For You
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed.
Glad you all liked chapter 6, I can only hope you like chapter 7…and everyone prepare to laugh, but I seriously have no clue what emo means, well I do, but I don't. I can comprehend it, but if someone came up to me and asked what emo meant, I wouldn't be able to answer-not even for a million dollars! So if someone could please shed some light on the subject in a review, I'd greatly appreciate it. And also, because of my impatience and miscalculation, some very interesting plot thickeners will be popping up sooner than I'd expected, and you all will like them very, very, much…heheheh…And gomen nasai for the late update! PS. I realize many of you are skeptical about why Kira cannot fight Muruta. Well, I have an explanation, so continue reading to find out!
Chapter 7 Suspicion, Transfer Student
The annoying sound of his alarm clock woke Kira instead of his body waking up for him. He usually always woke up ten minutes before the alarm clock, but hey, he was tired. He lifted his head from his pillow and glanced warily towards the beeping clock. He sighed and sat up, hitting the alarm 'off' button before stepping out of bed and walking towards his closet. He stretched his left arm before opening the closet doors, and then stretched his right arm.
Pain rushed up his side when he tried to stretch out his right arm and he hissed in pain and gripped his arm tightly in his fingers. "Damn, I forgot about this," he mumbled to himself, his eyes wincing in pain. The cuts Muruta had made had finally begun to heal. But by stretching his arm, the new skin growing over the cuts had been pulled, causing intense pain.
Kira sighed and opened his closet doors and pulled out his uniform. Bringing it to his bed, he laid it down and then walked over to his dresser. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a clean pair of boxers and quickly changed. He also slipped his shirt off over his head and tossed his used clothes into a hamper located next to his dresser.
As he turned to go put his uniform on, he glanced down at his wrist where he felt the itching of soft material against his skin. His eyes widened when he saw the white gauze with rusty red blood stains slipping through around his wrist. A sudden flash of what had happened last night rushed back to him, but surprisingly, it didn't bother him or cause him pain or mental stress to remember. Just a low feeling.
It was like he was floating above himself, watching as he made a thin, but deep cut on his wrist with the letter opener. The dark red blood that looked black in the window lit bathroom slid from the small blade to drip onto the counter of the sink.
He felt dark because of what he'd just done, and being grateful for it. Yet he also felt freed, as though the problems he'd just rid himself of would never come back. "Why is it, that this is so terrible, when it really does work?" he asked himself curiously.
Shaking the memory from his head, he fearlessly peeled off the gauze and examined the cuts he'd made. They seemed to actually already be healing, and he couldn't help but feel a small, but filling, ounce of relief fill his heart. He then turned to his bed and grabbed his black collared shirt before slipping it on and adjusting the collar to his liking. He then reached for his pants and slipped them on and fixed the hem around his waist. Finally, he grabbed his dark red blazer and slid it on easily. He strung his tie around his neck but didn't tighten it yet as he quickly made his way out of his room.
Kira entered the kitchen and quickly made a bowl of oatmeal for Cagalli while he hastily bit down on a bright red apple. After he finished Cagalli's breakfast, he glanced at the clock and knew she'd be coming into the kitchen in only a matter of minutes. He then nervously made breakfast for Muruta. The boy wasn't even sure if the man was even home. But still, he didn't want to take any chances.
Hearing footsteps in the hallway outside the kitchen, he smiled softly to himself. "Good morning Cagalli," he began but stopped when he heard the soft click of shoes on the kitchen tiles. His eyes widened when the footsteps approached him and he felt cold fingers curl around his throat.
"Now Kira, you might want to get your eyes checked. I'm most certainly not your sister," a voice hissed, amused, in his ear.
All Kira could do was stand rigid as Muruta kept him in his grip.
"Azrael-sama, good morning. What time did you get home?" he asked, trying not to show his fear and keep his voice in the obedient dog tone.
Azrael smirked and Kira knew it because he felt the fingers lift from his neck. Obedient dog was working so far. "I actually got home quite late; you were probably already fast asleep." Kira couldn't help but feel a foreboding feeling grow in the pit of his stomach. Was the blonde man planning something?
Kira felt his body tense when Muruta's hand roughly grasped his shoulder and turned him around to face him. Before he even had a chance to widen his eyes, or brace himself for that matter, Muruta's fist connected with his face, knocking him to the ground. The boy barely made a sound, and pulled himself to a sitting position on the floor, his hand clutching his right cheek. It was extremely painful from the blunt blow, especially because it was already finally beginning to bruise after its harsh treatment all week.
Muruta stood over the brunette, a sick smile growing on his face. "Now Kira, you really shouldn't pretend to be so quiet. I know on the inside you really do hate me. You hate me for all you're worth, don't you?" The man laughed to himself softly. "Well, as much as I'm worth, you're not worth much now are you?" His icy eyes darkening, Muruta kneeled down in front of the boy. He gently reached his right hand forward and titled Kira's chin so the boy's soft lavender eyes were staring directly into his.
Kira's heartbeat quickened and he tried to not let the fear he felt crashing through his body show in his eyes. It must have because Muruta smirked wickedly and pushed the boy onto his back with his other hand. "You're a pathetic waste of time. Kudaranai…" he finished before standing up once more and turning to leave the kitchen. "Oh, and Kira? I'll be home around ten, don't worry about my dinner. Just do remember to wait up for me this time," the man said with a dark smirk on his face before leaving the room. But just as he passed the counter, his hand was lifted and he pushed the plate that was supposed to have held his breakfast off the marble counter and the plate fell to the kitchen floor, smashing into bits.
Kira glared at the mess on the floor before comprehending what Muruta had just said. Before he could look up at the man with a questioning face, he was gone. The boy sighed and sat back up, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. Without another wasted moment though, he leaned forward and collected the larger shards of ceramic and stood to set them on the counter. Then he kneeled back down to find the smaller shards that might have cut a foot if not picked up.
Hearing a bedroom door open and close, he quickly picked up all the shards and stood. Small footsteps in the hallway warned him Cagalli was coming and he wanted to hide the plate pieces. He didn't want Cagalli to question the broken plate in connection with his bruising cheek. Opening the cupboard and pulling out a plastic bag, he shoved all the shards into it and tied it tightly just before walking casually towards the garbage can and dropping the bag in carefully as to not make much noise. Cagalli walked in through the kitchen doorway and yawned sleepily.
"Morning Kira. I'm so tired…" she added in a drowsy tone.
Kira smiled at his sister and pulled her oatmeal out of the microwave and set it down in front of her chair at the table. The blonde girl walked over and sat down without looking up at her brother. Kira was a bit relieved, for now at least.
"What? Did you stay up all night studying for a change?" he teased.
"No, I just couldn't sleep. I guess it was just insomnia or something. I finally got some shut eye around one in the morning though," she answered, turning to give a glare at her brother.
Kira turned his head so she wouldn't see the bruise on his cheek, but realized she'd find it sooner or later. 'I'd prefer later. I don't want her upset right this moment, she'll see it soon though…' as the boy reasoned in his head, the blonde girl ate her breakfast quickly and silently. The only thoughts racing through her head at the moment were about a quiz she had today, the fact that she was tired, the fact her brother was trapped in a living hell, and all she wanted was to see Athrun Zala and Muruta Azraels' heads on silver platters.
Without realizing it, a dark smirk curled onto the girl's lips at the thought of the two men dead, but she then realized what she was thinking, and tried shaking it out of her head. Sure she hated them, and they disserved to die, but she shouldn't be thinking about that. Karma has nasty ways of getting back at people.
After a few more moments of shoving spoonfuls of oatmeal into her mouth, the girl swallowed quickly and stood with her bowl in her hands. She placed the spoon in the bowl and walked them over to the sink and set them down gently as to not let them crack or break. Cagalli cast a kind smile in her brother's direction, and began to walk out of the kitchen, when she felt a warm, stinging sensation on the bottom of her right foot.
From the shock and strange feeling, she yelped in surprise and slight pain before backing up, straight into her brother's chest. The girl would have fallen to the ground if Kira hadn't placed his hands firmly around her shoulders. "Cagalli you klutz! What happened?" he asked in a surprised and amused voice as he set her back down in a chair by the breakfast table. The blonde girl glared at her sibling and pulled her legs into a cross-legged position before lifting her right foot so she could look at the bottom of it.
"I don't know, I think I might have stepped on something…" she mumbled before her eyes widened slightly. "My foot's bleeding," she stated, watching as bright crimson blood began to rise from a thin line scratched into her foot.
Kira felt his eyes widen in surprise and guilt. 'It must have been part of the plate. This is my fault,' he thought silently. The brunette walked over to the sink and turned on both hot and cold faucets a small bit so it'd be warm water spewing from the nozzle, and kneeled down to open the cupboard underneath the sink to retrieve a roll of paper towel. He ripped off a piece of it and folded it a few times so it was a square barely bigger than his hand. He ran it under the water, and added a little hand soap before rubbing the soap into the towel, then turning the water off.
The boy walked back towards his sister and handed her the square to rub against the cut. The blonde smiled at him and commenced in cleaning the small nick. Kira turned and looked down at the kitchen tiles to find to offending plate shard that had escaped his eye, and he picked it up before slipping it in his pocket. "Hey Kira, can you give me a dry towel and a bandage? I'm done." Kira nodded with a grin on his lips before walking back towards the cupboard and grabbing the paper towel and a small first-aid kit. He just tossed the roll to Cagalli, who caught it and ripped off a piece to wipe her foot while he grabbed a roll of bandage linen.
A quick memory of that morning, of his self-inflicted cut bleeding, flashed through his mind before he shook it away. He brought the bandages over to his sister and she accepted them. He grabbed the paper towel roll and waited for his sister to finish up with the bandaging before taking both back and placing them back in the cupboard, the bandages stored in the first-aid kit to await for their next use. "Cagalli, you should hurry up and get changed, we'll be late for school," Kira said.
"Yeah, I'll be dressed in a minute, be right back!" she called over her shoulder as she rushed up and out of the kitchen.
Kira chuckled when he heard her curse, "Damn karma!" after hearing a thump against a wall that was his sister. He then picked up the used paper towel and walked over to the garbage can. But before dropping the used towels in it, he pulled the shard out of his pocket and wrapped in first the dry towel, then the wet, and finally dropped all three articles in the can.
Cagalli ran out of her room in her uniform with her school bag clutched in her hand with a paper or two hanging out. Bursting into the entrance room of the mansion, she found Kira waiting for her with a grin on his face. "I didn't say we were late, just that if you took too long we would be." he chuckled as he set his school bag down and walked towards his sister.
He reached over to her and fixed her tie which she'd had no time to do properly. She blushed a bit from embarrassment when he glanced down her whole uniform and sighed. Cagalli fixed her skirt and pulled it down a bit more and Kira straightened her blazer for her. Luckily that was all that needed fixing and Kira retrieved his school bag and opened the front doors for them.
As Cagalli passed Kira, she glanced up at his face and noticed the bruise on his cheek had reddened and was swelling. "Kira, what happened to your cheek?" she demanded, her eyes dropping their sleepy, hazed look. The brunette sighed and closed the door behind them before beginning to walk down the mansion front steps.
"Don't worry about it," he said in a low tone, hoping she'd get the hint.
"But Kira! It looks much worse than yesterday! What happened! I'm ordering you to tell me!" she said roughly.
She ran down the steps to catch up to her brother and when she reached him, she grabbed his arm tightly. "Kira, just tell me, please…" she asked in a quieter tone.
Kira stopped and looked down at his sister's worried face. He forced a grin to his face and placed his free arm around her shoulders, bringing her into a one armed embrace. "It's nothing, ok? I'll be fine. Nothing will ever hurt me if you're safe, all right? Please, just trust me." he whispered quietly so she was the only one that could hear him.
The blonde girl let go of his arm and returned the embrace. "I do trust you Kira, it's just that I'm worried about you," Kira silenced her by leaning down so they had direct eye contact. He smiled and placed his forehead on hers. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Having this much contact often made her calm down and fall into a warm, false sense of security created by her brother to lull her into a cushioned state of mind. It worked, but never for too long. She eventually woke up from the trance like state, but she at least got to relax while under its spell.
"Well let me do the worrying, all right? You just go crazy and have fun. Let me carry the burdens, all right? I promise I'll be more careful from now on." he breathed softly.
Cagalli took one more deep breath before opening her eyes and averting her gaze to the ground. A simple nod of her head told Kira she was fine, and he broke away from her and took a step back. A caring smile was planted on his face, and he extended his hand for her to hold. She reached out without hesitation and grasped his hand in hers.
Kira smiled at her and they began walking towards their school, hand in hand.
Lacus clutched her left shoulder as she walked towards the school. Her eyes were glazed over with unshed tears and her hair floated down her back; her bangs hid her moist eyes from curious eyes. Her school bag was clutched in her left hand. The pink haired girl stopped and rubbed her shoulder gingerly. When her fingers massaged a certain spot, she hissed in pain and grit her teeth. 'That must be where I hit it,' she thought to herself silently as she recalled what had happened that morning.
Lacus finished dressing in her uniform and began brushing her long hair. It had only acquired a few snarls during her sleep, and didn't need much brushing. But just as she was about to braid it, she glanced over at her school bag and remembered she'd dropped her razor in the desk drawer the day before. She stood from her vanity and walked over to her desk before sliding open the drawer and reaching in to grab her razor in the small plastic case.
But as soon as her fingers brushed over it, she heard her door opening and she immediately took her hand from the drawer and closed it shut. The girl spun around to see her sister standing in the open doorway of her bedroom. Lacus felt her knees shaking and tried to steady herself by placing her hand on the desktop to balance herself.
"Ohayo onee-chan. Did you sleep well?" the older girl asked as she walked slowly and gracefully towards her younger sister. Lacus tried to avoid eye contact and kept silent. She didn't want Meer to come any closer, but if she told her to leave, she'd probably laugh and just do something that made every hair on the back of the girl's neck stand on end.
"Answer me you insolent child." Meer demanded, taking hold of Lacus' wrists and pulling the girl towards her.
Lacus stared up at her older sister in shock, 'When did she get that close?' she wondered silently. Her heart began to beat faster in fear as Meer's copper eyes took on a lustful glint. Before she could tell what Meer was doing, the girl had pushed Lacus backwards, right into her desk. Lacus cried out in pain when she fell because her left shoulder came in contact with the corner of her desk before her body fell the ground.
The pink haired girl felt a throbbing in her left shoulder and groaned from the pain. Before she could try and sit up, Meer had kneeled down and reached for the girl's wrists and held them down. "Meer, get off of me!" Lacus shouted in panic. But the older girl just laughed and leaned forward, closer to her little sister's face till their lips were just centimeters away. Lacus struggled underneath the girl's weight, but it was useless. Meer was stronger and heavier than she was.
"Onee-chan, stop struggling. You know you can't get away till I get what I want," Meer purred seductively.
"Please Meer, let me go!" Lacus begged in a softer, more pleading voice.
Meer ignored her, and just as Lacus thought she would, pressed her pink-red lips against Lacus' bare ones. The kiss lasted longer than the one in the bathroom, and Lacus felt herself begin to panic. The copper eyed girl let go of her captive's right wrist and brought her hand down to Lacus' waist where she rested it on her hip. Lacus tried to use her hand to push Meer off of her, but Meer surprised her and licked her lips, causing her to freeze in shock.
Meer took that chance to part her sister's lips and her tongue entered her sister's mouth, tasting every corner. Lacus was frozen in shock, and felt tears prick her eyes as her sister's hand that was resting on her hip slowly trailed down her thigh to the hem of her skirt. Meer's fingers pulled the dark red fabric higher up her sister's leg till it was nearly at her waist before her fingers snuck towards her inner thigh.
Meer broke away from her sister when her hand brushed against her sister's body, a smirk on her lips. Lacus stared up at Meer in disbelief and shock. Meer watched the girl beneath her shake, and she let go of her other wrist and stood. Staring down at the girl below her, her smirk turned into and ugly sneer and she turned and left the room.
Lacus sat up when her bedroom door slammed and she clumsily tried to pull her skirt hem back down to her knees. With that done, she sat still for a moment and stopped breathing for a few moments. Her body broke out of the lifeless state when she felt something warm sliding down her cheek. She gently raised her hand to her cheek and wiped her eyes. The tears weren't rough or forced, they were just…drifting…down from her eyes.
The girl quickly stood and yanked her desk drawer open and ripped her razor out. She rushed into the bathroom and slammed the case down on the counter before pulling the left sleeve of her blazer up as far as she could get it. She then opened her razor case and taking the sharp blade; she pressed it against her arm a bit below her elbow, and slowly pulled the blade down her arm. A thick trail of dark crimson blood followed right after the blade and the girl sighed in relief as the blood trickled down her arm. She made shorter slashes along the main gash and dropped the blade when she felt a bit dizzy.
Looking down at her arm, her eyes widened when she saw it was covered in her blood. Her knuckles were also turning red, and blood laced around her fingers beautifully before dripping in small drops onto the white ceramic sink. Lacus quickly turned the water on and used her right hand to wash off the blood. She did so quickly and roughly till it took quite a few moments till blood would surface once again. She then took out her balm and rubbed it over her arm quickly. It only took her a moment to reach into the sink cupboard and pull out a large roll of bandages which she wrapped around her arm tightly and thickly.
When she was finished, she felt shame sit on her shoulders. She'd gone crazy from her sister's sick act, and had cut blindly. Now she had bandages on her lower arm as thick as a sleeve. She carefully rolled her sleeve down and left the bathroom. She didn't clean the mess or her razor, just left it there. Maybe with luck her sister might find it and send her away, far away, to some psychiatric ward where she'd be safe from herself.
She grabbed her school bag and winced from the growing pain in her arm as she lifted it. Without another moment wasted, she ran from her room, through the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door. She didn't want to see Meer, or think about her. She just wanted to get to school where she would be told what to do, how to do it, and given no time to think about what she did.
Sighing, Lacus just continued ahead and tried to think about nothing as she walked. But because she was thinking of nothing, her mind kept wandering to other things. She stopped again and rubbed her shoulder, and gently brushed her fingers across her arm. It made her skin burn from the contact and she bit her lip to keep from making any noise.
Glancing across the road, she saw a brunette boy wearing the Kurenai Sakura uniform holding hands with a blonde girl wearing the same uniform. She recognized the boy as Kira, but didn't know who the girl was. 'Maybe she's his girlfriend?' she wondered, a bit curious. Trying to banish that morning's incident to the back of her mind, she put on a happy façade and took a deep breath. "Hey Kira!" she shouted to get the boy's attention.
When he turned to look in her direction, she smiled and ran across the street to meet them.
"Morning Kira." Lacus greeted as she came to stand beside him.
"Uh, good morning Lacus," Kira replied back, a kind smile on his lips.
Lacus smiled at Kira and looked down to his side where the blonde girl was standing very close to his arm. The older girl felt the blonde's gaze scanning her, and she offered her right hand.
"I'm Lacus Clyne, Kira's friend. Who are you?" Lacus asked politely.
With a small nudge from her brother, Cagalli reached out and shook the girl's hand. "I'm Cagalli, Kira's sister."
Lacus took a step back and looked over Cagalli, then Kira. Her cerulean eyes lingered on his face for a moment, and she smiled. "You two look cute together." she finally said, earning a blush from both siblings. Kira chuckled and glanced in the direction of the school.
"We should get going before we're late." he stated.
Both girls nodded and the three walked in the direction of the school.
Upon reaching the school, Kira stopped near the High School steps and gave his sister a quick hug around her shoulders. The girl smiled at him warmly before running towards the Middle School steps where her friends were waiting. When Cagalli was gone, Lacus turned to Kira who had begun to walk towards the High School. "Hey Kira! Wait a minute," she called. The boy turned around and waited for her to walk up to him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Where did that bruise on your cheek come from?" she asked with a look of concern in her eyes.
"Uh, my father and I were playing football, and I missed with my hands. I guess I'm not a very good football player. Besides, Zala punched me there yesterday. It was bound to bruise soon enough," he said quickly, as though just coming up with it.
Lacus nodded to show she believed him. 'I don't believe that story for a minute. That boy punched Kira in the jaw, not the face.' the pink haired girl thought to herself silently. But she said nothing and followed Kira into the school.
Cagalli placed her school bag in her locker and grabbed her books and binders she'd need till lunch, and shut her locker door with a bit of difficulty. Stellar stood next to her with all her books and binders in her arms. "C'mon Cagalli! Perk up, it's Friday!" the magenta eyed girl chirped. Cagalli looked over at her friend and smiled.
'Leave it to Stellar to try and perk everyone up,' she thought in a friendly way.
The two girls then joined Shinn and Ahmed and began walking to their classroom. Cagalli looked over to her tan skinned friend and saw he looked a bit tired. "Hey, Ahmed, are you all right?" she asked curiously.
"Yea, are you sure you're not still sick?" Shinn added.
"You might be causing more harm to your body by coming to school sick," Stellar piped in.
"Don't worry about me. I am a bit tired, but I think the flu is gone." the boy declared.
"Flu? I thought you said it was a cold…" Shinn said, narrowing his eyes and inching a bit away from his friend.
"Ah shut up Shinn. I just have a weak immune system, that's all." Ahmed snapped.
"That's because you don't eat enough vegetables stupid." Cagalli said matter-of-factly.
Stellar smiled nervously as her friends all began glaring darts at each other. "TGIF…Thank God it's Friday…" she chuckled, trying to break the tension between her friends.
Reaching their homeroom, the four split into pairs, and took their seats at the double desks. Cagalli and Stellar were on the far left of the classroom by the large window, and Shinn and Ahmed were in the double desk behind them. Cagalli was busy looking out the window into the large courtyard that the High School cafeteria was connected to. There was a very large sakura tree growing in the center of the courtyard. The blossoms, instead of being a light pink, were red: so forth the school's name.
"Good morning Cagalli!" a voice called, breaking Cagalli from her trance.
Turning around, Cagalli saw Katie sitting at the double desk beside her and Stellar. The auburn haired girl had her hair in a high ponytail and a small braid hung down by her right ear.
"Morning." Cagalli said back.
The bell rang then and their teacher stood to go shut the door so any late students would be noticed. The students in the classroom all took their seats and stopped chatting. Cagalli rested her chin on her hand and waited for the morning announcements like the other students. 'You're right Stellar. Thank God it's Friday…' she thought to herself, averting her gaze back out the window and up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to join together and become thicker. Their coloring was beginning to darken as well. 'A storm?' the blonde girl wondered curiously.
Kira took his seat in Ms. Ramius' room and Lacus took her seat next to him. They were able to pass through the halls without bumping into the 'Three Stooges' and got into the classroom quite early. Ms. Ramius had left the room to go fill her thermos with coffee, and would be back in a minute. Kira was just staring off into nothing, and Lacus was watching him intently.
The girl broke her gaze and turned to inspect her left arm. She ran her fingers over the area underneath her elbow. Her eyes winced as she felt a burning sensation of pain run through her arm. A small groan of pain fell from Lacus' lips and Kira broke out of his stare to glance over at her. "Lacus, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. Lacus looked over and widened her eyes in embarrassment.
"Oh, yes I'm fine. I just, bumped my arm this morning. That's all," she answered, averting her eyes to her desk.
Kira would have pressed further since he could tell something was wrong, but the teacher walked in at that moment.
Ms. Ramius glanced around the room quickly to see only some of the students were there, the three nerds that sat in the middle right area of the classroom, and Kira and Lacus in the front row. "Good morning Lacus, Kira-" she began, but stopped when Kira turned his head to smile at the teacher. Before Kira could understand what was happening, Ms. Ramius' face was inches away from his and she was examining the bruise on his face.
"Kira, where did this come from? It looks painful, where did you get this?" she demanded, as if a mother asking her child where he put her purse before a date.
"Uh…um, I was playing football with my father, and I missed the ball." Kira stumbled over his words as he spoke.
Lacus watched him intently, her eyes never leaving his. 'Why do his eyes look so nervous? If anything, he would probably be embarrassed. And his story can't be fully true; he told me that it was so bad because Athrun had punched him there earlier. But, his story doesn't add up.' Lacus thought to herself silently.
Ms. Ramius finally left Kira alone when the bell rang and the students poured into the classroom. She told the students to pull their books out and turn to page 340, but Lacus hesitated a moment. She continued to stare at Kira, a concerned and curious look on her face. 'Kira, what are you hiding?' she asked herself, unknowing of the horrific answer.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Shinn declared as the small group made their way to the cafeteria.
Stellar giggled, "I'm sure you could if you were hungry enough."
"Hooves and all!" Ahmed declared with a chuckle.
Shinn glared at his stupid friend and mumbled a curse or two. Cagalli observed her friends with amusement.
The group passed by a locker area, and a girl looked up as they passed. She was standing by a group of girls that were squealing something or other. She closed her locker and hurried over to Cagalli and her friends. "Hey, Cagalli!" The girl shouted out as she ran up to the blonde.
"Oh, Katie. Do you need something?" the amber eyed girl asked.
"I was wondering, if it would be all right if I accompanied you to lunch?" the aqua eyed girl asked.
"That would be fine!" Stellar spoke up for Cagalli.
Katie smiled and walked alongside Cagalli as they walked towards the cafeteria.
Sitting down at their usual table, the five students began eating before talking. Katie looked around at the others, and averted her eyes to the tabletop. "Hey, did you guys hear about the transfer student?" she asked.
"What?" Cagalli asked, looking up from her lunch her brother had made for her.
"Transfer student?" Stellar asked, curiosity filling her head.
Katie nodded, "Yes, there's a transfer student in the ninth grade. He just transferred from a school in Europe." The auburn haired girl explained.
Shinn chewed and swallowed his large mouthful of pizza and guzzled down his chocolate milk.
"Europe? You mean some British kid got into Kurenai Sakura?" Ahmed asked in disbelief.
"Yea, uh, no…See, he used to go to a school here, but apparently he was sent to a boarding school in Europe. And now he's back and coming here."
"Is that so?" Stellar asked.
"Do you know what he looks like?" Cagalli asked curiously.
"Uh, no. I didn't hear anything about that. I did hear something or other that he can play the piano." Katie answered; a bit flustered that she couldn't tell her friend the information she wanted.
The group continued eating, making small conversation but otherwise not doing anything. Shinn looked up when the cafeteria doors opened and he sighed. "Great, here they come…" he mumbled with food still in his mouth. Stellar kicked him from under the table.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth!" she chastised him as would a mother.
"Hey, there's a new guy with them!" the black haired boy said with mild interest.
Ahmed stood from his seat to get a better look since he was a bit vertically challenged.
"I see him, hard not to since he's not wearing the red uniform…" the tan skinned boy stated as he sat back down.
"That must be the transfer student then." Katie added. "Since he's so new, he's probably just wearing his old uniform. He should get his Kurenai Sakura uniform by tomorrow," she finished.
The group of people that just entered the cafeteria began to walk towards a nearly empty table a few feet away from Shinn and their table. The black haired boy groaned loudly. "Great, now we have to listen to them talk! If I have to sit through them again, I'll snap!" The others at the table chuckled at Shinn's words. At least, until the noisy group of ninth graders walked past them.
Cagalli looked over her shoulder out of curiosity as did Stellar, to see what the transfer student looked like. Though a few people were in the way, the two blonde girls could see the white uniformed student stuck in the middle of the group. Cagalli saw light green hair, but was too far away to see his eyes. Stellar turned and began a conversation with Katie about something. Cagalli watched as the loud ninth graders sat down, nearly fighting over who sat next to the white clad boy. She didn't take her eyes off the back of the green haired boy's head till Shinn exclaimed loudly, "Why oh why, must ninth graders eat lunch at the same time as eighth graders?"
"Shinn…everyone eats lunch at the same time…" Ahmed reminded his red eyed friend.
"I know, but why?"
The girls chuckled at Shinn's desperate behavior as more ninth graders entered the cafeteria, filling the large room with even more noise.
"Why are ninth graders so loud?" he called, nearly loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"Shinn, settle down, will you?"
Miriallia hurried across the courtyard towards the red sakura tree. When she finally reached it, she sighed and sat down next to Lacus who sat across from Kira. "Sorry I'm late guys, Ms. Badgiruel held me back to talk to me about something," the auburn haired girl explained briefly.
"About what?" Kira asked curiously.
"Oh, she wanted to ask me about something, it was nothing." she answered.
Kira shrugged off her answer and continued to eat his lunch. Lacus ate hers silently, and Miriallia ate hers while watching Lacus. The auburn haired girl looked up at her brown haired friend, and her eyes lingered on his bruised cheek. He had explained to her before Math that it was caused by a football. But she didn't buy his story, and looking at Lacus, she didn't buy it either.
When the lunch bell rang, the trio packed up their lunches and stood to head back to the school. As Mir and Lacus stood, Mir accidentally nudged the pink haired girl's left arm. Lacus yelped in pain and surprised her two friends as she fell back onto her knees, clutching her left arm tightly. Kira immediately kneeled down and placed a hand on her right shoulder. "Lacus, what's wrong?" he asked urgently with a concerned look in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm fine! I think I just pulled something in my arm, that's all…" Lacus answered immediately.
"Are you sure?" Kira asked, a bit suspicious.
"Yes, I'm fine. It's all right Kira," the girl assured him.
The boy stood and reached a hand down to Lacus to help her up. She stood with his help and she smiled at him softly. 'Almost, apologetically.' Mir noticed. "Hey Miriallia, I have to go talk to Ms. Ramius. I'll meet you at Home Ec in a few minutes. Lacus, want to come along?" the boy asked, looking directly into the pink haired girl's eyes. Lacus could see that Kira was pretty much ordering her to come along, so she nodded.
"Uh, ok. See you there then," the auburn haired girl said.
Kira grinned and grabbed Lacus' right wrist before dragging her along with him towards the school. They didn't stop till Kira led Lacus to an empty hallway.
"Kira, didn't you want to talk to Ms. Ramius?" the girl asked curiously.
"Actually Lacus, I wanted to talk to you." He stated a bit harshly.
Lacus shifted uncomfortably under her friend's stare.
"Lacus, what's wrong with your arm?" the brunette demanded.
"I told you, I must have pulled something," she replied, averting her gaze to the floor.
"I don't believe you," Kira answered.
Without warning, the boy reached forward and grabbed Lacus' left hand. He then pulled the blazer sleeve up as far as it would go, and gasped at what he saw. Lacus couldn't look, and kept her eyes away from Kira and her arm.
The thick bandaging she'd put on that morning was not enough to stop the blood flow, and long slivers of dark red bled through the white bandage. The slivers illuminated the slashes Lacus had done to herself that morning. "Lacus," Kira began, but couldn't finish because Lacus pulled her arm back and slid her sleeve down in the blink of an eye.
"Lacus, why did you," Kira began, but stopped when the girl trembled and nearly fell to her knees. The lavender eyed boy reached forward and supported the girl by holding her shoulders.
"Please Kira, I can't tell you. Just, don't ask, just don't…" the pink haired girl begged, tears behind her eyes.
Kira sighed and pulled Lacus into a comforting embrace, like the one he'd given Cagalli that morning. The boy rubbed her back in a soothing way, and Lacus took in deep breaths.
"All right, I won't." He declared after a moment. "But only if you promise me something,"
"What?" Lacus asked, breaking away from the embrace and looking into up into his eyes.
"Don't hurt yourself like this. It's not healthy, do you understand me?" Kira asked with a protective edge to his voice.
Lacus nodded and Kira smiled softly with understanding.
"I don't want you to hurt yourself like this, it isn't the way to solve your problems…" he said, feeling a bit guilty from what he was saying.
Lacus averted her gaze to the hall tiles, "What gives you any right to tell me about my problems?" she asked with a little more bitterness than she wanted. She quickly looked up into his face with and apologetic look in her eyes.
"I'm not telling you about your problems, I'm just saying you're handling it the wrong way. But I do know what the feeling is, to be driven so far to have to slit your own flesh and cause yourself pain just to feel better. And I don't want to know that you're hurting yourself to feel better," Kira explained softly, his eyes softening and giving instant comfort to the girl.
Lacus took a moment to take in his words, and felt a strange sensation in her chest. 'He knows what it's like? To be so far off the edge, all you see is the wall you fell from? He couldn't know what goes on in my life…But maybe…he does?'
Looking into Kira's eyes, Lacus saw the reflection of her own eyes. The worry, concern, and the look of overwhelming strain. She saw it in his eyes.
"I…believe you, Kira…" she whispered.
Kira smiled at her and hesitantly reached a hand and delicately used his finger to wipe away her tears still clinging to her eyes. The girl looked up at him with a warm smile on her lips and a light pink in her cheeks.
"Come on, we'll be late if we take any longer," he told her.
"Right, let's go." she replied.
(Skipping to the end of the school day because I can and it's freakin 1:30 in the morning and there's still nearly 1/3 of story left to type and I'm tired!)
Cagalli waved to Stellar as her blonde friend walked home. Shinn and Ahmed were picked up by Mrs. Asuka and had left a few minutes ago. Katie had to go and talk to their Math teacher for help on a certain homework problem and would be coming back soon. The amber eyed girl looked down at her school bag and opened it to look inside and make sure she had all of her books and binders.
But as she fingered the book spines, she widened her eyes in surprise. She'd grabbed her Science book instead of her Math book. "Damn it all," she mumbled. Turning and hurrying back into the Junior High, she quickly walked down the halls incase a teacher was watching them, hurrying to her locker.
When she got only a hallway away from her locker area, she broke into a run and dashed down the hallway, and turned quickly. But much too quickly because she bumped into someone walking in the hallway.
Impact made both students fall to the ground, dropping whatever was in their hands. Luckily, all of Cagalli's things were in her bag, so she didn't have a mess. But the victim had dropped everything they'd been carrying. "Gomen nasai! I didn't see you in the hallway, I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going," the blonde girl stuttered out in embarrassment while staring at the tiled floor.
"Don't worry, it's all right." a boy's voice answered.
Cagalli looked up and her eyes widened. 'He's the transfer student!' she said to herself silently.
"Here, let me help you," she began reaching for one of the books on the ground.
"No, it's all right. I've got it. A beautiful girl like you doesn't need to do anything," he replied in a chivalrous tone.
The blonde girl looked at the boy in front of her, looking him over. His hair was a light green and sort of wavy, and it had a soft look to it. It fell to nearly touch his shoulders. His eyes were a soft brown and made Cagalli think of floating when she looked into them. His body wasn't very macho; in fact it was slim enough to look feminine, even with the uniform. His skin was a pale ivory and looking at his hands, Cagalli could see he had long and slender fingers. He didn't look much taller than her either.
"I have to help, it'll guilt my conscience if I don't." she joked.
He just shook his head in amusement and they cleared the mess.
Cagalli helped him by picking up the books that had scattered around them. When they'd finished, they stood and the girl handed the boy the books. He took them with a smile that made his whole face light up.
"Thank you very much, but you didn't need to help me." he said yet again.
"But it was my fault, I crashed into you," Cagalli stated with a bit of embarrassment evident in her voice.
"I'm Cagalli by the way, Azrael Cagalli." she stated. She would have held out her hand, but the boy's hands were full.
"So Cagalli's your name? It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl like yourself." he declared, bringing a bright red blush to the girl's cheeks.
"Um, thanks. What's your-" but she was cut off when the boy looked up at a clock hanging on the wall.
"Oh, I have to go. I'll see you around!" he called over his shoulder as he hurried down the way she'd come.
Cagalli stared after him for a moment, but then hurried to her locker to exchange the books, unaware of the figure watching her.
The blonde left the school building and hurried down the stairs to go and wait by the High School steps for her brother. But as she was waiting, a shadow fell over her, and she looked up, expecting to see Kira. Her smile faded into a thin set frown and her eyes hardened into a steady glare.
"Zala, what do you want?" she spat, balling her right hand into a fist.
The blue haired boy smirked down at her and his green eyes lit up with lust.
"You of course," he said in his deep voice as he laced and arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
"Let go of me you snake!" Cagalli demanded, pushing against his chest in and attempt to release herself from his grasp.
"Why would I want to do that little one?" he asked, bringing his face down closer to hers.
Cagalli tensed when he stopped, their faces only inches apart. Athrun brought up his free hand and rested it on her cheek. He slowly slid his fingers across her skin till they rested under her chin. Tilting her face up towards him, he began to lower his lips closer to hers, till Cagalli brought up her knee into his family jewels and pushed away from him.
"Don't you touch me! Got it?" the blonde girl demanded, anger written all over her face.
"You, are proving quite defiant, aren't you?" he asked, nearly unfazed by her attack.
Cagalli glared at him and would have tried to hit him again had he not moved closer to her and grabbed both her wrists, pulling her against his chest yet again. The blonde girl glared up at him and tried to bring up her leg again but he pressed his own foot on hers.
"Let go of me you bastard!" she demanded in frustration.
"Make me." he countered, a victorious smirk on his face.
"Let her go." a third voice demanded in a steely voice.
Athrun turned his head to find Kira and Lacus not too far behind him. He smirked upon seeing the bruise on Kira's cheek.
"Well now, if it isn't Azrael. Lucky for you I'm in a sparing mood, so I won't beat the fuck out of you for interrupting." he sneered.
"Let her go Zala," Kira continued, a dark look in his eyes. Lacus noticed the immediate change, and felt a strange feeling come over her. A feeling of cold hatred.
Athrun ignored him and let go of Cagalli's right wrist to slid his hand down her back to rest on her hip. The blonde tried to push him away again, but it was useless.
Instead, she relaxed and let herself be supported by the boy's chest. Just enough so his grip wouldn't be as tight, and then she used her elbow to push against him and break out of his grasp. Cagalli then ran towards her brother and turned to glare at Athrun who was staring at her and Kira.
"Isn't that cute. Is the reason you hate me so much because you prefer your brother to other guys?" the bluenette asked with a sneer on his face.
Cagalli felt her anger boil in her stomach and she was about to run back and attack the dumb-fuck who dared insult her and Kira, when she felt Lacus' hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Kira kept still as a stone wall, glaring at the green eyed boy the whole time. Finally, as though a bell chimed calling out to him, Athrun turned to leave. But not without one final glance at Cagalli. The girl felt her stomach drop. The look in his eyes was dark and full of something other than just plain lust. It looked more like, desire…and it scared her.
When he was finally out of sight, Kira turned to his little sister and looked her straight in the eyes. "Cagalli, are you all right? He didn't do anything to you?" he asked in an over concerned tone. Lacus watched him with fascination. He was acting as though his sister was some sacred treasure that someone had just attempted to destroy. Cagalli replied a yes to her brother's questions and he sighed in relief.
"C'mon, let's just go home all right?" he stated more than asked, and they turned to leave. Just before they left though, Kira turned around and smiled at Lacus, "You're welcome to come along till we pass your street if you want," he offered. The pink haired girl smiled and hurried after them. Cagalli glanced up at her brother and gave him a curious look, but just shrugged it off.
Walking up the stone steps to the mansion, Kira took the house key from his school bag and unlocked the door before they stepped inside. As soon as they were inside, they both kicked off their shoes and walked into the family room to set their bags down.
"I'm gonna go change," Cagalli said as usual before heading towards the hallway that led to her bedroom.
Kira also went to his bedroom to change. He wanted to check his wrist as well without Cagalli walking in on him.
Cagalli entered the family room and headed toward the couch in front of the table so she could start her homework. She'd just cracked open her Math textbook when Kira reentered the room. He gave her a smile before sitting down next to her and pulling out his own homework.
Cagalli finished her Math assignment and began her Social Studies homework around the time her brother finished all of his homework. She glanced over at him and glared in jealousy. "You always finish up so fast, it's not fair!" she pouted playfully.
Kira chuckled and placed a hand on her head before ruffling her hair. "If I didn't finish so quickly, I wouldn't be able to make us dinner smart one," he teased before walking off into the kitchen.
Cagalli watched him go and looked back down at her assignment. "I guess it's just you and me then," she sighed before flipping through the text book to the specified page and beginning her work.
Forty-five minutes later, Kira reentered the family room to find his sister nearly falling asleep over her assignment. "Almost done?" he asked.
"Yea, and I think I'll go to bed early tonight. Right after dinner…" she mumbled before yawning loudly. "History always makes me sleepy," she added before standing up and following her brother into the kitchen.
The two sat down at the kitchen table where their food awaited them. Cagalli yawned again before picking up her chopsticks and beginning her dinner. Kira ate a bit faster than his sister, but that was because his mind was elsewhere, on another person.
"Hey Kira, I'm done. I think I'll just go to bed now. Thanks for dinner." she added before leaning down and kissing him quickly on the cheek.
"Night Cagalli, sweet dreams," he said softly.
As his sister walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway, he heard a slight 'thump' and a quiet curse of "Damn Karma…" from his sister. He chuckled before he cleaned up the places at the table.
After he brought them all to the sink, he washed the plates before setting them in the drying rack to dry. He could have used the dishwasher, but he wanted something to do. Then walking into the family room, he decided to put his sister's things away and then clear his own mess before placing their school bags on the counter in the kitchen. He then walked back into the family room and saw it was already nine fifty two. 'He'll be here any minute,' the boy thought to himself.
Just then, he heard the front door being unlocked and opened, followed by footsteps coming in, and then the door being closed and locked once again.
Kira turned around when the footsteps echoed through the hall, and then stopped outside the family room. There, standing in the family room doorway, was Muruta with a vile smirk on his face. "Kira, I'm glad to see you're still awake." he said with a dark look in his eyes. "Now come here," he ordered. The boy complied and stepped across the room towards the man.
Kira felt his heart beat quicken and his eyes showed his fear of what would happen next.
Muruta reached into his pocket and pulled his hand out to be holding something. Kira stopped a few footsteps away from the man. His breathing quickened slightly as Muruta advanced on him. "Aren't you an obedient dog? Sometimes I wonder if you have any spirit left in you," the man spoke, his words like poison to the boy's ears.
The blonde man reached forward and grabbed Kira roughly by the shoulder before pulling him towards himself. Muruta twisted Kira around so that his back was to Muruta. The man then pulled the boy closer to him so he had a clear view of his neck. The blue eyed man then raised his other hand to reveal a syringe filled with a clear liquid which he promptly plunged the needle into a certain spot in the back of Kira's neck. The boy hissed in pain, making the smirk on Muruta's face turn into a twisted grin. The liquid inside the syringe was then injected into Kira's neck slowly, causing the boy to groan in pain.
It was then when his vision began to fog up and become hazy. His body felt his strength instantly receding, and his head felt heavy. Pain raced up and down his spine, going through his arms and chest and then his head. It only intensified when Muruta landed his first punch.
All Kira could contemplate was the pain, and the words Muruta was saying to him in that hateful voice of his. It was constant pain and suffering, for he didn't know how long. This was what happened nearly every night, Muruta would inject him with whatever the fuck it was, and his body would be reduced to a shell. He couldn't have fought back if he wanted to. All he felt was pain, echoing through his body.
And then, it began to fade, till all he could feel was the pain's echo still raging in his body, and the soft carpet beneath him. He heard Muruta leave the room after he said something, and he just laid there on the ground for a few minutes. Just breathing and trying to grow accustomed to the pain. Kira tried to get up, but his body wouldn't comply. 'I have to get up, damn it,' he ordered himself. He grit his teeth as he sat up and slowly got up onto his feet.
Kira then slowly and unsteadily made his way towards the hallway that led to his bedroom. He just barely made it to his door and opened it before a shockwave of pain rang through his body. The brown haired boy dragged himself to his bed, and fell down on it in exhaustion. He just wanted to sleep. Fall asleep and wake up from this nightmare.
Sleep came to him easily, and as soon as his brain shut down into sleep mode, the pain disappeared.
I'm tired…so tired…it's freakin 5:40 am and I've been typing this all Tuesday and Wednesday morning! 13 pages, 9,608 words (I think,) and I can finally fall asleep! Not to mention my wonderful reviewers will be super happy! I've explained Kira's weakness against Muruta, got a Kira-Lacus moment, Kira found out about her cutting, there's a transfer student who has the hots for Cagalli, there was a scene with Athrun and Cagalli, and I updated! But since it's so long, I won't make any more super long chapters! Takes too much time and energy and time I can spend sleeping or typing other story chapters. I'll stick to the 6,000 give or take a few hundred lines.
Anyway, please find it in your hearts to review for me because I slaved over this all of my Tuesday! and I missed Inuyasha on AdultSwim for you people! And I missed the encore! Now show me some respect and review! (Starts throwing a temper tantrum) If you don't review…I'LL DO SOMETHING REALLY BAD TO THIS STORY! DON"T PUT IT PAST ME! Now please everybody, review!
Your tired authoress, Sam...ZZZZZZ...(Drool)...ZZZ
