©Rosayln Cross / MMO Gurl 2020-2022. All Rights Reserved. Do not replicate this intellectual property without obtaining my permission.

After thoroughly gorging themselves on canned goods, they both took a seat on the couch propped against the front door in the living room. Akihiro lifted his boots up to rest his feet on the coffee table, simultaneously allowing his head to settle comfortably into the couch cushions.

Misaki sat at the other end, twiddling her fingers and looking down at her lap. "What now?" she said.

Aki looked out towards the window, taking stock of the sun. "Well, we're probably going to stay here for tonight since we've lost most of the daylight, but you're right... we should have some sort of plan going forward."

Misaki nodded, but seemed unsure of how they should proceed. "It's really unfortunate that we lost both of our mechas along with any kind of communication device."

"We might be able to find a radio... and then we just have to hope that our dropship is still waiting in orbit," Aki suggested optimistically.

"Don't you think they would have answered before if that were the case?" she responded with doubt.

"Probably," Aki said. "But there's still a good chance that SOMEONE is going to come and deal with those bastards. The Legion lost a lot of good mecha yesterday and I can't imagine them just letting that lie, even if they don't give a shit about the people involved. The Empire might even send in the military to clean up."

"I don't like relying on a mere possibility though. I'd prefer something more proactive," Mitsuko replied honestly.

"I agree. Sometimes waiting for a good opportunity is the best way to proceed though. We're up shit's creek right now. We have nothing to go on. No maps. No comms. No real supplies aside from basic combat gear. Let's just take a moment to be thankful for the boon that finding this place has provided.. And I'll try to figure out what our next move should be by tomorrow morning."

They sat in silence for several moments before Misaki spoke.

"Akihiro?" she asked quietly.

"Yes?" he was almost worried to know what she meant to ask him with such a curious tone.

"How did you come to be in the Legion?" she seemed hesitant, but determined enough to find out.

"Ah, that..." Aki said almost knowingly. "I'm surprised it took you so long to ask. Although, I'm afraid it's not nearly as tragic as your story."

"Still... I would like to know if you'd tell me," she asked persistently.

"Ok. Well..." he said, not sure of the best place to start. "You see, my father was a difficult man to love and I'm fairly certain he was incapable of harboring a positive thought about me. My mother was great and she did her best to keep him away from me, but well... eventually there wasn't much she could do. My family comes from nobility and the question of inheritance had to come to a head eventually."

Misaki gasped her mouth widening slowly, "Nobility? What are we talking? Duke? Baron?"

"My parents were Count and Countess on Minato III, in charge of a fairly prestigious district and a couple neighboring planets as well," his voice became businesslike as if trying to disguise any of the negative feelings the memories were dredging up.

"Wow... So how the hell did you get here then? I'm so confused," Misaki replied.

A long drawn out sigh erupted from Akihiro, "Yeah, well. As I came of age, I was inserted into politics by my mother. She wanted me to have the proper experience in dealing with my fellow elites in court," he paused to take a breath before continuing. "My father felt intimidated as more of them began to let him know what a fine Count I'd make one day when he retired. It became almost an obsession with him... Until finally one day, he decided he would just get rid of me and be done with the threat all together."

"What?!" Misaki exclaimed. "Isn't that the whole point? To have an heir... to carry on his legacy?"

"Well my father didn't get that memo. He was so intimidated by me and the power he felt I was going to usurp from him, that he had me exiled to the Legion. He claimed that I had an inappropriate relationship with one of our maids and got her pregnant. That the bastard child was a blight on our family and how I wasn't worthy to carry our name any longer," Aki's eyes rolled as he drawled out the accusation with little enthusiasm.

"Did you?" Misaki asked with a distrusting expression creeping on her face.

"Did I what?!" Aki asked in near indignation.

"Did you sleep with the maid and get her pregnant?!" she made a face somewhere between a sneer and a smile.

"Of course not. He just made it up so that he had an excuse to turn my mother and everyone else against me," Aki replied coldly.

"Are you sure? This whole maid thing sounds like there might be a ring of truth to it," Misaki pried with a faint hint of humor. Aki had not seen her play at sarcasm and was surprised to see that she was capable of it.

"No! I didn't have sex with the stupid maid!" Aki exclaimed with annoyance.

Misaki peered at him with accusing eyes, before relenting her witch hunt. "How long have you been with the Legion then?"

"Three. God. Awful. Years," he answered as if he had been keeping a tally count on his headboard.

"Wow," she said quietly. "How did you manage to adapt and survive for so long?"

"I had combat training as well as mecha piloting experience growing up. It's considered a prerequisite piece of education for nobility should they ever need to aid in defending their fiefdom." Aki sighed. "The rest... well at first it was luck and then I began to understand how things worked around here. I adhered quickly to the philosophy of kill or be killed when it came to obstinate members of the Legion, like our friend Jirou. Who on the bright side, is dead now. One positive thing to come out of all that bullshit."

Misaki looked confused for a second, and then let out a shrill laugh, "Ha! That's right!"

Continuing his explanation, "The rest was just getting smart and staying ahead of the bullshit as much as possible, but they make that difficult in the Legion. I'm actually a little surprised they threw me to the wolves with this mission. I had thought they valued me more. It's possible they didn't know, or just didn't care. It only takes one talking head to throw out a careless order that kills hundreds for one idiotic piece of intel."

Misaki looked down sadly, as though she were contemplating the deaths of all of the other men that had died the previous day. "And what of your parents? You haven't heard from them at all? Not even your mother?" she asked with sympathy in her voice.

"No. I'm not going to either. He left me for dead," Aki said, finally looking a little forlorn. "Maybe one day when he dies, if I'm still alive, I'll hear from my Mother again. But, until that day she is honorbound to stay by his side and show support for his decisions."

Misaki slid in closely to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, it's alright. We're not going to die here." She pursed her lips tightly and furled her eyebrows down, throwing her hand out in a menacing gesture, "And fuck your Dad! He sounds like a real asshole."

Aki looked at her startled and then laughed heartily, tickled by her descent into space trucker mode. "I appreciate it, Misaki."

It was probably the first time he had really noticed her. Sure, she had good looks and was definitely competent. Hell, she was very smart and quite capable to boot. And these were all traits he would have looked for in a woman if he were looking. But, there was a depth to her that he had only just noticed in her ability to empathize with others after suffering so much herself. He found it to be an admirable, and also attractive quality.

She eventually caught on to the fact that he had been staring at her quite fixedly. She turned away in embarrassment, but did not move away from his side.

Akihiro tossed his arm around her shoulders abruptly; he could feel her jump in surprise beneath him. "Oh, don't get shy with me now!" She looked up at him with weary eyes as if she were waiting for something unexpected, like a jack-in-the-box ready to pop out. "We've rolled in the mud together, slept side by side, and we even snuggled each other in nothing but our undies. You better keep that awkward, embarrassed shit for someone else who's going to buy it."

She recoiled from his hand, sliding back a few inches. "I was unconscious! You can't hold me accountable for any of that."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, woman!" he said, his thighs sliding along the cushions to be next to her again. "Just when I think you've loosened up, you go all uptight on me again. Just let it go and relax."

Misaki's eyes grew wide as his face neared hers so closely she could feel his breath on her skin. His hands grasped each one of her shoulders respectively and he shook her slightly, just a couple nudges. She seemed frozen like a deer in headlights as he leaned in and gave her a hug.

"Relax," he repeated, his hand gliding over her back, trying to soothe her tension away. He could feel the rigid muscles in her neck and shoulders finally go slack as she sunk into him. "There you go," he said calmly.

He couldn't hear any sounds of crying emit from her mouth, but he could feel tears wetting his neck as she allowed herself to be comforted by someone for probably the first time in long, long while. After giving her a few moments Aki pulled back, letting his hands return to her shoulders to give her a once over.

"You think we can manage to get the dust out of those blankets in the back room? It would be amazing to sleep in a bed tonight and not on some hard ass rock," Aki asked, purposefully changing the subject to alleviate any discomfort she might still have.

"We can wait until it's dark and take it out back. Beat it with a stick or something," Misaki said, seeming to feel much better.

"Good thing it's almost dark then," Aki responded with a smile. "So, do you play cards?" He reached into a pocket on his jumpsuit and pulled out a deck of playing cards.

"I used to play Gin Rummy, but it's been a long time," she admitted sheepishly.

"Well, we've got time. Let me refresh you on some of the finer points," Aki said with a sly grin. "It's too bad we don't have anything to bet."

"Oh, what? So you could take me to the cleaners?!" Misaki asked with feigned outrage.

"We could always look and see if they've got a stash of currency around here somewhere," Aki said, his eyes darting around the room, not wanting to give up on the idea. "I think I saw some buttons in that closet. That could work."

"Oh Geez..." Misaki groaned. "You're serious!" she laughed as Akihiro got up to go and check the closet for the buttons he had seen earlier. Misaki cried out with the lament of hearing a bad joke when he returned with a full jar of buttons and other small knick knacks they might gamble with.

"We're doing this," he said seriously as he sat beside her and placed the jar on the coffee table. He slid the table in closer and began shuffling the cards.