The Galactic Bride

General Anura had recovered by that night, but she did not show herself on next day's lessons. Lani had taken the command to heart on teaching Akihiko more physical things, and she started with basic combat. Whenever it seemed like he was getting tired of this, she'd switch up to more survival skills. When he has mastered that skill, they'd go back to combat. This went on for the next two days.

Hana had come along with him each time, but now that training became more like boot-camp than the girl scouts, she was just watching. Along with the estrangement he was feeling with General Anura's absence, there was a similar one with Hana too. She hurt his feelings when she admitted that he was the reason why her brother was dead. Of course, she hasn't out right said that, but he clearly heard her voice each night when they went to bed, that simple 'Yeah' she agave him when he intimated that he was the cause for all her troubles.

Four nights had passed since that time, and Akihiko barely spoke a word to Hana. He wasn't rude, he still loved her as a friend afterall, but he felt that she was only around now because she had to be. Because he was acting that way towards her, she seemed to be following the same pattern. Sleeping together had no awkwardness at all, which normally would have been a good thing. Now Hana was just an object in the bed next to him, not a person.

On the fifth day, General Anura had returned. She wasn't the weak girl in the hospital bed anymore, she was back to her psycho self. She took over the combat aspects of the Lani's training. Once she had beat him up enough (she wasn't holding back punches anymore) she'd let him go back to Lani, who'd teach him something new, or go over something they already knew just to keep his skills polished. At the end of the day, he had to go to the rejuvenation chamber again. He wasn't so hurt that he could live with the injuries he had gotten, but the General told him she wanted him fresh for the next day.

When he returned to his cabin, Hana was waiting for him, trying to read one of the alien books Lani had lent him. Of course she couldn't make heads or tails of it, but she was trying.

"Maybe I should get you to teach me 'the common tongue'. It's getting really boring not being able to read or talk to anyone." Hana murmured and threw the book on the bed in annoyance.

"I can try. I'm sorry I'm not paying that much attention to you lately." Akihiko apologized just to be polite. He wasn't really all that sorry.

"They're working you really hard, I can't blame you." Hana spoke like she actually believed him. He didn't know if she was just being polite as well. "But standing next to Major Lani and not know what's she's saying is driving me crazy. Maybe you can give me one of your seeds, like she did."

She said it without know the significance of that. He had briefly explained how he learned the common tongue, but didn't go into details. He just said that Lani used one of her seeds. She knew the seeds could grow into babies, but in that case was passing on information, but as far as she knew that all it meant. It was so much more than that.

"I dunno about that." Akihiko raised his hands. "For one, I really don't know how to do that…"

"You can ask Major Lani. I'm sure she'll be able to teach you how. Plus, I'm sure you're not going to use any of those seeds for babies are you? They'll be weird."

He had to admit, the idea of him being a mother was crazy. Him producing an alien baby? Or worse, being the one that carried it. How strange was that? Still, he had to admit, seed births sounded more practical than human ones. There wasn't periods for one thing, and from what he gathered the carrying time wasn't as long. Plus the babies already had some imprints of the parents on it, so young Nimbonians didn't need to learn as much as a toddler did.

"I don't know how the whole seed thing works. But I kind of get the idea that noble Nimbonians don't really get a say on what they can use their seeds for." Akihiko told her truthfully. "I think House Grajin pretty much owns my seeds."

"Hmm. I guess I'll ask Major Lani for one of hers then."

"Don't do that!" Akihiko quickly shot that idea down. "She's only got a few left…and she has no children."

Hana looked at him strangely, but decided that seeds must be more important than she thought they were. "So… she gave up one of her children for you, is what you're saying?" All the pieces were there for Hana to figure this out beforehand, but it wasn't until now that it dawned on her. She looked pale. She looked at the book she was just reading, looking completely dumbstruck.

"D-Don't worry about it." Akihiko told her, hoping she'd talk about something else.

"I never asked… how did she transfer her seed to you?" Hana already was figuring how this out and now was on this part. The part he had been cleverly avoiding. "She didn't just pull out her seed and make you swallow it did she?" His face must of looked guilty, as her own went from white to pink. "Oh."

Now having no choice, Akihiko explained the whole thing in detail, including why he did hid it from her. He stressed that while it was sex he had, it was more like forced sex as Lani was ordered to do this to someone who couldn't understand what was happening to them. Both of them had been raped that day and both of them didn't talk about it. Hana listened to the whole thing, horrified.

"Now I know why you hate General Anura so much." Hana spoke after a long spell of silence. "Not only did she kill my brother she… she…"

"The strange thing is, Lani isn't angry at the General." Akihiko wanted to get Hana's mind off of taking revenge. He had not idea what General Anura would do to his 'pet concubine'. Hana was worthless baggage to her. "I think General Anura got the order from someone else, if I'm reading in-between the lines."

"But that still didn't stop her from following those horrible orders. What kind of people are these, Aki-chan?"

"Savages." Akihiko agreed with her. In someway the Nimba seemed like an ideal culture, then cruel things like how the government and military were run came up. Ordering the rape of a 'lower being' for instance. Creating death matches to choose a wedding suitor for another.

"Aki-chan… what's going to happen to me if you die?" Hana asked softly. "What will they do to me?"

"I… I don't know." Akihiko honestly didn't know. In fact, he didn't even know what they were going to do with her when he was in the coliseum. Would General Anura take her home, or would she just kill her now that Akihiko was out of the way. "I'll ask Lani to look after you." He quickly said. What little she could do, he didn't know, but it was better than nothing.

"Oh." Hana hid her face with her hands. "What have I gotten myself into?"

A sinking feeling hit is stomach. They were back to that. He wondered if she actually blamed him now, like he knew she already did. Would she actually say it? Part of him couldn't fault her on it. She could die just because she wanted to support her friend. But the other part of him felt sorrow. She regretting doing that very selfless action now.

"A-At least we're still together." She finally said after a while. "For the time being anyway."

Somehow that shocked him. This wasn't the mood she was setting for the past week. So he asked again, wishing she wouldn't answer the same way she did before. "Do you blame me for all of this… ruining your life and all?"

"Blame you?" Hana turned to him, dropping her hands. "How can I blame you for any of this. You're just as much of a victim as I am. Only you have it worse!"

That wasn't what she had said days ago. He gently reminded her of it. She looked taken aback when he got through explaining, honestly looking like she didn't remember a thing of what he just said. Then she stood up and crossed the room and hugged him.

"So that's what's been bothering you." Hana leaned her head against his cheek. "I don't think that. I don't remember saying that… I think when you asked me before I wasn't paying attention. I was just thinking about my brother or something."

He knew she was telling the truth. Suddenly he felt incredibly stupid for jumping to conclusions. "I've been an idiot, I'm sorry."

Hana pulled away and shook her head. "Don't worry. If I thought I heard what you did, I'd be distant too."

"Still, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Her hands reached up and held his cheeks. Their eyes met. Then her gaze quickly darted away.

"Ugh, yeah, sometimes I forget I look like this."

"It's not awful…" Hana admitted. "I'm starting to get used to it, to be honest."

"How can you?" Akihiko pulled away from the semi-hug they were still sharing. "You said before you liked me. But there's no way you can now."

Hana stepped closer even as he took a step back. "And did you want for me to still like you?"

"I don't know." Akihiko wished she'd give him some room. The atmosphere was getting a bit too romantic for his tastes. And if it wasn't going to lead to anything, there was no sense and getting himself worked up for it. "I still think of myself as a guy in my mind. But who am I kidding? With a body like this, it's stupid to keep thinking like that. It's even stupid to keep thinking of myself as 'Akihiko'. So I'd never expect you to accept me as something different when I can't even do it."

"I never thought I'd like a girl before." Hana freely admitted. "Let alone an alien. So the idea is scary to me too. But it's still you in there… and sometimes I forget about all that." She laughed a bit. "I'm getting better. When I think about you when you're not around, it used to be I'd think of Akihiko, the boy. Lately it's Kezri the girl. And I still get that tingling feeling in my tummy. The one you get when you know you like someone. Then I get confused."

"Well I hate being called Kezri. I've I'm going to be a girl, I'd rather be Aki… since you gave me that nickname."

Hana blushed. "I only called you that because it's short for Akihiko. It's just a coincidence that Aki just happens to be a girls name."

"Well if I'm a girl from now on, that's what I'm picking." He told her, mentally talking a note to think of himself as Aki for now on.

"You're being silly Aki-chan." Hana laughed, then paused and looked up as if realizing she just called him the very name she was laughing at him about.

"You're getting off topic here." Akihiko brought her back to the main issue. "If you still like me, and you see me as a girl… does that mean you like me even if I'm a girl?"

"I don't know, don't ask me strange things." Hana giggled a bit and retreated to his bed.

"C'mon, tell me. It's not like I've got much time left anyway." Hana's body stiffed at that, and Akihiko quickly apologized. He had put a foot in his mouth. "I guess I shouldn't say stuff like that."

Maybe that was asking too much of her. Bring up his death like that, in a casual way was cruel. And besides that, she had far too much to deal with. And what would happen if she did open herself to loving him only to just sit and watch him die in the coliseum. Wouldn't that be worse than not acting on impulses? He didn't know.

"You're not a virgin anymore." Hana spoke literally out of nowhere. "You did it with Major Lani."

"T-That doesn't count." Akihiko quickly said. "I didn't know what was going on and she was forced into it."

"Still… it's just sad that your first time was under those circumstances, and not with someone you love."

"I know… it sucks but-"

"If we do it, won't that be better?" Hana was looking at her feet now, her face red.

"What?"

"We should… we should do it."

"Don't talk crazy. We've never even kissed." Akihiko reminded her. "Hell, we've never even been on a date."

Hana looked up, her eyes determined. "Like you said; we don't have much time together, do we? You could die soon. And I'd be left alone regretting that I didn't have the courage to at least try and be with you."

"But if we get close, won't it hurt more when I die?"

Hana stood up, face red, and shouted. "You're not going to die! Stop saying that!"

He knew she just didn't want to think about it, but reality was reality. He'd be one among many. All of those people would be willing to kill. He doubted he had that in him. "IF I die, then, wouldn't it be worse?"

"I'll be crushed no matter what, Aki-chan." Hana swallowed. "I want to at least have a few days with you. Something. Anything. Now that I realize just how soon all this can end, I can't just play the shy school girl anymore. I want to be with you… even if you are … like this."

He didn't say anything. She walked up to him, took is hand, then pulled him to the bed. She was serious. She really was going to go through with everything she just said right at that moment, wasn't she? She sat him on the bed, then unzipped the one-piece jumper the Nimbonians gave to her. Like the rest of the crew she was wearing those unsexy athletic underwear set. She looked embarrassed as she climbed out of the jumpsuit.

"I know I don't look my best but-"

Hana blushed, leaned forward and unzipped his own jumpsuit. It probably was the most unsexy striptease imaginable, yet for him nothing could match it. His crush was undressing him, and she was in her underwear. She should have been wearing a Cow-suit for all he cared. Then she paused, readying herself for the next step of being completely naked. Her hands were trembling.

Impulsively, he stopped her from taking off her top, pulled her into his lap, and kissed her. She melted almost immediately into the kiss. No fighting. No disgust. Her eyes were closed tight and her body was shaking. She was both excited and scared. He knew that she was because he felt the same exact way.