Disclaimer: I don't anything within this story except Hiroku, the story plot, Rayne and Hisoka (there at the end). I will say that this story follows the Gundam Seed storyline and has direct quotes, but I added to them by bringing in an OC, so many of the episodes are word for word but then my character Hiroku comes in. So enjoy…and read and review please!

Chapter 11:

Yzak, Dearka and Athrun were all gathered in the control room on the submarine the next night. They were all on a path for revenge. The legged ship and Strike were on their last journey according to the now three remaining ZAFT pilots. Hiroku was completely out of commission because she no longer has a mobile suit and the fact that she is still unconscious doesn't help either.

Radar is picking up a ship. It's the legged ship.

The three boys rushed over to the digital map that displayed the landscape of the surrounding area and the enemy's position.

"There are a lot of small islands around. A perfect place to start an attack." The captain suggested.

"This is the day the Strike goes down!" Yzak hissed.

"Now is our chance to avenge Nicol and the scar he gave you Yzak." Dearka noted.

"And Hiroku." Yzak added in a harsh whisper with gritted teeth and to top it all off, the most intense glare either of his two comrades had seen.

"We're taking off!" Athrun commanded.

The three ZAFT pilots left the bridge to go change into their flight suits. Yzak changed the quickest so he could go see Hiroku before he left. Yzak ran down the hallway of the submarine and into the infirmary. Once he entered Hiroku's room he stopped to catch his breathe and then proceeded over to her bed side. He didn't have a lot of time he knew so he just bent down and gave her a feather like kiss on the lips and then swore vengeance for her. He left the room and quickly went to the hanger to await the deployment of their mobile suits.

I'll be back soon Hiroku. Please be awake when I come back.

The Aegis, Buster and Duel all launched from the BOSCA class submarine and flew towards the legged ship. They were silhouetted by the moon in the night sky and looked quite fierce. The enemy ship was spotted.

"Let's Go!" Dearka voiced while putting his long range gun together and firing it at the Archangel.

Just as Dearka voiced his enthusiasm the Strike and one of the blue and white fighter planes came out. Yzak took this opportunity to go after the Strike himself.

"Gotcha!" Yzak yelled as he started to fire his gun.

"Oh no you don't." Dearka barked at the fighter jet. It shot at him. "Now it's my turn." He yelled shooting his combined gun at the plane. It was hit in the wing.

"I'm gonna make you pay. You bastard!" Yzak hissed as he jumped off his goul and flew towards the Strike. "Take this!" Yzak kicked the machine in the head and sent it flying backwards, but the pilot inside was able to aim its gun at Yzak and shot him in the leg. "What? No!" he growled out as he fell into the ocean. With the impact of hitting the ocean at such a fast speed, Yzak hit his head and blanked out for a bit.

Yzak was pulled into the submarine. He had no idea what was going on above him. He was left out of the loop as Dearka became a POW on the Archangel and Athrun blew up his Aegis in order to destroy the Strike once and for all.

Yzak got the doctor to wrap his head a bit to relieve some of the pressure and then went to see if Hiroku had awakened. He entered her room to find her…still asleep. Suddenly he felt very tired, so he walked over to the chair that he had sat in last night and brought it over to her bedside. He grabbed her hand and put his head down on the bed so his face was facing her. He fell asleep.

Sometime later in the day Hiroku was finally able to get her body to listen to her mind and her eyes opened. She stared up at the ceiling of the infirmary.

Where am I? And why does my left hand feel warmer than my right?

Hiroku looked down to see Yzak asleep on the side of her bed and saw that his hand wrapped around hers was the cause of all the warmth she felt.

How long has he been here? And why is his head wrapped? Oh I hope nothing happened to him?

Hiroku stretched out her other hand and glided it lightly over Yzak's pale cheek. Yzak immediately awakened at the touch and opened his eyes to look into a pair of light green ones. Yzak sat up and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Yzak? What's the matter?" Hiroku questioned a little on the concerned side. Concerned that he may not want to see her.

"H-Hiroku?" Yzak said with uncertainty.

"Yes silly its me." She whispered back. She grabbed his hand and brought it up to her face so he could touch her. She kissed the palm of his hand and then rested the side of her face against his palm and closed her eyes.

When Hiroku kissed the palm of his hand he knew that he wasn't dreaming. He sat down again on the bed while her eyes closed and then he hugged her tightly.

"Yzak? What's wrong?" Hiro asked when she sensed and sense of urgency in his hug.

"You were asleep for so long…I thought…I thought you would never come back." he answered burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Oh Yzak. I'm sorry I worried you. But I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere…I promise."

"God I hope not." Yzak hugged her tighter and she returned the hugged too. "So how are you feeling?" he asked as he pulled away.

"Besides having a minor headache I feel fine. I would love to be able to walk around some." She looked up at him with a small pout.

How can I say no to that face. He thought.

"If you think you can then I don't see why not."

"Great. Well why don't you wait outside for me while I change."

"Sure." Yzak got up to leave but didn't get far because Hiroku grabbed his hand and pulled him to her and she kissed him on the lips. He sunk into the kiss instantly. He felt her pull away and so he did as well.

"God…I have waited so long to be able to do that." He whispered leaning his forehead to hers.

"I know me too. Now get out so I can change." She finished giving him a playful push off of her.

Yzak walked out of the room and waited for Hiroku to come out. Inside Hiro stood up from the bed and felt a bit dizzy at first but then it went away. She went over to a mirror and grabbed a wrap of gauze and re-wrapped her head. She winced the slightest bit when she tied a knot behind her head but she just pushed away the pain. After wrapping her head she put her newly cleaned and pressed uniform on. She slipped on her tall white boots and then walked to her door. When she opened it she saw Yzak standing there waiting for her. As she took a step forward to go to him she felt dizzy again and had to grab onto the door frame to steady herself.

"Whoa…that's twice that has happened." She stated weakly holding her head.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Hiroku. I mean maybe you should…" Hiroku silenced him by placing her index finger on his lips.

"I'm fine." She said firmly. Yzak came up beside her and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked to help steady her. Once she was walking around some she felt better and didn't need Yzak's support anymore once they reached the bridge.

"Captain!" Yzak called as they entered the bridge.

"Are you feeling better?" the Captain answered back.

"I noticed the ship is moving. What about Athrun and Dearka?" Yzak questioned as he walked towards some of the monitors on the wall.

Something has happened to Athrun and Dearka? Hiroku thought worriedly.

"Their both missing. And I'm afraid commander Le Creuset had given us the order to return to base at once." The Captain informed them.

"Missing! What do you mean their both missing?" Yzak asked raising his voice.

Oh no! their missing…they can't be… Hiroku thought again, even more worried this time for her teammates.

"I don't know any of the specifics. First we lost the signal from the Buster, then we detected a major explosion which was when we lost contact with the Aegis." Both Yzak and Hiroku looked up at the Captain with shocked faces.

"Any distress signals?" Yzak asked glaring at the Captain.

"Nothing from either one of them." Was the answer that Yzak received from the Captain.

"What about the Strike and the legged ship?" Yzak questioned after he gasped in surprise at what the Captain had told him.

"The Bozeman Team is pursuing the legged ship right now." The Captain answered.

"This is crazy! Turn this thing around at once. They couldn't have gotten both of them that easily. We don't wear this red uniform for nothing you know." Yzak said in a harsh tone. He was getting very frustrated with the situation and Hiroku could sense that, so she came up closer to Yzak.

"That red uniform means you should be able to make decisions calmly as well." Yzak softens some at the realization. "We have been ordered to return. A separate team has been dispatched to search the area." The Captain said firmly.

"But that's…" Yzak was cut off.

"We've also received word that ORB is active in this area. Do you understand what I'm saying?" The Captains asks firmly. Yzak just groans defeatedly and looks down.

"Come on. Let's go." Hiro suggests putting a hand on Yzak's shoulder. Yzak turns to her and then leads her out of the bridge with his arm around her shoulder to steady her form.

They walked to Hiroku's room. She was definitely feeling tired from standing so long. When they entered her room Hiroku collapsed kneeling at the edge of her bed.

"Hiro!" Yzak yelled worriedly. He ran over to her and took her by the shoulders so she was facing him. "What's wrong…do you hurt somewhere?"

"De…Dearka and Ath…Athrun could be de…dead? H-how is that pos-possible?" Hiroku cried weakly.

Yzak understood how she felt. Dearka was his best friend and the possibility that he could be dead was very upsetting for him. But because of his pride he couldn't cry in front of her for his best friend. He pulled Hiroku into his lap and held her tightly. He once again buried his face into her neck.

"Yzak."

"Yeah?"

"Stay with me tonight…please?" Hiroku asked as she pulled away from him.

"You bet." He gathered her up in his arms and gently placed her on the bed. He walked back over to the door to lock it and turn off the lights. It was a long way back to Carpentaria and he didn't want disturbances.

A few days into their trip back to Carpentaria the submarine that Yzak and Hiroku were on receive word that Athrun had been picked up by an ORB aircraft and they could come pick him up. Hiroku and Yzak boarded a small transport plane to go get Athrun. They were waiting at the entrance to the plane. Yzak had his arms crossed and one foot propped against the wall behind him that he was leaning on, Hiroku was in the same position. As Athrun's escort from the ORB ship brought him closer, Yzak spoke out.

"Bastard! You dare to show your face again." Yzak hissed while Athrun was pulled into the escort transport plane by another solider.

"I destroyed the Strike like I promised." Athrun added with downcast eyes and a hint of sadness in his voice. Yzak smirked at his answer.

Hiroku and Yzak watched Athrun walk down the small hallway in the transport plane and disappear around the corner.

"Well at least the Strike is out of the way now. Though I couldn't help but notice that he sounded sad about it? Hiroku voiced confusedly.

"Who knows, at least he got the job done." Yzak reasoned.

They reached the submarine by nightfall. Athrun was sent to the infirmary so they could check out his arm and Yzak carried the sleeping Hiroku back to her room.

Yzak had been staying in her room lately to keep an eye on her. Occasionally at night she would wake up suddenly crying and frantically looking for him. Once she found him right next to her she would hug him so tight he was afraid she would squeeze the life right out of him. Tonight was like any other night. Hiroku was sleeping with her head on his stomach and her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. Yzak was stroking her hair and back to keep her outbursts at bay.

God. I can't believe how upset she is all the sudden. At least its only when she sleeps and not when she is awake, she's normal when she is awake. I hope she gets over this soon, her birthday is coming up and it wouldn't be good if she was sad during it. It's good that we have smooth sailing from here until we reach Carpentaria, I don't think I'm in the mood now to fight any battles. I'll feel much better once I know Hiroku is doing better. As much as I would love to sit here and just watch her all night long…I am getting rather tired…

What has Yzak got up his sleeve? I know…but for u to find out! If you want to find out look next Friday for chapters 12 and 13…and on the way u can review please! Thanks much!