Well, back again. For me this is a pretty cool day. This is the longest story I have written, and my first story I have let others view. So I would like to thank everyone who has stuck with me this far. 11 chapters for me is an amazing thing! So thank you all! :)
Chapter 11: Nightmares and Friendship
Kira's POV:
"You left us Kira… Why should we wait for you?" Her voice rang out through the darkness around me. I felt weightless yet extremely burdened at the same time.
"No!" I yelled back, "I didn't leave, I trying to get back!" I yelled back, she had to believe me. I walked forward not, my fear of alienating my friends driving me to walk through the darkness. Without realizing it a light had begun to show, and I could now see my hand.
Then I saw them, they were standing together in the middle of the light, now glowing stronger than before. I began running, feeling an urgency I had never felt so strong before.
"You're a coordinator; of course you don't want to come back!" She said voice like ice. I then watched as they all turned away and began walking.
"No! Mir, Tolle, Sai, Kuzzey! I don't… I didn't… STOP!" I screamed, feeling my world shake. I could no longer see them, and the darkness began to enclose me again, this time feeling physical and truly constricting. I let out a cry of alarm and began thrashing against the darkness…
"KIRA!" The name startled me and I woke with a start, sitting up so quickly I hit my head on the empty bunk above me. I looked around, not registering my surroundings. Slowly Athrun's concerned filled face came into focus, he was still in his bed clothes and his hair was tussled.
"A-Athrun?" I stuttered my throat feeling tight with the after effects of the nightmare.
"Kira…" Athrun sighed, shoulders slumping with relief, "I thought I would never wake you, and then you started thrashing around… Are you ok?"
I looked down at myself, my bed clothes were wrinkled and wet with the same cold sweat that still stuck to my body. The nightmare itself was hard to remember but bits and pieces came back as I concentrated on remembering.
"Yeah…" I said after a while, but my voice was unconvincing even to me. Athrun looked at me with a critical eye. Ever since we had spoken and I had told him everything Le Creuset had said, he had been very protective of me. But to me he was already doing the best thing he could; he was simply here with me when I needed him.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"I'm sure," I said with more conviction, "it was just a nightmare. I'm fine now."
"OK then… Just tell me if something is wrong, ok?"
"Yes Athrun." I replied, feeling rather like a chastised kid. I moved to get up and Athrun moved out of the way for me, but not before giving me a questioning look. "Going for a shower." I said.
I quickly gathered some fresh clothes then moved into the small bathroom that connected to the room. Once in there I turned the shower on hot and stripped down. The water was scolding hot when I stepped in, but it done what I had intended and drove out the remaining feeling from the nightmare…
"I will never leave you…" I muttered to myself, "No matter what."…
Athrun's POV:
"Going for a shower." He said as he got up. I nodded quietly, not even sure if he saw or not and watched as he got some fresh clothes.
After he disappeared into the bathroom I slumped down onto my bed, Kira's nightmares were getting worse. If I'm tired, then how is he…I wondered vaguely.
Despite what he told me, I could tell that these nightmares were talking more than a physical toll on him; every night since he had found out the Archangel had left, I would hear him muttering the same names over and over again. Tolle, Mir, Sai, and Kuzzey.
I lay there for a while pondering how Kira protected his friends even now, even though they were naturals. How does he do it? How can he keep such close friends? I wondered, and not the first time since Kira came aboard I wondered if what we were doing was right.
I was so caught up in thought that I didn't even notice that the shower had stopped until Kira walked out, dressed in loose fitting pants and shirt.
"Feel better?" I asked, more for conversation that anything else.
"Yeah, heaps." He said with a small smile.
"How do you do that?" I blurted before I could stop myself. Kira gave me a questioning look and I realized that it was too late to stop now. "Smile, even when there is no reason to?" I elaborated.
A strange look crossed Kira's face; a mix of amusement and shock... Then he burst out laughing.
"Athrun, try not to look so serious!" He said between laughs. I looked at him, feeling as though my pride had been hurt, and put on a mock angry face.
"Humph. Fine don't answer my question then." I bristled in mock anger.
Kira must have seen through my act because he started laughing even harder, and now I couldn't help but join in. It was strange, it had been so long since I had laughed with Kira, and I immediately found myself wishing for the days when we were younger.
It took some time but eventually we stopped, and sat on our beds breathing heavily from the exertion.
"I don't know what you mean about my smile Athrun, but I haven't laughed that hard since…" Kira said breaking the silence. His abrupt stop worried me but soon he continued –although it was with less happiness in his voice- "Since before all this Gundam trouble."
I looked over at him now, he was looking at the bottom of the bunk above him with a wistful look in his eyes. I wondered if he was remembering the way it used to be with us; always being there for each other, laughing and having fun.
"Do you miss it?" I asked without thinking. It just felt so natural to talk my mind at the moment... Just like I had when we were younger.
"Miss what?" Kira asked, a frown now creasing his forehead.
"The days when we were younger, the way we used to be..." I replied softly while still watching him. His expression smoothed out and returned to that wistful look. So, he had been thinking about it...
"Yes, I do." He said quietly, "There have been many times since that I wished I could go back and live them over again..."
His statement caught me off guard, strangely, I had figured that Kira had more or less forgotten about me, even though I had thought of him all the time. I smiled to myself now, despite the distance that had separated us I could see that our friendship still remained strong, all it needed was a spark; a spark that had been ignited when I brought Kira here.
"You know what?" I said, pausing momentarily, "Me too."
Kira looked over at me, and we both smiled. I also knew that we would have to separate again though, and that brought a stab of pain it my heart. I had just gotten him back, but in doing so I had put him in danger, a danger that I could not allow to occur. Even of it meant watching him leave again, I would make sure he was safe...
Le Creuset's POV:
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts...
"Come in." I said coldly. One of my men walked in then, the one I had watching the boy for the past few hours. After making sure that he had closed the door securely he walked over to my desk where I sat.
"Do you have something to report?" I asked, more mildly than before.
"Yes Sir, you asked to be informed of any strange behavior involving Kira Yamato," the man said, he was obviously unnerved standing before me, "Well Sir, there was laughter coming from their room not five minutes ago."
This was surprising, until now the boy had been very withdrawn, even towards Athrun. The fact that they were laughing meant that something had changed. And that something may not be very good for my plans.
"Anything else?" I asked the man.
"No Sir." He said simply. I nodded.
"Very well, thank you for that." I replied and made a small gesture towards the door, implying that I wanted him out. He gave a quick salute then smartly turned and walked out.
Once he was done I began pondering the possible implications of Athrun finding out. Over all I was not worried, but my plans worked more on making the boy question himself and throwing himself into doubt. If Athrun was working to contradict that it could be trouble.
"Well boy, yet again you seem to interfering with my plans..." I muttered, "Perhaps it is time to for another talk."
I almost got out of my chair to go retrieve the boy but decided against it. It would be better to wait until last minute to throw the boy into doubt again, that way he wouldn't have the will to resist...
"Only two days left Kira Yamato, enjoy them while you can."...
Tolle's POV:
I could see Kira. He was crying.
"Kira?" I said tentatively hoping he was ok.
He didn't react ti my voice in any way, he just sat there on his knees with his face in his hands crying. He looked to be in pain.
"Kira?" I repeated, scared now. I could feel my heart beat, it felt like a drum. No not a drum, like a timer to a deadly bomb. I wasn't sure where I got that notion but it somehow rang true in my thoughts.
Still there was no reply. Deciding that maybe he couldn't hear me I began walking towards him, only to see him slide further away.
I stopped abruptly and Kira's movement seemed to stop as well. Something was wrong. Again I began walking and again -without seeming to actually move- Kira seemed further away.
I felt a cold hand grip my heart as I realized that I couldn't reach Kira, I couldn't reach him when he needed me.
I began running. Hoping to outrun whatever was keeping Kira away, but it seemed that as fast as I went Kira was moving away just as fast.
"KIRA!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I ran. I could hear the steady beat of my heart in my ears, drowning out anything else, just a rapid but steady ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump that seemed to grow louder with each passing second.
I wasn't sure if he heard or not but he looked up at me. I stopped running, relief flooding through me at the thought of finally getting to him. Only to have that relief replaced with pure terror.
Kira's face was not streaked with tears as one would expect, but blood. The vivid red showed out against his skin like a light in the dark.
Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump
I could see that his hands were also red with blood. I felt paralyzed.
Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump
I was sure he could see me now, I wanted to speak, to tell him it was all OK. But I couldn't find my voice. I felt as though I was falling, falling and expecting the ground to rush up to meet me at any second.
Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump
Kira mouthed something to me...
I woke with a violent yell, my chest heaving, face covered in sweat. I was shaking and on the verge of tears.
"What wrong?" Sai said, concern all through his voice.
But I couldn't answer, my mind was spinning. The dream was so vivid, the terror so real. Yet nothing in the dream could compare to the words Kira had mouthed.
Time is running out...
Well, not the most original ending but I hoped you liked it. This chapter seemed to flow out of me. Now I can only hope that the results off all my lead ups are going to be good enough.
Please review and tell me what you think. :)
