Part 11

Previously-

"I apologize. That was most impolite of me. I'm just… rather stressed out over this whole affair."

"I… I know. I'll do what I can."

The man put down the phone, and in his mind appeared the starting traces of a plan.

Athrun looked at the clock on the dining room wall. It was 11 in the morning. There was just enough time to make a call before going down to the hospital to escort Cagalli – a call that he knew he had to make – but had been putting off - since he had that talk with Kira.

Was he really losing himself?

He hadn't been thinking at all when he said those things to Meyrin. He had been so worried for Cagalli, so aggravated over all the dead ends he had run into, that when Meyrin made the comment, it was like the final straw that broke the camel's back. He had been suppressing so much frustration inside him that when someone said something that irritated him in the littlest way, he just blew up.

Since that incident, Meyrin hadn't spoken to him at all, and he hadn't tried to talk to her either. He had been so obsessed with the case that he had forgotten about others around him who genuinely cared about him – like Meyrin.

I guess I owe her an apology. I… I really don't want to lose her friendship. Athrun realized, She's done so much for me…

He remembered how she had hid him from the ZAFT soldiers, how she had escaped with him, and how she had always been there for him. She had risked ruining her relationship with Lunamaria for him, and she had never blamed him for anything that happened, no matter how dire the situation was, despite the fact that it was he who had dragged her into the entire situation...

Sighing, Athrun picked up the phone and prepared to dial her number, then after a short while, he placed the phone back on the cradle. Calling her was ridiculous, he decided, after all, she only lived a few doors down. Resolutely, Athrun left his home and walked towards Meyrin's apartment.

The throbbing in her head was getting worse, and Meyrin Hawke couldn't stop sneezing. She had finished 3 boxes of tissue, and was opening her 4th box when the doorbell buzzed. Dragging herself from the couch, she managed to stumble toward the door. Pressing the button on the intercom, she nearly jumped when she saw none other than Athrun Zala on her screen.

"Ath… Athrun?" She said uncertainly.

"Erm. Yup. Hello there, Meyrin. I was… wondering if you could let me in, if it's not too inconvenient for you, that is."

"Su-Sure."

The door swung open to reveal a very guilty looking Athrun on her doorstep. However, his face swiftly changed into a look of worry and concern when he saw her.

"Meyrin, are you ok?"

"No problem. It's just a bit of the flu. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? You look… really sick. If you were a Natural I'm willing to wager that you'd be hospitalized by now."

"I'm fine, Athrun, really." Meyrin said, trying to sound reassuring. Just then, she felt a sudden spell of dizziness washed over her body, and before she knew it, a blank darkness overwhelmed her and she was on the ground.

"Alright, your bags are in the car and the guards are waiting outside. Ryo's ready, I'm ready, and by right we should have left this place half an hour ago. Are you ready to leave, Your Highness, or have you developed such strong feelings for your ward that you no longer wish to return home?" Kisaka asked wryly. Ryo fought hard to stop himself from grinning, but couldn't help but let an amused smile slip across his face.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course Kisaka. I love hospital wards, didn't you know?" She crossed her arms over her chest and started pacing the room, brows furrowed as she bit her lower lip. Where was Athrun? He said that he would be here to escort her home, but it was already half an hour past the allotted time and he still hadn't shown up.

Maybe he's in trouble… Cagalli thought anxiously. Maybe that's why he isn't here; after all, it's not like Athrun to not show up…

As if reading her mind, Kisaka sighed. "I'll call Athrun now, alright?"

"That's not – I mean – Well, erm, go ahead. I mean, why should you tell me that?"

"Because you want to know, don't you?" Kisaka replied as he smiled knowingly. He took out his phone and called Athrun, and after a while, he hung up. There was a peculiar look on his face as he turned to face Cagalli and Ryo.

"Athrun's busy with something. He's fine, don't worry." Snapping his phone shut, Kisaka walked out of the room. "Now if you don't mind Princess, we really should get back to the palace now, there's a whole lot of work that's piled up and you're needed at an important meeting this evening."

Cagalli stared at Kisaka's quickly retreating figure and felt confused once more. First Athrun, and now Kisaka – something was definitely up.

"Your Highness?" Ryo asked gently, snapping Cagalli out of her reverie.

"Oh. Oh, of course." Cagalli replied as she walked out of her ward. At the moment she stepped out with Ryo at her side, a whole swarm of guards surrounded her, but Cagalli was too perturbed to notice anything.

They're hiding things from me, I don't know what, or why – but I'm going to get to the bottom of everything.

­­­­­


Meyrin lay on her bed with a compress over her head. She had never been sicker in her life. There was a persistent banging in her head, as if someone were crashing a hammer into her skull over and over again. She was now on her 10th box of tissues, and her nose would have put Rudolph the reindeer's to shame.

Despite all of that, however, Meyrin had never been happier either.

After she had momentarily blanked out, Athrun had carried her to her bed. When she awoke, he berated her for not telling him about her sickness earlier, and then sat at her bedside for hours, effectively spending his free day sponging her forehead and taking care of her. It was almost too good to be true that she couldn't stop turning to look at him and to convince herself that this wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her. But as she felt the damp cloth being gently pressed against her forehead, she was sure that this was real.

He was now in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Meyrin smiled contentedly to herself as she stretched and gave a little sigh. Though she knew it was horribly silly of her to feel so irrationally happy, but still…

A strange ringing sounded, and Meyrin sat up straight. She wondered where it came from, and then she spotted Athrun's phone on her bedside table where he had left it after taking a call earlier in the afternoon. She stared at the flashing and wondered if she should take the call. After a while, it stopped. There was a short lapse in time, and then it started again.

After the mysterious caller had made the call 5 times, Meyrin decided that whoever it was probably needed to speak to Athrun urgently. Meyrin peered at the screen, and the words "PRIVATE LINE" flashed back at her. She picked up the phone cautiously, and then put it to her ear.

"Athrun? Are you all right? Is there something that you're not telling me? I have to know-"

"Ca-Cagalli?" Meyrin asked, recognizing her voice.

"Mey-rin? Oh, yes, this is Cagalli. I'm very sorry. I was looking for Athrun. Is he in a meeting?"

"Erm. No, he's preparing dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Erm. I see. You're at his place?"

"Well, no. He's at my place."

"Oh… um… That's early." Cagalli said, obviously puzzled, "I thought Athrun was busy with work today."

"Erm… Actually, he's been at my house the whole day."

In the next few seconds, the silence that ensued was enough to hear a pin drop. Cagalli gave a sharp intake of breath, and the hand that was holding on to the phone suddenly went rigid.

"Cagalli? Cagalli? Are you there?" Meyrin's worried voice sounded over the phone. "Erm, I realize that what I just said might have sounded a bit suggestive, what I meant was-"

"No, no, it's fine. You don't have to explain." Cagalli said, trying to keep her voice from cracking. She breathed in deeply, and then tried to make her voice sound happy.

"Enjoy your dinner then. Goodbye." Cagalli hung up before a harsh sob escaped from her throat, leaving Meyrin with a sinking feeling that she had definitely said something wrong.

Clenching her fists, Cagalli desperately tried to control the tears that were threatening to fall. After all, Ryo was in the room with her, and it was most degrading for someone of her stature to be reduced to a pathetic pile of tears by such a trivial matter.

But it isn't trivial! Her heart argued, How can if be trivial if it hurts you so much?

"Your Highness?" Ryo started uncertainly, "Is anything the matter? You seem to be… In some sort of agony."

"I… Oh… It's nothing at all." Cagalli replied, flashing Ryo a rather contrived grin.

"If there's anything I can do-"

"No, it's all right, Ryo. Really. Just – could you leave the room for a while, please?"

Seconds after Ryo closed the door behind him, Cagalli crumpled to the ground, hands over her mouth as she tried to stop herself from weeping her heart out.

Just five minutes after the fateful call, Athrun reappeared in Meyrin's room with a steaming bowl of chicken broth. Meyrin sat immobile, twiddling with her thumbs and fidgeting nervously.

"Erm… Meyrin?" Athrun asked confusedly as he set the soup down on the table.

"Cagalli called while you were making dinner. I told her you were at my house the whole day and she seemed rather upset." Meyrin replied, her expression similar to that of a child who was about to get reprimanded. "I'm sorry, I… must have said the wrong thing."

To her surprise, Athrun smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out with Cagalli." He started to walk out, "I'm going down to get the stew alright?"

"Athrun!" Meyrin blurted out before she could stop herself. He turned around to face her, a questioning look on his face.

"Aren't you… Aren't you mad at me? I mean, I'm really sorry for making you angry the other day and now –"

"No, you shouldn't be sorry." Athrun cut in, "I'm the one who should be apologizing." He walked to her side and bent down so that their eyes were level.

"Meyrin, I know you were just concerned for me. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. The truth is that I was so stressed over Cagalli that I just lost control… I… I hope you'll forgive me and forget that it ever happened, all right?" Athrun smiled sincerely, took her hands in his, and continued.

"Meyrin, you're a really good friend to me, so please forgive me, because I don't want to lose you."

And as she looked into his eyes, Meyrin knew that she would never forget that moment for the rest of her life.

There was a gentle tap on her shoulder, and Cagalli nearly shouted in shock when she saw who it was that did it.

Ryo was kneeling next to her, offering her a handkerchief, a rather awkward smile on his face.

"I'm awfully sorry for barging in without first informing you, Your Highness, but when I heard your cries I thought you might be in trouble. I just want you to know that though I may not be efficient enough to solve your every problem, but being your bodyguard, it is my job to make sure that you are not hurt – in any way at all."

Cagalli took the handkerchief from him wordlessly, and then touched, she started to cry again, but this time they were tears of gratitude.

"Thank you." She said simply. "Thank you."

It was eight at night, and Cagalli had just had the longest conversation with her bodyguard since she had met her. To her surprise, Ryo was actually quite an amiable character to talk to. He had just finished recounting a rather humorous incident that happened during his training, and was smiling at her, his eyes full of amusement.

Cagalli's eyes widened as she looked at him. As he had before, he reminded her of Ahmed…

"Ryo, if you don't mind me asking, where were you from?" She asked quietly.

Ryo hesitated, and then smiled sadly at her. "I don't know. I was… sold when I was very young. I never actually knew where I was from, and I don't really remember much of my real family either."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Nah. It's… It's ok. I'm mostly happy with the way my life turned out anyway." Ryo turned to face Cagalli, "Your Highness, could I ask you a question?"

"Erm. Sure – but that doesn't mean I'll answer it."

"Well… when we first met, you said that I… reminded you of someone." Ryo said, "would it be alright to know… just who that someone is?"

"Of course... His name was Ahmed, and he was the best friend I ever had." Cagalli replied, and all at once, the memories of her days with the Desert Dawn came flooding back. It was a bittersweet feeling, both nostalgic and sad, and Ahmed was at the centre of it all.

"Ah… How is it that I never hear you mention him then?"

"He's … He's dead."

"…I… I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry." Cagalli said, giving him a small sad smile. "Ahmed would never have wanted anyone to feel bad on his account. Never."

In the dead of the night, Kisaka was awoken purely by the gut instinct that someone was snooping around in his study. He lay still in bed, straining his ears to hear what was going on.

Very faintly, he could hear soft shuffling sounds. Then there was silence, and Kisaka wondered if he had been dreaming, but just as he was about to give up and go back to sleep, his ears picked up the sound again.

There's an intruder, he realized, He must be looking for the papers.

As silently as he could, Kisaka got out of bed and walked towards his study, a gun held firmly in his hands. He had one kept in his bedside drawer ever since the attacks started – just in case.

He inched towards the door, and as he moved, he grew more and more certain that there was someone in the next room who wasn't supposed to be there.

Finally, Kisaka flung open the door and in one fluid moment switched on the lights.

The room had been ransacked. Papers were strewn everywhere, and files had been emptied.

But what was worse was that the documents Athrun passed to him were missing. The enemy now knew what they had…

The cold night air billowed in through the open window, chilling Kisaka to his bones.

That must have been how the intruder got in – and out. He leaned over to shut it, and then shook his head wearily.

Time is running out.

A/N:

To Cari-Akira: Hey there, just to clarify – what I meant was that Lacus told Kira to talk to Athrun about his attitude towards Meyrin, not that Lacus compared Cagalli to Fllay XD Also, Kira's example was more of comparing himself with Athrun rather than Cagalli with Fllay… Much as I actually like Fllay, I don't think Cagalli and her have actually have anything in common ... Haha… So… Yup. (: