"Are you a Coordinator?"
As the battleship landed, Kira piloted the Strike Gundam into the internal hangar.
Just as everyone gathered in the hangar, Mu—who had disembarked from the Moebius Zero—turned to Kira with his question.
Since Wang Hu had exited the Strike Gundam much earlier, Mu—who had initially assumed the Gundam was piloted by Wang Hu—shifted his focus.
Here it comes! Kira's heart clenched as he stared at the tall, blond-haired Mu.
Everything was unfolding exactly as Brother Wang Hu had predicted!
His eyes darted around, noticing several Allied Forces soldiers raising their weapons in response to Mu's question.
Once again feeling grateful to Wang Hu in his heart, Kira opened his mouth to speak.
"Wang Hu, you bastard!" A furious roar cut off Kira's unspoken words.
A seemingly refined black-haired man was striding toward them with purpose.
Under the astonished gazes of Kira and his classmates—and to the surprise of everyone else present—the newcomer charged straight at Wang Hu and threw a heavy punch aimed at his face.
"Hey, Chengzhi, can't you see the tense atmosphere here?"
Wang Hu effortlessly caught Li Chengzhi's fist, preventing the punch from landing in front of everyone.
With a smile, Wang Hu said, "Even if you're trying to lighten the mood, you can't use my face as the punchline."
"I make my living with this face."
His words instantly dispelled the previously tense atmosphere that Mu's question had created.
What others were thinking, Wang Hu couldn't say.
But at least Kira—the sensitive boy—was nearly moved to tears on the spot.
Brother Wang Hu, you're truly a good person.
Kira turned his head to look at Wang Hu, this single thought filling his mind. Even Li Chengzhi, who had tried to punch Wang Hu, now seemed to Kira like someone deliberately creating a diversion to help him.
"Lighten the mood?" Li Chengzhi's face was taut, his expression nearly contorted with anger.
"You left me alone to deal with those Orb agents! You didn't even show up at the Archangel at the agreed time!"
"Wang Hu, are you even an East Asian Army soldier anymore? Where's your discipline? Your integrity?"
"When we get back, I'm writing all of this in my report!"
"And!" Snatching back his fist, Li Chengzhi scanned the area with murderous eyes, failing to spot Cagalli.
Turning back to Wang Hu, he demanded, "Where's that woman? Where are you hiding her?"
"Ooooh~" Mu whistled, thoroughly enjoying the drama. His opinion of Wang Hu—the so-called strongest Natural—had just taken a sharp turn.
Despite being a generally easygoing man, Mu had harbored some resentment toward this man who outshone him. But seeing was believing. After hearing Li Chengzhi's accusations, Mu thought Wang Hu might actually be a kindred spirit!
"Mu!" Natarle Badgiruel interjected with the authority of a military judge, unwilling to be outdone now that precedent had been set.
Next door, Li Chengzhi was enforcing military discipline, and Natarle Badgiruel also intended to discipline Mu. They couldn't let the East Asian Army look down on the Atlantic Federation!
"Alright, alright." Seeing Natarle Badgiruel's stern expression, Mu quickly raised his hands in surrender.
They were all good people, and Kira still held firm to his own beliefs.
Sai and the others had been quite tense initially, but seeing the two men—Wang Hu and Mu—being reprimanded on the spot, they couldn't help but feel a little amused.
"That matter is up to you," Wang Hu said shamelessly, grinning at Li Chengzhi.
"Whatever happened before was just an internal conflict. But now, this is a high-level meeting between both sides. Don't embarrass the East Asian Army in front of outsiders."
"Hmph." Li Chengzhi was still fuming, but considering the occasion, he turned his gaze to Kira instead.
"Not bad. I saw how you piloted the Strike Gundam earlier—well done. Thank you for protecting the East Asian Army's Gundam."
As soon as these words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room shifted again.
Natarle Badgiruel immediately stepped forward, refuting Li Chengzhi. "Lieutenant Li Chengzhi, the Strike Gundam is the property of our Atlantic Federation!"
"Oh?" Li Chengzhi narrowed his eyes, showing no gentlemanly deference just because she was a woman. "According to the agreement, our East Asian Army is entitled to take one Gundam. And that one is ours now!"
"Absolutely not!" Natarle Badgiruel would never agree to such a demand.
And so, the two of them completely forgot about the issue of whether Kira was a Coordinator, arguing fiercely until they moved to another corner of the room.
Seeing this, Wang Hu pulled Kira aside, giving the two of them space to continue their argument. It seemed no one would bother questioning Kira's identity until their quarrel was over.
"Thank you, Brother Wang Hu," Kira whispered as he followed behind him.
"Too many thanks ruins the sincerity."
Smiling, Wang Hu placed a hand on Kira's head, then turned his gaze to Mu, who was approaching.
As the saying goes, one must commit fully to the act—Wang Hu wouldn't leave any loose ends.
"Don't look at me like that," Mu said, raising his hands in front of his chest to show his goodwill.
Facing Sai and the others, who were on guard, and Kira standing behind Wang Hu, he scratched his head.
"Let me make this clear—I don't discriminate against Coordinators, nor am I hostile toward them."
Mu repeated the same words he had in the original timeline, but thanks to Wang Hu's prior influence, the wariness in Kira's eyes didn't fade in the slightest.
Katz, however, reacted like any ordinary person would.
"You're a Coordinator?" Katz stared at Kira, wide-eyed.
Kira opened his mouth, faced with his friend's accusatory tone and the faint fear in his eyes.
In the end, he chose not to lie and answered honestly.
"Katz, I am a Coordinator. I'm sorry for hiding it from you."
"Kira..." Hearing his friend's confession, and with the threat of Coordinators looming outside, Sai and the others felt conflicted.
Though they didn't inherently discriminate against Coordinators, their emotions were complicated at that moment.
Lost in their mixed feelings, they didn't know how to face Kira.
But in that brief moment of hesitation, Wang Hu stepped in.
"You." Though his face was smiling, his eyes were full of scrutiny as he addressed them.
"Kira is first and foremost your friend, right? And only then is he a Coordinator, isn't he?"
These words were like a wake-up call. These young boys and girls, still untainted by the impurities of society, suddenly saw the light.
Even Sai, who tended to overthink things but was fundamentally good-natured, understood what Wang Hu meant.
"Kira, no matter what happens, you'll always be our good friend."
Making use of her natural advantage as a girl, Miriallia was the first to take Kira's hand and speak earnestly.
"Yeah, Kira, what else could you be besides our friend? Right, Katz?"
After saying this to Kira, Tolle turned to Katz, the ordinary one among them, for confirmation.
"Mhm." Facing the group, Katz couldn't possibly say anything else. He nodded repeatedly to show he felt the same way.
"As for that Allied Forces officer over there, I'd stake my father's name on it—Kira is absolutely fine. He's not with the ZAFT Forces."
Going even further, Sai used his own father's reputation to vouch for Kira.
"Hey, hey, hey
." Watching this sudden shift, Mu crossed his arms in dissatisfaction.
"I'm not here to blame this kid, okay? Don't make me out to be the bad guy!"
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