Fandom: Gundam Seed Destiny
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Rating: T
Type: Multi-part, Chapter 1
Pairings: Melody(OC)/Nicol, Yzak/Michelle (OC), Kira/Lacus, Dearka/Mirialla ...
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Gundam Seed nor Gundam Seed Destiny
Author's notes: Revised Edition, I shall begin from Shinn's decision to join the ZAFT when he first arrived at the PLANTs. Namely, slightly before the start of the final battle in Seed. From then on, I'll go on and expand until I reached the start of the series 'Destiny' where it begins.
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Chapter 1
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C.E. 71, June 20 - June 27
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Shinn Asuka stepped out of the shuttle which was full of ORB's civilians whom were Coordinators, feeling empty and at a loss of actions. He was alone, without anyone with him - his family had been on their way towards the shuttle under the ORB's evacuation act. However, before they even reached the area where the shuttle was awaiting - his parents and his younger sister, Mayu - had been ruthlessly killed by an attack.
Due to the chaos, Shinn had not been able to decide if the attack had been from an enemy or an ally of the ORB Union. All he knew was that, when he looked up into the sky trying to see whom was behind the death of his family members - he could only see the 'Freedom' flying past him from above. He would had been killed under that attack too, if it were not for the fact that his sister had dropped her cell phone along the way and he had went over to pick it up for her. Yet, by the time he returned to where his parents and sister had been waiting for him - he had arrived to find their bodies scattered all over the place, lying dead on the ground.
Shinn had no idea how long he had sat in front of his sister's dislocated arm in shock, before the officer in charge pulled him away from the scene - over to the awaiting shuttle. All he was aware was the fact that he had let out a cry of anguish, before allowing tears to take over his grief and anguish. Before long, he was up in the shuttle which would bring him and the rest of the Coordinators civilians up into space - towards the homeland of Coordinators, the PLANT.
Now as he stood along among the other refugees from ORB, he felt odd standing among families whom huddled together - giving one another the support which they need. Not knowing which direction to go, he followed the flow of people around him - blindly. It took him some time before he realized that he would need a place to stay, and probably a job too. Yet, what was he to do in these times of chaos?
Moving aimlessly along the streets, Shinn paid no attention to his surroundings. It was not until he ran into someone, head-on; before he regained his senses.
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Youlan had been walking along the street, heading his way to the ZAFT Military Headquarters where the ZAFT Academy had set up booth for youngsters like himself, to sign up and join the army when he was knocked down by someone whom was not paying any attention to the traffic around the place.
He had nearly snapped at the offender in response, when he realized that the said person whom knocked into him - appeared to be staring into space.
Silence before a muffled apology was heard from the person whom knocked him down. Youlan nodded in acknowledgement, before picking himself up from the ground and continue his journey to the ZAFT Headquarters.
Throwing curious looks over to the stranger whom was walking behind him constantly, Youlan finally asked the question which had been weighing on his mind - ever since he realized that the black-haired boy whom knocked him down was following him.
"Excuse me, but could you please stop following me? " Youlan started, but Shinn Asuka remained silent.
"..." Realizing that the boy was not responding in any way, Youlan only sighed before approaching the silent boy with another tactic.
"Look, silence is not going to help you. How can I /help/ you, if you refused to tell me anything? Since you are following me around, the least you can do is to tell me your name... " Youlan directed at Shinn, whom was still silently following him.
There was a pause, before Shinn finally uttered his name to the dark skinned boy in front of him.
"Thank you, and I'm Youlan. So, do you have any idea where you intended to go? Perhaps, I could help you find your way around - after I submitted my admission form to the authority." Youlan told Shinn, patiently.
Now, that caused Shinn to blink in response.
"Admission form? " Shinn echoed, his eyes reflecting confusion within them.
"Yes, for the ZAFT Academy... They are taking in new trainees now... It had been all over the news, how could you not know about it?" Youlan responded, eyeing Shinn strangely.
Shinn averted his eyes for a moment, before replying. "I had only just arrived today..."
Silence as Youlan regarded Shinn warily, mentally ruling out the option of Shinn being a fellow tourists - since that would be impossible as there was a war happening out there. Just then, realization dawns in - for he realized there was only one other possibility. The news did mention something about PLANT taking in refugees due to the war in ORB.
"You are a refugee, aren't you?" Youlan asked, before adding "A Coordinator from ORB..." as an after-thought.
A barely noticable nod from Shinn, and the way Shinn had appeared to be - Youlan came to his own conclusion that Shinn was probably an orphan. A sigh and a frown later, Youlan asked if Shinn was interested in joining the army. Apparently, those whom signed up to join the army would be paid and offered free accomodation within the Military Hostel.
Shinn thought it over, and realized that power was probably what he need to protect those whom were close to him - finally nodded in agreement. Thus, he ended up signing up for the recruitment - together with Youlan.
"Alright, now what?" Shinn asked, as he looked around him in confusion - not knowing what to do.
"... You should probably followed that green-uniformed officer to the other booth, for it would be where you could registered yourself with the hostel; so that you would have your living quarters provided for you." Youlan explained, and gestured around the area - providing Shinn with information on the possible actions to take.
"What about you? I thought you are joining the army too? " Shinn asked, when he realized the former had yet to sign up with the Military.
"Hm.m..? Oh... I am not signing up for combat... I'm scared of fighting out in the frontlines, actually. So, I am going to head over to the other section - to sign up for technical and administrative support." Youlan responded, with a shrug.
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An hour later, Shinn was seen following the lead of an officer into the Military Hostel. They took the lift in silence all the way to level six, where they exited the lift and turned down a left corridor - passing random door numbers along the way, until they stopped in front of 'Room 62'.
Shinn watched in silence, as the officer knocked on the door for a moment - before the door was opened by a blond haired male; whom looked just slightly older than Shinn was. The officer exchanged a few words with the said male, before the male turned to regard Shinn in detail, assessing him. Feeling uncomfortable by the assessment, Shinn shifted slightly as he regarded the male eyeing him with some wariness.
Eventually, the assessment stopped as the elder boy give him a nod in acknowledgement and introduced himself as Rey Za Burrel.
"I'm Shinn Asuka..." Shinn told the elder boy, as the boy hold the door open for him to enter.
"Right, I'm 15 ... do you mind taking the bed on the right side of the room? I have already taken the one on the left, as mine." Rey told Shinn, evenly.
"Sure, I don't mind. I'm 14 years old." For some reason, Shinn felt some obligations to tell the other boy his age, since the former had told him his own age in prior.
Rey said nothing, but 'Hn' in response. Shinn watched in silence as the blond instructed him on the area that was free for his usage.
Just then, the door slammed open - startling both occupants of the room to stare up at the intruder; in surprise. The intruder happened to be a red-haired female, whom appeared to be of the same age as Rey.
The girl stared at Shinn, then back to Rey - before apologizing to Shinn for startling him. After which, the girl turned to Rey and narrowed her eyes in irritation.
"Rey! Why the heck did you not tell me about you having a new room-mate? "
"...First of all, it was none of your business - whether or not do I have a room-mate. Secondly, do knock before you enter - the next time around. Who knows what I had been doing in here... I could be naked, you know? Last but not least, haven't I already mentioned about my lack of interest in going /shopping/ with you?" Rey stated, in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Geez, Rey... why are you such a bore? " The red-haired girl commented, before turning to regard the other occupant in the room.
"Hi, I'm Lunamaria Hawke. You're ...? By the way, I lived next door in 'Room 64' with my younger sister, Meyrin. Are you new here?" The red-haired girl introduced herself to Shinn, cheerfully.
"Oh... yeah... I'm new. I'm Shinn Asuka, just call me 'Shinn'... "
Lunamaria regarded Shinn under close scrunity, before announcing that Shinn was to join her in her shopping quest. Although, Shinn had tried to worm his way out but Lunamaria was too adamant and insisted that Shinn would need to figure his way around the place - thus appointed herself as Shinn's new tour guide.
/Oh boy... what did I get myself into.../ Shinn thought to himself, as he felt himself being pulled off towards the lift - heading for the exit.
---
The shopping trip lasted for about six hours, before Lunamaria finally agreed to call it a day. How girls could shop endlessly for that long time, was simply beyond Shinn's comprehension. Shinn had complaint relentlessly about the shopping trip, but Lunamaria had pay him no attention but instead focusing her attention on all the products in the display panels as they passes by stores and shops.
Eventually, Shinn indulged himself by investing in a few daily necessities while waiting for Lunamaria to finish her shopping spee. They arrived back at the hostel just in time for dinner to be served. Since Shinn had no idea where to seat himself, he ended up sitting with Lunamaria and her friends.
It was then that Shinn was introduced to Meyrin Hawke, Lunamaria's younger sister - whom was his age. The girl smiled at him hesitantly, before turning her attention elsewhere - which Shinn was glad. Since, the sight of Meyrin somehow managed to remind him again of his dead sister - Mayu Asuka.
Early next morning, he found himself joining Youlan and Vino, another fellow technician trainee whom Youlan had introduced him - for breakfast at the cafeteria.
Lessons had yet to start - for the authorities were still busy with the last minute recruitment. Official lessons would begin in a week's time, after attendence and recruits lists were being finalized. Shinn had not seen much of his room-mate, Rey Za Burrel, around the area. After doing a little observation on his own, he realized that his room-mate seemed to have a habit of hanging out in the lounge where there was a screen hanging - showing them scenes from the battle going on, just outside the colony.
However, Shinn had avoided the lounge like a plague. For it would remind him too greatly of the loss he suffered - during the war in ORB. Especially, since 'Freedom' always seemed to be around him.
Although, it was only a week's time - it seemed much longer in Shinn's point of view as lessons finally commences on the 27 of June.
It was during lunch break on that very day, did Shinn finally came outright with his reasons of joining the Military.
"Right, enough about me... Why don't you two tell me the reason behind yours joining the Military?" Shinn re-directed his questions at the two redheads.
Lunamaria and Meyrin Hawke shared a look between themselves, before responding. "Well, first of all - we lost our parents in the Junius 7 Tragedy a few years back. We were over here at the Aprilius City - visiting friends when it happened, thus we survived. Later on, it was further revealed that my cousin was killed in the war. Thus, strengthening our determination to join the Military."
With that being said, everyone turned to stare at Youlan whom had been silent all the while. The person in question, merely shrugged and responded that he only joined because he had nothing better to do. Moreover, he was only going to be tending to the Mobile Suits and stuff - since he would not be fighting out-front so it does not matters.
After the first few months spent on the PLANTs, Shinn finally accustomed himself to the environment. The only downside would be the lack of natural resources, otherwise - it was pretty much the same as his time spent down on Earth. Before long, news of the war coming to an end reaches them - some cheered, while others mourned the loss of whomever they knew that sacrificed themselves in that final battle.
to be continued
Date started: 06/06/07
Date completed: 06/06/07