Yay three reviews! It took a bit longer than I'd hoped for, but oh well. So, this is the eleventh chapter! Second chappie in double digits, wow. I'm on a roll! …Kind of.

Thanks:

ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice: No, Cagalli did know it was Kira, she just didn't realize that Rin was the one who "didn't" know. Hope you like this next one!

Sword of the soul: My loyal reviewer, always first to review…I love you! (You know what I mean.) Thanks so much!

cynical.life: Chrissy, the emails do count, but I go by the number of reviews on the site, not the emails. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not the characters, mobile suits, nor Nicol's pretty piano theme! But wait! I do own Rin. Haha!

CHAPTER ELEVEN – IN HIS MEMORY, I PLAY

Rin had no idea how far she'd run, or how she'd gotten there, or where the heck she was, for that matter. But somehow, she had found herself in a small, white room, furnished with nothing but a black piano.

The piano was old and dusty, and from the looks of things, Rin guessed that it hadn't been played in years. She walked over to it and played a simple note, and then a few others. They vibrated in her ear, and her good hearing told her that the piano was still tuned. It could still be played on.

Looking at the piano, she felt her anger starting to fade away. It would have been a beautiful piano if it hadn't been so dusty. Most likely, everyone had forgotten about it in the course of the war. The peaceful piano that delivered sweet tunes to people's ears had been replaced by a machine and a gun, along with a lust to fight and kill. Nicol had even abandoned his piano…and he was shot down. If he had just stayed home, if he had just continued to play his beautiful song, none of this would have happened.

But it did happen. That was the reality which she faced. Fact is, Nicol did abandon his piano, and he was shot down. His songs were over. All thanks to Kira.

Kira! That jerk! That idiot, that murderer!

The last bit of anger within her exploded, and Rin banged on the piano keys, causing a terrible, moaning sound to escape. She just kept pounding, and that wailing sound continued. Stupid piano! she cursed. Why couldn't Nicol have loved you just a bit more, so that he would never have left you to join the war? It's your fault he's dead, stupid thing! She wanted nothing more right then to destroy that piano, to damage it so much that it could never be fixed, never be played on again…

And then it all stopped. Rin sat down on the bench, panting. Her quick breaths slowly returned to normal, and her longing to destroy the piano slowly faded. Her mind felt much clearer. All of her anger was gone now, which enabled her to reflect on what had just happened.

She regretted yelling at Athrun like that. Athrun was not to blame for what had happened. He and Kira were childhood friends, after all. And it seemed that Athrun understood the war much better than her. Everyone wanted revenge. And so the war just kept escalating, and would keep escalating until one side had completely wiped out the other. She even felt bad for yelling at Kira now. Because she had made a promise to Nicol, a promise that she hadn't kept.

"I'm sorry, Nicol," she said, closing her eyes and letting a few tears come down. "I should have tried harder. I said I'd try to forgive Kira, but I couldn't bring about the courage to forgive him. Oh, Nicol, I keep letting you down. I know how you must have felt whenever I was so rude to you now. Please give me another chance. I'll try harder, I really will. I'll try to forgive Kira. I won't go after him for revenge. But Nicol…I don't know if I have the strength to forgive Kira for killing you. I know it's what you'd want, but I'm scared, brother. What if I can't do it? What if I just yell at him again? What if I try to kill him again? I don't want to let you down. I want to make you proud. Please, Nicol…give me the strength I need to do this. I know I can't do it alone. I'm not gentle like you. Please be with me, Nicol…" Rin paused, for she had felt the smallest and gentlest of breezes pass through the room, even though the windows weren't open. And she knew that Nicol had given his answer. "Thank you…and if I break my promise again, I give you my word that I will take my life and burn in Hell for all eternity. But it won't happen. I swear I won't let you down this time."

When she had finished, Rin just looked at the piano. She didn't feel calm enough to return to the others yet. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. Her fingers moved on their own, and found their way to the dusty piano keys, feeling the dust rub off on them. She played a few simple notes. The sounds were so peaceful, so soothing. It was really helping her nerves. Rin decided that she wanted to play some more before she left.

Looking at the piano, she knew that this would not do. Nicol would never play without making sure the piano was in the best condition possible. She'd have to clean it. She tore off a piece of her sleeve and began wiping off every speck of dust she could find. It took quite a long while, but once she had finished, the sleeve was filthy and disgusting, and the piano was shining as though it was still brand new.

Rin tossed the sleeve aside, sat down, and played a few more notes. They sounded fine. She played a simple scale. Fine as well. She played a small piece that she had learned, which was so easy that she memorized it from the first time she played. She found no problems in that piece as well. All was good. But there was a burning desire within her – a desire to see just how well she knew her older brother's favourite piece.

Rin played the first few notes, then stopped, searching through her brain, trying to remember the notes from when she had last played the piece. She remembered, and started over. This time she did better, but only got as far as the first system. She was forced to stop again, trying as hard as she could to remember the notes, how long to play them for, and in what order they were played. She started over again, and got no further. And again, and again. But her mind was still blank. She couldn't remember!

"No…" Rin moaned, trying out different combinations that could possibly work, but none of them sounded right. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked herself, her voice shaking, tears starting to come down from her disappointment. She felt as though she was letting her brother down. "Why can't I remember the right notes?"

A voice in the distance behind her said softly, "Maybe you should try to remember the feel of your fingers on the piano keys."

Rin closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and started over, her eyes still closed. Somehow, she had the feeling that this time would be different. She played up to the first system. This time she didn't stop. Her fingers moved on their own, following the pattern that felt – and was – just right.

As she played, she remembered watching Nicol play this piece with distaste so long ago. She remembered his kind smile, his gentle touch, his loving and caring voice. As she played, she suddenly felt as though Nicol was there playing with her, his own hands guiding hers across the keys to create a beautiful melody.

Finally, the piece ended, and the memories vanished. Rin opened her eyes to realize that she had been crying while she played. Then she remembered the voice that she had heard. It had come from the doorway. She turned around to see Athrun standing there, motionless. Not only that, but she could have sworn there were tears in his eyes. But then again, it was probably only a trick of the light.

"I heard Nicol playing this piece once," Athrun explained to her quietly. "He played the whole piece flawlessly, just from memory, with his eyes closed. He told me that he'd been able to do it because he remembered not the notes but the feel of his fingers on the piano keys." His voice had sounded steady at first, but it had begun to shake. Rin was alarmed to see tears coming down. There was a moment of silence, and he added, "You play with almost the same grace that…that he had."

Rin blinked hard, trying to stop the remaining tears from coming out, but it just wouldn't work.

Athrun continued, his voice shaking madly, "N-Nicol was…always so gentle and c-caring…he always told me…that he w-wanted to do a p-proper concert one day…"

"I-I know," Rin said in a voice just as shaky as his.

"Please, Rin…don't be mad at Kira," Athrun pleaded suddenly, and Rin stared at him in surprise. "I know you hate him for killing Nicol, but…don't blame him…it was my fault that he died…it should have been me…but Nicol did it…to save me…" His voice was breaking now. Rin's eyes were growing more and more watery with each passing second. "It was my weakness that got him killed…because I was too weak to convince Kira…to bring him to our side…if I had done it…this would never have happened!"

Rin couldn't hold it in any longer. "Athrun!" she cried, and she was hugging him, her tears flowing onto his shirt. For a few minutes, the two of them just stood there, with Rin sobbing into Athrun's clothes, and Athrun patting her gently. Eventually they were both able to stop crying, though it took Rin a bit longer than him.

Rin wiped away the few tears she had left. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before," she said softly. "I didn't mean it. I don't hate you. And if Nicol…if he died to save you, then…you must have been someone he really cared about…a really good person."

"Thanks," he muttered.

"And also," she added, "I…I don't hate Kira. I just…I…I'm trying."

He seemed to understand what she meant. He smiled. "I thought you looked like someone I knew when we first met. Now I'm absolutely certain. You really are his sister. You have the same eyes…the same smile. You might be a bit different, but…there's no doubt that you're still just like him."

Rin gave a small smile back. This piece was for you, Nicol.

So, I hope you all liked that one. By the way, I just thought of something…I'm sure not all of you have heard Nicol's piano theme before, so if you guys want, I can email you a wma file of it since I have it on a CD. So, if you'd like me to do that, review and give me your email address. DO NOT EMAIL ME! I will email you through a different address (mine is broken), but I will state that it's Nariko from fanfiction and you'll understand. Okay? Okay! Hope to see some reviews!