The Damned

by Miroku-dono

Takes place after Prince of Darkness. Why did Akito simply vanish? Why did he have to go? What mission did he need to complete? All of these questions, and more, answered here. Chapter 1 is the original version, while 2 and 3 are more informed versions.

3. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Making its last round, the Nadesico slowly began to turn around and face the Earth once more. Most of the crew was blissfully unaware of why they were still out patrolling, and yet others didn't seem to care. While the exterior of the ship seemed cool and collected, other more pressing situations were taking place inside the massive ship.

Lapis snapped awake in a cold sweat. She looked around the small cabin she was given with a sense of dread, uneasy about her current surroundings.

She closed hers eyes and took a deep breath when she realized it was simply a dream. She put a hand to her head and tried to clear her thoughts.

Normally, she was able to keep able to keep somewhat of a barrier up while she was conscious to prevent what had just happened. Normally, Akito took off the neural interface when he went to sleep. He had told her it was for the better, and she didn't doubt him when she could feel his sincerity.

Now she knew what he meant. While they were both unconscious, she began to experience the full brunt of Akito's memories from the experiments he was subjected to. Not only that, but those memories and dreams also unlocked her own suffering within her mind.

In short, she was suffering for two.

She quickly shook her head and tried to lie back down and get some sleep. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the images started reappearing. She whimpered quietly and tried to access Akito's mind.

Even though it had been only a couple weeks since they had retired from the fray, he had changed in many ways. Once, where he would show nothing but hate and sadness, he now showed many things. Once, where he would show the thoughts of revenge, and let her experience death through his eyes and senses, he showed her something more.

Happiness, enjoyment, friendship, love, contentment. Everything that he had kept hidden was now in the open. She had only caught a few traces of a few emotions when he was thinking of Yurika or the Nadesico in the past. Now, instead of a few traces that she formed into a guess, she now fully understood.

She tried to concentrate on those moments, on the positive things that had happened since they arrived on the Nadesico after their long and fatal mission. But these things didn't help. She let out a lone sob and begged things to stop.

After a few moments, they had. The memories just seemed to simply…vanish.

Lapis sighed in relief until there was a slight knock on her door. She quickly got up and answered it, knowing who it was almost immediately.

A darkened mask stared at her as soon as she opened the door, a deep frown apparent on the features of the man behind it. He kneeled slightly to her level and smiled slightly.

He reached out and patted her on the head before putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I know I've told you before, but you needn't be afraid to wake me. I know how unfair this is to you."

Lapis shook her head, "It isn't as bad as you think."

Akito raised a hidden eyebrow, "It isn't eh?"

Almost immediately, she could feel him moving around inside her subconscious. She panicked slightly before she felt him withdraw.

"We can't hide things from each other, Lapis. All you have to do is warn me the next time."

The girl nodded and Akito patted her on the head again before standing up.

"Sleep well."

With that, he vanished from sight as the door closed.

Lapis smiled as she slowly walked back to her bed. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad with the others after all.

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Akito, once again dawning his usual yellow suit and apron, walked about the kitchen with Lapis at his side.

He was grateful for the little girl's presence, and he was almost positive she could sense it. After all, the mask allowed them to connect to each other and fill in the voids that each of them had.

He regained his senses, while Lapis had free range and control over emotions. But it also went both ways. When Akito burned himself, Lapis could feel it. When he made a mistake and hit the counter, due to frustration, she felt a throbbing in her hand.

It was helpful having two sets of eyes in the kitchen, as well as being able to communicate without their voices. Despite the numerous draw backs, things still continued on as if he had his senses. The only thing that seemed different was the fact that it was like he had two sets of hands.

He continued to work on the small tempura dish that seemed to be the favorite of the crew.

The crew, he thought, now that was interesting. Everyone had been slightly freaked, to say the least, when he had become one of them. A man who had killed many others and who had seemed as cold as ice to those who didn't know him.

Yet, things settled down as he continued his work in the kitchen. Many found it unnerving that he still had to wear his neural interface, but no one commented on it.

Everyone thought it was odd that the Prince of Darkness himself had settled down into a routine and ordinary life after all the things he'd been through.

Akito simply ignored the attentions of curious onlookers and continued with his work as best he could. It was something that couldn't be avoided, in his opinion.

After all, many of them, if not all of them, had heard what he'd done and been through during the war. He hadn't expected to fit in right away.

He was glad, though, that several of the old Nadesico crew stayed on as well. Seiya was a frequent visitor of the galley, much to Akito's annoyance and relief.

He was an annoyance because Seiya always tried to squeeze more information out of him to find out about the unit armor he'd used before and how it was designed. He'd told the man to talk to the people at Nergal, but it seemed as though he simply ignored his suggestion.

He was relieved that that the man continued to think of him as a friend, and fellow Aestivalis enthusiast. They spent a majority of the time talking about battles, how certain specs performed while he was using the Selena frame and much more.

Akito, once again, had rekindled the friendships with the few people from the original Nadesico on board during what he had dubbed his last trek in space.

Minato and Yukina had left for the surface once again. They had insisted that they would keep in close contact with everyone, despite the distance. The Nadesico no longer had an external landing shuttle, as Minato had 'borrowed' it.

Jun had taken over Yurika's position of ranking military officer on board the Nadesico. Yurika had been reassigned as the tactical officer. No one was sure if it was needed or necessary, but Ruri knew that she could count on Yurika in a tight situation if one did arise.

Until she let her emotions get the better of her.

Hikaru and Izumi also left with Minato. Hikaru had her manga works to finish and release, while Izumi had to resume her hostess responsibilities at the bar.

Everyone else who had accompanied Ruri on the shuttle had stayed on board, but Akito didn't get to see them much. The only person he got to see on regular basis from the mechanic team was Seiya.

Akito sighed as he finished his current assignment just in time for the next shift.

Akito couldn't believe that Ruri had lied to him, but he had to accept it. They already had a well staffed kitchen, but he couldn't allow himself to just walk out on them again.

The fact that they had one cook per meal time left Akito with anything in-between. Akito usually didn't have much of a crowd, but he always had company in the galley everyday he was on duty.

Yurika and Ruri always came and chatted with him. It was always just before the lunch shift came as well. Seiya also had the habit of popping in on him just before the dinner shift as well. The only thing Seiya came in for, though, was a cup of coffee and to talk.

Akito didn't mind though, it was a welcome distraction from the boring routine he called a day.

Due to the lack of a normal feeding crowd, Akito had time to reacquaint himself with the art of cooking. It had been a pretty long time since he'd been able to do anything of the sort.

Akito's thoughts were interrupted as his usual pre-lunch guests showed up.

He smiled and nodded at them, also noticing that Hari had accompanied Ruri this time. He pulled off his apron and picked up his newest culinary creation that he'd completed just seconds ago.

He slowly walked out to the table, balancing four dishes on both arms while Lapis carried a second behind him.

He was sure that the girl was watching him the entire time, and he was well aware that she saw some of his thoughts. Yet she had remained silent and let him think for himself while simply being a spectator. He silently thanked her for her understanding before putting on a smile as he approached the table.

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As Akito arrived at the table, Hari could see a change in Ruri's demeanor. She seemed to be a little more relaxed than she normally was.

Akito quickly served a plate for the each of them and sat down on the end of the table.

"I've been trying to get used to everything again. It isn't much, but give it a shot."

Each person looked at their plate to see a few pieces of chicken tempura placed next to a helping of friend rice. Finishing off the plate surface was what looked like a chicken based curry on top of steamed rice.

"I know it's a rater odd combination, but I couldn't think of what to add. I still only know basic Japanese recipes."

After a few bites, Yurika couldn't help but smile, "It tastes wonderful, Akito. It's good to know you didn't lose hope in your dreams."

Ruri nodded in confirmation, while taking another bite. Hari stared at his plate, but would throw glances at the man and narrow his eyes slightly.

Akito could tell something was up, as Hari carried himself differently while around him. He had an idea about what it was, but couldn't say was accuracy what it really was.

Lapis, who had already been able to sample his work, was content with simply eating her meal in silence. She could feel uncertainty building up within Akito as he ate as well.

She hadn't expected him to slip back into his previous lifestyle easily, but the amount of uneasiness and uncertainty alerted her to something else.

As they continued to eat, Yurika began talking about plans to eventually move back to the surface, and that she would talk to Akito about it later. He simply nodded in agreement without saying anything, but Lapis could feel that his uneasiness suddenly grew in size.

"By the way Akito, Inez-san said that she wanted to see you after you were done with your shift."

Akito raised an eyebrow and put down his chopsticks, "Did she say why?"

Yurika shook her head, "No, she said it would be something that you might enjoy, though."

Akito frowned when she said that, and noticed that Hari flinched to his reaction.

"Very well, I'll go see what she wants now. I'm not that hungry anyway."

With that comment, the masked man stood and deposited his plate in the kitchen before turning to leave.

He stopped at the door and looked back. He nodded slightly at his friends and left the cafeteria.

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As soon as the doors closed, Ruri immediately turned to stare at Hari.

The young man noticed her stare almost immediately and seemed to shrink slightly. Yurika looked at the two confused, while Lapis continued to eat in silence.

"What's wrong Ruri-chan?"

"Hari-kun, what exactly is it that you have against Akito-san?"

Yurika, now paying rapt attention to the young man, seemed surprised.

"Wh-what do you mean, Captain?"

"You aren't fooling anyone here, Hari-kun. I know Akito-san noticed it as well. That was why he left as quickly as he did. He felt unwelcome."

Yurika turned to Lapis, who continued to watch in silence. The young girl turned her yellow eyes to Yurika and simply stared at her. Yurika wasn't sure, but she could almost see hurt resonating within them.

Her analysis was cut short as Hari began to speak, albeit slowly.

"I just don't know…I get a strange feeling every time I see him. Is he really trustworthy? After all that has come and gone, can we really trust him?"

Ruri simply sighed while Yurika seemed to giggle slightly.

Hari, fairly confused, looked at the both of them with a frown, "What is it?"

Yurika reached across the table and began to pat the young boy on the head, "Could it be that Hari-kun is jealous?"

"Whaa?"

"Yurika-san and I both know that he is trustworthy. You weren't present for the personal debriefing he gave us. In short, he intentionally avoided everyone to try to protect us."

"That doesn't make sense at all…"

"In a way it does." Everyone turned to look at Lapis, who had spoken for the first time since they sat down.

"He wanted to avoid putting unnecessary worry and stress on those he cared for. He also didn't want any distractions or something holding him back. He knew things would be dangerous."

Yurika's mood seemed to slip slightly, as her smile wavered.

"If only I had realized that…"

"It wasn't your fault for wanting to see him."

Silence seemed to pass over the table while everyone was lost in thought.

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Akito smirked as he continued down the metallic hallways of the Nadesico. He had guessed that Hari had an issue with him, and he was right.

Akito had just overheard everything that they said, thanks to Lapis. Acting as his second set of ears, she had relayed everything directly to him.

He could understand the young man's misgivings about him, as he'd never really met or seen him before. The only information that he had was what he'd heard from the others and what he'd seen himself.

Akito's mind began to wander, but not too far before he noticed he was at his desired destination.

He walked through the doors to see that Inez had her back turned to him and her nose practically touching the monitor she was staring at. After a few moments of silence, he cleared his through to let her know that he was there.

Inez looked up from her work immediately and turned to face Akito.

"I didn't expect you so soon, Akito-kun."

Akito smirked, "There was an issue brought up by young Makibi that did not require my presence."

Inez nodded, immediately catching his hidden meaning.

"Well I wanted to ask you if you were willing to have a few scans done."

"Why?"

"Before leaving, Yamasaki told me that he wished to help you regain some of what you lost. And he had the notion that I might be able to help him."

"So he's to remain at Nergal HQ I take it?"

"Yes, but I can send him the results of the tests and the opinions I have."

Akito seemed to shift slightly and looked at the scientist warily.

"It's only a simple test, Akito-kun. I can assure you that you won't feel any discomfort."

After a few moments, he seemed to sigh, "What do I have to do?"

"I'll need you to remove your mask, and lay on the table for a few moments."

Akito nodded and moved to the table. He removed the solid black piece of material. Immediately, he could see the change. Everything was a darker shade of grey and everything appeared as a solid grey figure to him. He was used to this scene, though, as he had to deal with it on a daily basis while resting and sleeping.

The mask, itself, was tuned in to Lapis specifically. The one she wore was simply a booster of sorts, giving him even more range over the senses that she had given him.

He shut his eyes, preferring the black over the strained vision he experienced. He could hear very dull sounds in the background, as Inez continued to move around him.

Akito simply relaxed, and once again let his mind wander.

He was unsure on how to approach Yurika anymore. He wanted to be with her, but also wanted to avoid exposing Lapis to something her didn't understand so quickly. That was why he had requested they have separate rooms and why he tried to avoid being too affectionate with her.

Everything would have a repercussion on Lapis; he just wasn't sure how she would handle it. In truth, he was hoping to have his senses restored, to be his own person once again.

He didn't mind Lapis' company or help, but he secretly he longed to be able to be independent once again.

The only problem was, in doing so he would leave Lapis without any sense of emotion again. He wasn't willing to simply abandon her after all she'd done for him. He couldn't do that. It wasn't the kind of person he was, and he knew it.

Akito simply sighed, not sure of what to make of the situation, he'd probably have to talk to Inez and Yamasaki about it.

After a few more moments in darkness, he could suddenly feel something resting on his face. His eyes snapped open to see that his usual NIV (Neural Interface Visor) was in place once again.

"I should have the results by tomorrow, Akito-kun."

Akito nodded and slowly began to sit up. After a few minutes, Inez could see that something was bothering the man.

"Is it something you can discuss?"

Akito seemed to snap out of his revere, "What?"

"What you're thinking about so avidly?"

Akito knew he had to tell her that he wasn't the only party involved in this decision, he simply didn't know how.

After a few more moments he looked up at the blonde doctor.

"Do you think it would be possible to have this done for Lapis as well? So she wouldn't be forced to rely on someone?"

"A fair question, to be sure. I would have to take a look at her first, as well as run a scan. Since I have time right now, I could perform another scan specifically for her."

Akito nodded and was silent for a moment.

"She's on her way."

Inez raised an eyebrow, "I wasn't aware that using a neural interface system allowed for telepathic communication. It's a system designed to cover the lost abilities of the two people connected. In addition it works as a relay for each person, allowing both to be independent, in a manner of speaking."

Akito snorted at her slightly, "It's nothing to be amazed about really. After all, if we each cover what the other has lost, we'd have to have access to the others mind, to a degree."

"I see…and just how far does that mind interaction go?"

"That isn't of your concern really. I would prefer to keep it away from everyone. That way, experiments like me and Lapis would never happen again. Having someone screw with your mind and body isn't exactly high on anyone's list."

After a few moments of silence, Lapis walked through the automated door.

She looked at Inez, and then questioningly at Akito.

"Please, do not be afraid. I simply wish to try to help you." Lapis looked back at the woman. "I need you to lie down on that table Akito-kun is sitting on so I may run a few tests."

At the mention of tests, Lapis' gaze immediately snapped back to Akito. A look of sheer terror present in her eyes. Akito nodded.

"Relax Lapis. This person isn't anything like those bastards who experimented on us. She's trying to help." He added silently that he would be watching and waiting for her as well.

Lapis hesitantly walked over to the table as Akito stood and moved behind Inez. She looked back at him again only to see him nod.

Lapis took a seat on the table and lay down quietly. She seemed to squirm slightly before settling down.

Inez moved over and began her testing procedures and basic scans. She used a few different scans for overall range, as Lapis' case was far deeper than Akito's was. She had lost her ability to feel in a different way.

After about ten minutes, Inez backed away from the table after returning the instruments to their normal positions. She looked at the total of eight tests she had run on Lapis, varying from an MRI to a normal brain surface scan.

After a few moments of looking at the screens in front of her, she turned to both of the occupants in the room.

"I should have the results from everything some time soon, but I'm not exactly sure about a time frame. There is a lot more information to process."

Akito nodded and put his hand on Lapis' shoulder and led her out of the room.

After a few moments of staring at the door, Inez turned back to the monitor with a slight smile.

After all, she had already seen through Akito's motives as soon as he asked about the girl.

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Akito returned to his normal duties as the day continued, but he couldn't shake the off feeling he was having. Something just felt…wrong.

He figured it had something to do with the enormous sense of uneasiness he was getting off of Lapis. Her feelings still resonated with the feeling of complete terror from the tests.

He was fairly sure that she hated anything of the sort, whether its purpose was to help or harm her.

As they walked down the hall adjacent to their rooms, he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her when they reached her room.

She slowly turned around to look at him. She had a feeling she knew what was coming next, after all she could feel what he felt as well.

"I'm sorry. If I knew that it would've affected you that badly, I wouldn't have had you go through with it."

Lapis simply shook her head, "It would best for the both of us, correct?"

Akito sighed, "At this point, I'm not so sure. Things need to change, but I'm not so sure I want them to."

Lapis nodded again, "It would be best for Yurika-san as well, would it not."

Akito seemed to hesitate slightly, but nodded as well.

"Good night."

Before anything more could be said, she opened the metal door and closed it. After a few moments of staring at the door, Akito turned and walked down to his room.

His room was next to directly next to Lapis' in case something came up. He wasn't sure what it was that would, but it was simply a precaution.

As he came to a stop in front of his door, he looked back down to Lapis'. He sighed slightly, opened his door and stepped into the darkness within.

Almost immediately he froze. The door was still open, letting the lighting from the hallway flood into the entrance of his quarters. He stared at the other figure, whose outline he could clearly see, which was in his quarters.

A familiar scent filled his nostrils, as he took another step inside and closed the door.

He knew that it would happen eventually, but he didn't know when. He could only hold her at bay for so long, let alone avoid the subject completely.

He took off his shoes and stepped further into the room. After a few moments, he was staring into teal eyes that he used to know so well. Unfortunately, things had changed. And not for the better either.

After a few moments, Yurika stood and moved close to him. They embraced slightly and she rested her head on his chest. That brought a few tears to her eyes as she realized he had grown without her. The last time they were together, she could rest her head comfortably on his shoulders with ease.

After a few moments, she pulled away from him slightly and looked up at him. Both stared at each other while the distance between them slowly vanished. A few moments later, and their lips connected in a soft, but lasting kiss.

Akito's mind seemed to be going a mile a minute when the contact was initiated. He hadn't had the NIV the last time she had kissed him. He could actually feel her this time, much to his excitement and dismay.

The kiss lasted for a while, but Akito eventually broke and stepped back slightly. He noticed the hurt in Yurika's eyes immediately, but brought his hand up.

"I'm sorry Yurika, but I can't."

Yurika's tears started forming almost immediately, "Why? I thought nothing had changed between us."

Akito rubbed his neck as he looked at her. He succumbed to the look she had and pulled her closer to him.

"But so much has changed, Yurika. I can't do anything without it reflecting on someone else."

Yurika looked up at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I can't act without it reflecting on Lapis. I have more than one set of feelings to account for now. Everything I do, Lapis experiences. I don't know if she's ready for any of it yet."

"You're trying to shelter her…until she's older?"

Akito nodded, "Yes, I am. She's already experienced so much hatred and violence, but I can't expose her to the polar opposites of those emotions or feelings."

Yurika put her head back against his chest, and he could feel that wetness build up against his uniform.

"I see…"

"I can't be with you the way you want, Yurika…"

Yurika seemed to hesitate and she tried to pull away, but he pulled her back and held her close to him.

Slowly, Yurika brought her arms around him and seemed to nuzzle his chest.

"Will…will we ever get to be with each other again?"

She could feel Akito nod slightly, "I have a feeling that it won't be long either…"

Yurika sighed and seemed to push herself into Akito more. He surprised her by shifting his weight towards the bunk and he slowly dragged them both over to it.

"I said that we couldn't be together in the manner you wanted. I didn't say we couldn't be together at all."

The thoughts seemed to click as recognition revealed itself on her features. She smiled up at him and allowed him to bring them slowly down on the soft mattress.

She felt Akito shift slightly and heard the distinct sound of something being put down on the table next to his bed. She soon forgot it, though, as he wrapped his arms around her.

Both soon fell into a blissful sleep. Unlike the occupant of the room next to them, who could still feel both the emotions and sensations of what had taken place.

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Things seemed to settle down over the next couple of days, and Yurika seemed to accept that fact that things were different.

She followed Akito incessantly, but knew that she wouldn't be able to go too far with him. He seemed very apologetic about his situation, but she knew it was nothing he could control.

Inez finally called Akito to meet her in the medical bay after five days had passed. He made his way down to the med bay, despite it being half way through his pre-lunch shift.

As soon as he arrived, he could hear Inez talking with someone in the back. He swiftly made his way to the sounds of talking and walked into the room to find Inez in front of a vidscreen talking to Yamasaki.

"It seems our guest has arrived."

Inez turned to look at Akito and nodded at him.

"Please, take a seat. We have a few things to discuss with you Akito."

Akito raised an eyebrow as he took a seat on one of the tables in the back room.

"We?"

Yamasaki nodded, "Yes, we. Fressange-san has sent me most of the information she was able to obtain via your test results, as well as the results themselves. We've both come to an agreement of sorts in what should be done."

"I'm listening."

Inez pulled up a strange looking image, which Akito could only guess was some kind of enhanced scan that they had taken from the results.

Inez pulled out a short metal rod from one of the drawers and pointed at a certain area on the picture.

"This is an enhanced scan of the outer portion of your cerebral cortex. As you probably know, this is the major part of the brain that controls senses and body motions, as well as gives you the ability to speak and think." Another part of a scan soon appeared next to it, except this picture was broken into three separate areas. "These are enhanced reading on your Temporal, Parietal and Occipital lobes. Each further controls a function or response having to deal with the senses; mainly in the areas of hearing, touch and sight respectively."

Akito nodded, everything was making sense to him so far.

Inez pointed at a few specific areas as new scans with red circles showed up, replacing their counterparts.

"Each area circled represents an area where there is hardly any, if any at all, response. These are the main problems with your body and brain. In a certain way of speaking, you're senses have been dulled because they deluded and cut off most of the reactions necessary for your brain to process what it needed to. They simply dulled your senses either deliberately or it was a side effect of something that was unexpected."

"It wasn't intended, I can tell you that now," Yamasaki's voice came from the vidscreen.

Akito seemed to take everything in, "So if you could somehow find a way to reenergize these…responses that are lacking…"

"Yes, we could theoretically restore you to the way you were before."

Akito sighed and his head dipped slightly as he seemed to think. After a few moments he looked back up at Inez.

"What about Lapis?"

"She has a predicament similar to yours, except far less extreme."

"What do you mean?"

Inez pointed at a new scan that appeared to her left, but it was a different color and shape than the others.

"Her main problem deals with the Temporal Lobe as well. Her emotions are all but gone, correct?" Akito nodded. "It's simple to see that a certain part of this lobe is considerably less active and darker than the others. This means it has no response or reaction whatsoever. However, that is much easier to fix. By introducing the correct amount of stimulant and adding a few regulators, she should be able to have free range over her emotions once again."

"So her procedure is far less complicated and can be done with relative ease?"

Both scientists nodded.

"I see…"

"Yes, we could do it. However, more research and knowledge is needed before either of us even attempts to do something like this."

"I understand."

"Now, Akito-kun, back to your problem. You see, while your responses are lacking, they shouldn't be hard to fix at all. Your mind simply needs a conductor, an augmentation, of sorts to actually get a full signal relay going. We have an idea…but we aren't sure how well things will go."

"An idea already? It hasn't even been that long."

Inez smiled, "Yes well…having two minds working on one problem usually produces far more reliable results at a much faster pace."

"I see…"

Inez pointed at the few highlighted sections.

"These are the main expanses that have a greater significance than most. They are the expanses that control most, if not all, of your senses and allow your brain to process the information it receives for each sense. Now that yours have been practically disabled, you rely on Lapis to cover your impediments, as she relies on you to cover hers. However, this is a relatively simple problem that can be resolved with a sort of buffer."

Inez pointed at each individual scan again, "These areas are the ones experiencing impediments, so it's a relatively small area as you can see. The idea that we've come up with is an actual augmentation device that will first and foremost enhance the responses of these areas. It will act as the buffer and allow you to have admittance to all of your senses once again. In time, I'm fairly sure that you will be able to have these augmentations removed, but it may cause more trouble than it's worth."

"Nanomachines?"

Yamasaki nodded, taking over for Inez.

"Exactly, a nanomachine has many different uses in almost any aspect of life. They can be used to alter many things, or compensate for others. The main idea behind everything is relatively simple. We can program the nanomachines to do as we wish, and they will obey those commands until they are sent the relay signal to stop. That is why the machines still on Mars continue with their work even today. We simply have to program the nanomachines with a specific set of instructions that would allow them to follow your bloodstream to your brain and then act as a buffer in the places they are designated to. In a manner of speaking, it would be a nanomachine treatment."

"I see…" Akito had been relatively quiet through most of the meeting, but he couldn't really think of anything to say.

"Don't worry Akito-kun, we should be able to have the specifics and designs already set by the time we reach Earth in another two weeks."

Akito looked rather alarmed, "Three weeks? That's it?"

Inez nodded, "Of course. When you know what to look for, the problems or solutions aren't as tough as people make it out to be. Did you think this would take years to mediate and fix this problem Akito-kun?"

"No, not years per say…but I thought it would at least be a couple months."

"For your predicament, no. However, Lapis is a special case. Something far more valuable has been lost, and it may take quite a while for us to be able to think of a feasible solution. After all, a simple nanomachine buffer wouldn't allow her to regain what she has lost. That entire part of her mind is practically gone, it's completely inactive. Things are a bit more complicated in terms of overall standards. We have to deal with adding a buffer as well as actually reactivating that part of her mind with the correct solution. That could take a while."

"Oh…"

"If you want, Akito-kun, I could examine your NIV and make a far less noticeable apparatus that you would be able to wear, yet it would yield the same overall result."

"Like what?"

Inez shrugged, "An arm brace, a necklace, anything of the sort."

"Would I still be able to keep the NIV though?" He didn't want to state his purposes in wanting his old visor, but he knew he would have his uses for it.

"Of course. We were simply opening up another option to you. If you don't want us to-"

"Do it."

Inez raised an eyebrow, "Of course. I'll need to examine your interface visor, though."

Akito nodded and took off the black piece covering his face. He closed his eyes and he simply let his mind wander, temporarily free of any criticisms or remarks that Lapis could make.

He wasn't sure how long it had been, but he was eventually awoken by Inez. In the time he was there, it seemed that he'd fallen asleep on the table.

"Thank you Akito-kun. We will do everything we can to best please you."

Akito nodded and then stood.

"Thank you for your help."

With that, he quickly left the med bay and continued on down the hall. When he arrived in the galley, he was surprised to see that most of the lunch crowd was already there.

That meant he was in conference with the two doctors for close to three hours.

He sighed and quickly left the galley, not sure of what to do with his few hours off.

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Hours turned into days turned into weeks.

Before anyone had really realized it, they were only three days away from the Earth.

Despite the urging from the UEF, they had taken the slow and scenic route back to Earth. For a few reasons as well. One was so they could have some breathing room before the press and the UEF and UESF climbed all over them.

Another was simply because Ruri wanted Akito and Yurika to have time together in an environment that was somewhat familiar.

One more was because she didn't feel like burdening Inez, Akito or Yurika to jump the Nadesico back to Earth. She knew the three of them could do it together, which proved to be a lot less stressful, but it was still stressful nonetheless.

And so, they slowly made their way back to Earth. Another day and they would reach the moon. It was there that Ruri assumed things would get rather hectic.

After all, many UESF still resided near the moon or on one of the lunar bases on the surface.

It was pretty obvious that they wouldn't be able to pass the moon without alerting some of the forces stationed there. And more than likely, the higher ups on Earth's surface had ordered their troops stationed at the moon to report the first sign of the Nadesico to them.

This would complicate things a little more than Ruri wanted, but she knew it was all a part of the glamour and glory and pompous customs the UEF had stated was tradition to bestow honor upon people they deemed as war heroes.

The original Nadesico A crew had to go through this as well, but back then the actual premise deserved recognition. Whereas this time, they didn't really feel as though it was an accomplishment. If anyone, Akito should've been rewarded for putting everything he had at risk to protect the future.

However, Akito had asked everyone that he had told about his actions to remain quiet about everything. He didn't want to bring that much attention to himself.

Ruri could understand that wish perfectly. He had been proclaimed dead for almost three years and putting him front and center in the media would bring about some very…unique situations.

Ruri's mind began to wander slightly, as she thought back to the last few days. Akito had always been busy with Inez or with Lapis on another part of the ship. He hadn't really been to the galley at all.

This had caused both Ruri and Yurika to worry slightly, as he hadn't usually been the secretive type unless it was something important. Yurika still would meet with Akito in the evenings, but Ruri hardly ever got to see the man she'd grown to love.

She was pulled from her thoughts as a vidscreen with Hari's image popped up directly in front of her.

"Captain, we're approaching lunar orbit."

Ruri immediately looked at him with her eyes slightly wider, "What?"

"We should be in lunar orbit in another hour, Captain."

"Hari-kun…I thought I told both you and the helmsman to keep a steady, non-accelerated rate of propulsion towards Earth."

Hari seemed to squirm slightly, which made her notice his uneasiness.

"Did you follow through with those orders?"

Hari dipped his head slightly, "We upped the total output of the PT engines by another five percent before leaving them at a constant rate."

Ruri sighed, "I would've appreciated knowing this before now."

"Sorry Captain," Hari said in defeat. He knew making excuses wouldn't cover him in the least. Ruri also knew whether he was lying or not due to his emotional nature.

Ruri looked through the main frontal windows to see an object not far off. She already knew it was the moon, as per Hari's information.

She also couldn't help but wonder how she didn't notice anything before. It was unlike her to look over something as obvious and simple as an increase in engine output.

She chalked it up to the fact of her uneasiness. Many knew she hid her emotions, and she did so for a purpose.

In fact, many of the original Nadesico crew knew that she only let her emotions get the better of her when it was somehow connected to one man.

Thinking back to Akito, Ruri couldn't help but wonder if it was his dislike for the man that encouraged Hari to do something so brash. She knew that he still hadn't accepted Akito, but she didn't know how far Hari would go to prove his dislike for him.

It was now pretty obvious to her what was going on.

She sighed again as she looked at the moon, which was slowly becoming larger. She had to calm down and relax as best she could for the upcoming storm.

After all, she knew that none of them would be getting rest for a very long time.

The main reason she had re-launched with the Nadesico C was to avoid all the publicity and glamour that she was almost certain that would be thrust upon all of them. She had re-launched without so much as a word to her superiors or the UEF, which brought about a round of disappointed reactions by both the UEF and the media.

Yet she knew that once her small patrol of the area between Mars and Earth was complete, they would have to return to the surface.

And returning was exactly what they were doing. She would be forced to explain her actions to her superiors, which she wasn't looking forward to in the least.

And the worst part of it was that she only had a day. Due to the increased propulsion from the system, the time frame needed was shaved down two extra days.

By tomorrow, they would once again be in Earth's orbit.

As she continued to watch the moon get larger on the screen, she opened up a com channel on every deck and announced that they would be home again tomorrow.

Many of the crew cheered, but she knew that those sentiments would change once everyone had parted ways again.

Now all that was left to do was wait.

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Within the next day, things had become hell for most of the crew of the Nadesico.

When they landed, the media and various parties of Nergal and the UEF practically assaulted them.

They had armed escorts lead them directly to an assembly that was made to both honor and question the members of the Nadesico.

As they were led into the UEF Assembly hall, most of the crew was nervous. It was pretty obvious by the way they were looking around at the figureheads assembled in the hall.

A great deal of them eyed Akito with immense suspicion. He had, once again, taken to wearing his black cloak and gear. A few members of the crew had been startled by his look, since they hadn't really seen him in anything else but his uniform.

As the ceremony continued, various presentations and honors were made by several of the high ups. Admiral Misumaru and Admiral Munetake were designated to award some of the honors themselves.

As things began to wind down, the UEF ordered the media to leave so they might have a little private conversation with their soldiers.

It was at this point, that Ruri knew what was going to happen.

After all media personnel had vacated the room, the assembly turned their attention once again to the Nadesico crew.

After a few moments of silence, the head of the UEF council spoke.

"Would you care to explain your actions in simply leaving without orders or a word to your superiors, Captain Hoshino."

She knew it wasn't a request or question, but an order. Ruri stepped up and stood at attention.

"I believed it was in my crew's best interest to have some down time before dealing with the stresses and situations that they would surely face on Earth."

"So you simply ran free in the universe's most advanced spacecraft without a clear purpose or intended objective?"

"Our object was to make sure that any rebelling forces that the Successors may have left behind were under control. Fortunately, we had no such conflicts."

The council head sat back in silence and interlaced his fingers. After a few moments, he drew himself up once again.

"Tenkawa Akito. Step forward now."

Most of the assembly seemed surprised at the mention of the man's name. Others were completely shocked when they actually saw him step forward wearing nothing but a black battle suit and overcape.

"Explain your actions. Nergal knew that we had a temporary cease fire with the enemy, yet you directly violated that agreement by acting against the Successors."

Akito looked up at the large man with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"I was under contract only until the defeat of the Successors was guaranteed and the ruin computer was secured. Anything I did after the battle on Mars was by my own actions. Nergal had no hand in it whatsoever."

"Yet you used their technology to wage a private war against the Successors. They still had an influence in your actions."

"I did what I felt I had to do. I knew they were still dangerous, despite losing their leader. What would you fools have done if they regained power and waged another war?"

"Such rearming and gaining of assets could take years."

"So you would've rather waited a couple years just to have a chance to fight them again instead of completely crippling them?"

A greater deal of the council, as well as the crew, began to murmur. Akito could see several heads nodding while they looked at him.

The head councilman knew things were slipping out of his grasp. Tenkawa was drawing support to him already, since many of the council desired peace over a third war in less than ten years.

"You may have a point, but your actions and reasoning do not justify the fact that you have slaughtered many innocents."

Akito sneered slightly as he could guess what was coming next.

"Thus, it is my duty to pass judgment on you for your actions."

Almost immediately there was a chorus of disapproving sounds and noise.

The chairman looked around with a frown on his face.

"Are you saying you do not want this ruffian to be punished for his actions?"

Another chorus rang out, but this time it was of approval.

A figure stepped out of the shadows and looked at the proceedings.

"Don't worry, dear chairman. I will have the pleasure of dealing with his treachery personally."

Most people turned to see Akatsuki Nagare standing near the left side of the council hall, but others recognized him from his voice alone.

"Very well, Chairman Akatsuki. You will deal with your problem while we make sure none of this reaches the media. We cannot allow any information leaks."

Several more murmurs were heard around the massive room.

"Now that this meeting has drawn to a close, you are all dismissed." He turned and waved a hand at the crew of the Nadesico and turned back to communicating to the UEF assembly.

As the crew slowly shuffled out of the large hall, Akatsuki took the chance to walk up directly to Akito and walk with him to the exit.

"Inez-san wishes to meet with you. I shall accompany you to make sure nothing goes wrong, and that you don't get lost."

Akito smirked, as he realized what the director meant. After all, it wouldn't look very good to have someone of Akito's ability to wander around alone. Something could uncover itself before him.

Yurika, who was still talking to her father, turned around to notice both Akito and Akatsuki walking off without her. She excused herself quickly and ran after them, as to not be separated from them.

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Akito arrived at the medical complex within Nergal HQ about an hour after the gathering was held by the UEFA.

Akatsuki told him that a guide would be provided for him, since he had urgent business to take care of.

Unfortunately for Akito, Erina Won was his supposed guide that Akatsuki was talking about. She had tried to strike up small conversation, but Akito wouldn't participate so willingly.

After, what Akito considered, a painstakingly long trip, they arrived at the designated lab that Inez had originally specified.

Akito motioned Erina off and went into the lab alone to find that both Inez and Yamasaki were already there.

As soon as he entered the lab, both Inez and Yamasaki looked up.

"Are you ready, Akito-kun?"

Akito raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

Yamasaki motioned towards the machines and various other things present in the lab.

"We've designed the system needed to reactivate your senses and have the equipment and nanomachines ready for their introduction to your system."

Akito nodded towards the both of them before he let them take over. They guided him quickly to the center lab table that had numerous instruments spread out around it. Akito seemed to shift rather uncomfortably when he saw this, but proceeded nonetheless.

After being put on the table, he was told that he would be fully sedated, as they had no idea what exactly the procedures side effects were.

After taking off his NIV, he slowly began to lose consciousness due to the powerful anesthetic.

As soon as they confirmed Akito was under, both Inez and Yamasaki looked at one another and nodded. Each took a brief moment to look over their designs once again before taking up the needed equipment.

Eyes once again turned to the unconscious man on the table before they got down to business.

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Akito slowly regained consciousness, only to feel a throbbing in his mind. His vision was still dull, gray and blurry, so he had nothing to go on.

After a few moments, it cleared as Inez put his NIV back on.

Almost immediately, Akito could notice that things were considerably sharper with his mask unit on.

He turned to look at the two scientists, who were both smiling.

"Don't worry. You may feel disorientated for a while, but it will clear. We were able to add, successfully, our augmentation units directly to their designated areas. Unfortunately, we're still short on a few things."

Akito nodded groggily.

"We were only able to add the augmentations to your Temporal and Occipital Lobes, as well as parts of your Cerebral Cortex. That means that your vision and hearing should come around much earlier than your sense of smell. We still have to work on the few areas in the Cerebral Cortex for you to regain your sense of taste and work on both the Cerebral Cortex and Parietal Lobe before you will be able to feel properly and recover your sense of touch."

Akito was beginning to wake from his funk, "How long was I out?"

Inez looked at Yamasaki, who looked at the clock on the closest monitor next to him.

"I'd say about four hours."

Akito raised an eyebrow.

"We had to make sure they were taking correctly. In addition, we had to monitor your condition in case something went wrong. There is nothing to worry about, as everything went according to plan."

Akito nodded and stood. He still felt slightly disoriented, but he could walk.

He made his way slowly to the door before stopping when Inez called his name.

"Akito-kun, we aren't sure how long it will take the nanomachines to be able to enhance your weakened connection. However, it should probably be a few days before you feel or see any definite change."

Akito nodded again, "Thanks."

With that simple word, he left the lab. Both scientists watched him walk through the door.

After a few moments, Yamasaki turned and walked over to his terminal. He sat down and began to work on their next project.

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Akito still had a slight headache, but he was sure it was because of the recent additions to his mind. He still felt a slight sense of disorientation, but it was fading fast.

As he walked out of Nergal's Medical Centre, he saw a recognizable figure.

"Prospector," he said with a simple nod.

Prospector nodded back and motioned to the car, "We have arranged transport to your temporary housing facilities."

Akito nodded and stepped next to the car, getting into the passenger side while Prospector took his place behind the wheel.

After a few moments, the car pulled onto the major street and began heading away from the large facility.

A few moments later, Prospector cleared his throat.

"So, Tenkawa-san. What exactly do you intend to do now?"

Akito looked over at the man, not sure how to read his current mood.

"Since I probably lost most of my assets, being legally declared dead, I'll have to get on my feet again. I figured I'd ask Howmei-san if she needed help as a ground basis. If she doesn't, I'm not really sure what to do. I've lost most of my contacts."

Prospector nodded, "Yes, I can see how troublesome it would be."

There was an awkward pause as the two men sat in silence, "However."

Akito turned to look at the man again.

"You needn't not worry about not having any financial support. Akatsuki-san has informed me that due to your contract, a period of grace must pass before you receive…payment for your services."

Akito snorted at that comment, "A bribe to keep silent."

"Most likely, yes."

After a few more moments, the car stopped in front of a standard apartment complex.

"You will find your belongings and other things are already present. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Tenkawa-san."

Akito nodded slightly to the man and exited the car. He closed the door and stepped away as Prospector immediately took off once again.

Akito smirked at the prospect that little had changed for the money pincher. He still didn't waste much time dallying around, as it was a potential loss of profit.

He turned his attention to the six-story building towering in front of him. He reached inside his cape and into a vest pocket. Sure enough, he found a key waiting for him.

He retained his smirk as he pulled the key out to look at it. As he figured, the Prospector had made a little visit to the lab he was in and made a small deposit that he knew Akito would find.

He looked at the room number, noticing it was on the fourth floor. He turned, black overcape fluttering in the wind, as he walked to the stairwell. He slowly walked up three flights of stairs and exited onto the fourth floor.

He walked into a hallway and looked at his left. The door was labeled as 415. He looked further down to see that the room's numbers steadily grew smaller.

He turned to his right and walked for a moment before stopping in front of a door. The same number posted on the door matched the key; Room 438.

He slowly slid the key into the lock and turned it. After a moment, he pushed slightly at the door and it fell open.

From his position, he could see a small bag that continued what little possessions he still had sitting on a chair in front of a table.

He stepped into the room and took off his footwear. As he moved further in, he could see Lapis sitting on the opposite side of the table with a slightly uncomfortable look, staring directly in front of her.

As he rounded the corner, Akito could see exactly why.

Sitting on the edge of a bed in the next room, he could see Yurika looking around the room. Apparently, she hadn't heard him enter, which was perfectly fine with Akito.

He looked to Lapis and nodded as he silently made his way further into the apartment and into the main area. The apartment was an odd setup, but he didn't care. It was easily large enough to house both he and Lapis comfortably.

As he continued to look around, he noticed that the design was set up so the main room had a view out of the back of the complex that overlooked a small park. The main area was in the back left part of the apartment, while the bedroom and bathroom were located in the bottom left area, soon after entering the door. The kitchen and dining areas took the rest of the apartment on the right side. There was a rather large pantry and storage closet that took most of the upper right part of the floor plan, but it was fine. The kitchen wasn't large, but it wasn't exactly small either.

As he moved over to the table, he sat down quietly at the head of the table to Lapis' right.

After simply sitting in silence, they both could hear Yurika murmuring something to herself. After a few more moments, she slowly walked into the small open area in-between the bedroom and dining area. She paused and looked around before her eyes settled on who she was waiting for.

"Akito? When did you get in?"

Akito smirked, "About time you came out of your trance."

She frowned at him slightly, as he'd avoided her question with a smart remark of his own. She seemed to pout slightly and moved over to sit on his right, across from Lapis.

"Akito, I have something I want to talk to you about…"

Akito turned to look at her.

"Hm?"

Yurika lowered her head slightly and seemed to fidget. After a few seconds had passed, she looked up at him again.

"I was talking with my father…and…" she seemed to hesitate slightly.

Akito knew from experience that whenever her father was involved, more than a few things got pretty complicated.

"He wants us to move back into the family complex in the mountains." She seemed to hesitate again. "Well…actually he just wanted me to go back with him…"

Bingo.

She looked up apologetically at him, "I still don't know what his stance about everything is. He seems reluctant to let everything go back to the way they were."

Akito nodded.

"I just…I just wanted to tell you that I may be away for a while. I'll try to come back as soon as I can."

He knew that she'd always had strong ties with her father. It seemed only natural that he would want to shelter her after she was lost for three years.

Yurika seemed to slump slightly, as if a great weight was dumped from her shoulders. After a few moments, she stood and walked to Akito and embraced him from behind.

She tried to nuzzle the side of his face, but ended up simply placing her face near his.

"I love you, Akito."

She could feel him nod.

Akito smiled widely, "I know."

She parted and wiped away a few tears that were threatening to appear. She smiled sadly at him and simply walked out.

After a few minutes of silence, Lapis looked over at Akito.

"Was that wise?"

Akito glanced over at her, "She still has her loyalty to her family, which should be respected. I doubt she could simply brush her father off anyway."

Lapis nodded and looked at the door. She could still feel the bitterness that Akito had felt at hearing Yurika's words.

She, too, hoped the blue haired woman would make another appearance soon.

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"Captain Hoshino."

Ruri stood at attention in front of her superiors.

"We understand it that you are asking to leave the service. What would prompt such a rash action?"

Ruri seemed to smile slightly, "New developments have been raised. Instead of continuing to fight, I wish to live with my family again. It has been a while, after all."

Admiral Munetake nodded, "Yes, I do remember that Tenkawa took you in after the original Jovian conflict was settled. It seems he has now made a reappearance. However, we would like you to think over your decision before acting upon it. Tenkawa has just returned from the dead, leaving him with no standing or actual assets. It could be a while before he is able to get back on his feet."

Ruri nodded, "That is a logical concern, however, there is one thing that many people failed to see."

Several curious glances were directed at the white haired girl.

"When both he and his wife were confirmed as deceased, all their available accounts, assets and properties were transferred to my possession."

A few murmurs went around the room. Apparently, none of her superiors were expecting it.

"And as it stands, my continual service has also provided me with pay that has hardly been touched in a personal account."

Jun, who was also among her superiors, nodded, "That's a given."

Another Admiral spoke, "So you're saying that not only can you support yourself on your own, you will?"

"Precisely."

Several of the figureheads turned and looked at each other. They couldn't really stop her, even if they wanted to. It was her wish to leave the service in a formal withdrawal.

After a few moments, all attention returned to the platinum haired girl in front of the assembly.

"We cannot stop you, but we respect your wishes in informing the rest of us formally before taking your leave from us. It has been an honor, Captain Hoshino."

The men present all stood and saluted Ruri, who returned their attentions with a quick, stiff salute of her own.

Immediately, the air of subordinate and superior vanished, as things became friendly.

"We're going to miss you around here, Ruri-kun. You were an excellent officer, and it's a shame to see you go."

Ruri nodded at everyone whom she had a chance to meet personally.

"I'm sorry I can't stay, but I have other duties to fulfill. It was a pleasure seeing all of you one last time."

Jun came over, smiling, and gave her a slight hug. She looked at him questioningly as they parted, but Jun didn't let anything slip.

Admirals Munetake and Tsukiomi came over and each smiled at her. She nodded at the both of them and shook their hands before bowing to everyone in the room.

As she turned at took her leave, she could hear a few murmurs kick up again.

"There she goes…"

The men around Jun nodded.

"Let us hope she will be able to have a successful life outside of the military."

Everyone turned and watched as Ruri's shadow vanished around a corner, cutting them off from her almost completely.

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Akito had been rather surprised when another person knocked on the apartment door. When he opened it, he was even more surprised.

Ruri stood in front of him, all her belongings packed into two suitcases. He knew what that meant almost immediately.

He moved aside and motioned her to move inside. Ruri looked inside and stepped in slowly with a suitcase in each hand. She relinquished her load as soon as she felt Akito move over and grab each handle just next to hers.

He took each suitcase and moved the both of them into the bedroom.

Ruri thought it was a bit odd, but didn't say anything as he moved back out into the open.

"This is a bit of a surprise."

Ruri nodded, "Prospector-san gave me a ride here and told me that he'd already dropped you off earlier."

Akito glanced at both Lapis and Ruri. The two people he wasn't very good at hiding anything from were now going to be living with him. He wasn't really sure what would happen anymore.

Akito shifted slightly, both sets of golden eyes locked on him when they saw his movement.

"So…Ruri-chan…how is everything?"

Ruri nodded, "Just fine. I handed in my formal resignation almost immediately after the ceremony was complete, and met with my superiors just a little while ago."

Akito raised an eyebrow, "Why resign? I thought you didn't mind working with the UESF and Nergal."

"Things change."

Akito smirked, "So what did Akatsuki do to piss you off?"

"It isn't what you think. My current interests are helping you regain some of your dignity and help you with the establishment of your dreams once again."

Akito let a wan smile creep over his features, "I see. So you're here to protect and watch over me, are you Ruri?"

"In a sense, yes."

Ruri grinned back at him, but a sudden thought crossed Akito's mind.

"What about Omoikane?"

"What about him?"

"Since you're no longer than Captain of the Nadesico, where does that leave him?"

Her grin spread slightly, "I have a few surprises in store for you yet, Akito-san."

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As the days passed, Akito was beginning to regain some of what he'd lost. As each day passed, he woke up with even more clarity. His eyes were beginning to adjust and function on their own again and he could both hear and smell without the aid of the NIV.

After about a week, he had completely regained his senses of sight, hearing and smell. Not only that, but the small broken boson lines that inhabited his eyes were now gone, leaving his brown eyes perfectly intact. He was still forced to use the NIV, however, as he still lacked his senses of touch and taste.

However, with the NIV on, his other senses gained an incredible boost. His hearing was incredibly tuned, even hearing some things that normal humans wouldn't be able to hear. His eyesight reached around 40/40 vision, meaning he was able to see things extremely far away, as well as up close. His smell was incredibly accurate, even from meters away.

Ruri was amazed by most of the changes, while Lapis seemed to struggle slightly with them.

Things seemed to settle down into a routine for the three of them, however, one person was still missing from the ideal life that Ruri had originally wanted.

The one person who seemed to remain cheery, despite what happened. The one person who was flexible enough to take anything that came at them and support them through tough times.

Yurika was still absent. No conctact was made between them at all.

1 month later

Akito looked around the fairly small restaurant complex that Ruri had recently purchased. It was still ill furnished and in a fair state of disrepair, but it wasn't anything extremely serious.

He stepped through the empty service area and made his way to the kitchen. He took off his NIV and looked around the grimy area. There were a few places covered in mold and mildew, while others were covered in rust and dust.

It was pretty obvious that the small restaurant hadn't been used in ages. It probably hadn't been occupied since the start of the Jovian war.

As he looked around, he could hear footsteps behind him. He turned to look at his guest to see Ruri had also wandered in and was looking around.

"What do you think?"

Ruri looked at him with her brows furrowed slightly, "It stinks."

Akito smirked, "Well, we'll have to clean it up you know. Once we get everything repaired and the serving area refurbished, you should be able to work on the mainframe."

He could see her nod, even though he was still facing forward.

To say he was surprised would've been a total lie. He was down right shocked when he'd discovered that Ruri had managed to back up part of Omoikane's AI and a few system functions. She'd backed everything up on a rather small computer device that had massive storage and data capabilities.

He turned around and started to walk back out of the kitchen. He stopped in front of Ruri and put a hand on her head.

After a few moments, he walked back outside and began to gather all the supplies he'd need from the car.

When he returned, he had his hands full of cleaning chemicals and a few rags and steel wool pads.

He returned to the kitchen, set everything down and rolled up his sleeves.

It was time to get busy.

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Three days had passed and Akito had barely finished cleaning the kitchen out at the end of the third day.

The first day, he'd basically cleaned out all the mildew, rust and mold. It had taken him well into the night to even finish that job. The second was dedicated to a basic cleaning job. He went over all the metal with cleaning chemicals, and then polished the surface. He went over the tiles with bleach and a few other whitening products. He'd dusted the wood and then polished each surface and finished it off with a new protective coat.

After the second day, the kitchen smelled more of paint, bleach and other foul chemicals than it actually did anything else.

The third day was dedicated to the actual repair of anything broken in the kitchen. Lights that needed to be replaced. Doors that hung on one set of hinges. Broken tiles that were taken out and reset. It looked more like an actual kitchen than it did a run down meat locker.

And while Akito had concentrated on the kitchen, the girls had worked on the service area.

They couldn't really do many repairs or handle most of the things Akito could, so they concentrated on cleaning most of the walls and the floor.

After their initial work, Akito decided that they'd take the next day off to let the kitchen air out and relax.

On the fifth day, Akito was pleasantly surprised to see someone waiting in front of the restaurant.

Seiya, with a grin on plastered on his face, motioned for Akito to follow him around back. When they arrived at Seiya's truck, he could see a few of the old mechanic crew working to unload something.

"I heard you were opening this place, so the guys and I decided to give you a little help. We built this thing to help you out."

He motioned to the large metical box that was now on the ground.

"It's a custom made freezer, guaranteed to work better than any meat locker or cold storage facility around."

Akito grinned as he saw the four men struggle to put it on a small dolly.

"Thanks Seiya-san, you don't know how much this means to us."

Seiya smirked, "Well, we can't have you screwing everything up again can we? Leave it to us to help you with anything mechanical!" Seiya flexed an arm and started cackling like a mad man.

Akito could hear Ruri breathe something slightly, calling Seiya an idiot. He just smiled at her reaction and then moved over to help the others with his new freezer unit.

It took a little over three hours, but they were finally able to get the unit inside and hooked it up in an area that wouldn't pose a problem in the kitchen. The back end of the kitchen was fairly large, so the unit fit perfectly next to the massive pantry area.

On the other side of the pantry, there was easily enough room for a refrigerator unit. The only problem was that it was just behind the door. And the door swung into the kitchen, not out into the serving area.

All of the mechanics stayed and helped clean the service area, which cut down the time needed drastically. With six pairs of adult hands and two pairs of smaller hands, they easily finished the cleaning of the service room.

All that was left were the repairs to the walls and floor, and the eventual paint job that the entire complex would need.

As a form of thanks, Akito took everyone out to dinner at Howmei's restaurant. It was an excuse to get everyone from the Nadesico together in one spot to talk about and remember older and better times.

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Akito looked around the service area with a smile.

It had taken a week to get everything furnished and repaired, but they were finally done with the setup.

The kitchen had also been equipped with new appliances and equipment. He had also taken out the adjoining door completely. He had put up a small set of blue curtains that covered the upper part of the doorway. It gave him a sense of nostalgia, as the place he used to work at had the same setup between the service area and kitchen. However, the doorway wasn't the way to get orders out.

The restaurant had a small service platform that he could simply place the orders on and call out to his servers when they were ready. The servers would then come behind the counter, take the waiting orders and give them directly to the customers. The polished metal surfaced seemed rather out of place in a restaurant that was primarily wood and tile.

They had to hire a contractor to reinstall a newer counter at the front end of the kitchen, though, as the one that was there was rotting and weak.

The contractor had shown up with half the unit already built, and only took two days to install the new counter. Now, resting upon the upper platform, was an older style cash register. He wasn't sure why, but he liked the classic registers more than the modern one. According to who he'd purchased it from, it was a model from the late 21st century.

At the end of the second week, everything was inside the complex was in order. The outside still needed to be repaired and fixed, but that was a job that Akito would leave to the professionals.

He hired a team to work on the exterior of the two-story complex, while he, Lapis and Ruri worked on the small rooms upstairs.

They still lived out of the small one room apartment, despite almost two months having passed. Akito had wanted to get a restaurant complex that had rooms upstairs, which Ruri found relatively easily.

The rooms seemed to fair much better than the actual restaurant. There was only a thick layer of dust over everything and a few chips and cracks in the white paint.

They had finished cleaning everything inside the upper rooms at about the same time the workers finished with the outside of the complex. Akito had decided to leave the chips and cracks in the paint. He claimed that it made the surrounding area seem more used and homely than anything else.

With everything set to move in, they simply needed to find furniture that each of them liked to place in the upstairs living area.

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Akito looked around at all the bland and rather boring pieces of furniture in the store.

So far, the three of them had only found a set of dressers, a medium sized book shelf unit, a small gathering table, and one normal storage shelf that they could agree on.

None of them had seen anything else they liked.

Akito had also purchased a large bed frame and mattress set up for the larger bedroom in the upstairs living quarters. He'd left the girls to decide what they would want, since they would be sharing the other room.

He continued to look around rather dully until he saw a figure approaching him. He smirked as he saw who it was.

"Hello, Akito-san. I'm glad to see you're doing well."

Akito nodded, "It's been a while. I was rather surprised that you chose to stay on the Earth instead of help out Ruri-chan."

"I still have my duties to fulfill to the company who hired me. I can't simply walk out on a contract like I used to be able to."

He nodded, "So how have things been going?"

"Fairly well. I've done well enough, how about you?"

"Well…the girls and I were looking for some new furniture."

"Oh yes! I heard from Howmei-san that you were opening a new restaurant at the edge of town. How are things going with that?"

"Well…we haven't really opened officially. The living area still needs furnishings and we haven't really ordered any of the supplies we need yet."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that."

Akito shook his head, "Don't worry about it, it's only been a couple weeks since we started working on the place. It's only natural."

The female turned with a nod, "Well, I'll let you get back to your shopping. It was nice seeing you again."

"Yea, it was nice seeing you too."

The purple haired woman turned and started walking away just as Ruri and Lapis arrived.

"Was that Megumi-san?"

Akito nodded without turning around, "Did you two see anything else?"

"No…not really…"

Akito shrugged and turned, "Then let's fill out our order and have them deliver it tomorrow."

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Akito looked around the living area. They'd just finished putting all the furniture in place, and the delivery crews had just left.

The only thing they were really missing was a form of outside communication or entertainment. He figured a TV set and new phone wouldn't be that hard to find. After a few moments of simply standing around, he moved and walked downstairs and out of the complex.

He returned a few hours later with a newer style holographic phone and a TV of moderate size.

As he looked around after setting both devices up, he still couldn't shake the feeling he had.

The feeling that something was missing. The feeling of loss. The feeling of emptiness.

The feeling that made the place a true home.

The feeling of love.

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As the days passed, things seemed to slow down.

Akito had taken to buying any and all ingredients he knew he would need for the fairly small menu. He only had a few recipes remaining of his original creations, but he could still make many more dishes due to his experience.

While Akito was out and about, Lapis and Ruri remained at the complex. Both were working on the computer mainframe that would run the restaurant.

Omoikane would round off the central power grid of the complex and support any and all functions inside. The system would also include a rather hefty security system.

They still had many ideas on how to program and set up the system, but they were having problems conceptualizing the design.

After a few days, Ruri had simply called Seiya in for his expertise. With the first day, with Seiya's help, they were able to organize and finalize the perfect system. It would make the restaurant virtually self reliant aside from the actual service and cooking.

Ruri thanked Seiya for his help and the older man said it was no problem. He still enjoyed getting to work with both Ruri and Omoikane, so he hadn't really considered it a problem in the least.

Within the week of the final design being produced, the new system went online. Seiya had helped with the construction as well, leaving most of the fine tuning work to Ruri and Lapis.

The first time it was booted up, the system drained a fair amount of power from the complex. However, Seiya and the girls also designed and installed an energy converter and power regulator into the system. The energy converter ran off of both solar energy and wind power, leaving the restaurant plenty of electrical energy due to the power regulator.

It had taken over three months, but the restaurant was ready to open.

The mainframe was up and running, all the ingredients were ready to be used and the equipment and supplies had all been installed.

Akito sighed, as he realized they hadn't given a name to the place yet.

For some reason, he only felt at peace in the kitchen. When he was alone or wasn't busy, things seemed to catch up with him.

Meaning his actions as a cook were only a conditional cover for his mind to wander away from his problems.

Yet, he was always at peace while cooking. He was at peace here. Even if it was superficial.

He smirked as he slowly put together the two meanings.

Iterim Serenity

That would be the name of the new establishment.

He closed his eyes and sighed as stared at the ceiling from the bed. He felt as if a part of his were still missing. He had both Ruri's and Lapis' support, but it just wasn't the same without her.

His thoughts were interrupted as a call came to the lines. He slowly stood up and made his way to the main living area. After a few moments of hesitating, he opened the line and accepted the call.

A few seconds later, he could see a visual of Inez Fressange before him, with a smirk on her face.

"I'm glad you finally decided to get a phone, Akito-kun. We've been trying to contact you for a few days now."

He stared at her questioningly, "Then why didn't you leave a message?"

"Because you asked us to keep this to ourselves, correct?"

Akito immediately knew the reason for the call.

"A new system?"

Inez nodded, "We're still having a few problems with the overall application of a treatment, but once it becomes finalized, things should be much easier."

"I see…"

"We're also ready to continue with your treatment stages. That is the main reason for this call, along with the new system."

Akito nodded, "I can come in tomorrow."

"Wonderful, we'll have everything prepped and set. You do know your way to the lab we used before, correct?"

"I know my way around. Alright Inez, thanks."

The figure nodded and then simply blinked out.

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Once again, Akito woke up rather disoriented and with a slight headache.

He wasn't sure how long he was out, but it felt exactly like it had the first time. Only this time, he could see and hear on his own when he awakened.

"The process should be able the same, Akito-kun. We aren't sure how long things will take."

Akito nodded.

"Oh, here."

Yamasaki stepped forward and placed a rather small object in Akito's hand.

Akito raised his eyebrow, "A ring?"

"Well, you said you wanted it small, Tenkawa-kun."

He shrugged and put his NIV back on.

"We worked on it so it would fit exactly what you described. A system that is a one way interaction. It has all the effects on her with none of you. It would be best to use your NIV for a while before you switch over to the new system."

Akito nodded, "Understood."

"We'll let you know of any further progress made on our other project."

Akito nodded again and slowly stood.

"Thanks for everything."

With that, he simply walked out of the lab.

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Akito felt a lot more disoriented every time he woke up from an overnight sleep.

The first time he noticed it was after five days. There was a small tingling, numb sensation that was running down his legs. On the sixth, it was the same sensation in his arms. After a week, he felt it all over his body.

As the days passed, the sensation grew. Finally it felt like needles were prickling over his body constantly.

After close to 17 days later, he was actually able to feel things again. The same with his sense of taste.

He figured it was because of the complex nature of both senses. Each nerve ending, each taste bud, everything associated with both senses had to be totally reworked and activated.

With that thought in mind, it was only logical that it would take twice as long as the other senses, since they were far more complex.

Another thing that Akito noticed was that with the addition of his senses, the small broken boson lines were actually forming into normal lines. They were still far more complex than the ones he had seen on Yurika and Inez, but they truly symbolized what he went through.

And not only were the lines solid, they also acted as they had in the past. Only showing themselves at times of extreme emotion or when he was prepping for a jump.

It gave Akito a sense of normality about himself, which he was relieved to have once again.

Of course, it had taken near three months for everything to fall back into place.

As Akito pulled in front of the restaurant, he couldn't help but smile.

Ruri had kept everything and simply let her money and assets grow as the years had passed. In addition to that, she was receiving a steady stream of pay for her services as Captain.

As a result, she had a hefty amount of money simply waiting around for her eventual return.

Even with buying the complex, furnishing it, buying ingredients and supplies and purchasing everything and anything necessary for the mainframe, Ruri hadn't even dipped into half of the savings she'd accumulated.

Akito wasn't sure, but he could almost sense that she had left her accounts that way for a reason. It was as if she knew that she would find them again and return to be with them.

Akito, himself, also had a hefty amount still sitting in his new account. The pay he'd received from Nergal was incredible. He hadn't expected the amount that Akatsuki had devoted to him.

With that payment, Akito had bought the car he now drove around in. It wasn't much, but it was a form of transportation.

He had pretty much everything he could've wished for, aside from one thing.

Yurika still hadn't managed to contact him at all.

He was starting to come to terms with what he now suspected was the truth.

Admiral Misumaru, after hearing of Akito's deeds and dealings, would be very reluctant to simply let his daughter return to him. That much had already been proved since Yurika hadn't been able to contact Akito in any way for over three months.

In fact, it was nearing the fourth month.

That was why he only felt a sense of normalcy about himself, because it wasn't real without Yurika.

As he stepped out of the car, he looked in the direction of the mountains in the distance. After staring at the landscape for a few moments, he moved into the restaurant to rest.

After all, they would be opening in three days.

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With nothing left to really do, the three of them simply had to prepare for the opening. Although the preparations were complete on the first day, the other two days were simply for relaxing purposes.

It wouldn't do to have all three of them stressed out or weary at the opening of the restaurant.

Akito smirked as he saw both Lapis and Ruri sitting in front of the mainframe. Both were interfacing with it and performing final checks.

He'd already gone through the kitchen and checked through all his ingredients and his needed utensils and equipment.

They were opening tomorrow, so he didn't have much to worry about.

He doubted that many customers would come in anyway, but he would still need to attract business.

Akito turned away from the girls and moved into the bedroom. He figured he'd get to sleep early and double check everything in the morning.

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Akito violently awoke as he heard loud sirens coming from the mainframe in the room downstairs. They had put it down stairs to give Ruri and Lapis easier access to it while they were open, as well as installed a smaller unit upstairs that still allowed them to interface with Omoikane directly.

It was obvious Omoikane was running just fine, as the sirens continued to go off. There was an intruder in the complex.

Akito quickly ran out of the room, while yelling at Lapis and Ruri to stay upstairs. He didn't want them getting involved if he could help it.

He ran downstairs into the kitchen, as the stairway upstairs was just by the backdoor. He quickly grabbed a knife from the cutting block and slowly made his way to front. He looked out of the service platform to see a figure looking around.

Whoever it was, they appeared to be fairly scared and confused. Akito crept to the doorway and ducked into the dining area. After standing in the shadows, he observed the cloaked figure as they looked around for a while longer before seeing the small blinking light in the side room where the Omoikane's mainframe was located. The person quickly, and clumsily, moved to the area and opened the wooden shoji door to look at the mainframe.

After looking around it in confusion, Akito took the opportunity to strike. He swiftly moved in-between each table and reached his target in a matter of seconds.

He pulled the knife and leveled it in front of the person's neck after grabbing their arm and twisting it behind them. He heard a slight squeak of surprise from his target and a groan. The person knew that they'd been caught.

"Omoikane, lights. And turn off the alarm."

Immediately, the sound stopped and the lights came flickering on. After a few moments, Akito could heard footsteps coming down the stairs and continue through the kitchen. He turned his head slightly enough to see that both Lapis and Ruri now stood in the doorway to the kitchen with looks of confusion and fright.

"Who are you?"

The cloaked figure remained silent as Akito pressed the blade closer to the person.

"I asked you a question, now answer it before I lose my patience."

The figure lowered their head and Akito could hear a small sob escape the lips of whoever it was. It was pretty obvious to him at this point it was either someone fairly young, or a woman scared out of her wits.

He couldn't take any chances, though. He let his grip on their arm fade and lowered the knife as he spun the figure around.

He leveled the knife at the figure again, but this time at their chest. The lower part of the person's face was visible, and showed that they were chewing on their lower lip while tears streaked down their face.

Akito, finally fed up with the secrecy, pulled the cloak's hood down and stared at who stood before him.

Teal blue eyes stared back at him. Pain, fright, relief and a few other emotions swimming in them. Her blue hair was tied behind her in a bun.

Ruri gasped at the sight of the woman in front of all of them. Lapis could only stare on in confusion.

Akito immediately set the knife on the nearest available flat surface and continued to stare.

The only sounds present were the sounds of the woman in front of them sobbing quietly. After a few moments, she simply hurled herself at Akito and encased him in a bone crushing hug.

Akito, finally regaining some of his wits, looked down.

"Yurika? What are you doing here? Why did you break in?"

He could feel her head shift in a shaking motion and her sobs only grew louder. Akito wrapped his arms around her and slowly led the both of them over to one of the booths against the wall. He gently set her down and sat down across from her.

She quickly grabbed his hand, since she no longer had him near her.

After a few minutes, Yurika seemed to settle down. She looked up at Akito, eyes red, with a small smile on her face.

"I finally found you."

Akito repeated his question from earlier, "What are you doing here?"

"Father wouldn't let me come back or communicate with you. He said it wasn't right." Yurika shook her head, near tears forming. "He also kept me in the house, saying that he wanted to watch over me. He wouldn't let me leave."

Akito nodded. It seemed like he was right on the money again about her father. The man was a bit predictable.

"I was really depressed and shocked that father wouldn't allow me even to go outside. He claimed that it was in my best interests to stay there with him. For the first month, it didn't really seem all that bad. But things started to go downhill…

"I don't really know how much time passed before I finally called Jun and asked him for his help. He was able to distract father and the others around the house to let me escape. That was three days ago. He said that he knew you were opening a restaurant, as Ruri-chan had told him about it, but he didn't know where.

"I was able to get into contact with Megumi-san yesterday and she told me that you were setting up out here. That you yourself had confirmed it when you met while shopping."

Akito nodded.

"I didn't know exactly what to do…I just got here when I came in, since I had to walk here. I didn't want my father to have any open inlets to allow him to trace where I went."

Yurika looked at the three of them, seemingly finished with her explanation.

"I've missed you all so much!" she cried as she quickly got up and latched onto Akito again. Renewed sobs could be heard, as she continued to cry.

Akito simply held her and motioned for the two girls to go back upstairs. They both nodded and moved out of the room.

"We'll get everything straightened out tomorrow, Yurika. You need to rest. Come upstairs."

Akito gently lifted her and guided her to and up the stairs into the living area. He swiftly made his way to the bedroom and gently set her down on the bed. She refused to let go of him, though, as if she feared he would leave her.

Akito removed himself from her grasp and took off the cloak that was covering her body. He was slightly surprised to see that her clothes seemed utterly filthy. He hadn't noticed before, but so did her face.

He sat on the bed with his back against the wall and simply watched as Yurika crawled over to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He smirked as she seemed to nuzzle him and relaxed into a more comfortable position.

After a few moments, he could hear her slowed rate of breathing, which meant she was already asleep.

Akito simply rested his head against the wall and stared at the ceiling.

It was interesting how things always seemed to go right. Although it weirded him out a little bit.

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Yurika woke up in the morning and looked at her surroundings. She hadn't really had a good chance to look around since she was so fixated on one thing.

And that one thing was grinning at her from his position next to her. She smiled back at him and shifted to give him a kiss.

As they were about to make contact, a light knock on the door alerted them to a guest outside.

Akito got up, much to Yurika's disappointment, and opened the door to see Ruri.

"It's half past ten in the morning. I thought you were going to open today."

Akito shook his head, "We'll do it tomorrow." Akito motioned to Yurika with his head and Ruri understood.

"Very well."

Ruri slowly turned away and Akito turned to face his wife.

"You need to get cleaned up."

It was that moment that Yurika finally noticed what was different about him.

"What happened to your visor?"

Akito waved his hand, "We'll explain everything after you get a chance to freshen up."

Akito motioned for her to follow him and led her to the bathroom. All he could offer her in terms of clothes were a loose shirt and a pair of shorts. She took them and quickly took his advice and began to clean herself.

After about 15 minutes, Yurika stepped out of the bathroom in clothes that didn't suit her in the least. Her hair was still slightly wet, but she didn't seem to care. She sat down in front of Akito. They both stared at each other for a few moments before he turned his head to the stairs.

"Is the tea ready yet, Ruri-chan?" he called.

A muffled reply followed, "In a minute."

After another few minutes, Ruri came upstairs with a kettle in her hand while Lapis followed with four tea glasses.

After serving them tea, Akito looked back to Yurika.

"We already know of your experiences from your short description last night, so let's get down to what we've been doing." He motioned around him, "As you can see, we've been a bit busy. We finally finished all preparations, repairs and anything else needed only a few days ago."

Yurika looked around the dull room with her eyes wide.

"We had some help from Seiya and the mechanic crew when we first started out, and that was a big help. Everything else took a fairly decent amount of time. We actually purchased the building a little more than three months ago, and it's just now ready to open. The place was in shambles when we arrived."

Ruri nodded while Lapis looked on the whole proceedings with a neutral face.

"Ruri-chan managed to save some of Omoikane, and he now essentially runs the restaurant. We only have to do what is required of normal establishment staff members. Ruri and Lapis were going to make a few rounds to make sure the restaurant still had a sociable approach to it."

Yurika seemed to understand, and nodded.

Akito went on to explain many other details about the business and what it would be like, while Yurika listened in rapt attention. She had, after all, been away from Akito for almost a quarter of a year.

As he drew to a close, Akito looked at Yurika with a smirk.

"And for the last bit of information, Inez-san and Yamasaki have been rather…busy."

Yurika's memory suddenly perked, "So the both of them have actually help you recover?"

"Yes," he replied with a nod, "Just last week, I finally gained control over my senses of taste and touch. It took them a bit longer because they were far more complicated than my other senses."

"But what about Lapis-chan?"

"Currently, both of them are working on a treatment for Lapis as well. They called it a 'nanomachine augmentation process' or NAP for short. They used the same principles on me and were able to restore normal processes to my mind through them. It felt a little odd at first, but I've gotten used to it."

Akito raised a hand, "This is currently the newer system that they designed. It's similar to the way the NIV works, but it only works one way. With my senses restored, I no longer have to fully rely on Lapis, but she still needs me. However, I have a feeling I'll be using the NIV more as the restaurant opens, just because it has more applications."

Yurika nodded, "What about you Ruri-chan? What have you been up to?"

Ruri shrugged, "Pretty much the same as Akito-san. Only I had to turn in my formal resignation to my superiors. They weren't too happy about it, but they understood why."

Yurika nodded again, "I can understand that. You are an irreplaceable part of their network."

After a slight pause, no one could really think of anything to say.

The silence was broken by a few soft spoken words.

"So…what now?"

Everyone turned to Lapis, who had asked the question. They all nodded at each other and seemed to sigh.

Indeed…what was to come next?

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1 year later

Things were busy during the lunch time rush. Akito had to hurry from place to place in the kitchen and rush from dish to dish to complete them.

At the same time, he was able to complete four dishes at once as Lapis put the final touches on the ones he needed help finishing.

"Order up!"

He set all four plates onto the metal serving platform and turned back to his duties. He concentrated for a second and began to see in two perspectives again. After a few mental commands, he and Lapis set about working in the kitchen again, as the surplus of orders didn't seem to be slowing down.

On days like these, he was glad to have kept the NIV. It helped out tremendously.

As the lunch rush continued for another few hours, Akito was pushed to the brink of madness. At one point, he had a list of 23 different orders that needed to be made and then distributed.

Never had he imagined that Interim Serenity would've done so well. He had hoped for a small brand of success, but nothing like this.

Things finally seemed to slow down at about four in the afternoon, leaving Akito to take a quick break. He pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and drained half of it in a few seconds.

The cold liquid did a fair deal of good, as he was still trying to relax.

A pair of slender arms soon encased him from behind, and he smiled. He put a hand on one of hers and then slowly lifted the cold bottle to her cheek. She shrieked slightly from the sudden cold and pulled away.

He turned around to see a hurt and pouty look from his wife. He chuckled slightly as she made a face at him and walked away. He could also sense Lapis smiling from the other side of the kitchen.

The girl had been given free range over her emotions again, thanks to both Inez and Yamasaki. It happened somewhere around four months after they finished with his procedures. It had taken the girl a while to adjust to her new feelings, but she had finally gotten thing hang of it.

Now, eight months later, she was just like any other normal girl. The only difference was, she was still connected to Akito in one sense or another.

Yurika had been slightly jealous of their relationship, even though she knew it wasn't anything romantic. She wished she could share herself with him the same way Lapis could.

Akito had found that living with three women was more than a handful. He'd have to get up very early in order to have any kind of privacy in the bathroom, as well as wait till the rest of them were done with their cleaning at night.

That didn't stop Yurika from sneaking in on him once in a while, though.

Through the course of opening his little establishment, Akito had met with many people he hadn't seen in a while.

Prospector and Ryoko stopped by on occasion to see how things were going, as well as to chat with everyone. Hari was also a frequent guest, but it was more for another reason that Akito and Yurika could understand.

However, Ruri had told the both of them that she had no real interest in the boy; that she had befriended and protected him because he was like her. She didn't want him to experience the same things she had.

Things were hectic, but they were welcomed. It wasn't the kind of mass hysteria that was so common on the Nadesico during the war, which was exactly why Akito enjoyed it.

He had had his problems, however. One of them was in the form of his angered father-in-law. When the Admiral had learned of his daughter's escape and return to Tenkawa, he was initially furious. He had tried to protect her from the man that he had seen as dangerous, but she disregarded his insight.

At first, there was a fair amount of hostility between Akito and the Admiral, but it had settled after a few trips to the restaurant and family meetings after dinner. Yurika's father was back to his normal self, doting upon his daughter and approving of Akito's actions and intentions.

Akito was glad that was over.

He turned and looked out the service platform as he noticed that only a few customers were left in the shop. He took the chance to quickly through a late lunch together and ate it hurriedly, as he knew things would pick up again around dinner.

Yurika had recommended they expand and hire new staff, but Akito was against it. He liked where they were and the crowd of customers that they attracted. Most of them were returning favorites that Akito had grown to know.

He sighed as he continued to eat in silence, but was interrupted again as Ruri walked through the door. She, too, seemed fairly exhausted. While her waitressing duties were halved due to Omoikane's system, she still worked as a normal waitress. Taking orders to the customers, billing them accordingly, giving them any change and also giving them any service they requested.

She seemed to collapse next to him with her head in her arms.

She groaned slightly as she shifted to look at him.

"Why are Thursdays always so busy during lunch?"

Akito shrugged. It was a mystery to him as well. Thursday afternoon was one of the busiest times in the restaurant, and he could never figure out why. Every other day seemed to pass by at a slow and set pace, but all of that went out the window on Thursday.

After a few more moments of silence, Yurika made a reappearance from upstairs. She wrapped both Akito and Ruri in a hug. Lapis, apparently, had moved upstairs to relax and watch a little TV before the dinner crowd started coming.

It had become a sort of tradition to the odd family. They would relax, doing whatever they wanted in-between crowds and shifts.

Akito shifted his head slightly to give Yurika a toothy smile. She laughed at him, since his mouth still held a bit of food.

Yurika sat down next to her husband and leaned against his shoulder.

"Have you heard anything from Inez-san yet?"

Akito shook his head as he took another bite.

"I wonder if it'll be a boy or girl…"

Akito shrugged as he continued to delve into his food.

After a few moments of silence, a small window flashed in front of Ruri. She lifted her head and groaned slightly as she lifted herself off the stool and moved outside.

Soon after, a new order flashed in front of Akito. He took another quick bite and set his plate aside to get busy on the new order. Luckily, it was something a customer had ordered a little under an hour ago, so he still had enough leftovers to make a new plate. He added the necessary ingredients and put the food in the oven for a few minutes before pulling it out.

"Order up!"

He set the plate on the service platform and watched as Ruri took it to the lone customer in the back. After a few moments, a small conversation could be heard.

Akito looked out of the small kitchen food platform to see someone in uniform sitting in a booth across from Ruri. She seemed to be blushing, as the stranger continued to talk.

The gentleman had slicked back hair, aside from a wide sweep of black hair on the left side of his head. He seemed to be quite entertained simply by talking with Ruri. Akito wondered if it was another person she met while she was still in command of the Nadesico before they arrived back.

He returned to his seat to see that his wife was picking at his food, waiting for him to return. He smiled as he sat down next to her, and took a bite a food that she held out for him.

After a few moments, she relinquished control of his meal back over to him and simply rested her head against his shoulder.

He could hear a little bit of laughter pick up from outside and smirked.

As he finished his meal, he leaned back slightly and couldn't help but think how well things had turned out.

Most of his dreams had finally come true, despite the numerous set backs. And new dreams were being created.

Even though they had Ruri and Lapis, Akito and Yurika were looking forward to their own new addition to the family. And it would still be a few months yet before the new addition arrived.

Akito took off the NIV and looked down at Yurika. She smiled back up at him with her usual radiance.

After a few moments of silence, their lips met in a soft kiss.

At that moment, Akito couldn't think of anything else in the world, let alone the universe, that he wanted more.

He finally had a place where he belonged.

A/N: Well, new epilogue. It's much more descriptive and covers about the same basis of my other, shorter epilogue. Hell, the epilogue is only a few pages short of being the same length as the original fiction.

Now with this project finally completed, I can look on to working on Destiny's Beginning again.

With that in mind, I bid you all farewell.

Peace.