Graduation Season

Time flew by, and before they knew it, September 20 had arrived.

Ino and the others had reached their graduation ceremony.

The ZAFT Military Academy graduation ceremony was especially grand during this extraordinary time.

It was easy to understand why.

ZAFT urgently needed to prove its strength to the residents of PLANT once more.

After the Bloody Valentine incident in C.E. 69,

ZAFT had swelled in size as many hot-blooded young people volunteered to enlist. Ironically, however, the expanded military had been weakened considerably.

The reason was that many new recruits were injured and discharged after every battle, and there had been no shortage of cases where entire units were wiped out in intense combat.

Even Coordinators, whose genetic modifications gave them exceptional physical abilities, couldn't make full use of those abilities without proper military training.

That was why pilots like Ino only had one year of training.

It wasn't that the school didn't want to give them more time. ZAFT simply couldn't spare more than a year.

ZAFT's graduation ceremony wasn't much different from any other.

The only real difference was that the speakers and the guests in attendance held rather high positions.

For example, the speaker was Defense Minister Patrick Zala.

Among the guests were Chief of Staff Natarle, attending in her capacity as chief of staff; Rau Le Creuset, the Nebula Medal recipient dressed in white and wearing a mask; and Lacus Clyne, the songstress representing Siegel Clyne.

There were also several other Supreme Council members wearing purple uniforms.

Onstage, Patrick Zala delivered his speech.

In the front row sat Athrun and the others in their red uniforms. Ino was among them, of course.

Unlike the others, whose attention was focused elsewhere,

Ino kept his eyes mostly on Le Creuset and Lacus.

It was his first time seeing them in person, too.

As if they had noticed his gaze, Lacus and Le Creuset both smiled and nodded in his direction.

Of course, Ino couldn't be sure whether they were nodding to him or to Athrun and the others beside him. From the looks of it, though, they were probably acknowledging the latter.

After all, Athrun Zala seemed to be a member of Le Creuset's team, while Lacus Clyne was Athrun Zala's fiancée.

There was no denying that Patrick Zala, as the leader of the Zala Faction and one of PLANT's founding pioneers,

was a gifted speaker. Just look at the cadets below, who were practically ready to burst with fervor, and you could tell how skilled he was.

The graduation ceremony proceeded quickly.

Before long, it was drawing to a close.

By noon, everything had wrapped up.

"Say cheese!"

"Click!"

In front of the Military Academy's gate, a crisp shutter click captured eight youthful faces, preserving them forever in a photograph.

Looking at the picture in his hands, Ino felt a jumble of emotions.

Athrun Zala, Yzak Joule, Nicol Amalfi, Dearka Elsman, Rusty Mackenzie, Michelle Aiman, Giles Arthur—

Those were the seven people from his memories. But now there was one more: himself, Eno Kamal.

Six in red and two in green...

I really did get thrown into the story, didn't I? But why was I assigned to Le Creuset's team?

Eno Kamal had a general idea of how the story would unfold, and he didn't want to join Le Creuset's team.

He had once thought about leaving the battlefield aboard the Archangel, but that had only been wishful thinking.

It simply wasn't feasible in practice.

In the middle of a battle, if an enemy soldier ran up to you and said, "I'm one of you," wouldn't you just shoot him?

The only way would be to infiltrate the neutral satellite in advance and provide them with information, but that was impossible.

After all, he was a spy—and an exposed one at that. Until he earned their trust, they would never let him act alone.

If he showed even the slightest sign of being out of line, he could end up making a heroic sacrifice and becoming a martyr.

But why had they assigned him to Le Creuset's team?

Le Creuset's was an elite unit, responsible for very important missions.

So why assign a spy like him to it...? To keep an eye on him? To test him? Or both?

"What do you mean, thrown into the story?"

Nicol suddenly leaned over from beside him.

"Nothing."

At Nicol's words, Ino gathered his thoughts and put the photograph away.

Whatever ZAFT's reason for assigning him to Le Creuset's team, all he needed was to stay alive for now. As for the future, he'd have to take it one step at a time.

But going after the Earth Alliance...

Maybe it was because his predecessor had been brainwashed too thoroughly, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Even thinking about it stirred up a strange feeling of resistance.

Of course, that resistance seemed insignificant when his life was at stake.

"Did you need something?"

Ino looked at Nicol.

"We're having a team dinner this afternoon. Do you want to come with us now?"

Nicol asked with a cheerful smile.

"Sure... I'll come by this afternoon."

Ino had just been about to agree when he noticed Instructor Natarle standing not far away with two adjutants, watching him.

"All right. Remember to come by this afternoon."

Nicol didn't press him. He turned and left after saying that.

After Nicol had gone, Ino straightened his clothes and walked over to Instructor Natarle.

"Instructor."

Ino saluted her.

Instructor Natarle didn't speak right away. She looked him up and down, taking in his uniform, then said, "That uniform suits you. You made the right choice."

"Did I?"

Ino looked confused. He had a feeling there was something hidden in what she'd said.

"Ino, there's something I want to ask you. I hope you'll answer me."

Instructor Natarle continued.

"What is it?"

Ino thought Instructor Natarle was acting a little strangely today.

"Do you think you're a Coordinator?"

Instructor Natarle asked.

"Of course."

Ino looked puzzled. Wasn't the answer obvious?

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. Do you consider yourself a Coordinator of PLANT?"

Instructor Natarle asked again.

"..."

Ino's expression stiffened. The question made his heart tighten, and it brought some uncertain suspicions to mind.

"Whether we're Coordinators or Naturals, each of us is an individual, and each of us should have thoughts of our own."

Instructor Natarle didn't know exactly what she was saying or what she wanted to express. She just felt she had to say what was on her mind. "I hope you'll always have your own independent views. We humans are free, and so are our thoughts. I hope you'll use your own reason, free from outside interference, to find your own path—the path that's truly yours."

"Instructor..."

"You're very clever, but clever people often end up more vulnerable to outside influences. I hope the future you look forward to is one you truly desire for yourself."

At that, Instructor Natarle suddenly smiled. "Sorry, I'm not even sure what I'm saying anymore."

Eno Kamal fell silent. He didn't know how to respond to Instructor Natarle's words.

"You're still young. You're a long, long way from the end of your journey. I hope you'll think carefully about what kind of path you truly want to take."

After saying that, Instructor Natarle reached out to straighten Ino's uniform, then smiled. "This uniform really does suit you."

With that, Instructor Natarle turned and left with her two adjutants.

Watching her walk away, Ino opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say a thing. He could only silently watch her disappear into the crowd.