Nadesico Fan Fiction

Romance Of The Stars

By Kraven Ergeist

Chapter Three

Ruri sat at the helm once more, lost, confused, and as full of questions as she had ever been. If she was seriously thinking of Akito this way, she decided, then she had best start to recognize any sort of telltales as to his feelings on the matter.

Long since having resigned to the fact that people rarely said what they meant, Ruri had been on a mission to recognize and interpret body language. As of late, Akito only seemed to express discomfort around her. Before she had broached the subject of being romantic, Akito had been quite comfortable and even compassionate towards her.

Compassionate…

If not for his compassion, she wouldn't have even considered him in this manner. But what was to become of that compassion if they were to see each other in a different way? In the way that she was proposing they do?

Ruri posed the question to Omoikane. The super computer displayed some clips from a teenage sitcom, where a young man was wooing a young woman.

"So…these couples, though not entirely serious, are still considered couples, correct?"

Pictographs appeared, answering in the affirmative.

"I see…the male asks the female to dine together, or to watch a movie together, or to dance together…togetherness, it seems, is the key factor when determining whether someone is the proper life mate."

Ruri slouched. "Of course, that should have been obvious…and I missed it, searching for something bigger…"

More video files began flooring her screen, as Omoikane brought back images and depictions of human couples, both happy and unhappy, to give her an understanding of human behavior in those situations.

"Mrs.…Minato was right," Ruri said. "The couples that are happy together do appear to feel true happiness…however…those that are unhappy…" Ruri stared hard at a choice image of a husband beating his wife. "…Often turn out violent…Omoikane, turn this off. I do not wish to see this any longer."

Ruri sat back, mentally and emotionally exhausted. "What am I to do? I am confident in the credibility behind choosing Akito as a possible suitor…but what if I am incorrect? What if…he turns into one of those people who hurts the one who loves him? Or what if…what if I do instead?"

The door to the bridge opened.

"Good, uh…good morning, Ruri," came a hesitant voice.

Ruri shot up, looking back at her visitor. "Mister…Mister Tenkawa?"

Akito stepped into the dark bridge, scratching the back of his head. "I, uh…had a chat with Minato…"

Ruri stiffened. She wouldn't…

Akito blushed looking away. "I honestly wasn't sure what to make of what you meant when you came to me last night…but after I spoke with Minato, I think I finally understand…"

Ruri looked away, feeling ashamed. "Akito…"

Akito tried his best to smile. "You're trying to understand the adult world, Ruri…am I right?"

Ruri hesitated, before nodding. "Yes…I think I am."

Akito smiled, stepping up to stand over her, still sitting in her chair. "Then let me let you in on something:" Akito kneeled next to her and smiled. "So are the adults."

Ruri blinked, even more confused than ever when Akito began chuckling.

"Mister Tenkawa…?"

"Do you…want to get some breakfast?" Akito offered, getting to his feet. "I know it's only five in the morning, but…"

Ruri froze. All at once, this single action pushed away all thoughts of doubt in her mind. An image came back to her from Omoikane's data files.

…The male asks the female to dine together…

Akito was…asking her out.

"Yes, Mister Tenkawa…" Ruri smiled, standing. "I'd like that…"

xxxxx

Of course, being the ships cook gave Akito exclusive privileges to the kitchen at all hours of the day.

"This is…quite good…" Ruri commented, after taking a bite of tempura he had prepared.

"You like it?" Akito smiled. "The batter is my own recipe. And for frozen sea food, Mrs. Howmei's shrimp are in a class on their own."

Ruri dipped the breaded shrimp into her udon, and took another bite, and had to agree that he was absolutely right. "I do like it."

Akito smiled, sitting down to join her with a bowl of his own. "Mrs. Howmei's been teaching me different recipes from every country imaginable, but I still find that I prefer good old Japanese food."

Ruri nodded. "I agree."

Akito took a bite of food, before turning his attention to the girl in front of him. "So…what made you so interested in searching for a…'A Life Mate,' as you called it?"

Ruri blinked. "Should I have not called it that?"

Akito smiled, looking away. "I think most people in your position would use the word 'Boyfriend.'"

Ruri nodded. "I see. You are my 'boyfriend.'"

Akito suddenly sat upright. "No, wait – wait – wait! You have to understand, the rest of the crew can't know about this! You shouldn't call me anything than what you usually call me!"

Ruri nodded, taking another bite of her shrimp. "I see then. I shall continue to refer to you as 'Mr. Tenkawa.'"

Akito nodded, wiping a bit of sweat of his forehead. "That's good… It's odd how such a professional sounding title can sound so endearing…I mean, every time I hear you call me that…"

Ruri cocked her head, cutely.

"Oh, never mind," Akito muttered.

"Good Morning, Akito!" came a loud girly voice. "Hello, Ruri! Up for an early breakfast?"

Akito shuddered, as suddenly realized how awkward this must look. "Oh…Yurika! I'm sorry…this isn't what it looks like!"

Yurika blinked. "Huh? Why shouldn't it? Aren't you and Ruri just having breakfast? Though I am a bit surprised to see you up this early. Mind if I join you?"

Akito looked helplessly at Ruri. "Um…well, seeing as how we're the only one's here…"

"Actually, Captain," Ruri said in her usual blunt manner. "Mister Tenkawa and I were having a personal discussion. I would greatly appreciate it if you could spare us some privacy for a short while. If…that's alright with you, Captain."

Tenkawa stifled a gasp. Yurika, on the other hand, just nodded. "Oh, I see then. I'm sorry to barge in on you like this. Take your time, and Ruri, if you need anyone else to talk to, you come and see me, okay?"

Ruri nodded. "Thank you. Good morning, Captain."

Yurika waved as she left the cafeteria. "I'll see you later, Ruri. Bu-bye, Akito!"

Akito blinked for a about ten seconds after Yurika left. "Wow…I guess the idea of us being a couple is so…unfathomable, that she's not even suspicious. She thought that you were having some kind of emotional breakdown or something, and that you came to me so that you have someone to talk to."

Ruri nodded. "In a sense, that's very much what happened. As focused as the Captain is on matters pertaining to intimate relationships, particularly with you, I would not have anticipated her overlooking us."

Akito sweat dropped, having trouble taking the girl seriously. "Well, Ruri…I mean…we haven't really gone anywhere yet."

Ruri blinked. "We've spent a considerable amount of time in transit together over the past year."

Akito groaned. "You know what I mean, Ruri."

Ruri stiffened. "Oh…I see…we are not truly…a couple, are we? That is the word for it?"

Akito offered a comforting hand across the table, which she took gratefully. "Ruri…I want you to know that, even though I'm not really comfortable with this, I want you to be happy no matter what that entails. If you really, truly want to be romantic with me, then…heck, give it six years, and I'll be here for you."

Ruri held her breath. "You would…do that? For me?"

Akito nodded. "Come on, Ruri…do I really need to answer that?"

Ruri frowned. "What about the Captain? She cares deeply for you. Don't you care for her?"

Akito nodded. "Of course. There's no one on this ship that I don't care for. I could no sooner give up Yurika than I could you." Akito got up and kneeled next to Ruri. "There's nothing that isn't important to me, Ruri. Yurika matters…Megumi matters…Ryoko, Hikaru, and Izumi matter…and you matter to me, Ruri. It's just that…well, I wouldn't be all to comfortable sleeping with any of the others."

Ruri blushed. "Then you're saying…that you'd be comfortable sleeping with me?"

Akito suddenly got up, realizing he'd gone way overboard with that. "Uh…guh, um…that's not what I meant to say at all! I'm sorry, Ruri, I'm really trying here…I never thought you'd come to think of me this way, and I don't want to ruin what we have together. But…if you're willing…"

Akito knelt back down, placing his hand over hers, delicately resting in her lap.

"…then I think I'd be brave enough to give it a try."

Ruri felt her blush return, but looked away. "I'm sorry…if you don't want to be this way with me…I understand…"

Akito reached up to return her gaze to his. "There you go again…putting words in my mouth… Didn't I just say that I want to make you happy, no matter what that meant?"

Ruri blinked, her face redder than ever. "I'm sorry."

Akito outright laughed. "And stop apologizing! Jeez, you'd think you were Shinji Ikari or something."

Ruri blinked. "Who?"

Akito shrugged it off. "Forget it, just an anime reference."

Ruri nodded, looking away again. "I can't help but feel that you are giving up a part of yourself for my sake."

Akito thought about that for a while. He smiled, coming to his conclusion. "So? So are you. We all give up a part of ourselves to please the ones we love, Ruri."

Ruri couldn't recall a day more full of her blushing. "…I…feel the same way about you, Mr. Tenkawa."

Akito laughed. "I know."

Ruri felt like that comment deserved a good 'baka' but she found that she couldn't stop smiling. So, she made due.

"…Baka…" she sobbed, her happiness spilling out all at once. She took Akito's hand and held it to her cheek, feeling his warmth, letting a single tear of joy trickle down her cheek.

"Ruri…" Akito stuttered, suddenly uncomfortable with her closeness. "Don't cry…"

Ruri held his hand tighter. "I can't help it, Mister Tenkawa…I've…never felt this happy before…"

Before Akito could say anything more, Ruri stood from her seat and threw her arms around the pilot slash cook.

Akito returned the gesture, wholeheartedly, stroking her silver hair.

Is this… Ruri thought, forebodingly. The feeling that Minato spoke about?

Ruri felt exhilarated beyond anything she could recall. She felt that any problem she faced she could overcome if she simply could be with this person.

I never want this to end…

xxxxx

While still confined within the wee hours of the morning, Akito and Ruri shared a private moment hidden within his quarters. Even with the lights turned off, he felt more nervous than he had ever felt in his life.

"If anyone so much as walks in…" he shivered.

Ruri continued leaning on his back from her kneeling position on his bed. "That's why this early hour is safest. Few people are likely to intrude."

Akito stiffened. "That wouldn't stop Yurika. She was wide awake and chipper, and it's not even six in the morning."

Ruri nodded. "She has other duties to attend. Please…don't be nervous, Mister Tenkawa."

Akito turned his head to glance at her. "I'll try, Ruri…"

Ruri suddenly felt herself at a loss for words. Here she was, moments away from achieving what she had repeatedly had confirmed was the pinnacle of true joy, and she had no idea how to continue.

"Um…we don't…have to do this, Ruri…" Akito stammered. "I mean, I said I was willing to wait for you. You don't have to rush into things with me…"

Ruri leaned her head against his back. "Mister Tenkawa…how long will it take me to convince you that I'm not a child? Despite what you or the rest of the crew thinks, I am my own person, and I'm capable of making decisions on my own."

Ruri slid off the bed, stepping in front of him, facing him calmly. "This is my decision, Mister Tenkawa. I…want you to respect that…"

Akito swallowed a gasp. Bit his tongue as Ruri still made no movement.

Then, with a voice that would have fan boys weeping with joy, she muttered her next question. "Can I kiss you?"

Akito, a fan boy in his own right, could only smile. "Of course, Ruri."

Ruri had never truly kissed before. She had received damp lips to her cheeks and forehead, but never to her own, and never reciprocated, let alone, initiated. Here and now, she banked off questionable experience as she stood on her tiptoes to reach up to Akito's face, even in his sitting position. Akito's hand came up out of instinct, but the contact left him stunned and breathless.

Her lips were light and delicate, like flower petals soaked in honeydew nectar, cool and warm at the same time, enriched with the small petit savor of honeysuckle.

To Ruri, it was a fire ignited amidst a damp catacomb of emotional timber, soaked in enough fuel to take her to the stars and beyond if only someone were there to light it. The warm, fulfilling sensation hit her like blast of euphoria, a dream ablaze in passionate white fire. All at once, she could see and feel, and scent the rich aroma of her love with a fiery need, letting out a desperate cry as she crawled ever closer, pleading for more.

Akito almost lost control of himself, as Ruri pushed him onto his back, crawling daintily upwards, feline hands padding her way over his whole body, her weight barely conceivable under her delicate feathery touch. All at once, her tiny body lay pressed against his, her lips once more devouring his in a torrent of need and hunger, a starved tiger kit ravenous for nourishment that had been denied for so long.

Akito felt her hands begin to undo the confines of his clothing, and his mind snapped alert. Steeling himself utterly, he grabbed her wrists, halting her progress.

"Stop…"

Ruri looked at him, her face adrift in confusion.

"I can't do this, Ruri…" Akito breathed, looking away. "I can't…I can't take you."

Akito almost fell to pieces as he heard a gentle sob escape her lips.

"I promise you, Ruri, I didn't mean for you to have to be put through this," Akito reasoned, his mind ablaze in confusion. "You weren't supposed to feel so much so soon…I knew it would be too much for you to handle."

Akito gently eased her off of him, sitting up to face her. "Listen…I can't control myself like that. The next time you do that to me, I won't be able to hold back, do you understand? Do you know what it would means…truly…know what it means…for me to take you?"

Ruri's pursed lips quivered. "I understand what intercourse is, Mister Tenkawa!"

Akito clenched his eyes. "You understand what it is, but you don't understand what it will do to you!"

Ruri inhaled, struck by the realization of what she was about to do. What she was about to put her body through. In all likelihood…it would hurt her, like nothing else. Her body was still so…undeveloped.

A flash of anger hit her and she realized that she was not the only one who was undeveloped.

In a huff, she stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm not the only one who fails to comprehend, Mister Tenkawa."

Akito watched her leave. "What?"

Ruri faced him one more time. "It would be a bit more touching…if it were truly me…that you were concerned for…"

Ruri departed, leaving Akito Tenkawa with the simple realization that he was just as much a virgin as she was, and that he was in every way as inexperienced. What right did he have to be condescending, when he had nothing to back it up himself?

Lying back, now more confused than ever, Akito reverted back to fan boy mode, setting his mind at, by dissolving it in a torrent of sight and sound that played itself endless in his head.

And Ruri, lying helpless against his closed door, collapsing in a heap of sorrow, with tears yet to come.

"…Baka."

xxxxx

A/N: Okay, so I laid on the sap, so sue me! I'm a sap!

Come on, these two are incredible! It's like an emotional powder keg! All you do is add some fluff, and then, kaboom! I cannot tell you how fun this is for me to write! Oh, no worries, the lovebirds will get over themselves soon enough, but I just couldn't see Akito barging into a relationship with a minor so quickly.

Read and review.