Chapter 16 Falling Into Place
A/N: Heya, this chapter is kind of interesting, there're no love scenes but it's interesting, if you don't read it you'll feel lost in my next few chappies! Anyway, happy reading!
"So you're saying that Mia found out after all?" asked Kira, looking a little disappointed that Lacus had almost succeeded in getting evidence of Mia's cunning plans, but had failed in the end.
"Yeah, she had me on the entire time. She knew I was recording it from the start. No wonder I thought she was letting me in on it a little too easily. She wanted to humiliate me by letting me record everything then destroy it all!" said Lacus, feeling slightly pissed at her failure.
"At least you tried. Now that I think of it, Mia Campbell isn't as stupid as I thought she was, and I smell something fishy now that I'm mulling over this." said Kira knowingly, scratching his chin before looking up at Lacus, who was eagerly waiting for him to continue.
"Who would want revenge on Athrun the most for coming to Orb?" asked Kira, looking eagerly up at Lacus, who being Athrun's ex-fiance knew Athrun inside out from head to toe.
"We already had a suspect from long ago on that question, Kisaka. However, I'm beginning to think that it's not only Kisaka who wants revenge. Look how Kisaka just escaped and left not even a trail. Someone must be housing him somewhere, or the Orb police wouldn't have combed the entire country, before failing to find him." said Lacus knowingly, sitting down beside Kira on his bed and joining him in cracking their heads thinking.
"And wasn't Mia's appearance a little abrupt? I'm not saying that Murrue and Andy want revenge on Athrun, but Murrue did mention that Mia wanted to come along and pleaded them to let her do so. How did she know Athrun was hurt anyway? It wasn't advertised all around PLANTs was it?" questioned Kira, trying to make sense of everything.
Right now, the brunette young man was busy cracking his head and trying to fit pieces of information here and there, like trying to fit an anonymous piece into a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
"As a matter of fact, the news of Athrun's injury was kept low profile. The only three people who were supposed to know were Murrue, Andrew and Chairman Zala." said Lacus, her face brightening up a little. "This is starting to make some sense. For one thing, Chairman Zala has never liked me, and look at Mia, she's an exact model of me. Chairman Zala has never really loved Athrun as a son anyway, he treats Athrun like any old military soldier."
"So in other words you're saying that the reason Mia is impersonating you is because Chairman Zala doesn't like you, and because you have so much influential power on the citizens of PLANTs, he hired Mia to take your place while you were here, to do his bidding!" exclaimed Kira, clapping his hands together and praising himself silently on making sense of what Lacus had said.
"Exactly! And since Chairman Zala sent Athrun on his mission here to assassinate Cagalli, it gives him a perfect reason to want revenge on Athrun for failing the mission!" said Lacus smartly.
"But how did Chairman Zala know that Athrun failed his mission in the first place?" asked Kira, his eyebrows furrowing as he dug up another uncertainty.
"Good question, I have a feeling this has got something to do with Kisaka." said Lacus knowingly, looking sternly at Kira before jumping slightly as there was a loud knock on the door.
"Come in!" called Kira loudly, so that whoever it was that was outside could hear his words.
"So the both of you are here? And doing what may I know? Look what we bought for Cagalli!" exclaimed Miriallia, holding up a few pairs of track pants and some other tops.
Apparently, the whole bunch of their others friends were waiting outside the door way, and in seconds all of them field into Kira's room before, Dearka who was the last to enter, closed the door. In addition, even Murrue and Andrew were there.
"We were just discussing suspects." said Kira sternly, looking at the others, who settled around the room, seeming eager to listen. "And we've come up with a rough idea of how everything seemed to have happened too. Who the suspects might be, and it all makes sense."
"Go on then, we're eager to hear!" said Andy, sitting beside Murrue, and sicne he was called the 'Coffee Man', he was sipping a mug of hot coffee.
"Wait, you're saying that you've actually managed to figure out who was behind Athrun's injuries and everything else?" asked Kyo shocked, and sitting on Yzak's lap since there was a shortage of chairs.
"Right you are, Kyo. I confronted Mia alone yesterday, bringing with me nothing else but a voice-recorder. I questioned her and she revealed everything about her cunning plans to me." said Lacus, stopping to swallow some saliva and clear her throat.
"Brilliant! Now we've got evidence!" exclaimed Dearka excitedly, looking happily at Lacus and Kira, who sighed deeply.
"That's not all, and don't get all excited, it's not what you think. Mia knew I was recording everything right from the beginning, and she humiliated me in the end by destroying the entire voice-recorder along with the tape inside it." explained Lacus, clenching her fist and biting her lip.
"Continue, what else have you figured out?" asked Cagalli, listening intently to whatever Kira was now saying.
"I also have a feeling that Kisaka has a conncection with Chairman Zala and Mia. If not, why did everythig start happening after Athrun was knocked out by him?" said Kira knowingly, wringing his hands in his lap.
"Hold on a sec, we can't just malign Kisaka like that, for all you know he may be innocent." said Miriallia knowingly, trying to stop her friends from jumping to conclusions.
"We're not maligning him Mirre! Why else would he have fled! He's the only person who had access to Athrun's room with a suitable motive! Besides, when the Orb police called for him in a news flash, he didn't respond or anything. If he had nothing to fear why did he hide away?" asked Cagalli knowingly, contradicting Miriallia's statement.
"Cagalli's got a very good point there. Besides, what Kira said could be true. Chairman Zala could've told Mia about Athrun and sent her here to make trouble when he discovered Murrue and Andy were coming here. Also, Kisaka could've contacted Chairman Zala and complained to him about his hate for co-ordinators and that Athrun ahd failed his mission." said Dearka smartly, saying something serious that made sense for once.
"That's exactly what I said, and I believe in it. Kisaka could've blabbed it all to Chairman Zala, and recognising the hate for Athrun in Kisaka's voice, Chairman Zala could've decided to use Kisaka to harm Athrun as a start to his plan." said Kira firmly.
"I never knew Chairman Zala was such a scheming person. So Chairman Zala wants to hurt Athrun and bring him back onto his side again, eh?" said Cagalli, scratching her head and propping herself higher up onto her chair.
"Yes, my thoughts exactly and I think he wanted to hurt Athrun as a way of punishing him for failing the mission and falling in love with Cagalli. And Mia was sent here to make sure that Athrun didn't go bounding back to Cagalli." said Lacus knowingly.
"Looks like Chairman Zala did succeed in making sure Athrun didn't come back to me." said Cagalli softly, though she was loud enough for the others to hear.
"Cagalli, once we think of a plan to expose Mia and banish all those hateful thoughts from Athrun's mind, I promise you you'll have Athrun back by your side." said Kira determinedly.
"I've never helped you much regarding this situation, but I'm going to slog my guts out doing all I can to help you from now onwards." said Kira, getting up and moving towards Cagalli before kneeling down in front of her and looking determiendly up at his sister.
"You know what, I just thought of a very brilliant way to expose Mia." said Murrue, looking brightly at the bunch of teenagers. "We won't need any evidence at all, all we need is a good sense of impersonation and time."
"How are we supposed to expose Mia without any evidence, Murrue?" asked Andy, putting down his mug of coffee and staring blankly at her.
"Simple, Lacus you're going to have to play a major role in this." said Murrue, standing up and moving toward the bunch of teenagers and standing in the middle of the circle created by the bunch seated around the room.
"As you all know, Mia is a splitting image of Lacus, and vice-versa. So all we've got to do, is get Lacus to impersonate Mia and simply tell Athrun that Mia's been lying. So basically, if Lacus dresses up as Mia and confronts Athrun all she'll have to say are things like, "Athrun, it's time I stop lying to you. Everthing I said about..." and blah blah blah it goes on!" said Murrue brightly, looking at the others.
Kira looked delighted as though he could just run to Murrue and kiss her a million times. "Of course! Why didn't any of us think of that? Murrue you're a genius!" he exclaimed.
Murrue looked ecstatic, and Miriallia and Kyo were hugging Cagalli in hope that this plan would work out and save the day. Cagalli was looking on the verge of tears as she was bear hugged by her two other friends.
"But while we have Lacus confronting Athrun, we need to find a way to get stupid Mia out of the way. We can't possibly carry this plan out succesfully if that freakin' Mia was standing there and watching!" voiced out Yzak, getting the others' attention.
"I'm fully aware of that, Yzak. Of course, we have yet to find a means of distracting Mia, but when there's a will there's a way!" said Murrue euphorically, smiling at the platinum blonde who just pursed his lips.
3 Months Later
After months of preparation and planning, the bunch were finally ready to carry out their little plan. They would've carried the plan out sooner if Aunt Suzanne, whom they had turned to for help when it came to creating a costume like what Mia usually wore, hadn't fallen sick for an entire month, slowing down her progress on the costume.
They had spent a lot of time thinking on how to distract Mia while they carried out their plan, and after many suggestions they rested upon the decision that Lord Uzumi summon her to his office for a talk about Orb's politics, and apparently, the Lion of Orb didn't have any objections. He loved telling people about Orb's ideals and wellfares, after all, Orb was his beloved nation.
Things had also been busy as Lord Uzumi had requested for them to help with christmas decorations as christmas was merely less than a week away.
Cagalli's pregnancy was doing well, and she had suffered no problems except for mild backaches, which Kira gladly helped her ease by massaging her with the help of Lacus and Miriallia. While Kyo was usually the one running up and all over the Athha mansion getting food Cagalli was craving for or simply getting some things done for Cagalli.
Although the blonde Orb Princess was only 5 to 6 months pregnant, he stomach was unusually large, like that of a heavily pregnant woman who was close to birth. However, this didn't worry Cagalli much, as she was quite eager to meet her baby.
Mia and Athrun had remained at Orb as well, as even though Athrun was discharged, he still needed weekly chekcups for the next few months. So preferrably they stayed at Orb so that Dr. Ishida could help. The duo hadn't found out about the bunch's plan either, as the bunch had done an excellent job of keeping it on a low profile.
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"Kira?" said Cagalli softly, pushing open the door of her brother's bedroom, to find the brunette young man seated by his desk and revising the schedule for the plan.
"Oh Cagalli, it's you, what's up?" asked Kira, standing up and hurrying over to his sister before helping her settle down on the edge of his bed.
"I just heard from Lacus about the saddened state you were in a few months ago. About how depressed you were about ot being able to help me and all." said Cagalli, gesturing for Kira to sit down next to her.
Kira's face fell slightly, before he sighed and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "Yes, I was raher depressed. I mean I've done nothing but annoy you all these years, and when you needed help, I couldn't help you."
Kira could feel the cuilt rising in his chest and the sinking feeling in his stomach. He felt like crying now, he was still feeling guilty and regretted not being able to help Cagalli before.
"But you have, Kira. If it wasn't for you and Lacus, we'd never had devised such a brilliant plan. You don't know how grateful I'll be if it all works out, in fact you don't know how grateful and touched I am right now." said Cagalli knowingly, lifting Kira's chin to see his eyes filled with tears.
"I'm such a letdown, and I know it." said Kira, tears falling from his violet eyes onto his lap, soaking into his jeans.
"Hush now, you know you've done your best the past few months, and I'll thank you for it, even my baby will thank you when it's born." said Cagalli, taking Kira's hand and placing it on her stomach. "See, it's kicking. It agrees with me, now stop crying before I accuse you of being a crybaby, and not to mention, the younger of us both."
Kira looked up at Cagalli, before laughing slightly, and using the back of his hand to wipe away his tears. "Your baby sure is an active one, just like his mother."
Cagalli laughed, "I hope he grows up to be like Athrun before Athrun became this way. I want my baby to be just as handsome and charismatic."
"I'm sure it will Cagalli, if it's a girl it'll be absolutely beautiful and that at that no guy in the entire universe can listen to her name and look at her picture without wetting his pants." said Kira humourously, his cheeks still tear-stained.
"Don't exaggerate Kira. I want her to be beautiful but not beautiful to the point that she will have a dozen guys drooling lustfully after her." retorted Cagalli knowingly, reaching out and messing up Kira's hair playfully.
"Where's Lacus?" asked Kira, before neatening his hair again like a guy who was very vain indeed.
"She's in her room, getting ready with the help of Miriallia and Kyo. Apparently, their trying to make her look as much as Mia as possible." said Cagalli laughing mirthfully, and rubbing noses with Kira, who laughed as well.
"Can I go take a look at her? Whatever Kyo and Miriallia do to her, make sure they can undo it, I want the original Lacus and not the new Mia-looking one." said Kira, getitng up and helping Cagalli to her feet before heading off with his sister in the direction of Lacus's bedroom.
However, when Kira and Cagalli came to Lacus's bedroom, the trio of girls were laughing away. Indeed, Lacus did look like a splitting image of Mia now, and no doubt was she ready.
However, the one who was being made up to look good now, was none other than Kyo, who had been forced into a chair while Miriallia put makeup all over her face. Kyo's hair had also been twisted into an elegant tight knot at the back of her head.
"I can't deny it Kyo, and I'm not lying to you or anything, but you look gorgeous! You look so pretty! Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Cagalli upon seeing her female bodyguard, who looked blunt and pissed.
"Yeah I know! And after this, we're going to put her into one of those dresses that've never been worn in her wardrobe! She'll be dressed to kill!" said Miriallia excitedly, applying a little more gloss on Kyo's lips.
"Why would you want to dress Kyo up anyway? What for?" asked Kira curiously, taking a good look at Kyo and nodding his head, as though saying, "Yep, she's pretty alright."
"We're planning on making her go on a date with Yzak like this. Yzak'll be drooling all over her!" squealed Miriallia, before ursting into a fit of giggles.
Lacus cleared her throat, "Miriallia, if you're thinking of making Kyo up so that she'll be too irresistible for Yzak to take, then I think there's a need to remind you that abstinence is encouraged before marriage."
"I agree, Mirre. If Yzak wants it he'll jolly well have to wait till we're married, that is, if I marry him." said Kyo firmly, nodding in approval of Lacus's words.
However, ebfore Kyo could protest further, she was forced into the toilet by Miriallia, who was carrying a white shimmering dress, which was bare-backed and pretty low cut at the front.
"Are you ready, Lacus? Once you are I'll call Lord Uzumi and tell him to summon Mia, then when we find Athrun we could tell him that Lord Uzumi cancelled the meeting with Mia, who is of course, you." said Kira knowingly, smiling warmly at Lacus before enveloping her in a hug.
"I want to see how Kyo looks like first," said Lacus sweetly.
Just then, Dearka and Yzak entered the room looking ready for business.
"We know out positions, look out for Mia coming back along the corridor and around the corners." said Dearka saluting Kira and Lacus.
"Oh ho, Yzak boy are you in for a surprise." said Cagalli giggling away as Yzak looked at her questioningly.
Within minutes, Kyo exitted the bathroom looking absolutely stunning. So stunning that Dearka fell to his knees on the floor, much to Miriallia's dismay, and even Kira nearly tripped over a backpack on the floor.
As for Yzak, tsk tsk, all I can say is that he was so shocked that his jaw was hanging wide open, and he wet his pants. Of course, he didn't wet is pants in front of the others, but he did in the bathroom, and how did the others find out? When he asked Dearka to get him a new set of underwear and pants!
A/N: Ok, I know this chappie was kind of short, but I'm really short on time. I'm preparing for my voyage to New Zealand, so things are really hectic right now. This may be the the last or the second last chapter I'm updating before a stretch of time where I won't be able to update at all, as when I get to New Zealand, I may not have internet access for a while, but rest assured I will update! Sorry for typo errors and pls review!
In the next chapter: The bunch carry out their plan and Lacus confronts Athrun posing as Mia. Athrun seems suspicious though he still listens to what Lacus is saying, as she poses as Mia. Cagalli goes into labour, however, is the labour the will of nature, or is it a complication in her pregnancy?