Chapter 14


"There was this girl that I met during the One Year War." Started Kai as he looked at Erika, who stayed silent. "Her name was Miharu. And you remind me a lot of her. Both physically and you're reasoning for doing what you're doing." That caused Erika to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really?" Asked Erika, curious.

"Yeah." Said Kai. "You may have darker hair than her and you have more of an attitude, but you really remind me a lot about her."

"How?" Asked Erika, wondering why this is. Kai sighed before explaining.

"Back during the war, while the White Base was stationed at Belfast for repairs, the Zeons launched an attack on us." Said Kai. "We beat them back, of course, but it turns out there was a secondary reason why they attack a Federation base. Miharu, you see, was a spy for the Principality of Zeon. She was keeping an eye on her local Federation base in exchange for money. And since the White Base was there in the base she was spying, guess what the Zeons asked of her."

"They used her to infiltrate your ship and spy on you." Guessed Erika, causing Kai to nod. "Okay, so how do I remind you of this girl? All we share is that we have red hair and serve a military of Side 3 in one form or another."

"I was getting to that." Said Kai. "You see, she didn't do it for her own benefit. She did for her siblings, both of whom were younger than her by a lot." Erika widened her eyes at that, now getting what Kai meant by her reminding him of Miharu. She was spying for the Principality for her siblings. Just like she was with her baby sister.

"I…I had no idea you encountered someone with a similar situation like me." Said Erika after hearing that confession. "Even more so in terms of age. That is somewhat disturbing." Kai laughed a bit at that.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Said Kai. "Still can't help but be reminded of her whenever I look at you. Well, when you're not being rude or angry with me over something that I, no doubt, caused. I can really piss people off as you know." Erika gave a nod at that before speaking up.

"Yes." Said Erika, recalling all the times she got annoyed with Kai because of his annoying personality or his attempts to convince her to let him interview her along with his annoying quips. "Although perhaps I was a bit too harsh to you."

"Nah, it's fine." Said Kai. "I can understand why you lashed out the way you did. As you said, you don't want to endanger your little sister. I respect that. I really do. If I was the sole family member of a kid that had no one else to turn to, you bet I would do anything to keep them safe. Heck, I probably wouldn't even be a reporter if I had someone to take care of that only had me. So, I can see why you were so reluctant to be interviewed and I will respect it." Erika gave a nod of thanks for that before speaking up.

"If I may be so bold, may I ask what became of this Miharu?" Asked Erika. Upon seeing the sad look on Kai's face, Erika guesses that the girl died. "She's dead. Isn't she?"

"Yeah." Said Kai before explaining. "While we were on our way to Jaburo, the Federation general headquarters on Earth, the Zeons attacked the White Base. There was this underwater mobile armor that was giving us trouble. Would have killed us all if Amuro, the White Devil, me, Miharu, and Ryu destroyed it in time. Unfortunately, during the fighting, the airship me and Miharu were on got damaged. Fire was spreading in the missile bay, and we just so had a single high yield missile at the time. If we didn't fire the thing, then we both end up dead. Unfortunately, it was stuck so one of us had to go and get it unstuck. You can guess what happened. Miharu got the missile unstuck and fired it. At the cost of her own life. Shockwave sent her off the ship and plummeting to her death. And before you say anything, she prevented me from being volunteering to do it. She locked me in the cockpit before going off to do the deed." Erika couldn't help but be shocked at everything that Miharu did. She thought the girl died because of stray fire from a mobile suit or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not sacrificing herself to save Kai.

"Why would she do that?" Asked Erika, still shocked. "You said she had two little siblings back home. Siblings that relied on her for support, both mentally and financially."

"I did." Said Kai with sorrow and regret as he recalled that day. "To this day, I regret that she was the one that died that day and not me. I was a soldier that had no family members left that will mourn my death. She had little siblings that relied on her to get them through life. To get them through the hardships of growing up without their parents. To…be loved. *Sighs* Her death. It's probably the thing I regret the most in my entire life." Erika saw Kai tearing up and immediately felt sorry for him. Instinctively, she went over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly to provide comfort. Eventually, the two looked each other in the eyes.

"Thanks." Said Kai after wiping the tears from his face with his sleeve. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime." Said Erika before letting go and going back to her seat. Once she was seated, she spoke up again. "I guess I was so very wrong about you. You do understand my situation. More than I thought."

"Yeah." Said Kai. "Sorry for trying to convince you to let me interview you. If I had known about your little sister and your family problems, I wouldn't have tried to convince you."

"It's okay." Said Erika. "You were just doing what you thought was logical and can help my people, which it would happen, to be honest. It's just that it would endanger my little sister, Monica, and I don't want to lose her or see her get hurt in any way. Not after losing the rest of my family in the war." Hearing the sorrowful tone in Erika's voice, Kai couldn't help but ask about her family.

"What happened?" Asked Kai. "What happened to your family exactly that left you with only your little sis as your only other living family member?" Erika sighed before speaking.

"My father was chosen part of Degwin Zabi's delegation to negotiate peace with the Federation." Explained Erika. "And so, you don't need an explanation of how he died. My mother died early on in the war, fighting for the Principality, and my other siblings died at A Baoa Qu. Any other family members I had were either dead during or before the war, leaving me as the sole care-take for my sister, Monica. Well, anyone that I can reliably take care of her without any troubles or even hurt her in any sort of way." Kai nodded at that, understanding Erika's concerns.

"Orphanages are not exactly reliable." Admitted Kai. "They're full of corrupted individuals, assholes that don't care about their charges or sickos that prey on orphans. I would know. I was sent to areas with orphanages in war-torn sections of Earth. Side 3 is probably worse off, right?"

"Probably." Said Erika, having never read some of Kai's articles before. "I don't mean to pry, but are Miharu's siblings in a good orphanage? Are they…well taken care of?" Kai sighed at that before speaking.

"No. No, they're not." Said Kai before explaining. "They both refused to go to the local orphanage when it was offered. Instead, they stayed at their home, waiting for their sister to come. They still believe that she's still alive and will come back to take care of them. They get mad when someone tries to explain to them that she's dead, throwing stuff at them and telling them to leave." Erika winced at that.

"That's…awful." Said Erika as she let her face adopt a pitiful look while also holding her right arm. "And they're still waiting?"

"Yeah." Said Kai. "Last I heard from a good friend of mine that looks after people like them say they're still waiting for their sister that will never come." Erika stayed silent at that. Just hearing all that made her wonder if that would happen to Monica if she died. Will Monica refuse to accept her death and simply wait for her in their home here inside 3? Will she refuse to move away from their home, even if it was for her own safety because she was waiting for a sister that will never come, like Miharu's siblings? That thought alone scared Erika, even more so than when she was close to dying today. As she thought about how Monica would react to her dying, Kai, seeing her worry, went over to her and touched her shoulder as she did his, causing her to look at him.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Said Kai as he tried to comfort Erika as best, he could. "You're a tough one. It's going to take a lot to take you down."

"But what happens if it does happen?" Asked Erika as she looked at Kai with a scared look on her face, stunning Kai as he never saw her with such an expression before. "What if my sister becomes just like Miharu's siblings, alone and refusing to believe that I died? Lashing out to those that want her to move on and accept my death? Or worse, she gets killed because of her refusal to accept my death. Whether it's because of starvation or her getting caught in some sort of crossfire between Federation soldiers and idiotic Zeon remnants. I can't bear to think of such fates for her." Sighing at that, Kai spoke up.

"Hey, if it'll make you feel better, I promise to take care of her if you end up dead." Said Kai, shocking Erika.

"You…you would do that for me?" Asked Erika. When Kai nodded, she was speechless. "Why…why would you do that for me? I know you're very compassionate. Far more than what we have for reporters and such, but this goes beyond simple compassion. Why would you go this far for someone like me? Someone you only knew for under a month?" Kai smiled a bit at that before replying.

"Well, guess I'm just sick and tired of seeing orphans suffer." Said Kai. "My articles may shed some light on what's going on in their lives, but sometimes it's too late or they suffer more until help arrives. And even then, some of the help isn't much of an improvement to what they had to go through before I came to their lives. Guess I'm just sick of not doing enough for people and watching them suffer because of it. So, selfish reasons aside, I promise you. I'll take care of your sister and raise her up well. I promise you that." Looking at Kai, checking to see if he was lying or not. When she was certain that he wasn't, Erika spoke up.

"Thank you." Said Erika as she looked at Kai with a small smile. "I really appreciate it. I really do. Just promise me one that. Promise me that, even though you have every right to hate Side 3 for everything it did, tell Monica some good things about it, even if you don't like it. It wouldn't do to just tell her negative things about Side 3."

"Hey, I wouldn't be hired if I was like those other reporters." Said Kai. "You got my word on it. I'll do what I can to show her that, despite everything, there are some things that she can be proud of regarding her birth nations." Erika nodded in thanks before looking at the time.

"I should really get going." Said Erika as she got up, taking Kai's hand off her shoulder in the process. "I need to get some sleep and so do you. We probably have a long day tomorrow."

"Probably." Said Kai before saying good night to Erika, who did the same. Once she was out of Kai's room, she placed a hand on her chest. He was such a kind man. Much like her father. A bit more cynical and a wisecrack, but someone that would earn his approval. Tearing up upon remembering her father, Erika wiped her face before leaving for her quarters, eager to get some sleep.


Meanwhile

Luna II


"Sir the mission was a success." Said someone to Jamitov as he looked over some paperwork regarding the Titans. "Shall I inform the units to conduct phase 3?"

"Do it." Said Jamitov. "And make sure Lombard and Kai Shiden stay alive. Anyone else is expendable." As the unidentified person left Jamitov's office, Jamitov wondered what an appropriate flagship for the Titans would be. The Dogosse Giar or the Birmingham battleships. Both had their merits and flaws. Thinking on which to pick, Jamitov hummed to himself as he tried to think up scenarios for both battleships.


Meanwhile


"Wait, so I'm going to the capital?" Asked Kai shocked a bit, as he looked at Lombard.

"That's correct." Said Lombard. "The Prime Minister is hosting a party in celebration of the end of the One Year War and the end of the Principality of Zeon. And he wants you there to attend. Media coverage and all."

"I see." Said Kai. "So, you don't want people to spread lies about the party and whatnot. Correct?"

"Yes." Said Lombard. "Other media outlooks might try to use this party as a way to spin public opinion against Side 3. And we don't need stuff like that, thank you very much. I had advised against it, but the Prime Minister was firm in this. He believes that hosting the party will show that some of Side 3's citizens are glad that the war is over and that the Principality is no more, which he hopes will make people see that not every Side 3 citizen is a Principality of Zeon loyalist."

"Alright." Said Kai. "I'll dress up appropriately. So will my bodyguards, I presume?"

"Yes." Said Lombard. "I already informed them, and appropriate attire has been sent to their quarters. Be outside the main building of this base at sixteen hundred hours two days from now. A military convoy will escort you to the capital city."

"Understood." Said Kai before leaving after saluting Lombard. Once he was gone, Kai chuckled at the thought of going to another stupid fancy party. "I hate this job sometimes."