I Don't Want to Be Here Either

Eli snapped his head up, and his Gundam Ground Type followed suit, gazing toward the direction from which the beam had originated.

It was a mobile suit perched at the very edge of the rift.

Only upon looking up did Eli notice that the sky was already beginning to brighten.

The light of the desert dawn struck the body of that machine.

Backlit, the silhouette left Eli unable to discern the full details of the unit.

Yet that face—a visage bearing a resemblance to a human's, but possessing the cold, mechanical indifference unique to machines—made Eli feel as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar.

He bit his lower lip, his voice trembling as he spat out two syllables.

"GUNDAM..."

"Mr. Eli, are you alright! The enemy warship has begun to retreat, and the other Gouf ran away... are you two okay?"

There was a faint hint of pride in Amuro's youthful voice, seeking validation, which only forced Eli to pull a strained, reluctant smile.

"...Aina, let's go. Let's leave this war behind."

Shiro Amada's entire body was trembling over the death of Norris.

However, upon hearing that it was Amuro, all the words he wanted to scream were stifled in his chest.

Eli understood how Shiro Amada felt.

Aina was a person imprisoned by war, but was Amuro not also a child alienated by it?

From Amuro's perspective, he had fought hard to take down the other Gouf and neutralized the crisis facing White Base.

He had rushed to the scene immediately afterward, only to see the Gouf launching a charge the moment he arrived.

Could one truly call it a mistake for him to eliminate an enemy threatening his comrades at that moment?

And yet, could one praise him for piloting such a Gundam as a child?

Deep down, there was regret and grief over the death of Norris.

But Shiro Amada controlled these emotions well, refusing to vent them upon Amuro.

He simply held the girl in his arms and operated his machine to slowly kneel.

Unlike the excitement he felt when he first boarded his unit half a month ago, he now only wished to leave this weapon of steel.

To take Aina with him.

"Mr. Eli, did I do something wrong..."

The Gundam, also slowly descending to the bottom of the valley, came to a stop beside Eli's Ground Type.

Amuro looked at Shiro Amada, who was kneeling on the ground while cradling Aina, and a strange, turbulent emotion surged within him.

Even for an Amuro who was full of impulse and emotional volatility during this period, he was moved by the scene before him.

The relationship between Shiro Amada and Aina transcended stances and surpassed mere romance.

It was as if, in those few short hours in space, they had come to understand everything about one another.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Amuro. No one did... perhaps I am the one who is wrong."

Hearing Eli's response, a specific term suddenly surfaced in Amuro's mind.

"Newtype."

It was a term that everyone in the Southeast Asia base, from Colonel Yinsen to the rank-and-file soldiers, would mention once they learned of his identity.

But compared to himself, who had been pulling the trigger every step of the way, the two people tightly embracing each other seemed much more like Newtypes.

A shadow slowly loomed over the three mobile suits.

Amuro operated his machine to look up, seeing the massive frame of the Apsalus slowly descending.

Their mission had been completed perfectly, even exceeding expectations.

Yet, there was not a shred of joy in Amuro's heart.

He was not a soldier.

Even if he were, how could he remain indifferent after understanding everything that had transpired?

"Is that so? Well done. Not only did you shoot down the Zeon flight unit, but you also successfully captured the pilot of that Apsalus. You truly are our ace."

At the Southeast Asia base, Colonel Yinsen was patting Eli on the shoulder with a face full of smiles, clearly very satisfied with the results of the battle.

The entire team had returned unscathed, the wreckage of the flight unit had been recovered, and the Apsalus had been brought back intact.

In any military district, this would be considered a major achievement.

"Reporting, sir. We convinced the pilot of the Apsalus to surrender."

Eli did not respond to Colonel Yinsen's praise, choosing instead to salute and correct a misconception in the Colonel's words.

Colonel Yinsen slowly withdrew his smile, looking Eli up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on the military insignia on Eli's shoulder.

"I understand. It seems I remembered incorrectly."

Colonel Yinsen nodded, signaling to Eli that he had acknowledged the statement.

"Go and get some rest. After such a great battle, the entire base is cheering for you."

Colonel Yinsen sat back down at his desk, setting to work on changing the report on the tablet from 'captured' to 'persuaded to surrender.'

"Yes, sir! It is all thanks to Colonel Yinsen's brilliant leadership."

Eli saluted once more. Watching the other man smile as he finished editing the document, Eli bowed slightly, turned, and left.

That last sentence was truly disgusting.

Disgusted by his own words, Eli left Yinsen's office and stepped outside.

There, Shiro Amada was clearly waiting.

He was not wearing his Federation Forces uniform, standing there in plain clothes instead.

"Have you made your decision?"

Eli looked at the man before him.

He seemed to have matured overnight; the restlessness on his face had vanished.

"Yeah, I've decided. Although the military won't let Aina and me leave here just yet, I will take Aina to the rear to live under Federation surveillance for a while. Once the war is over, I'll take her away for good."

Eli knew that while Shiro made it sound easy, he had traded all his military merits just to secure this opportunity.

"It won't be easy."

"No, it won't."

Shiro opened the lady's pocket watch again, flipping to the side containing the photograph.

Aina's brother, Ginias, was undoubtedly a handsome man.

"I once wanted to change things, to drive Zeon out and alter the course of this war. But I achieved nothing, and in the end, I can only run away."

Following this, a long silence fell between the two.

Eli thought about how, at the very beginning, he had been completely unable to understand the feelings between Shiro and Aina, yet he had been deeply moved by the death of Norris.

Even though they had never truly communicated, only exchanging harsh words during battle.

Perhaps humanity is always in pursuit of something beautiful.

What was Norris thinking when he launched his final charge?

"Ensign Shiro Amada, I believe I said it before: good people should leave Zeon."

"Yeah, that's right."

Shiro remembered those words vividly.

"I still think so even now... but you and Aina made me realize something. Perhaps for some people, they are only one opportunity away from becoming good."

Eli patted Shiro on the shoulder and began walking toward the base gate.

"Lieutenant Eli."

Before he had taken many steps, Eli was called back by Shiro.

Eli turned his head to see that the same determination he had witnessed when they first met had returned to Shiro's eyes.

"I couldn't change anything, but I believe you have the ability to change this war, and perhaps even this world. At the very least, you possess that possibility."

Unconsciously, Shiro had even used an honorific in his words.

"If you can, will you do something? If only for the sake of that child, so that Amuro doesn't get swallowed by this war like Aina was."

Even though he wasn't piloting a mobile suit and shouldn't have been receiving any system bonuses, Eli understood exactly what Shiro was trying to say.

Just as Norris had entrusted Aina to Shiro, Shiro was entrusting his dreams and aspirations to Eli.

Eli looked away, as if their intersecting gazes could not bear the weight of that ideal.

"I am merely a soldier..."