Chapter 3: Reasons

"Hey, Lacus. How are you today?" asked Kira as he sat on the chair beside where Lacus laid. "I'm doing just fine. Things have been going around smoothly." Kira took her hand and held them in his hand as he made little circles at the back of her palm.

Kira sighed tiredly before he continued on with his one-sided conversation with Lacus. "Hey, Lacus guess what? Athrun finally decided to propose to Cagalli. You should've been there when it happened. I could've sworn that his face was as blue as his hair since he could not breathe at all due to Cagalli's death-grip hug." Said Kira as cheerful as he could at the moment.

He reached to her cheek and cupped with the utmost care, like if he was afraid that he might hurt her if he put a little more energy into it. He looked at her carefully as his eyes were clouded in agony as he recalled the conversation he had with the doctor that was handling Lacus.

Flashback

"I'm sorry to inform you this, Yamato-san." Said the doctor, Yukimura.

"What? Did something happen to Lacus?" asked Kira hastily.

"No, nothing happened to Clyne-san. However," said Yukimura as he trailed off, seemingly unable to continue.

"However what, Yukimura-san?" asked Kira. "Why don't you just tell me?"

"You see, Yamato-san. From how I look at it, according to my view as a doctor, with Clyne-san's condition being as fine as she is now, she should've already been awake by now. Infact, she should've been awake around one to three months ago. However, as we all might already realized, she's not awake yet right now." said Yukimura.

Kira looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Did this guy think he's blind or something? He didn't need anyone to tell him that Lacus is now still in a coma. He was fully aware of that fact. "So? What's your point there, doctor?" asked Kira.

"This might come really hard on you, but I have to tell you this. Please keep it in your mind that if within this week she's not showing any sign of waking up at all," Yukimura paused then took a deep breath and continued, " there's a fifty-fifty percent chance that she might not wake up at all."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Kira threateningly as he roughly grabbed Yukimura's collar.

"Please Yamato-san. Refrain yourself from any violence." Said Yukimura calmly. Kira slowly released his vice grip from his collar as he continued. "What I meant was that if Clyne-san doesn't wake up within this week, then..."

"She's never going to wake up ever again?" asked Kira, finishing Yukimura's unending sentence. Yukimura nodded solemnly

End of Flashback

"Lacus, why won't you wake up?" Kira asked Lacus' sleeping form, his voice was filled with worry and pain. Worry because he was afraid that she might never wake up ever again and pain because he knew that Lacus was now lying on the like this because of him.

"Actually, nevermind that. I know you'll wake up soon, right?" asked Kira as if he was expecting an answer from her. "I'm sure you will. Come on, Lacus I know you want to wake up."

"You know, I've learned a lot of thing since I met you. Do you remember the first time we met?" Kira chuckled at the memory. "I still remembered on how you were suddenly floated out of the escape pod with Haro all the while thinking that you were in a ZAFT ship. Then, when you noticed that you weren't in one you just innocently asked us if you were in a ZAFT ship." Kira let a small smiled graced his lips before he continued. "I also still remember the time when I returned you to Athrun. You still remember that, right? Remember how Athrun looked so shocked because you looked like if you were pregnant with your skirt in the spacesuit you were using and he thought someone had impregnate you?"

"Then do you remember the second time we met? You took me in and nursed me back to health since I was injured from the last battle?" He smiled bitterly at the memory. That battle was the battle that had scarred him the most after the Genesis. That battle was the battle where he had lost Tolle and also his friendship with Athrun. However, somehow the two of the managed to patch things up and now they're back to being best friends again.

"Somehow, I found both you and your father as a very strange people. Why would someone like you wanted to help me? I was clearly on the enemy side and your father was one of the chairmen in ZAFT, yet despite all of that, you both still took me in. Then, let me go away with one of the newer mobile suit models that uses nuclear power. You sent me away with Freedom."

He took her left hand and cupped it to his cheek. "Why did you do something like that? Why Lacus? Why? I'm sure that you already knew that by giving me that mobile suit, you would be convicted to treason and endanger your own life. I'm sure you knew that already... but then, why did you still do that?" asked Kira as tears starting to fall.

"It was because she cared for you, Kira." Answered a familiar voice from behind him.

Kira immediately wiped off his tears as he acknowledged the presence of the visitor. "Athrun."

"You should know how much impression you've left her after the first time you both met." Said Athrun. "She admired you so very much. She admired your kindness towards her. She admired the way you've defended and protected her from any harm when she was in the Archangel."

"It was because I had to do something. She was only a girl after all and everyone was against her since they were all naturals. I protected her because back then she was a coordinator amongst naturals just like me." Explained Kira.

"Still, your sense of responsibility to protect the weak certainly had impressed her." Commented Athrun.

"And what made you say that?" asked Kira with a raised brow.

"Easy. She could not stop talking and asking about you the moment I met her. She even confessed to me that she admired you so very much." Replied Athrun as he finally decided to take a seat at the opposite side of the bed from where Kira was.

The room then fell into a deep silence before Kira decided to spoke up a couple of minutes later.

"Hey, Athrun?" called Kira.

"Hmm?"

"When do you think Lacus will wake up?" asked Kira.

"I... I don't know, Kira." Replied Athrun. "Why did you ask?"

"Just curious. Do you know what Yukimura told me earlier today?"

"No. What?"

"He told me that if Lacus doesn't wake up within this week, then..." Kira trailed off, unable to continued on with his words.

"Then what?" asked Athrun. He was replied by a silence from Kira. He looked at his best friend in concern. "Then what, Kira?"

"Then...we have to assume that she would never wake up again, Athrun!" yelled out Kira. "Do you know how much that worried me? What would happen if she doesn't wake up this week? I don't want her to just sleep forever, Athrun! It would be the same like if she were dead! I can't live with that, Athrun!"

"Kira..."

"I can't Athrun! I can't live without her at all! I've lost too many during the war. I've lost Fllay! I could live without Fllay, but I don't think I could live without Lacus!" cried out Kira.

"Kira... you have to calm down." Said Athrun worriedly.

"I can't! I can't do that! Not when I know that the possibility of Lacus being comatosed forever is still open!" replied Kira frustratedly.

"Kira! Listen to me first!" yelled Athrun. "Kira, you're not the only one who is worried about Lacus! Everyone is worried about Lacus' condition. Cagalli, me, Miriallia, Dearka, heck, even Yzak! We all are worried about Lacus. You have to know that you're not the only one who is worried about her! Stop being so selfish and get out of your stupid self-guilt bubble! I know you felt guilty and all but does feeling guilty about what happened to Lacus would help her at all? No it wouldn't! It would just make things worse than it already is! BAKA!" yelled Athrun as he grabbed Kira's shirt and slammed the brunette boy to the wall out of rage. He didn't know how or when he got to Kira, but he did know that he had just slammed Kira to a wall.

"Sorry..." said Kira weakly due to the fact that Athrun had just slammed him to a wall and had practically knocked the air out of his lungs.

"You're forgiven. I'm sorry too. Kind of just flew out of control I guess. You've been getting on my nerves with your entire self-guilt thing you know. Actually, not just me, Cagalli too. She's been bugging me into knocking some sense into that brain of yours you know." Explained Athrun.

"Anyway, I guess since I've done my job I'll be going now." announced Athrun. "Well then, bye Kira, bye Lacus." Athrun then turned around and walked towards the door.

"Athrun?" called Kira.

"Yes?" answered Athrun while stopping in his track and turned around to meet Kira's eyes.

"Thank you." Said Kira. It was just a simple thank you. However, Athrun, who knew Kira better than anyone with the exception of Lacus, knew that Kira was truthfully thankful to him.

He let a small smile graced his lips before answering to Kira's gratitude. "Hey, no problem. It was my pleasure. Besides, look at the brighter side! We're now even."

"We are?" asked Kira confusedly.

"Of course. You've slammed me once to the wall for telling Cagalli your darkest secret when you were small and now I've just slammed you once for being such a melancholic person. So now we're even." Explained Athrun. "Anyway, love to stay and chat with you and all, but sorry buddy. I have to go otherwise Princess will have my head."

"Bye. Oh, by the way, I'm not going to go home at all this week." Said Kira before Athrun left. "I'm going to accompany Lacus." Explained Kira before Athrun could ask 'why'. "Tell Cagalli not to worry about me. I'll be fine. I just want to be the first person that Lacus see when she's awake."

Athrun nodded and left, leaving Kira alone with Lacus once again. Kira glanced at Lacus' comatosed form once again before her buried his face to his hand and sighed frustratedly.

"Lacus..."

to be continued...