? What a prude!'

"Why, exactly?" she asked instead, glancing at the seemingly endless list of names.

"Because it's my job, Mika-san?"

"It is? I thought that would be something more suited to the Chief of Security-"

The two jumped visibly as they were interrupted by a loud, "YES?!" from behind.

Mika, after regaining her composure, rolled her eyes. "Oh . . . it's just you. . . ."

Meanwhile, Sakano blanched and fell out of his chair. "K-san! What do you think you're DOING?! Have you no respect for personal space?"

The blonde grinned. "I heard you two talking about me, and I was naturally curious!"

The woman inched away from him slowly, so as not to provoke him. "We were just discussing if reviewing the passenger list was in YOUR job description or not."

'I . . . HATE . . . that STUPID American!' she thought with malice, but managed to maintain a civil expression, albeit a stiff one.

Sakano picked himself off the floor and sat back down in his seat, adjusting his tie with a look of irritation. "It IS, actually . . . but K-san expressed that computers were not a strong suit of his, so I encompassed it into my duties."

K gave a sheepish smile and laughed. "Computers and me don't mix too well, unfortunately. . . ."

"'Don't mix too well'? As I recall, the last computer you were seen with didn't even LOOK like a computer when you were through with it!" Sakano said sharply.

Mika began to scroll through the names on the list as the other two talked.

"HEY! It's not MY fault that the thing wouldn't work correctly! I'm sure anyone else would've reacted the same!"

"They had to scrape the remains off the WALL!"

"It was being stubborn!"

"Your station smelled like burnt plastic for THREE MONTHS!"

Mika sighed inaudibly at their childish antics. Turning back to the screen, the woman's sharp eyes rested on one name that made her squint at the screen to make sure she was correct. But she was, no doubt about it.

She gasped, which made the two men stop and look at her quizzically.

"Are you all right, Mika-san?" Sakano asked.

"Yes! I'm fine, thank you, Sakano-san." She stood up quickly. "Please excuse me, but I need to speak to the captain."

"Of course," he murmured as she ran out of the bridge to find Tohma.

K scratched his ear with his pinkie once she was no longer in sight. "Women are so strange. . . . OH? Hey! That's my name!" he said and leaned down to point to his name on the screen for emphasis.

"That's nice, K-san," Sakano said with obviously no enthusiasm whatsoever.

===

After speaking with the press, Tohma smiled lightly and began to walk back toward the Fenikkusu with an easygoing pace.

He had such fond memories of his ship, but it had been such a long time since he had flown in space that he wondered if he would throw up like during his training when he was younger.

He laughed lightly out loud, until he noticed his wife rushing at him with a look of urgency. "Tohma!"

"Mika-san? What is it?" he asked, jostled out of his memory.

She ran the rest of the way towards him and threw her arms around his neck. "Eiri's a passenger on the ship!"

Tohma's eyes widened. "Eiri-san?" he breathed quietly.

"Yes! Eiri's really coming! Isn't this great, Tohma?" she asked, carefully giving him a kiss on the cheek. "And Tatsuha, too! I can't believe that they're really going to be here!"

Tohma smiled broadly. "This is excellent news, Mika-san!"

She linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Wow. . . . How long has it been, Tohma. . . .?"

"It's been . . . a long time. A long time." He gently hugged her in return and removed his arm from her embrace. The blonde walked in the general direction of the bridge and frowned.

'This will certainly complicate things, though. . . .'

===

Three and a half hours earlier. . . .

"How did this end up happening?" Yuki sighed quietly, raking a hand through his hair to distract him from the two very loud idiots behind him.

"Stop acting like a moron!" Tatsuha yelled.

"I will if YOU stop acting like a PERVERT!" Shuichi snarled back.

"I am NOT a pervert!" Tatsuha absentmindedly touched his new shiner.

"You are, too!"

Tatsuha grinned mischievously. "Oi, Eiri! Your boy toy's being annoying!" he called and winked at the brother that currently had an expression that could kill. But he was walking in front so the other two couldn't tell.

"Yuki?" Shuichi said in a similar tone.

Then, with lightning-quick speed, he whirled around and hit them both. "SHUT UP!"

He continued walking ahead but at a much brisker pace, leaving the younger two to sulk.

"Mou, Yuki! Wait up, please!" the pink-haired one called, trying to run ahead of a disgruntled Tatsuha, who then grabbed his leg. Shuichi, naturally toppled over.

The blonde, though, in retaliation, closed his eyes and walked at an even faster pace away from the two teens while they fought in the middle of the sidewalk, making passerby stare oddly.

It was bad enough having the pink-haired chatterbox around, but the conniving brother was maybe too much to handle.

The younger of the two had just suddenly shown up at Yuki's doorstep early in the morning, drunk and complaining that he had up and quit his long-time job at the underground before he could get fired.

Yuki took pity on him and let him stay . . . but he wasn't happy about it. And he vocalized it a lot.

But then, once Shuichi had woken up, there was pandemonium. Apparently, Tatsuha was the creep that tried to mess with him during his escort to Watanabe's place.

So, upon seeing him again, and being the impulsive person he was, he immediately socked Tatsuha in the eye again. And, of course, now there was a certain amount of animosity between them, hence the childish behavior.

Yuki was less than amused at having to listen to the two explain their stories to him, but now they were seemingly competing for his attention? Ugh.

But, now, he was feeling rather uncomfortable about staying in the area; with Shuichi and a now readily accessible Tatsuha, it would be rather easy to track them down.

That was why he bought last-minute tickets for the Fenikkusu.

"Yuki!" He barely registered the pink-haired blob running next to him. "Wait, please! Please, please, please?"

The blonde huffed in response and continued his pace.

Meanwhile, Tatsuha was now struggling with all of the luggage, seeing as Shuichi and Yuki just left him there to fend for himself, cursing the two mentally.

===

Two hours and forty-five minutes earlier. . . .

"Welcome. Please enjoy your stay," Sakano chanted rhythmically, bowing politely as the many passengers were scanned and brought inside the ship. He was beginning to get tired until he noticed the captain eyeing the crowd warily. Then he went double-time on the bowing, making his head hurt slightly.

Tohma had a frown etched upon his features until he finally noticed Eiri boarding the ship with little to no enthusiasm.

After that, he smiled plainly.

Mika watched hesitantly next to her husband, then sighed once Tatsuha was within earshot.

"Aniki! Look, look! It's our favorite sister and favorite brother-in-law , Mika and Tohma! What's UP?" he yelled at them from the other side of the security gates, grinning like an idiot.

An unidentifiable pink-haired person stood between them, with eyes wide. "Yuki, are they your family?" In an undertone, he added, "Are they anything like him?" gesturing back at Tatsuha.

The stoic blond ignored both of them and stepped through the gate. After a brief pause, a green light flashed and he was waved on through.

The one with the pink hair, however, was not so lucky. A tinny, light buzzer sounded, and a security guard quickly walked over.

"Excuse me, sir, but there's been a problem and we need to talk with you immediately. Please step aside," a pale woman said quietly.

"Wait! What . . . what'd I do? I haven't . . . done anything! Yuki!" He clung to the blonde's shirt possessively, with a look of anxiety.

Warning bells went off in the back of Tohma's mind, as well. He was the first to admit that he was fond of Eiri; in fact, he was his favorite person. So it was only right that he felt a little wary and a little jealous of the short, barnacle-like person.

But, being the diplomat he was, Tohma put on a more respectful smile instead of the slightly goofy one from before and casually sauntered over. "Good afternoon. Is there a problem, Hinata-san?" he asked, addressing the woman.

"Yes, sir; we haven't been able to find any documentation for this man," she explained quietly.

Yuki's eyes widened ever so slightly, then he grimaced, realizing his mistake.

"Why do I need documentation?" he asked. "I'm here! My name is Shindou Shuichi! I am nineteen years old and my birthday is-"

"Shut up," Yuki snapped. "The reason he doesn't have documentation is because he's a cantavis," he said curtly to Tohma.

Tohma glanced at the teen. 'Cantavis, eh?' he thought.

"If this is true, then . . . Shindou-san, was it?" He nodded and Tohma continued. "Then Shindou-san will need a medical examination immediately to prepare a profile. These security measures are all standard, I assure you. Please come with me to the infirmary. Your cooperation is very important."

Shuichi looked back at Yuki for encoragement. "You heard him, idiot; you're holding up the line, anyway."

"Well . . . okay. . . . Will you come with me, too, Yuki?"

"It's part of my job, isn' it?"

The pink-haired teen pouted slightly as Tohma began to lead them to the infirmary, once again leaving Tatsuha behind.

'Stupid . . . grr. . . .!" Tatsuha thought as he waited impatiently for his scan to finish.

To be continued. . . .

===============================================================

Notes:

Sorry for the really, really, REALLY long delay in updates. But, because of this, I will be posting the second half of this chapter very soon! I had massive writer's block and it took me six months to figure out this . . . thing. Gah. Once again, I'm very sorry, but I really appreciate your continued interest in this fic! You guys rock!

More about the plot (and more actual story and character development! Gah!) will be explained in the second half of this chapter. I just really wanted to get this out since I've been dragging my ass this whole time. My sincerest apologies if you don't like this chapter, but I promise the next one will at least be better than this.

I changed the chapter titles to lyrics from the song, "Harmonia." Why? Because I've been obsessed with Naruto lately. And because I like the song. It . . . kinda . . . SORTA fits with the fic. But not really. Eh, I don't care anymore. 'Tis pretty.