"From this day forth, all refugees who wish to receive their fair share of rations must earn their keep on the fields of Trost."
Those were the words that were spoken by a Garrison soldier earlier that day, and though the man himself had probably… probably not meant any ill will towards the refugees with his words, hearing them did still rile most of them up to a worrying degree as they struggled to accept what they were just told.
Honestly speaking, Mikazuki himself was not surprised whatsoever by this proclamation made by the soldier. Expecting to be given anything for free for an extended period of time would be to set oneself up for disappointment, and if anything, the pilot had always set his expectations low so as to not be too disappointed when something blew up in his face. Only Orga was excluded from this mindset, but that in itself didn't really matter as Itsuka wasn't even here in the first place.
That aside, although Mikazuki himself wasn't particularly surprised by this revelation, the pilot could at least understand why the other refugees were either horrified or enraged by this sudden decision. The Fall of Maria was barely even a month old, and a good majority of the survivors were still homeless drifters that relied on the rations to survive daily. For that to be locked behind a 'paywall', so to speak, would've sparked some outrage, one way or another.
By then, Mikazuki had found it prudent to just leave the area before things could escalate. He's already got some good intel on what he'd have to do next, and he had no reason to linger any longer than necessary, so with that, he departed, with him missing out on the subsequent free-for-all riot that occurred mere minutes later.
The next day, after heading to the ration site to perhaps get something to stave off his hunger, Mikazuki was, unsurprisingly, stopped by one of the Garrison soldiers who was quick to ask about his identification papers and his status as either a refugee or civilian. Mika could've probably lied his way past him, though if he were honest, that would've been a stupid thing to do. Claiming to be a civilian would've just made the soldiers wonder why the Hell he was here, looking for rations, in the first place, and Hell, some of them probably recognised him from the past four weeks of him coming and going to get his rations, making the whole prospect of lying null and void.
And as such, he told the man the truth, or part of it at least, with him stating that he was a refugee from Shiganshina that had no identity papers, and without another word, the Garrison soldier nodded and motioned for him to join a nearby crowd, with him offering the boy a sympathetic glance all the while. Augus chose to ignore it as he moved to join the aforementioned crowd, and after some technical issues that involved him waiting for the better part of two hours, the group headed westward, towards the fields of Trost.
Whereas most of the other refugees were not particularly happy with this, Mikazuki himself was a little delighted to be here. In truth, the pilot's always wanted to be a farmer to a certain degree, and to be able to… well… farm, it certainly made him feel rather happy, perhaps the happiest he's felt in weeks, as he was finally doing something that interested him. Of course… there were a few issues that came with his new 'job' as a field tender, however, though most of these issues were personal ones more so than anything.
Back on Mars, Mika learnt quite a bit about farming thanks to his time with Miss Sakura, though he didn't exactly have too much experience with tending to the fields, as his job used to just to pull corn out of the ground. Despite this, he was always keenly aware of some specifics that needed to be accounted for when planting seeds of any kind, and upon stepping foot atop the dry, crusty dirt of the fields, the pilot could only grimace when he realized that the soil was much too dry to get them even a decent harvest.
Despite this, however, Mikazuki didn't raise too much of a fuss about the issue as he, alongside the other refugees, were rallied together and briefed on their duties. Thereafter, they were sent on their way to tend to the fields, with Mika himself remaining relatively isolated as he planted the seeds into the ground rather gingerly. According to the Garrison troops, they lacked the funding to get everyone the proper equipment they needed to actually do their job, and as such, a good majority of the refugees, Augus included, were forced to dig into the soil with their bare hands to plant the seeds. The pilot didn't exactly mind as he went to work with furor, though many others seemed to find it less than ideal as they dug into the ground, ruining their fingers within moments.
By the time the day had ended, Mikazuki was covered in sweat to the point where his blue shirt clung onto his frame incredibly tightly, and likewise, he felt ready to take a long nap to recuperate his lost energy, but even so… he had to admit that it was strangely enjoyable in a sort of way. Regardless, after he and the other refugees were dismissed, he was offered a stale piece of bread and a bit of water, both things he took with a bit of gratitude, before he left, and then, he returned the next day to repeat the cycle all over again.
He didn't really know how much time had passed since that first day. He kept count for two weeks, then everything began to blur around him. Days became a week, a week became two and two became four… without a proper clock in the area, Mikazuki was unable to properly keep track of time as everything just whizzed by with little change or effect.
And then… on the first day of the fourth week, Mikazuki Augus found himself coming face to face with someone that he'd never thought he'd see again in this hellhole.
The day had started like any other.
Mikazuki woke up, with him ignoring how bad he must've smelled at this point, stretched a fair bit before he proceeded to do some basic exercises. Sit ups and push ups were the norm for him thanks to his spacial limitations, though he has worked around this by lifting one of Barbatos' arm units up and using its digit as a bar to perform pull ups, which proved to be decently effective.
Regardless, by the time he had finished, the pilot realized that it was well into the afternoon, with the sun reaching its peak as he wiped the sweat off his brow. That in itself was a bit of a surprise to him, as he usually exercised early into the afternoon rather than late into it, but he didn't let that bother him as he shrugged and moved to leave his 'home' with him walking towards the fields all the while. The path there had been etched into his memory at this point, so much so that he didn't even need to focus too much as he walked there, and within fifteen minutes, he found himself standing in the fields, crouching in front of a small, barely blooming plant with no small amount of curiosity.
"Hm," hummed the pilot as he brought his index finger up to the small leaves of the blossoming plant and tapped it, with him finding it bemusing how something so weak in appearance could grow to become something rather impressive, but he thought very little of it for now as he watered it with a wooden watering can before standing up and sighing to himself. Something about being an average farmer, even if it was involuntarily, felt… nice, to say the least, and regardless of his situation, he was… happy to be able to do something that he wanted to do for quite some time.
Still, though…
'It still doesn't feel right…' hummed Mikazuki as he glanced skywards and up at the sun with a wary gaze. Shielding his eyes as he did so, the pilot frowned as he once again remembered how Tekkadan wasn't here with him, and likewise, this wasn't Miss Sakura's farm… and that thought still served to sadden him quite a bit, but even so, he's done his best to harden his heart to his current dilemma as he reluctantly accepted the fact that he was no longer able to return to them.
It… was still a work in progress, but even so, Mikazuki knew that, with time, he'd eventually learn to live with the fact that Tekkadan would never be a part of his life from here on out…
"GYAH!"
"...?!"
Rather abruptly, a mild cry of shock came from behind the former ace pilot, and on instinct, he turned to face its source. As he did so, Mikazuki brought his arm forwards as he turned, and though he had not done so intentionally, the pilot couldn't help but find it to be a good thing as, within moments, he found his hand wrapping around the wrist of another worker present at the fields, with him seizing her wrist with quite a bit of force whilst she appeared to be falling onto her back.
"..." nothing was really said between the two, even as Mikazuki huffed and pulled the girl with pigtails back up to her feet. Strange… there was something oddly familiar about this one, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why that was the case. Not that it mattered, of course, as he hummed to himself as he gave the girl a quick once-over, with him snorting shortly thereafter. "... are you alright?"
That was probably an unnecessary question, but even so, it didn't hurt to ask, and upon hearing it, the girl perked up and glanced up at Mikazuki with an uncertain expression at first, with her expression going from an awkward one to one of mild familiarity mere moments later, and likewise, although he was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor, Mika himself couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity about the girl as he stared at her for a few more moments.
"... y-yeah, I… I am…" muttered the girl, with her eyeing Mikazuki closely as well. Her grey eyes scanned him methodically as she tried to piece together the clues that were popping up in her mind… and moments later, something seemed to click in her brain as she widened her eyes in recognition, though not long after, she recomposed herself as she cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "H-Hey… have I seen you before…?"
"Maybe, maybe not," hummed Mikazuki, with him shrugging as he turned towards the field and began watering the ferns once more. As he did so, the girl narrowed her eyes at him as she leaned forwards to get a better look at his face, only to snap back and look away when the pilot's gaze abruptly snapped towards her. For all it was worth, Augus reckoned that her reaction time was alright, though it could use some work…
"..." wordlessly, the pigtailed girl, noticing that Mikazuki seemed to be a little uninterested in continuing the conversation, took a small step away from him as she crouched down and buried a small seed in the earth. Glancing in her direction, Mika opted to say nothing as he watched her bury the little seed between her palms, and as soon as she was done, she moved to plant another…
"That's too close. Bury it a bit further," hummed Mikazuki as he gently nudged the pigtailed girl's foot with his own. The sudden gesture almost made the aforementioned girl fall onto her back as she swung her arms up and accidentally sent the seed flying skywards, though much to her relief, Augus was able to catch it with his free hand before handing it back to her with a disgruntled look on her face, and moments later, he used his watering can to mark a spot approximately fifteen centimetres away from the initial plant spot. "Over there. Bury it there."
"O-Oh… alright," muttered the girl, with her moving to bury the seed in the specified spot without a word, and as she did so, Mikazuki watered the one that she had buried previously, with him taking care to not water it too much all the while. Thereafter, the cycle repeated itself for quite some time, with the two working in tandem with one another, whether or not they realized it, for a short while before the girl got up and began stretching a fair bit. Mika said nothing as he watched her stretch rather dramatically, with her joints audibly popping and her moaning happily as she did so, though not long after, she took note of how Augus was eyeing her as she reddened in embarrassment. "Ah… s-sorry."
"No, it's fine," assured Mikazuki with a shrug, with him watering the last spot before shaking his can in disappointment. Great… empty. "I'll need a refill…"
"O-Oh, actually, I think it's just about time for t-the day to end, actually…!" stated the girl somewhat awkwardly as she smiled and pointed up to the sky, eliciting a blink from the pilot all the while. Gazing upwards, Mikazuki saw that, indeed, time had flown by rather quickly, prompting him to huff as he shrugged and considered tossing the wooden watering can over his shoulder… only to realize that if he did so, he'd probably damage the crops, and he'd rather not have that.
Oh and he might risk hitting someone too… that was a problem as well.
"Oh. Alright then," hummed Mikazuki noncommittally as he moved towards the entrance of the fields, with him holding the wooden watering can by his side all the while. When the pigtailed girl moved to walk beside him, the pilot offered no comment as he stretched a tiny bit to alleviate the muscle crampes he'd get the next day… a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by his temporary companion as she gulped whilst observing the sweat glistening off his absurdly muscular form.
"... you're staring."
Evidently enough, her ogling of this apparent stranger had not gone unnoticed, as in an instant, the pilot was able to notice her gaze as he lowered his arms and glanced over at her. In response to this, the girl squeaked a tiny bit as she jumped back and pretended to be focused on something else, a sight that made Mikazuki snort in bemusement as he glanced away once more.
The rest of the trip onwards was made mostly in silence, with the duo only stopping when they saw that the queue leading out of the fields was absurdly long. The Garrison guards present were doing their best to keep the refugees working here from stealing more than their agreed upon ration supplies, and regardless of their success rates, it was really holding up the line as both Mikazuki and his temporary companion sighed in exasperation.
Whilst they waited, however, Mikazuki could feel the girl's gaze darting between him and the crowd, with her seeming rather adamant on asking him something, though she couldn't really find the proper courage to do so. At one point, he had turned to stare at her right as she had turned to glance over at him, prompting their eyes to lock onto one another in the process, and after acknowledging this, the girl went ramrod straight as she swiftly looked away, much to Augus' bemusement.
"If you have something to say, then say it," groaned the pilot as he found himself growing mildly irritated at the girl's awkward silence, eliciting a squeak from her as she tapped her index fingers together and sweatdropped nervously. Her eyes darted around in an incredibly nervous nature as she gulped and took in a deep breath to recompose herself… and shortly thereafter, she exhaled slowly and nodded.
"A-Alright… well… I…" began the girl, with her looking away from Mikazuki as she spoke. "Is… i-is your name… Mikazuki Augus, by a-any chance…?"
"Yeah, it is. And you're Mina Carolina, right?" hummed Mikazuki nonchalantly, with him not even looking in the girl's way as he spoke. The choked gasp that came from the girl, Mina, as she did her best to process the fact that he had just spoken her name more or less confirmed his question, and to this, he had to resist the urge to smile as he leaned his head away from her to avoid being smacked by one of her flailing arms.
"Y-You… y-y-you remember me?! And you didn't say?!" protested Mina, with the overly dramatic hurt being apparent in her voice as she more or less whined at Mikazuki, who simply shrugged as he ignored the eyes turning towards them thanks to Carolina's words.
"I couldn't be sure, and I didn't want to assume anything," hummed Mikazuki, with him only half-lying as he did sort of piece together the girl's identity from the moment he took notice of her features. He just needed a while to actually remember her name, but by then, he didn't think that it was worth it to bring it up, not until she asked about his own, anyways.
For all it was worth, the girl seemed to understand this as she nodded in acknowledgement, and moments later, she clasped her hands together and awkwardly bowed in his direction, a sight that made the pilot flinch a fair bit as he shifted to the side to avoid being hit by the girl's descending head.
"...?"
"I see… w-well, I just want to thank you again… f-for what you did the other day! For… covering for me, I mean!" blurted out Mina after a few moments of silence, with her sudden movements catching Mikazuki by surprise, though not long after, the pilot shrugged and hummed to himself, with him nodding as he fully remembered what he had done for the girl as he huffed and looked away.
"It wasn't anything special. I just did you a favor," stated Mikazuki, with him shrugging indifferently as he rolled his shoulder, surprising Mina as she straightened her back out and tilted her head in surprise. She… had expected him to ask her for a favor of sorts… something that came with its own risks, to say the least… so to hear him just shrug it off like it was nothing did catch her off guard, not that she really minded…
"Oh… I… I-I see…" hummed Mina, with her preferring not to bring up the possibility of her repaying him as she shifted from side to side on the balls of her feet. Unbeknownst to her, however, the pilot did consider putting her in his debt, but even so, he saw no real reason to do so. There was only so much a guy could ask someone in a place like this after all, and though a crueler person could ask of quite a lot from someone as… earnest as Carolina, Mikazuki wasn't as cold-hearted as many presumed him to be, and as such, he didn't even give it a second thought.
And on a more personal level… the pilot was also ambivalent to asking someone in a situation similar to his for anything that he himself couldn't get. No point in burdening others with his own situation, especially when they couldn't help him.
Nothing more was spoken between the two as they simply stood in silence, with Mikazuki humming to himself while Mina bounced awkwardly from foot to foot. Before long, it came their turn to move on to attain their rations, and without pause, the duo moved to get them with very little delay… and when they did, Carolina's shoulders noticeably slacked when she saw that not much was left for them to bring home. Just a few useless loafs of bread, with some having visible mold on their surfaces. The pigtailed girl flinched away from these as she moved to pick up a decently clean looking hunk of bread, though as for Mikazuki, he simply picked up the largest one and shoved it into his mouth without a second thought, much to the chagrin of the soldier that handed it to him.
"M-Mikazuki…! That… seems a little unhygienic…" commented Mina, with her gulping as she watched the aforementioned pilot shrug and move to snatch another piece of bread from the collection spot, with him practically daring the soldier in front of him to stop him all the while. He would've… but the glare Mikazuki was sending his way, combined with how it wasn't particularly worth it to throw a fuss over him taking some stale bread, especially after the whole debacle from earlier, made him reconsider as he waved the pilot off.
"Oh," hummed Mikazuki noncommittally as he bit off a chunk of the stale bread and swallowed, not caring much for its quality as he shrugged and continued chewing into it. "I was hungry, so it didn't really matter to me."
"... r-right… I… forgot…" muttered Mina, with her having seemingly forgotten about the pilot's refugee status as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Mikazuki himself didn't care to speak about that as he began exiting the western wing of Trost, though as he did so, Carolina gulped and yelled out to him once more. "Hey… uh… see you tomorrow, I guess?"
"... hm," not much of a response from Mikazuki, with him simply grunting at her as he kept his back facing her whilst leaving. He couldn't see it, but the pigtailed girl did seem somewhat let down by his lack of response, but even so, she did resolve to perhaps change that in the foreseeable future as she held a fist up to her chest and assumed a determined expression.
And as for the pilot himself… he didn't feel all that much different from how he usually felt, but even so… something about their 'reunion' did make him feel rather… nice, so to speak, and although he doubted that they'd actually see each other again any time soon, the pilot would not deny that to have someone act so… nice to him, especially in a place like this, did almost put a smile on his face.
Almost…
"Oh, it's you again."
Mikazuki's lackluster greeting was more or less the only thing he said to Mina the next day, though in all honesty, he didn't think that he'd need to give her one as he didn't expect to see her jogging in his general direction at all.
But there she was, smiling meekly as she ran towards him with a pep in her step, and as soon as she was in front of him, she gave him a gentle wave and grinned at him without any trace of deceit. Hell, she seemed somewhat delighted to be able to see him so soon, though why she was… was beyond Augus' comprehension.
"I was hoping to bump into you again, Mikazuki!" greeted Mina happily as she bounded up to her acquaintance, who seemed less than thrilled at her presence, but he said nothing of it as he grunted at her, much to her chagrin as she looked away sheepishly and scratched her chin, a gesture that was, admittedly, somewhat adorable as she laughed to herself awkwardly, though regardless, Augus said nothing of it as he simply asked about something else.
"You were looking for me?" asked the pilot curiously, to which Mina smiled and offered him a thumbs up.
"F'course! I did say that I was hoping to bump into you, didn't I?" hummed Mina, with her smiling as she spoke. To this, Mikazuki simply nodded as he crouched down and planted a seed into the soil, with him burying it with minimal issue before glancing up at Carolina with a curious look in his eye.
"Why?" asked the pilot, and though his inquiry wasn't unwarranted, something that Mina probably knew, it still made the pigtailed girl recoil a tiny bit as she tapped her fingers together in an awkward manner, and not long after, she smiled and shrugged rather uncertainly, a gesture that made Mikazuki's brow raise higher onto his face as he watched her respond accordingly.
"W-Well… do you need a reason to want to see someone again, Mikazuki?" asked Mina with a smile, one that, admittedly, made the pilot lower his guard, for even a moment, as he stared over at Carolina with an apprehensive gaze. She… did have a point there, he reckoned, as there were times where even he himself wished to see someone without any proper reason. He just… felt like seeing them at times, and he supposed that Mina was feeling the same as he did all those times right now.
"... hm," grunted Mikazuki, with him accepting Mina's reasoning as he picked up his watering can and went back to watering the flowers. Taking this as a sign that he didn't mind her presence, Carolina smiled and went to work as well, with her humming a soft tune to herself as she did so. Mika would take occasional glances in her direction from time to time, more so out of curiosity than anything, though said glances never really lasted too long as he was more focused on tending to his own duties.
And… for all intents and purposes, this was how his next few days of life played out on a loop, with Mikazuki always finding himself standing next to Mina whenever he made it to the fields. The pigtailed girl would always, without fail, be there to greet him, and for as off putting as her enthusiastic nature was to him at first, the pilot eventually learnt to grow used to it. Likewise, Mina seemed to grow used to his neutral and somewhat uptight demeanor as well, with her ending up joking about it on a handful of occasions as she grew used to his company, and she had gotten so relaxed around him in just a small handful of days that she had stopped stuttering whenever around him!
"You… don't have to keep coming to find me, you know?" commented Mikazuki after a good few days of seeing Mina jogging up to him, with the tone of his voice shifting to a more… somber tone as he glanced in the pigtailed girl's direction. He was never really one to feel bad about anything that he wasn't personally responsible for, and even then, if it didn't affect him or anyone he cared about, he doubted that he'd even give it the time of day… but even so, something about Carolina making an effort to come see him daily just didn't sit too well with him, especially seeing as how there were definitely a lot of other, more interesting people to be hanging around.
Much to his surprise, however… Mina's response to his inquiry… was to giggle a fair bit, which had taken him back a little as he raised his brow at the girl. He's heard her laugh on occasion, though for the most part, it always seemed somewhat forced on her end of things… but that tiny giggle of hers… it was almost enough to make the pilot recoil a fair bit at how genuine it sounded as he listened to her respond.
"Well… yeah, there might be people out there that can provide me with better conversation and all that, but I enjoy staying close to you, y'know?" hummed Mina, with her smiling as she spoke. For his part, Mikazuki had no idea how to respond to this as he looked away and nodded, with him unintentionally over-watering a plant as his mind scrambled to put two and two together… and moments later, Carolina flinched and moved to tilt his watering can upwards. "Whoa whoa whoa! You'll over-water those plants if you keep doing that!"
"... oh," muttered Mikazuki flatly as he instinctively held the can up and stared at it blankly, with him frowning as he did so. His reflection stared right back at him with an equally blank expression, and before long, he sighed softly and nodded, seeming to just… accept Mina's reasoning as he dropped the topic for now and listened to his acquaintance speak.
"Jeez… and you were on about me over-watering these things just a few days ago, hypocrite," whined Mina, with her glancing down at the damp soil as she spoke. Mikazuki stared down as well as he eyed the overly wet dirt with a somewhat remorseful look, though if he felt any true sadness over drowning the small fern he had been watering, no one could really say.
"Hm…"
"Hey, uh… Mikazuki?"
"Hm?"
"I was wondering… do… you have anywhere to live?" asked Mina, with her fidgeting a little as she spoke. To this, Mikazuki simply shrugged as he watered a decently sized plant with his can. It's been… well, he doesn't even know how long it's been by now, but it's been long enough that the seed he had planted not too long ago had grown into a decently sized plant, one that was about thirty centimeters long, with a healthy green shoot. Augus found himself almost smiling as he crouched down and stroked the plant's leaves in a somewhat affectionate manner before glancing up at Mina.
"Yes… I have somewhere to go back to," assured Mikazuki as he stood up and rolled his shoulders, and for all it was worth, the pigtailed girl had smiled a tiny bit upon hearing this, with her shoulders noticeably relaxing a little as she nodded in affirmation.
"That… that's good! Not many people have a place to call home these days… and… I'd be sad if you didn't have one either!" said Mina, with her smiling gently as she spoke. Mikazuki didn't say anything on that as he simply nodded and grunted, two gestures that left them in awkward silence as the pilot moved to water another plant. "Aphem… uh… do you have… any friends with you?"
"No friends. It's just me," stated Mikazuki, with him not wishing to lump Barbatos in as a friend, even if he did consider the Gundam to be, at minimum, an ally. Hearing this had made Mina slouch her shoulders down a tiny bit further as she processed her acquaintance's words, and after a few moments of silence, she looked away sadly.
"... I'm sorry, Mikazuki," muttered Mina apologetically, with her frowning as she acknowledged how she might have brought up a few unsavoury memories for her acquaintance. Vice versa, however, Mikazuki seemed more amused than actually offended by her words as he turned to stare at her in bewilderment, and not long after, he let out an indifferent chuckle before turning back to watering the crops.
Prior, Mina had told Mikazuki about her own living conditions. She had a mother and a best friend, someone with a name that Mika couldn't quite remember, and they lived near the Eastern wing of Trost, not too far from where Barbatos was hidden at, if memory served the pilot well. Apparently, their living conditions weren't too good, and as such, Carolina had resorted to stealing food on occasion to keep her family fed. Her being here was to get some food for her family, as the soldiers didn't really care to vet for the identities of refugees or volunteering civilians so long as they worked.
Mikazuki wouldn't deny offering his pigtailed acquaintance some of his bread when he had heard of her life situation, though Mina had vehemently refused, stating that he needed it more than she ever would.
"Why? You weren't the one that took me away from them. There's nothing for you to apologise about," stated Mikazuki, with his tone of voice sounding rather matter-of-factly as he eyed her with amusement, and as he said this, Mina could only look at him in surprise as she fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze.
"Well… aside from it being rude… I… didn't mean to bring up any unpleasant memories for you, Mikazuki…" stated Mina apologetically as she bowed her head sadly, amusing Mika further as he observed the young girl fumble awkwardly over her words. "So… I-I should've been more careful with my words, is what I'm trying to say."
"Well, it's fine, really. The past hurts, but I shouldn't keep dwelling on it, because there's no point for me to do so. I just need to look ahead and keep moving forward," stated Mikazuki, with him frowning as he said this. In truth, the pilot was not entirely over his displacement just yet, as he still very much missed his friends and family members from Tekkadan… but even so, he knew that thinking back to them was pointless, as he couldn't reverse time and return to them either way, and as such, the best course of action, in his honestly brutal opinion, was to simply… forget about them and just continue on with his life.
Had Mina's reminder of his old friends and family hurt him? … yes. It had, but even so, he wasn't going to hold it against her, especially seeing as how she didn't know about that in the first place.
"To keep moving forward…" echoed Mina, with her smiling a tiny bit as she nodded and clasped her hands together, holding a small packet of seeds between her palms all the while. Staring down at said packet, she sighed gently before nodding firmly. "I like that saying…"
"I like it too, Mina."
How couldn't he like it? Orga had told him about that a lot, after all. To keep moving forwards, no matter what came between them and their goal…
"..."
The plants were substantially watered…
"..."
The seeds were all planted…
"..."
The sun was shimmering down on him, as always…
"... hmph…"
… and things were too quiet, and that was something that Mikazuki never thought he'd complain about…
It was strange… rather suddenly, Mina had just… disappeared from the fields with seemingly no forewarning whatsoever. The girl didn't always come to the field, which was honestly to be expected as there were days where Mikazuki would not come as well, but at the same time… her absence from the area was long enough that it had genuinely… worried the pilot. Her being gone for one day was not much of a surprise.
Her being gone for five was almost enough to make him feel worried, and that came as a surprise to him.
Then again, Mina was the only one that was really looking out for him around here… or at least he assumed she was. The girl was still quite the enigma to him, as he was still trying to figure out what her true motivations were. He did somewhat suspect her overly nice nature to be a sort of long con plan to manipulate Augus into a false sense of security, something that he's seen happen in the past to others… but at the same time, her actions were so genuine that he couldn't help but think otherwise…
'... I just hope that she's alright,' thought Mikazuki conclusively as he sighed and planted a seed with two of his hands. Cupping the dirt between his palms, he buried the small seed with great efficiency before patting the soil and watering it. Thereafter, he just stared at the soil blankly as he sighed to himself, finding this whole ordeal to be less than ideal as he slouched his shoulders and shook his head.
It just didn't feel the same anymore, to be working in the fields and not having Mina humming beside him. Everything just felt so… bland without that peppy little girl here to liven things up…
"MIKAZUKI!"
"...?!"
That voice… pausing briefly when he had heard it, the pilot found himself turning to its source and saw that it was none other than the one he had been thinking of prior, with her rushing towards him at a worryingly fast pace as she yelled out his name, ignoring all the stares she was getting all the while. Mika himself raised his brows when he saw this as he almost smiled at her sudden reappearance after nearly a week of being missing, though his initial delight was quick to turn into bemusement when he saw Mina, in her haste, trip and fall over her own two feet,
"... eh-" began Mina as she tripped over her own two feet, with her widening her eyes as she fell forwards, though before her face could meet the ground beneath her, Mikazuki sprung into action, with him dropping both the watering can and the small bag of seeds he had been carrying as he darted forwards and moved to grab Carolina before she could faceplant. Sliding into a crouch, the pilot managed to seize his… acquaintance by the shoulders mere moments before she could hit the ground, and as he did so, the girl widened her eyes and glanced up at him in surprise as the tips of her ears reddened in embarrassment.
"... be more careful, Mina," hummed Mikazuki nonchalantly as he huffed and stood the two of them up, with him dusting his acquaintance off without a care in the world before sighing to himself. He gave Mina a quick once over before nodding in approval, with him seeming relieved to know that she didn't seem to be injured in any way as he watched her tap her fingers together meekly.
"S-Sorry… I was just glad to see you after so long!" responded Mina cheerfully, with her bouncing up a little as she spoke. Mikazuki supposed that reasoning was alright, though it didn't mean that he approved of her lack of caution.
"Hmph… where were you, anyways?" hummed Mikazuki as he moved to retrieve the watering can and bag of seeds, to which Mina blinked, no doubt surprised at that question as she hadn't expected Mika, of all people, to be worried for her, though she shrugged that feeling off without much issue as she smiled and scratched her cheek meekly.
"Oh… well… I found a girl the other day and she was very sick… so sick that she'd probably die if I left her alone… so I… brought her back to my house and helped my mum and Nac nurse her to health," stated Mina meekly, eliciting a small nod of understanding from Mikazuki as she finished. Hm… that wasn't much of a surprise on his part, he supposed. Though he knew the pigtailed girl for a few weeks, he reckoned that he knew her enough to know that she was an excessively kind person, and if she could, she'd help anyone she saw without a second thought.
Her giving him some of her rations when she still needed them told him that much…
"Hm," hummed Mikazuki, with him nodding a little as he found himself finding just a tiny bit of respect for Mina's reasoning for being away, though he didn't say anything on that as he shrugged and went back to watering the soil in front of him. "I was worried. I thought you died or something."
"W-Worried…?" muttered Mina, with her cheeks flushing a tiny bit at that unexpected comment from Augus. Turning to face him, the pigtailed girl was surprised to see that he had said that with a completely straight face… though then again, Mikazuki rarely joked in the first place, so in all honesty, it probably wasn't too much of a surprise to begin with, and that realization caused her to fidget a little as she stood rooted to the ground.
"Hm. A little, at least," confirmed Mikazuki, eliciting a slight blush from the girl beside him as he threw her the small bag of seeds to snap her out of her trance, a bag that she narrowly caught as she eyed her acquaintance in mild annoyance. "You were gone for a long time."
"Well I wasn't dead, thank you very much!" pouted Mina as she stomped a hole in the dirt with her heel and dropped a seed into it. Mikazuki said nothing as he watched in bemusement as the pigtailed girl used her foot to cover the seed with some soil, and moments later, she stepped away to give him some room to water it, which he did.
"Well you're standing beside me, so yes. You're not dead," deadpanned Mikazuki as he watered the aforementioned spot, eliciting a snort from Mina as she moved to plant another seed.
"Just admit it, Mikazuki… you missed me, didn't you?" hummed Mina, with her tone of voice taking on a more playful undertone as she spoke. Mikazuki rolled his eyes at this, with him sighing as he acknowledged how, once she had grown comfortable with being around him, Mina had also taken to attempting to tease him on occasion. It wasn't common, as she never got too many openings to do so in the first place, but whenever she could, she most certainly would.
And just this once… Mina Carolina's teasing had gotten through to Mikazuki, if only by a little, as he looked away with a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks, eliciting a somewhat surprised look to emerge on Carolina's face as she realized that…
"W-Wait, seriously… you missed me…?!" mutter-yelled Mina, disbelieved, as she stared up at Mikazuki in shock, to which the pilot hummed.
"... yeah," responded Mikazuki with a shrug, with him breathing in to regulate his heart rate as he moved on to water a few more spots in front of himself. "It's boring here. There's nothing interesting in these fields. Having someone talking to me makes me feel less bored."
"Oh… w-well, I guess that makes sense, huh?" muttered Mina, with her seeing the logic behind Mikazuki's words as he drummed his fingers against the watering can a few times. Part of her wondered if she was getting the whole truth from him as she took note of how the pilot was fidgeting awkwardly with his watering can, though out of respect for his privacy, she thought better of it and just… let the issue fall to the wayside.
Not much else was spoken between the two from there on, but even so, they did still take some solace in the other's company as they worked through the hours.
"...what?"
"S-Sorry… it was a stupid request…!"
Humming a little as he paused his watering, if only for a moment, Mikazuki eyed Mina closely as he held the wooden tool up briefly as he processed her initial words.
They were at it again in the fields, with the duo simply doing their daily routine at this point. Planting seeds, watering shrubs and just… conversing on occasion. It was something that they had grown used to by now… though the question that Mina had thrown Mika's way a few moments prior had stumped him almost entirely.
"It might be… but… why do you want me to visit you, anyways?" asked Mikazuki, with him reiterating Mina's request into a question as he spoke. To this, the pigtailed girl felt her cheeks flushing as she acknowledged how she had blurted that request out initially, though she kept her cool for now as she sighed and explained herself.
"W-Well… you see, I… my mum wants to meet you… and I have a friend living with me that's interested in you as well. They… just want to see you in person, that's all… and well… I… I'm a little worried about your living conditions too, Mikazuki! So… I was hoping that you'd just… stay the night!" explained Mina, with her cheeks rising in temperature as she spoke. Raising a brow at this, Mikazuki found the first reason to be somewhat laughable, though as for the second, he'd admit to feeling rather touched as he nodded in appreciation.
"I appreciate your concern. But I'm fine. You don't have to-"
"I insist, Mikazuki Augus!"
Mina had cut Mikazuki off with a sharp bow, one that had caught him off guard as he recoiled a tiny bit and stared down at the bowing girl. His once opened mouth had closed shut once more, and upon realizing that she had cut him off, Mina quickly took advantage of this and spoke up.
"It's just that… ever since we've met, you've just… you've always just looked so lonely. I… I just really want to introduce you to more people, y'know? Help you make more friends! I… I'm not trying to kidnap you or anything, promise! I just want you to meet some of my friends and my mum, that's all!" assured Mina, with her gesturing wildly after she stood up from her bowing stance. Her words were spoken with such earnesty that the pilot couldn't help but feel somewhat taken aback by them, but even so, he didn't dwell too much on that as he huffed and stared into the opened top of the watering can he was holding, only for his reflection to stare right back at him, reflecting his uncertainty all the while.
The gesture was certainly a nice one, but even so… would it be worth the risk? He knew Mina for quite a few weeks at this point, and to an extent, he did trust her, but even so… did he trust her enough to let her lead him into possible danger…? To follow her to an unknown area was risky… but even so, Mikazuki was confident in being able to fight back against whatever the pigtailed girl might be planning to throw his way, and though he was skeptical at first, Carolina's genuine and absurdly transparent nature had won him over, and after a few moments of pondering, he sighed and nodded his head in defeat.
"I'll go."
"I know that it's still a weird request but- wait what-"
"I said I'll go."
In an instant, the somewhat saddened look on Mina's face was quick to turn into one of utter bafflement as her brain attempted to process what she had just heard. She had no doubt expected the pilot to put up a heavier resistance against her requests, and there was no doubt a script she had formulated and recited mentally over the course of the past few hours in preparation for that outcome, so to hear Mikazuki so quickly agree to come visit her house… it must've caught her off guard, to say the least.
"O-Oh… well… uh… huh… I… didn't expect that…" mused Mina, eliciting a snort from Mikazuki as he went back to watering the shrubs.
"People rarely expect to get what they want a lot of the time, especially when they don't think they'll get it."
And though she didn't really get what he was saying, Mina still thought it best to keep that saying in mind as she smiled and nudged her acquaintance, catching his attention once more.
"Erm… in that case, I'll meet you by the field entrance once we're done?"
"Alright."
Several hours later
Meeting Mina by the entrance to the fields wasn't exactly a difficult endeavour, especially when she practically walked him there in the first place. The pigtailed girl was practically vibrating with excitement as she walked by her acquaintance's side, grinning from ear to ear as she left the field region with her stale bread in tow. Mikazuki opted to not comment on this, if only to preserve the girl's absurdly good mood.
"Mum's actually been asking for you a lot, you know? I… uh… accidentally said your name a few days ago and both Nac and mum have kinda been asking for you. Nac's definitely very keen on meeting you in person, though I'm not sure about mum… she seems kinda worried for me," hummed Mina as she and Mikazuki walked past the centre of Trost, ignoring a Wall priest as he said his nonsense all the while.
"Hm," hummed the pilot, with him not really caring who this 'Nac' was as he walked onwards, with his hands shoved into his pockets and his gaze lifted up into the sky, where the sun was slowly setting behind the walls. At one point, however, he was jostled out of his thoughts when Mina abruptly yanked him to one side to avoid a head on collision with a few kids that were playing on the pathway, something that he did appreciate, even if the half-hearted glare he sent her way said otherwise.
"You should probably keep an eye out, Mikazuki," scolded Mina as she eyed her acquaintance with faux annoyance, and moments later, she gently pushed him back to where he was standing initially, and moments later, he scoffed and nodded in acknowledgement, humming all the while. He did acknowledge the faint tinge of pink in her cheeks as she did so, though he thought it prudent to not comment on it.
"Ah," hummed the pilot before they continued to move, and from there on, their walk was mostly uneventful, with the pilot just following on in silence while his pigtailed acquaintance hummed to pass the time, though not long after, the duo found themselves standing in front of a decently sized building near the eastern wing of Trost. Mikazuki honestly didn't know if he's walked past this building in the past, especially when there were so many that looked like this one in particular, though he kept that thought to himself as he watched Carolina smile and gesture to her house with a small smile.
"Well… here we are!" proclaimed the pigtailed girl as she smiled at the boy before her with a decently sized grin, eliciting a hum of acknowledgement from Mikazuki as he nodded in acknowledgement, and moments latter, the girl realized that she wasn't going to get much of a reaction from him before she moved to push the door open for the pilot. Mika nodded in appreciation at this before he entered the building, and upon doing so, Mina followed closely behind and shut the door behind her.
The interior of the building was, admittedly, not as shoddy as the exterior was, though that wasn't really saying much as the exterior looked just about as run down as Barbatos was at this point. Regardless, it was still rather noteworthy, with a few windows, a couch standing in front of one of said windows, a small kitchen connected to the main living area and a shoddy looking coffee table sitting in front of the couch. The place even had a second floor to it, though the stairs leading up to it did seem rather precarious, to say the least, seeing as how they were mostly rotted through.
As he looked around the place, however, Mikazuki did, inevitably, meet the eye of another person present in the house, with this aforementioned person appearing rather old, at least in contrast to himself and Mina, anyways. Her hair was black, similar to Carolina's, albeit a little lighter in shade, tied into a somewhat unruly braid that hung over her left shoulder, and her grey eyes surveyed Mika closely as she approached him warily. There were a few worry lines here and there on her aging face, but even so, she did still appear rather beautiful, sort of like Fumitan Admoss before…
… regardless, Mikazuki remained silent as he stared up at the older woman, who was now within arms reach of him, with Mina appearing mildly awkward as she tapped her fingers together and glanced up at the lady uncertainly. Whereas Carolina did so with uncertainty, however, Mika did so with stoic neutrality. He knew that people had a tendency to use their size to intimidate those smaller than them into submission, and though he couldn't say for sure, Augus wasn't willing to show any signs of weakness as he hardened his gaze just a little.
Before he could really pour on the intimidation, however, Mikazuki took note of how the older woman didn't seem to be trying to intimidate him into submission. Rather, her eyes appeared more analytical of him than actually hostile, with her studying his features and posture closely as she tried to make out his motives for being here. Upon realizing this, the pilot instinctively loosened up, a gesture that showed that he wasn't here for any funny business, and upon seeing this, the older woman's shoulders seemed to relax as she clasped her hands in front of herself and smiled warmly, a rather sharp change from her initial posturing that came as a small surprise to Augus.
What was more surprising to him… was the fact that he felt oddly warm inside when he saw that smile, though he opted to not comment on it as Mina cleared her throat and stepped forward to ease the tension between the pilot and the woman.
"Erm… h-hey there mum! Uh… this is Mikazuki! Mikazuki, this is my mum!" introduced Mina, with her sweat dropping a tiny bit as she spoke. She gestured between Mikazuki and her mother as she introduced the two of them, and as she did so, the former maintained eye contact with the latter while, vice versa, the older woman hummed a little as she glanced down at the pilot with a semi-judgemental gaze, only to lean down towards her daughter and whisper into her ear.
"... I expected him to be taller," admitted the older Carolina sheepishly as Mina's eyes widened at that comment, with her swatting at her mum's face as she chastised her.
"Don't be rude! Nac's height has given you absurd expectations!" scolded Mina as her mother turned back towards Mikazuki whilst snickering, something that shattered the built up tension almost immediately as the pilot blinked in surprise. Huh… that was rather jarring. The once stern and seemingly overprotective woman had almost immediately turned into an easygoing lady that could crack jokes in the blink of an eye.
Reminds him of Shino, almost…
"So… you're Mikazuki Augus, hm?"
Blinking a little at that inquiry, Mikazuki snapped out of his former trance-like state and glanced up at Mina's mother once more, with him tilting his head as he watched her stare down at him with a curious gaze. In response to this, the pilot simply shrugged, with him opting to humor her question as he responded with a redundant answer of his own.
"Last I checked, yes," hummed Mikazuki, with him attempting to crack wise for once as he shrugged. Hanging around Mina was definitely bad for his health, seeing as how he's even considering making a joke after being subjected to a good few from his pigtailed acquaintance, and upon hearing him crack a joke, Carolina's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she stared at him in shock, though as for Mrs Carolina, she simply smiled before leaning down and having a closer look at the pilot.
"Hm, I see… it's so nice to see that my baby girl's boyfriend is this fit," hummed Mrs Carolina, with her grinning as she spoke, and upon saying this, Mina nodded her head in mindless agreement at first… only for the realization to sink in as her eyes snapped open and steam burst from her ears.
"Ye- MUM!" yelled Mina, with her cutting herself off as she raised her arms up and slapped at her parent's arm, eliciting a chuckle from Mrs Carolina as she 'defended' herself from the attack. Mikazuki, for his part, just watched on in silence as he watched all this unfold. Was this what a normal household was like? If so… he was kinda glad that he never got to experience it…
Regardless, the whole issue eventually subsided, with Mina pouting off to the side while Mrs Carolina gently patted her over the head, and moments later, she turned back towards Mikazuki with a less tense look in her eyes. Seemingly noticing his confusion, the older woman chuckled gently behind her hand and explained herself.
"Sorry, I just really wanted to do that. I didn't get the chance to do it with either Nac or Annie, so I just had to shoot my shot with you, Mikazuki," apologised Mrs Carolina as she bowed in apology for her 'overprotective mum' act. To this, the pilot simply nodded, with him finding some amusement in the act all the while, though he said nothing of it as he watched the older woman move forwards and pat him over the head, inadvertently causing some dirt particles to fall from his hair all the while. "But still, it's nice to meet my daughter's friend in the flesh now, especially someone she's been gushing about for a few weeks now."
"Gushing, huh?" hummed Mikazuki absentmindedly, eliciting a mild blush from the girl as he spoke. She didn't seem keen on talking about it, to which the pilot huffed and dropped the topic completely, though as for Mrs Carolina, she simply smiled and spoke on it without a care in the world.
"Mmhm~ she said that you're very silent, but still very caring! A good person deep down!" smiled the older woman as Mina tensed up and shook her head, seemingly wishing to disprove these claims, though if the redness in her cheeks was anything to go by, she was very much caught red handed in her claims. "You're also very knowledgeable in plants and farming, if I recall."
"Yeah. I… like farming," admitted Mikazuki shamelessly as he glanced away for the briefest of moments, eliciting a smile from the older woman as she opened her mouth to speak a little more to him, though before she could do so, Mina jumped into action, with her not wishing to let her mother spill anything else she had said previously all the while, and moments later, they were gone, leaving behind twin clouds of smoke that were shaped suspiciously like their own bodies.
"SorrymumweshouldgonowIwannaintroduceMikazukitotheothersokaybye!" yelled Mina before she disappeared alongside Mikazuki, who was practically dragged upstairs by the girl as she blurted out those words, and in a moment's notice, the two vanished, surprising even Mrs Carolina herself with her speed as they practically teleported up to the second level, though moments later, she found herself smiling a little as she sighed.
Ah… to be young…
Mikazuki was… surprised by just how strong Mina was, really. To quite literally yank him off his feet was one thing, but to drag him up a flight of stairs and throw him into a room with minimal issue was something else entirely.
Mina had only stopped after both she and Mika had barged into a room that she shared with two others, with her skidding to a stop within moments and unintentionally throwing Mikazuki down to the ground. The pilot was able to recover quickly and land on one knee, however, though it didn't stop him from groaning a little as he got up, just in time to see his acquaintance slam the door shut and sigh in relief as she slid down its side.
"S-Sorry about that! Mum… she likes to have fun some times… not that I really blame her, her job means that she can't have too much fun these days, but still, that was embarrassing!" whined Mina as she kept her back to the door. Mikazuki hummed at this, with him finding this whole situation to be rather amusing more so than anything as he took a quick look around the room he had been thrown in.
As with the rest of the house, the room appeared to be in a state of disrepair, just a tiny bit less so than everything else he's seen prior. The walls were in better shape, and there were two beds standing opposite one another, one a regular bed and the other what seemed to be a bunk bed cobbled together with strong ropes and wooden planks. It seemed stable enough, though Mikazuki wasn't keen on seeing if it was.
There was also a window at the far side of the room, smack dead in the center, allowing the moonlight to shine in, and hanging by the center of the room was an oil lamp that dangled precariously. Approaching it, Mikazuki twisted a small knob by its base and turned it on, illuminating the room just a tiny bit more all the while.
Upon doing that, the pilot turned to see Mina still slumped over with her back against the door, seeming a little disgruntled all the while, prompting him to approach her and offer her a hand to help her get up. Noticing this, the pigtailed girl blinked before she reluctantly took his hand, and in an instant, she was pulled up to her feet with such force that she was launched an inch or two skywards upon being pulled.
"Whoa… you don't seem to know your own strength there!" laughed Mina awkwardly as she landed back on her feet, eliciting a huff from Mikazuki as he shrugged indifferently. That was considered to be a gentle tug on his end; if he had pulled her up at full force, she would've flown out the window, though that was besides the point. Upon getting back up, Carolina marched up to a small table located just below the window and took stock of a small note that was atop it. Reading it, the girl let out an annoyed groan as she leaned to one side and fell onto the bed closest to her. "... fuck."
"Hm?" hummed Mikazuki, with him ignoring how Mina had just swore as he picked up the piece of paper she had dropped. He tried reading it, emphasis on try, only to give up after two tries when he realized that the words were too complex for him to decipher, though right as he did so, Carolina glanced over at him and explained.
"Annie… asked Nac to show her around Trost earlier today. He wrote that they won't be back till tomorrow since Annie really wanted to walk around when there wasn't anyone out there… and here I was, wanting to introduce you to them…" whined Mina, with her burying her face in the bed she was on as she spoke. Mikazuki huffed to himself, seeming mostly indifferent at the prospect of meeting whoever this Nac and Annie were, though he did, at the very least, keep that thought to himself as he shrugged and moved to sit on the bed opposite to Carolina.
"You don't have to," stated Mikazuki flatly as he found himself growing rather satisfied at sitting on something soft for once, with him gently patting the mattress with the palm of his hand. It wasn't as soft as those on the Isaribi, but even so, it was better than the ground he slept on for the past few weeks, or even months, at this point. Mina, in response to this, shot up from the bed she was on and gave Mika a bemused look.
"Well Nac wanted to see you! To think that he'd let Annie go out at such a late hour, and so soon after she recovered from a fever?! It's preposterous!" yelled Mina, with her swinging her arms around in apparent annoyance as she spoke. Thereafter, she crossed her arms and pouted rather heavily, a sight that made Mika snort in amusement as he shook his head.
How positively childish of her, he thought… though then again, she was acting her age, which, if he recalled from one of their previous conversations… was fourteen. She was definitely acting the part of a fourteen year old… unlike Mikazuki, who couldn't act the part of a fifteen year old, even if his life depended on it…
Regardless of mental age, however, Mikazuki still remained deadpanned and silent as he listened to Mina ramble on about Nac and Annie's apparent recklessness. She spoke of how the former should've known better than to venture out at such a late hour, even if he knew the district like the back of his hand, and regarding the latter, she was just worried that she'd get injured because, in her own words, she kept getting sick after we took her in!. The genuine concern she had for her friends was positively inspirational… to anyone that wasn't Mikazuki, anyways, though even he could admit to finding some amusement in the girl's tone as he smiled softly, with it being incredibly hard to see thanks to the dim light of the room, before speaking his mind.
"You really care about them," observed Mikazuki, to which Mina blinked, pausing her ramblings as she laughed softly and nodded, smiling a tiny bit all the while. Her laugh was oddly pleasant to listen to, Mika thought, though he didn't voice that thought out as she responded accordingly.
"Well… yeah! Nac's been here with me my whole life, and Annie… well, I only met her a few weeks ago, but she's a good person at heart, even if… well, even if she's very rough around the edges. They're good friends to me… they're family… which is weird to say, I know, but…" began Mina, only to be cut off by Mikazuki.
"It's not weird. It's nice. Friends can become family if you love them enough," stated Mikazuki, with him staring down at his left hand and gently clenching and unclenching it as he spoke. The blue bracelet that was wrapped around his wrist dangled loosely around it as he spoke, though he thought little of it as he smiled sadly and continued. "It's nice to know that you love your friends this much."
"Oh… w-well, thanks, I guess!" smiled Mina as she looked away and scratched at her cheek, eliciting a nod as Mikazuki turned elsewhere to preoccupy himself with his absent thoughts, though not long thereafter, the pigtailed girl cleared her throat and caught the boy's attention, prompting him to hum, a clear sign for her to speak her mind. "I… know that this is a sensitive topic and all but… c-can I ask about your life in Shiganshina?"
"What's there to even ask about?" responded Mikazuki almost immediately, with him keeping his voice even as he knew that this was a potentially dangerous conversation path. Mina, like everyone else, posed a sizable threat to him, especially if she learnt of his true nature as some sort of intergalactic interloper, and as such, it was paramount that he watched his step when the topic of his 'past' came into question.
"Well… I'm just curious, y'know? You were from another district… and for as long as I can remember, I've grown up in Trost. In Rose, the second Wall. I'm just curious about how life was in Shiganshina or Maria… b-before the collapse," stated Mina, with her doing her best to word all that in a nice way. Mikazuki… appreciated her careful wording, but he still found it annoying, to have to walk on eggshells just because of someone else's curiosity.
"... what do you think life was like in Shiganshina?" asked Mikazuki, with him speaking carefully as he turned the question around on Mina, a ploy that seemed to work as Carolina blinked as she scratched her chin thoughtfully.
"Well… I… don't know, really. Everyone always said that Shiganshina was a lot less… pleasant than Trost, however much that's worth, and that we've had it easy when compared to you guys," stated Mina, with her seeming a little unsure of her words as she spoke. To this, the pilot simply nodded in acknowledgement, with him finding some similarities between the fallen district of Shiganshina to his old home of Chryse. Both were relatively run-down, and the people's lives were harsh, forcing them to adapt to their horrid living conditions and, in turn, become harsh entities themselves.
It was a cruel existence, that much was obvious, but such was life. It was cruel, and it will spend every waking moment of your life reminding you of that fact. If you weren't born lucky… then you would be lucky to even be born.
"Then… there you go. That's how life in Shiganshina was," muttered Mikazuki, sounding almost spiteful as he leaned back and laid back on the bed he sat atop. Mina blinked a little in confusion as she heard this, though she said nothing on it as Augus continued to speak. "Life was grim, and we met it grimly. We were always lucky to survive another day there."
"We… as in… you and your friends…?" muttered Mina, with her leaning forwards, intrigued, as she stared at Mikazuki with some hope in her eyes, only for that hope to be snuffed out when she heard her acquaintance exhale sharply.
"Yeah, friends… former friends," corrected Mikazuki, with his tone of voice taking on a more bitter tone as he spoke. Mina required but a second before she let the implications sink in, and upon doing so, she felt a pit emerge in her stomach as she paled a tiny bit and stood up, shocked by just how brazen her words must've come across as.
"I… M-Mikazuki, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's fine. You couldn't have known anyways," assured Mika, though with his flat tone of voice, it was practically impossible for Mina to tell if he was being genuine. It wasn't exactly deliberate on his part, but even so, Mikazuki found himself growing rather tense upon being reminded of Tekkadan, and as an instinctive barrier to this, he fell back into his more defensive, monotonous nature, though said nature was quick to falter a tiny bit as he loosened up once more, with him continuing to speak, this time in a slightly gentler tone of voice. "Really, it's fine."
"If… if you say so…" muttered Mina, still sounding a little unsure of herself as she spoke, though she took her acquaintance's word as she fidgeted a tiny bit atop where she sat. To this, Mikazuki hummed a little as he glanced around the room boredly, though not long after, Carolina cleared her throat and continued speaking. "Sorry for dragging you all the way here for nothing, though. I wanted you to meet my friends… and they're not even here, and I'm not really sure if my mum made a good first impression on you…'
"It's fine. I can see them some other day, and your mum's a good person," stated Mikazuki, with him almost smiling as he said this. The pilot couldn't say much on Nac and Annie without meeting them, but as for Mrs Carolina, the older woman did make a good enough first impression on him. Back then, she had been defensive on him, a smart move on her part, as she had assessed him to ensure that he wasn't a threat to either her or her daughter, and after confirming that he wasn't, she had welcomed him warmly, something that he very much appreciated, especially after all those cold welcomes he's been showered with in the past.
It almost made him feel normal for a change…
"Oh! That… that's good to hear! Mum… she's a little protective of me, but that just means that she cares!" stated Mina, with her smiling widely as she spoke. Mikazuki grunted at this, with him agreeing with that as he bit back a frown. Was he envious of his acquaintance…? Probably, but it ultimately mattered very little to him as he sighed and leaned back a little, with him taking in the silence that permeated between the two of them all the while. "Hey, Mikazuki?"
"Hm?"
"Have you ever heard of the Tale of David the Titan Slayer?"
"... no."
"Can I tell it to you?"
"Sure."
And thereafter, Mikazuki was told a story that made him question the use of slingshots.
Humming softly to herself, Mrs Carolina sat atop the couch of her home and kept her eyes shut as she felt the seconds slowly tick by.
Whenever she wasn't at work, the older Carolina would usually be resting as her job took quite a bit out of her, and after the whole incident with the Fall of Maria and whatnot, the lady was forced to work overtime for not much of a pay increase. As one of the very few doctors (or nurses, depending on one's perspective) within the confines of Trost, Mrs Carolina's duty was to ensure the survival of those around her, and in this case, she had to tend to quite a lot of the wounded refugees. There were times where she had to stay at her workplace overnight, and by God, those were the worst…
Thankfully enough, however, her workload had decreased significantly over the past few days. The older Carolina was grateful for this, even more so that she could take some time off and actually speak with her daughter, adopted son and, more recently, the orphan that had come under her care. Annie Leonhardt was her name… a refugee that had fallen incredibly ill mere weeks ago. She was lucky that Mina had found her whilst walking alongside Nac, but even so, Mrs Carolina would've preferred for them to have brought her to her clinic rather than drag her back home, but that was neither here nor there, and for now, she lived with them until she made a full recovery. She had claimed to be fully recovered a few days prior, but she was to stay with them until that was confirmed.
The older Carolina would rather not admit to deliberately wanting her to stay. An orphan running around the streets of Trost in such a chaotic moment in history could only spell disaster.
And now… she had a fourth child to deal with… so to speak. Well, she didn't think that she'd need to deal with him for too long. According to her daughter, Mikazuki did have a place to call home, so to speak, and as such, it was likely that he'd just stay for the night before leaving. That in itself didn't really sit too well with her, however, as, regardless of her wariness of this boy… it did still feel wrong to just send him away. Sure, something about him had set her on edge when she had initially met him, but even so, he was still a kid, one that hailed from Shiganshina, no less. His life was undoubtedly difficult, even before the breach occurred…
But even so… something about him just told Mrs Carolina that he didn't belong here. Not just on a different district sort of level, but on a literal one as well. He just seemed… out of place, standing beside her daughter, and why that was… was beyond even her comprehension.
Not long after she had gotten that thought, however, the older Carolina heard some gentle footfalls coming from the stairs of her home. Turning towards it, she caught sight of Mikazuki walkin down the steps as he descended from the second floor, seeming somewhat forlorn all the while. He was missing his usual green padded jacket as he walked down, though that didn't really bother either him or Mrs Carolina as he stepped down to the first floor and sighed to himself.
He also seemed to be mumbling something about a slingshot, though aside from that, he was dead silent.
"Mikazuki Augus," greeted Mrs Carolina as she smiled sweetly at the aforementioned pilot, who hummed a little as he walked closer to her. He seemed a tiny bit defensive, something that surprised the older Carolina as she watched him move with his guard up. Was she really being obvious with her defensiveness around him? She didn't think so… perhaps he was just very perceptive…?
Right as that thought crossed her mind, Mikazuki turned and glanced over at Mrs Carolina, and right as those soul-sapped blue eyes made eye contact with her own pair of greys, the older Carolina realized that the latter option made more sense. Something about his gaze just made it seem as though he knew much more than he was willing to admit…
"Mrs Carolina," echoed Mikazuki, with him frowning as he rubbed his exposed upper arm. Without his padded green jacket, Mrs Carolina could very easily see that, in a somewhat paradoxical way, Mikazuki was both muscular and skinny all at once. The skin on his exposed arms were bound tightly to his absurdly built arm muscles, with them looking close to bursting at any given second, and by all means, it seemed as though the boy had not a layer of fat on his person. No… all his fat had been removed at this point, with nothing more than steel-plated muscles coming in to replace them.
It was… impressive, to say the least, to see someone as young as him have such a well built form… but even so, it did also sadden Mrs Carolina as she observed the boy from a good distance away.
'Just… why did you have to become like this, Mikazuki Augus…?' thought Mrs Carolina as she kept her eyes locked onto Mikazuki's. 'What circumstances forced you to grow so quickly…?'
"I'll be leaving now."
Rather abruptly, Mrs Carolina found herself being jolted out of her thoughts when she heard the boy speak with no small amount of finality. Blinking a fair bit at that, she turned and saw him waving a hand dismissively in her direction before moving towards the house door. Upon seeing this, the older woman tensed up a fair bit as she, at first, watched as Mikazuki walked towards the door, though not long after, her maternal instincts kicked into overdrive as she jolted upright and held a hand up to her visitor.
"Wait! Why do you wish to leave?" asked Mrs Carolina, with her blurting out her words as she leaned towards the retreating boy, who simply huffed as he turned to face her once more, and as with before, the older woman was surprised to see just how the boy's gaze seemed to be much older than his physical appearance would imply. His physical appearance pointed to him being fifteen, but just through his eyes alone, it seemed as though he were several decades older.
"I know you don't want me here," stated Mikazuki, with him frowning as he spoke. Mrs Carolina shuddered a little at this, with her acknowledging how, to a certain degree, he was right. Although she did have a lot of faith in her daughter, the older Carolina still had a lot of worries that were very much justifiable. It had taken her almost half a year to trust Nac completely, and she was still trying to trust Annie who, based on how Mina was acting, would probably be living with them permanently before long, and considering how Augus was coming in during her process of trusting Leonhardt… one could probably forgive her for being a little on edge.
But still…
"I never said that I didn't want you here, Mikazuki," stated Mrs Carolina, with her eyeing the boy kindly as she spoke. The kid didn't even need a moment to respond as he hummed and shrugged her words off, not really giving a toss as he turned his back to her.
"But I know that I'm not really welcome here. I'll just leave, give you some peace of mind," huffed Mikazuki, only to be once again stopped, though this time, he was physically stopped when, after taking three steps away, Mrs Carolina surprised him by standing up and closing the distance between the two with five, and thereafter, she gently placed a hand atop his shoulder, halting him momentarily.
"Leave… to where?" asked Mrs Carolina, to which Mikazuki shrugged, not looking at her.
"I have somewhere to sleep. It's not the best, but it'll keep me away from here, so that you can sleep better," stated Mikazuki monotonously, to which Mrs Carolina winced. She had hoped that her initial hazing of the boy had not gone too badly, as she had certainly been a little colder than she had unintended to be during their first meeting, and it seemed as though it had gotten off a lot worse than she had initially expected, as Mika had believed that he was entirely unwelcome in her household.
Something that was far from the truth…
"Mikazuki Augus, even if I did genuinely want you out of my sight, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sent a child away in the dead of night, especially when he's not had anything to eat or anything to keep him from freezing to death whilst returning… home…!" stated Mrs Carolina, with her words sounding rather melancholic as she spoke. Upon hearing this, the boy turned to face the older woman stoically, and though he did seem somewhat intimidating… the grey eyed woman said nothing of it as she sighed and continued to speak. "I know it doesn't excuse how I had acted towards you initially… but… I'm sorry for how I had welcomed you initially. I… needed to confirm that you weren't trying to do anything with my daughter. I love her… and… I just needed to be sure."
"You called me her boyfriend," hummed Mikazuki in bemusement, to which Mrs Carolina snorted and offered him a half grin.
"I honestly just wanted to see your reaction. You'd be surprised at how some people's true intentions show themselves when faced with an unexpected variable," smiled Mrs Carolina, with her grin telling him much more than her words ever would as she spoke, though Mikazuki thought it wise to not say much on that as he simply nodded and turned around to face the older woman fully.
"You… really care about Mina, huh?" hummed the blue eyed boy as he glanced up at Mrs Carolina, to which she nodded solemnly.
"She is my daughter… and outside of Nac Tias… she's the only one I have left. If given the chance, I would happily die for her," affirmed Mrs Carolina, with the conviction in her voice surprising even the boy she was speaking to as he blinked at her in surprise, but even so, his surprise subsequently melted into no small amount of respect as he nodded and hummed in approval.
"I can respect that," muttered Mikazuki earnestly, with him loosening up a little upon hearing this declaration, and as he did so, Mrs Carolina saw something… intriguing happen. His eyes… once dull and void of emotion, began to glow a tiny bit with life as he offered her the tiniest of smiles, a gesture that was certainly unexpected of him as he nodded in her direction. He was being genuine with his words… and that only made the older woman feel all the worse for assuming he was here to cause harm.
"If you can respect that… then please, respect my decision to allow you to stay the night as well. You'll catch a cold if you just waltz out of here whilst wearing that," stated Mrs Carolina, with her tone of voice picking up a more maternal tone as she leaned back and placed her hands on her hips. As she spoke, Mikazuki glanced down at himself, confused as to what the lady was talking about as he eyed his body warily. This wasn't too bad, really… when compared to the cold nights on Mars, a single cold night in Trost was nothing.
But still… Mrs Carolina didn't know that, and even if she did, he doubted that she'd really care, and so, with a sigh, he nodded and slouched his shoulders a tiny bit.
"Fine. Just for tonight."
And to that, Mrs Carolina smiled and nodded as she pulled the pilot further back into her home, and all the while, she did her best to avoid staring at the Alaya-Vijnana spinal columns that were present on his back.
Omake
Mina had fallen asleep…
Mikazuki wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but he was aware that it was rather recent, and before she could fall backwards and hit her head against the wall behind her, the pilot jolted forwards and gently caught both her wrist and then her neck to keep her from falling back in an unsavoury manner.
His hands were wrapped around her throat in a somewhat uncomfortable manner. If he placed enough pressure on it, he could very well break her neck in one fell swoop, but for once in his life, he wasn't intending on doing such a thing, as he simply pulled her back up to a sitting position and glanced down at the bed she was sitting on with a neutral gaze. Seeing no reason to overcomplicate things, the pilot shifted Mina into a sleeping position and laid her head atop the pillow on the bed, something that she seemed to appreciate as she mumbled out something incoherent but still appreciative as her head lolled to one side.
"Hmph…" Mina's innocence was certainly something to behold, Mika thought, with him almost smiling as he brushed some of Carolina's bangs off to one side as he turned to find a blanket to cover her with. Admittedly, Trost nights could get rather cold, and although the inside of this room wasn't as cold as the outside, it was still enough that Augus did slightly worry for his acquaintance's health and wellbeing… so when he turned and saw that there was no blanket around, he opted to use the next best thing… his Tekkadan jacket.
Removing it from his person, the pilot gently laid the jacket over Mina's body before he turned to leave the room, though not before he killed the lights on the hanging oil lamp. Although he was reluctant to part with his jacket for extended periods of time, Mikazuki reckoned that he could go without it for a while. He was sure that Carolina would return it, after all… that and after all she's done for him, he reckoned that this would be the least he could do in return.
And with that, the pilot turned to leave the room, though before he could shut the door on his acquaintance, he turned and gave her one last meaningful glance before departing.