Gundam Barbatos landed beside Gundam Gusion Rebake. Akihiro, having already disconnected from the Alaya-Vijnana System, was standing below, waiting for him.
The cockpit opened. Mikazuki sat on the rising seat, his face stained with blood, staring expressionlessly at the horizon. Akihiro climbed onto Barbatos and stood on its shoulder.
Mikazuki wiped the blood away with his arm, turned his head, and smiled. "I thought you'd take longer than expected. Well? Did you find him?"
Akihiro showed a joyful smile, the likes of which he had rarely experienced in his life. "Yeah, I found Masahiro. He came back to life in this world just like us. It was quite a coincidence; I ran into him in the desert."
"I was passing through the Desert Dawn area when I bumped into him. It really was..." Akihiro scratched his head, but the smile on his face was uncontrollable. He felt he owed so many people in his life: his brother Masahiro, Lafter, Aston... and so on.
Seeing Masahiro had made him cryhappy tears. Happy indeed.
"That's good," Mikazuki said. "It's a good omen. If that's the case, Lafter and the others should be alive too. If we look slowly, we'll definitely find them."
Akihiro nodded. "I left Masahiro with the Desert Dawn for now. He'll probably reach Orb tomorrow. I heard a war had broken out here, so I rushed back first."
"But man, you really caused quite a stir," Akihiro continued. "What exactly happened? That fleet belonged to the Earth Alliance, right? Why are they causing trouble for Orb?"
"It seems Orb didn't want to join them, so they treated Orb as an enemy," Mikazuki replied. "But according to Murrue and Orga, their real goal seems to be some kind of mass driver in Orb called 'Kaguya'."
"I see." Akihiro's brow furrowed. He hadn't known much about world events lately and was unclear on the rapidly changing global situation.
But from Mikazuki's description, he understood one thing: the time Uzumi Nara Athha had spoken of had arrived. It seemed his return was perfectly timed.
Just then, two military jeeps stopped behind the two machines, and Murrue and the others got out.
"Mikazuki!"
Seeing Murrue and the rest arrive, Mikazuki waited a moment before tapping the screen in front of him. As the Alaya-Vijnana System deactivated, his right eye went blind once more.
Just as he stood up, a thick arm appeared before him. Akihiro hoisted Mikazuki onto his shoulder.
"I'll carry you. You must be exhausted."
"Heh." Mikazuki didn't refuse. He lay on Akihiro's shoulder and let him carry him as they jumped down from Barbatos.
Mikazuki remembered a time when the right side of his body was paralyzed, and he couldn't even sit steady. Back then, the one who always carried him around was a reticent boy who followed him everywherea boy named Hush.
As Akihiro's feet hit the ground, he heard a murmur from behind him.
"Hush should be alive too..."
Murrue, who had just reached the two of them, heard Mikazuki's whisper as well.
Akihiro looked up at the sky, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "It's fine. He must be alive, and I'm sure he's doing well."
"I suppose..."
Akihiro set Mikazuki down. The faint scent of blood reached Murrue's nose.
"Mika, are you okay?" Murrue ran to Mikazuki, looking him up and down.
Mikazuki put on his coat and said indifferently, "It's nothing."
"What do you mean 'nothing'?! You were far too reckless, charging into the fleet all by yourself! It was the same yesterday. Look at you noware you really okay?" Murrue scolded him loudly. "Even a Natural piloting a Mobile Suit wouldn't... bleed like this."
Murrue's rebuke felt like punching cotton because of Mikazuki's nonchalant attitude. She sighed helplessly.
Behind Mikazuki, Akihirothe one who understood him bestsmiled and shook his head. Cagalli had originally wanted to give him a piece of her mind too, but since Murrue had already said everything, she could only stand aside and glare to show her anger.
At that moment, the Orb leader's private car stopped behind them. Uzumi Nara Athha stepped out and walked up to Mikazuki.
"There was no need for you to go this far," he said.
Mikazuki stole a glance at Cagalli before answering calmly, "I told you, Tekkadan will complete the jobs they take, even if it costs us our lives. Those guys probably won't come looking for trouble again, right?"
Uzumi smiled and nodded. "Probably. Just now, the Earth Alliance withdrew their ultimatum to Orb. Whether they continue to fight us or retreat, we should have an answer within the next couple of days."
"However, I think you've probably scared them off. The possibility of them recognizing Orb's neutrality is very high. It's all thanks to you, Mikazuki Augus."
"That's good then." Mikazuki didn't show much emotion.
Uzumi turned his gaze toward the burly Akihiro. "Thank you too, Akihiro, for coming back to help us in our moment of need."
"No, I arrived a bit late. I only got back as they were retreating, so I missed the battle."
Only then did Cagalli and the others look up at the machine next to BarbatosGusion Rebake. Like Akihiro, Gusion Rebake gave off a very burly, powerful impression.
Uzumi cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention back.
"Everyone, the war is over... though I wish I could say that, it is merely that our Orb has successfully maintained its neutrality. The discrimination and conflict between Naturals and Coordinators continues elsewhere..."
The group listened intently to Uzumi's speech. After a brief pause, Uzumi looked at Cagalli and spoke.
"Cagalli, you... leave Orb."
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