Dear Cagalli,

Lately, Kira has been…distant, to say the least.

In the days that passed, he had grown cold and separates himself far from the children, Father Malkio…and even myself. I would find him, alone on a chair outside the orphanage, staring blankly at the beach and the endless sea that lay beyond it. He almost never spoke, and if I tried to talk to him, he would make an excuse and then leave me. At night, he would come to bed after I had already gone to sleep, and once I wake up, he would already be gone.

What could be bothering him?

If it was the current progress of the negotiations between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, then I would not blame him. It has been a year since the war had ended and so far, unfortunately, both factions have not yet come to terms. There have been minor skirmishes here and there between the opposing forces, the more radical groups from each side, I assume. As if things weren't bad enough, this only fuels their disagreements, making them more eager to kill this filthy Natural or this Coordinator scum. All that been settled so far was the total ceasefire between the forces, allowing the world to breathe easy for at least a short while.

But I don't think it was that that has been eating up Kira. If it was about the seemingly never-ending dispute, then Kira can and will talk to me about it. After all, Kira and I were involved, not to mention you and Athrun, in ending the war. I believe that Kira can openly talk to me whatever he's feeling about the progress, so I don't think it was that.

But what could it be? I know Kira could be…well, moody and sensitive at times, but before this, we always used to do a lot of things together, and believe me, there aren't a lot of things you can do in an island orphanage that you can do alone. Taking care of the kids, cooking for them, playing, if I were alone, I would've probably fainted from exhaustion. But Kira was always there to pick me up whenever I feel tired.

He was always there for me, whenever I needed him.

But now, something's eating him from the inside, something that he can't share with me. I'm here for him, he knows that, but he keeps pushing me away whenever I approach.

I'm sorry if I seem to be dumping my problems on you, Cagalli, but there's no one else I can talk to about this.

It's just that…I miss him so much. I miss my Kira.

Sincerely,
Lacus Clyne

As soon as Lacus finished typing up her e-mail and sending it, the computer's monotone voice said, "You got mail!" In her inbox, there was a name in bold letters, A.Z., with the subject, "Party!" Raising an eyebrow she moved the mouse cursor to the title, clicked it on it. The window containing the e-mail appeared, and then she started reading.

Lacus,

Sorry if I seem to be rushing to get to the point, but is Kira doing okay? I've been e-mailing him for the past week now and he hasn't even sent a single reply. Sure hope that nothing bad's been happening there. When Cagalli and I last visited, roughly several months ago, he seemed to be totally out of it, and I thought that I was able to get him back into shape, but it doesn't seem like that.

Well, I'm sure that you can make him come around.

Anyway, if he doesn't get to read my e-mail to him, can you tell him that his old friend, Sai Argyle, is having a celebration party at his place in Orb? He's invited all his friends to celebrate the publishing of his book about C.E. 71. He would have written the invitations himself, but he says that he's too busy proofreading his work and submitting it to the publishers. He approached me one day and asked me (and invited me too) to come to his party, and to tell all our friends to come celebrate with him.

I haven't known Mr. Argyle for a long time, but I do know that he's worked hard for this book, so I think it would be proper for us to show up. If you're coming, just reply and I'll have someone come pick you up as soon as possible.

Give Kira my regards.

Athrun Zala

Lacus wouldn't mind joining the party. Though, like Athrun, she was not on the same level of familiarity with Sai Argyle as his old friends, like Miriallia Haww or even Kira, but a friend of Kira's was a friend of hers, and that was a good enough reason for her. Besides, she'd like to see her old comrade-in-arms once again, and what better venue than a party? It has been a year since the war ended, and it would be nice to meet everyone again, even for a short while.

Though, Lacus was not so sure about Kira. Given his current state, she was not even certain if she could pass the message to him. Still, she turned off the computer and headed straight for the porch of the house. She was sure that she'd find him there, even now, during the night.

She opened the door, careful not to make a sound, as she quietly crept out. She looked to her right, and as she expected, he was sitting on a rocking chair, wearing a blank expression on his face, unwavering. His gaze was fixated at his front, staring at the tress, the beach and the sea beyond it.

Though, Lacus wondered if he even saw the view before him at all.

"Kira?"

No reply. He did not even look at her.

"There's a letter from Athrun. Your friend, Sai Argyle, is having a small party celebrating the publishing of his book. He's invited us to come along, including everyone as well."

Nothing. Kira was as immobile as a statue.

"I'd like to go."

She bit her lip, and waited for a reply.

For what seemed like ages, minutes had passed, and the only sounds that Lacus heard were the soft rustling of the trees against a gentle breeze, and the tides washing against the shore. Kira sat on his rocking chair, still and emotionless.

Lacus sighed. She might as well take this as a no, and turned around to go back inside.

"…I'd like to go, too."

His reply was soft, barely audible against the sounds of their surroundings, but Lacus heard it, and her heart leapt with joy. She turned around to look at him, and she saw him looking at her, with a very small smile.

"Yeah," Kira said, "It'll be nice."

Lacus smiled, the happiest smile she had for days. In one hand, she was going to meet her friends once again, after such a long time, and in the other, Kira was talking once more. Perhaps, she thought, the party could be the key to banishing whatever was troubling Kira for the past few days.

He nodded, then returned to his former state: blank, and unmoving, though Lacus noticed that his posture was apparently more relaxed than before.

She then said, "Kira?"

He made no reply, just like before, though his head slightly turned to her direction.

Sincerely, from the bottom of her heart, she spoke, "You know I'm here for you, right? If there's anything, anything at all, that you want to talk about, anything that's bothering you, please tell me. Whatever it is, just come to me, okay?"

A moment had passed, and Kira just nodded. Lacus replied, "All right…come inside soon, it's getting cold."

She went back inside, a merry skip in her step. She headed on over to their dressers to start packing.

Outside, Kira bit his lip, and silently, he began to cry.