A/N: I am SO SORRY! I haven't updated for over a month! My internet access was blocked and it took a VERY long time to get it back working! But in the mean time, I got this chapter done! Lots revealed here.
Previously: He turned to the girl who looked at him. "Are you okay?" Takeshi asked. "I'm fine. T-thank you.." she said. Takeshi smiled. "No problem," he said as he started to walk away. The girl suddenly gasped. "A-athrun?!" she shouted.
Chapter 25: The truth
Takeshi spun around as he stared at her in shock. "Athrun?" he repeated surprised that the girl in front of him would know his previous idenity.
The girl looked down ashamed. "I-i'm sorry. I thought you were someone else," she said quietly.
Takeshi smiled. "It's okay. I've been mistaken for him before. Anyway, you knew Athrun Zala, is that correct?" he said.
The girl looked up at him in wonder. "Yes, I did. He was a good friend of mine," she said.
Takeshi nodded once. "I see. I'm trying to find out more about this 'Athrun'. Would you mind helping me by telling me what you know about him?" he asked.
The red headed girl thought it over and finally nodded. "Alright, since you saved me from that jackass," she said.
Takeshi smiled as they headed towards his special place. "My name is Hawke, Meyrin, if you were wondering," said the red head.
"I'm Izutawa, Takeshi," Takeshi replied as they reached the clearing and the two sat down.
"Well what do you want to know about Athrun?" Meyrin asked.
Takeshi shrugged. "Anything. Maybe start off with how you met him?" he suggested.
Meyrin nodded. "Okay. It went like this..."
Flashback: Fourteen year old Meyrin walked happily with her fifteen year old sister, Lunamaria and Mia Campbell. As they walked, Mia suddenly stopped, causing Lunamaria and Meyrin to run into her. "Mia, what's up?" Lunamaria had asked.
Mia smiled dreamily. "See that boy over there? The one with the midnight blue hair and emerald green eyes?" she asked.
Lunamaria nodded. "Yeah, he's totally handsome," she said as she started to understand what Mia was thinking.
"I overheard that his name is Athrun Zala. Don't you think that is the perfect name?" Mia had giggled.
Meyrin looked back and forth between her two friends. Then she looked at the boy they were talking about. He was pretty cute. Meyrin blushed slightly. "B-but I don't think he'll be interested in us, Mia," she said quietly.
Mia gave her a look that clearly said that she didn't care what she thought. "I'll make him mine and eventually he'll fall for me," she had said.
End of Flashback.
"...But in the end, Mia's plans all failed when Cagalli came to our school several months later. Athrun came to love her and she returned his feelings. I admit, at first I was a little jealous of Cagalli, but in the end, I found out that Cagalli deserved Athrun more than I did," said Meyrin.
Then she turned to Takeshi with a forgetful expression. Takeshi smiled. "Don't worry, I know who Cagalli is," he said kindly.
Meyrin gave a small smile. Takeshi grinned. "Please continue," he said.
"Well even though their love was quite short, it wasn't a glass half empty. Each moment was cherished. But when Cagalli and I had to leave for Korea, Cagalli had received a call from her friend, Kira who told her that Athrun was in an accident. Of course she came back, but Athrun had already been transferred by his father, Patrick Zala," said Meyrin sadly.
"I see... so Athrun's dead then?" Takeshi questionned, knowing that he isn't.
Meyrin nodded sadly. "Yes... he died three years ago," she answered.
Takeshi looked out to the peaceful forest. Athrun died three years ago while before I met Cagalli, I only had three years of memories because my father to- hold on... "What happened to his father, Patrick Zala?" he asked sharply.
Meyrin looked up. "I don't really know. He just disappeared right after Athrun died. Some say that he couldn't take the death of his son and killed himself, but his body was never found so that a burial was never performed," she said.
Takeshi frowned in concertration. I am Athrun so 'Athrun' never really died. And if I didn't die, then what happened to Patrick Zala? Those rumors about him commiting suicide cannot be true because if he killed himself because I had died, then why am I still alive? There are some leads behind this and I bet if I found out more about Patrick Zala, then I can get down to the truth behind my past and my former self. He was brought back to reality when Meyrin called his name. "H-huh? Oh sorry, I guess I sorta zoned out," he said.
Meyrin looked at him curiously. "Anyway, why did you want to know about Athrun Zala for?" she asked.
Takeshi looked at her nervously. "W-well.. you're the second person to mistake me for him. The first person to do that was my girlfriend Cagalli so I decided to find out more about this ex-boyfriend of hers," he said, which was partly true.
Meyrin looked at him in shock. "Y-you mean that Cagalli is your GIRLFRIEND?" she asked, not sure if she could believe this stranger who yet somehow felt familar in an unexpected way.
Takeshi blushed. "Yeah, I met her in Photography school," he said.
Meyrin nodded. "I see. So why didn't you ask Cagalli about Athrun then? I'm sure that she'd be able to answer your questions," she said.
Takeshi turned red slightly. "W-well, she's very busy at the moment and that I didn't want to hurt her by bringing up old memories of her ex," he lied.
Meyrin smiled. "Even though I just met you, I think that you're like Athrun is some ways; you're both extremely kind and thoughtful for others," she said.
Takeshi smiled as he blushed. "Thanks," he said.
Meyrin got up. "It was nice talking to you, but I have to go. My sister Lunamaria is probably waiting for me," she said.
Takeshi nodded. "Okay. I'll see you then," he said as he turned to go.
Meyrin smiled. "See you," she said as she ran away from the peaceful forest.
Takeshi went back to the hotel he was staying at and got onto his laptop. He typed in the words, Patrick Zala and found 1 result. (A/N: It had the same info that Cagalli found when she was looking for him, so I'll skip writing that down again) Takeshi leaned back on his chair after he read all of it. Hmm... in this article it says Patrick had 'mysteriously disappeared, when 'I' had died... and that his wife was assassinated too. But I don't have a mother either. Could Patrick Zala be my father since I really am Athrun Zala? Takeshi thought. Then he smiled. "I guess I was lucky to have ran into one of Cagalli's old friends. She had answered a lot of my questions," he said.
His smiled slid from his face as a frown took over. If my father really is Patrick Zala, why did he change our identies? Cagalli had been hurt in the process when she had thought that I, Athrun Zala had died. She had suffered so much and it is all of my fault. Father... when I get back, you better have a good reason... he thought before he fell asleep.
Meanwhile with Cagalli... she stood looking outside her window as she saw a car pull in. She went downstairs as she heard the door bell ring. "Coming!" she said as she opened the door to reveal Kira and his parents.
"Oh hi, Mr and Mrs. Hibiki and Kira," Cagalli greeted as her mother came up from the office.
"Hello," said Mr. Hibiki as he looked as his daughter and his previous wife.
Mrs. Hibiki had a sad look, which Cagalli knew that Kira's mom knew that she was her step-daughter. "Come on in," said Nyra as she invited them in for tea.
They all sat around the dining room as Mr. Hibiki broke the silence. "Kira, there is something we should tell you," he said.
Kira, who sat next to Cagalli looked at his dad. "What is it?" he asked, knowing that whatever it was, it was important that involved Cagalli and her mother.
Mr. Hibiki looked at everyone. "Well you see... Cagalli is your sister," he said calmly.
Kira had a shocked face that clearly said I-dated-my-sister?! Cagalli would have laughted if the situation wasn't so serious. He stood up. "B-but h-how?!" he demanded.
Mr. Hibiki looked to his wife who nodded. Then he looked to Nyra who looked straight into his eyes. He took a deep breath and explained everything that he had explained to Cagalli and to his two wives. When he finished, Kira slowly slid back down to his seat. He turned to Cagalli. "So, you're my step-sister huh?" he said.
Cagalli nodded. "Yes," she said.
Kira looked to the adults. "Then why were we almost engaged?" he questionned.
Mr. Hibiki sighed. "Well I never thought that I would meet Nyra and Cagalli again and never thought that you would know Cagalli, so I never said anything to Nyra or Via until it was almost too late. You see, as a scientist, I am never left on Earth for long because my space expeditions are quite long. There was no connection up in the atmosphere so I didn't know what was going on. So it was all of my fault. I'm sorry, everyone," he said.
Via hugged her husband's arm while Nyra gave him a sad forgiving look. Cagalli and Kira both nodded. Mr. Hibiki smiled. "You guys know what? That went a lot better than I had hoped. How about we all go out for a family dinner?" he offered.
Everyone brightened up somewhat. "Okay!" they all agreed and left.
Takeshi slept soundly through the day as he was really exhausted with all the detective work. As soon as he got up, he packed all of his things and headed towards home, even though the week wasn't over. As soon as he reached home, he found his father in the study. "Father," he said.
Patrick turned in surprise. "T-takeshi! Where have you been?!" he demanded.
Takeshi ignored his question and instead, pulled one of his own. "Nevermind that, but tell me the truth, are you really Patrick Zala, my father?"
Patrick stared at him as his cover was slowly disinergrating. He was speechless; he never expected Takeshi to find out so quickly. "Are you? I know my true identity is Athrun Zala. Now answer me," said Takeshi.
Patrick lowered his eyes and slowly nodded. "Yes, my son. Our true identities is Patrick and Athrun Zala," he said quietly.
Athrun narrowed his eyes. "Why father?! Why did you erase my memories? Did you know how much hurt you put through Cagalli and I?" he demanded.
"I'm sorry, Athrun... but the reason I erased your memories was to protect you.." said Patrick guiltily.
"To protect me?! From what?!" Athrun yelled in anger.
Patrick sighed as he looked sadly at his son. "Long ago, when you were still a young boy of 4, there was a terrorist attack in Japan. The terrorist group was called the 'Blue Cosmos'. You heard of them, have you not?" he said.
Athrun nodded. "They're an anti-coordinator group," he said.
Patrick nodded. "In the attack, which was aimed at Zala mansion, killed your mother and my wife. You were asleep back then in your bed while your mother and I were chatting outside. Then we saw shadowed figures in the sky. We ran into the house to get you; to protect you when they came down. Your mother had you in her arms while I was trying to fend them off. They went after you and your mother, afterall, you were my heir. They killed your mother in the process and I was also badly injured. My arm was badly damaged and I barely escaped with you in one arm. We fled and the military fought back. Eventually the terrorists fled and it was all over,"
"I knew they would come back one day and I waited for an opportunity to make you disappear. Three years ago was my perfect chance. You were bangled up pretty badly and it wouldn't hurt to remove your memories of who you were. And I also changed my idenity so that you wouldn't be alone,"
Athrun stared at his father in shock. "Mother was killed in a terrorist attack? You always told me she died in a car accident," he said in a deathly silent voice.
Patrick sighed again but then looked at him surprised. "You remember that? I told you that before you lost your memories. Does that mean your memories are back?" he asked.
Athrun shrugged. "Only bits and bits. I went to learn more about the places where I used to go, like my old school to see if I could remember more stuff. I met a friend of Cagalli's who helped me quite a bit," he said.
"Then does everything come as a shock to you?" Patrick questionned.
Athrun nodded. "Yeah, somewhat. At first when I met Cagalli, I kept seeing blurred visions of the past and always got confused when I didn't understand what they were about. But after spending a while with Cagalli, the visions became more clearer and I came to understand them. And now, I know who I truly am. I think I'll go back to my original self," he said thoughtfully.
Patrick nodded slowly. "Alright, but I have to warn you to be careful. Other than the people you trust, you will use your cover name as Takeshi Izutawa," he said.
Athrun nodded again. "Okay, I promise. Now.. to dye my hair back to normal and get rid of these contacts..." he said as he headed towards the bathroom.
A/N: Well, that's that! Athrun is going back to normal! As you may have noticed, around the beginning of the confession between Patrick and Athrun, I switched Takeshi's name back to Athrun's. I like using Athrun's name a lot more than Takeshi's. XD Anyway, it was quite long to make up for the short previous chapters and I promise this time I will update in less than a week, but I gotta catch up on my work first. 5 more chapters to go for this fic... and then I'll do another AxC fic. Until next update, see y'all.