Entry 6: Nuclear Winter
Pain. Pain unending. That was all that went through Kira's mind at the moment. His memory was slightly hazy, but gradually it came back with all the force of a freight train.
His eyes snapped open, and the sudden onrush of sensory input assaulted him, again, with the force of a freight train.
That roof. He knew that roof. Where did he know that roof from again? His ears picked up a familiar beeping that seemed to slow from a fast pace to a slow and steady one.
A heart-rate monitor. He knew that sound to be a heart-rate monitor. Good. That meant his memory was starting to work again.
He looked to his right, and noticed the IV line, finding it strange that it's going into his right arm instead of his left. He tried to flex his left hand, yet found nearly unbearable pain in the action.
Taking a deep breath, Kira reached his right hand up to his face, and removed the oxygen mask that he'd only just noticed he was wearing. That basically cinched it. He was aboard what was probably the safest place for him to be. A place he could probably call home; the Archangel.
His hand drifted slight, feeling the heavy bandages on his head. That was... from that one small rock that hit him, he believed. He looked down at his left arm, and saw it bandaged heavily from fingers to shoulder. He was fairly certain he could see faints traces of red on the bandages too.
He turned his head further to the left, and saw, surprisingly, that blue haired girl from before, in her own bed, still out cold. She was breathing evenly, and wasn't hooked up to as many things as Kira was, which was certainly a relief for him.
He tried to force himself up, despite the searing pain down his back. He really shouldn't be doing this, but something deep inside him felt that laying around, even in his condition, would just be burning time away needlessly.
It was, without question, a stupid thought to have.
Hinanawi Tenshi slowly stirred awake. Her body felt a whole lot of pain, but if anything, that just told her she was still alive.
The joy that came from not being dead, however, was quickly replaced by the bitter memory of everything that had been lost in its place.
Heaven, in its entirety, was gone. Just about every Celestial was now, ironically, dead.
Biting back the tears, she slowly opened her eyes.
"... An unfamiliar ceiling," she muttered. Where was she, then, if not dead?
"Finally awake?" a somewhat familiar voice spoke softly. Tenshi looked to her right, and saw, despite all odds, that same violet-eyed boy from before.
"You..?" she asked. "Where... are we?"
"Onboard the Archangel," he answered. God, there was just something in his voice. Something that didn't so much scream 'it will be alright', but gently relayed the same message in that soothing way someone who cares for you does. "It's a safe place. You'll be alright."
"Bold words, that," she spat instinctively. "My home... it's all gone."
"But you're still alive," he said in a consoling voice. "Surely there's someone out there who's happy about that."
"Clearly, you don't know me, Outsider."
The boy smiled sadly. Tenshi seriously wondered if he'd feel the same way when he finally learnt of some of the things she'd done in the past just to alleviate her boredom.
"Well, for what it's worth," he continued. "I'm happy you're still alive."
Those words, of which she hadn't heard anything akin to in centuries, caused something to stir within her, as she turned away from him. "... Your name," she muttered, embarrassed. "What's your name?"
The boy gave a light, gentle laugh. "Kira Yamato," he said. "It's nice to meet you, miss...?"
"Tenshi, she responded quietly. "Hinanawi Tenshi."
Mu La Flaga walked down the halls of the Archangel in solemn silence. Right now, he had been given the task of checking up on their current patients, which was on a set rotation at this point in time.
There was something entirely... off-putting, seeing Kira Yamato in that state. Even when he came back from a sortie with some level of injuries, they had only ever been minor at worst.
Mu briefly flicked through the doctors notes on his wounds, which were accompanied by several anecdotes and eye-witness reports from Athrun Zala, Kochiya Sanae, and the various new youkai that had come aboard.
By all accounts, Kira Yamato should be a very, very dead person. That first injury he got rescuing that girl, on account of the speed he was travelling, and the object he crashed back-first into, should have turned both of them into a smear, and if not that, then it should have at least broken every single vertebrae in his spine. Probably most of his ribs too. Instead, all he got for it was severe blood loss and torn muscles.
Amazing how that's considered 'good' in comparison.
Next was the arm. Jesus Christ, the state of that thing. The fact that it hadn't been ground down to a stump at his shoulder was nothing short of a miracle, yet alone the fact that there was enough left of it to make a full recovery possible. That limb had lost upwards of 60% of its skin, for crying out loud!
Finally, the head wound. Kira had gotten away with a concussion, but again, with the speed of both himself and the object, it should have taken his head clean off.
So, to reiterate: Kira Yamato was a walking impossibility, who should have died three times over at minimum.
Well, it's not like Mu was complaining about that. Having an ally that indestructible was always a welcome sign, but there a limit to absurdity.
Speaking of absurd, as he entered the medbay, much to his surprise, he saw who else but wonderboy himself sitting almost upright.
Mu put on his brightest expression. "Well, look who's finally awake!" he said rather loudly, catching the attention of both patients. "You know, you're a remarkably hard guy to kill, Ensign Yamato. Not that we have any problems with that!"
"Mu!" Kira exclaimed. "Mu La Flaga!"
"In the flesh!" Mu said. "The man who makes the impossible possible, at your service."
"Seriously? Your name is 'Mu La Flaga'?" the girl asked.
"Indeed it is. And trust me, I've heard all the jokes about it," Mu replied. "How about you, young lady? What's your name?"
The girl paused, before answering. "Tenshi."
"Tenshi, huh? Nice. Very nice name," Mu said. "Now, how are you two holding up? I'm on med duty right now, so be truthful."
Kira looked thoughtful for a moment. "Pain," he answered bluntly. "Lots of pain."
"Not surprising, you should be dead several times over after your little heroic deed," Mu told him. "How about you, little miss? Much the same as this knuckle-headed fool?"
"... Probably not as much physical pain," she responded distantly.
"Emotional therapy needed, got it," Mu said, writing down in the notebook. "Well, I'll pass all this on to the captain and the others. No doubt they'll want to check up on you two, so don't do anything too indecent, got it?"
"Just get out, already," Kira said, both amused and annoyed.
"Oh, and before I forget. Kira, executive order: lie the hell back down," Mu said. "Your back is in no state to hold your weight."
"Got it, got it," Kira responded sassily. Then, a pensive look took over his expression. "Mu. What's it like outside?"
Mu paused at the door, as a gloomy air took over the room. "Well, you two are gonna hear about it sooner or later," he replied, before grabbing a remote that was left on a counter, and turning on one of the monitors.
The footage showed the outside of the ship, but it was... wrong. An expanse of pure white and dark clouds.
"What... what the hell?" Tenshi asked, sitting upright. "Isn't it... suppose to be spring? How long were we out?"
"Three days," Mu replied. "We stopped the larger fragments of Heaven from hitting the ground, but the dust that was left...Kira, I'm sure you know what that means for this, right?"
The shock on Kira's face was very evident. "A... Nuclear Winter," he muttered.
The wind wasn't too fierce, but it was still persistent enough to be a challenge to deal with.
On the hull of the Archangel, several crew members and Yamawaro, including both Miriallia and Takane, were shovelling dense layers of snow from the ship.
"Geez, this is pretty bad," Takane muttered. "Even Gensokyo's normal winters don't compare to this."
"That's what we call a Nuclear Winter," Miri replied. "With all this dust now in the atmosphere, light can't get in as easily. Well, at least this one doesn't seem as bad as the ones theorised back in the 21st century AD."
"How long were those?"
"According to the scientists of the time, they estimated one could last around 25 years for the entire planet."
"25 years?!" Takane shouted. "This is going to last for a quarter of a century?!"
"I don't think it'll be that long," Miri said. "The Lohengrin managed to pretty much atomise 60 to 80% of Heaven's chunks. The techies said we might only have to deal with this for a few months at most." She paused briefly, looking up at the sky. "Atomise Heaven's chunks. That's a phrase I never thought I'd say."
"No kidding," Takane muttered, leaning on her shovel. "Still, a 'few months' would be enough to cause a famine. The human village is gonna be hit quite hard by this."
"Which is why we're going to be doing as much as we can," Miri said. "Last thing we want is for innocents to die needlessly. Hence why Dearka and Athrun are running point in the village."
Takane hummed lightly. She had quickly pieced together that Miri had... some sort of grievance with that Athrun fellow, but chose not to press for information.
A voice carried itself on the wind. The two looked up, to see a girl with brown hair and a pair of crow wings approaching them. Miriallia had to say, aside from the presence of the wings, and the slightly pointier ears, this girl looked like any other stylish teenager.
"Himekaidou?" Takane questioned. "Looks like the Tengu are finally getting off their asses."
The Tengu girl landed in front of the two, and Miri fully took in her appearance. She really did look just like a normal human person, with her hair kept in twintails, and dressed in white, very light pink, and purple. The only other thing odd about her that wasn't already mentioned was her shoes, being some strange mix of flats, wood sandals, and stilts. They certainly made her look more like she was standing on the snow, rather than in it.
"Okay, first? Rude, Yamashiro," the girl, Himekaidou, said.
"Well, I'm not wrong," Takane retorted. "Miri, meet Himekaidou Hatate; a Tengu and one of Gensokyo's big two journalists."
"Journalists, huh?" Miri noted. "So I guess you're hear for our side of the story, then?"
"You got it," Hatate responded. "Since my usual rival is interviewing people in the village, I figured I'd look into the folks who did the heavy lifting."
"The shut-in, going to the strangers for an interview?" Takane questioned. "What, is it going to snow in... Actually, never-mind. I'm not finishing that thought."
"Good save," Miri muttered. "So, a journalist, then?" she quickly changed the subject, turning back to Hatate. "Always did have an interest in that. Come on, I'll take you to the captain."
"Straight to the head honcho? Sweet!" Hatate cheered, as she followed Miriallia into the ship.
"Way to get out of labour, Miri," Takane muttered. "Alright, you lot! Let's pick up the pace!"
Down by the river, Sai took a moment to take in his surroundings. It truly looked like some unholy amalgamation of winter and spring, no matter where he looked. It was both freezing yet warm, pleasant yet uncomfortable.
"Oh my, you're here again?" the familiar voice of Kagiyama Hina spoke from across the frozen lake. "I thought I said Youkai Mountain was dangerous."
When Sai looked her way, he couldn't help but smile slightly. "You did," he said, "but then again, just about everything's in a bad state now."
Hina giggled slightly. "I guess so," she said, before looking at the river between them. "I guess the nagashibina won't be floating today, either."
"I guess so," Sai said. "Do you... like watching them?"
"I'm a god of misfortune," Hina answered. "Part of my job is taking the misfortune of others away, through the nagashibina. If I can make people just a little happier through it, then I'm more than happy to do it."
Sai felt his heart flutter at the small smile she had. "You're... remarkably selfless, aren't you?" he asked. "So much like Kira, in a way."
"Kira?"
"Ah, right. I guess I haven't said much about myself, huh?" Sai said. "One of my friends, Kira Yamato, is... I'd dare say 'stupidly self-sacrificing'. Hell, during the mess that went down three days ago, he quite literally threw himself at the oncoming boulders to save someone he'd never met before. The fact that he didn't die is... honestly nothing short of a miracle."
Hina noticed the sad look in his eyes. "Let me guess," she spoke, "you had a falling out some time ago?"
Sai's eyes widened briefly. "Guess I can't hide it, huh?" he said sadly. "We... had a bit of a falling out. Love triangle that I lost, you know? I tried to bury the hatchet with him, but... well, not exactly easy."
"I see," Hina said quietly. "It must have been rough for you both."
"Well, as if that wasn't bad enough, things went further south for those two, and... well, would you believe me if I said this was only the second time he's gotten critically injured helping others?"
"Somehow, I would," Hina laughed. "Yet, despite butting head so much, you still care for him, don't you?"
Sai smiled sadly. "Yeah. It's... we wouldn't be alive today without him. We may clash at times, but that's just us humans."
Hina giggled again. "I'm glad. It always warms my heart to see humans managing to get along, despite their differences." She looked up at the sky briefly. "Perhaps you should head back to them now. You have been here a while, have you not?"
"Ah! You're right," he exclaimed. "I've probably been away for too long. Can't have everyone worry about me like that." He turned to leave, yet paused briefly. "Can we... meet again like this?" he asked bashfully. "Talking to you, it's... nice."
Hina wouldn't call herself a master of emotions, but she would not deny that she felt her heart flutter briefly. "Are you... sure about that?" she asked. "Being around me, it's dangerous, you know?"
"Maybe it might be, but..." he said, "but I still want to spend time with you. Is that... a bad thing to want?"
Hina felt herself blush. What was she to say to that? "I think..." she started. "I think I'd rather like that."
The two left the conversation at that, in a warm silence that made the snow around them moot.
As they left, however, neither noticed the faint miasma emanating from Sai's pocket.
As Sai returned to the Archangel, he found Natarle waiting for him, and immediately felt a mixture of bashfulness and shame at being caught.
Natarle, for her part, just shook her head. "You have nothing to worry about, Ensign Argyle," she said. "But if you're going to take time off work, just make sure to write it up properly."
"Yes, ma'am!" Sai saluted quickly, a slight sense of relief washing over him.
Natarle's expression softened. "Well, at least you've found something to take joy in, considering recent events."
"You... don't disapprove?" he asked.
"As long as it doesn't get you killed," she answered. "Or hamper your work onboard the ship. Whichever comes first."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sai responded. Then, before he could speak more, he tripped over himself, as a splitting headache tore through his mind.
"Argyle!" Natarle called out, catching the boy quickly.
As quickly as it came, the headache vanished. "I'm... I'm alright," Sai said, straightening himself. "Just... a moment of nausea."
"Not surprising," Natarle said. "We've had barely any sun for the past few days now. There's only so much we can do about the drop in vitamin d."
Down at the shore of the Misty Lake, the team comprised of Athrun, Dearka, Flay, Nitori, Cirno, and Daiyousei, loaded the battered remains of the Strike onto the flatbed they drove out in.
"Man, this things certainly seen better days," Nitori commented. "Wonder what happened to it."
"Athrun did," Dearka said. "Crazy bastard blew up his own MS to do this."
"Piss off, Dearka," Athrun shot back. "I was sad and angry, and I made very stupid choices."
"Story of my life," Flay muttered.
Dearka, in response, made finger-guns. "Ayy, depression buddies!"
"Please don't enable him," Athrun said to Flay. "Dearka's hard enough to deal with on a quiet day."
"It ain't that bad, Salsa!" Cirno stated, not noticing Athrun trying to correct her. "It just means he'll fit right in! Right?"
"Right!" Dearka repeated in an equally cheerful voice.
"Dear god, there's two of them," Nitori muttered. "Dai! How're thinks looking up there?"
"S...same as before, Nitori-san!" Daiyousei called back.
"Poor girl," Flay muttered. "I can't quite imagine how stressed she must be, with two of her friends having to suddenly go into a state of hibernation."
"Wriggle and Eternity, right?" Athrun asked. "Considering they're both related to some kinds of insects, I'm not too surprised. I just hope the others can get a warm room up and running for them."
Flay nodded in agreement. An awkward air hung between them for a moment. "We... haven't properly met, have we?" she asked.
"I suppose not, given all that's been going on," Athrun said. "Through, Kira has told me quite a bit about you, Flay Allster."
"Nothing too flattering, I expect," Flay stated, "considering the things I did to him."
Athrun fixed her with a flat look. "Come on, this is Kira Yamato we're talking about," he said. "That guy couldn't say anything bad about anyone, even if he tried." He looked off to the surface of the frozen lake. "He did mention that you two had... a pretty rough falling out, to put it lightly. The rest I pieced together through vague language."
"That... does sound like him," Flay admitted. "I guess... we've both ended up hurting him more than we wish, huh?"
"Yeah. I guess so."
The silence held for longer than either of them would have liked. Part of Flay's past ideologies still lingered in the back of her mind, but thanks a lot of training and copious amounts of other things to worry about, she had quite the handle on those... less than kind opinions she once held.
"Hey! We finished loading this badboy up!" Nitori called out. "We're good to move out!"
"Guess it's time to head back, then," Flay muttered.
"You guys go on ahead!" Athrun responded. "I want to head down to the village and check up on things!"
"You sure about that, buddy?" Dearka called back. "How do ya plan to get back to the ship, then?" In response, Athrun simply floated two feet off the ground. "Okay, fair point."
"Of course it is," Athrun said, smirking rather triumphantly. At least now he knew 'because I can fly' is a good argument.
The human village was in remarkably good condition, all things considered. A few shops had been levelled during the events of three days ago, but all in all, life still found a way to hold out. That, and there was a wooden ship flying in the sky now.
That wasn't to say Athrun didn't notice it before he came in, nor did he not know it was the Palanquin Ship that turned into the Myouren Temple. He'd heard the stories about it, and the thing stood out as much as the Archangel did. Seeing it up close, however, was still rather awe-worthy.
But, right now, he was here to check on somewhere a bit less mobile.
Standing in front of the familiar storefront of Suzunaan, Athrun breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that it was untouched by the carnage. Reaching out, he opened the door and stepped in.
"Welcome to..." Kosuzu began, before freezing when she saw Athrun.
"You made it through all that in one piece, then," Athrun stated happily. "I'm glad."
Kosuzu's expression broke out into a bright smile, as she leapt towards him. "Athrun-san!" she exclaimed.
Athrun, quick on his feet, managed to catch the girl. "Woah! You're certainly... energetic today," he said. He did, however, notice the trembling in her frame. "You must have been terrified, right?"
"It... it really was," she muttered in a shaky voice. "I was... I was so scared..."
Athrun gently placed a hand on her head, slowly running his fingers through her hair. "It's alright now. The danger has passed."
"It's... not just that," she said. "When it all passed, I... I ran as fast as I could to the temple, and when I heard you had gone up the mountain, I..."
Athrun smiled fondly. "You're a kind person, Kosuzu. Let no one take that away from you."
After a few minutes of consoling, the two finally took a seat by the table, with a cup of tea each.
"So you managed to reunite with your friends, then?" Kosuzu asked. "I'm glad to hear that."
"There's still a few hurdles to get over, I'd say," Athrun said. "Still, I don't think I quite realised how much I missed having familiar faces to banter with." Looking at the table, Athrun noticed the newspaper that had been placed there.
"Curious?" Kosuzu asked. "We do print-runs of the Bunbunmaru newspaper here. This one's actually the latest edition, if you want to look. It's even got a report on the Falling Heaven."
"Falling Heaven... Is that what they've decided to call it?" Athrun asked, picking up the newspaper.
Several things stood out to him immediately. First off was the name of the writer; Shameimaru Aya. He was fairly certain he'd heard some people talking about them, but couldn't be certain.
Most prominently, however, was the fact that it featured a picture of an awfully familiar person; the same person that Kira had risked his life to save. The paper called her 'Hinanawi Tenshi', and... claimed that she was the culprit?
"What?" Athrun asked, feeling rage build inside of him. "Isn't that just baseless accusation? There's... hardly any evidence to support that!"
"Athrun-san?" Kosuzu asked.
Athrun quickly snapped out of his anger. "Ah. Sorry, it's just... I can't stand journalists that don't properly back up their claims."
"Really?" Kosuzu said. "I mean, I've read that Hinanawi-san has a history of causing Incidents in Gensokyo. In fact, one time she even destroyed the Hakurei Shrine out of boredom."
Okay, perhaps there was some ground to stand on, but the point still stood. "If we can't believe 'the boy who cries wolf' when he finally tells the truth, then we'd end up as pretty rotten people," he said. "Even if a person's committed such acts in the past, if we assume they're responsible every time it happens again, what would that make us? It should be 'innocent until proven guilty', not the other way around."
Kosuzu looked taken aback. "You're... passionate about this sort of thing, aren't you?"
"I've... had my experiences with twisted journalists in the past," he said vaguely. He really didn't want to go into that subject right now, though. "You mind if I take this copy back with me? I'm sure the others would like a look through."
"Of course!" Kosuzu exclaimed. "Anything to help out a friend!"
After what seemed to be an hour, Athrun said his goodbyes as he left Suzunaan. Objectively, he'd probably wasted more time here than he should have, but he still wanted to make sure things were fine on this end.
As he did, he accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh! Sorry about that," he said quickly.
"Don't worry about it, kid," the person, a woman with white hair who dressed way too lightly for this weather, responded. "I wasn't exactly paying much attention, either." As she looked at Athrun, she paused. "Say, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
"I wouldn't think so," Athrun replied. "I am an Outsider, after all."
"No, I gathered that much," she said. "In fact, that's the part that's got my eye."
Athrun thought for a moment. "Perhaps... do you mean Kira Yamato?"
"Kira Yamato... Yeah, that was the kid," the woman said. "Brought him to Eientei over a week ago. You a buddy of his?"
"I am," he replied. "Athrun Zala. Pleased to meet you."
"Fujiwara no Mokou. Likewise," she greeted. "So, how's that guy doing, anyway?"
"Well, he almost got himself killed three days ago," Athrun answered bluntly, "so there's that."
Mokou looked partly surprised, before breaking out into laughter. "Ha! Somehow that's not a surprise!"
"It really isn't, no," Athrun agreed.
Then, a new set of footsteps approached. "Oh my? This is a curious looking duo."
The two turned, and were met with a green haired woman dressed in red. A sort of red that struck Athrun as rather familiar.
"Yo, Kazami," Mokou greeted. "Kid, meet Kazami Yuuka. She and that Nightbug kid were the first to pick your friend up."
"Ah, so you're that friend of his," she noted. "Kazami Yuuka, pleased to meet you."
"Athrun Zala. Likewise," he replied. "I don't think I can thank you two enough for looking out for Kira."
"Think nothing of it," Yuuka said. "Though, I do wish he didn't go and almost die a second time, if what I heard from you two is right."
"You and me both," Athrun sighed.
The sound of crunching snow caught Athrun's ear. This wouldn't be strange, all things considered, but there was something... ominous about it this time.
"Well, look who's finally come down to check out the rest of the world," Mokou commented. "Sup, Hakurei?"
"Hakurei?" Athrun muttered, as he looked the way Mokou was looking. If he recalled correctly, Hakurei was the name of the other Shinto shrine in Gensokyo, located on a small hill on the other side of the village to Youkai Mountain. He'd figured that, since she didn't show up at the mountain during the Incident, she had been defending the village alongside the Myouren crew.
When he saw her, however, Athrun could have sworn he felt his blood run cold.
It wasn't anything physical that caused it. Athrun would admit that, without question, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden was a very attractive individual. Black hair kept in a ponytail by a single red ribbon, more traditionally red shrine maiden outfit, and brown eyes that spoke a whole lot of experience in the field.
That experience, Athrun could feel from where he stood. She walked with a casual stride, yet every step felt like it could crush a lesser person. Her expression was one of indifference, yet somehow, every alarm bell in his mind warned him of some kind of danger.
"You're a unique looking combination," Hakurei Reimu said. "What brings you two together?"
"General patrolling," Mokou answered.
"Stocking up on fertiliser," Yuuka stated.
"Yeah, figured," Reimu muttered. "Say, wasn't there a third person here just now?"
With confused looks on their faces, Yuuka and Mokou looked around, and finally noticed that Athrun had disappeared.
"Huh. Where'd he run off to?" Mokou asked.
"We probably kept him here a bit too long," Yuuka said. "He's bound to be worried about his friends, after all. I should be getting home myself, as well."
"Can't imagine this weather's good for the fields, huh?" Mokou said.
"This weather isn't good for anyone, you mean," Reimu interrupted. "Honestly, when I find that damn Celestial, I'm probably going to end up exterminating her entirely."
"Ooh, scary," Mokou commented. "Well, don't let us stop you."
From around the corner of a distant building, Athrun peaked out, confirming that none of them were heading his way.
"That was... unnaturally terrifying," he commented. "And she sounded so ready to kill, too. She's dangerous, and no doubt an enemy."
That unhinged, aimless anger... it struck a few too many cords for him.
After making sure no one was watching, Athrun took to the skies, and made his way back to the Archangel as quickly as he could.
Flying at speeds of roughly 45km/h, he made it back to the ship in a little under ten minutes, where he found Dearka waiting for him by the hanger entrance.
"There you are!" Dearka called. "You sure took your time!"
"Sorry about that," Athrun replied. "Got a bit caught up in conversations. And... had a rather scary encounter."
"Scary? For you?" Dearka asked. "You having a laugh?"
Athrun fixed him with a flat look. "I had a close encounter with the Hakurei Maiden," he said.
From just in front of the wreckage of the Strike, Sanae's ears perked up. "You met Reimu-san?" she asked. "The first impression always leave something to be desired, right?"
"I think... you and I had very different first impressions," Athrun said.
"Really?" Sanae said. "I don't see how Reimu-san could be anything other than lackadaisical. She's about as aloof as they come."
"That so?" Dearka asked. "Hah! Guess you're jumping at shadows then, Zala!"
"I've got no energy to argue with you about it," Athrun muttered.
Then, Dearka noticed the newspaper he had. "You pick that up as well?" he asked, to which Athrun simply nodded. "Neat. Miri and the others actually got greeted by a Tengu journalist while we were out."
"Shameimaru?" Athrun asked.
"Himekaido, actually," Sanae answered. "Bit more reputable, if a bit slower in turn."
"Preferable, then. Got it," Athrun concluded. "I'm going to bring this up to the captain, then. See what she thinks about current events."
"You do that, buddy," Dearka said.
As Athrun left, he nudged Sanae with his elbow, as if cueing her up for something.
A cue that she quickly picked up on. "Um, Athrun-san?" she called out. "When you've got some time, would you...um..." Athrun tilted his head quizzingly.
Before she could continue, though, someone shouted from the top floor.
"Hey, everyone!" the voice of Mu La Flaga echoed. "Don't who wants to know this, but Kira's woken up!"
"Really?!" Athrun called out. "Sorry, Sanae! I gotta jet!"
"Ah! Wai..." Before she could get another word in, Athrun had already flown off, and run down the hall that Mu had come from.
"Still can't get use to seeing him do that," Dearka muttered. "So, swing and a miss, then?"
"It... does seem so," Sanae sighed.
"Well, better luck next time, yeah?" Dearka patted her on the back. "Though, you'd think with how much he says Strike's name, he'd have more of a thing for guys."
"Well, I'd call this a very fruitful endeavour," Hatate stated as she wrote her notes down in, strangely enough, a flip phone. "I'm sure the people of Gensokyo would love to read more about their new heroes."
"I'm not sure all of them would see us as 'heroes'," Miri replied. "I mean, we've got enough power on this ship to level an entire city."
"Good point, but that's what I'm here for," Hatate said boldly. "World's gotta know who to trust; that's what a journalists job is all about."
"Well, at least there's one who holds up that tenant," Miri laughed. "I'm guessing you're going to hang around for a while, then?"
"Naturally," Hatate replied. "Besides, I'm quite interested to hear more about this Kira Yamato person you and the captain were talking about."
"Want to check up on him, then?" Miri asked. "Who knows? He might finally be awake by now, considering his track record."
The two girls shared a laugh, as they made their way towards the med-bay. Both of them could tell that this was going to be the start of a good friendship.
Within the depths of an alternate dimension, a mysterious figure sat and watched through a window that was not quite a window; a tear in the fabric of 'when' and 'where'.
Through it, they saw the tearful reunion of Kira Yamato with his friends, the awkward moment of him and Flay Allster meeting again, and the generally pleasant atmosphere of it all.
Even Athrun Zala, who cast cautious glances at the equally bedridden Hinanawi Tenshi, was in a particularly good mood, even as he rains scolding upon scolding onto Kira Yamato for doing such a stupid stunt.
It was enough to make a grown god sick to the stomach.
"Honestly, those humans and their sentimentality," the god said distantly. "Were it not an effective way to get to their hearts, I'd have foregone this sort of method years ago."
Their gaze fixed on Kira. "Kira Yamato. You'll be one of mine before too long, I assure you." The view from the tear switched, this time focusing on Sai Argyle. "All you need right now, is an incentive." A dark energy came from their hand, and entered through the tear. With no one noticing, the energy phased into Sai through his back, and all was seemingly normal.
The tear mended itself, and like it was never there in the first place, the strange world the god inhabited was once again filled with silence.
Two figures materialised behind the god. "Satono, Mai," the god said. "How is your 'intern'?"
"Still struggling to break free," responded the brown haired Nishida Satono. "Even though he got the power he so desperately wanted, he's... not too happy about what he did to Heaven."
In the distance, the sound of someone yelled, or rather, screaming, was heard. It was a scream equal parts heartbreaking, enraged, and borderline feral.
"It certainly sounds like he's struggling with it," the god mentioned. "Perhaps he is unable to handle our power after all. A shame, really."
"Maybe we should invest in that Mu La Flaga fellow?" asked the green haired Teireida Mai. "He is a very handsome one."
"His potential as an obedient servant is nothing to write home about," the god waved off. "We will stick to the plan."
"Of course," the two replied, "Okina-sama."
A/N:
Dun dun duuuun!
Spicy, ain't it? The terror that is Matara Okina.
That aside, I'll just mention that I don't go into these things with the crossover ships pre-established. Rather, I like them to develop as I go. Make sure they're natural and not an asspull, you know?
Well, onward we go!
