Nadesico Fan Fiction ❯ To Die or Not to Die ❯ Chapter 3

A/N: It's the attack of the cat again! As always, this will be both Shounen ai and Shoujo ai, but not so much in this part. Oh, and we get to see some friction between the lunar lieutenant and our little guy in pause. ^_^ and the disclaimer is still in chapter 1, and yes, I would definitely worry about language here. Itsuki isn't a very clean girly. ^_^ this happens after episode 7 and during 8. Enjoy!

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"I'm what?!?" cried Itsuki, her usually pale face going red, then purple, with rage. Nadeketo shook his head. Itsuki was far too predictable. "You're being reassigned," he repeated, a little slower as to not upset her even more, "to Yokosuka Bay. They think that your services would be much better there."

'I can't believe this stupid shit. I am obviously one of the best pilots in the base…' "Why is that?!? Is it because the Nadesico just disappeared from Mars a few days ago? Or maybe it's because I went and recovered the body of a person I knew? Or maybe since they can't say that their best pilot in Lunar Theatre is female, they might as well send her elsewhere like they did the Three Angels of SM2?!?"

"Lieutenant Kazamo. You know these statements aren't true. Simply, the UE is keeping things from us. You know how those idiots work, they withhold info, and usually a battle is going to happen, a big one. They want to make their division look better. They're sending you off because they want you for later purposes. They don't want you killed."

"If I'm so good, I should be kept here for the battle!" Itsuki knew what her Captain meant though. The UE Spacey was nothing more than a large food chain, with nothing in the middle, everyone feeding off each other. Those who went with whatever was ordered were either at the top or the bottom.

"You know it doesn't work that way," Nadeketo straightened, looking a lot more official than usual. "You have your orders, lieutenant, you and Yamada are to report to the Commander of Yokosuka Bay as soon as possible." He turned and walked away, leaving Itsuki in the infirmary.

The violet-head just stared at the door, unknowing of how something like this could happen. Then she turned to the Gekiganger fan, still in his coma, on the bed. "Well, asshole, I guess we get to go back to Earth now. Your things should have gotten there by now, ne?"

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Eight months later…

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Akito was having a wonderful dream. He couldn't really remember what it was about, but he was really enjoying it. But then, the next thing he knew, he was being awaken by Yurika pulling on half his body, however, he was still half-asleep. It wasn't until about ten minutes later, after Yurika was scolded by the Admiral of the Gladiolus, that he figured out he was sleeping more near Inez Frassange then near Yurika.

'Jesus Christ, if Yurika got all flipped out about that, you'd think she'd be more worried about me and Gai sleeping in the same room…' He shook his head, pushing thoughts about the other Gekiganger fan, his deceased best friend, out, focusing on fighting. However, the memories didn't leave like they usually did this time. They kept flashing back. Ai, Gai's death, the Utopia colony, Gai helping the Nadesico break through the Big Barrier, Admiral Fukube, Gai's words…

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"-And I don't care what you say! He doesn't look anymore dead now than he did when I brought him here back in November! …I'm aware of that… Look, he's ready to come out of suspension any minute now! …Fuck you! Go to hell!" There was a loud beep, as if an angry person closed a private communications window. If a fully aware person analyzed the situation, it would be obvious that it was exactly that. But that's not who was analyzing the situation, it just happened to be a very groggy pilot that just had a very long nap.

A single gray-brown eye opened very slowly. Rays of light hit it instantly, and, after being void of it so long, the eye closed against the harsh brightness. A soft groan escaped his lips, as if the person was angry at being awoken.

Itsuki gasped. 'He's awake! Screw you, you bastard doctors!' She turned around and faced the bed, before going and turning down the lights. "About time you woke up, Jiro."

Gai reopened his eyes, and once he caught sight of the purple-haired pilot, groaned again, lifting an arm to cover his eyes. "You're definitely not the best sight to wake up to, Itsuki…" He coughed, and then shakily lifted himself into a sitting position. "What happened?"

Itsuki shook her head. "Apparently, you got your dumbass shot, and your crew presumed you dead. Good thing I found your casket floating in space scanning the debris or you would be really dead by now." She crossed her arms and put on a smug smile. She knew he wouldn't thank her. They agreed to disagree long ago, before he quit and joined the Nadesico and before she was stationed at the Lunar Theatre.

Gai started to rub his eyes. He felt pretty weak and very, very thirsty. "Can I get some water?" Itsuki already had some cups, so she just got some out of the faucet. After about two cups of the liquid, Gai actually felt up to talking again. "So what's been going on?"

Itsuki sat down in a chair by the door of the hospital room. "The guy who shot you confessed and was court-martialed. The Satsuki Midori Colony at Lagrange Point 2 was attacked by the Jovians and is devastated. We should be entering the fourth battle of the Moon, and no, we aren't there, we're at Yokosuka Bay." The way she said the name of the base hinted that there was some anger about the fact that they were very close to home, but Gai didn't question it. He just nodded. "And the Nadesico?"

Itsuki shrugged. "Nergal has realigned itself with the UE. The Nadesico made it to Mars, but disappeared a few days later. We think they went into a chulip, but they haven't been seen since. That was eight months ago."

Gai's eyes widened and he looked as if he was about to jump out of the bed. "What?!? Eight months?!?"

Itsuki smiled slightly. "You heard correctly, Jiro." She always called him by his given name. She enjoyed pissing him off.

"You're joking. You are so joking." He looked her in the face. "Oh my god. You aren't joking." She slowly shook her head. He covered his eyes again. "Shit."

"Why are you so worried? Not much has happened…" She stood up again and turned the lights up again. "The Nadesico did get three new pilots. Amano Hikaru, she's otaku like you, Maki Izumi, she's lost two lovers, and Subaru Ryoko…" She smiled distantly at the name of the last one.

"Great. Now I get to sit here and listen to you ramble on about your latest infatuation. Wonderful." He sighed, and then laid back down. "Eight months… so much could have happened…"

"Speaking of rambling about infatuations," Itsuki glared at him, as if he personally insulted her. Which he did. "I don't want to hear it from you either."

"My stuff did get sent back here, right?" Itsuki nodded. "As much as they could get away from that Martian… And that's not what I meant."

Gai rolled on to his side and closed his eyes. "Whatever."

TBC…

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A/N: He will survive, he will survive! Hehe. Do you understand what Itsuki meant? What does Itsuki know about Ryoko? And why did Akito suddenly freak around the same time Gai woke up? Not all these questions will be answered immediately, however, they will at some point! ^_^ Thanks for the support, y'all!