Title: Rivals and Lovers
Fandom: Gundam Seed Destiny
Genre: General/ Comedy/ Romance
Characters: Lunamaria X Shinn
Status: In Progress
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Author's Note: I've been a fan of GS/GSD series for years, and one of my fave pairings are LunaXShinn^^I just didn't mind to try writing a fanfic about these two, because they're such an adorable couple!!

btw, if I make some mistakes considering the grammar or whatsoever, please do correct me...^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed Destiny, nor any of the characters that was used for this !!

-Rivals and Lovers-

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Chapter 1

"A Day of Military Humiliation"

I was heavily immersed by my fantasy--- thinking about how beautiful PLANT would look like, what kind of environment is waiting for me there, and of course, who else am I gonna bump into. I was completely aware that we are in the state of the war, but that didn't prevent me from daydreaming much--- not until my pesky little sister elbowed me with the shot of the torturing reality.

Military training.

Sick of it.

Ugh.

Watching closely so that the high rank officers would not notice, I quickly grabbed a hold on her wrist. Meyrin was just beside me, as we, the military apprentices, stood while paying attention to every boring lecture the ZAFT officers has to say. I whispered and shot her a look. "Don't you ever again dare to interrupt me in the middle of my daydreaming."

"I'm sorry sis," she whispered back, "But I think you should be paying attention to what our Prof is saying." Unlike Meyrin, I was completely uninterested about the military trainings. I was just forced into it, never knowing I could pilot a Gundam pretty well handed. Why bother listening? After all, nothing changes. I'm still ranked as the best Gundam pilot around—well, at least for the seniors' class. And no one ever seemed to dare snatch that spot away from me. Maybe being the student council president counts as well, so no one did seem to ever dare. That's why I did what I wanted.

"Fine," I said as I let go of her hand. Only this short moment, I listened to what our Military Professor had been murmuring. It may not have been something interesting--- not until I heard my name.

"…and you, Miss Lunamaria Hawke, would be paired against the topnotcher of the junior's class" he stated as he looked at me. Sure, I listened, but it was too late. I didn't know what exactly am I supposed to do back there. And what's with the topnotcher thingie? I was in the middle of wondering; when I heard our professor shouted my name again bluntly. "Miss Lunamaria, are you with us?"

I was embarrassed to ask him what exactly am I supposed to do, but since I'm already being laughed at by my comrades, I just went a go for it. "Uhm--- not exactly sir.." I answered back honestly, still imagining how I awfully looked pathetic in front of my laughing comrades. "Ermm—pardon me but…what am I supposed to do again?"

"Seems like you are not paying attention much, Miss Lunamaria." I felt how hot my cheeks flushed, and I merely bowed my head down to hide much more of the humiliation. Still, I heard some insulting giggles behind me, which even made me feel more embarrassed.

"This is so not good" I whispered, just enough so that Meyrin could hear me.

"See? I told you sis..."

I shot her a glare, and was cut off when I saw our professor heading towards my direction. I stood up straight to my feet just as he began talking again. "As I was saying, I have assigned Miss Lunamaria Hawke to have a Gundam duel against the junior class' topnotcher." He rubbed his chin and stared at me. "Not exactly a duel if we'll put it that way, but rather a battle simulation." He patted my shoulder with his enormous hands. "Surely, you could handle a kid, a year less than your age, far much better than anyone could, am I correct?"

I looked at him and saw his eyes gleamed in full expectation. I, for an instance, was totally confident at all. Besides, I'm just up against a junior apprentice, and I'm pretty sure I've got loads of potential. And of course, you couldn't escape the fact that I was more experienced than whoever that trainee is supposed to be. As long as it wasn't a written exam and all, I'll go for it. So without any second doubts, I took the challenge.

"I'll not let you down sir."

"Good. Then, it's settled." I gave out a sigh of relief after seeing him walk past by me. He then made some more clarifications regarding the individual exams. "Everyone should ready themselves at exactly 0600 hours. And anyone who's gonna be late shall be deducted 5 points from their over all grading. The same thing applies with the rest of the other classes, just to be fair." Just as he was about to dismiss us, he shot me again a reassuring look. "Remember, Luna. I'm counting on you."

Frankly, I nodded and after a sec, he dismissed us.

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I found myself rummaging through some stuff in my locker, when my sister suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Sis! I can't believe you're taking the challenge!" she said, almost shrieking in total bewilderment. I gave her a puzzled look and I saw her wide eyes staring at me. It was then when I noticed that I am partially surrounded by my comrades, all had the same surprised face just like my sister's.

I looked around, rather surprised of the scene. "What?" I sounded a bit annoyed. "I mean, what's with the commotion around me?" Then, I saw Vino Dupre and Yoland Kent, two of the most outstanding mechanica in ZAFT Military Academy; approach me with much of an amused gesture. I mean, that was strange. Since when have I been the gossip interest of my comrades? It's not because I was completely humiliated earlier. No, sure enough, that wasn't the reason. But why are they looking at me as if I did something incredibly unbelievable?

"So, Luna-sama, you are really gonna do it?" Yoland asked as I raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, you're the only one who's really eager to have a battle with him"

I stared at him blankly. "Him?" I wondered with surprise. So that's what the fussing is all about. I was having a duel with a guy.

But wait, I have already been paired against numerous guys during the past simulations. What's with them?

"It's not a duel, you know. It's just a simulated battle exam. All part of the training." I shut close my locker as soon as I've got what I needed. "And who is he anyway? Some mister bishie popularity whom every girl in this academy clings on, or some major looser who doesn't stand a chance to go over my potential?" I'm arrogant when it comes to my piloting capabilities, and I would never let anyone say that I'm no good at it.

Yoland stared at me with a puzzled look. "You mean, you didn't even know who's that guy you're gonna be dealing with?" I nodded in reply. "How come you just accepted that challenge without even knowing your opponent?"

Meyrin droped a hand at his shoulder. "Told you she wasn't listening earlier." My sister just gave me a 'that's-what-happens-when-you're-not-listening' look, and turned back to face Yoland. "I've heard the name of that guy was Shinn. Do you guys happen to know more about him?"

Vino shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure about that. But yeah, he's one of a tough guy." He paused just as he saw me raise my brow. "He's really some pilot yah know. He's really cool, a bit serious if you'll ask me. However, when he's in for some battle, he's really fierce and tries to give his all" He gave me a stern look and shook his head. "Too bad…I think he's gonna steal your throne as the 'self-proclaimed best Gundam pilot of the year' award…"

I laughed at his statement. "C'mon! That's ridiculous!"

"How come you're so sure about that?"

I gave him a reassuring look."Because no one can stand a chance against me. No one."

Authors Note: Just something short to start off with. I'll soon be updating this one once I'm done with things to settle.

Comments, Critiques and Reviews would be greatly appreciated^^