Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all it's characters are the property of their respective owners.

Phase 01: Mystery of the Missing Suitcase

A dark blue object lay abandoned in the empty hall. Whether it had been forgotten or left there purposefully was not a known fact. The fact was that its owner was no longer here and the object still remained. A pair of hands snatched it from the cold floor and whisked it away, perhaps never to be seen again.

---

The sky was bright and the weather perfect. Only a few white clouds floated overhead. He loved watching the birds chase one another in a game of which only those with wings knew the rules. The wind in his hair was just right and he found himself wishing he could join the birds up there. It was all so relaxing, one could almost forget it was just another school day.

"Kira, are you listening?" his best friend's voice came from beside him.

"Huh? Were you saying something?" Kira started, scratching his head. It was not that he had purposefully ignored Athrun. It was more like he forgot to listen from time to time. He was not sure why this kind of thing happened to him so often. Athrun always said that all he needed to do was get his head out of the clouds. Kira's innocent smile soon melted into an apologetic grimace under the scrutiny of Athrun's emerald eyes. This brought an exasperated sigh from his childhood friend. "I'm sorry… I guess this subject just isn't really my thing…"

"That's not true, Kira!" Athrun objected, looking quite upset at Kira's sudden surrender. He really did not have to worry about it that much, but he just wanted to help Kira, after all. Athrun plunked the useless textbook down on the grass beside him and stretched out to lie on his back. Kira watched his best friend close his eyes thoughtfully, probably gathering all the right words for the inevitable lecture that would follow. Kira wanted to make a face just thinking about it. When those vivid green eyes opened again, Kira groaned inwardly. What he saw was Athrun's lecture face. "How do you hope to understand it if you don't even try? I'll explain it to you again, but you have to promise you'll pay attention this time."

"Okay, okay…" Kira replied sullenly. Athrun was so resolute when it came to homework that it was not hard to understand why he was the best student in their class. Kira's mom often commented on how she wished "Athrun's responsible attitude" would rub off on him. "Just let me get out my notebook." In a way it was a good thing that his friend was so dependable. It was nice to have someone to lean on when you felt completely lost.

"Good idea," Athrun nodded approvingly, "that way I can test you on it too."

Kira was about to stifle another groan as he turned to open his suitcase when his hand froze in mid-air. An icy feeling settled over his stomach.

"Uhhh… Athrun…?"

"Yes?"

"Not funny! Where'd you hide my suitcase?" Kira demanded as he rounded on his best friend. But Athrun was looking at him with a rather startled expression, and not a trace of mischief showed in his concern-narrowed eyes.

"I didn't hide your suitcase, Kira!" he defended. "Are you sure you brought it outside with you?"

"I-I dunno!" Kira exclaimed. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried really hard to remember. "Eh… I remember taking it out of the classroom, but…" Suddenly the implications of his suitcase being missing struck him like a brick against his forehead. "My suitcase can't be gone! What am I gonna tell Mom!?"

"We'll have to retrace our steps," Athrun suggested calmly, already gathering his books and stuffing them into his suitcase. "I'm sure we'll find it somewhere along the way!"

"R-Right…!" Kira agreed, following Athrun as he crossed the school yard in the direction they had come. The sickening sensation of fear writhing in the pit of his stomach did not exactly go away, but seeing his best friend's confidence did soothe it a little.

---

Athrun was getting worried. By the end of second break Kira still could not remember where he had left his suitcase. The bell was calling everyone to their next classes and his best friend was on the edge of tears. He had to practically drag the bleak-looking Kira along to get to class on time. They met up with Jordi and Alex outside the classroom. The two of them were absorbed in a heated discussion over what the best sandwhich ever made might contain. Jordi being the connoisseur, Alex often seemed to find himself just nodding no matter what he thought. There was no arguing with Jordi about tastes in food. Either you liked what he liked, or you had to silently agree to disagree. Athrun found himself doing the latter more often than not.

"Hi, guys!" Alex greeted at hearing Athrun approaching, the two of them having finally looked up from their intense conversation. Noticing Kira's gloomy expression, his eyes softened with sympathy immediately. Alex had a very caring nature. "Kira, what's wrong?"

"My… I lost… my…"

"His suitcase is missing," Athrun clarified, fearing that poor Kira might well burst into tears if he was left to flounder around in his own words for much longer. "We've looked everywhere I can think of."

"Maybe it got wings and flew off!" Jordi teased, chuckling at his own lame joke. Alex just eyed him sideways. He did not find it particularly funny either. Kira was turning pale, as if he thought it was actually possible for a perfectly normal suitcase to sprout wings and take flight. Honestly!

"Don't worry, Kira! I'll go look for it!" Alex announced, pumping a fist in the air vigorously. "I'll find it for you in no time!"

"What, now!?" Athrun blurted out in spite of himself. He knew Alex was impulsive, but… cutting class!? "Are you serious? You can't cut class, Alex! You'll get caught! Besides, we'll have more time to search once school's out! I mean, it's not like the thing really has gotten wings, you know!"

"It doesn't matter! I'm not afraid of getting caught!" Alex boasted, slamming his fist to his chest confidently.

"There's something you're forgetting here, Alex," Jordi interjected before Athrun could open his mouth to reply. "If you get caught, who's the one who will eventually get in trouble for this whole mess?" All eyes went to Kira involuntarily, and he gave a nervous little gulp.

"You're right," Alex admitted, studying his feet. "I don't want Kira getting in trouble for my cutting class. There'll be enough time to—"

The four boys fell silent as a trio of giggles came traipsing in their direction. The three girls coming past made a train of staring eyes, snooty looks and pinched noses fixed in the air at a snobbish angle. Merri-Anne with her long, ruby braids and mercilessly mischievous grin was the first to prance into the classroom in her insanely girly fashion. There was no better way to describe it. Elmary, the tallest girl in their class and also the brains behind this trio of terrorists, studied them over her silver-rimmed glasses like a bird studying four insects it considered prey, as she followed Merri-Anne inside. The third girl, possibly the worst of them all, was rather short, with close-cropped orange curls framing a pair of poisonous green eyes in a heart-shaped face. Collina actually smirked as her gaze caught Athrun's. He managed not to shiver until she broke off the stare and was well out of his line of sight.

"They give me the creeps…" Jordi breathed behind him. Athrun wanted to agree, but decided that this was not the best time for discussions.

"Let's hurry inside," he replied instead. "Or we'll be late."

"Right!"

---

Kira sighed unhappily as he stared right through the teacher who was talking in the front of the classroom, about some or other important thing related to some or other complicated matter that was supposed to be important. With his suitcase still missing, he ended up borrowing stuff from his friends just to be able to get some work done; Jordi's ruler, a few blank pages torn haphazardly from Alex's notebook… Athrun even let him borrow that pen of his, the one with the little electronic critter fixed at the back. Kira smiled at that. The little gadget even made a miniature light show whenever it was used to write. Athrun had constructed the thing out of boredom. His left arm was broken at the time, from when he had that skateboard accident, and he could not play basketball with Kira and the others. Kira remembered feeling really bad for Athrun, being unable to join in the fun because his arm hurt. That was until he saw his best friend's face light up with pride as they all stared in awe while he demonstrated this latest novelty. Athrun was very good at things like that. Staring at the cute little robotic beasty, Kira realized that it was really an honour to be able to borrow this special pen. "Just don't chew the back, all right?" Athrun had said almost tenderly as he reluctantly handed the pen to Kira.

Despite this, his missing suitcase kept plaguing him in the back of his mind. Sure, it was nothing to just buy a new one – using his allowance, of course – but his mother would not at all be impressed with him at losing something so important. Besides, he thought miserably as his stomach grumbled – an angry sound – his lunch box had been in there too! He caught a glimpse of Athrun glancing in his direction, probably to make sure Kira was not chewing the back of the pen. Kira sent his friend a grateful smile before proceeding to make some notes, the lights of the pen flickering merrily.

His hand scribbled away, but his mind worked even more furiously trying to work out where he could have left that suitcase. It might help if they asked around. He let his amethyst eyes travel across the kids sitting in the classroom. Someone should have seen it lying around somewhere, at least. After all, his suitcase was not small. Suddenly, as he spotted Collina and her two friends gossiping, a horrible thought entered his mind. What if one of them…? He shook his head, hoping to rid himself of the terrible notion. They would not do something like that… would they? Collina turned to look in his direction and his breath caught in his throat. She was eyeing him the way a cat eyed a mouse it knew it had cornered. It was difficult to make himself remember that she could not possibly know what he was thinking. She could not! He forced himself to concentrate on the page in front of him. The squiggles dancing on the white sheet were becoming less and less legible. They had to find his suitcase as soon as school was out, otherwise this whole thing just might drive him nuts.

---

The bell signalling the end of the school day had not properly finished its chime when Alex dashed out the door into the hall. Athrun shook his head. He was not sure how the energetic boy managed to pack up so fast, but Alex was always the first one out of a classroom. He was never one to sit still for very long. Athrun took his time gathering his books and making sure nothing was left behind. By the time he came out, Kira, Alex and Jordi were waiting for him in the hall. For some reason they were all looking at him, like they expected him to say something. Or maybe they expected him to do something. Wait a minute… He knew those looks all too well.

"What?" he asked, suspicions rising. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"Kira's been thinking about who could have taken his suitcase," Jordi explained almost too casually. Why did he get the feeling that wherever this conversation was heading it would result in him doing some kind of dirty work?

"Taken?" he replied. "Kira, I thought you said you lost it…?"

"Well…" Kira said quietly. "Since we can't find it anywhere, it's logical to assume that someone must have taken it, right?" He looked around like he was afraid of that someone overhearing him.

"Kira, the school building is huge!" Athrun reasoned. "You could have left it anywhere! You can't just assume someone took it!" Was Kira serious about this? He could not be sure his suitcase had been stolen. Accusing someone of theft could have severe repercussions, especially if it turned out that that person was innocent. "Besides, why would anyone steal your suitcase?"

"Those delicious sandwiches his mom always makes are in there!" Jordi pointed out thoughtfully. Kira turned a shade paler at the mention of his lunch being swiped. Athrun was not sure if this was another one of Jordi's poor jokes. He was right, though. Kira's mom made the best sandwiches ever. He shook his head, putting that thought firmly out of his head. He had to think.

"That can't be it, Jordi," he said finally. "If the thief was after the sandwiches, why not just take Kira's lunch box? Why carry off the whole suitcase?"

"Athrun's got a point," Kira agreed softly, looking relieved, the hope of salvaging his lunch restored.

"That still doesn't help us find the suitcase, though," Jordi replied.

"So," Athrun sighed, "who do you think took the suitcase?" He was not convinced that someone would actually steal a suitcase for no apparent reason, but it was only fair to hear Kira out.

"I'm not really sure," Kira began. "It's just a kind of feeling I got…"

"It's gotta be those girls," Alex added quickly.

"Girls?" Athrun parroted. "You mean… Collina and her friends?"

"Who else would do such a despicable thing?" Alex argued. "I wouldn't put it past them to swipe Kira's suitcase just for the sake of being nasty!"

"But that's so… childish…" Athrun murmured. There had to be a better explanation for the disappearance of Kira's suitcase. Kira could have left it anywhere inside or outside the building. A teacher could even have found it abandoned in the hall.

"You think too much, Athrun!" Alex's frustration was clear in his voice.

"And what do you suppose we do? March up to them and demand they return Kira's suitcase?"

"That's where you come in!" Jordi announced with a grin.

"Me!?" Athrun gaped in disbelief. "Why can't Alex go instead?"

"ME!?" It was Alex's turn to stare, incredulity painting quite a silly expression on his face. "Oh man, you've gotta be kidding!"

"That is, unless you're scared of a couple of girls," Athrun added casually, pretending to be cool about it. He could see Alex's mouth trying to work out four different sentences at once. His predictable behaviour in a situation like this was Athrun's secret weapon against this kind of pressure. It took nothing short of a real beating for Alex to back down from a challenge. "I thought you weren't scared of anything…"

"I'm not scared!" Alex blurted out finally. "I'll show you guys! You just watch!" With that, he strutted off towards the group of girls huddled together conspicuously.

"Gee, he really isn't scared of anything, huh?" Kira commented, traces of awe evident in his voice.

---

Alex took his time in returning from what seemed like a suicide mission to Kira. He was really impressed with Alex's bravery. Kira did not think he would have had the courage to confront even one of those girls, nevermind all three at once.

"I'm getting worried…" Jordi whispered. "Shouldn't he have been back by now?"

"We'll wait a little while longer," Athrun replied calmly. Kira was getting edgy himself, and not just because of what those girls might do. Athrun and Kira should have started home ten minutes ago. His mom would start to worry if this thing dragged on too long. Alex's mom too. Jordi might even get locked out for tardiness. Both of his parents lived on PLANT, so Jordi stayed in the hostel and could only go home on certain weekends and during holidays. The matron in charge there was a stern woman whose wooden spoon was mightier than the sword, or so the rumours among the boarding kids said. Thinking all this through, Kira immediately felt terribly guilty for making Jordi late.

"Um… Jordi?" Kira cleared his throat. "Maybe you should head on to the hostel before you get in trouble…?"

"But, Kira, what about your suitcase!?" Jordi frowned stubbornly.

"I don't want you to get in trouble just because I lost my suitcase, OK?" Kira continued firmly. Disconcert painted Jordi's face, but he nodded after a while, if a bit grudgingly.

"OK," he sighed, shifting his suitcase under his arm, "but you give me a call the moment you find the thing, all right?"

"I will!" Kira called after him, and then remembered that that would also get Jordi in trouble. Though there was no written rule concerning the issue, untimely phone calls also seemed to be an offence in the matron's eyes. "Or I'll tell you about it tomorrow!" he added belatedly, a sweat drop sliding down his cheek.

"That's right…" Athrun mused out loud. "Your mom's going to be worried about us if we don't find your suitcase fast." Just then, Alex rounded the corner. He looked unscathed for the most part, though a bright red blush glowed hotly on his cheeks. Kira felt a lump of disappointment land in his stomach at noticing that Alex did not have his missing suitcase with him.

"What did they say?" he pressed.

"I don't wanna talk about it…" Alex mumbled half under his breath.

"Do you think they're the ones who took the suitcase?" Athrun asked, straight to the point as usual.

"Either they're not the ones, or I've just witnessed some real good acting," was Alex's bitter reply.

"Ohhh, I give up!" Kira groaned, plopping down on the floor miserably. There was no way they would find the suitcase and get home in time without getting in trouble.

"Well, maybe it'll turn up tomorrow," Alex shrugged. "I'd better get going too, or my mom's gonna fry me." Kira felt like several layers of buildings were collapsing in on him at once. What was he going to tell his mom? "You're gonna be OK, right?"

"I'll be fine…" He just managed keeping the tears he felt collecting behind his eyes out of his voice.

"Sorry, Kira…" Alex said softly. "See you tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah…" He watched the other boy gather his things and jog in the direction of the exit, then turned to look up at Athrun. His best friend was standing very still, as if absorbed in deep thought. "Athrun?"

"I've got an idea," he said suddenly. "Come on!"

There was nothing for it but to follow his best friend's lead. The school's halls seemed to become increasingly dark and spooky, empty as they were. Kira and Athrun's shadows had stretched immensely in the few minutes that had gone by while they were waiting for Alex. Kira could only hope that Athrun knew where he was going. His friend seemed more determined than ever to solve this mystery. Kira felt a bit lost when they stopped in front of a rusty old door that stood half open on a sinisterly creaking hinge.

"What are we doing here…?"

"You'll see," Athrun replied with more confidence than Kira himself felt at that moment. "Let's just see if he's here…" He knocked twice on the old door, and the head of a dry old man peeped around it. His graying hair hung almost to his shoulders and his skin was dark and leathery. Kira could feel his knees quaking as the reedy man's dark eyes scanned the two boys under his nose.

"Yes?" The man's bone-dry voice creaked almost as much as the door's hinges.

"I'm sorry for bothering," Athrun answered smoothly, "but my friend here has lost his suitcase. I just wanted to ask if you saw a blue suitcase lying around somewhere. Have you, by any chance?" Kira realized that his mouth was hanging open at Athrun's amazing display of calm, and shut his jaws with a click. The old man blinked a few times, as if pondering Athrun's question thoroughly. When he opened his mouth to speak again, Kira barely suppressed the urge to jump.

"You mean something like this?" his harsh voice scraped through parched lips. He turned back into the dark little room behind the noisy door and when he came back, he produced a familiar dark blue shape. Kira's eyes widened as his missing suitcase slowly came into view. He was so ecstatic that he completely forgot to be scared.

"Yes! That's it!" he cried as the wrinkly old man held it out to him. "Thank you, sir! Thank you!"

"No problem," the man rasped in what Kira supposed was a friendly way. He hugged the suitcase to his chest as he and Athrun turned to leave. As glad as he was to have it back, there was nothing he wanted more than to get home as quickly as possible.

---

The trip home was mostly a silent one. Athrun was content with just smiling at the amusing look of relief mixed with puzzlement painting his best friend's features. He did not expect Kira to talk much then. After all, it must have been quite a tiring day for him. They were about to turn the corner leading into the driveway of Kira's home when Kira came to a stop. Athrun studied his friend's expression, puzzled by the sudden stop.

"What's wrong, Kira?"

"Nothing…" Kira replied. "I was just wondering… Who was that scary guy?"

"What… 'scary guy'?" Athrun blinked, even more confused now.

"The guy who had my suitcase," Kira clarified. Athrun had to work hard to hide his amusement. He thought Kira had been a bit nervous, but he had not realized that his friend was scared.

"Oh, that guy?" he smiled. "That's just the janitor."

"The janitor?" Kira gasped. "I thought he was a criminal!" Athrun could no longer contain himself and burst out laughing.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Kira," he grinned, "but he's just a regular janitor." The expression covering Kira's face was one of absolute consternation, and Athrun had to force down another wave of laughter. Apparently realizing that further enquiry would only lead to being laughed at more, Kira resumed his pace. "I can't guarantee that he didn't eat your sandwiches, though!" Kira made a face that was somewhere between exasperation, disappoinment and surrender before clambering up the stairs to his house. Athrun smiled as he followed Kira inside.

"I'm home!"