On a beach somewhere in Orb...
A group of children were gathered for an outing. All of them were orphans; on this trip, their guardians were a slim, beautiful young lady with pink locks, and a brunette boy with a robot pet-bird. The boy heard a sedan stop behind him. As he turned around, Tori flew towards its creator, who was walking towards his best friend.
"Athrun, you're back. Was it a tiring trip?" Kira Yamato had no idea that his friend was involved in the colony drop incident. Tori flew in circles around the two.
"Yes...That report, you saw it too, didn't you?" By now, the whole world must have gotten wind of what had happened at Junius 7, thought Athrun.
Kira nodded in reply.
"Those who did it, lost their loved ones during the Bloody Valentine." Athrun stopped himself as he remembered his own loss. The cool sea breeze did little to soothe the pain, even though it was more than three years since Lenore Zala had passed away. Kira had a question in his mind; he didn't know if it was wise for him to ask it now.
"...Did you engage in combat?" Athrun hesistated before answering.
"I took part in the break-up operation, and I met them..." Kira sighed in dismay.
"Why must the same mistake repeat itself," asked the teen. He didn't realise that his friend was asking the same question himself.
"Kira, in the last war, I remembered asking you 'What were we fighting against?' and your reply was 'We can search for the answer together.'" Athrun was now looking at the brunette. Kira knew from the gaze that the boy was getting worked up.
"Did you find your answer in that war, Kira, or are you still searching for it? Tell me, Kira, what exactly are we fighting for?!" Kira tapped his friend's shoulder gently.
"Get a hold on yourself, Athrun."
"...I'm sorry. It's just..." It was then that Athrun Zala finally figured out what he wanted to fight for. Not for honour or glory, but for the equality of all Coordinators. He looked at Kira again. Perhaps...
"Kira, would you come with me to PLANT?"
"What?" The boy was sure that he had heard his friend wrongly.
"I intend to meet Chairman Durandal in the PLANTs. I have to know what he's thinking. Would you come along?" Athrun could see that Kira was giving the idea some thought. He tried again.
"One of the terrorists during the drop said something which I'll never forget: ''Patrick Zala's way is the only path for us Coordinators!' My father's words still live on, Kira, and I can't stop them by myself. I trusted you in the last war. Now, would you place your trust in me?"
"...What about Cagalli?" Dense as he was when it came to love, Kira knew that his sister had feelings for Athrun and vice versa.
"Now that it has come to this, she'll be extremely busy, but if I stay here, I would not be able to help her at all, save for words of encouragement." As Kira took in these words, he looked at the group of children and the young lady who was playing along with them. Athrun nearly kicked himself for forgetting about her.
"I'm sure Lacus would want to prevent another war from happening. Perhaps Chairman Durandal..." Kira raised his hand to cut his friend off.
"Give me some time, Athrun." The blue-haired teen respected Kira's decision.
"Please, don't take too long." With that, he returned to his sedan. As it roared to life and sped off into the distance, Kira Yamato stared at the sea. The beauty of the sunset was lost on the teen as he pondered his options...
Later, at the Orb memorial.
Kira looked at the cold stone plaque. It was erected to commemorate all those who died in the first war; he didn't know all this, for it was Lacus who had brought him here (after sending the children back to Murrue Ramius's and Andrew Waltfeld's home). The Pink Princess had gone away to gather some flowers, leaving him alone to take a closer look...
"Is this the memorial?"
Kira turned around to see a black-haired teen staring at him. His white jacket and brown boots complemented his youthful look, but it was his red eyes who caught Kira's attention. It was a while before the teen found his tongue.
"I think so, but, I'm not too sure. This is the first time that I've actually been here." Kira then noticed the flowers around the slab.
"It's a pity that the waves' splashing have caused these flowers to wilt again; they must have bloomed quite beautifully in the past."
"It won't matter."
"Huh?" Kira thought that he heard bitterness in the teen's voice.
"No matter how brilliantly the flowers blossom, people will always find ways to destroy them." With that, he turned to leave.
Lacus Clyne was approaching the memorial, with a bunch of flowers in her hand. As she walked past the teen with red eyes, his blank stare ahead intrigued her.
"Who is he," asked the girl.
"I don't know. But, he cried." Kira remembered seeing a single tear flow down the boy's cheek just as he looked away. The Songstress set the flowers on the plaque. She then closed her eyes and prayed...
When she had finished, Kira cleared his throat.
"Kira, is something wrong?"
"Athrun...invited me to go to the PLANTs together with him, and he wants you to come along as well." There was a sad expression on Lacus as she realised what may lie ahead for her friends.
"Are you going to fight again?" Although the pilot knew that she was worried for his safety, he was firm on the issue.
"Lacus, Athrun trusted me before. Now, it's my turn to repay the favour." The girl thought for a while.
"We'll go, Kira. I would like to hear the Chairman's plans for handling the current crisis." The boy was secretly relieved. Athrun was waiting for a reply; he would get it sooner than he expected...
Afterthoughts
-The sequence of events here is based on the manga series "GSD: The Edge".
-Please RnR!