Char and Lacus's Conversation

Char's gaze instinctively followed Mu's retreating back. Just as Mu's hand was about to reach the doorframe, it was as if lightning struck Char's mind, and he suddenly remembered something of vital importance!

Something more urgent, more fundamental, than improving Lacus's treatment!

Panic surged through him. Almost without thinking, he raised his voice and called out loudly to his brother, who was about to leave, "Brother!"

The shout sounded especially abrupt and urgent in the relatively quiet corridor.

Mu stopped and turned halfway around, a questioning look on his face. "Hm? What is it? Is there something else?"

An obvious look of apology and unease appeared on Char's face. He licked his slightly dry lips and said, "Sorry... Brother. There's... there's one more thing I want to ask of you."

Mu looked at Char, who seemed hesitant and as though he were making up his mind about something, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face.

He tilted his head without urging him on, merely waiting quietly for Char to continue, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

Char took a deep breath, as if gathering all the courage in his body, and finally voiced the request that had been circling in his heart, the one that had to be fulfilled no matter what:

"Any time is fine. After... after that girl's interrogation or questioning is over, any time is fine... I want to speak with her alone. I have to speak with her."

His voice was not loud, but every word was exceptionally clear, carrying an unquestionable resolve. The panic and fear from earlier were gone from his eyes, replaced by an almost stubborn gleam.

He knew full well that this request would likely be far more difficult than asking Mu to improve Lacus's treatment.

Lacus's identity was sensitive—the daughter of the P.L.A.N.T. chairman—and she was also the "suspect" who had just "triggered" his loss of control. Under such circumstances, arranging an unmonitored private meeting with her was nearly impossible. It would inevitably face fierce opposition and questioning from the bridge command, especially from a hardliner like Natarle Badgiruel.

Yet Char's heart was utterly resolute.

He had to talk to her.

He needed to know how much information about him she had received.

He needed to know how she understood that information—especially the information about the future.

More than that, he needed to know what choice she would make.

This concerned himself, the Archangel, and even the future of this world.

So no matter how difficult it was, he had to secure this opportunity.

He silently repeated to himself: I have to talk to her.

I absolutely have to talk to her.

The room was simply furnished and neat. Compared with the cold, oppressive solitary cell from before, it was undoubtedly far more comfortable. There was a soft bed and private washing facilities.

Mu La Flaga stood at the doorway, calmly giving the pink-haired girl inside the room his final instructions. "Miss, from now on, you'll remain in this room. Someone will bring your meals, so you won't need to go to the cafeteria. If you have any basic daily needs, you can use the communicator over there to contact the bridge directly." His voice echoed softly through the quiet room, official in tone but lacking the severity he had shown during the interrogation.

Thinking back on everything that had happened, she still felt it was all unbelievable.

Not long ago, she had still been in that cold, cramped solitary cell, undergoing repeated interrogation by Captain Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant Badgiruel, and Mr. Mu La Flaga.

Their questions had been sharp and direct, revolving around her identity, her purpose, and... what she had done to that blond boy.

She truthfully answered about her identity and explained that she had merely drifted here by accident, with no ill intent.

As for that boy... she had no idea what had happened, much less what she could have done to him. All she could do was repeat again and again that they had merely come into brief contact.

The interrogation had grown extremely tense at one point, especially with Lieutenant Badgiruel, whose eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, seeming convinced that she was lying.

However, just as the interrogation seemed to reach a deadlock, Mr. Mu La Flaga was suddenly called out by a communication.

After he returned, the interrogation was hastily concluded.

Immediately afterward, she was taken from that suffocating cell and brought to this place... which felt more like a guest room.

As Lacus followed Mu, who was leading the way, she curiously surveyed her surroundings, her heart filled with questions.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she spoke just before the blond man was about to leave. "Um...! I'm terribly sorry, but... why have I been brought here? I thought..."

Mu seemed somewhat surprised by her question. He tilted his head slightly and answered as though it were obvious. "? That's because, considering your identity, letting you move freely around the ship would be troublesome. Of course, to prevent you from leaving whenever you wish, this door has been locked."

Lacus gently shook her head, pure confusion flickering in her azure eyes. "No, I don't mean that... I mean, I thought I would definitely be taken back to that... solitary cell."

Seeing her sincere, bewildered expression, Mu finally seemed to understand what she meant.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a complicated, unreadable smile curling at his lips. Lowering his voice as though sharing a little secret, he said, "...Ah, that. It was a request from my foolish little brother. He insisted that you had no ill intentions and shouldn't be treated like a criminal. Of course, the captain gave final approval as well, so don't worry too much about it."

"Your... brother?" Lacus raised her delicate brows, surprise and realization flashing through her eyes.

The curve of Mu's smile widened, and he said with undisguised teasing, "That's right. The guy in the hangar just now who touched you once, got scared out of his wits, and ran off in a panic. That was him."

It was him...

The image of that blond, blue-eyed boy instantly surfaced in Lacus's mind. His handsome face, his panic, and... that strange, profound, indescribable feeling from the moment their gazes met.

So the reason she had been able to leave that cold cell and come to this relatively comfortable room was... because of that boy's request?

That boy who, after touching her, had looked at her with such fear and confusion before fleeing as though escaping a plague?

Lacus sank into thought.

Once again, she savored that brief yet eternal instant when she had come into contact with him.

It had been as though... the entire world had vanished, leaving only her and him, floating beyond the river of time.

She could clearly feel the vast, complex torrent of emotion rushing forth from the depths of that boy's soul—weathered sorrow from another world that she could not comprehend; memories of steel and flame; struggles between ideals and betrayal; and even... fragmented, hazy images of herself and this world's future.

At the same time, she had felt the emotions, memories, and even her most secret wishes deep within her heart flow slowly and gently toward him like an uncontrollable stream.

Everything she was seemed to have been laid bare before him without reservation.

Yet strangely, she had not felt the slightest discomfort at being intruded upon. Instead... deep within that mingling of souls, she had felt an indescribable warmth, like sunlight bathing her in the depths of winter, and a wondrous sense of belonging, as though she had found a long-lost kindred spirit.

Then, just as she had broken free of that strange sensation and wanted to ask something, that boy had looked at her with such... utter terror and confusion.

That gaze was like a cold dagger, piercing the warm connection they had just shared and filling her with a sharp, inexplicable pain.

Why? Why had he looked at her that way? What was he afraid of?

The moment she wanted to ask, that boy fled from her side in panic as though the most terrible nightmare were chasing him, leaving her alone to face the uncertain, suspicious gazes around her and the interrogation that followed.

A powerful, uncontrollable desire rose within her: she wanted to speak with him.

She wanted to ask him what that feeling just now had been.

She wanted to ask him why he had been afraid.

She also wanted to ask what those kaleidoscopic visions they had shared meant—the fragments of memory that had flowed from him to her.

Especially... that image of herself smiling together with an unfamiliar young man of unusual bearing whom she had never met before—Kira Yamato—against the backdrop of a world consumed by hatred and war... The image kept flashing through her mind like shattered colored glass, yet she could never piece it into a complete answer.

Just as Lacus was immersed in her thoughts, Mu's voice sounded again, interrupting her.

As if he had suddenly remembered something, he said with a mischievous smile, "Oh, right, right. I forgot to tell you. My foolish little brother is about to come over now."

Lacus's beautiful violet eyes widened in surprise, and the words nearly slipped out on their own. "...Huh?"

Mu crossed his arms, looking rather proud in the manner of an older brother. He even pointed his thumb at himself as he said, "That's right. He said that no matter what, he wanted to speak with you alone. From the look of you, it seems you want the same thing, don't you? Heh heh, you'd better thank me properly. I had to put in a great deal of effort to persuade the captain and that stubborn vice captain before I could secure this opportunity."

Lacus stared somewhat blankly at the blond man before her, who had puffed out his chest with an expression that plainly said, "Praise me already," her heart full of mixed emotions.

He was coming? That boy? The one who had just desperately fled from her as though he had seen a ghost was now... coming to speak with her of his own accord?

No, none of that mattered now. Why he had run away could perhaps be clarified shortly. If she had truly done something unintentionally that frightened him, then she could simply apologize.

Compared with that, what mattered most now was... being able to speak with him! Being able to unravel those immense mysteries in her heart! That was what mattered most!

Just then, Mu's ear twitched slightly, as if he had heard something. "Oh," he said, raising his brows. "Sounds like he's here."

As soon as he spoke, a crisp, pleasant electronic chime sounded outside the room, announcing a visitor.

Mu strode quickly to the door and skillfully operated the control panel a few times, releasing the lock. The door slid open soundlessly.

Standing beyond the opened door was the very boy who shared Mu's blond hair, though his bearing was entirely different.

He stood tall and straight, like a pine tree in the snow. His sapphire-like eyes no longer held the panic from before. Instead, they were like the deepest, calmest sea, concealing complex emotions that were difficult to read.

He quietly looked at Mu inside the doorway and spoke a few words in a low voice, seemingly expressing his thanks. Then he brushed past Mu and slowly, step by step, entered the room.

With Mu's departure, the door gave another faint locking sound, separating the world inside the room from the world outside.

Only Lacus and the blond boy—Char La Flaga—remained in the room.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Lacus's gaze met the boy's once again in midair.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely in that instant, yet it also seemed to last only a moment.

This time, the dizzying, violent phenomenon of their consciousnesses melding together did not occur as it had in the hangar.

Yet from his deep blue eyes, Lacus could clearly sense that the fear and confusion that had made her heart tremble earlier were gone. In their place was the warmth she had felt during that strange mental connection, a warmth belonging to the very source of his soul that had been concealed beneath fear... along with a faint, indescribable sorrow.

A thought instantly took firm root in Lacus's heart.

This person had to be a gentle one. The warmth she had felt before had not been an illusion.

Just as Lacus was about to say something, the boy lowered his head slightly first and spoke in a gentle voice filled with obvious apology:

"Earlier... it was terribly rude of me to suddenly run away in the hangar. I'm very sorry."