shiningboxofjustice | PSL Post - Athrun Zala and Yukari Takeba

Yeah...it kind of feels like cockfighting. But...they don't seem to mind, do they?

[Athrun's Charmander is jumping up and down, happy that it won a battle.]

... No. They really don't mind it. But that's not really the point, is it?

[ Her Bulbasaur does seem to realize that she's upset about something though, because now it's trying to climb into her lap or something. So Yukari doesn't waste any time in moving to pick the small creature up as she rises to her feet. ]

Well, maybe we can find out more when we get to the next town. Until then...until then, we give them the treatment we think they deserve. There's nothing ignoble about combat in self-defense, and we have no other way to defend ourselves for the time being.

[Athrun gets on his knees and pats his Charmander on the head.]

We're trusting you, OK? You're our protectors.

[ Yukari smiled, nodding before looking down at her Bulbasaur in her arms and hugging her it a little bit tighter now. ]

Yeah. You're the best. Thanks.

[ The Bulbasaur let out a few pleased noises before it started to wiggle around her arms, and Yukari moved to put her pokémon down and looked back over at Athrun. ]

But you're right. We're just going to have to figure out what to do once we get to that next town. It's not like we have any other option right now...

Yeah. Let's keep walking. Hopefully we can get there without being forced to fight too often. They're definitely stronger than the wild Pokémon, but that won't matter much if they get worn out.

[ Yeah. That'd be... bad. Really bad. ]

Maybe we won't have that much of an issue with it. I mean, they seemed to be ignoring us at first until we put these guys back in their balls, right? Maybe the other pokémon will still be too afraid to come and attack us?

[ Well, they could hope, anyway. ]

We can try, but again, we don't want to wear them out. We still have a ways to go before we reach the next city.

[ Yukari nodded, frowning as she looked over at her Bulbasaur. ]

Yeah. I... didn't think about that part. I'm not really used to travelling between long distances like this.

[ Mostly she just fought things in the giant tower, not having to fight against things on the way to somewhere else. ]

I'm not either, actually. I've never been in a position where I had to walk a long distance. Never been a ranger, an infantryman, or what have you -- just a pilot.

[ Yukari blinks at that. Though he does still seem a bit young to actually be in any armed forces, what was she to say about how it worked in the future? ]

A pilot? You mean like... flying a fighter plane?

[Athrun shakes his head. He should have known going by the time discrepancy.]

The chief machine that the militaries of my era use is the mobile suit. It's a humanoid machine that stands between fifteen and twenty meters tall, depending on the design. That's what I'm a pilot of.

... You pilot a mecha.

[ Yukari's just going to... keep staring in disbelief. Because shadows and pokémon and space colonies were fine and could kinda make sense eventually but giant humanoid robots. That seemed like something way too out of an anime that Junpei would watch for her comfort. ]

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?

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