Kazuko stood beside Tadashi's coffin. He looked… peaceful in his suit—a blue one, just like she asked. If she didn't know better, Kazuko would think he was just taking a nap. Maybe that's why it's called eternal sleep… She touched his face one last time, but as the rough spacesuit brushed Tadashi's skin, an ache seeped into her heart.
Kodai stood nearby, but he didn't stop her. Sadness, and a little understanding shone in his eyes.
"I remember your smile," she whispered and smoothed Tadashi's unruly hair. "Maybe you're too far away to hear me now… but to me you'll always be alive. I hope we'll all see you again."
Kodai took a step toward the casket; Kazuko nodded and stepped back.
Fifteen people clustered around the little funeral. Kazuko recognized Kaoru, Hirata, and half a dozen others. A few gave her sympathetic smiles. They don't know Tadashi… but at least they came…
Kodai secured the coffin lid, and the pod launched.
"I won't forget you!" she called as the silent stars accepted Tadashi's body.
A soft sigh echoed through her suit mic. She jerked toward the sound.
"Sore o mushi shimasu," said the man to her right. His clear, gray eyes and darker skin gave her pause.
He doesn't look Japanese.
"Watashi wa subete o rikai shite imasendeshitaga anata ga kare o aishite iru koto ga wakarimashita. (I didn't understand everything, but I know you loved him.)"
Kazuko caught the first part, "I didn't understand everything." The second was more difficult. She sifted through the sentence: "I", a negation mark, "to understand," "to keep," "to love"…
The man waited for a reply, but when she said nothing, he seemed to understand she didn't quite grasp what he was asking.
"Don't know," he struggled. "He… You love him?"
"Hai, (Yes, I do)" Kazuko said.
The man leaned closer. "Gomen'nasai, (I'm sorry)" he whispered.
"Arigato. (Thank you)"
The man didn't say another word, but as he stood nearby, Kazuko was thankful.
"Dais-ke-Shima," Kazuko pronounced. Her cheeks warmed as she said his name. The man who stood with her at Tadashi's send-off looked to have some Arab blood with his darker skin and curly black hair, but when she asked him about it, he swore he was Japanese.
Even though Kodai used his translator, Daisuke spoke in both Japanese and English. It didn't take Kazuko long to figure out Kaoru asked him to do it, so she could learn Japanese.
The first acquaintance Kazuko made was Yuki, who Kodai claimed was only a friend, but the smirk on Daisuke's face told Kazuko otherwise. Yuki's face and features mirrored Kei's—Kazuko's friend from the Arcadia.
Yamato's crew included few women, and they all knew each other. Misaki Yuria, younger than Kazuko, asked for her help with the ship-board radio station. Kazuko accepted, happy to have more chances to practice her Japanese.
Once, while they set up for a broadcast, Misaki asked in English—better than Daisuke's, "What were you doing? I mean… were you on a ship before your… accident."
"I was a doctor's assistant."
"A nurse?"
Kazuko adjusted the microphone and pop filter. "Not really. I never studied medicine."
"What did you want to do?" Misaki said.
"I was… a musician before."
"Why not stick with that?"
Unlike Kaoru, Misaki's kind face—free of judgment—and easy bearing made Kazuko relax. "There was a war."
Misaki's face fell. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about. I don't think you'd understand what happened, anyway."
Time passed, and Kazuko made friends. The pain of Tadashi's loss and her family's death still lingered, but it wasn't as potent.
Each day rolled by, but the closer they came to Earth, the more anxious Kazuko grew.
Late September came, and with it a Gamilon onslaught. Kazuko's medical training—though sparse and incomplete—landed her in the medical bay alongside Doctor Sado, Nurse Makoto Harada, Misaki, and two other women.
When Kodai burst in carrying an unconscious Yuki, Kazuko's heart hammered as Kodai never took his eyes off the woman. Doctor Sado handed his spot over to Makoto and rushed to Yuki's side.
"It's not good," Doctor Sado said after examining Yuki. "I'm sorry, Kodai."
Tears ran down Kazuko's face when she realized, He loves her…
The pain on Kodai's face rattled Kazuko, and as soon as the crisis ended, she left the medical bay.
As she wandered through the halls, hands folded, eyes down, she took a turn into the observation bubble.
"Kazuko?"
"Daisuke?" She froze. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here."
"It's all right."
Kazuko relaxed and stood beside him at the rail. "What—what happened? I don't understand! Why did they attack us? Isn't the war over?"
Daisuke's brow furrowed, and he laid a steady hand on her shoulder.
She burst into tears, and to her surprise, he pulled her close. Still crying, she laid her head on his chest. The steady beat of his heart lent her some comfort. Tadashi's heart sounded just like this, even and strong.
She dried her tears and pulled back. Daisuke's eyes… the gray of summer rain clouds, fell on her as his face neared hers. When their lips met, a spark of surprise surged though her, but then she leaned in, content.
It wasn't a long kiss, but when it broke Kazuko was breathless.
Daisuke's warm embrace surrounded her again, and she didn't resist.
How long they stayed there, Kazuko didn't know, but when the door hissed open and she saw Misaki's startled face, she pulled away and hid her flushed cheeks.