27 Companions in Step 8

Moving quietly, taking advantage of the chaos.

Leopard’s activation registration is confirmed.

He worried about whether the lock was engaged each time, but his guess proved correct—his opponent likely avoided the trouble too.

There was plenty to do. He wanted to skip any procedure that wouldn’t affect the majority.

Or perhaps it was originally part of the protocol, but omitted in the back manual.

He didn’t know for sure, but it suited him.

Grabbing his backpack, he slipped out of his quarters alone.

A stealth departure—then heading toward the ship where Mio was.

Utter recklessness.

Highly ranked among trainees, though with the caveat that his performance was impressive for his age.

Different from his older brother, who had been a full combatant.

But he couldn’t stand still.

Mio was only a few thousand kilometers away.

It had been the first time in such a long span since they had met that they had not seen each other’s face.

I want to see her.

I want to speak with her.

Driven by this impulse.

Even as he felt an unexpected depth of emotion, Shu headed toward the hangar.

There she was—.

“Hah… You were told to stay in your quarters. Shu.”

“Sister…”

May waited with perfect awareness of her younger brother’s thoughts.

“Return to your quarters, Dongtai trainee. You have not been issued a boarding order.”

Clear and firm, as an Instructor, May halted Shu’s advance.

No exceptions.

This battlefield was a high-risk engagement, even by past standards.

Even if caught by surprise, it was not possible to allow someone to enter of their own accord.

“A trainee’s skill level ends with being shot down and killed.”

He had almost said “Just shooting them down,” but even May exercised restraint.

Let me go, sister.

Instructor. Easttani trainee.

May insists firmly on her own position.

Otherwise, she might be carried away by her own emotions.

May too wants to fly off immediately.

He is on that battlefield. Yuriya is there.

Two who once believed they were meant to protect each other now fight.

They cannot fight for much longer.

Going in recklessly would only be a hindrance.

Even knowing this, they balance their duty against the scales of their own mind, striving to maintain equilibrium.

If I move, Mio will move too.

Even May does not wish to see her younger brother die in vain.

...Instructor. My friend is over there.

I know they’ll be rescued—Captain Tozawa and Lieutenant Sasamori will come through.

May did not doubt that place.

Both are proven combatants, and Yuriya is present as well.

The cooperation of the Terminus people is assured.

No tactical concerns.

—Yet why.

An unease follows May.

A sense she has overlooked something fundamental since hearing of the Harold Fleet’s plan.

A disquiet that unsettles the core of her being.

“But having one more combatant is still better, isn’t it?”

“Don’t be delusional. Your performance is merely marginally better than others. In a place where even regular soldiers are dying, how could a trainee possibly be a combat asset?”

She understands the sentiment.

May herself once moved with that same conviction during training.

Who Guard truly favors—she doesn’t know.

Even May, watching from beside him, noticed.

Yet the one who bears that gaze directly—does she not perceive the affection? Is she indifferent? Unaware?

If she were aware of it and still rolling it around in her palm, she’d be an utterly scandalous villain.

And the parting from earlier this week.

It was not something that could be easily accepted.

Even May, who had only occasionally interacted with him privately at the training academy, thought so.

The time spent together in the same classroom had left Katsura and Emisa with a sense of unease, as had it for Saki.

I admit I might not be much help in battle.

Mio speaks with a pained expression.

But! If it's about convincing him, that's different! We think we know more about Hijō's father than Hijō himself does!

The face shown to parents differs from the face shown to friends.

When reclaiming the Third Fleet, Shu had heard it from Jin.

As a parent, he had failed to persuade.

Whether or not new grounds for persuasion were found from there is beside the point— at the very least, the option to persuade as a friend still remains.

There was no choice but to try it, thought Jin.

"Always have multiple options ready—Instructor said that in lecture!"

Did he say that?

Maybe he did. While reading the text verbatim.

May suppressed a chill of anxiety, yet remained composed as she countered.

"Wha—? No, no, no. Don’t ask for that kind of thing in such a short time… Wait, that was only possible because the opponent had an ether path… "

Her words were swallowed by a sudden, absurd shriek.

Both arguing parties turned their gaze toward the source.

"No, I mean… I’ll skip the technical details, but it’s not that simple! They’re actively interfering, not just randomly disrupting it… "

Sharon, on the phone, wore a look of confusion and anger, arguing back.

"Precautions beforehand! How am I supposed to do that when there's no budget!...Wait, isn't that information division's responsibility?...Are you serious?! In what world do you just blab confidential data to family members?! Did you really go into detail with your partner about this operation?!"

The rising anger was evident in her voice.

Her speech was rougher than usual, her fingers tapping impatiently against her folded elbow.

"Anyway! It's impossible right now! An alternative? Send a messenger on foot, can't you?!"

She said it dismissively, slamming the ship's handset down.

And didn't forget to snort in frustration.

"Gods, this is why they say old people are weak against machines..."

Sharon, consumed by frustration, suddenly noticed the two of them staring.

"What is it, both of you together? Is there an order?"

"No. I’m merely stopping this fool from launching without authorization."

The word "fool" struck home, and even Shō’s expression faltered.

Sharon chuckled at that.

"Fufu. So, Instructor Sasamori—no, Bellwair—has taken the side of stopping trainees from violating orders, too."

"Ah, Sergeant Byron… about that matter, now—"

That was right, May recalled. This person had been a maintenance technician attached to the training academy. She’d known all about her misdeeds during her own training days!

Smiling faintly, like a neighborly aunt, Sharon reminisced.

"Such a nostalgic memory. I helped Lieutenant Nastin after his descent training failed—unlocked the Reactor’s limiter, for instance…"

"Y-yes, please stop!"

The gaze from her brother-in-law burned.

"I-I only did it because no one else would’ve been hurt!"

This time, the damage is only mine. I don’t need to be saved when I’m shot down.

You know very well they won’t see it that way.

If a trainee is in danger—

I’d still try to help, even if it breaks me.

"Please, sister."

He realized with cold certainty that reason could not move him. There had never been reason for him from the start—of course not.

So only emotion remained.

"If I can’t reach him right now, I’ll never walk beside her again for the rest of my life."

He understood that too.

Even after this battle ends.

Even after Mio is recovered.

It won’t be like before.

Her importance will only grow. She may never be treated as an ordinary person again.

To walk at her side, one must have resolve and strength.

How can someone who failed to help at this critical moment ever support her afterward?

Can you really believe in yourself like that?

"Let me go. For me right now, what I’m doing is more important than my own life."

Bows deeply.

If he doesn’t nod now, he might as well kneel.

It’s as if she’s seeing her past self.

People more important than her own life. That hasn’t changed.

Junpei, Kou, Yuriya. And now, this younger brother too—she could add him to the list.

If she can save them, she’d gladly throw away her own life.

But that’s not enough.

She flicks Shu on the forehead, hard.

"Don’t be foolish. Think about how it feels to be left behind."

Only now, having become the one who needs protection, does she understand.

One cannot be happy while carrying such thoughts.

Still—say she had to protect Junpei, who couldn’t even protect himself—then May would have no hesitation in using her own life.

"One is better than one. The more eyes, the wider the range of vigilance. If you want to stay together with Mio after this, breaking orders won’t mean anything."

She cannot stop it.

Having realized that, May chooses the next best course.

To protect this younger brother—just a little more.