Believe, Realize, Reason

by OpposingForce

Long story short, it's a time period after the C.E 71 war where everyone has their reflections and new life as high school students. Will love bloom in their lives? KL, AC, DM, YzakShiho, ShinnStellar, ShaniLunamaria, StellarShaniLunamaria, and more.

6. Atrocious Stages

Believe, Realize, Reason

Chapter 6: Atrocious Stages

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed. Not now, not ever. I do, however, own this entire new storyline. I AM VICTORIOUS! Thank you all for your support!

Legend:

"…": Speech

'…': Thoughts and they could also be in italics.

Scene changes are listed in bolded italic brackets. Those line dividers… I am sure you know what that means also.

AN: Okay, nearly a month of no update. Yeah, I am kinda slow, and inspiration really didn't hit me until I watched a series of different animes. More or less, they are the perverted ones with the fanservice because I needed some fluff and conflict. The rest, well, you can say they are stuff that I experienced or heard in real life. Anyhow, I am back with an update and I am quite stunned at the results so far. Wow… I thought this fic was like… garbage… but looks like your support is making me continue. Despite me being a guy, it sure feels good to be appreciated.

Just a reminder, there are no AthrunCagalli fluff this chapter… however, plenty of KiraLacus. Also, this chapter… you can say it can lead to a lot more fluff later on. So, bare with me!

Now, many of you left questions, and I am more than glad to answer them! Even if you didn't ask me anything, I would like to have a one on one session with you –please refrain from imagining anything perverted, I am not that kind of person, okay? We're cool? Great.

MissKT: You sounded furious, yeah, but what can we do? As much as I hate to say it, we are empowered by rage, and that itself can take over all of our rationality in less than a second. I read your fic, and I sort of got psychological and philosophical. Am I doing that great? I actually don't know, but I can proudly say that all my work is skillful BS. I like this LunaShaniStellar triangle, although this is more focused on only Luna and Shani at the moment, be prepared when Stellar enters their world. Thanks for reviewing!

Dust-In: Don't worry, I am not agitated in any possible way when you suggested the Gundam thing, I suppose that you didn't know what type of author I am. However, the pairing thing that you frequently suggest… yeah, that bugs me. Your suggestions, thanks for stating it, now I have some options to fall back on. As for Shiho… I will simply improvise as I go along. I will assume how she is like, but at the same time, based on her appearance and standing posture, I can tell she is one solemn lady.

Also, I do have a Seed Destiny model, I bought Chaos Gundam 1/100 scale last month. All I need to do is to outline and paint part of the Beam Rifle and the missile pods and I am done. I don't really like the original Seed models, all I like are Forbidden and Raider but they are in 1/144 scales. The next one I want to buy is Abyss Gundam 1/100 scale.

Asga: Hey, glad that you like my fluff, I worked long on it. Thanks for reviewing!

Jasx316: I think looking for you on MSN is even easier for me to answer you. Don't get offended, okay?

Forbidden: He brushed her off, what can he do? Hey, Lunamaria is one persistent girl, do you seriously think that she would let him go because he says so? Of course not.

Mick: I don't prefer to email people about my story unless you are my beta or my editor. Since you are none of those unfortunately, I wouldn't use my time like that when I can simply post it up directly. I will discuss my fic, however, if you add me on MSN. I am really glad that you like my fluff and romance, or the long skillful BS that I have altogether. It's great to know that your effort made some sort of impact regardless of how small it is at times. See, I am BSing right now already, isn't it great? Yeah, thanks for your endless support!

Mizue-chan: Your words always make up my day, and I am sure you will be delighted if there is something that could cure infertility. I really wouldn't want to see Stellar hurt, but also, where is the drama if everyone is a big happy family? Don't think of this as evil, but you and I both know it's much more fascinating that way if a triangle exists. Also, I am no KiraLacus fan, I just never liked them that much, and yeah, they are zombies in Destiny. Thank you so much for your endless praise, it makes me feel better after making such a complex scenery. Hey, because of your words, I made another one… hope you enjoy the rest of this chapter!

WingBlades: Loved your praising, hope you will review again! Thanks!

Ruler of the Dark: Happy to hear that you thought my chapter was funny, I thought it was only dramatic. Nonetheless, about your question… I think I wrote that he was hit in the spine but at the same time, you can say that she crushed his balls indirectly during the process. Regardless of where he gets hit, you and I both know it's going to hurt. I have been hit by a car once traveling at 20km per hour, and it already hurts like hell. It's not the hit that hurt a lot (due to the speed) but it's rather the internal damage. That can kill. Don't worry, I am fine.

Raider-kun: ShaniLuna will rule one day? I would say it will rule in this story since ShaniLuna can never exist. Like, not even a small percentage. However, I will make it live here!

D.D Designator: Your continuous support is very much appreciated, my friend! Please, enjoy this chapter like you always did in the past.

Angels Tear: Can you tell me why don't you like Shiho? Is there something about her character that you don't like? Thanks for your review nonetheless, appreciated it a lot.

Faith2000: Want to know when chapter 6 is coming out? Well, if you are reading this message, the chapter is just further down here. Sorry for not updating sooner, I was working on my Naruto fanfic last month. Thank you so much for your message, it really made my day.

AN: If you don't have 3rd ending theme of BLEACH and you want it, tell me and give me your mail. It's a really good song that you should listen to if you want inspiration. Well, with the visual, it helps even more.

This was not good. No, not good would only be an understatement. Actually, this was terrible. In all honesty, Dearka did not mind at all that Miriallia ran over him with her bumper car despite that he should. Besides, it was only an accident . In reality, it was quite a big accident where it jeopardized his chances of having children. It had a bright side to it since the former Archangel CIC forfeited a lot of her time to see him better. He won some, and he lost a lot. Not a bad deal when the Buster pilot thought about the real issues in the wretched reality. In most scenarios, he gained nothing and lost all.

Kind of sadistic but that was life.

Having Miriallia around was great for it kept him sane –and company was much preferred than misery- but what Miriallia drove him insane was what she gave him.

A model -and a ship model to be exact. Did she have any idea how bad he sucked at these kinds of stuff? Of course she did not know, he never told her this major weakness about himself. Insignificant things never truly mattered to Dearka, he would share it whenever the time was right. Nonetheless, it was the heart that counted, and Dearka happily attempted to build it for the sake of spending time on something rather than lying in bed. It had been four days ever since he was hurt, and things were heading towards the road of recovery, but at the same time his anger control was venturing down the path of disaster.

"This doesn't work!" shouted Dearka like a madman as Miriallia was just outside his room talking to Lacus. Both girls made a small jump with an eep escaping their lips hearing that yell. Lacus looked shocked as Miriallia sighed to herself. "Why must I fail at everything I do! Why must it be so hard! Damn it!" Meanwhile, he was smashing the poor piece of eloquent plastic. "Damn you!"

His outbursts and ranting were heard from the outside.

"So…" said Crot as he took a sip of water from his glass before taking one step into the connected backyard since they all lived on the first floor. In other words, they would be able to see another if they walked out to their respective yards. "How's Elthman doing?"

"What is Dearka-san doing, Crot-sempai?" asked the timid Stellar in her shorts and T-shirt while carrying a burger in her hand before chewing it with utmost satisfaction.

"He's been acting like an idiot for a several days…" replied Yzak in a grunt while putting a Halls Frost Breakers in his mouth, the candy that could cure infertility. "Who knows what's with him."

"Dearka-san seems to be quite happy though…" said the Gaia pilot with a small blush.

"He has been an idiot, Stellar-chan," commented the Duel pilot with that smirk on his face. That chan that he added was obviously sarcasm, and it didn't take that much wit for the Gaia pilot to detect it. "That was ever since that Miriallia gave him a ship model… man, I wonder how she would flip when she figures out Dearka was no models man. Her face would be priceless."

"I got a feeling she already knows," said the Raider pilot, taking a glimpse over at Dearka's window.

"Crap… then I missed out on the fun."

"Looks like you did."

"So, how is that bastard doing?" asked Yzak, a little bit impatient. Crot merely smiled as Stellar crept beside him to observe. Stellar put her left hand in front of her mouth when she saw an enraged beast within. The orange haired natural knew her kind nature would resolve to such innocent reactions, and in all honesty, he wanted to laugh at the fact that Dearka just rammed himself towards the door in a wild tackle. Men cursed when they were enraged, and beasts rammed like jerks. Despite his efforts, the model piece was still in his hand. Yet after the collision, the Buster pilot still chose to whip it at the wall. After numerous of cursing and panting, Dearka at long last fell on his bed completely exhausted.

Some might believe he was killed by stamina drainage –which was a pretty pathetic way to die do to the fact he was not at war.

"I would say he's doing just fine," answered Crot, grinning amusedly at Yzak and Stellar convincingly. "For the time being to the least…" The blond dancer, however, had her doubts but she kept silent to the time being. She paid more attention to her cellular phone that was on top of the patio. She wondered why Shani had not called her back yet.

Maybe he had sent her a mail without her knowing.

---

"What's going on, Miriallia-san?" asked Lacus politely, pointing to Dearka's door when he was yelling earlier.

"Dearka must be making that ship model that I gave him…" the brunette girl replied in a drained voice.

"Why?"

"Because I know he couldn't really move on the first day, so I had to give him something to pass time, and I was feeling guilty for hurting him so badly. Long story short, I gave him for the sake of getting better."

"Then why is he yelling?"

"Judging by the sounds of this… he must be at stage 4…"

"Stage what?"

For very clear reasons, Miriallia's words did not seem to be making any sense.

"Dearka goes through a several stages when making a model," elaborated Miriallia like an expert at psychology or any other academic field. If Lacus had more imagination, she would be able to picture her brunette natural friend in a college professor outfit along with that 1 meter pointing stick that they use. "Firstly, he looks for a part that is crucial among all the other parts that he needs to break off but he fails to find it. In reaction to this, he becomes agitated. Secondly (due to his irrational frustration) subject is more than likely to knock over the glue and spills it on his hands, self, or all over the desk and floor. Thirdly, after minutes of retaliations and expressions of hate due to the glue spill, subject makes a hopeless mess where everything seems impossible. And at stage 4 -which was just now- he would begin to freak out with very audible emotions."

Lacus was just amazed. What made her eyebrows involuntarily (or intentionally) twitched was the use of the word "subject".

"Is there more?" questioned the songstress, suggesting her friend to continue.

"There is more…" said Miriallia, and suddenly a loud collision sound could be heard from the other side of the door.

"What was that?"

"That's stage 5," stated Miriallia back into her expert character, "Subject fails to use logic in his thinking and results to violence where he projects the object to a wall, door, or anything available. Miraculously, the crash of it makes the hopeless piece of junk into a useful model part. In other words, full completion. That also leads to our final stage."

"And that is…"

"Repeat the entire process… provided if he has the strength to continue the constant and meaningless retaliation."

Lacus suddenly came to a conclusion, but her face displayed… ridicule and partially disgust. In addition, the songstress could not even start to describe the feeling inside her stomach when Miriallia seemed to be enjoying this entire lecturing about the Buster pilot's torment. "Dearka doesn't like to make models, does he?"

"Looks like he doesn't."

"Why giving it to him then?"

"I didn't know, but I know that he needs something to pass time since he didn't buy a laptop like Shani-san did. Besides, it was completely my fault that he is like this. Oh yeah, Lacus, why are you looking for me?"

Miriallia had no clue how glad Lacus was when she got them back on topic.

"I got Kira to help us to carry some of the groceries that we need to buy today," said Lacus happily. "He is so supportive, isn't he?"

"You told him, too?" asked Miriallia, somewhat surprised, "If you tell too many of them, it really wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

"Don't worry," said Lacus in a relaxed voice, "I only said this to Kira. Besides, he was suspecting that I was hiding something. I don't want to do that. Think about it, if he cares about what I do… then he cares for me." Miriallia had to admire her optimism at times, Lacus can be just that cheerful despite any circumstances.

"I am sure he does, Lacus," said Miriallia honestly, "Do you think I should tell Dearka where I am going? I mean, it would be kind of rude to just disappear on him for a several hours and then not even be able to talk to him later on. Oh yeah, where should we make this dinner?" This problem did not even strike the pink haired coordinator until now. Crot and Yzak were in their apartment so their place was out of the question; Cagalli, Athrun, and Stellar were in their apartment at this moment; and Dearka was here. What to do, what to do.

The easiest way to isolate people was to put Dearka somewhere else. Kira would just have to make an excuse to occupy the entire apartment with Lacus and Miriallia but what sort of reason would justify his actions? Sure, the Freedom pilot could always suggest that he was planning to make love to Lacus and needed all the privacy available, but he wouldn't go that far just for the sake of one dinner.

Be more specific, Kira would expect plenty of very suspecting looks later on if he went with the making love idea. Somehow, he imagined Crot asking him how was the entire experience was, but then Athrun and Cagalli would consider not ever having to know him as a friend or brother. For the betterment of his pride, dignity, image, social status, impression, and much more,dropping this idea would be the wisest choice.

Occupying the kitchen was not the same as taking control of the entire apartment, and as far as they were concerned, they did not have much right to simply isolate anyone away from their place to stay.

The second way was to tell Dearka the game plan, so no one would be able to enter. Seeing that he would be dedicating his time to his model, Miriallia didn't mind telling him about this dinner. The Buster pilot was delighted to see that he could help make things go smoother, and he ensured that no one would be occupying this apartment. Since Athrun was the only one unaware of this –but he was spending all the time available with his precious Cagalli-chan- Dearka did not need to worry about Zala.

In addition to all of this compromising and agreement, Miriallia was grateful to see that Dearka would help. Did she misjudge him? From these past two weeks that she had known him, Dearka was quite splendid to be around with. After smiling one sweet smile at him –which made the blond coordinator blush a bit- Miriallia told Lacus the good news. In reaction, Lacus explained all this to Kira, and much to Kira's disbelief, he nodded like a moron once again.

Like last time, the songstress tiptoed a little bit before finding the cheek that she wanted to kiss. At that precise moment her lips made a soft contact with his face, the Freedom pilot wanted to melt, but his pride forbade him to do so for two reasons. One, he should not falter. Two, he believed that he messed up all too frequently in one day. When she told him that they would leave in the next hour, Kira guaranteed that it would be the toughest hour in his life; longer lasting than dealing with Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider; and definitely more lingering than the battle with Providence.

How did he get himself to become this pathetic? He really did not know –not like he really wanted to though.

(Meanwhile, at PLANT, at ZAFT headquarters)

"Commander Heine," called a woman's voice outside of the Gouf Ignited pilot's office, "Mind if I come in?" Once Heine heard the familiar voice, he lowered his cup of coffee –Shani preferred tea- and gave a small cough.

"You may," he replied half-quickly before the automatic slide door opened. The person behind it was a solemn girl with long dark hair. Despite her serious visage, she was very gorgeous. "What can I do for you, Hahnenfuss-san?"

"Well," she began with a small brush to put her hair back slightly, "Looks like PLANT's high councils finally decided, Heine-chan."

"You do know that you shouldn't be using that name in this facility, right?"

"We are alone here, I don't see any other soldiers around here. Besides, you are a red-coat, and so am I. So I don't see a problem with it."

"Correction, Hahnenfuss-san," said Heine with his index finger pointing upward slightly, "I am a FAITH member."

"Big deal," she teased as she sat on his desk with her back facing him, "I ain't too bad myself, am I?"

"Of course not, Hahnenfuss-san," replied Heine casually, "However, what brings you here today? What was this decision that they have made?"

"Direct as usual, eh?" the female red-coat questioned amusedly, "Well, I would have to tell you that I will be shipped to earth. Sad, isn't it?"

"As a prisoner?" he questioned back having no significant shock whatsoever. If the girl had anything to throw at him, she would've thrown it. However, the closest thing within her reach would be his mug, and if that struck his head Heine might die. In the end, shekept her cool.

"No, dimwit, I am going there willingly!" No matter how she tried, the girlcould not keep back her insults.

"Is that so?" the Faith member inquired, opening his eyes to reveal his green eyes, "If that's the case, Hahnenfuss-san, why use the word 'ship'?" She knew he was teasing him, and Heine was always so sharp with these things. To make it worse, she heard from the Faith member that there was a new Lieutenant-who was also a sharptongue much to her disbelief. Although she had not met him yet –or she thought she hadn't- she was certain that she would not be able to beat him in most verbal arguments. She quickly banished all thoughts and huffed before turning away from her friend.

"Everyone makes mistakes, you know!" the female red-coat announced, trying to justify herself in the best of her ability. Moreover, despite her efforts, the embarrassed blush on her cheeks did not serve her well. She knew she was defeated already before the war even began. "Hey, do you want to hear the rest of the story or what?"

"What else is there to hear?" Heine said back in a joking way, "I thought the fact that you are leaving for earth was all I needed to know." Once again, she was caught off guard. The black haired coordinator was just so disgusted at herself for faltering this badly. What was more important was that she was a red-coat, not some nobody soldier who could not hold a gun to save themselves in battle. She kept telling herself that she was a good soldier -a very good soldier.

"Teme! Why do you always have to be so mean?" the girl protested adorably in Heine's eyes. In reality, she was howling with anger –partially.

"Sorry, Hahnenfuss-san," the male coordinator apologized with a kind smile, "You do know being a soldier could be quite boring at times. You know, paperwork and regulations. Anyway, back on topic -don't you think it's kind of soon for Coordinators to go to earth like this? I mean, despite the high council's orders it is still kind of precarious for people like us to get there… You do know the prejudices some people still have, right?"

"I know that perfectly well," the girl told him honestly and showing him that she was prepared for anything. Heine -on the other hand- was not too convinced.

"When are you leaving though?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"That soon?" Heine inquired, a little shocked at the date. "…I would miss you then."

"Thanks for your concern, Heine-chan. I'll miss you, too," she said back in a friendly voice, "But I have heard that the new Lieutenant we have is a Natural, right? Then if I went to earth, that is no different -especially when that Lieutenant was pilot of the Forbidden Gundam." Heine had more to say though. Moreover, he was surprised that she knew Shani was a Gundam pilot.

"However, this is PLANT and that is earth. Both places have different feelings and expectations. Just because PLANT accepts Naturals... that doesn't mean the opposition feels the same way. What if you get killed down there? I am worried about you, you know that."

"Thank you, Heine. But it's an order that I can't refuse." That sure caught Heine's attention.

"What's so special about this order that you must accept, Hahnenfuss-san?"

"This is more of a personal mission, Heine-chan," she told him as she leaped off the desk and snatched a piece of mint candy that was in a small basket on the coffee table. The girl then plopped down on the seat lazily as she cast her dark eyes towards the Faith member, a grin never left her face. "Ezaria Jule told me to go down to earth by myself, it's a favour that I can't reject despite that I am on a mission."

"Going down there is your mission?" Heine questioned her oddly as she nodded back in response. "What is so important though?" The female red-coat smiled gently as she took strides to reach beside him. Heine jolted slightly at her incredible agility and swiftness as she whispered everything in his ear.

Once Heine heard her mission fully, his eyes opened up in realization. With that justification, the Faith member could only understand why she was that willing to visit that blue and natural world.

(Later on at Eternal Dragon Supermarket)

As expected, Lacus and Miriallia were picking stuff off the shelf like the easiest thing in the world. No trouble, no hindrance. Actually, how hard was it to take things off the shelf? When the Freedom pilot –who was pushing the shopping cart at the back with the girls at the front- gave more of a deeper thought, he had to admit it was quite easy. However, Lacus and Miriallia weren't just picking things at random, they had a plan. What amazed Kira was how quick their hands and eyes were for they surpassed any standards of a coordinator –or even expectations as a human being.

He knew Miriallia loved to shop when they were younger, and she would always had bugged Tolle to accompany her whenever possible. Kira actually missed having Tolle around, and he was certain that Miriallia was keeping all that agony of losing him to herself. Up to this day, Kira still felt that it was his weakness that caused Tolle to die, but at the same time, Athrun would have the same feelings for Nicol, the Blitz Gundam pilot. In wars, when you win, someone else lost something. Also, it was a vicious cycle.

Kira then took a glimpse at his current shopping cart for it was feeling a little heavier as each second passed by, and damn his eyes widened seeing the amount of merchandises the ladies have picked during this short amount of time. To the very least, he didn't think it was that long. Cheese; soda; juice; spaghetti; cans tomato sauce; lettuces; cucumbers; tomatoes; fruits; canned fruits; frozen veggies; an entire chicken; ice-cream; some chocolates for a snack; and some other things that Kira did not even notice –since they were trapped in the bottom. Whatever these things were, they seemed to be weighty –and he didn't even like it one bit since he would be the one to carry it later on. To the minimum, some of it would be his responsibility.

"How much more, Lacus?" asked Kira -hopefully he didn't sound like he was whining. "We have been here for over 30 minutes…" When the Freedom pilot shopped for groceries, 30 minutes was the absolute longest, and now it seemed like these ladies were prolonging his trip of boredom.

"Not yet, Kira," said Miriallia, "Fixing a dinner for nine is tough work. And you know better than anyone that Lacus wants to make it perfect."

"Perfect," corrected Kira, "It doesn't need to be fancy though."

"That's a great idea, Kira!" Lacus said vehemently, "We could dress up in royal clothing and-"

"We don't have any of those," stated the perfect coordinator rather dryly, "Isn't doing whatever within your abilities enough?" He really wanted to take those words back for he was now being a hypocrite. If Lacus or Miriallia figured out the conditions of his arms, they would scold him for being reckless. Who was he to tell anyone what to do? He had no power whatsoever.

"Well, we can always make it better," answered Lacus happily before taking another gallon of ice-cream into the shopping cart. "I love Cookies and Cream!"

"Isn't that a bit much, Lacus?" the Freedom pilot questioned as he looked at the gallon of ice cream. Kira was seriously not someone who preferred sweets. "This is the second container…"

"It's not for dessert, Kira," Lacus told him as she snatched it away from his grasp, "I will put this in the girl's dorm so the others can eat it whenever they want to." That made the Freedom pilot kind of jealous. From what he could gather from the beautiful yet teasing pink haired princess' face, she had no intention to share it with him purposely. Although Kira had no love for sweets it did kind of challenge his pride when someone taunted him.

Miriallia decided to join in with the fun. "I love cookies and cream, too!" the natural girl said with glee, "How did you know that was my favourite flavour, Lacus?" The coordinator lady appeared to be stunned –in a friendly, polite way of course. At this stage of the game, Kira was outnumbered.

"We should have this when we have slumber parties!" said Lacus, "Ice-cream and parties are just so wonderful!"

Yes, very wonderful indeed, Kira thought with utmost sarcasm and dread. For obvious reasons, his face remained the same.

"We can discuss about slumber parties later on, Lacus," said Kira, "Why don't we just get this stuff home?" Despite his suggestion, the Freedom pilot was constantly yelling at himself for bringing that point up. Was he trying to get himself to deeper trouble? Why was he being an idiot at a time like this?

"You know what," said Lacus happily, still neglectful that Kira was trying to hide something from her, "We have been here for quite a while already. Besides, it looks like you don't really like grocery shopping, Kira, right?" If she was that sharp to notice that, why didn't shefigure out the other fact? Maybe it was since Kira showed his endless protests a tad bit too often, regardless of what he did, Kira did not prefer to be so distinct. "Do you think we should get going?"

"Yeah, it is getting a little late," said Miriallia, agreeing with her good friend's idea. "I don't want to see Dearka die because of a stupid piece of plastic."

Lacus thought of a good tease before taking a stride towards the former Archangel CIC. "Ooo, since when did you pay that much attention to Dearka? He would be so delighted to know that you care."

"I am doing it due to obligation, Lacus," justified Miriallia straightly, "I hurt him, I have to make sure he gets better or I will feel guilty for the rest of my life. Don't think that we have anything between us."

"I am sure you don't…" Kira said with a smile and rolling his eyes. He wanted to laugh, but as soon as he saw that he was already by the line up with the cashier, his heart sank with dread. The Freedom pilot watched closely as the girls smoothly placed the items on the sliding belt, he was fascinated at how skilled the cashier was to scan their merchandises. She sure looked like someone who had done this all her life, Kira didn't know if that was something to be proud of.

Screw pondering about other people, he had to pray for his own safety!

"That would be 78 hundred yen please," said the young cashier lady who looked no older than twenty with a sweet smile on her face. Lacus smiled back as her hands reached into her purse before taking out a ten thousand yen bill. The cashier happily took it and scanned it underneath a neon light machine, that was to see if the money was counterfeit or not. After seeing that it wasn't, the young worker gave back Lacus' change as she activated the second sliding belt to send all the food to the far end. Being Lacus, she thanked the worker before dragging Kira to pack up the stuff.

Packing the stuff into shopping bags was not much of a challenge, but carrying them back home would be. It took Kira –along with the girls- two minutes to pack everything, and at long last, the moment of truth had arrived. When the Freedom pilot grabbed the four shopping bags off the support ledges in front of the sliding belt, he immediately stumbled badly as he nearly fell with his face first. That was the most disgraceful thing he did in front of Lacus and Miriallia, talk about utter humiliation and defeat.

"Kira!" shouted Lacus not believing what just happened, yet she was deeply worried, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? How could you have fell?"

"I'm okay…" said the perfect coordinator weakly as he stood back up with his arms like deep fried rubber bands. It appeared it was worse than expected.

"How did you fall, Kira?" questioned Miriallia, eyeing the Freedom pilot queerly. From his speed and calmness, it was nearly a miracle that he would tumble over with such bad taste. Was Kira a miracle worker? Whatever sort of marvel he was trying to do, it was nothing decent to be haughty of. In other words, it was terrible. "Don't tell me those four shopping bags are too heavy for you. Come on, Kira, you are a man."

"Kira…" Lacus bent down to his level worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"I don't think that I could carry these…" said Kira at last with a cracking smile, "I can't…"

"What are you talking about, Kira?"

"I have a confession to make…" he told her, taking a deep breath, "My arms are injured…"

The girls were honestly confused. He was not talking sense!

"What? Tell me again, more specifically." The Freedom pilot could not help but to catch the disbelief and anger that was building in her tone.

"I am still hurt from the accident…" he admitted at last with shame, "My arms… they have suffered from quite a significant blow… and they can barely hold a textbook right now. Lacus… I didn't want to worry you… so I told Athrun not to tell you or anyone else…" Judging from her expression, the songstress was not pleased. As a result, Kira had to try harder. "But look, they are healing right now, at least I can hold a novel properly… I can still push things, I can hold your hand and all… oh crap, I am going to die, am I?"

The pink haired Coordinator's look was calm and silent… okay, maybe it was uncomfortably calm. Miriallia wisely took a step back when a shadow was casting over the songstress' eyes; the aura she was desperately attempting to control appeared to be seeping out of her gentle exterior; and it didn't take a genius to realize how upset Lacus truly was. However, what shocked Kira more was when she raised her head to reveal a pair of happy eyes.

"Oh, that's okay!" she said although it was far from fine, "We'll just call a cab!"

Needless to say, Lacus did not speak to Kira for the entire day afterwards. In addition to this silent treatment, the surprise dinner became nothing but a total dreadful period for Yamato. Although everyone was having fun, only Athrun noticed that Lacus and Kira did not speak one word to another. Each moment their eyes met, they were simply destroying each other's hearts.

(North Toronto Collegiate Institute, morning of two days later)

It was drama class -one of those classes which nearly every one of them took- and the teacher that day taught them a small portion about improvisation. She explained that improvisation was all made up BS on stage, there should be no shame whatsoever for the audience would never believe that the actor's judgments were wrong. Excellent improvisation consisted of confidence, persuasion, and a tint of realism. Kira sat in a part of the room while listening with his friends. In all honesty, he did not fully understand what she was talking about, but he recalled that Tolle often did things right on the spot such as BSing a reason of why his assignment was late when he was still alive. The Freedom pilot wondered if that was considered acting or was it just talented BS?

No matter what that was, the teacher then told them to look for a partner. Before Kira could actually pick anyone, he felt a warm pair of arms looping around his to claim him. The only person next to him was Lacus, and what made the brown haired coordinator smile back was the fact that the songstress was smiling her beautiful upside down frowns. Yet, when she opened one of her eyes to uncover her grey pools, he wanted to panic once his eyes saw the cold glare.

She was still angry at him for lying about his arms. If that was the case, why did she pick him? Was this a blessing or a living death? Needless to say, the Freedom pilot awaited all the dread that was coming, but how could he believe Lacus would kill him when her hands were playing with his. Even so, when he turned to meet her eyes his heart felt otherwise.

In other words, he was shaking badly.

The other groups that he knew consisted of Athrun with Cagalli, Crot with Stellar, and finally Dearka with Yzak. Miriallia was with a girl named Tsukasa at the moment, but Kira kind of figured that she wanted to pair up with Dearka. Her eyes told him all. Like the Buster pilot said at times: You win some, and you lose a lot. Up to this point, the Freedom pilot pondered at how this logic worked. It certainly sounded hopeless and had much strength to shut off all sorts of optimism. Could this negative influence even affect Lacus' undying delightful nature?

"Does everyone have their groups yet?" asked the drama teacher by the name of Umino but not before disrupting Kira's thoughts. After taking one short glance around, she grinned when everyone was in pairs. "Now, what I want you all to improvise is two people. Their relationship aregrandparent and grandchild."

"This sounds simple enough," said Crot to Stellar, and she giggled lightly.

"The conflict between the two characters has a little twist though. The grandchild had done something wrong at school, the principal had informed home to his grandparent, and the grandchild knows that he is now in big trouble. What would a loving grandparent react when the grandchild comes back? That is what each group needs to act out."

"What's the catch?" questioned Athrun detecting all sorts of uncertainties in the teacher's voice. "Something is definitely missing…"

"Good detection skills, Athrun," she said profoundly, "The grandparent has his/her own parenting way. Like some parents demand their child to excel in academics, some parents are soft with their child in choosing their friends, maybe curfew isn't a big issue with some of them... You know,it varies. What is most important thing about this grandparent is that he/she runs the family with an Iron Fist." To her surprise, some of the class started to chuckle.

Crot was laughing when he heard the iron fist, and poor Stellar was trying her best to keep him silent. She was so polite. "Iron Fist? This sounds funny already!"

"Do you even know what Iron Fist means, Crot Buer? Did your parents ever tell you that?"

"How would I know," replied the Raider pilot easily, "Never had any."

To his shock, the Gaia pilot almost jumped.

"Sempai!" Stellar hushed, shaking his arm. "Don't say that! Remember, we have parents, you just don't visit them often enough, remember? Right?" Crot eyed her queerly for a second, what the hell was she talking about? As much as he wanted to believe that he was a normal person now living a normal life, his origin could not be changed. Despite how greatly he hated to state this, he was a Natural Extended, a boy who was born out of a test tube whose existence was to pilot the Raider Gundam. Kill, obliterate, terminate was all he learned. Finally, he got her message, andhe knew that he could not expose his deepest secret.

"Oh yeah…" the orange haired natural said kind of dumbly, "My parents are always overseas… no wonder I think that they are dead… kind of a bloody bastard, aren't I?" Athrun, Cagalli, Kira, Lacus, Miriallia, and Dearka immediately stared towards Crot, they already found plenty of holes in his words. What were Crot and Stellar trying to hide? Although they lied, they decided to keep it to themselves.

Lacus was more than certain that Stellar would open herself up eventually, they were good friends now after all.

"Anyway," continued the drama teacher although Kira and the gang somewhat dozed off midway, "Someone with an Iron Fist (don't take it literally though) means they are very strict with discipline or with anything in general. So I don't want to see any deaths with this iron fist thing. So with your partners, give yourselves ten minutes to prepare the general outline of your improvisation to present to the class."

Getting themselves to make a skit -that was undoubtedly easier than to pilot a mobile suit.

---

Ten minutes was barely enough to discuss a plot, and it appeared luck was not on his side when the teacher announced that he and Lacus would be the first ones to present. The pinked haired songstress did not seem to mind that much, yet the Freedom pilot on the other hand was sweating bullets –not like he would like to admit out loud though but his actions spoke otherwise. Even if Lacus was still angry to a certain degree they contrived a plot, and all he needed to do was to follow it smoothly.

Easier said than done -he had never acted in his life! If it wasn't for Cagalli and Lacus trying to convince him to improve his social skills –they thought Kira was too isolated and alone- the Freedom pilot could be enjoying his time in more computer related courses. In addition, Lacus actually did not allow him to take that many computer classes forshe argued that it made him into an idiot who knew no humane attributes.

The moment of truth had arrived; Kira was playing the grandchild, and Lacus was taking on the role of the grandmother. The pinked haired beauty was sitting on a chair –smiling serenely- waiting for her grandson to return on one end of the room, and Kira was hiding behind the black curtains that were installed in the room. The rest of the class was at the opposite side of the room watching the entire play.

"Grandma…" said Kira awkwardly as he entered on stage. Athrun and Cagalli chuckled when the Freedom pilot addressed Lacus as grandmother. Judging from looks, Lacus appeared much younger than Kira. If they were acting,Athrun and the restwould give them their space. "I'm home…"

"Oh, so you're back," said Lacus in her divinely solemn voice. Kira recognized it immediately; it was one of those voices that she used when she declared crucial announcements to ceasefire. The Justice pilot swallowed, and Kira wondered if Lacus was acting with astonishment or was she truly mad. The audience paid close attention to the songstress -who was actually sitting ever so patiently. "What took you so long?"

"I was walking home with a friend," replied Kira. "We were talking about… stuff…"

"It took that long?"

"Yes… we walked kind of slow today…"

"Do come into the living room, Kira," Lacus said as she forgot to change his name to something else -but it wasn't much of a problem.

"What for, grandma?" He was walking towards her by this point.

"Don't you have something to tell me?" she inquired, raising a brow suspiciously as he 'came' in.

"Like what?"

"Are you sure you have nothing to tell me? Like… nothing drastic happened at school today?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" said the Freedom pilot as he became quite uneasy, "If you don't mind me, grandma… I'll go upstairs to clean out some stuff." Just as Kira was about to leave, Lacus stood up.

"Not so fast, Kira," she declared with a cold voice that sent chills down his spine, "Why are you leaving? Don't you want something to eat first?"

"No, thank you, grandma…"

"I will ask you once again nicely, Kira," said Lacus with her eyes doing all the talking. For once in his life, Kira was scared of her. Lacus' attitude changed 180 degrees in less than a minute, and now it seemed like she was acting within another set of acting. In other words, showing her real colours during the performance. Cagalli gulped hard hearing her voice, and Athrun was simply bewildered at how his former fiancee was behaving. Even though this was something that did not happen everyday, even the dark haired coordinator was frightened. "Did something happen at school today that you want to talk to me about?"

She lowered her head once more slightly as her eye contact was similar to piercing.

"No, grandma," Kira told her, "There was nothing at all." Without warning, Lacus marched right up to Kira andraising her hand next to her head before whacking it across his cheek -hard.

Smack.

She slapped him, and it was hard enough for him to fall down. Stellar gasped; Crot was stunned; Athrun and Cagalli hugged another closer; Dearka, Yzak, and Miriallia watched with disbelief; and Kira still could not believe what just happened. She slapped him hard and the pain was evidently there. In simpler terms, she meant it deliberately. The perfect coordinator scanned his eyes upward starting at the girl's feet and slowly moved up. He joltedvery noticeablywhen he found out Lacus' bluish gray eyes carried nothing but rage, anger, hostility, and coldness.

She was utmost serious forshe didn't laugh or react when she hit him. What saddened Kira was that she merely stood there waiting for him to bring his pathetic body back on his feet. Oblivious to the Freedom pilot, he had been staring for too long, and Lacus' calmness was starting to run thin.

"Get up!" she shouted angrily as her friends nearly jumped. Kira immediately stood up tall obediently; his heart was pumping all too quickly with fear as his fuel.

"Lacus…" Kira pleaded out of character, "You're going too-"

"Silence!" Lacus announced again despite his protests, "How dare you disrespect me like that! Who gave you the permission to call me Lacus? Who are you? Your grandfather, my mother, my father? You are nothing but a lying brat!"

"Lying brat?" Kira questioned not understanding where this is going. "What do you…"

"Don't you lie to me, Kira!" the songstress yelled with an accusing finger pointing at him straightly, "Do you think I don't know what kind of despicable actions you committed at school today? You take me for an idiot? I have lived for decades long before you were born! How dare you lie to me by saying nothing happened when your principal called me just an hour ago! Do I look like someone that you can just fool and get away with it?"

Kira took a step back wisely to achieve some distance. Much to his discomfort, his partner did not let him off the hook that easily. "What did I do that was so bad?"

"What was so bad?" she questioned him back with anger rising again, and taking firm steps toward his body, "What was so bad? Why don't you use your goddamn brain and tell me what was so bad?" Goddamn, that was one word that Kira never heard leaving her mouth. He was shocked that she used it in this sentence. Rage certainly took the best of people all too frequently. "You beat two students up because they were using a green marker that you wanted to use although they were using it first. When they told you to wait until they were done you snatched it from them. When they wanted it back, you punched them in the face before kicking them! How dare you do that! Grandma never taught you to be like this! Who's mother pissed these behaviours to you?"

If Kira was accurate, this was a good form of emotional abuse.

"But those kids…"

"Don't those kids me, Kira!" Lacus hushed harshly to cut him off short, "You were acting like a bully and beat them up because things aren't going smoothly! But the real problem isn't there though. The real problem iswhat the principal told me. He saidit wasbecause you were lying."

"Lying? About what?"

"You lied that you didn't hit them when the teacher asked you, and you forced the other two to believe that they simply fell and hurt themselves despite that everyone saw you hit them. What are you doing at school, becoming a dictator for everyone to respect through fear? The principal said that you always lie, and when you came back I expected you to lie and pretend nothing happened. I was right, you did lie. If you would lie to your grandmother, you would speak false words to many other people. What other trickery have you pulled off on me?"

"I swear, grandma," Kira begged for forgiveness despite that he had actually done nothing. Lacus right now was too scary for him to handle. "I didn't lie… I didn't do anything! Trust me!" At this point, he was on his knees.

"Why would I do that?" Lacus inquired, crossing his arms to further her splendid intimidation. Kira raised his head to meet hers in disbelief. What was she saying here?

"What do you mean?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"You are not serious, Lacu-grandmother!"

"I am very serious, Kira. You lied to your teacher, you lied to everyone, you even lied to me. Who knows who else you have lied to. You may even be lying to me right now by saying that you didn't lie. Or rather, you are lying by saying that you aren't lying.What makes you think that I should believe anything that you have to say?" Stellar wisely crawled behind Crot, and the Raider pilot was pretty frantic to find himself some cover; but of course he did not move for his sake of pride.

It was no shock that the Justice pilot and the Strike Rouge pilot sat deadly still. They did not know whether this was a gift to see Lacus' dark side early or feel pity for Kira for experiencing it first handedly. Needless to say, Dearka and Yzak were purely stunned to see this persona of hers. In fact, everyone who knew her well enough was scared.

"Grandmother…" Kira was once again on his knees despite this was all an act, "Please trust me… I am telling you the truth… I didn't want to tell you because I was scared… I was afraid that you would yell at me… I know I am a rageaholic, I can't live without ragahol!"

"Go give your lies to someone who wants to be fooled by you," she scolded cruelly, "I want no part of it."

"Grandmother!" Kira wanted to cry now.

"Get out of my sight!" the pink haired coordinator lady shouted to banish him. "I know no grandchild who lies to me!" That went over the line -even as an audience member- Athrun believed that was just too much. However, before he stood up the drama teacher was one step quicker.

"That was marvelous, Lacus!" announced the teacher as the songstress' face softened due to the interruption. Kira was still too absorbed to move properly, but his teacher's entrance dragged him away from his acting world. To be completely sincere, Kira did not even feel there was an audience just now, he seriously believed that he was talking to Lacus in her rage and fury. It was so real, it made a very deep impact. "You and Kira did a wonderful job!"

"We did?" asked the pink haired beauty, raising her eyes with a several blinks of confusion.

"That yelling, screaming, the authority you showed… that was great! And Kira, your performance was equally excellent. Your decision to cower and plead for forgiveness was a sign that you trust your partner. This is how teamwork is formed, not to mention trust." The teacher might be speaking, but Kira was listening to none of it. As a matter of fact, Lacus' words just roamed in his mind like a hawk surrounding its prey. Whatever was being spoken came into his right ear exited the left without making one single ounce of significance.

"Kira…" whispered Lacus when she was already kneeling down to his level. Kira failed to notice this due to his deep thoughts. "Are you okay?" She sounded apologetic, the Freedom pilot would give her that much. "Are you angry that I screamed like that although I was acting… I am sorry…"

"Were you?" he questioned her a bit coldly. Lacus was taken aback.

"Of course…" she told him, trying to sound presentable, "It was just improv… I think I went a bit too much… sorry…"

"Not your fault," said Kira with a few words, "You were just acting… yeah, you were just acting…"

"Kira…" she murmured sadly, outstretching her hand to hold his. Second time today, he shocked her by retracting his own hand back. "Kira?"

"I don't think you would want to hold hands with someone who lies to you." With that said -like a dead man- the perfect coordinator slowly got back up on his feet before walking back to the audience spots without Lacus' consent. He even intentionally sat near Dearka and Yzak so he would be away from Lacus. He needed some time to think about what she said. The words "I have no grandchild that lies to me" kept repeating itself irritatingly in his head. When he replaced grandchild with friend... that statement would meant that he was the liar.

What disgusted him was that he was a liar.Kira spoke falsification to Lacus and pretended nothing happened. When he had to reveal it to the light the bubble ignited itself like a wildfire, and the burns created scars that were nearly unrecoverable. What a moron he was for speaking such idiotic things.

Under all this confusion, Athrun and Cagalli still detected everything that was going on. Nothing escaped their eyes.

---

"This skit of ours," announced Yzak as he and Dearka went up on stage with hands behind their backs, "Is called The Iron Fist."

The Iron Fist, thought the Justice pilot as his eyes showed confusion already, what was Yzak doing? Some of the class began to chuckle by this time; the title of this play was strange enough as it is! Somehow, skepticism seemed to wash all over this. It was then when Yzak was sitting at the side of the stage in a chair –obviously playing the grandfather role- and Dearka was currently off stage. Once the Duel pilot gave the signal that they were starting the class gave their full attention.

"Hello… grandfather…" the blond coordinator came in sounding like a wimp, "I'm home…"

"Yeah," said Yzak unfeelingly. "So you are." Dearka treaded softly and carefully near Yzak, and the gray haired coordinator gave a look at the Buster pilot before actually giving his fellow actor some recognition.

"Grandfather… I got something to tell you…"

"Go on."

"I failed my math test today… I'm sorry…" After confessing, Yzak gave a punkish nod –which old people never did due to their age- as he got up from his chair. He was dead silent while walking around his chair a little bit leaving Dearka not really knowing what he should be doing.

"Well then," said the Duel pilot after six seconds with his back turned to his partner and pretending to put on a glove, "Looks like I have to use the Iron Fist."

"No, not the Iron Fist! Anything but the Iron Fist!" protested Dearka loudly before Yzak turned around giving a wild punch at his jaw. The entire class howled with laughter as the Buster pilot twirled back. "AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" In one scream, Dearka was down for the count and assumed to be dead.

Yzak had one foot on Dearka's chest. "Well now… looks like I got to get rid of the body."

At that point, everyone laughed out loud -even the saddened Yamato was curling in laughter.

However, the drama teacher was enraged. "Yzak Jule, Dearka Elthman, I will see you two after school!"

(English Class, later on that same day)

"This is completely preposterous!" argued the Duel pilot to the Raider pilot -who was next to him, "Just because Dearka and I didn't think of anything… it doesn't mean that bitch could just give us detentions like because she wants to! Like come on, doesn't she have something better to do?" Crot, Dearka, and Miriallia sighed in unison at his outbursts and objections.

"Jule," the orange haired Natural Extended began with a groan, "I have heard this thing all through lunch and computer gaming class… just give it a rest, okay?" Stellar -although she was sitting elsewhere- was watching them. It was boring to sit alone ever since Shani left, and having perverted guys trying to pointlessly hit on her did not make her mood change for the better.

"Rest?" questioned the Duel pilot, flaring up, "I can't just give it a rest! This is injustice. Come on, Dearka, don't you have a say in this? You and I are on the same boat!"

"I told you the Iron Fist killing thing wouldn't work," the Buster pilot told him with exasperation, "And you say it was chill despite that she said no deaths."

Miriallia thought otherwise. "Well," she said, "It wasn't that bad. It was funny how you just get killed so simply. I would've passed you right there for comedy." Dearka sure felt grateful that his friend said that to cheer him up, however, those words seemed to enrage Yzak further.

"Your flattery would be much more appreciated if you were the ones giving out the marks," the gray haired Coordinator announced kind of bitterly but not actually angry at Miriallia, "However, you are in no control of it, and at this rate Dearka and I would fail."

"It's just one assignment," assured Crot, and the Raider pilot rarely had such a passion to make others feel better. In fact, he didn't even know why he was being such a help.At the same time, if this stopped Yzak from ranting maybe it was good to switch tactics for once. "She wouldn't hate you because of that. You got plenty of chances."

Yzak decided to give him a look. "What the hell are you doing… why are you being so encouraging all of a sudden?" This made Crot cringe with deep, inner rage. Talk about an abrupt bubble burst. Despite that Crot wanted to make a comeback –he had plenty of those up his sleeve- he stared completely still at the door for that moment. Knowing the Raider pilot, Dearka and Yzak knew he would say something. What surprised them was that Crot was silent.Soon, they turned their heads towards the entrance -and Yzak just gasped.

At long last, their English teacher Tanaka had come back after a week's worth of absence.

"What are you bastards doing?" Tanaka began his foul mouth right on the bat, "I have been absent for a while and you guys are here having a picnic! Did that insolent supply teacher raise you all to be like animals who know nothing but to savage and being pathetic? Get your act together, I got a class to teach!"

"We don't get paid enough to be taught under this bastard…" Athrun commented to Cagalli before she nodded to agree.

Just before Tanaka was about to walk to his front desk, Yzak spoke up. "So, where were you?"

"What?" Stellar and Crot watched Yzak like a bystander very carefully.

"You heard me, I asked where were you for the past week."

"That is none of your business, Yzak Jule. There were some necessary things that I needed to deal with my family." The Duel pilot smirked inwardly, he knew his teacher was being a laughing stock within the staff department. It was quite soon when the rumours started to come out to the students. Some said that Tanaka fell down the stairs; others said that he got laid with hookers and someone saw him; intelligence also had it that he was deeply insulted; some said that Tanaka suffered from a week of diarrhea; some stated that he got raped. But whatever the reason, Yzak knew what truly happened; after all, he was the mastermind that caused all this chaos.

"Sure you did." That statement made the teacher flinch, and Crot, Stellar, Dearka, Miriallia, Athrun, and the rest chuckled. Obviously, they knew the teacher's real reason.

"Whatever, Jule, I hope that you won't become that someone who disgraces the image of this class. This goes for you, too, Crot Buer." The Raider pilot wasn't expecting that he would be involved in this conversation as well. Yet he didn't really care. Rather, he had no obligation whatsoever to give a damn. "I don't want our new student to believe that I raised you all to be wolves."

"New student?" asked Cagalli curiously. "But this is the end of the day… well, nearly."

"Yes, Cagalli," said Tanaka in a calmer voice that he did not use on Yzak, "She arrived a little late, but she insisted that she should visit this class." This declarative statement confused Miriallia.

"She should come here tomorrow then," said the former Archangel CIC as a comment, "Never mind…"

"I don't really care who she is," stated the Raider pilot casually, putting his hands behind his head, "She sounds like a nerd or a geek." Stellar sighed at her sempai's behaviour. Why must every word he spoke had to be an insult or mockery?

Dearka inquired. "And why?" Also, Athrun and Cagalli seemed to be curious.

"Use your head," the Natural Extended told them, "It's the end of the day and this lady still wants to visit this dump with this teacher around. Not only that, this is English class, one of those classes that we are only taking because it's our ticket out of this hellhole. Think realistically, if we actually had a choice I am certain that none of us would even be here, right? Not trying to make you piss in your pants or anything, but like… this course sucks. And with this teacher, it's like we just walked into a torture chamber with no means to escape."

Despite how true those words might be, maybe Crot should've considered not talking that loud. The teacher was deathly outraged.

"You!" Tanaka shouted with hatred as he slammed his meter stick on the table so hard that it snapped into two with one half flying across the room. "What the hell did you say? I dare you to say it again!"

"You heard perfectly well," said Crot, although Stellar, Lacus, and Kira were signaling him to stop now desperately, "It's exactly what you think it means."

"You can't be that guy who did all those calls… or can you… Crot Buer… You always had a problem with me, it must've been you! You did everything!" The Raider pilot merely smirked and ignored his friends' message.

"You accuse me of what? What sorts of evidence do you even have to say I did whatever you think it was? At the same time… was this something the reason why you left school for a week? I thought you were having some issues with your family. Don't tell me you've been lying to the class now, Tanaka. I always thought you didn't like liars… but at the same time, you are being a hypocrite. So, tell us, what really happened?"

"It's none of your business!" At this point, everyone knew that the next bit of anger would cause the teacher to flip. In addition, what really made all the students ponder was how did this man become a teacher to begin with? He had anger problems, he was a liar, and overall Tanaka was quite pathetic.

"You might as well tell us," said Yzak to defend his friend although he was about to kill him during the war, "Or the class wouldn't trust you or your teachings. I am certain that I am speaking in behalf of everyone."

Tanaka desired to scream, yet his imaged was saved when the door opened.

"Tanaka-sensei?" a girl with long black hair and dark eyes said as she came in the room slightly, "I heard some screaming from outside… and I was worried… Can I come in now?" To some of the men in the classroom they thoughtshe was gorgeous. So this was the new student.

"Not now, Shiho," the teacher told her, his heart was aching a little due to rage and hate. "Whatever…" Tanaka was now panting heavily, "You can introduce yourself… come in, Shiho."

"Shiho!" exclaimed the Duel pilot loudly but it was cut short when Crot jabbed him in his gut.

This name made Yzak panic greatly, and her appearance alone got his brain to recall her. He clearly remembered when this was the girl whose skills rivaled his although she piloted a Zaku or a Ginn. She was his vice-captain, andhow could he forget it. At the same time, one question remained in his mind.

Why the hell is Shiho down here? Don't tell me…

(At PLANT the next evening)

It was quite a tough day; no questions were needed on that fact. He didn't know what he was actually doing, but Shani decided to isolate himself as soon as lunch started. In spite that may have been an act of supreme cowardice, the Forbidden pilot did not believe he had any choice.

He needed to avoid Lunamaria at all costs.

During class, he intentionally withdrew any sort of eye contact with her, and if he did look at her it took less than a second to escape her beautiful dark cerulean eyes. However, each time he stole a glance, he could tell that she was depressed, and only one person could serve as the emotional healer. How utterly confusing it was; what should he do?

It was now after class, and Shani practically left the class fairly quickly without making his usual warm farewells. He had a shooting session with Shinn and Meyrin, but he ungracefully cancelled it due to the fact that Lunamaria would show up with them –like all the other lessons. He had faith in Meyrin and Shinn forthey were making quite good progress on their training, and even without Shani's help they were doing quite fine. That easily lightened his schedule for the day butnow he had nothing to do.

Shani hated being bored.

Where was he at the moment? Actually, he was in the streets of PLANT in his normal day clothes so no one in the military would recognize him. To be honest, Shani had not met too many of his comrades yet since he had only been here for a week or so. The closest friends he had were Shinn, Heine, Meyrin, and especially Lunamaria.They were indeed great people to be around with; he would admit that to the very least. Somehow, his mind went back to a certain magenta haired girl. Her smiles were majestic; her body was like as if kami-sama forged it Himself; her breasts… so enticing; her short pink skirt was a deliberate statement of attractiveness and seductiveness; she was so gorgeous, and her personality rivaled her unexplainable arcane beauty...

No!

What the hell was he doing? Why was he picturing Lunamaria? He knew he was no where obsessed with her, yet he couldn't purge her out of his mind? Or was he obsessed? No, he wasn't… then was it due to guilt? Was it because he saw her so down that it made him think? How was she this powerful? The only other person that truly made him have a conscience was Stellar Louissier, the lady that he at least considered to be like a baby sister to him. Was this fate? Did destiny wanted Lunamaria to be with him? He didn't know, and he didn't want to start considering the possibilities.

Yet, he still believed the coordinator girl was beautiful…

Shaniexplored around on his own for two hours or so down in the district of downtown; anything that kept him from imaging girls was good. The Forbidden pilot wasn't doing anything too special, just window shopping, having a bit of snacks down the road, and possibly trying to observe how beautiful it was when there was peace. As long as he was a soldier, he would fulfill his duties to allow peace to reign over humanity. Grunting to himself, he fidgeted his hand a little bit when it noticed the chill. He was surprised to see that it was already 6:30PM according to his watch; he didn't know the temperature changes were this drastic from afternoon to evening. Not even a week of living here made him see through this difference.

Meanwhile, the Forbidden pilot had another issue to deal with; his hunger. Being a growing 18 year old male, food was essential –and he tried hard not to put it as first priority in his life. Shani did a good job at satisfying his superiors first before himself, but when the higher ranks were satisfied he had no choice but to indulge himself for no one else would. Not the greatest theory, but a theory nonetheless. The Forbidden pilot had two choices at this point; eat outside or go back to base and have their 24hour food court. For obvious reasons, he didn't want to stay at base without legitimate reasons for Lunamaria would be around him. For the entire week, that beautiful girl had been hanging around with him along with Shinn and Meyrin. Not like he minded, their company made him sane as much as he hated to admit it.

For now, he preferred to differentiate himself with the military whenever possible. He needed some time to think. So without much further mental arguments, he decided to stay out here for a little while longer.

Shani began observing around for a restaurant but his mind could not fully make up a choice. Most of them were either fast foods or classy restaurants that would cost him a fortune just to order a plate of spaghetti. Even restaurants were against him, but at the same time loneliness swept over him like a flood. Many people around him traveled in pairs; hand in hand; all lovey-dovey. The longer he watched them, the colder his hands become. Shani actually missed having Stellar around; he didn't hit him until now that he enjoyed having her by his side. Her touches, smiles, words... they were all obvious signals of affection. They meant security; it made him believe that he was important in someone's life instead of being Forbidden Gundam's living CPU. Stellar might have feelings that were more than just friendship… Butshe was not here with him, and he felt deeply alone.

After some hopeless wandering Shani finally arrived at a place that he was familiar with. On the left stood an apartment building, and the first thing that came to his mind was Lunamaria sticking out her tongue. That was her first reaction towards the landlord, and Shani remembered it all too well. What alluring charm she had, he was so different from any girl he had met. When his stomach growled a little bit, Shani immediately banished any sort of remembrance of Lunamaria for a second; he needed to focus on his task. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

If this was the same apartment he tried to move in before, that meant the restaurant he went to with Lunamaria last week was nearby. The food was good; the service was exquisite; friendly folks around; just everything about that place was worth complimenting. It was finally decided, the Forbidden pilot would visit that place again… just for the sake of memories, and the fact that it was close by. Regardless of what reason, Shani needed to find some place to eat, or he would get killed from starvation –which was one of the most humiliating ways to die as a soldier.

If he knew that place's reputation, he assumed it would be crowded in the next hour.

(In less than 15 minutes later)

Judging from the clock at the restaurant it said 6:47PM, and much to his disbelief it was already starting to crowd. Shani thought about it thoroughlyhe really shouldn't have spent such a large fraction at his time wandering around. For beneficial reasons, he should've been considering the consequences of being late. No matter now, there was a small crowd and it only meant there would be waiting. If he learned anything at that moment that would bebeing punctual had no drawbacks.

His stomach roared to itself once again after getting a number from the desk. It said number 23but there were at least over half a dozen more people ahead of him. If his own estimating abilities were strong as he remembered it, it would take at least half an hour until it was his turn to be seated -and that meant 30 minutes with no possibility of food entering his system. However, that was just a guess. Doing what was best, he might as well ask someone ahead of him how long they have been waiting for. Asking one question wouldn't hurt; that was what he safely assumed.

He saw a young lady with a pleasant aura around her, she was pretty and Shani just took his chances. He gave her a pat on the shoulder and began asking. "Do you know how long it may be until…" He didn't even finish his question yet and he already regretted his actions. The Forbidden pilot cursed himself for failing to notice the girl had short magenta hair and when she turned around his heart shattered feeling that his efforts for the entire day had been wasted.

"Shani!" exclaimed the girl with delight, "What a coincidence!"

Crap! "Lunamaria-san…" Shani said with all his dread hidden inside, "It's such a…"

"Pleasure to see me?" she asked with an endearing smile. Shani could not do a thing but to grin back a tad bit forcefully.

"Of course…" he lied skillfully.

"How come you left class immediately and did not have your lessons with Meyrin and Shinn?" she inquired him with innocence and a small tilt in her head. "Are you sick? Were you okay?" She soon did something beyond his expectations; she held his cheek with her right hand and his forehead with her left. What truly shocked his heart to the fullest was how easy she was performing all this; no hesitationandall natural.

"Lunamaria…"

"Quiet, Shani," she cooed. She actually cooed him! What kind of blasphemy was this? "Just one second." At this point, she was taking advantage on the situation and leaning on him comfortably, yet the Forbidden pilot did not carry the necessary argument to stop her from continuing.

"Lunamaria… what makes you so sure that I am sick?"

"I know you are a Natural," she whispered in his ear so other bystanders would not know. Both ZAFT soldiers knew not everyone was comfortable with Naturals and Coordinators blending in so freely. It was still verynatural for some of them to have their minor prejudices -or major detest. At the same time -like that landlord from a week ago- there were people who had immoral hatred. Long explanation short, they had to be very cautious –especially with a natural among them. "You aren't like me, you are not so immune to sickness and diseases."

"I guess you're right…"

"Why are you here?"

"Can't I have dinner?"

"Why here?" she quickly inquired. "Why not back at base? They do have lasagna tonight and you like their lasagna. You wouldn't miss it in the world."

"How do you know that I like their lasagna?"

"I see you eat three dishes of those instead of your usual small appetite of consuming one dish. You always eat more of that than anything else available." He was taking a bit off guard when she saw through him like glass. When did he make his actions this obvious? Or was she actually that skilled? Regardless of whatever the case may be, all Shani knew was that he felt cornered.

"Is that so?" he said back dumbly.

"So, tell me, why are you here? Is there a reason why you weren't there nearly the entire time? Is there a reason why you didn't have lunch with me and Shinn, or maybe did not have lunch at all?" By this time, Shani noticed that he was pushed to the corner of a wall where it gave him and Lunamaria the privacy needed. This was worse than he first imagined. "Shani Andras, were you trying to avoid me?"

She ventured too deep yet Shani lacked the strength to retaliate. One, her questions were mind shocking. Second, his hand –at least the back of it- were in contact with her sizeable breasts. However, this time around despite he knew that she felt it she did not mind nor had the intention to care. She was so close to him, andif she moved her head two inches forward Shani may lose himself and take her lips for a kiss. Conversely, he wouldn't simply do something that undignified.

"No…" he said along with a small, insignificant cough, "Why would I be?"

"I know you are… ever since I tried holding your hand… you didn't look at me anymore. Tell me, Shani, am I that despicable? Am I someone that can't have your care? I don't want you to hate me… do you hate me?"

Shani grunted quietly to himself as he inhaled one deep breath of air. When a woman or anyone asked him this type of question so directly, what kind of options did he have? In some cases, a yes or no was very difficult. He only had one choice left -escape.

"Of course I don't hate you," he said as she smiled slightly. He then strongly took out his crushed left arm to look at his watch. He really wanted to grimace when his palm brushed cleanly on her breasts for at least 2 or 3 seconds."Oh, look at the time, it's later than I thought it was. Well, I got a class progress report that I need to deal with by tomorrow. I better get going." Giving more strength in his shifting, he got out of Lunamaria's hold before exiting the restaurant by the door. Being the kind Lieutenant that he was, Shani still bid a farewell.

Needless to say, Lunamaria did not allow Shani to simply leave with such a lame excuse as his support.

"Shani!" called the coordinator girl running after him. "Don't leave!" She ran so quickly that she even tackled him from behind -making the Forbidden pilot cry a little bit before making a loud thump on the ground. Lunamaria blushed hard when she realized she was on top of him, what made her feel more guilty was that Shani's eye showed confusion and dizziness. "Sorry…"

"Lunamaria… what are you… why aren't you having…"

"I am not eating without you," she protested eagerly, "I don't want to eat alone… I want you to be with me."

"I have to get…"

"Liar!" she said loudly, "I know you are making excuses! Shani, after knowing another for this long… can't you realize what my feelings towards you is like?" Her face was carrying a shade of endearing pink, her voice was incredibly gentle and caring. Lunamaria's posture right now was not only cute, it was very charming. That kneeling position with that innocent face –although her thoughts were nothing within the guiltlessness range- Shani thought she was just stunning. At the same time, what she just said made his forehead sweat a few drops.

"Ano…" the wasabi green haired natural choked and gasped, "It's not… I don't hate you…"

"That's not what I asked," she replied sharply despite that she was still on top of him, "I asked that do you know how I feel about you." She was persistent in achieving affection, Shani would give her that much –but all Shani thought was affection as friends. Moreover, the Forbidden pilot did not understand why Lunamaria would want him to be the source of it.What did he do to make her feel so strongly about this?

"I don't know…"

"How would you not know? I really like you!" There, she confessed it. What did Shani do -he simply stared with awe. It wasn't long before a blush came upon his face, and obviously Lunamaria giggled when she saw it. Like him… did she mean more than just a friend… like… romantically? She could not have meant that.He was her Lieutenant, she was his student, there was no possible way that she would like him with any means. Shani kept telling himself that it was not possible but Lunamaria's eyes did not appear to be speaking lies.

"Should we not talk about this here… I mean… you are on top of me…"

"You will run away again, I don't trust you!" She certainly wanted him to be here.

"But I am lying on my back with you above, and more importantly we are in the public."

"I don't care what kind of method I use, as long as I keep you still!" Shani had to admit that she was one tough cookie, and she was beginning to understand him like a book. The Forbidden pilot wasn't assigned to pilot the Forbidden Gundam for nothing.Shani was cunning and unpredictable as he was dangerous. Of course, the dangerous part no longer applied sincehe was not a mobile suit pilot any longer-at least not Forbidden.

"I can be still elsewhere…" Come on, he was the Lieutenant, not her! Why was he cowering with Lunamaria? "Let's go somewhere else, I promise I won't run away." He darted his eye to the right andit wasn't good when he found people staring at him queerly. When he moved it to the left, his eye cringed when he saw some drivers also having that kind of weird expression. Shani just wished Heine or any other of his co-workers did notwitness this pathetic scene.

"You promise?" Lunamaria asked innocently but also quite serious for an honest answer. He never liked to anger the coordinator lady. When he nodded, Lunamaria barely gave him space to get up. To his surprise, she took his hand immediately and held it as she guided him up. Even when he was already standing, Lunamaria refused to let go just yet. "Remember, if you run away, I will bite you."

That threat made the ZAFT Lieutenant chuckle. Lunamaria pouted seeing that her words weren't working, she thought that would do it but she smiled when Shani grinned back – Lunamaria finally knew he was enjoying the moment with her. She comfortably rested her head on his shoulder with a blush on her beautiful visage, and once Shani felt his shoulder getting warm he fought really hard not to flush up. She was so divine, so beautiful, how could he resist her arcane beauty and charm?

Somehow, he remained in tact but it was exceptionally difficult when she played with his hand with her own soft, gentle, smooth, sensitive ones. She looked at him once in a while andeach time a shade of crimson plastered on her cheeks. Shani Andras was so handsome; he was definitely sweet; he was not the pervert that she thought he was when they first met; his majestic maturity fascinated her so much.

Oh, she adored him.

Why didn't he look her way when she was watching him? Didn't he know her feelings yet? She knew so much about him; what he liked to eat; what to drink; knew when he would love to listen to music; what made him truly smile; his favorite weapon to use was the M4a1 Assault Rifle; Shani always preferred meditation over social events despite that he was old enough to drink; she also knew that Shani cherished friends in spite his cold demeanor. Lunamaria even safely assumed he did not have too many friends when Shani frequently referred to Stellar, Crot, and his fallen comrade Oruga who died in the war.

If the Forbidden pilot did not have too many friends, Lunamaria was more than willing to become someone that he could truly consider a friend. Of course, she would drag Shinn and Meyrin into it sincethey were perfect candidates for friend material. At the same time, it wasn't like they weren't friends already. Shani had been giving them a few tips on their shooting and their confidence about the exam had increased quite a notch. Maybe it was Lunamaria that wasn't certain about her confidence with him, but that would change if she had Shani all to herself.

Now it was the time. By the time she actually gave some attention to where they were walking, her eyes gleamed with excitement when she found out they were now at a park. With this low amount of light shining and being the only ones here, this spot was perfect. In reality, the Forbidden pilot was just venturing around at random, and at the same time once he lowered his right eye to look at her face, Shani swallowed hard when he noticed the zeal in her blue pupils. At last, the moment was upon them.

"Shani," called the coordinator girl when she found there was a bench along the path they were walking on. The dark sky's concealment was perfect. Anything said here would remain just between them.

"What is it?" he asked in a quiet voice as if there were people watching their every move. At a moment like this it was difficult not to panic. To the very least,it was tough not to beparanoid.

"Want to sit there?" she questioned, pointing at the long braced bench. If a woman wanted to sit down, it only meant one thing; time to get the issue over with no matter what the consequences. There were periods in his life that he wished he did not know Stellar that well, although he had no experiences with women he knew how women think. Suddenly, he recalled Oruga saying that Shani was a ladies man.If it wasn't for his naturally creepy and anti-social characteristic he could've did it with every chick he wanted. Of course, that point would only be legitimate and valid provided if they weren't experiments in the Rodnia Laboratory.

As far as Shani could remember, experiments were not supposed to have affectionate emotions. However, no one was perfect and even some of the doctors treated some of the more exceptional biological weapons with care and love. One of the more fortunate ones had to be Auel Neider 0one of Stellar's closer friends since they were around the same age. Shani wondered how he was these days along with his buddy Sting Oakley. They were friends to a degree, and what nagged the Forbidden pilot was that ZAFT was not doing anything to save any of his former comrades. Even so, the Rodnia Laboratory was a deep secret within the EAF and only the highest ranks and councils of the military knew of the lab's existence. That was why Orb (along with Archangel) and ZAFT were not prepared to battle against Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider. If they had intelligence that biological weapons were being created everyday, Archangel should've been -in theory-ready for their arrival.

Despite how much Shani wanted to reveal the secret about his former home, if ZAFT took initiative to take it over, Shani wondered if that reason would be powerful enough to start another war. Sadly enough, Shani believed that he should not even be alive. The fact that Crot, Stellar, and him were still breathing air was actually a miracle. When things started to cool down noticeably then it would be more suitable. Everyone knew the treaty was extremely fragile at this state.

"Shani, are you listening to me?" a voice came and disrupted his thoughts. Henceforth, the green haired Lieutenant was abruptly shook back to reality. Grunting slightly, Shani wanted to apologize for his rudeness, but instead of speaking he jolted back when his eye saw that cute pout of hers. She had to stop showing her endearing attributes or he would really lose it. "Were you thinking of something?"

"Somewhat…" he answered, knowing that the Rodnia Laboratory and his past couldn't be told to anyone. Oblivious to Shani, Lunamaria's intuitions were incredibly sharp. Although she did not know what precisely he was thinking of, she knew it was something to do with his life –since only his own past could make such a drastic impact on Shani. Thiswas something she picked up during these several days. However, she assumed a tad too quickly.

"You were thinking about Stellar, weren't you?" she immediately questioned with haste. Needless to say, the only thought in Shani's mind was a big question mark.

"No, not really…"

"You were, I know you were." How was she this good? She then took him by the hand before guiding him to sit next to her. In an immediate reaction, the Forbidden pilot blushed a little andhe felt his cheeks burn when she rested her head on his shoulder ever so naturally. She soon moved her hand on top of his before playing with it a little and she smiled when Shani didn't refuse her.

"Lunamaria-san…" he whispered although no one was around, "Come on… don't…"

"You're warm," she told him in a moan before her arms snaked around his body to gather more of his body heat. "It feels really comfortable. Please, can we be like this for a while? I'm cold…" This was what happened the last time they went out, but today Lunamaria was wearing enough clothing. Needless to say, she was taking advantage of this situation.To hissurprise once more, Shani had no intention to take it away from her. He just allowed her to hold him despite that his emotions may dominate his logic.

Having her around him was so pleasant, yet he remembered why he came here. Not trying to allow himself to be too relaxed, he forced himself to talk to her. "Lunamaria-san…"

"Do you like me?" she questioned as she snuggled even more. When that question was brought up to him, he instantly turned stiff. Shani's hand was not moving anymore, his mind went blank –somewhat-, his drugged heart nearly demanded to stop immediately, but when he looked at her again… she was smiling with that adorable blush that he loved. The coordinator girl watched him hopefully again; her blue eyes gleamed with delight and joy andhe could tell that she loved his presence. With that face plastered in his mind, what could he do? Also, he was at the break of losing his sanity when he smelled her breath… it was elegant… as if a field of jasmine or fragrance swarmed the air.

"Lunamaria-san…"

"Call me Luna-chan," she commanded sweetly as her head moved in a bit closer to his, "Don't be so formal with me. Shani, do you like me? Answer me that… please."

In this tight spot with her entangled around him, what options were left? Why was affection so complex?

AN: What will Shiho say to Yzak? Can Shani survive through what Lunamaria is going to tell him? Is Sting Oakley and Auel Neider alive? When will Stellar and Shinn finally meet again? Is Kira and Lacus' relationship doomed before it begins? Will the triangle die down or become even more chaotically dangerous? Will anyone fall in love?

So many questions, and I know all of it! HAHAHAHAHAHA (a bullet flies by and strikes my arm) Ow… that hurts… momentarily… No matter if I am shot or not… a review would be something that I would be grateful for, thank you all so much for reading it to this point. The next chapter would be out in 2 to 3 weeks. Please wait patiently, but don't stone me midway, okay? (Runs before getting shot more badly) Oh, dear god, my foot!