"S-So… we're not in any trouble… right?"

"For the last time, kid, no. We're just bringing you over to our temporary base to prove a theory, capiche?"

Gulping a little as he nodded, Nac found himself exchanging a nervous glance with Mina as the two of them followed Gelgar and Nanaba onwards atop their respective horses. About half an hour ago, Gelgar had quite literally kicked down the door to Nac's room, scaring the recruit something fierce as he dropped the book he had with him all the while, with Sys and Ness both peeking in apologetically as the pompadour man marched in and told his junior to follow him. As they exited the room, and as Sys was repairing the kicked down door, they met up with Nanaba, who had retrieved a half asleep Mina as well.

A handful of the other recruits had woken up by then as well, though only Sasha Braus and Connie Springer were able to do so fast enough and rush down to check out what was going on. Once they saw that their fellow recruits were being carted away, the two of them were quick to bombard them with questions, though in response to their worries, Gelgar gave a rather cryptic, and perhaps rather sarcastic; classified before he rode off on his horse.

"Don't worry about us, you guys. We'll… hopefully be fine," assured Nac before he rode off after his seniors alongside Mina. The tall guy saw fit to offer his fellow recruits a farewell wave before he got out of view, and at the very least, Sasha waved back as they galloped off towards the Trost refueling station.

Fast forward and now, here they were, with them closing in on the refueling station by the second. Upon entering the station's main courtyard, the four of them dismounted their horse, with Mina doing so rather clumsily as she nearly fell off it, before the younger pair followed their seniors into the station itself.

"Alright, now that we're in a more private area, we can probably start explaining all this," began Gelgar, with him holding a finger up in the air as he spoke, and at that, the recruits perked up as they nodded, still not exactly understanding why they were taken from their base. Sure, they had at least one idea in regards to why they were here, but at the same time, they couldn't be too sure… "Well, simply put, we think that we have a problem that only you two can solve… well, it was meant to be you three, but we can't just get a Military Police Brigadier to come here and help us without a hefty fee, now can we?"

"Help you…? With all due respect, sir, but… if you guys can't fix the issue at hand, then why do you think that we can?" inquired Nac, with him tilting his head a little in confusion as he spoke. Gelgar seemed to take a small amount of offence to that statement, however, as a noticeable shudder could be seen going up his spine as he walked on, prompting both Nac and Mina to jump a little as the former waved his hands around awkwardly. "A-Again, no offence! You and Nanaba are some of the best soldiers we know of!"

A mild sigh could then be heard escape Gelgar's lips, one that told Nac that he was in the clear for now, though not long after, Nanaba took the reins and continued on from where her teammate had left off.

"While what you just said is true, some things cannot be so easily solved by us seniors," pointed out Nanaba as she glanced back at her two juniors, who seemed rather surprised by that notion, though before long, they nodded in acceptance as the blonde continued speaking as they began to ascend a flight of stairs. "Sometimes, we have to rely on others, be they of a higher or a lower rank than us, for better or for worse."

"I see… but considering how… important all of this seems to be, were we really the best people to have been chosen…? N-Not that we're doubting your judgement, of course!" muttered Mina, only to hastily add on that last part as the four of them stopped on the second floor of the refueling station. Gelgar paused briefly to glance from side to side before Nanaba nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and motioned for them to head left, which they did.

"Believe me, as of now the two of you are, embarrassingly enough, the only people who can solve this problem for us. Well, I'd say three, but again… the third is with the MPB, isn't she?" replied Gelgar with a shrug as they led them around a corner, and upon rounding it, the four of them saw Mike, Henning and Tomas all standing in front of a door, with two of the three present men appearing rather patient as they stood.

"MPB… is he referring to…" began Nac as Mina and himself were led towards the three members of Team Mike, frowning as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully all the while. Instinctively, the tall guy closed his eyes to concentrate further on his thoughts, though this had the unfortunate side effect of making him walk straight into Gelgar's back when the pompadour haired man had stopped walking and saluted his Commander alongside Nanaba and Mina, and thereafter, the younger soldier nearly fell backwards as he waved his arms around in an effort to keep himself upright. "Gah!"

"N-Nac!" proclaimed Mina as she shot her arm out to grab her friend before he fell onto his butt. The taller guy blushed in embarrassment as he allowed his friend to house him back up to his feet, though thereafter, the two of them were quick to blink in embarrassment as they turned to see that their seniors were now looking at them with amused expressions.

For a brief few seconds, both Mina and Nac remained in a rather awkward position with the former holding onto the latter's hand to keep him from falling over, though immediately after, the two of them were quick to snap out of it and salute their seniors in embarrassment. Henning couldn't resist a mild snort of amusement as he looked away from the kids and nudged Tomas.

"Kids, amirite?" quipt Henning, only to regret it immediately after as the older soldier reached up and pinched his cheek something fierce, prompting him to yell out in pain. Mina and Nac watched on in amusement as they remained silent, though not long after, Mike stepped in front of the two and began to address the two of them directly.

"Mina Carolina. Nac Tias. Those are your names, are they not?" inquired Mike, with his tone of voice sounding as though he knew that he was correct but still wished to ask just to be completely sure. The two in question were very quick to nod in response, and at that, Zacharius inhaled deeply as he nodded. "Good. Gelgar didn't get the wrong person, so it would seem."

"I'm not that bad!" protested Gelgar, with him pouting thereafter in sadness as he slouched over in defeat. Nanaba had enough kindness within her heart to pat her teammate's back in a reassuring manner, and though he did snort just a little at hearing Gelgar's disheartened groans, Mike ignored his subordinate's overdramatic self as he leaned forward and took a sniff of Nac's neck, prompting him to stiffen in shock. The Elite then did the same to Mina, who, as with Tias, stiffened in shock.

"C-Commander… perhaps you shouldn't do that without warning…? It tends to scare the younger soldiers…" pointed out Tomas as he held a finger in the air.

"M-Maybe you should release my cheek! If you deform it it'll probably scare the kids too!" countered Henning, causing Tomas to realize that he was still pinching the younger soldier's cheek as he spoke.

"Nah. It'll be an improvement," assured Tomas, sounding uncharacteristically cold hearted as he smiled brightly. Henning yelped out in terror all the while, though everyone present, with the exception of Mina and Nac, found it easy to ignore.

"Hmph. But uh, discounting his face, don't you think that just… sniffing them as a greeting is a bit… invasive, Commander?" asked Gelgar, shrugging a little as Nanaba offered a mild nod in apparent agreement. Mike's response was to rub his chin thoughtfully as he stared between his two juniors, who simply stood upright as he stared at them.

"They don't seem to mind," reasoned Mike, and at that, Gelgar had to resist the urge to slam his head against the closest wall when he remembered that his Commander had said the exact same thing to him the last time he had pointed out the main issue with his sniffing habits! For as great as Zacharius was, he really wasn't one to give up his bad habits…

"I… I see… well if you say so…" was all Gelgar could respond with in a defeated tone of voice as he sighed, allowing Mike to continue on speaking to the two juniors that stood before him as though nothing had happened.

"Regardless, be at ease. Both of you," continued Mike, with him gesturing for the two younger soldiers before him to calm themselves as he sniffed a little and nodded in approval. "Much better. If I am not wrong, Gelgar and Nanaba have told you why you are here, yes?"

"Well, we just know that you need us to help you with something…" admitted Mina, with her scratching the back of her head as she spoke. At that, Mike glanced back at both Nanaba and Gelgar with a raised brow, to which they responded by looking away sheepishly and chuckling awkwardly, respectively.

"Dramatic tension, sir. It's very effective," explained Nanaba, sounding a little sarcastic as she looked away from her Commander, who would deny laughing a little as he nodded and turned back to speak to the juniors. As he did so, Tomas saw fit to release Henning's cheek and move to knock on the door that they were all gathered in front of, much to the latter's relief.

"I see. But, back on the matter at hand. Mina Carolina, Nac Tias. The two of you have been called here specifically to speak to a soldier that we have been assigned to oversee. We believe that the two of you can perhaps break him out of his current foul mood," explained Mike as Tomas gently rapped the back of his hand against the door.

"Erm… who exactly is… this person, exactly?" asked Mina, with her tone of voice reflecting her uncertainty on if she wanted to get an answer as a small pit of worry began to form in her stomach. She knew that Eren had been assigned to Team Levi, and by all means, there was only one other person within these walls that was important enough to be assigned to a Team as Elite as Team Mike…

To her side, Nac seemed to be coming to the same realizations as Mina, though neither of them voiced their thoughts as they watched their superior open his mouth to respond. However, before Mike could even say the person's name, the door that they were all standing in front of swung open, prompting everyone present to turn towards it and see…

"Mike," greeted Mikazuki flatly, with him raising a brow as he stared out at his superior. Vice versa, Zacharius simply stared back at him with an equally uninterested gaze, though he did, admittedly, raise a brow in amusement when he saw Lynne popped up from behind the pilot to stare at him from over the pilot's shoulder. Upon making eye contact, Lynne offered a mildly sheepish chuckle as she waved at her superior, one that wasn't mirrored as the Commander snorted.

"Mikazuki, Lynne," responded Mike with a mild nod, and at that, he stepped over to the side to allow the pilot to get a good look at the junior soldiers that were present. At first, Augus thought that he was seeing things as he blinked and rubbed the bridge of his eyes in apparent surprise, though thereafter, he confirmed that the Mina and Nac he was currently making eye contact with were not figments of his stressed imagination, and with that confirmed, the pilot turned towards Mike with narrowed eyes and grimaced at him with enough intensity that even his two friends(?) felt rather taken aback.

And though he was never one to admit to feeling intimidated, the narrow eyed glare that the pilot had sent his way was more than enough to make Mike flinch, if only a little.

"Why are they here?" demanded Mika, and for the briefest of moments, everyone present felt a surge of malicious intent pulse from Augus' smaller-in-comparison-to-theirs body. It was more than enough to tell them that he wasn't happy with seeing that his friends were present, though at the same time, it did bring some confirmation to their theory of Mina and Nac being close to the pilot.

At the same time, however, hearing their apparent friend say something like that did make the two recruits shrink down a little in dismay.

"Whoa now, calm down, Mika. We brought them here to talk to you," replied Henning, smiling a little as Tomas nodded in confirmation. Mika seemed rather confused by that statement as his glare faltered just a little, and as he processed Henning's words, Lynne wiggled her way out of his room as Nanaba gently pushed Mina and Nac towards it.

"For once, Henning said the correct thing. We brought them here to have a chat with you, Mikazuki Augus. We'll leave you kids to it. Best if we didn't disturb your little conversation, after all," added Nanaba, sounding somewhat hasty near the end of her comment as she gently shoved both of her juniors towards Mikazuki, with Mina stumbling forward while Nac tripped on his own two feet all the while. As a result of that, the former found her face slamming straight into Mika's chest while the latter would've fallen flat onto his face if the pilot had not sprung his arm out to grab his elbow, in turn saving him from kissing the ground. Noticing this, Nanaba rubbed her chin thoughtfully and nodded in apparent approval. "Decent reaction speed…"

"But hey, as Nanaba just said, we won't intrude on this so let's get out of here!" proclaimed Gelgar, and within the blink of an eye, the entirety of Team Mike had quite literally poofed out of existence to give the three of them a small moment of silence. The three soldiers seemed rather surprised at just how fast Team Mike had run off, though they were quick to dismiss it as they turned their attentions back to one another, with Mika casually hoisting Nac back up onto his feet while Mina hastily leapt away from Mikazuki.

If he took any offence to Mina's unexpected response to walking headfirst into his chest, the pilot certainly didn't show it as, for a brief few seconds, Mikazuki remained silent as he stared at his two friends uncertainly. Likewise, both Mina and Nac avoided direct eye contact with him as they remained silent, a lot more silent than Augus would've liked. Before long, however, Mika closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, prompting his two friends to blink a little at that, before he stepped back a little to allow his friends to enter his personal room.

"Erm… t-thanks…?" muttered Nac as he awkwardly shuffled past his apparent friend and into his room with a nervous expression that made Augus frown deeper than he usually did, and likewise, Mina did the same, with the young woman slowly shuffling her way past her friend as she entered his room, though as she brushed past the pilot, the two of them made eye contact with one another for the briefest of moments.

And in spite of his usually unflappable nature, Mikazuki couldn't help but slouch his shoulders down a little more than usual as his friend(?) walked right past him, though he was quick to force himself to refocus on the opportunity that has been presented to him as he shook his head and shut his door, with the silence that came after being rather deafening as the various members of Team Mike poked their heads out of a close by corner.

"Holy shit, that actually worked," quipt Henning, and thereafter, the soldier chuckled briefly as he glanced back at his fellow teammates, who remained silent as they stared at him. "So… what now?"

"We wait."

Silence was something that Mika was quite fond of.

Though regular conversations were certainly not beyond him, the pilot still preferred to be surrounded by tranquil silence and not bombastic rowdiness. Of course, neither of his friends really considered that fact as they were all keen on talking to him until he gave in and humoured them with a response, though for the most part, they would respect his preference for silence and give him some space.

Of course, with that being said, Mikazuki's preference for the unsaid only went so far, and now, as they stood mere metres away from each other, the pilot silently lamented the fact that silence was not a good combination with either Mina or Nac.

Ever since they had entered his room, neither Mina nor Nac had uttered even a word to Mikazuki as they remained content with remaining silent, with the former sitting rather comfortably atop Mikazuki's bed while the latter stood by the side with his back leaned against a wall. Mikazuki himself was also leaning against a wall on the far side of the room with his head bowed down just enough to shield his eyes from view. By all means, he'd much prefer being closer to his friends… though he had a feeling that right now, being too close to them was ill-advised.

From time to time, either Mina or Nac would, at the very least, glance in Mika's general direction for the briefest of moments, with the pilot having made eye contact with the former at least once, though their brief moment of eye contact was very quickly broken when Carolina turned away from Augus and focused on some other thing in the room. That gesture in itself was more than enough to make Mika's heart plummet a few feet as his frown deepened just a little, though he forced himself to dismiss it as he glanced over at Nac.

Whilst Mina occupied herself by looking at the ground in silence, Nac found himself staring out of the room window, up at the night sky, with apparent interest as he did his best to keep his attention away from Mikazuki. Evidently enough, however, he wasn't trying hard enough as his gaze would always move back towards the pilot in question, and as with Mina, Tias inevitably found himself unintentionally making eye contact with Mikazuki, and at that, he stiffened and gulped a little.

Unlike Mina, however, Nac did not break eye contact with Mikazuki… or at least, he didn't do so immediately, as he kept his gaze fixed firmly onto Mika's for a brief few moments. The pilot could quite easily tell that Nac didn't trust him as much as he used to, and that in itself was… fine, for the most part. Though he didn't like it, he had fully expected them to trust him much less when they were to meet again, after all.

Vice versa, however, Nac found himself narrowing his eyes to a certain extent, with the taller young man attempting to see through Augus' firm and resolute exterior and get some answers in regards to who he really was, though before long, he widened them back to their usual size when he realized that to do so would be impossible. Even before his secret was unveiled, Mika has always been impossible to get a read on, and as soon as he remembered that, Tias slouched his shoulders down a little and crossed his arms.

"What… are you, Mikazuki…?" whispered Nac in utter confusion beneath his breath as he closed his eyes thoughtfully, though evidently, though Mika was unable to hear what he had said, he did notice how Nac's lips had moved, and thereafter, he raised a brow in curiosity.

"Did you say something, Nac?" asked Mika, and upon hearing him, of all people break the silence, both Mina and Nac noticeably flinched, though to their credit, they were also quick to recover as the guy in question scratched the back of his neck as he chuckled awkwardly. Mina gave him a somewhat worried look as she watched him think of a response to Augus' question.

"W-Well… no. M-Must've been the wind!" replied Nac, sounding incredibly sheepish as he waved his hands around dismissively. The smile he had on was almost enough to make Mika smile a little as he nodded. Tias never was one to lie to anyone, and it really showed, though the pilot didn't have it in him to call him out on that fact as he opted to dismiss the issue for now.

But even so…

"Ah…" began Mika, frowning as he looked between Mina and Nac. By then, Mina had already turned her attention away from Augus and was looking back at the floor, though as for Nac, the taller guy was still staring at him. The pilot was quick to realize that he had just, unintentionally, given himself an opportunity to actually speak to them, and he wasn't about to waste it as he continued speaking, with him saying the first thing that came to mind. "... you're Survey Corps now, huh?"

The surprise was rather apparent on both Nac and Mina's faces as the latter quickly turned up to glance at her friend, and for a brief moment, the two of them seemed ready to ignore the pilot, though, as Mika had expected, Tias' overly friendly and kind demeanor won out, as he offered Mikazuki a small smile before he responded.

"Erm… yeah, w-we are," replied Nac, gesturing a little unnecessarily with his hands as he spoke. The pilot nodded in response to Nac's answer, and at that, he glanced up at the upper arms of his friends, only to raise a brow when he saw that the emblems that were stuck on their military jacket sleeves were still those of a Trainees.

"Your jacket symbols. They're still the Trainee emblem," pointed out Mika, and in response to his comment, Nac and Mina instinctively glanced over at the sleeves of their military jackets, with the former chuckling a tiny bit while the latter said nothing.

"Well… yeah. The military brigades haven't been free recently. They've been all around the place, and they don't have enough time to give us our official attire," explained Nac, with his tone of voice slowly but surely going from rather tense to mostly casual with each passing word, much to Mika's relief. "We've been told that we'll be getting our new jackets by the end of the week, though."

Mika's response to Nac was a mild grunt of acknowledgement, with the pilot rubbing his chin a little as he continued on speaking. This wasn't exactly like him, to be the one to start conversations as often as this, though then again… he has changed quite a lot ever since he got to this god forsaken world…

"Have the two of you been alright…?" continued Mika, and though it was faint, there was, at the very least, a tiny bit of genuine worry audible in his voice as he spoke, and at that, both Mina and Nac raised their brows as they began to wonder if Mika was… mocking them. The pilot seemed to notice this rather quickly, however, as he added on to his question. "The soldiers. They're treating you alright?"

"Oh! Erm… yeah. Ness is pretty uptight but he's pretty nice, and Sys takes care of us pretty well," assured Nac, offering a small thumbs up as he spoke. Augus nodded in response to all tha. The knowledge of his friends(?) being in supposedly good hands was enough to ease his worries as he turned away from Nac and began to wonder what else he could possibly speak of.

As he did so, however, Mika found his gaze wandering over towards Mina, and to his surprise, he saw that she was staring right back at him. The two of them maintained eye contact for quite some time before the young woman broke it, and at that point, Augus grimaced when he realized that Mina's eyes… they held no small amount of fear in them. The young woman was afraid of him… and if he were who he was five years prior, Mikazuki wouldn't have cared.

But he wasn't, and as a result… the pilot couldn't stop himself from grimacing rather deeply as he exhaled sharply, catching Nac's attention while Mina kept her gaze averted from the pilot. For a brief few seconds, Nac kept his mouth open, if only a little, as he wondered if he should ask his friend a question, though before he could decide on if it was a good idea, Mika spoke up, and though it wasn't too noticeable, the pilot's voice did have a mild tremor behind it as he spoke.

"You two have questions, don't you…?" asked Mika, and in response to his claim, Nac bit his lower lip and looked away, giving away his true intentions almost immediately as the pilot nodded. Opening his mouth, the young man was read to continue speaking, though right as his lips parted, Carolina cut him off.

"A lot of them," replied Mina, speaking the first few words ever since the last time they met face to face. As she spoke, Mina stood herself up from Mika's bed and stood up straight, and though the two of them stood nearly two metres apart from each other, the pilot could still sense more than a small amount of hostility directed towards him from Mina, though he wasn't about to point that out as he nodded.

"I… owe you two some explanations, at least. I'll answer whatever you want," said Mika, and for a brief moment, neither Mina nor Nac said anything in response as they judged his sincerity. Before long, however, they decided to trust him enough to hear him out as both Tias and Carolina nodded.

"Well, in that case, let me just start with the one question that's been nagging at me for the longest amount of time…" began Nac, frowning deeply as his tone of voice drastically shifted from his usual polite tone to a much more serious one, and for as neutral as Mika tended to be, the pilot found himself wincing at just how… off his friend(?) sounded when he was being completely serious, though he shook it off rather quickly as he nodded, prompting Tias to continue speaking. "Why did you keep this from us, Mikazuki?"

For a brief moment, Mika found himself unable to answer Nac's question as he raised a brow and tilted his head in confusion. It was such a simple question… but the pilot had no true answer to it as his brain did its best to process it. Why did he keep it from them…? Why did he keep the truth about Barbatos and his true nature from his friends for so long?

"... you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you," replied Mika after a short while of silence, frowning a little as both Mina and Nac processed his response. It was a logical conclusion, all things considered, as the first response anyone within these walls would have to being told that their friend piloted a massive 18.8 metre tall machine was to consider their claim to be nothing more than a joke. But even so…

"You could've just shown us the thing, you know…?" countered Mina, with some hints of betrayal cracking through her voice as she took a step towards Mikazuki and spread her hands out a little to place some emphasis on her words. "We… we would've believed you if you'd shown us."

"Then you'll run," retorted Mika, with him sounding as though he were stating the obvious as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and stood at his full height. And, though he was by no means a giant, far from it in fact, Mika was still tall enough that he could look down at Mina with his neutral gaze, and within seconds, the young woman stepped back as he continued. "You'd be scared. You'd have run. You would have told the Garrison. And I wouldn't be talking to either of you today."

"Y-You don't know that!" countered Mina, sounding rather bewildered that her integrity was being scrutinised. Despite all that, however, she knew, deep down, that Mikazuki was telling the truth. If he had told them about Barbatos all those years back, they would've called him crazy, and if he did show them his Mobile Suit… well, they would have most likely reported him to the soldiers right there and then out of fear. But even so… she didn't wish to think of it that way as she shook her head in denial. "We would never report you to the Garrison, no matter what!"

No response from Mika this time, with him simply giving Mina a stare that questioned her words. At that, Carolina stepped back as she felt a small amount of guilt crawl up her chest, though before she could do much else, she felt a hand rest atop her shoulder, prompting her to turn her attention upwards and see that Nac had his hand atop his shoulder. The taller soldier offered her a small smile before he removed his hand and cleared his throat quietly.

"No… Mika's right on this one," muttered Nac, with his smile turning into a frown as he spoke directly to Mikazuki, whose own frown noticeably deepened as he made eye contact with his friend(?). To see a frown on Nac's face just felt… wrong, to say the least, though for now, he dismissed the thought as he allowed Tias to continue speaking. "We would have reported you to the Garrison," Mina wanted to step forward and speak her mind at this point, though Nac stopped her and continued. "Because that's what we humans do when we're frightened. We act on impulse. We move without thinking. We hurt others without knowing…"

As his friend finished his mild tangent, Mika couldn't help but raise his brows in surprise as he stared at his friend in disbelief. Likewise, Nac appeared to also be taken aback by what he had just said, and thereafter, he sighed and crossed his arms and continued speaking.

"But… with that being said… we… we trusted you, Mikazuki," continued Nac, frowning deeply as he spoke. "We put a lot of faith into you… and though I myself understand why you kept this a secret from us… you have to understand why my trust in you isn't exactly what it once was, right?"

"Ah. I understand," assured Mika as he nodded, and to anyone else, he would've sounded as he usually did, passive and uncaring, though to Nac and Mina, they could tell that Mikazuki was, at the very least, a little disheartened by Tias' words, though before long, the pilot turned to look at Mina, with him quite obviously expecting her to say something similar to Nac all the while, and though she shrunk a little under his gaze, she eventually complied.

"I… I'm with Nac on this. I… I just don't know what to think of you right now, you know…? There's just so much to process, a-and… and I need more time to come to terms with everything…" muttered Mina as she rubbed her upper left arm awkwardly, and as with Nac, Mika simply offered an understanding nod as he released a breath that he didn't even know that he was holding back.

So they didn't hate him completely… or at the very least, Mina and Nac didn't hate him completely. He couldn't say the same for Annie and, by all means, he didn't know if Mrs Carolina knew about all this just yet. That was a plus, to say the least, and all he needed to do was earn back their trust…

"But let's just make one thing clear, Mika…" continued Mina, with her previously awkward tone of voice fading away in favor of a more serious one, and though she was never really known to be a serious person, Augus had to admit, whenever she wished to sound serious, she could pull it off rather well… "No more lies. No more half truths… alright? We want nothing but the truth from you from now on… you got that?"

By all means, for Mina to be demanding something from someone like Mika was rather… laughable, in a way. Here was a young woman, one who had just graduated from being a Cadet only days ago, no less, making some rather demanding requests from the young man who possessed the most powerful piece of equipment within these walls. If she were anyone else, Mikazuki would've completely disregarded her request with nothing more than a wave of a hand. He would have owed them nothing, after all, much less the truth.

And yet, the fact that it was Mina, and by proxy Nac as well, who was making this request changed everything. Mina, Nac… Annie and Mrs Carolina… they were quite literally the only reason as to why he was still going in this god forsaken world. Without them, he would've probably put a bullet through his skull long ago, and as such, he owed them a lot. One might argue that he even owed them his life.

Slowly but surely, Mika nodded in response to Mina's request, and thereafter, the young woman blinked in surprise at just how easy it was to convince him to be completely truthful with him. Sure, he could just be lying to them, but they were willing to put what remained of their faith in him as they sighed in near unison and nodded.

"Alright… that's good, because we still have several questions that really need answers, y'know?" quipt Nac, with him speaking in a more casual tone of voice to relieve the tension in the room. It worked quite well, as, upon speaking, the air in the room suddenly became a lot less heavy as both Mina and Mika turned and looked at him, with the former nodding in agreement while the latter just stared expectantly, and at that, Nac cleared his throat. "Well, first and foremost… Barbatos…"

As he nodded in response to Nac's question, Mika jerked his head a little to the side, with him gesturing towards a chair that was situated near the room door. Tias was quick to realize what Mika was getting at, as he jogged towards the chair, dragged it over and sat on it. The damn thing was too small for someone as tall as Nac, though he wasn't about to complain as he got a bit comfortable. As for Mina, she simply sat down on Mika's bed.

"So… you're gonna just stand there…?" asked Nac, and when he received nothing more than a deadpanned look from Augus, the taller guy chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, of course you are."

A mild scoff was Mika's verbal response to Nac as he rolled his eyes in a somewhat sarcastic manner, though not long after, the pilot closed them as he began to try and remember the finer details behind what Barbatos was, exactly. It took him a lot longer than he'd like to do so, though before long, he reopened his eyes and responded.

"Barbatos is my Gundam. My Mobile Suit," replied Mika, and with that, he paused briefly as he allowed Mina and Nac to process what he had just said. They both appeared confused as to what a Mobile Suit even was, though that was understandable. Mikazuki didn't use the term to describe Barbatos during his trial, after all.

"Alright… so you weren't lying when you said that it wasn't a Titan, huh?" asked Nac for clarity's sake. Mika's response was a quick shake of his head, and to that, Tias winced a little. "Alright then… in that case… what's a Mobile Suit, exactly?"

"It's…" began Mika, only to trail off when he realized that he too didn't know how to answer that question properly. Of course, he eventually found a way to rectify that little issue as he spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "It's a machine that I control."

"A machine… well, I guess that explains why it doesn't move when you're not in it," pointed out Mina, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she stared at her… friend in curiosity. The young woman scanned him up and down carefully for a brief few seconds before she slapped her hands together, confusing both Mika and Nac all the while. "Ok, now I have to know… how do you even control this… machine of yours? I heard that you emerge from its heart… but what exactly goes on in there, anyways?"

"I just sit in Barbatos' cockpit and connect to him with my Alaya-Vijnana system," replied Mika sounding somewhat nonchalant about the whole situation as he spoke. As for Mina and Nac, however, they found themselves confused as to what the Alaya-Vijnana system even was, and upon noticing their confused stares, the young pilot closed his eyes, exhaled sharply and continued speaking. "You two remember my spines?"

"Oh… your spines? The spinal defects…?" muttered Nac, sounding a little unsure on if he should continue speaking as he always found the topic of Mikazuki's three Alaya-Vijnana spines to be a sensitive one. Not because Mika had said so, mind you, but more because it just didn't feel right to talk about his oddities so freely. In response to that, however, Mika simply nodded as though they were talking about the weather.

"I… lied to you two about them. I wasn't born with them," began Mika, with him opening his eyes to see both his friends(?) were now looking at him with raised brows, though by all means, they didn't look too surprised at this point as Mina spoke up.

"O...kay? What… do you mean by that? Like… you got them surgically implanted or something?" asked Mina, with a small amount of sarcasm audible in her voice as she spoke.

Within these walls, surgery was considered to be something that only those within Sina could have the privilege of experiencing. Though they were incredibly primitive, the richer residents of these walls could always afford to amputate an infected limb and have them be replaced by a prosthetic if they so chose to. Surgery and implants were also a thing, though they were usually very crude and life threatening, and as a result of this aforementioned knowledge, Mina did genuinely believe that Mikazuki was sharing some elaborate, and perhaps a bit tasteless, joke.

And as a result, as soon as they saw him nod in agreement with Carolina's statement, both Mina and Nac felt the colour leave their faces as they stared at Mika in shock.

"W-Wait, you're serious…?" muttered Mina, with her eyes wide and mouth agape as she asked. The shock was rather apparent in her voice, and likewise, Nac stared at Mika in bewilderment as they watched him offer yet another nod, and almost immediately after, Mina stood up and took a step towards her friend out of protective instinct. "W-Why did… who… w-why…?!"

"Because I couldn't reach the place where I belong without my Alaya-Vijnana system," replied Mika, with him smiling rather fondly at a distant memory as he spoke. His smile slowly faded away, however, as he remembered that he could no longer support the one person who had given him the will to move on, and thereafter, he continued. "The surgery was risky, but it didn't matter. In the end, I took it three times and made it out alive."

"T-THREE TIMES?!" proclaimed Nac, sounding beyond disbelief at this point as he took a step towards his shorter friend. When he realized that he had raised his voice, however, the young man stepped back and looked towards the ground awkwardly. "T-Three times… that… that must have cost a lot… huh?"

"No. It didn't," replied Mika, frowning deeply as his friends appeared confused at the revelation. He mostly ignored them for now, however, as he clenched his fists tightly…

"It's free, kid. You can have the surgery as many times as you'd like. Sure, you'll more than likely die whilst having it, but that's not my problem."

"Go ahead, cry! Cry as loudly as you'd like! It'll make for some good music while we drill open your back!"

"Back again, huh? You've got some balls, kid, to get two of those systems installed into your back!"

"Third time's the charm? You crazy lil' bastard, you must have the devil's luck or something!"

"Mikazuki…?"

Blinking as his name was called, Mikazuki found himself snapping out of his trance-like state as he turned his attention back towards his two friends. The young man was surprised to see that both Mina and Nac were now standing directly in front of him with worried looks on their faces, though they noticeably relaxed when they saw that their friend had snapped back to reality.

Even so, as soon as he saw just how close they were to him, Mika flinched a little and looked between his two friends. Likewise, both Mina and Nac seemed to realize just how much of his personal space they were invading as they stepped back a little, only stopping when they were standing roughly half a metre away from him.

"S-Sorry, didn't mean to get all up in your face like that," apologised Mina as she waved her hands awkwardly. Likewise, Nac nodded a little as he scratched the back of his neck with one hand while the other gestured towards Mika in a sheepish manner.

"Yeah… you just… stopped moving for a while, y'know? We got… worried…" added Nac, sounding a little apologetic as he trailed off near the end, and though it was faint, a small smile could just barely be seen appearing on Mika's face as he stared at his taller friend, who found himself a little surprised at that.

Both Mina and Nac still seemed to care for him in some way. That in itself was… rather nice to know, so to speak, though the pilot shook it off as he held a hand up to calm his friends down. The gesture wasn't exactly enough to make them calm down completely, though it was just enough to make them less tense as they nodded.

"I'm fine. Just… remembering some things," assured Mika, frowning a little as his friends nodded awkwardly and stared at him with uncertain gazes. They didn't seem that comfortable with asking him any other questions after learning about how he had gotten his spines, though Mina, seemingly without thinking, piped up before she could stop herself.

"W-Why, though…?" inquired Mina softly, sounding rather worried as she tapped her index fingers together. Mika raised a brow at that, signifying that he heard her question as he turned towards her, though before he could answer, Mina waved her hands around dismissively. "Y-You heard me, huh… w-well… you d-don't have to answer if you don't want to…"

"I already told you that I wouldn't keep anything from you. You asked a question, so I'll answer," stated Mika, with him closing his eyes as he exhaled sharply before Nac spoke up.

"You said something about… reaching the place you belong?" muttered Nac, and in response, Mika opened his eyes and nodded.

"Ah. I needed the Alaya-Vijnana system to become stronger," replied Mika, short and simple as he looked between his friends. "Where I came from, you can't afford to be weak. I used to be weak, and I almost died. After that, I learnt how to survive with a friend, and I slowly became stronger with his help."

"Well… w-where did you come from, exactly?" asked Mina, sounding genuinely curious and perhaps just a little concerned about where the pilot was born as she scratched the back of her neck. If she were honest, the place where Mika had come from sounded very similar to the descriptions of Wall Maria and its various districts prior to its fall, and by all means, she had expected him to say that he came from Maria as she was led to believe.

However, she found herself quickly corrected when Mika told her the truth and nothing more.

"Mars. I was born on Mars, Chryse," replied Mika after he took a short while to remember the name of the city he remembered being born in. His two friends were, understandably, confused beyond belief as they looked at each other and back at him.

"Is that… a village in Maria?" asked Nac, confused as he spoke. In response, Mika shook his head and dropped quite a bomb on his friends.

"It's another planet," replied Mika, with him staring out of the window rather fondly as he spoke. Upon hearing that, however, both Mina and Nac went silent as they took a few seconds, or even a full minute, to process what they had just heard.

The term planet wasn't exactly widespread within the Walls. That in itself was understandable, however, they knew nothing but the walls, and by all means, the walls themselves could be considered a planet to their inhabitants. Even so… various books that were labeled as blasphemy by the Wall Cults did mention how they were all residing on a massive rock floating in space that was known as a planet.

Though not exactly easy to find, Nac has read up on a book that spoke about this whole 'planet' theory during his Cadet days. Someone had snuck one of the books into the Training Brigade library, it would seem, and Tias made sure that, after he had read it from front to back, he hid it as perfectly as he possibly could before rushing off to tell his friends about what he had just learnt.

Of course, Nac himself didn't exactly think that the whole planet theory held much substance as he was blissfully unaware of anything and everything that happened beyond these walls. The same could be said for Mina… and as such, it probably isn't that surprising when the two of them appeared… unconvinced with Mika's statement, with Nac himself chuckling awkwardly as he finger gunned his shorter friend.

"H-Heh… nice one, Mika! I always knew you had a sense of humor somewhere in there!" praised Nac uncertainly as he finger gunned his friend, with him seeming to be completely convinced that his friend was telling some out of left field joke. Before long, however, Tias realized that Mika was, in fact, not laughing along with him… not that he even laughed anyways, and judging by that look on his face, he wasn't telling a joke either. "Oh… y-you're being completely serious…"

"Ah," was Mika's response to Nac's question as he offered a mild shrug to show that he was, in fact, not making a joke. In response to that, both Carolina and Tias took a handful of seconds to process this new bit of info, and before long, Mina had to step back and take a seat on her friend's bed as she buried her face in her hands. Likewise, Nac found it rather hard to stare at his friend for longer than a handful of seconds as he processed what he was just told, with his face contorted into a mixture of disbelief and amazement.

"Alright… look… Mika… no offence but… you do realize that what you just said is… hard to believe, right?" muttered Mina, with her still unable to fully process and come to terms with what she was just told as the pilot offered her an understanding nod of his head. By all means, if he were in their shoes and had been told that his friends were from another planet… he probably would've found it hard to believe them as well…

"I know. I sound crazy, but it's the truth," assured Mika as he waved Mina off. At first, his friends appeared to be rather surprised at how casually the pilot had shrugged off the fact that they didn't believe him, though before long, the remembered who they were talking to, and as a result, Nac couldn't help but chuckle a little as Mina rubbed her upper arm awkwardly. "You don't have to believe me, of course. That's your choice."

"Yeah… we know, but honestly, you don't sound like you're lying…" admitted Nac as he crossed his arms, sounding somewhat apprehensive as he bit his lower lip. This time, it was Mika's turn to appear surprised as he perked his ears up in response to Nac's comment, though he quickly went back to normal not long after as Tias continued to speak. "Even so… you gotta understand that… uh… it's hard to believe you 100%. Even before all this happened, we would've had a hard time accepting what you had just said, y'know…?"

"I know," assured Mika dismissively as he waved Nac off, and with that said, the pilot went silent as he patiently waited for another possible question, though before any others came, he heard a soft, adorable yawn come from Mina, prompting the two guys in the room to turn their attention over to the girl in question, who blushed rather intensely as she attempted to cover up the red present on her face.

Nac couldn't help but chuckle a little as he stared at Mina's flustered state, though vice versa, Mika stared out of the room window and exhaled sharply when he remembered that it was honestly rather late. If he had to make a rough estimation, it had to be a little over midnight by now, and by all means, both Mina and Nac were meant to be resting, especially after all the training that they've gone through for the day.

Evidently, Mina had noticed how Mika was staring at her with a raised brow, as she was quick to puff her cheeks out and cross her arms.

"I… I'm alright!" defended Mina as she pouted, though it was rather clear to both of her friends that she wasn't being truthful as she suppressed another yawn. Likewise, Nac rubbed at his eyes a little as he offered a faint smile, chuckling all the while.

"Perhaps, but even so, it's late. By all means, we oughta be going now," reminded Nac as he gently patted his friend over the head, much to her dismay as Carolina's pout deepend.

"But I still have questions… lots of them!" complained Mina as she swatted Nac's hand off to the side and pointed a finger towards Mika, who frowned quite a bit as he, admittedly, didn't know how to diffuse the situation properly. Damn his lack of social skills…

Thankfully enough, however, he did have Nac to help him, and help him he did, as the taller guy was able to cut in before Mina could get too whiny.

"Calm down, Mina. We can just come see him some other time, y'know? Team Mike brought us here the other day, after all. Maybe they'll give us another chance to see him in the future…?" pointed out Nac with an assuring smile, and to his credit, Mina did seem to believe him a little, and seeing that her stance was faltering, Tias continued on speaking. "I doubt Mika'll be heading off anytime soon, after all. You don't have to worry about him just vanishing out of thin air again."

"Alright alright, fine… I'll leave for now…" grumbled Mina in defeat as she glared lightly at Nac and made her way towards the door. As she got ready to open it, however, she turned and glanced over at Mika, who blinked a little when they made eye contact. Oddly enough, the young woman appeared to be a little… shy as she spoke to him. "Hey, stay safe… alright…? I still want to hear more about this… Mars that you claim to come from… among other things."

"Ah. stay safe," echoed Mika with a nod, and with that, Mina opened the door and saw herself out. Nac and Mika followed thereafter, with the former stepping out of the latter's room before he paused to look at his friend.

"No more secrets, alright?" reminded Nac, sounding rather serious as Mika pursed his lips together in response to his reminder.

"The only secrets I've kept from you are only about Barbatos and where I came from. Everything else that I've told you has been the truth," defended Mika, and in response to that, Nac smiled a little and gently punched his smaller friend's shoulder.

"I… I'll hold you to those words, Mika," quipt Nac, with his voice telling Mikazuki that he didn't completely trust him just yet, but he was willing to allow the pilot to earn it back. Augus found quite a bit of solace in that as he nodded in response to Tias' words, and not long after, the taller guy found himself walking off as well, with him waving goodbye to his friend all the while.

Watching them walk off like that was rather… saddening to the pilot as he stopped waving and stared down at his hand uncertainly. Frowning a little as he did so, the pilot turned his attention back towards his leaving friends just in time to see Mina look back at him with a small smile on her face. The young woman offered one last wave before she disappeared behind a corner, and with that, the pilot found that his frown was slowly but surely being replaced with a small smile.

"Stay safe, you two," mumbled Mika under his breath as he stepped back into his room and shut the door behind him, with him ignoring the whispers that came from outside his door all the while as he turned his attention towards the night sky. "You too, Annie."

And off within the confines of Sina, a blonde woman sneezed a little as her fellow Military Police Brigadier stared at her in indifference.

"You alright, Ann?" asked the soldier as she smiled teasingly, and in response, Annie Leonhardt simply narrowed her eyes at her, with the blonde not appreciating how her new surbordinate was using that nickname of hers so casually.

"Shut up, Hitch."

Two weeks later

Evidently enough, neither Mina nor Nac had been given any permission to visit Mikazuki, much to their dismay.

Two weeks had passed since the three of them had reunited for the first time since prior to the Trost incident, and thereafter, no more visits were permitted to the two as they had to contend with various security issues in regards to visiting the pilot as well as their education under both Ness and Sys. To their credit, however, when they learnt about the legitimacy behind Mina and Nac's connection to Mikazuki, the two of them did at least make a few attempts to allow them to visit their friend, though unfortunately, they timed most of their attempts wrongly, as whenever their requests were granted, all two times, Team Mike would be too busy to take their request.

This had left Mina and Nac rather pissed off, to say the least, as, despite the fact that they trusted him a little less now, they still cared for the pilot and wished to see him for themselves. Even so, they still understood why they weren't allowed to see him, and as such, they resisted the urge to just sneak out to see him themselves as they remained patient.

To a lesser extent, the isolation from those that he cared for the most in this god forsaken world had also made Mika rather… restless, to say the least. The pilot didn't show his restlessness much, however, as he knew better than to cause a scene in front of Team Mike. To help ease his restlessness, the pilot ended up training more and more with and without his maneuver gear.

Then came the news from Erwin in regards to the Preliminary Expedition. The blonde commander had recalled the members of Team Levi and Mike, plus Mika and Eren, to his office to inform them that the Expedition party would be sent out in roughly two days. This gave them enough time to psyche themselves out for their mission as he dismissed them, allowing them to offer their families one last farewell if they wished to do so. The members of Team Levi gratefully accepted Erwin's proposal, though vice versa, Team Mike did not.

Not like they had anyone outside of each other to care for anyways.

However, as the team began to exit Erwin's office, their junior began to walk away from the main group, and though his separation was subtle at first, it eventually became impossible to ignore as the Elite team turned their attentions toward Mikazuki as he veered towards the eastern side of Trost.

"And where do you think you're going, Mikazuki?" asked Henning as his team stopped walking in favour of staring over at the pilot. The soldier crossed his arms and glared at Mika, with him fully expecting the pilot to stop walking after hearing his voice. Sure, Mikazuki hasn't exactly shown much respect to the various members of Team Mike, though at the very least, Henning thought that Augus would realize that if they wanted to, they could very easily drag him back to base.

Of course, what Henning wasn't expecting to happen was to get literally no response from the pilot as he simply continued to walk eastwards, something that made the soldier clench his fist and grit his teeth indignantly, with a vein appearing atop his forehead all the while out of sheer anger.

"Why that little-" began Henning, furious that Mika didn't even turn around to acknowledge him as he stepped forward, though before he could take another, he felt a hand go over his shoulder, prompting him to turn around to see Mike holding him back.

"Calm down, Henning," instructed Mike, frowning a little as he glanced between his soldiers with an apprehensive look. Turning back towards Mika, the Elite took in a deep sniff and acknowledged that wherever Mika was going, he wasn't about to let anyone stop him, and if they did, they'd probably get an ass whooping. Though they could very easily take him down, they didn't want to risk losing their biggest asset, and as such…

The Elite was quick to look between his subordinates, frowning as he cast his gaze down upon all of them. He wished for at least one of them to follow the pilot, though he was unsure as to who would be up to the task. Henning was out of the question, and likewise, Gelgar was also ill advised. Lynne and Tomas were the ideal candidates for this, seeing as how Mika seemed to have at least some modicum of respect for the two of them, though unfortunately the two of them had business with some other soldiers who were developing upgraded variants of maneuver gear.

And with everyone eliminated, that only left two people, Mike and Nanaba, and as luck would have it, Mike too was needed elsewhere for a private meeting between himself, Levi and Erwin, which only left one person to do the dirty work…

"Nanaba. Follow him."

Upon hearing her name be mentioned, Nanaba, after giving her superior a somewhat baffled look, quickly straightened herself and, somewhat begrudgingly, saluted in spite of her shock. Thereafter, the soldier swiftly sprinted after Mika, with the other members of Team Mike appearing confused as to why Mike had chosen Nanaba specifically to tail Mikazuki, especially Henning and Gelgar.

After all, out of all of them, Nanaba seemed to have the worst relationship with the pilot, with her coming close to being openly hostile towards him at one point. Opening their mouths, the other members of Team Mike were about to question their superior, though he was quick to shut them down as he motioned for them to follow him.

"We have work to do, all of you. Leave them be."

Meanwhile

Mika knew that Nanaba was tailing him long before she had moved to walk by his side, though he didn't say anything to dissuade her as she did nothing to make her presence known to him outside of walking into his peripheral vision.

As they walked, neither bothered to initiate a conversation as they kept their focus on the road, or in Nanaba's case, she kept her eyes on both the road and on Mika to make sure that he wasn't attempting anything. Of course, unbeknownst to Nanaba the pilot wasn't planning anything in particular as he just kept on walking, with him leading the two of them down several turns and over a bridge at one point, with him only stopping in his tracks once the two of them were in front of a rather plain looking house.

The Elite soldier was noticeably confused as to why Mika had come here of all places, though she didn't say anything as she watched the pilot pull one of his hands out of his jacket pocket and stare at it uncertainly. Nanaba raised her brows rather noticeably when she saw that Augus' hand was shaking rather intensely before he clenched it into a fist, though before she could think much more of it, the young man slammed the side of his fist against the door thrice, with him using just enough force to make the door shudder a little with each strike.

For a brief moment, nothing could be heard as Mika and Nanaba waited patiently, or at least the former waited patiently as the latter seemed more confused than anything. Not long after, however, the two of them could hear footsteps from inside the house, prompting Nanaba to bite her lower lip uncertainly as Mika remained silent, with him mentally psyching himself up for what was to come. The pilot would've been lying if he claimed that he didn't think of just walking off before the owner of this house could reach the door to save him some emotional anguish, though ultimately, he remained firmly rooted to the spot as the door cracked open a little.

Through the crack in the doorway, the person who opened it peeked out with an uncertain gaze. The person first saw Nanaba, and upon making eye contact with her, the person widened their visible eye as they opened the door a little wider, allowing the Elite soldier to see that they were a woman, an anxious looking one at that. "H-Hello there… i-is this about the missing person's report I filed into the Military Brigades the other day… ma'am?"

Upon hearing what she had just said, Nanaba took a second or two to remember that following the Trost incident, the Military Brigades, or more specifically the Garrison, had taken it upon themselves to try and find various people who had gone missing during the whole ordeal, with them even allowing the general public to file in missing person reports to help them figure out who was missing. It was, for the most part, a fruitless endeavour as only three out of five hundred and thirty four of the missing people reported to them were found, though that didn't mean that the people who had filed them had given up hope.

The woman that was staring out at Nanaba seemed to be hoping that she would bring her some good news, though unfortunately for her, the blonde didn't even know who she was referring to as she bit her lower lip. By all means, this wasn't her problem, but to see someone as stressed out as the woman currently was, well… it was rather heartbreaking, but even so… she had to tell her the truth.

"My apologies, miss, but I-" began Nanaba, though she was quickly cut off when Mikazuki placed a hand against the door, effectively silencing the Elite soldier as the pilot gently pushed it further open, and at that, woman behind the door finally noticed him, and within a blink of an eye, her eyes began to sparkle as though she was seeing mankind's victory over the Titans for herself. And as for Nanaba herself, her confusion began to show as she looked between the pilot and the woman in confusion. "Mikazuki…?"

"Hey there, mum," greeted Mika, with his tone of voice processing a mixture of casual, awkward and perhaps just a bit of fear as he offered a light wave of his hand, though before anything else could be said, and long before Nanaba could even process this new bit of information, the door to the Carolina household had quite literally swung inwardly open with enough force to make the entire building shudder a little, allowing Mrs Carolina sprung out and wrapped her arms around her son's tiny-in-comparison-to-hers body.

Nanaba was, rightfully, surprised by this sudden development as she stood a respectable distance away from her junior and his apparent mother, and in the meantime, the pilot found his face squished against Mrs Carolina's as she began to shed tears of joy.

A short while later

"Once again, miss Nanaba, I cannot thank you enough for bringing Mikazuki back to me. You and your team."

As she said her thanks to Nanaba, the woman in question couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as she nodded. Technically speaking she wasn't exactly here to bring Augus back to her, but even so… it didn't hurt to accept some praise, she supposed.

Currently, Nanaba was sitting atop a rather old armchair while Mrs Carolina and Mikazuki sat atop their incredibly old couch. The pilot himself sat a respectable distance away from his surrogate mother as she continuously thanked Nanaba for bringing him back to her safely, with the woman gently stroking his hair every so often as she spoke. The sight was more than enough to make Nanaba a little envious of the pilot, though she said nothing about that as she nodded to Mrs Carolina.

"As a member of the Military Brigades, it is our duty to ensure that we bring as many soldiers as we possible back to their families," stated Nanaba as she attempted to brush off Mrs Carolina's thanks. However, that didn't seem to do much as the older woman waved Nanaba off as she giggled gently and stroked her surrogate son's hair gently. "I was simply doing my duty, nothing more."

"Nonsense! Duty or not, you still brought Mikazuki back to me, and as a mother, I cannot thank you enough!" retorted Mrs Carolina as she stood from her seat and clapped her hands together. As she did so, the woman began to march towards the small kitchen area of the house. "At the very least, allow me to get you something to drink! Tea, perhaps?"

"Oh, it's quite alright. Your son and I were-" began Nanaba, with her respectfully waving off Mrs Carolina's offer, though before she could finish her sentence, Mika cut her off.

"We'll stay for a little longer, mum. Nanaba prefers coffee, too. Add a lot of sugar," cut off Mika, sounding completely neutral as he spoke. Mrs Carolina giggled a little at that as she whispered something about how Annie seemed to prefer her coffee like that as well before she jogged off, and once she was out of earshot, Nanaba was quick to glare at Mika intensely.

"What are you doing? We're supposed to be heading back to our base," chastised Nanaba, narrowing her eyes as she spoke. Mika's response was rather simple, as he leaned back on his couch and crossed his arms.

"We can go back later. I want to spend time with my mum," muttered Mika, frowning as he sharpened his gaze to match Nanaba's glare. Their glaring was maintained for quite some time as the pilot continued. "Is it a crime to want to see my family?"

"... no, it is not," replied Nanaba in defeat as she sighed and turned her attention towards Mrs Carolina, who was whistling quite a catchy tune to herself as she made some coffee for her visitor. As she did so, the blonde exhaled sharply and glanced back at Mika. "So, you remained in Trost just to protect her and your two friends, huh?"

"Mum, and my three friends," answered Mika, sounding somewhat defensive as Nanaba scoffed. That reasoning wasn't exactly strong to her, though she was willing to go with it as she nodded. "They're my family. I'll never leave them for anything."

"Not even when the world crumbles around you?" tested Nanaba, rubbing her chin as she spoke. Her response was a silent glare from Augus, one that told her all that she needed to know as she nodded, frowning at just how loyal he was to the people that he loved as she turned to stare out of the closest window. "Admirable, I suppose, but also foolish. You'll never know if they're just using you."

"They won't do that. They aren't like that," was all Mika said as his frown deepened, and though it wasn't too noticeable, Nanaba could sense an underlying hint of doubt beneath Augus' words as he spoke, though just this once, she opted to be polite as she nodded and let the issue slide as Mrs Carolina offered her a cup of extra sugary coffee.

"I hope that you're right, for all our sakes… hey, this is pretty good."

Well that wraps up this two parter upload!

I hope you enjoyed! I… had issues with getting these two parts out, but if it entertains, then it's certainly worth it.

Anyone here played Little Nightmares 2? Great game… hehehe…

I… don't have much else to say so… see you guys…?

"..."

Frowning as he glared at McGillis from his end of the table, Orga closed his eyes as he exhaled sharply through his nostrils. Hours prior, he had called the blonde in to the main Tekkadan base for a meeting, and though he didn't specify what for, Fareed very well knew about his intentions from the moment he saw that Itsuka was the one who was calling him.

"Orga Itsuka. To what do I owe the pleasure, to be able to meet you in person once more?" inquired McGillis as he removed his Montag mask and set it down atop Orga's table. In response, the Tekkadan boss grumbled to himself as he shut his eyes and weighed his options, though not even a second later, he reopened them and glared at McGillis.

"How certain are you that Mika's still alive?" asked Orga, sounding completely serious as he spoke. In response, McGillis chuckled as he responded.

"Though we haven't much evidence, all existing ones point to a fifty percent chance at best," replied McGillis, and in response to that, Orga nodded and inhaled deeply.

He really was about to do this. To test out some… experimental crap for this blonde bastard. And it wasn't to benefit Tekkadan, nor was it for any monetary gain.

It was all to get his bro back… and even if a fifty percent chance was all he had to go by, the Tekkadan boss was more than willing to bet on those odds.

"I'm willing to take those odds, blondie. So you'd better not disappoint me…"

"Very well. I knew I could count on you, of all people, Orga Itsuka. In two months, I will formally hire you for this project, and if all goes well, you will be able to see your little devil within the next five. And thereafter, who knows?

"If you're lucky, you could even gain the position of Kings of Mars."