Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 1===

From my—Mononobe Yuu's—perspective, Mononobe Mitsuki was someone with greater fortitude than anyone else.

Back when she lost both parents in the car accident, my young self thought thus. Had I been in her place, what would I do?

The death of parents felt totally surreal and I could not imagine how life would continue after that. However, there was no way I would be able to hang in there—That was what I felt.

However, Mitsuki somehow recovered her past smile after becoming my little sister. After developing a fear of riding cars due to the accident, Mitsuki overcame her trauma through her own efforts.

Of course, I would protect Mitsuki as her older brother, and support her—But in the majority of cases, Mitsuki would always rely on her own strength to surmount adversity.

It was the same when "Blue" Hekatonkheir approached our town.

Mitsuki went alone to stand before the dragon. I followed only because I worried about her. To fight Hekatonkheir—Had Mitsuki not spelled it out, such a notion would never had occurred to me.

Watching that delicate silhouette of hers from behind... Challenging a dragon hundreds, no, thousands of times bigger than herself, I could never forget that image.

Even though Mitsuki was crying, even though she was trembling, but that image of her back was the brave silhouette that I still know.

I made a transaction with Yggdrasil to fight Hekatonkheir, only because I wanted to aid Mitsuki. I simply wanted to protect what she hoped to protect, that was all.

Three years after that, I was reunited in Midgard with a Mitsuki who had grown to become even more resolute and brave.

Despite going through the tragic ordeal of killing her best friend who had turned into a dragon, she still led the Ds in battle as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

Despite her sorrow, despite her pain, she continued to stand strong stoicly.

But now—

"I am sorry... Nii-san, I am sorry—"

Lying on against my chest, Mitsuki kept apologizing. Sobbing and weeping, Mitsuki kept apologizing hoarsely—

I had never seen Mitsuki this "weak."

When Kraken Zwei, the orphaned child left behind by her best friend, showed up, Mitsuki had left the battlefield once.

But this time was different.

The pillar that had kept her going all this time had been totally demolished.

It was evident without needing to ask. Because, it was the same for me too.

—These feelings of mine, regarding Mitsuki as the one dearest to me.

They were what constituted my very being to this day.

But after Vritra informed me that these feelings stemmed from my instincts as a counterdragon, even I was plunged into confusion.

With wavering thoughts and emotions, I was unable to offer any consoling words to Mitsuki.

Acting like this... I must be an even "weaker" person than Mitsuki right now.