secrets, then why are you hosting all these pilots and letting them in on it?" Kaede continued. "Also, these are our shared quarters. You should have asked me before you invited them over."
"Sano said that I could bring them over," Mari argued, hands clenching. "I don't need your permission for anything, you know."
"If you can have the pilots over, well then I should be afforded the same courtesies," Kaede snapped, glaring.
"You shouldn't be afforded any courtesies after what you did," Mari shot back, teeth grinding hard enough that her jaw ached.
She couldn't believe it. Kaede was still acting as if she was above everything, even after the disaster with Hakusan . Mari could admit that yes, maybe she had made a mistake, but Kaede had also been partly to blame. In the back of her head, Mari knew she hadn't forgiven Kaede for hiding her power either.
Kaede didn't say anything, but the pilots around her flinched at her words. Kaede turned and left, as quiet as a ghost. Mari stared after her in surprise.
"A bit harsh, don't you think, Mari?" Matsura ventured to say.
"She deserves it," Mari waved her arms. "She betrayed the country by hiding her powers and not coming forward. She put us in danger with all those power failures. Come on, she's a source! You shouldn't feel sorry for her because she can't take advantage of the system anymore."
"Mari, you're basically saying that because she made her own choices and one mistake, that she should be treated like a slave of the military for the rest of her life," Matsura said quietly.
"What? No I'm not." That hadn't been what she meant at all. She just wanted Kaede to face the consequences of her actions. Was that too much to ask?
"You just said that she doesn't deserve to have rights."
"No, I ..." Mari desperately reviewed her previous words.
"Everyone deserves rights. Even sources. Even sources who you don't agree with."
Mari couldn't believe it. Matsura was usually so carefree that it surprised her every time he talked about something serious. Questioning morality was the kind of thing he usually avoided, especially if it brought him in confrontation with her.
"Do you all agree?" she asked the rest of the pilots helplessly.
They looked between themselves and shrugged.
"It's just that ..." One of the younger pilots said hesitantly. "Usually you don't say things like this. We look up to you because you try and do the right thing. We're not sure that what you're saying is. What made you change your mind?"
"I met Nomura, who is selfish beyond reason," Mari defended, uncertain of her stance, but not wanting to admit out loud that she had gone too far.
"Is she really, or do you just not understand her?" another new voice interrupted the conversation.
It was the source who had started the fight with her, Sae. She was standing in front of the open doors, back straight and chin raised. As she stood there, the rest of the sources filed in, arraying themselves on either side of her in a crane's wing formation. Kaede entered last and came to stand by Sae, shoulder to shoulder. They looked serene and immovable in their summer yukata.
The pilots all stood as one, warily watching the sources. They obviously remembered what happened the last time someone had riled them up and were looking to avoid a repeat. They looked suddenly unsure now that they were faced with actual sources, who Mari knew were often contrary just for the sake of disagreeing.
"How did you all get up here?" Mari asked sharply.
"It's not as if we would let our sister face off against all of you by herself. As soon as we realized where you were going, we demanded to see Kaede, and Sano could not disagree. Even he is not that unfair."
There was a long, tense silence as the sources and pilots looked between each other, eying up the other side.
"So," Sae began. "Maybe now we can have a long-needed discussion and finally come to some sort of agreement?"
The sources all tilted their heads down in a brief, somehow
"Sano said that I could bring them over," Mari argued, hands clenching. "I don't need your permission for anything, you know."
"If you can have the pilots over, well then I should be afforded the same courtesies," Kaede snapped, glaring.
"You shouldn't be afforded any courtesies after what you did," Mari shot back, teeth grinding hard enough that her jaw ached.
She couldn't believe it. Kaede was still acting as if she was above everything, even after the disaster with Hakusan . Mari could admit that yes, maybe she had made a mistake, but Kaede had also been partly to blame. In the back of her head, Mari knew she hadn't forgiven Kaede for hiding her power either.
Kaede didn't say anything, but the pilots around her flinched at her words. Kaede turned and left, as quiet as a ghost. Mari stared after her in surprise.
"A bit harsh, don't you think, Mari?" Matsura ventured to say.
"She deserves it," Mari waved her arms. "She betrayed the country by hiding her powers and not coming forward. She put us in danger with all those power failures. Come on, she's a source! You shouldn't feel sorry for her because she can't take advantage of the system anymore."
"Mari, you're basically saying that because she made her own choices and one mistake, that she should be treated like a slave of the military for the rest of her life," Matsura said quietly.
"What? No I'm not." That hadn't been what she meant at all. She just wanted Kaede to face the consequences of her actions. Was that too much to ask?
"You just said that she doesn't deserve to have rights."
"No, I ..." Mari desperately reviewed her previous words.
"Everyone deserves rights. Even sources. Even sources who you don't agree with."
Mari couldn't believe it. Matsura was usually so carefree that it surprised her every time he talked about something serious. Questioning morality was the kind of thing he usually avoided, especially if it brought him in confrontation with her.
"Do you all agree?" she asked the rest of the pilots helplessly.
They looked between themselves and shrugged.
"It's just that ..." One of the younger pilots said hesitantly. "Usually you don't say things like this. We look up to you because you try and do the right thing. We're not sure that what you're saying is. What made you change your mind?"
"I met Nomura, who is selfish beyond reason," Mari defended, uncertain of her stance, but not wanting to admit out loud that she had gone too far.
"Is she really, or do you just not understand her?" another new voice interrupted the conversation.
It was the source who had started the fight with her, Sae. She was standing in front of the open doors, back straight and chin raised. As she stood there, the rest of the sources filed in, arraying themselves on either side of her in a crane's wing formation. Kaede entered last and came to stand by Sae, shoulder to shoulder. They looked serene and immovable in their summer yukata.
The pilots all stood as one, warily watching the sources. They obviously remembered what happened the last time someone had riled them up and were looking to avoid a repeat. They looked suddenly unsure now that they were faced with actual sources, who Mari knew were often contrary just for the sake of disagreeing.
"How did you all get up here?" Mari asked sharply.
"It's not as if we would let our sister face off against all of you by herself. As soon as we realized where you were going, we demanded to see Kaede, and Sano could not disagree. Even he is not that unfair."
There was a long, tense silence as the sources and pilots looked between each other, eying up the other side.
"So," Sae began. "Maybe now we can have a long-needed discussion and finally come to some sort of agreement?"
The sources all tilted their heads down in a brief, somehow
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