Akiyama Yukari had never EVER thought she would be doing what she was doing now. She was packing - In preperation for leaving the Ooarai School-Ship.

She couldn't bear to tell any of her team mates, least of all Miho. She shivered upon seeing the girl's face in her mind. She shook her head several times. 'Gotta concerntrate. Gotta...' She felt tears form in her eyes. "This...Isn't easy..." She muttered as she finished her packing.

She cast her mind back a few days during their latest practice match. She shook her head as she remembered that she had nearly been caught underneath the Tank's tracks. Miho had given the order to stop the tank (thank god) but...She couldn't...She couldn't do it. Her feelings for Miho were getting to her the older she got. She was 17, the next national championship was going to take place MUCH later on in the year...But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Yukari turned to the door and took in a deep breath. "I'd better get going..."

She (near enough) sneaked out of her family house, leaving a note for her mother and father about the situation. She had found work but she wasn't going to say where.

[Near the Control Tower/Runway Strip]

Yukari had lugged her "luggage", which consisted of her usual PLUS a clothes suitcase and such, to the radar/control tower. She looked around several times, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"No-one's here."

"Hey! You!"

Yukari froze - Had someone spotted her!?

She relaxed when she saw it was one of the control tower's personnal. "Come over here! Its too dangerous to be on the runway!"

Yukari nodded and got over to her. "Th...Thank you"

The girl tilted her head to the right. "My name's Akira, but...Why do you look like you're leaving the ship Akiyama? You're famous on this ship"

Yukari went slightly red in embarrasement. "N...No. I'm, uh, going on Holiday! That's the one..."

Akira sighed. "I've heard that before." She crossed her arms. "Does your team know about this?" Yukari shook her head. "Want me to tell them?" She shook her head even more. "That'd explain why I heard those fighter plane noises this mornin'. WAY to early to be one of ours"

Yukari's eyes went to Akira's in moments. "Where!? Where!?" She repeated 4 times so Akira put her arms up. "Easy. Easy." She pointed to an aircraft that was not far out. "See that one?" The brown haired girl nodded. "That's the one that was here a moment ago"

Yukari nodded. "Alright..."

Akira turned to it and pulled out her communicator. "Radio Op. Tell that F-14 Tomcat to get back here. Akiyama is awake now"

Yukari went even more red. "Me...I...I can't ask..."

Akira smirked as the radio came back. "Acknowledged. Message sent"

Within moments (that shocked the Radio op, Akira AND Yukari) the fighter plane had done a complete 180 degree turn (A U-turn) and landed nearby.

Yukari turned to it and she felt sheepish as the teenager headed towards them. He didn't look a day over her age - THANK WORD HE HADN'T CHANGED.

Within moments Yukari discovered her luggage wasn't with her...It was on the plane. He smiled at her when he came back. "Anything else you need to do? Its quite a trip...Even with the stay on the carrier"

Yukari thought for a moment. "I'll just leave this with my best friend here..." She pulled out what seemed to be quite a well crafted letter in a soft Sakura-pink envelope. "Miho..." She whispered.

Nick (The Fighter Pilot who had come to get Yukari) looked at her with worry in his crystal Emerald eyes. "You SURE you wanna go through with this? You can't come back...If at all you know."

Yukari nodded. "Yeah I am-"

"Then let me take that letter."

Nick, Akira and Yukari turned to the new voice who had said that. Yukari's whole being froze up, it was just one person, but it was the person that mattered the most to her - Miho Nishizumi.

Akira looked between the three, then walked into the tower. "I'll go and get take off clearance for you Nick."

Nick nodded. "Thank you."

Akira nodded back. "You're welcome."

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

Nick turned his attention back to the two girls. Yukari was still unable to move, while Miho was staring at her. Miho sighed.

"If that's the way you feel. Then give me that letter, and head to wherever it is you are headed..." Miho's hands clenched into fists and relaxed again.

Nick KNEW all to well what this meant. Miho was struggling with her emotions and Yukari was...For want of a better word? Being an airhead.

"I assume you are Nishizumi Miho?" Nick asked, causing Miho to turn to him. Yukari mouthed the words, 'Don't...' To him but he ignored her.

"Yes, that is my name."

Nick bowed to her. "Pleasure. Mine is Nick. Now, may I ask you something?"

Miho looked at Yukari then to him. "Sure"

"Why are you being this harsh on her?"

Miho's mouth went open.

"I'm not going to force the issue, but to anyone of the people on my ship, maybe even on yours, you'd have figured out like they did that Yukari here is madly...Well..."

He looked to Yukari who had passed him the letter, silently going to his plane. He walked forward and handed the letter to Miho, who was reluctant to have it from him then Yukari. "Look, I may not be Japanese. Hell, I may not even be an expert on Love...But I can tell you this-" He checked to make sure Yukari was in the PASSENGER seat of his plane - Which she was. "That girl in there, she loves you Miho. She can't get enough of you. I've tried, A LOT, BELIEVE ME, to turn her mind onto different things...But she can't do it anymore."

Miho started to open the letter. "If she had thought that way...She should have just told-"

"Do you know how hard it is to tell someone you love them? Especially, when they are your closest friend?"

Miho sighed as she pulled the letter out. "There's not really a word that I can use to-"

"I can think of one. Its called Rejection. That would be make or break for her. I'm not taking her away FOREVER. All I'm doing is taking on a small break...She can be with me as long or little as she wants. Anyway, you read that letter. I've got to get going."

Nick turned and walked towards his plane while Miho read the letter...Out loud:

"Miho, I'm sorry I had to leave like this but I had no other choice. I can't just sit in the tank next to you and not be...More? More then friends...More then friends with you...I DID look at you when you went to look at the top of the tank during our match with Pravda...Hope you aren't mad at me-" Miho went bright red, cause that would mean that Yukari had seen up her SKIRT during that match... 'Note to self - Wear shorts during future matches'.

Miho felt her legs wobble, tears already falling down her face.

"I'm not going to come back for at least a year...I hope you have a good time seperated from me...Maybe that'll give me the time to think about this. I'll visit you after that time is up...if you're still around then maybe we can talk over lunch on that day? Provided I don't get lost in the world of tanks...No I did NOT MEAN that game we failed at...Eheh...In any case...I love you Miho...That's all I can really say...Damnit...Why can't I put letter's together that are SMALLER!? But that'd mean that my opinion of you was small...That skirt...I had to remember to get you a bigger one...You need shorts really...What the heck am I saying!? Ah, bugger it. Love you now and always - Akiyama Yukari."

Miho felt her whole body force her to the floor as the tears wrecked her face. She was wailing in tears, before long she would have people around her.

[Over with Nick and Yukari]

Yukari sighed as she looked to Miho's crumbled body crying at the tower. "I'm going to ask you one last time, do you want to stay here and comfort her? Or do you still want to go through with this?"

Yukari looked to Nick, then a few minutes later she put her helmit on. "Let's go." She felt a tear fall down her face as she looked to Miho again. "Get me out of here before I break down as well..."

Nick nodded. "Roger. Tower Ooraai, this is Falcon five, five, four, two niner requesting take off clearance"

A few moments later, the tower responded. "This is Tower Ooraai, Falcon five, five, four, two niner you have clearance. Take off and climb ten thousand, hold and maintain altitude until you hit the mainland. How copy?"

Nick nodded again. "Take off, climb and maintain ten thousand until mainland copy."

As the engines started up, Yukari saw Miho look up at her. The pair of them sending a silent message to each other.

'I'll wait for you Yukari...Even if its forever' Miho thought.

'I'll be back for you Miho...You can count on that' Yukari thought as the fighter plane took her and Nick into the skies...Or should we say Nick took them in the fighter plane?

One thing was for certain - When Yukari came back...She was NOT going to be the same girl...Not by a long shot.