[Yuu is just staring at the empty dock in the hangar where the Rushbird was standing only a day earlier.]

So he took flight on his own...

[Strangely enough, Ichitaka's aloof older brother doesn't seem all too upset. He does bring a hand up to his chin after a moment or two, though.]

...Maybe I should have let him borrow the wings.

Aaa...I understand...is that how it works?

[See Yuunagi. See Yuunagi actually casually conversing with multiple girls at the same time...without being weird?

Granted, these were mostly the geeky types (part of the maintenance teams, and even some teachers!) and conversation subjects were of a mechanical nature. Still, it's pretty amazing.

This preparation area adjacent to the battle arena was almost like a hangar, and Yuu is just going about looking at equipment and units that are not classified in nature. He really seems to be enjoying himself.

Feel free to bother him though!]

[In the hangar, Yuunagi is looking over the Rushbird's damage. But more importantly, he notes that the injured Ichitaka is nowhere to be found.]

Fighting in that condition...

[Yeah, he can't stop the kid, and he knows that, but that doesn't mean he can't be frustrated about it.

Feel free to tell him where you've spotted his brother, if you have.]

[Yuunagi's been staring at the wreckage of the Rushbird and his own Straybird after the mission, blinking only once in a while. He hasn't gone to check Ichitaka's condition; no, he felt he didn't have the right to.]

Those people were definitely the ones...first gramps...now this...

[He slams a fist into a nearby crate.

Was this really all he could do against this threat? He couldn't even protect his own brother...]

[Those who visit the hangar may notice a strange pile of scrapped parts building up on the floor by the Straybird's station. Some of these parts have been assembled to form a chair of sorts, but it looks far from complete...

Yuunagi muses aloud;]

This might be far more complex than I'd anticipated. Was using broken parts a little too ambitious?

[Since the time he'd spent using the Federation Base's simulators, Yuunagi has devoted considerable time to whatever he's building, besides doing his usual work alongside the other mechanics like Lowe and MarKus. The recent Christmas events (like the party, which Yuunagi obviously did not attend; since despite his social progress, he's still unable to endure crowds of more than 3 people in a decently sized room) gave him more leeway to focus on this too.

But no matter how much effort he poured into this project, he just can't seem to get it right...]