Pilot and Angels

Chapter 50: Advent of Despair

Following Hanako's footsteps, both Hasumi and Droz entered a room. Within it, a very familiar individual sat on the sofa with a heavily downcast look on her face. Koharu was sitting beside her, trying to console her from whatever she was feeling. "Hifumi...?" Droz drew her attention to him. "Ah... Sir Droz...?"

It took no rocket science to know that something had happened. The scene incited the parental side within him, as he slowly took a knee beside the blonde-haired girl. "Hey, hey, what happened?" He gently patted her head... causing tears to flow down from her eyes slowly.

Slowly, word-by-word, she told her side of the story. A tale of how Azusa headed toward the battlefield, feeling as if it was all her fault and somehow had to right her wrongdoings. A tale of how Hifumi failed to reason and stopped Azusa from going alone leaving her at a despairing loss and confusion.

"..." Droz let out a heavy sigh as he patted her head. "Don't worry, I'll get her back."

Without giving her a moment to respond, Droz turned to Hanako. "So, what's your plan, Hanako?" He asked, crossing his arms and waiting for her answer. "Since Hasumi here is so adamant on not letting you leave with your wounds." She held her cheek. "And you're deadset on returning to the battlefield."

"Why don't we all go together?"

Droz widened his eyes in surprise. "We took a heavy beating." He began to reason. "Our comms are in disarray."

"Most of the students are wounded and incapable of combat."

"There are still a lot of volunteers who want to return to the battlefield once again, just like you." Hanako rebuked. A group of familiar students entered the room as if waiting for her words to make an entrance. "Hm..." Droz hummed as he saw the students from Gehenna gathering within the room.

Even Hina was already back on her feet and ready to strike at them any time of the day.

"Please do not underestimate us," Hanako affirmed with an unexpected fire in her eyes. "We are more than ready to assist you."

"And one of our friends is in dire need of our help." She turned her gaze to Hifumi as the blonde girl widened her eyes. "Who are we to not help her?"

Droz did not find it within himself the words to refuse. Instead, he gazed among the Gehenna students, finding a silvery-white-haired girl already on her feet and readily holding her rifle. Her red ruby eyes spoke of her blazing determination to find that man, her Sensei, once again.

Her eyes wordlessly spoke of her urge to take to the battlefield once again.

"Hah..." He sighed in defeat. "You're just as stubborn as him sometimes, you know." He silently whispered out of everyone's earshot. "He passed on something troublesome, didn't he?"

"Those eyes... so different yet still the same."

He smiled at the memory, thinking about everything that the Pilots had been through. They've been through all kinds of fire and tribulation in the frontier. Facing off beasts, men, and machines alike; they've been through it all. Being on the ground zero of what felt like a nuke was certainly a novel experience for them, though.