Aiko Zala's Story

((I have made Noa, and I will get on with my male Gundam Pilot when I can. for now, I think you waited for the first post long enough.))

The Mars Gundam Fight, held every three years. It was a week before the Gundam Pilots had to launch for the first phase, which would be the qualifying stage of the tournament. Noa had prepared ahead of time, as she always did, meaning she had plenty of time to spend with friends before they all had to compete. Sadly, Aiko had to attend a meeting at Neo Orb, which left Joe Blue to invite. She was rather nervous, to be honest. She had a major crush on him, and was always at a loss for words to say to him. However, she gathered the courage and called him. "Um... Mr. Blue? Do you think you have time for tea with me, this week?" She blushed while thinking of something to say after that. "Y-you don't have to if you don't want to, dear! I-I mean..." Uh oh...

---

Aiko walked alongside Seph, whom she simply told, "W-well... be on your best behavior, okay, Sephy?" I called him Sephy? That's a first... She was pouring and crossing her arms like the tsundere she was. Once in the office, her mood changed. She waved to the Chief Representative in a cheerful way while saying, "Hi, Harry! How've you been?" Aiko Zala and Harrison Attha had always had a sibling-like intimacy, which was not really romantic, just very friendly. They would often tease each other and speak informally. Despite rumors, the Gundam Pilot and the Chief Representative were not romantically involved.

Harrison waved back with a smile on his tan face while pulling back some blonde hair. "Just fine, Aiko. Good to see you, too." His smile faltered some. "Although, politics have become quite a handful, lately. As you may know, Neo PLANT and Neo Vagan have lost confidence in Neo Orb's resolve to restore order in Mars. I have tried to convince the Prime Minister to push for a declaration of intervention in both countries to try to militarily assist their forces with their individual mafia problems. So far, no success, except for one thing: he has convinced Parliament to vest emergency powers in me to give commands to the Gundam Pilots, that is you two, in regards to crises you may face during the Gundam Fight. I would like the two of you to assist Neo PLANTs New ZAFT militia and Neo Vagan's military when it comes time to visit those nations. That should take priority over the Gundam Fight until the situations are resolved. Can I count on you when the time comes?"

Aiko eagerly nodded while saying, "Of course, Harry! We can do that!" Smirking, she asked Seph, "Right, Sephy?"

Harrison knew of Aiko's crush on Seph. So, after hearing Seph's answer, Harrison teased Seph with, "Seph, be sure to treat Aiko with dignity, now. I don't want to be called Uncle Harry anytime soon." Just seeing Aiko blush and get mad made the Chief Representative laugh a little.

Seph didn't particularly like mornings. It was full of sounds that he had escaped all night long and people he hadn't seen for over ten hours. Not to mention that most of those people were people he was displeased with. "I'm not to fond of these political meetings you know." He reminded his fellow pilot, Aiko Zala. "There's never any good news when we're called in the morning and most of the time they say things we already know like, 'You two must win this year,' or, 'We're expecting good things from you two. Remember to work hard.' Really? Like I need to be reminded of hard work. I've been working hard since the last fights that we won." He suddenly remembered the pilot that gave him a hard time and the one pilot that beat him. The later just happened to be walking by his side at the moment. She was even thorough enough to tell him to be on his best behavior. It also, just happened to be a fact that he was in fact on the bride of maybe falling in love with her. He couldn't really tell. He hadn't loved before. However, he did respect her more than anyone else. He grunted a little at being called 'Sephy', but didn't say anything against it. "Yeah. Our best behavior," he acknowledged before holding the door open for her to go in.

Immediately she was happy go lucky on Harry. He knew, even had to even fight off, some of the rumors that went on about those two. Deep inside his sub-conscience he even wondered if maybe they had been true. That was, until Henry tricked him into giving up his most prized secret. He still had his doubts about whether Henry told her about it. If it was the other way around the boy would fel at ease from knowing her point of view over the though, but Henry gave no signs of it. He was like an evil mastermind and Seph didn't like it one bit. Though, Harry was a nice guy so the lad couldn't really dislike him as a person. After hearing Harry's request, Seph jumped and said, "Really? I have to help those slum dogs just because they believe that something is wrong with our leadership? They should be grateful that we even allow them the resources that almost match our own. It's not our fault that they have a bad system around them. Jeez. Like we have to be their babysitters."

After taking a few moments to recollect his thoughts, he looked at Aiko, who already agreed, even added him in there. It was like he hadn't said anything at all. He let go of a slight sigh and said, "Fine. If that's the order we were giving then I will accept to the best of my ability. However, I don't have to be happy about it." After that he crossed his arms and turned slightly away.

"Seph, be sure to treat Aiko with dignity, now. I don't want to be called Uncle Harry anytime soon." Harry added.

Seph broke his cool composer and leaned back blushing in slight denial. "You a... what... C'mon Harry. Don't be ridiculous. I always treat a lady with respect. Especially one that's as good a pilot as Aiko." Seph once again turned away, but this time glanced back at Aiko to see that she was mad. To him it seemed like she could also be blushing or boiling from rage. Anyway, it was still cute.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................

Joe woke up early in the morning, before the sunrise, just as his normal routine called for, to exercise and read up on some of the functions of the new Wing Gundam Mark II. He had to make sure that his next battle would end in victory. Knowing that it was still good to make it as far as he did last tournament and that back then he was still a novice pilot, he still hated the fact that one of his final matches ended in a tie and another one ended in the destruction of his Gundam. He didn't want the same thing to happen again this year. In fact, he knew that it wouldn't happen. Not if he had anything to say about it.

"You're sure up early." Kia said walking into the training room to do her everyday jogs. Kia was once in puppy love with Joe, who always treated her like a sister. After a while she just settled for being like a jealous sister to Joe and whoever looked at him. When his phone rang she even through a knife like stare in its direction. "Who could that be I wonder."

Joe just shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well. Aren't you going to answer it?"

Joe shrugged once more which made Kia even more flared. She walked to the cellular device and pressed a button pressing it to Joe's ear. "Here. Say hello like a nice boy."

"Hey. Stop." Joe glared as he stopped lifting his weights. Taking the phone and giving Kia a aggrivated look he answered. "Hello."

"Um... Mr. Blue? Do you think you have time for tea with me, this week?" The familiar voice on the other end called. He looked at the caller ID and read out Noa Yamato's name. She was always the nervous type it seemed. A little reserved but she gave him feels of someone much different from himself. On top of that, she was a pretty good pilot. Definitely full of surprises.

"Umm.." He started to say before getting cut off.

"Y-you don't have to if you don't want to, dear! I-I mean..." The girl anxiously said.

Joe couldn't help but to chuckle a little. "Yeah sure. I don't think I have anything else to do today so if you don't mind being accompanied by a guy like me, I'd definitely like to have tea. Where do you want to meet?"

Aiko took a little bit to regain her posture, at least mostly. The poor girl was still red in the face from what Harry said. She then grabbed Seph by the wrist and said, "Let's go before Harry drives me nuts." She walked out of the room while holding Seph by the wrist the whole time. "Sorry for the sudden grab. I just figured I'd talk to you without Harry barging in. Being in that sibling-like bond we have, we do tend to get on each other's nerves, sometimes, for the heck of it. The problem is, he knows exactly how to embarrass me and can go too far with that, on occasion. Good thing it never goes public, he at least has enough sense to keep it out of the press. He's like a boy, really, despite what the media portrays him as. Long story short, he does not like it when he has to put up an act for the news, so his boyish attitude is what he clings to as a way to cope with all the stress. So, yeah, I sometimes have to be big sister with him. He'll mature more, with time. I don't plan on speeding it along."

Letting go and looking strait into Seph's eyes, she changed the topic. "More importantly, there is another reason Chief Representative Harrison wants us to assist the Neo ZAFT Forces and Neo Vagan. There have been numerous reports from Neo ZAFT that the Blue Cosmos Remnant and Anti-Natural League have been building up alliances for when or if either of them eliminates Neo ZAFT and takes over the Neo PLANT colonies. They are hell-bent on destroying anyone they deem a threat to themselves and all other people they consider worth protecting. For the Blue Cosmos Remnant, anyone whose genes are altered or is descended from such is scum to be destroyed, or used to such an end before disposing of them. For the Anti-Natural League, all naturals are the cause of their misery. And, yes, despite being an X-Rounder, you would be considered a Natural, as far as anyone knows."

Her gaze soften to where she actually felt sad. "They are a daily reminder of how Bloody Valentine Wars and the way they started still linger in the hearts of both Natural and Coordinator. It is depressing for me to know that Patrick Zala was responsible for nearly destroying the Earth all mankind comes from in his anger, even though Athrun helped stop him." Aiko turned her head sideways. "At Neo Vagan, the Eden League are starting up a crusade where they desire to eliminate anyone they consider unworthy of reviving the possibility of the Eden Project, as well as anyone in their way. They also carry a deep hatred for the Earth Federation of the Advanced Generation and anyone descended from it in the times of Flit, Asemu, and Kio Asuno. If they have their way, you will be dead along with at least half the Mars Sphere population. History has shown that a tiny group can still work up the technology to be a major threat. I don't want history to repeat itself. And... I don't want to lose you, Seph."

---

Noa smiled softly before saying, "You know of Border Colony Eternal, right? That was where we held our first fight Gundam battle against each other in the arena. There is a tea shop next to the arena called Celestial Brew, a spoof on the name of an organization that sought to end all war through armed intervention, Celestial Being. Not only do they have old photos and recordings of Celestial Being's battles that were provided courtesy of the Moonrace back at the Earth Sphere, they make excellent tea of different kinds. Oh, and I'll bring Isamu along, too, since he needs a break from all that hard work he puts into training himself! See you there!"

Border Colony Eternal, named after the ship that took on both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance in the First Bloody Valentine War, is the colony between the Neo PLANTs and Neo Vagan, as well as shared by them. Each Border Colony is controlled by multiple countries as a hub for trade, diplomacy, and, not surprisingly, the Mars Sphere Gundam Fight. The Border Colonies are where the first phase of the Gundam Fight mostly takes place, since the arenas inside are controlled environments where bystanders or spectators were less likely to be killed or injured by accident.

At Celestial Brew, Noa and Isamu already sat at a table waiting for Joe and Kia to come. Once they arrived, Noa waved shyly, 2while Isamu caught sight of Kia before blushing speechless. Noa did the talking. "Hello, Mr. Blue, and to you, too, Miss Galette!"

Seph didn't mind leaving the office with Aiko. In fact, he was counting on leaving sometime sooner or later. It wasn't that he didn't like the man, but he'd rather not deal with him so early in the day. It also didn't hurt that the girl was touching his wrist, which he kept looking to the right of him, just in case she turned around to see that he was blushing. When she explained her views on Harry and her's relationship, Seph couldn't help but to chuckle. He had always wanted a sibling of his own. Someone who could replace him should he retire. Someone he could show the ropes of life. Without thinking, he placed his hand on Aiko's head and patted her. "Seems like you're working pretty hard. Hehe." It was a mix of a compliment and a tease. He stopped as she looked him seriously in the eyes.


Once she was done talking, Seph gave her a warm smile. "You don't have to worry about me, for I have you're back against the Blue Cosmos Remnant. I'll make sure they won't lay a finger on you for being a Coordinator. In return, I'm counting on you to watch my back against the Anti-Natural League. I know as long as we're together no one will take us down or our colony. So you don't have anything to worry about okay?" After petting her head one last time he turned around and started walking. He only stopped to turn towards her and say, "We should get something to eat now I suppose. It seems we have a whole day of briefings to look forward to." Afterwards he put his hands in his pockets and kept on his path. It didn't bother him so much as to think that those who were against naturals would try to harm him. In his eyes if people couldn't handle natural talent, then they weren't even worthy of living. Though, he was more worried about the Blue Cosmos Remnant. Anytime they were in on something it was never pretty, and since they had a thing against people who weren't natural, like coordinators, they posed a threat to Aiko. He wouldn't let them get anywhere close to her. At least, that's what he had planned on.
..................................................................................................................................................................

"Yeah I know.... Sure see you there."

Joe hung up the phone and stood up, stretching like a lion. "Hey, you wanna go out for tea?"

"Tea?" Kia replied. "You don't like tea."

"Yeah, well maybe I'll like tea at this place."

"Where is it? Downtown in the Usero District?"

"No. We're going to the BCT."

Kia watched as Joe changed his shirt and put on his jacket. "Why are we going all the way over there?"

"You know. You ask a lot of questions. Are you going to come or not?"

"Well of course.... Did that girl ask you to come?"

Kia continued playing twenty one questions while Joe tried his best to ignore her. She seemed more like a sister to him than anything else, even though he knew of her puppy crush on him. Though he just couldn't bring himself to think of her as anything else than a sister after thinking of her that way for so long. Deep inside, he wished that she would one day find some other lad to be obsessive about. Though, her watching out for him probably wouldn't change due to the fact that she and him were pretty close. Joe didn't know when, but some time while he was trying to keep his distance from others he got close to a lot of people. Being a loner wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"Joel, you pilot this thing way too recklessly," Kia pouted.

"My bad. This bird was meant for flying in space, I can't help it if its fast on colony ground."

Joe and Kia continued their back and forth talk even up to the point where Joe got lost. He knew about the location, just not the actual store. Celestial Brew was actually pretty hard to find, especially to someone who hated asking for directions. Though, after awhile, Kia decided to be the one to ask and they found the place thanks to her. Upon entering and seeing Noa and Isamu, Joe was taken back by how he was greeted. "Um hey. You know, Joe is fine," he said with a smile before nodding to Isamu, someone he respected for being a hard worker and a good pilot. Plus, in reality as long as it wasn't anyone from Orb, he didn't mind them. "Hey Isa, you planning on winning this year or you gonna leave us all hanging again?" he asked jokingly.

Kia, on the other hand, bowed down respectfully to Noa and greeted her with, "Greetings Ms. Yamato." before turning to Isamu and saying, "and you too, Mr. Asuka."
She then sat down across from Isamu and noticed his face was red. "Is something wrong? Are you sick today?"

Joe looked more closely at him and noticed, but didn't say anything due to not wanting to interrupt. Maybe Isamu could do it. He'd finally be free. Not only that, but it was better Isamu than someone like Seph. Oh how he really didn't like that guy. "Well... What are we to discuss today" he asked, striking conversation.