shiningboxofjustice | PSL Post - Athrun Zala and Yukari Takeba

Mecha? I've never heard that term before.

[He notices the staring. It makes him a bit uncomfortable.]

...What?

[ Yukari shakes her head. ]

...You're talking about piloting something straight out of a giant robot anime. And not something that actually makes sense for it to exist in the future either.

...Anime? And how does it not make sense? Remote combat isn't possible with other technology we developed, so we needed something powerful enough to pose a threat to a battleship as well as stand up to enemy machines.

... Do you seriously not have animated stuff in the future?

[ Never mind, that wasn't really the point of all of this. ]

So, instead of making a bigger tank or ship or something, you make a giant war machine in the shape of a human. Which is the most inefficient form you could use for a giant war machine.

[ At least, that's what she had been told when Junpei's dreams of eventually giant robots had been shot down someone in the Kirijo group when he had asked about it. If Koromaru had been discovered as a Persona user before Aigis had been built, she probably would've ended up being dog shaped instead. ]

You mean, besides versatility and adaptability? Sure, some parts are extraneous, but I'd pick a mobile suit over a fighter or a tank any day.

[After all, mobile suits are capable of changing their equipment more easily than conventional combat vehicles, and they're seldom restricted to just one role.]

[ Yukari sighed. Obviously arguing with the future guy about what technology was actually feasible was quite a bit stupid.]

Where do you even use those things anyway?

Anywhere they can function, generally. Space, land, sky, even underwater.

But not within colonies. No one stands for mobile suit combat inside colonies.

[ Still seems weird to her, but whatever. She wasn't the future space person. But that last part... well... ]

Yeah. I don't blame them. I mean, that's basically the same thing has having a war break out in one of your home cities, isn't it?

It's more than that. From a structural standpoint, colonies are extremely fragile. Imagine there being only about fifty meters of material -- concrete, grass, soil, steel, silicon, and so forth -- separating your feet from the vacuum of space. And that's with an old-fashioned cylindrical design. Newer models are even more delicate, since they're made to hold more while using the same amount of material. Considering weapons are designed to cut or punch through metal hulls...

[He trails off, appearing to lose himself in thought.]

...Forgive me. I was involved in an incident where a colony was destroyed. It's an experience I don't like remembering.

[ Yukari can't help but shudder at that. Because, yeah, that was... not anything that she'd want to ever see. ]

... Sorry. That just...

I shouldn't have brought it up like that. Come on. Let's just... see if we can find that town that we're supposed to be going to.

[Athrun shakes his head. Not that he's changing plans, but in response to Yukari's apology.]

It's all right. You had no way of knowing, and accidents like this happen. But I agree, let's keep moving.

[With that, Athrun will resume walking.]

What about yourself, if you don't mind my asking? What kind of combat did you see?

[ ... Usually, she'd try to make up an excuse, but, well, he was from the future where people fought with machines that she was told shouldn't be possible, so it seemed like making up an excuse was pointless.

Besides, even if he wanted to tell people, who'd believe him anyway. ]

Pretty much the complete opposite of what you're used to. Instead of other people... for the most part I had to deal with fighting monsters. Complete with... well, 'magical powers'.

...Monsters with magical powers?

[Athrun is a man of science. Anything that doesn't make logical sense bewilders him. Naturally, he's going to want to ask more.]

Like...what exactly are we talking about here?

[ Couldn't you have just taken everything at face value Athrun? ]

It's... well, the monsters are called Shadows, and they pretty much prey on people's minds. Only those with the ability to summon something called a Persona are able to actually, well, do anything about them.

It's not like they just appeared all the time though. For the most part, it was just during a time of day we called the Dark Hour. Which thankfully doesn't exist anymore.

[Throughout the entire explanation, Athrun simply stares. By his standards, it's bizarre beyond words.]

...If you had told me this before I found myself here, I never would have believed it. But now I'm starting to believe that anything is possible.

Still...that sounds like something out of a psychology textbook. At least based on what little I actually know about the discipline.

[ Well, it's not like your explanation of things you had was any different, Athrun. ]

... Yeah. That part's kinda weird. Though I don't think the actual reality of it is what they had in mind when they started to talk about that kind of stuff.

It's probably more likely the terms were appropriated when this whole thing was discovered. If not...then I want a list of the drugs they were taking when they thought the whole thing up.

[Weak smile. He's joking.]

... From what I've heard about what those people wanted to do... if they were on something, it had to be some pretty heavy stuff.

[ She paused, frowning before she realized something important. ]

... Right. You're joking. Never mind.

Well, if nothing else, at least we're on the same page, right?

Yeah. There's that, at least.

[ She sighed, looking forward before shaking her head. ]

How much further do you think that next town is anyway?

Probably still a ways off. I got the impression the trip would take at least a few hours on foot.

[He pauses. It's almost a guarantee that Yukari is a Natural, which means she will have less endurance than he does. That's something he reminds himself to keep in mind.

Of course, he has no knowledge of Tartarus or how much jogging navigating it required.]

Do you want to take a break? I don't mind stopping for a little while if you'd like a breather.

[ Well that wouldn't be too bad. A couple of hours wasn't much of a problem. As long as it didn't get to the point where they would have to sleep outside there wasn't much to worry about. ]

I don't think I need to rest just yet. It hasn't been that long since we set out.

[ In fact she might just start trying to walk a little bit quicker as if to show she didn't need to rest at all. ]

[Athrun raises his eyebrows slightly. Did he just offend her pride?]

Well, if you say so. Just make sure you don't attract unwanted--

[And then two Rattata leap out of the brush directly at Yukari.]

Look out!

[ Yes Athrun. You totally did offend her pride a bit. Not that she was going to actually say anything like that if he asked.

She was going to say something to him, but those two Rattata jumping at her was a bit of a bigger distraction. She jumps back, getting out of range of whatever those two pokémon meant to do to her, and was already grabbing her pokéball. ]

Okay. This is really starting to get annoying! [ And with that, she released her Bulbasaur, because the last thing she needed was for rats of all things to bite her. ]

[Athrun lets his Charmander out, too. Again, the wild Pokémon are dispatched without much difficulty.]

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it's going to let up. If nothing else, it's good experience, though. Short-term loss, long-term gain.

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