You Say You Don't Want to Be Here

"Norris, let him go..."

As Norris stood in a standoff against the two Gundam Ground Types, a voice that sent a chill through his heart came over the comms.

"Miss Aina, what are you..."

At this distance, they were able to establish a video link.

Norris quickly noticed that Aina had removed her pilot helmet, revealing her short, silver-white hair.

In a daze, Norris remembered how Miss Aina used to wear her hair long when she was a child.

Back then, Aina had been like a real doll, the kind that made anyone who looked at her want to protect her.

When was it that this adorable doll had traded her innocence for a military uniform?

"Norris, it turns out I'm not cut out to be a pilot. I don't want to stay here at all. Weapons that can so easily take the lives of others... they shouldn't have anything to do with me..."

Even though Aina was smiling, how could Norris, who had watched her grow up, fail to see the strain and sorrow in the depths of her eyes?

"Aina..."

"Shiro Amada, he's a Federation pilot, yet why did he help me back then? I can no longer understand what this war between Zeon and the Federation is really about."

Seeing Aina unable to stop once she started, Norris finally realized just how much psychological pressure she had been facing every day.

Her brother had shackled her life, binding her to this weapon of murder against her own will.

He should have noticed sooner.

"My brother's expectations, Shiro's invitation—I don't want to let either of them down. Tell me, Norris, can you teach me what to do..."

Aina's smile was so forced that all Norris could do was open his mouth, only to find he couldn't utter a single syllable.

What could he say? He had acted as her guardian, positioning himself as her elder, yet he hadn't even perceived the state of her heart.

Suddenly, Norris's pupils contracted.

A warning alarm blared inside the cockpit.

It wasn't a lock-on warning, but an alert that a friendly cockpit was opening.

At this distance, Norris could see Aina's figure, so slender compared to the Apsalus, looking like she was trapped in the maw of a monster.

"Shiro, catch me."

There was no dramatic leap; the figure simply drifted away as if blown by the wind, falling deep into the rift!

"Miss Aina!"

Norris roared in shock.

But at that moment, his machine shuddered violently.

He immediately turned his head to see the Gundam Ground Type he had been pinning down punch the head of his Gouf, breaking free from his grasp.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Gundam jumped away from the Apsalus, even engaging its thrusters to dive downward!

"Shiro! That guy."

Eli watched as Shiro—who had been unresponsive and likely knocked unconscious when the Gouf kicked him earlier—suddenly woke up and began a suicidal descent.

But putting that aside, Eli immediately aimed his rifle at the Gouf, intending to kill it in one shot before going to assist Shiro Amada.

However, the Gouf followed the Gundam Ground Type's lead, diving downward as well.

"One after the other... Sanders, get to the Apsalus cockpit! You must not let this thing crash!"

As Eli gave the order, he maneuvered his machine to the edge of the Apsalus, crouched down, and leveled his Beam Rifle at the diving Gouf.

"Aina!"

"Miss Aina!"

What left Eli dazed was the sound of two men's roars overlapping.

There should have only been Shiro Amada on the comms, yet he could clearly hear Norris's voice.

Was this the ability of a Newtype? He had never heard it so clearly before.

"If you don't want to stay here, then I'll take you away! Zeon, Federation—it doesn't matter! Let's leave this place, leave this battlefield!"

Shiro Amada's roar seemed to echo across the entire battlefield.

But Aina, standing before his machine, remained unmoved, letting herself be tossed about by the erratic winds of the rift.

Shiro Amada slammed his control stick forward.

The force of the movement pushed the machine's hands outward!

He cupped his hands forward, as if catching a falling withered leaf, shielding Aina's body within his palms.

Without a second thought, Shiro Amada opened the cockpit, braved the gale, and reached out to touch Aina.

Then, he pulled her body into his arms, fell backward, and returned to the cockpit.

The cockpit sealed shut, cutting off the howling wind and sheltering the two of them together.

"Wait for me, Aina. I'm taking you out of here right now!"

Shiro Amada placed his hands back onto the control sticks.

However, the Ground Gundam had been in freefall for too long, even accelerating with its thrusters, and the remaining distance might not be enough to complete a reverse-thrust deceleration.

"Click!"

Suddenly, after a jolt, the machine gained extra lift, slowing its descent.

"To think..."

Eli slowly retracted the cockpit's optical sight, his gaze complex as he watched the scene displayed on the screen.

That Gouf Flight Type had discarded the shield on its left arm, wedged that arm under the Ground Gundam's armpit, and simultaneously activated all its own thrusters to perform a reverse-thrust alongside the Gundam.

In this way, both machines would be able to land safely.

"Sanders, go take control of the Apsalus. I'm going down to take a look."

With that, Eli operated his own machine and leaped downward as well.

While performing intermittent thruster deceleration in mid-air, he had already realized why Aina would do such a thing.

Unwilling to let down Shiro or her brother, the only thing she could do was to cast everything aside with a resolute attitude, allowing herself to break free from it all.

Although it seemed like an act of escapism, it was the choice that would cause the least harm to others—the only one a bird in a cage could make.

When Eli reached the ground, the two machines had already separated.

The Ground Gundam was still standing on the valley floor, appearing to have suffered little damage.

However, the Gouf Flight Type was billowing black smoke; clearly, its engines had all blown out, and the machine could no longer fight.

"...Are you Shiro Amada..."

As Eli approached, he happened to hear the conversation between the two over the comms.

"I am."

"Is that so... I, who failed to perceive Miss Aina's heart, am a negligent retainer... Can you keep your promise? To take Miss Aina away from this war."

"I can."

Eli's arrival did not distract Norris in the slightest; his gaze remained fixed solely on the man whom Miss Aina had given her heart to.

"I see. In that case, I can rest easy..."

Immediately following this, the Gouf began to stride forward, slowly accelerating toward the two Ground Gundams.

"Don't fi—"

"Vwoom!"

Before Shiro Amada could finish his sentence, a pink beam struck from above, hitting the Gouf.

The shooter's technique was excellent, completely avoiding the possibility of detonating the fusion reactor, simply melting through the cockpit and piercing through from the upper chest to the back.

"Who is it!"