Fat Cash
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam SeeD or Destiny (A fact of which I am highly proud); Bandai does.
Summary: The war is over, and the Three Ships Alliance has crumbled to being lowly traitors to their homelands. How exactly is it that the whole cast managed to survive until Destiny?
Chapter 1: Pink Princess in Poverty
-PLANT National Bank, right after Freedom Gundam was stolen-
Chairman Patrick Zara had an aura of authority… not that anybody respected it. Nonetheless, his commanding aura stormed into the bank, followed by several drone-like Coordinator troopers. The militaristic group rushed the line and pushed their way through, the Chairman slapping a news article on the nearest free counter. "In case you haven't heard," he begun. "Songstress Lacus Clyne is a traitor to the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, having allowed Earth Alliance scum to steal our top-secret weapon. The board demands that you not only track all of the Lady's account usage, but remove all funds and place a zero credit limit on them." Naturally, the fearful man behind the counter got right onto it.
-Some abandoned warehouse on the colony Eternal is docked-
"But I want SS grade caviar!" The purple-haired officer buried his tan face in his hands. It was too hard to calm down the popstar in her fits of rage. He had been trying to convince her that military rations were food enough… unsuccessfully. He shook his head and made a complicated hand motion that resembled the hand sex scene from Ebaumsworld. The officer opposite him nodded and walked up behind Lacus… then unceremoniously shoved a syringe in her arm and pumped her full of tranquilizer.
-Eternal, just before the battle of Jachin Due-
The princess of peace, who happened to be captaining a warship, had slowly found appreciation of modern production technology. Sure, they managed to produce monstrosities like the ZnO, but they also made stuff like the disgusting-looking white bar she was happily chowing down on actually taste like SS-grade caviar. Truly, military rations were food enough.
-Orphanage, after the war-
"Father Markio, I'm hungry," a small brunette boy wailed, the other children following suit. The blind revered looked at Kira (or at least he thought he was) sadly. Kira frowned and looked at the ceiling. A human could survive without food for 72 hours. It had already been 69 hours since the whole orphanage's bank and pantry had been emptied. Even in peace, I still can't protect anything, he angsted. A coordinator might be able to survive for longer, but I can't let these Naturals just die. Especially not children, he continued, breaking down into tears. Not a good idea, since drinking water was also in low supply.
Lacus entered through the front door, looking utterly exhausted. Yeah, lifting crates had a toll on the poor girl, regardless of her Coordinator heritage. She slapped a few dollar bills on the kitchen counter. "Save this for a jumbo bag of rice. Kira, there are clients at the docks. Go please them," she said tiredly as she headed straight for her room.
You see, Kira was a manwhore these days. He was the kind that liked to administer pain and buttsecks, given his angst over the way Fllay Allster treated him. He didn't see it as a job, but rather as an outlet for his angst. So the Navy boys at the dock where Lacus worked wanted a piece of Kira's rough stuff. It paid better than Lacus' day job too. But in the end, the men would go home with bleeding anii, not returning for weeks on end, and the children would starve again. No more of that, Kira concluded, a determined look in his eyes. He grabbed his abandoned laptop and the dollar bills off the counter and stormed out the door. "Kira, where are you going?" Father Markio asked, not aware of Kira's job. "…To get coffee," Kira responded stupidly. The children started crying again. "Kira, what are you talking about! The children need FOOD, you don't need CAFFEINE!" "…The children will get their food, don't worry."
-Starbucks-
Mr. Bartfield… Kira reflected as he entered the Desert Tiger's lively coffee store. Why, you ask? Well, because Frappuccinos are the best, and because they had wireless internet access in store. Kira knew that he'd look weird, showing up just to use the internet, so he headed for the counter and bought the cheapest coffee he could find. Which cost him all the money Lacus had earned. Damn it, I WILL make her proud! Kira thought, as he put down his laptop and connected to the wireless network. I have to PAY to use this! His mind screamed as the "$0 Credit" screen appeared on his laptop. He looked around frantically, spotting only one man using his computer there. He had to do something, and fast.
-Orphanage-
"He did WHAT!" Lacus screamed, her mind too tired to register that Kira was probably just making a stupid excuse to go sell himself. She threw a pink fur coat over her orange overalls and rushed out the door, toward the only coffee store on the island. Starbucks.
-Outside Starbucks-
She sang when she was happy, she sang when she was sad, she sang when she felt like it, and she sang even when she didn't. Lacus was too emotional and tired to control herself, and suddenly burst into song as she approached the coffee store. "Anoooo tokkkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii… Wasuretaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" she began, and crazy Lacus fans rushed her, forming a wall of bodies around her.
-Starbucks-
"Lady Lacus is here!" a crazed fanboy screamed, and several seconds later, the coffee store was clear… except Kira. He sprung into action, pulling his network card out of his laptop shimmying toward the other guy's computer, and switching the network cards, before returning to his seat and placing the other guy's card into his computer. 20 minutes left. Excellent, he thought, looking out the window and observing the human wall get thicker. He started typing.
-Starbucks, 19 minutes later-
"Yatta!" Kira yelled with glee, shutting down his laptop and rushing out the 'employees only' back door, just as Lacus burst through the front door. "KIRAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…a?" She screamed, then pondered. Oh, right. His job, she thought, suddenly feeling stupid. She headed home. It'd take another hour to pierce the human wall.
-Orphanage, 1 and a half hours later-
Lacus looked at the aptly-named death clock mounted on the wall. Half an hour and the children would probably die of starvation. Conveniently, the door burst open, several sacks of rice flying into the living room, followed by several frozen chickens, bottles of sauce, bottles of alcohol, and crates of soft drink. "Kira…?" Lacus wondered out loud, peeking her head around the door. Kira stood there, grinning from behind a several-thousand dollar Armani suit. Lacus blinked. "Let's say, the Federal Reserve Bank likes to support orphans," Kira said, leaning in to kiss Lacus on the forehead. "And those who support them.
End Chapter 1