JC: I just bought a new Cagalli poster. Her pose is so cool there! I love it. I wish there was a Miriallia poster too, because she's my one of my favorites. Well, I managed to finish this one in two hours, though I got a headache afterwards.

Disclaimer: I don't own Cagalli, Miriallia, Kira, Athrun and the other GSD characters.

Love Fulfilled

Phase 14: Deceit

Rey decided to show his face to Cagalli, after days of grieving in the sanctity of his room. His heart still carried the heavy guilt for killing the one he treated as a friend all his life. Somehow, he wanted to be free from that burden and he believed that Cagalli might be able to help him. As he stood in front of her bedroom door, he raised his hand to knock, but he hesitated to do so. He was afraid, afraid of seeing her sad face.

"What should I do? How can I face her?" He asked these questions several times in his head. At the moment he was in conflict with himself. Not knowing what to do, his mind was full of confusion. He remembered the words of his uncle, ordering him to kill Kira, and the words of Cagalli, telling him that she doesn't love him. It struck him hard. It was like having a knife pierced through his heart. "I can't face her. I can't face the sister of the one I killed. I'm too pathetic. I'm not worthy of her time."

"Rey, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice called his name. He maintained perfect composure as he turned his head to face the person. His eyes softened as they met the person's golden-brown eyes.

"Rey, are you all right?" she asked him, feeling concerned for her friend. She had noticed how pale and depressed Rey looked.

Unexpectedly, Rey hugged Cagalli and began crying on her shoulder. He was releasing every pain he held in his heart. "I'm so sorry, Cagalli. I'm sorry."

"What are you saying? Why are you apologizing to me?"

Rey pulled himself away from her. The second he saw her face, he quickly ran off in another direction.

"Rey!" she called him, but he didn't look back. "What's wrong with you?"

Rey kept running through the hallways until he bumped into Jean.

"Hey! Watch where you're go..." The young Zala clamped her mouth when she realized that the person she bumped into was Rey. As a sign of respect, she immediately saluted him. "Please excuse me, Rey Za Burrel."

"It's all right," he replied despondently and walked passed her. Jean noticed the sad look on his face and wondered what was wrong with him.

Meanwhile, Athrun was out investigating the case of Kira's assassination. He was at the scene of the crime trying to find some clues. Much to his utter disappointment, he can't find anything except for little blood stains on the grass. He hopped into his car and drove off. During his ride near the beach, he spotted a beach house from afar. He pulled over at the said place, hoping he could ask some questions to the owner of the house regarding about Kira.

Murrue was having coffee at the terrace while admiring the calm sea, with the wind blowing through her hair. At that point, her eyes spotted a car parked beside her house and a man standing right next to it. "Who could that person be?" she asked herself.

Athrun knocked on the door, and soon a woman opened it and greeted him at the same time. He looked at the woman carefully, because she seemed familiar to him. After a few seconds, he finally found out who she was. "You're Captain Murrue Ramius of the Archangel Ship," he said. He immediately saluted her and introduced himself.

Murrue giggled at his reaction. "I am pleased to see you remember me, 1st Class Crewman or should I say Lt. Athrun Zala now?" she said.

"It's really been a while, Captain. How are you?"

"I'm fine and I see you're still doing well as a soldier of ORB, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"So, what brings you to this place?"

"I'm presently investigating about Representative Yamato's assassination. I have found out who the suspect is, but I need evidences to prove it."

Speaking of Kira, Murrue wondered if Stellar was taking good care of him. She did leave Kira in her hands. She remembered Kira telling her that he was going to see Cagalli, which was making her a little worried. "About the assassination…" she said with a smile. "Is the suspect Rey Za Burrel, Lt. Zala?"

Athrun gasped at what he heard. "H-how... How did you know that?" He certainly remembered not telling anyone about it, yet the captain knew.

Murrue turned serious as she heaved a deep sigh. "If you want to know, then please come in. I have a very long story to tell you."

HQ

Using Murrue's ID, Stellar and Kira easily infiltrated ORB Headquarters. Because they disguised themselves as military technicians, wearing hats and jackets, they were able to walk around the place freely. Even so, they were still careful.

"It's my first time here in HQ," Stellar said, looking around like a curious little girl. For a girl at her age, she still acted cute and lively.

"We must go inside," Kira told her as he headed off first. "I believe Cagalli is there."

"Wait for me, Kira-sama!" she yelled out.

Kira immediately clamped her mouth with his hands. "Sshhh! Please don't say my name. I don't want anyone to know that I'm here right now."

Stellar quietly nodded her head.

Making their way inside the office, they found Cagalli talking to Jean in the hallways. Quickly they hid themselves out of sight and observed them. They were close enough to hear their conversation.

"Have you seen your brother?" Cagalli asked. She was wondering where Athrun was, since she hasn't seen him this morning at the mansion. She was hoping that Jean would know.

But Jean shook her head as she said, "No, I haven't." Frankly, she just lied, because she didn't want to let Cagalli know that Athrun was actually investigating the assassination.

Cagalli sighed. "Well, I have to go now," she said. "Please excuse me…"

"Um... Cagalli-san... Are you all right now?"

"Jean, I told you to call me only Cagalli."

"Oops, I forgot." She giggled as she stuck out her tongue. Her expression then turned serious as she looked at the princess again. "You know, I was worried sick about you, and Nii-san too."

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Cagalli, are you feeling any better now?"

"Yes, I'm feeling much better."

Even though Cagalli said that, Kira could clearly see it in her eyes that she was still in pain. As her twin brother, he kind of felt what she felt. It was a brother's instinct, as he may call it. "I want to hug her right now," Kira muttered as he clenched his fist.

Stellar placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from his eagerness. "You can't reveal yourself to the princess just yet."

"I know... I know..." Kira looked back at his sister. He guessed that Cagalli must have cried a lot after his disappearance. He never wanted to hurt her and to make her cry. But things just came right at him without any warning.

Beach House

"What did you say?!" Athrun yelled out as he rose from the chair with eyes wide as marbles. "Kira Yamato is alive?!"

Murrue had just explained to Athrun how she found Kira and took care of him while he was unconscious. And because of what she heard from the news, she hid Kira from public and took him to her beach house, which was isolated from the city. It was the perfect place to hide him since not many people knew the place.

"Why didn't you contact headquarters?"

"I know very well that Kira-kun's life was at risk," she calmly responded. "I can't afford him to get hurt again."

"You got a point there. So, where is the representative now? Is he here?"

"No, he's not here."

"Where is he?"

"He's at HQ, because he wanted to see his beloved sister."

"What did you say?! Why didn't you stop him, captain?"

"Don't worry, my niece is with him. She'll take care of him."

"I hope you're right."

After getting the necessary information he needed from the captain, Athrun left the beach house and headed back to HQ. He had to find Kira as soon as possible.

Office

When Rey entered the office, he saw Gilbert sitting comfortably in the chair that once belonged to Kira. He was looking through files and reports of ORB. He was rather enjoying his work, making Rey feel disgusted. He walked over to him and saluted. "You called for me, sir?" he promptly said.

"Ah, Rey... Finally you're here. I have something very important to tell you," Gil started as he wore a smirk on his face.

"What is it?" Rey asked, getting impatient.

"With Kira Yamato out of the way, you can marry the princess anytime you like."

"She won't marry me. She doesn't love me the way I do."

"Rey... Rey... Rey, you don't understand. Since Kira-kun is dead, the position of head representative will be handed down to her."

"But I thought you wanted this position."

"And to do that, you must wed the princess."

"I already told you! She doesn't love me at all!" Rey slammed his palms hard on the desk.

Gil laughed sinisterly. "Rey... With my power, I can make her do anything I want."

"If you harm her, I'm going to kill you!"

"Don't worry... I won't harm a single hair on her head. She's very essential to my plans. Besides, she's your only happiness, am I right?"

"She's everything to me."

Outside the door, Jean had her ear against the door as she listened to Gilbert's and Rey's conversation. After hearing everything, she quickly went back to her room and found Miriallia there.

Jean crossed her arms as she dropped herself on the bed. She's everything to me. Rey's words played back on her mind, making her think differently about him. "Rey really loves Cagalli-san," she said without thinking. She rose from bed and approached Miriallia, who was currently reading an e-mail from Athrun. "What did Nii-san send you?" she plainly asked out of curiosity.

"Athrun just informed me that he went to Captain Ramius's house by the beach," Miriallia replied without taking her eyes off the monitor screen.

"Isn't Captain Ramius the captain of the Archangel Ship?"

"That's right..."

"Wow! Nii-san just met her! I want to meet her too." She went fan mode again.

"We've got better things to do, Jean. So, what did you find out this time?"

Jean turned serious as she heard that. "Cagalli-san is the rightful person to be the new representative, right?"

"Of course… And that's because she's Kira's sister. Why do you ask?"

"Chairman Dullindal plans to take over the position by using Cagalli-san. He's going to force Cagalli-san to marry Rey!"

"I can't believe Chairman Dullindal. Well, he's capable of doing that. We have to stop him before that happens. I better tell this to Athrun." Miriallia started typing a message for Athrun. She was hitting the keyboard pretty hard and fast.

Next day

Gilbert paid Cagalli a visit in her mansion. He was currently seated in the living room, explaining certain things to the blonde princess. Standing by his side were his bodyguards, Shinn and Yzak.

Shinn observed how Cagalli's facial expression changed to a sad one once the chairman told her that she was going to be the new head representative. He, too, wondered about the sudden death of Kira, leading his suspicion to the chairman. When Kira Yamato died, he noticed how happy that chairman looked. What was that supposed to mean? Was the chairman actually glad that Kira Yamato was gone? He eyed the chairman skeptically. He also remembered the time Rey arrived home late. He saw Rey holding a gun in his hand and he had a pale complexion. He tried asking Rey some questions at that time, but he just ignored him. He had a strange feeling that Rey and the chairman might be responsible for Kira's death.

Cagalli wasn't too sure if she could handle the job of Head Representative. Even though she was a good commanding officer in the military, she had no knowledge in politics. She tried telling the chairman that, but the chairman was being persistent and reasonable with her.

"I believe you can do it, princess. You are the daughter of Uzumi Nara Athha after all and he was once a great leader."

"My father is great, but not me. I was trained to be a soldier, not a politician."

"Your brother is gone now, so you have no choice but to take the position."

"I know that very well, Chairman Dullindal."

"Princess, if you want, I can help you." He was now smiling. His plan of taking over ORB was going very smoothly. All he needed now was to get Cagalli's approval in which he was sure of. "Princess, let Rey take over the position."

"That's impossible."

"It will be possible if you two were to get married."

"M-married?!" Cagalli gasped. She totally opposed to the idea. She didn't love Rey and yet, the chairman insisted on it.

"Princess, Rey would make a fine leader," he added, making it more difficult for Cagalli to decide.

She was left with no choice. With Rey's leadership, she trusted that ORB will be well. So with a heavy heart and mind, she told the chairman, "All right, I'm going to marry Rey for the sake of ORB."

With that answer, Gilbert couldn't be happier.

To be continued...

JC: I just have to stop here. I've got to save the thrilling parts for the next chapter. I just totally hate Gil. I'm beginning to like Rey more and more. Oh well, just don't forget to review me. Don't flame me and my story.