The Next Sky
(Adapted from the chapter A New Sky in the manga series Witches of Aurora by Kyogoku Shin.)
"Illu is going to be transferred?!" Nikka Advardine Katajainen stood at the entrance of the guest room of the base of the Suomus Air Force 24th Squadron, all astonishment on her face.
"Yes, to the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. Looks like Illu was selected to join this new unit in Britannia," replied Laura sitting on the sofa.
"Looks like it is a unit consisting of some top aces all over the world," added Hasse, beside Laura.
Nipa's head went blank, "W-wait a minute, if we lose Illu, won't it weaken our defenses?"
"Remember how you noticed that we've received generous rations recently?"
"And new Striker Units and weapons too. It's compensation for taking our ace away. That's the reason."
Nipa widened her eyes in shock. She never expected all the weapons and snacks would be…
"We were able to defend Suomus thanks to the other nations' support, so it was hard to turn down this offer."
Nipa rushed out, before Hasse and Laura could say anything to stop her.
At first she didn't know where to go. Later the sauna came into her mind. Illu was supposed to be cleaning it right now. It was the best moment to confront her.
As expected, Illu's white boots were found in the changing room in the front of the sauna.
The door was snapped open, and the sight of an Illu looking at her in confusion came into view. She was dressed in her uniform, holding a bamboo broom.
"Oh Nipa, what's with that look?"
Are you playing dumb?
"Tell me, are you really transferring?" Nipa cut to chase and asked, when she made a beeline towards Eila while still panting. She just couldn't wait.
On hearing that, Eila fell into silence. A layer of melancholy emerged in her violet irises. For the first time, she cast her eyes down, apparently evading her best friend's eyes.
"So, you're really going to Britannia? Didn't we promise to always fight together? Didn't we promise to go on another trip together?"
With a barrage of questions coming at her, Eila remained in silence, but the nameless gloomy stuff in the fathomless depths of her eyes had faded away and was soon replaced by a serene smile, in which lay endless determination and tenderness. The two girls' eyes met again.
"That's right, but I've made up my mind," said Eila in a placid manner without her eyes shifting.
Nipa stared at Eila blankly.
"Even though it's an order, I won't mind. I want to broaden my horizons."
With a faraway look in her eyes, Eila gazed aimlessly over Nipa's shoulder.
"Remember? I told you before. I don't know why I defend Suomus. I don't know why I fight or even fly in the skies. I want to find the answers. That's why I want to go to a new place to see if maybe I can find them there. Somehow I have a feeling that I will…and that it will in the end transform into my strength to protect Suomus, so…"
The day she was forced by Aurora to dress up as Alice, she spoke of those things when she was standing by the window. Nipa had been puzzled that Illu suddenly acted like a philosopher and pondered on such things back then. Now she finally knew why. Wait, didn't that mean...going to Britannia was not what Illu's soul wanted, so she set herself some questions? And if she could find the answers to them, she would turn down the recruitment from that whatever joint fighter wing, but now she couldn't, so she accepted it? She, in fact, was unwilling to leave Suomus, right? But—
"I don't understand," Nipa lowered her head again and clenched her fists. "Is Suomus not good enough for you? I just… I just can't fathom you!"
Nipa's eyes were filled with tears when she raised her head. She rushed out of the sauna without even putting on her shoes.
"Nipa—" Eila gazed at Nipa's running form from behind and let out a sigh.
Nipa spent the following days in a conscious effort to avoid Eila. And now it was the day before Eila's departure.
"Very well. You've finished with all of the formalities," said the commander Eini Luukkanen when Eila handed her the last document.
"Your departure will be tomorrow. Have you finished all of your tasks?"
"Well, I already cleaned the sauna. Ah, well, Nipa...is a little…"
"I'm sorry you have to go through this. I'm one of the deciders here, after all," said Luukkanen with an apologetic look on her face.
"Ah! No! It's not like that!" Eila denied hurriedly. "I think Nipa understands it in her mind. It's just that she hasn't sorted out her feelings yet, but I'm sure she will... with some time."
Nipa sat on the snowy field with her arms wrapping around her knees. She had been sitting here all day long without a jacket on. Of course it was cold, but she didn't want to return to the base at the risk of running into Eila.
She knew in her mind that she was being silly — it was not time to focus on personal desires over the worldwide warfare, and that an excellent ace like Eila shouldn't be limited to a small country like Suomus. However, the news came just too suddenly for her to take it well. The thought of immediately having to part with an inseparable friend was hard to stomach, after all. Also, she did understand that Eila had the duty to keep it quiet, but the fact that she, despite being Eila's best friend, was the last one to know it intensified the pain over being put in the dark.
A hand holding a cup of hot chocolate came into view. It was Aurora.
"Hey, you're going to freeze out here like this."
Nipa sipped it. With some hot, sweet liquid down her throat, she felt a hint of warmth running through her anatomy.
"She's heading off to Britannia tomorrow. Why are you sitting out there like this?"
Sure enough, Aurora was here to persuade her.
Nipa idly looked at the whitish steam coming out of the drink, "I know it already, but… I just… I thought we would fight together, and defend Suomus together…"
"It doesn't mean your bonds will tear apart," Aurora lifted her eyes and looked at a fork in the road in front of them. "The time you two spent together will not fade away that easily. Even if there's a fork in the road and you get your separate ways, it will eventually come back together again. That's how war buddies are."
"War buddies…"
Aurora's tone gave a feeling that she was sharing her real experiences. Nipa was a little convinced. Things always got across more easily when said by someone who had been there themselves.
"Besides," Aurora continued. "She believes Suomus will be in good hands, because you are here to defend it."
Nipa raised her head and looked at Aurora with widened eyes in silence for a while.
"So why don't you try to repay the compliment?" Aurora smiled at her before standing up and dusting herself off. "Well, I'm off! Don't freeze your butt to the ground now!"
Aurora turned her back, waved Nipa goodbye without facing her, and made her way towards the base.
Nipa sat still and fell deeply into thoughts.
The airplane was ready. Eila had finished boarding. Hasse, Laura, Aurora and Luukkanen stood next to the boarding ladder to see her off.
Nipa's absence saddened Eila a lot. Everyone felt sorry for it, too.
When it was time to take off, Nipa still didn't show up. No matter how much reluctance, what should be done should be done; personal feelings shouldn't affect business. Therefore, after giving her comrades a radiant smile as a parting gift, Eila entered the cabin accompanied by a mechanic.
When she thought she was going to carry regret to a new land, she heard someone calling her name.
Faintly there was an, "Illu."
Out of instinct, she looked out of the window, but didn't find anything possible to be the source of the voice. When she began to doubt if it was an auditory hallucination, a familiar figure came into her field of vision.
"Nipa?"
The coming person was none other than Nipa, who was flying at utmost speed. She was getting more and more near the airplane, near enough to catch a clear sight of a certain person at the window. The said person was looking in her direction. Nipa made up her mind and took a deep breath.
"Illu! You always groped my breasts in the sauna! You always stole my precious sweets and did whatever you want! So I'm glad you're leaving! Britannia, Romagna, I don't care! Go! Just go! The farther, the better! I don't need you here anymore! Even without you, we can defeat the Neuroi with ease! Even without you, we can defend Suomus with ease!"
Nipa unleashed a hail of words in a rushed manner, while Eila just looked at her in confusion, because — the voice couldn't be heard with a thick layer of steel between them.
In fact, however, Nipa dared to say what she had just said because she was sure Eila couldn't hear it. Despite her longing for Eila to stay, she said "I'm glad you are leaving," just like a stubborn child who wouldn't admit they were hungry even if their stomach were rumbling. It couldn't be helped, because she just couldn't bring herself to say one touching word. It was how she and Eila interacted with each other all the time. They always showed love and care through hijinks and bickering. Saying something sappy like "I love you and I'm sorry" would kill them.
However, an exchange between two souls needed no word. When she saw Nipa's following actions, Eila immediately realized hearing was no longer needed.
Nipa, at the left side of the plane, raised her right arm toward Eila and made a fist. A cool, confident smile appeared on her face.
The sight of Nipa like that brought Eila's mind back to months ago, when they were reconciled after Nipa read Hasse's battle reports and asked Eila to fight side by side with her again. At that time, they made a fist bump, just like Nipa was doing at present. And now, they were in a to-be-reconciled state, too. Memories of similar scenes crossed her mind, lifting her lips to a pleasant curve.
Eila stood up, raised one arm in Nipa's direction and made a fist, too.
…So, you can leave Suomus to us! Don't worry!
I'll leave it to you!
The two girls engaged in a soundless conversation. The steel and glass blocked the transmission of voice, but couldn't block an exchange between two souls through eye contact and body language.
Across the window, on Eila's face was also a cool, confident smile. It was an expression Nipa would never forget — the signature of "Lucky Juutilainen." Little did she know it was Eila's parting gift to her.
With the same gesture, the same mood and the same smiles, in the same sky, amid the same sunshine, two hearts on the verge of drifting apart got close again. Just like last time, Nipa developed anger toward a friend because her emotion or position kept her from seeing the whole picture, and she later saw the light after some mentoring. Fights didn't rip their bond but instead brought them even closer. After a pouring rain come clearer skies.
The plane flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and became a small dot in the sky. Nipa waved at it, tears glittering in her eyes. Laura, Hasse, Aurora and Eini Luukkanen all looked up at the sky to see off the person on the plane.
With all her homeland friends' good wishes, Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen departed to Britannia. They all believed their fates would cross lines again soon.
The salty sea breeze wafted in the air. It was noticeably warmer than Suomus. This was Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen's first night in Britannia.
Oops, it was already late. First of all she had to report for duty. Where was the commander's office? Maybe she could find someone to tell her. Over there was a girl squatting in front of a pair of Striker Units. She must be a witch, too.
"Um…Pardon me," Eila opened her mouth with a bit of shyness. "Can you tell me where I can find the—"
Eila stopped mid-sentence when the girl turned to face her, because the girl's looks awed her into silence. She had snowy white skin, clear emerald eyes and naturally curly glossy silver short hair. The Orussia Army uniform she was wearing indicated her nationality. The black tight tailcoat over a white shirt, which looked exceptionally elegant on her, added a little of curviness to her petite figure.
That was how Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen met Sanya V. Litvyak for the first time. Little did she know this girl was going to be the most influential person in her future life.
Every parting is a new beginning; every meeting is a new prelude.
THE END
Author's note: Finally I did it! 27k words. It took me one month and a half. Now I can finally say, the first novel adaptation of Witches of Aurora has come into being.
There were many struggles when I was writing Eila and Nipa's parting scene, because I found it hard to represent the feel I wanted, so I just revised and revised. If it were a handwritten draft, the sheet must have become tattered from erasing.
However, frankly speaking, that is the only one part of Witches of Aurora I take issue with. Maybe due to the length limit of the manga, after Eila's blackout at the end of the second last chapter (manga title Ace;my novel title The Witches and the Challenge), everything regarding Eila's transfer seems very rushed. Suddenly it is settled and Eila is going, with few depictions of Eila's feelings about the parting. She appears oddly calm throughout the whole process. At least they should have shown her crying a little bit after boarding the plane… If I read this chapter alone, I would conclude she doesn't care about the parting at all. What a shame, after so many implications here and there in the previous chapters, such as the generous rations they receive, Eila's philosophizing time at the window, and her unusual melancholic moment in the hot spring under the moonlight…! The only thing I can do, however, is to exert my skills as a writer to minimize the problematic part, as my goal is to make a 1:1 adaptation of this manga series and not throw a new color in it, so no change of the plot is allowed.
In addition, as you may have noticed, I added corresponding manga panels to all the key scenes (On this website we can't post pictures, but I decided to keep this paragraph, as it contains some important message I'd like to convey), but after some considerations, I decided not to put the one of Eila encountering Sanya at the end of the final chapter, because I don't want it to draw a crowd of Eilanya shippers. My motive to write Witches of Aurora is to fulfill my wish that Eila could be temporarily freed from the frame of Eilanya, take a break from her "yuri fanservice duties" and go back to being her true self — the artless Suomus ace who is never afraid to stick to the way she is — instead of our familiar hetare (ヘタレ) who amuses the audience by clowning around on the formless stage named the romantic arena. Therefore, if the only one Eilanya scene in the whole story becomes the center of attention, I will be very disappointed and feel all my effort in the past 1.5 months has gone to waste. I hope you understand. If you agree with me, I will be more than happy. It is beyond our power to change the prevalence of "hetare Eila;" the only thing we can do is to showcase Eila's normal side as much as possible in our own works. Our Suomus ace and her everything, such as her azure-clad form, confident smile and a kind heart underneath an impish, mischievous appearance, need us to work together to protect by the pen. This piece is what I attained after turning my thoughts into action. No matter how it is received, it is a validation of me having done something for my favorite character. I will always be proud of it and having written it.
Anyway, this is the fruit of my attempt to adapt Witches of Aurora into a novel. Thanks for your reading. Now put away your smartphone or computer and let your eyes take a break.