JC: When I compare Gundam Seed and Destiny, I like Seed far better. At least, Seed is not as confusing as Destiny. The story is really messed up for me. But I've grown to love the characters in Destiny as well. Rey is a very interesting character for me, as well as Shinn, but I never liked Gilbert from the start. Well, I still watch it anyway, because I'm a big fan of the Gundam Series.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny.

Love Fulfilled

Phase 13: Healing of the Heart

Jean was at the Cliffside, waiting anxiously for her brother. She scanned around the area to look for some clues, but unfortunately she couldn't find anything after searching hard. She stared down at the sea, where Kira had fallen, and indeed the bottom was full of rocks and the current was strong. But she didn't want to admit that Kira was dead, not after what she heard from Rey and the chairman.

She heard a car pulling over. She turned around and saw her brother getting off the car. "Finally, I've been waiting here for an hour! What took you so long, Nii-san?!" she reprimanded him with her hands on her waist.

"What have you found out about the head representative?" Athrun immediately asked, since he didn't want to answer his sister's pointless questions.

Jean's face became depressed as she fiddled with her fingers. "Nii-san, you see... Kira-sama was..." She took a deep breath and blurted out, "Kira-sama was killed by Rey Za Burrel."

Athrun gasped at this, surprised to hear that a good friend of Cagalli killed the representative. That explained why Rey hasn't visited Cagalli after the Kira incident. He was too ashamed to face her.

"It's very hard to believe, right? Well, that's what I've heard," Jean said.

"Why? I thought Rey is... Why did he kill Kira?" Athrun was starting to feel angry inside. He clenched his fists as he fixed his eyes on the ground.

"Nii-san, don't blame it all on Rey-san. The chairman is behind it too. He was the one who ordered Rey-san to kill Kira-sama."

"What?!" Athrun retorted. "Let me guess, the chairman ordered Rey to eliminate Kira in order to gain control of ORB, right?"

Jean nodded. "But I don't think the military and the officials will let him be the new representative, because Cagalli-san is still there. Since Cagalli-san is the sister of Kira-sama, she is the rightful person to be in that position."

"Then Cagalli's life is in danger. I'm not going to let Rey harm her." He was about to run towards his car when Jean stopped him.

"Rey will never harm Cagalli-san."

"And why is that?!" He glared at her with furious emerald eyes.

Jean got a bit intimidated by this. "Y-you see... Rey-san is madly in love with her. He wants to marry her for crying out loud! Kira-sama was against their engagement, which is one of the reasons why he killed him. With Kira-sama out of the picture, the chairman could easily manipulate Cagalli-san into marrying Rey-san."

"If Rey really loves her, why did he do it? Why did he kill the most important person to Cagalli?" He gritted his teeth as his thoughts drifted back to his princess. Gradually, his heart calmed down, knowing that Cagalli was still in pain. "I better go back now. Cagalli needs me right now."

"Nii-san, please take care of her."

"Of course I will... I love her so much, you know."

Jean smiled, knowing he was sincere with his words. "I know that very well." She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nii-san, there's still something you need to know about Kira-sama... He might be alive. I've heard it from the chairman himself."

"Kazuya also believes that as well."

"I'll try to find out more about this. I'll also inform Miriallia-san about this too."

"I'm counting on you, Jean." With that, he hopped into his car and dashed off into the road instantly.

HQ

After changing into her military uniform, Cagalli went to headquarters. There, she was promptly greeted by the soldiers, even though they felt rather sad for her. She could tell by their faces that they were extremely worried for her. She was pleased by this, but her heart was still shattered.

She walked into the clinic, hoping to see Jean's smiling face, but she was nowhere in sight. "Where is she?" she asked. She decided to go to Miriallia instead. When she arrived at her room, she found her good friend seated comfortably on her bed, with a pale face. "Miriallia, are you all right?" She felt worried for her. She sat down beside her and touched her hand.

At that, Miriallia suddenly hugged Cagalli. "I can't believe he's gone!" she yelled out as tears fell from her blue-green eyes.

"Miriallia," she said faintly. She hugged her back, knowing the pain she felt deep inside. She tried to comfort her. "Please stop crying... Kira wouldn't want to see you like this."

Miriallia gently pulled herself away to face her blonde friend. "I just can't help it, Cagalli."

Cagalli took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Miriallia's tears away. "Crying like this won't bring Kira back to us," she calmly said.

"I understand what you're saying." Miriallia tried to hold back her tears from falling.

"You know, I was crying non-stop before too. I know how much it hurts to lose someone very dear to you. But we can't change the fact that he's gone. We might as well accept it." Cagalli smiled at her, even though she wanted to cry.

At last, Miriallia smiled back. She held onto Cagalli's hands and squeezed them gently. "Thanks..." she spoke in a mild voice.

Room

In the bodyguard's quarters, Dearka was walking back and forth perpetually, looking like a total moron, while Shinn and Yzak watched him. He was worried about Miriallia, the girl of his dreams. Her sad face plagued his mind. He had the desire to comfort her, but how? He could always tell her jokes to make her laugh, yet he knew she wouldn't laugh. He scratched his head in frustration, trying to think of a way to handle her.

"Dearka, if you're so damned worried about her, why don't you just talk to her?" Shinn suggested as he sat up on his bed.

"Shinn's right," Yzak agreed. "Besides, you're kind of giving me headache watching you walk back and forth like a mindless idiot."

"What if she'll ignore me?" Dearka asked.

Yzak shrugged. "Dearka, I know you're one persistent guy when it comes to girls. You won't stop pestering them until you know their problems."

"That's right, but then again... Miriallia Hawe is different from other girls." Dearka ran his fingers through his blonde hair. From his past experience with girls, he could tell that Miriallia would be a difficult one to handle.

Mansion

Rey saw Cagalli walking with Athrun, and felt jealous in an instant. He knew Athrun also had deep feelings for Cagalli. He was his biggest rival. "I won't let that bodyguard have Cagalli. I'm not going to let him."

Meanwhile, Cagalli and Athrun were talking about their childhood experiences. Cagalli was enjoying telling Athrun about the time she almost destroyed the base with a mobile suit. At that time, she wasn't fully trained to operate a Mobile Suit yet. She laughed out loud at the thought of it.

Athrun was pleased to see Cagalli laughing and smiling again. A smile was best suited for her, because it made her more beautiful. He didn't want to see a sad and crying Cagalli ever again. But he was having trouble telling her what Jean told him. He decided to wait for the right time to tell her.

"Hey, Athrun!" she yelled near his ear. Her voice was enough to make him deaf.

"W-What is it?" he asked.

"You were spacing out. It seems like you were thinking about something."

"It's nothing... I was just wondering where Jean is." He made up an excuse.

"That's right... I haven't seen her today."

Frankly, Athrun knew his sister was working hard in investigating about the assassination. His sister might be a total pain and nuisance to him sometimes, but he could count her on in the most critical situations.

Beach

Kira walked along the shore, admiring the beauty of the sea as well. A calm breeze blew passed him, carrying with it a gentle voice that was singing a song. He followed the voice, leading him to a girl dancing around. From his point of view, she looked like an innocent angel. Her blonde hair reminded him of his sister. "Cagalli... How is she doing right now? I want to see her..." he muttered under his breath.

When the girl stopped dancing, she looked at the representative with a smile. "Hello there! You must be the guy that Murrue-san picked up."

"Huh?" he muttered, feeling shocked at what she said. "How did you know that?"

"Didn't you know that I'm living with Murrue-san?"

"You are? I didn't know."

She approached him and extended her hand to shake. "I'm Stellar Loussier, the niece of Murrue-san," she introduced herself.

He shook hands with her and began introducing himself. But he immediately got cut off by Stellar. "You're the Head Representative of ORB, Kira Yamato, right?"

Kira simply nodded his head at her.

Stellar twirled around twice before she ran towards the water. "It feels so good." She looked back at Kira and waved her hand. "Why don't you join me?"

"I'll pass."

But Stellar won't take no for an answer, so immediately she splashed water at Kira.

"Hey! Look, I'm all wet," he said as he looked at himself.

"Don't you think its fun?" She giggled like a little girl.

"Don't you think its fun?" Those words played back in his mind. He had heard Cagalli saying those exact same words when they went to the beach during the holidays.

Flashback

Kira and Cagalli were at the beach, playing volleyball. Being the athletic type, Cagalli was showing no mercy to Kira. Luckily, Kira was the ultimate coordinator, so his reflexes were fast as well.

"You're good, Kira," Cagalli yelled out as she hit the ball, sending it towards Kira.

Kira bounced the ball back to her. "You're good too, Cagalli," he said.

When they got tired, they decided to rest for a while. It was a tough game, but it ended up in a tie. They sat on the warm and soft sand while facing the sea.

"I just love the beach," Cagalli said as she stretched out her arms.

"It's very peaceful here, unlike in the city," Kira said.

Cagalli stood and pulled Kira up. "Why don't we go for a swim?" she asked. She instantly dived into the water and popped her head out of the water. She waved a hand her brother with a big smile. "Kira, why don't you join me?"

"I'll pass."

Suddenly, Cagalli splashed Kira with water.

"Hey! Look, I'm all wet now!"

She giggled and winked an eye at him. "Don't you think its fun?" She then splashed more water at him, inviting him to join her in swimming.

End of flashback

"Kira-sama, are you okay?" Stellar asked him, poking his chest.

Kira snapped back to reality. Realizing what Stellar is doing, he immediately backed away from her and told her that he was fine. "I was just thinking about my sister," he replied.

Stellar placed a hand on her cheek. "If I'm not mistaken, your sister is Princess Cagalli, right?"

"Yeah... I'm worried about her."

Stellar's face turned serious after that. "Why don't you go see her?" She took a few steps forward until she was an inch apart from Kira.

Kira glanced at her, noticing how her expression changed. "My life is still at risk."

"I didn't mean that you have to show your face in public." Her smile was back on her face, but this time it was an assured smile.

Kira realized what she meant so he agreed with her. "I may need your help, Loussier-san."

"Just call me Stellar and sure, I'll help you out."

To be continued...

JC: I love Stellar-chan. She's so cute! Why did she have to die in Destiny? She's one of my favorite characters. But Cagalli-sama still reigns supreme for me! Reviews are much appreciated. Please don't send me flames.