For The One Who Had Nothing

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or GSDestiny.

Summary: AUish. A boy with a horrendous past and present lives with only a small glimmer of light to hope on. Mainly KxL fic, AxC will also be in depth. Will span a lifetime accordingly. First fanfic, please be mean. I felt I really needed to edit this first chapter for the many mistakes, so gomen ne. Heh, I will try harder than my best. This opening chapter will be vague yet descriptive enough but it is for a good reason so trust me?

I wanted a new concept ideal but with parameters to parallel SEED enough to a certain point where I can utilize sufficient creativity, or simply this fic will not incorporate the war of mankind, but the usual conflict of Naturals and Coordinators are present.

I appreciate constructive criticism more than the usual "good job," "nice fanfic," or any sort of pat on the back like that, so feel free to bash me on my many missed steaks that I will probably make since I am a newbie and maybe an average writer. Hehe. I appreciate anybody reading this though, so domo arigato.

Mainly kiraxlacus, athrunxcagalli...other characters are susceptible to being nonexistent because too many chefs ruin the stew if you catch my drift (in other words too much character development is not optimum in my opinion because it can create confusion, unless done properly in which I might take a stab at, but this fic is mainly for kxl, axc) to alert all you other favorite pairings fans, gomen nasai, but many of the characters will play important roles, and I will attempt to develop their characters from my views thoroughly because I believejust using a character vividly is mediocrewriting.Their roles they played will bebased on Seed and Destiny and how I see them fit. But character development naturally willnot beas much as the main protagonists though.

This fic will range from 1st to 3rd person omniscient point of views because it's much more funner, challenging, and I feel I can develop the characters better with flexibility. Some of this fic will be in Japanese so I will provide a small dictionary for all those in need. I feel as if keeping parts of the fiction in Japanese adds to the authenticity of it and the many Japanese honorifics will come into play later on

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Japanese Dictionary -- Dikushonari-Nihon

Otou-sama : father (respectful)

Haha-ue : honorific of mother, (more respectful)

Okaa-san : mother

Onii-chan : older brother (cute form with O in the beginning)

Hountouni : truly or really, dependent on how it is used

Arigato : thank you

Gomen nasai : I am sorry

Gomen ne : sorry

Sumimasen : sorry; excuse me(casual)

Hai : yes

Tennyo : celestial maiden

If there are any questions on the differences between the suffixes and honorifics of the Japanese, feel free to let me know and I will post something up for that if necessary.

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For character names spelling, I will stick to those of Wikipedia org since that place seems kind of official.

The ----- will be a break in text or change in scenery because the thingy they got in fanfiction weirds me out. heh

Flashbacks are italicized

Places are bold

"Dialogue"

'Inner thoughts'

Emphasis

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Chapter 1: Prelude to Hope

Cosmic Era 70, January 27...Heliopolis, Orb

"Please don't make me! I don't want to leave her, she's my best and only friend in the whole world! She makes me happy Okaa-san, please pleas,e I will do anything, just don't make me go," bawled the young boy of a precious age at eight.

"Gomen nasai honey, but we have no choice..." cried the mother to her weeping son. 'I wish we didn't have to go because I know how much she means to you, but we have to take care of our family first and we cannot continue to live like this' she thought bitterly as she bit her lip to prevent anymore tears from spilling over. Caridad was in extreme sadness, with her eyes showing evidence of her remorseful plight as well as the secrets she kept from the boy.

Minutes later after all the crying died down into suppress fits of tears, the woman gave a pleading smile asking the boy to do what must be done. After a few muffled sobs, the boy nodded in determination to keep his natural masculine ego, even though deep inside he was in deep turmoil. Nevertheless, he knew he had to be strong for both his mother and his precious little girlfriend. He wished he could voice his feelings to the girl. He knew exactly what he would say, but he also knew that his wishes were impossible and that he should not be selfish...

"Onii-chan!" yelped an adorable little girl to her predisposed brother snapping him from his thoughts, "Can we get some ice cweam, pweaaase?" She insinuated in her ultimate cuteness charm with her trademark large bubbly eyes that disabled any or all thoughts of refusal.

"Hai." Smiled the young man, who knew the unavoidable defeat even before his little sister used her unbeatable charms and pleas.

"Hontouni? Yay! You're the best!" Screamed the little girl almost too enthusiastically, as her eyes bubbled up even bigger than before when she received the frozen treat. "Ari..." She managed to voice out her gratefulness while licking away at her treat, "gato..."

At the ridiculously cute site, the adolescent could not help prevent a meek smile to creep upon his lips. For underneath his smile, he couldn't help but struggle against a copious amount of problems he faced as a lone guardian at the tender age of 15. Looking up at the heavens, another thing kept plaguing this youth's mind that he had thought he buried some time ago.

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"Uhm...I-I have something to tell you..." the boy said in the sternest voice he could manage while keeping the tears in his eyes at bay.

"Y-yes?" enquired the girl, who was already informed of what the child would say, but her heart kept hoping against hope that he wouldn't. Tears were already forming in her eyes as she was on the verge of breaking down.

"I'm...I'm...I'm leaving..." the boy silently spoke, finding a little haven in the sand that he kicked around, lacking the courage in gazing in the eyes of whom belonged to his first true love and crush. It was a beautiful day regardless of the sadness seeping out from both children as they came slamming hard into the reality of being torn apart. Yes, it was a beautiful day indeed, on top of a hill gazing over the beautiful azure sea, filled with its own mysteries and gloominess. As seagulls hovered overhead foreseeing a gloomy event squawking in an attempt to voice out there own objections and the sun began to settle, the young couple shared one last day of bittersweetness together, hand in hand. Only to be interrupted by the harsh reality.

"Honey! It's time baby, I'm sorry but we have to go..." the mother trailed off into a barely audible voice, apparently showing the remorse she had to put her only son through.

After a few more moments, which mom could and would spare for her child.

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Staring at the beautiful dawning sky accentuating the fluorescent streaks in the turquoise depths of the ocean as if to harvest strength to boost his resolve, the boy managed to start what neither of them wanted to begin.

"Well...Gomen ne, but I guess it's time for me to go..." said the boy, trails of sadness still evident in his tone despite his new resolution. Breaking away in an effort to avert her gaze, while wiping the imaginary dirt off his clothes as his resolved began to waver as he could no longer hold the tears back.

Two silent streaks fell only to be stopped by precious tiny fingers. Wiping the tears off the said boy's face, while letting her own fall down, she whispered a barely audible, "I know..."

And with that, the boy returned the gesture with concern brimming his orbs yet knowing his duty. Summoning any remaining will power within him, he began to head back to his awaiting mother, only to be deterred by gentle arms looping around his waist into a tight embrace. Sighing heavily and turning around, the boy smiled a smile only for her sake. The boy summoned up the courage to gaze into the lamenting eyes of the girl, he motioned to give her a farewell kiss on the cheek, only to be stopped by the girl.

In utter dejection, the boy put his head down and murmured an apology for his foolish advance, only to have a tiny finger lift his chin up to match eyes once filled with sadness, now flushed with genial passion and tenderness. Closing her eyes and motioning closer to the boy with puckered sensual lips, she swiftly brushed her lips upon the one she cared most about, utterly bewildering the said boy. In a smorgasbord of emotions; happiness, shock, affection, passion, fondness among the many, the boy was overall dumbfounded at the advance of the girl.

For the little girl, her little heart was breaking for every second that ticked away during this unplanned endearment, for she perceived that her actions were wrong since the boy was not kissing back. She could sense that he was not retreating, but it hurt her more by his idleness, almost regretting her first kiss, only to reprimand herself since she wanted to give her first kiss to a precious boy for a long time now.

After regaining his composure, the boy gladly returned the show of affection by closing his eyes and kissing back with all he was worth. The little girl was overwhelmed with happiness upon having her kiss returned as she knew it was his first kiss as well. The tears forming in her eyes seemingly evaporated as the two were enshrouded with a veil of utter happiness. For those few moments, the couple was unaware of any troubles of the world in their precious time of unity. An awestruck mother was on hand to witness the cutest thing she had ever seen in her life, which soon turned into a bittersweet smile as she once again cursed herself for putting her baby boy through this. An eternity passed in a matter of seconds between the two, neglecting everything in their few moments of happiness.

After a couple minutes, the two realized that they could not live without air. After parting their lips, the two were gasping for air, captivated in their blissful first kiss that arose a feeling from the pits of their stomach. Not wanting to make any motions to remove each other from their own world, they were both content with a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes passed and realizing that a patient mother was waiting, a sigh broke the silence accompanied with, "Uhm, I guess this is it, neh?" the boy asked a question that he knew all too well what the answer would be. With a slight nod of confirmation from his significant other, the boy reached in his pockets to pull out a golden double crescent shape hair-clip, "I want you to have this...um as a token of my friendship, and uh thank you for everything..." the boy placed the gift in her hands. Happiness threatened to overcome the supposedly gloomy mood from the separation. The girl was extremely grateful and loved the boy even more for his thoughtfulness and kindness, it was really going to be tough on her to let such a boy go.

"Arigato..." sniffled the adorable girl as she pulled out a present of her own, "I want you to have this..." as she place her gift in his trembling hands. Filled with an abundance of happiness of his own, as well as regret for leaving such a girl, the boy released all the tears swelling in his eyes as the girl did likewise. In a last minute act of desperation, the two embraced each other for a final time threatening to break each others diaphragms in the unrelenquishing grasp they had on each other.

Finally releasing the hug, the boy gave a final longing look, as he began to part. The boy no longer had tears if by only for her sake to show no trail or evidence of sadness, while the girl silently let tears continue to fall. As she watched the taxi run off to the airport, she managed a meek smile and went back to her place after a couple bittersweet moments recalling the events of what happened in the past, but not without a pair of concealed eyes watching her motions in utter sadness, he bade an indiscernible farewell.

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"Why now?" He asked to nobody in particular as he once again spaced out. 'I don't even remember that girl, and did that even really happen? or is my mind just fooling me? Ha, how could you care so much about a girl you vaguely remember? But why does my heart ache a little at the thought of her not being around? She hasn't been around, she can't, she won't, she's gone...Please, I don't want to keep thinking about her...His heart and mind struggled against each other in a losing cause. Meanwhile, he subconsciously fiddled with a luminescent article dangling from his necklace. He didn't even know how or why he had that 'thing' on his non-metallic chain, nevertheless he treasured it for all he was worth because he knew deep down it was important to him. 'I sure wish I knew why I still have this thing...'

"Oniichan?" came an adorable question that beckoned the boy back to reality from the adorable girl who finished her treat, "We go home now? I want to go watch T.B." She stated pleadingly, yet again with her adorable charm accentuated with her occasional grammatical error of the difference between the letters 'V' and 'B' in television.

"Oh, hai, gomen nasai," the boy stated apologetically as he grasped her hand to lead her into the run-down, mediocre apartment complex they were fortunate enough to manage living in with the meager sums the boy received.

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After a few hours of enjoying television and familial bonding between the two, the older boy tucked his little sister in bed, but not without saying a few bedtime stories of course. Priority number one finished, the adolescent himself began to work on the problems of tomorrow even though it was his few moments of non-mandatory work. He made sure to pay the bills, sort out any mail, and cut some coupons to save money. After finishing the priorities first, the boy started and notably failed to complete his homework like usual and retired to his couch, dreading the coming day yet prepared to continue the rigors in such a young man's life. It seemed he found some peace in his tired body by recalling the happy times he had with his little sister.

"Onii-chan..." cried the aforementioned little girl, obviously frightened from the monsters hidden under her bed.

As if by natural occurrence since the youth was used to his little sister's frequent nightmares, the boy offered a reassuring hand and beckoned her into his couch, warmly embracing her to shelter her from any imaginary monster. The little girl drifted off to sleep as the boy managed a half-hearted smile accompanied with another sigh.

A few hours passed until a small shade of sunlight penetrated the complex, the boy began to rise tirelessly, like usual, in order to head to his first job at the factory mills. Careful not to wake the girl up, the boy swiftly left the bed while lifting up the blankets to cover more of the girl who would naturally sense the immediate loss of body heat and begin to stir until a soft kiss was planted on her forehead allowing her return to sleep peacefully. Satisfied in allowing the girl to rest some more undisturbed hours, the boy began to fix himself some breakfast as he prepared to head out to begin his day. The boy took one last look at his sister, and with a heavy sigh, he proceeded to exit making sure he locked the door on his way out.

Smacking himself for his own stupidity in his time-keeping skills or lack there of, the boy dashed throughout the streets trying to make it on time to his morning job. After a few turns, crosses, near misses, near falls, and many honked horns, the boy had a minute to spare. Sighing in relief that he made it in on time as well as thanking the location of the job being relatively close, only a distance of 7 miles, the boy proceeded in clocking in and began to do his business of moving crates and packages, as well as marking and sorting and marking and sorting and marking and sorting in a repetitively boring work load. After a few hours, it was his lunch break that he used in order to run back to his apartment to fix up breakfast for the child who was soon to awaken.

As if on cue, the little girl with heavy eyes made her way to the table to eat breakfast. After the daily morning routine, the two left for kindergarten class that was thankfully only 2 miles from where they resided. Though he would occasionally carry the girl a mile and a half of the way there, he was grateful for the time he spent with her on their walks. Reaching the destination, the girl gave a small thank you with a peck on the cheek to the big brother that she adored so much. With a quick peck on the cheek of his own with a gentle hug, and the usual "Be good to your teachers and classmates," the boy was off dashing through the streets trying to make it back to work after prolonging his lunch break yet again.

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Halfway to his destination he heard what appeared to be a scuffle between a couple men in a dark and ominous alley. Curiosity getting the better of him while his common sense warned him of his tardiness, the boy was compelled to check out the scene with an alien force pushing him to be there as if he had to be there. Using the shadows as his cover, the boy closed off the distance to be able to hear everything that was going on.

"Heh heh, give us your money and we might not rape you, we know who you are, and heh heh, we're fixing to get a little joy outta this," a menacing voice coming from presumably the leader of the gang.

"No..." an equally chilling voice replied in a pure act of stubbornness, replicating the man's voice to hide any traces of fear in hope that the men would back off. It was all in vain though, as the men were infuriated with the response and began to charge the victim. The victim managed to get a few good shots on four of her assailants surprising them as well as the lurking boy. After a few minutes, the numbers were steadily wearing the person down. As one of the thugs managed to hold the person's arms down from sneaking behind the victim, the leader came about with a sadistic laugh and smile as the victim tried to wriggle out of the situation. "I told you what would happen, now you will pay the consequences," as he brought up his heavy arm readying to strike the defenseless victim.

"STOP IT!" boomed a voice from the veil of darkness immediately frightening all those in the vicinity effectively stopping the blow aimed for the victim.

After several seconds the leader regained his composure, "Who's there? Do you want to die as well? Get out here you coward!" barked the atrocious fiend, covering up a sense of fear.

"You're the one who's the coward," came a reply as the boy stepped out of the shadows. At his appearance, the whole gang began to laugh as they ridiculed themselves for being scared of only a boy. The victim as well released a sigh of displeasure at what once was promising to turn the tables on the gang. After a few more stifled menacing laughter, the leader spoke his source, "Ha Ha you had me there kid, I guess you will have to learn a lesson as well, you little mongrel, what do you think you can do you no good filthy-looking hobo."

The man holding the person proceeded to squeeze the victim's arms and forced a frightened shriek of pain much to his delight. Soon he regretted his actions as anger emanated from the mocked boy from his mockery and the cry of pain. The usually pacifist boy was pushed beyond his limits as he felt a boost of strength, clarity, and serenity he had yet to experience and charged to aid the victim. Almost immediately, six of the goons met a fist in their gut knocking them out senseless as the remaining three men were dumbstruck at the sudden decrease of numbers in their gang. The victim gasped in astonishment as well rebutting the sigh of discontent that was held just a minute ago. The man holding the victim relinquished his grasp to charge the boy with a large switchblade as another man took the same course of action. The boy easily dodged the blows and knocked both men into kingdom come with two devastating punches to the cranium as a few cracks could be heard, the two would be down for the count for a while.

It was safe to say that the two conscious people were in utter shock and disbelief at the scene that unfolded. With a shaking hand, the man reached for his nine-millimeter pistol but when he gazed into the frightening eyes of the rescuer no longer blurred by his remarkably inhuman speed, he felt all strength and energy zap out of his body in pure fright. With a few dreadful steps closing in the distance between the leader and himself, the grown man began to soil himself uncontrollably until fear overtook him and he collapsed onto the floor. With a slight smile at the comedic scene, the boy returned to normal and offered a hand to the victim, in which in closer sight was a girl.

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In his own state of shock, "A... girl?"

"What did you think I was until now!" retorted an angry girl.

"No, well...Um, let's go" said the boy grasping her hand and leading her away from the ominous alley littered with knocked out thugs basking in the ambience of their leader's urine.

Once in the clearing, the two settled down to converse, well at least one of them did. Followed by silence and a questioning glare directed at the boy, which caused him to shuffle a bit involuntarily. The boy sighed as he contemplated on the what to do with this girl.

"Um, are you okay Mist-...Miss...?" questioned the boy, almost forgetting the fact that he saved a complete stranger.

"Cagalli. I'm just peachy, and who are you?" retorted the still angry blonde-haired girl.

With a small chuckle followed by shut-the-hell-up-if-you-want-to-be-able-to-use-your-lungs death glare from the said girl, "Uh, it's Kira. Kira Yamato."

"Kira, eh? Well, um thank you...Kira," shyly replied the blonde knowing that he did 'help' her get out of a tough situation, while blushing at the sound of her being nice to a boy she hardly knew. That was not usual, to say the least. She was the type of person who didn't want to seem weak to others, and didn't care who she was while cursing her name that divided her from the truths of the world. She was the princess of Orb, usually being a princess would be a dream come true for normal girls. But Cagalli was not a normal girl. She was the type that would be considered a tomboy, regardless of her beautiful amber eyes and remarkable natural beauty that was only increased to greater proportions when she seldom dressed like a princess. In her reality, being a princess meant everyone had to treat her like royalty, thus everyone was required to be nice to her regardless how bitchy she was. Even though she would rather be treated normally, that wish could not be granted. However, the boy whom she thought was pretty cute, to say the least because she could feel his Adonis ness was only being hidden by his ragged appearance, similar to her tomboyish ness. She blushed at the alien thought in her head as the boy looked at her with acute curiosity.

With any other boy, she would have been angry from his questioning stare, but she was grateful for his courage in aiding a complete stranger as well as appreciative for the concern evident in his eyes. It seemed he did not know who she was for some reason, yet he was already kind and a joy to be around with, but she still questioned his ignorance because her name and her photo should be in the newspapers and television around Orb. Almost everyone knew who the princess was, if not for her tomboyish appearance, which the public did not know about, she was grateful because she would be easily spotted and flocked by crowds of people. This boy was different though, and she would hold out on the fact that she was the princess to get to know this kid a little better.

Smiling a bit more at the sudden change of Cagalli's demeanor, "It's okay, so um what were you doing there in that alley with those guys anyway?"

"I got lost."

Another chuckle was heard followed by another death glare, only this time it was partly in amusement.

"How old are you Kira?"

"15 years old turning 16 this year," responded the boy.

"Really? Me too. Hey, how come you're not in school?"

"Oh, I don't go to school that much..."

"Huh? Well, you're a weird one."

A giggle came from the brunette, "You're weird to you know," another death glare accompanied with another chuckle, "Uh, How come you're not in school?"

Caught off guard by the response and not wishing to reveal her true identity, she stuttered, "Uh, well I'm off today, I didn't feel like going okay?"

"Okay..."

A couple of silent seconds later.

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"Oh crap!" Yelled the brunette as he managed a quick goodbye to Cagalli with her bewildered response of telling him to wait up. He dashed to his job, which he completely forgot about amidst the chain of events, cursing himself and walking in the building only to be awaited by the manager. With un-uttered words, the manager fired Kira and pointed him to pick up his belongings. Kira sadly did as ordered, and began to think about getting another job early in the morning. He didn't really blame the man because he was always late and getting the job out of pity was not something he desired. Being the nice person he was, he didn't even blame Cagalli for her collateral part in him being fired.

Walking out of the factory, he was greeted with a tired and infuriated Cagalli. She did not have the speed nor stamina to keep up with this remarkable boy. Smiling, and forgetting momentarily about his lost job, he walked to Cagalli and said another hello.

"You idiot! Why'd you leave me like that?"

"Sumimasen..." trailed off the apologetic brunette.

"What are you doing in here?" She questioned as she unintentionally stared a little too long at the boy's raggedy work clothes that she had not observed more carefully before, too engrossed on his handsome but smeared face.

"Um, I know what you're thinking," replied a saddened voice, "It's okay if you don't want to be my friend and all, I understand..." turning away, walking back to the school to wait for his sister.

Shocked at his reply, the blonde stopped the boy and peered into his woeful purple eyes. "You idiot! Are you judging me already!" she angrily replied.

Another small chuckle. He sure knew how to get on her nerves, yet she forgot that he was a complete stranger and walked with him towards his destination. "You're poor aren't you?" she said after a while.

"Yeah…Gomen ne, when you looked at me like that, it seemed like you were like all the other girls who uh didn't want anything to do with a guy like me..." he trailed off with apparent distress on the topic as he recalled painful memories flooding his mind of all the mistreatment he was used to. This boy had a hard time in life to say the least. It was a given that he was under the poverty line, but he couldn't allow to be aided by Orb government or else that would turn into a completely hectic issue because he was an illegally young guardian of a child, and he did not want to be separated from her at all, nor send her to an orphanage. No, he would not let her live like that.

Snapped out of his thoughts by a comforting hand and a comforting voice, "It's okay, trust me, I'm nothing like that. I'm glad...that I met you and I want to be your friend." She smiled a genuine smile, followed by a confirmatory nod and a slight chuckle that reddened her cheeks to turn away for a bit. 'How many times have I blushed today? Urgh, this is too girly, but this guy is… is different...' she thought in her mind, she mentally sighed as she bit her lip and thought, 'I better just be truthful with him before this friendship goes any further, but I know he won't let me down.'

"You seem nice Kira...and I feel as if you are always like that, so please don't change the way you act..."

"Huh?" caught off guard by her sudden 'confession'.

"See, I have my own social problems... because you see...I'm...I'm Cagalli Yula Athha, princess of Orb..."

Kira's lips formed a small O in response.

"I don't want to be treated differently because I'm a princess, I don't like being one and I can't stand people who fake their true intentions..." she pleaded almost afraid to lose what could be a good friend while staring at the now seemingly interesting rock on the ground.

A reassuring hand, and a finger that brought her chin up to gaze into his purple eyes that met amber ones, "'It's okay, trust me, I'm nothing like that.' I'm glad too that I met you," smiled the young brunette in which he got a pouty response from the blonde's defiance even though she was glad that he didn't let her down. A small chuckle escaped his lips once more, "besides you don't look much like a princess!" he playfully said as he jogged a little ways over.

"Why you!" she paused as the brunette was laughing only to suggest that he was really just playing around and to show her that he would not treat her any differently. Realizing that he could easily provoke her into an angry state, the blonde blushed for a bit, while turning around and crossing her arms in mock anger, while a smile crept up on her lips. 'Ah, you sure are nothing like that, I'm really glad...' she thought.

"I know I'm not much of a looker but look at you mister!" she jokingly mocked the boy, whom took a slight offense because he believed (from all his years of being neglected and harassed for his looks) she was right.

"No, actually you're very pretty when you smile and you have an adorable pout like my little sister," the boy replied with a playfully teasing smirk that grew even bigger when Cagalli turned away to hide her blush, "But you're right about me, sumimasen..."

Cagalli was in a state of apologetic confusion and Kira understood her expression, but he knew he had to go soon, so he might as well say what was on his mind.

"Well, Princess Athha I must be off now," in a mock royal tone and bow, causing yet again a spasm of giggling only to be stopped by another death glare. More seriously, the boy sadly spoke out his thoughts, "People will not take too kindly to this though... someone like you befriending someone like me that is..."

"I don't care what other people say idiot! You are my friend, and you will be that, no matter how much you like it," she stated matter of factually, once again crossing her arms.

Shyly turning around, "Um...you don't mind me being, like...like this right," beckoning her attention to his poor apparel which if described as raggedy would be generous.

"Of course not baka!" she replied in a matter of factuality voice.

A small chuckle, and an appreciative look brought a smile on her lips. To her surprise, the boy closed in on her in an attempt to hug her, which she would have returned gratefully until...

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"Get away from her you thug!" replied a brash young man about the same age as the two, maybe a year or two younger. The surprised teens were looking dumbstruck at the moment they were almost caught in enacting a friendly gesture and the two immediately blushed and turned away from each other. The perturbed boy breathing for air was then quickly noticed by Cagalli and she remembered what the boy said.

"You filthy creep how dare you take advantage of the Princess like that! Go back to the slums where you belo-" at that Cagalli laid the smack down on the boy whom she familiarized as a certain annoying boy. The bewildered kid gave her a questioning and hurtful look.

"Ahmed...don't speak like that."

In shock and anger, "Your friend! This hobo is your friend! Ha!" Before Cagalli could slap the boy again, Kira interrupted the raucous by grabbing Cagalli's hand easily by his god-like speed but not hurting her in his grip.

His look said it all, he didn't want her to slap him because he knew and was prepared for something like this. Meanwhile a limo pulled up and what appeared to be the Princess' bodyguard stepped out saying, "Unhand the Princess you worthless scum."

In a saddened yet apologetic, his expression showed an I-told-you-so-we-can't-be-friends look, as he began to walk away from the scene. He sighed at the clothes that were on his back and appearance thinking, 'Not everyone are always accepting and there are reasons why that is...but it was nice talking to you'

Angered beyond belief, Cagalli screeched, "You morons!" a seething and genuine death glare had frightened the two boys. Realizing what was more important, she turned her attention to Kira (much to the satisfaction of being saved from the fury of Cagalli, the boys sighed in relief), "Kira! Wait! Please wait!" As Kira didn't slow his movement any, Cagalli ran over to catch up with the brunette and wrapped her arms around his waist catching everyone within viewing range off guard including Kira. "Please don't mind what those morons said to you, I want to be your friend, and that's all that matters," she pleaded in a concerned voice.

Smiling with a heavy sigh, the brunette turned around and returned the embrace causing a little flushing to their cheeks but remarkably, she enjoyed the moment as if there was some kind of subconscious bond between the two that they could not point out themselves. "Hountouni arigato," Kira responded, "I'll see you around Cag-chan, I really got to go, ja ne," he smiled a goodbye. Cagalli smiled as well and didn't mind the newly dubbed nickname. As they broke the embrace, they stared into each other's eyes almost in an attempt to figure out why they were close so quickly. Finally making a motion to leave, the two bid a farewell as Kira dashed off to pick up his sister realizing he was almost late again.

Two boys had their jaws almost reaching the floor dumbfounded at the site that unfolded before their eyes. They had never seen Cagalli like this, especially with a complete stranger no less with raggedy clothes and all. Cagalli walked back to the limo with an expression that was a cross between a smirk and a death glare that indicated the two that they would have to amend for their rash actions. Beneath her angry face, she was very much content at meeting a genuine friend that she wanted to hang around and learn more about, knowing he would treat her as if she was any girl regardless of his or her status. A little worry etched into her face because of his status, not because it mattered to her whether or not he was poor, rich, or average, she knew he was a good man and for that she was grateful, she just wanted to make sure his life was okay.

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Dashing in the streets, Kira smacked himself in the head once again for losing track of time. School was not out until 3:20, and it was only 12:30 so he roughly had about 3 hours of free time thanks to his lost job that he almost forgot about again. Sighing, he decided on going to his school for the remainder of the time which he usually was unaccustomed to doing. When he reached the school premises, he had almost nearly forgotten that he would not be taken in well, at least not at a time like this where he was very conspicuous of cutting classes. He decided on just looking around for jobs in order to be productive. When he was about to leave the school grounds, a familiar limo pulled up beside him and a smirk came from inside which he could see through the tinted windows. It was Cagalli.

"Oh great..." Kira said sarcastically.

The window almost immediately went down revealing an playfully angry Cagalli, "What was that Kira?" she said while crunching her knuckles together.

"Not-thing nothing Cag-sama!" that reply had both teens to double over in laughter as Cagalli proceeded to exit the vehicle accompanied with the two Kira wasn't properly acquainted with. The two quickly bowed down and apologized formally with Kira waving them off knowing that Cagalli put them up to do it. "I would like you to meet Ahmed and my bodyguard Kisaka, they say they are really sorry for being total jerks to you," she smiled triumphantly.

"Nice to meet you," Kira said kindly as he shook their hands.

"So, are you going to this school Kira?"

"Yeah..." he said looking down.

"Why aren't you in it then?"

"Well, you see, I hardly go to school, and if I go in now, teachers would think I was skipping courses…" his response was accompanied with an O, as well as discerned looks from Ahmed and Kisaka who were thinking the brunette might be a bad influence on the Princess. Cagalli, ever so observant, gave the 'look' to the two who quickly dismissed their negative thoughts.

"Well Kira, I'm going to be attending this school too, so we have to get better acquainted, would you like to maybe hang out after awhile? Maybe at my place if you don't have any plans that is…" Cagalli sheepishly said.

"Sure, but can my little sister come along?"

"Sure, the more the merrier, oh wait, I never knew you had a sister."

"Yea, she's six years old in pre-k, oh yea that reminds me I have to pick her up soon."

"Okay...Um Kira, can we go over there and talk some more?"

"Sure, I mean if they don't mind..." Kira said pointing to the two neglected guys.

"Of course not, they would be more than happy," Cagalli said in a tone not to be challenged by the likes of anybody as she dragged Kira over to a more secluded area away from the two sets of privy ears.

A few moments passed as Cagalli managed to break the silence.

"Um, Kira, you live by yourself don't you?"

In shock at Cagalli's bluntness, Kira became speechless for a while trying to decide whether to let Cagalli know everything about him which would only make it more difficult for her. In an attempt to deter her from asking such a question without hurting her feelings by lying or not answering her, "Sometimes the world doesn't turn out the way you want things to turn out..." he smiled lazily.

"It's okay Kira. Listen, we can talk to my Otou-sama and I will try to help you out as best I can...If you don't mind that is," Cagalli didn't want to pry into his business and figured she would get him to tell her later on.

"No, It's okay Cagalli, I don't want to be a burden on you or use any of your money, I'm fine really...It's no big deal..." He said in defense.

"Okay...can we talk some more though...?" she questioned scribbling down her address and phone number on a piece of paper and handed it over to Kira. She knew not to continue to pry information out of him because she wanted him to tell her not by pressure, but by their friendship.

"Sure," smiled Kira receiving a token of trust and friendship.

"Say, what's your phone number?"

"Uh, I don't have any," came the sheepish reply of Kira.

"WHAT? You don't have a phone number? Boy you sure are a weird one Kira, yup."

A smile once again arose from the boy, a rare occurrence that was happening constantly on this peculiar day, "Yea...So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well you know, things and stuff, stuff and things," Cagalli motioned with her hands as if it was common knowledge, but Kira just laughed at her display as the two immediately hit it off and shared a hearty conversation that added to their friendly affection that was both weird yet natural to them. The two began to talk for two more hours about regular stuff as if they had been friends since childbirth until it was time for Cagalli to leave. Cagalli decided on attending Heliopolis High with Kira because home schooling was too boring for her and she wanted to see the city, people, and her now good friend Kira Yamato on a regular basis. The two parted ways, promising to meet each other soon over at Cagalli's place.

"It's time for me to go Kira, ja ne, don't be late," Cagalli threatened with a mock death glare, causing Kira to laugh a bit. The black limo drove away with a Cagalli sticking almost half her body out waving Kira goodbye, which earned her another small chuckle that brought a smile to her face.

"Something is fishy with you Kira, and I intend to find out. It seems you're always so sad and empty, eh maybe he just needs to have some fun more often, but you will tell me what's wrong on your own accord," Cagalli thought while going back home.

-----

Heliopolis High was the foremost elite school in all of Orb. It was a private school that only handed out one lottery scholarship for a full ride, as expected from any top-notch school program. Kira Yamato was a recipient of the scholarship, but was prone to constant warnings of removal for his lackluster grades that were not up to par in a school like Heliopolis High. The school population on the other hand was very diverse in what they consisted, but were all expected in achieving the highest grades in the country. The usual cliques could be found in the school though, as well as the usual intolerably strict and unpleasant teachers. Fortunately, some of the teachers were down to earth and became like mentors to many students including Kira.

Kira was especially thankful for the two good teachers he had which were a blonde jokester and mentor in Mu La Flaga and an older sister figure in Murrue Ramius. Both knew Kira's plight and secretly withheld that information from him in order to help him out incognito. Mu learned that the boy was a student prodigious genius, despite his low grades that showed the contrary, he knew that the boy only held back and didn't have the time to attend class or do homework. They sympathized with the boy that worked 3 jobs just to support his little sister and yet remain a kind and caring man that was always humble and hid his own talents. They were amazed at the kindness of the boy since he was often picked on for his clothing, his messy hair, and his destituteness. He was often dubbed a punching bag and beaten mercilessly until Mu or Murrue stopped the beating even though they knew full well of what Kira could do. They also had secrets of their own, but that was not to be revealed to any students regardless of how strong their relationships got.

Mu remembers the time in gym class where a girl was being picked on and sexually harassed and he was about to break it up when Kira stepped in before him and took out 5 people easily that he warned to stop. Mu knew the boy could fight even though he was one of the nicest people, when the time called for action, Kira would step up against any odds and emerge victorious. As Mu recalled his memory of the boy he grew fond over and established a respectful relationship, the said boy came by asking for make up work. Mu snapped out of his thoughts and heartily agreed having been used to Kira's excessive absences, the brunette apologized while Mu just smiled at his impressive manners. With papers on hand, the teen began to exit through the doors of the school only to stop dead in his tracks by s small crowd that appeared to be awaiting a person to get off a limo.

Attempting to get a better view on the guest, which came to no avail, Kira asked himself, "Is it Cagalli?" His answer came when a young lady wearing a simple white dress curtailed with a purple color scheme at the bottom and accentuated with a pink bow around her bosom caused every jaw that belonged to a male specie in the crowd to drop to the floor, all who could actually see the girl that is. Confused by the weird reaction of the boys, Kira became ever more interested in finding what the reason was for such actions. However, looking at the school clock, he knew time was running short so he decided to bypass his curiosity by putting duty over interest.

His attempt to exit was soon stopped by what appeared to be an ethereal tennyo that came from the limo. In a strange twist of fate, the crowd formed a walkway clearing the way for a collision between violaceous and light blue eyes. An eternity passed in a matter of seconds between the two who were entranced with the appearance of each other.

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To Be Continued...

Arigato Gozaimasu for reading this fic and gomen ne about the cliffhanger I left you, but we all know who it is right? Hehe. I will try to have the next chapter up soon. No promises though, heh gomen ne. Have a nice day. I hope yall liked the revisions I made, and I couldn't help add the 'ethereal' in, if you guys can guess, it is perhaps my favorite word in the English language. Hehe.