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KSGU:Volume 4 Chapter 1

2012-12-11T07:56:11Z

220.255.2.133: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 1==

===Part 1===

“…What did you just say?”

At that moment, Alberto felt that the entire world around him was distorted, and could not help but ask back. (You should have heard that clearly.) A cold voice rang through the speaker of the headphone.

(I don’t know how they got in contact with each other, but Banagher Links is definitely Cardeas’ son, the son he had with Anna Links after Ellen died.)

Martha Vist Carbine’s steel-like face remained unmoved on the monitor that had static noise on it. ''Banagher Links, that arrogant boy who boarded the RX-0 without understanding the significance and importance of the machine, who ended up bearing the burden of the Laplace Box…that’s right. It was that Links. I definitely heard of this surname before, so why didn’t I think of this possibility? Is it because I didn’t want to admit it—'' Alberto asked his dazed mind and got an answer, and was speechless again because of this shock. The sense of realism was lost from Martha on the monitor and the communication room console, and Alberto continued to feel that his body was distorted together with the world around him.

''Is this a plan that was thought out? Or was it all completely unreasonable coincidence? Either way, Cardeas Vist did not just hand the Box over to a random boy who was passing by, but the fate of the family to the child of the woman who could not become his succeeding wife—and also left aside the one person who originally had this right, the one who should inherit this.''

(Pull yourself through. It doesn’t matter who the “Unicorn” pilot is. The problem is that the machine is already in Neo Zeon’s hands. That’s a failure on your part, Alberto.)

The sharp voice reached the eardrums, dragging the fluttering consciousness back in. Alberto grabbed the mic of the headphone and turned his stare of reliance at Martha on the 15 inch monitor.

“Bu…but, that was the best option in that situation. Without the “Unicorn”, we can protect the Box. I was thinking about letting the “Unicorn” get destroyed there…”

(Results justify everything. I told you before that people will never judge the means, right?)

It looked like it was a casual nudge forward, but in fact, it was a solid leash. Alberto saw that Martha was physiologically  wounding him with her usual tone, and all his momentum was killed off. (I’ve already used up all means that could be used.) The Acting Leader of the Vist Foundation then continued, and Alberto could only listen on quietly.

(The Central Government in Dakar received the report about Minerva Zabi being imprisoned, and were panicking over it. Soon after, they’ll be taking action. Just stay over there and see how things develop.)

“Yes…”

(This is a path of no return. You better amend the failure you made. You can do it.)

A path of no return. This line was stuck in Alberto’s heart, causing him to look up, and at this moment, Martha disappeared. He saw his blurry face being reflected on the monitor screen, used the barely numb hand to take down the headphone, and slumped heavily on the hard chair.

There was no one else in the second communication room located on the bridge block. The narrow and long room had a monitor and console for communications, and two chairs were being lit by the reflected light of the power indicator. This facility was meant for unified communication to whichever squadron they belonged to during landing exercises and fleet operations, but the bridge’s communication facilities itself would be enough for the Nahel Argama that would launch alone. This was a place where there would not be much problems for a civilian, who was coincidentally on board, to use this as a public phone.

The line here was isolated from the one on the bridge, so there was no worry of this conversation being tapped. The ECOAS surveillance range had not extended here either as only the vague voices of the bridge broadcast could be heard in the room. (Highline Post, get ready to install) (Linking hull at the expected moment. No changes. At the designated time, the Emergency response group are to…) and more messages could be heard. Despite not knowing what they were about, it was most likely that they were preparing to repair the ship. It had been more than 5 hours since the Nahel Argama left the shoal space region to meet the resupply ship the Senate Council sent over, and they were in a situation where it could be said to be absolutely normal.

It had been a day and a half since Neo Zeon attacked and the RX-0, the key to the Box was taken away. It was unknown what Martha did, but the Senate Council that was hard to budge finally took action. Their mobile suit squad got wrecked, the Nahel Argama frame had took obvious damage, but the order to retreat would never come if they took the resupply. The ship was used to carry out a secret mission—and also a ship that housed the heir to the Zabi family, and it would have to continue its journey where the front could not be seen. He had no privacy, could not shower as he wanted, and could not make a call to the psychologist councilor who he often talked to. His days of being viewed as obstructive and butting heads with Daguza and the ECOAS would still have to continue. “Damn it!” Alberto groaned as he swept aside the headphone on the console.

That would be fine. The stench of the ship’s paint and the unique odor of ozone had completely stained his body, and he had to endure that to. What was hard for him to endure was the fact that he was unable to sleep. ''That man’s'' voice dragged his thoroughly fatigued body from sleep together with the air-conditioning and the gust from the motor.

''A path of no return…when will I forget the feeling of squeezing that trigger? There was no other way. That man was the one who wanted to break the 100-year worth of order after all. That man left me alone when I’ve always done the most appropriate thing, so why did he—'' Alberto clenched his stiff hands.

“Why…am I not the chosen one?”

He squeezed out the voice from deep within his throat, and his trembling body felt the weak gravity behind it. Alberto did not lift his face from the console until this surge of emotions subsided.

===Part 2===

The wall was covered with a soft mat used for self-mutilation prevention, and the ceiling had a surveillance camera installed. There were no windows, and the door had a peephole through the doorgrill. The scene for a prisoner detention room was the same for either Federation or Zeon. If there was a difference, it would be that the air-conditioning here would be quieter.

Amidst the silence, the sound of an electronic lock being unlocked was heard. Minerva Zabi sat on the hard mattress of the built-in bed and looked towards the opening door.

''It’s not mealtime yet…is it a new interrogator?'' As Minerva thought this way and got ready to get defensive, a familiar face appeared at the door. Minerva did not know what expression to make at this point as she kept her mouth shut. Riddhe Marcenas had his back facing the light from the corridor as he too stared at Minerva with a tense expression.

“Audrey Burne…no, I should be calling you Minerva Zabi, right?”

Riddhe turned his hand to close the door behind him as he said with a somewhat gloomy voice. His eyes had icy cold anger in them. Minerva did not think that a pilot had a need to meet her, and she did not feel that the higher-ups would agree to this. She realized that this was not an official meeting, and clenched her trembling fists as hard as she could. Riddhe casted an unmoving stare on Minerva and said with a suppressed voice, “I often heard the Zabi family’s speeches when I was young.”

“Gihren Zabi was your uncle, am I right? When his younger brother Garma died on Earth, Zeon carried out a state funeral on its land. It was probably broadcasted throughout the world. About how they should not let Garma’s death be put to waste, that only the citizens of Zeon who were inferior were the elites chosen by heaven, that speech where people kept chanting ''Sieg Zeon Sieg Zeon''.”

It had been the day before…no, it seemed that it was two days before since the time both of them snuck into the “Unicorn” hangar secretly and chatted about meaningless things like how she looked like some actress. Riddhe probably spent this time facing reality as he used a stiff expression to restrain the anger and sorrow he was tasting at this point as he walked towards Minerva in his grey officer uniform. Minerva held back the urge to move back as she looked right at Riddhe’s face.

“''Sieg Zeon, Sieg Zeon''…thousands of spectators shouted just like that. It was really a vexing scene. I was just a brat back then, but I remembered that I had goosebumps. What’s with everyone from children to old folks doing the same thing with indifference? Are they robots? Can’t they think for their own? Don’t they think about what they feel?”

Closing in at a distance where their fingertips could touch each other, Riddhe clenched his fists hard, “SAY SOMETHING!” the rude voice caused the air in the narrow detention room to tremble slightly.

“Did Neo Zeon do that too? Making everyone shout Sieg Zeon or something that. Say it here then.”

That expression of his was wavering, unlike the words he said. Riddhe took a short breath and looked away from Minerva’s probing eyes, and yelled “SAY IT!” as he looked aside.

“Say SIeg Zeon. Let me know that you’re the princess of Zeon. If not…”

The stuttering voice had a tinge of crying at the end, silently moisturizing the air in the room. ''What is this person here? Why does he look so hurt'' Minerva’s chest had this tight feeling as she had this doubt, and she looked up at this young man’s face. ''Like me—this person may not be able to find a way to express his thoughts into words. He has so many things he wants to say, to confirm, but everything and anything became shallowbefore he could speak up.

“…Never mind. So be it.”

After a long moment of silence, Riddhe ruffled his blond hair and stared at Minerva with a hesitant look. “I heard that you’ve been keeping quiet about this. How someone with the identity of Minerva Zabi could slip into a Federation ship like this…I think it’s not something a pilot like me can ask. I’ll leave the rest to the experts.”

He said this to affirm himself—no, for himself to hear as he turned back. Minerva saw Riddhe back that felt like he was maturing, and heard him say, “But at least remember something.” And lifted her chin.

“A guy once offered his life for a girl called Audrey Burne…that guy kept calling your name until the end. Not Minerva Zabi, Audrey.”

Minerva’s heart pumped for a moment as the face of the boy who ran alongside her in the alleys of the colony appeared in her mind. Riddhe glanced at her silent face as he quietly walked towards the door. ''This man’s thinking is too one-sided.'' Minerva instinctively thought this way, but this was not enough to wipe away that inexplicable sense of guilt. Thus, she spoke up, “You really don’t know anything at all.”

Riddhe stopped his hand that was reaching for the door handle. His face that showed shock and some anger turned around, causing Minerva to feel that he was an upright person. She suppressed the rumbling feelings under her chest as she continued, “Who are the experts you’re referring to?”

“The inquisitors or anyone related to the judicatory…”

“Nobody from the judicatory will be involved in this. The mission itself won’t be exposed, and news of my detainment won’t be reported.”

''It’s pointless to talk more, and even if I do, nothing will change, and nothing can be redeemed.'' Despite this thought, Minerva continued to move her mouth that had been stiff silent for the entire day. Riddhe’s expression changed as he turned to Minerva and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Just like what I said. Do you think this operation can be reported?”

“But this incidence and the detainment of Minerva Zabi…”

“If news of my detainment were exposed, Neo Zeon will have to take action. Why is it that Full Frontal was not willing to admit that I’m Minerva ZabI?”

“That’s because he doesn’t want our side to fight using a hostage…”

Riddhe swallowed back the words he wanted to say next as he shut up. “You’ll understand if you think about it carefully.” Minerva said as she looked down at the floor.

“The reason why I had not been captured for the past 4 years. The reason why Neo Zeon could built up its arms…”

The passionate Spacenoids’ tragic wish for independence, the sacrifice of countless nameless warriors all by risking their lives for the sake of Neo Zeon’s revival—these were the reasons but ideals alone would not do anything. Even anti-government movements would not be able to have power if the political environment and economy were not working. “You’re saying that this is a planned thing? That the Federation and Neo Zeon set this up?” Riddhe asked, and Minerva took the doubt with a shameful feeling.

“The incident at “Industrial 7” will probably still have some mass coverage, but continuous reporting will disappear within 2 days. This will become an unforgivable phenomenon for those who lost their relatives or friends…but the Spacenoids are already used to the unreasonable acts by the Federation. The Federation had always allowed our existence silently, obviously to use us as a shield for dissentment.”

It was a similar reason as to why police organizations would not hunt down triads seriously. It was similar to preventing the lawbreakers from scattering by uniting them in one trashbag. The Federation and Neo Zeon had been keeping this line, letting this gear of economy—the force called tension spin. In this sense, it would be more appropriate to call them birds of a feather instead of this being just a clever ploy. “This is the case up till now.” Minerva added these words and kept quiet. “…Did the Laplace Box break the balance between both sides?” Riddhe mused as he showed an expression that an unknown circuit was connected inside him.

“Yes. But that is probably not all of it. The Federation probably wanted to establish its relationship with Neo Zeon if we consider the fact that a mobile suit like the “Unicorn” was developed. It’s possible to think that because of this, the Vist Foundation moved the Box that had remained sealed up till now.”

Cardeas once said that peace and stability were fragile. In this era, where ideals turned to nothingness, where even the resistance movements had to be ‘managed’, it was a lot easier to slip into the loopholes of the ‘management’. Full Frontal, who had been raising arms under the ‘management’, only to vaguely show his deep intentions to break the current state, was like that. The same goes for the head of the Federation army carrying out the reorganization plan to cut military forces and wipe out Neo Zeon entirely. Cardeas probably wanted to introduce this catalyst, the Laplace Box, in order to turn this distorted world into something that could be seen by the naked eye. The memories of the War were long gone, and people believed that they could ‘manage’ war as well. Their senses showed indifference…and they ignored the signs of a great crisis.

''Either way, it’s useless to think about this again.'' Minerva looked at how she was being imprisoned and restricted on a Federation ship, and sighed slightly. If it could be as what Riddhe said, if she could be handed over to a public judicatory for a fair trial, she would be able to explain her current situation to more people. However, the chances of this would be bleak here. Once news of her detainment were revealed, Neo Zeon and even the Zeon supporters hidden in the Federation government would follow up and fight against the conservatives for their own political agendas that would continue. As both sides continued to plot, the weary clashes that would be brought about would not be what they wanted. It would still be meaningful to consider Minerva Zabi as missing. ''Will I be listed as an anonymous prisoner and get hidden by something? Will I have to change my name and get ‘managed’? Or will it be the worst situation where my disappearance will have to be for real…this isn’t impossible.''

Of course, it’s another thing altogether with the Box. The Federation army will most likely carry out some operation to get back the “Unicorn Gundam” from “Palau”. This Nahel Argama will be taking part in that battlefront too, I suppose. In the end, this is just an extended internal battle over the Box, and political muscle alone will not be able to settle things down. Even if the pilot of the “Unicorn” is alive, no one will care about whether he’s dead or alive—''
[[Image:KSGU4 021.png|thumb]]

“…It’s really hard to understand.”

Minerva heard his musing and stopped her pessimistic thoughts as she lifted her face. She saw the extremely depressing looking Riddhe giving a tired look to the floor.

“I always deemed myself as a pilot. My job is to pilot a mobile suit, to actually finish the task I’m given, and not to think about any other unnecessary things. Even if there may be cons, I believed that the Federation government still has the power to correct it…no, this is just a lie. I just pretended not to look, not to think. It has been the same ever since I remained at ‘‘family''…”

It was a reasonable confession, but the term ‘‘family'' lingered in Minerva’s ears abnormally for some reason. “Finally, please tell me something.” Riddhe continued as he looked back at Minerva’s eyes.

“Since you already understand this, why did you still act on your own?”

This was a sincere question, and Minerva was somewhat shocked by Riddhe’s upright stare as she answered with a wary and fearful look, “I too had a ‘‘family'' ever since I was born.”

“It was a ‘‘family'' that bored the crime of the One Year War. Some viewed me as a source of danger, and some would try to promote me as a sign of the revival of Zeon. No matter what, I could not break away from political ties. If the same mistake happened again, I have a duty to stop it even if it means giving up my life.”

“Even if another danger will happen because of your disappearance?”

“I said it already, did I not? The fact that I’m not around will not be revealed. To the people who treat politics as a way of life, I’m just a piece on a chessboard. However, this is not what politics should be about.”

As she talked with Riddhe, Minerva realized that the vague thing she felt was forming into shape. “What the person at the scene should carry out…responsibility and duty, is that it?” Riddhe muttered to himself, and suddenly gave a determined stare to a corner of the wall. Minerva saw that he was looking for something, and inadvertently followed the stare, thinking about what the ''family'' Riddhe Marcenas was about. If it were the name Marcenas, the first thing she thought about was be the Prime Minister of the violent Federation Government…

“Oi, Riddhe. You should restrain yourself there.”

The voice suddenly butted in, interrupting Minerva’s thoughts. A guard with a helmet on appeared on the other side of the door grill’s peephole.

“It’s almost time for a swap. Even you can’t get away easily if you’re caught.”

Got it. I’ll go out now.”

Riddhe nodded slightly at him, and turned to Minerva again. At this moment, Minerva noticed that the power indicator of the surveillance camera above Riddhe’s head was not lit.

“I understand very well that you should be the one standing amongst the crowd to speak up. At the same time, I realize that I may not know anything at all.”

The stare that was much calmer than how it was when Riddhe entered the room showed his outstanding learning ability. “But you’re a person of Zeon.” He wordlessly looked back at Minerva, who heard his stiff voice and clenched the fists on her knees tightly.

“We were once close privately, but you’re still our enemy, the one who caused Squad Leader Norm to die. I can’t forgive you like this.”

''It’s to be expected for someone who has such emotions.'' Minerva understood that this feeling would cause people to make mistakes or save them, and took the show of determination of the youth in front of her with all she got. Riddhe turned around, and this time, really held onto the door handle.

“…I really hoped that we met somewhere else.”

Minerva could not speak up, and she had no time to answer. Riddhe quickly stepped out of the door and closed it to cover his back. The sound of the electronic lock activating reverbed. It remained in the one-person detention room for a while before disappearing.

Minerva sighed and leaned on the wall with the mat. She, who felt emotional, was so tired that she felt shocked. ''There was no one who could learn anything or be saved through words.'' She felt that she was the one who really did not know anything as she looked around the dim detention room.

''If he can survive, Banagher will probably be detained like this. Minerva blankly thought of this in her mind, which became heavy as she closed her eyes. She, who had never taken a single nap ever since she was detained, did not take much more time to fall into a deep sleep.

===Part 3===

The sound of the electronic lock being opened rang, and what replaced it was the sound of knocking. Banagher Links’ face left the window of the ship as he stared at the people appearing at the door.

As expected, Marida Cruz was standing there. Her shirt comprised of a crimson fabric with gold embroidery, matching the white pants that showed the figure of her legs. Her collar had the emblem of Zeon, the wings, on it, and the eyes above that were glowing quickly scanned the room. Marida knew that Bnagher did not have the strength to resist, but her cat-like stare would not relax as she showed no openings. The slender body that looked like it was in tightfitting clothes stepped into the room and put the food tray on the simple table.

Including this time, it had been two days since she brought food in. Including the time he passed out, it had been two days since he was detained in this ship. Banagher glanced at the food tray that had some randomly microwaved food, and stared at the side of Marida’s face as she wore the uniform of the “Sleeves”. The only noteworthy things in the cabin were the bed, the simple table, and the 30cm wide window, and her clear figure looked rather glamorous.

He recovered in the infirmary, and was then treated, questioned and detained. It was basically a repeat of his predicament in the Nahel Argama, but the air flowing inside this ship was basically different. ''What’s the name of this ship? Where’s it heading? What about the “Unicorn” that’s taken in as well?'' Even when he asked, he would not get an answer. When he stubborn asked them, he got a killing stare. Besides, this was a ship belonging to the “Sleeves”—Neo Zeon. It could not be helped, but Banagher was already enemies with them.

''I’ve already explained that he was not a Federation soldier, and also about how I met Audrey. It seems from the attitude of the interrogator, that I won’t have to worry about being treated cruelly, but I can’t relax here. Any treatment may happen as long as I’m involved with the “Unicorn”. I might be drugged and questioned, tied up to a chair or something, forced to spill out everything, and become a vegetable—''Banagher beat away these unstable thoughts as he continued to stare at Marida’s action. At this moment, that face suddenly turned, and the sapphire blue eyes stared at Banagher without hesitation.

Banagher unwittingly gasped as he did not have time to even pull back as he was grabbed on the chin from behind and lifted. He was easily lifted right in front Marida, and their faces were right in front of each other. The deep blue eyes blinked as they stared at Banagher’s eyes. The soft and gentle body odor reached Bangher’s nose, who thought ''So a female’s sweat is sweet'' in an inappropriate situation, only to be clumsily pushed backwards as he stuttered a few steps.

Banagher landed on the bed with his backside and immediately got up. Marida said with a straight expression “Your eyes are still bloodshot. Use this.” and took out something from her pocket before tossing it to Banagher.

It was a spray canister that was large enough to be held in the hand. Obviously, it was an eye ointment that was meant to be used under zero gravity. “The weakest organs under gravity in a human body are the eyes.” Marida continued, and Banagher stared back at her blankly.

“It’s not weird for the eyeballs to pop out the way you were shaken at such speed. Rest your eyes as much as you can.”

Marida turned her back on Banagher without waiting for an answer. The orange-tinge chestnut-colored hair that was tied in a knot—like what he saw at “Industrial 7” was gently released, and it seemingly mocked him as it swayed about like it was a kid. “Looks like you don’t know anything at all.” Banagher held onto the eye ointment tightly and retorted back,

“Are these the feelings of a soldier, or a terrorist?”

Banagher took the strength of Marida’s lower body head on as he turned around. It was an expression that showed that she could use violence, one full of killing intent. As he did not succumb to this when he met her, it forcefully changed his fate after that. No, not just him; but also the fates of all the people in “Industrial 7”.

He did not know what Marida did in that battle, but she was definitely one of the people who caused “Industrial 7” to be in such a huge mess. ''Even if she shows concern, I can’t let my guard down easily. Banagher used his trembling legs to steady himself on the low-gravity floor, and continued staring back at Marida, who answered back,

“You’re rather talkative after knowing that you won’t be killed.”

The ounce of strength that was supporting Banagher was reduced to nothing once that unwavering voice stated his true thoughts. He could not find anything else to retort back about as he looked away.

“I feel that I am a soldier, but we will have differing opinions. There are armies who use hostages just to be saved.”

“That’s because…”

“The worst kind of people is those who will only criticize and not do anything on their own.”

The forceful force caused the rebuttal Banagher was about to spew out from his mouth to dissipate. He swallowed his saliva and could only stare at the sapphire blue eyes that reminded him of the deep sea.

“You took action to help the Princess, so that’s why you’re being treated as such. In other words, you’re already a part of it.”

“This is…too one-sided. The reason why I’m allowed to live is because you want to understand the “Unicorn” more, right?”

“That’s one of the reasons too.”

“What about Audrey? She’s been preventing the Laplace Box from falling into Neo Zeon’s hands. Which do you think is more important? The Box or Audrey?”

“It’s not our job to decide these things.”

Marida turned her face away, seemingly trying to block out these words. Banagher realized that he seemed to have touched on a topic he should not have mentioned, and immediately shut up.

“Soon, we’ll reach our home. All the decisions will be made there. Rest whenever you can.”

“Home…?”

It was not a base or a headquarters, and the unfamiliar term home caused Banagher to frown. Marida touched the strands of hair beside her collar and gently used her chin to point at the other side of the window.

The Moon, Earth and Sun could not be seen in this bright space that was radiating with silver stars. At a point, a black shadow shaped like a bow was there. It was hard to tell the scale of it, but it did not look like a mere piece of rock floating in the shoal space region. If the lights were space navigation lights for the ships, the size of it should be bigger than a space colony. Perhaps it was a mining asteroid? Banagher brought his face as close to the small window as possible as he stared at this oddly-shaped rock. The sun in the distance shone on the tip of the bow-shaped rock, giving the vibe that it was at least the size of an asteroid. Multiple such asteroids were linked to each other, forming a bow-shaped large planet—

“That’s “Palau”, our home.”

Marida said. Banagher moved his face slightly as he did not turn his stare away from the unknown world in front of him. The rocky surface full of craters was lit with numerous lights, and the asteroid called “Palau” showed its silent face in the middle of the eternal night.

===Part 4===

The base, a space colony, was built as part of the space migration plan, so obviously, it required a large number of resources. The number of resources they could extract from Earth was not enough ultimately, and cost-wise, it would not be effective to move materials from the atmosphere. Thus, the people in the old century turned their eyes on the Moon. They built a lasting resource extraction base on the Moon, and the next step was the Asteroid Belt that existed in the region between Mars and Jupiter, a field abundantly rich in resources.

It was a hive of rocks that could not come together to form a planet because of the powerful gravity of Jupiter near it. In this belt, he floating asteroids there amounted to at least hundreds of thousands based on the observations in the old century, and it was said that there were millions of them. The overall mass of these rocks were said to be 1/35 the mass of the Moon, and most of them had outstanding minerals. Of course, these asteroids were not so concentrated that they had to be explained on an encyclopedia, and they were all sporadically scattered amongst the wide space. However, it was not impossible to lock onto a single asteroid and send an excavation team from the Earth Celestial Sphere. Also, once they knew that there was an asteroid that was suitable for mining, they would install nuclear pulse engines on it and head back to Earth on their shuttle. To humanity, which had welcomed the Universal Century, this was not a tough thing to do.

Amongst them, the most famous was the small asteroid Juno that was in the Moon’s orbit during UC 0045, dubbed “Luna Two”. In the year 0060, it was made a military base called Luna Two. One purpose was to act as the largest headquarters for the Federation Army, while the other was to continue the mining activities. “Palau” was one of these mining space colonies as well. This colony was so isolated that nobody other than the people involved in colony business would know of, but it had an extraordinary history. It was said that some of the smaller colonies were dragged in from the Old Century. The added condition to the mentioned part was because “Palau” was built by having many small asteroids linked to each other, which accounted for its unique bow-shape.

Simply put, a triangular block protruding out from the tip of the bow, and the bottom comprised of 3 irregularly shaped rocks connected to each other tightly. The 4 blocks that were too small to be called asteroids were connected by multiple shafts, and it would be hard to tell that they were not asteroids unless one looked from up close. This “Palau” was a mining satellite that was 30+km wide, 15km long in diameter maximum , and looked like some realistic imagery.

As with any mining satellite, the surface of the rocks had countless space gateways and monitors. The main portion, the triangular block had two round cylinders of living areas, and each embedded on 6km wide caves on the rock surfaces. There were approximately 30,000 people living in the residential area that was maintained by centrifuge force, just like a space colony. It seemed that these people lived by mining. That was Maridas’s explanation. The ship Banagher was on—the Neo Zeon’ flagship “Lewloola” entered “Palau” together with the “Garencieres” that was disguised as a trading ship.

The ships did not enter from the space gateway on the surface, but got into a gap where the 4 blocks of rock were leaning and attached to each other. Banagher understood that the structure was the inner hollow that was dug out, creating a ‘port’ that could not be seen from the outside. However, this was all he could tell from the window of the hull. As the pressurizing rock formation and the large intertwined shafts were right in front of the windows, Banagher thought that they finally made it through, only to be taken out of the room. The moment his view expressed, he felt that he saw several ships docked in the enclosed conical-shaped space and mobile suits moving around, but Marida held onto his head, allowing him no time to check. Banagher was accosted outside, took the standard precautionary checks, and stepped onto “Palau”.

He had no chance to see the entire port. He passed through the zero gravity block, moved to a structure that looked like a terminal, and saw a chartered linear car waiting for them. This was a similar kind of transportation as the “Subway” used in the space colony, but they were really moving underground. Amongst the passengers, there were several men said to be crew of the “Garencieres” other than Marida. They obviously showed a different vibe from the crew of the “Rewloola”. Everyone were wearing glamorous looking uniforms with gold lacing, but there was the feeling that these did not feel them. In the old times, there was the saying ''Clothes makes the man '', but there seemed to be exceptions to that rule. Perhaps the vibe of not liking fancy outfits outweighed the rest here. Either way, these people did have the vibe of being part of a yakuza.

From the conversation, it seemed that Marida was a crew member of the “Garencieres”. ''Why was she the only one on the “Rewloola” and taking care of me?'' Banagher did not have time to think as the linear car moved, while the scenery outside the window was filled with rocks. After 5 minutes, they came out of the passage, and the excavation field that was dug into “Palau” appeared right in front of him. He looked like a primary school student experiencing a field trip as he stuck his face on the wall, not moving at all.

The excavation field seemed to pass through the triangular conical star, approximately 400m in diameter and more than 10km in length. This extraordinarily large space was surrounded by multiple network-like shafts. It was said that these shafts were connected to the living quarters and the port and other places. The final point of the excavation field however had an automatic firing system—a Mass Driver. It looked like it would shoot out the minerals that were dug out. Banagher deduced this from what he saw from the window, and basically, the facilities in the mining field reminded Banagher of his old home.

The factories that were near the walls of the cave did not seem to be working, and the mining machinery placed all over showed no signs of operating. Everything was covered in rust and dust, and there was the sense of a reddish-brown color fading in with the rocks. There were a few mini mobile suits moving the rocks, flying around numbly in the work environment without gravity, but the models were so old it was scary. Half of the solar panels of the artificial Sun could not be seen, and a mere sunset-like light was shown. Only the term ‘emptiness’ could describe the current scene beside the abandoned quarry there.

“It was not like this before. About 50 years ago, when the building of colonies was rampant, the chimneys here would be giving off smoke. It was said that people could not see the other level because of the smoke that was puffing out…however, the rocks here were not of outstanding minerals. Ever since mining excavation began here, there would be some other bits of stone mixed in to add up, and they managed to somehow bluff their way through. Right now, we’ve finished digging up as much as we can, and we only dig up some spare change.”

The one sitting beside him, Gilboa Sant, looked outside the window as he said. As a crew member of the “Garencieres”, he was an earnest looking black man who looked to be approximately 30. Also, he seemed to be a citizen native to this “Palau”. At least, when he was Banagher’s age, this place was not called “Palau”. When the colony committee decided to close this place down, an investor from somewhere bought this star, and named it “Palau” after the place on Earth that was attacked. Ever since then, “Palau” was designated as a special administrative zone under Side 6, and that investor safely took the role of superintendent. In the old century terms, it was basically buying a desolated island from a country. He could call himself a superintendent, but in fact, he was like a villager. Gilboa explained to Banagher,

“In the past, the Republic of Zeon once had a space base called “Solomon”, right? It seemed that this “Palau” was named because of the place that was attacked. Both these names were names of islands on Earth, but Solomon was the name of a king in a myth, and had nothing to do with that island. Anyway, they’re just trying to being trendy.”

Simply put, everyone on “Palau” was a full-fledged Zeon supporter. He probably hoped that there would be special needs after the war as he continued to buy mining quarries that could not be run while providing these resources to Neo Zeon. The Side 6 that became a pivotal point everyone knew of during the war was said to have some secret relations with the Republic of Zeon. If the superintendent allowed, it was not impossible to hide from the Federation’s eyes at this place. This was the case after the Second Neo Zeon War, when the government actively purged the remnants of Zeon.

''We’ve now entered the phase of exterminating in this Zeonism War'' the Federation declared this, but had not done anything to the entire satellite that was filled with resources and made into a base. Banagher’s dull mind was stimulated because of this, and it seemed to let him understand that the ‘relationship’ between the Federation and Neo Zeon was not as what he imagined, but he did not have the time to think more. The bearded man who was travelling with them glanced over at Gilboa who was rattling out careless, giving a look to tell him to stop, and Banagher unwittingly looked into this bearded man’s stare.

He was the man the crew called the captain. Ever since they met, Banagher had been wondering, ''Those were the eyes alright.'' He was the man who pointed his gun at Banagher in “Industrial 7”. He met the blond guy beside before, and recalled. ''Speaking of which, that ship that ruined my job by docking in that morning was the “Garencieres”.''

''They were already implicated with this situation right from the beginning. The man who chased after the stowaway Audrey and sent Marida over was most likely this guy—this captain called Zinnerman.'' Banagher looked over at Zimmerman, and sat down on the seat that was slanted at the front. ''If these guys never came, “Industrial 7” would be okay.'' The rage swelled up in him as the fear that they controlled his fate exploded at the same time, causing both emotions to form a vortex within him. However, Zinnerman did not look at Banagher anymore. Gilboa shrugged as he stopped talking too, leaving only the sound of the linear car moving.

Banagher sighed as he looked at Marida, who was looking at the back of Zinnerman’s head as she sat on a seat opposite. Those sapphire blue eyes were looking like she was being loyal to her superior, oozing with an odd sense of passion. Her tense face was rather outstanding amongst the other crew members who were randomly looking around and relaxed.

''What kind of relationship do they have?'' Banagher could not find words to ask, and had no courage to ask as his eyes escaped to the window. There was a large quarry below the linear car, below the shafts on the walls—though it was a meaningless description under this zero gravity environment. They sped on, reached a fork soon after, turned towards a cave, and the car moved towards one of the many shafts.

The quarry passed his eyes, and the narrow passage again surrounded the linear car. For a moment, darkness visited the car, covering Marida’s worried looking expression

===Part 5===

The group got off the linear car that reached its destination and got on the elevator leading to the residential area. As he felt the unique feeling of his abdominal muscles, the elevator descended 800m, sending Banagher’s group to the gravity block of the “Palau”.

The group did not head for the city located within the walls, but went through the lobby and head for another underground passage. It looked to be a service route for work as they passed through many gates that were defended by armed guards. As Zinnerman and Marida quickly moved on, Banagher inadvertently stopped to look past the other side of the gate.

The pillars supporting the roads had become round ones with cravings, and the walls had a grassy green fabric with Arabian patterns hanging off them. The worn out wall lights lit the red carpet that was laid all over the place. Waiting at the end was the large archway-shaped doors were two soldiers dressed in khaki uniforms, a short mantle, and wide rimmed helmets, giving an aged feeling. They were the same as the Republic of Zeon soldiers that were thought in history textbooks. The remnants of a defeated country, what looked like dead souls of soldiers that escaped a war museum were looking back at Banagher.

Zinnerman stood in front of the door, wearing a black shirt with gold laces. The Zeon soldiers gave a salute, and swiftly opened the door. The space acting as the staff room, which may be too big, appeared behind the door, causing Banagher to gasp a second time. The ceiling inside should be around 2 levels tall, and the 4 round pillars had spiral shaped carvings. There was an oil painting hanging above the electric heater that seemed to be for heating purpose <--!Didn’t make this up-->, and the curtains draped on both left and right sights gave a solemn feeling that was hard to tell if they were antiques. The unevenness of the teeth-shaped ornaments could be seen on the beam, and even the ceiling lights cover had similar carvings that showed the delicate skill of the craftsman. All the furniture showed some form of balance, and yet showed a luxury that one might mistake to be nobility in a palace.

Despite looking antique, it had no semblance to past designs. Banagher was overwhelmed by this scene that could only be described as Zeonism as he remained stunned. The Vist family too had an antique feel, but it was different. If the Vist family’s scene could be described as being based on luxury, this would give goosebumps while looking like it was meant to intimidate others. It looked to be an expression of culture by the people sent from Earth to the furthest Side, made after they got over their self-defeat—as they lost the Republic, they could only live in the dusty-smelling depths of the caves, a sand habitat that was like a flash in the pan. Banagher did not feel fear or uneasy, just weird as he stared at the anomaly sitting right in front of him.

That man was wearing a red uniform, wearing a mask as he faced Banagher. ''Is he a human?'' This was the first impression Banagher had. He could not detect any sense of lift from that man, not just from the mask covering his eyes, but also the vibe that he was artificially created. He stared at the masked man who sat on the Mahogany made office table, and seriously thought that it might really be part of the decorations in the room. However, that man said “I admit, this is not in good taste.”, shocking him.

“The superintendent of this “Palau” is a supporter of the old Zeon republic. Our army did not request anything from him when we regrouped, but he built this command post. It’s said that he replicated the interior decorations final base of the old republic army—A Baoa Qu.”

It was hard to tell if it was the mask talking in front of Banagher, as that was a slightly chilly voice. The masked man continued as he stared at the silent Banagher, “You have to accept other people’s kind intentions honestly.”

“Although it doesn’t actually fit my tastes, I think it is also one of the required qualities of a leader.”

Before Banagher could respond, the stare went through the anti-glare filter and stared right at Zinnerman’s group. “It’s been tough on you, Captain. You do not have to accompany us here.” On hearing this, Zinnerman answered, “Yes, Colonel Full Frontal.” His heavy voice echoed through the room.

Full Frontal…Banagher stared back at this masked man as Zinnerman and Marida walked out of the room. He heard of this name before. Banagher had an impression of this name being mentioned by someone on the Nahel Argama when he hurriedly launched out. ''The Red Comet, the Man called the Second Coming of Char—that’s right, it’s the pilot of that red mobile suit. That Char who appeared on the news during the Republic era too used a mask to cover his face…''

“What is it? Please take a seat.”

The unexpectedly earnest voice came from below the mask, causing Banagher’s mind to rid itself of its arranged thoughts. He resisted the urge to get up as he sat on the sofa beside the heater. A young soldier wearing a white servant uniform immediately closed in and poured red tea into the teacup on the table. As the servant left without looking at him, Banagher sensed that there was another stare looking at him.

It was a young officer standing beside Frontal. Despite wearing a bright green uniform, his sense of presence was covered by the masked man, and Banagher did not notice him…or rather, perhaps he was deliberately trying to keep a low profile as she stood beside. Either way, the stare on Banagher was exceptionally tight when compared to Frontal’s, intimidating Banagher a little. The servant walked out of the room, and the ones left to talk to were him and Frontal. Banagher felt that he was giving a very imposing stare from a corner.

Right beside him, Frontal did not say anything. He put his arms on the table, locking his fists and using them to support his chin, giving a machine-like stare at Banagher. Banagher could not tell where the stare was looking from under the mask, and instead of being fearful, he wanted to know what kind of people they were, and how they intended to deal with him. ''If I keep waiting for them to talk, I’ll be devoured by the pressure under the mask.'' Banagher looked down at the floor once, wiped the sweat on his hands off his knees, and decided to ask, “Excuse me…”

“Are you the man piloting that red mobile suit?”

The young officer quickly narrowed his eyes, and Frontal’s lips showed a smile.

“What will you do if I say you were? Are you unable to have tea with an opponent you fought before? Young Banagher Links.”

With a voice of ridicule, the observer’s stare cling onto him. Banagher understood that his body was being probed, and reacted as his trembling hand reached for the red tea and put it to his lips. He could not taste the flavor or aroma, and even the heat. “Good response.” Frontal’s voice could be heard clearly.

“However, you never considered the consequences. This is the nature of a pilot.”

Frontal casually got up and got closer to Banagher, whose stare was robbed by the lush blond hair while being distracted by the rose in a vase, the only decoration on the table. Up till now, the red rose had been swallowed by the presence of the Red Comet. In this room that was covered with artificial things, this was a blood-colored flower that asserted life…

“I’m Colonel Full Frontal. I’m grateful for what you did for Her Highness Minerva. This invitation might be a little violent, so please forgive me for this.”

Frontal stood in front of Banagher and reached his right hand out, while Banagher hurriedly look back at him. He was about to inadvertently respond to Frontal, only to clench his hand that was about to reach out. ''No, I can’t let him get his way.'' Banagher felt a pulsating pain from his temples as he said cautious, “It might be rude to ask, but may I ask if that mask is really used for hide a wound?”

Frontal showed an unexpected expression on his lips as he put his hand. The young officer over his shoulder gave a more menacing glare, and Banagher looked up at the eyes under the mask.

“If that’s not the case, I hope to see your face.”

“You bastard…!” The young officer muttered as he stepped forward, but Frontal raised his hand to stop him.

“It’s alright, Lieutenant Angelo. Young Banagher is talking about some basic etiquette.”

The young officer called Angelo stopped in his tracks. The stare under the anti-glare filter stared back at Banagher, who took the stare from the person taller than him while exerting strength in his nearly limp knees.

“This might be considered part of a fashion statement. I might say it can be considered a method of propaganda.”

As he said this, the hands covered by the white gloves reached for the mask. ''Ah.'' As Banagher thought this way, Frontal simply removed the mask.

The clear blue eyes first entered his eyes, and then, the old scars at the middle of his eyebrows was etched his stare. The nose bridge that formed a nice line was not repulsive, giving a nice tension that those young people of Caucasian ethnicity would have. The only thing outstanding was that the cheekbones did not reflect his age, but this may be a thought after comparing the image of Char Aznable in photos. Basically, there were no actual signs of flaws, and Banagher swallowed the saliva after forgetting to do so as he faced this handsome face that could not be described simply as proper looking.

“I forgot to take it off because no one would honestly say it out like you. My apologies.”

This time, Frontal put his mask under the armpit and reached his hand out again. This time, there was no reason to refuse as Banagher held on his again. The hand under the glove felt rather hard, causing Banagher to remember the first impression of a puppet he had in his mind, but this may be because of the bad feelings he had when he ended up caught in the other party’s pace. Banagher decided to control himself as he held back from thinking further.

“I heard you met Her Highness Minerva.”

Frontal stepped back towards his table, and spoke, “However, as for how the mobile suit of the Vist Foundation…the “Unicorn” was handed to you, there’s still a lot I don’t understand. That was a machine our army should receive, so why did Cardeas Vist choose you to carry the Laplace Box…”

“I said it before. I don’t know any specifics in this.”

Banagher supported his body that was questioned out of a sudden as he said while seemingly interrupting the other party’s words. Frontal put his mask on the table and turned to Banagher, asking as he sat on the chair, “Is that so?”

“The Vist Foundation managed to maintain its prosperity and riches as they secretly kept the Box. There must be a plan that could not be changed easily for the Vist Foundation to break the negotiation with the Federation government. The initial plan was messed up, but it’s hard to believe that Cardeas would hand the Box over to a random passer-by. It’s natural to view you as someone related to the Foundation in someone, like for example…”

Frontal did not let go of the moment when Banagher inadvertently looked up, narrowed his eyes and continued, “Let’s say, you already were someone related to the Vist family…how about that?”

“Do I have a duty to answer?”

Banagher blurted out these words as his heart suddenly raced. Sharp footsteps could be heard as the young officer called Lieutenant Angelo walked towards Banagher. His hand suddenly reached for Bangher’s chest without warning.

His expression showed no signs of the old poker face as he showed real killing intent. In his old hometown, Banagher often saw people with some random problems showing such an expression out of a sudden as their faces overlapped with this young officer. As he felt this icy feeling from the bottom of his heart, Frontal interjected, “I said to stop it, Angelo.”

The tense-looking brows forced out wrinkles as he finally let go of Banagher grudgingly. His back was turned at Banagher, showing no signs of openings, and his footsteps obviously looked like he trained in this, but not enough to wipe off the first impression Banagher had of him—that he had a very bad background. Frontal waited for Angelo to return behind him, and silently continued, “You don’t have a duty to answer.”

“However, we still want information on the Box. It’s because of the factor that is Her Highness Minerva that we’re asking you in such a gentle manner. I hope you remember this.”

It was an obviously threatening line, and one that could give a chill. Banagher clenched his sweaty hands and answered, “That Minerva…Audrey once told me.”

“She said that the Box must not be handed over to Neo Zeon, or there’ll be another great war.”

“Oh.” Frontal merely continued without wavering, “If we consider what happened at “Industrial 7”, I would have the same feeling as he.” Banagher got up and tried to argue back.

“She’s the Princess of Zeon, right? If Audrey argues against it, why are you…”

“Then, do you believe in the existence of the Laplace Box?”

This was a question Banagher had never thought of. Frontal stared at the speechless Banagher as he gradually continued,

“Do you feel that no one had saw and validated the contents of the Box, whether it had the power to topple the Federation government?”

“Well…I don’t know. But I think there’ll be something like knowledge or information that could cause the world’s balance to collapse.”

“For example?”

“Like for example…how Zeon first let a space colony fall, or how they destroyed an asteroid and sent it to Earth to force it to freeze. It’s nothing after hearing it, but who would have expected such things to happen? The invention of nukes, and the horrifying wars that happened in the old ages…and it’s the same for the development of Minovsky Particles and mobile suits. They’re right beside us, yet no one noticed. A little invention or discovery will allow the world’s balance to change slightly…

Banagher did think of saying this when he was with Audrey before this, but even he was shocked that he could express himself so fluidly like this. “Correct.” Frontal again got up from his seat after concluding.

“This isn’t something that can be understood by memorizing a timeline. From the way you explain things, you should know that Spacenoids were once part of the civilian abandonment plan, right?”

An unexpected line was tossed right back at Banagher, causing him to answer back with only silence. Frontal left the office and walked with a stroll-like pace as he closed in on Banagher.

“In the past, Zeon Deikun once said that only those people who came to space could head for innovation. This meant that humanity got used to its environment and evolved…Newtypes. To the bureaucrats who sending the leftover population to space and remained on Earth, this thinking itself basically toppled their standpoint. That’s why they suppressed Zeonism and Side 3 that was promoting it. This is an example of what you say can cause the world to topple.”

The boots let out a tapping sound on the floor as he got behind Banagher, who was unable to turn behind.

“In the end, Zeon was assassinated, and the Zabi family rose up from it to build the Republic of Zeon. They chose to fight back the Federation government’s suppression with force. The ‘inventions’ of mobile suits and colony drop fighting was the result of the power given to Zeon Republic to match the Federation. Humanity lost half its population, but it could be seen as a deliberate reduction in population Gihren Zabi planned when he used racism to replace Zeonism.

Everyone knew right now that Zeon was killed by the Zabi family’s treachery. The Zeon Republic had such a crime, and after a year’s war, it fell defeated. However, this helped the Federation’s call, causing the Earth Central Administration to expand every day. The people who step into space would not be allowed back on Earth without the government’s permission. Despite each Side’s autonomous rule being recognized, the authority of the leaders were still held by the Central government. Spacenoids had basically no right to take part in politics when they could not elect the Senate Council. During this time, Earth continued to develop again under the name of recovering from the war, and 2 billion residents lived on space produce and food. In the end, the tens of billions of Spacenoids who were forced to migrate in order to let Earth recover naturally were still accomplices in destroying Earth.”

Frontal got behind Banagher as he said while sticking close to his nick. Banagher felt goosebumps by this jolt that basically felt like it was melting his body.

“Our Neo Zeon do have believers in the Zabi family’s customs. Some believed in Zeon Deikun’s ideals, and dreamed of building a real Republic of Zeon. However, their common goal is to change this twisted system. To break the shackle of the Federation, to fulfill self-autonomy for Spacenoids, we should—“

“BUT TERRORIST ATTACKS AREN’T TO GO!”

Banagher stopped the voice that was seeping through his pores as he yelled, “NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IT IS, IT’S NOT RIGHT TO ROB OTHER PEOPLE OF THEIR LIVES ONE-SIDEDLY. NO ONE HAS THAT RIGHT!”

He remembered that none of Micott’s friends were left alive, not even a fingernail as they were turned into dust, and their ugly corpses caused Banagher to puke. And then, there was that man—Cardeas Vist’s cooling blood. He felt these sensations that were still on his palms ''I’m not wrong here,'' Banagher told himself. ''Humans should live like humans and die like humans. I definitely can’t allow for other people to cut other people’s lives down like that.'' As he repeated this in his heart, Frontal’s presence near the neck left, and asked another question to make him doubt, “Then, what about you who fight with a Gundam?”

“If all military forces are full of guilt, you’re the same for using the “Gundam”. Because of you, we lost one of our precious soldiers.”

“Because of you…?”

Banagher was pushed away by an invisible hand as he felt that he tripped and missed his footing. “It was a stray shot, but you’re the one who shot it. This fact will not change.” Frontal continued as he walked back to the table. His back looked rather distorted, and Banagher felt that he was sliding into a bottomless abyss that opened below his feet as he merely stood there blankly. ''What is he saying? When did it happen? I didn’t feel that I hit any enemy suits. I was just squeezing the trigger in a mindless manner.''

''This me here, killed a person…''

“Call Zinnerman in.”

Frontal’s voice sounded rather distant. Banagher sensed that Angelo was picking up the internal phone, but his body and mind could not move. ''I have to think. I have to think of something before I’m swallowed into this bottomless abyss. '' The more he got anxious, the more his thoughts got erratic, and he knew that his fingertips were becoming cold and stiff. This shell called Banagher Links was collapsing, gradually becoming something else—

“You still have lots to learn. I hope you’ll understand more about us. After that, I’ll be grateful if you can become of outstanding assistance to us.”

Frontal said. He picked up the mask on the table, and seemingly at that moment, Zinnerman and Marida entered the room. ''Are both of them gasping because they just saw Frontal’s true appearance?'' A slight electric wave passed through Banagher’s mind as he wanted to turn to the duo behind him, but was unable to do move. During this time, he could tell that Marida’s arm was reaching for his shoulder, forcing him to turn back, and his rooted feet finally managed to take a step.

Banagher was dragged off like this as he was accosted to the archway-shaped doors. Right before he was about to pass it, 和 stopped, and turned back to look at Frontal at the table. He ignored Marida’s surprised stare as she stopped, and let out a hoarse voice, “Excuse me…”

“Are you Char Aznable?”

Zinnerman, who was standing beside him, frowned as he turned his stare to Frontal. Angelo shot a menacing glare to Banagher for a moment, only to turn his awaiting stare at the owner of the mask. Even Banagher himself was not sure why he asked such a thing. However, his thought of deciding things based on the response had not changed as he stared at Frontal who already had his mask on. Frontal focused his stare on the lone flower on the table,

“The me now stipulates myself as a vessel.”

“Vessel…?”

“This vessel here is used to carry the thoughts of the people who were abandoned into space, and inherit the grand wish of those who inherit Zeonism. If they hope for it, I’ll become Char Aznable. This mask exists for that.”

Frontal lifted his stare that was covered by the anti-glare mask and looked back at Banagher. The earnest expression was looking back at him, and for a short moment, he lost his voice. However, a mask was a mask, not a true face. ''Perhaps I might not have seen the true appearance of this man?'' Banagher recalled the beautiful blue eyes, and felt that he was following an illusion as he lost all strength to talk and walked out of the room.

Banagher glanced behind before the doors closed. The lips under the mask seemed to be smiling at the lone flower. The bright rose and Angelo’s heinous face showed a refreshing feeling beside the mask.

===Part 6===

The door was closed, and he inadvertently sighed. Angelo Sauper checked himself for feeling this unknown pressure, felt a little enraged, and asked Frontal beside him, “Is this alright?”

“Zinnerman’s experienced in this. Leave it to him.”

Frontal answered with an emotionless expression. Despite not talking too much, their thoughts could connect. Angelo felt relieved by how he could feel this like usual, and recalled that it was not the same when the boy was around, and felt incensed by this. ''The Colonel actually left me out of focus when Banagher Links was around…''

“I’m more concerned about the Federation’s movements compared to this. According to how the situation goes, we may have to abandon this palce.”

Angelo did not know if his feelings reached Frontal who stated some pragmatic things. He said, “He…as in “Palau, Sir?” he asked.

“That mobile suit has something to do with the Box alright. Once the mobile suit got taken away, the Federation will be desperate. It’s correct to view that the political safety “Palau” offers has disappeared.”

“You mean the Federation will take action here?”

“A very high possibility. They’re probably try attacking here in a full-scale battle.”

''From the number of ships moving in and out of “Palau”, there’s a high chance that the Federation casted us away. A weak group must remain tense in order to maintain a large and fat organization. The thrill of them attacking with a weak attitude is enough. It’s about to begin. The time to shed the sheepskin of Federation ‘management’ has come. The time for the Neo Zeon army to revive has arrived.'' Angelo secretly held back the rising sensation in him as he stared at this man who should be the king of the New World. Frontal took the rose and put it near his lips, lowering his head as he continued, “How’s the investigations of the “Unicorn” goin?”

“We’re using the information Anaheim provided. We’re analyzing the OS at this moment.”

“NT-D…they call it the Newtype-Drive, is it? It’s fishy.”

Angelo though it was the smell of the rose at that moment as he let out a voice “Eh?” At this moment, Frontal got up, and said,

“Anaheim said that it was a mobile suit designed based from the data of the “Sinanju”, but I don’t think that’s it. I could feel a form of madness from that “Gundam”. Tell them to hurry up with their analysis. Maybe Cardeas Vist handed the key of the Box to an unbelievable monster.”

Frontal slowly handed over the rose in his hands over to Angelo, and did not look at him as he left. The reliable shoulders were showing fatigue. “Yes!” Angelo straightened his back as he watched Frontal leave from the office. The crimson red bed left the archway doors, and once his back disappeared from the closing doors, Angelo finally looked back at the rose he received.

In this quarry satellite, it was hard to obtain even a stalk of rose. This was ordered from the florist the superintendent used, and sent from neighboring colonies to be grown here. It was Angelo’s job to put the rose on Frontal’s table everyday. ''Did The Colonel notice that I’m the one who chose the vase?'' Angelo suddenly thought as he turned his stare to the vase that was standing there in a lonely manner, and recalled the ‘vessel’ Frontal said before.

“He’s so tired, and yet wants to bear the fate of the world…”

Angelo looked back at the rose in his hands. The deep red petals that marveled the shortness of life exerted its will in a suffocating manner. ''The Colonel’s color… the color of flames that burned his body. This is the color of that man who saw the abyss of this space, and is coming back to this world with destiny on his back.'' Angelo suddenly could not control his impulses as he crushed the stem of the rose with all he got.

“He actually let that kind of boy see his true appearance…!”

The blood that dripped from his fists flowed down the stem, staining the floor.

===Part 7===

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu:Volume1 Chapter2

2011-04-12T18:06:32Z

220.255.2.133: /* 2 */

===Chapter 2===
__NOTOC__
==0==
A certain scorching hot Sunday in May.

I stood in front of a certain store situated in the largest electronics street in Japan.

Looking at the strange sights in front of me, I couldn't help but sigh soundlessly.

"...Why isn't it out yet? I've been playing this for a long time..."

An extremely pretty girl muttered with a crestfallen look in her eyes as she leaned her petite head to one side.

This kind of expression wasn't particularly strange, since the pretty girl is still, in principle, human (although some people would think otherwise), and she seems to be frustrated with an unsolvable problem. In truth, it wasn't a very complex question, it's just that...

It's just that, the only problem lies between......the object that the pretty girl held in her right hand, and the object in front of her eyes.

"This isn't the one again..."

Her slender fingers clutched a spherical object about 6cm in diameter, obtained from an exchange of coin currency. The object that had been rolling out of the machine incessantly since a while ago was what we commoners call a capsule vending machine.

"That's strange..."

Everytime she checked the toy in the egg-shaped capsule, Haruka's voice would become weaker, but even so, the hand that was constantly rotating the lever on the vending machine never stopped. Who would have guessed that her gambling instinct would be so strong.

"Next one...I'll surely get it on the next try..."

Anyway...This extremely pretty girl who was frantically throwing coins into a capsule vending machine as though her life depended on it gave people an overwhelming sense of discordance. Everyone who passed by the two of us would involuntarily look at the strange situation that we were in.

"Haruka...Isn't it enough already?"

She already had more than ten capsules rolling around on the ground beside her, but Haruka continued to shake her head.

"...Because the piano-playing Aki-chan isn't out yet..."

In other words, we'll be here forever if the piano-playing Aki-chan doesn't come out? God, don't be caught in the trap of despicable merchants......

"..."

Clank clank, the lever sounded again. Haruka looked at the object within the capsule and frowned deeply as she gave a mournful expression.

"I didn't get it again..."

I didn't know what to do anymore as I helplessly watched Haruka continue to toss coin after coin into the machine, only to let out a sigh that's probably deeper than the Mariana Trench.

What...Just what am I doing!

I really don't understand myself. It's such a rare opportunity to go shopping with Haruka, so how did we end up here? Right now, I felt the overwhelming need to rethink the decision to take the new direction in life that I had made about a month ago.

How did I end up in this kind of situation?

I'll have to start...from three days ago.

==1==

After the Golden Week holidays had ended, everyone in school hurriedly began to prepare for the upcoming mid-term examinations. On a certain day, after school, I had been half-forced by the music teacher, who was also my assistant class teacher, to be her assistant (she made me clean the staff toilet all by myself). When I returned to the classroom, panting heavily from exertion, I found a letter in the drawer of my desk.

"If you have time after school, please come to the music room, I have something to discuss with you."

When did this letter get into my drawer? The handwriting on the letter was perfect, and I wouldn't be surprised if any other person would see this as a love letter or something similar.

"..."

There was only one unfortunate flaw in the letter. An animal with demonic eyes (its an animal right?) was drawn beside the line of words. If the person looking at the drawing was an innocent child, he'll probably be completely heartbroken and his eyes opened to the cruelty of the world outside his sheltered environment.

I knew from first sight that only she could be the author of this letter. Or should I say, only I knew that she was capable of such satanic drawings.

"As I expected...Haruka."

Just as I expected, the signature at the bottom of the letter read 'Nogizaka Haruka'.

She's my classmate, the multi-talented daughter of a rich and powerful family, nicknamed the 'Nuit étoile' and the most famous person in the school with a three digit member count in her fan club. There may be some people in Hakujo Academy who doesn't know the name of their principal, but no one wouldn't know the name of Nogizaka Haruka.

Why would someone as famous as her, call someone as average as me to the music room after school? Because I knew a secret of hers...

Looking at the clock, I saw that it was going to be five o'clock in the afternoon, almost an hour and a half after school had ended. Even though I couldn't have possibly avoided the assignment that had been forced onto me, the princess would probably have gone home already after waiting in vain for such a long time.

I ran towards the music room. There was no one in the corridor that was illuminated by the setting sun, and the only sounds that could be heard were from the sports clubs that were practicing outside the windows of the corridor.

Though it was only May, the weather was already extremely warm, so warm that even a short run during the evening hours would have one work up a sweat. I took out a towel from my bag to wipe my sweat, deciding that I would buy a can of Mango juice (Summer Limited-edition product) from the vending machine. Phew, it's really hot.

When I reached the door of the music room, I could hear the sounds of people talking alongside the music from the piano; looks like there are a few people in the music room. Don't tell me that there're other besides Haruka in the room?

I pushed open the thick, acoustic door. On the other side of the door laid... the forbidden garden.

The first person I saw was Haruka. That's alright, since she was the one who called me over. I would be in trouble if I hadn't seen her.

But...Why were there so many girls around Haruka?

These girls had completely surrounded Haruka, who was playing the piano. At first glance, there were more than ten girls from all levels, from the first year kouhais to the third year senpais. Maybe these people were jealous of the 'Nuit étoile's' popularity?

...That's impossible, Haruka shouldn't be the subject of anyone's jealousy. From the expressions on the girls' faces as they watched Haruka's slender fingers fly across the keyboard, they should be full of admiration for her.

Which leaves me with only one answer; Nogizaka Haruka, the 'Nuit étoile', was just as popular with girls as she was with guys. In other words, in the eyes of her fellow girls, Haruka was in an extremely influential position. Such that even playing the piano in the music room after school would draw a crowd.

At the end of a piece, all the girls applauded enthusiastically.

"Haruka-senpai, that was a really good piece, what's the name of that piece?"

"That was <<Jeux d’eau>> (playing water), by the French composer Maurice Ravel."

"Wow, you could really feel the ripples in the water! I was completely enthralled."

"It really did give the impression of a smooth flowing stream."

The girls excitedly discussed their own opinions on the piece.

Hmm...So this is the world of girls! A field of lilies made up the background of this world, urging one to move forward. Right now, those girls were busy fawning over Haruka, while Haruka was busy answering their questions, so no one actually noticed that I had walked into the music room... Which made me feel left out and unimportant.

I had no choice but to announce my presence in the room.

"Hey, Haruka!"

I waved at her from a corner of the music room. As expected... my words completely changed the atmosphere in the room, although I didn't really want to do something like that.

"...Who is he?"

"He just called Haruka-senpai by her name, what's their relationship?"

"He's Ayase from class one..."

More than ten murderous looks shot towards me at the same time. D...Did I do something wrong?

I broke out in cold sweat as I involuntarily took a step backwards. At this moment, Haruka finally noticed my presence as she smiled at me.

"Ah, Yuuto-san, you're here, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Haruka-senpai called him by his name..."

"Haruka-senpai looks really happy..."

"Who does he think he is to do something like this!"

The piercing looks from the girls became even sharper, and I felt as though I was kneeling on the carpet of needles in the <<Legend of King Arthur>> with a huge stone mat in my lap.

"I'm very sorry, but I have a meeting with this person. We'll stop here for today..."

Haruka bowed her head in apology as the girls objected with cries of 'No!', 'We still want to hear senpai play the piano'. Even so, they still left the music room, not daring to oppose Haruka's decision.

As they passed by me, some of them glared at me murderously, while others threatened me with a variety of death threats ranging from 'If you dare to do anything strange to Haruka-senpai, I'll stab you!', to 'Watch your back when you're walking alone at night!' and to extreme ones like 'Be careful of an errant tub of acid!'.

"...What did you want to talk to me about?"

After I had confirmed that those girls (Murderous spirits) had indeed left the room (It would be dangerous not to do so), I went into the topic that I had gone to the music room for.

Haruka lowered her head as she shyly asked,

"Yuuto-san...Are you free on Sunday?"

"Sunday? I don't have anything planned for that day."

Though I was wondering why Haruka would ask something like this, obviously I couldn't tell her that I had to wash the laundry for my idiot sister on Sundays (mostly household chores). Meanwhile, Haruka gave a happy expression after hearing my answer before apprehensively asking me another question ...

"Th...Then, could you go out with me?"

"..."

In that moment, my brain was completely blank as I desperately tried to process the meaning behind Haruka's words.

Gah...

This sudden event had really caused my brain to devolve. Could this be...

"A date?"

Did Haruka just ask me out on a date?

"No no no, it's not that, it's not a date..."

Haruka shook her head vigorously as her face was as red as a cooked shrimp. Looking at how Haruka frantically denied that it was a date...I felt a stab of disappointment.

"It's not a date, just that I wanted to buy something and I wanted you to go with me."

A red-faced Haruka explained. So that's what it's about. While we've been on extremely good terms this past month, the 'Nuit étoile' would never ask me out on a date. But then...from another perspective, wouldn't normal people see something like this (two people going shopping together) as a date?

"So...So what do you think? Of...Of course, if you're not interested, you don't have to force yourself..."

"No, it's alright, I'll go."

My answer was faster than the speed of light.

Anyone who dared to reject Haruka's invitation would surely be eaten by demons.

"Really?"

Haruka suddenly beamed.

"Th...thank you. Because it's my first time going there, I'd feel insecure by myself... I was thinking of what to do if Yuuto-san turned me down."

Hmm, for some reason I would accept with excessive pleasure. You might say I was extremely happy.

"By shopping, do you mean...?"

When I asked such a fundamental thing, she answered with a beautiful smile to the extend that 100% of the highschool boys in the street would fall in love with the 'Nuit étoile'.

"Yes. Akihabara"

Well in a word... I got it now. This is the secret of Nogizaka Haruka. A strange string that ties her and me, a surprising side of the 'Nuit étoile' that I'm the only one to know.

So.

What can I say... Nogizaka Haruka... is an otaku.

==2==

And that was how I decided the way I was to spend my Sunday.

To be honest, I wasn't particularly excited.

Of course, it's not that I didn't want to spend Sunday together with Haruka. I should be barking with excitement at Haruka's invitation, since it was a Sunday that I would be spending with the 'Nuit étoile' alone, something that was way better than washing clothes at home. And, Haruka's very cute, so I should be as happy as a mouse when I'm with her.

The reason for my lack of enthusiasm was because I only have bad memories of Akihabara.

That day was the third time in my entire life that I've been to Akihabara. The previous two experiences were painful, to say the least...of course, it wasn't Akihabara's fault, but the fault of the idiot who dragged me to Akihabara. But the deep mental scars that I had from my first two trips to Akihabara would not disappear so easily.

I first came to this place when I was in first grade.

At that time, I had accepted Nobunaga's invitation, leaving the familiar surroundings of my house to this huge street with an adventurous mindset. But in merely just an hour later, I had already regretted accepting his invitation.

Because I got lost.

I was alone on the crowded and chaotic street.

The reason was simple, the fellow who had brought me here forgot about my existence the moment he ran off to buy the things that he wanted. He was the same age as me, but nonetheless Akihabara was already his second home, unlike me, who was unable to differentiate North, South, East, and West the moment I walked into the place (though this happens frequently to me), which was why it didn't take long for me to get lost.

After getting lost, I obviously was unable to find my way to the train station.

After two long hours, the crying and wailing me finally received the protection of the police.

The second time was a few years later, when I was in my senior year at my primary school.

Even though I had already swore never to come to Akihabara ever again, I once again accepted that his invitation. This time, that fellow ran off again when we were shopping, leaving me behind. It's been an extremely dark part of my life until now, despite managing to get home by myself this time.

And that is why I view this street with a slightly fearful and suspicious look.

We had agreed to meet in front of the Akihabara train station. Because it was a Sunday, the station was flooded with people. Oh right, Haruka had said that it was her first time coming to Akihabara. I was surprised when I first heard that, but upon closer inspection, it actually wasn't anything to be surprised about. I had already come to know that Haruka was a clever, beautiful, kind-hearted and talented daughter of a rich and powerful family in our one month's worth of interaction. Which means that as an Otaku, she wasn't very experienced, but I could see that her potential was probably higher than Mount Everest.

Just as I was lost in my own thoughts...

"...Have you been waiting for long?"

Speak of the devil. In the time that I was embroiled in my own thoughts, Haruka had already arrived.

"I'm sorry, I had wanted to be on time..."

"No, you're not late, I was early."

I was speaking the truth. To be precise, as I was so looking forward to spending the day with Haruka that I woke up extremely early. That kind of excited feeling was like that of a primary school kid before going on a field trip. Because it was so embarrassing, I didn't dare to mention it to Haruka.

But even then!!!

"...Mm..."

Today was the first time I've seen Haruka in casual clothing...How should I describe her? She's really extremely cute. A white ribbon was tied around her silky long hair, coupled with a white one-piece western dress and a cream cardigan, she really looked like the daughter of a rich and powerful family. This combination served to amplify her charm by a full 2.5 times in comparison with any other daughter of a rich and powerful family (My personal subjective opinion). Every inch of her being simply oozed class......Ah! I was already at a loss for words, so in short, she was so cute that she had the power to attract the entire galaxy.

"What...What's wrong? I'll be embarrassed if you continue to stare at me like this..."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

I couldn't help but stare at her dazedly. But the way Haruka raised the edges of her eyes and looked at me while blushing was so cute...

No, I can't continue to fantasize! I'm worried that something will happen to my brain if I continue in this vein.

I shook my head vigorously, throwing all my prior thoughts out of the window. Haruka, on the other hand, looked at me apprehensively.

"...Is there something wrong with me? It's my first time wearing this dress...Is it ugly?"

"No, of course not."

Of course there wasn't anything wrong with her, the dress suited Haruka perfectly.

Haruka may not have realized, but since her appearance, all eyes (especially the male ones) had been trained on her. In all honesty, no matter where Haruka went, she'll always be the focal point in a crowd. She has always stood out, like the beautiful swan that flies into a crowd of ugly ducklings (myself included).

"Let's go!"

"Ah, yes."

Upon hearing my suggestion, Haruka smiled shyly as her dress fluttered slightly in the wind. That simple action made everyone around her sigh in amazement, because it was.......really really really really really really cute.

I'm so lucky to be able to see her like this! I shouted out in my mind before walking off with Haruka.

I think I'll explain the reason behind our shopping trip to Akihabara.

No, I mean, of course we're here to buy something. I just wanted to describe in more detail what exactly we were here for.

Below is the contents of a conversation I had with Haruka.

"Well...I want to buy a silver Portable Toys Advance."

The 'Portable Toys Advance' that Haruka is talking about is an extremely popular handheld gaming console, commonly referred to as the 'PTA'. To my knowledge, the silver PTA should be an extremely rare limited edition model, something that even Nobunaga wants to get his hands on.

"Then we should go to the toy shop shouldn't we?"

"Right, I think that any toy shop or electronics store should have it. I'm not very sure either, I'm just following what's stated on the magazine."

She's not very trustworthy is she...

"Then let's go check out the electronics stores, since every store on this street is an electronics store..."

To be honest, it'll be harder to find a store on this street that isn't an electronics store.

"Then let's start from the electronics store on that corner alright?"

I attempted to steer us in the right direction.

"Ah, wait a moment."

My suggestion was rejected.

"Hmm...actually, I've specially prepared something for today."

Haruka fumbled in her bag for a while before taking out two pieces of paper.

"Hmm...Yuuto-san, this is your copy, I hope it'll be useful..."

"...What's this?"

"A shopping guide."

Haruka smiled proudly.

"Huh..."

What in the world is this?

"This is a guide that I specially created for today. I've already organized the places that we're going to, the path we're going to take, and our estimated time of arrival on this piece of paper, so it's a universal map. I spent three hours making this guide, hee hee."

Haruka laughed conservatively.

So it's actually a map. It's a good idea to plan out our schedule ahead of time, but after looking at the strange lines that bear a strong resemblance to two snakes entangled in a fight, I don't think any one would think that it's a map, right?

I didn't let my uneasiness show as I raised the guide up for a better look. Although I had already lost hope in the map part of the guide, the other parts seemed to have been done well, so we shouldn't get lost with the information written here. There shouldn't be any problem as long as we're able to reach our destinations without any trouble.

According to the schedule on the guide, Haruka had placed the buying of the PTA (estimated to be around 5 O'clock in the afternoon) as the last activity of the day.

"Why did you put the most important thing at the last place on the schedule? If you really want to buy it, shouldn't you get it earlier..."

I thought that the average Japanese citizen would want to get their hands on their target object as soon as possible. Perhaps Haruka had other intentions when she placed this as the last activity on the schedule, maybe she's saving the best for last?

In response to my question, Haruka squinted playfully at me.

"If we buy it at the beginning of the day, it would mean that our shopping trip has ended. Though it's something that I'm looking forward to... it'll be such a waste to just let it end so quickly. And also..."

"And also?"

"And also...I think that the most important activity should be saved till the end of the day."

Looks like Haruka is the type of person who would eat her favorite food last.

Anyway, the purchase of the PTA should be the main objective of the day.

But before the completion of the main objective, it seems like we have a few side objectives to complete first. So the two of us followed the schedule as we began shopping in Akihabara.

This place...is still as crowded as ever.

No matter where one turned to, one would always see posters of anime and video games, even some life-sized advertisements. To be here was like stepping into another dimension, giving one the feeling of being in a completely different world.

"Hmm...We'll turn left at this junction, walk forward for a bit, then turn right..."

Haruka looked at the map as she guided me through this strange new world.

...How does she read this map? To me, the map, looked more and more like eels with stomaches that were entangled with each other and a certain kind of talent seemed to be needed to be able to draw such a map. However in comparison, an even larger amount of talent was required to be able to decipher this map...Although, I would never want to have that kind of talent.

"And then after turning right here, we should see a white building."

Thanks to Haruka, we didn't get lost and got to each of our destinations safely, swiftly completing all our side objectives (shopping at anime stores, buying otaku merchandise etc). Right now, we're moving towards out fourth objective - an anime bookstore.

As we walked across the large road, we saw many small groups of people. There were even thirty, forty people forming a queue outside some shops. Maybe those people were participating in some event? On such a hot day, they really do have it hard. I would be happy to help them stand in for a while. But, obviously that isn't possible.

Just as I was looking at those people,

"Ah! That's!"

Haruka, who was standing beside me, suddenly ran off. Ah, not again! Her target was yet another store, and I could only quietly observe her excited figure.

This was already the third time this had happened today, so I wasn't surprised anymore.

I slowly walked towards where Haruka was headed.

Haruka had plastered her entire body onto the display window of that shop.

"So cute..."

Her gaze was fixated on a model of a red-haired girl playing the piano (the price was extremely expensive, at twenty-five thousand yen.....). The look in her eyes was exactly the same as the youth who goes to the music store everyday to look at his favorite trumpet.

Haruka would rush over like a bull charging towards a red flag whenever she saw anything that she liked, not caring about anything else that was happening around her. Even the me that's beside her would be completely forgotten.

Which is why for a few times already, I had been thrown into an uncomfortable situation whereby I was holding a handful of goods but abandoned by my shopping partner, which made me feel rather lonely and empty.

Why am I here? I began to question the validity of my existence in this place...But, I came to terms with this feeling of emptiness as time wore on.

"Wouldn't it be a form of happiness if one was able to see something as cute as this?"

However, being abandoned by Haruka didn't seem such a big deal after seeing how happy she was, something which I would definitely not have seen in school. Because being able to look at such an innocent and happy 'Nuit étoile' was the best form of payment.

After fifteen minutes, Haruka still didn't look as though she was going to peel herself off the display window.

"Umm...If you like it so much, why don't you just buy it!"

If this goes on, we'll be disrupting the store's ability to conduct business. But when I suggested this to her, Haruka answered with a gloomy expression on her face,

"There are too many things that I want to buy, but...I don't have the budget for it."

"Budget?"

Who'd have thought that the daughter of a family that's as rich as royalty would say something like that. Judging by their standard of living, Haruka's pocket money should be at least a million yen a month, and her new year's gift money should be at least five million yen right?

When I asked,

"N...not at all!"

Haruka shook her head violently in denial.

"My pocket money's really little...I have a hard time just trying to save up a bit of money every month."

"Just how much do you get a month?"

I wanted to know more, just for reference.

"Well..."

The amount that came out of Haruka's mouth was surprisingly similar to the amount of my pocket money.

"That's really surprising..."

I was really extremely surprised. The eldest daughter of the rich and powerful Nogizaka clan receiving exactly the same amount of pocket money a month as the son of the middle Ayase clan, that probably won't even be able to trace their family tree up to more than a few generations, would probably surprise anyone.

"My father's extremely strict...For today, I even took out my precious ten-thousand yen bill from my saving box...even my pig-san was called to be with the Lord."

Pig-san...Is she referring to her piggy bank?

"That's why I can't spend my money rashly...It's alright, I'll be happy just by looking."

Haruka laughed happily. She really attracts the affection of others, just for that (before the store assistants come out to chase us away), Haruka, Uncle promises to let you stare at the display for as long as you want!

And then, we stayed for about ten more minutes in front of the store display.

"Thank you for allowing me to have such a blissful experience."

Haruka was finally satisfied. But, just as we prepared to set out towards our next destination...

"Ah!"

Haruka seemed to have noticed something once again, as she rushed towards the side of the main road for the fourth time.

This time, her target was a shop selling anime merchandise. However, she didn't step into the store, but made a beeline for a block of squarish objects that were out in front. Ah! Isn't that the vending machines that sell what we call capsules! How nostalgic, I remember frequenting such machines during my primary school days. The capsules contained plastic figurines of the gundams and certain muscle-bound superheroes which I loved, and if I were to go through my old stuff, I'd probably turn up quite a sizable amount of those figurines.

"This should be what you're talking about right? A capsule will roll out if you put a coin in...Ah! Isn't that 'Clumsy Girl Aki-chan'?"

...I seemed to have heard that name somewhere. The rectangular box that Haruka was pointing her finger at had a picture of the figurine of a familiar-looking blue-haired girl on a piano.

"That's...really cute."

Haruka had a childish look in her eyes. I felt like I was becoming more and more familiar with Haruka's interests.

"Why don't you try it?"

This was different from what she was looking at just now, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Hmm? Try it? You're saying that I should try this machine?"

"That's right."

"Hmm...But..."

I encouraged her to try the machine, but for some unknown reason, Haruka was extremely hesitant about my suggestion. Ah! Could it be that she wasn't interested in these things?

In response to my question, Haruka answered in a tiny voice.

"Umm...To tell the truth, it's my first time trying something like this."

"Your first time?"

Her first time using a capsule vending machine?

"Yes."

Haruka nodded abashedly.

"Today's the first time I've ever seen something like this, and it's also my first contact with it. Hmm...How should I put it...This should be my first experience right? That's why I'm a bit worried...would I be able to do it?"

"..."

The word is probably correct. However I'd like you to stop speaking of your first experience in the middle of the afternoon in the presence of others.

"W...what do you think?"

"Hmm... you're probably right. It's not something particularly difficult."

Just put the coin in and turn the handle for the capsule to roll out. Even kindergarten kids can do it.

"Is that so? Then I guess I'll give it a try."

Haruka seems to have finally made up her mind. She took out her purse from her bag and approached the machine with an extremely serious expression reminiscent of a middle-aged technologically-challenged employee's expression towards the company computer on his desk. Looks like I'll have to gently watch over her for the time being...

"A...ah? Ah? It's strange... what's happening?"

Suddenly, I saw that Haruka had a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Yuuto-san...Is this machine broken? I can't put the money in."

"It shouldn't be broken...Let me have a look."

I leaned over for a closer look.

"..."

Only when I leaned over did I see that Haruka was attempting to stuff a ten-thousand yen bill into the coin opening. My clever Haruka-sama, if it's a paper note, you'll never be able to stuff it into an opening designed for coins.

"??"

"...Haruka, you can't use notes for capsule machines, they only accept coins."

"Ah? Seriously?"

"...Yes."

I beg you, please don't ask such questions with a perfectly straight face.

"I get it, it only accepts coins."

Haruka opened her purse once more, only to give an upset expression, as though she was unable to eat a delicious dish that's right in front of her.

"...I don't have coins."

"...I'll lend you some!"

If this goes on, god knows when Haruka will finally start turning the handle of the capsule machine, so I made that suggestion.

"...I'm sorry to bother you."

I placed a thousand-yen bill into the coin exchange machine in return for ten hundred-yen coins. Looking at the transmutation of my paper note into coins, I felt as though I had lost money, since after all, I'm just your average stingy city-dweller.

"Here, take it."

"Th...Thank you."

Haruka nervously took a hundred-yen coin from my hand.

And that was how Haruka began her first experience with capsule vending machines...Even though...I personally felt that this first experience was rather dangerous.

I was worried about whether she would become addicted to the machine.

From past experience, I know that for anyone using the capsule vending machines, it's extremely hard to stop once one has chosen a target. Unless the target object has been obtained, the person using the machine would usually not be able to bring him/herself to stop.

If that person is a primary school kid, then it isn't that bad, because no matter how much he/she wants to continue playing, he/she has to stop once his/her money is used up. In other words the wallets of primary school children are natural deterrents. If at that exact moment, the person next to that particular primary school kid coincidentally gets the figurine that he/she wants, that kid will surely burst into tears on the spot. But, after going through countless such trials and tribulations, that primary school kid will eventually mature and grow up...Wait, I seem to have gone off topic here.

Anyway, what I want to say is that, if the person playing is a high school student with a significantly bigger wallet, what would the situation be like?

Just thinking about the probable outcome gave me a headache.

Though I fervently hoped that my predicted answer was wrong, the truth has no pity...

As I expected, in order to obtain her target object (The piano-playing 'Clumsy girl Aki-chan'), Haruka sent four pieces of Natsume Soseki(1000 Yen) up into heaven, while the emptied capsules rolled around on the ground beside us like pebbles on the riverbank.

==3==
And then it was lunchtime.

According to the schedule, the place where we're supposed to have lunch is a restaurant named 'Calotte-culotte'.

"What kind of restaurant is it?"

It could be a family restaurant, but it was impossible to tell from the name of the restaurant.

Haruka gave a mysterious smile, looking as though she had been waiting for that question for a long time.

"It's a cafe that I read about in a magazine, a place which I've been wanting to go for a long time. This is the second-most important activity of the day, so please look forward to it!"

The second-most important activity of the day? Hmm, upon closer inspection, there's a small flower-shaped symbol beside the name of the cafe, something which I had missed (or had subconsciously deleted from my field of vision). And also, a 'monster' was drawn beside the large electronics store that was the focal point of our shopping trip. This 'monster' had a needle-like beard, sharp claws and blood-red eyes...Haruka was probably trying to draw a cat wasn't she?

"Lalala...♪"

Haruka hummed the tune of 'A Young Maiden's Prayer' as she skipped along.

But I was unable to relax. My body was ensnared by an unknown sense of uneasiness, like the sudden appearance of rain clouds, together with thunder and lightning on an impossibly sunny day.

"We're here."

Haruka's voice brought me down to earth. Looks like we have already reached our destination while I was lost in thought.

"Looks like there aren't a lot of people inside yet, that's great! Yuuto-san, let's go inside!"

Haruka's voice sounded extremely joyful.

Just what kind of weird (please forgive my rudeness) cafe has Haruka recommended? I looked up while holding on to my biased opinion.

"...Huh?"

It's a very normal-looking cafe!

The exterior of the cafe gave passerbys a cute yet elegant impression, the type which girls like. Looking in through the glass windows, the interior decorations also weren't too flashy, giving potential customers a good feeling about the cafe. After going into the cafe itself, I didn't find anything that was particularly abnormal or unacceptable. Anyway, the interior decorations of this restaurant had white as it's basic theme, giving the cafe a simplistic feel. Although I was a bit concerned about the fact that most of the customers were male, since everything was within my area of tolerance, I didn't give much thought to it.

We sat down at a table beside the window and looked at the menu. The menu had...many imaginative dishes, but...it's still rather normal I guess!

Hmm...Looks like I've been worrying for nothing. Haruka should have placed this cafe as the second most important activity due to its cute decor. Yes, that must be it, in principle, Haruka's still a normal girl.

Just as I sighed in relief and prepared to order, a girl's voice sounded above my head.

"Welcome, would you be ordering now?"

Ah! The waitress was here to take out orders. I was still trying to decide between 'Pasta from the unbelievable kingdom', or the 'Seven dwarves' apple pie', while Haruka was also having a hard time deciding on what to order. Well then, I'll just have to ask the waitress to wait for a while more!

I put down the menu and raised my head.

"Hmm, I'm sorry, but we'll need a bit more time to decide, please..."

I was unable to finish the sentence.

Because what I saw made all my bodily functions come to a complete stop.

Even my brain stopped working.

"..."

"Mister, what's wrong?"

Because standing in front of my eyes was a...how should I put it...a maid. She was wearing an apron with a similarly colored hairband (something like a hairband, I don't know the official name for it), and she also had something that looked like cat ears on her head. Was I hallucinating?

"Your friend hasn't decided on her order yet?"

"Ah, that's right. Could you please wait for a while more?'

"I got it~~Please take your time."

The plate-bearing cat-eared maid nodded. A cat-ear maid...If I were to describe her appearance, I would say that her performance is extremely outstanding.

"Then please call for me when both of you have decided..."

The cat-ear maid smiled kindly as she walked away, her tail swaying from side to side behind her. To confirm that my vision was still normal, I immediately shot a question at Haruka.

"Haruka...what is this place?"

"Isn't this a cafe?"

That I know... I mean, when did cat-eared maids become the standard accessories of a Japanese cafe?

"The uniforms of the waitresses here are all very cute, that's why everyone comes here just for the maids."

"..."

...Hang on, Haruka said 'everyone'?

I rushed out of the cafe to check out its sign once again, realizing that the sign really did say 'Maid cafe' 'Calotte-culotte'.

So that's it...It really is that kind of cafe.

I sat back down feeling emotionally drained.

A maid cafe! Since the truth was now in front of my eyes, I could only agree with the cafe's decision to let their waitresses dress up as maids, since that was their main selling point. There would be no point in running a maid cafe without maids in it.

Which was why I could only compromise. No, not that I wasn't disturbed, but if I was too disturbed, we won't be able to eat lunch. But...

"...Hey, why are all of them wearing cat ears?"

That was my biggest question. And upon closer inspection, some of the maids even had tails...From a purely academic point of view, what are they trying to do with that kind of accessory?

"Isn't it because it's very cute?"

Haruka's answer was short and sweet.

"The original maid costume is already extremely cute, so adding a pair of cat ears would serve to amplify that cuteness. This is a perfect example of a situation whereby 1 plus 1 does not equate to 2, but equates to 3, or even 4."

Haruka smiled. I agree with her analysis, but...

[[Image:NHnH vol01 142.jpg|thumb]]
"It's really cute...I want to try on a maid costume too. I think I'll borrow one from Hazuki next time..."

Haruka looked at the maids with a dreamy look in her eyes. Hmm...I want to imagine...how Haruka would look like in a maid uniform. Haruka in a maid costume and wearing a pair of cat ears, smiling as she says 'Master♪'...it has a nice feel to it.

...What am I thinking about!

I don't like the me that's thinking unwholesome thoughts. To purge those impure thoughts from my brain, I twisted my body and looked at Haruka, who was still looking dreamily at the maids in the cafe out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, Haruka lightly hit the palm of her left hand with her right hand as though she suddenly remembered something.

"Yuuto-san...I thought of a good idea."

"...What good idea?"

I don't think that it'll be anything good for me, which was why I was rather afraid of Haruka's answer.

"I want to ask them to allow us to take pictures of them."

"Huh?"

"It's such a rare chance for me to be here, so I want to take a photo with the maids ."

"Wait minute..."

I wasn't even able to try to stop her before Haruka started moving with a digital camera that had popped out of nowhere in her hand.

"Excuse me, but...could I take a picture with you?"

Haruka called a maid over and made her request.

"I'm very sorry, but our cafe prohibits the taking of pictures..."

The cat-eared maid rejected the request politely.

"Hmm? Is that so?"

"Yes, I'm really sorry..."

The maid bowed apologetically. That's great, though I felt that it wasn't very nice to Haruka, but at least I won't be forced to take an embarrassing picture in this kind of cafe.

But, I seemed to have relaxed a tad too early.

"Really...can't? I really really wanted to take a picture with cat-ear maids..."

Haruka looked like an abandoned kitten. Perhaps the cat-ear maid couldn't bear to see a customer in such a depressed state, she thought about it for a while before telling Haruka, 'Hmm, please wait for a while, perhaps there's a way,' and then ran off towards the employee area of the cafe. I fervently hoped that she wouldn't come back with a solution...but before I could do anything, the cat-eared maid came running back.

"Mister, Miss, please follow me."

"?"

"About this, I told the manager about your request, and he allows you to take pictures. If you don't mind, I could take the picture with the two of you. But so as to not disturb the other customers, we'll have to go into the employee section of the cafe to take the pictures..."

"Really? Of course that would be alright. Thank you."

Haruka nodded in appreciation as she smiled joyfully, causing the cat-ear maid to blush in embarrassment. How should I put it, because Haruka used her angelic smile (ultimate move), that was effective against both genders. Hmm...perhaps there would be one more female member for the fan club, which doesn't have many female members. (By the way, the male:female ratio of the Hakujo Academy Nogizaka Haruka Fanclub is 5:1).

Anyway, on that day, the 'Nuit étoile', the cat-eared maid and I smiled for the camera (my face was cramped up), obtaining a photo that could be passed down to later generations, but was too embarrassing to talk about.

Under the smiling face of the cat-ear maid, I left the maid cafe feeling extremely tired. But almost immediately, Haruka saw something that she liked once again, swiftly going into her fifth special operation of the day. I could only sit down on the dirty bench in front of the store, staring blankly at Haruka.

"Ah! Isn't that Yuuto?"

A voice that shouldn't be heard here came from the crowd.

I pretended not to know this person as I turned away. But this fellow was extremely stubborn and never gave up easily.

"Hey, Yuuto..."

"..."

"Yuuto?"

"..."

"Ah, you're ignoring me on purpose! Alright, you have a strategy, I have one too."

"..."

"Hmm...watch out! Ayase Yuuto, Hakujo Academy Year 1 Class 2, during his kindergarten years, had once been......"

"...I get it, I get it, Nobunaga, it's my fault."

Seeing that I surrendered, this childhood friend of mine said childishly, 'That's more like it.'

"But...Nobunaga, what are you doing here?"

"Huh? You just asked a very strange question. As long as it's not a school day, I'll always be here. You of all people should know that this is our sacred land."

"...Right, now that you mention it."

...I guess I do.

"It just so happens that there's an event today! No, to be precise, it started from yesterday...The more surprising thing should be your presence here. You always reject my invitations to come here!"

I don't want to come precisely because you're the one inviting me. To me, the combination of this person and this street was the worst copulation on earth. Particularly during New Years and festival times, it feels like everyone on this street is attending a funeral or something.

This fellow was right, it wasn't surprising at all for him to be here, for it was like seeing fish in the ocean, a natural phenomenon. For where else would Otaku be if not here at Akihabara?

The problem was, I had completely forgotten about shopping with Haruka. Ah, now that I've remembered the reason behind my presence on this street, I have to think of a solution to this situation.

"What's wrong? Yuuto, you don't look well."

"I have a slight headache..."

"That's bad, do you want me to give you a pill for it? Half of the contents of this pill is my kindness."

How could he say something like that to a person with a headache!

"Never mind, Nobunaga, aren't you busy? You don't have to care about me, just go!"

"I'm not busy. The main event has already ended, so I'm free."

"But isn't being together with me really boring? On such a rare Sunday, you should spread out your wings and fly!"

"Yuuto, why do I get the feeling that you're trying to brush me off."

"No, why would I do that..."

The situation was really bad. I have to make this fellow disappear before Haruka comes back or things will get ugly.

"Hmm...Whatever makes you happy! Since my event has finished and I'm so tired, I think I should just go home and sleep."

A sleepy-looking Nobunaga gave a loud yawn, a rare action for someone as healthy as him.

"Because the event started yesterday, I've practically been awake since yesterday. Luckily everything went smoothly at the stall. Hahaha,"

Looks like this guy is really tired.

"Then I'll be going first. Yuuto, see you in school tomorrow!"

Nobunaga waved the paper bag in his right hand as he walked towards the station.

==4==

After spending a period of time with Nobunaga.

The main activity of today (in Haruka's opinion) was finally going to be completed, as the scheduled time to buy the PTA drew nearer.

"It's now four forty-eight in the afternoon...It's time for the main activity of the day!"

I followed behind Haruka as we made our way towards our final destination. Because we had completed all our previous objectives successfully, Haruka was in an extremely good mood. Right now, I had two paper bags in my hands, filled to the brim with the spoils of war (all Haruka's), other than the mountain of free coupons, posters and catalogues, there were also manga (the newest issue of <<INNOCENT SMILE>> etc) and a few light novels. Though there weren't a lot of them, due to the fact that all of them were paper products, the two paper bags were extremely heavy.

"Yuuto-san...Are you alright? Maybe I should take one bag."

"No, it's alright, I'm fine."

Her concern came as a relief, but if not to carry things, I don't know what I'm here for today.

"But..."

"I'm really fine, I'm used to such heavy loads."

Ever since I started primary school, Ruko and Yukari would hire me to carry things for them at a cost of 50 yen per hour (I was forced to take the job).

Especially when it was summer, where I would be panting like crazy in the hot weather while the two of them happily ate ice-cream beside me...Now that I think of it, shouldn't that be classified as child abuse?

Thinking of how I was abused in the past, I naturally felt a tad depressed, while Haruka looked at me worriedly.

"You don't look so good...Umm...Is...Is it because the bags are too heavy?"

"No...I just remembered my cruel past."

"Cruel?"

"That's not an expression for something else."

"?"

A question mark appeared above Haruka's head.

"Ah, it's nothing, let's not talk about me anymore. We should move on! It won't be good if the PTA's sold out."

I mustered all of my strength to lift the bags higher and walked on ahead of Haruka.

"Yuuto-san."

I was immediately halted by Haruka.

"Shouldn't it be that way?"

"..."

Speaking of which, I don't know where the store is.

"It's this way."

"...Right."

I nodded and followed behind Haruka.

My words actually came through.

Even though I had said it on a whim, I had never expected it to come true.

"...Sold out?"

"Yes, I'm really sorry..."

The bespectacled shop assistant bowed deeply in apology.

Right now, we were in the video game section on the third floor of the large electronics store. The two of us, who managed to reach the store by the scheduled time, only saw the 'out of stock' sign that had been pasted onto the box that had formerly stocked the limited edition silver PTAs.

"The limited edition silver PTAs are extremely popular, such that 70% of our stock were pre-ordered, while the remaining 30% were sold out before lunch."

The shop assistant also told us that the situation in the store today was extremely chaotic, such that if the customers didn't start queuing up yesterday, they wouldn't have been able to get their hands on the limited edition silver PTA.

"So there aren't any ways to get it?"

"All the other chain stores are also out of stock, so even if you were to go to any of our chain stores, you probably won't be able to buy it..."

The shop assistant answered my question seriously. He looked like those giant apes that live in the mountains, but he was probably a nice guy.

All in all, the result was clear.

"We were too naive..."

If we had really wanted the limited edition silver PTA, we should have had been prepared to have started queuing way before the store's opening time. To saunter into the store at 5 in the afternoon was really a grossly uninformed decision.

"..."

I looked to my side at Haruka, who stood there like a statue, her eyes devoid of all light.

"Ah, Haruka."

Though Haruka was usually perfect, and occasionally clumsy, looking at this blank expression of hers, I didn't know what to say to her.

"It's alright, we were just unlucky."

"..."

"Haruka?"

"...Huh? Ah?"

Haruka finally came back to reality, but she had a dead look in her eyes...looks like she suffered a deep psychological wound.

"Let's just leave this place first, since we can't do anything about it."

I wanted to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.

"...Al...Alright."

After answering lifelessly, Haruka walked towards the elevator. But her body started to sway unsteadily halfway to the elevator.

"Haruka?"

"Hmm? What?"

Just as she answered me, Haruka's body suddenly fell forward.

"!"

The second before Haruka slammed into the ground, I managed to catch her. Wow! Her waist is so thin, and she smells so nice...No, now's not the time to think about such things,

"Haruka! Are you alright?"

Haruka squeezed her eyes together in my arms.

"Mm, I merely lost my balance..."

It's probably anemia or something similar! Haruka's skin, which was already extremely white, now became even paler...What do I do, should I ask for help from the shop assistants? Or should I call for an ambulance?

"Umm...Yuuto-san, I'm alright. I should feel better after resting for a while."

Haruka shook her head weakly as though she knew what I was thinking about.

"But..."

"Please don't make this into a big incident, I don't want to cause you any trouble."

...No choice, looks like I should respect Haruka's opinion.

"...I get it, either way, we should leave this store and find some place to rest...Please endure this for a while."

"Huh? Yuu...Yuuto-san!?"

I carried Haruka, whose eyeballs rolled into the back of her head, but this action was misunderstood as the people around us started to cheer and whistle, leading me to run out of the store awkwardly.

...Whether it was carrying a princess in my arms, or being carried (of course I don't want to be carried like that), this was the first time that I've experienced something like this.

Looking for a place to rest, I ended up in a small park.

"It's....so tiring..."

I really carried Haruka in my arms while running. Though Haruka wasn't heavy (on the contrary, she was as light as a feather), since the club that I joined in school was the 'go-home club', it was still extremely tiring for the me who never exercises. God, I'm getting older now...Perhaps it's time to consider whether to buy the products from the fourth store. The kind of products that I'm talking about are the products that foreigners advertise to the people in front of the televisions in the wee hours of the morning, products like weird-looking all-enabling indoor track machines - "Hey! Nancy! I have something really nice to give you today!" "Wow! Bill, what's that?" That kind of product. This product can be paid for in installments, only 12800 Yen including taxes...ah, that's just my impression of such advertisements!

"Hey, oh!"

Haruka probably fell asleep as I was carrying her, and she was sleeping as soundly as Sleeping Beauty. I placed her lightly on the park bench, and finally relaxed.

--She really did faint.

She really did wish to buy the limited edition silver PTA, and as all her expectations were dashed in that one moment, it was just like what people say, that the higher the expectations, the greater the fall.

Haruka, who was now lying on the bench, was breathing regularly again.

If she still doesn't wake up after a while more, maybe I should seriously consider whether I should call an ambulance. Although I didn't want to blow up the incident either, Haruka's condition was the top priority.

If I were to call an ambulance, should I use my cellphone, or use one of the public phones that are now as rare as a fossil? I mulled over the two choices as I turned to look at Haruka once more...

"Ah..."

Haruka had already woken up.

Coincidentally, our eyes met.

"..."

"..."

...This was rather awkward.

"Ah, are you feeling better now?"

"Ah, yes..."

Haruka nodded, looking a little nervous.

"Thanks to you, I'm feeling much better now, I think it's probably because I wasn't able to sleep properly yesterday night."

"Wasn't able to sleep properly?"

"...About that...Yes, I was really looking forward to today, so I couldn't bear to close my eyes, just like the night before I'm about to go on a trip..."

"I see."

"..."

"..."

We lapsed into silence.

It might have been less awkward if we shifted our gazes away from each other, but for some reason, we were unable to do that. My eyes just couldn't bear to move away from Haruka's beautiful features, her hair that was slightly wet from sweat, her lightly blushing cheeks, and her small, cute cherry lips. But, why was Haruka also staring unblinkingly at me?

I felt that my heart was beating furiously, my throat was parched, and even my breathing became rough and irregular. It can't be...are these the symptoms of cardiac arrest?...No, it can't be, I don't have any history of heart problems, and my body should be perfectly healthy (even though my level of fitness is around that of a sixty year-old grandfather), and my meat intake was far lesser than that of the American Leopard, so that should count in my favor.

But...Why...Just what is happening?

This kind of charged atmosphere didn't change and just like in the last moments before an engine completely goes out, it will be working over-capacity, resulting in overheating.

I felt that if this were to continue for another 10 seconds, I could very well depart from this world. Just at that moment, a strange sound came from my pocket, breaking the tension.

"Ah..."

The charged atmosphere was broken.

<<The Ride Of The Valkyries>>

This was a tune from the movie <<Apocalypse Now>>, composed by Wagner, a tune with an extremely frightening rhythm. This wasn't a ring tone, but a message incoming tone...Only one person would select this tune as the message incoming tone.

"Ruko..."

Just as I expected, three simple words appeared on the LCD screen of my cellphone: Message from Sister.

"Feel like eating curry tonight. Go and buy the ingredients quickly, be back before seven!"

...It wasn't any of my business whether she liked curry or not, but she's already twenty-three, and not only can she not cook, but she even pushes all the household chores to her younger brother (me)! What kind of woman is she, what kind of sister is she! And she even wants me to be back home before seven! I really have a lot of complain about, but only this time...Perhaps I should squeeze out some tears of gratitude for this timely message.

"A message?"

"Yes, from my sister."

All thanks to the timely appearance of the message, the tense atmosphere was completely broken down.

"You have a sister?"

"Hmm? Haven't I told you about her before? She's seven years older than me..."

"Is...Is that so..."

But this could only break the silence for a while, Haruka's cheeks were still flaming red, and I've also accidentally made a weird action...What should I say now?

Anyway, I have to divert the topic somehow.

"Yes, it's like that. Ah, right. Haruka, are you thirsty? I'll go get us some drinks, so just sit here and wait for me alright."

"Ah, alright. Then..."

"I'll be right back."

I let Haruka, who seemed to have something to say, sit on the bench before making myself scarce. Because if I continued to stay with Haruka, I felt that the atmosphere would become extremely awkward.

I bought red tea and coffee at a nearby vending machine, taking the opportunity to regulate my breathing and to calm myself down. I don't know what's happening, but I must first let my heart slow down to its normal rhythm. I breathed in and out deeply five times in a row (from an objective perspective, I'm really a strange person), finally managing to get my heartbeat back to an acceptably normal level. Whew, I think I'll be able to relax for now. I can't make Haruka wait for long, so I should go back now.

I ran back to Haruka.

"Here, this is for you. Do you mind red tea?"

"Mm, thank you. I like red tea very much."

I passed her the can of red tea that had the logo of a lemon of it. As Haruka brought it up to her mouth with a smile,

"Mm, it has a really unique taste, this kind...may taste nicer."

"Unique?"

This wasn't anything special, just a can of lemon red tea that could be bought anywhere.

"This is my first time drinking canned red tea."

...So that was why. In school, I've really never seen Haruka drinking canned or packet drinks before as she always brought her own teacup and thermos.

Looking at Haruka gulping down the red tea, I also started to sip from my can of coffee. A crow that was above me kept making melancholic cries, perhaps it had seven children waiting for it to come home in the mountains!

"About just now...I'm really sorry."

Under the setting sun, Haruka softly apologized.

"Fainting in front of so many people...I must have given Yuuto-san quite a bit of trouble, right?"

"Ah, it wasn't much!"

Though the looks that were cast on me from all directions were indeed rather painful when I was carrying the sleeping beauty in my arms, this wasn't Haruka's fault, and I did get something out of it.

"...I'm really very sorry. Yuuto-san specially made time to go shopping with me, but in the end..."

Haruka lowered her head.

"...I'm really useless. Because of my oversight, all the silver PTAs were sold out. Not only was I not able to complete the main objective of today's shopping trip, I also got Yuuto-san into quite a bit of trouble...I'm really really useless, as useless as 'Useless Girl Megu-chan'. If I had known this was going to happen, we shouldn't have come at all. Yuuto-san, you must be thinking the same thing right..."

Haruka gripped the metal can tightly as she took a deep breath. I could understand that Haruka was extremely depressed, but...she doesn't have to put herself down like this. And anyway, who's Megu-chan?

And also, there was a huge flaw in Haruka's logic.

"Wait a minute. It might have been due to your oversight that we weren't able to get the limited edition game console, and we do feel sad about not being able to get it, but...I didn't force myself to go on this shopping trip with you, I accepted your invitation because I wanted to go shopping with you.

That's the assumption that you've made which I want to challenge."

"Hmm..."

"Anyway...I enjoyed myself immensely today, I saw a lot of new things that I've never seen before (For example, cat-ear maids, cat-ear maids, and cat-ear maids), which is why I cannot agree with you when you say that we shouldn't have come in the first place if we had known that we'll be unable to buy the silver PTA. On the contrary, I feel that it is an honor for me to be able to accompany you on this trip."

This were my true feelings on the matter.

"Yuuto-san..."

[[Image:NHnH vol01 163.jpg|thumb]]
Haruka started sobbing with her head leaned to one side.

"Sob...Thank you...Thank you very much. I...I also had a lot of fun today, this is the first time that I've gone shopping with someone...I'm really really happy today, though I'm sad at not being able to get the PTA, I'm really really sorry, and...and..."

"Ah, don't cry."

"Alright..."

Though Haruka agreed to not cry, her sobs only got louder and louder. I had an overpowering urge to offer her my handkerchief...but I realized that my handkerchief wasn't of good quality enough to be offered to another person, so I could only dig out a packet of tissue that was being handed out on the street (as for the company that was giving out tissues, it's a certain financial corporation whose president had recently been arrested).

"Sob......Thank you."

Looking at Haruka using both the mass-produced cheap tissues together with higher quality silk tissues to wipe her tears was rather unbelievable.

It took ten minutes for Haruka to stop crying.

"We should get going..."

"...Right, it's getting late."

Haruka, who finally stopped crying, stood up from the bench with a smile on her face.

"But...I still feel depressed over the fact that we weren't able to get the silver PTA."

"We could go and ask the other stores whether they still have the silver PTA in stock the next time we have a day off."

Upon hearing my words, Haruka gave a shocked expression.

"Really?"

"Of course. Haven't I already said I also had a lot of fun today, and I also wish to be able to go shopping with you?"

"Ah, I'm so happy!"

Haruka skipped forward, while in front of her was---

"Haruka! In front of you!"

"Hmm?"

It was too late.

Bang. After that huge noise,

"...It hurts!"

...Haruka had knocked into a pole, which must have been really painful. Should this be classified as being an airhead? Or just plain clumsiness? But after looking at Haruka, I couldn't help but smile slightly.

"...Yuuto-san, it's mean to laugh at other people!"

"Hmm? I'm not laughing."

"Yes you are! You're laughing! And you're laughing really happily!"

Haruka smashed her small fists into my chest, of course, it wasn't painful at all.

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault."

"...I can't feel your sincerity."

"Really, I'm being really sincere over here."

What to do? I looked around me, hoping to find a way to get out of this tight corner, when I suddenly saw a rectangular shaped machine. That's it, that's the thing.

"Why don't we try that again as the last activity of the day? My treat."

I pointed to the capsule vending machine that Haruka had used during the day, and our current position was in the park right behind that store.

Haruka's indignant expression immediately changed to an excited one.

"Really!? Yay!"

I took out a hundred-yen coin and passed it to Haruka, who promptly threw it into the coin slot and turned the handle, causing a round capsule to roll out.

As she opened the capsule, Haruka suddenly shouted loudly.

"This is the one! This...This is...the 'Shy shy pose'."

Huh? What? Is she speaking Japanese?

"This is the favorite pose of the female protagonist of the <<Shy Triangle>> Aki-chan. Look, it's really cute isn't it?"

Resting in the palm of Haruka's hand was the figurine of a blue-haired girl who was lightly grabbing onto the hem of her skirt with her fingers. I see, this pose is called the 'Shy shy pose L'. For some reason, this pose seems strangely familiar?

"I'm going to treat it like a treasure!"

Haruka smiled happily as she hugged the figurine.

"...Treat this like a treasure?"

She was planning to treat this figurine with a strange-looking pose like a treasure? Could it be that Haruka likes this figurine more than the piano-playing one?

"This pose is very cute, so I really like it, and..."

Haruka blushed as she said...

"And...this is something that Yuuto-san bought for me. So it's extremely valuable, a most important piece of treasure to me."

She actually said something like that.

......Now this was a predicament.

She was so serious and was blushing so furiously that I didn't know how to answer her, so before I could figure out my answer, my face was burning as I didn't dare to look straight at Haruka.

The cold wind of the sunset blew onto my face, and I took the respite given by the cold air blowing onto my burning face (about three minutes) to finally come up with an answer.

"...Please take good care of it."

......To be honest, I don't know if that was a good enough answer, but at least I gave an answer.

My first shopping trip with Haruka ended like this.

On a side note, this was something that I heard from Nobunaga after the shopping trip, that the figurine with the strange pose seemed to be an extremely rare item, with only fifty of them in existence, an extremely valuable product...I really don't know how this society works sometimes...

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