The Sky's the Limit
Summary: An aerial fight between Shinn and Cagalli sends them plummeting into uncharted territory. Off the radar, their teams can no longer see them on screen, and with no real idea where they flew off to, they are at a disadvantage. Unaware of the dangers awaiting them will their fellow pilots be their saviors, or will working together be their only chance of survival? What will come of their time alone?
Pairing: Shinn/Cagalli
Rated: M
Anime: Gundam Seed Destiny
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Wounds
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A cold, forbidding aura veiled over the darkness that so fiercely tried to force her into a catatonic state. Her eyes were heavy with fatigue, her body straining to achieve even the simplest of movements. Finally, she gave in; her body fell limp and her movements ceased, with the exception of the rise and fall of her chest, with each labored breath.
-x-x-x-
"Damn it!" A young boy with jet black hair and crimson red eyes glowered at the broken down machinery that couldn't even manage enough power for a help signal.
"Stupid Athha!" He sat down on the sandy shores, his knees pulled up in front of him, and his arms supporting his front as he leaned back on his hands. He looked at the waves; clashing violently against the Sandrock and coral. The skies had started graying with the promise of a storm-to-come. He let his head fall backwards and looked at the scenery.
"Grass...trees...bushes...bugs; it's a normal everyday jungle...vines and all." He felt a drop of water hit his chin and glanced up at the sky.
"This is all her fault," he said, almost as if he was trying to convince himself. It seemed easier to blame her for everything, so he did. He sighed, closing his eyes; he watched the days earlier events play out in a series of flashbacks.
- Flashback-
"Athha~!"
"Shinn! Be careful!"
"Shinn, come back! You're out of our―" Shinn watched as the red hazard light began flashing violently. He ignored the warning to return for recharge and continued his assault on the gold Mobil Suit.
"It's your fault...IT'S ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT!!!"
-BANG-
Silence suddenly encased him when his head made direct contact with his control panel before he fell unconscious.
When he woke up, he saw nothing; his Mobil Suit had crashed, and so did his O.S. His Mobil Suits visual operatives were nothing but snow, black, grey and white dots with the occasional glitch every few seconds.
-End-Flashback-
Opening his eyes, water immediately invaded his sight.
"AH!" He stood up quickly and rubbed his eyes to ease the sting of the rain water.
He looked around once more, climbing into his cockpit only to have cold water clash against him all the way up to his knees; he frowned. Jumping out, Shinn made his way quickly into the Jungle.
"Damn Athha...THIS IS YOUR FAULT TOO!" He shouted to the sky, referring to his soaked jeans and quickly following hair and top.
-x-x-x-
There are many times in a person's life that they feel that they are being watched, followed or hunted...and in times such as these...you get the feeling a lot. When stranded on an island, the first thing you should do is not find a way off, but find out if you are alone...if you don't...you may quickly find yourself becoming someone...or something's prey. You may find yourself...in the shoes of Cagalli Yula Athha...
-x-x-x-
Shinn walked through the forest and trudged through the guck of mud and leaves, tree branches and bugs. He tripped over a vine and almost fell into the sludge he wore on his shoes.
"Damn it!"
He stomped over the vines that lay in a tangled mess on the jungle floor.
"WHERE THE HELL AM I!" Shinn shouted loudly, birds could be heard as they restlessly flew from their peaceful havens and into the rainy skies. Shinn jumped and pulled out his gun at the sound of shuffling and the rustle of bushes. He frowned and followed the sound as quickly and quietly as he could. He suddenly felt as if eyes were following him, chills running down his spine with each movement he made. He saw something lying on the floor of the jungle and slowed to a careful stride until he stood over it. Mud covered the majority of what he knew was a human, and from the red, white and black pilot suit...he could tell which human it was.
"Hey!" He nudged her with his foot, "I said; HEY!" He pulled his foot back to kick her when he noted the blood running down her side; a sharp piece of wood protruding from her side and labored breathing told him she was in desperate need of medical care. "Humph, not my problem...you had it coming...Athha."
Shinn turned to walk away when a hand latched around his ankle. He turned quickly and pulled the hammer back on his gun, crimson orbs were suddenly captivated by helpless hazel orbs. He furiously shook his head and glared. "Get off!" He kicked his foot and forced her release.
"AH!" She cried out in pain as the piece of would was ripped from her side. He looked at the wood, obviously attached to the tree on his right. "Sh-Shinn! Y-you can't go on blaming me...Mnn...for their deaths! You can h-hate me...but will that bring them back!?"
His glare hardened and he walked up to her, pulling his leg back, he delivered a hard kick to her bleeding side. Her pained cry was heard throughout the entire jungle. "No, it won't. But it's a hell of a lot better then watching you walk around as if you own the place! You walked into Zaft almost as if you were important but you are nothing...nothing but a little girl!"
She struggled to push herself up and onto her knees, "And you Shinn? You are just a boy! HELL! YOU'RE YOUNGER THEN I AM!"
He moved to hit her again when she pressed her gun to his skull. "Go ahead! You already killed my family, why not finish us off. Kill me! KILL ME ATHHA!!"
Cagalli glared and brought her gun down on the side of his head. She watched his eyes roll to the back of his eyes before he fell into her. "...Moron..." She glanced around; the rain fell through the trees and leaves. She momentarily contemplated on leaving him, the ache in her side reminding her of the sharp kick delivered and the forming bruise given. "You're lucky...oomph!" She hefted one arm over her shoulder before forcing herself to stand. She scowled as a bolt of pain shot through her side. "That I have such a..." She started walking off in an anonymous direction. "Big...HEART!"
Yes...Cagalli knew she wasn't what someone would call...absolutely adoring. Shoot, she slapped her own brother...of course, she didn't know it was her brother till much later...but still. The point was, she couldn't leave him there...no matter how much of a stick in the ass he was. He was two years younger than her, and it wasn't in her to leave him there, with a bloody gash on two different sides of his head. One from her, the other...well, she supposed if he woke up, she'd ask then.
-x-x-x-
Shinn moaned in pain as he felt a sting on his head.
"Mmm,"
"Stop complaining..."
"Wha―?" He forced his eyes open watched as a white swab was pulled away from his forehead, blood staining the tip. He moved his eyes to the hand holding it and followed the spandex red, white and black suite up to the face of the one person he hated the most in the entire universe. 'She's...helping me. I kicked her in her wound and she's helping me.' He flinched at a sting and pushed her away feebly. "Get away; I don't need your help!"
"..." She paused at the resentment in his voice, and then continued cleaning his wound. She had wrapped her own in a long and thin piece of grass, using a rock to mesh up some wild aloe to put on the wound. The left over, she used for his own. "Where did you get the wound on your forehead?"
"...humph."
"Shinn―"
"Don't call me by my first name!"
"...Asuka...Since you were wandering in this Amazon, I'll assume that your Mobil Suit is a piece of junk as much as mine is at the moment."
He averted his eyes before a curious question popped into his mind. "Why were you lying in the jungle like that?"
"...I don't know, I had passed out by the shore, right next to my Gold Mobil...and...I woke to a jolt of pain in my side before hearing footsteps, I stopped myself from screaming in pain, and when I realized it was you...Well...you know the rest."
"...I don't think that we are the only one's here. I remember hearing footsteps, but you were stuck on a tree."
"Yes, and thanks on part to your kindness, you helped me off that tree."
He blushed and watched her, "Where did you get the medical stuff?"
"Medical stuff? You mean aloe, grass, a stick and my torn up shirt?" He looked at the swab, a piece of fabric wrapped around a swab, green slim spread out on a large leaf, and long grass.
"Oh...where did you learn how to do all of this. I mean, not the shirt part, but the aloe and leaves..."
"Well...when I was younger, a lot younger...I think I was seven or six, I ran away from my father in search of...adventure. I found it rolling down a cliff. I rolled right into an old man who took care of my injuries. He taught me how to do this. I remember...I got such a horrible lashing from my dad. He wouldn't stop yelling..." Her motions stopped... "He was really worried, then...I ran away again, during the start of the first war...two years ago. I ran away to Heliopolis...and when it exploded...oh god...he must have been terrified."
"...Your father...I heard that he..."
She forced a smile, turning around, she faced away from him. Tucking her legs under her chin, she wrapped her arms around them. "Yeah, everyone heard about it." She felt tears sting her eyes, but she stopped herself from crying. "It's in the past now, I can't do anything and mourning the loss won't help me." She turned back around and looked at the younger boy, "Listen...Asuka, we shouldn't be here for too long. Kira won't rest until I'm found."
"Kira?"
"Yeah, the Freedom's Pilot. He's my brother, twin...he's younger."
"Oh? I never knew the Lion of Orb had a brother."
"Uh...the Lion of Orb found out two years ago. It's a long story, and I'm sure you don't care. I don't know why I have said any of this anyways."
"..." Shinn let her finish up in silence; and he for once, held his tongue.
"We should stay here till tomorrow."
"Why?! We need to find a way to get in contact with―"
"It's too dark to try navigating our way through an Amazon. Our best course of action is to wait out the night."
"I've got to get back to finding a way off this floating piece of dirt; I'm not remaining stuck on this island with a useless girl!" Shinn stood up and stomped out of the cave that they occupied.
Cagalli frowned, "Coming from the guy who got us in this position to begin with!" She placed her hand against the cave wall and pushed herself up with the help of the jagged stones. "You are so full of yourself, Shinn Asuka! You are rude, immature, naive and selfish. I heard Athrun gave you a good punch to the face...he was right to. Like spanking a child for being disobedient; you probably had it coming."
He clinched his fists and locked his jaw. "...What would you know...WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW!?" He shouted, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. His eyes were narrowed and his body shook.
"A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN YOU DO!" She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "I watched Heliopolis fall, I watched my friends die, I watched...my father die. I hated the last war, and I hate this one! I am currently having trust issues with my fiancé, because I had to make a choice! GET MARRIED TO A MAN I DON'T LOVE, SO THAT MAYBE...MAYBE...I CAN HOLD ONTO JUST A LITTLE BOT OF AUTHORITY AND CONTROL OVER ORB! IT WAS THAT OR I HANDED CONTROL OVER TO THE ROMA'S! THEN MY BROTHER INTTERUPTS THE WEDDING AND CARRIES ME OFF WITH HIS GUNDAM! AND THEN I FIND OUT THAT I NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD CONTROL OVER ORB ANYWAYS! NOW ATHRUN THINKS I'M SLEEPING AROUND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD AND THAT I DON'T CARE FOR HIM! No...I don't know what you went through Shinn...BUT DAMN IT! YOU HAVEN'T A CLUE WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH EITHER!"
Shinn stared in shock at her sudden outburst. He leaned against the cave wall and slid down to the stone ground.
'I lost my family in the last war...my sister...but...' Shinn sighed. 'So this is what it feels like to have reality knocked into you.'
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Me: It's short, I know, but the story isn't going to be long. Please Regard Me Kindly and Read and Review! ^_^''
