Yo! Thanks so much to the two people who reviewed - you know who you are, be proud. I would have rather waited till I got a few more reviews before posting up this next chapter but I'm in a really good mood. So enjoy the next chapter. But I'd really like at least five reviews before I post another chapter, so please review and let me know what you think! Thankies!

Disclaimer: I own no Gundam Seed character/object, save for Rin and this random guy named Commander Johnson who will appear in this chappie for the first and last time. I made him up. If for some odd reason there actually IS a Commander Johnson in the TV series, I swear it's a coincidence.

CHAPTER TWO – A RISKY DECISION

Rin locked herself in Nicol's room. Her parents had returned by now and had found the letter of bad news on the kitchen floor. She could hear piano keys banging, and she knew her mom was crying against the piano. Her dad had discovered where she was hiding, but she would not come out. She would not leave his room until she'd found every single possession he owned in there. She felt as if she had to – as if perhaps it would help lessen the pain.

Rin had found lots of things – toys from a long time ago under the bed and hidden beneath newer things in the closet, quite a few diaries – all of which she read, to learn more about the brother she wished she had known, clothes, and a bunch of other stuff. But what Rin found the most of was piano sheets and books on how to learn piano. There was also a mini-keyboard. She read through all the books and began practicing on the mini-keyboard, keeping the volume at a bare minimum. Within a few hours she had mastered the simple pieces. Now onto a harder one.

She ended up practicing all through the night, practicing until she got it just right. Hey, she's a Coordinator. She learns fast. (A/N: The song she's playing is known to me and my friends as Nicol's piano theme – it was also the music playing in the background when Nicol dies in the TV series.) This was a song Nicol liked to play a lot, as Rin found out from reading his diary. As she played it at three o'clock in the morning, tears began to leak out, and as soon as she finished playing she flung herself onto his bed and cried herself to sleep.

Rin woke up four hours later. Not much sleep, but she didn't need any more. She never needed much sleep, and she probably never will. But now that she was refreshed, she finally realized just what it was that would lessen her pain. She unlocked the door to Nicol's room and dashed to the kitchen. There, she wrote a quick letter to her parents. Then, she left for the door. But the piano caught her eye. Rin went over to it, and without realizing what she was doing, she began to play. Halfway through the song she heard the door to her parents' room creak open. She stopped abruptly and darted out the door, with only a small knapsack to accompany her.

Truth be told, she had been away from boarding school for six months now, only she never came home right away. Instead, Rin had decided to train to be in the military. She was actually going to be assigned today, along with her trusty mobile suit, named by her the Destroyer. Which was a well-suited name, if she did say so herself. With her as its pilot, it was able to accomplish amazing things.

It had been a very risky decision, deciding to join the military. But Rin had managed to hide it from her parents for six months, and she would be able to hide it even longer. All she had written in that small note to her parents was: I'm going away for a while. I'm sorry. Rin. That was all she wanted to say. Hopefully they wouldn't figure it out until after her adventures were over. But now Rin had a new reason to fight. Before, she wanted to fight for the rush of action and risks, but now she had to avenge Nicol. And avenge him she would. She had it all planned. It would be her who would finally destroy the Strike, the mobile suit that killed her brother. And then maybe he'd be able to rest in peace.

A while later, Rin reached the training building, where she would find out what her first mission would be. The soldier there brought his hand up as the greeting salute, which she mimicked. "Morning," she said.

Soon after, she found Commander Johnson, who had trained her. He was big and beefy but very smart, with a large moustache. He gave the salute, which she returned. "Ready for your first mission, Rin Armafi?"

Rin nodded. "Yes, sir."

"All right, then. We were going to place you elsewhere, but in consideration of the recent events, we are transferring you to the Le Creuset team."

"Yes, sir."

"Good luck, kid."

"Thank you, sir."

As she turned to leave, he added, "Don't be too rash. Make sure you think all your actions through before you follow through with them."

She turned back to him. "Whenever haven't I?" she asked in a cheerful voice that didn't seem right. Sure, she was always cheerful, but this voice was strangely fake, as if it didn't belong to her. "Don't worry about me." With another salute, she left him.

As Rin prepared herself to depart, she couldn't help the feeling of her heart jumping through her throat and stomach. The Le Creuset team. The team Nicol had been assigned to, before the Strike killed him. This was the team that was tracking him down. It couldn't have been planned out better. This was her golden opportunity.