Dying...


please consider checking this fanfiction's second opening on youtube 0w0


Next day...
Japan...

She stared through the glass at the man lying on the bed on the other side. All kinds of machines were linked to his body, monitoring his heart's pulse, his mind's activities, his blood pressure...

Looking at him at that state made her heart sinking deep within her chest.

Elie: " Onii-chan..."

Lilyan approached her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

Lilyan: " Elie-san, you have to lay down and rest a bit. You've been like this since we came last night."

Elie looked at her and true for Lilyan's words, bags could be seen under her eyes swallowing due to her crying for a long time.

Elie: " I just... I can't... What if, while I'm looking away, he..."

Lilyan's face contorted for a moment, realizing the brunette's fear. She was the same.

Elie: " I can't believe it..."

She leaned her forehead on the glass, her shoulders shaking as she choked on her tears.

Elie: " his heart is still beating... He is still breathing, right... For them to say he is dying... It's a lie..."

It was taking Lilyan all her might not to shed tears.

Lilyan: " Elie-san..."


Cling

The echoes of the CCM hitting the ground resounded through the corridor plunged in total silence. It took the four of them a moment to register what they were told.

Jun'ichirou: " what do you mean he has no hope!?"

It was probably the first time they had ever heard him shouting like that. The doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Such reaction wasn't new to him, though he was deeply sorry to be the bearer of the bad news.

" His mind is shutting down. Most of it is nonfunctional anymore. And it's falling apart as we speak too. The stress was too much for him it damaged his brain severely. It won't be long before he won't be able to breath on his own."

No one found their tongue to even speak back.

" I'm terribly sorry, but there was nothing we could do."

With a deep bow, he left them alone. Jin turned back to Elie and his eyes widened upon seeing her. Tears cascaded her face as she stared at the glass separating them from her brother.

Elie: " it can't be... That's a lie... He wouldn't... It wasn't meant to be him..."

Jun'ichirou: " Elie..."

The girl shivered as she tried to hold back her sobs.

Elie: " that's a lie... Not after we took him back... No... Not Onii-chan!"...


" Elie."

She rose her head and looked up at the man who approached her with a sympathizing look. Her father just a few steps behind him.

Jin: " Lilyan is right, you need to rest. Quit being stubborn."

He said as she opened her mouth to protest.

Jin: " not even Ban-kun would like to see you in this situation."

Elie looked up at her father, as if waiting for him to defend her, but he merely gave her a small smile.

Jun'ichirou : " they're right, Elie. You have to get some sleep. Staying her won't do Ban any good."

Elie begrudgingly obliged, letting Lilyan lead her out.

When Elie left, the professor sighed and looked at his son.

Jin: " professor..."

Jun'ichirou shook his head.

Jun'ichirou: " I can't even bring the subject with Marie. She couldn't come to even visit him, so how can I ask her to decide his face."

The look in his eyes reflected a deep sadness and regret.

Jun'ichirou : " it's like... I'm the one who put my son in this situation..."

Jin looked up at him.

Jun'ichirou : " you were right, maybe if I didn't drag him down this path from the start, he wouldn't have continued fighting, nor get hurt..."

Jin inhaled deeply, it was something he started, and he should fix it.

Jin: " professor, would you perhaps know of Ban-kun's question?"

The older man looked back at him, rather confused. Still, he shook his head.

Jin: " Ban-kun's question, was ' would you believe in something till the end?'. With your help or not, he would have ended choosing this path eventually."

Jun'ichirou : " Jin-kun..."

Jin: " even when you turned your back on LBXs, he continued his fight with unwavering confidence. For nothing but for his love for LBXs. That's all."

Jun'ichirou: " still... A father's influence played a role."

Jin: " then you can blame me as well."

He looked down at his own hand, recalling a very far memory.

Jin: " when he broke down, I helped him up. Though he said he had enough still I told him to fight. I had influenced his choice as well back then, but, he still couldn't stand back when he knew people were in danger. Although he was shaking, he hurried to save his friends."

His hand balled into fist and his eyes reverted back to the male inside the room.

Jin: " however, I believe he had been fighting the whole time while following his own heart."

Jun'ichirou blinked at the younger man.

Marie: " he really reminds me of you, when his mind is set on something he would see it done till the very end. He really is your son."

His gaze moved back to his son.

Jun'ichirou : " if we're really the same, then you may have a point..."...


Tiny Orbit...

Takuya : " I see, and so, you lost the Driver."

Takuya stated as he was filled on the details the next morning.

Yuuta: " we didn't have a chance against them when they had send an army of Killer Droids."

Runa: " it was but impossible to defend against them."

Ruri: " more like it was my mistake for not noticing the other Killer Droid hiding there."

She said with her head hanging low, feeling ashamed to have failed them all.

Ran: " don't say that."

Evangeline: " it's no one's mistake."

Ken: " you were fighting on your own after all."

Wataru: " but, what should we do now?"

Everyone looked back at Takuya.

Takuya: " Mizel is actually searching places the creator had mentioned before in hope of finding the next one."

Mirai: " will that work?"

Eva had her doubts as well, if it was that easy, then there would be no reason for him to set all of these clues.

Takuya: " we just have to hope."

Hiro: " and there is Ban-san as well..."

Their looks fell down as they heard that and the atmosphere got gloomier.

Arata: "I refuse to believe it..."

Gendou: " it's not a matter of believing or not, this is the truth imposed on us. And we have to bear it."

Arata: " then do you mean you're okay with it!"

Gendou pursed his mouth tightly while Arata looked around.

Arata: " what about you, you all are okay with it!"

No soul spoke. Just looking down, crestfallen and dejected.

Arata: " say something!"

Kirito: " there is no way we're okay with it!"

Everyone looked back as Kirito spoke up.

Kirito: " look again! Who do you think of us would be!"

Looking again and meeting everyone's eyes full of frustration and regret, he bit back his lip and looked down.

Kirito: " Ban wouldn't want us brooding over his situation would he now? As long as everyone are in danger, we ought to move on, no matter what the losses are."

Arata's fist clenched tightly at those words, and Ran carefully rested her hand on his shoulder.

Ran: " there is nothing we could do, Arata."

Eva narrowed her eyes as she mulled over the situation. There was something she could do.


Yamanos' house...

Marie gently closed the door behind her and went back down to the living room.

Marie: " she is fast asleep. You should get some rest too."

Lilyan shook her head.

Lilyan: " I'm fine. Don't you worry about me."

Marie smiled softly at her before taking the seat next to her.

Marie: " thank you for bringing her home. I know it is safer for you all to stay at Tiny Orbit, but I want her to be by my side at times like this."

Lilyan considered her for a moment then spoke up.

Lilyan: " how could you do it?"

Marie: " eh?"

Lilyan: " how were you able to allow them to go on such a dangerous fight. If my parents were alive, I would have had a hard time convincing them."

Marie smiled softly.

Marie: " so it seems strange after all doesn't it?"

Lilyan: " very."

Marie: " such an honest girl. Well, you see. It's because I can't hold them back."

Lilyan blinked, confused.

Marie: " they both have a strong sense of justice and would stop at nothing till they achieve their goals. Just like their father. To be honest, even when I thought of stopping them, just looking at their fierce eyes made me change mind. As a mother, I will always be worried and have regrets. But it's also the same reason why I can't stop them."

She looked at a fresh bouquet of flowers well arrange in the vase on the table.

Marie: " you see those, Mika-chan and the others brought them. From them, and from the Kitajimas too. Just seeing how far they both had grown, and how much friends they had gained, it makes me happy."

She mopped away a tear.

Marie: " a parent you see, they shouldn't hold their children back. No matter how hard it may be to accept, there will come a day when they will have to leave the nest. We should learn to support them in times like this."

Lilyan stared at her for a moment, speechless.

Lilyan: " ... You know, you're such a great mother. Ban-kun is lucky to have you."

Marie : " ara, you fluttered me."...


Two days later...

On a plan heading to Tokio City, a certain blond was playing around with his necklace.

He had contacted their relatives in Japan, seeing if his sister was there. Just the previous day one of them contacted him, saying that she had came to the hospital she was working in last night.

" Damn it, I will make her pay."...


Jin barely held himself back from facepalming when he arrived at the hospital. As usual, she came there first.

Lilyan : " sorry, I couldn't get her to go back home."

Jin: " you don't have to apologize. You would be 90 before you could concede her to stay away. Lilyan, you can go rest now. I will be taking care of guarding."

Lilyan bobbed her head before looking back at Elie.

Lilyan: " Elie-s-"

Elie: " I'm staying. "

The blond heaved a sigh.

" I finally found you!"

They all snapped as someone yelled from the end of the corridor. Lilyan instantly was drained out of colors upon hearing the voice.

The man walked over with furious steps and Lilyan's eyes widened in fear. She unknowingly took a step back as the man walked over to her.

Lilyan: " Nii-san..."

" What were you thinking! Leaving A Nation without telling me! Leaving me without money! What were you doing for the whole time!"

Elie and Jin were befuddled by the way he yelled out despite knowing that he was in a hospital. He seemed really angry as he quickened his steps.

The man closed on to her, waving his hands in front of her. The woman walked back and almost tripping, fear can be seen on her face while trying to put a distance between them so his hands can't reach her.

Before she knew it, Jin had stepped between them.

Lilyan: " Jin-san!"

" Who are you?"

The man gave an annoyed look at him, but Jin kept the ever serious face.

Jin: " I should be the one asking you. What are you thinking, treating her like that?"

" She is my younger sister and I believe I'm free to treat her the way I want!"

He said closing on to Jin and clenching his fist. Jin turned to Lilyan, as to make sure if what the blond was saying was true. The woman merely nodded as she peeked at the man from behind Jin.

Lilyan : " Liam Nii-san... Why are you here?"

Liam: " to take you back of course!"

He made an attempt to grab her hand but Jin held her closer behind him, preventing him from doing so.

Liam: " you..."

Jin: " I can't just let you take her that way."

Liam: " you don't have authority over me!"

The older man yelled. Sensing trouble approaching, Lilyan placed a shaking hand on Jin's shoulder.

Lilyan: " it's alright, Jin-san..."

Elie: " Lilyan-san..."

Lilyan looked at the duo.

Lilyan: " I'm really grateful for all the time we had together . It's a shame I can't stay by Ban-kun's side to the very end. And Elie-san, I'm sorry I won't be there when you will need me."

Elie: " please, don't go..."

Jin: " Lilyan, you don't have-"

Lilyan: " I have to."

She was trembling from head to toe. Her voice shaking and weak.

Lilyan: " You don't know what Nii-san may do. I'm sorry, everyone. I'm really sorry."

Elie : " Lilyan-san..."

Liam: " are you done! Let's go!"

He grabbed her arm and dragged her vigorously out of the hospital under her friends' sympathizing look...


Dream Future...

Jinn was overseeing the process of hacking the small round device.

Jinn: " we underestimated both the creator and Minerva. The Driver is heavily protected. Leviathan can hardly scratch it open."

Itan had an annoyed look.

Itan: " I know this thing can create a whole unstoppable army, but is it the only reason Leviathan sought it?"

Jinn: " what do you mean?"

Itan pulled out his lollypop and waved it around.

Itan: " be honest with me, Leviathan can send armies after armies of Killer Droids to wreck the whole world. There should be another reason he wanted the driver that much."

Jinn merely smirked.

Jinn : " you will find out soon ."...


Night...
Tiny Orbit...

When she was shaken to conscious, she expected to see her brother, but instead she found a certain green head.

Ruri: " Gendou-san..."

Gendou: " I see you're very tired of working on this new weapon."

Ruri: " I want to finish it soon, that way, we can have a chance against Baqto."

Gendou: " even though, you should give yourself enough rest."

Ruri: " Gendou-san..."

Gendou: " you have a role you need to fulfill, and to do so you need to be in form. The lack of rest will make you less beneficial to us."

Ruri managed to pull herself on her feet.

Ruri: " you may have a point. Thank you very much, Gendou-san."

And she left the LAB...


Next day...
Hospital...

Jin walked over to Elie and gently placed a blanket over her shoulders. He just had to give up on trying to convince her to go home.

Elie brought it tightly around her while giving Jin a thankful smile.

Elie: " it's already been four days now."

Elie placed her fingers on the glass, observing her brother's rythmique heart beats on the monitor.

Jin gently warped a hand around her as she leaned her head on the glass, desperate for a ray of hope, a miracle that can save her brother.

Elie: " if... If something were to happen, and Onii-chan is to be saved... I promise... I promise I will go through with the operation... Just..."

Jin: " Elie..."

Elie: " just save Onii-chan..."

" Then as the one chosen by god I will grant that wish of yours."

Jin and Elie snapped up as they heard that. Startled upon seeing a certain blond head.

Jin: " Kousuke..."

Elie: " why are you..."

Kousuke : " you don't seem glad to see me, thought I'm the one who is holding the key that may save Yamano Ban's life."

He grunted as Eva and Mizel walked past him.

Evangeline : " I've fed him on the situation."

Elie: " Eva..."

Evangeline : " I couldn't stand still while Ban is suffering. Even if this is risky, it's still a solution."

Mizel: " better than not trying."

Elie: " hold on... There is a way to save Onii-chan! For real!"

Kousuke: " we might be able to."

He purposely emphasized on 'might'.

Jin: " how!?"

" All in due time, Jin. Professor Yamano should be here any moment, my father called and told him about this."

Jin's eyes sparkled at the woman who walked from behind Kousuke.

Jin: " Reina-san!"

Reina: " it has been a while, Jin. And, you must be Yamano Elie right."

Elie : " you're... Mito Reina-san! Very nice to meet you."

Reina: " Same here."

Jin looked at Kousuke and Eva.

Jin: " any intention of explaining the situation here."

Kousuke sighed.

Kousuke: " to boil it down simply, Eva nagged me to use a yet under development technology to save Ban."

Elie: " Eva..."

Elie's eyes welled up with tears as she thanked her over and over again. Jin looked up from Eva and to Reina.

Jin: " what does professor Mito have to do with this?"

Reina: " he is a neurologist, Jin. His help was needed in this project."

Jin: " don't tell me, the project he was so excited to take place into was actually..."

He looked back at the older man. Kousuke casted one look at the sleeping brunette before speaking.

Kousuke : " you will understand everything soon enough."

No sooner than he said that both Jun'ichirou and Eisuke emerged from the end of the corridor.

Jun'ichirou: " thank you for reaching out in such time."

Eisuke: " don't thank me yet. We still have a long way to get through."

He spotted Kousuke and immediately addressed him.

Eisuke: " how did the negotiation go?"

Kousuke: " the hospital reluctantly accepted. However, Kamiya Craft will hold the full responsibility if anything wet south."

He groaned and Eva elbowed him.

Eisuke: " it was expected."

Professor Mito's face was washed over by seriousness.

Eisuke: " that aside, I want to talk more about the details before getting you acceptance."

Jun'ichirou nodded confidently. Eisuke held his hand at a nearby office.

Eisuke: " I believe we have to talk about this with the doctor as well. If you please. You too can join."

He looked at the younger adults who nodded and followed after him. All except Jin.

Kousuke : " you're not going?"

Jin: " I think I can know everything from you."

Kousuke smirked and looked back at the brunette. Suddenly he face turned stoic serious.

Kousuke : " do you know why optima isn't considered a solution for mind diseases and injuries?"

Jin stepped right next to him and his eyes were glued to the figure of his friend.

Jin: " Ah. The same reason it can't be used for heart diseases. Because it has to be switched via surgeries, and doing such thing multiple times, especially to the mind..."

Kousuke : " true. Add to that materials wither a lot faster when placed around the mind. So, there is almost no possibility to apply the optima technology on there. It's not an option at all. That much became clear after monitoring Eva for so long, although Kidou Yoshimitsu used some kind of a yet non authorized material for her optima, which allowed it to survive this much, thankfully. Her mind is physically damaged and she can't survive without the Optima. It it wasn't for that this technology could have helped her as well."

He heaved a frustrated sigh.

Kousuke: " with Optima inapplicable in this situation, another solution is needed. Your mother realized that as well."

Jin snapped at the mention of his mother. Kousuke caught that.

Kousuke: " just you know, there was a reason Kamiya craft got your mother researches."

Jin: " because Kaidou Youshimitsu adopted me, he got access to them."

He said frowning slightly as he recalled Seredy's words.

Kousuke : " wrong."

Jin blinked in surprise and Kousuke groaned as he scratched his head.

Kousuke : " tsk, to think Kaidou didn't tell you. And Seredy made it even complicated. He shouldn't go around speaking of things he didn't know about."

Jin's eyes glued to the blond, curious and startled. It was perhaps the first time ever he would want Kousuke to speak so badly.

Jin: " if it wasn't grandfather then how did you...?"

Kousuke : " because she initially was working on that project for us. So it was natural for Kamiya Craft to get her data. This is something you may not know but..."

He rubbed the back of his neck next, avoiding Jin's gaze the most he could.

Kousuke : " your mother's maiden name was Kamiya."

Jin was in a loss of words at the revelation and went rigid. Zenon was more than glad to do the reaction for both of them.

Zenon: " say what!?"

Kousuke : " she was actually father's cousin and she had helped with a lot of researches back at Kamiya Craft."

Zenon: " but that just means..."

Jin: " we're... Relatives?..."

He rose an eyebrow, finding it hard to digest the new information. Kousuke merely sighed in frustration.

Kousuke: " yeah, that's the terrible truth. We ended up being related."

Jin was still grappling with the new relationship thrown at him out of the blue.

Kousuke: " I've know it for a while now. But never really thought you had no idea. Thought Kaidou told you once he learned of it. He never realized who you actually were when he first adopted you until da- father mention it a few years later. Eitherway, don't bother about it at all. I'm not keen on sticking to that relationship. I like the things between us the way they're."

Jin considered that carefully before something clicked in his head.

Jin: " but... Out of all the children who lost their families back then? Why..."

Kousuke: " that's what we call fate. Only those chosen by god can understand such beautiful thing."

Upon meeting Jin's glare, he cleared his throat.

Kousuke: " back to the topic, your mother foresaw that optima won't be usable for minds, so she thought up another technology."

Jin: " another technology?"

Kousuke : " Oracle."...