Note 1: Reunion & Resolution (R&R? Lol) was originally intended to be another one-shot story, but the plot bunnies became rabid as I was halfway through writing it. We'll see how long the rabies can last...

Note 2: As with earlier stories, this one contains plenty of dialogue and slow plot development.

Plot outline:
Set one year after the events portrayed in the anime, this story focuses primarily on the lives of Hayami and Mutio. Despite a year of peace, both have been struggling to cope with their strange feelings of longing for each other, and their treatment from their own kind. With fate granting them a rare opportunity to reunite once again, can Hayami and Mutio find understanding and resolution to these emotions, and in turn, gain acceptance from both species?

Reunion & Resolution

Chapter 1: Gossiping about love

A year had passed since the end of the final war with Zorndyke, with a pyrrhic victory for Blue Fleet and mankind.

In the dining hall of the rebuilt Tokyo naval base, the crew of Blue 6, after a month-long patrol in the South China Sea, were heartily consuming their meals. A week's worth of R&R was soon to come, and spirits were high.

Makio Yamada sat alone, having been the earliest to claim his meal. The 28 year-old communications officer was a veteran sonar operator and unofficial guardian of Huang, instantly recognizable by his Afro hairstyle and sunglasses. Yamada was about to take his first bite when he was unexpectedly interrupted by the chirpy voice of a girl. Looking up he saw Gusuku and Sidra standing in front of him, food trays in hand. "

Mind if we joined you Makio? Terrible food as usual...need some of your gossip to keep us distracted" Gusuku said with a smile. It was a redundant question as they already knew the answer. Having served together for nearly three years, the Blue 6 crew were almost like a family.

20-years old when the war with Zorndyke ended, Toko Gusuku was often regarded by many of her peers as being a boy trapped in a girl's body. She excelled in sports, enjoyed eating and was frank and talkative to everyone. It was thus to no one's surprise when she was assigned to a traditionally male-dominated role - Weapons control. Beneath the tomboy image however, Gusuku was in reality an idealistic, romantic girl at heart, and a rare source of optimism and energy that was sorely needed in those times.

Sidra's background was equally interesting. An American orphan who survived a rough childhood, Sid's calm and straightforward personality was a sharp contrast to his tall physique and deep voice. His position as lead sailor and security officer of Blue 6 was one that truly befitted him. Sidra was the man Iga could count when under pressure, or when some muscle was needed.

Yamada surveyed the room and its occupants, trying to find a subject worthy of a conversation. It wasn't long before he did.

"Love is so strange", he muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I said love can be so strange. It can turn people into beautiful, compassionate human beings, or terrible monsters. People live and die for it, hell they'd do anything for it in fact." Yamada continued. "I can see so many different expressions of love just from looking at the people in this room. Its fascinating".

"The food's actually starting to taste good. Carry on please" Gusuku said cheerfully.

Yamada obliged, glad to be given the chance to play intellectual. "Right. Lets start with those two. You just can't have any peace when they're together." Yamada pointed at Zagalo and Estella, who were busy bickering over how they were going to spend their vacation on shore, together of course. They came from very different backgrounds - Estella was a pampered Swedish girl from a rich family, Zagalo the laid-back son of an Argentinean army colonel, and both made their differences very clear to each other right from the start. It was hence to much amusement when Iga made them co-pilots, almost as though he could foresee something develop in the odd pair.

"They're always arguing over the silliest things, and yet its so clear to everyone that they like each other. A lot." Sidra and Gusuku smiled in agreement. "The time their Grampus got clipped by a torpedo? Zag was bleeding pretty badly when they got back and needed a transfusion. Estella was wailing like a baby when she followed the docs into the operating room, begging them to save his life. He would have giggled himself to death if he was awake to hear it." Ah...the mysteries of love, Yamada thought. How it can make some people mask their genuine affections behind the guise of an opposite emotion - be it annoyance, indifference or even hate.

"She said she cried out of guilt, Makio" Sidra commented.

Gusuku rolled her eyes. "Well she's bad at lying. Girl here by the way."

Yamada next turned his attention to the sub's resident Casanova Alex Cekeros, who was as usual trying his moves on Freeda as they sat opposite each other, casually eating their meals. "And over there we have a classic case of mutual flirting. Makes me wonder how much I missed when my ears were on the Sonar." Yamada chuckled to himself as he thought deeper about the two navigators. Alex fully knew his advances towards Freeda weren't going to lead anywhere, but he was still doing it anyway, because it was fun. And Freeda enjoyed it too, thought a little guilty about deriving pleasure from the amorous attentions of a naive man. A younger, naive man. To the two of them, it was a harmless way of coping with the stresses of being separated from their families, and in the face of an uncertain future.

"The bridge would be too quiet without them. They can carry on as long as that dead fish Yuri is there". The three laughed in unison.

Thinking that the mood was right, Yamada decided to play with a little fire next. "So what about you Toko? Who's gonna be the lucky man?" Gusuku did not return the grin, and instead shot a cold look. "I'd rather not talk about that now". Sidra tried to ask if she was aware of the few crewmembers who were trying to court her, but Gusuku was reluctant to converse. Both men got the hint and quickly dropped the subject.

For the next few minutes their attentions were focused on consuming the substances on their plates. An awkward silence engulfed them before it was finally broken by Sidra.

"He's changed quite abit since he came back to us, don't ya'll think?"

The 3 turned their heads towards the Grampus pilot sitting at the end of the room. His back was against the wall, one leg resting on the bench, staring at the ceiling blankly as he puffed away. Smoking was prohibited in the dining hall, but Tetsu Hayami was never the type to care about these things.

"But still the rebel I see" muttered Gusuku. "Can't believe I actually had a crush on him back then".

"Well be glad ya got over him girl, 'cause it sure ain't gonna go nowhere if you tried now". Sidra laughed aloud.

"Hehe, come on, no need to be mean Sid" Yamada added.

Gusuku pressed her fingers against the edges of the table, eyes now wide with playful curiosity. "What you guys talking about? There's a girl? Who?"

"That Hayami. He just doesn't stop surprising people." Yamada took a sip of water and turned his head towards Hayami before continuing. "You know...he won't admit it, but I think he misses that...fish girl". And almost as if he wanted to prove Yamada right, Hayami shifted his gaze towards the bite scar on his arm, a memento from a Zorndyke creature that stirred something within him, ever since he watched it crawl out of it's wrecked pod. There was an unmistakable look of both calmness and yearning on the Grampus pilot's face as he gently rubbed the crescent shaped memory mark, before noticing the three sailors looking at him with discomforting interest. Hayami scowled before walking off in a huff.

"Look at that. What else could be on his mind right now?" Yamada said with a smile. Being the guardian of an 11-year old with special sensory abilities did have its unique perks. Yamada pointed out how Hayami never officially rejoined the Blue fleet even after the end of the war, but stayed on with Blue 6 as a Grampus pilot (with Iga's permission of course), never complaining when he was made to carry out boring patrols.

"In fact, he seems to like recon missions more than anyone else" Sidra said. Encounters with the children of Zorndyke have been extremely rare following their creator's demise. Even the massive Musucas were no longer a common sight in the open seas. Was Hayami sticking around just for a chance to see the creature again?

"Too bad for her, sadly". Sidra didn't say who, but they all knew he could only be referring to that girl. Poor Kino, sitting across the table alone, was smitten with Hayami and bad at hiding it. But it was a hopeless cause. The enigmatic man she had come to adore was already in a world of his own when it came to love, which wasn't all too different from his personality. Hayami had always been self-absorbed, Yamada thought. Folks like him love themselves too much and have very little of it to share. And yet the only person Kino had ever seen Hayami warm up to wasn't even someone from the same species. The feisty girl resented the unfairness of the situation, but then love was never meant to be fair...or kind.

"I've seen the intel files on those Chimera types. Mutios weren't they called? They look really human, pretty hot too by girl standards." Gusuku paused for a minute to wipe her mouth with her napkin, then placed her hand on her chest and gave her best bitch impression. "Though clearly not as hot as me, obviously!"

"You're too humble. Really." Sidra remarked jokingly.

"Honestly, I think they'd make a sweet couple!" Gusuku giggled, before reverting to her straight face again, "Its something this world needs right now. But its gonna be hard..."

Sidra didn't look too happy after hearing that. "What are you saying? You're not actually supporting the idea are you?"

"And why the hell not? We really should try and co-exist, or at the very least leave those who want to try alone. Too much fighting and dying already." Gusuku lowered her head and frowned, having remembered the time when she lost her parents in the flooding.

Sid felt compelled to state his case. "Well you gotta pardon the hostility dear, 'cause I was almost KILLED by one of them things." Funny, he thought, that was also the day Hayami saved them and rejoined the sub.

Yamada quickly attempted to ease things. "Well to me, Hayami's one of our crew, a human being and a friend as well, hopefully to at least 4 people on the planet." That elicited a laugh from the other two. "If the rebel has finally found love, then grats to him I say".

"Well said Makio!" Gusuku replied as she playfully slapped his back, happy to know that there was at least someone who was open minded enough.

"Alright I surrender already. Bunch of dove kissers around here". Gusuku and Yamada laughed; they knew him long enough to know that he meant no animosity.

Sidra couldn't help but recall the stories that were told to him by his grandparents when he was young. About how their grandparents once lived in a time when they were constantly in danger of being hung under a tree, or beaten to death. Simply because, of all things, their skin colour. Lynching, was that the word, Sidra asked himself? Its amazing how the world has changed since then. His late Eurasian girlfriend, Estella and Zagalo, and perhaps even Freeda and Alex. Relationships that would have drawn distasteful comments or outright opposition in the past were now tolerated without a blink of an eye. As terrible as Zorndyke's actions were, they did manage to enlighten mankind to the pointlessness of prejudice towards ethnicity and race, and hopefully in time to come, towards other species. Was this was what the old scientist wanted all along, Sidra pondered?

"Well looks like its time for some shuteye. A week long vacation starting tomorrow, and its been awhile since the two of us spent that in our homeland." Yamada said as they emptied their trays.

"You two have to show me around Japan man, never really been here much. Fuji hill maybe?" Sidra asked.

As they walked past the bench that Hayami was resting on only a short moment ago, Gusuku couldn't help but think about him. "I hope he finds some resolution soon", she said to herself quietly.

...

Hayami tossed his jacket onto a chair and collapsed on his warm bed, cigarette in hand. He wasn't too pleased with the uninvited attention he received earlier from his 3 ship-mates. He cursed himself for being careless, but then again, was there any point in trying to hide his feelings? Even if he managed to conceal the physical indications of his yearnings, it was still impossible to hide his thoughts from the mentally gifted Huang, who was already beginning to show traces of telepathy.

Despite being aloof and rude, the pilot was undoubtedly a good looking and capable young man. One who radiated a strange aura of confidence and mystery that women were easily drawn to. But despite never lacking the attentions of women, Hayami could never bring himself to open up to any of them, emotionally or physically. "Kino isn't bad looking, and seemed like someone who could be...irresistibly sweet and caring to the man she loves" Hayami thought. But apart from seeing her as a friend and an occasional nuisance, Hayami felt nothing. Nor was he successful in mustering any interest towards the blue fleet girls who tried to flirt with him in the past. Even the urge for some paid, commitment-free sex during port calls wasn't even there.

Hayami sighed and said to himself. "Perhaps its true, what those skin crawling girly boys liked to say. That when a man truly falls in love with one woman, no other can ever satisfy him, or bring him happiness." He chuckled at his acceptance of that theory; it was a situation he never expected a person of his character to be in. But life always had a way of coming up with surprises...

As he turned to rest on his stomach, his mind started to drift back to the time when he was lying in that very position, on the blue dome wreckage...with Mutio peering at him with a fish held between her lips. A flashback he was too accustomed to having. He remembered her beautiful singing, how she crawled up and sat quietly next to him as he lamented about his fate. The look of genuine despair on Mutio's face when her sisters cried out for his dismemberment. And then the gentle smile - the first and only one - she gave him when they were onboard the Musuca. It was at that moment when Hayami realized he felt more than just gratitude or curiosity towards the hybrid.

"I realized there I was in love with you...but did you feel the same way about me?"

"Love really is strange". Hayami shook his head as he put out his cigarette. His final thoughts before falling asleep were all too familiar. "Its been a year since I left Antarctica, but not a day passes when I'm not thinking about you. Will I ever see you again? And if I do, what am I supposed to say? I can't go on like this..."

Somewhere across the Pacific Ocean, on the shores of Antarctica, a female hybrid echoed Hayami's last thoughts.

End Ch.1

Got a couple of ideas and drafts written on how the story can lead off from here, but I'll see if there's enough interest on both ends. It seems pretty fine as a one-shot too if it boils down to that :P I have to also shamefully admit that I've succumbed to the strangely popular Hayami/Mutio pairing, despite telling myself never to dabble into romance. My masculinity is now being threatened...

Comments and reviews are most welcome.