Change
Chapter 4
Yu was most definitely a creature of habit. When he dressed, he always did it quickly and efficiently.
Today was decidedly different, for some unknown reason.
In the midst of picking up his remaining boot, he paused for a long moment, staring at some point beyond his foot.
Before he realized she had done so, Kazuhi knelt before him, slipped the boot on his foot, and began to lace it up herself. She performed the task exactly as he would've: quickly and efficiently. But watching her brought a sudden ache to his heart, and for the first time in a long time, he hated himself for making her so like him.
Kazuhi had just finished when she felt her brother's hand against her cheek in a gentle caress. "Onii-sama?" she asked at once, her voice hushed with surprise and perhaps fear.
Yu did not answer, nor did he stop the motion. Instead, he shut his eyes tightly and drew his sister into his arms, embracing her as if she were the only thing of importance in his life.
Initially, Kazuhi honestly did not know how to respond to such a gesture. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and let her head fall lightly to her brother's shoulder. She was vaguely aware of a small noise that originated from Yu's throat, but could not decide what it might be.
After an endless minute, his arms slowly fell away, and Kazuhi was left perched half atop her brother's lap, wondering what had caused this sudden change in mood. Whatever it was, he was obviously back to normal now, and she carefully removed herself, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
"We must go," he said quietly, rising as he spoke.
She nodded and fell in step with him. However, she didn't get far.
"Kazuhi."
Yu had stopped again, his face unreadable, even to her. Without warning, he reached out and grasped her hand gently in his.
Even that sensation was odd to her now…yet, strangely familiar and comforting. Kazuhi understood that while this affection was not typical of her brother, it had always been within him. She was reminded of a younger Yu, only slightly taller than her then, but still a giant to her in every way that mattered at that age. She remembered his promise to always protect her, because she was his family.
But this time was special, in that Yu did not immediately release her hand. In fact, he would not let go until it was time to enter their Ingrid.
* * * * *
"Ikhny…we have some bad news."
The words took a moment to take effect, but once they did, Ikhny dropped her fork. She turned slightly to find Yamagi and Tukasa standing over her, both wearing grave looks. "Is it…Hiead-san?" she whispered.
Tukasa nodded, but Yamagi scowled in a way that confirmed that Hiead was not hurt. He had to have done something, then.
"What did he do?" Ikhny asked, preparing herself for the worst.
"He stole a shuttle," Tukasa said at once.
For some reason, Yamagi glared at his Repairer. "That's not even-"
"What? What?!" Ikhny cried, sensing they were holding something back. "Tell me!"
Tukasa suddenly wasn't as talkative anymore, so Yamagi shook his head.
"Look, Ikhny. Hiead did steal a shuttle, but as far as anyone knows, he wasn't headed for Zion or GIS. In fact, they say he was heading into an area known for intense Victim confrontations."
"…oh," Ikhny said softly, lowering her head.
"I'm not done yet," Yamagi snapped, sensing her attention waning.
"There's more?"
"Yes. He didn't go alone. Saki's missing, too."
Ikhny stared at him in silence, before finally asking, "Why would she go with him…?"
Yamagi resisted the urge to growl. "She didn't choose to go with him. Several people saw him carry her into the shuttle. Hiead kidnapped Saki."
It took longer than they'd expected, but Ikhny finally replied, "You're lying. Hiead wouldn't do that. He doesn't…" She looked away. "He doesn't have any use for anyone on GOA. He told me so the last time we spoke."
Yamagi was just short of fuming. "Ikhny. Saki's your ROOMMATE! You know better than anyone else that she didn't sleep in her bed last night." He paused to catch his breath. "Look. Saki is GONE. Hiead is GONE. You believe what you want. Everyone else believes that he took her, and everyone else is RIGHT. I won't even guess why you still defend him, when he's treated you the worst of all. I put up with him because I had to, even after he tried to kill me. But you are NOT going to sit here and pretend he's a saint when MY friend—OUR friend—is out there, going through who knows what at his hands. I swear to you right now, Ikhny…if he's hurt her, in ANY way…I'm taking it out on YOU." Yamagi emphasized his point by grabbing Ikhny's arm and squeezing hard.
Ikhny let out a moan of pain. "Yamagi, don't! Stop it! Please!"
But Yamagi leaned closer, until Ikhny could not avoid his eyes. "The really sad thing is," he whispered in a frighteningly calm tone, "that's probably what Saki's saying to Hiead right now, and you don't even seem to care."
It was Tukasa who finally pulled Yamagi away, but even she threw a worried look at Ikhny as they left.
Ikhny looked away quickly, tears welling up in her eyes as she gingerly fingered her arm. She could not be certain if she was crying out of pain or fear, nor could she decide if she should be worried about Saki's safety. If Hiead did want to hurt her, why would he wait until now? And why Saki? Why not Ikhny herself? Horrible as it was, Ikhny felt a flash of jealousy at the realization. Was she not even worth hurting now? Did Hiead have to resort to assaulting other Repairers? What was he trying to prove by doing this?
There were no answers, at least, none that she could see. But something had definitely happened with Hiead.
Ikhny's thoughts turned once again to that mysterious invitation to leave GOA. Assuming that Hiead wasn't coming back, there was no point in staying. And even if he did return, he still wouldn't have anything to do with her. It was time to do something with her life, something that would distance her from the hold Hiead had on her. If she never saw him again, maybe they'd both be better off.
Anyway, if he really had taken Saki, there was no way she could look into his eyes again. Whether that was because of what he might have done to Saki, or simply because he had chosen someone else, Ikhny couldn't be sure. Either way, she would never be able to forgive him.
* * * * *
As Yu sank into the darkness of Tellia Kallisto's cockpit, Kazuhi sensed someone behind her on the platform.
"Kazuhi-chan?"
She turned slowly, her eyes revealing absolutely nothing but curiosity. "Yes, Rei-san?"
Zero gave the impression of being nervous…or just very uncomfortable. "I…um…could I ask you to…do something for me? A favor?"
She nodded slightly. "I believe that would be allowed. You are the Top, after all."
Zero blushed and scratched his head. "Yeah, but…I don't want to force this on you. If you don't-"
"What would you ask of me, Rei-san?" Kazuhi interrupted.
He flinched at the title, almost as if she'd insulted him. "Well…you see, Kizna's…not feeling too good. She's sick, really. I was hoping—if you wouldn't mind, I mean—I couldn't ask Tune, I don't want her attention diverted from Erts, and I didn't dare ask Wrecka, not with Roose-"
"Are you asking me to act as your Repairer for this mission?"
Zero blinked, and hesitantly held out Kizna's personnel card. "No, I would never do that. I'm asking you to BE my Repairer for this mission." After a second, he added, "You wouldn't have to do much. Just…don't cut the power?"
Kazuhi didn't say anything. She did, however, reach for the card. Only Zero didn't let go right away.
"I mean it. Don't cut the power," he repeated. "No matter what happens."
"I understand, Rei-san. I will do as you ask." She was finally able to take the card, but not without some hesitation. "You do know that you should've asked the Chief Repairer to-"
Zero shook his head. "I didn't want to ask Leena. I wanted to ask you, Kazuhi-chan. I have my reasons."
Kazuhi did not respond. At least, not verbally. She only stared at Zero, as if trying to draw the reason from his eyes.
In the short time she had known him, he had never asked anything of her. He had, however, made several obvious attempts to befriend her. His pursuit had only been rewarded because Erts had mentioned to Yu (in passing, or so he claimed when asked about it) that Zero was more likely to adopt Kazuhi than he was to try anything dishonest with her. And so far it was true, Zero acted as if Kazuhi actually WAS his sister. Most of their conversations were completely one-sided, but if Kazuhi hadn't wanted Zero around, Yu would've done something about it.
Zero rubbed his head absently. "You could always change your mind…"
"No. I will do as you have asked," she confirmed.
"Really?" he asked, somewhat surprised. "You'd really do this for me?"
"I have said so twice, Rei-san."
"But…you understand that you don't HAVE to. Right?"
Kazuhi was clearly losing some of her patience. "I do."
Zero beamed at her. "You're great. Did you know that?"
Kazuhi stared at him.
"Well, you are. I refuse to believe no one's told you."
"Shouldn't you be boarding your Ingrid now, Rei-san?"
"In a minute." He paused uncertainly. "I thought you should know…well…you're in my will."
Kazuhi blinked. "Your…will?"
"Yup. It's not really truthful; I put you down as 'Kazuhi Hikura Enna' so no one would ask questions. I don't have that much in the first place, just some pocket change and a couple of belongings back on my colony. But…um…whatever you want, you get first dibs on anything. I made sure to put that in there."
Kazuhi had an odd feeling she should be touched, but she was far too confused for that. "Why?" she asked.
"What you do mean, why? Why not?" Zero grinned and gave her a one-armed hug. "You're my sister, after all. That's what brothers do when they think there's a good chance they might die prematurely."
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Rei-san, why do you…"
"I don't want to argue with you about this, Kazuhi-chan. I never want to argue with you." Zero squeezed her one last time, headed down the ramp, and started toward his Ingrid. "Don't worry!" he called over his shoulder. "Erts will look after you!"
* * * * *
Saki groaned softly as she came to, rubbing the base of her neck. There was a dull ache there, but she could not recall why that should be. The last thing she remembered was looking into Hiead's gravity chamber, and then…
She started upon realizing she was no longer even in the chamber. No, she was definitely aboard one of the shuttles…and not just any shuttle. This was one of the few reserved for trips to and from GIS. She recognized the design, as she imagined any good Repairer would, from her early training. Automatically, schematics and instructions for the shuttle ran through her head as she got to her feet and looked around.
All of it came to an abrupt halt the moment she spotted Hiead leaning against the door that separated the cockpit from the main cabin. He seemed to be asleep: his head was lowered slightly, and his face was hidden behind several long, unkempt strands of white hair. His arms were crossed over his chest, and she was difficult to ignore how muscular they had become.
Saki bit her lip and stayed where she was. She could not imagine why she would be on a GIS shuttle with Hiead. The only explanation she could come up with was that Hiead had been promoted, and that, for some reason, he had named her as his Repairer. But that didn't make sense, as neither of them was wearing their formal uniforms. It dawned on her, quite suddenly, that there was no pilot, they weren't going to GIS, and Hiead had not been promoted. There was no pilot, because just beyond Hiead's head, she could make out the red autopilot light. In that case, Hiead was in control of the shuttle, so chances were he'd stolen it in order to go somewhere. Of course, stealing a GIS shuttle implied he was going there, but why wouldn't he have just waited until he was promoted?
It was then that Hiead came to life, sweeping the hair out of his eyes and glaring at her.
Saki backed up a step, even though there was already quite a bit of distance between them.
"You can fly this," he stated. It was definitely not a question.
She nodded at once, not wanting to give him any reason to be mad at her.
"Do it. Don't change the course. Don't hit anything. Don't call anyone." He moved to the nearest seat and sat down heavily, closing his eyes again.
Saki moved forward warily, stopping beside him. "Why me?" she asked softly.
"You're the smartest one left. You figure it out." With that, he stretched out across the seats and threw an arm over his face.
Saki couldn't help the tiny, pleased smile that came to her face as she stepped into the cockpit.
* * * * *
Erts wasn't sure why, but something felt…wrong about this mission. It wasn't just the absence of Kizna on the GIS end, either. But even Reneighd Klein's sensors could not pinpoint whatever was bothering him. Readouts of the other Pilots and their Ingrids revealed nothing unusual, and even after double-checking his own, Erts was beginning to wonder if he was just imagining the nagging feeling. But it still refused to leave him, and he could no more ignore it than he could turn off his brain.
As the five Ingrids neared the area where a Victim swarm had supposedly stopped, Erts did pick up something worth concern.
"All Pilots, I have detected undesirable atmospheric conditions approaching. Exercise extreme caution."
"Undesirable…?" Roose asked uncertainly.
"It's an ice field," Erts clarified. "We may also encounter storms. Communication will most likely be impossible after a few minutes."
"You said most likely," Zero cut in. "How likely, exactly?"
"I estimate a 92% chance of temporary radio silence between Ingrids, First," Erts reported, not even realizing he'd added the title. "Communication with GIS should be possible, however."
Zero was silent for a long moment, but finally said, "Reneighd Klein, you will remain outside the ice field in order to prevent loss of communications. All other Ingrids will intercept the swarm."
Erts began to protest. "But I-"
"We cannot afford to sacrifice communication with each other," Zero stated firmly. "You will relay any calls for assistance or emergency situations to those unable to hear them otherwise. Is that clear, Reneighd Klein?"
"…understood, First," Erts conceded with a sigh.
Zero cut the connection, even as a private channel opened up directly to Reneighd Klein. Erts was a little surprised to see a window with Zero's concerned face popping up among his numerous display screens.
"I'm not just trying to protect you, Erts," Zero said. "I'm trying to protect us all."
"I understand, Zero. Really. I'm not angry."
"We're okay?" Zero asked.
Erts smiled and nodded. "We're okay. Just promise me you'll come back."
On the screen, Zero blinked, but said nothing. Just then, the connection met an abrupt end. Erts could not be sure if that was Zero's doing, or if it was because Ernn Laties had just vanished into the ice field. He looked up just in time to see the remaining Ingrids doing the same. His first thought was to radio Zero and demand that he promise to come back, but something stopped him. He was slightly surprised to find that it was Emily, laying a ghostly hand gently over his.
~We must wait,~ she whispered, her lips against his ear. ~Rei will do what he must.~
"I just…wish I could help them."
~You will. You will speak for them, when they cannot.~
"But will that be enough, Emily?"
~It must be, for now,~ she replied, wrapping her arms around him. ~Do not fear. I will be with you.~
"I know," Erts whispered, patting her arm as best he could. "I know…"