Nadesico Fan Fiction ❯ To Die or Not to Die ❯ Chapter 2

A/N: Hi again! Well, since I got just such a nice and helpful review last time (thanks Drew ^_^), I've decided to grace you all with another chapter! ^_^ In this chapter, we explain a certain UE Spacey lieutenant's role in this story, and, as always, there's still going to be mucho shounen ai and the shoujo ai will be coming up, I swear! For new readers, I'd go check Chapter 1 for the disclaimer. This chapter happens during episode 4 and 5. Anyway, on to the fic.

~*~

The casing that held the assault pit of Akito's Aestivalis opened, the cheering maintenance crew greeting him. After the Uribatake got the team settled, Akito began to leave the hangar bay, but he saw a certain someone. A certain Megumi Reinard, who really isn't supposed to be away from her post, but wanted to come congratulate Akito. She ran up to him, her high heels clicking on the metal floor. She flung her arms around his shoulders, giving him a sort of a hug. "Congratulations! You did it! I'm so very proud of you." She smiled, her freckles seeming to come out even more, making her look like a little girl.

Akito smiled back, though, with his friend was dead, gone forever. "I… couldn't have done it without your help." It was true though. Megumi made him realize that people like to hide their feelings, to avoid being hurt. On this trip, Akito was learning a lot about being a person.

Megumi blushed at this praise. Unknowingly to everyone, including herself, she had a crush on Akito since he came on the ship. "I shouldn't be down here, should I?" She knew she shouldn't, but Akito seemed nice enough to not turn her in. 'I hope he is, at least.'

"Oh! Er, no, it's okay." 'Well, I shouldn't turn her in, it doesn't seem like the right thing to do right now…' Megumi looked up at him, trying to read his eyes. "A… Akito?" she questioned. She decided that now was the best time to do this, the perfect time, the most romantic time. Her blue eyes slid closed, and she leaned upwards.

Akito's own eyes got bigger. 'Uh-oh, she's just like Yurika. But… I suppose I owe it to her, after all… She helped me gain the courage to fight again… But just once, then that's all.' He leaned forward and kissed her, and she seemed to be very satisfied with that.

~*~

Gai was one of the ones who had a personalized funeral request. Since Yurika had hidden herself in the meditation room, Aoi Jun had to perform the ceremony of burial at space. It was open coffin at first though, so everyone who hadn't known him could see him before they could send him off. Subaru Ryoko, Amano Hikaru, and Maki Izumi were of those who went to memorize his face, but Akito went as well. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to see the face of his best friend, one last time.

Ryoko didn't seem to be to upset, Hikaru looked at least a bit sad, but Izumi was the most detached. They didn't hear any crazy puns from her during the funerals. It was as if she knew the people personally, and each and every death had affected her.

Akito got to the coffin, and he was almost certain he was going to be sick. They had dressed him in his uniform, as if to say that he died for Nergal. 'He didn't die for anyone. He died because some idiot shot him. He didn't want to go like this,' was all that Akito could think as he gazed upon Gai's face. 'Heh, Gai, you really deteriorate well. You'd think you were still alive, looking at you, if you didn't know you were…' Akito couldn't even bring himself to think it. A single teardrop escaped his eye and slid down his face. It fell onto Gai's own cheek, and traveled downward further, until it was absorbed into his hair. Akito pulled himself away from the casket, and couldn't watch as they sent it off into space, into oblivion.

~*~

Lieutenant Kazamo Itsuki was so sick of her job on the Lunar Theatre Base she could kill someone. Ever since the Nadesico broke through the Big Barrier, the UE Spacey had pulled back attempts to stop them. Instead, they ordered those at the Lagrange Point Colonies and the Lunar Theatre to watch their actions until they reached Mars. Nothing much seemed to be happening, except that occasionally the Nadesico would drop off a bit of debris. Scanning jobs from Itsuki's team proved that these were identified caskets of bodies, mostly from the Lagrange Point 2 Colony, Satsuki Midori. Itsuki had heard that the Nadesico's current pilots, minus one Tenkawa Akito, were all from that Colony, which she assumed was as ironic as hell.

Resting her head in a hand, Itsuki started the scanning again. 'Gee, let's see who else the Jovians have killed now.' Names and records started to flood her screens. Hoshiko Mani. Minnade Idearu. Yamada Jiro. Shitaru Tsukiyoshi.

Itsuki's sleepy brown eyes scanned the screens, then widened. She went through scanning that area again. 'I couldn't have just seen that name, no way in hell…' Sure enough, there it was. Yamada Jiro. October 24, 2178 - October 25, 2196. Japan, Earth. 'Heh. I've seen the date of death on him change many, many times. Seems that he still has a little problem of suspended animation…' She pinpointed exactly which box was he, and, with a few other shuttles as cover, went out to collect it.

~*~

"Kazamo, just what are you doing with a dead body?"

That was the first response Itsuki got from her captain. Usually, they were very casual about their jobs, but she had gone out and picked up a random casket as it was drifting in space with no real apparent excuse. The fact that she couldn't come up with one that would be believable didn't help either.

"Captain, I happen to know this dead body from my childhood. From my past experiences, I happen to have it on good knowledge that this body is not dead." Captain Nadeketo Sateru glared at the best pilot in his crew. For someone with so much respect for him, Itsuki was a very stubborn person. "It says in this report he was shot through the lung. Although it seems he's been completely patched up, he is still dead, Itsuki."

"No! He isn't! I know it! Look, it's November 17, is it not? He's been dead for nearly a month! He looks as if he's been dead for a day, if that! Can you explain that?" The purple haired lieutenant was fuming. Not only did her commanding officer not believe her, but was willing to send him back out into space. "Isn't it obvious Captain? His body's in near perfect shape, but you still believe he's dead? I've known this idiot since I was three, I would know of his condition, and it is suspended animation! He's been out for weeks before, presumed dead, but then he awoken and was perfectly fine!"

Nadeteko sighed. "Fine, Itsuki. Whatever. We'll put him in the infirmary until the UE finds something real for us to do, all right?"

Itsuki smiled. "You won't regret this, Sir." She directed the other officers to carry the casket to the infirmary. Hopefully, they had some real tools in there.

~*~A/N: Well, how was that one? Was that to everyone's satisfaction? And just how does Itsuki know Gai? Read and review to find out! ^_^