Disclaimer: I do not own "Voices of a Distant Star", the original story this is based on belongs to Makoto Shinkai and Comix Wave Films, while the manga is owned by Kodansha. Please support their releases.
This story is based on the Manga rather than the OVA. The story is written in a way where you can sort of get to know the manga exclusive characters so it's not a necessary watch, but regardless I recommend trying the manga since it expands on the story and characters far more than the original OVA did due to its longer runtime.
Final note, this story is heavily inspired by "At the Gates of Agartha", written O-Shnap, so if you like this story consider reading and reviewing that story as well.
I sat alone in my dark dormitory room.
Slowly, I continued eating the emergency rations, ones that had been stored on the Lysithea for accidents like the one we were currently going through.
I crunched on the rough, blocky biscuit and forced it down.
It tasted so bland.
The food we had to eat was essentially CalorieMate without any of the joy or flavour, a mass-produced artificial nutrient bar manufactured for the sole goal of giving high sustenance at top efficiency above all else.
It was essentially a barely-edible block of matter made purely for survival and nothing else.
Whilst that was the case, I acknowledged that consuming it was necessary to survive, that if I didn't eat properly, I would quickly starve.
So I choked the mass-produced nutrient bar down, even though I couldn't stand the taste.
The reason for this emergency was because our ship, the Lysithea, had been stranded in the orbit of Agharta for the past few days. After what I could describe as a legendary battle with the Tarsians, we still managed to come out of the battle alive. But as a result, the Lysithea ended up heavily damaged, to the point it couldn't move and was purely relying on backup energy.
This meant we couldn't sortie in tracers either, we were essentially sitting ducks.
Our only hope at this point was that a rescue team from Earth would come and save us, although thankfully, there was already conformation that one was coming, one with a considerable crew as well.
However, despite the positive news, a few of the survivors had already begun having doubts about whether or not we would all last until the rescue team's arrival. After all, our resources were low, and many Tarsians on other planets were still at large.
It wasn't unreasonable to be pessimistic in this situation.
However, I had hope that the rescue team would arrive in time for us, and until that would happen, I had to sustain myself to the best of my ability.
So for today, I decided to push on.
I crunched on my rations and immediately gagged a little bit.
I said all of that to myself, but the grainy flavour really was something I would never get used to.
I could see myself losing sanity simply from living off these bars for the next 8 years or so…
Then again, I guess I should be thankful rations even reminded me of CalorieMate to some extent, I have a few fond memories of eating some with Noboru after visiting the corner store since they were cheap and filling.
Ah…Noboru…
My mind seems to of drifted towards thoughts of him again.
Every little thing I find, somehow they always cause me to look back on the past I once had.
I slowed my chewing as nostalgic images flashed before me.
The summer rain, the cicadas on a sunny day, the train stations, and even simple convenience stores.
Even now, even though I'm already used to life in the Lysithea, I still remember the past as if those memories were made yesterday.
Spending time with him on Earth must've truly been the happiest moments of my life.
…
In all honesty, I was very surprised when I saw his name on the list of people on the rescue team.
In fact, a part of me assumed that he would've moved on from me long ago.
But…the fact he signed up implied that he still remembered me…
Even more so, he may have been missing me as I did for him.
He yearned for me so much that he willingly gave up his life on Earth to see me again…
It was not something I could've predicted…but…for some reason it didn't feel that surprising either…
Our thoughts…
Our feelings…
Perhaps we've shared them all this time…despite our distance…
As I finished the nutrition bar, I realised…
As the warm thoughts and memories filled me, I had completely forgotten about my food's awful taste.
"Hey, Mikako?"
I heard a familiar voice call out to me as I was strolling through the hallways of the Lysithea.
I glanced to my left and saw Miwa sitting on the floor of the corridor, gazing out the window of the Lysithea.
Miwa was the captain of our unit, she was the person who took on the responsibility of training me and my fellow tracer squadron, and she was also who took care of me the most when I was on the Lysithea.
When I would get into trouble, Miwa was one of the few people who would let us off easy. She was very laid back, yet she was also very mature and reliable. She was especially inviting to younger girls like me, along with my friend Hisa for when she was still stationed here.
As of right now, Miwa was probably the person I had the closest relationship with, she reminded me much of an older sister that cared for her many, many siblings.
"Yeah, what is it, Captain?" I replied.
"Want have a look at Agharta with me? There's a fantastic view of it here right now."
There wasn't much else to do, so I compiled, timidly walking towards her and sitting by her side.
The entire interior lighting of the Lysithea was very dim, as we were trying to conserve as much energy as possible. This meant most of our light came from outside, more specifically, the main star of the system: Sirius, other nearby stars and the turquoise planet below.
Those were our main sources of color on this dark ship.
As I gazed out the large window, I really paid attention to the appearance of the planet, and I quickly understood why Miwa wanted me to see it.
For these past few days, I found myself often stargazing at the vast expanse of space. The truth was, with the power so low, there wasn't much else I could do to pass the time, but another reason for me looking around was because the stars and space were truly beautiful. It was no sight I could've seen on Earth, and it felt like such a privilege to gaze upon them.
But in comparison to that, the planet we orbited was somehow even more breathtaking. Its sheer size and bright green color was able to elicit so much awe, especially when contrasted to the blackness of our living conditions.
Seeing the distant waters, land, as well as the clouds dancing and morphing on the atmosphere, it was all a sight to behold.
"Wow…it's beautiful…"
Unconsciously, the words still escaped through my breath.
"See? I told you so." Miwa replied calmly.
As I stared down at the beautiful green planet, I reminded myself that it was things like this that made joining the Lysithea worth it. The sight was so beautiful, and it was one I would never be able to see if I stayed on Earth.
I thought back on how Hisa couldn't make it as far as us, and how she wasn't able to see this planet as a result.
It was a shame…but at least she would arrive eventually to see it.
My thoughts drifted again, there were so many people I wish could've shown this sight to.
My family.
My friends.
And Noboru…
…
No…I needn't long for that. He was coming, I had to continue believing in him.
He and Hisa were definitely coming with the rescue crew, and we would be saved eventually, we merely had to focus on survival for now…
That is what constantly I told myself, to remind myself that I merely had to wait and survive before he would arrive to rescue me…
I merely had to wait…about eight years…
Drifting on the broken down Lysithea, living off emergency rations, in little light.
It…it was going to be so difficult…
Deep down, I believed everything would be fine. I believed I would survive, that I could overcome this hurdle, and I kept using those thoughts as my driving force to keep living.
But even then, there was a part of me that doubted it.
A voice inside that told me I may not make it through.
That this purgatory would be too difficult for any human…
The worst part was, I couldn't deny that voice either…
I shifted around as I sat in increasing discomfort, staring at the planet…
…I might not last long enough to even see him…
I just wanted him by my side…
Right here, right now…
I wanted to feel him close to me in this moment…
I wanted to hear his voice, I wanted to see his face, I wanted to laugh with him, and lean on him like I used to…
I realised I was shivering, and that my face had become a bit wet.
My emotions had begun to overflow, and I found myself crying.
I wiped my face with my arm, sniffling and coughing a bit, and suddenly I felt an arm wrap around me.
It belonged to Miwa, who was letting me rest on her.
"It's okay to cry Mikako, everyone has to show their weakness sometimes. Even the strongest of us like you."
Even now, Miwa still acted as a pillar I could lean on when I would give in a little.
"Captain…"
"Call me Miwa. Right now, I'm not your captain, but your friend."
"Ah…Miwa…thank you…"
I cried into Miwa's shoulder, letting loose the pent up feelings and doubts I had. Gently wetting her shirt as she kept her arm cozily around me.
"Let it out Mikako, everyone has at least some doubts about all of this. But I honestly believe that everything will be fine in the end, and that includes your safety as well. Hisa will come along with everyone else on the rescue team, and we'll all survive somehow. You can always cry, but also remember to never lose your sight of the hope in front of us."
"Yes…Miwa…I'll make sure of that."
She giggled, with a face of genuine care.
"Good."
She always seemed to know exactly when I was bothered by something and would be able to act as a supporting pillar for me when I needed comfort. Appreciating her presence, I sat there for a while.
"…Were you thinking of something at home?" Miwa inquired.
"…Yes, I was actually…an old friend that I really miss…I was thinking about how much I wanted to see this view with him…"
A spark seemed to glimmer in Miwa's eyes.
"Oh? It's a guy? Was he perhaps your boyfriend?"
I felt my cheeks heat up a little bit.
"No no…we weren't a couple. We were just really close and knew each other for a very, very long time…and even though our time apart has already been quite long…"
I inhaled and smiled, our memories together were so bittersweet now.
"…I still I miss him a lot. It's been so long for him, the messages I send will only reach version of him far in the future. I just really want to see him again…and…when I do, I want to finally tell him how I feel…"
Miwa seemed to realise the emotions I was going through, and her tone changed.
"Oh, I see…I'm sorry, I…can't say much to help with that…"
She looked out at the beautiful planet once again, looking into the distance.
"Moving on from our lives on Earth is hard for everyone, many of us are still getting over it…I don't know if this helps, but if you're lucky…maybe one day you can eventually make peace with it. It won't easy…but it's possible. Even then, I can confidently say that you're definitely not the only one on the Lysithea that has these kinds of feelings from time to time."
I noticed Miwa staring off wistfully herself when she said that.
Perhaps she too had people she longed to see again.
"Thanks, Miwa…I appreciate it, but there's also no need to worry. When I looked at the list of people on the rescue team, I saw his name on the list of chosen candidates. As long as we survive as planned, he'll be coming to our rescue along with Hisa…hopefully."
Miwa turned to me with a look of intense surprise.
"What? He's coming here…?! Then…after eight whole years, he got accepted into the program to help the Lysithea?!"
I nodded, it's all that I could presume.
After a long awkward pause, Miwa grabbed my shoulders and faced me, staring me right in the eyes.
"Mikako, I am completely serious when I say this…but you must promise me this one thing. When you see that boy again…when the two of you are reunited, you must make sure that you cherish every waking moment that you spend with him."
This was the most serious she ever sounded, I fond myself gulping under her glare.
"You are incredibly, incredibly lucky to have someone that cares this much for you. I'm almost certain that you alone were the only reason that he signed up for the rescue team. Even after eight years, he probably never once forgot about you, and now he's even decided to abandon his life on earth for the sake of pursuing you."
She focused on me with a fierce expression, as if she were ordering me to do what she was saying.
"Please Mikako, once you see him again, make sure to never let him go. There are extremely little people that would go to such lengths for one person, and even less that are able to do so. Mikako…I don't know how well you may realise this, but you're truly blessed to have someone like him."
As I looked back into Miwa's serious expression, I felt myself blushing.
She was right, Noboru had decided on his own accord to give up his entire life all to see me again.
As the fact began to settle in, I…truly began to feel the strength of our relationship.
Even when we were so far apart, we were still this close with each other.
"Yes…I'll make sure to do that." I finally replied to her.
Miwa immediately softened up in response to my reply.
"Good. Then, when he arrives, please introduce us to each other. I'd love to meet him."
We were soon found by other crew members and called to tend to the injured again, after all there were many who were still slowly recovering from the big battle against the Tarsians.
After the talk, I found that my conversation with Miwa had helped me feel a lot better. I was left with an even stronger feeling of motivation and will to work hard for the crew and survive on my own.
I would live through the next eight years, and I would see Noboru again.
Our connection was too strong for such things to break it.
It will survive, no matter what happens.
I dipped a small towel into a tub of warm water.
After the battle against the Tarsians, there was still a huge amount of injured people on the Lysithea, with wounds of varying levels of graveness. Due to the lack of active hands and available staff people, I found myself often tending to some of the injured when I had free time since it was one of the few productive things I could do for the crew at the time.
I wrung out the warm water from the wet tower it out before gently using it to help clean up the stains and bruises of the person in front of me.
The person I was tending to was a young boy about my age, a boy named Teru. I had seen and talked to him occasionally for work purposes, but I couldn't say we were that close. He was one of my classmates, so we did notice each other, but other than his name, I didn't know him well.
Still, he was my fellow pilot, and similarly to me, he fought bravely in the final battle, so he deserved at least that.
"Is it hot?" I asked him.
"No, the temperature is just fine, thank you…"
He gave me a smile in spite of his grave injuries, it was encouraging to see.
Unlike me who managed to come back in one piece, Teru had suffered greatly. Due to his tracer taking a hit on starboard, he had been flung to the left in his cockpit when he got hit.
As a result from the accident, his leg was broken and the left side of his face was damaged by the shrapnel made by the impact. It was a considerable hit, and I couldn't imagine how tough it was for him.
In spite of this, from the few times I tended to him, I got the impression that he seemed quite accepting of his situation.
"I'm really sorry I can't do more for your injuries Teru, with the technology of the ship inactive, basic first aid is really the most we can do right now."
Teru nodded.
"It's okay, I'm mostly glad I'm alive to begin with…"
Acknowledging this, I continued cleaning his leg as I began replacing his bandaged leg with a newer set.
I noticed while I was doing this, Teru was averting his gaze from me.
"Is something wrong Teru?" I asked
"No, no…nothing's wrong, it's just…"
He paused for a moment before looking at his leg, his smile seemed to turn somewhat wistful in that moment.
"I wanted to ask you…how are you able to be so strong…?"
He asked me just that one question.
"In class, you're a genius, you're able to learn everything so quickly and get the highest marks, yet you seem so closed off from others and don't even study with most others. In combat, you always manage to hold your own against almost anything, and even in the last fight, you were such a big contribution to the battle that some people say you were the person who saved the Lysithea itself…"
He sighed and paused briefly.
"How can you be such an amazing person Nagamine, what drives you…?"
I lowered my gaze upon hearing his question, I couldn't really give him an easy reply.
It just came with my nature, yet…the reason I fought so hard was…
"Mmm, that's a difficult question to answer Teru…even for me…"
I had to think about the question myself.
"I've always been praised for being talented, yet I never really thought much about it until I was chosen to become a tracer pilot…I've actually had a lot of doubts and regrets about everything since, yet…why I still do my best is…well…"
I looked out into the vastness of space.
This ship was my home now, I've gotten so familiar with it.
Yet, it also felt so alien to me at the same time.
"…I guess, I just continue doing my best so I can continue living. To protect everyone here, and to protect myself, that's my purpose, that's what drives me. I keep moving forward, in hopes I can finally get to a place I want to be."
I stared at the black stars.
Was that it? To just continue going?
I couldn't think of any other reason.
Teru seemed to nod, understanding.
"I see, you're more normal than I thought Nagamine…that makes me glad."
I looked back at him, wondering if my answer satisfied him.
He spoke up again,
"You know Nagamine, during class I always felt like there was this gap between you and everyone else that made you seem kind of untouchable for most of us normal pilots. You were always so successful, like a natural-born genius. Yet, talking to you is kinda relaxing and surprisingly normal."
"Really…? I just see myself as another one of the group honestly."
I gave him my honest reply.
"You're more than that, you're unparalleled compared to us normal folk."
He praised me suddenly.
"Oh no, not really…I'm not all that…"
I didn't quite know how to respond.
"Honestly, it's kind of difficult having this talent, it's because of these skills that I had to leave my family and home on Earth."
I sighed.
"I know I should be very grateful for having this chance, and I know many people want to be in my place…I do feel like coming on board to the Lysithea was a worthwhile experience…but, if I was given the choice…I think I probably would've preferred to of stayed on Earth…"
I looked down, internally apologising to the many people who tried and failed to take my place, but instead, Teru just smiled.
"Nagamine, that's not a feeling you should be ashamed of for having. Sure, there were many people that would've wanted to be in your place, but you weren't given the choice to begin with."
He smiled.
"I guess this puts things into perspective, I think I finally understand you. Just because you're talented doesn't mean you're necessarily free, perhaps everyone's dealing with their own struggles regardless of how strong they can be."
"…Yeah…that was exactly it."
He nailed it.
Talented as I was, I was still just a person.
I had my own weaknesses, even now I just want to go home.
While talking with Teru, I realised that it had been a while since I've had any close friends.
I used to have Hisa, but she had to be left behind.
Miwa was the only one giving me true support.
So for Teru to know how I feel, it was comforting.
"…Thank you for understanding me Teru."
He grinned again.
"Don't mention it, Nagamine."
…Maybe I could still make more friends on the Lysithea.
"Huh…? What's it doing?"
"Is it looking at us…?"
"That's so creepy…"
Murmurs of confusion were quickly spreading around the crew members of the Lysithea, and admittedly I was feeling a little worried about the situation myself.
After a few days of drifting emptily in space, a group of Tarsians had found our location, and over the past few hours, they had been slowly gathering around the Lysithea and were beginning to surround it.
We were still completely immobile so we had no means of escape, and our power supply was still too low to activate any proper defenses, so in case of an attack, we were completely helpless against them.
But surprisingly, the Tarsians had not done anything to attack us.
Instead, they merely circled around the ship, peering through the windows while continuing to fly around us.
It was honestly quite a bizarre sight to see.
Their actions reminded me of dolphins, they weren't trying to attack us at all. Instead, they were simply keeping a distance and studying us, surveying us through the windows as if they were curious about our existence.
The people inside the Lysithea remained restless, but it was already an improvement from before. When we first saw the Tarsians, the entire crew was in a mass panic and everyone was fearing the worst. But now, it seemed a lot less likely that any fighting would break out.
As such, we merely waited behind the glass windows that separated us from the Tarsians that were flying freely through the blank nothingness of space.
Perhaps, it was us humans who misunderstood their species this entire time?
I couldn't answer.
"You think they actually mean well?"
A voice spoke up from behind me, I turned around to see Miwa.
"Oh, greetings Captain…I'm…not sure honestly."
Miwa chuckled in response.
"You know, I had a conversation with Hisa about this before, but the Tarsians never actually attacked us, not once. Every time we got into a battle with them, it was because we fired first."
Was that really the case?
I had sortied in many missions against the Tarsians, but never did I know the specific details. Usually, we were told to sortie the moment we saw them, I had just assumed they were aggressive.
"So…we don't actually know if the Tarsians want to harm people?" I asked.
She mirthlessly laughed.
"We don't even know if they realise what harming is. For all we know, they could think attacking like we did was a form of greetings from our race. We can't tell, we never tried direct communication."
I realised the gravity of the discovery Miwa revealed, and I looked back at the Tarsians in awe.
They continued to move around the ship, observing us with strange behaviours and patterns, but maybe, they were trying to find a way to initiate contact.
"Then…if the Tarsians are able to be peaceful, maybe we could one day communicate with each other! Perhaps…we could maybe even support each other as fellow cognitive species, we can learn from them, and they can learn from us…!"
I thought about the potential this reveal had unveiled to us.
Maybe, on that day, both of our species could grow together as one.
Miwa smiled at me.
"Yeah, you're right, the potential is limitless if we could reach an understanding. You think far more progressively than most of us humans. When people in power and scientists found out about the existence of Tarsians, all they could think of is studying them and defending ourselves from them. Never have they once thought we could find understanding and coexist peacefully. It's such a shame, we need more people like you Mikako."
I understood her point. Miwa seemed to have always felt this way about the Tarsians, and yet due to other people, she could never truly enact on her intuitions.
I merely sat in wonder, complete awe of the Tarsians as they moved around the ship.
In fact, on closer inspection, it was almost like they were dancing in space.
Maybe…one day, our thoughts can be conveyed properly.
Thoughts, just like the ones I shared with Noboru, through the years and far away. Perhaps, if they reached the Tarsians, we could cooperate, and carve a beautiful future for the both of us.
A better world, all from being able to support each other.
I awoke with a start.
Miwa had burst into my room and grabbed onto me while I was sleeping, shaking me awake.
"Hey, Mikako, Mikako wake up!"
"Hmm…what is it Miwa…?" I groggily asked.
"Mikako, I'm serious. It's an emergency."
I was still only half-awake, so I tried to brighten up to the best of my ability in response.
"…Wait, what happened…?"
"We've sighted a large clump of asteroids that are flying in the direction of the Lysithea, at the rate they're going, collision is imminent."
"Wha—…huh?!"
What…?
No…
This…couldn't be true…
"But if the asteroids crash into the Lysithea…then nobody's going to survive!"
I found myself shouting when I spoke, I feel far more awake now.
It had been only a month, were we going to die already here?
My tired mind began drawing conclusions for the worst that could happen.
A rescue team was already coming for us, would they come only to find our remnants?
Would I ultimately never be able to see Noboru again?
Worse…would he have to deal with the fact that I'd be gone despite everything he did to see me again…?
Would he have to cope with the loss of my life, and live on by himself?
"Captain, please…please tell me we have a plan!"
I looked at her with begging eyes, hoping she had an answer.
"Don't worry," Miwa replied firmly, "remember, the Lysithea was built with emergencies like this in mind."
I felt a lump in my throat.
"Our shields are down, but the Lysithea itself has extremely thick armor regardless, even areas like the glass couldn't be smashed by most of the debris. Furthermore, the living quarters of the ship are protected with multiple layers of strong metal, and the crew has already moved everything important into them for safety. We should be able to endure if we focus ourselves in the safest areas of the ship, and in case there's a breach, the ship will automatically close off areas that have no oxygen."
Miwa's brief rundown on the emergency systems of the Lysithea had helped ease me up from my initial panic, and I began to calm down and breathe slowly.
"Okay, understood Captain. Do we need to help with anything?"
She shook her head.
"We've already finished moving the important items, what's left are the things only professionals and specialised staff members need to worry about. I'll stay in here with you, we'll make it through this together, I promise."
I nodded in response, getting myself out of bed and looking through my small window.
I could see it, large asteroids that seemed to be flying closer to our location by the second.
"Those look quite big," I whispered.
Miwa put her hand on my shoulder.
"It'll be okay. We should go to the emergency chairs and brace for impact, prepare for anything."
Nodding in response, I followed her to the deployed emergency chairs on the side of my room and strapped the belts across my body, tightening the grip and locking us in.
"They're going to hit us at any time now, brace for impact Mikako."
I held on to the safety railing, gripping it tightly. Time seemed to slow as every second felt longer, I feared, genuinely for the hit that would soon assail us.
Waiting…
Waiting…
Before suddenly, the first asteroid hit.
Smashing into the side of the Lysithea, the entire room lurched to the side as the items in the room began to tumble, it was a direct collision on the outer armor.
"Aaah!"
"Mikako, hold on tightly!"
I heard Miwa re-assuring me, reminding me to keep my attachment to the chair and safety railing strong.
Another one hit, shaking the ship again.
Each impact of every individual rock made me worry a bit. Unlike in a tracer, I was defenseless along with the rest of the crew. We had to take on the brunt of the debris, and hope we would all end up safe afterward.
I felt genuinely uneasy during the entire ordeal, every hit reverberated through my body as the Lysithea tumbled further.
Hit by hit, the attacks never stopped flying forward.
I kept holding onto the railing as the tightly as I could. I felt the belts of the chair digging into my body as they kept me from flying across the room.
Eventually, the consecutive impacts seemed to pass, and the ship seemed to stabilise somewhat.
"Did we make it through?" I asked Miwa.
"Not sure, stay here, I'll check for both of us."
Miwa efficiently unbuckled her safety harness, quickly taking off all her restraints before moving out of the room.
I waited in anticipation.
One minute…
Two minutes…
I looked around, hoping things were all right, finding myself still gripping onto the railing in anticipation.
The ruckus had seemingly died down a lot and I heard certain members of staff outside. I heard a few familiar voices, and assumed everything was safe.
I quickly undid the belt and got up from the chair. I felt some strange force in one direction the moment I stood up, but I didn't pay it much mind because of the adrenaline coursing through my body.
I walked out of the room and ran right into Miwa who was running back.
"Mikako?! What are you doing, it's not safe here!" She immediately told me off.
"Eh? Sorry, I assumed everything was fine because I heard people walking outside, is something wrong?"
Miwa continued with a serious expression.
"The quick rundown is we have managed to make it past the field of debris, but after some quick inspection, the navigation crew had discovered that the force of the asteroids had pushed the Lysithea out of Agharta's orbit."
With the force on the ship leaning to one side, I quickly pieced together what Miwa was getting at, and as on cue, the both of us stumbled as the ship began to move more to one side while making an uncomfortable noise of metal creaking.
"Unfortunately, the trajectory of the rocks has pushed us too close towards the planet, we've begun being pulled in by Agharta's gravitational field."
Miwa had confirmed my suspicion, and I felt something in my chest sink.
I began to notice the staff and the crew members of the Lysithea were running around, trying to sort out what they could. Before I could even process the events properly, the speed and force of the Lysithea moving toward the planet was increasing heavily.
"Wait, but then we're going to crash!"
Miwa's grave expression in response to me had told me all I needed.
Yes, I was correct. This was far worse than the meteor shower, at this rate, we would not only burn up in re-entry, but also crash hard when we landed.
The force of the ship hurtled everyone to the side, the jolt shot me down the hallway, ending with me crashing into the wall headfirst.
I choked in pain.
"Mikako—!"
I immediately felt lightheaded as the trauma began to settle. I heard Miwa's voice in the distance as I saw her figure come towards me.
"Mikako, pull yourself together! Mikako, answer me!"
I heard Miwa's fading voice as I began to lose focus. My vision began fading in and out, and I couldn't bring myself to speak. I merely gazed into her eyes as I felt my consciousness waning. Warm blood began to trickle down the side of my head, the injury must've been severe.
As the ship began to descend faster, it was beginning to pick up serious velocity before it would crash.
Ah…at this rate…I might…
The groaning of the ship seemed to buzz out.
I felt tears fall onto me as I heard muffled cries…were they Miwa's?
Time seemed to slow down as my life flashed before my eyes. I saw nostalgic scenery of the town I grew up in. The train station, my old apartment, the countryside, and the city. I saw my old classroom, the moment I met Noboru for the first time. We became friends so quickly despite our difference in gender, and we got along so well.
"No…boru…" I felt myself whisper.
Perhaps I was dying…then, it would all end now?
So…everything had ultimately been completely meaningless…
Ah, life could be so cruel.
I just wanted to see him again…to finally be by his side…to feel him…and be content again…
If…if this was my fate…
Then at least…I wanted my final memories to be of my time with him.
I relished in the images, the memories we built together on Earth. The bright summer days, the cold winters, the rainy storms. The memories filled my eyes as I found myself drifting off.
It was then, that my entire vision was assailed by a bright golden light.
Once it appeared, it continued to shine increasingly brightly, to a point it was overwhelming.
Its presence was completely taking over.
While that happened, I noticed the Tarsians beginning to move around the ship, slowly covering it, and seemingly supporting it.
For a brief moment, I heard strange inhuman voices, all saying one thing in perfect unison.
Do not worry. We will protect your hearts.
The voice echoed through my head before blackness assailed my vision, and I completely lost consciousness.
