A Morning Flower

They train through the night and through the morning, enthralled by each others' returning company. The sunrise is beautiful, even on a cloudy, gray day.

It's all so relaxing. That is, until Yoko's voice comes on the intercom, half-frantic and all static. "Kamina! It's morning, there are enemies coming!" He sees the others getting into their ganmen and coming out in preparation, and turns to head back inside. Voice quieter now, he hears Yoko begin to say "Geez, didn't you two get any sleep last n--"

An enemy round-house kicks Gurren-Lagann away. Kamina curses loudly, while Simon grunts. Gurren-Lagann creaks from the rain and the hit; bouncing back where there should have been a sizeable dent. The youth's face pops up on screen beside him.

"The others will distract them, so you and I need to go back so that Rossiu can take your place."

"I can fight," Kamina says. They dodge the enemy's loose punches like clockwork, ignoring the beastman's shouting entirely. They talk over him.

Simon shakes his head. "You barely lived last time, Bro. There's heroic, there's manly, and there's stupid. It's not running away if we have other people. You're still hurt."

Kamina sighs loudly, and for emphasis, punches the other beastman's ganmen in the face. "I ain't gonna run away when I'm protected by this fine man, here." He isn't sure himself whether he means Gurren or Simon, but the boy assumes the first, and frowns, taking over the controls.

He trips the other ganmen, and punches it again; this time the small drills on his knuckles spin slowly, but surely enough the other mech practically falls to pieces. Simon's eyes linger on the drills before her looks to assess the area. Kittan and the others are having no trouble with the other enemies, shouting enthusiastically and fighting like they're flailing. They have no idea what they're doing, like always, but with their sheer effort it's not a problem.

"I guess it's fine," Simon says slowly. It's strange to have the contrast of a calm conversation while their surroundings fly by and spin around them; while the clanking and booming of metal and bullets is all around them, barely muffled by their steel encasing. "But let me do the work for today," he says.

Kamina looks startled for a moment, but a wide smile quickly settles on his face. He leans back. "A'right," he says. "This seats a hell of a lot comfier than that bed, anyway." He lets go of the controls.

Simon laughs, and back-hands a ganmen away from Kittan. The blond squawks indignantly, but quickly switches to a new enemy when he realizes that communications with everyone but Yoko have been shut off.

So Kamina relaxes, to an extent. He remains somewhat tense, itching to fight, wanting to take the controls. But he'll do what Simon says, this time. Just this once, they'll switch roles. He watches the fight go on, and can't find anything to criticize in Simon's fighting. He thinks Simon is becoming amazing. When he looks at the screen, Simon is smirking. It's an unfamiliar expression. He smiles, sure, and even looks proud. But smirking, boasting, bursting with pride? It's unfamiliar and new. It looks nice on him.

"Good job, Simon," Kamina says when there's a brief lull in the fight. The others don't need help, and more ganmen have yet to arrive on the scene. Simon glances to his screen of Kamina, and opens his mouth. Whatever he was going to say is cut off by an uncharacteristically loud "Damn," as another ganmen falls from the sky, spiraling and spinning. The momentum sends Gurren-Lagann flying, over the edge of a cliff.

The landing hurts far less than Kamina expected, especially with his injuries. Which isn't to say it doesn't hurt. It does. Like a bitch. But he deals with it, and pushes himself up. The screen blinks before it lights up, and he sees Simon hunched over in his seat, goggles fallen around his neck.

"Oi, Simon," He says, and tests the controls. Everything seems to be working okay. After a moment he remembers to check himself. His body seems to be okay, as well.

The boy doesn't reply, but Yoko's voice comes over the speakers; "Are you okay?" She sounds worried, but speaks quickly.

"We're fine." Kamina looks around. The cliff-side looks about ready to melt, if the rain keeps up. Like a big pile of mud. "Just need to get back up, no big deal."

The girl's voice is covered by a quiet static when she says, somewhat relieved, "That's why I told you to come back, idiot." He can hear her rifle firing in the background; can hear the fabric of her muffler shifting against itself. Can hear the rain. Or maybe that's just the rain around him. He's not sure.

"Looks like Simon's out," he tells her. "Do I got time to get him up?"

More fabric shifting. Her "I think we're fine here," is nearly incoherent.

He shuts off the communication link for now, and opens the hatch. He has to climb, and pointedly doesn't wince, hating his side and the burning pain inside it. When he reaches Lagann, he opens it up, and shakes Simon's shoulder. The boy stirs, but only just so. Kamina shakes him harder, and this time he wakes up full-force.

He sits up quickly, slamming his forehead into Kamina's chin, and interrupts his own "What happened," with a pained groan. He tries again, holding his head. "What happened?"

"Fell," Kamina says, and rubs his chin. Simon looks devastated for a moment, but when Kamina quickly says "Everyone's fine for now," the expression quickly fades.

The rain still falls. His hair sticks to his face, and his shoulders are damp. The boy looks around, and cranes his neck to look up the cliff. There's something in the way his eyes narrow that makes Kamina follow his gaze.

Against the dark sky, a ganmen stands over the edge of the mountain. It throws something over the edge before slowly walking away with weighted steps. The two boys stare at the strange object as it slides down the hill, then exchange glances.

Wordlessly, they climb out and off of their mech, and begin walking towards the box. When they reach it, the two stare for a long moment. Kamina smacks the top of it, but nothing happens other than the dull and hollow clang. He says "Looks like it'll take your drill," while shaking his now-red hand.

There are many more boxes around them. Hundreds, even. They are withered and worn, covered in mud and the debris of having been here for a very long time. This box is new, still pale, the surface still shining as the mud washes away with the rain.

Simon nods dully, and stares at the box a moment longer before inserting the drill like a key. The small lights around the top light up, and he can hear the air compression leaving it - can see thick fog emerging, pouring out and highlighted by the inside glow.

Inside the box, is a girl. Simon's age, perhaps younger, though she looks to be taller, with such long legs pulled up to her chest. Such long, smooth, pale legs. Her hair flows around her body, yellow, blue, and curling everywhere.

Kamina whistles loudly at the sight, not quiet sure what else to do. Simon just stares. When the girl slowly moves, begins to sit up and open her eyes, Simon begins to flail; he looks to Kamina for what to do. The older boy just shrugs.

The girl looks at them with bleary eyes, and says "Good evening."

"G-good evening," Simon says back reflexively, at the same time as Kamina says "It's morning, kiddo."

She smiles, eyes still half-lidded. "It is very dark, for being day-time."

Simon stares, bewildered. Still, he speaks politely, "But today there are a lot of clouds covering the sun." He remembers what Yoko and Leeron have been teaching him about weather patterns.

The girl blinks. Her eyes open wide, and she brightens, quickly raising her head and looking up to the sky. "This is the outside!" She announces, voice now clear. Kamina gives her a skeptical look, and nods slowly. "It is raining!" She adds, equally enthusiastic.

"It's not that great," Kamina says.

"It is very wonderful," she insists, and climbs out of the box. Simon blushes and looks away; she isn't wearing underwear, apparently. Kamina doesn't bother looking away, but doesn't seem to notice or care. The girl stands in the mud, shifting her weight from foot to foot, and swaying back and forth. "It feels very sticky and cold, and it is squishing between my toes."

"That's mud for ya'," Kamina says.

Simon asks "Are you okay without shoes? It's cold…"

The girl shakes her head contentedly, and after a pause, looking them over, smiles. "Who might you be?"

Kamina points to himself, "I'm Kamina, the Great leader of the Great Gurren Brigade!" He motions to Simon, intending to introduce him, but the boy cuts him off, rubbing his neck and staring more at the girl's feet than her face.

"--I'm Simon," he says.

The girl tilts her head to the side curiously. "Just Simon?"

He supposes it is a bit overshadowed next to Kamina's introduction, but thinks that's how things should be. He tries "Simon the digger?" and looks to Kamina for confirmation if that's a good answer. Kamina grins.

"Those are both very lovely names," she says, and repeats "Kamina and Simon," as she looks at them. Very closely. In fact, she steps up closer, standing almost between them, and staring very intently up to Kamina's face, then turning to Simon's.

"You do not have fangs or scales, or any such things," She observes. Simon wonders if she intended to introduce herself; either way, she seems entirely distracted. She asks "Are you like me?" But before either can answer, or ask what she means, she touches Simon's face. Her hands are as soft as they look, though they are cold. He wonders why he feels colder when she pulls away to touch Kamina's arm. Her eyes widen, and she looks back to Simon, wide-eyed. "You are very soft, but he is very firm!"

"W-well, all people are different, so…" Simon manages. He doesn't think she meant anything bad by it.

She nods slowly, then looks up to Kamina and echoes "People?"

"Like humans," he says, and gives her a strange look. He turns to Simon; "This chick is weird."

"Chick?" She repeats, curiously. "Humans?"

"Girly," Kamina corrects himself. Then explains, "Humans, like you and me and Simon."

She still looks confused, but this seems to remind her of introductions, and she says "My name is Nia! I am very pleased to meet you, Simon, Kamina."

"Nia," The younger boy tests. The rain begins to stop, for which he's grateful. He wants a warm bath, and dry clothes before he gets sick, and worries for Kamina's health. He exchanges glances with Kamina, as the light begins to fall from above, making the older man glow. They are suddenly acutely aware of how long they've been here. "We should… Get going," Simon says, not taking his eyes off of his light-bathed friend.

Kamina nods, and crosses his arms over his chest. "Girly, where are you going? 'S dangerous here."

She stares. She opens her mouth twice, but no sound comes out, until she finally says, sounding only mildly upset, "I do not know where I am, and I do not know where I should go."

Kamina steps away, and pulls Simon, turning away from her. She amuses herself, playing with her hands in the light, clinking her bracelets, and wiggling her toes, and waits for them to turn back.

"We should bring her back with us, for now," Simon says. "It's dangerous to leave her here." He glances back, only now noticing that the light has also enveloped Nia. He watches her movements - they seem childish and graceful all at once. Whimsical, with no hesitation or meaning.

He's so busy staring over his shoulder that he hardly hears Kamina's agreement, and is startled when the older boy stands, and says "Come on, Girly."

He begins to walk away without waiting, and Simon glances from the girl, to the boy's back. Nia begins to follow obediently, and Simon stops her. "You should wear these," he says, blushing, feeling too self-conscious to take his shoes off easily. Still, he manages after a moment of stumbling, and she slips into them quickly.

"Thank you, Simon," she says, and holds out her hand. "Will you not be cold?"

"I'm fine," he says, and takes her hand, feeling a bit too confused to be shy.


Haha what is this gay chapter name

Anyway yeah here's Nia because I love her.