There comes a time when a person must roll the dice and accept the outcome – Meitzer Ronah, Gundam F91
They had been running through the forest for what seemed like an eternity to Cagalli. To keep them safe from each other, Murrue tried not to assign more than two of the original crew together as they fled. Andy took Lacus and three other youngsters and ran off; his military background would come in handy.
Murrue took Kojiro Murdock and several of the technicians, leaving Arnold Neuman to lead more of the inexperienced crew to safety. Finally, it was Kira, Cagalli and three other people to flee. Unfortunately, a purple Windam had landed before they had gotten more than a kilometer away.
Whoever was hunting them was good; he or she had already killed one of their group, and wounded another, leaving the third man to deal with the injured man. And Kira and Cagalli ran for their lives. Running ahead of her, Kira smashed his way through the underbrush, ignoring the scratches and cuts he received.
He jumped over a dead log, but Cagalli didn't lift her feet high enough and fell over. Kira quickly hoisted her up, but paused when he heard rapid footsteps and twigs breaking. "This ends now." He growled, adopting a protective stance in front of her.
Their chaser stepped out from behind a tree. "I heartily agree young Yamato. This ends now." He announced.
Kira turned and analyzed his enemy. The man was probably 30 years old, had long blond hair and a face hidden beneath a helmet. But his voice … it was his voice that brought back memories of the Hawk of Endymion, of Mu La Flaga. "Mu?" Kira whispered.
"There is no such person. I am Neo Lorrnoke." Neo corrected, raising his pistol. "Hand her over kid, I don't want to shoot you."
Kira pushed Cagalli to the ground and charged. A single shot echoed through the woods as the bullet hit Kira's right shoulder. The boy grabbed his pistol with his left hand and was in the process of bringing it up when another bullet his left hand, sending the gun flying.
Weaponless, Kira continued his charge. Neo fired three more times, missing twice and the third shot grazed Kira's neck. Unfazed by his numerous wounds, he slammed into Neo, sending both of them into a tree. Neo recovered quickly and with a vicious backhand he sent Kira back a few feet and fired a seventh shot which hit Kira's right thigh.
The boy finally collapsed, no longer able to hold his weight. Neo straightened his uniform and easily picked Cagalli up. She protested and ineffectually beat her fists against him, and on his part, he merely ignored it.
Shaking violently, Kira managed to stand half-way, his hand reaching out to Cagalli who was being led away by Neo. Cagalli reached back, as if their hands could magically join even being meters apart. Exhaustion claimed Kira and he fell back to the ground in a heap.
"Kira! KIRA!" Cagalli screamed, fearing he might be dead.
After dragging his captive another handful of meters, Neo suddenly stopped and looked at Cagalli. "What?" she demanded sharply.
"I'm just surprised that Yuuna thought he could control you in any way. You seem to be very strong willed." He said simply, shrugging dramatically.
"There is more than meets the eye when it comes to me." Yuuna announced, walking up holding a pistol.
"So it seems." Neo replied, nodding his head towards the walking bad hair day.
And in an unexpected turn of events, Yuuna raised his gun and shot Neo once through the chest. The masked man went flying backwards, his pistol dropping to the forest floor and his helmet flew off and went elsewhere. Cagalli stood there, stunned that Yuuna would so coldly and mercilessly kill his ally.
Yuuna admired his handiwork for a moment before facing Cagalli, an evil looking grin plastered on his face. "Well well, you've had quite an exciting adventure. Imagine what will happen to ZAFT when the rest of the Earth Alliance learns that Neo was murdered." He said cockily.
An earsplitting roar echoed through the woods, making Yuuna cower for a second. Straightening again, he saw the odd sight of a charging Kira, hobbling a bit thanks to his leg wound.
"Kira!" Cagalli yelled, a hint of hope flaring inside.
Yuuna took his time and carefully aimed at Kira and fired. The first bullet struck the charging boy in the stomach, but didn't so much as wince in pain. The second bullet hit the left bicep, the third nicked the tip of his right ear. Yuuna's firing became increasingly frantic as Kira quickly closed the gap between them.
Yuuna's final shot hit Kira's other leg, sending the Coordinator crashing to the ground yet again, tumbling and rolling thanks to the speed he had built up. Finally, his bruised, battered and wounded body came to a stop on his back right at Yuuna's feet.
"Ha! Serves you right." Yuuna aimed his gun at Kira's head and smiled.
"Everything … I've done …" he started, his voice croaking. "it was … for her."
Yuuna's smile degraded into a frown, and then into anger. He snarled and squeezed the trigger. A single shot echoed once more through the forest. A moment of silence passed before Kira realized that he had actually seen Yuuna fly sideways, a misty cloud of blood flying from his head.
Shifting his eyes, he saw Cagalli holding Neo's gun, a look of fierce determination on her face. He smiled and blinked. "Don't look like that, you don't look as pretty." He told her, laughing silently as a blush covered her face.
Cagalli knelt down and cradled his head in her lap. "You'll be okay, help will be here soon." She whispered.
Despite the pain and his wounds, he reached up to caress her cheek with his right hand. "Cagalli, I want you to continue on, keep on living. For me." He said, ignoring her earlier statement.
A confused look passed through her face and he continued. "Live life and move on, it's the only way to survive."
"Kira, don't talk that way." She scolded him.
"No matter what happens, promise me." He begged.
Tears had been streaming down her eyes and she belatedly wiped them away. "Promise me." He said again, more forcefully.
"Kira … I can't."
"Promise me!" his voice rose, and then softened again. "Athrun will take care of you."
"But I don't love him! I love you Kira! I love you!" she wept.
"I know. I love you too Cagalli." She lowered her head to meet his and their lips met, the first kiss they shared. It was soft, and passionate, but his lips … they were colder than she expected.
"Remember … you must live on." He said once more, before closing his eyes for the last time.
"Kira? Kira. Kira! Kira, open your eyes! Kira! KIRA! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" her mournful cry was heard through the forest.
And unbeknownst to either of them, Lacus, Andy, Murrue and Kojiro watched from behind, having finally found the two siblings just as Yuuna was killed. Lacus cried silently, and Andy held her like a father would his daughter in her time of grief.
Murrue offered a silent prayer for Kira's soul as Cagalli cried over her brother's body.
Kira's funeral was overshadowed by the attack on the PLANTs by the Earth Alliance. Athrun received news of Kira's death while still in space, but was too busy dealing with the war to make his way back to Earth.
Days later, the Archangel sailed under the ocean's surface, ready again to fight for peace, no matter the cost. Cagalli reflected bitterly that the cost was already too great, and no one could disagree.
The sensor board came alive with contacts and Lacus informed the captain. 'Father, are you watching?'
Murrue acknowledged and ordered level one battle stations. 'Mu, watch over their souls, let them find peace.'
Andy launched his Murasame in its jet mode and circled around the battleship once. 'Aisha, is it my time?'
Cagalli sealed her flight helmet and activated the Strike Rouge, opting not to touch Kira's Freedom. 'Kira … wherever you are, watch me live life, right to the bitter end.'.
Onboard the Minerva, the pilots prepped for launch as well. Rey Ze Barrel launched in his white Blaze ZAKU Phantom. 'I don't sense that presence anymore, and yet … it doesn't make me happy …'
Shinn Asuka, pilot of the prototype Impulse Gundam, combined in mid-air and activated his phase shift. 'Mayu, I'm sorry.'
Lunamaria launched from the other bay in her Gunner ZAKU Warrior. 'Athrun …'
And Athrun Zala, pilot of the new Savior Gundam, launched. 'Cagalli … what happened while I was away?'
Watching sadly from above, Kira, Mu, Flay, Tolle, Siegel, Aisha, Mayu and many others watched on as the forces collided with each other.
Whatever Destiny has in store for them all, they must play the cards they're dealt.
And that's it for Things We Do. Sad ending hey? Trust me, it's better I get it out of my system now in time for a few more stories and then it'll be back in full force, and I have a special containment field set up for it then.
To learn more, visit my site and check out the Upcoming section. While you're there, sign the guestbook, provide some feedback, a website is just like a fic, it needs feedback to learn and grow!
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