Kon'nichwa!
Disclaimer: I neither own the caharacters nor the orignal plot of Gundam Seed (Destiny).
Hello! This is the second chapter. I made an effort to make it longer (it is more than twice the size of the last one) because I will be out of the country starting from next week for a few weeks. Although I am able to type, I am not sure if I can post. I am very sorry! feels bad. I promise that if I can post when I am whereeverIwill be, I will write a lot of the next chapter.
Thank you to all those who reviewed to me! It made me very happy.
Cari-Akira, Daisukiasu'n'caga, Pinksia, Sunflower Seeds - thank you!
Siriuslyblacked - I am glad you caught on to that little fact! It will be explained clearly (I hope) in this chapter. Thank you for paying attention to it, so that you saw that.
What's in a Name? - Chapter 2
Athrun awoke at 6:30 on the dot, as if an alarm had gone off just like every other morning in the past five months. God… I've GOT to stop doing this… Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, he got up and dressed.
Now clad in the red uniform, the green-eyed man sat at his desk. Glancing curiously at the envelope from last night, he decided to look up who this '09352864' was.
While he waited for the computer to start up, he turned on a lamp and reached for the glass of water he left the previous afternoon. Taking a sip, he glanced over at the monitor to see that it was ready.
After typing in his seventeen-letter password, Athrun quickly logged on to the military database and typed in the girl's identification number. Pressing enter, he took another sip of the water. Within a second, her profile showed up, and what was there convinced the water droplets to stick in the commander's throat and choke him.
X
-past-
Black smoke furled from a corner of the island. The two in the room exchanged worried looks. Both rushed out, intent on seeing what was happening. But before they could reach the waiting car, another explosion appeared out of what seemed like nowhere. The sky turned black, just like the thick smoke, and the younger one knew exactly what was going on.
-present-
A blonde sat alone on a shuttle flying through space approximately several thousand feet a minute. Looking out the window at the debris belt, her eyes narrowed. The aura of fury kept the other passengers from making the stupid choice of sitting next to her. Bastards. I'll get you back… that's a promise!
X
Normally, a single soldier's profile would go on for pages and pages, probably detailed down to the size of their DNA strands. Yet, 09352864's records barely filled a page. Athrun sputtered in surprise. The military has nearly NOTHING on her! They don't even have her NAME. And that was perfectly true. In fact, her profile went something like this:
ID number: 09352864
Name: Unknown. Kakushidate? Kamufuraaju? Yonaka?
Age: 16- 26
Hair color: Blond
Eye color: Amber
Class: Red Elite
END OF PROFILE
Athrun stared at the page. After refreshing it several times, he was forced to believe that it wasn't a mistake. The photo attached was so grainy that it didn't tell much more that the profile did. What in the world? Even her name… I never knew the they would let a soldier into the Red Elite class without sufficient data. She must be very good then… Uh… what am I supposed to call her when she arrives? None of those three names cannot be her actual name. 'Concealment'? 'Disguise'? 'Midnight'?
Giving up on it, Athrun closed the window and sighed. How troublesome.
X
How troublesome.
Out of all the available shuttles, this is the one that they decide will make numerous stops. Irked, the blonde leaned back into the seat and scowled. I hope we get there soon… Looking at the flight information on the screen, she could see that there were three stops before her own.
"Next stop: L5 PLANT – Aprillius 9. Passengers please get off now."
Make that two stops.
X
Athrun took a third sip of water. He grimaced at the aftertaste that he didn't notice due to shock. He considered what to do about the new soldier and her profile or lack of. Right now…I think… I need coffee. Completely ignoring the screen, he got up and head down the hall and five floors down.
Athrun walked across the café near the entrance, his mind on only one thing: coffee. But first, he had to get to the front of the line, wait for the lazy management to fill up a cup, head to the side counter, add exactly 0.25 teaspoons of sugar and finally, finally, drink it.
Sighing, he joined the other twenty plus people in line. Really, they should get better management. Letting his gaze wander, he noticed a slight commotion on the other side of the room. Curiously, he craned his neck, trying to get a good look.
From what he could make out, two people were arguing. Rather loudly at that. Suddenly, someone in a green uniform shifted, and he saw the two people. One was a maintenance guy… but the other person looked somewhat familiar. Bright blond hair…
Athrun stared. Who is this person? Completely forgetting about his coffee, he quickly headed over. "Miss!" he called from halfway across the room.
She showed no response what-so-ever, continuing her argument. He walked closer; close enough to hear her heated reply.
"I don't care about your stupid policy! I want to know where I can find my room NOW. If I were you, I would just say where it is SO I COULD GET BACK TO SWEEPING THE DAMNED FLOOR!"
Amused, Athrun called again. "Er, Miss?" He got the same answer: nothing. Sighing he raised his voice, "Miss!"
"What!" She spun, turning on him.
He looked at clear amber eyes and looked away, blushing slightly. She's very pretty… Wait! Zala! What are you thinking about! Clearing his throat, he addressed her. "Miss, I can help you, what are you looking for?"
She stared at him distrustfully for a second, and then relented. "Fine." Throwing another glare at the man, who was trying to inconspicuously sweep his way away. "I'm new here, so I need to find my room." She handed a paper with her room number on it.
Athrun glanced at the page and did a classic double take. Room 605 is not only near his, it's where the new girl was supposed to stay. Looking at her still annoyed face, he opened his mouth to ask the obvious question. Then paused. What am I supposed to say? Are you 09352864? I can't say that… it's very rude. Realizing that she was looking at him weirdly, he blurted out, "Um… are you 09352864?"
"Is it a common practice to call people you don't know by guessing their ID?" she asked wryly. "But, yes. I am 09352864, Sir 06837109."
He simply nodded. So I got a smart one, eh? "Yeah, but my name is Athrun Zala." He paused, prompting her to give her name and end his curiosity.
But she never showed any sigh that she would give that piece of information away. Stifling a sigh, he led her through the halls.
At her door, he stopped and turned to face her. Preoccupied with dragging her suitcase without letting it hit the floor or either the walls in the narrow hallway, she never noticed that he stopped and crashed right into him.
Due to the zero gravity, he floated a few feet down the hall before steadying himself by grabbing the next doorframe. Swiftly resuming his old position, he said, "Thanks for the lift, but we're here," which caused a light flush to paint her cheeks. "Anyways, here we are. My room is two doors down that way, knock if need anything. Please attend a meeting with your new comrades in an hour. I'll see you later." He finished his speech rapidly and rushed off, hoping that she wouldn't see the color that filled his own cheeks.
X
Cagalli blinked, watching her commander practically run away. Um… okay? She racked her brains for the access code and after a few tries entered the room. It looked a lot like a standard single-bed hotel room, she found herself thinking. With one bed in the corner, a desk, a chest of draws, a closet, a small refrigerator, and a bathroom off to the side, with a few other small items. The only thing different was that hotel rooms rarely had a computer flat on the wall.
After dumping her suitcase against the wall, she plopped down on the bed. Urg… forget about unpacking… I'll do it later. She closed her eyes, and let her mind wander. Hm… So my commander's Zala… I hope he's good enough so that they'll let us fight. He better not be the nosy kind… though I don't think he's that bad to have to follow… after all, he's stunningly, drop-dead gorgeo – Ah! What thoughts am I having? Focus, Cagalli! Through I wonder why he ran off so fast? All he said was that we have a meeting in an hour… but he never said where, or why… Wait. Wait just a moment. He never said WHERE! How am I supposed to get there!
Cagalli suddenly sat up. I'll be really annoyed if I have to walk around aimlessly to find it! And be late to boot! A quick look to the clock told her that she had twenty minutes left. She got up and yanked open her suitcase. Even though all of her clothes was red, finding her Red Elite uniform wasn't difficult; she had several of them. Pulling one on, she left the room.
Standing on the other side, wondered what should be her first move. After thinking of and discarding theories, she decided on one.
X
A certain blue-haired man was relaxing on his bed, half asleep. A sharp knock on his door caused him to jerk out of his stupor. He looked down at himself. He was wearing the bottom half of his uniform… but had nothing on top. The knock came again.
"Er… coming!" he called, swiftly buttoning up the red coat and clasping his belt. Nearly running to the door, he allowed it to slide open. On the other side he saw…
Cagalli with a fist raised as if to knock again. "Yes?" he asked.
She snickered. "You know, I thought that ZAFT commanders would know how to properly do mundane tasks, but I guess not." She gestured at his shirt. Looking down, he saw that he had missed the topmost button when going down the row, making his uniform look decidedly crooked.
Flushing, he hastily started to re-button it, the redness on his cheeks nowhere matching the blush on his new soldier after she saw a bit of what was underneath: bare skin. This went unnoticed by Athrun, he tipped his down as if concentrating on his clothes, but really trying to cover his embarrassed blush.
When he finally thought it was safe to look up, her cheeks were back to their regular shade. She hurriedly saluted, cursing how easy distracted she was. He returned the greeting, and she spoke.
"Er, right. Commander Zala."
For some reason, he didn't like her calling him that. "You don't have to say it like that. My name is Athrun."
Giving up on the extra- polte tone, she exclaimed, "You never told me where to meet you!"
"Oh, and sorry about the lack of information. The meeting is in Meeting Room 115. I'll show you where it is, it's time anyway."
She raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.
Three flights of stairs, several hallways and about a dozen turns later, they arrived at a nondescript white door, labeled 'Meeting Room 115.'
Cagalli snorted inwardly. How clear. They just omit how to get here, but when you do, you'll know it. Stepping it, she saw three others that formed a line in front of their commander on sight. She quickly joined them, saluting to the same person twice in less than ten minutes.
The other three soldiers exchanged questioning looks at each other out of the corner of the eye. After a few seconds, they lowered their hands and looked at Athrun.
Having them stand before him, Athrun fully realized what it meant to have another person on his team. A change in battle formations and strategies. He stifled a sigh and lifted a hand to his forehead in return. He looked at the blonde, standing beside Lunamaria and blinked to make sure he was seeing things correctly.
He was so used to seeing it that he didn't even blink. If she was standing beside either Shinn or Rey, he probably wouldn't notice either. But seeing the amber–eyed girl beside Lunamaria…
Whereasthis way, it was perfectly clear.
As a note, I may be able to update before the end of this week, but iut'll probably be a short one, sorry!
Thanks for reading,
Jisushika-chan