Cagalli's plan of action:
(A) Keep an eye on Kira's every move and make sure he doesn't fall for Miss Wrong a THIRD time.
(B) Should she be Miss Right, use every means necessary to make her Miss Yamato and end the never-ending restless nights where Kira phones after he gets into another episode of 'relationships gone sour' and keeps his favorite sister (that's me) awake till the crack of dawn.
(C) Should she be Miss Wrong (and God I hope not), drag Kira back to Japan even if he screamed and griped all the way...Yep, a lasso would be needed just in case. Note to self: Buy a lasso.
(D) Should Mr. Fiancé butt in, make sure to distract him using every ounce of cunning and ploy on hand...well, just minus murdering him and dumping his dead body in a garbage waste, since that's illegal.
And finally,
(E) Buy lots and lots of coffee. You never know when a migraine hits.
End plan.
XXX
Chapter Two
"Would passengers of Flight 003 climb onboard as the shuttle is prepared for lift off?"
Kira began walking to the cockpit, unaware of the blond girl trailing behind him from some distance.
Feeling like an undercover agent on a Mission Impossible movie, Cagalli tried to keep up while not being noticed. A difficult thing to do since her brother's heightened senses thanks to those years in the military when he was younger. She saw Kira glance over his shoulder suspiciously and quickly ducked out of sight behind a big cactus bush.
An elderly couple was walking past her when they noticed Cagalli's rather 'odd' position.
She grinned sheepishly. "Ah, I'm...just smelling the flowers."
"But...that cactus doesn't have flowers," said the old man, perplexed.
"Well, err, see, I'm a flower specialist hired by the, err, administrator of the airport to, um, check on the health of the plants here. And this cactus definitely gets an 'A' in my book," Cagalli said, smiling nervously and nodding as she slowly inched away. "Well, gotta go! So many cactuses and flowers to check up on, so little time. He-he..." And without further ado, she made tracks with all due speed.
Blink.
The old man grumbled under his breath. "Young people these days..."
His wife nodded in total agreement.
XXX
"Master Athrun, it is four o'clock."
British official Athrun Zala stood up from his desk and gathered his paperwork into a neat pile. "All right. Please tell my driver I won't be using the limo today. Lacus and I are just going on a short walk in the park after our lunch together this afternoon."
His housekeeper nodded her head. "Very well, Master Athrun."
Athrun placed the paperwork to one side and made his way out.
XXX
"...and I want a dozen packets of instant coffee powder...preferably white. Oh, and a long, sturdy rope...if you have any."
The salesgirl stared at Cagalli strangely. "Umm, yeah, I'll get those for you right now. Just wait here."
Our blond heroine was currently at a shopping store buying some needed things for her to execute plan (A) to (E), a few miles away from where Kira was sitting at a restaurant having his lunch. She frowned when a pink-haired woman, identical in face and hair to Mia Campbell but dressed in a far less sexier outfit, wearing a pristine white blouse and long lavender skirt, walked into the restaurant.
Kira looked up and smiled when he saw her.
And he mouthed the name 'Lacus'.
"So that's Lacus Clyne..." Cagalli's lips curled. "Humph. I bet Mia copied her looks. It would be just like her to impersonate a pop star."
Still nothing beat the original. Lacus was incredibly lovely, and she had an aura of kindness and serenity about her that Cagalli could sense even from here.
Hmm...No wonder Kira was so crazy about her.
Cagalli saw the pink-haired songstress look startle when she first spotted Kira before it melted into joy, then pain and she turned to hurry away. But Kira stood up and grabbed her shoulder from behind.
"C'mon, bro, you can do it!" Cagalli cheered for him in a low tone.
Her attention diverted when she caught sight of a tall, lanky male with brilliant green eyes and a handsome,unsmiling face heading toward the restaurant, dressed in a black jacket and jeans.
She frowned.
"Now...why does he look familiar?"
"Why, don't you know?" The salesgirl had come back with everything Cagalli had ordered in a shopping bag. She sighed dreamily. "That's Athrun Zala, a member of the British congress and most probably THE handsomest eye candy ever to fall from the heavens. Not only is he rich, mysterious and totally stunning, but he's also officially off-limits." She leaned over to Cagalli and she looked like someone who was about to reveal the biggest secret in the history of the world. "You see, he's already engaged...to Britain's most popular pop diva, Lacus Clyne."
Cagalli's jaw dropped.
That was Athrun Zala...
Wow. I guess that flushed the image of a fat, graying old man with world-weary eyes and a perverted grin right down the toilet...
She glanced at the couple staring at each other.
And that was Lacus Clyne with her brother Kira...
Outcome?
Gulp. NOT good.
Her eyes snapped open in panic.
Worse! Kira would probably be too wrapped up in wooing Lacus at the moment to take notice of the soon-to-be-very-mad fiancé dropping in. Oh God! She had to prevent that fiasco from happening!
Cagalli grabbed the shopping bag from the counter and left at top speed to the approaching disaster.
"Ah, miss, don't you want your extra change?" called the salesgirl as she waved the change in her hand.
But Cagalli was already too far away to hear her.
XXX
It all happened so fast. One minute, Athrun was striding down the sidewalk innocently minding his own business, the next something pounced on him and latched itself on his arm.
Ugh! Not another annoying fan girl! He thought in disgust as he glanced down and saw a small-sized blond.
"Who in blazes are you!" he demanded. "And if you're asking if I will go on a date with you, or shower you with flowers, or go on my knees and marry you, then dream on! So let go of me!"
The amber-eyed girl scowled. "First of all, you jerk, my name is Cagalli Yula Athha. Second, I do NOT want a date, flowers or a ring on my finger, especially not from YOU. And no, I will NOT let you go."
"And why not, may I ask?"
"Because –"
Because my brother is in there together with your fiancé Lacus Clyne and he wants to win her love and break your heart in the process and you're going to walk right in the middle of it and it's my duty as Kira's sister to save his butt and distract her fiancé before World War III begins!
Of course, she would NEVER say that! Especially to the fiancé in question...
"Because...just because!"
"Look, Miss Whoever-You-Are, let go of my arm before you break my bones with that death grip of yours!" Athrun growled impatiently as he tried to remove his arm from Cagalli's hand. Damn. Who'd had thought such a small woman could hide Herculean strength in those lifeless muscles? he thought in half irritation, and half reluctant admiration.
Oh no, I'm losing my grip on him. She searched her mind frantically for some kind of distraction. Come on, brain! Think of something! ANYTHING to keep Athrun Zala away from the intimate scene that is presently taking place with his fiancé and Kira.
And then a wacky idea just crazy enough to work popped up.
"Kira, you owe me BIG TIME for this," Cagalli muttered as she let go of Athrun.
He rubbed his aching arm and his lips curled distastefully. "Good, at least your brain processor isn't slow enough to misunderstand that simple command. I think my blood vessel was about to burst from that iron claw you call a hand. Now why don't you just run along and harass some other unfortunate civilian and–"
His sentence broke off when she lassoed him.
"Hey, what do you think you are DOING!" Athrun's green eyes widened when he saw her throwing a loop over him and pulling the rope so that it lashed around him tightly.
"I was thinking of using this on Kira for Plan (C)...but desperate times call for desperate measures. Sorry, buddy. I'll let you go as soon as I get you to a nice, safe place away from here."
"STOP THIS AT ONCE! Do I look like some kind of practice calf to you!"
But Cagalli ignored him as she pulled his rope and dragged him away.
"Stop fidgeting, Zala. All I'm doing is taking you to another restaurant since you're hungry," Cagalli scolded.
"I'M NOT HUNGRY!"
"Oh really? Is that why you were heading to the restaurant?"
Damn. Perceptive woman.
His stomach growled.
She raised her eyebrows. He blushed.
"Okay then, so I am. But I'm still not going any where YOU'RE going!"
"As handsome as he is stubborn," Cagalli muttered.
She stopped when staring eyes and gaping jaws greeted her from all sides.
"Nothing to see here, folks," she smiled brightly at the bystanders gawking at them incredulously. "This is all just part of an innovative tourist attraction designed by the government for holidaymakers in the form of lariat-throwing ala cowgirl style. Right, Zala?"
Athrun seethed and opened his mouth to tell her exactly what he thought of her so-called 'tourist attraction'.
"Keep your oral cavity shut, Zala. Or else I might actually leave you tied up in a closet someplace where only the cockroaches can hear you scream."
He clamped his mouth closed and gave his captor a venomous glare. "Look, you crazy woman, what is it you want from me? Are you kidnapping me for ransom or something? Because if you are, I'm warning you as soon as I'm released from these ropes I'll take legal action against you and –"
"Take all the legal actions you want, Zala," Cagalli smirked artfully. "But that will have to wait for a little while because we're spending some bonding time together...I want to see for myself exactly what quality Miss Clyne sees in you that she actually dumps my brother for a grouch like you..."
XXX
TBC
XXX
Reviewer Q: Are you Pilipino?
xDeanax A: Well...I'm 25 percent Pilipino...
Another reviewer Q: Can you PLEASE update before December?
xDeanax A: Sure. A bit of spare time here, a bit of spare time there...Yeah, I'll try to complete it whenever I can squeeze it into my hectic schedule.
That boxes up the Qs. Thank you for the reviews, everyone!
