Chapter 373: Brother and Sister? Older Sister and Younger Brother
Next, while the meeting was still ongoing, Tolle had Nami modify and enhance the VF-1SS stored in the storage space, adding all currently available technologies to it. He also replaced the original nuclear power engine with an Ahab Reactor and improved it further by adding SPS armor.
Most importantly, he wanted to imitate the Ptolemaios 2 and add 3D-projection optical camouflage stealth as well.
Tolle wanted to test whether, with the assistance of the Ahab wave's signal-jamming effect, a longer-lasting optical camouflage stealth could be more effective than the Mirage Colloid System's stealth effect.
After the meeting ended, just as Tolle arrived at the hangar locker room and was preparing to leave and head out—
Cagalli, who had followed him in, suddenly grabbed Tolle and said to Kira, "Kira, can we talk?"
"Th-then… I'll leave first. You take your time talking." Athrun, standing nearby, saw the scene and thought a love triangle Shura battlefield was about to unfold, so he immediately tried to escape.
Cagalli, looking flustered, tightly grabbed Tolle's arm and said, "It's fine. There's no problem if you stay. It's okay if everyone listens."
"Oh… okay, I understand." Athrun replied awkwardly and stayed.
Then she gathered her courage and, with her head lowered, drifted over to Kira's side.
Kira looked at the shy Cagalli and suddenly felt at a loss. He asked hesitantly, "What's wrong, Cagalli? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
Cagalli turned her head away, struggled internally for a moment, then took out a photo from her pocket and handed it to Kira with some hesitation. "Here, this…"
"A photo?" Kira looked at the photo in his hand with confusion and asked, "Who's in this picture?"
At this moment, Tolle and Athrun also leaned in to look at the photo.
"Look at the back of the photo," Cagalli replied, clearly at a loss.
"Cagalli, Kira?" When Kira flipped the photo over and saw his own name and Cagalli's name written on it, he was shocked. Athrun beside him was also startled, and both of them looked at Cagalli with puzzled expressions.
"When the Kusanagi was about to take off, Dad personally handed it to me…" Seeing Cagalli on the verge of tears, Tolle stepped forward and tightly embraced her.
In Tolle's arms, Cagalli finally gathered the courage to continue. "Dad said… I'm not alone. I still have siblings."
"What is going on here?" After hearing this, Kira was completely confused. He stared blankly at the photo of two infants and the somewhat unfamiliar woman, feeling utterly at a loss.
Clearly, his mother had blue hair, but the woman holding him in the photo had brown hair.
Cagalli herself didn't understand either and stammered, "Th-this… I don't know either…"
"Twins?" Kira said in disbelief, but he was unwilling to believe it.
Athrun, who was standing to the side, chose a very inappropriate moment to say to Cagalli, "With just one photo, it's impossible to figure everything out. And we don't even know who the person holding the baby is."
Cagalli shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know either… but… I… I know that you and I are family."
Seeing Cagalli suddenly break down crying, Kira panicked and tried to comfort her. "There's no point thinking about this right now, Cagalli. And even if that's the case, your father is still Lord Uzumi."
At this moment, Tolle felt truly helpless and cursed inwardly: Can you two even comfort someone properly? Both of you are blockheads. Saying something so inappropriate at a time like this. Thankfully it's Cagalli—if it were another woman, she'd probably be crying her eyes out by now.
"Kira, even if your current parents are different, it doesn't mean you can't be siblings or an older sister and younger brother. Lord Uzumi and this photo both prove that point."
Kira looked at Tolle, who was constantly winking at him, then at Cagalli's watery eyes, and finally back at the photo.
Unable to bear hurting Cagalli any further, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Maybe that's how it is. Even if our parents are different now, Cagalli and I might really be siblings."
"Kira." Seeing Kira willing to acknowledge her as family, Cagalli broke into a smile through her tears, wiped her eyes, and said happily, "It's clearly older sister and younger brother. How could it be just siblings!
"Look at how you cry all the time and act all silly—where do you look like an older brother at all? So I'm definitely the older sister! Kira, you're the younger brother."
Kira shook his head helplessly and said, "Now's not the time to argue about whether it's siblings or older sister and younger brother. The most important thing is that we leave here as soon as possible."
Hearing Kira's words, Cagalli looked a little disappointed again and said, "Alright then. We'll talk about this again when we get the chance."
"Yeah. Then Athrun and I will head back to the Archangel first. You take care of yourself too—don't think too much."
After that, Kira and Athrun said goodbye to Cagalli and each returned to the Archangel in their respective machines.
Just as Tolle was about to return to the Huayan, Cagalli suddenly grabbed him and planted a kiss on him.
Looking at Cagalli so close to him, Tolle turned the tables, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her deeply.
After a long while, Cagalli leaned against Tolle's chest and said shyly, "Tolle, I want to stay with you a little longer. Let's go to the Huayan together. I want to watch you set sail—can I?"
Tolle hugged her tightly and said, "No problem. Let's go together."
The two embraced as they boarded the Flight Armor Strike and returned to the Huayan together.
After returning to the Huayan, Cagalli mustered her courage and said to Tolle, "Tolle… um… I know the living quarters on the Huayan have gravity. Could you… help me do some… accelerated power transmission training here? I also want to fight alongside you."
Tolle looked helplessly at this lioness, knowing that even if he refused, she would still sortie in the Crimson Strike.
He could only say to her, "Alright. But if you really want to pilot an MS, then use my Flight Armor Strike Gundam. Its safety performance is extremely reliable."
Cagalli nodded happily and agreed. "Mm! Don't worry, my piloting skills are great—way better than Asagi, Juri, and Mayura. So there's absolutely no problem."
When those three mascot girls were mentioned, Tolle thought of the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider Gundams he had seized, and said to Cagalli, "That's true. Our Cagalli is very capable. But it's also about time those three switched to stronger machines, just like you."
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