Chapter 10- Doubts

A/N: Revised…

Tears threatened to fall out of her deep set of saffron eyes, as she strained to continue but her throat had gone tight, all she managed to get out of her mouth was a weird choking sound. Instinctively, Athrun pulled her to an embrace. He buried his face into her silky blond locks.

"Athrun… I… I could have saved them… I..." Cagalli choked.

"Shh… Don't talk… Just let it all out…" Athrun said, sounding muffled. Cagalli hugged him tighter as she cried in his chest. Miriallia decided to leave them both alone and she slipped out of the room unnoticed. Sighing heavily, she made her way to her room.

Cagalli never experienced this type of feeling. It cleared all the coldness she was feeling and the warmth she felt spread all the way to her toes and finger tips. She smiled at Athrun as she pulled back and mouthed 'thanks'. She crept her way into Miriallia's room and gave her the scare of her life. Cagalli gave her a heart-warming hug and thanked her for being there through the hard times. Miriallia just smiled and said she would go get some groceries before they close.

Athrun sympathized Cagalli, he never knew she had such a sad past. The first thing that popped into his mind after he found out who she was was fear. Assassins are known to be cold and heartless, but he knew she was not fooling him. Though he could not deny that deep down he still felt fear, she could crush him just as easily as someone squishing an ant. Still, her words touched him and he could not bring himself to blame her. As he stood up, part of his mind reminded him 'stay alert…'

Miriallia crossed the street and walked into a temple. She walked in cautiously and froze as an icy voice made its way to her ears.

"You've arrived Miriallia… Report your progress Jasmine…" Master Yakashi said sipping his tea.

"Master, Cagalli Yula has failed her mission for she broke the law of 'Still Heart'." Jasmine, a kunoichi dressed in blue said bowing her head.

"What? So she dares defy my order and worse… fall in love? If that's the way… So be it…" master Yakashi said furiously.

"Although you are not as good in martial arts as the traitor is, you are loyal to the clan… you will do the honor of finishing off the traitor, Miriallia." Master Yakashi said.

"It will be a pleasure Master." Miriallia said getting up and walking out.

As Miriallia walked around the corner, she bumped into an unsuspected person.

"You!" they both said simultaneously.

"Fancy meeting you here." Dearka said scratching his head.

"I bid you a goodnight" Miriallia said as she made a move to walk off.

"Miri, you..." Dearka cried.

"What did you call me?" Miriallia asked.

"Miri?" Dearka said hesitantly.

"That's it I… Urgh!" Miriallia cursed under her breath, just her luck to run into him. She turned and ran back. 'Damn him! Why does he have to show his face around here? Urgh! He annoys me so much!'

Cagalli sipped her hot tea as she looked through the newspaper. 'What's this? Another attack?'

PLANT DAILY16/11/2800 Pg1 of 20

GIRL FOUND DEAD! AUTHORITIES PUZZLED!

23 year old Nagase Ozaki was found dead in her own bedroom on10th August.Residents along Ruby Turn say that they neither heard nor saw any commotion going on in or outside the house. The police are baffled by the fact that there were no clues in the house. One of them said: "There were signs of struggle but no clues were detected. This murderer made sure to cover his/her tracks carefully. "One of her neighbors said: "Miss Nagase was a kind girl; she would not have any enemies. She would walk away than pursue a matter." The police searched the house for any signs of burglary. Apparently, this was no burgler but instead a person whom she offended, came back to sought revenge.

'Sister Nagase? Dead? No! It... it can't be... She's so strong and yet...' She stared at the article and went on reading. Miriallia slammed the door so violently when she came in, some wall plaster started falling off. Cagalli looked at her bemused, her expression clearly saying who-in-blazes-pissed-you-off. Miriallia ignored her and went up to her room. She fished through her pocket but could not find her pouch. 'What the heck? Argh! Now I lost the most precious thing ever!' she thought furiously.

"Where is it? How am I to," Miriallia cried furiously.

"To what?" Cagalli asked curiously.

"To find my stuff! This mansion is too damn big for its own good!" Miriallia answered ducking her head under the bed to check.

"Well, I'll hit the hay… You had better do the same…" Cagalli concluded letting out a yawn.

"Yeah... Cagalli, I think you are right." Miriallia said, giving up.

Athrun stepped out into the cold night air. He made his way over to the nearby bar and sat next to Yzak and Dearka.

"Hey… What's the matter Athrun?" Dearka asked.

"Probably his fan club pestering him." Yzak joked.

"Erm… I watched this film and there is this part where the lead male… Tom found out that his secretary… Sally is an assassin sent to kill him. They fall in love. That's not very clear as they did not feature Sally's feelings. Meanwhile, Tom has doubts and it ends here. What do you think Tom would do?" Athrun asked.

"Well, finish her off before she kills him. The spots on a leopard never changes over time." Yzak said.

"Same here. But I warn him to overlook the situation before acting. True love is hard to come by…" Dearka said.

"Bah! All your foolish talk on true lurve is so annoying!" Yzak said clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes dramatically.

"Ignore this I-don't-wanna-hear-about-love person here," Dearka said looking at Yzak from the corners of his eyes.

"Look whose talking? You could not gather courage to ask your crush out throughout the whole of high school!" Yzak shot back earning him a glare from Dearka that clearly stated him to shut up.

Athrun's POV

I sat here pondering as Dearka and Yzak starts throwing insults over to each other. To love or not to love, is the question.

'Well, finish her off before she kills him. The spots on a leopard never changes over time' as Yzak's face swam into view.

That is true but…

'Same here. But I warn him to overlook the situation before acting. True love is hard to come by…' Dearka's thoughtful face swam by.

That's true too! What do I do?

End of POV

Dearka and Yzak still shot daggers at each other throughout their 'Happy-Hour'. Shaking his head, Athrun bid them goodbye and drove home. Maybe I should take Yzak's advice?

-END OF CHAPTER 10-