Xia Ya's Confusion

If he were a Coordinator, and possessed sensory abilities even stronger than Lacus and Orphee's, then perhaps that phenomenon could be reasonably explained.

But that thought only circled through his mind for an instant before Xia Ya firmly rejected it himself.

No, he was not a Coordinator. He was a Natural.

His reasoning came from what he knew about his nominal father—Al Da Flaga.

Al Da Flaga was a man full of contradictions and mysteries, but there was no doubt about his pride in his bloodline and talent.

Xia Ya clearly remembered his father's almost cutting assessment of "Coordinators." It did not stem from discrimination or hatred, but from a deeper arrogance belonging to a top-tier elite.

"The crystallization of jealousy and desire accumulated among talentless people, eventually made manifest... idiots." Al Da Flaga's original words seemed to still echo in his ears.

He did not hate Coordinators. In his eyes, they were not even worthy of special emotion.

He simply believed that no matter how humanity deliberately enhanced so-called "talent" by manipulating genetic factors, it could never compare to genuine inborn gifts—like the talent he possessed himself, and the kind he hoped his descendants would inherit.

If that was the case, what reason would Al Da Flaga have to perform such a superfluous act as genetic modification on his own child?

In his view, so long as his talent could be successfully inherited by his child, there was no need at all for such artificial methods, which he might even have considered inferior. That had to have been Al's unwavering conviction.

So he could be almost certain that he was a Natural.

Then that phenomenon just now... could it have been the Flaga Family's inherited special spatial awareness, or a Newtype-like sensory ability, mutating or amplifying under certain conditions?

"Flaga's special ability..." Xia Ya frowned deeply, unconsciously rubbing his temples. "Then something similar should have happened when I faced Rau Le Creuset before..."

That time, he had indeed sensed the other man's hostility and some kind of mental connection, but it had been more like a vague collision of thoughts and emotional perception. It was worlds apart from what had happened with Lacus just now, a soul-searching experience that had completely laid bare their memories and emotions and poured them into each other.

That time, he had not received Rau Le Creuset's memories, and the other man seemingly had not glimpsed the deepest secrets of his soul either.

"Damn it... no, I don't understand it at all!" Xia Ya cursed under his breath and vigorously shook his head.

No matter how hard he racked his brain, applying the knowledge and logic accumulated over two lifetimes, he could not find a flawless explanation for that brief yet profound mental link—one that could fully convince even himself.

The sensation had been too unique, too deep, beyond every category he currently understood.

Since he could not figure it out, he would stop thinking about it for now.

Xia Ya was not someone who liked to obsess over dead ends, especially in an environment filled with danger.

He forced himself to temporarily set aside that unsolved question—what exactly had that phenomenon been?

He knew that agonizing over its source had little practical meaning right now.

Whatever force had caused it—Lacus's special potential, some abnormality within himself, or sparks created by the collision of both—it had already happened.

What he needed to do now was not investigate the cause, but consider how to deal with the consequences already created.

The consequence was that Lacus Clyne had read his memories.

Not merely simple thoughts or emotions, but deep memories. Inevitably, that included... his memories of a "previous life."

Yes, memories of the work itself, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. This world's past, present, and... foreseeable future.

The course of the war, the fates of its people, the changing of powers, the evolution of technology... all of that had probably flooded into Lacus's consciousness without reservation, like a torrent of data.

Even the memory of that theoretically existing "happy ending" awaiting her and Kira Yamato at that distant end filled with sacrifice and struggle...

"..." Xia Ya's breathing became hurried again.

This was even worse than exposing the fact that he was a transmigrator!

It was equivalent to leaking the entire world's "script" in advance to one of the most important characters in the story!

What kind of chain reaction would this trigger?

How would Lacus view this information?

Would she believe it?

How would she use it?

Would her attitude toward Jiliang change because of it?

What about her view of the war?

Countless questions collided wildly in his mind like out-of-control particles, making his head feel as though it were about to split apart.

Just as Xia Ya sank into his own storm of thoughts, nearly crushed beneath that heavy "future," a monotonous yet clear electronic chime suddenly sounded in the room—the indoor communicator signaling that he had a visitor.

He paused slightly, then almost instantly guessed who it was.

Who else but his older brother, who was always worried about him, would come looking for him at a time like this?

He slowly rose from the floor, walked to the communications panel beside the door, and pressed the call button.

Sure enough, Mu La Flaga's handsome face appeared on the screen, his expression clearly filled with concern.

His dazed, frantic flight from the hangar just now had apparently frightened Mu badly.

"Xia Ya... are you all right?" Mu's voice came through the speaker, the concern in his tone nearly overflowing. He sounded cautious, as though afraid of touching something fragile.

Xia Ya took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound as calm and normal as possible. "Yeah, I'm fine... Big Brother. I'll open the door now."

As he spoke, he pressed the door control. With a soft mechanical unlocking sound, the door slid aside and revealed Mu standing outside, his expression complicated.

Meeting his brother's gaze, Xia Ya instinctively felt a flicker of doubt. Did his expression look normal enough right now?

He hadn't revealed any inexplicable flaws, had he?

Yet when Mu saw his face clearly, the worry on his face did not lessen. Instead, as if he had seen something deeply painful, his brows furrowed even tighter.

Xia Ya knew that his condition just now had probably been far worse than he himself had realized.

Before Mu could ask again, Xia Ya hurriedly asked the question that concerned him most, though he knew it was somewhat rude to the brother who had just been worrying about him. "Brother. Lac... where is that girl?"

He was far too worried about Lacus.

According to the original plot, after he had "run away"—though there had been no such scene in the original—Mu, Captain Ramius, and Lieutenant Badgiruel should have conducted a routine interrogation of Lacus.

But now Mu was standing outside his room. Before that, Lacus had just experienced that bizarre mental link with him, after which he had put on a panicked escape...

Under those circumstances, it would not have been surprising if something had deviated from the original plot. He had to confirm Lacus's safety and situation.

Hearing this, Mu sighed softly and looked at him with complicated eyes. "Yeah... things got a little complicated after that. She was temporarily taken to solitary confinement."

As if struck by a bolt of lightning, Xia Ya's pupils contracted instantly. His voice rose in disbelief. "What...? Solitary, solitary confinement!? Why!?" Anger and anxiety surged through his heart like flames.

Seeing how agitated he was, Mu patiently explained, "You're asking why... The initial assessment is that the girl is likely connected to important ZAFT personnel. And the way you were just now... it was obvious that girl had done something to you, right? That's what everyone thinks."

So it really was because of him... Xia Ya's heart sank. Though the reason was not unexpected, he had not thought things would truly develop this far. He knew that his brother and the others on the bridge had clearly misunderstood what had happened, attributing his abnormal reaction to some kind of attack or mental control by Lacus.

He immediately denied it, his tone urgent and firm. "She didn't do anything! She didn't do anything to me! Locking her in solitary confinement is going too far!"

Mu's frown deepened, his voice carrying confusion and a trace of suspicion. "No... but the way you looked then was extremely unusual. Everyone saw it. If that girl hadn't tampered with you somehow, then what happened to you? Why did you suddenly run away like that?"

"That was—" Xia Ya struggled fiercely inside, the words reaching his lips but leaving him unable to say them.

Facing Mu's probing gaze, filled with concern and confusion, he truly did not know how to answer.

Was he supposed to tell him that he and P.L.A.N.T.'s songstress had instantly exchanged their deepest emotions and memories because of some supernatural phenomenon that even he could not understand?

That even his greatest secret—that he had transmigrated from another world—was now known to her?

Who would believe something like that? He would probably only be regarded as mentally unstable or babbling nonsense.

No... wait. Mu was different. He was a member of the Flaga Family and possessed that same special sensory ability.

Perhaps... perhaps he could understand? Even if only part of it?

Xia Ya fell into intense internal conflict. Should he confess, or conceal it?

The risks confession might bring were enormous, but if he kept it hidden, Lacus would suffer an undeserved injustice.

In the end, after weighing it again and again, he chose the latter. Without absolute certainty, he could not take that risk.

He took a deep breath, avoided Mu's gaze, and spoke in a low, helpless voice. "...I'm sorry, Big Brother. I can't tell you the specific reason right now."

"Xia Ya." Mu softly called his name, a trace of disappointment and worry in his voice.

Xia Ya raised his head. His gaze became firm again as he looked straight into his brother's eyes and spoke in an unquestionable tone:

"But that girl is absolutely not at fault! She's innocent! Given her identity, it's understandable that she can't be allowed to move freely around the ship, but there is absolutely no reason for her to be treated like a criminal! Please believe me!"

Since he could not explain the truth behind the phenomenon, all he could do was use his own credibility and attitude to defend Lacus as best he could.

He knew that such an explanation would surely sound pale and even willful to Mu, but he had no other choice.

He had to let Mu know that Lacus was innocent. At the very least, she had done nothing bad to him.

Mu silently looked into Xia Ya's unusually resolute blue eyes. After a long while, he let out a heavy, helpless sigh, as though exhaling all the doubts and worries in his heart.

The stern expression on his face finally softened somewhat, revealing a wry smile mixed with indulgence and exasperation.

"Honestly... why are you trying so hard for a girl you just met?" he muttered softly. Then he looked up and met Xia Ya's hopeful gaze. "All right. I can't guarantee that I can get her released from solitary confinement—the captain has the final say. But I'll speak with the captain and Lieutenant Badgiruel. At the very least, I'll try to get her moved somewhere better and explain that she may not have intended to harm you."

Xia Ya's eyes instantly lit up like sparks igniting in the night. "!"

Seeing his brother's stern expression earlier, he had nearly given up hope and had even prepared to plead relentlessly. Yet Mu had ultimately chosen to believe him—or rather, chosen to indulge him.

"Big Brother...!" he cried out, his voice full of gratitude.

Mu waved a hand, cutting him off. "Don't misunderstand. Like I said, I'm only going to 'talk' to them. Whether they accept it will depend on the captain's judgment... understand?"

Xia Ya nodded vigorously. Though his voice was soft, it was filled with sincere emotion. "I understand. But... thank you, Big Brother."

Hearing his younger brother's heartfelt thanks, the smile on Mu's face finally became warm and gentle. Like sunlight dispersing dark clouds, that smile loosened the tight knot in Xia Ya's heart a little.

He slowly reached out. His broad, powerful hand carried the wordless affection unique to an older brother as he gently patted Xia Ya's head twice, as if soothing a startled animal.

"All right. Get some proper rest and pull yourself together. Don't make everyone worry more."

Mu withdrew his hand, gave that reminder, then turned around and prepared to leave with steady steps.