RP: YSS Miharu Life Between Missions 4: Soul of Sprite

[Tom]

Tom sighed. The fold drive looked more like a scrambled assortment of wires than anything the manuals indicated. But it worked. How well was another matter, but it was enough to get the Miharu to Ether where the real repairs could happen.

He stood and brought his sweaty forearm to his brow, smearing a wet streak of grease all over his forehead. He had showered not two hours before, but once he entered the bowels of the Miharu, his once pristine uniform was caked in the all-to-familiar coating of his work.

The orders had been received from the Taisa, and it was now time to distribute them to the technician crew. There was a slight tugging at the back of the engineer's mind as he made his way toward a nearby console. How many sprites--new crewmembers--did they have? Over 20?

And he had to order them all around? Well, the technicians at least, but all sprites were technically able to do repairs, or had the means to learn in no time, so it was all the same what name floated above what head as he punched in an inquiry for the crew roster.

Damn.

The pull at the back of his mind got harder, more desperate. He had to have a general meeting with them all, something he had been all too happy to put aside for the sake of the ship, but now he HAD to at least talk to them all.

He swallowed hard. It was easy to perform in front of an audience, but the audience at a carnival never had any expectations above getting a good show.

Mess up a performance and the worse that happens is you get booed off stage. The consequences of messing up on a starship in the army were just a tad more severe.

He had to talk to someone. Someone who knew the newbies. Someone who could help him shake off this unexpected stage fright.

It wasn't long before the doorbell to Yuzuki's room chimed.

Nobody answered it.

The doorbell rang again. This time, Yuzuki managed to stumble to the door and unlock it. The portal slid back to reveal her beraggled form, still heavy with the after-affects of sleep. She was obviously fresh out of bed, and it took a few moments for her to register just who she was staring at. When she did, she straightened bolt-upright and covered herself with the sheets she had been dragging. She flushed.

"Juni-san?"

Tom's eyes stole a glance at the sprite's figure before he took a step back and bowed slightly, flush with embarrassment. He then mentally facepalmed. Why didn't he realize that Yuzuki had been working non-stop and just now had a chance to get some rest?

"Oh! My apologies, Yuzuki-Heisho! I didn't realize this was a bad time!"

"No!" Yuzuki replied immediately, bowing also, "I am sorry. I suppose I overslept, so, I apologize for making you wait. It's fine, really."

Tom hesitated a moment. "N-no. It was rude of me to come her unannounced." He cleared his throat and continued.

"I wanted to go over a few things with you, and ask for some advice regarding personnel matters. After that, you're free to rest until further notice. You've been working really hard, and I don't want to make a zombie of you!"

A slight pause. "May I come in?"

Yuzuki took a moment to rub at her eyes, trying to focus or wake up. When neither happened, she just nodded her assent. "Yea, if you want."

She adjusted the sheet so it draped around her shoulders, completely covering her form. Then she turned, padded back to the edge of her bed - the only piece of furniture in the room, aside from Rin's bed on the opposite side, and sat cross-legged on the edge of it.

Tom gingerly stepped into the room, taking care not to dirty anything by touching it. He looked around the room and, not noticing anywhere to really sit without staining it black, he elected to stand between the two beds, where he could do the least damage.

"How is everything going?"

"Fine," replied Yuzuki, who was watching him half-asleep, though she was finally beginning to wake up. "I heard that we managed to do most of what you wanted. I think they might still be replacing all the paneling but it does not matter so much. At least all the power cables are replaced."

She paused, again, and then continued, somewhat nervously, "I also had Ozuno-san and Cho-san replace the capacitor. Rin-san and I refabricated it with an alloy, and it should hold under the stress."

The next pause saw her wilt slightly, and she bowed forward again briefly. "I know it will work. I apologize for not telling you beforehand."

A small whistle escaped from Tom's lips.

"Color me impressed," he said. "I was just going to tell you to not bother with the rest of the capacitors because we're going to be en route to Ether, but you beat me to it. I just fixed the fold drive so we're almost ready to depart. Good job."

Yuzuki smiled, eventually beaming. "Thank you. We wanted to surprise you. Can I ask what was wrong with the fold drive?"

"During our last mission, we had to execute an emergency fold to get out of danger and, well, that's what fried the fold drive. The thing was TOASTED, but nothing I can't handle."

Tom crossed his arms and laughed softly, his gray eyes betraying the mirth in them.

"That thing and I have a relationship. I've seen her insides so many times it's like I'm married to her."

Nodding several times, the sprite-Heisho looked away from Tom, towards the door, her light blue eyes growing slightly distant, as if she were looking into somewhere far-off. "I think that if we want Miharu-san to continue on, we may have to overhaul the fold drive, and the generators also. It is not just the recent stress, I think it's the power demand overall. The stress is just tipping it over the edge. I mean, there's new materials and alignments we could try, if we had the time. You know?" She blinked, and her eyes returned to him. "Juni-san?"

Tom nodded along to Yuzuki's input. "When we get to Ether, we'll be able to fix up Miharu, but we can't really do much else than optimize what we have. The Taisa has orders for us to go along to our next mission as soon as we get in fighting shape."

He frowned suddenly, closing his eyes.

"Well, there's one modification we'll be doing. We're going to eject all of our escape pods and use the space for extra capacitors."

"That's just putting a bandage on the problem," Yuzuki asserted suddenly. She adjusted the sheets around her shoulders, then continued, "Unless we can recalibrate the equipment properly, the extra links in the power grid might cause stress we can't plan-"

"We can make it work," Tom interjected. "We have to make it work. We..."

He paused and opened his gray orbs, glaring at a spot on the wall.

"Where we're going, escape pods won't be of much use to us. So, we have to find a way to get back."

The sheets around Yuzuki shifted again as she pulled her legs up and hugged them, resting her head atop her knees. She resembled a small, orange-haired snow drift, and her sudden melancholy was almost chilly. "We'll have the power," she said quietly, "We'll make it work."

"I've been here since the start, and each time we go out I've asked Miharu to sacrifice a little more for us. She's been a model ship through thick and thin, and I have no doubt that this time will be no different. But it's our responsibility to open the doors she needs to go through. I have faith in you and the rest of the technicians."

His gaze softened and he extended a hand to Yuzuki with a smile. "Buck up. With you and Ichigo taking care of the sprites, we'll be like our own mini technician army."

Yuzuki looked up again, focusing for a few moments on Tom's hand, partly smiling but not completely, her expression mixed as if she were trying to decide on something. Eventually the smile faded, but she snaked her arm out from the sheet and offered it in return anyway. "Yea," she said, "I guess so."

Tom's shake was firm, an expression of his trust and confidence in the sprite's abilities. When their hands broke apart, he sheepishly smiled.

"Uh, speaking of the sprites, I was wondering if you could offer me a bit of advice?"

Not bothering to hide her arm before recrossing it over her legs, Yuzuki asked, "How do you mean?"

"Well," Tom rubbed his hand against the back of his head and winked with a grimace that showed his pearly teeth. "I don't really know much about them at all. I mean, it's been two days and we've spent all that time working and not getting to know each other. I need to give a briefing to everyone and... well... I don't want it to just be a briefing. I want to also share my hopes and expectations with them."

"I figured that you know a lot about them, so here I am."

The sprite's eyes glittered for a moment. "Just tell them, you know? I don't think it really matters. Most of them like you already."

"How can they like me if they haven't even met me?" Tom blurted out, confused. "Were they programmed that way or something?"

"Programmed?" echoed Yuzuki, in much the same tone as Tom had said it in, though with a hint of something else a little blacker beneath, "Well, I don't think so. At least, I wasn't programmed to like you, so I don't think they were. And everyone's seen you, one place or another, and..."

The sprite stopped talking, her brain having caught up to her mouth by dint of dedicated sprinting. "I mean, not to say I don't. Like you, that is." Again, her brain tugged on the reigns, and she trailed off to a standstill. Then, flushing mildly, she amiably rested her head on her knees again. "Just tell them and it will be fine, I think. Um, what are your hopes and expectations exactly, Juni-san?"

Yuzuki's constant tripping left Tom in the dust, but he managed to catch her question at the end.

"I want--how do I say this--I want..." It was obvious the subject matter carried weight with the Chief Engineer.

"Look. When I first started out, I was at the bottom of the barrel. I was below it. I was a nobody. But somehow I managed to make my way up to Juni. I followed my orders, and despite getting in trouble here and there, I made it this far. But..."

He waved his arms in the air with frustration.

"I never forgot who I was. I have a family, I have people who care about me, I have hobbies, I have things that make me ME."

He locked eyes with Yuzuki, his eyes burning with passion.

"I know how some sprites are treated. I was there. Some people think they're expendable. Like they're some kind of paper to be scribbled on and thrown away after it runs out of space. I-..."

The flame in his eyes then died and he sighed and looked away shamefully.

"I don't want to turn into that kind of man. I want my sprites to be individuals, to have something to look forward to in their lives. I want them to know that they're not alone, you know? Like I want them to have hobbies and stuff-"

"Stop," Yuzuki whispered, quietly, lifting her gaze to meet Tom's again. "Please."

After a few moments of silence, Yuzuki rested her head down again, sideways, watching the barren wall. "I think I understand what you mean, Juni-san, but..." Drawing a breath, Yuzuki exhaled with a bit of a shudder, "I don't think you should say it quite like that. It sounds so... well..."

Yuzuki took a moment to wipe her eyes with the sheet, then she continued, "May I tell you a short story that may help you, Juni-san?"

Tom, who took the much-needed interjection to recollect his running mouth, simply nodded slowly. "Please."

"I do not know how it was for you, or for anyone else, but when I was first created, I remember that the first thing I was thinking of was a list of goals that I was created with. You... no, it wasn't a program. I sincerely wanted to do these things, and when I started working, I enjoyed it. It's not like we're... I'm... I mean, after a while, I realized that other people did not think that way exactly."

"You see, Juni-san, the truth is that even though at the time I did not like being viewed like you are saying, I have discovered that really, I liked the orange. I wanted people to see who I was in spite of it. I wanted to work hard so someone would notice me. Anyone, really. But I did not want anyone's pity, because... I mean, I think it's pride. Just a little."

Yuzuki sighed and lifted her head again, watching Tom. "And then, after that battle, while you and the away team were gone from the ship, I was here with a lot of other people who felt like I used to. We saved her, you know. Just us. It might not be true but that is what it felt like - and when Junko-san got injured, and they took her to sick bay, the Captain herself came down. I remember being so angry, at first, because I thought that Junko-san was going to be put back into the ship's hemosynth, but instead, the Captain herself was there. She didn't let it happen. She... she..."

The sprite-Heisho blinked away sudden, hot tears. "I don't even remember what she said, but she was there. You get it? She cared about us. You don't have to say anything perfect, or do anything at all. Now we're all wearing red, and it's something we earned. Don't cheapen it with your pity or your good intentions. Just let us work for you."

Just let us work for you. The words chewed at Tom. Yuzuki's story hit him in the heart, staggered him. Just let us work for you. The engineer didn't know what to say. He knew that all sprites were programmed to be loyal and to obey the chain of command, but to hear it explained so earnestly... it chilled him at the same time it warmed him.

Was this what a sprite's mind was? A prison that only outsiders could recognize for what it was? Or was it a paradise fueled by such blind faith that only those who believed could be part of it? Was this what Yukari was going through?

He coughed and cleared his throat, obviously taking the moment to buy his mind some time to sort out the information and revelations Yuzuki had just revealed.

"It.. it's not fair," he said simply. "I don't understand, I can't find the words..."

Across from him, Yuzuki unfolded slowly, careful to keep herself at least mostly covered with the sheet. She sat upright on the edge of the bed, shivering slightly, watery eyes fixed on Tom. "Please don't say it's not fair, Juni-san. Please don't say that..." And there she stopped, choking on the tears. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for telling you. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me. I just... I just wanted to tell you, so..."

Tom distantly saw a small shivering figure on the edge of the bed. At first, it was an annoying buzz that pulled at the confused engineer's mind. But then it got louder. And louder. Until.

What kind of example was he setting? Making sprites cry? This was not the way a warrant officer should behave! Looking at Yuzuki in full vision, the crying sprite so fragile right now, what kind of leader was he? He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the floor. He was no longer enlisted... his words carried weight, influenced people. It was a power that had to be wielded carefully. And only now, after it was too late, did he realize that.

But he could fix the damage. Or at least try to. His expression softened and he walked up to the sprite and put his hand on her head.

"Good work," he said. "I've learned a lot from you just now, more than I could have possibly learned on my own. Thank you for your perspective, for everything." Gradually, the sprite began to calm until the only sound from her was a long, drawn out sigh. She took the time to wipe her eyes, yet again.

"I want you to understand," she concluded finally, "But you don't, do you. Just..." And here she sat back away from his hand, looking up at him where he stood, her blue eyes still glittering with tears. "Just speak to us like you would anyone else. Tell us about your family or your goals, and what you want for the ship. Just treat us normal, OK?"

A long, drawn out moment of silence passed between the two before the engineer's lips spread into a wide grin, accompanied by his characteristic deep Raltean laugh.

"And here I was, thinking this would be difficult," Tom said. "Man, I'm practicaly 30 and I'm still being schooled in more ways than one!"

Yuzuki just shrugged, crossing her legs again, but she dropped her gaze back to somewhere around Tom's feet. "Juni-san, I have been thinking recently. May I ask you a question?"

Tom nodded with crossed arms towards Yuzuki. "Sure thing. Go for it."

"Am I fat?"

"Are you kidding? No!"

The sprite let out a relieved sigh. Then she smiled again, looking up. "Thank you. I just wanted to check. Um, if it is not too forward, can I ask something else?"

"Uh... sure." A puzzled look crossed Tom's face. "Am I fat? I mean, I eat a lot of Raltean buttered meats."

"No!" Yuzuki blurted, putting up her hands, "No not at all. Well, maybe. But it's not bad. No. Um. No."

"Don't make me dance your ass out of this room," Tom said sharply, but with a spark of cheerfulness. "I danced the Grand Snow Festival dance!"

"Cool," Yuzuki chirped, all her tears forgotten. The sheet had slipped, but Yuzuki apparently hadn't really noticed. "Tell me some time, but, Juni-san, I had another question."

"Go ahead."

Opening her mouth, Yuzuki found herself hesitating. There was that little twinge in the back of her mind, again; that little feeling that indicated whatever her mouth was doing, her subconscious didn't want a part of it.

This time, though, she paused, a patient expression of contemplation overtaking her. Eventually, she asked, going slowly, "Juni-san. Ichigo and I made a bet, and so I need to ask your honest opinion; which one of us do you like more? I mean, who is prettier, to you?"

"Gah!" Tom blurted out, waving his hands in front of his blushing face. "First of all, this is not the type of thing you should bet on. Second of all, I find all sprites to be pretty. I mean, there's never been an ugly sprite in all the history of the star army I'm pretty sure! Doesn't this render the question kind of impossible to answer? And third, I can't IMAGINE how much of a fight any answer I give would result in. No no no!"

"It's just an opinion," Yuzuki said, pouting, somewhat disappointed, "It's not like you're saying you dislike anyone. Not even a hint?"

"Thank you for your time and information, but I believe it is not time to make a tactical retreat," Tom nodded to the sprite. "And, well, you should you know." He nodded to Yuzuki's exposed chest. "Not to try to influence my decision with those kinds of tactics, bet or no bet."

To that, Yuzuki shrugged, crossing her arms modestly. "Well, it was worth a try. Anyway, and understand I am serious when I say this, thank you for coming by. I did enjoy talking with you, and... well, if you ever really need to talk with someone, I think I enjoy listening to people."

"Well, I enjoy talking, so that can work out, I think." Tom smiled and made his way to the door. "Please get some rest now. If you're not well-rested by the time we get to Ether, don't expect me to let you out of your room."

Pushing a few strands of her bright orange hair out of her face, Yuzuki shrugged again. "Hai, Juni-san. Um... Just one more thing."

Holding the strands behind her ear, fixing him with a quiet, sincere look, Yuzuki continued, "That... story I told you. Don't tell anyone else, OK? And please don't think differently of me, because of it."

"Of course not. I'm a caretaker too, remember? Discretion's in the job description. Your secrets are safe with me." Tom gave an exaggerated wink to emphasize the point before finally nodding once more and slipping out the door.

It slid shut behind him, leaving him in the quiet emptiness of the starboard passageway. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. It was difficult, but eventually he began to walk, his mind abuzz with all the new considerations, and doubts, that he now found in his heart.

Just let us work for you...

 

[Tom]

Tom made it as far as the ward room before his thoughts became too heavy to concentrate on work. He slumped in a chair, leaning back until his neck arched over the edge and he found himself staring into a spotlight on the ceiling.

The bright glow tunneled into his vision. The momentary blindness that followed reminded him of snow, the dancing screen of white following him behind his closed eyelids before slowly evaporating away.

He tilted his head and looked out the window into space. The ship would be ready to depart shortly and everyone down in the sub deck would be allowed to rest.

He would see Yukari. The ribbon tied to his wrist scratched at his skin, the gold-specked love band that he had received from her. A Raltean love band, of exquisite craftsmanship, given to him by his compassionate, caring lover.

Tom scratched at it with a gloved hand.

 

[Gallant]

Yuzuki sat upright on her bed for a little while, staring at the opposite wall, in heavy contemplation. She was tired, but did not let it bother her - Yuzuki was always tired, to some extent, and had learned to live with it after her first week without actual sleep. Now, there was another tiredness creeping over her eyelids that she found harder to ignore. It was an exaustion born of exasperation.

She lay down and curled up. Then, unable to sleep, she curled up tighter. Eventually she wound up curled so tightly that she felt uncomfortable, but she was buried under the covers and that was the important part.

Sleep still escaped her.

Eventually she gave up and rose again, finding her footing on the lukewarm floor and padding over to the drawer where she kept her jumpsuits folded. Yuzuki picked out one of the newly created ones - one of the uniforms that she had managed to keep herself from staining terminally - and put it on hastily. When she stepped over to check herself in the mirror, she pushed her hair back with her hands and examined her face in more detail. She picked at her teeth, ran her tongue over her lips, and let her hair fall back forward again. It was pretty useless, though; she'd just get dirty, and unkept, over the course of the day anyway. The shower she had taken before turning in had done her a world of good, though, and she was pleased to know it showed. She threw her bed back together quickly, and left.

When she stepped out into the passageway, her stomach took hold and steered her toward the galley.

She poked her head in, expecting one of the galley Hei to be present, and started to yell, "Hey, you got an apple or-"

Too late, she noticed it was the Juni instead of any of the other caretakers. Her voice dropped an octave and trailed; "...an orange, or something. Good morning again, Juni-san."

 

[Tom]

"Fruit's over there," Tom said, tossing an arm over his back and pointing in the general area of the kitchen. "Should be in a bowl on the serving counter. Feel free to bring'em in here."

Yuzuki went and got the bowl, all the while thinking that she should have just gone to work. Now she was probably in for a small lecture about rest, or healthy eating, or something of that nature. She sat the fruit down on the table beside the Juni, and said, "Here, if you want one." Then she took an apple for herself, considering how likely it was she would be able to just leave and go to work.

"Thanks." Tom twisted in his seat and grabbed, not looking into the bowl, content to coil like a wire instead and take his chances. "Can't sleep?"

The prize of his efforts was a grapefruit. He took a sniff and shrugged. "Meh."

"No," replied Yuzuki, "I can't stop thinking about things, so I can't sleep."

"Work-related things?" The grapefruit began to unpeel, the engineer's greasy thumb penetrating its innards with ease. "I tend to get wired before missions myself. Oh."

He jimmied one of his gloves off. "That was dumb," he muttered.

"Try an orange," Yuzuki offered helpfully, leaning back against the serving line and taking a bite out of her own apple. After she chewed, and swallowed, she added; "If you peel the skin off just right, you can get at the orange without making it dirty."

"Naw, I knew that," Tom said. "I just wasn't thinking then. I'm pretty good at peeling things. I started as a caretaker, so that was the daily ritual in the morning."

Tom slithered off the couch and onto his feet, pushing himself up from the quadriceps in one lazy-looking go. "Yup."

Yuzuki took another bite out of her apple, watching Tom. Eventually her gaze traveled down to the little band around his arm, which he had been fooling with initially. It had escaped her then, but now she could see it pretty clearly.

She didn't ask after it; only looked a little bit. The ribbon was a royal-blue color, with intricate gold trim, about one foot long. The wardroom's light gave the gold a bright, flashing shine, while the blue cast a flat shimmer. It showed no signs of wear and tear, despite resting under the chaffing coat of an environmental suit's glove. Then, yet another morsel of apple was in her mouth. Yuzuki hadn't realized how starving she was.

Tom placed the peelings from his grapefruit on the nearby table and bit deeply into the juicy pulp. His face grimaced slightly as he chewed, but he ate anyway.

"Nought my faborite." Juice dribbled down his hand, beading on contact with the ribbon. Yuzuki glanced around for something like a napkin or tissue, and eventually settled on one of the silver napkin dispensers sitting up on top of the serving line. She pulled a couple napkins out, and offered them.

"Thanks," Tom said, accepting the napkins. "Do you want anything a bit heavier to eat? We have some buffet items available, or I can make something."

Yuzuki frowned slightly, checking her apple, which she had already mostly ate. Did she want to ask for more? Yes. Did she want to recalibrate the electrical busses and breakers to make sure they could handle more capacitors, and build a load-sensitive system that would automatically compensate? Yes.

She looked back up at Tom. She looked at the apple; then, Tom. Then, the apple. Eventually she nodded.

"Follow me." Tom didn't so much walk to the kitchen as glided, a sudden burst of energy in his steps carrying him. Placing the half-consumed grapefruit on a nearby counter, he smiled and twirled into the kitchen, grabbing an apron that hung on the wall near the entrance to the galley. "So, whatcha want?"

The engineer seemed really pleased at the moment. He was beaming as he tied the apron onto his body. Yuzuki followed him in and chose an out-of-the-way counter to sit on, crossing her legs and leaning forward on them, while she finished what was left of her apple.

"I don't know," Yuzuki said, honestly, "I usually just grab something like a sandwich, and I remember we had those meat-wrap things once."

"Pshaw," Tom said shaking a hand dismissively. "That's not real food. I mean it's good but it's not near what I can make. I just never have the time to make anything these days."

He took a moment behind his smile to absorb the Heisho sitting on the counter. She was taller than most sprites, and her vibrant orange hair, a bit off color from the norm, seemed to shout for attention, despite the sprite's mostly subdued personality. He snuck a look into her eyes, just an instant. The bright blue orbs revealed to him more than her tired, drawn face did. There was a sense of adventure tucked behind them, a spark of wonder at the world.

It reminded Tom of his younger days, just a little.

"You got a promotion, right? You deserve a good meal. So, please, just say it and it'll be done. Faster than you think, too."

Smiling a little awkwardly, the Heisho dipped her head, "Um, I don't know what to ask for. I'm sorry."

Tom rubbed his chin with a grin. "You don't really know, do you? Let's make it simple. Choose a meat. Beef, pork, chicken or fish? I'll work the magic."

Taking a second look around the kitchen, wondering just what all went into this sort of thing. It was like looking at eldrich ruins; she couldn't figure it out, and couldn't hope to possibly have an idea as to what he was asking her about. Giving up, Yuzuki finally mumbled, "Well, I don't know. Can you explain them?"

"Certainly." Tom answered a little too quickly with a small nod. "Beef is a heavy meat, sits in your stomach for a while but is hearty and filling. It can range from bloody to charred in its varieties, depending on how well-cooked you like it. Usually, you can marinade it or spruce it up with salts and spices, but it retains its firm texture and meatiness after a few bites."

After a quick breath, he continued.

"Pork tends to fall into the beef category, but is lighter in color. It absorbs flavors fairly well, but if you're looking for just the taste of the meat itself, pork tends to keep it. It works really well with salty dishes, barbequed dishes or vinegar-based dishes. It's really easy to screw up, though, so you need to know what you want when you start. Beef is more flexible in that regard, but there are some unique pork dishes that you just can't emulate with other meats."

Bending down, as he spoke, he opened up the cabinet below the sink and got out some bowls and pans.

"Now chicken gets a bad reputation in some circles for being too plain, but those cooks don't know what they're talking about. Chicken is a neutral-tasting meat, for sure, but that's where the advantage lies. Chicken is fantastic at absorbing the flavors of whatever marinade, spice or whatever you want to put in it. It also fries the best out of any meats, so if you enjoy breaded chicken dishes, you can't beat it. Chicken, really, is for those who want to enjoy the composition of their mixes more than anything else."

Nothing slowed the engineer down as he spewed out what was soon becoming a lexicon on cooking.

"And then we come to fish. Almost everyone in Yamatai defaults to fish, which is understandable because Nekovalkyrja have a predisposition towards it. Fish has the most unique taste of all meats, as well as a very distinct odor. It is light, filling and easy to eat, as its texture in most dishes if flaky. It has the sole advantage, with beef being the possible exception, of being able to be consumed in raw form. Fish comes in more varieties than any other meat, too, and they run the gamut sfrom dry to oily. However, it takes a lot of cooking to get rid of its 'fishiness', which some cooks would argue destroys the point of using it in dishes. Personally, I don't mind either way."

Done, he placed a hand on the counter palm down and leaned, challenging the sprite to answer; "I won't get into exotic meats because we don't have any. So, what do you want?"

Yuzuki sat back up fully, a little uneasy, and stopped watching Tom. "Um. What's easiest?"

"I have enough tools here to make any of these choices work, but if you don't have an idea what you'd like, I can make you the same lemon-flavored fish dish that the Taisa and Shosa enjoy. That's a hit with everyone." He smirked and crossed his arms, his yellow-golden hair bobbing up and down. "But, don't be nervous. It's fun to be adventurous sometimes."

"Sounds good." Yuzuki forced herself to look at him, again. It wasn't that he was hard to look at, it was that she couldn't do it without feeling like she didn't deserve this sort of attention. "I mean, if you really want to cook. You know you don't have to. I mean, I'll be fine."

Tom sighed.

"No need to be so polite. You're hungry. This problem will be solved. And this is no trouble. Cooking is really a lot of fun for me. Now, give me about 10 minutes and take a seat in the other roo--"

He shook his head.

"No. Wait here. You've never seen cooking, have you? It should be an interesting observation."

"Sure," Yuzuki said, obligingly. She was curious after all; it was relatively easy to oblige him, now that she wasn't being pressed for choices.

And just like that, Tom was in motion. First came the fish, a pound of fresh salmon rested on a cutting board while the butter and lemon juice mixed together in a separate bowl. Then came the dill weed, garlic powder and black pepper, which would serve as the spicing for the dish. While Tom got the fast-cooking oven ready, he plopped a cup of white rice in a cooker with a piece of coal on top, then closed it. Then, he marinaded the fish in the hot mixture, covered it with spices and put it in the oven. As it was cooking (the process would take only a couple minutes), he speedily cut some greens, vegetables and tomatoes into a little salad bowl, and put it to the side.

He paused for a second, and tilted his head, stuck in a thought. "Sesame."

Boom. Out came the sesame dressing which was then drizzled into the bowl and tossed with the salad.

Ding. The fish was done, then the rice. Tom seamlessly slid a free hand into a cupboard and pulled out a simple white dish, put it down, served the salad to the side, then the rice next to it and then the fish. He garnished it with a slice of a lemon and the spices.

"What would you like to drink?"

Yuzuki had been watching the entire process, fascinated by it. Food processing escaped her; as far as she had known, food was just something that people kept on board, heated somewhere, and then served - or, in the case of fruit, just served. Everything in between might as well have been Aetheric Theory. But sitting and watching Tom, she didn't really feel like it was so far out of reach, really. It seemed simple, even. And then, gradually, she shifted her focus to the man doing the cooking, and likewise her considerations shifted.

Ichigo had said he was really nice, and he was - Yuzuki had already known that. But Yuzuki knew her brown-haired sister went weak in the knees every time they so much as mentioned the Juni, and there was no question about what had happened between them only an hour or two earlier. Was she supposed to feel all warm and snuggly inside, or something? All she felt was nervous, and awkward, and clumsy - desperate not to make any mistake at all, playing a game she had never really known the rules to in the first place.

"Um, water I guess."

"Got it." Water arrived in seconds in a simple glass which he handed to the sprite, with her plate. "Take a seat and enjoy. I'll clean up here."

There was a short transition.

Yuzuki found herself sitting out in the wardroom, alone, with a dish that looked very much like art. So much so, she didn't want to disturb it. Then her stomach growled.

Tom followed shortly after with a couple of sandwiches, which he was munching on as he sat down across from the sprite.

"The fish isn't going to jump off the plate, go ahead and eat it!"

She took a bit off one end of the fish with her fork, speared it, and put it in her mouth. There was a brief moment in which she paused, considering the taste. Then she took the fork out of her mouth and stared at Tom, wide-eyed.

A pause. "Sooo... whatcha think?" Tom took a big bite out of his sandwich, awaiting her response. He looked at her carefully between bites, but not with any intensity, just the same neutrality that helped him absorb the reactions of his patrons. They ranged from extremely happy to disappointed, in the case of Sanjuro, but the reaction was the moment where the cook could learn the most about his dish.

"Ah," Yuzuki stammered a little, realizing she was staring, "I mean, it's good. Why don't you cook like this all the time? I mean, I know there's the engines and everything else, but. Well, why did you..."

She paused.

"It's good. I like it. Thank you, Juni-san."

PAUSE

 

[Tom]

CONTINUED

A small chuckle came out of the engineer. "No problem. Like you said, engineering is always more important than cooking, and, well, we have some new caretakers on board, and they want to do their job. I still cook as much as I can, though. It reminds me of home."

He looked at Yuzuki, who was now devouring her dinner more than paying attention to him and nodded with satisfaction.

"Healthy appetite for a healthy life. Like the animals of the land, so must we adequately nourish ourselves for the coming winter," he mumbled before devouring the last remaining morsel of a sandwich.

Already mostly through with the food, Yuzuki looked up from it for a few moments. "Repeat that?"

"Repeat what?"

"What you said just now."

"Ah. That was the Raltean prayer said during meals," Tom said. "Healthy appetite for a healthy life. Like the animals of the land, so must we adequately nourish ourselves for the coming winter," he repeated, louder this time.

A little confused, Yuzuki settled back into the chair, frowning slightly. "What's it like, anyway, being on a planet? I asked someone, once, but..."

"But they didn't answer?" Tom asked. "It is a hard question to answer, though. I mean, planets have really different parts to them. Some can be jungles, others can be snowy barrens like my hometown. What I can say is that, where I'm from, it's very very cold."

"Oh." Scrunching her nose slightly, Yuzuki put down her fork. Somewhere between the time she had found a seat, and now, the entire fish had disappeared. It had been a lot of fish, but it hadn't stood a fighting chance against a lot of Heisho.

"Basically," Tom continued on the earlier topic. "We say that prayer because it was a necessary part of our culture. It's never a good idea to avoid eating, but if you were to do that in a harsh climate like Ralt, you'd die quickly from starvation or exposure. This is another thing that makes explaining planets hard. Each culture is formed, at least in part, from its enviornment. When we get shore leave, I encourage you to experience as much as you can planetside."

"Plan to," said Yuzuki, crossing one leg over the other, clear blue eyes enveloped in some place far-off, and probably imaginary. "If... well... I mean, I want to see it. I've seen pictures and heard people talking, but it's still hard to imagine there's some place out there like that."

In the pause that ensued, her expression gradually came back down to 'earth', and she suddenly felt very guilty. She had gone and forgotten what she had been doing. "I should go back down, now. If you want us to go ahead and throw the escape shuttles, just say so. I'll get someone fabricating the new capacitors. Rin knows how to do that now. She's very clever."

"Yes she is," Tom agreed. "I'd like you to work on boosting her confidence, however. She has talent, and she performed well during the mission, but I think she needs some encouragement from her fellow spri-.. technicians. Personnel management is part of your responsibilities too. Don't get too wrapped up in the technical things. A good Heisho sets a positive example and encourages the best from her subordinates."

Pushing some of her hair out of her face, Yuzuki dropped her gaze to the table. The now-empty plate, festooned with the remnants of her recent meal, proved an adequate distraction. "I told you, the Hei take care of themselves, most of the time. Nobody's... I mean, everyone can do what they're supposed to."

"Heisho," Tom said suddenly, firmly, although his expression remained neutral. If Yuzuki could have flattened her ears back, at that point, she would have. "Look at me."

She did. It wasn't that there was fire in her eyes - that would have required a certain amount of resistance, which she clearly wasn't putting up. Instead, there was a vague, accusing bitterness there, hiding.

"Miharu, please monitor all access to this room and alert me of any approaching persons. I want privacy for this conversation."

Tom continued, returning his attention to Yuzuki. "This... isn't about what we discussed earlier," he said carefully. "It's more important than that. You... can't step away from this responsibility. The Hei can take care of themselves, most of the time under conditions of low stress. But training can only take you so far. I saw it firsthand on Bowhordia. We had moments of panic in the ranks and it took strong leaders to keep everyone together. You performed well under stress, that's why you've been given the opportunity to lead."

He took a sip of water calmly, but his eye contact did not break.

"As a Heisho, you are responsible for keeping your fellow technicians in order during times of crisis. Now tell me. What would you do in a situation where I was killed in action, the Miharu was suffering from a breach in the hull which threatened the stability of the aether generator and you had sprites guarding the door from breaching Mishhu forces. I can provide you with more details if you'd like."

Yuzuki blinked, the problem catching her somewhat unawares. She crossed one leg over the other, and crossed her arms, thinking. "The... doors are plated to resist explosions, which gives us time, so I would shift the load off of the affected generator and stop it remotely. If it is damaged, we can not risk it overloading and destroying any more of the ship in the process. The other three generators would have to share the load. I can't do anything about Mishhu. Maybe vent the spaces they are in to open space, but I don't think that would stop them like it would stop a fir-"

"While you're working on shutting down the aether generator manually," Tom interrupted "As you see, consoles aren't functioning from the damage, an errant blade of Aether from the unstable generate escapes and slices the technician to your right in half. You start to see fear in the eyes of the soldier to your left, hesitation. Your plated doors do well to protect from most incursions, save the misshu who can phase through the ship and directly into the subdeck. Your team of 6 is now 5. How do you designate responsibility in time to compensate for the overmatched technicians fighting at the door and the soon-to-go-nuclear generator? You have 30 seconds."

"I..." Yuzuki started, but she trailed off. She wanted to say, 'I'm not infantry, how should I know?' but something told her that an admission like that would mean the Juni had won. Flushing slightly, she said, "There is an emergency trip on the Aether generator that stops it mechanically. If that breaks, and fails, we have to secure the matter collection assembly, and starve it of fuel. As to the Mishhu..."

She grasped at straws, mentally, but they weren't just hard to reach - they were all short, too. Eventually, she realized she'd already wasted five seconds. "... we can't deal with the Mishhu. We'd just have to sacrifice, for the plant, and hope for the rest of the ship. The generator is more important to the ship, than five technicians."

Tom nodded at the response, but studied Yuzuki's frustrated expression carefully as she explained the endgame of the crisis.

"Do you have the willpower, and the force of personality necessary to send people to their deaths? What if someone protests? What if someone comes up with a conflicting opinion? What if a technician cracks under the pressure?"

"Then I do it myself," Yuzuki answered immediately, ignoring the first question in favor of the second. "All of the safeties on the generators can be operated quickly, or they wouldn't be safeties."

"Exactly," Tom said in agreement. "I see you have an understanding of priorities during a time of crisis. But let's not make it so easy, because anybody can say they'll sacrifice themselves for a cause."

"Yuzuki," Tom added calmly, but his words were tinged with a degree of melancholy. "How do you make people sacrifice themselves for your sake?"

The young Heisho was silent for a time, considering it.

Eventually she picked up her glass of water and took a drink from it, wetting her lips afterwards. The ice in the water had kept it pretty cool; it was still very cold, and that helped calm her nerves a little bit.

"If... you, or somebody, asked me to do something like that, or told me, I'd... I don't want to do it. But, it's for everybody. If I don't do it, you will all die. Even if I could survive, I wouldn't be able to live like that. This is our ship."

"There may be situations where only one would have to die. War rarely allows for the noble decisions. Now, Yuzuki, I really don't want to stress you out like this for no reason, but do you kind of understand what I'm trying to explain here? Can you be that leader who commands the respect required to make these decisions? To be able to choose between two losing options and still carry the strength and presence necessary to be a leader?"

The glass was empty, so Yuzuki released her grip on it and folded her hands over a knee, drawing her leg in a little closer. Then her hair was bugging her, again, and she pushed it back, again. Fixed in her mind was the image of an environmental suit, floating untethyred in a bloody catwalk, hidden somewhere beneath the gravimetric drive. She had pushed it back, out of her mind, but it was always going to be there somewhere still floating on the edge of her nerves. Could she do that to anyone, again? Now that she was a Heisho?

In a quiet voice, Yuzuki finally admitted, "I can't tell someone to die. That's too much."

"But, you might have to, Yuzuki. I hope that day never comes, but you might have to." Tom broke eye contact with her and rubbed his eyes gently. He cast his vision towards a light on the ceiling and exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry for making you go through this. It was too much."

"It's fine, Juni," Yuzuki said, her voice still quiet, "It isn't too much. It's just that... well, I know I might not really deserve this rank. I'm not that old and it seems like everyone has more experience and more at stake. I don't even know what we're doing, really, when we pull out again. There's rumor going around and if you want the escape pods jettisoned, it means there's not going to be any room to fail. So, I want to get all the work done we can, now. But... that's why you're asking me these things, isn't it? Because I'm going to have to do it, aren't I?"

Yuzuki lifted her head, searching Tom's eyes even if he wouldn't meet her gaze. "How many technicians are going to be on the power armor team, this time?"

"I don't know the exact details, but we need a lot more armors, as you know. It would be reckless of me to hazard guesses regarding mission items before briefing. But that's not the point I was trying to make."

He returned his eyes to Yuzuki, but his expression was soft and he allowed a small smile to form on his lips.

"You learn how to be a leader through your interactions with your subordinates. There are two ways to do this, I think. The first involves you being a very cold Heisho, all business. The second involves you taking a more active role in their growth and development. I am a firm believer in the second philosophy. Do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"Trust. You can earn respect through fear, but never trust. Trust is the glue that holds our ship together. When you share in the experiences of your fellow crewmembers, your unity grows, your faith in their capabilities grows just as their faith in your ability to nurture and lead grows. It is a positive cycle instead of a negative one. I'm not saying be soft, there is a difference between being a leader and a friend, but if you show your subordinates that you really care about them, that you have interest in their lives and career development, you cultivate bonds stronger than you can possibly imagine."

Tom nodded solemnly, although his smile was still there.

"And these bonds never break. No matter what the stress, no matter what you ask. Because you learn, after all these shared experiences, what the value of a life truly is, and you know when it becomes necessary to make those life-and-death decisions. And they, as well as those who survive, know you did not make those decisions in vain."

Watching Tom, Yuzuki couldn't help but smile a little bit. It was the look he had - the way he sat a little straighter, as if the words were lifting some weight off of his shoulders. Perhaps they were, at that - it was certainly very interesting to see. It didn't much matter that the subject matter was dark.

When he finished, Yuzuki just nodded, still fixated on him. "I think that sounds good. I'll try, Juni."

"Great," Tom said, the familiar grin returning. "Now go help some of your technicians. Talk to them. Have some fun. We're on our way to Ether, where the big modifications will happen. Rest up till then, but be ready with Ichigo-Heisho to muster them for my general meeting, as well as any briefings."

"Yes, Juni," she offered, "So, how many power armors do we need to fabricate?"

Tom gave the number. "Enough for a very large task force, it seems. Ganbatte!"

He laughed out loud with that bit of Yamataian, and Yuzuki soon shared in it, their newfound respect for each other helping to invisibly shoulder the load that had once seemed so impossible.

"Ganbatte!"

 

[Tom]

There was only one thing left to do now. He had tended to Yuzuki, had made sure all preparations were made final to their arrival at Ether. The work he had done medicated his troubled mind, but it did not free him from the most important task that lay before him.

With confident steps forced from the recesses of his mind, by the necessity of what had to be done, he made his way to his... no their room. The place where Yukari and he laid so many nights together. It was time.

The door opened.

Yukari was at the large "window" that was the starboard wall of their quarters. She leaned against it, on the bow half, looking at the stars passing by the ship. Or was the ship passing the stars? She did not smile at the philosophical question; she was in a bathing kimono, hair behind her and unchecked by any device. Her eyes flicked toward Tom, standing in the empty portal where the door had been.

She smiled then, wide and with a little bit of teeth showing. "The hard-working engineer finally takes rest, after nearly 18 hours?"

Tom's uniform was a familiar mess of grease. The smell of oil lingered in the air as he stripped and peeled off pieces of clothing. He smiled weakly with a bob of his golden yellow hair. "You can say that, but Miharu demands so much of us all. How was your day?"

He walked to the small dresser that rested in the room and rummaged for something to wear, paying no attention to the uniform that was unceremoniously discarded near the entrance.

Yukari's eyes followed him, tossing aside the view outside the ship much like his uniform. "Long, like yours. But not as hard, or as long." A bemused expression crossed her face and hung there as she watched him brush through the clothing for something to sleep in, or so she surmised. He was dirty and smelly, but it was all cologne and warpaint to her.

"You are going to shower?"

"A-" A pause as he had just pulled out a pair of underwear. He pathetically hung his head down with a small, laughing groan. "Yeah. Where's the Jinbe? I could use another shower."

The Neko started to cross the room toward him, but she kept her hips down and her gaze clean. "In the pit," she said, going to her knees at its lip and retrieving it for him. "You slept with it last time. Befitting a dirty, unkempt man such as you." She winked at him, holding out the white garment for him.

"Ah," Tom took it with a grateful nod. "Thanks. Just tired, I think." His eyes traveled their way from her unkempt but river-like hair down to the simple and plain white garment she wore, which did a very bad job of disguising her curves. Tom blushed behind his smile and quickly turned away, throwing the Jinbe on and tying it before the inevitable signs of his arousal showed.

Tonight... it couldn't be like the others, he thought, dousing his rising blood with one smooth motion.

If she took notice of any rising issues of his, Yukari didn't show it. She walked around and gently took his arm in hers, giving it a squeeze. The casual obi of her kimono was tied around her waist, and wasn't about to be loosened without effort on someone's part. "I also have not had a shower since ... well, perhaps 16 hours ago. Could I join you?" Her eyes did not meet his, instead looking at the arm she'd taken. His wrist, specifically, and the ribbon tied to it.

"Yes, of course," Tom replied to the squeeze warmly, bringing his free limb up to brush the underside of his lover's neck with the back of hand. It left small claw marks of axle grease from his nails. "A warm bath would help me clear my mind."

He locked his arm with Yukari's and led her to the baths.

The feel of the sticky, grimy grease on her skin made Yukari blush. Soiling her. Tom probably did not think of it like she did, Yukari thought. Once they were at the baths, and she was sure they were alone, she disrobed and slipped beneath the steamy, soothing water. It had been too long, she determined, and sank into the water up to her neck. Her towel rested on her head.

"This was a much better idea than the showers," she murmured amid the misty air.

Tom was too tired to care about bath etiquette. With a thankful groan, his robes fell to the floor and he followed Yukari into the steaming, massaging bath. It was hot enough to redden the skin, but the temperature was carefully regulated to avoid scalding ... barely. It was the perfect remedy for sore muscles, of which he had many.

He slid so far down, he had hardly noticed he was up to his lips in the therapeutic water.

"Blefgh."

Yukari looked at her lover with a sidelong glance and laughed at him with her eyes, the water sapping too much of her strength for her to manage an amused smile. "Do snowmen not learn how to properly behave in baths, or do engineers stop caring when they are slicked with so much oil?" She gathered enough stamina to straighten up a bit in the bath.

Tom's head lazily rose further out of the water, until the water dripping from his chin made small ripples below. "A little bit of both, perhaps," he said flippantly. "I figure that I get some leeway considering the circumstances." Looking down at his hand submerged in the water, he began to scrub away at the dirt caked on there.

"What leeway have you earned as of late, Juni-san?" Yukari's eyes shut and her hands steadied her body on the step. Her shoulders were just above the waterline. "I see only a dirty Raltean man who works too much and does not relax enough."

"Hmph," Tom muttered. "And you don't work hard enough? I can find a lot more jobs for you to do down in the subdeck if you're available." He shot her a harmless glare, his smirk erasing any indications of malice it could have held.

"Is that so?" Yukari said in Yamataian, tone light and mocking. "You would send me into maintenance tunnels ahead of you, yes? Or have me bent over fixing this or that, with you supervising? Your intentions are as clear as this water."

Not now. We can't go here now.

He looked down at his reflection. His lips had flattened and he sighed. "Are they?"

" ... " Yukari's smile vanished, her inflection flushed with worry. "I was attempting to be funny, Tom."

"I know, I know, it's just that..." he balled his hands into fists and shook his head. "I can't do this any more." His lips were a tight seam as he drew a few deep breaths.

She turned her head, looking at the side of his. "Do what?"

"I can't..." he started before trailing off, shaking his head as if he were dusting cobwebs. "I have to-- I can't live like this. Like I'm caught in a fantasy. Yukari, I need to know some things."

Yukari thought hardly anything was a fantasy anymore, except perhaps the bath. The line of questioning sounded so serious; did they not have enough seriousness in their life? "Yes. Please, ask."

With a steady breath he looked up at the ceiling of the bathhouse, at the patterns on the wall, at the mural of Port Xenn. He cradled his neck on the lip of the bath as he looked at these things, and reflected on the memories attached to them.

"Tell me about your creation. Please."

"My creation." Yukari let the words sink into her mind and brew up the proper memories. "I was created an NH-17T, then became NH-17R shortly afterward. I do not remember many things from my time as a 17T-type, only that I was not a successful version of the type. Most of my life was spent on starships. ... Is that what you are asking for?"

"Yes, but I need more," Tom said urgently before pacing himself. "Were you created as a ship sprite or a different area?"

" ... I believe I was created at Ketsurui no Iori, or PNUgen. I do not know anymore." Yukari tilted her head to the side a bit, careful not to lose the towel on her head. She did not ask the obvious.

"When you were young, very young, but when you could remember things, how did you see the world? What was important to you? How did you make hobbies or spend your free time? Make friends?" Tom now turned his head to meet Yukari's eyes.

Yukari thought a bit before speaking. The intense look in Tom's eyes suggested her answers were important. "The world was the vessel I served on at the time. A freighter. What was important was carrying out my orders to the letter, and avoiding the Nepleslian and Geshrin men on board. I do not recall 'making' hobbies ... I knew what music was and how it affected me, and gravitated toward it. It is how I learned the koto. I do not remember having friends ... just crewmates."

Those words darkened Tom's mood considerably, but the only sign of this was a brief flicker of his eyes and the further steadying of his voice.

"When... did that change? When did you become 'self-aware'?"

"At Ash Bay," Yukari said, without hesitation. "When I developed an appreciation, an obsession, with water. I was more aware after that. It was not long after that I opted for a Yamataian body."

"And... how would you say you see the world now?"

" ... " Yukari looked toward the mural of Port Xenn's bay. "As an equal to my creators."

"Do you have any doubts in your mind... about what we do? About our empire? Do you... do you think you could ever just say goodbye to it forever? Walk away with treason?"

She gently shook her head. "My doubts about the Empire are several, but the government will not improve through my walking away. I cannot say goodbye ... not while there are those who will come for me. They have to die, if I am to live. If my family is to live. There is nothing else until there is that."

"... so if you had to tell me the most important thing in your life, right now, what would it be?"

"You."

There was a long, momentous pause as Tom looked into his lover's eyes with a pleading that made him appear so fragile. "Would you follow me to the ends of the universe? Would you serve me no matter how cruel a man I became? No matter what I did to you or had to do to others?"

Yukari's eyes blinked once, then she narrowed them. "No. Because if you were to become a cruel, heartless man, you would no longer be the Tom I love. You would be someone else."

She paused for just a heartbeat. "You would not ever become such a man. It is not in you, and I will protect you from the things around you."

"No. It's not that easy." Tom said. "There are some things that even you cannot protect me from. I need to know, Yukari. Give me a straight answer."

" ... Then no. You would be someone else. I did not fall in love with a man who is cold and heartless. I will not grow old loving one." There was a fierceness to Yukari's words that matched her expression. She did not know why Tom was putting her in this position, but Chiharu would damn her if she did not respond with honesty.

Tom returned his vision to the ceiling, locking on some speck of color to guide him. It took several more moments before he cleared his throat and with a raspy, quivering voice, spoke.

"Suzuka Yukari, will you marry me?"

Yukari's blood slowed inside her body and her eyes went out of focus. She was not sure if she was breathing, and she could not think about checking to see if she was breathing because her OS was not responding to ... anything. She crashed for perhaps two or three seconds.

When she returned, nothing had changed. The question still hung in front of her. Was it supposed to be easy? Was she supposed to shut him down, just like that? Say "yes" in a flood of tears?

Was she supposed to know what to do?

" ... Someday, yes. But not before — Not until we battle — " The words were not coming out the right way. "Not until I am ready." Yes, that is positively reassuring, is it not. Ahou.

Tom sat, a bit dumbfounded at the response, turning his head to the side to look into his lover's eyes with an incredulous look... a look which soon had him bursting into a loud fit of laughter, laughter so uncontrollable that he was choking on his breath. He was making quite a bit of noise in the bathhouse, so he desperately brought his hands up to cover his mouth, where his laughter was muffled behind a deeply reddened face.

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-you ahahaha...." He couldn't finish. It was too much.

Yukari's face filled with the blood that had been stopped in her body. Her face twisted into an angry snarl as she snapped, "W-what is so funny? That is not funny! I am not being FUNNY!"

"W-wait!" Tom said before he dunked his head under the water and pinched himself, HARD, a couple times to recover enough to speak. A few bubbles rose to the surface, proving how difficult this was for him, but eventually he arose with a smiling face.

"No! Oh, I love you so much! SO MUCH! It's what you said! It's like you assumed we're going to get married right after I pop the question, like it's out of the bathhouse, to the Taisa to preside over the cerimony while we have a wedding with the Mishhu as guests of honor! The image... it is too much for me!"

He shook his head so many times it was as if his head would pop off. "No no no... of course we must finish our mission first. But after that, will you marry me?"

Yukari was more flustered then than she had ever been at any other time in her life. She punched Tom in the chest, but there was so little force behind it. Relatively, at least; he certainly felt it, Yukari thought. She made sure of it. Her eyes were slightly teary, but mostly just embarrassed and upset as they looked right at his. "S-sure! Yes, I will! even though you are mean and unsympathetic and ... and! ... a jerk!"

She turned away in a huff and reached for her towel, which had fallen in the water. It was fully impregnated with water when she brought it up. Her eyes found his again, over her shoulder. She was starting to tremble.

"Wait, Yukari." Tom said, reaching a hand out and grabbing Yukari by the wrist quickly. His face was still red, but the hue was flushing out of it quickly. He was now standing before her, naked and bare. "There are things I need to tell you about myself. And something I must do for you."

Yukari was still mostly in the water, holding the wet towel over her body. She tried to scowl at him through her eyes, but even she realized she only looked pathetic. "G-go on then. Speak."

Tom's eyes were firm, to match his face. Actually, everything about him seemed firmer. The muscles on his chest, his shoulders, his arms. His chin, tight, his jaw clenched. Even his grip had a strength to it, like he was holding onto something precious, something that could shatter if he dropped it.

"I am not a perfect man, Yukari. I have been tempted before and I will probably be tempted again. I will falter, and I will fail, and sometimes I won't live up to your expectations of what a man should be. I will be mean, and unsympathetic, and even a jerk sometimes... but I will be your jerk. I will always, no matter what, find a way to earn your love, even if I have to walk through corridors of shame. I. Will. Be. Yours. Will you give me this honor?"

Yukari's eyes couldn't leave his. Her mouth hung open, but no sounds came out. She stood there for perhaps a minute — each second ticking by like an entire year. "I cannot give it to you," she finally said, breathless.

"You have it. You always had it."

"Then, I take it that's... a yes?" He smiled with a toothy grin.

Instead of speaking, she fell onto his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck as tight as she could without choking the life out of him. Even if he deserved it. Her body finally let the sobs come up and rack her body while against him. "Y-yh-you ah-are an idiot," she managed.

"One more thing," Tom said as he gently rubbed his hands against Yukari's smooth back, providing her with the support she needed to empty her soul. His hands traveled up to the ribbon tied around her neck. "This."

Yukari backed up from his body just enough so his arms were between them, touching the ribbon. "Wh-what ... " She took a breath. "What about it."

Tom took Yukari's hands and gently guided her fingers to the knot that formed on it. "I need you to untie it."

" ... A-as you ask." She untied the ribbon from her neck, and laid it in his hands. Despite the knot holding it to her neck, there were no creases.

Tom admired the ribbon, the one he had made for her, red and gold, how she had kept it so clean and perfect despite wearing it every day. Cupping it in one hand, he raised his blue ribbon to his chest and turned it over to reveal the knot.

"Could you...?"

Yukari's fingers fumbled at the knot. Her eyes danced along the blue rolling around the gold, but she eventually focused enough to take it off of him.

With both ribbons free, Tom took Yukari's hands, guiding them to hold her ribbon by the thumb and forefinger. He followed with his own in his hand. He slowly brought the ribbons together until the colors crossed and silently began to tie them together. When they were combined, he pulled at his end and drew the ribbons taut, until they formed one long band, half blue, half red.

It took several moments before Tom spoke, the significance of the event unfolding before his eyes held a religious somberness to him. But then, he nodded with a warm smile that could have melted a glacier.

"It is done. We... are now one. In the eyes of Ralt, at least."

Yukari did her best to match the moment, but somehow, it was still foreign to her. The significance she understood ... but feeling the moment, was hard. Tom's eyes made it easier for her. "W-who wears the ribbon now?"

"Usually, we keep it somewhere safe... but we are both going into a dangerous place, so that is not an option. I... do not know. We do not have a custom for this... so..."

He let go of his end of the ribbon.

"I leave it to you."

The fact that there was no custom to it ... she tilted her head toward it. The red and the blue braided together like they were, made the ribbons that much more eye-catching. She took it, and replaced it around her neck. "They will take my head before they take this from me," she said, a hard edge on each letter.

"No more of that." He said, bringing a finger up to her lip, sealing away the obvious knowledge of what tomorrow would hold for them. "Now, we celebrate."