Athrun mostly forgave Kira a while ago. The rest comes later. - Note

Chapter 15 - Grief

A delicate hand was placed on his shoulder as the brunette boy raised himself into the air. He held tight to the wall for a step or two, then let go to walk towards his friend Nicol.

"Ah!" he let out a short yell, falling to the ground in pain. Lacus knelt down with him, her hand being on his shoulder. Nicol rushed over too.

"Kira? Where does it hurt?" Nicol asked, looking him over.

"Everywhere..." he breathed out, so soft Nicol wondered if he'd heard it. "It's like before...but I'm the victim this time, feeling the flames licking at my body constantly and wishing for nothing more than relief from the pain." he whispered.

"Kira. Cut that out." Nicol said sternly. "I don't want you to mention that ever again. You'll never walk if you're mind is in that state."

Kira's right eye was visible through his messy bangs, and he was staring at Nicol. His eyes seemed far off, hazy. Nicol knew that Kira had barely heard his words. He looked hopefully to Lacus.

"He must walk outside." Nicol said to her, his hands on Kira's right shoulder, Lacus's on his left. "It's the only way he'll wake up."

"So...he's still dead, even though his heart beats?" Lacus asked, sadness echoing a thousand times over in her eyes. Nicol nodded.

"I'll go get something for him to eat. See what you can do for him." he stood and went to the door of Kira's room. "Lacus." he turned slightly to see her. "I'm not suited for this type of doctoring. Kira's reliving a horrid time in his life. Maybe every hard time he's ever had. It'll be hard to shake him of that."

-

The blue haired Athrun Zala walked up to the upper deck, a blonde girl was already there.

"Cagalli. It's time for lunch." he called softly. She didn't move.

He sighed, walking up to her. His right hand came up to sit on her left shoulder. But his fingers had barely brushed the white surface of her clothes when she flipped around, knocking the hand away. He gasped at the tears running down her face.

She was always so high and mighty, he'd thought. She hated the world and trusted only her brother. The two lived in a world separate from the rest of humanity. Here she was, trying to hide her tears from the world...and everyone was willing to let it go on. Yet she let him see her weakness.

"Athrun...He died." she managed to say.

"No Cagalli. He didn't die. He's still alive. He'll always be here for us." Athrun shook his head.

"No really. He died. His heart wasn't beating. He was dead!" she leaned into Athrun's chest, holding his shirt tightly in her hands. "I never thought it could happen. There were always times when I thought he would die, anyone else would've...But he never did..." she choked. "He always survived."

"I've suddenly become aware of just how human he is." Athrun murmured. Cagalli gave a short gasp and looked up at him. "I've always thought he was some ethereal being that had dropped into my life to rid me of my hatred...But he's human..." Tears began to fall down his face too.

Cagalli dropped her head to his chest again, crying still. Athrun placed his right hand on her upper back, his left on her head. For a moment he comforted her, but soon his tears were erased by a sudden appearance.

A ship was on the horizon. It was black with light blue on the edges and the extras. The flag was too small for him to see. Athrun closed his eyes and shook his head a bit before looking again. There was no ship. He blinked and sighed, patting Cagalli on the head lightly.

-

"Kira...You can hear me right?"

Deep into the caverns of his mind, these words echoed.

"You can't be like this. Everyone's worried."

He couldn't stand up, everything around him was burning!

"Your eyes are open, but I know you can't see me."

His head was turning in every direction, looking for some way to escape. But...there was none.

"Please Kira...Please wake up...!"

Her tears echoed around him, and it began to rain. The flames died, but he could still feel them, the heat came from something around his neck...

In front of him was a bed, his sister and him were kneeling next to the bed. On it lay his mother, her brown hair splayed out on the pillow...eyes closed...skin cold...

"We thought you were dead."

His eyes widened and he reached for his mother's corpse as he was pulled away.

"You were dead."

Looking through a window, he could see the burning city. The little boy in his mother's arms and the one protecting his house and little sister. He saw his father running down a street, telling those he found to run away before the fire killed them. He saw those same people go inside to collect their belongings, never to come out again. He saw...everything.

"When you came back to us, we were so happy. Did you know that?"

He felt chains bind themselves to his wrists and ankles, pulling on him and not letting him move from that spot in the dark. He heard a young man wake up screaming and sweating because he dreamt his best friend was dead.

He shut his eyes in pain.

"You saved all of those people Kira...There's no reason to hate yourself."

He could see a girl handing him a necklace, and then saw himself give it back. He saw him give something precious to another boy. He felt sadness as he watched a familiar town fade into the distance. He felt tears run down his face.

"Kira? Kira are you ok? Why are you crying?"

"No...I'll...I'll be okay..." he managed to choke out.

"Kira? Can you really hear me?"

He shook his head, more images flew through his head. A girl serving tea to two close guy friends, a younger girl in the flower shop with her mother...years ago. A boy in his mother's arms switched to a boy with anger on his face to one of understanding.

The chains pulled him down and he gasped, feeling himself fall through the black abyss that was the floor. But he couldn't move his arms or legs to grab for something to hold on to.

"Kira!"

-

Lacus opened the door to the room to find a green haired boy there, wide eyed and carrying food.

"Nicol!" she gasped in relief. "Kira's eyes closed." she motioned him to the bed, where Kira lay.

"Really?" he set the food down and sat on the bed next to his captain. "Captain? Captain can you hear me? Kira?"

"He spoke to me. He said...'I'll be okay.'...Then he closed his eyes." the pink haired girl explained. Nicol nodded.

"I don't think anything's wrong with him." Nicol answered a moment later, when he was done checking Kira. "I think he fell asleep." he explained. "It's like when you meditate or daydream to long and fall asleep in the middle of it."

Lacus seemed to calm a bit. Nicol smiled at her.

"I bet he didn't even realize it himself. He really won't know he's dreaming until he wakes up." he shook his head, then motioned to the plates of food. "Lunch?"

Lacus smiled brightly and nodded, glad of the news of Kira's recovery.

-

Athrun was looking out at the sea the next morning. He stood on the lower deck, across from the door to Kira's room, and one deck below it. Lacus was in that room. She was sitting with Kira.

Kira, who seemed dead even though his heart beat and his lungs breathed. Cagalli was recovering from her crying session on the upper deck. Dearka sat in the crow's nest again, contemplating his sister and his captain. Mwu was ordering the ship's movement until Kira was well again. Everything seemed to be ok...but he felt uneasy...

"Come on Kira. Good, see? You're outside now." Lacus coaxed gently, her hand on his left shoulder and her right hand on his back, assisting him. The brunette blinked at the sunlight.

His eyes widened when he saw Athrun, something hooking into his brain. He saw the fate of the boy with blue hair as said person turned to look at him.

"Athrun get down!" he yelled, jumping from Lacus's grasp, halfway across the ship, and knocking both himself and Athrun to the ground.

Every stared at them until a grapple shot just over their heads, latching to the base of the center mast. Kira was out of breath it seemed, Athrun staring at him incredulously.

"Kira?" he asked in confusion.

"I can't seem to walk-" he whispered, turning to look at Athrun slightly. "-but I can jump fine, huh?" he smiled sincerely and Athrun felt his fears and insecurities disappear. All he could do was nod.

"Captain!" Dearka called from the crow's nest. "It's his ship!" Kira glared as he stood up.

"Everyone prepare for battle against the Gammow!" he ordered. Lacus and Nicol, still by Kira's door, clapped lightly for his sudden recovery.

Rau Le Creuset was smirking as his ship appeared from nowhere next to the Freedom. Kira glared harshly at him, drawing his sword, before he disappeared. Rau's smirk grew before he too disappeared.

I be evil with that tantalyzing cliff hanger, ne? Oh yea, the thing 'hooking' in Kira's mind is a pun, a 'play on words'...Blame my English teacher for my actions. -sigh-