DISCLAIMER: As Gundam Seed was created by Mitsuo Fukada, and Twelfth Night was created by William Shakespeare, so is this fic created by me (Ruru Kitsuneko)…

AUTHOR'S NOTES 7.1: Starting Act II off with a bang with Kira's return (from the dead?). Thanks to Mrs. Nozomu Sohma for the review: I'm glad you liked the rabbit-Haro portrayal. Thanks also to Silver Water 7 for the review: I went to the site—nice. And of course, thanks to purple1 and Ryo Kazunine for your reviews. Again: think of Kira when I say Caleb—only it's Cagalli inside, ya know?

CHARACTERS:

Sai Argyle (Antonio) – the sea captain who rescues Kira

Flay Allster (OC who is not in the original play) – Sai's young ward who is infatuated with Kira

Miriallia Koenig (OC who is not in the original play) – Sai's widowed cousin yes, she was married to Tolle

CHAPTER 7: SURVIVORS OF THE SEA

"Kira!"

Kira Atha-Yamato gave a surprised yelp as a warm body threw itself against him knocking him back into his bed.

"Flay," he groaned in exasperation.

A high feminine giggle muffled against his chest was the response. Fifteen-year-old Flay Allster grinned impishly back at him, her pale blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "I've got you now, Kira. Now you have to spend the day with me," she announced smugly.

Before Kira had a chance to reply to that outrageous statement, a voice bellowed from the doorway— "Flay! For God's sake! Couldn't you wait 'til the man was fully dressed before you pounced on him?" Sai Argyle snapped irritably to his ward.

Flay turned to her guardian and stuck out her tongue at him. Sai snorted, while Kira's lips twitched with laughter.

"If you both don't mind," Kira ruefully began, "I'd like to get decent now and get down to breakfast."

Flay leaned even closer. "I'll feed you breakfast, Kira," she cooed.

Sai rolled his eyes. His young ward had been infatuated with their guest ever since he had pulled him out of the ocean where he had been unconscious and clinging to a broken piece of wood after the shipwreck and brought him back to his home.

Though only 22, Sai was already captain of his own ship, which was how he came to save Kira at the exact moment that he needed saving. Sai's ship was also caught in the storm, but unlike the ship that Kira was on, it managed to get through safely to Illyria.

"I'll dress you up, too, if you like," Flay continued, completely ignoring Sai.

"Oh, for the love of God!" Sai groaned. He started towards them and plucked his young ward off of his houseguest, wherein she began shrieking like a banshee. Holding her underneath the crook of his arm as she called him all sorts of unflattering names, Sai said to Kira, "I'll leave you now to get dressed in peace. And you" —he snarled at Flay— "grow up!"

Kira stared in bemusement as the bedroom door closed on Flay's screeches, which receded in volume as Sai went further away—probably to dump her back in her room, preferably under lock-and-key; but he was such a softie, he wouldn't.

Flay had been orphaned nearly two years ago when her father's ship was caught in a storm and sank leaving only a handful of survivors. It was a pity her father, George Allster, wasn't one of them. She had then been given under the guardianship of Sai Argyle. Flay was always a handful, and for all Sai's bluster, Kira knew he was very fond of his ward.

He shook his head as he continued getting dressed for the day. Argyle House was lively and happy—even though it was a tad noisy. He didn't mind: it helped him keep his mind off his nightmares. Some nights he actually managed to sleep through the night without being plagued by dreams; most nights all he could hear were her screams. Lately, he'd taken to dreaming about their younger days, waking up with tears of nostalgia blurring his vision of the ceiling—not that it was in any way remarkable.

When he finally appeared at the breakfast room, he found only his host, whose face was hidden behind a large newspaper.

"So," Kira began conversationally, as he reached for a muffin, "How'd it go?"

"She's still alive," Sai said dryly, still behind his newspaper.

Kira's lips twitched. "I see," he said gravely.

Sai brought down the paper halfway down and peered at his guest through his oval glasses. "One day, I'll really kill her," he stressed.

"Of course you will," Kira answered still gravely.

"I'll give her a nice funeral, too," Sai continued.

"Right," Kira said biting into the muffin. "Don't forget the flowers. What's her favorite again?"

"Venus fly-trap," Sai muttered, under his breath.

Kira choked on his food at his friend's statement. But before he further embarrass himself by spitting his breakfast in his host's face, the butler announced— "Mrs. Miriallia Koenig."

Sai's head snapped in the direction of the doorway as a pretty woman with short brown blonde hair and dazzling turquoise eyes swept into the room. Getting to his feet, he greeted mildly, "Good day to you, cousin. And pray tell, what brings you to visit me all the way over here at Argyle House?"

Miriallia gave him a brief glance before turning her attention towards a now sputtering Kira. Assessing the situation, she deftly poured some water into a glass and thrust it towards him. Gulping down the water somewhat restored Kira to some semblance of normality. Murmuring his thanks, and receiving a brief nod of acknowledgment in return, he tried to blend into the background as his savior started pacing the floor with only a brief— "How is Flay?" —for a greeting.

"Still a brat," Sai answered flippantly, expecting some sort of retort—and was quite surprised to find none forthcoming. His cousin continued to pace the breakfast room floor, which he found odd—added to which, he noticed the unusual brightness in her turquoise eyes, and the slight flush in her cheeks.

Getting a bit tired of watching her pace, and already irritated by a very bratty Flay, he inquired flippantly, "Are you having an affair?"

Both men were quite unprepared for her reaction to the innocent question.

Miriallia whirled to face him, and snarled, "An affair? What gives you that idea? Do I look that desperate? I'm telling you I'm not! He thinks he's so handsome—who does he think he is: Adonis?" —a deriding sniff— "Hardly. He doesn't even look anything special. And his attitude! That cocksure bastard, the next time I see him, he'll see. He'll wish he never crossed me, I swear to God." And without further ado, she swept out of the room in a flurry of skirts and stomped out of the house.

Sai and Kira stared unblinkingly at the door she had departed from for a few minutes in complete silence.

"What was that?" Kira asked shocked.

"I have no idea," Sai answered genuinely bewildered.

"I'm telling you now, I wouldn't want to be whoever she was talking about," Kira remarked with a slight shudder. His brow furrowing slightly, he turned to his friend and added, "I thought she was the quiet sort."

Sai gave his head a slight shake. "I don't know what's come over her: but it's probably a good thing."

"You call her having a conniption fit 'a good thing'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You don't understand," Sai answered, his voice low, "You weren't here when Tolle—her husband—died. She was a mess. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep; all she did was cry." He swallowed convulsively. "There were a few moments when I thought she might kill herself. At other times, she just stared blankly at nothing; she stared through everyone that tried to talk to her as if they weren't there. I thought she would lose her mind. She's been getting it together, but" —his lips twisted in a slightly bitter smile— "she's not the same person she used to be."

"Nobody is," Kira said flatly. "No person will ever be the same when the person the love dies."

Sai glanced at his friend and saw the raw pain in his lavender eyes. He looked away quickly—it seemed to be something too private for him to intrude upon. He drew a shuddering breath and continued, "I don't expect her to be. Six months a widow after six months of being a bride. Life is not fair."

Kira drew in a sharp breath. "They barely had enough time," he murmured.

"I wouldn't say that," Sai continued, as he poured himself a glass of milk. The topic they were discussing needed something stronger to digest it with—but it was still too early in the morning for strong spirits. "They were childhood friends. They could've married a long time ago, I suppose, but Tolle wanted to be more stable for Miriallia, so they waited 'til he managed to accumulate funds and then some."

"How did he die?" Kira asked quietly. "Was he ill?"

"No," Sai said curtly, "He died in a shipwreck."

Kira's hands clenched convulsively at that piece of information.

"He was also a sea captain, did I tell you that?" Sai inquired his friend. Kira shook his head, though Sai didn't seem to require an answer. "He was a better captain than me, but the storm was stronger that night or something. His ship crashed into the rocks. No survivors. We recovered the body a week later: it wasn't a pretty sight," he finished grimly.

Kira paled slightly. He often wished he would find Cagalli: anything to bring a sense of closure to the feeling of loss that seemed to eat at his soul. Now he wondered if it was a blessing that he hadn't found her at all. Perhaps it was; perhaps it wasn't. It was one of the things that invaded his thoughts whenever he let his mind wander. He wished he could find an answer. He wished he would find closure. He wished that his beloved twin sister would find happiness wherever she was. And most of all, he wished—

That she were alive. So he could stop thinking at odd moments that it wouldn't be so bad if he died—if it would mean being with his other half again.

The only thing that stopped him; was the knowledge that if he had died, and she had lived, he would want her to keep living, because it was just so hard for him to imagine a world without her in it.

A/N 7.2: Hope you all like it. I did anyway. The story's gonna take a few twists and turns from here on out. Up next is Cagalli, and Athrun, and Yzak, Dearka… Well, you guys get the picture. For the record: I don't like Flay. She's here because… Well. You'll see… Hmmm… I need to think of a better summary…