Editing KSGU:Volume 5 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 10===

The plaster that was stuck on the face hurt. The fragments of the broken helmet visor did not pierce the face, but it still left multiple scraps on the white skin. This was the result of the body being forced out from the linear seat and the normal suit and bouncing around inside the cockpit.

Also, there were signs of bleeding all over the body, and it was said that there were a few broken ribs. Banagher saw that the body that was covered by the blanket was not moving as he looked over at the person with her left hand under a drip in low gravity, noticed the injuries from the collisions, and looked behind.

Banagher heard the sound from the electrocardiogram and turned around. ''As expected, I shouldn’t be here. She may have recovered, but honestly, what do I intend to say? It’s completely ridiculous that the person who caused her to be injured comes over to be concerned about her wounds. I don’t even have the power to save her—'' Banagher turned behind to look, saw the long eyebrows that were sealed up, and immediately looked down as he stood in front of the ICU door. “The roles have reversed.” At that moment, the voice came from behind, and Banagher, who was about to reach for the door, had his hand frozen.

Marida Cruz was lying on the bed, and her blue eyes were staring at Banagher. “Miss Marida…” the voice that wanted to say this was stuck in the throat as he could only look back at her eyes.

''Is she laughing at herself for being so injured and how she got captured…no, those are eyes that had already made their realizations, relaxed and serene.'' Banagher felt his chest tightening and his vision become wet as he approached her at the bed. The vital signs indicator awaited, and under it, Marida gave a light smile as she said, “Don’t just look at me.” as she turned her bloodshot eyes to the ceiling.

“…I have no idea why it ended up like that either.”

These words naturally popped out, and Banagher’s lips were trembling. Marida turned her neck slightly, and her chestnut-color hair that was tied in a knot on the right shoulder shook slightly.

“I felt like I wasn’t myself at that time…no, it’s like something that was suppressed was lit up, exploding all the time. I know the person in front of me is you, Miss Marida, but…”

“You were swallowed by the machine.”

Marida said calmly as she interrupted the words that were to no avail. Banagher looked up and looked at her.

“It’s the result of the reverse flow in the Psycommu. You thought you were piloting it, but unknowingly, you we being controlled by it. The system forced you to do this.”

“The system…?”

“I felt a strong denying consciousness within. Most likely, it’s the capabilities that were hidden insidethat “Gundam”s system. That system will search out Newtypes and destroy them, even if it finds that they’re Cyber-Newtypes…”

At this point, Marida’s face winced suddenly, and the pain that she suppressed was seeping out through the gaps between her teeth. Banagher saw her raise her right arm slightly, and took the jug on the side table to her face. Marida took the bottle to her lips, took a small sip, and took a slight breath. She then spoke with a hoarse voice, “A machine can’t determine the difference between a real one and a created one.”

“But humans are different. Humans can sense after all.”

The pale fingers covered Banagher’s hand together with the bottle, and Marida’s gentle smile spread on her dry lips. ''Just like this.'' Banagher felt her blue eyes saying this to him as he put his other hand on Marida’s right hand. Banagher put his fingers on the cold and saddening fingertips and looked at the eyes that seemed that they would lose focus if he relaxed for just a moment. He was trying to keep an irreplaceable life here.

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“Miss Marida, did you…?”

“I saw your inner heart.”

His heart pumped wildly for no reason, and the strength disappeared from his trembling hand. Marida pulled her right hand slightly, and her face that was not smiling anymore looked away from Banagher.

“Perhaps you’re the same kind as me.”

“…What does that mean?”

Marida turned her stare that only exchanged glances with him for an instant back to the ceiling and said, “If that’s not the case, I won’t have any position to say this.” Banagher could not accept the meaning of these words as what she wanted, and glanced down at the pair of blue eyes that were averting unnaturally.

“But…the “Gundam” stopped at the last moment. Your will caused the system to succumb. I think it’s the core inside your heart that allowed you to do that.”

“Core…?”

“As for us, we don’t have that.”

Marida continued silently as she let her clear eyes look up at the ceiling. “That’s why my sisters and I could become one with the machine. We’re not related to natural birth, just existences floating around randomly…”

The hands that were extended outside the blanket weakly suddenly tugged at it. This was the silence someone who saw her end had, and a hollow presence that seemed to pass through space came from within her body. “Miss Marida…” Banagher’s musing voice was trembling.

“Don’t mind me, Banagher. No matter what realities you have to face directly in the future, don’t lose yourself. You have to keep saying ‘even so’.”

Banagher felt like he was just given a slap on the face as he retreated slightly. Marida’s eyes gave a strong glow that allowed neither pity nor respect to approach her as she looked right at him.

“That’s your core…there’s another system sleeping inside that “Gundam”, and your core will become the power to awaken it. The one who left the “Laplace Box” to it…”

The voice and stare that came from deep within her said this, only to be interrupted by a painful moan. The vital signs alarm went off, and Marida got up and winced in pain. “Miss Marida…!” he tried to hold her hand as he called out, but was pushed onto the floor by her. The drip stand was knocked down, CLANG, and a noise echoed through the room loudly.

''That’s enough.'' It felt like someone said this. ''Don’t waver because of me—'' Banagher did not have time to think of the words resonating in Marida’s expression as Hassan came rushing in from the infirmary next down. He held down Marida’s body that got up and roared at the door “GET THE CARDIOTONI! THE DIGOXIN WILL DO!”, and the nursing soldier frantically rushed in as he got ready to inject. Banagher retreated from the wall, and through Hassan’s back, he saw Marida’s limp limbs. As Hassan held her down, pulled aside the blanket and opened the pajamas, the nursing soldier’s needle approached the bare cleavage. “Her muscles are enhanced. Injecting the needle in normally won’t work. You have to raise it and stab it in.” Hassan said, and the pale nursing soldier nodded before raising the syringe over his head with both hands.

A tiny silver light could be seen reflected from the needle due to the headlamp. Banagher closed his eyes right before the needle was stabbed in, turned his face, closed his ears, and left the ICU just like that. ''You can’t do anything. You’ll just hurt her.'' Banagher was pressured by the surging voice within his heart, and despite tumbling a few times, he still managed to move from the infirmary to the corridor.

“Oi, what’s with you?” Banagher pretended not to hear the pursuing guard’s voice as he ran in the gravity block, the path becoming a gradual one. ''What system, what core? I’m just standing right where I am. The fact that I tried to kill Marida before will never change. I was manipulated by the “Unicorn Gundam” system—what the heck is that? The “Laplace Box”, Vist Foundation, dad’s voice hidden inside my memories…I don’t want to care about them anymore.''

''I don’t want to ride on the “Unicorn Gundam” again.'' This thought came out from countless words in his mind, and he stopped in his tracks. He put his hand on the wall, calmed his frantic breathing, and clenched the hand that once sucked up Cardeas’ blood. ''Aren’t these all things that couldn’t be helped? I could only do that at that time.'' As Banagher suppressed the bitterness in his heart and answer the face in his memory, a certain familiar round object appeared from the ends of his sight.

That object which was the size of a basketball rolled on the low-gravity wall and circled around Banagher’s legs. (You don’t look well, Banagher.) Haro let out this synthesized voice, and Banagher looked around the corridor. ''There’s no reason why Haro would appear on its own,'' and as expected, familiar faces appeared from behind the cross-junction, waving at him.

''Come along with us.'' Takuya Irei looked around, and mouthed; Micott Bartsch could be seen fthere as well. Banagher did meet them a few times after arriving back from “Palau”, but he never had the chance to talk with them properly. He too looked around his surroundings, and then turned his stare back at his friends’ faces that felt abnormally far away. He kicked the floor to make up for this distance.

Takuya prompted Micott, who would not look at Banagher in the eyes, and went off to the lift. At this moment, a crew with a Nautical Branch emblem passed by the trio, but it seemed that he was already used to seeing civilians move around the ship. Banagher turned his back on the crew member who did not look back at him as he followed behind Takuya. In his arms, Haro flapped its ears, and this familiar voice caused Banagher to feel really happy.