Some Time after the Wars
Dusk was beginning to settle in as two families walked back through the fields to where their cars were located. The wind sighed gently, carrying the scent of blooming flowers and the cool spring air. There was a small touch of the smell and feel of the earth and of clear water running down the hillside, though both were not visible to the eye as the fields were covered with tall yellow flowers that bloomed beautifully on the Earth where they stood. One could just taste the clean air, though the place was quiet save for the laughter of children, followed by the mechanical voices of electronic toys.
"Otou-san! Otou-san!"
A young, five-year-old boy with brown hair ran and laughed happily as a pair of twin girls chased after him. Five multi-coloured round mechanical toys chased after them and the twins laughed as the brown-haired boy tripped, falling flat on his chest. The boy immediately sputtered, his voice disgusted as he tried to wipe away the taste of dirt and grass from his tongue. He shuddered. One of the twins, a pretty blonde-haired girl with emerald green eyes crouched low, dusting the dirt off her cousin, still giggling. The other twin, with dark blue hair and golden eyes, turned to the five round toys and placed her hands on her hips, scolding them heatedly though her eyes betrayed her lack of anger at the Haros.
Standing ten fifteen feet from where the children were running around, Kira had turned as he heard his son call his name and he raised his eyebrows at the scene before him. Beside him, a blue-haired Coordinator chuckled to himself as the old Haros bounced up and down, some concerned, some reprimanding the three children.
"Ara ara… Akira, are you alright?"
The brown-haired boy raised his deep azure eyes to his mother, a beautiful young woman with cherry pink hair and eyes the same shade as his. His mother helped him to his feet and checked him for any scratches he might have obtained from the fall. "You should be more careful," Lacus said gently, smiling lightly.
The boy blinked. "It's Lenore's fault!"
"Is not!" the golden-haired girl protested. "It's Via's fault!"
"Hey! I didn't do anything!" the other twin said hotly.
"There, there. Enough, you two. Really, can't you go through an hour without fighting?" another voice sighed deeply. The two twins turned, their eyes cast low at the scolding they received. This time, it was Kira's turn to chuckle – the twins had obviously inherited Cagalli's energy and temper, making them two very lively children. Akira, his son, had often been called as 'little Kira' by Athrun – a rather quiet boy, though with talents that far surpassed many of those his age, even grown Coordinators that Kira knew of.
"Look!" Lenore suddenly exclaimed, her small finger pointing excitedly towards the sky. Simultaneously, six heads were raised to the sky and Kira's brows immediately pulled together as pieces of debris entered the atmosphere, creating a rather stunning display of something similar to a cluster of shooting stars. "It's so pretty!"
He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and Kira glanced momentarily at Athrun, both sharing the exact same thought as they stood facing the sky. The pieces of debris that fell were nothing but past memories of horrors and pain that the children knew nothing of. They were parts of ships and mobile suits, once piloted by brave soldiers who had fought for their own ideals, fuelled by hatred and desire. The pieces of debris told the story of war and anguish, some even containing the bodies of those who had fallen during the dark times when both Kira and Athrun had piloted their mobile suits in the name of peace. Such knowledge made it impossible for them to view the falling debris as pretty and Kira exhaled slowly, his lips forming a small smile as he watched. It was over now.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lacus's voice grabbed Kira's attention and he turned to her, seeing the sorrow behind her azure eyes. He nodded once, his arm moving to circle her shoulder.
"What is it?" Via asked, grabbing Athrun's arm to gain his attention. Athrun looked down at his daughter, taking her in his arms as he held her, his eyes turning back to the sky.
"They're falling pieces of debris. They burn when they enter the sky," Athrun explained.
"Ehhh? But what if they're important things?" Via exclaimed, her golden eyes surprised.
"...Then you'll need to make sure that you don't lose them again," Cagalli answered softly. The question silenced them, and Lacus nodded, agreeing quietly with the golden-haired princess's words. Athrun's lips tugged into a small smile and he grabbed his wife's hand, holding it tight.
Those moments, those years, so long some time after the wars, was what drove the four to keep on fighting. As Kira turned his eyes to all those around him, he realised that the world was beautiful. Filled with innocent children who knew nothing of war and suffering, the world held its own beauty even as it tried to survive the devastation it had once endured. And as he turned his eyes to the sky once again, a green mechanical bird took off from his shoulder, flying, flying high, into the unknown of the skies.
Author's Notes: I know I'm five days late, but after discovering that five days ago (5th October 2011) marked the anniversary of the Gundam SEED series, I just had to write this out as a tribute to Gundam SEED as a whole. An absolutely brilliant series, one that holds a lot of things that we can learn from though in the form of an enjoyable anime. Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this, even with such a short length - I did try to make it longer, but it seemed rather impossible with such a 'happy' fic. Please drop a review and give me your thoughts? I wish you a good day!
Credit for the inspiration for this scene goes to Portsmouth with the fic "Still Points in Turning Worlds". Also a lot of inspiration for this piece comes from "Kira - Ai No Theme" from Gundam SEED Destiny's OST III.
Otou-san - Father