I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

It was still dark out, one could say that is was around three o' clock. Nazo was comfortably sleeping in his bed when the door creaked open. Nausicaä strode into the room and knelt down beside the bed, put a hand on Nazo's shoulder and started to shake it.

"Nazo, Nazo! Wake up!"

Nazo shot up, considering the last time he had been woken up, it was because giant monsters were attacking the city.

"What is it? Is the Valley being attacked?" Nazo said as he jumped out of bed. Nausicaä was calmly lighting a candle when she heard this.

"Hmm? No this is the usual time for everyone to get up. We start early in this village, and I suggest you do the same."

Nazo could not hide the frown on his face, "Uhh, still tired."

Nausicaä waved away his compliants, "You have been sleeping for 1000 years, there is no way you can be tired." With that, she placed down a set of clothes on the bed.

"These were my father's old clothes. The size might be not exactly right, but please bear with it."

Nazo nodded once and Nausicaä left to let him change. Through the door, Nausicaä said, "After you are done, come to the dining room, breakfast is already served."

Nazo stripped and put the clothes he had been given on. As Nausicaä had predicted, the clothes were bit baggy, but the problems that would occur because of it would be minimal. His outfit now was almost exactly the same as Mito's. There was just minor color variation. He still had brown boots and gloves. But his shirt and pants were both red in color. He picked up the goggles from the bed and put them on his head.

Nazo opened the door and walked down the corridor to the dining room. He arrived and spotted Nausicaä and Obaba eating. He sat down and joined them. They surprisingly had a pleasant breakfast full of conversation. Nazo told them of the wonders of the world of the past, from supermarkets to hotels to schools across the world. Nausicaä and Obaba told him the history of the Valley of the Wind. How their people settled there, and how the ocean currents produced the vital wind that protected them from the spores of the poison forest. After they finished eating and cleaning, Nausicaä told Nazo to meet her at the hill they were on yesterday.

"I am telling you that this is a terrible idea." Nazo said as he looked at the red glider in front of him.

Nausicca put her hands on her hips, "Honestly Nazo, you will be fine, look at all the children doing it!" She pointed toward the sky and sure enough at least 10 gliders were hovering on air currents.

Nazo sighed, "Once you have set your mind to something, you really don't give up do you?"

Nausicaä smiled and nodded, "Glad you noticed, now all you need to do is get on, and hit this button here, see? That will make a pedal come up from the floor of the glider, which you press with your foot. That will push your glider into the air, Then you just accelerate and you will be able to glide fine. I will take over if anything goes wrong ok? Now try it yourself, you will find flying will be fun."

Nausicca walked over to the red glider and laid down on it. Nazo walked over and stood on the glider. "hit the switch and like this?" Nazo muttered as he followed what Nausicaä taught him. A pedal came up, which Nazo stepped on. Immediately, the glider's thrusters ignited propelling the duo into the air.

Nazo gripped the handles tightly, then pressed another switch and the rear engine fired, moving them forward. Nazo eyes widened as adrenaline pumped throughout his system. Nausicaä was right, flying was amazing. The view of everything around you, the feeling of wind rushing past you, you couldn't get this feeling from riding in a helicopter or any other flying vehicle from his time. Nazo accelerated forward, banking left and right, rising up with the currents and falling with the downdrafts, eventually Nausicaä motioned for him to land. Nazo nodded and turned back to the hill where they had started, they gently glided back to the starting point and landed on the hill. Nazo jumped off the glider, and helped Nausicaä up.

"Looks like you were having a blast Nazo," chuckled Nausicaä as she folded the red glider's wings.

Nazo couldn't help but smile, "Man that was exhilarating! I understand why you wanted me to try it out."

Nausicaä laughed, "Well the sun has risen, and the ocean currents are becoming stronger, making the wind harsher. First time riders like you would have trouble in this wind, so we can practice tomorrow in the morning. For now help me carry this back, then we can get the ceramic swords."

Nazo walked over to the glider and lifted it with Nausicaä. "Swords? What are we going to do with those?"

Nausicaä just kept looking forward but responded, "Do you have any prior experience with swordsmanship? Your main weapon is a sword, so you need to be able to defend yourself."

Nazo sighed, "I took kendo lessons for some time way back. My interests turned to engineering after a while though, so I may be out of practice."

Nausicaä nodded, "then it would be best to start from the basics."

The two returned to the castle and retrieved some swords, somewhere wooden and others ceramic. The two then walked out to the grassy fields.

Nausicaä handed him a ceramic sword and wooden one as well.

"Place the wooden one aside for now," instructed Nausicaä as she put down her own wooden blade, "First I will instruct you on your stance."

Nazo did as he was told and took a normal kendo stance.

Nausicaä frowned, "What is that?"

Nazo looked at her confused, "This is the normal Kendo stance, is something wrong with it?"

Nausicaä sighed, "All I see is you waiting to get hit, grip your blade like this, and…"

The day marched on as Nausicaä instructed Nazo the use of a blade and the correct handling of one. After a few hours of instruction, they started to spar with the wooden swords. It was a simple game where 3 hits determined a winner. At first the spars were short, with Nausicaä winning every one. Just because she was his instructor, didn't mean she would go easy. After repeated duels, Nazo started to score hits on the princess, even winning a few. By the time noon rolled around, both combatants were worn out. Nausicaä suggested that they both head back to the castle for a lunch break.

"So what are we doing in the afternoon?" asked Nazo as he handed a washed dish to Nausicaä to put it away.

Nausicaä gave him a sheepish smile, "Sorry, but I have prior arrangements, so you need to find something to do in the meantime. You can practice your swordsmanship if you want."

Nazo shook his head, "I have a better idea. I am going to work on that gunship you have. The acceleration and deceleration systems on its wings should be easy to tune. Plus I can probably fix up the engine a bit."

Nausicaä smiled, "Sure, just don't break it. It is our one important weapon in wars."

Nazo nodded, "Alright, See you later."

Nausicaä bid him farewell and they went their separate ways. As Nausicaä worked in the fields, fixed windmills, and gathered ingredients for dinner for that night, she looked over the castle sometimes, wondering how Nazo was holding up. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Being thrown into an entirely new situation had to be stressful for him. When she listened to Nazo's story of his past, she understood that humans back then had a life of absolute convenience. Everything was only a push of a button away. Now everything had to be earned through hard labor, nothing came cheap. Even though Nazo put on a brave face, he must be worried underneath…

Nazo's thoughts were not on his past at the moment, rather it was on all the technological things that his father had taught him since he was eight. His father's knowledge and infinite patience was what helped Nazo become as experienced as he was now, and he was glad. If he had not known how to work machines, specifically this engine, he would have been entirely lost in this world. There would be nothing familiar to him. He didn't know even if he could have stayed calm in this situation. Nazo shook his head at his dark thoughts, he had to do what he could, if only to keep calm. A shuffling was heard behind him. Nazo turned to see the same creature he had seen yesterday behind him. Nausicaä had called it a fox-squirrel, and had named it "Teto" if memory served correct.

Standing up, Nazo walked over to the animal and knelt down beside it. "And what are you doing here?" asked Nazo.

The animal hissed at him and ran towards the crates of parts in the back of the hanger. Nazo scratched the back of his head, "Guess it is not friendly…"

Nazo walked over towards the crates to get more parts, as he gathered the mechanical items he needed he glanced down to see the little fox watching him carefully. Nazo shrugged, and continued to work. He walked back to the gunship and started to lay down the parts he had collected.

"Now to modify the wings…" muttered Nazo as he walked towards the left wing. He reached down without looking to grab the wretch that he had placed on the floor, only to feel something scamper up his arm. He froze and looked to his right. There on his shoulder was the "not so friendly" fox, looking back at him. Nazo sighed, and decided to keep working. As time passed by, Nazo lost the feeling of "hate" coming from the fox as he continued to work. By the time he finished the right wing, the fox was on his left shoulder sitting peacefully.

"So Teto? How do you like my work?" asked Nazo as he finished putting away the materials he had used for the day. It was time for dinner anyway. The little fox just gave a short, but happy "yip" sound. Nazo shrugged and walked back to the house with the fox contently sitting on his shoulder. As Nazo entered the kitchen, the fox jumped off his shoulder only to scamper up Nausicaä's arm.

"Teto!" smiled Nausicaä as the fox rubbed its face against Nausicaä's cheek, "Did you make sure Nazo didn't break anything?"

Nazo frowned at the comment, "I promised that I wouldn't break anything, your gunship should be better than ever now. Next I am thinking of looking at that glider I was using today."

Nausicaä perked up at this, "Oh? If so, could you look at Mehve as well?"

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "Mehve? What is that?"

Nausicaä laughed, "Oh! That is my glider's name."

Nazo nodded once in understanding, "Ok, do you want to make it faster or handle better?"

Nausicaä thought, "Can't you do both?"

Nazo shook his head in the negative. "I can make it faster regardless, but then at a certain point it becomes a trade-off, better handling or making it faster, obtaining both would be impossible.

Nausicaä nodded, "I see… hmm, then I give mine better handling, if you can."

Nazo nodded, "alright I will do just that." Dinner was served and the group ate. As Nazo retired for bed, He heard a rustling near the door. It was pushed open and Teto walked in. Nazo looked at it with a confused expression. The fox hopped up and curled up beside Nazo. Nazo reached out and pet the small creature which smiled in response. Nazo shrugged, he had an inkling of what was going on, but he would later ask Nausicaä for the details.

The next day repeated almost exactly like the day before. There was practice with gliders in the early morning, in which Nazo finally was able to control the glider while lying on the belt that the glider provided, making it more aerodynamic. The morning was sword practice once again for Nazo. Nazo was getting better. He was able to parry blows that he was not able to before. The princess usually won, but Nazo's wins were slowly increasing as well. After lunch the group split off like the day before with Nazo working on both Mehve and his own red glider. Teto joined him as well, and seemed content watching Nazo work. He increased the output of both their engines, and modified Mehve accordingly. He increased the thrust on the rear engine for his own glider to increase speed. As he finished Nausicaä opened the door to the hanger to tell him the dinner was ready. Teto jumped off Nazo's shoulder and ran to Nausicaä.

"Nausicaä!" called Nazo as he walked toward her.

Nausicaä turned, "hmm?"

"Are you telling Teto to keep me company? Last night he came to my room." Nazo said as he looked at the fox.

Nausicaä frowned, "So that is where he went last night, anyway, no, I usually let Teto do what he wants, if he is sticking by you, then there has got to be a reason. Usually fox-squirrels are against all human contact. They are wise though, so you should follow him if he wants you to."

Nazo raised an eyebrow, now he had another mystery to solve. The two went back to the kitchen and ate a simple dinner. As Nazo walked to his room Teto came up behind him and climbed up to his shoulder. Nazo smiled at him, "So, you willing to tell me why you have been sticking by me?" The fox just looked back at him and cocked his head to the side. Nazo let out a chuckle, and trudged into his room. As Nazo got ready for bed Teto ran to the bed and curled up and started to rest.

There was a knock on the door, Nazo opened it to reveal Nausicaä standing behind it.

"Nausicaä? Is something wrong?" asked Nazo as cocked his head to the side.

Nausicaä nodded, "About your stay here…"

Nazo suddenly went numb… He was too busy concentrating on fixing machines and sword fighting to realize the obvious point, tomorrow he would have to leave.

Nausicaä continued, "If you would like to stay here, that would be fine with me. You helped with the machines and other things while you were here, and I just taught you how to fly. It would be a shame if you never flew again. You would have to start helping around the village if needed though, since everyone is required to work, so what do you say?"

Nazo smiled, "Thanks Nausicaä, I have nowhere else to go, so I will do just that." Nausicaä nodded once, and after a "sweet dreams, she closed the door.

Nazo crawled into bed, making sure not to disturb the small fox, and he too drifted to sleep.

Nazo awoke early that morning. He did not know if getting up early was becoming natural to him, or if it was because he was going to finally get his blade back. Either way he changed into his uniform and strode out of his room to the kitchen. Nausicaä was currently inside making a meal, she turned toward him when he entered the room and gave a wave before returning to work. Nazo went and set the table for the group to eat. After the meal was made and distributed, they ate. The conversation at the table was as lively as last time. Nazo could barely get a mouthful before Nausicaä or Obaba was asking him another question, which he all happily answered. As they were washing dishes, Nausicaä continued to ask him questions.

"So your saying that this 'school' was a place where a lot of people gathered together to learn?" asked Nausicaä as she handed a plate to Nazo to put away.

Nazo nodded once.

Nausicaä shook her head, "And you hated going to school? to me that would be a really fun place."

Nazo scowled, "Trust me Nausicaä, if you lived in my time, you would not like going to school either."

Nausicaä shrugged, "You might be right, but if you look at it another way, you are able to hate it, only because you were fortunate to have it in the first place."

Nazo became uncharacteristically quiet at that point. "Yeah…. I know," muttered Nazo as he put the last dish away. "But if I think about it too deeply, I might lose my composure."

Nazo walked back to his room in silence and grabbed his mask. Nausicaä had told him to grab it before they left to pick up his sword. Nausicaä met him at the entrance of the castle.

Nausicaä seemed nervous, probably because of the comment he had made earlier. To ward off her fears, he smiled.

"Come on, let's go!" said Nazo as he walked past Nausicaä. Nausicaä looked at him curiously, then nodded once. Whether she was agreeing with him, or silently thanking him, it was unknown, but it didn't matter in the end, they had the entire day ahead of them, it wouldn't bode well for them to get off on the wrong foot. The two walked down the streets until they came to the armory. As the two entered they came upon a large group of men talking as they were getting ready for the day.

"Princess!" yelled one of the men that spotted the duo. Immediately, all other people in the building stopped what they were doing and greeted Nausicaä. Nausicaä smiled and greeted each by name. Finally, a large set man came forward with a sheath. A sword was tucked into it. The man handed the blade and sheath to Nazo. Nazo gripped the handle and slowly drew the blade out. In all common sense, the only thing that had changed was the handle, but Nazo got a different feeling from it that before. When he had first picked it up, it was only a makeshift weapon that was being used in desperation, but now, now it was considered one of the strongest weapons around, especially with a proper handle.

Speaking of the handle, it fit well in his palm. It was not overly large nor too small. The grip itself was superb, assuring that he would not lose the blade in battle if a powerful blow hit the sword. The nicest feature, by far though, was the fact that the handle was light. The overall weight of the blade did not change much. Nazo gave it a few practice swings before he sheathed the blade.

Nazo smiled, "Thank you all so much for making these things for me," as he gestured to the handle and the sheath. The blacksmiths smiled.

"No problem kid, hope you like it, we put a lot of time into it, but all of us can definitely say, that is really the best handle, if not the best blade in the Valley."

Nazo smiled and bowed once again to show his respect. With that, both Nausicaä and Nazo walked back to the castle. Nazo finished fastening the sheath to his person. The sheath lay in a similar place to Nausicaä's , it allowed for easy accessibility, when danger made itself known.

"So what's on today's agenda?" asked Nazo as they arrived at the entrance way to the castle.

Nausicaä ushered him inside and closed the door, "Well, first things first, you need to get used to that blade, so here is what I suggest would be best. We are going to use our gliders to go out to the wastelands, that will give you experience with your sword on your person while you are flying. While we are out there, you will train with that blade, slashing trees or rocks, while I practice with my glider, since you were so kind to modify it for me."

Nazo nodded once in understanding, and Nausicaä continued. "Finally, when we are returning, the situation will give you a chance to learn how to take off from somewhere other than the Valley hill."

At that point the two had retrieved their gliders and were walking towards the hill near the castle.

"Ready?" asked Nausicaä as she mounted Mehve.

"Ready," was Nazo's reply and he stepped onto his own glider.

The two took of simultaneously and sped off into the wasteland beyond the Valley. Within 20 minutes they were sitting near ruined buildings. Nazo pulled out his blade which at that point he had named "Shattered Dream" and started to practice his swordsmanship. As Nazo practiced, Nausicaä took off once again and tried to find out how much of better control she had of Mehve. She was not disappointed. As Nazo had promised, Mehve was faster. Not only that, but the way she banked left and right was much smoother than before. She even did a couple Aileron rolls to and was delighted by the ease in which she maneuvered. She was about to fly down and thank Nazo when something caught her attention. Two horseclaws were running across the desert, and the riders looked familiar. They were heading near where Nazo's location, so she glided down and called out to them.

"Lord Yupa! Asbel!"

Asbel looked up, and he saw her. Her blue dress complemented her red hair perfectly. She had a sunny smile on her face that could warm a heart, regardless if it was human or not. Nausicaä gently glided down and landed near them. She ran over and started talking to Lord Yupa enthusiastically. Asbel watched the scene play out with a smile. But then, Lord Yupa's gaze shifted, he seemed to be looking behind Nausicaä, Asbel looked to the right finally seeing a boy with a rather large, menacing blade in his hand. He wore red garments save for his boots and gloves, and he was coming right for them. Asbel didn't have time to think. He would not risk putting Nausicaä in danger, so he jumped off the bird and charged.

"Lord Yupa! Asbel!

Nausicaä's voice echoed across the plains, making Nazo take a break from his training. It seemed that Nausicaä was talking to someone she knew. Nazo walked around the debris of concrete and was met with a rather odd sight. Nausicaä was talking adamantly to an old man who seemed to be riding an oversized bird. The old man looked up and stared at him, recognizing his presence. There was also another bird with a boy around his age on it. Now the boy was getting off the bird. Now the boy was running at him while drawing his bla.. "you have got to be kidding me"

Asbel swung his ceramic blade at Nazo which he parried.

"Calm down!" yelled Nazo as he blocked yet another strike. The boy however was not willing to stop and listen.

The two boys clashed their blades again and again with Nazo frantically trying to talk some sense into the boy. Finally Nazo lost his cool. As Asbel swung with an overhead slash, Nazo brought his blade to the side and slashed at the other sword as it was coming down. The result was as he had hoped. The ceramic blade could not withstand the pressure and was cut cleanly. Nazo repositioned himself and pointed the tip to the boy's neck.

"I suggest you listen when someone wants to talk," Nazo spat out as he glared at the boy who had raised his hands.

"That is some fine advice you have there," said a voice, "I suggest you follow it." With that, Nazo felt a knife to his throat. It had all happened in an instant.

"Drop your blade," said the man standing behind him. Nazo knew better than to resist, the man behind him seemed out of his range, so he did as he was told.

"Nausicaä, pick up his sword, and Asbel, sheath your broken blade," Asbel did as he was told, but Nausicaä sighed and waved the insect shell blade away from Nazo's throat.

"Nazo are you ok?" asked Nausicaä in a worried tone as she picked up his blade and handed it back to him.

Nazo nodded, "Yeah, I am fine, but still a little on edge with someone attacking me." Nazo then sheathed his blade.

Nausicaä turned to both Lord Yupa and Asbel. "This is Nazo, I know him, so don't feel threatened." The two nodded and Lord Yupa sheathed his knife.

"Guess we got started off on the wrong foot," said Nazo as he stepped forward to Asbel, and raised his hand in greeting, "The name is Nazo, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Asbel looked a bit embarrassed, but nevertheless took Nazo's hand and shook it saying, "Nice to meet you, I am Asbel, prince of Pejitei."

Nazo nodded once and turned to the old man and offered him the same greeting. The old man, who identified himself as simply "Yupa" shook hands with him.

"I would love to chat some more," said Lord Yupa as he turned to face Nausicaä as well, but how about we all head back to the Valley. Both Asbel and I are tired from our travels; let us reconvene at the castle." Nausicaä nodded in understanding.

"Come on Nazo, let's go," was all Nausicaä said as she approached Mehve. Nazo nodded then ran to his own glider. Both of them took off and headed toward the valley leaving both Lord Yupa and Asbel behind.

Lord Yupa turned to Asbel, "We should depart as well, we are almost home." With that both males hopped on their birds and rode towards the Valley once more.

There was chapter three. I wanted to write the fight scene between Nazo and Asbel for a long time. I don't hate Asbel, it is just he is the only character that would attack Nazo blindly out of emotion.

Between the time of writing this, doing homework, sleeping, etc, I have been trying to get a better understanding of the Nausicaä universe, specifically the characters. I have checked up on the Wiki of the character bios, but only Nausicaä's is filled out, every other one is lacking (can't blame them though, entire manga is on Nausicaä and really nobody else) I have read a few other fanfictions of Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind, and I am trying to incorporate what I see (that I thought was done well) into my story.

As always, If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

Thanks for reading this, please review.