WHAT IS THIS 3 chapters at the onset? Clearly I can't stop thinking about this noise.

Not too much preamble for ya, we can jump right in today..


It seemed that time was passing slowly for Kenshin, but he was fairly convinced that it was related more to his recovery than anything else. He wasn't used to being laid up in bed for days at a time, and while he would typically have pushed himself back into activity as soon as he could function, this time he was under too much supervision to get away with it. Plus, there was really nowhere to go.

In the week or so since his rescue, the male crew members had all filtered through the infirmary to get a look at him and in some instances make small talk. One, he believed his name was Yahiko, visited on presumptions of checking the functionality of the door mechanisms, mumbling about it being necessary to confirm Kenshin hadn't been secretly messing with the system when he was unsupervised. But with the consistent rotating guard that was predominantly made up by Aoshi, there was little cause for alarm and Yahiko knew it. Such was their way, it appeared to Kenshin - they were curious and protective, but trying to maintain a facade of detachment around him. He appreciated that. It would eventually make things easier.

But a few things were not making themselves easier.

Captain Kamiya had not returned to visit him since their first encounter. Kenshin was well aware of her presence on the ship though, he could feel the bright sparkle of her aura as it flitted about the vessel. Her comfort and ease were tantalizing to him, beckoning to his senses. More than once he had unthinkingly attempted to leave his pseudo-prison and seek her out, only to stop himself when the watchful eye of his keeper would flash up from their book or papers to warn him wordlessly. He would retreat back to a chair or his bed, knowing that his energetic reserves were still replenishing and he did not have the strength to wander aimlessly through a foreign ship for very long anyway.

Throughout the week he had managed to glean a fair amount of information from his supervisors, and as they rotated he was beginning to notice that there was an amount of trust being slowly extended to him. At first only Aoshi had stayed with him, being relieved for breaks by one called Sanosuke who was apparently the pilot. Both regarded him with a reserved suspicion, but Sano had begun to warm up to him on his third or fourth rotation. It was from him that he gained an understanding of the ship's size, its capabilities, and trajectory. He had been dutifully informed of the captain's plan to return him, if he wished, to the planet where the crew of the ship he had been on were transported to before the explosion. Though it had certainly been an open door meant to encourage his affirmative response, Kenshin's silence had been the only reply. But the knowledge that he was not a prisoner was encouraging and he filed it away along with the rest of the information given to him about the attack. He had confirmed a few of their questions, but nothing very substantial.

He couldn't help but feel like it was best not to get this little crew involved.

After a few days he had a new guard, the teen who had fretted over the safety of the door. He was certainly younger than his crewmates, but made up for it in spades with his spitfire attitude and youthful ego. He watched Kenshin with body language similar to that of a concerned rabbit in the face of a wolf, but nonetheless withstood the cautious fear and projected a strong front. It seemed Yahiko, like the captain, had some ki sensing abilities that made him just enough aware of what lay beneath Kenshin's surface. Kenshin had not taken advantage of this change in guard to dig for more info or freedom, and he hoped that his complacency would be reported back to the mysterious captain.

Small tokens had been offered without his prompting. The day after he fully awoke for the second time his stoic guard, Aoshi, had directed him to a washroom attached to the infirmary. There was a small tub and shower, economically sized but big enough for a patient who needed to soak. A stack of fresh clothing had been provided as well. When he had finished a long bathing routine and tugged on the loose breeches and tunic, he had been too exhausted from the ordeal to notice his old clothes had been whisked away. It had been months since Kenshin had properly bathed and he relished in the feeling of being clean as sleep took him again.

Another evening a petite, shy looking girl came to the room with that watchful boy, Yahiko, close behind her. Aoshi had pretended to be engrossed in his book as the girl very cautiously picked her way over to his bed, her shadow never removing its intense stare from Kenshin's form. With trembling hands the girl had held out a tray with something sweet and steaming on it. A real bread roll, with sugar and butter! Kenshin's mouth had instantly started to salivate as he gingerly took the plate with eyes almost as wide as the girl's. He had been stunned momentarily but after the shock wore off some, he had turned his purple eyes back to the delivery angel and breathlessly voiced his thanks. She nodded and scurried out of the room again, a deep blush causing her cheeks to go scarlet as she tried to hide it. Kenshin didn't notice Yahiko's glare soften as he left with the girl, as he was too intent on the rare treat in his hands and savoring every smell and taste it provided.

Just who was this crew, and how did they manage to have bread? The mystery seemed to make the roll sweeter.

Towards the end of the week it seemed like his efforts were finally bearing fruit, because the next person who came to keep him company as Aoshi stepped into the hall was a woman. Not the captain, but someone important enough to receive a respectful half-bow from Aoshi. Her touch was familiar and knowledgeable - it clicked, and he looked up at his physician with startled amethyst eyes.

"You've been healing me." He stated in the warm tenor of his fully-recovered voice. It was both a statement and a question, her eyes darting up to his before returning to her watch where she was checking the beat of his pulse against time.

"Yes," Her answer was brusk but he sensed it was not personal. Something was bothering this woman, but it wasn't him.

"I have sensed you before, but we have not yet met. My name is Kenshin Himura," He offered politely, a budding hope inside him wondering if her presence was a sign that his confinement might be drawing to an end.

She paused, searching his face before primly seating herself in the garish floral chair beside his bed. "I have been in here periodically to check on your progress, at times when you were asleep. We don't often allow people on board without some screening, so consider this past week your due process." Kenshin sunk back into his pillows and felt himself relax a little.

"How did I do?" He asked genuinely, his eyes eagerly searching hers for any hint of what her reply might be.

"Well, the captain seems to appreciate that your condition is stabilizing and that your healing would accelerate if we allowed you freer movement." The doctor halted before continuing, almost like she was mentally checking what she was allowed to say. "And the reports of your guards have given her reason to believe that you will not do this crew or ship harm if you're permitted access to it." There it was, even in vague fringes of conversation - mention of the captain's approval of him made his fingers twitch where they rested on the blanket.

"That's great news, that it is," A smile brightened his face and Megumi was startled to find herself thinking about how handsome he was, and how sweet his manners were. His way of speaking had become more familiar, she was told, the longer he had been with them. It had an old feeling to it, like he came from an altogether different reality than they did.

Kenshin watched as she eventually nodded, standing up and gathering a clipboard and her stethoscope. She strode to the door and as her graceful hand touched the panel to open it, she turned her head to speak over her shoulder at him. "The captain will be down to collect you shortly for a tour. Welcome aboard, Mr. Himura."

The daze her words put him in kept him from noticing as she slipped out the door, and left him totally alone for the first time in a week.


Kaoru was on the bridge when Megumi found her, staring out into space with her hands behind her back. It was picturesque and for a moment the doctor hesitated, not wanting to break the captain from her thoughts. Casually she cleared her throat, and was rewarded by a little twist of the captain's upper body to look back at her.

"How's our patient?" Karou asked, not bothering to hide her curiosity. There was something that wouldn't let her rest about the newcomer, something that followed her all over the ship. It was like he could see her from his confines in the infirmary, but she knew it had to be the spectre of their connection driving her to think so. She still didn't quite understand the mechanism inside them that had garnered such a heated first encounter, but it was not for lack of trying. She had been going through her father's oldest books and meditating hard to try and discover the secrets hidden in the nonverbal exchange she'd had with Kenshin, but so far her efforts had turned up nothing. She wished her father was here to ask in person.

Megumi regarded Kaoru with a thoughtful glance before raising her chin and putting on her more professional airs. It took careful effort for Kaoru not to snort at the woman's change in demeanor. "He is ready," The doctor said with a curt nod. "I think he has enough strength by now to walk without exhausting himself, and you were right, he is very intrigued by the ship," and you, though she did not say the last part out loud, she didn't think she would have to. Kaoru had been getting reports from Kenshin's guard and knew well enough that while he was not keen on sharing his own background, he seemed discretely hungry for information about the Cassiopeia and its crew. Particularly, Megumi noted with an internal smirk, the Cassiopeia's striking captain.

Kaoru nodded in reply and released her clasped hands to briefly rub them in front of her, as though preparing herself for the task ahead. "Right. Maybe this tour will push him to be a little more comfortable with us. I think he wants to tell his story, we just have to make the right space for him to do it. That starts with feeling like a part of the group. Please have Yahiko begin preparing the evening meal, from what I hear Kenshin prefers the brat's cooking," Kaoru made a face at Megumi's surprised look. "It's not like any of us are better!" She tossed over her shoulder at the woman as she passed her by.

It was time to give her guest a tour.


Kaoru hadn't expected Kenshin to be up and about when she opened the door to the infirmary. He was trying his best to look like he was idly inspecting a shelf of books, but she could tell by the crackle in his aura that he was excited. It was demure, like a child trying to hold themself back from looking like they wanted something, but quite undeniable at the same time. He turned halfway to greet her and they passed the first moment in silence as they studied one another.

It was the first time he had seen her with his full mental faculties, and she him. Without her permission her eyes drifted down his body and back up again, taking in the fit of the clothes on him 'Sano's spare set' her brain supplied uselessly. The length of the pants on Kenshin's shorter legs had been managed by rolling the bottom cuff a few times, and the same with the arms of the shirt. They were pushed up to his elbows to reveal one bandaged forearm and another bearing trim but visible muscles. His hands were stuffed into his pockets and his socks slid on the floor as he turned fully to face her.

She only just registered his own lingering appraisal as she finished hers, catching his deep purple eyes flit back to her face not quite quickly enough to disguise his investigation. She suddenly wished she had put on something nicer than her own baggy men's tunic and breeches, but with a firm 'tsk' and a dignified raise of her chin, she fought back those ideas and convinced herself quite quickly that as captain, she could look however she wished and it did not matter - she was still in charge.

"Did anyone give you boots?" She asked a little too rapidly, as though it was not what she necessarily meant to start with. She rolled hereyes internally, 'yeah, so very in charge'. Something a little more friendly would be nice, but instead she had blurted out that. He seemed momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered.

"No they have not, but I have not asked, that I haven't." Kaoru soaked in his mode of speaking, noting that it was mindly self-deprecating. It had been described to her, but hearing it in person sent a strange thrill down her spine. His tone and comfortable-but-unusual way of communicating felt very personal for what should have been a rather impersonal acquaintance.

"I see. Well, I know there are some slippers in here somewhere.." She trailed off as she broke eye contact with him to look around the room, turning to inspect the various nooks and crannies around them. "Ah," She puffed with satisfaction, "Here," and she strode a few paces to a small cabinet on the floor which was already open. Inside there was a pile of soft shoes and Kaoru dug around for a minute before rising with a matching pair. She came back to Kenshin and offered them with a smile that reached her blue eyes and made them glitter. He was breathless for a moment and gazed down at her long enough for the victorious glint in her irises to waver with a question of his delay. He forced himself to look at the shoes in her hand and swallowed the compliment that had been growing in his throat.

He gratefully took the warm fuzzy shoes and slipped them on with a quick thanks, surprised when they fit him nearly right - only a size or so too large. Kaoru nodded her head in approval and turned on her heel to the still-open door. She couldn't keep getting lost when she looked at him that way, she reprimanded herself in her mind. She needed to keep her guard up. "Now that you're properly dressed, how about that tour?"


a few days prior...

Kenshin's trip around the Cassiopeia had been decided on as a crew, all of them having remained at the kitchen table after a passable meal cooked by Misao to discuss the next steps of dealing with their rescued redhead.

"I say we jettison him back into space the minute we reach Dejambe's orbit," Yahiko had scowled as he spoke, crossing his arms roughly over his chest and leaning back into his chair. He was met with a disapproving look from his captain. "Yahiko, you know that's not going to happen. As long as he is here he is under my protection, and I couldn't even do that to an enemy. There's no way of knowing how long he would be stuck in orbit, and the pod is damaged anyway, we can't send him away in it."

There was a murmur of agreement among the assembled crew. "Maybe we should ditch him on Dejambe anyway?" Misao piped up from Aoshi's side, her hands playing with the end of her long, braided hair. "I mean, maybe he doesn't want to stay on board. Maybe he's from the Circuit and would turn us in if he knew us?" She continued with an excited tone.

Kaoru's attention shifted to her. "I agree that we should give him the chance to disembark on Dejambe, but it's a waste planet and not very safe. It would be better for him if he waited 'til we came back around closer to the Circuit planets, if he is what you say. But," she paused, biting her lower lip before continuing thoughtfully. "he didn't respond like any civ who is familiar with Cassiopeia, I don't think he knows our game. I don't think he's from the Circuit planets," She finished as her eyes went down to the grain of the table, brow furrowing together as she worked through the information they had gathered.

There were a few nods of agreement to what she said, but Yahiko's scowl deepened. "I don't care if he's from the Circuit or not, transports like the one he was on don't come from outworld planets or carry non-civs. He won't like us when he figures out what we do, if he has any association at all with the ship he was on." Another round of nods admitted that the young man's statement was undeniably true. It had been a part of all their hesitation in retrieving the escape pod in the first place.

"We don't know for sure," said Kaoru, raising one hand in a calming gesture towards Yahiko. "In fact, we don't know anything about him for sure," 'Other than the fact that he's gorgeous, and powerful' She frowned at her own thoughts. That piece of her soul most in touch with her ki had been quite vocal the last week, and she wondered how much of a bias it was putting on her conscious mind.

"Then I say we bring him into the fold!" Chirped Misao, placing her palms on the table and raising herself to her full and wickedly intimidating height of five feet three inches. It only raised her to Aoshi's eye-level, still seated silently beside her. Something in his bearing towards her was soft and appreciative, when Kaoru caught sight of it her heart slammed itself against the walls it was caged in. She knew that look in a man's face, but she had yet to feel it for herself.

Kaoru was yanked from her jealous moment back to reality when a small voice joined the foray. "He really liked the roll we brought him, he.. he looked at it like he had never seen anything so incredible." it was Tsubame speaking, and she cowered just a little when her fellow crewmates shifted to give her their attention. "I - I just think.. that anyone who looks at bread that way… couldn't be from the Circuit." She finished just as her hands rocketed up to hide her blush. Under the table beside her, Yahiko pressed a subtle but reassuring leg into her own.

Kaoru took this information in and couldn't help but completely agree. Luxuries like bread were abundant on Circuit planets, where the most 'civilized' of their human species gathered to protect themselves and their comforts. They were fiercely defended and expelled any of their civilians, or civs, out into waste planets should they commit a crime or otherwise fall below societal expectations. Tsubame was right; if he came from one of those worlds, their humble yet rare treat would not have been accepted with such gravity.

"Well," Kaoru said with an air of finality. "I think we can safely offer both - join us even for a little while, or leave. I'll give him the grand tour tomorrow and he can make his choice." She did not share her own hopes for his decision as they all rose, the meeting over. When she stood to leave, she switched off the light behind her and willed her preferences to remain in the dark room as she strode purposefully away.


Kenshin had never been on a ship quite like the Cassiopeia. It felt homey, but did not lack the sensible utility one would expect from a space vessel. As Kaoru steered him along different corridors he noticed the variable paint colors and occasional murals, the clever design of the ships vital compartments and their internal arrangement, and the striking efficiency with which Kaoru could explain them all. She herself was not far down on the list of things he was drawn to acknowledge as their tour brought him new and impressive sights. At the moment they were in the greenhouse, a room he had never encountered on another vessel, and had just finished greetings with young Tsubame who he recognized as the deliverer of his bread roll a few nights before.

She had politely tolerated their attentions and Kenshin's altogether too-kind gratitude for the treat before making an excuse to duck behind some large plants he did not know the name of. "What is the purpose of this greenhouse, captain?" The two companions had settled on a sort of rapport when it came to questioning - he would prompt her by title when speaking to her as though to reinforce the gulf between them in rank, and she would call him Kenshin with an ease he was unfamiliar with. He had apparently decided to lean into the safety and separation of calling her captain to cope with the emotions that her speaking his name brought up in him.

"Well, it actually has several. When our life support system is damaged, this room has oxygen reserves which can be rerouted to different parts of the ship, like in engineering, so that Misao has every advantage possible when making repairs." She gestured to the vents above them as she spoke. "In addition to that it provides us with a great deal of fresh food that we would otherwise struggle to get our hands on. It doesn't always improve the quality of our meals.." a brief grimace, "but it does give us important macro and micro nutrients in our diet. That's how we were able to make bread the other day in fact." Now her hand waved to a back corner of the brightly lit room where tall stalks of something Kenshin could only guess was wheat grew merrily. "Tsubame is an excellent gardener and is able to rotate crops with enough efficiency that we never go without a staple like flour for very long. Finding seeds is an altogether different challenge, as without new genetic material our crops run the risk of failing. So while this room might seem complex, it's actually very simple and was an easy improvement to make - the hard part has been supplying it." She spoke with the fluid comfort of someone who held the matter close to her heart, the words freely pouring from a place in her body that fretted over the stability of their ship and family. It did not go unnoticed by her male companion.

Kenshin was enjoying the tour a great deal more than he had expected. Every time the captain shared something with him, he felt the passion of her words and felt her aura spark like a struck flint. He had really been anticipating a typical merchant vessel, maybe even a cold and unfriendly one, but each of his expectations had been quashed as they navigated around the ship. It was more than the arguably comical paint jobs and randomly ingenious additives like the greenhouse, it was Kaoru's intoxicating way of sharing them with him. A stranger on board her vessel. He had to constantly override the feeling of humble awe as she opened her world to him with seeming ease.

Waving at the nearly invisible Tsubame as they exited, Kaoru steered the pair towards the training room, or the Dojo as her father called it. It was housed in the area below the kitchen and dining room and occupied a similarly large amount of space. As they entered Kenshin felt his heartbeat pick up a little. This ship was full of surprises, and here was another. As they moved into the room the sound of wood clashing met their ears and they turned a little to see two men sparring at the other end of the room. They were using staffs, one with a whole length and the other using two much shorter lengths. They whirled around each other like dancers - they struck, parried, and struck again in a mesmerizing display of combat. Kenshin watched the match with great interest, for the first time all day noticing his thoughts willingly shift from the beautiful woman at his side to the two warriors on the floor.

It was Sanosuke and Yahiko, his mind pieced together. Kenshin could tell that Sano was the more skilled of the two, certainly because of his age advantage, but that Yahiko was doing an admirable job of keeping up and pushing back when he found opportunities. Sano was saying encouraging things, praising Yahiko when a blow landed and correcting him when something was off. He felt a swell in Kaoru's aura and glanced over at her. Her ki was electric with pride as she watched the two, and he wondered if for all his uncertain feelings she was in love with this man Sanosuke. It was a brief twinge in his heart, but he turned back to the match and dismissed it. It was really none of his business, but it did cause him to feel a little more critical of the tall man.

Then, it was over. The two pulled apart and gave brief bows of respect to each other before turning to the pair who had been watching.

"Cap'n! Come to show the new guy what we're made of?" He shook his hand at Yahiko with derision. "Not like this little squirt is a good show of the rest of our caliber, but - " he was abruptly cut off when the staff Yahiko was holding slammed onto the top of Sano's head.

"You dumb rooster! I can take on the best of you - "

"And so you have!" Kaoru broke in as she clapped her hands together and beamed with that inner pride swirling in her ki. It was then that he realized her appreciation was not for Sano but the boy, and the tension in his gut relaxed a little.

"Kenshin, I think you've met them both, but please allow me to introduce my pilot, Sanosuke, and my student, Yahiko." Kenshin's mouth opened slightly in awe as his eyes went from her to the two young men. "Student?" he asked almost stupidly, wondering what he was her student in.

"Yes, I took him under my wing and have been passing down my father's fighting style as it was taught to me." She said somewhat solemnly, turning her head to meet Kenshin's eyes. "He invented a defensive style of fighting called the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, it uses mostly staff weapons and aims to disable opponents instead of kill them." Her recitation was perfect, clearly having said the words many times in her life. Kenshin was stunned, and impressed. "I did not know you could fight in hand-to-hand combat, captain, that I did not." He breathed, eyes roaming her face with renewed vigor.

She blushed suddenly under his scrutiny, but thankfully Sano's voice carried over to them to cover up her inability to respond correctly. "She could definitely kick your ass, buddy!" He said, smirking as he pointed his staff at Kenshin. "In fact, it seems like a right of passage on this ship that she kicks any new guy's ass, ain't that right lil' Yahiko?" Kaoru turned away this time instead of breaking up the wrestling match Sano's comment had invoked.

"Honestly, it's not," She offered reassuringly as they began to leave the dojo. She chuckled a little and hid her eyes behind her bangs. "I seem to have a penchant for fighting my closest friends when I first meet them. Sano was in bed for days, much to Megumi's dissatisfaction." Kenshin couldn't help but chuckle with her, the deep tone coming from his chest in earnest.

"Was she upset you had injured him so?" He prompted.

"No - she was mad she had to spend so much time taking care of him because of it." They shared another laugh at the unwitting lovebirds' expense. Kenshin was beginning to understand that this crew was tightly knit, and there were relationships he couldn't touch with a ten foot pole. He wondered who their charming captain had bound herself to, and the thought made him suddenly jealous.

Pushing the thoughts away, he tried not to show them in his body language or aura, strictly reprimanding himself for having any attachment at all to her life and choices. 'Surely they do not include me,' He thought to himself for good measure.

As they walked up towards the bridge, their last stop before the evening meal, their hands brushed one another and the contact was intense, searing like a flash of freezing water and burning heat across one another's skin. Both instinctively pulled back, mimicking one another as they looked down at their hands and then to each other's eyes. Kenshin could see the many questions behind her stare and wondered just how long he would be able to resist sharing his entire self with her, baring his soul to her and desperately hoping for her to take it up into her care.

"Kenshin," The way she said his name made his stomach clench and he wondered briefly what heart palpitations felt like. The name came with an unlooked for pluck of strings between them that had been generally dormant for their week apart and both of them seemed to need a moment to gather themselves after the ripple it sent through their bodies. He watched as she went from surprised, to something akin to pleased, and then into wary suspicion. He felt comforted by it though - he could tell, somehow, that she was not unsure about his intentions or actions, but by the strange newness of this thing between them. How much could he tell her and still keep up his walls?

Kaoru took an unexpected step towards him, closing the gap between them almost completely in the confines of the hallway. They were alone. "What are you doing to me?" She asked him with a quiet breath, nearly knocking him off his feet with the simplest of questions and actions. He could tell that she had never been taught anything about ki other than how to wield her own, she could not have possibly known the effect she was having on him, but her fragrance, 'jasmine oil' he identified, pervaded his mind and overwhelmed him as she examined his face. She might not know concretely, but it appeared she had a few thoughts on the matter.

Kaoru raised her hand as though to touch his scarred cheek and he could only watch, his amber gaze flickering back and forth between her ocean blue irises. He was frozen, captivated by this beautiful space captain and completely unable to fight his desire for that touch, the willing connection she was able to create between them. He yearned for it, and just before he could lean into her, an alarm rang out through the ship.

Her head snapped up as though shaken from a daydream and her hand dropped as she looked up the hallway. As he followed her gaze he saw that she was now looking at his former guard, Aoshi, at the end of the hall. He wasn't quite sure how long the man had been there, but Kaoru didn't hesitate and began marching towards him. "Why is my subspace proximity alarm going off?" She demanded, quickly approaching and passing him as Kenshin trailed in her wake, still trying to shake off his stupor.

"We have encountered a problem," was the cool reply of her security force, his dark eyes going from his captain as she passed him to the guest trailing behind her. He turned and followed them both up a flight of stairs to the bridge, where a sweaty Sano was already back at the console and with an agitated precision was slamming controls around. Kenshin hovered near the door, waiting to hear what exactly they had encountered. He looked past them and into space through the great window revealing their heading to the occupants of the bridge, something just barely edging into his returning senses that read a little like incoming danger. Nothing but empty space and distant stars stretched out before them.

"Report, Sano," Kenshin watched as the captain slid into the copilot chair and examined the outputs shown on various small monitors.

"It's the Kersch," his stressed reply came from a tight jaw and as Kenshin looked on, Kaoru's shoulders squared. Apparently he need not say more because Kaoru began flipping switches. "Let's pull back and try to come about from - "

"It's too late," interjected her pilot. "They know we're here."


Whaaaaatttttt what is this new danger? An enemy ship perhaps? I don't know I'm just the author ffs what do I know

Do yall like this one? I know its still a lot of setup content but I kind of lean into that as a writer, I like context and understanding the lay of the land, then the story can swing around wherever it wants and all yall readers are still hopefully in the know.

I tried to do a little more shippy stuff this chap but its weak. I think next one after this brief climactic engagement will finally start to break into some of our adjacent pairings.