Hi!
Sorry about the delay! I was on a little trip. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! I was a little concerned about that. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny or any references made to either.
Abhorrence
Chapter #7: Lacus' Decision
Kira shivered as the icy wind bit through his jacket and shook his head to knock away the snowflakes that had accumulated on his eyelashes. He lifted up a booted foot and grunted softly when it sank further into the snow. His entire boot disappeared into the drift. An unfamiliar tinkling sensation road up his leg as the snow melted, dampened his pant-leg and numbed his claves. Staggering slightly, Kira felt his left leg skid away from him as he slipped on a piece of ice hidden by a thin layer of frost.
"Gah!"
His foot went right out from under him and he landed gracelessly in a snowdrift by the side of the curb. The shock of the cold up his back sent him scrambling back up to his feet. He pushed himself up with one hand as he felt himself being dragged along by the other. Now covered in snow, Kira shrugged his duffle bag onto his shoulder. He could feel the strap starting to slide and struggled to hang onto it while trying to keep pace with the beautiful, pink-haired girl ahead of him
Kira winced as a young couple pushed past him on the busy streets. He stumbled forward and gasped as he felt the crowds closing around him as the tightness made him feel like he was suffocating. His grip on the delicate hand he was holding began to loosen and as he tried to re-adjust his hold on Lacus' mitten. Suddenly, she pulled him close to avoid loosing him in the crowd.
"What exactly did Cagalli tell you?" Lacus asked when she felt Kira's wet mitt squeeze her hand.
"Nothing," Kira answered. "That's why I'm worried. It's not like her to be so vague and she sounded upset. Aside from that, when I asked about Athrun she wouldn't answer me. I think something terrible might have happened."
"To Athrun?" Lacus' voice tightened with emotion.
Kira nodded. "It's the only thing I can figure that makes sense."
"Oh no…" Lacus felt tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "It can't be."
"We'll have to see," Kira replied. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to comfort her. If something had in fact happened to Athrun, it wouldn't be Lacus that needed comforting, it would be his sister. He had seen the way Cagalli would undress his best friend with her eyes and her voice always softened in his presence. The two of them rarely showed the kind of affection Kira knew they shared in public but he understood why. Athrun had always preferred private moments, such as falling asleep in front of the television with Cagalli in his arms while Cagalli had a reputation to protect. More importantly, neither of them felt so insecure that they deemed it necessary to publicly display the love they knew they shared.
The two paused in front of an old, gothic-style building that towered over main-street Helsinki. Kira dug deep into his coat pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. His eyes skimmed it over quickly before he glanced back up at the building. "This is it."
"Cagalli's hotel?"
"Yeah." Kira sighed. If anything were to happen to Athrun, Cagalli would be crushed.
Kira and Lacus entered the hotel and hurried along the halls as Kira read the room numbers out loud. There was an eerie silence the flowed along the empty hall which seemed to amplify Kira's soft voice. "24, 25…hey Lacus, what number did Cagalli say she was in?"
Lacus frowned. "You spoke to her, not me. Didn't you write it down?"
"I forgot to…but I told you on the flight over here."
"Oh Kira," Lacus tossed her long hair and chuckled. "You can't expect me to remember every little thing that comes out of your mouth."
His eyes narrowed. "You weren't listening again were you?"
"I was so!" Lacus sputtered. "Honestly, I packed our things, I booked our flight, I cancelled my concert just so I could come with you and you have the nerve to accuse me of not listening? Just because you couldn't remember something so simple as a room number, Mr. Yamato, doesn't mean it's my fault!"
"What? I didn't say it was!"
"What the hell do you mean we can't do that!"
Kira and Lacus stopped and turned as they heard Cagalli's voice from behind the door to room 27. The two exchanged nervous glances before Kira boldly stepped forward and pushed the door open a crack. He poked his head in hesistantly.
"Um, Cagalli?"
From where he was, Kira caught a glimpse of his sister pacing around the room madly with a phone in hand. At her feet was another phone except it was broken. One look at Cagalli made Kira wonder whether or not this second phone was going to meet the same fate as the first. Suddenly, He was a little reluctant to see her.
"Maybe we should come back later?" He suggested but a look from Lacus silenced him.
"I heard what you said but Unato, if we don't do something they will kill him! I'm not saying we let them get away with it! Once we get him back we can turn them in!"
Kira and Lacus listened, both surprised to see Cagalli's eyes puffy and red as tear-stains streaked her cheeks. Her hair was uncombed and judging from the wane look on her face, she hadn't slept all night.
"Unethical?" Cagalli exploded causing Kira to flinch. "What? No! I will not calm down! They will kill him! I know these people, they…."
There was a pause as Cagalli listened to the response on the other line. Kira knew she was talking to one of the Orb Representatives and recognized the name Unato. Unato Seylan was just one of Orb's many Representatives although Kira personally disliked him. In fact, Kira disliked his entire family. Unato had a son named Yuuna who constantly spoke condescendingly of him whenever he had the chance. Even worse was the way he swooned after his sister, sometimes right in front of his best friend.
"You unfeeling bastard!" Cagalli screamed and Kira scrambled to pull his head out from the door before the phone smashing against it forced it shut.
"Urgh!"
"Cagalli?" Lacus asked and, reopening the door, she entered the room. It was sparse in the room; Cagalli's belongings flung half-heartedly in the far corner. Two beds were aligned perpendicular to a small television and, further down, was a door that led to what Lacus guessed was a bathroom. Glancing around, her expression saddened. Cagalli looked ruined. Pacing around the room, Cagalli was almost pulling the hair out of her head before she spun around to face the slightly taller girl. "Cagalli, what is it? What's wrong?"
"Lacus!" Her eyes widened with recognition before they moved past her and spotted Kira behind her. "You both came."
"Of course we did," Lacus put an arm around her and carefully helped Cagalli to the nearest bed and sat down beside her. "Kira said you sounded extremely upset. Did you and Athrun have a disagreement?"
"No, we didn't." Cagalli lowered her head as tears threatened to fall. Trembling slightly, she clinched and unclenched her fists as she felt Lacus' hold around her tighten. "He's gone…"
"Gone?" Kira crossed her arms. "What do you mean Athrun is gone? Where did he go?"
"I mean he's gone!" Cagalli leapt up to her feet and turned on her brother angrily. Grabbing him she shook him violently as she continued to holler at the top of her lungs, releasing all the frustration that had been building inside of her. "The Blue Cosmos took him okay! They just grabbed him off the street! I knew something like this might happen but I let him come anyway! I am so stupid!"
Kira and Lacus looked at one anther open-mouthed in disbelief. Neither one knew what to say so they just stared as Cagalli released Kira and continued to pace back and forth around the room.
"I should never have let him come with me!"
"Cagalli…"
"I' can't believe it! I'm an idiot!"
"Is he…"
Cagalli's eyes narrowed. "No, no he isn't. Not yet anyway."
"Athrun…" Lacus whispered, unsure what else to say as she listened from her perch on the side of the bed.
Cagalli stiffened. "I met with the head of the Blue Cosmos," She explained through gritted teeth. "They want 15 million dollars in exchange for his life. They want to use the money to buy weapons that they can use against Coordinators."
Neither Kira nor Cagalli noticed as Lacus pulled out a booklet and a pen from her purse and began to write. Kira was stunned. His best friend. His best friend was in the hands of a group who had a history of terrorizing Coordinators. They hated Coordinators. They hated everything about them. "What are you going to do?"
"I spoke to Mr. Seylan," Cagalli muttered and nodded towards the second phone now lying on the floor in pieces. "He said that Orb can't be seen endorsing any sort of underground factions that are plotting against the Coordinators. He said that we have to appear impartial otherwise the PLANTS and ZAFT will become uneasy."
Cagalli let out an exasperated sigh. "Basically, he said that loosing Athrun is unfortunate but there is nothing we can do."
"Surely, there must be something we can do," Kira protested. Athrun was his best friend. Their friendship had been stretched and strained but never broken. Not completely anyway. He couldn't leave him to what he knew would be certain death. Throwing his hands in the air, he joined Cagalli as the two of them paced around the room in circles. "How much time do we have?"
"I had two days to get the money," Cagalli answered and slowly raised her head to face Kira. Her expression was proff to just how serious the situation was. She had never looked so scared, so drained and so lost. "So we've got about 24 hours. I'm supposed to meet him tomorrow night by Aua's café."
"Do you know where they took him?"
Cagalli shook her head. "I have an idea… but I'm not sure. They may have moved since the last time I had any contact with them."
"That's not good," Kira groaned and slumped against the wall. "Even if we managed to figure out where Athrun was that wouldn't give us enough time to get him out. Aside from that, there's no guarantee they wouldn't just kill him on the spot once they realized what we were trying to do."
Cagalli nodded. "I don't want to just hand over the money. That wasn't my idea. All I asked Unato about was giving the money to them to get Athrun back. Afterwards, we could inform the authorities and get the money back and put the remaining members of that miserable group behind bars, but…"
"Unato didn't approve?"
"No," Cagalli muttered bitterly and turned her back to him, her eyes reaching out longingly into the distance. "He said nobody would ever agree to it. He said we can't let the Earth or the PLANTS see us as weak. That we can't yield to the threats of radicals. He doesn't care if Athrun dies or not."
"I see," Kira bit his bottom lip, searching for the right words to say. "Did he say anything else?"
"Just that he and Yuuna would be coming to ensure the negotiations run smoothly," Cagalli replied. "If only there was a way of getting the money, getting Athrun back and then going after them. That's what we have to do."
"How?" Kira asked. "From what I can tell, The Blue Cosmos holds all the cards."
"No," Lacus rose up and straightened, a glint of determination shimming in her bright, blue eyes.. "They do not." Turning to Cagalli, she ripped a piece of paper from the booklet in her hand and gave it to her.
Cagalli glanced down at it and her eyes bulged. Her head shot up in shock and Kira quickly scurried over to see what Lacus had given her. His mouth dropped as he read her neat handwriting.
"Lacus… are you sure?" He asked.
"Athrun is my friend," Lacus told them firmly. "At one point he was my fiancé and he is a good person. I will not allow his life to be put in jeopardy for a few measly dollars."
Forcing Cagalli's hand to close around the check she had just written, she smiled sadly. "I am the head of the Clyne Faction therefore I have nobody I have to hold myself accountable to as you do. Give them this and bring Athrun back to us. His safety should be our first priority. Afterwards, we can see what we can do about dealing with the Blue Cosmos."
"Lacus… I…" Cagalli was at a loss for words.
"I care about him too," Lacus added lightly and winked at Kira reassuringly. "Whatever happens, we have to get Athrun back."
Cagalli's closed her eyes and breathed in slowly to contain herself. She wasn't sure whether or not she should be relieved or concerned. For all she knew, Athrun could already be dead. "Thank you."
"Will this put you at odds with Orb?" Kira dared to inquire. "I mean, after what Representative Seylan said…"
"It won't," Cagalli cut him off abruptly as she jammed the check in her pocket. Straightening, she ran her fingers through her short hair. Her eyes darkened and her fists clinched into tight fists. "None of them have to know what transpires from here on out. If things go as well, we'll give them Lacus' check, get Athrun back and then we will go after them… hard."
"I will make them pay for this." She promised herself. "All of them."
Kira moved, put a hand on Lacus' shoulder and nodded. "What do you want us to do, Cagalli?"
"Tomorrow," Cagalli started as she drifted closer to the window of her room and glanced over at Kira. "When I go meet Jibril to give him the money, I want you to come with me. If things go badly, I want you to do all you can to get Athrun away from them. Hopefully it won't come to that but just in case. Lacus, it would be best if you stayed here."
Kira and Lacus both acknowledged her. Sitting down, Kira guided Lacus beside her and pulled her close. Her warm body nestled up close to his brought him a certain about of comfort and he tightened his hold around her waist. "Now, I suppose all we can do is wait."
Cagalli silently agreed as she turned her attention back to the window and gently raised a hand, touching the glass. Her breath fogged it up, making it difficult to see, but she didn't care. Squinting, she sent out a silent prayer from the bottom of her broken-heart.
Athrun, wherever you are, please be alright…you have no idea how much I need you…
TBC….
I'm sorry, that chapter was a little shorter. The next one will be longer because we jump back to see how poor Athrun is doing. Please review! I love hearing from you and you're advice, encouragement is greatly appreciated!
Until next time,
Krilyn
Slightly Sinister SinestraI'm glad I nailed down Athrun's character in the last chapter and I'm super glad you liked it because you gave me the idea for it! Thanks so much!
Cari-Akira Awww, I'm glad you could 'feel' the pain Athrun was going through. That was what I was trying to get across. Yes, the Blue Cosmos should burn in hell… still not sure how I want to deal with them yet in this story though… any suggestions?
Kageharu Kaco Jibril would never escape, that's very true. I liked extremist Coordinators better too – they seem more humane… and human lol I like writing chase scenes… you will find that out pretty quick. Thank you for the review!
BlackFeatherz29 I'm glad you liked it! Don't be ashamed of it! How do you think I would feel then since I wrote it hehehe. I know what you mean. I also enjoy a good torture-comfort fic… a happy ending hehe. Thanks for the review.
mingathur Thanks for the message! I will reply soon!