Author's Note: Hi, I'm new at this and this is my first story. This story is AU, takes place after the first bloody Valentine War and before the second. Nicol survived the first bloody Valentine War. I'll do regular updates if anything else deviates from the story line.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed. Sadness.
Prologue: The war is finally over, but the alliance with earth is still new and weak. Any attack on Earth or the Plants could trigger another war. But now, an extremist Coordinator faction has shown up. A threat to the peace, Athrun, Kira, Yzak, Dearka, and Nicole have gone to stop the extremist faction, and with both sides heavily armed an all-out war seems inevitable. AC, KL, YOC
April 4, 74 C.E.
17300 hours
The Z.A.S. Peace flew through space, a smooth flight. Being the military ship it was, everything was clean excluding one or two areas that were rarely used. One of which had to be the storage bay. Dusty and musty, the bay was empty of life, or at least, life that was supposed to be there. Tucked between two boxes was Shizuka Hawatari, resident stowaway. She swiped her hand across her forehead and rummaged in the sack sitting next to her. It was sweltering in the storage bay, going on 90 degrees Celsius. She pulled out a flashlight and a book. Nobody bothered with light down in a storage bay. That's not to say that the Z.A.S. Peace didn't have light fixtures in the storage bay, it's just that nobody used them. Who would? The only person down in the storage bay was Shizuka and she was smart enough to realize that it would just be plain stupid to have storage bay lights on when she wasn't supposed to even be there.
She flicked on the flashlight, the sudden bright light momentarily blinding her. Blinking, she shone the beam on the page of one of the few books she had in her knapsack that she had packed before she ran away from home. It was a lovely, boring piece on the 'Reconstruction War'. It was not her preferred reading material, but if she wanted to make it in ZAFT, if was a necessity.
Shizuka had been trained in the ZAFT Academy since she was four years old and had trained to be the perfect soldier. She was, of course, not the perfect soldier, but that is beside the point. She was never very good when it came to studying history and she was horrible when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Shizuka was a pretty good pilot though. She had come fourth in her class in piloting and right smack in the middle of her class when it came to strategy. More importantly to Shizuka, she was one of the 3 girls that had graduated in a class of thirty students. She followed orders quite well, but also took the time to think about what her superiors had asked of her and was able to reflect and point out the weaknesses and strengths of all her commanders. So when the Z.A.S. Peace had come into the Plant looking for repairs and supplies and started to recruit, Shizuka should have been a shoe-in. Once Shizuka found out Athrun Zala, her idol, was in command of the Peace, she was even more determined to join up. But she had one problem or actually two.
Shizuka Hawatari was not yet old enough to sign up to actively be a part of the ZAFT military and she was a noble. As Shizuka pulled up the book onto her lap, she began to read to hide the bitter memory of what she had said to her parents.
Flashback
"Have you heard? The Z.A.S. Peace has come into port and is looking to take on recruits! Father, I would like to join the Z.A.S. Peace as one of the Crew. I have already filled out the forms needed to volunteer for active duty. This is my chance to apply my training and help the world. I feel I must do this," said Shizuka, and then assumed the puppy dog expression. The puppy dog expression had never failed her.
"Absolutely not," said Shizuka's father. Shizuka's jaw dropped in shock.
"But, Father," protested Shizuka.
"No, Shizuka," said Shizuka's father.
"But…" started Shizuka.
"Shizuka, you nearly failed your History course and you did fail your Hand-to-Hand combat twice. You are only an average pilot and most importantly, you're female. Combat is no place for a girl," said Shizuka's father.
"I thought you would support me, you always have before," said Shizuka, her eyes stinging.
"This is what comes of coddling her," snapped Shizuka's father to Shizuka's mother. "You are a noblewoman and you will start acting as one. What's more, I will hear no more on this matter from either of you. I have made up my mind," said Shizuka's father. Shizuka burst out crying and ran for her room.
"Dear, why are you being so hard on Shizuka? As you so aptly put it, she is an average pilot," said Shizuka's mother.
"I won't have her in war. She is my daughter, my only one. I won't let her go off and get herself killed," replied Shizuka's father. "I need your support in this, please. Shizuka will sulk as always, but be fine in a few days. It is her way."
Shizuka's mother sighed. "Very well. But I cannot help feeling that this time it is different." A few hours later, Shizuka had packed her bags and run off.
End Flashback
Shizuka was about halfway through her book when the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Shizuka snapped her flashlight off and withdrew, pulling a blanket over the boxes in front of her to create a small rectangular space that completely boxed her in. The storage light clicked on.
"Sir, what are we doing down here?" asked one of the two men down there.
"Somebody has been stealing apples," replied the other man, and Shizuka's heart leapt. It was Athrun Zala, her idol. Shizuka knew that she was in trouble. She was confident that she could hide herself from many people, but Athrun Zala was not one of them. After all, he was Athrun Zala!
"But, sir, doesn't that mean someone on the Crew has been stealing supplies? Shouldn't we be addressing them first?" asked the other man.
"Not necessarily. There could be any number of reasons why apples have been going missing. We should be careful about who we accuse. What happens if Yzak simply miscounted the number of apple boxes we got? What happens if we find we have rats on board consuming our supplies? There's no guarantee that any of the Crew have been taking apples. So to ensure that we have solid evidence, we are checking down here before we accuse anybody," explained Athrun. Shizuka quivered slightly as the two men spoke. It was too soon. Shizuka knew that she would be discovered sooner or later and had planned for it. But it was too soon. There were still several Plants in between here and uncharted space. If Shizuka was caught now, she'd simply be put on the next Plant out, her parents contacted, and all her dreams and plans would be for naught. The footsteps came closer and closer. Shizuka shrunk back and then as if out of nowhere the footsteps were passing by. It seemed like forever, but they eventually passed.
"Hey, wait a minute, Athrun," said the other man and Shizuka let out a sharp gasp, before clamping her hand over her mouth. "Do you want an apple?" he asked.
"No thank you. Let's get going," responded Athrun. The footsteps faded out of Shizuka's hearing. She let out a sigh of relief and then the blanket flipped up. It was her idol, looking down at her. Shizuka had been tricked, but that was not the first thing that came to mind.
'Why do I have to be all covered in sweat?' Shizuka asked herself, then thought, 'Oh, god, what is he going to do? He must think I'm an idiot!'
"Well, well, it looks like we do have a little rat here, Dearka," called out Athrun, although he gently smiled at her as he said it. "Tell me, little rat, what is your name?"
"My name is Shizuka Hawatari, sir. I studied in the ZAFT academy on the April Plant since I was four and graduated not two months ago. I usually hold the rank of pilot, sir," replied Shizuka, her formal training kicking in, hand already up at her forehead. 'Thank god for the Academy. It has managed to make me look like less of a fool,' thought Shizuka. A frown crossed Athrun's face.
"You studied at a ZAFT academy, you say, but you are not registered in the ZAFT database. Please explain," ordered Athrun.
"Sir, I am not quite old enough to enroll in active duty in ZAFT by myself. My parents denied me my request, sir," explained Shizuka.
"Ah, I see. However, you are not registered as being on active duty and I am afraid that means that you will be put off at the next Plant. But for now, Dearka, please escort our little rat to the guest quarters," ordered Athrun. "She is your responsibility, Dearka." Dearka nodded.
"This way, Miss Hawatari," said Dearka. Shizuka followed. "So, just in case you missed it, my name is Dearka," said Dearka, as they walked through the ship. Shizuka nodded and they continued walking on for the next ten minutes or so. "Tell me, Miss Hawatari, why did you enroll in the ZAFT academy?"
"Well, Dearka, ever since I was little, I like playing soldier. When I first saw the ZAFT academy and what they were doing I was truly impressed. I begged my parents to let me go. Father wasn't happy about it, but he eventually caved and let me go. It is my belief that one should fight for peace. War is horrible, but if one doesn't fight a slaughter will occur and that if a war must happen that it should be ended as soon as possible by passionate soldiers," explained Shizuka. Dearka nodded and together they walked through a door. Shizuka's eyes lit up as they came upon a flight simulator. "Dearka, can I go on the flight simulator?" asked Shizuka.
"I don't think so. The commander would be pretty mad at me if I let you on it," replied Dearka.
"Please, Dearka. Just let me on it for one round. When I die, I'll get off and let you escort me to my rooms like a good girl. Please, I have been down in the storage bay for ages! One go couldn't hurt. Let me get on the flight simulator just once, and you won't hear another peep out of me," persuaded Shizuka.
"Oh, very well, but only once," replied Dearka, reluctantly giving in. Shizuka smiled brightly and hopped into the flight simulator. Six levels later, Shizuka was still going strong. "Yzak," called out Dearka, "Come and see. She's doing really well."
"Who is she?" demanded Yzak.
"We found a stowaway down in the storage room. You're getting sloppy Yzak, allowing a stowaway to hop on board the ship on your watch," said Dearka taking this opportunity to tease Yzak. "Oh, look, she's made it to level seven."
"That's better than most of the stand in pilots aboard can do. I don't believe you," said Yzak, shoving Dearka out of the way to see better. "Who is this girl?" asked Yzak to himself as she moved up to level eight. Shizuka continued on and had just got to level nine when Athrun walked in.
"Dearka, I ordered you to take this girl to the guest quarters, so why is she in the flight simulator?" demanded Athrun, fairly vibrating with annoyance.
"Commander, she's made it to level nine," protested Dearka.
"That is not the point Dearka. Now, you can either carry out my orders, or you can be dismissed," said Athrun.
"Yes, Commander. He, Miss Hawatari, time to go," said Dearka. Shizuka sighed, but cancelled her simulation and hopped out of the simulator. They hurried off to the guest quarters, mostly because Dearka wanted to have no more accidents and be dismissed. He took no more shortcuts, because although he could have cut his journey time in half it also meant taking the risk of passing by many of the other "interesting" military appliances.
"And here we are Miss Hawatari. Please remember your promise and don't go wandering out of your rooms," said Dearka.
"Alright, and hey, Dearka, thank you for letting me go on the flight simulator. It was my favorite subject when I was in the ZAFT academy. Sorry for getting you in trouble," said Shizuka softly as Dearka left.
April 6, 73 C.E.
800 hours
The Z.A.S. Peace shook as Athrun slept in his quarters. "Bridge to Commander, we are under attack," rang the message throughout the ship. Athrun bolted up out of bed. He needed to get to the bridge and took off. He skidded onto the bridge. "Yzak, report," ordered Athrun.
"It was two minutes ago we saw the ship sir. It identified itself as one of the Coordinator fleet and had a code in everything. While it was passing, however it fired on us. Kira and Nicole are suited up and will launch shortly. Dearka is already out there," said Yzak.
"Good, get out there Yzak," said Athrun.
In her room, Shizuka woke as a second blast hit the ship. She bolted up into a sitting position. "The ship is under attack. Oh god, oh god, oh god," said Shizuka, panicking slightly. She got onto her knees and started praying. 'Athrun's out there. There is no way we can lose with Athrun out there. Please, God, keep the pilots safe and keep the ship intact,' thought Shizuka.
It seemed to Shizuka that four thousand years passed. The ship stopped shaking and still Shizuka did not move. Then, the door opened. A young man stood in the doorway. Sweat beaded his face, but he seemed very much more relaxed. "Hello, my name is Kira Yamato. Athrun told me to come and check on our resident guest. He also told me that you attended ZAFT academy. You were probably crazy with worry. Let me fill you in now. We were passing through the past sector of space when we spotted another ship passing by. It sent a code registering it as one of the Coordinator fleet, but it was a trap. The ship belonged to the extremist faction that Athrun and I are going to fight. I went out to fight the extremist faction and although we rebutted them we have taken serious damage. The ship has taken minimal damage, but we have lost many pilots," explained Kira. Shizuka let out a breath of relief.
"Thank you Kira. It was very kind of you to come and see me, but you should go now. You haven't showered yet and I always feel better once I have showered," replied Shizuka. Kira laughed.
"Thank you for your concern, but I thought it would be better if I came here first. You see, in the first war I was a civilian fighting an organized military. I was terrified and that was when I knew what I was getting into. Although you have been trained in the ZAFT militia, you will never know what war is until you experience it. That's why I came. I thought that if I explained the situation you would understand it better," explained Kira.
"I already knew what role you played in the last war," said Shizuka with a smile. "I also know that you and Athrun were very close when you were little." Kira blinked.
"Are you keeping tabs on me? You're not a stalker, are you?" asked Kira jokingly.
"No, no, no. It's just that Athrun's been my idol since I was little, so I learned a lot about him and through that channel, I learned a little about you," replied Shizuka, laughing. "And by the way, if you're wondering, I wasn't stalking Athrun either when I came aboard. It just gave me a little more motivation."
"Anyways, I think I'll go take that shower now," said Kira.
"Wait. Give me the exact numbers," said Shizuka. Kira stopped.
"Seven dead. Five engineers. Two pilots. One piloted a Gundam. Forty more were hurt," said Kira and walked out. Shizuka nodded and walked out of the room and headed straight to the janitorial section.
Shizuka bowed to the men there. "Forgive me. I know you are busy right now and I would like to help you. My name is Shizuka." The men nodded, gave her supplies and instructions and Shizuka was off. She started with the kitchen then moved onto the hallways. As she worked her way through the ship, Dearka noticed her. She took a step towards her but then stopped and shook his head. The girl was breaking the rules again, but they needed all the help they could get. He let it go; even knowing Athrun would have his head. He would ask Nicole to drop by and make sure Shizuka was all right later. Shizuka kept cleaning and an hour later, another person showed up.
This man picked up a scrub brush and began to work. Shizuka had sheen of sweat. It was certainly harder than anything she had had to do at home. "Why don't you take a break now? I will take over from here," said the man. He had green hair and a soft disposition. Shizuka shook her head.
"You need all the help you can get," muttered Shizuka. They worked side by side for four more hours.
"Enough," said the man with green hair. Shizuka shook her head.
"It's not done yet. It's not over," said Shizuka.
"Perhaps, but you and I are going to get something to eat, talk, and then you are going to bed," he said firmly. "You've done enough today." Shizuka was to tired to argue and let him take her to the cafeteria. As Shizuka ate slowly, he introduced himself. "My name is Nicole and I'm the second mate on this ship. I'm also one of the Gundam pilots. Dearka was worried you'd get into trouble, so he sent me to take care of you. I didn't realize that you'd drive yourself into the ground working instead," said Nicole shaking his head.
"You need all the help you can get," said Shizuka dully.
"Come on, now you need some sleep," said Nicole. Shizuka got up, but nearly fell as her knees buckled beneath her.
"I think… I think I may need some help," muttered Shizuka.
"You think?" asked Nicole slightly amused. Nicole took Shizuka's arm and took some of her weight onto his body and together they walked back to the guest quarters. Nicole helped Shizuka get clean then tucked her into bed. Shizuka fell asleep almost instantly. Nicole smiled slightly and left.
"We do need all the help we can get," muttered Nicole to himself and went off to find Yzak.
April 10, 73 C.E.
600 hours
Shizuka awoke with a start. Her breath came out heavily. 'A nightmare, just a nightmare,' thought Shizuka. The door opened and a man with silver hair entered.
"Ah, you're up. Good. I have some questions for you," he said.
"Um," said Shizuka, "Do you mind if I get dressed and get some breakfast first?"
"I will meet you in the cafeteria in half an hour. You can answer my questions there," he said.
"Alright," agreed Shizuka. She dragged herself out of bed, showered, got dressed, and then quickly left. Arriving in the cafeteria she got her breakfast and sat down in front of the silver-haired man. "You, you are a pilot, correct?" asked Shizuka. The silver-haired man looked pleased.
"Yes," he said. "Now then, tell me, how were you treated in your class?" he asked
"As a peer and equal or my ranking?" asked Shizuka.
"Take the question as you will. Just answer it as full y as you possibly can," replied the silver-haired man.
"My ranking was never very high. It started off as one of the worst scores I could get. I wasn't last, but I was very close. We were studying Hand-to-Hand combat and I sucked to say the least. I failed the class twice. My Battle History grade wasn't much better, but I did pass it. My ranking only began to rise after I entered my first Flight Simulation. I was great at piloting. I was also decent in my ability to plan battles, but I mainly focused on piloting. It was what I was good at," said Shizuka.
"How did you feel when you piloted?" asked the silver-haired man.
"When I first piloted… it's hard to describe. I felt warmth in my heart. I felt as light as a leaf. I was not thinking, just reacting. I moved and moved. I was not a living thing, not something that could be regarded as human. For the first time, I was something that had to be taken into account. In order to defeat me, they had to analyze my moves and in order to analyze my moves they had to acknowledge me. I could see the bullets, but they weren't hitting me. I analyzed their position and adjusted myself to their moves. I moved on and on. It seemed like forever. I was dodging. I was shooting. I could hear nothing, was nothing. I was a weapon, a soldier ready to give my life. All I had to do was overcome the obstacles. I couldn't hear what the other people around me had to say. It didn't matter that I was hated. I was there to serve," said Shizuka.
"How did your think your teachers liked you?" asked the silver-haired man.
"My teachers… they tore down all of our barriers and rebuilt our confidence. Rely on your partner; don't rely on your superiors. We were all equal access, but they were particularly hard on us girls. I think it was because they wanted us to do so well. To the teachers we were all equal opportunity. What I hated about my teachers was this: they knew how the boys treated us and did nothing. The other boys were off limits, but us girls were always equal opportunity among the boy cadets. I think that is why so few women graduate the academy. They all quit before they graduate," replied Shizuka.
"What drove you to reach this point?" asked the silver-haired man.
"The reason why I joined the ZAFT academy was because of my idol. Athrun Zala inspired me and I wanted to be just like him. However, this inspiration did not last long due to the harsh conditions women are subjected to. The reason I decided to stay in ZAFT was because I wanted to help. I could have helped in other ways, it's true, but this is what I wanted to do for myself. I wanted to see how far I could push myself in this sport, because that's how I took it, as a sport. There were other reasons within this main reason. I wanted to show the man and teachers of my academy that I was better than them. That I could take all the crap they gave me and still come out on top. I wanted to show that I was worthy of my heritage, of being a noblewoman. And finally, I wanted to show myself that I was worthy of being alive," replied Shizuka.
"You seem to hate the ZAFT military. Why?" asked the silver-haired man.
"I don't hate the ZAFT military. I just dislike being ignored and underestimated by people who should treat me like an equal," replied Shizuka.
"If you were to be offered a place as a soldier in ZAFT, what would you say?" asked the silver-haired man.
"I would accept in a heartbeat," replied Shizuka. The silver-haired man seemed to consider this and nodded.
"Now then, do you have any questions about me?" asked the silver-haired man.
"Just one. What is your name? If you wish, you may share any other information you like with me. If you do not feel comfortable sharing it with me, then you do not have to tell me," said Shizuka.
"My name is Yzak Jule. I pilot a Gundam on this ship. I'm also the first officer on this ship. That is all," said Yzak. "You surprise me. I thought you would ask all sorts of questions, after all I did saddle you with some of the heavier questions." Yzak left. Shortly afterward, Dearka entered.
"You left your room without permission yesterday, but that's okay. I saw you busy cleaning up the mess that those shots caused. Nicole reported back to me and I know how hard you worked," said Dearka.
"Hi Dearka. Yeah, I thought you could use some help. So, tell me some stuff about yourself Dearka. You probably pulled my file and know everything about me now. It's only fair you share what you know about me, don't you think?" asked Shizuka.
"Miss Hawatari…" started Dearka.
"I will continue to work with you. Call me Shizuka, Dearka," insisted Shizuka. Dearka blinked twice.
"Alright Shizuka. Fair enough. As you know, my name is Dearka. I pilot a Gundam here on this ship. I met Athrun Zala, the current commander of Peace in the last war. I was a part of his unit, under his command. I slowly learned that he was a tortured spirit, forced to battle against his friend. I was against the war from the beginning, but had no way to stop it. It wasn't until Lacus Clyne that my opportunity came. You seem knowledgeable about the war, so I assume you know what role Miss Lacus played in it. Kira defected to Miss Lacus and I followed shortly after. Miss Lacus spoke of what I had hoped for, a way to end the pointless war. It took a little more persuasion to convince Athrun, but he eventually agreed to come over and fight for Miss Lacus. Nicole was laid up in the hospital, still extremely weak. Yzak… although Yzak wanted to fight, he was put into the back and he was nearly blown up in the last fight. He was greatly weakened, leaving the three most powerful Gundams in the hands of Miss Lacus and so at last, the war was over. My stats as per the ZAFT academy are strong Hand-to-Hand combat, excellent History of the Battles, decent battle planning skills, and horrible piloting skill," finished Dearka.
Shizuka stared. "Damn. I wouldn't have expected such strong feelings from you Dearka. I guess you a hidden well of depth." Dearka smiled, although it was clear that he was pained by what he had just said. "Now I'll tell you something about me, Dearka. The reason why I pushed so hard in the ZAFT academy was to work with people like you. My teachers and the boys in my ZAFT academy were all bastards, but I knew that ZAFT was the place for me to be. You have just confirmed my belief that ZAFT is good.
"Anyways, I should get going. Lots to do, too little time."
'This certainly has been an eventful morning,' thought Shizuka. She went to the cleaning station.
April 24, 73 C.E.
1300 hours
Shizuka was finally beeing accepted among them as if she had always been there. Most unfortunately this only applied to the cleaning Crew. The rest of the Crew ignored her except for Dearka, Nicole, and Kira who always went out of their way to speak to her.
Then, as Shizuka was walking to her station one day she heard an argument going on. "I said NO! She's a noble!" yelled one voice.
"We need more pilots! Be reasonable Athrun," said the other voice and as Shizuka walked around the corner she saw an angry Athrun and annoyed Yzak entering Athrun's office. Shizuka blinked and walked on. Two hours later, Shizuka was summoned to Athrun's office. A smirking Yzak stood outside the door. Shizuka knocked on the door.
"Enter," called out Athrun and Shizuka did. "Ah, Miss Shizuka, good. Here are the hours you will be working and the duties you will have," said Athrun. Shizuka blinked. "Welcome to ZAFT, Miss Shizuka.
Shizuka blinked. "Repeat that," she said
"I said, 'Welcome to ZAFT,'" replied Athrun.
"No, no, no, I must be going crazy. I thought you said, 'Welcome to ZAFT.' But that simply is not possible, is it?" asked Shizuka. Athrun rolled his eyes.
"Look," said Athrun sighing, "Do you want the post or not?"
"Uh, yes," replied Shizuka. She continued to blink and not move, however. Athrun sighed again. He picked up the paper put in Shizuka's hand, guided her to the door, pushed her out and closed the door. Shizuka just stood there… and stood there… and stood there…
"YES!" yelled Shizuka and started doing the happy dance. Four minutes later Shizuka stopped, mortified. She had gathered a small audience and the people were staring at her like she was some kind of wired exhibit.
"As amusing as this all is, I would prefer it if I could actually get to my room now," said a highly annoyed Yzak.
She hurried off to her room. 'And I actually get to CALL it my room, not the guest quarters,' thought Shizuka to herself. Shizuka unpacked her tiny rucksack and put her books on the shelves and put away her clothes in the trunk. She had not yet unpacked her things because she was sure that she would be getting off at the next Plant and she would not have been able to bear it if she had to pack. It would have meant that, however remotely, she had belonged here for a short time and that she was leaving. But not anymore, she was staying. She danced and spun as she put away her things. The door slid open.
"Hey, I heard," said Dearka.
"Isn't it great," sang Shizuka.
"Yeah, um, I have orders from the Commander to test you," said Dearka.
"Why? I thought my post was already set up?" Shizuka asked.
"Long story short, your hours are set, you will have a post, and we do have an idea about what your going to do. But, we want to test your skills first," answered Dearka. "Now come on." Both of them arrived at the flight simulator.
"We'll start with the classic flight simulator," said Dearka. Shizuka shortly finished the simulation flight.
"Well done. You pass with flying colors. Next we'll try this," said Dearka, leading her over to the mobile suit simulator. Shizuka had only gotten to use one like it a couple of times. Eagerly, she started it up. Her over eagerness lead to a miscalculation, and death at level five.
"Well, that wasn't bad for a first time," said Dearka. "Next."
"What is it? I haven't seen a simulator like this before."
"It is new. As you know, unlike the basic mobile suits, these run Gundam. Gundam or General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver, have their own flight protocols and challenges. It-"
"Gundam?" cut in Shizuka "Oh, I have always wanted to try one."
With that she promptly sat down and fired it up. Shizuka entered the simulation. She died on the start of the second level. Slightly frustrated, Shizuka shut the simulator off and stepped out.
"That was quite good," said Dearka. Shizuka just looked at him. "Okay, no it was lousy, but hey, you have no experience in flying a Gundam, so given the circumstances it was quite good. Now, then, you did quite well in the Academy, but Athrun and I have agreed that you could use so more training," said Dearka.
"What makes you think you're allowed to do this?" demanded Shizuka. Dearka grinned at her lightly.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that Athrun put me in charge of you. Yes, it was originally to keep an eye on you, but you know, these things tend to evolve," answered Dearka.
"In other words you're doing this to torture me," said Shizuka.
"Not at all. I'm doing this because I am concerned about you," corrected Dearka, with a sly smile. Shizuka sighed.
"Okay, what torture have you dug up for me, playboy?" asked Shizuka.
"You will be piloting ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior. It is artillery, but Athrun is concerned about your low Hand-to-Hand. While it is unlikely an artillery would have to fight close-range, if it did, you would need a better understanding of Hand-to-Hand."
"But I'm not going to be fighting Hand-to-Hand," said Shizuka in a confused voice.
"Yes, but the better you are in real Hand-to-Hand, the better you will be able to implement successful strategies. And you know what that means," explained Dearka, with a smile.
"Oh, no," said Shizuka, her face paling.
"Oh no is right. You wouldn't last one minute in close combat as you are now, so I have assigned you an instructor," said Dearka.
"Please don't tell me it's Yzak," begged Shizuka. Yzak, who was passing by in the hallway stiffened slightly.
"What's wrong with me?" demanded Yzak.
"Don't worry, it's Nicol," said Dearka.
"Why you didn't ask me?" demanded Yzak to Dearka.
"Because Yzak, you already have too much on your plate. Besides, Nicol has a much better temperate and I believe that she will learn better under him," replied Dearka. Yzak scowled, but could not deny that Dearka had a point.
"What didn't you ask me, precisely?" demanded Yzak. Dearka and Shizuka just laughed and walked out the door.
"WHAT?" asked Yzak.
Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a story and I would love it if you would review for me. Thanks!
Childofdarknessanddespair