Story Reader / Main Story / 24 Chaos Unsnarled / Story
Section 6 from Zone B... Over here, Buddy.
No. 21 turns the electronic map on her terminal's screen at 450 degrees to make sure they're going the right way.
This is quite a handful, isn't it?
As No.21 walks straight ahead, her Co-Bot gallops around her feet like a puppy having fun hanging out.
But Buddy always understands me even if I don't speak to you straight from inside my head, right?
Uh-huh, that's right.
Lowering her voice, No. 21 mimics her Co-Bot's robotic tone.
And here we are.
An hour before...
Hey, isn't that the mentally disturbed kid from Cerberus I'm seeing back there?
Shh, keep it down... Apparently there was this one time when she was on a mission where she lost it after killing all the enemies, and she just went on trying to smoke her own team.
Luckily the Gray Raven Commandant got there in the nick of time and contained her killing spree.
Oh? And why Purifying Force didn't wipe her out for doing what she'd done?
Some higher-ups let her off the hook. See, that's how badass they are, the Cerberus.
Which means... our lives are at stake here, no?!
Tell me about it. I swear to God I would never have come if I knew the Cerberus would all be here...
I don't think we have a choice. We're essentially tools, and they get to use us however they see fit.
She's looking this way. Don't look back.
All done!
Says No. 21 as she raises her terminal for the Constructs to see the data on it.
Alrighty!
Sensing her footsteps, the Constructs immediately keep a safe distance away from her like two cats whose tails have been stepped on.
...
"Stay away"—No.21 is no stranger to situations like this.
No.21 stops what she has been doing and waits for the Constructs to finish what they need to do.
W-we're done, too!
Alright, on to the next one.
...
From the measuring point, No. 21 aligns the anchoring point on her terminal with the area's superscript.
It's only going to take a few minutes for the missing recon data to be filled.
No. 21 figures that checking what's missing and filling up the gap herself is far easier than having to explain herself to Vera on things she herself doesn't even quite understand, or questioning the two Constructs on what went wrong.
With her terminal beeping, No. 21 proceeds to send the data that was previously missing to Vera's terminal.
Phew, all done.
Probably best if I don't do anything unnecessary... Right, Buddy?
As her Co-Bot starts rubbing itself affectionately against her leg, No. 21 can feel its chilling alloy shell against her skin.
Hey, look, a dried leaf.
And it's flying.
Jolting to the Co-Bot's movement, a "dead leaf" wobbles into the air, only to make a somewhat unsteady landing on a tree branch not too far away.
It's not a leaf, Buddy.
No. 21 walks up and reaches her hand for the creature. She wants to touch the flitting butterfly.
Better leave it alone. The kid is dying.
Following a barely audible noise of cloth rubbing against each other, No. 21 hears these very words from out of nowhere.
Who's there?
With the question, No. 21 positions herself for a fight as she tries to pick up signs of anything suspicious from where the voice came. A few seconds later, her Co-Bot takes a fighting position, too.
Did I scare you?
My apologies. It's just that I've never seen anyone bat these creatures an eye when they aren't looking for food.
The stranger of a girl leans slothfully against a tree branch, her voice sounding so devoid of life that it seems that even the gentlest gusts of wind would take her away.
No. 21 doesn't recognize the attire she's wearing... Other than the cloak she is in—which No. 21 remembers seeing most of the refugees in the conservation area wearing—No. 21 doesn't recognize anything else on the girl.
Switching to a more comfortable sitting position, the girl looks back and forth between No. 21 and her Co-Bot.
She doesn't have the unique stench of a Hetero-Creature... and neither is she in a fighting position. Sensing that the girl poses no threat, No. 21 lowers her weapon.
Dead leaves are hard to come by these days, so this is what I would call a wonderful stroke of luck. We barely ever see them anymore.
It's a butterfly and it's a kind of insect, that much I know. Is it dying?
Yes. Butterflies live a short life compared to humans, and this place is no longer livable for them.
Oh. I'll keep my hands off it, then.
This is the first time No. 21 is having a discussion with someone about things she's only seen in the documentaries.
Which makes her interested in the girl in front of her.
So, who are you? Are you... a Construct, too?
Construct... right, that's how you'd call someone like me. But I go by Canon here.
Oh. I go by No. 21.
No. 21? Uhm...
Which squad do you belong to?
I don't belong to any of you.
Hopping off the tree she's been sitting on and landing squarely in front of No. 21, Canon is reminiscent of a nimble creature that traverses the woods.
I do recon for a conservation area, and I run errands every now and then, too. In exchange for my services, Salans lets me stay here.
Salans?
The one in charge of our conservation area. You don't know him?
...Captain is the one who remembers people's faces.
Are you here on a mission, too?
...You've probably heard about all the people that had gone missing here, right? I'm actually off duty now, though. I like it here when I'm off duty.
Why?
...
Is that your weapon? It looks different from some of the machines I've seen.
This is Buddy. Buddy is my friend.
No. 21 sounds somewhat proud. She's happy that she's finally come across someone who, just like No. 21 herself, sees her Co-Bot for its uniqueness.
Can it do anything else other than fighting?
Of course. Do a dance, Buddy.
With it, the Co-Bot starts spinning the balancing leaf on its either side rhythmically, reminiscent of a tap dancer. After a quick round around No. 21 and Canon, it stops right in front of Canon and shakes the antenna over its head.
Buddy can do a whole lot of things like me.
And when Buddy is upset, it wants to kick Noctis' butt, too.
Noctis is this silly big guy that I hang out with.
"Haruka".
What does that mean?
It means ethnic group, but you can see it as "family," too.
Ohh. Buddy is my "haruka".
Uttering the unfamiliar word, No. 21 raises her intonation on the last syllable and, unintentionally, the corners of her mouth.
"Haruka" sounds good. Teach me a few more words.
Uhm, well... How about "Sinka"? Simply put, it means forest.
Canon didn't expect the girl would show such a keen interest in the old language she spoke.
She's spent year after year hiding the language that's part of who she is, all just so she would have no trouble communicating with people.
The infinite forest that her elders always speak of was turned into a finite—though still extensive—nature reserve at the end of the Golden Age, her people still speak in their native tongue.
In an effort to communicate with her people, researchers in the nature reserve had to learn their native tongue. Canon never imagined that she herself would have to learn the language from the world outside one day to be able to live.
Life as a vagabond never lacks surprises.
In the first conservation area where she only spent a short time living, Canon remembers people there seeing her as an ominous outsider—when they, just like Canon herself, were outsiders, too.
"Sinka". Sounds good, but I still like how "Haruka" sounds better.
...
Canary, you sing so well! Can I hear you sing again? C'mon...
～Connect and protect our Sinka...～
～Bless the bodies on the ground as you receive the souls from the heavens...～
～You planted and nurtured the seed that would eventually turn into our roots...～
～The wind brought with it your murmurs...～
～Do share with our people your joy and sorrow...～
～May we have your compliment through all eternity...～
～Please guide all souls that sing the song of Sinka—forever and ever...～
That's great! Granny Shinica would have had a lot of good things to say about me if I sing as well as you do...
...
What was that just now? It sounded good.
It's a song from home, and... honestly, it's been a while since I last sang it.
You said "Sinka" in your song. I heard it. Does that mean you live in the forest?
No wonder you find it more comfortable up the tree.
The trees we have back home are different from the trees here. Back home, we used to have a forest that went as far as one could see.
Trees are trees. What's the difference?
As No. 21 scratches her head, her Co-Bot makes a confused noise, too.
Ma'am Sinka—this is what we call our forest. Ma'am Sinka accepts all creatures, air, and water... When you're in her arms, you don't feel lonely or scared, even if you're just briefly on your own.
We could feel her from the soil we stood on and the aroma in the wind. When I was a kid...
Stopping cold, Canon says no more.
Hm?
Never mind. I just don't want to bore you with all the yada yada.
I don't feel bored. Do you have monkeys at home? I've seen monkeys on my terminal. They were swinging around and eating lice off people.
...Monkeys? We call them "Tankun" in our language.
Ohh. What about wolf pups? I see them all the time on my terminal but have never seen real ones.
"Sasibi" is the word we use to refer to "baby wolves." They're only active in certain places, though, and I've only seen them twice myself. Young wolves don't usually go around on their own because their pack keeps them safe.
That's exactly what I've seen on my terminal.
You... look kind of like them. Are you a worshipper of Sasibi?
I look kind of like them? You mean my ears and tail?
It's only so I won't go crazy. I must be in a frame that somewhat looks like this.
Go crazy?
...It happens when I see Captain or Noctis get hurt. Sometimes from headaches. But there are times when I don't know why. It just feels empty and heavy in this frame.
They said I hurt my friends when I went crazy.
So Captain got me this new frame. They're going to dump me at the garbage yard if I go crazy.
Your captain and this big guy that you talked about, I bet they're important to you.
Yes. They're my "Haruka", just like Buddy.
It makes sense that you'd be sad when they're hurt, then. You don't want to hurt your other "Haruka", though.
Is that so? Uhm... but I wouldn't call other people my "Haruka" just yet.
Well... relationships can be complicated indeed.
When I went hunting with Grandpa Kanger this one time, he told me about this taboo way of hunting. So what you do first is that you catch a Lena chick... Lena is a kind of bird, by the way.
And then you set up a trap with the chicks to attract their parents.
Lena are smart and they fly really high, and that makes it difficult to catch them on the ground with your regular tools.
But when they hear their kids chirping, they'd come back to the ground knowing how dangerous the trap is.
Once taken from their parents, the chicks can't survive into adulthood even if you let them go, which is why people have banned this way of hunting.
The song of Sinka says all souls are from the heavens.
And sometimes I wonder if the lone souls would just keep going further away from home if our Haruka didn't turn our souls into a tapestry close to the ground?
Like... now.
...
Sorry, I was just thinking out loud. Forget that last part I just said.
And, well, good times never last long, huh?
I'm heading back to my conservation area now. What's your plan?
I'll go this way.
Toward where all the military tents are westward of my conservation area?
If that's where you're going, there is a path you can take beside my conservation area. It's going to get you there faster than if you go through the woods.
I can take you to the path when we get to my conservation area.
OK. Let's go, Buddy.
Seeing No. 21 wave her hand, the Co-Bot carries its plump body with astounding ease and hops over a bulging tree root in its way.
Tell me more about "Sasibi". You said you'd seen them twice. Real "Sasibi".
Sure. I was seven when I first saw them...
