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soushimemenashiro · 6 years

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In the Image

SeinNicht Week Day 1: Pain

post-Exodus. In which the core of Mk Sein is affected still by the circumstances of its rebirth, and proceeds to seek conversation.

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It’s not a phenomenon anybody expected, but—

But after four years of being entombed with Mk Nicht, Mk Sein showed signs of activity. It was almost the opposite of what happened that time years ago, when Mk Nicht attempted Crossing with Siegfried System despite having no pilot and its systems deactivated. But even then, this recent signal had been brief. The administrator only had timestamps to show—this was no Urd’s Well, and the island did not apparently understand what that entire thing was about. Mk Sein was still in the place they locked him in.

Well, at least that was what Fumihiko understood. He didn’t really understand this, however.

“Father,” Kazuki greeted him as Fumihiko took off his shoes, eyes still on the... sight in the living room. Kazuki continued to cook as if it wasn’t anything strange he should’ve explained over the phone, when he asked him to come home at a reasonable hour tonight. “Welcome back.”

Soushi looked up from his seat on the floor, hugging a child-sized Mk Sein in his lap, beaming. “Welcome home, Commander Dad!”

Fumihiko stared down at the child, the mech, then his own son. The first had already gone back to pressing his cheek against Mk Sein, watching the TV—the second was largely unhelpful to begin with, though its head was tilted towards Fumihiko, the blue lights dimming slightly in fluttering falters and then something akin to a stare. Kazuki checked on the steamer.

Fumihiko sat down. Clearly he wasn’t going to get any clarification. It was times like these that made him wish Minashiro Soushi was here—not for anything, but because he would’ve already alerted him and the others and be ready with a report and several hypotheses, if not an actual explanation of what was happening, thanks to his ability to communicate with festums now. His son and his son’s son?

Those two, they were the sort to be content to leave him without any explanation why Mk Sein was on the table with them during dinner, looking to the world like a sad child.

Kazuki learned at least one thing after receiving his blessing and earning the ability to communicate with the festums: there was probably a reason this happened, because these kinds of strange things required some sort of Mir to pull off, which meant that there was some thought process that led to this decision. Kazuki would not dare to claim he knew who did it, much less why, but that was the conclusion he had learned to reach. It'll become clear someday, basically. That seemed to be what Soushi did those years ago, in trusting his sister—niece?—despite everything. And if there was something he trusted, it was that Soushi—both the previous and this one—would lead him to the right place, the right answer.

Until then?

“Kazuki, Kazuki!” Soushi scrambled to his feet as Kazuki took a step into the house, his expression so determined and full of ideas. Mk Sein was beside him, standing with ease, and seemed to look at Soushi in worry, arms already stretched out. It had only been a week, but Mk Sein was starting to become an ever-present protector of Soushi, and Soushi insisted he played with the mech, even though he had to leave it behind when he went to school. “Kazuki, can we go to the beach?”

Kazuki blinked. Well, he had just come back from work—Alvis cafeteria, today (they needed to do extra work to make up for the difference between the system here and the system back in Tatsumiyajima, and so most people were working there)—but well, there was still time until he had to start dinner.

It had been some time since he was able to take Soushi to the beach, after all. Kouyo was always kind enough to pick Soushi up, both to school and back, but that wasn't nearly enough. That couldn't constitute family time. “All right, then.”

He got a beam and a cheer in return. “Let's go then, Sein!”

Mk Sein flew in and straightened Soushi back up when he almost stumbled off the steps. Mk Sein also gave Soushi a flying shoulder ride as they went down to the beach, much to the jealousy—and amusement—of others down the road. Kazuki couldn't help but smile as he brushed back Soushi’s bangs, the boy's head on par with his chest with Mk Sein levitating five centimeters off the ground. Soushi turned to him.

“Sein said he lives under water with his friend. Can we swim down there?”

Kazuki stopped dead in his tracks and Mk Sein followed suit.

It… took several moments to connect the dots. Right. Mk Sein wasn't above ground anymore, especially now that its restrictions were removed. But they weren’t keeping them under the beach, no—furthermore, no amount of swimming could ever get them there.

“It—it’s not there, Soushi,” Kazuki said, ruffling his hair. “Mk Sein is underwater, but not here. It’s in a different place.”

Even when expected, the way his expression fell was a bit… it made Kazuki felt rather terrible. Apparently it affected Mk Sein, too, because the fafner then turned its head, glowing a bit. In a strange, wordless way, Kazuki understood the sentences—it was somewhat different to the usual communication with festums, felt a lot more mathematical and impossibly large, but he got the gist. It’s okay. Just alone there.

“I’m sorry,” Soushi said, petting Mk Sein’s face gently. His smile was soft, like his expression whenever he found a kitten in the street in the rain and wanted to hold his umbrella over it. It was a kind smile, the sort that made Kazuki proud. “You don’t have to be. You’re here!”

Mk Sein brightened for a moment, the machine that Kazuki used to think of as a terrifying, ravenous giant now so… innocent, in a way. He never thought about it that way. He never thought about the fafners being sentient, not really.

Soushi hummed at times, the rest of the trip to the beach. The little, three or four noted tunes were almost like replies; what they truly mean, though, Kazuki reckoned those were for Mk Sein alone. Mk Sein ‘played’ in the sea: sat in the shallow waters, looked up at the sky, moved its arms around to follow the flapping motions Soushi demonstrated on land. They found some more crabs, which Soushi followed for ten minutes, endlessly fascinated. Kouyo was fishing and only smiled as Soushi hugged Chocolat, now aging and less sprightly but ever so vigilant, and he smiled, too, at Mk Sein.

“Mk Sein became what it is because it was born knowing pain,” Kouyo murmured to him as they watched Mk Sein carry Soushi up and out of Chocolat’s reach, the dog barking as the child laughed as he went higher and higher. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, turning them slowly into grey silhouettes against the deep blue waters. “You understand, don’t you?”

Kazuki was the one who carried Soushi back home, the boy dozing lightly against his shoulder as he and Mk Sein walked back. In the back of his mind, a thought was born. One day, once grown, it would become an understanding.

“So you’re telling me that Mk Sein has manifested into something with a friendlier size because he got lonely in the hangar?”

The sentence coming out of his own mouth was so bizarre, Fumihiko wasn’t sure exactly how he was supposed to react. He remembered how less than ten years ago, he’d thought that tears were a sign that something was beyond festum—human. Then, the core of the island showed not just tears, but fears as well. Showed a willingness to sacrifice herself for the island. Then a mech showed a refusal to be destroyed—a fear of death. And now? A fafner feeling loneliness?

“Only Soushi knows exactly, but I think so,” Kazuki said. “Soushi mentioned that Mk Nicht is currently where life originates, and will come back someday.”

“Well, Mk Nicht has been off ever since… things happened,” Kondou said. “Nobody tested it out, of course, but wasn’t there a report from years ago about how the core wasn’t actually there anymore?”

The thing about cores was that with all these business of ‘rebirth’ and the cycle of life, things were getting… complicated. Fumihiko fully admitted his personal inability to see fafner cores as a “sentient” festum—unlike the island core or Kasugai, these things didn’t even seem to have thoughts. They didn’t show the ability to act.

But then again, Mk Nicht had actively fought against being disposed of. It had the ability to force on the pain sensation to deter Soushi from deactivating it. Lines were being blurred in these past ten years alone. Perhaps to move forward he would have to accept these new realities, as much as he reflexively questioned them.

“What is this about ‘where life originates’, though?” Fumihiko asked, looking at his son.

For one long moment, Kazuki’s eyebrows furrowed, as though he was debating whether something was worth bring up or not. Kondou took the opportunity to finish his lunch, which reminded Fumihiko that he probably ought to do the same. The cafeteria was empty by this point, everyone having gone back to work. Kondou wasn’t here as a battle commander either, actually—he probably had some other work, but Fumihiko decided against asking. Kondou was an adult who could decide whether getting a talking to from Dr. Toomi was worth it or not, and he did have valuable insight to Mk Nicht as a Siegfried System operator.

“I… I think I sort of understand, but I don’t know how exactly it applies to Mk Nicht,” Kazuki said at last. He looked away, but then faced Fumihiko again, expression resolute. “Back when I first boarded Mk Sein, something happened. It was hard to explain what actually happened, because I didn’t really understand either, but Mk Sein was eaten up by the festum, I think.”

It… it was a story Fumihiko thought was somewhat familiar, though retold differently by somebody else. Mizoguchi had told him about how the machine seemed to be swallowed up by the lava, the monster, something. Then it reemerged in a rock dome after the… creature ate itself. The story was absolutely bizarre and not entirely believable, but he trusted the people who told him about it.

“It was something Tsubaki Minashiro said to me that sounded strange back then, but I think might be… relevant? But she told me that ‘it’ had been born. I didn’t really understand what she meant, back then, but I think she might’ve been referring to the core of Mk Sein. I don't know why it was reborn, though.”

“So you’re telling me that there’s a possibility that Mk Nicht’s core is, in fact, being born again?” Fumihiko wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about this, but his lunch had taken the back seat at the moment. This was a bit too strange to process in a short amount of time. “But why?”

Without the island core, Minashiro Soushi, or connection to Siegfried System at the moment of the latter’s death, it was impossible to determine what actually happened. It was impossible too, then, to predict what would come after this—when would the core return? Would it experience change? Where did it actually go? What was rebirth, and what did it do?

The two people with answers were not here to answer. Fumihiko shook his head.

“We’ll see if Soushi ends up getting any answers to that question by talking to Mk Sein. For now, though, we’ll just wait for any new development.”

At night, with the dulled sounds of Kazuki and Fumihiko Dad still in the living room watching the television and talking, Sein sat on the corner of the bedroom. Shadows played around, though, dark brothers of passing clouds chasing each other—Soushi was sleepy, but he was awake anyway. He could feel the emotions emanating from the core of Sein. The core wanted to talk, but it didn’t know the words yet. Soushi was kind of waiting for it to speak up, if he didn’t fall asleep before then.

The previously dimmed lights of Sein’s head lit up, almost like a night light.

When I was born, I remembered the wishes that made me who I am.

There was an image, then, of something a garish, dark orange—Soushi sank into it like a bathtub, immersing himself in the projected memory. There was a hot-red sort of warmth permeating the outer skin of this strange, incomprehensible space, but Soushi left the thoughts pondering the strangeness of it all to the mathematical plane, focusing instead on the thoughts of Sein.

Oh?

He was hurt… I think I understand pain. But he wanted to talk to somebody, then. It was something that made him feel better—if only he could do it for one last time, he’d be happy. Soushi.

Soushi blinked at the name, though he said nothing.

I wanted to know if talking to the core of nothingness would change anything.

“It will, I think,” Soushi said. There was a wealth of evidence emerging from the sea of his consciousness that proved it, though when Soushi himself attempted to grasp at the individual proof, the memory dispersed like tiny fish and a paper net. “I think Kazuki was happier, too, when he got to talk.”

Was Kazuki happier because he got to talk to that person? Soushi didn’t know Kazuki before he was old enough to remember his existence, but he knew that, somehow. There was a lot of sadness, too, but Soushi felt like he was, at least, happier in some ways. There was a wound in his heart that healed, then, even though the world would tear open new ones. But at least the healing of that would let him live, and for that reason alone, talking was immeasurably valuable.

Will talking make me happier?

The windchimes twinkled outside, the sound distant thanks to the rustling of the nearby leaves. Soushi flopped to his side, hand readily readjusting his blanket so that they don’t fall off his shoulder, and closed his eyes. “Uh huh. And you will get to, I promise.”

#seinnichtweek2018 #Fafner in the Azure #soukyuu no fafner #shoutout to that video of really adorable talking sein and nicht on nnd #m'writin

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seinnichtweek · 6 years

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SEINNICHT WEEK

Apologies for not actually using this blog for the announcement and for not doing it BEFORE H-1, but if this happens again next year (lol), I’ll be sure to make better prep.

SO. SeinNicht Week. What is it?

For us mechfuckers, it’s a week of appreciating the wonderfully partially sentient babies Mk Sein and Mk Nicht. For people turned off by the idea of two mechs bumping cockpits, it’s a week of appreciating the fafners in more normal methods. Either way is good, and the more the merrier!

When is it?

January 29th - February 4th!

What can you do for it?

Pretty much anything. Fully understanding that most of us are busy, there aren’t even really any requirements to this; you can write, draw, make GIF sets, make memes (a valid art form, as far as I’m concerned)-- the initial intention of this week is frankly just appreciating the fact that they are here loving what was born the fafners that just keep getting better as the series progresses.

That being said, Mk Sein and Mk Nicht are kind of the focus. But if your sight is set on other fafners, then we’re not stopping you!

Is there a prompt list?

Yup!

Day 1 — a) pain b) existence Day 2 — a) conversation b) sky Day 3 — a) acceptance b) core Day 4 — a) rebirth b) coexistence Day 5 — a) new b) alternate Day 6 — a) protection b) together Day 7 — a) hate b) nonexistence

Adherence to prompts is not required. Do whatever gets you inspired!

We’re tracking and reblogging works tagged with #seinnichtweek2018

Hope to see you there!

#seinnichtweek2018 #seinnicht week #fafner in the azure #fafner #soukyuu no fafner

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spectralsword · 6 years

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Soukyuu no Fafner, Soushi, Kazuki & miniFafners, "Spiky”

SO YEAH AU where everyone came home just fine from the Exodus mission, and the Fafners got turned into tiny versions of themselves.

They're cute though some of them are kind of mischievous. How this happened, idk. The Mir did it, don't bother warewarewa about it.

Day 1 — a) pain b) existence

In which miniNicht gets himself tangled in Soushi’s hair.

——————-

The Rakuen door opened somehow unevenly, like whoever was pushing it open had trouble. Kazuki raised his head from his lunch preparations anyway to look; Sein meanwhile went alert right away and flew to the door to greet the person there.

Well, the person and the small flailing Fafner. Soushi stumbled in looking very bothered, with Nicht in his hands. "Kazuki. A little help, here?"

"What did he- oh." Kazuki put the vegetables he had been preparing away and dried his hands, then walked around the counter while Soushi sat down in the closest chair. "How did he get himself tangled in your hair like that, anyway?"

"Climbed up my back while I was studying then decided to stick his backpack spikes out while clinging to my neck," Soushi explained. "Then he freaked out for some reason and now..." He rolled his eyes and tried to pull a strand of hair out of the mess of Nicht's spikes and wires. "Suppose he realized it hurt to get my hair pulled like that. I figured he'd at least calm down if I brought him here."

Nicht had definitely stopped flailing as soon as Kazuki came into view and now just sat on the table looking somehow miserable. "I don't get it really," Kazuki said, moving to stand behind Soushi and carefully fixing his hair, pulling it free from Nicht's spikes and releasing them one at a time as well. "Sein likes to sleep in your hair, but he never gets tangled in it."

"He's not spiky like this moron here," Soushi pointed out, watching Sein float down to the table next to Nicht and patting him on the shoulder. "Ow," he added, glaring at the Fafners as Nicht recalled one of the backpack fins. "Would it kill you to wait till Kazuki fixes that mess?"

Nicht looked even more miserable, and Kazuki sighed and leaned over to pat him on the head. "Sit still, now, hmm?" Nicht's orange light turned a little brighter from that, at least. "I guess on some level they do still feel whatever we feel and the other way around," he mused. "Not that they get hurt very easily, at least."

"Thankfully, considering what kind of an idiot this thing is," Soushi muttered. "Not like me at all, no matter what they say. Also, I need coffee. Enough excitement for one day and it isn't even lunchtime yet."

Kazuki nodded and moved to the counter, picking up a few cups and filling them with coffee. "Here," he said, placing one in front of Soushi. "Here's for you as well so you don't try stealing Soushi's," he added as he placed a cup in front of Nicht. "Now be nice and I'll be done with this in no time."

With how happy the mini-Fafner looked holding the cup, and how Soushi looked while sipping his, Kazuki wasn't so sure if he agreed with Soushi about Nicht not being like him.

#soukyuu no fafner #Fafner Exodus #seinnichtweek2018

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spectralsword · 6 years

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Soukyuu no Fafner, Soushi, Kazuki & miniFafners, "Sweet"

Two for the price of one because I’m late posting these.

Day 5 a) new b) alternate

Curiosity wins over the mini-Fafners.

——————- There were decorations all over Rakuen once again. Reservations for birthday parties required preparation, and Kazuki looked around, pleased. He was almost done and just needed to finish some of the food.

Plenty of food was set up for the evening already, mostly snacks and candy. "Don't touch that," he reminded Sein and Nicht, who sat on the counter and stared at a plate of cupcakes. "You know the rules," he added, returning to the kitchen side. The mini-Fafners looked at him and nodded vigorously, and he ignored them and set to work.

Which he maybe shouldn't have done, as some time later there was a slight rustling sound, though he didn't get to react to it as the Rakuen door opened and Soushi entered. "Kazuki? Did I make it before you close for the party? Some coffee would..." He trailed off at that moment, stopping to stare at something. "What are you two even doing?"

His comment caught Kazuki's attention, and he peeked over the counter, only to find Sein and Nicht near an open bag of cotton candy on the table. "Hey! Get away from there this instant," he said in a scolding tone. "What did I say about staying away from the party stuff?" Sein and Nicht looked at each other and backed away from the bag, though they sat on the table and stared at it. "Let those two out of your sight for a second, I swear..."

"You tell me," Soushi said with a hint of a smirk. "They see something new, they're all over it. Curious little buggers. Seriously, now. Have you two never seen cotton candy before?" He took a few steps closer and sighed. "Also I think you're out of luck, seems like they got into the stuff," he added, nodding at Nicht, who had something pink hanging from his shoulder spike.

Kazuki looked at them again, then at the bag on the table, not appearing very impressed. "Well I can't exactly serve cotton candy that some silly Fafners have rolled in, can I? Could you remove that bag for me?"

It was too bad Sein and Nicht took that as meaning they should remove it instead of Soushi, and they both floated up that instant, grabbing the bag and making it towards the door with it. Soushi rolled his eyes and turned to grab them - too late, as Mizoguchi opened the door right then, a heavy looking box in his hands, and the mini-Fafners took the opportunity and vanished outside.

Mizoguchi looked at the two of them then at the mini-Fafners floating away puzzled; Kazuki just plain facepalmed. "Put some coffee in the thermos for me," Soushi said, heading towards the door. "I am going to need that coffee once I catch those morons."

"You got yourself a deal," Kazuki promised. "Those two are so getting a good scolding once you find them."

#soukyuu no fafner #seinnichtweek2018

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spectralsword · 6 years

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Soukyuu no Fafner, Soushi, Kazuki, Kouyou & miniFafners, "Existing"

Day 3 a) acceptance b) core

Hanging out in Rakuen with the mini-Fafners, Kazuki asks Kouyou a question.

——————-

"You know, Kouyou," Kazuki said from behind the Rakuen counter, pausing what he was doing - which was, washing the dishes - and looked over at the pair sitting on the other side of the counter. "There's something I've kind of been wondering about."

Kouyou simply smiled and nodded a little, and Soushi adjusted his glasses before he took a sip of his coffee then looked at the two curiously. Or he would have, had he not found himself slapping Nicht on the arm a second later. "No. Stupid Fafner. My coffee. How many times does this have to be explained to you? Kouyou, tell him."

"He can't help it," Kouyou said. "He's a part of you, and because that's your coffee, he automatically counts it as his."

"I guess I should pour him his own cup again," Kazuki noted. "Seems to be the only way of keeping him away from Soushi's cup. Anyway..." His eyes went from the dark purple mini-Fafner sitting next to Soushi's cup, looking all miffed, to Sein and Vier, who were happily sitting on Misao's shoulders. Misao, who was sitting over at the table next to the window, didn't seem to mind at least and was just happily enjoying his Melon Soda. "About this tiny Vier being here. I mean, Sein has Mark Elf's old core, and Nicht has original Vier's... See what I'm getting at?"

At that point Nicht made another attempt for Soushi's coffee, and Soushi simply picked up the cup and finished the contents, smirking at the mini-Fafner and in return getting Nicht to shake his fist at him. It was sometimes amusing how human they acted, Kazuki had to admit. "Kouyou, what I'm saying is," he then continued. "Technically, you're Vier's core. How are you both here?"

A curious smile rose to Kouyou's lips. "It has to do with how these things are us, in a way," he explained. "This miniature version of Vier exists because it's another version of me. Essentially, we share the same core, which is, I am the core, but thanks to this island, I'm here. Vier exists as a representation of the Fafner version that functions as..."

He continued his pseudo-scientific lecture for another moment, and Kazuki just stared at him. "You lost me," he finally said.

Soushi turned in his chair and gave Kouyou a long look. "You just made half of that up, didn't you?"

"But that's exactly how it goes!" Misao from behind them cut in. "I think!"

Kazuki shook his head and sighed, watching Sein happily climb down Misao's arm to sit down on the table and seemingly start a conversation with the miniature Eurus-type Festum that sat there. "Oh, yeah, and speaking of cores and existences," he said. "What's up with the mini-Eurus, anyway?"

"Everyone else has one!" Misao replied with a grin. "And they're part of me. So kind of same as this," he added, picking the miniature Vier out of his hair.

Back at the counter, Soushi rolled his eyes. "I seriously can't believe you guys. Whatever you say. May I have another cup of coffee?" He requested from Kazuki. "...And please give this sulking moron his own cup already."

With Nicht turning to give Kazuki a hopeful look, he couldn't exactly refuse.

#soukyuu no fafner #Fafner Exodus #seinnichtweek2018

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spectralsword · 6 years

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Soukyuu no Fafner, Fumihiko & miniFafners, "Understanding"

Day 2 - a) conversation b) sky

In what pretty much counts as a direct sequel to Elmina’s old fic, Fumihiko tries to understand.

——————-

Keeping an eye on the two mini-Fafners while Kazuki was at work was no problem for Fumihiko these days. For some reason he didn't get, they really liked him, and Kazuki and Soushi always kept saying how the two were so well-behaved around Fumihiko.

Were they really? He had no idea how they usually acted, but then again, the most mischief he'd ever seen from them was to take pots and plant flowers in them. Which he wasn't even sure if it counted as mischief, aside from the part where they hadn't asked the permission to use the pots. Then again, he mentally added as he glanced at the two, staring at him preparing to make pottery again. How would they ask in the first place? They didn't talk.

They had some form of communication, that he'd realized a while ago, but it wasn't like anyone outside Miwa, Emery, Misao, Kouyou and Orihime actually understood. Fumihiko didn't mind; he was fine with them staring and talking their Fafner things and sometimes trying to explain something to him. "Mmm," he mumbled as Sein pointed at something in the pottery wheel's direction.

The Fafners looked at each other and then at him again, both their visors glowing a bit. "...I see," Fumihiko muttered as he set to work on the pot. The two watched in silence - a silly expression maybe when the two really made little sounds in general - for a while, then Nicht pointed at the pot in progress and seemed to be saying something. "You think so?" Fumihiko asked.

Why he was bothering to pretend he was trying to understand them, he didn't know, but it just made them seem so... happy? On some level.

The pot wasn't working out, and Fumihiko stopped the wheel to fix the issue, then mentally sighed and looked at the mini-Fafners staring at the pot so focused and so... What was it with these two, did they really just like staring at his hands? Or maybe it was the clay itself.

What had Akane said again, he thought as he turned to stare at the pot again. Soil. Something about understanding Festum, who were technically made of soil.

Fafners were technically Festum. Domesticated Festum. He almost laughed at the idea, but considering how the two tiny Fafners were staring at him like a pair of intelligent pets, perhaps they really were domesticated. Maybe he shouldn't have thought of them as pets, though, since Sein was in a way part of Kazuki. Didn't that make them children, in a way?

Sein turned to Nicht, his green visor lighting up a bit again, and Nicht seemed to be... nodding, enthusiastically? Maybe. Whatever this discussion was about, Fumihiko still had no idea, but he did know that understanding took more effort than just sitting there and doing nothing but pretending to understand.

He looked at the failure of a pot and then at the two again. "Do you... Want to try?" He asked the miniature Fafners.

At that moment, Fumihiko could swear he had never seen the visor lights of those two shine so brightly.

#soukyuu no fafner #seinnichtweek2018

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