Athrun
You march towards me
I await, Ready
When you arrive
I will fulfill my destiny
And kill you
« They say Zala's going to attempt to capture Onogoro. »
« What! The capitol! Impossible! »
« I wouldn't put it past him, that commander's a madman! »
« Even a madman can't siege Onogoro! It's to well protected! »
« Yes but that was two years ago! And he only had 300 men at his side compared to the 3000 Zala had! »
From behind the stairs, Cagalli listened to the servants talk nervously. In about five sentences, they had summed all her fears. And the arguments she had used against them. It was true that they had been completely out-numbered at Josh-A, but Cagalli knew her brother to well to say that was the only reason. Kira was kind. Too kind for the battlefield. He had probably tried to make peace with Athrun, Cagalli wasn't sure, Kira never told anyone about his experiences in battle, but by then it was too late. The man- wait, not man, boy, Athrun was by no means a man, who had once been their friend was now consumed in some inexplicable hatred towards their father. And in consequence, that hatred was passed on to them. Ever since Josh-A, Cagalli had feared the day Athrun and Kira would meet in battle again. And now the madman was marching towards Onogoro. Cagalli shivered at the thought.
--XX--
For the first time in a long while, Athrun was nervous. He was nervous because he had been sent on an impossible mission. He was nervous because he had no idea how to win this battle. He was nervous because he knew he would have to face Kira. Cagalli would most likely be there too. At Josh-A, something had come over him, something that made him want to hurt and kill. The feeling had only lasted about 12 hours, and it all passed like a dream, so fast and so unrealistic, that he lost control of himself. Athrun was beside himself when he awoke from that daze and thought back on the previous events. For half a day, he had been a monster, and for the next three he had been a defenseless lamb. The feeling had been so intense it scared Athrun. He had never felt it again, but even today, two years later, the intensity was still with him. That was what unnerved him the most, the idea of turning into a monster. It scared him because he knew he wasn't a monster.
Wait a second, how was he so sure he wasn't?
Athrun felt shivers run down his spine. He tried to think of something else. Girls, he told himself. But even then, the only thing he could picture was Cagalli and the blue dress.
--XX--
It had decided that they would move from Heleopolis to Onogoro as soon as possible. At the moment the household staff was busy arranging everything for their departure. But they had been preparing for it for a week now, and by normal standards, they should have left already. It was a sea voyage, which meant more to prepare, but not that much more. The truth was everyone was afraid of what would happen once they got there. People still hadn't fully recovered from the devastating loss at Josh-A. Everyone was scared. No one was as worried about the upcoming battle as Kira. He walked around in a nervous daze, not paying attention to anyone. As the inevitable came ever closer, Kira spent more and more time in his room. His friends, Tolle, Sai, Kuzzey and Miriallia, would come and visit him sometimes. They'd joke around with him and try to make him feel better. Sometimes he'd smile and on rare occasions, he'd laugh. For the moment, scandal had been forgotten, and the foursome could come and go as they pleased. They weren't Kira's only visitors. A certain Fllay Alster regularly visited at night. No one had ever caught them, but everyone had a good idea of what they were up to. And, of course, his family visited him often as well. Up until now, it had always been the same routine: Cagalli would say some sort of cheery hello, Uzumi too, would give Kira a kind greeting. They would chitchat, nothing serious, mostly gossip, for a while. Then Cagalli would say something offensive or insulting without meaning too, Kira would glare at her and she'd leave furious. Uzumi would talk to his son privately for a few moments, give him a few words of wisdom, and then leave as well. But on the eve of their departure, things were different. It all started with a knock on his door.
« Kira! » said a high pitched voice.
« Come in! » said Kira, assuming it was Fllay. He was placed his back to the wall, staring out the window.
« You're scared of fighting Him, right? »
« What? » Kira practically screamed the word. And with good reason, Fllay never asked him anything more than if he was 'ready.' He turned around and spotted Cagalli.
« Cagalli? What are you doing here? » Kira asked coldly, his sister had been getting on his nerves lately, and he didn't really feel like talking to her, especially not about something so personal.
« You don't have to worry, it's gonna be fine » said Cagalli, paying no attention to her brother's whining.
« What are you talking about? And since when have you been aloud to charge into my room like that? »
« That battle…it's gonna be like… » Cagalli started, completely ignoring Kira, « it's gonna be like a dream, the kind you wake up from and forget as soon as you do. » Cagalli smiled, proud of her words. Kira just glared at her. She got up.
« Where are you going? » he asked angrily.
« Aren't you the one that wanted me out of here? » asked Cagalli playfully, Kira continued to glare, « And by the way, I didn't charge into your room. At least, last time I checked, pretending to be your brother's mistress isn't technically charging into his room. »
Cagalli could swear she heard Kira hissing. Hissing. What was it with boys making sounds when they were emotionally overwhelmed? Kira hissed when he was mad, Athrun whimpered when he was scared –Cagalli made a face at the thought, the boy who whimpered when he was scared was Zala, he had no other name.
--XX--
At that very moment Athrun sat on deck of his ship, The Versaillius, eyeing the large island in front of him. Onogoro. From where he was, it looked so…peaceful, as if it wasn't affected by the war. From where he was, the view of Onogoro island was that of paradise. But Athrun knew better than to trust appearances. Orb was a nation of corrupted aristocrats and suffering peasants. What looked like paradise was really hell. For two years now, he had been fighting against it all without much deeper thought. The fact that if Uzumi hadn't stolen the crown from his father, there would be no war, was reason enough for him to fight. Once again, he stared out at Onogoro Island. His superior, Rau Le Creuset, had given him strange orders for this mission. He was to wait for Kira's arrival to attack and not take any action before that. Athrun was confused by the orders, but he knew better than to question Le Creuset. Out of all the missions he had been on, the ones where he had been following his Le Creuset's advice always turned out best. But, as much as he respected his superior, Athrun badly wanted to attack Onogoro now and watch as Uzumi and his crowd arrived too late to do anything. Not that they would be that sad about it, he thought.
A few days later, Athrun was once again sitting on deck, staring longingly at the island.
« Excuse me, Athrun? » said a voice from behind him, Nicol. Athrun nearly fell overboard with shock.
« Yes, what is it? » he asked once he had recovered.
« We've spotted an enemy ship, should we attack? »
« Is it armed? »
« Uh, no, we believe it's the ship carrying Lord Uzumi and his staff. »
« No, If we were to attack an unarmed ship, it would be considered murder. People would come to think of us as barbaric. »
« What will we do in the mean time then? »
« We'll give them night to settle in. » said Athrun slowly, as if he were savoring these words, « Then tomorrow we'll call them out to battle. » There was a pause « Where we can kill them. »
--XX--
It was nearly midnight when everybody finally went to bed. And when they did, Cagalli awoke. She, along with all the others, had seen the Versaillus floating atop of the water, just waiting for them to arrive. She knew Zala would come for them tomorrow and she knew her little brother wouldn't be able to fight him.
Silently, she crawled out of bed and went to her vanity. She opened up a draw, inside was a large pair of scissors. She began to cut her hair. It came down in large messy clots. Cagalli could already hear the society ladies going on about this. Not that she cared, she was doing this for the greater good of her country after all. When she was done with her hair, she began to gather a few supplies: a first aid kit, a men's saddle, her sword, The Maiden's Strength, and her shield, Wild Protector. She then left her room and made her way down the hall to Kira's. As she entered, Cagalli felt a pang of guilt for what she was about to do. Was she really doing this for Kira? Or for herself? Did she really think that Kira could not bear to face Zala? or was she just being an overprotective older sister? But then she remembered Kira constantly locking himself in his room. She knew then that Kira didn't want to fight this battle. So she quickly took all she would need (his armor, his sword, etc.) and left. But before she left, she walked up to Kira and gave him a pill. A sleeping pill. It would guarantee that he'd sleep throughout the whole battle. She was on her way to find the regiment, Freedom, when she felt someone stop her.
« And just what are you doing up at this hour young lady? » said a voice. At first Cagalli thought it was her father, but when she turned around to get a look at him, she realized it was only Kisaka.
« What are you doing up at this hour Kisaka? » she retorted.
« That doesn't really matter Princess, we both know what you're planning at and I can't let you get away with it.»
« Yes you can. »
« No, I can't. »
« Well you're going to have to because Zala attacks tomorrow and Kira won't wake up until evening! » Cagalli practically shouted those words, it didn't matter, no one but Kisaka heard them.
« Fine » he said, understanding the situation, « but I'm coming with you. »
--XX--
The sun was only beginning to rise when Athrun disembarked unto Onogoro Island. Most people were still asleep, but he knew that somewhere on this island, an army was preparing itself for a loss. He knew that every soul on Onogoro was preparing to be taken over for the very first time. The sun was still slowly climbing up into the sky when Athrun heard the sound of an approaching army. He directed his towards it. By the time the sun had reached it's place in the sky, both armies were facing each other. He turned to his battalion, The Justice.
« Today, we shall once again make the impossible possible! » he proclaimed « This mourning we will capture Onogoro, the impenetrable island! By lunchtime, we will be on our way home! » The men cheered. As he finished his speech, he could hear Kira ending his.
« Look there! » he said « There is Zala! The one who betrayed us all for power not even three years ago! Think of him when you fight! Think of how many loved ones he killed for power! » Athrun was confused by the speech, this wasn't like Kira at all. But then again, it had been two years since he had seen him last, and the truth was he had never really known any of them. Both leaders now made their way to the middle of the soon-to-be battlefield.
« We meet again, Prince, » said Athrun cynically.
« Just who are you calling a prince?»
Athrun took a good look at the person in front of him, he looked exactly like Kira, the same body, the same demeanor, he was even wearing Kira's armor. Athrun studied him from head to toe, everything about him was the same, accept for the second sword at his hip. It was only when he locked eyes with him that he realized that this he was a she! And not just any she, Cagalli.
« What are you doing here? » he asked, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice.
« Oh come on! Don't tell me you're scared of a little princess now! » she taunted, « But then again, you were whimpering like a baby when Ades almost killed you! »
With that, Cagalli returned to Freedom.
« Attack! » she cried.
--XX--
The battle was long, and to Athrun's surprise, hard. Never had he fought a more grueling battle, not since his Orb days, at least. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain in his left arm. It was an odd sort of pain, not the kind delivered by the usual sword, though it was definetly a sword wound. He turned around and saw Cagalli, her sword, The Maiden's Strength, fresh with blood. His blood.
« I'm going to kill you Zala » she whispered.
Before he knew what had happened, Athrun was on his backside with a sword to his heart. He looked at Cagalli, and in her face he read anger, sadness, fear and want, want of revenge. Perfect, he thought. At that moment, Cagalli raised her sword to deliver the final blow, just as he knew she would. The second before it would of hit him, Athrun rolled out from under her, and before either of them could realize it, he was on top.
« Time to die Little Princess » he said.
« You can't kill me! » Cagalli suddenly splurged out.
« I very well can » replied Athrun.
« No » said Cagalli, « you can't. I'm a Princess, remember, and killing me would just be a savage murder, no matter where it happened. » She smiled triumphantly as she watched Athrun sigh and loosen his grip. She got up and prepared to kill him.
« You may be a princess, » said Athrun suddenly, putting his sword to her neck « and I may not be able to kill you, BUT, you are a princess, and a hostage princess is always useful in war. » Cagalli's eyes widened as she understood what he planned to do. Suddenly, her sword was at his throat.
« I'll go as your hostage if you abandon this battle, » she said. Athrun was impressed by her offer. He looked at the current situation. The ZAFT forces were losing, badly.
« I accept your offer, » he said, taking back his sword, « when all the dead have been cleared, meet me here, don't try to run away because then I'd have to kill you. Do I make myself clear, Little Princess? »
« Yes, now I think you should retreat before I change my mind. » Cagalli said testily, but Athrun knew she was bluffing.
« Until then, Little Princess. »
--XX--
The sun was setting when Kira awoke. He had no idea what had just happened. Suddenly he remembered the ZAFT ships waiting in the harbor. He had a battle to fight! He got up and scrambled out of bed as fast as he could and ran out into the hallway. Suddenly he was nearly attacked by a crowd of people.
« Congratulations on your victory Prince Kira! »
« You fought wonderfully out there! »
« Good going Kira! »
Now, Kira was confused.
He had already fought the battle? But he had just woken up! What was going on?
« Excuse me, but what are you all talking about? » he asked shyly.
« What do you mean Kira? » said a voice, Tolle, « You went out there and beat the crap out of those ZAFT soldiers! You even almost killed Zala! I saw you, you had him down on his back and everything! » Kira shuddered at the idea of killing Athrun, he hated the whole idea of fighting him, let alone killing him.
« So he got away? » he asked curiously.
« Yeah, sadly, » answered Sai. Kira felt somewhat disappointed, but also a surge of relief. He cherished his friends, all his friends.
« Where's Cagalli? » he asked.
« We haven't seen her since she brought you to your room, » said Kuzzey.
Kira was confused, he had on memories of a battle or of Cagalli. All he could remember was going to bed late last night, from then on there were no memories. It's gonna be like a dream, the kind you wake up from and forget as soon as you do. Where had he heard that before? From the corner of his eye, he saw Kisaka slip into the shadows.
--XX--
It was very late when all the dead had been cleared. Nighttime. Athrun was anxious. He wasn't sure if Cagalli would turn up or not. There was absolutely no way to be sure if she would stay true to her word. Perhaps she was waiting for him along with twenty guards, waiting to kill him. Or perhaps she had run off with some soldier and was already off the island, living some romantic adventure. For a minute, Athrun felt a surge of jealousy towards that soldier. All that changed when he arrived at the meeting place. Cagalli was waiting for him, alone. She had not gone back on her word. For a moment, he stared at her, as if see if she was real.
She stood there firmly, her badly cut hair blowing in the wind. She wore men's clothes: brown trousers and a white top, around her neck was a stone on a string. Athrun felt a little disappointed, he had been hoping she would have dressed up in well, a dress. But that wasn't Cagalli. He walked up to her.
« Come on princess, time to take you home, » he said with a smirk.
Cagalli
You stand there strong
You await ready
Battling against you
Isn't easy
But I will prevail.