This part covers pages 18-29
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— Act 4 —
For writing
Sexual content, rape
For images
Sexually suggestive, but nothing explicit shown
— Act 5 —
For writing
Mild sexual content, descriptions of injury/blood loss, alcohol use
For images
Blood
Act 4
By Jua, Luma, Hachisuka
The sound of the waves hit his ears softly.
The boy sniffed the air and breathed in, smoothing back his rare purple hair.
“What are you planning? Dragging me out to a place like this…”
Vwaa… the incessant sound of the waves surrounded the two of them, and the person who was asked the question turned his eyes towards the waves and laughed softly.
“It’s nice every once in a while…the sea, that is…”
The boy muttered, turning his eyes away from the figure of the person who had replied with words that could not even be answered.
“It’s not bad…but I’m busy, and you’re no different. Dark clouds are beginning to gather between Zeon and Earth. It won’t be long before we throw ourselves into battle, Char, as you should know very well.”
He didn’t answer that, but returned his gaze from the waves to the boy’s face.
“You may not know the reason. I just wanted the two of us to talk. You’ve been avoiding me recently. Am I wrong, Garma?”
Garma looked up in surprise and saw his wet golden hair swirling and flowing in the wind from the ocean. His gaze met the sharp eyes of Char’s handsome face, and he immediately turned away again.
His lower lip trembled as he bit down on it firmly.
“Why do you avoid me? Garma…?”
Garma took a deep breath and sat down on the sand. He couldn’t hide his trembling as he scooped up the sand with both hands, making a soft sound as it fell between his fingers. Looking at the spilling sand, Garma said,
“I wasn’t avoiding you at all…”
Char stood beside Garma and looked down at him.
“You’re not one to tell a lie.”
“A lie…”
He quietly repeated the word spoken to him.
“…a lie…?”
But he still hung his head and stared at the falling sand. When the sand was gone, he immediately scooped up more.
“Garma…”
“It’s not a lie… No…maybe it is. I…I’m scared of your eyes these days.”
Suddenly, Char grabbed both of Garma’s hands and roughly pulled Garma’s upper body towards him. Sand suddenly scattered into the sky, and Garma fell to his knees involuntarily.
“Garma.”
Char’s face met with the boy’s as he looked absentmindedly at the sand that had disappeared into the sky. When he pulled away, Garma’s face had an expression similar to that of an innocent girl suffering from incomprehensible distress.
“What is this? What is it, Char? Was that kiss now…a proof of friendship…? An expression of affection? Why would you do something like this? Why must something like this interfere with our friendship?”
His sad tone was wavering as he couldn’t even decide whether to blame Char or himself. He shakes off his grip on his arm, grabs some sand with one hand, and points it to Char.
“You were my first friend… no… you’re more important than that… But were those things as fleeting as falling sand…? My feelings… your heart…”
“Ridiculous…”
Char’s hand grabbed Garma’s arm again, and Garma was pushed down onto the sand. As his clothes were ripped off and scattered on the sand, Char’s lips and fingertips began to caress him roughly, and Garma continued to speak.
“Stop it…stop it…Char. Why are you doing this? What will happen to me? If you stop now…we can still…be friends…”
He doesn’t try to resist. Either he has no strength to, or he just gave up right away –
Char shows no sign of stopping, and continues to torment his pale, non-resisting body.
“It’s like sand…no matter how important…or how certain it seems…it flows…it falls…it disappears…”
Char’s lips took Garma in his mouth, causing his words to be cut off, replaced by broken gasps. Char took the hand holding Garma’s waist and the hand that was holding his shoulder and suddenly pushed Garma’s thing into the sand.
“…Ow!!”
It was wet with saliva, covered in sand, and a dull pain reverberated to the core of its head. Char’s hand moved even more violently, assaulting Garma.
“A..ah…”
It was too harsh a torture for the boy’s body, which was not used to being caressed.
“Stop…Ch…ar…”
“It disappears…and then what? The sand flows and disappears…but it doesn’t truly. Every drop…washed away by the waves…like this…”
“And it dies…”
A muffled murmur escaped between gasps.
“Dies…?”
After repeating that, he pulled his hand out of the sand and opened Garma’s pale legs wide as if tearing them apart. Garma’s whole body complained of severe pain from the hot pressure that penetrated his closed part.
“…Char…”
“…Die? I’ll let you die by my body…”
I’ll let you die, Garma, I’ll kill you with my own hands.
What kind of murderous intent ran through Char’s mind as he was engulfed by the hot waves that rose as he pushed forward?
Unaware of this, Garma was panting raggedly, making his throat tremble.
Garma’s fingertips groped over the sand and grabbed it. Raising his hand a little, Garma strained his ears to hear the sound of falling sand, and opened his eyes.
Char moved his upper body over Garma’s and gently brushed his purple hair with a tenderness that was a complete contrast to the brutality he had shown before.
“…Same as this sand…”
The words that leaked from his pale lips, however, did not reach Char’s ears.
Garma continued to stare at the sand with tears streaming from his eyes that had forgotten how to cry.
Just like sand… flowing down…
Disappears…and dies…
— My feelings also died —
A voice murmured from somewhere deep in the darkness inside his head.
The sand makes a sound and falls down once more…
Act 5
By Miki Okuda, Aya Shishiōin
Garma’s funeral was being held spectacularly on TV.
It seemed like he was destined to be involved in gaudy things until he died. Even during his time at the military academy, he would often be rushed out to ceremonies, exposing his garish hair to the flashes of light.
A man was looking around nervously, as if he were running an important errand for someone… He came up and took a seat beside me. I scooted my chair to move away from him a little.
“Hey man…buy this from me, won’t you…?”
The man showed me a small capsule. When the bartender saw this, he furrowed his brow, but since the man quickly ordered a martini, he couldn’t kick him out. Thus he meekly turned around and started looking for a bottle that matched the man’s clothes.
“How much…”
“Hehehe… I have a very low price… just for this…”
The man opened his hand. Rolling around in his palm was a ring with the Zabi family crest on it.
“All right…”
I pulled out some bills and tossed them at the man. The man shoved the capsule and ring into my hand, downed his cheap drink (albeit still a martini), threw some coins on the counter, and scurried out.
“Are you going to use it?”
The bartender said with a raised eyebrow.
“Is that strange?”
“You don’t seem like the type.”
“I guess I don’t have enough life experience.”
I put it in my pocket and stood up. When I went outside, the bright lights of the Side illuminated the exterior walls of the buildings.
It’s too soon for me… I could understand the thoughts of the bartender, who seemed to see right through me.
It’s over, even for Char…if he’s starting to dabble in drugs.
I bet that’s what he’s thinking, and that it would be better if the person who left Garma-sama to die became a cripple and was left for dead… Well, that’s fine… I just won’t be back for a long time.
There was one word on the capsule. As it seemed to be the name of a ship, I was able to find one with that name right away at the central port.
There wasn’t even a single soldier on the Side who looked fit to be a military man. This is because those with even the slightest qualifications were attending the funeral, and those who weren’t were glued to the video monitors. Even the number of security guards was less than half the usual number.
Without saying a word, a person stood in front of me, and his back guided me into the ship.
“Welcome…”
“Thank you for your invitation…”
“Please forgive my rudeness… Major, I can’t offer my support, even as you stand here before me…”
“Is it Kycilia’s handiwork?”
“You’re very perceptive…”
“It’s probably not Dozle’s.”
“…”
The man smiled and took over the role of my guide.
“This is my room.”
“It sure is something, Mr. Captain.”
The man’s smile faded, and he looked at me sternly.
“Do you know who I am?”
“I’m getting to know you bit by bit…”
Hmm… Is he the captain? A colonel under Kycilia…who is he?
The room the man invited me to was just like a high class bar.
“To put so much stuff like this on a battleship…”
The man raised his eyebrows proudly and went behind the counter to make a red drink.
Is he an idiot? Why not just drink water? If I were him, I would’ve used this extra weight for ammunition.
“I wonder if this will suit your taste?”
The man invited me to sit down on the sofa and placed a glass on the glass table in front of me.
“We’re preparing to leave the port, so you can settle in this room…”
The man’s words trailed off. He is probably under orders to treat me respectfully. But now that I know he’s a colonel, I guess he can’t be so humble towards a major.
“This person will be your company. Even the other people on the ship aren’t aware…”
The man he introduced to me was young, maybe even younger than me, and he wasn’t even wearing a uniform, so the colonel probably had him brought aboard for personal business.
When the colonel left, I looked down at the glass in front of me. Ironically the glass is filled with Bloody Mary.
“Crème de Violette would suit Garma better…”
Hearing my murmur, the man picked up the glass.
“Don’t like Bloody Mary?”
“It’s still too fresh…”
“…?”
“Don’t you know about me?”
“Not at all…”
“What’s your name?”
“People call me…Icarus…”
“What about originally…? You must have another name…”
“…Ryuusei…”
“Hm?”
“It is a Japanese word that means meteor.”
“So you’re from Earth…?”
“You can tell?”
“People on the Sides hate old sounding names.”
“…”
“Why are you in a place like this? You don’t look like a regular soldier.”
The man…Ryuusei remained silent and went behind the counter.
Is he Japanese? Is that black hair a remnant of that? However, from his facial features and the color of his skin, I don’t think he is pure Japanese…but maybe he inherited some strong Japanese blood from one of his parents.
While I was still invested in my ethnic studies, Ryusei filled a glass with a shot of whiskey.
“You seem to prefer straight drinks to cocktails.”
“I’m not good with cocktails…not that I won’t drink them, but…”
“There’s something called the Adonis Cocktail…”
A smile appeared on Ryuusei’s lips and he went back behind the counter.
“How about Blood and Sand? It’s a name that suits you.”
Ryuusei sensed that I was a bloody front-line soldier.
“That’s a suggestive name for a cocktail…”
“It’s a bit of a sweet one…it’s not as disturbing as the name suggests.”
“I’ll just have dry gin…”
“Adding Crème de Violette and lemon juice will make a Blue Moon…”
“Blue Moon…”
I was staring at the bottle of Crème de Violette with a distant gaze while I caught glances of Ryuusei’s face.
“Does it look blue from Earth?”
“…”
“I was only on Earth when I was very young, so I don’t know about things like that.”
Ryuusei lowered his head.
“I was a spy…of the Federation. They’d kill me if they captured me, so here I am working as a third-rate bartender in a place like this…”
In other words, alcohol and women I presumed.
I felt sorry for this man, who parted his hair in the middle and cut it just below his shoulders, as was the captain’s preference. This man with sharp eyes would look better in a military uniform than the suit he’s wearing now. At least more than the captain of this ship…
However, while not so much in his civilian clothes, when Garma changed into his military uniform, he seemed strangely more sexy, so I wondered if Ryuusei might be the same way.
I’ve always noticed that the masculinity of military uniforms both concealed weakness and gave off an austere impression, but apparently when a slender man with sharp eyes wore one, the latter was more strongly emphasized.
When I entered behind the counter, I made a cocktail next to Ryuusei, whose head was lowered as if troubled by something.
“It’s an inappropriate one for me to make, but it’s the only one I know…”
Ryuusei picked up the glass and took a sip.
“…Kiss of Fire…”
“Don’t you see…? I’m not so bad either… Though it might be missing something…”
Ryuusei’s lips pressed against mine.
“You’re a kind person.”
“I’m being accused of killing my best friend.”
“…a kind person.”
Ryuusei was so hungry for love that he still saw me as kind.
“I bet you’re the kind of guy who would rather die with your secrets than help the enemy.”
“No…I would return home alive with the enemy’s secrets instead.”
Ryuusei rested his head on my chest and moaned as he spoke.
“That’s amazing…you might be a scary person…”
“Maybe…”
“I’m jealous of that best friend you killed…”
“…”
“You wouldn’t allow the enemy’s spy to do something like this and let them live… you would kill them right away…”
After saying that, Ryuusei put his hand on his chest and began unbuttoning.
“I was ordered to sleep with you…”
I raised my eyebrows and looked into his eyes.
“I can’t resist…”
Ryuusei unbuttoned his jacket and took off his blouse.
“This is the first time it’s been so…intense, even though I’ve done it so many times before…”
Ryuusei’s fingers trembled as they reached for the buttons of my jacket.
“There’s no need…I’m not that type of person.”
I held back his hand and kissed his cheek.
“Just say you slept with me… I don’t mind what people think of me.”
“…”
“Come on, make me something, but nothing too sweet.”
When I left the counter, I sat down on the sofa and Ryuusei brought me a light brown liquor.
“What’s this called?”
“Quarter Deck”
“So like the afterdeck?”
I started to embrace Ryuusei’s head as he poured the dry liquor.
“Last Kiss…”
Ryuusei murmured.
“What is the mixture?”
“ ½ spoon of lemon juice, ½ spoon of brandy and pour the light rum…”
Ryuusei said that while pressing his lips to mine. His tongue was so sweet…is this what it means to melt into a kiss? I thought of Garma… Yes… His kisses were even more sticky and ferocious like a beast. Before I knew it, Garma and Ryuusei’s shadows overlapped.
I felt a numbness in the back of my head…just like right before being shot in battle. My instincts were often correct and I was able to brace before impacts. It seems my subordinates saw that as my special ability.
As the ship’s center of gravity swayed, a wine rack filled with glass flew at me. My instincts seemed to have anticipated the impact, and I was able to jump away without being caught off guard.
At that moment, I saw Ryuusei’s body fly into the air and glass shards from the counter behind him impaled his body. For a moment, just a fraction of a second, the gravity disappeared and immediately returned, and then Ryuusei’s body fell to the floor, taking with it the glass that now looked like a mass of light.
“Ryuusei!!”
“Uu…”
Ryuusei’s body was bleeding all over. It seemed as though several of his arteries, veins, and muscles were severed, and the glass was glowing red as it reflected the blood.
“Are you okay? Char!!”
The captain rushed in. He must have received orders stating that I was very important, for him to leave the deck at a time like this.
“I’m fine. But Ryuusei!!… Please treat him, he’ll probably need a blood transfusion.”
“A blood transfusion…”
“Don’t you have any artificial blood (white blood)? Hurry!!”
I used a white cloth nearby to stop the bleeding.
“Blood Transfusion.”
The captain was walking through his collection, now reduced to rubble.
“Grenadine syrup, lime juice, and light rum…”
He picked up a bottle, which had rolled onto the floor unscathed.
“There’s only grenadine syrup…light rum was completely destroyed.”
“Who cares about cocktails, where’s that artificial blood (white blood)?”
The captain slowly approached and looked down at Ryuusei. His eyes were as cold as if he was merely looking at an old rag. Ryuusei opened his eyes. He didn’t say anything, just looked at his face sadly.
“There’s no light rum…”
Ryuusei’s life ended at the same time as his voice.
To leave his subordinates for dead… I hated this type of person. This was strange even for me, but I was certainly not this cold-blooded when it came to my own. For him to treat the loyal Ryuusei like that…
“Captain…who’s controlling the ship now?”
I looked into his eyes.
“What?”
“Is your adjutant alone?”
“Yes…”
“As for me…”
“Only the adjutant knows.”
“You just don’t get it.”
I threw the glass I had hidden at his neck.
“Wh…at…”
He fell onto Ryuusei, gushing out copious amounts of blood.
“Captain!! Where are you, Captain? Your adjutant is looking for you.”
Soldiers were running outside the room.
“Guards!! Call the adjutant!!”
I shouted outside.
“Yes sir.”
They answered back, and within two minutes the adjutant arrived. His eyes widened at the devastation in the room.
“It’s as you see…”
“…”
“…In other words…”
“I understand…”
He looked at me.
“The captain, while inspecting the armory, died due to the ammunition being destroyed by the shock of the ship being hit. We will investigate the person responsible for the inadequate management of the armory.”
The captain, who was foolish enough to bring normal glasses into his private room, was able to avoid criticism thanks to his adjutant’s quick thinking. Maybe he was so taken aback by the sight of two people embracing each other naked that he forgot to suspect me.
…Captain Sun Weim…the ship was hit while he was inspecting the armory. Because the belt was removed as he was investigating the internals, the stopper failed and crushed him to death. His body was given a space burial.
No one looked back at him and he became a small star.
FIN
Act 6
By Hayato Naitō
End of Part 3