Disclaimer: I do not, in any way shape or form own any of the characters or anything having to do with Gundam Seed.
ALSO, this is an AU. There are youkai (demons) as well as humans, and hybrids (well….there's one hybrid). Let me know if you guys want a background chapter to tell you what this universe is like.
Happy fourth of July everyone! Or, everyone in the US. Everyone else, today is independence day for us:)
Sorry it's been so long. Lots of stuff combined with lots more stuff happened and continued to happen until I honestly couldn't remember where I'd been headed with ANY of my stories.
That's why current chapters (for all my stories) aren't that good.
Ummm…oh yeah! Why I finally started writing again! I FINALLY GOT THE SERIES! Whole collection! Fifty eps plus the movie for 38 and a half dollars!
Course, I haven't had any time to watch them yet what with the crap I'm stuck doing, but they're here next to me egging me on.
So…I hope you like it and please let me know what you think!
Experiment
Last time:
"Athrun, I didn't see him in the rangers' office when we came up and he refused to show me his badge. Also, he seems a lot more interested in what we saw around the crash then in how it happened or how we are."
"…what are you saying?"
"I think…Athrun; I think he's looking for Mr. Bear."
Chapter 9: Ranger
-------------------------
A wave of relief hit Athrun. And here I thought something was wrong.
"Great! Now we can hand our guest over to people who-."
"Athrun how could you?" Lacus was near tears.
"…what?"
"Whoever had him before let that happen to him!" she gestured at the closed bathroom door. "How could you even consider giving him back?"
"Lacus, I'm sure he was well taken care of back…wherever he was before. If this ranger is here for Mr. Bear, he'll know what he is and how to treat the remaining wounds. It's a fact."
She gazed up at him, eyes watering. When she spoke, it was with a voice that shook. "But what if they're mean to him? Shove him in a little cage and do experiments?"
Her boyfriend opened his mouth to reply then closed it with a snap as a sudden memory came to mind.
FLASHBACK
It was too banged up to really identify, but judging from the thick metal and twisted, bent bars that might have once been a door (they were too mangled to keep any being in or out anymore), it was a cage. Probably for an extremely dangerous animal.
END FLASHBACK
With a low groan, Athrun removed his thick gloves and brushed back a wayward strand of hair. Dammit, she's never wrong, is she? Even without having seen the cage at the crash, she guessed about the creature's…owners? Handlers? Whoever they are.
A sniffle brought him back to meet her puppy eyes.
"Alright."
"What?" she really hadn't expected to win this one, no matter how compelling her beliefs. After all, withholding evidence from the police was considered a criminal offense.
Although I don't think rangers are police. Not exactly.
"Look, I didn't…tell you everything I found at the crash site."
"What do you mean?"
"There was…a cage." Her eyes widened. "Or at least I'm pretty sure that's what it once was. It was dented all over and covered inside and out with blood."
"Mr. Bear…" her voice was a horrified whisper.
"Looks like. However, I-."
"Miss? Excuse me, did you find your boyfriend?"
A foreign voice, obviously masculine but not remarkably deep, called from the front room.
Athrun went rigid and shot a pointed glance at Lacus.
"It's him, the ranger."
"You let him inside?"
"I couldn't leave him standing on the front step!"
"Miss? Hello? Are you lost?" footsteps echoed from the direction of the living room.
"I'll be with you in a moment! He's just getting out of the shower."
Her call seemed to mollify the intruder judging by the cessation of footsteps.
"Shower?"
"Well you can't wear that to see him!" she gestured at the soaked padding he'd donned to handle Mr. Bear.
With a light blush, he nodded and retreated to his room, stopping in the doorway.
"Why don't you go offer him some refreshments while I change? Even if he's a fake, he'll be asking questions about the crash so keep the story as true as possible. By now they'll have found the hover car so we can't deny being there."
"Alright. So we went to see the crash, found the wreckage covered in blood, then ran?"
"Good, yeah, that works."
Lacus disappeared into the living room, followed minutes later by a freshly clothed Athrun.
Neither of them noticed as a draft jarred the bathroom door open slightly. And no one was there to see when, several minutes later, a curious violet eye appeared in the resulting crack.
Kira had watched the male human leave with apprehension and the anxious, muffled sounds outside the door strengthened the emotion.
Is something wrong? Are they going to put me back in the cage while they deal with it?
Silence fell as the two separated, leaving him alone in the bathroom. Oh well, can't be that important. They wouldn't leave me here if it was. Now what's this thing the human left for me?
Emerging from his defensive position, Kira drew the towel off his back and sniffed at it. Soap, humans, and a vague bite of ammonia (1) made him sneeze and blink in surprise. The scent was a cross between the clothes he was supposed to be wearing and the soapy bathwater back before it became dirty.
He said it was for me to dry myself. But I'm not that wet, all I need is one good shake and… he paused, recalling how careful the human had been while giving him the bath. Oh. Maybe not. I guess I could give this a try.
Slowly, he rubbed the moisture off one arm and paused, twitching both ears. It feels like the washcloth only…warm. Gaining confidence, he wrapped it over his back and around his legs, thoroughly absorbing the droplets of water.
But when the towel reached his neck, he paused in uncertainty. I didn't get clean any further up. The human was scared I'd bite him. And honestly, I might have. But now… The dirt and dried blood felt uncomfortable on his face and in his hair.
Maybe…eyeballing the somewhat murky water left in the tub (Athrun hadn't wanted the draining sound to scare his charge so the water was still there), Kira shuffled towards it and leaned over the edge, propping his clawed hands on the porcelain lip in the process.
Hesitantly, he shifted into a kneeling position and reached out to cup some of the liquid in his hands. After a cursory sniff he let it run through his fingers back into the tub then rubbed his face with the resulting wet hands. It might not get rid of that gritty feeling completely but there is no way I'm going to temporarily incapacitate my eyes and nose by dunking them in that…well, it used to be water.
He washed his hair in the same fashion; filling his hands and carefully dripping onto the top of his head before spreading the wetness around. Ears were done with a bit more care because he didn't want to leave blood in the fur.
Feeling highly pleased and proud with his accomplishment, Kira finished by performing a final rub down with the towel.
And the human left some sort of covering over there so…huh.
The donated sweats were strange to Kira. Long, with elastic in the waistband and a soft interior, they barely resembled the shorts he'd worn previously. But there are only so many ways to put pants on and one way to wear them so once Kira realized he needed to stand on two legs or lay on the floor to get them on, the process was completed without a hitch.
Finishing up, he happened to glace behind the sink at a strategically placed mirror…and shot backwards into a fighter's crouch hissing and snarling.
What? Who is! Is that me?
Suspiciously, with a low growl still threatening the inanimate object from deep in his chest, the hybrid slunk forward a few inches.
I think so but…I looked so different before the bath! He raised one hand and watched in shock as the mirror copied him.
I guess the dirt and blood and stuff changed how I looked. The only mirrors I saw…Back THERE…were really tiny and brought out while I was in animal form. Except my water dish and it was easier to drink from in quadripedal forms. Huh. I look…human. Well, almost. What happened to my hair?
Twists and tangles were snarled all through the dark strands, eliciting a rather disgusted look from Kira. Having spent part of his life in feline form, such disarray was practically offensive.
The thought occupied his mind for only the barest fraction of a second; up until a single slight ray of light cut across the reflection.
What's that? Reverting to all fours, Kira followed the light to the door and flipped his ears, now those of a deer, forward in surprise. It's open? Why would they leave it open?
Wait…they didn't. I clearly remember the male shutting it.
After peering through the crack to make sure he wouldn't get in trouble (not like they could really do anything to him but he didn't want to disappoint or offend the people treating him so well), he nudged the door open and crept into the hallway.
Voices, two familiar and one unknown, were speaking nearby, most likely behind one of the closed doors in his line of sight.
All of which are locked or at least closed in such a way that I can't get through just like they were when we passed them a while ago. I could just knock one down but my strength isn't completely back yet. Besides, I doubt the humans would be happy if I destroyed something. Quelling a surge of disappointment; the whole point of coming out had been to look around; Kira pushed himself to two legs and wandered down the corridor towards the voices, using the wall as a support.
"So you two are out here on vacation?"
"That's right Mr. Ranger. We thought it would be romantic." Lacus positively beamed at the ranger, radiating innocence and harmlessness.
Athrun just hoped she wasn't overdoing it.
Upon arriving in the living room, he'd realized instantly why Lacus didn't trust the interloper. The man, introduced as Ranger Dearka Elfman, had curly blonde hair, a tan complexion, and laughing heliotrope eyes that looked woefully out of place in the middle of a forest. And not out of place like a foreigner, out of place like a person who would rather be anywhere but where he was. His responses to their story only cemented Athrun's opinion.
As the man smirked in response to Lacus' answer, Athrun felt annoyance rise.
"I believe we've already made that clear."
"Ah yes, of course." There was no apology forthcoming. "You two saw the ship hit, went to check it out, found it covered with blood, ran away, and broke the hover car just far enough away to escape the bulk of the blast. Right?"
"That's right."
"The two of you."
"Yeah."
"Uh-huh." Athrun felt his palms turn sweaty at the disbelieving response. "If that's the case, then why did the experts say your transport has three passengers rather than two?"
Oh crap! Wait a minute…
"Experts?" raising a skeptical eyebrow, Athrun threw the question right back. "Why do you have experts looking at my car? Was there something stolen?"
"Not important." The answer came too quickly, almost nervously. "What is important is determining who was with you."
"Why?"
"That's classified."
"Forest rangers don't have classified information."
Ranger Elfman seemed torn between snickering and scowling but didn't address the statement.
"Look, I need to know who was with you. If you don't tell me than I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn your names over to the local law enforcement."
Athrun and Lacus exchanged glances. Yeah, right. Law enforcement? Most likely whoever created Mr. Bear. Unfortunately, they were probably about ten times more worrying than the cops.
"Please don't; he's a friend of ours."
WHAT? Athrun barely kept himself from gaping at his girlfriend.
"A friend, huh?"
"That's right. We couldn't afford the three person cabin but didn't want to leave him behind even though letting him come wasn't exactly legal."
"Huh. And this friend was with you at the crash?"
Ignoring the look she was receiving from Athrun, Lacus embellished on her story. "That's right."
"Where is he now?"
This was where things could get hairy.
"I think he decided to hide so that none of us would get in trouble for him being here. You won't get us in trouble, will you?"
"Er…" Faced with Lacus, Dearka backed down slightly. "No, no, of course not. In fact, I don't think I even need to ask your friend any questions."
Letting out a mental sigh of relief, Athrun stood.
"Great. Thank you; do you have any other questions?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Alright then."
The three stood; Dearka to leave and the other two to walk him to the door.
"Oh, wait." The ranger paused.
"Hm?"
"What's his name?"
"W-what?"
"Your friend. What's his name? I won't report any of you but it's important for us to have a name for…our records. Yeah." He didn't miss the nervous glance they shared. Well that's interesting. And oh so very suspicious.
"It's…"
"Uh…" What do we do? He doesn't have a name!
"Well?"
"Kira." The new voice was quiet but rough, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. All three humans turned toward the bedraggled figure supporting himself on the doorframe; two with utter shock, one with mild surprise.
None of them moved as the newcomer reiterated his statement clumsily. "I'm…Kira."
TBC?
REVIEW!
Ummm…yeah. Sucky chapter but it's 1:30 so I'm too tired to care. And the end wasn't quite the cliffy I was looking for but...meh.
(1) Bleach if anyone really cares.
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