[Finally—they didn't switch the protagonist]
[Didn't pull any weird stunts like Witch from Mercury—respect]
[Fake news—my AI says GBN can't even create a girl like Inori-chan, and there's no Goldfish Outfit either]
[Wait for the next version update. New anime means the game will definitely update too]
[New series premiere + GBN getting a ton of fresh blood lately. All that suffering from us veterans wasn't for nothing]
[The daily-life stuff is solid. I heard Episode 1 is a ninety-minute extended episode—wonder when the Gundam shows up]
But unfortunately, the screen suddenly cut away again.
Two boys appeared on screen. The slightly hazy image suggested this was someone's memory.
A path lined with cherry blossoms in full bloom.
"There's no way Earth and PLANT would actually go to war."
Then one of the boys handed a bird to the other.
[Is that Kira?]
[Whoa, she used to be a tomboy]
[Don't tell me it's a trap lol]
[Should be a real girl. I compared—hips wider than waist]
[??? What kind of talent is that? An actual pervert?]
[Dead—I can eyeball the measurements of every single MyGO character at a glance]
[Holy crap, the master himself. My respects!]
The boy with deep-blue hair said: "I know evacuation feels pointless, but it's what my father wants... Kira, you'll come to PLANT eventually too, right?"
(I know this has been posted before...)
"Athrun! Athrun!"
"Whoa—Yzak!"
Athrun jumped, snapping out of his reverie.
"Athrun, don't tell me you've been dazzled by this fake peace!"
The white-haired Yzak beside him looked annoyed.
"Of course not."
Athrun adjusted his baseball cap.
Just days ago, Athrun Zala and the rest of the Le Creuset Team had received intelligence that the Earth Alliance was constructing a new top-secret military satellite in the L3 Space Region.
Unfortunately, the intelligence had been false, and no engagement occurred.
However, on their return voyage, the Le Creuset Team received another piece of news.
—A spy embedded in Heliopolis had obtained intelligence regarding the Earth Alliance's Mobile Suits.
"Honestly, I can't believe we have to sneak in like this." Yzak grumbled.
"It can't be helped." Another boy—this one with green hair—quietly caught up. "I heard that a year ago, one of our warships had an 'accident.' After that, Heliopolis upgraded all its military security."
"Nicol—you really think that level of security can stop us?" Yzak scoffed.
[ZAFT spies]
[Whoa, the blue-haired guy is Kira's childhood friend]
[Whoa, childhood sweetheart!]
[No wait—childhood best bro!]
[The green-haired boy's voice is really nice. The voice actor has to be a girl]
[Perfect]
[Top-tier]
[I'd take this one even without crossdressing]
[???]
"How's Miguel doing?" Yzak asked.
"Mm, Rusty and Dearka have linked up with Miguel, but the equipment transport isn't coming that fast." Athrun checked the encrypted communications on his device.
"Tch. So all we can do right now is sit here and wait?" Yzak surveyed his surroundings.
This was Heliopolis's urban district.
After last year's incident, Heliopolis had tightened its security protocols. Hiding in a crowded, chaotic area like this was the best option for infiltration.
Since they couldn't send GINNs in for a direct assault, the plan was to combine infiltration operations with diversionary tactics.
"Sure are a lot of people. No wonder the spy told us to stand by here." Yzak scanned the area. "Too many people, that's the problem."
For some reason, the streets of Heliopolis were packed today.
It wasn't any kind of holiday. What was going on?
Athrun had some idea: "Apparently, the 'Songstress of Orb' has a concert today."
(It's Inori!)
(Blue-haired Inori a.k.a. Lacia lol)
At that, Yzak looked even more disgusted: "Hmph. A hypocritical neutral nation. We're fighting and dying on the battlefield, and these people are holding concerts?!"
No sooner had he finished than Yzak paused, looking puzzled: "Wait, Athrun—how do you know about this?"
"Ah, because Lacus really likes that songstress's music," Athrun said. "Every time I see her, she talks about the songstress. I think the name is... 'Yuzuriha Inori'?"
"Oh, right right—she's the Songstress of Orb, but she's actually pretty famous over in PLANT too," Nicol chimed in.
"Huh?" Yzak was stunned.
—Don't tell me I'm the out-of-touch one here.
"No, wait—how would an Orb singer be popular with us? PLANT's network isn't even connected to Orb." Yzak found this suspicious.
"Who knows? But Lacus said that at first, someone tried to crack down on it. They kept deleting and banning it, but people just kept reposting the songstress's MVs. And since the songstress doesn't have any pro-Alliance stance, they eventually just let it be."
[TL;DR: They couldn't stop it]
[I thought Coordinators would have some galaxy-brain take, but they're just as helpless]
[Think about it—the people posting MVs are also Coordinators]
[Civilian Coordinators always outclass the government]
[This really gives me UC vibes. Is this actually a UC homage?]
Just then, the massive screen on the street flickered to life.
A girl in a red Goldfish Outfit with pink hair appeared on screen.
"Ah, that's her." Nicol pointed at the screen.
"Heh. A live broadcast too?" Yzak was irritated, but there was nothing to do right now except wait.
He glanced at the screen. Might as well kill time.
Then the music began, soft and gentle.
"Aimo Aimo, Nederu Rusye..."
He couldn't understand the lyrics, but the melody was pleasant. Yzak's irritation eased just a fraction. "The music's not bad, actually."
"Strange." Athrun murmured. "This sounds a bit different from the version Lacus played for me."
"Aimo has two versions." Nicol, as it turned out, knew the details. "One is the 'Tori no Hito' version you're hearing now. The story goes that a fighter pilot crashed on a primitive island and was believed to be a 'Bird Human,' leading to a mysterious encounter with the locals."
"And the other version?" Athrun was curious.
"The other version has syllables, but nobody can understand the language. It's said to fit the melody even better, but the meaning of the lyrics is unknown. Some say the syllables were just created for the sake of rhythm with no special meaning. Others claim it's some kind of alien language."
"You two..."
Yzak looked at them both, exasperated.
[New song!]
[So good!]
[A totally new style!]
[Could it be a different voice actor for the singing parts?]
[Listen carefully—there's still a similar undertone]
[What kind of mystical nonsense are you talking about]
The singer was, of course, Inori.
After studying under Hatsune Miku-sensei, Inori's vocal artistry had already far surpassed the amateur level.
And unlike others, Miku-sensei appeared to be a contracted instructor with the Stage, so whenever Inori wanted vocal lessons, she could simply go to her. Very convenient.
Even outside of Inori—under the identity of "Hyuga Hanabi," the arrangement was the same.
Thanks to her carbon-based machine body's construction and those techniques, changing her voice was effortless for Inori.
Although it was admittedly absurd for the heroine of Guilty Crown to be singing a Macross Frontier song on a Gundam SEED set—given that none of those three franchises existed in this world, Inori simply helped herself.
And as Athrun gazed at the screen, his expression shifted to one of shock...
(Great song and great show)