Today, Reno was still training.
A Thunder II mecha was running and leaping in the valley, sprinting for short distances, making sudden stops and turns, spinning rapidly, and even performing somersaults in the air. It moved swiftly through the valley, executing one dazzling maneuver after another.
Compared to the last time, his endurance had significantly increased.
However, after persevering for more than twenty minutes, Reno was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically. He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
Normally, Nora would come over and shout in his ear, "Get up, you useless lazy bum! Don't think lying there pretending to be dead will get you off the hook..."
She would then force him to get up and push his limits once again.
Strangely, Nora didn't do that today.
She sat alone on a small mound, next to her kneeling her black mecha.
In front of her were several beer cans. She picked up one after another, opened them, drank them down, her eyes glazed, lost in thought.
Seeing her like this, Reno felt a pang of concern.
He disengaged from the mecha and walked over to Nora.
"You seem off today," he said.
Nora, already a bit tipsy, glanced at him lazily and then turned away. "Go away, go train, don't bother me," she said.
"I'm already here," Reno replied, sitting down next to Nora and grabbing a beer can, tilting it back and taking a sip.
Nora's eyes widened in surprise.
Her lips pouted like a child who had just been deprived of candy.
"My beer!" she exclaimed, reaching out to snatch it.
Reno dodged to the side.
Nora tried to grab it again, but Reno evaded once more. They engaged in a playful back-and-forth, with Nora unable to reclaim the beer for quite some time.
"Hey, you might be the boss inside the mecha, but I'm not afraid of you outside," Reno said, chuckling.
He teased her with the beer can, tempting her to try and take it. Nora swayed, attempting to grab it, but stumbled and fell.
As she fell, Nora didn't get up but instead burst into tears.
It was the first time Reno had seen Nora cry, the strong, cold, proud girl sobbing uncontrollably, deeply wounded.
For many years after, he never saw Nora like that again.
He watched her, bewildered, and asked, "What... What's wrong?"
Nora buried her head in her shoulders, sobbing softly.
After crying for a while, she looked up at Reno and said, "Want to know the reason? Easy, since you want to drink, go ahead and finish your drink, then I'll tell you."
"Okay!" Reno nodded eagerly, taking a long sip from his beer.
Although a bit tipsy, Reno managed to stay coherent.
He glanced around and realized they had finished all the beer between them. He grinned, "Gone... gone. Can you tell me now?"
"Sure..." Nora replied lazily.
She lay down on the ground, leaning against the shadow cast by the trees, using the sparse light and shadows as cover, and spoke in a relaxed tone, "I suffer from a disease."
"What kind of disease?" Reno scratched his head.
Nora looked expressionless, staring at the sky above, "Apadrin Syndrome. A strange and rare illness, with about one similar case every ten years in the entire Federation. It's usually manageable, but when it flares up, strange symptoms occur."
"What kind of strange symptoms?"
"They vary from person to person."
"And you...?"
"Photophobia, extreme photophobia. I can only hide in deep darkness."
Reno paused, trying to clear his head of alcohol-induced fog, and said, "So you like mechas because they allow you to be in the dark."
Fear flashed across Nora's face, "You don't know when it will strike. Whenever it does, you feel surrounded by endless light, as if it's about to devour you, utterly hopeless. At that moment, I feel like I'm going crazy. Until one day, I found out about mechas, and I finally found my sanctuary. As long as I close off external vision, being in that dark, narrow space feels safe."
Reno nodded, "But you can't hide in a mecha all the time, so you train day and night. That's why the mecha training here is underground, because only here, when your illness strikes, can you protect yourself by promptly turning off all lights."
"Yes, my grandfather specially designed it for me. But as I grew older, the periods of my attacks became more regular. About every 6,936 Earth hours," Nora said.
Reno frowned, "What kind of pattern is that?"
Nora shook her head, "I don't know. But even with the pattern, I still prefer hiding in the dark. Driving the mecha, holding the sniper rifle, aiming at targets in the distance, pulling the trigger... It feels good. Every time I'm in the darkness, it's like finding home... It's the opposite of Claire."
"Claire?" Reno blinked. "Does she...?"
"Yes, she has the same illness, but with opposite symptoms. When she has an attack, she's extremely afraid of the dark."
"Damn," Reno muttered.
He didn't know the reason behind it, and the slight intoxication in his head made it difficult to concentrate, so he just said, "No wonder Claire rarely comes here. You're upset because you're about to have an attack?"
"Yeah," Nora replied. "Counting the time, tomorrow is about the time. On that day, I'll stay here all day, not going anywhere. And Claire will stay in a well-lit room. We always have attacks at the same time, and the symptoms last for a day... We've never seen each other during our attacks."
"I see," Reno understood somewhat.
Nora continued, "When we were younger, whenever we had an attack, our parents would be by our side, taking turns to accompany us. But during the Battle of Lacmat, they died. Since then, we haven't experienced the days of being accompanied. Until now, I still remember when my mother was with me, she would hold me and sing to me. In that long night, it was the only light in my life."
She spoke calmly, as if recounting someone else's story.
Even Reno, slightly intoxicated, was dumbfounded.
At this point, Nora suddenly looked up and said, "I heard that there are some planets where, due to the difference in rotation and revolution, perpetual day or night occurs. Earth is like that, with alternating polar days and nights. You can freely move around without being confined to a desolate room, without worrying about light sources... I mean, that faint light won't bother me too much..."
"Really? Then it becomes your sleepless paradise," Reno joked.
"A sleepless paradise?" Nora looked up, giggling happily. Never before had she laughed so joyfully, "Yes. Johnny Reno, if we ever have the chance to go to Earth, will you accompany me to the sleepless paradise?"
"Sure, if I get the chance, I'll definitely accompany you!" Reno nodded, then apologized, "But tomorrow..."
Nora understood his meaning, "Tomorrow, you go be with Claire. After so many years, she finally has someone to replace our father, to accompany her through the eternal day's darkness."
Then she paused, "But before that, you have to finish drinking with me."
Reno smiled wryly, "There's no more beer."
"Who said?" Nora snapped her fingers.
The Hunt God I model beside them opened its ammunition chamber, rolling out a pile of beer.
"Lord!" Reno sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.
Despite that, he and Nora finished all the beer together.
Reno didn't remember how much he drank that day, but he knew they both drank until they were unconscious.
Alcohol numbed reason, bridged strangers, and brought distant souls closer.
That night, Reno and Nora embraced each other, falling asleep, their limbs intertwined.
They didn't do anything but sleep in each other's arms.
When he woke up, Reno saw Claire's sad and desperate face.