This fic was inspired by the theme 'Innocence'. Ther are also references to the story '1000 paper cranes' whichI suggest that you read as it's so beautiful and inspiring. I've been wanting to write this for a while as I can just imagine Kira and Shinn talking in this way, one broken soul mending another. Hope you enjoy!

First Lesson

It puzzled Shinn, how he had come to be here. It hadn't been an impulse to stop here though, he knew that for sure.

It was a simple evening, an evening that he had taken for granted for too long. The Orb evening was cool, the sky a purple colour. The breeze cut through the air gently, ruffling his ebony hair.

He was on the beach by Kira's Mother's house, where he and Lacus along with many orphans lived. It was peaceful, which was a stark contrast to the war that had terrorised this land not long before.

A childish scream snapped him away from his thoughts, and he turned his gaze to the other people on the beach.

"Kira! Tell us a story!"

Shinn was puzzled at the amount of children that were swarming around Kira. They seemed drawn to him, as if he was going to give them all a treat. Kira nodded and the children all sat down on the sand, waiting patiently for his words. He turned to Shinn, his amethyst eyes serene and signalled for him to sit with him and listen too.

"Sakado loved to run," started Kira, his voice gentle, "she was so good at it, that all the teachers at her school encouraged her to run in the championships."

The children listened attentively. Shinn knew this story and wandered why Kira was telling it to children so young.

"However, one day after a race that she had won, she felt tired and dizzy. It started to happen again and again after she ran and before she knew it, it was happening at other times too."

"Oh no!" exclaimed one of the children and then there was silence once more. Shinn was amazed at how they listened to him.

"So her Mummy and Daddy took her to the Doctors," there was a sound of collective moans from the children at the dreaded word and Kira continued, "and after some tests, they found out that she had a disease, and that she would die.

"One day, Sadako's best friend, Chizuko, came to visit her and brought with her some folding paper. She told Sadako the legend of the crane. It's a legend that says if you fold 1000 cranes, the Gods will be pleased and the folder will be granted a wish. Sadako wished to get well. So, after hearing the legend, Sadako decided to fold 1,000 cranes."

"Wow!"

"She folded many cranes and had nearly 500 by the end of two weeks although she was in a lot of pain."

Kira stalled the story there, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times, the wind ruffling his hair.

One child grew fidgety and asked, "So, what happened? She got her wish to live?"

Kira smiled and Shinn knew that he was the only one to see that the smile was a sad one, his amethyst eyes twinkling in suppressed emotion, "Yes, she did. She folded all 1000 and lived."

Shinn frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped short as he saw the children smile, rise and each give Kira a hug in turn as if he was their own family. He showed such love to them, as if he had always been on the island with them. Shinn now knew the reason why he had come here on this evening.

As the last child was hugged and then ran off to join the others, Kira stood up and Shinn did the same before he spoke for the first time since he had accompanied his companion on the walk along the beach with the children, "How do you do it? How can you…how do you live?"

Kira smiled and signalled for Shinn to follow him. They walked along the beach for a moment, before Shinn talked once more, "I…I feel as if I've committed so many sins and that I've done so many things wrong since the war began that I can't take back."

Kira's voice was gentle and thoughtful.

"We're all born with a wide-eyed innocence, believing everyone is honest and unable to learn how life could be any other way. But then..." Kira paused, "For some of us, time passes and we learn. I remember saying goodbye to Athrun like it was yesterday and then we met in war, battling against each other."

"I heard. Innocence…or should we describe it as being naive?" replied Shinn.

"Hm. Is it lost from the day we're brought into this world? Or is it destiny?"

There was silence except for the moving tide.

Shinn fisted his fingers and stopped; Kira stopping a few feet away turned to listen to him, "But…can innocence be found in me? After all the crimes that I've committed? I…have so much pride and I just couldn't see what I was really doing. I thought that if I followed, I couldn't be wrong."

Kira sighed and looked to the churning ocean, Shinn's eyes waiting on him for an answer. He spoke, "I was the same when I first fought. I…followed in a sense. Perhaps I wish that I was as determined as you in the beginning."

"But…"

"But what is important is now," he sighed, the expression in his face changing, "We can never really forget, but we can't go back…I know."

Shinn suddenly had the feeling that he was talking beyond their conversation. He turned to the ocean too, "I just…want to move forward. I want to change: I want to be saved, too"

"Hm. We all want to move forward, and you'll learn to, in time. You will change. Love saves you, and so do friends. That's why we fight. We won't get our innocence back, but we can stop what's happened to us happening to other children. Stop it happening to 1000 children, and more."

"That's our retribution?" Shinn asked to the ocean.

"To keep the innocence in the children's eyes, so that they can enjoy the flowers that we replant. That's…more than we ever had. 1000 times more than we ever had."

Kira turned to Shinn, his amethyst eyes full of wisdom as if he had lived for longer than his years; as if his experiences had changed him too. He knew that war did that to the people who had suffered the most. Shinn remembered what he had been meaning to ask.

"So that's why…that's why you told them the wrong ending to the story."

Kira sighed and smiled sadly, "They may have lost their parents, but they're still too young to grasp the concept of death. She only folded 644 paper cranes and then, she died. But what's important is that she tried. She believed, as if each single crane meant something to her."

They both looked to the children who were playing and screaming in the distance and Shinn mumbled, "I…I want to fight for them too. But first, I have to learn."

"I can teach you. There are many lessons to be learnt. There's only so much you can discover on your own…"

And once again, Shinn had the feeling that he was talking beyond their conversation.

Kira smiled as Tori landed on his head and nuzzled his hair affectionately. He turned to Shinn and placed his hand on his shoulder, "And you can start by helping me bring the children in for dinner."

Shinn smiled a genuine smile and began to follow Kira for his 1st lesson, stopping to look at the churning sea once more, the story of the 1000 cranes on his mind.

"Crane #1," he muttered.

Please review! Credit to Karin-Sama for the 1000 paper cranes inspiration.