Standard Disclaimer
I don't really own anything of Nadesico. Save two wall-scrolls and one art book. Plus the DVD's of course.
Well I've neglected this story for quite a while. Sorry about that but I have other items that require my attention as well.
Some of you noticed the slight change in the story over the past 2/3 chapters. Reason for that is its concepts of the story I don't really find important. More like the back-story or neo-prologue. I hope to keep your interest. Things will be changing again so I hope you like it.
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Anata no Ichiban ni Naritai
Chapter Ten- Reasons
The Nadesico was a ship of emotional confusion. While they had much to be happy about, they had just as much to be saddened by. By escaping the Big Barrier they were assured that Earth would no longer hinder their objective of reaching Mars. This freedom came at a cost however Guy's life.
The death of Guy was especially hard on Akito. Who now simply lie in his room watching the disks that were left behind when Guy's other possessions where shipped back to Earth.
'Am I cursed?' Akito mused to himself as he replayed Joe's death scene again. 'Whenever I get close to somebody they die. My parents, Ai-chan, Guy, and.Ruri.' Looking around the somber room, Akito realized he needed some air. Knowing he couldn't truly get fresh air he took the next best alternative and headed to the relaxation room. 'It at least looks like nature.'
As he made his way to the simulated lakeside, Akito passed a few of his fellow shipmates. They treated him kindly but he didn't want to get to close to any of them. Having been hurt so much in the past by close relationships, he was hard pressed to try his luck again. Unfortunately for the young pilot, a few women aboard the Nadesico had other plans for him.
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The bridge crew was actively obeying their captain's orders. They were preparing to dock the vessel at the nearby space colony for fresh supplies and a new grouping of pilots. The task was only a minor annoyance as Nergal was yet to automate the process but Minato was confident in her ability to guide the ship.
Ruri was busily connecting Omaikane to the colony's central computer to gain its updated star charts and supply manifest. The comm. officer, Megumi, was just connecting the audio channels.
In an almost playful tone she addressed the station, "Come in Setsuki Medora 2. This is the Mobile battleship Nadesico."
Despite the bit of distortion the reply was quick, "This is Setsuki Medora 2, you are go for docking. And might I say that's a sweet voice you."
Megumi looked at her consol for a moment in disbelief, how could she have lost the transmission at such a short distance. As she tried to re- establish the connection the vid-screen display brought shock to all on- lookers.
While the other crewmembers looked on in silence, Ruri announced the grim fact, "The Setsuki Medora space station has been destroyed."
With her primal instincts kicking in, Yurika jumped into action, "Scan all frequencies for survivors! Megumi focus!"
Hearing the captain address her so forcefully snapped they young officer out of her shocked daze as she began the fruitless task of trying to find any emergency signals.
The Admiral looked at the carnage with somewhat of expectation. He had known they would find death, he just didn't know it would be so soon.
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Akito wasn't really caring that he was back in his room again, this time with a service pistol in his hand. Not being on the bridge, he wasn't informed of the stations destruction, all he knew was that a possible intruder was on board. "What are the chances they'd come to my room anyway," he said to himself as he again watched Joe die.
What sounded like a muffled cry came from the ceiling above him, his pilot training taking over, his weapon was level at the offending noise. In the end it did him little good. The sound was quickly identified as a woman, a crying woman that had just fallen on him.
Her body actually wracked with tears, "JOE! IT'S NOT FAIR!"
Just as Akito was about to try and console the crying woman, she stopped crying, and in fact looked like she hadn't even been crying the few moments before. She apologized and crawled off him. Taking a few seconds to look at her, Akito guessed she was a pilot as she was dressed in the female version of his own Aestivalis pilot suit.
He waited for the woman to say something, but when she just stared at him he attempted to initiate the conversation, "Um.who are you, and what were you doing in the ceiling?"
"Hikaru Amano! Aestivalis pilot and doujinshi artist extraordinaire!" Hikaru accentuated each bout of information by blowing on her thumb that caused two tape rolls to extend form her head in a bizarre parody of antenna.
The man just looked at the spectacle and shook his head. 'Can't my life be normal for at least one day?'
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During Akito's rather unique meeting with Hikaru, Yurika and a detachment of armed personnel proceeded to the hanger bay were an unknown Aestivalis had just shut down. Ryoko wasn't to pleased with her sudden need for escape, nor her tow job. One moment she was training, the next she was rushing for her life. She didn't even know if her lance-mates had survived.
So when Yurika arrived, Ryoko wasn't in the most chipper mood. Thinking the rather flighty woman before her was nothing but an ensign at most; Ryoko dismissed her and tried to leave.
Yurika formally introduced herself, much to Ryoko's disbelief, as the captain. Goat asked her about her cargo and was depressed to learn that of the entire detachment of Zero-G frames, only one was possibly left at the base. The conversation was interrupted as Izumi made her overdramatic introduction.and Ryoko's violent reaction to it.
Upon leaving for a formal debriefing, much to the new arrivals displeasure, Akito arrived with Hikaru. The assembled crew headed towards the elevator and after a few moments of confusion, forced everybody into the small cell.
"So what happened to the pilots you were supposed to have?" Ryoko asked off- handedly as the elevator slowly began its accent.
Passing a quick look at Akito, Yurika was tempted to put off the question until he was out of earshot but the look the other pilots were giving her forced her action. "One was killed and the other is only a substitute."
Hikaru turned her head, forcing Yurika to move forward to allow it, looked at the man at the door, "You're only a temp?"
'I guess they don't expect me to be of much use either,' Akito thought as his thoughts sunk again, his answer was solemn, "Yeah, I'm only a temp pilot. I'm actually one of the ships cooks."
Yurika was hurt just to look at the pain in Akito's eyes. She would have tried to encourage him but the door opened and he quickly escaped the tight confines of the elevator. She would talk to him later, after the debriefing.
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Ruri's navigation reports of the following incident read like a comedy. After the recount from pilots Subaru, Amano, and Maki a salvage mission was ordered. Akito, growing tired of brooding over Guy's death and wishing to honor his fallen comrade, joined the trio. She noted that Akito had never piloted a Zero-G frame before and it showed in his early performance.
Ruri also noted that much of the actual mission was observable only via audio channels. The crew was mostly laughing at Akito grumbling about stumbling around or flying into walls, and Ryoko's questioning of Akito's mentality.
Yurika pointed out that by finding Jovian mecha in the destroyed hanger bay most likely pointed to sabotage and not accident for the stations destruction.
Akito, leaving the ship again in his debt for a successful operation, stopped the near successful attack by the Grasshopper corrupted frame. The notion did a great deal to help with his dropping self-esteem.
After they dismounted, Ryoko approached the smiling male and slapped his back, "You did good. You just need to practice more."
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Ryoko-san," Akito replied with as much sincerity as he could muster.
Blushing softly at the comment, Ryoko quickly walked off followed by her two friends, who were giggling about something Akito couldn't tell.
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After the next two weeks, the combat high fled from the bodies of the Nadesico, they were free to mourn for the passing of the colonists. Megumi found herself sitting on the fake grass looking out at the stars. The last transmission she received playing over and over in her head.
"The others.they act like it wasn't really people. Sure they're having funerals, but its just an action," she muttered to herself and trying to suppress the urge to break down and cry. A sound behind her caught her attention. Turning to hear what caused the soft rustling behind her she quickly identified its source, "Akito?"
Sitting up from his previously declined position, Akito noticed he wasn't as alone as he thought, "Hello Megumi."
The man's presence drastically altered Megumi's thought process. While she was still in a slight depression, she was no longer thinking about the tragedy that had so recently occurred. She was thinking about, "What's wrong Akito?"
The true matter for Akito's current state resulted from an encounter twenty minutes prior to his sitting down with Megumi. He had spotted Ruri eating in the mess hall again and was reminded of his childhood. Thinking about the similarities in both Ruri's made Akito's mind reel. The only thing he could think of to explain how two girls could be almost exactly the same in every way but at different times was that Ruri was some government project. He reasoned that the Ruri's were the product of some sort of test on cloning. He didn't think any less of either of them for it, and he didn't know if it was the real reason, but it was the most believable concept he had come up with.
Not wanting to scare the woman with his odd notions he replied with another worry of his, "Will it matter when I die?"
Feeling her emotions surge within her, "Of course it would matter 'if' you die. What makes you say that?"
"Guy gave his life for this ship, the colonist died and people just gave a momentary head-service to it. Is that my fate, to be forgotten?" he tried to lose the somber tone he had been using so much lately but failed.
"I'd never forget you," Megumi confessed and was glad the light of the room hid the amber hint in her cheeks.
Giving the girl a genuine smile he thanked her, "It means a lot Megumi, it really does."
His smile gave Megumi all the courage she needed to slide over next to him. Akito changed the subject to small matters in Megumi's life. She was happy to talk to him, but despite her growing courage, couldn't ask him about his relationship with the captain. The whole crew knew 'something' was going on between them, just what it was remained a total mystery.
The pair left the room separately but in better moods than they had in a long time. Akito was still leery about becoming too friendly with Miss Reinard however.
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Being the captain was a challenging position, but Yurika was more than competent to fulfill the role. However her current task was infuriating her. Behind her façade of the bubbly slightly airheaded captain, Yurika desperately wanted to be with Akito. She had noticed he had been fairly distant from her and she didn't want that. She loved him so deeply it was etched into her soul. So when she saw him spending more time with the other cooks and the new female pilots, she defiantly didn't want to spend all her spare time fulfilling Nergal company regulations.
Masking her voice in a light whine, "Why do I have to perform the ceremony again?"
Prospector sighed as he pushed his glasses up on his nose again, "We can't afford to have priests, rabbis, shamans, and all the other required religious figures so you as captain fill that role."
Dressed in a Shinto priestess robe, Yurika crossed her arms and stopped her mad dash to the next hall. She wasn't going to move another step until she saw Akito. Jun however was not one to just stop in the hall, "Yurika we have to keep going, and we have five more ceremonies to get to today."
"But I want to see Akito!"
Behind the group a loud shout and a low rumble signaled they're group was joined, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"
At the sound of her beloved's voice Yurika quickly rejoiced, but her hopes were dashed as the cook was pushing a rather large cart of steaming food. As not only he passed but almost the entire cooking staff did as well, Yurika remembered that not only did they have to have a ceremony for the departed but also have group receptions.
'If we get done fast enough, I can catch up with him.' That thought fueled Yurika's determination. Rushing off to the next ceremony Yurika was going to get her chance to talk to Akito and nobody would stop her. "We are the children of the SUN!"
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Time continued to pass on board the Nadesico as they neared Mars. Akito slowly gained back his confidence. Yurika finished the funeral rights. Jun still tried to gain Yurika's favor. All in all the ship was in a pleasant mood. The autopilot continued to force the lumbering hulk of metal through space to its destination. However as the ship piloted itself, it left little for those on duty to really so. Such time was often filled with pointless banter.
"Is it me or is this job really boring at times?" Megumi asked as she listened to the dead communications relay.
Lounging over her station, Minato agreed, "I was tempted to sleep in again, but five days a week is a bit much."
Megumi took a moment to spy up at the empty captain's chair, "Where's the captain at anyway?"
The only other member on deck answered, "Captain Misumaru is currently at the mess hall."
"Thank you Ruri-Ruri," Minato chirped to the young girl, "speaking of the captain. What do you think about her?"
Megumi plainly didn't care much for Yurika, mainly because she was competition. "Lets not talk about that right now."
Working as a secretary, Minato knew the tall-tell signs of emotional actions, and to her Megumi was screaming her true feelings. "So.does that have anything to do with a certain pilot?"
Being bored herself, Ruri decided to listen in as the topic of Akito was brought up. She saw the man that treated her as a person and not a child an odd occurrence. 'He's very childlike himself.'
Taking another fleeting look at the empty command station Megumi nodded, "Kinda, I talked to him a few days ago on the recreation deck."
Never one to pass up good gossip, Minato pressed the topic, "How that go? Good by the looks of it."
"It went.well. We talked that's about it. He just seems so lost at times."
"And you want to be the one to find him?"
Blushing softly, Megumi couldn't deny she wanted to be the one Akito went to when he felt down. "I want to try something with him. But what about the captain?"
The gossiping women didn't notice that now the commanding officer was now on deck and listening to their discussion. "You know how I used to work as a secretary right. Well from my experience it never works out when the woman has a superior position to the man. They get indigent. Men can't stand having the woman be the one in control. Men seem to think that if they're not in control it's not right."
"I don't think Akito's like that though," Megumi admitted, "anyway not like the captain and he are really an item. I doubt he likes her the way she likes him or they'd be sharing a room. You ever wonder if it even matter who the captain is in this day and age?"
From her position above them, Yurika couldn't stand it anymore. She had worked long and hard for her position, fighting against sexism, racism, and countless other hurdles for her station as captain, and how dare they insinuate that Akito couldn't like her. All the stress from the past few days and now the verbal abuse caused Yurika's mask of pleasantness to break as tears streamed down her face. 'I have to get out of here!'
After the wail was heard and registered Ruri walked over to Megumi and told her plainly, "Miss Reinard, that was a very cruel thing to say."
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"Take that you damn grasshopper!" Ryoko triumphantly screeched as she destroyed another flying mecha.
The four Aestivalis were battling for the Nadesico's right to land on Mars. Of the combatants only Akito seemed to be following protocol.
Izumi seemed to like dissecting the Jovian fighters before finishing them off. Much like a child played with insects. Hikaru would often follow her around and they would call out odd names of attacks before making an action.
Ryoko was making a sport of seeing how many of the small pests she could take out in one maneuver.
Akito watched them fight with a sense of awe and worry. "We're the ones protecting this ship.the hell with it," he eyed the carrier and charged at it. Noticing that the others were hovering close by he wondered why. He soon learned as the larger vessel's protective shield shot off his Aesti.
"Tenkawa you idiot. You can't breach that shield! We'll need the Nadesico to fire its Gravity blast cannon!" Ryoko informed the man.
Izumi's face followed Ryoko's but her message was far from clear, "We'll change your name to Fred, cause you'll be dead," she then laughed her self into a coughing fit.
"No we don't," Akito announced to his lance-mates, "You just need to hit it the right way." Eying up his approach Akito launched himself at the last enemy, "GEKIGAN-FLARE!"
Viewing the battle from the helm, Ruri asked those who were listening, "What's a Gekigan-flare?"
Everybody just shook their heads'; nobody really knew why Akito had said that they just knew it was successful. Megumi quickly removed her headset and ran from the room. Yurika was quick to follow.
Her mind an emotional roller coaster, Yurika hadn't seen the comm. officer leave. Yurika had run into Akito just prior to the battle in the meditation room. She wasn't to proud that she all but jumped Akito after she finished meditating but she just wanted to be close to him so bad. She was glad that after the embarrassment lowered that he did talk to her for a while. It meant that she did have a chance with her long lost childhood friend.
Reaching the hanger after recovering from a quick fantasy about Akito walking into her room as she was showering, time slowed to a crawl. Yurika quickly scanned the bay for Akito and found he wasn't alone Megumi was with him. Breath caught in her throat, Yurika watched as Megumi's lips clenched and she leaned forward to kiss her love.
Akito lowered his head and kissed Megumi, on the forehead. Both girls' eyes opened wider than before, Yurika in relief, Megumi was both frustrated and glad at the same time. He HAD kissed her, maybe not like she would have wanted but she reasoned his past maybe hindering any deep emotional attachment. 'I'll wait and when he does kiss me, it will mean he's all mine.'
In her daze, Yurika returned to the bridge to oversee the final descent, wondering if she should he happy or sad about the current events she just witnessed.
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Minato looked at the view screen with a hint of worry, "What are those things in the atmosphere?"
Prospector again readjusted his glasses before answering, "Nanomachines, they're being used to Terre form the planet. They're nothing to be worried about."
"He's right, I remember people used to inhale them all the time, the come out just the same a few days later." Yurika stopped her dialogue quickly and turned a rather dark shade of red. Admitting to eating and excreting microscopic machines was not on her high list of things to do. However her admission related one piece of information to the rest of the crew that they didn't know. Yurika, much like Akito, was from Mars.
Ruri looked at the scene and couldn't stop herself, "Baka."
The ship reached the surface soon after and at a different location on the ship the Admiral was soon beset by Akito, "I'd like to borrow an Aestivalis please."
Overhearing the talk via audio channel Prospector declined the request, "We need all the pilots to head to the Nergal research facility. If there are any survivors they could be there."
Voice laden with distrust, Ryoko replied as Akito tried his request again, "You just want to do Nergal a service first you parasite!"
"What do you want to take an Aestivalis for?" the wizened man questioned.
"My home.I'd like to back to it," Akito said trying to hold back the flood of emotions that followed that word, home. His body composure did more to convince the Admiral than the speech did. His request was granted and Akito rushed to his transport, and found he was going to have a passenger.
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Standing by a ruined building surrounded by craters was not how Megumi pictured Akito's home. Knowing Mars was still being changed, and that the attack caused massive damage, she expected some ruble, not the entire city devastated.
She leaned closer to Akito as he shifted the dirt in his hand. The two had talked again as Akito piloted the mecha to its destination. Megumi was determined to win the heart of this man before her. Stacking the deck a little, she had changed into a skirt and made a point to sit above Akito so whenever he looked at her he'd get a quick peak at her. 'A girl must be willing to make a few sacrifices for love,' she reasoned for her rather bold tactics.
Asking why he wanted to be a cook, Akito showed his dirt filled hand to her. The nanomachines worked their magic of molecular reconfiguration on the soil. "I could never stand the taste of the food. But if prepared well even the most bland items can taste great. But I guess it's just a dream now."
Knowing that his change in position was the cause in his wistful expression, "Why is it just a dream? You're a cook on the Nadesico right? So what if you pilot too?"
"I doubt I'd be that good of a cook. Just because you want something, doesn't mean you're destined to have it," Akito said softly. Memories of his Ruri entered his mind, 'Yeah, just because you love somebody and they love you.doesn't mean it'll be all happily ever after.' Turning to head back to the Aestivalis, his dreams of finding Ruri again crushed, the ground gave way underneath him and he plummeted down.
Not paying attention to Akito's action, Megumi continued to talk, "I want to be there for you Akito. I think I love you.Akito?" Letting out a startled scream as the ground dislodged from under her feet, Megumi was surprised that the fall didn't hurt at all. Looking around her new surroundings she was about to call for Akito but a new presence identified itself first.
"Miss, that man you're on doesn't look to good."
Finding the source of the voice, Megumi's eyes fixed on it. Two figures dressed in robes stood before her, one with a red visor over her eyes the other had a dark plastic respirator over its face.
Pulling herself off Akito's chest, Megumi helped the prone man to his feet. The two strangers just watched and talked to each other. Wiping the dust from his eyes, Akito took in the sight of the two. One was obviously a woman, the cloak did little to hide her figure, the other seemed to be a man, but the respirator hid his entire face.
The woman spoke first, "I take it you're here for a rescue mission."
'Survivors! Ruri MAY still be alive!' Akito addressed the woman openly, "Yes, were from the Nadesico, we came to save you."
"Who are you?" Megumi asked a tad put off at how the woman was eyeing Akito.
Heading back to a small fire, the woman answered, "Inez Fressange, my friend here is Nakushita Hitori. He lost most of his repertory tract in an accident so don't expect him to speak much."
The man gave the pair a head nod at the mention of his name, "Come we have much to talk about."
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"I say we put her in the brig when we find her," Yurika said to the empty seat that Megumi usually occupied.
Reveling in the open hostility Yurika had for Megumi over Akito, Minato added fuel to the fire. "Why? Its not like we need her right now is it?"
Knowing that Minato was right, and that her only problem with the current situation was that Megumi was exactly were she wanted to be, Yurika answered in her scripted and trademark voice, "Yeah but it's the principle."
Closing a video link with Prospector, Jun informed Yurika that the scout team had encountered a small enemy detachment on their way back from the Nergal facility but had easily defeated them. Jun couldn't explain why pilot's Amano and Maki were chanting 'Tenkawa' over and over again.
"Now that we have them back on board we must acquire the missing members of our crew, Ruri ready for take-off," Yurika ordered.
Edging forward in his chair next the Yurika, the Admiral felt a familiar chill run down his spine something was coming. "Is that wise captain?"
'I don't care if it's wise, I want Akito away from her,' Yurika thought as she set a course for the transmitter Akito's transport was sending. The flight to the modified Aestivalis was a very quick one, and once they spotted them Ruri took Megumi's place and tried to contact them.
Several unsuccessful attempts later, Yurika opened a direct channel to the outside and announced their arrival over loud speakers. Her attempt worked as Akito, Megumi, Inez, and Nakushita crawled out of fissure in the ground. A Shuttle escorted them back inside the Nadesico just as the first wave of Jovian's attacked.
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Yurika felt sick to her stomach. To save her crew she sacrificed the lives of the 'survivors.' All she could think of was Akito's eyes on her. Waiting for her to make her choice, their lives or the colonist. According to that blond woman, even if she didn't raise the shields they would have died.
'It's because I ran to get him.that I couldn't stand the thought of somebody else with him!' Yurika berated herself. 'I want to cry so bad right now.I don't want to act like some air headed bimbo to keep the male crew motivated. I want to be how I was with Akito myself. And because of that people died.'
Her self-defacement ceased when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her voice reflected her mind lost and afraid, "Akito."
Looking at the woman before him, Akito was stunned. She wasn't the 'nut- bar' he usually saw her as. "Yurika, its not your fault. This would have happened eventually."
Her eyes locking onto his and not wavering, "I know.that eventually the Jovians would have found them.but it was my carelessness that took their lives."
Gripping the suddenly fragile woman in his arms Akito tried again, "Snap out of it Yurika. We need you to get us of this planet. You can do it.if you try."
Taking his hand in hers, "This is the first time you've been so nice to me.since you got on board."
"Yurika?"
Softly pulling his hand downward and lowering his head, Akito found Yurika kissing him. Not a hard or forceful kiss, it was more attune to a ghost kiss. Ending just as quickly as it happened, Yurika smiled as Akito fled the room after an apology. 'Thank you dearest.that meant more to me than words ever could.'
Feeling herself revitalized by the minute contact with her love, Yurika started back for the bridge only to encounter Megumi. Passing the girls comments about trying to win 'her' Akito's heart as war banter, which infuriated Megumi, Yurika had plans to make.
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"So how have things changed on board?" Inez asked as she sat down in the quarters provided for her.
Taking off the rather cumbersome and heavy full head repertory mask, letting her now shoulder length pale blue hair down, her companion sighed heavily. "Akito's the same, if not a little more withdrawn. Megumi is trying for his affection a great deal more and the captain.I don't know."
"I know this is going to be hard for you. I mean you even know the colonists were doomed didn't you, being on the ship I mean."
Wiping her tears away, "At least I know he survived. I.I just want to be with him though! I love him so much."
Taking the crying girl into her arms as she had done so many times before, "Its ok Ruri. We just have to make sure.that whatever caused the young you to go back in time happens.or you won't exist."
"But how can I see him, live with him, be around him and not tell him I'm alive!"
"It would destroy space-time.we have to play very carefully with this. Its dangerous that you even told me about this," Inez stopped and took out the only surviving object that Ruri still owned, "One day you can give this back to him."
Ruri took the spotless Gekiganger doll into her hands, 'Will he love me.when I come back or will he.love somebody else?'
Geki didn't respond.
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Author Notes
Well another chapter down, and a lot of stuff has happened during it! Ruri is back on the Nadesico. And before you question its possibility think of this, Both Ai and Inez existed in the same time.can't have an old Inez and young Ai without some time sharing.
My original idea was that Akito kept Geki and gave it to Ai, who in turn kept it all her life and when Akito meet up with her at the Cave noticed she had him.and Inez's lost memory returned.but that would result in one to many females attempting for Akito's heart.
As for Yurika kissing Akito.yes in the Anime she said she never kissed a boy before and wanted to save her first.well this isn't the anime its my series. And I think Yurika would be a bit more willing to kiss Akito when she wasn't trying to be on par with Megumi.
Well hope you liked it and I hope to get some good feedback.or at least SOME feedback.
Ja Mata
Zentrodie (zentrodie@secondimpact.com)
I don't really own anything of Nadesico. Save two wall-scrolls and one art book. Plus the DVD's of course.
Well I've neglected this story for quite a while. Sorry about that but I have other items that require my attention as well.
Some of you noticed the slight change in the story over the past 2/3 chapters. Reason for that is its concepts of the story I don't really find important. More like the back-story or neo-prologue. I hope to keep your interest. Things will be changing again so I hope you like it.
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Anata no Ichiban ni Naritai
Chapter Ten- Reasons
The Nadesico was a ship of emotional confusion. While they had much to be happy about, they had just as much to be saddened by. By escaping the Big Barrier they were assured that Earth would no longer hinder their objective of reaching Mars. This freedom came at a cost however Guy's life.
The death of Guy was especially hard on Akito. Who now simply lie in his room watching the disks that were left behind when Guy's other possessions where shipped back to Earth.
'Am I cursed?' Akito mused to himself as he replayed Joe's death scene again. 'Whenever I get close to somebody they die. My parents, Ai-chan, Guy, and.Ruri.' Looking around the somber room, Akito realized he needed some air. Knowing he couldn't truly get fresh air he took the next best alternative and headed to the relaxation room. 'It at least looks like nature.'
As he made his way to the simulated lakeside, Akito passed a few of his fellow shipmates. They treated him kindly but he didn't want to get to close to any of them. Having been hurt so much in the past by close relationships, he was hard pressed to try his luck again. Unfortunately for the young pilot, a few women aboard the Nadesico had other plans for him.
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The bridge crew was actively obeying their captain's orders. They were preparing to dock the vessel at the nearby space colony for fresh supplies and a new grouping of pilots. The task was only a minor annoyance as Nergal was yet to automate the process but Minato was confident in her ability to guide the ship.
Ruri was busily connecting Omaikane to the colony's central computer to gain its updated star charts and supply manifest. The comm. officer, Megumi, was just connecting the audio channels.
In an almost playful tone she addressed the station, "Come in Setsuki Medora 2. This is the Mobile battleship Nadesico."
Despite the bit of distortion the reply was quick, "This is Setsuki Medora 2, you are go for docking. And might I say that's a sweet voice you."
Megumi looked at her consol for a moment in disbelief, how could she have lost the transmission at such a short distance. As she tried to re- establish the connection the vid-screen display brought shock to all on- lookers.
While the other crewmembers looked on in silence, Ruri announced the grim fact, "The Setsuki Medora space station has been destroyed."
With her primal instincts kicking in, Yurika jumped into action, "Scan all frequencies for survivors! Megumi focus!"
Hearing the captain address her so forcefully snapped they young officer out of her shocked daze as she began the fruitless task of trying to find any emergency signals.
The Admiral looked at the carnage with somewhat of expectation. He had known they would find death, he just didn't know it would be so soon.
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Akito wasn't really caring that he was back in his room again, this time with a service pistol in his hand. Not being on the bridge, he wasn't informed of the stations destruction, all he knew was that a possible intruder was on board. "What are the chances they'd come to my room anyway," he said to himself as he again watched Joe die.
What sounded like a muffled cry came from the ceiling above him, his pilot training taking over, his weapon was level at the offending noise. In the end it did him little good. The sound was quickly identified as a woman, a crying woman that had just fallen on him.
Her body actually wracked with tears, "JOE! IT'S NOT FAIR!"
Just as Akito was about to try and console the crying woman, she stopped crying, and in fact looked like she hadn't even been crying the few moments before. She apologized and crawled off him. Taking a few seconds to look at her, Akito guessed she was a pilot as she was dressed in the female version of his own Aestivalis pilot suit.
He waited for the woman to say something, but when she just stared at him he attempted to initiate the conversation, "Um.who are you, and what were you doing in the ceiling?"
"Hikaru Amano! Aestivalis pilot and doujinshi artist extraordinaire!" Hikaru accentuated each bout of information by blowing on her thumb that caused two tape rolls to extend form her head in a bizarre parody of antenna.
The man just looked at the spectacle and shook his head. 'Can't my life be normal for at least one day?'
----------------
During Akito's rather unique meeting with Hikaru, Yurika and a detachment of armed personnel proceeded to the hanger bay were an unknown Aestivalis had just shut down. Ryoko wasn't to pleased with her sudden need for escape, nor her tow job. One moment she was training, the next she was rushing for her life. She didn't even know if her lance-mates had survived.
So when Yurika arrived, Ryoko wasn't in the most chipper mood. Thinking the rather flighty woman before her was nothing but an ensign at most; Ryoko dismissed her and tried to leave.
Yurika formally introduced herself, much to Ryoko's disbelief, as the captain. Goat asked her about her cargo and was depressed to learn that of the entire detachment of Zero-G frames, only one was possibly left at the base. The conversation was interrupted as Izumi made her overdramatic introduction.and Ryoko's violent reaction to it.
Upon leaving for a formal debriefing, much to the new arrivals displeasure, Akito arrived with Hikaru. The assembled crew headed towards the elevator and after a few moments of confusion, forced everybody into the small cell.
"So what happened to the pilots you were supposed to have?" Ryoko asked off- handedly as the elevator slowly began its accent.
Passing a quick look at Akito, Yurika was tempted to put off the question until he was out of earshot but the look the other pilots were giving her forced her action. "One was killed and the other is only a substitute."
Hikaru turned her head, forcing Yurika to move forward to allow it, looked at the man at the door, "You're only a temp?"
'I guess they don't expect me to be of much use either,' Akito thought as his thoughts sunk again, his answer was solemn, "Yeah, I'm only a temp pilot. I'm actually one of the ships cooks."
Yurika was hurt just to look at the pain in Akito's eyes. She would have tried to encourage him but the door opened and he quickly escaped the tight confines of the elevator. She would talk to him later, after the debriefing.
-------------
Ruri's navigation reports of the following incident read like a comedy. After the recount from pilots Subaru, Amano, and Maki a salvage mission was ordered. Akito, growing tired of brooding over Guy's death and wishing to honor his fallen comrade, joined the trio. She noted that Akito had never piloted a Zero-G frame before and it showed in his early performance.
Ruri also noted that much of the actual mission was observable only via audio channels. The crew was mostly laughing at Akito grumbling about stumbling around or flying into walls, and Ryoko's questioning of Akito's mentality.
Yurika pointed out that by finding Jovian mecha in the destroyed hanger bay most likely pointed to sabotage and not accident for the stations destruction.
Akito, leaving the ship again in his debt for a successful operation, stopped the near successful attack by the Grasshopper corrupted frame. The notion did a great deal to help with his dropping self-esteem.
After they dismounted, Ryoko approached the smiling male and slapped his back, "You did good. You just need to practice more."
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Ryoko-san," Akito replied with as much sincerity as he could muster.
Blushing softly at the comment, Ryoko quickly walked off followed by her two friends, who were giggling about something Akito couldn't tell.
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After the next two weeks, the combat high fled from the bodies of the Nadesico, they were free to mourn for the passing of the colonists. Megumi found herself sitting on the fake grass looking out at the stars. The last transmission she received playing over and over in her head.
"The others.they act like it wasn't really people. Sure they're having funerals, but its just an action," she muttered to herself and trying to suppress the urge to break down and cry. A sound behind her caught her attention. Turning to hear what caused the soft rustling behind her she quickly identified its source, "Akito?"
Sitting up from his previously declined position, Akito noticed he wasn't as alone as he thought, "Hello Megumi."
The man's presence drastically altered Megumi's thought process. While she was still in a slight depression, she was no longer thinking about the tragedy that had so recently occurred. She was thinking about, "What's wrong Akito?"
The true matter for Akito's current state resulted from an encounter twenty minutes prior to his sitting down with Megumi. He had spotted Ruri eating in the mess hall again and was reminded of his childhood. Thinking about the similarities in both Ruri's made Akito's mind reel. The only thing he could think of to explain how two girls could be almost exactly the same in every way but at different times was that Ruri was some government project. He reasoned that the Ruri's were the product of some sort of test on cloning. He didn't think any less of either of them for it, and he didn't know if it was the real reason, but it was the most believable concept he had come up with.
Not wanting to scare the woman with his odd notions he replied with another worry of his, "Will it matter when I die?"
Feeling her emotions surge within her, "Of course it would matter 'if' you die. What makes you say that?"
"Guy gave his life for this ship, the colonist died and people just gave a momentary head-service to it. Is that my fate, to be forgotten?" he tried to lose the somber tone he had been using so much lately but failed.
"I'd never forget you," Megumi confessed and was glad the light of the room hid the amber hint in her cheeks.
Giving the girl a genuine smile he thanked her, "It means a lot Megumi, it really does."
His smile gave Megumi all the courage she needed to slide over next to him. Akito changed the subject to small matters in Megumi's life. She was happy to talk to him, but despite her growing courage, couldn't ask him about his relationship with the captain. The whole crew knew 'something' was going on between them, just what it was remained a total mystery.
The pair left the room separately but in better moods than they had in a long time. Akito was still leery about becoming too friendly with Miss Reinard however.
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Being the captain was a challenging position, but Yurika was more than competent to fulfill the role. However her current task was infuriating her. Behind her façade of the bubbly slightly airheaded captain, Yurika desperately wanted to be with Akito. She had noticed he had been fairly distant from her and she didn't want that. She loved him so deeply it was etched into her soul. So when she saw him spending more time with the other cooks and the new female pilots, she defiantly didn't want to spend all her spare time fulfilling Nergal company regulations.
Masking her voice in a light whine, "Why do I have to perform the ceremony again?"
Prospector sighed as he pushed his glasses up on his nose again, "We can't afford to have priests, rabbis, shamans, and all the other required religious figures so you as captain fill that role."
Dressed in a Shinto priestess robe, Yurika crossed her arms and stopped her mad dash to the next hall. She wasn't going to move another step until she saw Akito. Jun however was not one to just stop in the hall, "Yurika we have to keep going, and we have five more ceremonies to get to today."
"But I want to see Akito!"
Behind the group a loud shout and a low rumble signaled they're group was joined, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"
At the sound of her beloved's voice Yurika quickly rejoiced, but her hopes were dashed as the cook was pushing a rather large cart of steaming food. As not only he passed but almost the entire cooking staff did as well, Yurika remembered that not only did they have to have a ceremony for the departed but also have group receptions.
'If we get done fast enough, I can catch up with him.' That thought fueled Yurika's determination. Rushing off to the next ceremony Yurika was going to get her chance to talk to Akito and nobody would stop her. "We are the children of the SUN!"
-------------
Time continued to pass on board the Nadesico as they neared Mars. Akito slowly gained back his confidence. Yurika finished the funeral rights. Jun still tried to gain Yurika's favor. All in all the ship was in a pleasant mood. The autopilot continued to force the lumbering hulk of metal through space to its destination. However as the ship piloted itself, it left little for those on duty to really so. Such time was often filled with pointless banter.
"Is it me or is this job really boring at times?" Megumi asked as she listened to the dead communications relay.
Lounging over her station, Minato agreed, "I was tempted to sleep in again, but five days a week is a bit much."
Megumi took a moment to spy up at the empty captain's chair, "Where's the captain at anyway?"
The only other member on deck answered, "Captain Misumaru is currently at the mess hall."
"Thank you Ruri-Ruri," Minato chirped to the young girl, "speaking of the captain. What do you think about her?"
Megumi plainly didn't care much for Yurika, mainly because she was competition. "Lets not talk about that right now."
Working as a secretary, Minato knew the tall-tell signs of emotional actions, and to her Megumi was screaming her true feelings. "So.does that have anything to do with a certain pilot?"
Being bored herself, Ruri decided to listen in as the topic of Akito was brought up. She saw the man that treated her as a person and not a child an odd occurrence. 'He's very childlike himself.'
Taking another fleeting look at the empty command station Megumi nodded, "Kinda, I talked to him a few days ago on the recreation deck."
Never one to pass up good gossip, Minato pressed the topic, "How that go? Good by the looks of it."
"It went.well. We talked that's about it. He just seems so lost at times."
"And you want to be the one to find him?"
Blushing softly, Megumi couldn't deny she wanted to be the one Akito went to when he felt down. "I want to try something with him. But what about the captain?"
The gossiping women didn't notice that now the commanding officer was now on deck and listening to their discussion. "You know how I used to work as a secretary right. Well from my experience it never works out when the woman has a superior position to the man. They get indigent. Men can't stand having the woman be the one in control. Men seem to think that if they're not in control it's not right."
"I don't think Akito's like that though," Megumi admitted, "anyway not like the captain and he are really an item. I doubt he likes her the way she likes him or they'd be sharing a room. You ever wonder if it even matter who the captain is in this day and age?"
From her position above them, Yurika couldn't stand it anymore. She had worked long and hard for her position, fighting against sexism, racism, and countless other hurdles for her station as captain, and how dare they insinuate that Akito couldn't like her. All the stress from the past few days and now the verbal abuse caused Yurika's mask of pleasantness to break as tears streamed down her face. 'I have to get out of here!'
After the wail was heard and registered Ruri walked over to Megumi and told her plainly, "Miss Reinard, that was a very cruel thing to say."
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"Take that you damn grasshopper!" Ryoko triumphantly screeched as she destroyed another flying mecha.
The four Aestivalis were battling for the Nadesico's right to land on Mars. Of the combatants only Akito seemed to be following protocol.
Izumi seemed to like dissecting the Jovian fighters before finishing them off. Much like a child played with insects. Hikaru would often follow her around and they would call out odd names of attacks before making an action.
Ryoko was making a sport of seeing how many of the small pests she could take out in one maneuver.
Akito watched them fight with a sense of awe and worry. "We're the ones protecting this ship.the hell with it," he eyed the carrier and charged at it. Noticing that the others were hovering close by he wondered why. He soon learned as the larger vessel's protective shield shot off his Aesti.
"Tenkawa you idiot. You can't breach that shield! We'll need the Nadesico to fire its Gravity blast cannon!" Ryoko informed the man.
Izumi's face followed Ryoko's but her message was far from clear, "We'll change your name to Fred, cause you'll be dead," she then laughed her self into a coughing fit.
"No we don't," Akito announced to his lance-mates, "You just need to hit it the right way." Eying up his approach Akito launched himself at the last enemy, "GEKIGAN-FLARE!"
Viewing the battle from the helm, Ruri asked those who were listening, "What's a Gekigan-flare?"
Everybody just shook their heads'; nobody really knew why Akito had said that they just knew it was successful. Megumi quickly removed her headset and ran from the room. Yurika was quick to follow.
Her mind an emotional roller coaster, Yurika hadn't seen the comm. officer leave. Yurika had run into Akito just prior to the battle in the meditation room. She wasn't to proud that she all but jumped Akito after she finished meditating but she just wanted to be close to him so bad. She was glad that after the embarrassment lowered that he did talk to her for a while. It meant that she did have a chance with her long lost childhood friend.
Reaching the hanger after recovering from a quick fantasy about Akito walking into her room as she was showering, time slowed to a crawl. Yurika quickly scanned the bay for Akito and found he wasn't alone Megumi was with him. Breath caught in her throat, Yurika watched as Megumi's lips clenched and she leaned forward to kiss her love.
Akito lowered his head and kissed Megumi, on the forehead. Both girls' eyes opened wider than before, Yurika in relief, Megumi was both frustrated and glad at the same time. He HAD kissed her, maybe not like she would have wanted but she reasoned his past maybe hindering any deep emotional attachment. 'I'll wait and when he does kiss me, it will mean he's all mine.'
In her daze, Yurika returned to the bridge to oversee the final descent, wondering if she should he happy or sad about the current events she just witnessed.
------------
Minato looked at the view screen with a hint of worry, "What are those things in the atmosphere?"
Prospector again readjusted his glasses before answering, "Nanomachines, they're being used to Terre form the planet. They're nothing to be worried about."
"He's right, I remember people used to inhale them all the time, the come out just the same a few days later." Yurika stopped her dialogue quickly and turned a rather dark shade of red. Admitting to eating and excreting microscopic machines was not on her high list of things to do. However her admission related one piece of information to the rest of the crew that they didn't know. Yurika, much like Akito, was from Mars.
Ruri looked at the scene and couldn't stop herself, "Baka."
The ship reached the surface soon after and at a different location on the ship the Admiral was soon beset by Akito, "I'd like to borrow an Aestivalis please."
Overhearing the talk via audio channel Prospector declined the request, "We need all the pilots to head to the Nergal research facility. If there are any survivors they could be there."
Voice laden with distrust, Ryoko replied as Akito tried his request again, "You just want to do Nergal a service first you parasite!"
"What do you want to take an Aestivalis for?" the wizened man questioned.
"My home.I'd like to back to it," Akito said trying to hold back the flood of emotions that followed that word, home. His body composure did more to convince the Admiral than the speech did. His request was granted and Akito rushed to his transport, and found he was going to have a passenger.
------------
Standing by a ruined building surrounded by craters was not how Megumi pictured Akito's home. Knowing Mars was still being changed, and that the attack caused massive damage, she expected some ruble, not the entire city devastated.
She leaned closer to Akito as he shifted the dirt in his hand. The two had talked again as Akito piloted the mecha to its destination. Megumi was determined to win the heart of this man before her. Stacking the deck a little, she had changed into a skirt and made a point to sit above Akito so whenever he looked at her he'd get a quick peak at her. 'A girl must be willing to make a few sacrifices for love,' she reasoned for her rather bold tactics.
Asking why he wanted to be a cook, Akito showed his dirt filled hand to her. The nanomachines worked their magic of molecular reconfiguration on the soil. "I could never stand the taste of the food. But if prepared well even the most bland items can taste great. But I guess it's just a dream now."
Knowing that his change in position was the cause in his wistful expression, "Why is it just a dream? You're a cook on the Nadesico right? So what if you pilot too?"
"I doubt I'd be that good of a cook. Just because you want something, doesn't mean you're destined to have it," Akito said softly. Memories of his Ruri entered his mind, 'Yeah, just because you love somebody and they love you.doesn't mean it'll be all happily ever after.' Turning to head back to the Aestivalis, his dreams of finding Ruri again crushed, the ground gave way underneath him and he plummeted down.
Not paying attention to Akito's action, Megumi continued to talk, "I want to be there for you Akito. I think I love you.Akito?" Letting out a startled scream as the ground dislodged from under her feet, Megumi was surprised that the fall didn't hurt at all. Looking around her new surroundings she was about to call for Akito but a new presence identified itself first.
"Miss, that man you're on doesn't look to good."
Finding the source of the voice, Megumi's eyes fixed on it. Two figures dressed in robes stood before her, one with a red visor over her eyes the other had a dark plastic respirator over its face.
Pulling herself off Akito's chest, Megumi helped the prone man to his feet. The two strangers just watched and talked to each other. Wiping the dust from his eyes, Akito took in the sight of the two. One was obviously a woman, the cloak did little to hide her figure, the other seemed to be a man, but the respirator hid his entire face.
The woman spoke first, "I take it you're here for a rescue mission."
'Survivors! Ruri MAY still be alive!' Akito addressed the woman openly, "Yes, were from the Nadesico, we came to save you."
"Who are you?" Megumi asked a tad put off at how the woman was eyeing Akito.
Heading back to a small fire, the woman answered, "Inez Fressange, my friend here is Nakushita Hitori. He lost most of his repertory tract in an accident so don't expect him to speak much."
The man gave the pair a head nod at the mention of his name, "Come we have much to talk about."
------------
"I say we put her in the brig when we find her," Yurika said to the empty seat that Megumi usually occupied.
Reveling in the open hostility Yurika had for Megumi over Akito, Minato added fuel to the fire. "Why? Its not like we need her right now is it?"
Knowing that Minato was right, and that her only problem with the current situation was that Megumi was exactly were she wanted to be, Yurika answered in her scripted and trademark voice, "Yeah but it's the principle."
Closing a video link with Prospector, Jun informed Yurika that the scout team had encountered a small enemy detachment on their way back from the Nergal facility but had easily defeated them. Jun couldn't explain why pilot's Amano and Maki were chanting 'Tenkawa' over and over again.
"Now that we have them back on board we must acquire the missing members of our crew, Ruri ready for take-off," Yurika ordered.
Edging forward in his chair next the Yurika, the Admiral felt a familiar chill run down his spine something was coming. "Is that wise captain?"
'I don't care if it's wise, I want Akito away from her,' Yurika thought as she set a course for the transmitter Akito's transport was sending. The flight to the modified Aestivalis was a very quick one, and once they spotted them Ruri took Megumi's place and tried to contact them.
Several unsuccessful attempts later, Yurika opened a direct channel to the outside and announced their arrival over loud speakers. Her attempt worked as Akito, Megumi, Inez, and Nakushita crawled out of fissure in the ground. A Shuttle escorted them back inside the Nadesico just as the first wave of Jovian's attacked.
-----------
Yurika felt sick to her stomach. To save her crew she sacrificed the lives of the 'survivors.' All she could think of was Akito's eyes on her. Waiting for her to make her choice, their lives or the colonist. According to that blond woman, even if she didn't raise the shields they would have died.
'It's because I ran to get him.that I couldn't stand the thought of somebody else with him!' Yurika berated herself. 'I want to cry so bad right now.I don't want to act like some air headed bimbo to keep the male crew motivated. I want to be how I was with Akito myself. And because of that people died.'
Her self-defacement ceased when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her voice reflected her mind lost and afraid, "Akito."
Looking at the woman before him, Akito was stunned. She wasn't the 'nut- bar' he usually saw her as. "Yurika, its not your fault. This would have happened eventually."
Her eyes locking onto his and not wavering, "I know.that eventually the Jovians would have found them.but it was my carelessness that took their lives."
Gripping the suddenly fragile woman in his arms Akito tried again, "Snap out of it Yurika. We need you to get us of this planet. You can do it.if you try."
Taking his hand in hers, "This is the first time you've been so nice to me.since you got on board."
"Yurika?"
Softly pulling his hand downward and lowering his head, Akito found Yurika kissing him. Not a hard or forceful kiss, it was more attune to a ghost kiss. Ending just as quickly as it happened, Yurika smiled as Akito fled the room after an apology. 'Thank you dearest.that meant more to me than words ever could.'
Feeling herself revitalized by the minute contact with her love, Yurika started back for the bridge only to encounter Megumi. Passing the girls comments about trying to win 'her' Akito's heart as war banter, which infuriated Megumi, Yurika had plans to make.
----------
"So how have things changed on board?" Inez asked as she sat down in the quarters provided for her.
Taking off the rather cumbersome and heavy full head repertory mask, letting her now shoulder length pale blue hair down, her companion sighed heavily. "Akito's the same, if not a little more withdrawn. Megumi is trying for his affection a great deal more and the captain.I don't know."
"I know this is going to be hard for you. I mean you even know the colonists were doomed didn't you, being on the ship I mean."
Wiping her tears away, "At least I know he survived. I.I just want to be with him though! I love him so much."
Taking the crying girl into her arms as she had done so many times before, "Its ok Ruri. We just have to make sure.that whatever caused the young you to go back in time happens.or you won't exist."
"But how can I see him, live with him, be around him and not tell him I'm alive!"
"It would destroy space-time.we have to play very carefully with this. Its dangerous that you even told me about this," Inez stopped and took out the only surviving object that Ruri still owned, "One day you can give this back to him."
Ruri took the spotless Gekiganger doll into her hands, 'Will he love me.when I come back or will he.love somebody else?'
Geki didn't respond.
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Author Notes
Well another chapter down, and a lot of stuff has happened during it! Ruri is back on the Nadesico. And before you question its possibility think of this, Both Ai and Inez existed in the same time.can't have an old Inez and young Ai without some time sharing.
My original idea was that Akito kept Geki and gave it to Ai, who in turn kept it all her life and when Akito meet up with her at the Cave noticed she had him.and Inez's lost memory returned.but that would result in one to many females attempting for Akito's heart.
As for Yurika kissing Akito.yes in the Anime she said she never kissed a boy before and wanted to save her first.well this isn't the anime its my series. And I think Yurika would be a bit more willing to kiss Akito when she wasn't trying to be on par with Megumi.
Well hope you liked it and I hope to get some good feedback.or at least SOME feedback.
Ja Mata
Zentrodie (zentrodie@secondimpact.com)