I don't own Ultraman Zero and Girly Air Force, those belong to their creators. This is for fun, not profit.

Chapter 2: Komatsu Rendezvous

Minghua was brought to a different room in the military base and was told that Kei was fine and that they were only questioning him. She was seated on a couch as she waited and as she waited Minghua couldn't help but still be worried about Kei.

Minghua soon heard the door opening, and walking inside the room was Yashirodori Haruka and her childhood friend Kei.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Haruka told her as he showed Kei.

"Kei!" Minghua said in relief as she stood up and ran up to Kei before she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Minghua…" Kei said with a smile as he was happy to see that she was safe.

"Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" She asked as she checked for any injuries on Kei's face. "I heard they were going to interrogate you, and I got so worried."

Kei then removes her hands off of him.

"I'm fine. Nothing happened." Kei told her.

"I know it was a misunderstanding, but I'm still sorry we got rough with you." Haruka told her as he bowed his head.

"N-No, I'm sorry for making such a fuss." Minghua told her as she headed to the door.

Haruka then turns to Kei.

"See you tomorrow, then. We'll be waiting." Haruka told him.

"Right." Kei nodded.

Minghua turns to them as she overheard that.


Kei and Minghua were walking together with their respective bikes as they went past the gate.

Zero then coughs to Kei, getting his attention as he looks down at the Bracelet.

"Oh Kei, I believe you have something to say to Minghua." Zero told him.

"I know…" Kei said before he spoke to Minghua as they stopped walking. "I'm sorry."

"Eh?" Minghua said as she turned to him before Kei turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"For all that stuff I said. I was only thinking about myself. I wasn't thinking about how you felt, Minghua." Kei said as he scratched his finger on his cheek.

"No, I'm sorry." Minghua said as she lowered her head. "I think I went too far. Anyway, what was that about? When he said, 'See you tomorrow'."

"I'm going to be working part-time at the base starting tomorrow." Kei told her.

"Working?" Minghua repeated in confusion.


(Accentier by Eir Aoi)

(Instrumental) (Ultraman Zero is seen flying in the sky and joining with the Anima Gripen, Eagle, and Phantom had joined him as they flew together before they flew up in the eternal sky and then the title appeared on screen.)

(Nanimo kanjitenai furi de) (Kei had entered the kitchen as he yawned as Minghua began to scold him for sleeping in before Kei sat down on his chair.)

(Kimi wa kyou mo yarisugosu) (Kei then remembers his first encounter with Ultraman Zero as he looks up at him, before it changes to Kei wearing his pilot uniform and showing off the Ultimate Bracelet.)

(Yasashikusarechattara) (Gripen was leaning on her jet before she looked up at the blue sky as she reached out to it.)

(Tate naku naru kara) (Flashes of Kei and Gripen encounters appeared one at time, when they first met and their reunion.)

(Yarinaoshite mitai kako to) (Next to her jet, Eagle is seen hugging onto Haruka which was much to his annoyance.)

(Wasuresatte shimau hikari) (Sitting on her jet, Phantom was chuckling as she watched Eagle.)

(Dochira ga daiji ka nante wakaranai yo ne) (In his dark laboratory, Zeiber was seated on his chair before the screens zoom out revealing his kaiju experiments inside of their tubes.)

(Kibou ya ai no uta ga afureteru riyuu wa) (Kei soon brings out the Ultra Zero Eye Neo as he puts it on and transforms into Ultraman Zero.)

(Sore wo mitai to minna ga negatteru kara) (As Zero lands on the ground, he then notices an army of kaiju has surrounded him before he battles them.)

(Ima kimi wo mitsumeteru AKUSENTIA) (First Zero attacks the kaiju army with his Sluggers, destroying each of them, before he changes into his Strong-Corona Form as he unleashes his Garnate Buster destroying several of them.

(Sono kokoro ga kowarete shimawanai you ni) (Zero then changes into his Luna-Miracle Form as he unleashes Miracle Zero Sluggers at the kaijus around him. As Zero changes into his Base Form, he soon notices a large kaiju firing an energy shot at him and Zero counters it with his Wide Zero Shot.)

(Zutto tatta hitori de) (In his lab, Zeiber was putting the finishing touches to his Ultimate Lifeform as its head was formed.)

(Aruke wa shinai sa) (Then its arms were formed as one of them had the head of a monster.)

(Sou sa kyou mo asu mo kitto ichinen tatte mo GOORU janai) (Then the legs were formed before Zeiber's Ultimate Lifeform raised its head as its eye lights up red.)

(Soshite kimi wo dakishimeru AKUSENTIA) (Zero had fallen on one of his knees after being hit by an attack from Zeiber's Ultimate Lifeform as it was standing in front of Zero.)

(Toridashita no wa chiisana okurimono) (Kei was panting inside of Zero's body before he roared as he wasn't going to give in.)

(Kokoro to kokoro wo tsunaide iku) (Kei soon brings out the Zero's Riser and uses it to scan New Generation Capsules Alpha and Beta, he then brought the Riser in front of his face and pressed its trigger.)

(Sonna chikara wo kimi no sono migite ni) (Zero soon transforms into his Beyond Form as he faces Zeiber's Ultimate Lifeform.)

(GAN! GAN! GAN!) (Then it changes to Kei standing on an airplane runway with his friends standing with him.)


Zeiber was watching footage of Zero's battle against Eleking Discharge Dragon as he tapped his silver claws on his armchair.

"So subject EDD has failed. But I shouldn't expect anything less given Zero's reputation. Best to prepare for the next subject." Zeiber said as he went through his Kaiju data files once again.


(Next day)

It was now morning, and Kei was riding his bike to Komatsu Base for his 'part-time job'. As he was heading there, Kei remembers his conversation with Haruka after meeting Gripen.


(Flashback)

"It's late. Let's talk more tomorrow. You'll be rewarded for your cooperation." Haruka told him before he showed Kei a folder which was an air force academy handbook. "Come back tomorrow. Tell your friend you're working here part-time."

(End of flashback)


'Help her fly…I don't know what that means, but if I can help defeat the Xi, I'll do whatever he wants me to.' Kei thought as he soon arrived at the gate of the base.

Kei was standing on his feet as he waited for Haruka to meet with him as he was standing behind the guardhouse. As he was waiting though Kei was feeling a little nervous being here.

'A teenager in civilian clothes stands out pretty bad here.' Kei thought before he looked around and spotted a few military cars driving on the road and spotted a few soldiers in uniform in the area as well. 'But the inside of this base is pretty nice. It's like a university campus.'

"Hello." Said a girl as she walked to Kei.

Kei looked and saw it was the Anima of Gripen wearing casual clothes. She was wearing a long sleeve white shirt with wide ends with brown shorts and matching shoes.

"I came to get you." She told him.

"W-Where's Yashirodoori?" Kei asked.

"Not here." She answered.

"Huh?" Kei said.

"Out. So I'll work with you today." The girl told him before she walked away. "Let's go."

"W-Wait!" Kei said as he followed her.

Kei was now walking behind the pink-haired girl as they headed further inside the base. As Kei was following her, he couldn't help but feel that this girl was odd somehow.

"If you're curious about her, you should ask her a few questions. I mean you will be working with her for a while." Zero suggested.

"I know, I know, you don't have to tell me." Kei told the Ultraman quietly.

"You're the one who shot down the Xi off the coast of Shanghai, right?" Kei asked but the Anima didn't answer. "Do you remember me? Uh…when you crashed…"

He then remembers the Anima kissing him on the lips, and his cheeks turned red when he remembered that part before the girl stops moving and Kei stops moving as well.

"No." She told him before the pink-haired girl turned to him. "I was so focused on what I was doing then that I don't remember when I crashed or when I was recovered. Sorry."

"I-I see." Kei said.

"Good for you, Kei. At least she won't remember that kiss." Zero told him and Kei's cheek turned red once again as he looked at his Bracelet and turned away from the girl.

"Will you please don't bring that up!" Kei said quietly.

"I'm told you saved me." The Anima said and Kei turned back to her before she bowed her head. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You saved me too after all. I was only returning the favor." Kei said as he rubbed the back of his neck.


The Anima soon brought Kei to the base's cafeteria and sat on a table together before she stood up.

"Tea and food. I'll go get them." She told him.

"Food?" Kei said.

"I haven't eaten breakfast yet. The tea is for you." She said as she left to get the food and tea.

Kei leans on his hand.

"A secret weapon that eats?" Kei said.

"I'm back." The pink-haired girl said as she brought her tray of food which had a plate of meat with a bowl of rice and soup before she placed it on the table.

Kei then notices that something was missing before he pointed it out.

"Where's my tea?" Kei asked and the girl flinched before she rushed back to the food line and brought Kei his cup of tea.

"I'm back." She said as he placed the cup on the table.

Kei then notices something else was also missing.

"Don't you need a spoon and some chopsticks?" Kei pointed out and the Anima flinched once again before she ran and brought a pair of chopsticks and a fork and spoon.

"I'm back." The Anima said as she sat down on her chair and was panting lightly.

"Listen, are you…A scatterbrain?" Kei asked.

"I am not! You are very wrong!" The girl pouted as she defended herself.

"You don't seem like a weapon at all. You keep forgetting stuff, you talk kind of funny…It's kind of like…" Kei said before she darkly glared at him.

"One more word and I'll get mad." She told him.

Kei sighed as he leaned on his hand once again.

As the Anima begins eating her food, a group of soldiers were walking by to their table as they were laughing but stopped as they saw the Anima seated on the table eating as the soldiers gave her a contempt look.

Kei notices that before they turn at each other and walk to a different table and away from the Anima.

Zero notices that as well.

"Now that was odd." Zero siad.

"I'm a little nervous." The Anima said as Kei turned back to her. "I've never talked to anyone from outside."

"Is that right?" Kei asked and the Anima nodded.

"So I'm just a little nervous." She told him and Kei smiles to hear that.

"Narutani Kei. That's my name. We haven't introduced ourselves yet, right?" Kei said.

"Kei? So your name's Kei…" She said.

"What should I call you?" Kei asked.

"Gripen." She answered.

"That's the name of an aircraft, right?" Kei asked.

"I don't think that's it, Kei." Zero told him and Kei blinks to hear that.

"JAS39 Gripen. That's who I am. Nothing else." Gripen explains as her hair and eyes light up. "Just as humans make no distinction between their brain and the rest of their body, an Anima and a Daughter are identical and inseparable. I'm just a weapon. So call me Gripen.

"I see. So both this girl and that jet are one and the same. That jet acts as the body while she acts as the brain who controls it. I bet Hikari would be fascinated by that." Zero said.

"Who's Hikari?" Kei asked quietly.

"I'll explain later." Zero told him.

"Got it. Gripen, right?" Kei said and Gripen nodded. "So, Gripen, what do we do after this? What's next on the schedule after breakfast?"

Gripen then tilted her head in confusion.

"You don't have a plan?" Kei exclaimed.

"What do you want to do, Kei?" Gripen asked.

"I'm not sure how to answer that." Kei told her before he tries to think of something. "Uh…What is it that you usually do? Here at the base."

Gripen thought about it and gave her answer.

"Walk."

"Huh?" Kei said in confusion.

"I wander around. Also, go on adventures here and there." Gripen said.

"I guess that's her concept of what fun is." Zero said as he scratched his finger on his cheek.

"Yeah…So you're a free-spirited weapon, huh?" Kei said.

"Also, nap." Gripen said and Kei sweat drops.

"Are you really that plane I saw?" Kei asked.


After Gripen was done eating her breakfast, she and Kei were walking outside together as Kei walked behind her.

As Kei was walking though, he noticed a few other soldiers were giving Gripen some looks of contempt and noticed someone riding on a bicycle passing by them and gave Gripen a quick look of contempt.

"Zero, do you notice that?" Kei asked and Zero nodded.

"Yeah, I did. I think their attention is on Gripen, but not in a good way." Zero told him.

"What's with these people?" Kei asked before he accidentally bumps behind Gripen as she stops walking. "Oh, sorry."

"That's H3." Gripen said as she pointed at a hangar.

"H3?" Kei said in confusion.

"Hangar 3. The place you were held when you were abducted yesterday." She told him and Kei flinched to hear that. "Next to it is H2. Next to that, H1. There are also smaller hangars: H4, H5, and H6."

"This place is pretty big." Kei said.

"This is the only base near the Sea of Japan that has any fighter jets. If the continental coast falls to the Xi, Komatsu will be the front-line base. Taiwan and the peninsula are still fighting, so it's peaceful here now. But when they fall…" Gripen said, and Kei understood what that would mean.

They once again walk as Gripen explains more details about the base.

"There's one runway. It's alternately referred to as Runway 06 and Runway 24, depending on the direction of takeoff and landing." Gripen told him.

"One runway? But don't civilian planes land here?" Kei asked.

"They use it as well." Gripen answered.

"What if you need to do an emergency takeoff?" Kei asked.

"We share." Gripen answered and Kei sweat dropped to hear that.

Gripen soon brought Kei to an old bunker and inside of it was an old propeller fighter jet.

"What's this?" Kei asked.

"An old bunker. It's not used now." Gripen told him as she walked over the rope in front of the old bunker as she walked to it and stopped beside the old fighter jet as she looked at it. "I like this place. I feel like a princess here."

"I see." Kei said as he walked to the old jet as well. "For an airplane, this is like a fancy bed with a canopy, huh?"

"Yes. My secret base." Gripen said as she was standing in front of a few boxes filled with some random stuff and was placed on a blanket before she picked up a shining marple.

"But is that okay? This is a JSDF base, right? If you try to make it into your own room, won't they get mad if they find out?" Kei asked in concern as Gripen sat down on the blanket.

"Haruka said that if you do something bad and nobody finds out, it's not bad." Gripen told him.

"Haruka?" Kei said in confusion.

"Yashirodoori Haruka. The director." Gripen told him.

"Oh, that explains a lot now." Zero said in understanding.

"Yeah, that sounds like something he'd say." Kei said in agreement.

"Come sit." Gripen told him as she tapped on the other side of the blanket.

"Sure." Kei said as he sat down beside her.

Gripen was looking at the marple between her thumb and finger as the sunlight reflected upon it and the Anima sang a song.

"Fui ao jardim da Celeste, giroflé, giroflá. Fui ao jardim da Celeste, giroflé, flé, flá."

"What language is that?" Kei asked.

"I don't know. It was in the default training images." Gripen answered.

"You were saying something off the coast of Shanghai too, right?" Kei asked as he tried to remember. "Um, Nova Elu…Nove Ere?"

"Nova Era." Gripen said.

"Yeah. That's right." Kei said.

"I don't remember doing that, but I know what it means. A new era." Gripen told him.

"Was that in your training images, too?" Kei asked.

"No, it was there from the start." Gripen told him.

"The start?" Kei said in confusion.

"I don't know where I learned it, but…From the start." Gripen explained.

"Nova Era? A new era?" Zero said as he was curious about that.

They then heard a phone ringing, and it was Gripen's phone as she brought it and answered it.

"Yes? Roger." Gripen said before she ended the call and turned to Kei. "I'm sorry. It's time for checkups."

"Checkups?" Kei said as Gripen put the marple back in the metal container.

"I need to go back. I'll walk you to the gate. See you tomorrow." Gripen said.


(Later at night)

After Kei had left Komatsu Base, he soon returned and Minghua had cooked dinner for the both of them. After he had eaten, Kei decided to take a bath.

As he was soaking in the warm bath water, Kei thought about Gripen as he was curious about the Anima. Kei then looks at the Bracelet.

"Hey, Zero, is she really that plane?" Kei asked.

"Hard to say. I still find it hard to believe as well." Zero told him.

"Hey, Kei, do you have plans tomorrow?" Minghua asked from the otherside of the door.

"Yeah, I've got my job at the base." Kei told her.

"Two days in a row? Well, fine. I'm going to Kanazawa." Minghua said.

"Kanazawa?" Kei said.

"I passed the review for my refugee application. I was hoping you could come with me if you were free, but…" Minghua said in some sadness.

"Sorry." Kei said.

"Your grandparents are leaving tomorrow morning, too. Don't bring any girls home!" Minghua said as she left.

"I won't!" Kei shouted before he sighed.

"You really do have a way with girls, don't you?" Zero said with a teasing tone.

"Oh don't you start too!" Kei shouted at the Bracelet.


(Meanwhile)

Back in the Komatsu Base, Gripen was lying on a high-tech medical bed as Haruka was doing a check up on her as he was standing beside her while smoking.


(Next day)

It was now morning. Someone was ringing the doorbell of the Narutani house as they pressed the button several times.

"Coming, coming, coming, coming!" Kei calls out as he rushes to the door and opens it. "Hello, who's there?"

To his surprise, it was Gripen wearing a summer dress, hat, and shoes.

"Gripen?" Kei said.

"Hello, Kei." Gripen greeted him.

"What are you doing here?" Kei asked.

"Someone from TRDI brought me here." Gripen answered.

"TRDI?" Kei said.

"The Technical Research and Development Institute." Gripen explains.

"So, um…why are you here?" Kei asked.

"Haruka told me to do whatever you told me to do." Gripen answered.

"Whatever I told you to do?" Kei asked.

"He said to let you have your way with me." Gripen told him and Kei blushed to hear that.

"Huh?"

"Don't resist, no matter what you do. You're a young man, and some things are understandable." Gripen said as Kei turned even more red to hear that.

'Yashirodoori…!' Kei growled in his head.

"Man…Just what did he teach this girl?" Zero said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Some of the neighbors overheard Gripen talking to Kei as they whispered to each other.

"Don't resist?"

"Kids these days."

Kei flinches as they start to get the wrong idea here.

"Kei?" Gripen calls out as Kei turns to her.

"Just get inside!" Kei said as he brought Gripen to his house and quickly closed the door.

Kei then brought Gripen to the living room as she was seated on the floor and close to the table. As Gripen was waiting for Kei, she was looking at a few photos on a shelf.

Kei soon entered the room with a cup of iced tea in his hand.

"Barley tea's fine, right?" Kei said as he placed the tea on the table.

Gripen then pointed at the photos.

"Is that you?" Gripen asked and Kei turned to the photos.

It was pictures of himself as a child along with his mother and father, and there was a certain photo of himself with his mother, wearing a pilot suit, as the two were standing behind an airplane.

"Yeah." Kei said as he walked to that photo and picked it up. "This is a photo of me and my mom when we went flying in China."

Kei then walks back to Gripen.

"I think I was about ten?" Kei said as he handed her the photo. "She let me take over a little."

"You flew? Through the sky? Yourself?" Gripen asked and Kei nodded as he pointed his thumb at himself.

"I've got over a hundred hours of flight time, you know." Kei said with a proud smile.

Zero whistles as he was impressed by that.

"Impressive." Zero said as he clapped.

"Wow." Gripen said.

"Wow? You've flown a lot more than me, right?" Kei asked and Gripen shook her head.

"No…I can't fly." Gripen told him as Kei sat down next to the table.

"You can't?" Kei said.

"During tests and during combat, I always lose control in the middle of the flight and always sent back to base. I'm useless. Defective." Gripen said.

"That's a little sad to hear." Zero said.

"Yeah." Kei said in agreement before he spoke to Gripen. "They don't know why?"

Gripen shook her head.

"They keep giving me exams and finding nothing. But…"

"But?" Kei said.

"It feels to me like I'm missing something." Gripen told him.

"Like what?" Kei asked and Gripen shook her head.

"I don't know. But that's how it feels. How do you fly, Kei?" Gripen asked, moving and leaning closer to him while unintentionally showing a bit of her small chest which caused him to blush. "What can I do to fly right?"

Kei quickly turned his head away from Gripen as he raised his hands.

"Um…Well, let me think." Kei said as Gripen sat back down and Kei picked up the picture of himself and his mother. "When I flew with my mom, she told me that planes are built to fly, so if I was worried about what to do, I should just do whatever came to mind."

"Without worrying about it?"

Kei then remembers flying with his mother on the airplane she pilots, she the let's go of the controls which worries Kei at first before he smiles and takes the controls.

"Once you start thinking about it, you freeze up. First, try to fly whatever you want to try. Maybe that's what she meant." Kei said as he remembers making the plane fly up as both himself and his mother smile as it felt amazing to him being able to fly like this.

"Then if I fly with your mom, maybe I'll get better." Gripen said and Kei blinked to hear that. "If she can fly with me and help me, like she did with you, I can feel safer when I'm in the air. Can you ask her?"

Kei then made a sadden face before he lowered his head.

"No."

"Why?" Gripen asked.

"My mom's gone." Kei answered, which surprised Gripen before he explained. "She was doing stunts at an air show when her plane was shot down by the Xi."

Gripen felt guilty to hear that, and Kei waved his hands when he noticed it.

"N-No, it's nothing you need to worry about." Kei told her before he scratched his finger on his cheek. "Though I guess I'd be lying if I said I was totally over it. So, um…I'm counting on you. Get better soon and beat those Xi. So we can fly again. So I can avenge my mom!"

"Kei…" Zero said in some worry for his human host.

"Okay. I'll do my best." Gripen nodded before she tilted her head. "So…what am I doing my best at?"


Kei and Gripen left the house together and had arrived at a shrine. They then clapped their hands in front of it to give a prayer.

"What is this?" Gripen asked.

"When you're in trouble you ask for divine help, I guess." Kei explains.

"Divine help?" Gripen said in confusion.

"Yeah. You pray you'll be able to fly better." Kei told her.

"I pray I'll be able to fly better." Gripen said out loud.

"You don't need to actually say it." Kei said as he closed his eyes to give a silent prayer.

"What did you pray for?" Gripen asked.

"That the Xi will be gone soon." Kei told her.

"You don't like the Xi, Kei?" Gripen asked.

"Of course not. You were made to fight them, weren't you?" Kei asked.

"Hey, Kei, that's taking it a little too far." Zero told him.

"Yes, but…" Gripen said.

"I've lost so many things because of them. If it weren't for them…I'll never forgive the Xi." Kei said, and Zero lowered his head to hear that.

Gripen nodded in understanding before she gave a prayer to the shrine once again.

"I pray that the Xi will be gone soon." Gripen said out loud.

Kei and Gripen then left the shrine together.

"You've never really left the base, right?" Kei asked

"Yes. This is all new to me." Gripen said.

"At times like these, if you just take it easy, everything will sometimes just work out." Kei stated.

"I see. That's good to know." Gripen said.

"Oh, right. What do you want for lunch?" Kei asked as he brought out his phone.

"The daily lunch B set!" Gripen answered as she raised her hand.

"Huh?" Kei said as he sweat drops before Gripen explains what it is.

"It comes with one more side dish than the A set. And a deep-fried dish, too, so it's better."

"Is that the meal at the JSDF cafeteria?" Kei asked.

"Yes." Gripen answered.

"I guess the only meals she ever ate were in the base." Zero said.

"Yeah." Kei said quietly before he told Gripen this. "Sorry, but there is no B set in this city."

Gripen was in dismay to hear that.

"What about the C set?" Gripen asked and Kei placed his hand in front of her.

"No C set, either!" Kei told her.

Gripen lowered her head in despair as a dark cloud loomed over her head.

"My dreams are crushed…" Gripen mutters.

"Isn't that taking things a bit too far? It's only food." Zero said.

"Don't worry." Kei told her and Gripen raised her head as the dark cloud disappeared before he gave her a thumbs up and a smile. "I'll give you something even better.


Kei soon brought Gripen to his favorite restaurant where they serve ramen. They were seated on the table in front of the kitchen as the chef brought them their order of ramen with some gyoza.

"Here you go!"

Gripen was amazed by the food in front of her as she never tried ramen or gyoza before.

"Itadakimasu." Kei said as he clapped his hands. "Okay, let's dig in."

"Okay." Gripen nodded.

Kei first starts with the soup as he uses his spoon to gather a portion of it, he then blows on it to cool it down and sips on it while Gripen was watching him, Kei then smiles at the Anima and Gripen soon copied what he did.

"It's good." Gripen said.

"I'm glad." Kei said.

Kei then used his chopsticks to pick up some noodles before he blew on them, slurped them into his mouth and ate. He then notices that Gripen was mimicking him but ends up having some soup on her face.

"You've got soup on your face." Kei said as he used a napkin to clean her face.

Gripen then looks at the gyoza next to her ramen bowl.

"What's this?" Gripen asked.

"Gyoza. Dip it in the sauce before you eat it." Kei told her and Gripen nodded.

She then used her chopsticks to pick up one of the gyoza and dip it in the sauce and took a bite out of it, but flinched as it was still a little hot.

"Hot." Gripen said as she blows and chews at the same time.

Kei chuckles to see that.

"You're not supposed to eat it so fast." Kei said.

Gripen was able to swallow the food in her mouth before she sticks out her tongue to cool it down.

"But it's good!" Gripen said and Kei smiled to hear that.

"Guess it seems like you're starting to calm down." Zero said and Kei looked at the Bracelet.

"What do you mean by that?" Kei asked.

"Nothing. Just enjoy your food." Zero told him.

As Kei and Gripen were eating their food, the chef smiled as he watched them.

"You two are close, huh? Your sister?" He asked,

"Yeah, I guess." Kei told him.

"Kei is my teacher. He teaches me lots of things about the outside world." Gripen told him.

"That's a good brother to have, huh?"

"As the Chinese civil war escalates, what should Japan's response be?" Kei then turned to the TV as it was giving a news report about the Xi situation.

"Well, I think it's important to understand just what it is these militants called the Xi want, and be prepared to sit down and talk with them."

'Sit down and talk with the Xi? Is all Japanese media like this?' Kei thought in shock.

"Hey, they're only scared right now." Zero told him as Kei looked at the Bracelet. "I mean these Xi have weapons that are too advanced to be made by humans, and they have taken a bit of territory here on Earth. They're just doing their best to keep the peace here."

"I know that…But make peace with the Xi…That's just impossible." Kei mutters.

"Making peace with your enemies? I wouldn't say that. I knew some people who made it happen." Zero told him and Kei was confused to hear that. "I'll explain that part later too."

"The Xi, was it? The weekly magazines talk about them like they're some kind of alien invaders. I wonder if they're going to attack Komatsu." The chef said in some worry.

"Don't worry." Gripen said, getting their attention. "If they do, I'll protect the city."

The chef was confused to hear that before he saw some people entering his restaurant before he went to greet them.

"Welcome!"

Kei quickly uses his napkin to cover and clean Gripen's mouth.

"Keep your mouth shut, baka." Kei told her before he removed the napkin.

"But it's important. I was made to protect humanity. Even if I'm unstable during flight, I need to fight until the very end and shoot down my enemy." Gripen told him.

'I see. She's trying her best to protect humanity, in her own way.' Kei said.

"You've got to admire that girl's spirit." Zero said as he was impressed by Gripen's resolve.

"Kei…I want more gyoza." Gripen told him, and Kei and Zero sweat drops to hear that.

"Or she could just be doing it for the food too." Zero said.

"Yeah…You might be right about that." Kei said.

After they had finished their meal, Kei and Gripen soon left the restaurant together.

"That was a good meal." Gripen said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. Do you want to explore some more?" Kei asked and Gripen nodded a few times. "Okay. How about we-"

They soon heard roaring and explosions in the city. Both Kei and Gripen looked and saw it was a kaiju as it smashed through the building shattering it in pieces.

The Kaiju has black scale armor with a dark orange body and has claws on the tips of its fingers and toes and has two wings on its back.

This is the Supersonic Monster, Halen.

Halen then uses its hand to destroy another building and fires fireballs from its mouth to destroy smaller ones.

"A kaiju?" Gripen said in shock.

Kei then looks at the Bracelet as he quietly talks to Zero.

"You think this is Zeiber's doing again?" Kei asked.

"Possibly. But regardless, we need to stop it." Zero told him and Kei nodded in agreement.

"But first things first." Kei said as he grabbed Gripen's wrist. "Gripen, this way!"

"Eh? Kei?" Gripen said in confusion as they ran away together.

Kei soon brought Gripen to a hiding spot which was an abandoned car. He then opens the door and puts Gripen in the back seat.

"Just stay in here and don't move. I'll be right back." Kei told her.

"But, Kei, what about you?" Gripen asks in worry and Kei flinches as he tries to come up with an excuse.

"I…uhh…spotted a girl running off because she was chasing her dog! I need to find her! And her dog!" Kei tells her and Gripen blinks in confusion before Kei closes the door. "Anyway, just stay in there! I'll be right back!"

Kei runs off to find a hiding spot to transform.

"Seriously? A girl and her dog? You really need to work on your excuses." Zero said.

"Sorry, but I'm new to this double life thing." Kei said as he managed to find a hiding spot. "Anyway, let's go, Zero!"

"Right!" Zero said.

Kei soon brought out the Ultra Zero Eye and placed it on his face and pressed the button.

Kei soon transforms into Zero as he grows in size.

"Zwei!" Zero shouted as he thrust his hand forward.

Zero soon lands a few feet away from Halen as the Supersonic Monster turns to him.

"So are you after me? Well, I'm right here." Zero said as he assumed his combat stance.

Halen roars before it fires fireballs at Zero, and Zero dodges them by doing a few cartwheels before he lands on his feet.

Zero soon detaches his Sluggers from his heads and throws them at Halen, but the Supersonic Monster dodges them by moving in high speed before it moves at Zero and attacks with its claws.

"Nani?!" Zero gasped as he dodged Halen's attack by jumping back.

As Zero lands on the ground, his Sluggers soon return to him as Zero catches them in his hands and wields them as bladed weapons in a reverse grip style.

Halen roars as it unfolds its jet-like wings before the Supersonic Monster flies at Zero at high Speed and Zero charges at Halen by flying above the ground as the two clash attacks as they move past each other before they land on the ground.

Zero quickly turns at Halen to slash it with his Sluggers but the Supersonic Monster dodges it by moving in fast speed, and as Zero looks for Halen it soon appeared behind Zero and lands a slash on his back forcing him to stumble forward before, he turns around and slashes at Halen again, but it dodges it by using its speed.

As Zero was on guard against Halen's next attack, the Supersonic Monster appeared behind to slash at his back once again, but Zero saw it coming as he turned around to slash at Halen once again, but the Supersonic Monster easily dodged by flying into the air and above Zero.

Just as Zero looks up at Halen before the Supersonic Monster fires its fireballs at Zero which gets a few good hits on him before he dodges the rest by rolling on the ground.

As Zero stops rolling, Halen soon lands on the ground in front of him as the Ultraman stands up.

"Emerium Slash!" Zero said as he fired a green laser from his Beam Lamp.

But Halen easily dodges his beam attack using its supersonic speed. Seeing that shocked Zero before he fires rapid fire Emerium Slashes at Halen several times, but the Supersonic Monster continues to dodge his attacks with ease as it moves closer to Zero and when Halen was closed enough the kaiju lands a slash with its claws on Zero's chest which sends the Ultraman to the ground.

Zero soon stood up on his knee and foot.

"Damn this guy is fast." Kei said.

"Yeah. Doesn't look like we'll beat him with power. We'll need some speed for this job." Zero said as he placed his Sluggers back on his head while standing up on his feet.

Zero then taps on his Bracelet and changes into a new form.

Zero's body was now blue with silver markers on his legs and torso, the area around his Color Timer and the Sluggers on his head were now blue.

"Luna-Miracle Zero." Zero said with a calm down as he pointed his finger at the Kaiju.

Halen growls at Zero before he brings out a lance from his Bracelet.

The lance was colored silver with red and blue parts, the bottom has a sharp tip while the top was shaped like a small fan.

Then both Zero and Halen engage in a high-speed battle as they move as blurs while clashing each against as sparks appear by each clash.

For their next clash both Zero and Halen appear in front of each other as the Supersonic Monster attacks with both of its claw hands, and Zero parries Halen's attacks with his Lance and lands two slashes followed with a Crescent Slash which forces Halen to stumble back.

Halen soon fires its fireballs at Zero, and Zero changes his Lance into a shield as he uses it to block the fireballs.

Halen soon unfolds its wings and flies into the sky and Zero follows by flying into the sky as well.

Zero has caught up to Halen as he flies besides the Supersonic Monster. Zero then changes his shield back into a Lance before both him and Halen clashed against each other using their respective weapons as sparks appeared with each clash.

After both Zero and Halen back away from each other in their next clash, Halen soon charges at Zero to slash him with its claws, but Zero dodges at the last moment by moving in fast speed and soon moved behind slams both his hand and Lance on its back before he fired an energy shockwave on Halen's body which sends the Supersonic Monster falling to the ground before it crashed.

Just as Halen slowly stood back up, Zero then appeared on Halen's side as he placed his hand on the Supersonic Monster's chest.

"Revolium Smash." Zero said as he gathered light energy in his hand and fired a pulse of energy which sent Halen back as it crashed into a nearby building.

As Halen stood back up, Zero soon made a hand sign as his Sluggers lit up.

"Miracle Zero Slugger." Zero said as he waved his arm around and conjured six energy Sluggers around and pointed his finger at Halen which sent the Miracle Sluggers at the Supersonic Monster.

The Miracle Zero Sluggers then slash through around Halen's body as it roars in pain, and as the energy Sluggers return to Zero's head, Halen soon falls to the ground before it explodes.

With Halen now defeated and destroyed, Zero soon flies into the sky before he disappears.


Gripen continues to wait for Kei, inside of the abandoned car. She then notices the door opening, she turns and sees that it was Kei as he was panting.

"Kei." Gripen said.

"S-Sorry, I took a while. Are you okay?" Kei asked and Gripen nodded, and he smiled in relief. "That's good. I'm glad you've waited for me."

"Well, you told me to wait here, so I did. Did you find that girl and her dog?" Gripen asked and Kei sweat dropped to hear that.

"Y-Yeah, I did…" Kei nervously chuckles as he rubs the back of his head.

'Guess, it's a good thing that she's a scatterbrain.' Kei thought to himself.

"Agreed." Zero nodded.


Thankfully, the kaiju didn't do too much damage. Kei and Gripen had walked around the city for a few hours to enjoy the sights and visit some stores in the area.

Then as the sun was beginning to set, Kei had brought Gripen to the beach where Gripen was running on the water.

As Kei watches her, he then remembers Haruka's words about Gripen's situation.

"The Gripen is an extremely unstable weapon. The slightest thing causes it to lose function and go out of control. My bosses are telling me they don't want to waste any more money on a prototype without obvious potential. But as a scientist, I want to keep struggling until the very end. Will you help me? Help her fly again."

Kei then notices water splashing around Gripen's body and the sun setting behind her and seeing like that made her even more beautiful that it caused Kei's cheeks to turn red before he shook his head.

Kei then walks to Gripen and calls out to her.

"Here." Kei showed two bottle drinks in his hands as Gripen turned to him. "I didn't know what you liked…So I just bought something at random. If you don't like it, you can have this one."

"No, yogurt drinks are a favorite." Gripen said as she took one of them. "But I remembered something slightly unpleasant."

"Unpleasant?" Kei repeated.

"Someone once told me that my body wasn't developing properly, and I should drink lots of dairy products. If I like sweets, then I should drink yogurt. It would make my breasts bigger." Gripen explains as she looks down at her small body.

Kei's eyebrow twitches to hear as Gripen opens her drink.

"It was very rude." Gripen said as Kei averted eye contact.

"Y-Yeah." Kei mutters.

Gripen then begins to drink the yogurt.

"It's good." Gripen said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm glad you like it." Kei said as he opened the other drink.

"This may be the first time I've ever drank yogurt." Gripen said.

"What? I thought you said it was your favorite." Kei says before he drinks the juice in his hand, but then stops as Gripen has fallen to the ground. "Hey, Gripen!"

Kei then knelt down to the Anima to check on her.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Kei calls out to Gripen.

"Don't worry. She's asleep, that's all." Said a man approaching behind him.

Kei turned and saw it was Haruka.

"Yashirodoori…" Kei said.

"That's 'Yashirodoori-san' to you, Prince Charming. I'm older than you, you know." Haruka told him as two men wearing lab coats approached the unconscious Gripen.

Kei then notices the two men in lab coats and grab onto Gripen's arms and legs as they pick her up.

"What are you doing?" Kei asked as he stood up.

"Don't worry. They work for me." Haruka told him.

As they carried Gripen to the car, Haruka brought out a cigarette and lit it up to smoke out of it.

"What is the point of all this?" Kei asked. "Just leaving the two of us together with no explanation…"

"Three hours." Haruka told him and Kei blinks in confusion before he explains. "That's how often Gripen is awake, on average. That's usually how long it takes before she passes out…Regardless of whether she's in the middle of the air or not."

"Three hours…" Zero said as something was off about that.

"But today…" Kei said.

"That's right. She was up and about for over ten hours. I'm surprised. And all she did was go on a child's idea of a date with you. But I was a little surprised that you left her in that car" Haruka said.

"You were watching?" Kei asked.

"We have no idea what it is that wakes her up. I'd like to develop a hypothesis and investigate, but we don't have a lot of time. The date of her test flight has been decided." Haruka told him.

"Her test flight?" Kei asked.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like it?" Zero said in suspicion.

"Exactly one week from today. If she can't fly right then, she'll be scrapped this time." Haruka explains to him.

"Scrapped?" Kei said in shock.

"And I was right." Zero said.

"I did everything I could. Well, just take it as a sign that Anima costs a lot more than you think." Haruka said, and Kei wasn't sure what to say about that. "There's no denying the fact that they're inefficient. But the other Anima keep adding to their flight hours with no problem. It makes sense to just scrap a plane with no future and move on to the next one."

"But…If it weren't for her, we'd be dead." Kei said, and Haruka smiles as he breathes out some smoke.

"Then it's time to pay her back. Stop whining and help us, Prince Charming." Haruka told him.

"I've been wondering…Why do you keep calling me that?" Kei asked.

"Because in fairy tales, it's always Prince Charming's kiss that wakes up the princess. Even if it's the princess who goes in for the kiss first." Haruka said as he took his leave.

As Kei watches him leave, he couldn't help but wonder what sort of fate is in store for Gripen's test flight next week.

To be continued…


There you have it, hope you like it. Review to tell me what you think of the story.