Tsugumi burst through the Gaunas Placenta as the true body foam reaction just started. Cradled in her one intact arm was Tanikazes cockpit. The only remnant of the type-18 he had been forced to sortie in to intercept the Gauna.
The attack had been detected just as they had started to refit and repair the Guardians. The rush to deploy atleast one Guardian in support of Tsugumi meant Tanikaze had been selected to fly the heavily automated frame. His preferences and skills ran much more along the lines of using manual controls for more finesse. He had been able to distract the Gauna just long enough for Tsugumi to strike at the placenta and reach the true body. Just as Tsugumi struck the Placenta the Gauna had launched its final attack. Three sections of its body morphed into projectile sticky bombs and Tanikaze had only managed to dodge two, the third impacting on his Guardians leg and detonating as the remaining two exploded and hit him from behind with their shockwave.
Tsugumi was in a near panic as she rushed towards Sidonia as quickly as she could with the cockpit gripped tightly in her arms. Tanikaze unconscious inside with blood spattering coating the inside of his helmet.
The medics were already waiting for her in their protective gear and with a stretcher already laid out to move Tanikaze as gently as possible. Tsugumi internally cursed her size again as she could not carry Tanikaze all the way to the hospital, could not sit by his bed, could not wait and be there for him when he woke up. She didn't for even a moment suspect that he wouldn't wake up. Tanikaze always recovered and always came to see her when he could. Even when she herself was healing from damage and was sleeping.
She had moved to her room and submerged into the bath, completely beneath the water as she tried to send her probe through the ventilation as close to the hospital as she could without being seen. The probe moved through the vents slowly, careful not to bother the insects that had grown wild in them or the layers of dust. She had to be careful and stealthy. She had already caused trouble for Tanikaze, Izana and Yuhata by being caught using the vents before.
After several wrong turns and more than a few dead ends, including having to scare off a few insects that had built their nest right in the middle of a vent. The nerve of them to try to obstruct her as she was looking for Tanikaze.
It took her another hour of navigating the vents before she struck luck. Her probe rested over the vent grate looking down at Tanikaze as he slept. His head and body were bandaged and the machines were monitoring him and making steady beeping sounds. Seeing Tanikaze so beat up and vulnerable made her heart ache. She would have to protect him better. He had protected her so well. She would have to be there for him more. Become more skilled.
So he could always rely on her.