Nadesico: New Recruit Joe!

by DoomaWriter

Author notes: First of all, I'd like to give thanks for those who took time to reply. I am most grateful. But we can do better! I'd like to see more reviews! They keep me alive! More reviews or I'll turn this thing into a romance about Ruri and Uribatake. I'll do it! Now its time for the recap of the last chapter.

Ruri: *sweatdrops* Um...two lives have become intertwined with each other. They say that opposites attract. Whether this is true about people is beyond me, but for Akito's sake, I hope its not.

Author: Say those three words so we can start with today's! You know which three!

Ruri You're an idiot.

Chapter 3: Joe's Day Off

It was pretty late, around midnight. Yurika ran through the halls hoping her love had stayed up late, for she had specially made a late night meal for him. As she rounded the corner, she found that at least one man was still up. He was holding a bottle and strolling down the hall at a slow pace but Yurika couldn't tell who it was in the 0.3 seconds she gave to glance at him as she passed.

Finally, Akito's room! She nudged at his door but it was locked. She looked down at the container holding the warm meal and thought it shouldn't go to waste. So reaching into her pocket, Yurika pulled out a small device and latched it onto the automatic door. A button was pressed and the door slid open. "Nothing can stand in the way of love, " she said with a smile and entered the room. Akito was indeed fast asleep, so she just gave out a sigh and placed the container on the kitchen table and walked out. Maybe he'll find it when he wakes up and thank her tomorrow.

Joe walked leisurely to his new room with a big smile on his face. He carried something in the shape of a champagne bottle in one hand by his side. "How thoughtful," he said to himself. "Agi-o remembered to leave the door open, knowing that I don't have a way to get in. That guy's much too kind. He locked the door behind him and saw his new comrade asleep.

"Hey Agi-o," he said, pronouncing the name even more incorrectly. "Wake up, I've got a surprise for you!" After seeing Akito merely roll over, turning his back to him, Joe gave a light kick to the back of his friend's head.

"Why'd you do that!?" Akito complained, holding the back of his skull.

"To celebrate our uniting, I think we should share a drink!" Joe displayed the bottle.

"You woke me up for this? What time is it?"

Joe pulled up a small table and two glasses. He slammed the bottle on the tabletop and replied, "It's time for a drink! Now come on, come on, loosen up!"

Knowing he couldn't escape, Akito decided maybe Joe'll shut up if he cooperated. He slid off the bed and crawled to the table and sat up. Joe poured the drink into the two glasses, laughing all the while.  "Here's yours, Agi-o!" Excitedly, he picked up the glass and thrusted it forward to hand to Akito. However, after being woken up, one's reflexes aren't that great and the glass smacked into Akito's forehead, which caused him to fall back and hit the edge of his bed. "Hey, hey. You got to be more careful, buddy."

"What kind of drink is this?" Akito asked taking the glass in one hand and rubbing the pain with the other. The drink was a dark shade of purple.

"Secret family recipe, little guy. I had to wait until the kitchen was closed to sneak in and get the ingredients. I call it Joe's Nighttime Blast! It's smooth and is best when you drink it all in one gulp!" A sweat drop fell down Akito's face when he heard the overdone name. He sniffed the drink, shrugged then drank it all down.

"Tell me, if it's a family recipe, why is it named after you?"

Joe went silent. He was about to answer when his friend fell forward upon the table and lay silent. Joe began to chuckle. He placed his still full glass on the tabletop. "Sorry I had to do that to you, shrimp. All's fair in love and war. You'll be sleeping for a long, long time."


Akito's head popped up and stared angrily at the now stunned Joe. "What do you mean, sleeping for a long time? The hell was in my drink!?" He grabbed Joe's collar but fell once again. Joe poked at his face to check if Akito was down for good. He then rose to his feet and went to his bed which was across from Akito's. He laughed while he changed out of his uniform and until he eventually fell asleep. Akito's motionless body remained on the table (and untouched, you pervert).

---

Morning came. The sunlight would of woken Joe up had he not been in the empty void of space and there was no such thing as a sunrise upon the Nadesico. Instead, the alarm clock did the trick. "What do you guys do for breakfast around here?" Joe asked before remembering that his partner was in no shape to answer him. "Guess, I'll have to make my own."

Upon the plate stood a sloppy sandwich filled with peanut butter and jelly. Joe sighed. Suddenly, he spotted a container on the table. His eyes glistened, "That's right, Agi-o's a chef. He must of prepared this meal just for me last night. And to think, I repaid him by drugging him. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk."


The container lid flew off and the contents made Joe disappointed yet confused at the same time. He saw what looked like fried rice but was different shades of blue and gray. He spotted thick noodles, or were they thin curly fries? Then it came to him. "Akito's a chef! This must be his creative presentation! I can't understand his eye for abstract art, but its not how it looks but how it tastes! Itadakimasu!"

A fork scooped up what probably were mixed vegetables and went into Joe's mouth. He remained quiet for about three minutes before his face turned to blue and his eyes began to water. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!"

On the bridge, Yurika looked up, "Where did that scream come from?"

Ruri calmly said, "Akito's room." Everyone rested.

"Its probably nothing. Akito shouts all the time."

---

Joe walked wearily through the halls. His mouth was so minty fresh from all the toothpaste he brushed with his taste buds nearly collapsed. "How could a whole ship of people like his crap? Is it a form of military conditioning to suppress emotions and free will by destroying the sense of taste?"

Forgetting about the food, Joe looked at a piece of paper he had worked on. He had looked through his book of Nadesico's crew and wrote down the names of all the women on board. He scanned the names and saw one crossed out. "That's right. The one called Ruri is an android. Well, I still have plenty to choose from. I hit the jackpot with this ship! Who's first on the list?" His eyes went back to the top and read the name Yurika Misumaru. He smiled and sprinted towards the bridge.

---

Yurika heard the sounds of bodies falling over and items falling upon the floor before a door opened up. Joe leaned on a wall casually and smiled at her, trying to hide his heavy breathing. Yurika blinked in a daze. "Joe? What is it?"

"Captain Misumaru, " he began. "As a man, I must confess something of great importance!" He walked over to her and picked up her hands into his own.

"Confess? Confess what?"

He stared straight into her eyes. "That I love you." Minato, who was drinking, almost chocked to death. Ruri gave a slight glance but then turned back to the screen in front of her. Megumi wasn't at her station. The other seats on the bridge were empty as well.

Yurika stared for a moment before smiling and said, "I love you too, Joe!"

"You don't know how happy this makes me, Captain!"

"I love you just as much as everyone else on the Nadesico! You don't have to worry because you're new here." Everyone on the bridge, including Ruri fell to the floor. Still on her feet, Yurika asked, "What? What is it?"

Joe quickly popped back up to his feet. "You don't understand. What I meant was...." He stopped and thought of a way he could explain it to her. When he thought up the right words, he turned and looked into her eyes again.

"Kujikenai kimi ga suki....

Nakitai toki aru nara

Soba ni zutto zutto iru kara"

Yurika gave a blank look. "Um...excuse me?"

Still staring at her screen, Ruri interrupted and said, "He basically said 'I won't give in, I love you...If you ever want to cry, I'll always, always be by your side...'  "

A small screen popped up beside Ruri and a voice yelled out, "YOU GET BURNING!" She quickly closed it before anyone noticed and sighed to herself. Suddenly, a warning popped up in front of her.

"Oh my, " Yurika said. Joe felt glad, knowing that she finally understood what he meant. "I'm so surprised....You're bilingual!"

This time, Joe fell hard enough to crack the floor where he landed. "Hasn't what I said left any effect on you!?"

"Yes, and I feel the same way. You can come to me if you ever need to cry too. You're a good friend, Joe!"

Joe stayed on the floor and thought to himself. *Friend?....I feel like crying right now.*

To be continued...

Author notes: Originally there was to be more, but I noticed how long it was already getting, so we'll have to wait until chapter four for the action. Will Yurika ever understand Joe's feelings? Why did his paper list all the women of Nadesico? What was that warning that Ruri saw?

Ruri: It was obviously-

Author: SSHH!!! Only time and your plentiful reviews will tell!