Believe, Realize, Reason
Chapter 3: Life Goes On.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed. Not now, not ever.
Legend:
"…": Speech
'…': Thoughts, they can also be in italics
Scenario changes are listed in bolded italic brackets.
AN: Sorry for this late update, my excuse would be… I was lazy, and other things in reality somehow caught onto me as if tomorrow would never come. Toronto, Canada, has a very bad tendency to do that. Rather, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) never ceases to leave their students alone! Sorry for ranting. I don't want to waste anyone's time anymore, I will go onto a Q&A Period to those who asked me a several questions about my story, or about me specifically. Here goes.
Question and Answer Period! Note, I will not repeat your question, you have to remember what you asked me.
MissKT: This story is not just focused on Shani, although I could. However, I do need to get his relations out of the way for his plotline is the hardest for me to write. Fluff and plot are completely different issues.
KiraxLacus: Your question amuses me. If you want to add my story to your C2, just do it. Why bother asking me? I can't stop you from adding stuff to your C2, and if you think my story is something that could be C2ed potential, then go right on ahead. I am in not position to tell you what to do, nor do I have an obligation to care about it that much.
Ruler of the Dark: How can I write that much in one chapter, you ask? It's easy. Just think of things to write, ponder a lot about it, and it all depends on the amount of characters there are and how much of their character you want to show. If a specific character is really fun to write, naturally, you have lots to describe about.
Mizue-chan: I knew Yzak was also very good in the military, but what fun would that be if I made him so skilled? Yeah, I altered it slightly, but I don't think that would be something drastically significant in the long run. If it would, then I am really screwed. Thanks for reviewing.
Special thanks to my reviewers: jasx316, Angel of Dreams, MissKT, asga, Mick, sworDieXeQtion, KiraxLacus, xxravenwingxx, Ruler of the dark, TMoon, D.D Designator, C-town Chica, WOW, Mizue-chan, ZGMF-24S, and Dragon's Rage. Your words made my day that much better! Thanks again for reviewing.
(On the Shuttle)
"Lady," Shani spoke in the most relaxed manner he could without cracking his voice –with terror as his source of fuel. "Please don't misunderstand me…"
"I don't think that there is anything for me to misunderstand," Lunamaria replied with venom dripping all over her voice, "Pervert-san, you know you have been stalking me! Don't deny it!"
"Are you crazy?" the Forbidden pilot nearly shouted. "How dare you call me pervert-san!"
"I am not crazy, you're the one who groped me by the breasts." Shani's face reddened once he recalled that incident. He was a guy, and feeling a beautiful girl's noticeable breasts was something that only happened in a lifetime. Although he did believe it was lecherous, he couldn't deny that it felt surprisingly good. In spite of that, he wouldn't dare do it again.
"It was an accident."
"Sure it was an accident, pervert-san," Lunamaria stated back obviously not taking Shani's reason as legitimate. "After touching me, all men would say that it was just an accident."
"But I mean it, lady!" pleaded Shani signaling her to sit down knowing that the shuttle would take off anytime. "That incident would not happen again." The magenta haired coordinator eyed him suspiciously before slowly sitting down and buckling her seat belt. Her eyes never left him –especially his hands- for one second. When Shani tried to smile or even give off a grin, he was silenced when those fiery blue eyes were glaring fiercely.
"Don't try to be all Mister-Nice-Guy with me, pervert-san," she warned with a pointing finger, "I am on to you…"
"I won't touch you, okay?" Shani stated with exasperation. "I have a name you know."
"I don't care!" Lunamaria snapped back giving a pout and looking away.
"Anyway, my name is Shani," the green haired one eyed natural said regardless of her temper. "Shani Andras."
"What a nice name for a pervert," that comment surely made Shani cringe.
"What's yours then, lady?" Shani tried really hard not to be angry.
"I am not giving my name to a pervert," she said again this time with a grin before she completely ignored him. Seeing that there was no point in even having a conversation, Shani placed his headphones back into his ears before his J-Pop music swarmed his mind. After closing his eyes, a smile formed on his face when he could finally treasure the long lost of deep sleep. Lunamaria gave him another look before the announcement regarding lifting off came on the PA system. The coordinator had to admit that Shani was very handsome only if he wasn't a pervert in her eyes.
At long last, the shuttle lifted off for PLANT.
(Later on, back at the apartment)
"What can we do now?" asked Lacus to the entire gang in Yzak's apartment living room. When the beautiful songstress took a look at her friends, she frowned when she actually noticed how different it was without Shani around. "None of us really have any homework, and it's a Saturday…"
"We could just sit here and vegetate," suggested Crot promptly as if that was the best answer.
"I'd say we stay home and relax," Dearka insisted pushing Crot's offer to the side.
"How about we go out?" Athrun inquired hopefully.
"Where to?" asked Kira as he poured himself a good cup of cola and then pouring one for Lacus. Cagalli glared at Kira when he didn't give her a cup, and therefore the Freedom pilot quickly gave her his cup before his sister did anything drastic. When Cagalli found herself possessing the drink, she smiled with glee before consuming it all down, and then sighed so pleasantly that Kira couldn't help but feel jealous.
"Anyone got any ideas?" Miriallia asked. When no one seemed to be answering, the former CIC suddenly remembered that they haven't been here for too long and today was their first day to actually have some free time on their hands. They all had been doing the same thing for three days straight, it was not a surprise that none of them had actually studied this place in much detail.
"Shani-kun would have known where to go…" Stellar suddenly said sadly as her eyes just looked at the ground with her feet twirling a little like a little girl. Crot grunted in his seat hearing Shani's name coming from Stellar again today. Ever since he left two hours ago, Stellar had not said much. And when she did actually speak words, it would involve Shani in some way. For crying to the heavens, if she liked him so much, Stellar should've just went with him to the shuttle and the two would live happily ever after.
To put it in simpler terms, Crot could not stand this. What was so good about Shani that he did not possess? Shani piloted the Forbidden Gundam, he piloted Raider. Shani was a tough pilot, he was zealous. Shani had one violet eye, the other one blue, and Crot also had great, appealing blue eyes. The Forbidden pilot had mid-length green hair in a mysterious fashion, where as Crot had a comb-over. So, with these factors at a stalemate, Crot did not understand what the problem was? Why wasn't he as good as Shani?
"Yeah," agreed Cagalli with a sigh escaping her lips.
"I got an idea!" exclaimed Lacus suddenly. Yzak raised a brow at her exuberance, he didn't understand what she would be so happy about. As far as he was concerned, anything that was associated with fun should not be regarded with such joy and passion. Dearka –on the other hand- seemed to be pleased with Lacus' delightful nature. Even during the war, the songstress always had smiles on her face as frequent as possible. The Buster pilot sometimes envied how optimistic and positive she was, he just wish he could be like that too at times.
"What, Lacus?" Kira inquired kindly with a smile. "What is this big plan you got?"
"It better not be a party…" commented Athrun as he laid down on his back with his hand around Cagalli's narrow waist knowingly. The Orb princess gave out a small squeak when she could feel her skin being soothed by the coordinator's touches, she never knew he was this good. However, her pride won over and she shifted a little so she could be out of his reach. Yet, she couldn't believe the cold and lonely feeling without him at her side.
"I agree with a party!" Crot cheered for this proposal. "We should have a GT4 tournament this time! We can have a huge competition!"
"I don't think so…" Yzak stated while destroying any of Crot's hopes, "That last one wasn't all out successful, remember?"
"That was just Shani!" objected the Raider pilot. "He was the one who spoiled it."
"No," interrupted Stellar defending the Forbidden pilot, "It was Dearka and Cagalli that spoiled it." Knowing Cagalli, she did not like getting blamed for she blamed herself over a lot of things –especially the incident in Orb. Dearka, however, accepted the fault knowing that he made Shani's room into a realm of chaos.
"You mean the bed incident?" questioned Miriallia giving the blond dancer a look. "I guessed that they did kind of overdid it a bit… I never seen him this angry before."
"It was all Dearka's fault," Cagalli immediately shifted the blame to the Buster pilot and giving herself all the innocence that this world could provide. Dearka instantly gave her a ridicule expression.
"Who's the one with the temper problem?" Dearka stated easily with a cocky sneer. "If you actually gave some thought to my words, you would've known I was only joking."
"You taking me for a fool, Dearka Elthman?" It was no doubt the Orb princess's rage was boiling within.
"You are the one who chased me."
"You ran away!"
"Because you were about to kill me!"
"Enough!" shouted Kira turning the current tension into dead silence at that moment. Everyone paid attention to the Freedom pilot's outburst, and for very clear reasons, they knew when to shut up. Once Kira made sure he had gotten everyone's –Cagalli's to be precise- attention, he motioned Lacus to continue. The songstress gave Kira a grateful smile –one of her trademarks- before continuing with her initial discussion. "Lacus, would you kindly continue?"
"Sure…" Lacus spoke back timidly since Kira gave her his entire support. After giving a small cough, the young pink princess proceeded with her plans. "Okay, so you guys don't want a party?" Lacus started with a question. When a vast majority of them shook their heads, Crot immediately pouted and sulked. "How about we go some place that is public?"
"What do you have in mind?" inquired Athrun listening attentively.
"I was thinking of going to an exhibition," replied Lacus with a great smile. "Don't you guys think it's great?"
"Yeah…" said Dearka slowly showing that he was considering the idea, "Where would there be such a place?"
"It's actually in the east of the city," explained Lacus as she held up yesterday's newspaper that Shani brought and Stellar permanently borrowed after the Forbidden pilot was done. To be very blunt, no one else had the habit to buy the newspaper since they relied on the television. "See, this small celebration is to celebrate that the war has ended. As survivors of the war, we should join as well, right? We can think of it as our time to finally relieve ourselves from the pain of everything that we have faced. How does that sound?"
"What do you do there?" asked Stellar curiously as she shifted closer to be more involved.
"I don't really know," said Lacus regrettably, "However, I know the exhibition is holding some kind of aquatic events, you know, more or less an aquarium." That excited the young blond natural instantly brightened with a delightful –not to mention endearing- smile.
"Aquarium?" Yzak questioned in a fake cough. In other words, he was sneering. "I am so not going there." Everyone gave him a look of disbelief at that second. "Hey, I am flattered by your offer, Lacus, and everyone else, but like… I can't go to such places." Miriallia narrowed her eyes questioningly.
"And why?" asked the former Archangel CIC to the Duel pilot giving him the gesture to give out a justifiable response.
"Because I don't like it."
"There are rides, too, Yzak," Lacus told him hopefully. "There is an exhibition and there is also an amusement park if you want to go on rides."
"Not interested," the Duel pilot replied dryly, "I have no love for those things." Athrun rolled his eyes where as Dearka grunted with irritation.
"So, what do you really want then?" Athrun asked Yzak tiredly knowing that something draining –more or less a case of arguing- would erupt when they wanted to discuss subjects that included Yzak's personal opinion.
"I want nothing more than to stay here and nap." Cagalli's face fell slightly hearing that response. Despite how amusing it was to see Yzak rant, complain, insult, or whatnot, the Duel pilot was quite a downer and a bore.
"You want to do that?" asked Crot scratching the back of his head. Judging from the face Yzak made, the coordinator was quite serious about his decision. The Raider pilot, on the other hand, would never discard such a chance to fool around. He would simply stay home when the sky would rain down fire and cleanse the human race from existence. "Come on, Jule, grow up."
"I said I am not going," declared the Duel pilot with utmost seriousness and passion to decline their offer. "Me, Yzak Jule, commander of the Jule squad, cannot degrade myself to enjoy such normal lifestyles. Living here is already an insult to my regulations and expectations, and you people want me to enjoy such simple pleasures such as parties and amusement parks? I, Yzak Jule, although humbled by your gracious offer, cannot accept. I would rather…" He just went on.
(10 minutes later)
After 10 valuable minutes, the Duel pilot was still speaking as if Energizer batteries were powered in his coordinated blood veins. "… after knowing my completely legitimate reasons," Yzak was still speaking with nobleness in his voice as his back was turned to them while looking out the window as the sunlight grazed on his features. "I cannot-" Once he turned around, his face fumed when he found out no one was here anymore. They ditched him! "You bastards! How dare you bastards leave me behind!" He then screamed. "Damn you all!"
(Meanwhile)
"Finally got rid of him…" Crot said relieved as he lied down on the armchair at Kira's apartment with the rest. After everyone took out a beverage from the fridge, they joined the Raider pilot to continue their discussion. "What the hell was that Jule talking about back there?"
"Him being a nobleman maybe…" Athrun replied as he chuckled.
"I don't even know how he thinks," pouted Cagalli as she leaned on the Justice pilot. "Does he even know what kind of opportunity it is to have this kind of event? I wouldn't miss it if I couldn't."
"Forget about that, Cagalli," said Miriallia, "He would never appreciate a normal person's life. We might as well leave him alone until he realizes how to enjoy it."
"I'd say his mommy spoiled him too much when he was a child," commented Dearka as he comfortably sat beside Miriallia casually. Although no one else detected it, Miriallia knew Dearka sat next to her deliberately. Despite she did feel comfortable having her blond coordinator friend around, it still felt kind of strange. However, she would give him credit for acting so natural without breaking a sweat.
"Having a mother who is an executive at PLANT's highest councils…" muttered the Justice pilot as he took a good sip of soda. "It's no doubt that Yzak always had the best things. He even refused to eat fries when he was a kid since too many middle-class people ate those foods."
"But I like fries…" whispered Lacus not wanting people to believe that she may be a pig. She really did love burgers and grill but due to her status, she usually had to eat fine dishes.
"Lacus," said Kira understandingly. Lacus blushed slightly when his hand made a gentle grip on her shoulders. "Unfortunately, not everyone is as reasonable as you are." Kira had to admit, she was easy to please.
"Yamato," Crot said lazily as if he was drunk on soda, "Speaking of Lacus… what should we do now? You know that Yak-"
"Yak?" Stellar asked as she giggled innocently.
"Yeah, that Yzak, his name does sound like yak, right?" Everyone agreed with Crot on that comment. "Besides, he just keeps yakking all the time about stuff. At times… it might not have any relevance to anything! He's like…"
"Like what?" asked Kira motioning Crot to continue. Unknown to him, everyone was giving their full attention to the Raider pilot.
"I don't know! Like… like an old man trapped in a boy's body." Everyone was quiet hearing that.
"Sure…" Miriallia finally said after ten seconds of dead silence. "That's a very marvelous comparison!" At that instant, the gang chuckled out loud. Dearka and Athrun even laughed.
"That's so mean, Crot!" Lacus teased as she fought her giggle.
"So that's what I was looking for," said Athrun to the Buster pilot.
"I knew Yzak was like somebody… or represent something," Dearka stated with hope. "Yzak is exactly like an old man!"
"Boys…" Cagalli grunted shaking her head with shame. "Can't they ever think of anything besides games, insults, and fun?"
"Oh, let them, Cagalli," said Lacus with a smile. "I know you want to have fun to." The Orb princess than gave a silencing, and accusing glare but it didn't stop Lacus from continuing to smile. Frustrated, Cagalli made a half-angry hmmph and turned away crossing her arms.
"Should we get going?" asked Stellar shyly and obviously in a voice no louder than a whisper. "I know you guys want to go before Yzak-san comes back…"
"Stellar," said Cagalli giving off a sigh and a supportive pat on the blond natural's shoulder. "You got to be less formal with us. We are all great friends with another, why the formalities?" Stellar only grinned nervously believing that she did something wrong. Who wouldn't believe that when they hear such a comment coming from a friend?
"You are only audible when you are talking to Shani," teased Lacus in a very feminine tone, "Stellar, do you really like him that much?" The blond natural's face soon rivaled a strawberry. How could they ask that so casually as if it was the easiest thing the world had offer? What about her secrets, didn't she have the right to protect them? In only a week, the other three girls knew enough about Stellar yet she did not know enough about her new friends.
"I… I…" Stellar choked uncomfortably.
"No need to say anymore, Stellar," Miriallia declared as she patted her friend's back. "We all know you like him, and I am sure Shani-san isn't that stupid not to know."
"Yeah," added Cagalli happily, "You even kissed him."
"It was only the moment thing!" reasoned Stellar trying to sound firm but failing quite marvelously. "It was only the cheek…"
"Only the moment thing?" questioned Lacus doubtfully with a knowing smile, "Really? Did you know how happy you were for the next 30 minutes after kissing Shani? And also, you have been very quiet ever since he left, don't think we are that dumb not to realize that you like him."
"Lacus-chan…"
"I promise you, Stellar," continued the songstress interrupting the poor, timid girl. "When Shani comes back or when we visit him, I promise you that you two would deal with another and be together."
"Lacus-chan… you can't do that…" mumbled Stellar hastily, "Shani-kun would…"
"He would what?" interfered Miriallia, "Do you think he could resist someone like you when he knows in his heart that you care about him a lot?"
"Stop talking about me for a second," Stellar finally said out loud. "How about you, Cagalli-san? What about your relationship problems?" Cagalli was taken quite aback at her question. She didn't know how it happened but the shift suddenly came to her. "Well?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," replied the Orb princess confidently and half-defensively, "I have no relationship problems. None whatsoever."
"You sound so firm," commented Stellar willfully, "How would you know for certain if you don't tell us? If you believe that your relationship with Athrun is so good, you know, Athrun may not think so. Instead, you need more opinions from other people, am I right?"
"I am not having a relationship!" Cagalli shouted embarrassingly.
"Are you sure?" Stellar inquired leaning in a little more, "I have seen you two so happy with another like holding hands, his arm around your waist, your arm around his back. You can't just tell me that you're just friends when you two are doing more than what friends should do."
"He has been holding you?" asked Lacus excitedly. "Oh, I am so happy for you!"
"We're just friends!" Cagalli persisted.
"That would really hurt Athrun,"
"I am not talking about this anymore!" the Orb princess declared as she furiously –or half playfully- stomped off making loud and audible steps to tell everyone she was angry. Lacus and Miriallia only sighed to themselves seeing a Cagalli in denial where as Stellar was giggling as she witnessed the blond twin's actions. At the same time, the guys seemed to be finished with their sense of gibberish.
"What's with Cagalli?" asked Athrun worried as he stepped forward to the girls with Crot, Kira, and Athrun behind him. "Lacus, is something wrong?"
"No, no," answered Lacus cheerfully destroying his previous concern -or rather too cheerfully. "She just went back to her room to get packed."
"Get packed?" asked the Raider pilot raising a brow of distrust. "Where is she going?"
"You know, the exhibition!" exclaimed Miriallia lying instead of telling the males what they were chatting about before. It was girl talk after all; it was none of their business. "If we don't get packed, we may not have some of things that we need when we need it. You know, it's good to prepare than repair, right?"
"What words of wisdom!" complimented Dearka immediately but he was silenced when Kira nudged his elbow a tad bit too hard. Moreover, it was his funny-bone. Miriallia's face flushed up hearing such praise, if Dearka continued to do this, she wouldn't know what to do. However, there was one thing that she did know; getting praised did feel good. In addition, she did want him to do it more often since Dearka was very sarcastic.
"Repair what?" questioned Crot not understanding what his friend was saying. "Preparing for what? I know there is a hidden meaning." Athrun took in a deep breath of exasperation before whispering in Crot's ear.
"Miriallia is referring to a woman's monthlies," the Justice pilot explained in a hiss.
"Monthlies…" repeated the Raider pilot. "No wonder she is moody…"
"If you can let it slide, just let it slide, okay."
"I suppose these things are natural," stated Crot in a smirk, "However, judging from her usual attitude, we wouldn't know if she is actually going through her period or not. Or rather, she has it too frequently."
"I heard that, Crot Buer!" Cagalli's voice roared from the hallway. If they could hear her voice through a two-inched braced door, loud and clear, Kira safely assumed that everyone else on this floor heard her. She was completely swallowed with rage, the Raider pilot knew his end was near. Too near…
"Let's just pack up and prepare to go to the exhibition, okay?" suggested Lacus still in her delighted mood although rage and death was just outside these doors. "I will meet you all in the lobby in half an hour."
"I got you," said Kira as he gave Lacus a genuine smile before leaving.
"See you then," Dearka told the girls and went back into his room since this was his apartment. He gave Miriallia a smiling nod before she left the place with Lacus and Stellar. Stellar gave a small bow thanking Kira's hospitality and the guys had to say that her manners were equally as amazing as Lacus', he was starting to grow fond of Stellar. That only left Crot –who was sitting on the couch cold sweating with fear. Athrun wondered what could be the matter.
"Aren't you going to go, Crot?" asked Kira walking to him, "You do want to go out today, right?"
"I am not going out there!" the Raider pilot shouted with hands shaking and twitching. "That woman is waiting for me… I am going to die if I go out there!"
"What woman?" questioned the Justice pilot, confused.
"Cagalli!"
"Oh, Cagalli isn't going to kill you, Crot," said Athrun supportively with reassurance. "Don't worry about it." Suddenly, Crot's eyes widened with his iris no larger than a dot. Kira gasped audibly seeing his terrified expression.
"I can feel a killing aura…" the orange haired natural murmured soullessly. "It's thirsting for blood… my blood!" The Freedom and Justice pilot looked at each other with utmost confusion. A several blinks couldn't make their puzzlement more evident –in other words, they did not know what in hell Crot was saying.
"What are you talking about?" Athrun questioned completely bewildered.
"He's talking about me," someone said with authority. When Kira and Athrun both moved aside, they revealed Cagalli crossing her arms with the most sinister, most devilish grin on her face. Her fingers seemed to be itchy… itchy for some unnecessary violence. There was definitely an aura now, the two coordinators did not know what kind of words could be used to describe this feeling. It was frightening, intimidating, and most importantly, they didn't want to be the victims that the aura was directed to. "Hello, Crot."
Crot immediately pointed his finger with the most fear in his life at Cagalli and yelled. "Don't get any closer!"
"Insulting my monthlies and my temper, Crot?" questioned Cagalli as she shoved Kira and Athrun gracefully aside to make way to the Raider pilot. "You know, I won't hurt you… much…"
"What do you want… what do you want?"
"Nothing much." she still had that sinister grin on her face, what an incredible fake charm.
"You lie, woman!" shouted Crot accusingly.
"You're right, I am lying," replied Cagalli making Crot jerk another notch, "I do want something from you. You know, after knowing another for such a long time, we never had a great introduction to know another. We should do it right now."
"No, no, no, there is no need for that!" exclaimed the Raider pilot shifting a foot away from Cagalli instantly. Athrun and Kira swallowed hard and gulped seeing what kind of fear were in Crot's blue eyes. "We already introduced fine enough at the Archangel… we don't need to do it again!"
"I insist…" she told him with intimidating eyes, "I would take good, good care of you…" It was then she took out a rod from behind her back, raising it above her head before clubbing him.
In a matter of seconds, a terror scream could be heard from over a mile away –along with sounds of dangerous beating.
(Time jumps itself a several long hours)
"We are finally here!" exclaimed Lacus as the leader of the group as they arrived to the exhibition at downtown Kyoto. "Yes, we are really here!"
In all honesty, Kira –and everyone else- did not understand how Lacus was still energetic and cheerful. Was she that easy to please, or was she simply able to see the good in everything? Taking a small glimpse behind his shoulders, the Freedom pilot's eyes opened slightly more when they saw his friend's tired expressions. If he thought he was pissed, he had light years to go until he fully realized what the meaning of that word meant.
Sure, Lacus had a great idea, but all of them figured out she was no tour guide –it would've been incredibly helpful if they knew before they started their trip. The only person that would actually study maps was Shani, since he actually spent time in familiarizing himself with the gang and the city. The songstress only knew where the exhibition was, not exactly how to get there. After taking the wrong bus to the south end of town, they even missed their stop on the subway and went to the end of the line ending up at 'who-knows-where'.
Those 'uncalled for' trips alone wasted over 2 hours of precious time. No one -who rarely took public transportation- ever expected that riding the bus and subway would be so draining despite that they were sitting down.
In addition to this mess, Cagalli, Athrun, and Dearka developed a new pet peeve on the bus today. A vast majority of the passengers were idiots; this was one of the strongest beliefs that the three Gundam pilots held within. First of all, people were disrespectful. It wasn't like that they intentionally come right up to their faces and talked crap or attempted to flirt, the fact was that these people often talked loudly in spite that there were others around. As if that wasn't enough, Cagalli constantly glared at the fools who sat at the back and got off at the front –when there were wide rear doors that were made for the sole reason for people to get off. Not only was it annoying, they were wasting other people's time as if the world revolved only around them.
What a bunch of fateless fools, as Crot would say.
"What should we do now?" asked Kira as he looked around the area and finding this place more like Disneyland than an exhibition. The Freedom pilot wondered if the exhibition was a playground instead of a museum, from what he could gather, everywhere was all fun.
"Should we split up?" offered Athrun suddenly to the group.
"Why?" Stellar asked as she blinked a several times innocently.
"There may be some of us that want to go to places where the rest of the group may not want to go. It would be hard to compromise," Everyone agreed with his words. "So, if we do divide ourselves into smaller groups, we could check out more places and negotiations are more possible."
"Hey, Zala," commented a half wounded Crot deliberately not making any eye contact with Cagalli –not even a glance. "We are just planning how to proceed, no need to make it sound that professional, right?" Athrun grunted at Crot's words. It looked like he still had some grudge against the Justice pilot.
"That only proves what kind of solemn person Athrun was in the war," Dearka defended backing his good friend up. The Raider pilot gave Dearka a small, unpleased stare before looking away defeated. The blue haired coordinator silently delivered his gratitude to Dearka before Cagalli stepped and held his hand, Athrun was surprised at her actions for she was never this forward.
"I agree with splitting up," stated the Orb princess supporting this idea immediately without question. Some may even believe it as loyalty.
"But we shouldn't go alone, right?" questioned Miriallia bringing up a point.
"We aren't too familiar with this place after all," added the Buster pilot also following Kira to study the vicinity. After ten seconds of studying, even with a map this place could be quite confusing. If they went off alone, the chance of getting lost would be undoubtedly high. "Let's go in pairs, okay?"
"Sure!" said Cagalli delightedly as she squeezed Athrun's hand telling him that she was his partner and no one else. Seeing the blond twin with such eagerness to be with him, who was he to refuse.
"I will go with Cagalli," said Athrun to the group. Crot and Stellar merely nodded where as the rest gave their recognition as well –but not without that deliberate grin. "I will meet you guys back here at around at 7 or so, okay?" Giving another nod, Cagalli instantly yanked Athrun as she sprinted off into the theme park and soon disappeared from their sight range. All of them could hear Athrun's protest saying that Cagalli was being too rough on him. Miraculously, Athrun immediately silenced himself with he saw a face the Orb princess made. Since the rest of the gang only saw Cagalli's hair, they had their own interpretations. Regardless of what it was, it sure did the job well.
Lacus sighed pleasantly before looking at the remaining six members –including herself- of the group.
"Now, who's next?" questioned the songstress as she glanced at Kira with a smile. The perfect coordinator was no moron, he already knew what the girl was thinking –of course she wanted some time alone with him to talk things out. In other words, Lacus wanted to go with Kira.
"Hey!" exclaimed the Raider pilot with glee like a 12 year old despite he was 18. Stellar instantly eeped and made a jump hearing that drastic outburst. "There is an mega arcade here! Over hundreds of games, great bargains, endless hours!" Crot shouted again pointing to a map in his hands. "I am so gone!" In a flash, Crot immediately took off with marvelous agility like he was desperately attempting to make his way to freedom. "Get out of my way!"
Stellar –knowing what Lacus would say- also ran off after her sempai so he would not get lost later on. He was the only person amongst the group that didn't purchase a cell phone due to the fact he spent all his free time on games instead of shopping for necessities. Sometimes, Crot would be just as stubborn as Yzak, yet Crot's laziness appeared to be even more annoying for it affected everyone –in some miraculous, wondrous ways. Giving a farewell wave, Stellar hurried herself to catch up with the now 'fueled-by-zeal' Crot.
"I'll leave you two alone now," said Miriallia clearly understanding that Lacus wanted to pair with Kira.
"Correction," Dearka stepped in skillfully, "We will leave you two alone."
"Dearka?" questioned the brunette natural, surprised.
"We have to go in pairs, right?" the Buster pilot challenged her logic but in a very considerate method. Miriallia barely detected it. "It's safer this way since we don't know much about this place. Come on, we would still have fun, I promise you."
After Dearka put it that way, he did have a point. Besides, wandering around this exhibition alone would be lonely. She could sure use Dearka's company, and probably tease him or make jokes. Moreover, she liked Dearka's sarcasm –unfortunately he somewhat dimmed it when he became a member of the archangel. Hopefully, Miriallia would revive it again.
"Looks like we would go now," stated Miriallia to the two other coordinators as she smiled a little purposely. "Let's go, Dearka." The Buster pilot agreed almost too quickly before he and Miriallia headed towards the opposite direction to the amusement park district. Although oblivious to Lacus, Kira saw his friends smirking and laughing from a distance, he safely assumed that they left him alone with the songstress deliberately.
The Freedom pilot did not know whether he should thank them or curse them.
"Kira?" called the pink princess poking his shoulder.
"Yes?" answered Kira after three seconds of absent-minded thinking.
"Should we?" she asked him playfully before naturally looping her arms around his left one. Nodding with a weak grin, Lacus once again encircled her arms around her admirer before emitting a pleasant moan and resting her head comfortably on his shoulder. She did it so naturally as if it was one of the easiest, most free thing that this world could offer. Even if Kira merely grinned a little weakly at her affection, his heart was smiling with utmost appreciation.
Hopefully, every one of them could cherish their time today.
(Meanwhile at the shuttle to PLANT)
Things couldn't have been worse, as Shani would say, if leaving behind his new friends were hard enough, having to sit next to a coordinator girl who ceaselessly believed that he was a pervert was significantly more difficult than it seemed. He was certain that everyone wanted to figure out the true depth of his torment.
To put a long story short, Shani did try to befriend with Lunamaria despite their first encounter. They clearly started at the wrong foot. Or rather they actually messed up twice; once at the mall, and now at the shuttle. The young coordinator lady kept glaring dangerously at Shani during the whole trip, and it didn't matter what he was doing. When Shani was typing on his laptop, the girl would also stare along at him or with him. The Forbidden pilot felt very uneasy knowing his seating partner was suspicious of everything he did. When he tried to talk to her, she would just say he was trying to switch her attention away so he could grope her again. Honestly, Shani never even thought of that.
Lunamaria did not trust Shani for one second; and her constant glares only bored the living hell out of the one eyed natural. Although Lunamaria wanted to monitor Shani for the entire trip, it was soon when her energy ran out and fell asleep. As soon as that happened, Shani was relieved and finally had the peace to do a little bit of watching the scenery.
To be blunt, space was not all out interesting to look at. Regular citizens who always lived on earth may find outer space vast and amazing, but to Shani, this pitch darkness was nothing more than another battlefield. The last time he had been here, the Forbidden pilot did not have the heart nor time to simply enjoy this quiet scenery. Rather, after some time of resting, outer space was just a place for him to fly around and kill in his Forbidden Gundam. After all that slaughter, Shani did not have the heart now to love space –knowing that he was fully responsible for all that bloodshed.
Given that Lunamaria was finally out of commission, at long last Shani checked a several of his personal things -his mail. After typing freedomandjusticemustdie at hotmail dot com and his password GAT-X252, Shani finally had access to the mail that he needed to find. To his surprise, he found only one new message. What stunned him further was that it came from Stellar. Of course, he wouldn't ignore this letter.
Shani smiled as he read it.
I am sorry for writing this message so soon after you had your flight, but I just had to write it to you. I would miss you so much when you are not here… who is going to sit beside me in English class; who is going to let me listen to music; who is going to give me money for lunch when I forget mine at times? The list is just so endless. Oh, Shani-kun, how could you leave so soon without telling me? It hurts me so much that you have to leave and Stellar couldn't do anything about it. Why didn't tell me? I don't like Shani-kun keeping everything to himself, you know I am more than happy to share things with you.
Regardless if you are here or not, you better become a good Captain or Commander, or whatever high rank you may be. You were always amazing in the military, and I know that you would make me really happy. Please, Shani-kun, work hard… because when I see you again, I want to… I want to… see someone who I can truly admire.
Right now, Lacus-chan suggested that we should visit an exhibition/amusement park event in the east end of town –which is downtown Kyoto. I am actually there already and found a library so I could type this letter to you. I went to the aquarium just now, I found it just so amazing. Before I forget, I am actually quite worried about Yzak… Shani-kun, I would say that he chose not to come with us and we kind of ditched him back at home. I am sure you wouldn't mind but I hope he is not mad, I feel guilty…
Anyway, best of luck on your new job! Make your little sister proud!
Stellar
"Wow…" said Shani in awe at her short letter. A smile still plastered on face as he closed the window for his mail and shutting off his computer. After giving a sigh, his right eye opened when he suddenly felt something soft feathering on his neck. It was warm, and as he tilted his head to the right, he gasped slightly when he saw Lunamaria's head resting on his shoulders in her sleeping form. The only assumption the Forbidden pilot could make was that the magenta haired girl was tired and involuntarily fell on him without knowing.
Her cheek was very soft and smooth, and Shani could only imagine her other one would be equally or even better. Lunamaria's breathing tickled his skin, and soon as she leaned more forward, her soft, pink lips made small kisses on him as she took in every breath. He couldn't believe what satisfaction of healing kindness that was even though it was not intercourse. As her lips feathered his neck again, Shani squirmed a little with a blush –not a heavy one though. Her hand suddenly went upon his shoulder, giving him a pleasant grip. At the same time, her body tended toward a little more on him, and now her face was now nearly on his neck.
More importantly, her breasts were firmly brushing against his upper arm. To Shani, he did not know what she was doing. Was sleep something that made a woman totally seductive? He did not want to find out nor had the interest of having the slightest knowledge. Yet, Shani had to admit, this felt comfortable but if she woke up now, his life would belong to the forbidden devils of hell where he would spend eternity in a fiery domain.
"Kami-sama…" prayed Shani fidgeting noticeably, "If I live through this… I promise to go to church every Sunday…"
"This tasted good…" Lunamaria murmured dreamily unexpectedly. What was more sudden was that her tongue came out from her mouth and began licking. This indeed scared the Forbidden pilot. How was he supposed to feel when a beautiful girl showed her affection? Whether she was doing this involuntarily; or without knowing; or even intoxicated; it was difficult for Shani not to react. It was a miracle that he was still sitting there dead still.
"Hey, wake up," called the one eyed natural trying to shake her but he halted when she whispered more words.
"Strawberry shortcake… mint chocolate ice-cream…" those words escaped her lips as she moaned peacefully with a detection of that she was dreaming. If she was dreaming of those things, Shani was somewhat relieved. "I love all these things…" Unknown to Shani, Lunamaria opened her mouth revealing her perfectly fine white teeth, and then in a delighted state she made a forceful bite on Shani's neck. In fact, she bit him hard; very hard.
"God damn it!" cried the Forbidden pilot in a screech as she shoved the coordinator girl away in an instant and felt his neck. Of course, the girl immediately woke up and fear covered all her features when she saw blood seaming from Shani's wound although his hand was covering it. "Hell!"
"You're bleeding!" shouted Lunamaria in a desperate panic. Shinn and Meyrin –who were just behind them- stood up from their spot in an instant where worry was the driving force that caused them to act. Shinn and Meyrin watched in horror as more blood soaked Shani's hand. "What have I done… what have I done?"
"What happened, Luna?" yelled Shinn obviously in a hurry.
"I don't know, I don't know!" retorted the coordinator girl now in tears. "Pervert-san…" she pleaded as she carefully held his bloodied hand. "Please be okay…"
"There is an emergency!" shouted Shinn trying to get some people to help. "Someone call for help!"
(2 hours later, in the hospital waiting rooms of one of the PLANT colonies)
"How did this even happen, Luna?" asked Meyrin worriedly as she handed her older sister a cup of tea. "How did that guy start bleeding? Why did you bite him?"
"You think I want to?" countered Lunamaria defensively.
"I don't think you do…" stated the vampuric coordinator tiredly as he sat down beside his good friend.
"Exactly! Although he is a pervert, I would never bite Pervert-san like that!"
"Pervert-san?" Meyrin questioned while blinking with confusion. "Who are you referring to?"
"Hey, Luna," called Shinn catching the girls' attention. "He looks really familiar… where have I seen him?"
"I don't remember seeing anyone like that, Shinn," the younger Hawke told them. "I have to say, he looks really handsome…"
"Stop complimenting Pervert-san, Meyrin-chan," Lunamaria snapped with a growl.
"Stop calling him that, onee-chan," replied the younger coordinator lady, "He does have a name, you know. Hey, what is his name anyway?"
"How would I know?" Lunamaria pouted cutely while crossing her arms. Shinn just sighed inwardly at her high sense of pride. "I don't want to know his name… he's a pervert!"
"He was that guy who held you and helped you at the mall, right?" questioned Shinn raising a brow.
"Correction," stated the dark magenta haired girl with authority, "He didn't held me, he groped me. And moreover, it was my breasts!" Shinn grunted and sighed where as Meyrin blushed hearing it. Groped, what a foreign word. The younger sister seriously did not expect it. "How can I not be mad at a pervert for doing that, Shinn?"
"It's not that bad…" Shinn persuaded in a stutter.
"How would you know?" retorted the magenta haired coordinator. "You don't have breasts for men to touch!"
"Hey, he was trying to help you, Luna," the black haired boy told her in a friend's position, "Or you would've had your face smashed on the polished, smooth floor. You would've been in the hospital and ironically, the person who helped you ended up getting a ride with the white van." (Note: What Shinn meant was the ambulance)
"Hmph…"
"You worried, Luna?"
'No…" she said back weakly, "Why would I be?"
"You bit him pretty bad, you know that?"
"Shinn," begged the older coordinator girl suddenly with pure hysteria and grabbing the boy by the shoulders., "What should I do? What can I do? I don't know what I am supposed to do to make things better!"
"Don't worry," he cooed like a big brother would but he was actually younger, "Everything is going to be okay, Lunamaria. Have faith."
"I called him a pervert…" Lunamaria started to sniff with a several tears and even Meyrin was shocked to see her sister cry. "I insulted him when he tried to be nice… and I now I even bit him by the neck… He's going to hate me after this…"
"Onee-chan, don't think like that…" said Meyrin trying to be as helpful as possible.
"No matter what happens in the future, I know that I lost this…" Lunamaria told them genuinely sad.
"Don't talk like that, Luna," Shinn spoke with support, "Nothing's going to happen. I swear it."
"Don't try to sound optimistic… When he wakes up, he's going to sue me for aggravating assault. It's not like he doesn't have a right to, he was bleeding quite badly. I deserve it, I was being stupid… punishing me is just. Even if I do get off the hook, he is going to hate me… why wouldn't he? I did hurt him both physically and emotionally, why should he spare me? It's not like I am his sister, I am nothing more but a stranger who hurt him. Both ways are bad… what can I do?"
"What if he forgives you, onee-chan?" stated Meyrin hopefully, "He may be understanding…"
"What if he isn't, Meyrin?" countered Lunamaria snapping back, "What if he doesn't forgive me? If he isn't understanding, I am screwed all over with no way out! I would be charged for certain, and then I have to be imprisoned and all my hopes and dreams would be shattered!"
"Luna…" Shinn gave off a sigh with grief.
"This may be one of the last times that I am going to see you two…" the older Hawke sister said with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Shinn, I am going to miss you so much!"
"You're not going to custody, Luna…" the vampuric looking coordinator told her rolling his eyes. "You're going overboard."
"No…" she hissed as she darted at his hands too hard before crushing it. Shinn flinched with his eyes trying to hide the pain, Meyrin gasped with shock seeing the desperation in her sister's face. She looked possessed and insane. "No… I am not going overboard… I am dead… it's all over for me…" Lunamaria then cackled. "I deserve it… it's all my fault," she laughed maniacally again. "I'm dead… I am dead!"
"Who's dead?" came a voice that did not belong to Shinn or Meyrin. When the three young coordinators heard it, they turned their heads slightly to see the new stranger. It was no other than Heine Westenfluss. "What are you three talking about?"
"Captain Westenfluss!" Shinn said in a salute, surprised. Although he did not have his uniform, Shinn gave a lot of respect to this Faith member opposed to some of his other instructors. Lunamaria and Meyrin followed suit as well. Heine only sighed while shaking his head when the girls also addressed him the same way.
"Heine, people," said the current Faith member with a moving finger, "How many times do I have to tell you guys that? It's just Heine. No need to be that formal with me."
"Yes, sir…" whimpered Meyrin timidly where as Lunamaria had her head down in a depressed state.
"What's wrong, Lunamaria?" questioned Heine wondering what was wrong with his comrade.
"I don't think that she would really want to talk about it, Commander…" Meyrin told the orange haired Faith member in a whisper. He merely cocked his eyebrows a little bit.
"I understand then," Heine replied considerately, "Actually, I came here to look for someone. I was supposed to meet him back at base but I received info that he came to the hospital due to some emergency."
"Is that so?" questioned Shinn silently.
"Yes," continued the commander, "Does any one of you three know which room Shani Andras is in?"
"Shani Andras? Who is he?"
"Sorry, Commander, I mean, Heine," Meyrin flushed up knowing that she called him by a rank, "We don't know such person."
Shani Andras, this name sounded so familiar to Lunamaria, yet she could not figure out when she heard it. Who could blame her, after biting the Forbidden pilot on the shuttle, she had been in a stage of utter mess. However, this name kept ringing in her mind. She heard it somewhere… but when?
It was then when Lunamaria recalled one of the scenes in the shuttle.
"I won't touch you, okay?" Shani stated with exasperation. "I have a name you know."
"I don't care!" Lunamaria snapped back giving a pout and looking away.
"Anyway, my name is Shani," the green haired one-eyed natural said regardless of her temper. "Shani Andras."
"What a nice name for a pervert," that comment surely made Shani cringe. Lunamaria certainly felt proud for insulting right on the spot.
"Pervert-san…" Lunamaria suddenly spoke as if the light had shined through the clouds of bewilderment, "He's Shani Andras… Commander," Heine and the other two coordinators quickly gave her the attention she required. "I know where he is."
"Really?" Heine asked, pleased. "Take him to me, Lunamaria, thank you." Giving a nod, Lunamaria led the way with Shinn and Meyrin on their tails.
"Why do you need to see him, Heine-san?" questioned the vampiric male suddenly as the four continued to walk in the hallways. When the dark magenta haired coordinator lady heard Shinn's question, she decided to ignore it for the time being. However, it was quite difficult not to eavesdrop.
"It's somewhat confidential…" the Faith soldier answered kindly with a smile, "Besides, it's not something that a military student should really be concerned about."
"If you're telling onee-chan to take you to Shani-san," Meyrin spoke humbly, "You might as well tell us your reasons." Heine easily made another grin before chuckling.
"I would give you guys credit for being so curious," Heine told them still holding a small chuckle, "I suppose having curiosity is better than having none at all. I would tell you-" Just as Heine was about to continue, he bumped with the person who was walking in front of him. Giving an apology before hand, the three wondered why Luna stopped walking.
"We're here," Lunamaria stated as she pointed on the sign above the door, "Room 123."
"Thank you so much, Lunamaria," the Faith member said gratefully.
"It was a pleasure," replied the older Hawke sister half-heartedly but none of them caught it, "I will be taking my leave now. Shinn, Meyrin, let's go." Just as Shinn and Meyrin were about to protest since they did want to see what happened to the Forbidden pilot, Heine moved his hand to serve as a barrier for Lunamaria to halt. The three lower ranked soldiers stared at Heine questioningly. "Commander?"
"Feel free to stay here," said Heine having a too-knowingly smile on his face. Despite that it may be charming, it wasn't working on Lunamaria. Her clear blue eyes told Heine that she was asking why, and the Faith member did not hesitate to answer. "Because, I got a feeling that you want to talk to him."
"Why would I want to do that?" queried Luna somewhat defensively. The Gouf Ignited pilot once again just smiled, and Lunamaria –if she wasn't a lower rank soldier- would've retorted rudely by now.
"Your face tells me everything," stated Heine casually with a tsking finger. "Let me ask you this, why are you three in the hospital? Did someone get hurt? Or did you hurt someone? Judging by all the guilt and attempt to escape facial expression, you committed a wrongful act."
Just how in the name of forbidden angels did this guy know? Nothing escaped this man!
"Whatever," Lunamaria declared uncaringly with confidence, "Don't you have something more important to do, Heine?" Lunamaria hoped that her leader would drop this subject, he was invading too much of her personal space.
After that reminder, the Faith soldier suddenly remembered what he came here to do. Assuming that Shani was asleep, he quietly and swiftly opened the door to enter. Heine told them one last time that the three were more than welcome to join him but Lunamaria insisted to leave. Seeing that his persuasion skills weren't getting him anywhere, Heine had no choice but to respect Luna's decision –although Shinn and Meyrin wanted to stay. As soon as they were no longer in his sight range, Heine entered Shani's ward.
(At that instant)
When the Faith member closed the door and turned back, he was surprised to see the Forbidden pilot was actually awake. To be correct, he was sitting on the bed while staring stoically at Heine right in the eye.
"You must be Shani Andras," greeted Heine in a polite manner as he casually approached him, "It's an honour to meet with you."
"Drop your fake sincerity," said Shani with hardened bandages around his neck. The wound still stung quite significantly after the treatment, and as the Forbidden pilot touched it, he winced. Heine clearly noticed Shani's pain and merely smiled with understanding. "Who are you? From what you're wearing, you're from ZAFT."
"Of course," the ZAFT commander replied with a friendly gesture, "How are you feeling?"
"I don't know how to describe it…" Shani responded as he dropped his hand to the side with a weary grunt. "I felt like a victim that has been bitten by a vampire…"
"Who got you into this mess?"
"I rather not say."
"I understand." There were five seconds of dead silence.
"Why are you here?" the Forbidden pilot inquired after feeling awkward. "Why would someone like you need to look for me? Especially when I am in the hospital, I didn't expect you to be here."
"Captain Talia Gladys told me to meet you,"
"In other words, you're following orders?" inquired Shani cocking a brow. Heine merely nodded to comply and easily found out Shani was a sharp individual. "I will assume Talia Gladys is the employer?"
"It's actually the new Chairman, Captain Gladys and myself," answered the Faith member, "We are responsible for hiring you." That certainly surprised Shani, he wasn't prepared to expect that so many people were needed to decide if he would receive his job. He was especially stunned hearing the Chairman being one of his employers, was things that serious to have someone like him involved? From what Shani could gather, this was quite a big deal.
"Am I that special? I am flattered." That almost sounded insincere.
"It's because of your previous task as an Earth Alliance soldier," began Heine trying to make this comfortable for Shani to hear, "We are suspicious of your actions for joining our forces so soon after the war. If you didn't say that you had all the requirements for being an experienced soldier, we would not have considered your resume."
"I suppose that can't be helped." Shani told him with mutual understanding. Who would blame them, he was a natural, and most importantly, a former EAF living CPU. He awaited Heine's questioning with utmost patience and preparedness.
"From what I can see here, you were GATX-252's pilot, a very dangerous enemy that was on the highest priority to eliminate or capture. It's actually surprising to see someone that we actually had such a will to kill suddenly showing up in front of us wanting to aid us after all they have done." Heine's use of words did not help Shani feel any better about himself for very obvious reasons. In other words, he felt like crap.
"I would understand that if you don't want to hire me," the Forbidden pilot stated, dejected of course, "If you don't wish to speak anything that would involve me being hired, I would want you to leave. If you don't mind, I wish to have my rest." Again, the Faith member just gave off another one of his smiles, and this time however, there was just this touch of knowing feeling behind it. Shani barely noticed it
"You got it all wrong, Shani Andras," the Gouf pilot said giving a pat on the natural's shoulder, "Believe me on this, if we weren't considering to accept you, I wouldn't be here having this conversation with you." Shani just blinked a several times with bewilderment, what in blazes was he even talking about? "Listen, the Chairman wanted you to be with us as soon as you sent in your application, I was surprised how soon the Chairman wanted things to be done."
"He only wants me for my mobile suit capabilities, am I right?"
"Don't think of the Chairman like that, Shani-san," objected Heine peacefully, "All he wants is for earth and PLANT to finally live in peace where there would be no need for wars. With someone like you who actually does have power, why not make a difference?" The green haired natural only listened attentively not wanting to interrupt his future comrade's words. "Isn't that what you want? Isn't it why you wanted to be a soldier again in the first place? Aren't you tired of meaningless battles where an enormous amount of grief and bloodshed could've been avoided?" Then he asked a question where it just hit Shani hard. "Aren't you still feeling hatred towards those people who treated you badly? Do you want that to happen again?"
"Never!" Shani exclaimed argumentatively.
"Then ZAFT is more than welcome to have you aboard as our 2nd Lieutenant." Shani's right eye shot open in less than a blink of an eye. He didn't believe this!
"2nd Lieutenant?" repeated Shani with incredible incredulity. "You're not serious!"
"I am dead serious," Heine declared half serious, half joking. It didn't matter how he said it, the Forbidden pilot knew this was reality. Shani just stared at the higher rank soldier not ever believing this was happening. He expected to himself to be just an average soldier like a Sergeant or something, but however, he was fortunate enough to be granted with a high rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Like before, Heine didn't mind Shani staring or gawking, he expected it.
Being an understanding individual, Heine allowed Shani to take his time breathing in and out for thirty seconds. In all honesty, Shani wasn't that stunned, just surprised to a moderate degree.
"What do I have to do as 2nd Lieutenant?" questioned the Forbidden pilot knowing that he had the right to know this much. Although he was glad to know that he was accepted as a soldier for ZAFT, Shani had to admit he was somehow feeling a bit uneasy with Heine. There wasn't a thing about him that disturbed Shani specifically, but something was definitely there that was hidden. From basic gestures to smiles, the Forbidden pilot's intuition told him all Heine's actions contained another meaning.
"We already decided on your first task, Shani-san," the Forbidden pilot once again looked surprised. "Unless you want to discuss about it and make a compromise."
"No, let's hear it." Given that declarative statement, Heine smiled again before going through the plans with Shani. This discussion easily took over two hours for these two had quite a lot to say.
(Monday, two days later)
"Morning, Shinn," called Lunamaria with Meyrin behind her in their specific military uniform. Luna was not a red coat, but her goal was to aim for it. Shinn –who was sitting and deep in thought about his past and the incident two days ago- slowly moved his head upward to meet the Hawke sisters. Lunamaria and Meyrin took the seats that were beside the vampuric coordinator, making Shinn right in the middle.
"Good morning, Luna," Shinn replied kind of wearied. "Morning to you, too, Meyrin." The younger Hawke sister smiled sweetly where as Lunamaria narrowed her eyes at his lack of enthusiasm.
"We got some news, Shinn," announced Meyrin to the coordinator to her right. Her voice seemed excited. Seeing her so willing to share, who was Shinn to refuse. "We heard we are going to get a new instructor for us today!" The black haired coordinator was marveled at her eagerness, the word marveled was more or less sarcasm.
"Where did you pick this up?" questioned Shinn raising one brow to inquire –or steal any info that she may have.
"Commander Westenfluss was talking about it just now in his office," replied Meyrin squealing with delight. "Finally, someone is replacing Chief Officer Arthur! He was too old for us anyway, right? Not to mention boring!" Sadly enough, Lunamaria and Shinn both had to agree. Despite that Arthur may be quite an experienced soldier; he was kind of out of date. To put it in simpler terms, there were barely any efforts from Arthur to make closer connections with his students. It wasn't like a military instructor was supposed to be treated like a friend, but to the very least, he shouldn't be all stiff and unfeeling.
It was no wonder the class –especially the girls- did not like Arthur as a teacher.
"So, who's the substitute?" Shinn followed his next series of questions.
"No idea," replied Lunamaria crossing her legs, "That guy sounds young though, he is talking to Commander Heine like best friends…" Shinn once again was surprised for the second time that day. "He did sound kind of young, and familiar…"
"No, don't listen to Luna," objected the brighter red head girl, "She isn't giving him enough credit. From what I heard, I think he sounds sexy!" Lunamaria merely scoffed with a laugh where as Shinn didn't seem all out impressed. Just because he sounded appealing, that didn't mean anything in the military when this place was all discipline and regulations. Meyrin was still young, Shinn didn't blame her for having small crushes on cute guys or guys with a manly –or alluring in general- voice. He just hoped that Meyrin wouldn't get too carried away.
"Oh, he wasn't that appealing," commented Lunamaria, smirking somewhat defensively to prove her point.
"To me it was!"
"You heard him for two seconds, and you didn't even see his face, how could you be the judge of that?"
"It's my women's intuition."
"Are you saying that I'm not a woman?" Sitting in between the two sisters, Shinn felt himself shrinking lower and lower as each moment went by. Not only was he being ignored, his presence was not recognized as the two girls began to chat louder, and leaning in despite Shinn being in the middle and caved in. It was undoubtedly awkward.
Someone save me…
"Hey!" shouted a voice suddenly in a roar as if his prayers were answered. However, Shinn wanted it to be done more gracefully but it fulfilled his wish regardless. All the students instantly stopped what they were doing and looked at the direction of where the voice originated, most of the military trainees paled seeing Heine standing there solemnly. None of them detected when he actually came in. Indeed, they were busted. "You think this place is a carnival? When has ZAFT taught people to be lacking in discipline? I could hear you from three doors away!"
"Sorry, Commander Westenfluss!" almost the entire class apologized promptly but Shinn, Meyrin, and Lunamaria only stated their words in a weak tone deliberately.
"That's better," Heine said still carrying a tint of anger but gradually diminished, "You guys wouldn't want to be a living embarrassment for your new instructor now, would you?" The class suddenly made comments to another in a hiss, whisper, or audible sentences. Obviously, most of the class was somewhat bewildered to know there was a newcomer so suddenly when Arthur had showed no signs of resigning anytime soon. Judging from some of their facial expressions, Heine knew this was fortunate news for these youngsters.
Maybe a bit too fortunate…
"Commander," called out a nobody from the crowd, "Who is our new…"
"He is just outside this room," announced the Faith member before facing his head towards the door, "Would you please come in?" From outside, the new mentor opened the door and revealed himself to the unknown crowd. Most of them gasped seeing that he was not much older than them, and also slightly younger than Heine.
Even though they may not know who this newcomer was, they knew he was someone that couldn't be messed with. They all stared at this green haired stranger with a long bang covering his left eye, although they were quite stunned by his appearance, they smiled anyway. Obviously, it was due to respect issues.
At the same time, Meyrin's eyes climbed up and down this new mentor. Indeed, he looked young, very young. Nothing but seriousness and maturity, thought Meyrin, for this green haired soldier didn't forge any type of smile or grin as he observed the crowd with his violet right eye. The little sister wondered if he was the man Heine was speaking to earlier, and also, this newcomer sure felt uneasy being here. How did she know? Simple. Most people never relieve themselves in an unknown ground, it was the wisest choice for him to show off his firm side until familiarity arrived. What puzzled Meyrin was why he had thin bandages around his neck.
Then it struck her, but the younger Hawke sister chose to remain silent about it.
Shinn stole a glimpse at Lunamaria, and he jolted insignificantly when he saw the coordinator lady gawking. In normal circumstances, gawking would be a more… not so innocent way of staring. Yet, the manner that Lunamaria was using was an ideal fusion of ignorance and fear. Conveniently, discrimination was also a perfect combination of those two elements. Firstly, Lunamaria did not know why this guy always seemed to follow her! Secondly, she was deeply afraid that he would recognize her.
To play it safe, Lunamaria did not dare look at Heine nor her new instructor.
"He is your new mentor," announced the Faith member clearly to the twenty four students in this room before facing his high ranked comrade again. "Care to introduce yourself for them?"
The green haired ZAFT soldier couldn't help but grin at last. "Certainly," he replied with respect. "Good morning everyone, I –as you can all see- am your new instructor for this military course. I am Lieutenant Shani Andras, and I have been in the military since I was 15 or so. I wish that you all would have a good time here, and it's a pleasure to meet all of you."
"It's Shani!" whispered Shinn to Meyrin loudly as he nudged her. The response he received was a delighted nod with Meyrin having teary eyes of admiration and a several stars as well.
"You call that an introduction, Lieutenant?" questioned another nobody teasingly but nothing insulting. It was evident that he was trying to kill time, and also taking advantage of that Shani was a young male like most of them. "We want more!"
"Who are you to tell the Lieutenant what to do?" Heine instantly objected but surprisingly enough, Shani stretched out his hand for him to drop it.
"Heine," said Shani in a voice so others would not be able to hear. The people in the front row heard it quite well though. "I can deal with this. Don't you need to make some reports by 11AM today?" Heine was forgetful at times, he was human despite being a coordinator. Receiving that friendly reminder, the Faith member nodded before giving the Forbidden pilot a pat on the shoulder and exited the room with high hopes. Once Shani no longer felt his presence, he faced the class –and Lunamaria was still looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"So, you want me to give you guys a better introduction?" asked Shani to the crowd in a friendly smile. When the students at the back nodded supporting that idea, the Forbidden pilot merely smirked a bit wider. "Okay, to be honest, I was hired yesterday and given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant." The class –including Lunamaria- was shocked. Seeing that he had everyone's attention in his very first sentence, the green haired natural knew he had a good start. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't get this rank when I was 15. I had to work my way up like you guys, and it did take a lot of persistence."
"Where did you used to work?" asked another random student.
"I am not a coordinator," stated Shani seriously this time, "What other military do you think I could've work in?"
"You are a natural!" questioned Shinn, Lunamaria, and Meyrin in disbelief, nearly shouting. To their surprise, by the way Shani was slowly nodding, they received the message that he was expecting that question. The most stunned by this was Lunamaria, if he was a natural, how incredibly quick he was back at the mall. Once she recalled it, Shani did manage to catch her –despite him groping her by the breasts- when she was falling quickly. She didn't believe it –not like she had any discrimination for naturals though.
"Why, yes, I am." Shani answered easily. "I was an Ensign when I was in the Alliance."
"Why are you in ZAFT then?" Shinn inquired challengingly. "What's with your sudden change of heart?" That surely made a negative influence in an instant.
"Shinn!" hissed Lunamaria dangerously, "What are you doing? Don't ask these things!"
"What?" the vampuric coordinator clearly believed that he wasn't wrong. "Don't we have the right to ask these things, Luna?"
"Still-"
"I will share those things with you guys another time," Shani told Shinn with his voice still in control and not one bit intimidated by his challenge. "As ZAFT soldiers, or having a conscience as human beings, I hope you guys would be able to understand how disgraceful and humiliating it really is to differentiate other people. When you actually think about it, isolating people is just ignorance, negligence, and fear." At this point, the class was listening quite attentively –which was something Arthur was dying to achieve.
"One, you don't know if their differences could be beneficial or dangerous, that's why it leads to fear. Two, when you fear, you tend to protect yourself. It is a natural instinct of human beings, I know, I know I tend to defend myself when I get scared, too. However, it's no longer simply trying to save yourself; you are trying to get rid of them so you no longer need to associate with them again. That means that insults and violence would come into place within some time, it's just bound to happen if no one takes on the initiative to bond things back together. Accepting one another is useless if your heart continues to hold grudges or never accept them truly."
"How do we know that?" Meyrin asked Shani timidly. "I mean… how can we learn to accept each other fully?" At this point, some of the students were chattering amongst themselves trying to figure out Meyrin's question. Shani's right eye opened up a little before answering his student's philosophical question. It was actually quite complicated.
"As long as there are differences in this world," began the Forbidden pilot once again catching all of their attention by speaking, "Sadly enough, we can never fully accept one another. If there aren't any differences, there wouldn't be any conflicts. I am not stating that we should just simply not try anymore and start taking out our rifles and shotguns to do some ethnic cleansing, we still have to try, we have to compromise."
"Compromise?" asked Lunamaria partially puzzled.
"That happens a lot in the political and social world these days, lady," Shani told her and the class but intentionally calling her lady instead of her name. "When there are dissimilarities among people, it obviously can have the potential to start problems. One side believes that they are right, and it happens that the other side also believes that they are correct. Think about it, it's a guarantee that no one would have a sure win when it comes to disputes –unless you permanently eliminate the opposition. If violence comes into place, the discussion is over. All solutions are like this now; they just have to live with it despite not having everything that they want. Like, I need to have this, and I could continue without that, and such. You gain some, and you lose some, so to speak."
"What about negligence, Lieutenant?" Shinn suddenly brought up an aspect that Shani forgot to mention.
"Negligence is almost like another definition of stubbornness," elaborated the Forbidden pilot giving a dark smirk, "Not willing to learn, not willing to compromise, not willing to cooperate… these attitudes are humanity's downfall and the sole reason why the previous war existed. Why did Junius 7 suffer from a nuclear explosion? Why did naturals have to be that foolish? Then what caused the coordinators to drop Neutron Jammers into the earth? If we humans in general were actually intelligent, we would notice that it's because of our pride, selfishness, and prejudice that caused all of this to happen."
From a disciplined, strict class, Shani easily turned it into a time where soldiers should fully understand the reasons why they fight. Unlike him, Shani did not want his present comrades to live a life where they were nothing but living CPUs to their superiors. Being a soldier wasn't all about shooting down their enemies, there was more than that.
Although Shani should've took them outside to do some major training, he thought teaching his soldiers a little bit about morality issues was the better choice today. Besides, the class did seem to enjoy it to a great length. Despite that the military trainees did want to have a large discussion about this controversial topic, Shani couldn't break the rules that greatly, and in the end he had to have them in the shooting ranges to practice.
After watching Shani for 2 hours, Lunamaria's heart began to pang with guilt. Was he really a pervert that she thought he was? Or was she just too harsh on him earlier? Why did her pride take over at the worst possible time, no, rather, why did her pride have to work on the wrong person at the wrong time? Why did everything have to turn out so hopelessly for her?
She wanted to apologize to him, yet she didn't know where to start. If he was just an average guy with no political status whatsoever, it wouldn't be a problem. Now, he was a Lieutenant, and as if that wasn't a complete disadvantage for her, Shani was now her superior. Lunamaria knew he recognized her –like how she recognized him after being a victim. It was so awkward, and her mind instantly went to knots still not knowing how she should proceed. From what she could gather from Shinn's look earlier, he insisted that she confronted him. In no position to argue, Lunamaria decided to meet with Shani after class. Obviously, the Forbidden pilot did not know this.
Now just outside Shani's office, Lunamaria took in a deep breath and prayed to kami-sama that everything would turn out okay. Even moving her hand was difficult; she knew she was shaking badly. As her hand felt the stainless doorknob, the cold feeling shot all throughout her body thus she shivered considerably. Was a simple apology that difficult? To her, it wasn't saying the words 'I am sorry' that was tough; it was the confrontation and wishing for their forgiveness. Knowing that she shouldn't be wasting anymore time, she breathed in and out one last time before knocking on the door.
Here goes nothing, Lunamaria…
AN: Hope you all love this cliffhanger, I know I could be that much of a bastard. Your words and suggestions are always helpful, I hope to see some of your words one day. The next update would take a while, but not that ridiculously long. I would say the chances for me to update within a week is zero, but two weeks would be a higher possibility. Please wish me luck physically and spiritually, I would need all the help I could get. Take care of yourselves wherever you all may be! I want to see you guys alive in the next chapter!
ALSO, I will talk about Kira and the rest during the exhibition in the next chapter. I would've put it in here but I figured I wanted to get Shani's mess out of the way first. Please be patient with me, thank you.