The Fragile Jiliang

Meanwhile, Mu, who had successfully completed his surprise attack mission and drawn part of the CGUEs' attention during the return, piloted the Moebius Zero safely back to the Archangel's landing area. At that moment, the tide of battle finally tipped completely in the Earth Alliance's favor.

Having lost their flagship and command, the remaining ZAFT units had no will to continue fighting.

Athrun Zala's Aegis Gundam cast a long look at the retreating Blaze Gundam and Strike Gundam. His gaze was complicated and unreadable, but in the end, he chose to lead the other units in retreat.

Yzak's Duel Gundam and Michel's Ginn seemed to want to pursue them. They followed Xia Ya's group for some distance, and Yzak's resentful, furious glare seemed ready to burn straight through the Blaze Gundam's armor.

But in the end, reason overcame impulse. They did nothing after all, turning back to follow the main force and reluctantly withdrawing from the battlefield.

Xia Ya silently watched the red and blue figures receding through his rear sensors, countless emotions churning within him.

He sighed softly, pushed aside his stray thoughts, and guided the Blaze Gundam and Strike Gundam slowly toward the Archangel's open hangar entrance.

The Moebius Zero, Strike Gundam, and Blaze Gundam—three units that had weathered fierce combat—were brought aboard one after another.

Xia Ya was the last to return. Only when the Blaze Gundam came to a steady stop in the restraints at the end of the launch deck did a profound weariness wash over him like a tide.

He slowly unfastened his safety harness and removed his helmet, revealing a slightly pale but still handsome face.

He took a deep breath of air tinged with engine oil and coolant, opened the cockpit hatch, and descended the ladder with somewhat heavy steps.

"Hey, little girl, are you okay!?"

"Jiliang! Move aside! Check the circuits! What's going on? Is the hatch not opening?"

The moment Xia Ya touched the ground, the sight around the Strike Gundam came into view.

The maintenance crew's technicians were bustling around the gray-white machine, anxious expressions on their faces.

Mu stood nearby as well, his brow deeply furrowed as he seemed to speak with one of the mechanics. The Strike Gundam's cockpit hatch was shut tight, and Jiliang... still had not come out.

Come to think of it, wasn't it like this back on Heliopolis too? A vague fragment of memory flashed through Xia Ya's mind, and a strong sense of déjà vu arose.

He steadied himself and called toward the Strike Gundam, "Jiliang? Aren't you coming out?"

When Mu saw Xia Ya approach, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on his face. "Xia Ya... you're back. Ah, honestly, this girl seems terrified. She won't respond no matter how we call her, and she locked the hatch from the inside."

A confident smile appeared on Xia Ya's face, though it carried a trace of barely perceptible complicated emotion. "Yeah, leave it to me, Mu."

He stepped forward and stopped Mu, who was about to try opening the hatch with the external emergency release. "Let me try."

It might have been presumptuous of him, but Xia Ya vaguely felt that compared to having Brother Mu comfort her as in the "original story" he remembered, it might work better if he, someone closer to Jiliang and the one who had just pulled her out of danger, spoke to her instead. Perhaps it would help Jiliang calm down more easily.

He walked beneath the Strike Gundam's cockpit and skillfully operated the external communications and release panel—the operating system was very similar to the Blaze Gundam's.

With a faint mechanical sound, the cockpit hatch slowly slid upward.

Xia Ya took a deep breath and gently leaned his upper body inside.

Jiliang was still wearing her helmet, her head hanging low. All he could hear was her rapid, suppressed breathing. "Hah... hah... hah..."

Her helmet concealed her face, and Xia Ya could not see her expression. Her hands still gripped the control sticks so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. Her body sat stiffly in the pilot's seat, completely motionless, as though her soul remained trapped in the desperate life-and-death struggle from moments ago.

"Jiliang..." Xia Ya softened his voice, with a touch of tentative gentleness. "Jiliang, it's me."

There was no response.

He called her again, but she still did not react. Xia Ya reached out and lightly patted her shoulder, covered by her pilot suit.

"Jiliang?"

As if startled awake by that slight touch, Jiliang's body suddenly shuddered violently. Slowly, painfully slowly, she raised her lowered head.

Through her helmet's visor, Xia Ya saw a pair of vacant, bloodshot eyes.

"Xia... Ya...?" Her voice was faint as a dream, filled with uncertainty.

"Yeah, it's Xia Ya." Xia Ya answered quickly, an indescribable pain rising in his heart.

Only then did he notice that even through her pilot suit and helmet, he could feel how cold and trembling her body was. Her face... was probably as pale as paper by now.

Was this... the fear of facing death head-on?

What he had seen in the animation and what he was experiencing firsthand now were entirely different kinds of impact.

This girl, usually gentle and kind, even somewhat timid, had been forced to bear such terrifying pressure.

"The battle is over." Xia Ya did his best to keep his voice steady.

Jiliang seemed unable to fully understand what that meant. She repeated blankly, "...It's over?"

"Yeah." Xia Ya explained patiently. "We're safe. You're alive, I'm alive, and the Archangel is unharmed. The enemy has already retreated."

As he spoke, he carefully reached out, intending to help loosen her fingers from the control sticks.

Her fingers were abnormally stiff and cold from gripping too hard. Xia Ya moved with exceptional gentleness and slowness, afraid of hurting her or startling her again.

"I..." Jiliang seemed to want to say something, but only managed a single syllable.

"...Come out now." Seeing her like this, Xia Ya said instinctively, "You can't stay in a place like this forever."

"A place like this"—only after saying it did he realize how vague those words were.

Did he mean the Strike Gundam's cockpit? Or... the battlefield? Or perhaps this situation, where death could come at any moment?

Even he did not fully understand.

He only knew that seeing Jiliang like this hurt him deeply.

"Xia Ya!" As if confirming that he was really there, Jiliang suddenly cried out, her voice trembling with tears.

"Ah... I'm here." Xia Ya answered as he continued gently moving her hands off the controls, then reached over to undo the buckle of her safety harness.

The instant the harness loosened, Jiliang seemed to lose all support. She suddenly lunged forward and tightly embraced Xia Ya, who was leaning into the cockpit!

Her arms wrapped tightly around his back, and she buried her face deep against his chest, as though she wanted to press her entire body into his.

Xia Ya could clearly feel the violent, uncontrollable trembling of her body, as well as the suppressed sobs coming through her thin pilot suit.

In the most instinctive way possible, she was venting the fear, despair, and relief of surviving that had been piling up inside her.

"..." Xia Ya's body instantly stiffened.

Faced with such a direct and dependent reaction from her, he did not know what to do for a moment.

He said nothing, nor did he embrace her in return. He simply remained leaning into the cockpit, quietly standing there and allowing her to seek comfort in his arms, feeling her cold body and racing heartbeat.

He could not push her away, nor could he... take the initiative to hold her.

Because he was painfully reflecting on it within his heart.

He... was the one who had hoped this gentle, timid girl could pilot a weapon made for killing and go to war.

He... was the one who knew she was not suited for combat, yet still believed he would need her strength in the future.

Did someone like him truly have the right to reach out and comfort this girl who had been wounded all over by his own, albeit indirect, expectations?

No. How could he?

At least, until Jiliang calmed down on her own, while she needed this support, perhaps the only thing he could do—and the only thing he should do—was bear her weight in silence like this, letting her find a harbor where she could rest for now.

Xia Ya closed his eyes and silently made up his mind.

No matter what happened in the future, no matter what price he had to pay, he would definitely... protect her.

"I am Athrun Zala. I received the notification and have come to report."

His voice was steady, carrying a trace of barely noticeable exhaustion, yet his posture remained as upright as a soldier's should be. Athrun stood before the heavy metal door of the Vesalius's captain's quarters, his expression solemn and his eyes still holding the complicated emotions left by the fierce battle.

That heart-stopping battle had ended with the Archangel's devastating positron cannon.

The Vesalius, as though grazed by the hand of a god, had escaped by sheer luck—but it was already covered in wounds.

At that moment, the advanced ZAFT warship was moving slowly along its retreat route, its interior filled with the smell of burning and the noise of tense repair work.

Within this battered warship, in the captain's quarters below the bridge, Athrun Zala had arrived in response to the summons.

Near the end of the battle, he, Michel, Yzak, and the others had withdrawn first to another accompanying Laurasia-class battleship, the Gamow, for brief resupply and rest.

But before long, they had received an order from Captain Creuset, demanding that he and Michel take a shuttle back to the more heavily damaged flagship, the Vesalius.

And now, Rau Le Creuset had summoned him alone to the captain's quarters.

Athrun pushed open the hatch and entered. The room's lighting was soft, but the air felt heavy enough to have frozen solid.

Rau Le Creuset, the man who always wore a mask and whose depths no one could fathom, stood with his back to the door before the massive viewport, gazing out at the deep darkness of space.

Hearing the footsteps, Creuset slowly turned around. Rather than sitting in the command seat normally reserved for the captain, he walked to the desk in the center of the room and leaned against its edge.

His mask concealed his expression, but the eyes visible through its slits fixed on Athrun with a sharp, appraising gaze.

"Have you arrived, Athrun?" Creuset's voice revealed neither joy nor anger, as always carrying that subtly magnetic quality. "I would have preferred to let you rest immediately, but before that, there are some matters I would like to hear you explain."

He straightened and walked slowly toward Athrun. The invisible pressure grew stronger as he approached.

"In the previous battle," Creuset stopped in front of Athrun, with only a few steps between them, his gaze seeming able to pierce Athrun's heart, "you did not appear to display the strength you should have. Especially when facing that Strike Gundam..."

Creuset paused, as though weighing his words, or perhaps applying pressure to Athrun.

"You seemed... even somewhat hesitant."

At those words, Athrun's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. He lowered his eyes slightly, avoiding Creuset's probing gaze and remaining silent.

But his faintly tightened lips and unconsciously clenched fists exposed the turmoil within him.

The Strike Gundam's pilot... Jiliang... the girl he should have protected was wearing the enemy's uniform, piloting an enemy machine, and facing him in battle...

Creuset seemed to see through his thoughts, or perhaps he was merely making an accurate deduction based on his observations from the battlefield.

He asked softly, with just the right amount of "concern" in his tone:

"Can you tell me why, Athrun?"