Chapter 10

In the Seiran household, tension fills the air as father and son, Unato and Yuna Seiran, engage in a discussion.

"Father, do you think Cagali's view of the giant seems a bit weird?"

"If you are talking about her unusual trust in that giant, then I guess it is a bit weird. Most likely, it has saved her and stopped Junius Seven, and she has an infatuation with it."

Yuna scratches his head irritatingly. "Ha~ why does she trust that giant? It is an alien! Coordinators are already a headache, and now aliens exist. What the hell is happening!?"

"Calm down, Yuna. Whether she likes that giant or not doesn't matter. What we need to do is for Orb to be allied with the Earth Alliance. I have already received an offer."

"But Father. We both know Cagali won't agree to that. We might have a chance of convincing her if Junius Seven fell, but that failed."

"I know. Let me talk to her. Cagali may be stubborn, but in the end, she is still a child."

"What about the giant? The Alliance is also asking about it, right?"

"We gather information as well. That giant is a dangerous factor. Just its mere presence is a problem. There are already some groups saying it is a new god or a savior. If these groups grow, it is going to be harder to get rid of the giant without public backlash. We don't need aliens in our world."

…

The next day, Haru decided to visit the orphanage where Kira and Lacus were staying. It's a lovely, small wooden house located next to a church by the beach. As Haru approached, he saw many children joyfully playing and running around on the beach. Among them, Kira was having a great time with the other children and happily noticed Haru making his way toward them.

Kira smiles kindly at Haru. "Haru! It is nice for you to come."

Haru smiles energetically at Kira. "Hello, Kira. I came to help."

The children looked curiously at Haru and surrounded him. They wonder who he is. "Onii-chan, who are you?"

"Hello, everyone. I'm Haru, and I came to play with you all."

"Really?"

"Yes, how about we play a game of tag, and I'm it. Now, you all better run because I'm going to get ya!" Haru playfully acts like a mean person.

"Ya~, run~"

The kids giggle as they run around, and Haru joins in the fun, playfully chasing after them. "I'm going to get you~."

Haru loves having a blast playing and running around with the kids. During all the excitement, he takes a little tumble and ends up getting sand all over his clothes and even in his mouth.

"Bleh~ Pto! Uh~ there is sand in my mouth~."

"Hahaha! Onii-chan is full of sand."

"Why you~"

They keep on running around with Haru, chasing after the kids. The kids also have a great time laughing and having fun. Kira watches them nearby, and he notices Lacus standing beside him.

"It is great to see the children having fun, isn't it, Kira?"

"Yes, Haru is playing with them. He seems to have an affinity with the kids."

"I can see that. Everyone! It is time for lunch!"

"Haii~!"

The kids head into the cabin for lunch, and Haru comes in, too, saying hi to Lacus.

"Lacus, hello."

"Hello to you too, Haru. Thank you for playing with the children."

"It's okay. I enjoy spending time with children."

Lacus smiles at Haru kindly and chuckles a bit. "You might want to clean yourself up first."

Haru sees himself covered in sand and gets embarrassed. "Hahaha… sorry about this."

"It's okay, we have a shower in the back. I'll bring you some clothes after."

"Thank you."

Haru accepted Lacus's offer and quickly took a shower. Then, everyone gathered around a long table and started to enjoy their meal.

"Itadakimasu!"

Haru enjoyed a delicious meal filled with love, and it brought satisfied tears to their eyes.

"This is so good~! Who cooked this?"

"It was Kira's mother and me who prepared the food."

"You cook this Lacus-san!? This is amazing!"

Haru noticed Kira's mother with her beautiful indigo hair and kind green eyes. She was dressed in a simple shirt and a long skirt, exuding kindness and care, just like a loving mother would towards her children. It was clear to Haru that Kira inherited his kindness from her.

"Ah! And you must be Kira's mother. It is nice to meet you; I'm Haru Yasu."

She gives a caring smile to Haru. "Hello, Haru-kun. I'm Caridad Yamato. Thank you for playing with the children."

Haru scratches his head embarrassingly. "It's not a problem. If I have time, I'll visit them again."

"Ma~ that is good to hear. Now, continue to eat. We have a lot more in the pot."

"Yes! Your cooking is really good!"

Haru happily savors the delicious food, bringing a warm smile to Lacus and Caridad's faces. It's heartwarming for them to see someone relishing their cooking so much.

Haru fills his stomach and is completely satisfied. "Ah~ it was delicious. Gochisousama."

Kira is surprised by the number of plates Haru has finished and says, "You really eat a lot."

Haru is embarrassed. It was only recently that his appetite suddenly got bigger. "Ah… sorry. This isn't the usual amount I eat."

Caridad looks warmly at Haru. "Huhu, it means you're a still growing boy. Don't feel bad. I find it fulfilling to see someone eat my cooking with relish. You should also eat some more, Kira."

Kira gets embarrassed for being treated like a child. "Mom~"

"Huhu." She likes to tease her son.

As Haru observed Kira and Caridad interacting, he couldn't help but feel a slight longing for his own family in his heart. Looking out of the window, he watched the children playing, and his thoughts drifted to his own loved ones.

"Did those children also lose their family?"

Kira, Lacus, and Caridad could see the sadness in Haru's eyes. "Yes, they also lost their family when Onogoro was attacked." replied Lacus.

"I see, but it is nice to see they are still smiling. That is what's important."

Haru smiles at the children, wishing for their happiness, and Lacus, Kira, and Caridad also wish for the same. "Yes, protecting those smiles is important."

BUDMP

Haru suddenly stood up, which surprised the others. "Haru, what's wrong?" asked Kira.

'It's that same feeling again! Is there another Kaiju nearby?'

BUDMP

"Excuse me!" Haru quickly dashes out, driven by an inexplicable intuition that serves as his guide. Although he cannot discern the origin of this feeling, he vividly recalls how it previously warned him of an impending Kaiju threat. As he becomes aware of the presence of children in the vicinity, a sense of urgency overtakes him, compelling him to intervene and avert any potential harm that may befall them.

At one end of the beach, two children frolicked in the sand, their laughter filling the air. Unbeknownst to them, a menacing creature lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce at any moment.

"Yui~! Slowdown. I can't catch up~"

"No~ hurry up~ Kent!"

A tentacle suddenly shoots out from the sand and grabs Yui's legs. It lifted her off the ground, and Yui screamed in fear.

"Help!"

"Yui!"

Kent tightly holds onto Yui's hands, refusing to release them. Suddenly, a 5-meter tall, slimy, tentacled creature emerges, dragging them both closer to its gaping maw.

Yui sees the Kaiju and is scared. She cries and is terrified. "Kent! Help me!"

Kent is holding on for dear life and doesn't let go of Yui, no matter how scared he is. "Don't grrr let go!"

"SCREEEECH!"

They draw closer and closer to the Kaiju, teetering on the edge of being devoured. Just when all hope seems lost, a hand reaches out and grabs Yui, yanking her away from the Kaiju's clutches in the nick of time.

"Are you two okay!?"

Haru arrived punctually, and the two children greeted him with tears and embraces. Moments later, Kira and Lacus appeared, only to be greeted by the sight of a terrifying Kaiju!

Kira could not believe what he was seeing. He has never seen something more hideous in his life. "What is that…"

Lacus was stunned by the grotesque creature. "Is that a monster…?"

Haru snapped the two out of their stunned state to help the children. "Kira! Lacus! Take care of them. I'll hold this thing back."

"Haru, you can't—"

"Go!"

With Haru's insistence. The two ran away with the children, leaving Haru to face the Kaiju.

BUDMP

Haru has another set of memories and learns about the Kaiju identity. "Space Beast Pedoleon, huh?"

"SCREEEECH!"

Pedoleon shoots out tentacles, and Haru desperately dodges them.

"This bastard is fast!"

He seizes a nearby rock and hurls it at Pedoleon, but to his astonishment, the rock merely bounces off the creature's body as if it were made of steel!

"Dammit! What should I do!?"

The UltraRiser suddenly glowed, and he saw a new option on the screen. "Blaster mode? This is it!?"

[BLASTER]

Haru quickly taps the screen, and the UltraRiser starts morphing into a gauntlet with a small barrel at the end. He aims the barrel at Pedoleon's tentacles and shoots. A beam shoots out and goes through the tentacle and separates from the rest of the body. The tentacle squirms and slowly stops moving.

"SCREEEECH!"

Pedoleon is injured and lets out a fierce scream of pain, but Haru's fighting spirit is reignited, and he bravely battles.

"I can do this!"

Pedoleon shoots out more tentacles, but Haru shoots them down. Two tentacles shoot out from the ground, and he backflips to dodge them.

"This should finish it!"

Haru takes aim at the center of Pedoleon and fires the UltraBlaster. The powerful beam strikes Pedoleon, causing it to cry out in agony as it disintegrates into shimmering blue particles. 

"It's dead…" His gauntlet glows until it turns back to the UltraRiser. Haru is intrigued by the new function of his watch, but he needs to get back to the orphanage to let them know it is safe.

He arrived to see Kira, Lacus, and the rest of the children gathered inside the cabin. Kira and Lacus felt relieved to see Haru safe.

"Haru, are you okay?" asked Kira.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are all the children safe?"

"Yes, everyone is here. Did you defeat that monster?"

"Yes, it is dead now."

BUDMP, BUDMP, BUDMP

"Ugh!"

"Haru! Are you okay?" Lacus got worried seeing Haru suddenly clutching his head in pain.

"I'm fine. Everyone should stay here and hide. There might be more of those things around. I will go back to the Minerva."

"No, it is too dangerous." said Lacus.

"Don't worry, I can defend myself."

"Okay… make sure to stay safe." 

Haru nods and runs back to the Minerva. 'I can feel it. There are more of those Kaiju. I need to stop them!'

…

Unato Seiran has requested a meeting with Cagali. Currently, he, Yuna, and Cagali are in a room with other esteemed members of Orb. Athrun was waiting outside as Cagali's escort.

"What is wrong? Why this sudden meeting." asked Cagali.

"The Earth Alliance has sent a proposal to join them."

"What!? Why are they sending a proposal!?"

"It is concerning about Junius Seven, Representative."

"What do you mean? The Junius Seven problem has already been resolved."

"Please look at these."

Everyone saw the images of the mobile suits and the use of Flare Motors.

"Where did these images come from?" asked Cagali.

"The information came from the Atlantic Federation. However, the PLANTs have already more or less acknowledged that these images are real. And I understand that you were also aware of this, Representative." said Yuna.

"But… that was caused by a handful of terrorists, and the PLANTs weren't responsible! Besides, no harm came to Earth from the incident! Ultraman saved Earth and destroyed Junius Seven."

"That doesn't mean it won't happen again, Representative."

"Just because Earth wasn't harmed. We should just ignore they attacked us? What if it happens again? Should we still forgive them?"

"That's… But we are a neutral state! If we side with the Alliance. It will destroy our neutrality!"

"And then what? Wait for Orb to be destroyed again?"

"Ugh…" Cagali couldn't think to argue back.

"Ideals are important, but we need to face reality. So, I implore you, Representative. We should join with the Alliance."

The other members discussed what they should do, but Cagali was in inner turmoil. 'What should I do…'

Cagali then thought to Haru's words. 'I'm sure he would have entrusted his ideals to you. Just keep doing what you think is right, Athha-sama.'

Cagali clenched her fist, and her eyes were clearer than ever. "No, Orb won't join the Alliance."

The other members murmured in disapproval, and Unato looked very displeased. "Do you want Orb to be destroyed again?"

"No! I will never let that happen ever again! But that doesn't mean we should join hands with those who shout for revenge and hate the PLANTs! Orb is a neutral nation! My father sacrificed his life and stuck with Orb's ideals. I won't let his sacrifice be in vain!" Cagali's decision could not be shaken, and the other members also felt this. Unato felt his blood rising and couldn't accept this young girl was not listening to him. He was about to argue back when Athrun suddenly came in, and his face looked grave.

"Athrun, what's wrong?" asked Cagali.

"We have a problem! Monsters are attacking!"

"Monster?"

"SCREEEECH!"

The scream could be heard loudly inside the room, which alarmed everyone. Cagali looked out the window and saw hundreds of Pedoleon Kureain and Furigin attacking people.

"What is happening…"