It appeared that a man was entering the house.
“Have a seat there.” She said.
“Ma’am, sorry about my visiting at such a late hour.”
“Of course, it’s a late hour.”
“I apologize. But I want to see you as soon as possible. Umm, do you live here alone?”
“Well ... It’s a matter of privacy.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“You are Mr. Somanaka, right?”
“I am Somanaka. What I want to ask you about is Suito Kusanagi, of course.”
“I think I do not know anything that you are yet to know.”
“But, I heard you two were childhood friends.”
“There were many childhood friends other than me. I was not that close to her, in particular. It was only to the extent that I just saw her at school.”
“How did you feel when you heard Captain Kusanagi had died in the latest massive battle?”
“Well, at the time, I was kept in custody by the police. I did not know the news of her death. I was informed of it about one month after that.”
I was shocked.
Probably, yes, I felt as if I could see my face that was showing the stunned state.
Suito Kusanagi died?
Was she shot down?
I did not know that.
A massive battle? Half a year ago ...?
Come to think of it, almost all the aircrafts took off.
They were summoning pilots.
Two mighty forces collided with each other in the sky.
I was reminded of the memory.
Yes, that was terrible.
Smokes and fragments were dancing in my mind.
Explosions and vibrations.
Flashing lights and volatile smokes.
It was as if the sky itself was being shaken.
The number was too massive.
The enemies were too numerous.
Like bees, there were many of those.
They were scattered like fireworks.
At the time.
What did I do?
Did I survive?
I don’t remember it well.
Could I return to the base? I don’t have such a memory.
Was it shot down as well?
But, who shot Kusanagi down?
Was there anyone who could shoot her down?
If there was the one, it must have been the Teacher.
No one other than him could accomplish such a feat.
The Teacher?
Suddenly, I recalled the name. The information pertaining to its identity was getting caught at the edge of my memory. I tried to grab it like I was picking up paperclips with my fingertips, but they slipped out of my hand.
Whom is it about?
But, surely, I remembered the name.
Then.
Did Suito Kusanagi die?
I could recall her face clearly. Moreover, I could vividly imagine her thin white fingers, which put the gun against my chest.
Before I knew it, I was trembling a little.
It was not cold.
I was not scared.
Probably, it was the quiver with excitement to fight.
I grabbed the blanket firmly, and held my breath.
I felt I had to listen to the conversation between the two below.
“I was quite disappointed. While she was alive, I wanted her to notice it.” The man was speaking. “I wanted her to notice the fact that she was being used.”
“I think she noticed it,” Sagara commented.
“Really. But she did not quit flying. She did not stop fighting.”
“I think that’s a different story. Well, pardon me for asking you this, but have you decided to come here to talk about such a thing?”
“Oh, pardon me. I was getting sentimental. Anyway, I had a good impression of Captain Kusanagi. I don’t have the slightest intention of driving her into a difficult situation. It is completely opposite of that. I want you to understand the circumstances. I am not the kind of person who try to proceed with the antiwar movement by brandishing idealistic theories.”
“If so, what brought you here?”
“Um, I’m not sure ... At first, right, I had such a tendency. It was the theme that my company granted me. I was asked to cover Kildren and describe the warped images of humans. The story would bring the peace of mind to the general public. By feeling pity for the children being involved with the acts of war, people can make sure of their own peace. But, the more I learned to know such theories, the more I realized that we were wrong. Kildren are not warped. Those who are warped are not Kildren, but us.”
“Right. You are fortunate because you have realized it.”
“Yes, sure. Next, I started thinking that they were the victims. They were those who were created by this warped society and by the distorted beings called humans. However, that notion was also wrong. They are not the victims, to say the least. Rather, they are the victors who have much more dignity than we have. The victims are adults, the majority. We are the pitiful ones. Until I learned to accept the fact, I had been mired in the internal conflict to quite a bit of extent. Why should I regard the participants of war as victors? Why? No matter how much I thought about it, I could not find the answer. In short, in the end, I had to come down to just one question. That is, why do we hate the act of war? Why so? Are we just plain cowards? When I was giving thoughts about such a matter, I met Captain Kusanagi. You know, I talked with her. And then, I came to the realization. I was convinced. If someone meets with them just once, it would become obvious. Or, by looking into their pure, beautiful eyes. They are the true eyes that humankind originally owned.”
“I understand what you are saying. Partially, though.”
“Forgive me. I am the type of person who speaks too much. I have started thinking that I want to convey my current feeling to as many people as possible. To realize it, I need the truth. Just a fairy tale would not work well. By writing an article based on the truth, I want to make an appeal to many people for my sentiment toward Kildren.”
The man then shut his mouth.
Silence prevailed for a while.
“What do you want to know?”
“I heard that Kildren can become the existence that is not Kildren. Is that right?”
“I don’t know.”
“Doctor, since you discovered the fact, you got involved in the mess.”
“Mess?”
“Pardon me. Am I wrong?”
“I cannot say a sure thing. You know that the police arrested me and the case is under trial, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“The word ‘mess’ is not suitable, and I am the cause of the chain of disturbances. It is not that I got involved in the commotion.”
“You have been researching Kildren, right?”
“No. My specialty is biology. I admit that I am interested in genetic issues, but Kildren is not my specialty. I think laypeople would not understand it.”
“I guess you know the pilot named Kurita.”
“Yes.”
“You must have met him, I believe.”
“Of course, I have. He is an acquaintance of the pilot, who was close to me.”
“The pilot, close to you, was Mr. Honjo?”
“Correct.”
“You approached Mr. Honjo for your research.”
A brief silence.
“You should leave here now.”
“I apologize. I did not want to hurt your feelings. I just thought you might speak candidly after I tell you what I already know. Please forgive me.”
“Either way, I don’t have any information you want to obtain.”
“I heard Mr. Kurita was dead.”
“Oh, really.” She replied.