These people belong to someone else.

Does anyone know if there are any other 801 fanfics out there?

	The 801st T.T.S. had a three day liberty and most of the
squad had taken the time to go somewhere; only Takuya Isurugi,
and Arisa Mitaka where left  to 'hold down the fort' as it were. With
nothing else to do Arisa was in the squad-room, her legs propped
up on the table with a four month old aviation magazine in her lap.
	"Mitaka; are you doing anything today?"
	She  looked up from the magazine she was reading at the
smiling face of Isurugi. A man who she had deep, if not wholly
sorted, feelings for.
 	"Not really, I thought I would just hang around here, catch
up on my laundry or something."
	"Well how about coming with me instead?"
	Mitaka narrowed her gaze. "Where to exactly?"
	Isurgi smiled "It's a secret."
	She was curious. "When will we be back?"
	"Later."
	She didn't think Isurgi was trying to trick her; he wasn't that
sort of person. "Let me get this straight; you want me to go with
you somewhere, but you're not going to tell me where or when
we'll be back?"
	"Yes."
	Her curiosity was getting the better of her. "All right; but I
warn you if this is a joke.."
	Isurgi laughed "You're to suspicious; I just don't want to
ruin the surprise, we'll be back before dark."
	"Should I change?"
	"No, what you're wearing is fine."
	Mitaka and Isurgi walked past the hanger and took one of
the squadron's three jeeps.
	They drove for an hour and a half talking about small
inconsequential things before Mitaka finally asked "Are we almost
there yet?"
	"It's just a couple more miles. Before we get there though, I
need you to promise that what I'm about to show you stays just
between us, okay?"
	Mitaka was really curious now. "all right."
	They drove for a little longer before they came up on a
small airstrip in the middle of nowhere. Calling it an airstrip was a
kindness; it was a dirt road really, at one end sat a large barn with
'hanger' written on it.
	Mitaka looked around. If it wasn't for the cut grass at the
edge of the strip the place would look completely abandoned. "This
is it?"
	Isurgi climbed out of the jeep and headed towards the barn.
"Come on, let's go inside."
	Mitaka followed him. The door had a modern keypad lock
on it, a sharp contrast to the age of the place. One good kick would
probably bring the door down, lock or not.
	Once inside Mitaka had to re-evaluate. Despite its decrepit
outer appearance the hanger lived up to its name on the inside.  The
floor was cement and the walls where reinforced with steel
supports. One wall was dominated by a map of Japan; a computer
sat on a desk in one corner.
	"Wow; you wouldn't think all this was here, judging from
the outside."
	Isurgi nodded "we like it that way; less chance of a break-
in." He led Mitaka to the other end of the hanger; past four
biplanes. At the end of the row was a plane which definitely was
not a biplane.
	"Hey, isn't this a Zero?"
	"A6m2 Zero, first built in 1939. This one belonged to my
father, he rebuilt it."
	"Does it fly?"
	"Of course it flies, that's why where here."

Flying the Zero was nothing compared to flying an Eagle but
Mitaka couldn't remember when she'd had so much fun. The little
plane ran perefectly. They took turns at the controls and flew the
plane for six hours straight without a break.
	Later they sat and watched the sunset together.
	"Isurgi; I've been wondering, you fly pretty well. How come
you aren't a pilot, instead of a tech?"
	"I wanted to be a pilot more than anything. I grew up near
an ASDF base; you could watch the planes take off, I could even
see them from my window. I knew all about planes, I collected
squadron patches, built models. It was all I ever thought about." 
	"Did you fail the entrance test?"
	"No, I passed. I even went through the preliminary training;
but two days before I would have started in a real plane; I was in a
car crash. I have night blindness, the result of a head injury, 'sorry,
can't fly planes with bad eyes, find another job.' That was the
message they sent me while I was in the hospital. So I went back to
school for awhile, finished my degree, came back as a tech."
	Mitaka lay back on the grass; she looked up at the stars. "I
couldn't do that; if I couldn't fly I wouldn't want to have anything to
do with planes."
	Isurgi smiled at her "I may not ever be able to fly a jet, but
they can't make me stop loving them."  Isurgi lay back and looked
up at the sky. The moon was full and bright; he could barely make
out the stars. "I've let you in on my biggest secret, how about
answering a question."
	"What do you want to know?"
	"What happend to you that made you so afraid to get close
to anyone?"
	"What makes you think I'm afraid to get close?"
	"The first things you said to me where angry and defensive. 
They hurt me; I couldn't understand why you couldn't give me a
chance, I mean that whole bathroom thing was an accident.  It took
me awhile to realize that you have this brick wall built up around
your heart"
	"You *don't* know what your talking about." Mitaka stood
up, brushed the grass from her clothes and headed back to the jeep.
	Isurgi sighed. "Oh well." he followed Mitaka back towards
the airstrip to lock up the hanger.
	
	Half an hour later Mitaka stopped the jeep in front a small
inn with a bar.
	"I need a drink."
	"Your driving."
	"One drink won't hurt."
	After one drink became about ten Isurgi realized they would
probaly have to stay the night.
	After Mitaka nocked back her twefth little glass she broke
the silence. "Your right."
	Isurgi stared.
	"About the brick wall I mean. Did you know I'm a Konketsu
(mixed-blood)?"
	Isurgi nodded. "Miyuki mentioned it once, you're half
american right?"
	"My father was an American Air Force pilot. He was
stationed here, when he got transfered back to the states my mom
didn't want to go, so they got a divorce. It's not easy being
different. Especially in Japan. When I was in high school I fell for
an upperclassmen. I sent him a couple of love-letters. When I finally
got up the courage to talk to him he..." Mitaka picked up the bottle
and poured another glass.
	"He what?"
	Mitaka's voice quivered. "He said he could never have
anything to do with a half-breed. That I wasn't pure."
	"Everyone gets there heart broken now and then."
	Mitaka became livid. "YOU DON'T GET IT!" Mitaka was
on her feet, leaning so far into Isurgi he almost fell onto the
floor."Up until then I believed that mixed-blood didn't really matter
all that much, that it didn't have to get in the way. I was wrong."
Mitaka sat back down and put her head on her arm. "After that I
swore I wouldn't let any one hurt me like that again. That I
wouldn't let myself feel like that for anyone again."
	Isurgi put his hand on Mitaka's back. "Arisa, you can't let
one bad experiance ruin your entire life. If your too afraid of getting
your heart broken then youll be alone forever."
	Mitaka raised her head. "Isurgi, I... I love you." After saying
this Mitaka passed out, thoroughly drunk.
	"What Am I going to do with you?" Isurgi rented a room and with 
the innkeepers help carried Mitaka to bed.


End, for now


Douglas Whiddon
11-16-97
Victoria TX