Hi! Oh, about that little note from the previous chapter scratches head I guess my mood got the better of me XD. It's just that the week was completely hectic with packing and everything (cause I moved into the dorms for the first time on saturday...go college! Lol...) And the transition stage was well...you get the point.
Ok, that's more than enough about me, and on to the replies:
izumi-17- Hi! It's nice to know that there's a new reader! Oh, and yes, Arabella does know who Cagalli is (look back at end of Ch.2). And so does Lucia. Remember the part in Ch. 11 when Ray was talking to Lacus? Although technically Lucia walked off in the beginning, she was present when that conversation was going on. So it is sort of implied that Lucia knows who Cagalli is also, for Ray would have said something about Cagalli too if he is saying something about Lacus. And Orb? It's probably recovering due to the aftermath of the war. And since Cagalli is at the current setting, the other person that's taking care of things would be Kisaka. (one of the reasons why she contacts him in Ch. 12, other than the fact that he's her friend and guardian). Well, that's it for now. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!
King Arthur6687- Thanks for encouraging me! Like I said before, depression mode must have really gotten the better of me...XD
DreamAnimeKitten- What about ch.14? lol...sorry, couldn't resist...Oh and don't worry, read them in any pace you want. As long as you read them, it's fine. )
Lomiothiel-YzaknNicol fangirl- Here comes the constructive criticism...lol. No but seriously, I need some of that. And yes, it does seem like I'm focusing on Arabella a bit too much. I've been taking that into account ever since Chibi Fyrefly mentioned it. (I actually sent her an email dealing with that, but I don't think it's 100 applicable to your comment, so I won't bother posting it here). And I did consider the whole Dearka and Miriallia thing before, but Tolle gets in the way...Well, I'll just go along the way I had initially planned with couple changes...that should be fine for now. And I really appreciate how you like Arabella's background...I sometimes get the feeling that people overlook it too often...and Yzak? Lol...yes, he was definitely a bit OOC, but I had a hard time figuring out a way for him to be there and be away at the same time...you get what I mean, right? XD And of course, thanks for reading as always!
Angel of Dreams- What does Ray think you say? Well, can't tell you that now without ruining the story! )
Annie- Yes, that was freaky.
mal- Hm...interesting question...cause I don't know. She's still half natural after all...and oh, she doesn't have all Coordinator abilities. She's missing one vital one, but it's actually not that noticeable at first (it's going to mess her up later on though). Maybe you can figure it out? Lol...
cherri-chan- As much as I would love to have that happening, I have some other plans for Cagalli (which is probably just as evil as the one you suggested). But thanks anyways for the suggestion!
Thanks also to Miss Akira, ShinobiWolf, alex, and Shadowsin!
Now I must go on and write the chapter before the other readers get mad at me for taking too much of their time with the responses! XD
Ch. 15: Nowhere Else To Go
"You want me to do what?" Yzak stared at Athrun in disbelief. "There is no way...let him deal with it."
"Well, at this point, he's going to need some help." Athrun looked smug. "But if you're so unwilling to help, I guess I'll just get Kira to help out. He'll probably do a better job anyways." With that, Athrun pretended to leave.
"What was that, Zala? Are you implying that I'm useless?" Yzak growled, glaring at Athrun.
"I didn't imply anything." Athrun shrugged, although the glint in his eyes told otherwise.
"That's it, I'm going to prove it to you once and for all!"
"So you're going to help?" Athrun had to put a lot of effort to keep a straight face.
"What do you think?"
"So Arabella, think you can help me?" Cagalli asked.
"What is it exactly that you need me to do?" Arabella asked, curious.
"Well, Dearka and Miriallia got into a bit of an argument this morning, and well, they disappeared somewhere. We want to help them patch things up, but we need to find them first."
"Oh, ok." Arabella replied, smiling. "Where do you want to look first?"
"I'll look in the North wing, you look in the South wing." Athrun suggested.
"Whatever. Let's just get on with it." With that the two split.
Athrun waited for awhile, and sure enough, Cagalli and Arabella came. "Hey Cagalli, did you find Dearka yet?"
"No, no idea. But Arabella said she'll help." Cagalli responded, trying to hide a smirk.
"Well, I'm going to look for him in the North wing." Athrun continued, exactly like how they rehearsed.
"Hm...I'll go with you then." Cagalli turned towards Arabella. "You don't mind looking by yourself, do you?"
"Oh no, it's fine." Arabella reassured them. "I'll just go looking around in the South wing."
"Great! If you find anyone, just come looking for us."
"Okay." She replied, and then went on her way.
Cagalli and Athrun watched as she left, trying their best not to laugh. Then, after a few moments, they followed her, a safe distance away.
"Is anyone in here?" Arabella poked her head into the dark room. She sensed movement near, so she slowly went inside, fumbling for the light switch. "Can't see very well..."
"Ouch!" The other person yelled as the two collided, causing them to fall on the floor, the figure on top of Arabella.
"Yzak?" She said, recognizing him up close. Then she blushed furiously, as she tried to get out of the position they were in.
"So...what are you doing here?" Yzak asked, just as embarrassed. Thank goodness it was dark.
"Cagalli wanted me to help her look for Dearka and Miriallia." Arabella answered.
"So they dragged you into this mess too." Yzak groaned. "They really need to learn how to take care of their own problems."
"Well, helping out once in a while doesn't hurt." Arabella remarked, defending them.
Yzak shook his head. "You get taken advantage of that way. Regardless, they're not here, so let's go somewhere else." As if on cue, the door slammed, locking them in.
"What?!!"
Unknown to them, Cagalli and Athrun stood behind the door, snickering. "This is going to be fun." Cagalli remarked, rubbing her hands together.
"Hopefully, they won't kill each other." Athrun commented, jokingly.
Cagalli pretended to act shocked. "Athrun! I thought you knew Arabella better than that!"
"Oh, I'm not worried about her, I'm worried about Yzak." He laughed.
Cagalli laughed back. "Anyways, let's leave them there alone for a couple hours. I made up some story and had it circulated to everyone, so no one will be coming this way."
"Good." Athrun remarked. "So, what do you want to for the time being?"
Cagalli had on a goofy grin. "I want to go and get some ice cream."
"Kira, why aren't you reading?" Lacus asked.
Kira sat by the open window, sighing. Why did his mind wander so much? He did mostly get over the war, right? Didn't he? He started to make a promising recovery, so why is it that he never quite seemed to be at peace? The screams, the fear, the deaths...did he really deserve to enjoy his life? Was he being selfish by asking to be normal? Is this the price he had to pay for failing so many people? The little girl, Mwu, Fllay...just to name a few...Is this the retribution for their deaths? What about... what about...Nicol? Is this what he deserved for killing someone just for revenge? Is this the price for momentary hatred? Sure, he was the enemy, in a technical sense, but...
He never got to know Nicol himself. By the time they all decided to fight for peace, he was long gone, a victim of the unrelenting hatred brought on by war. Nicol had been such a peace-loving person, Athrun had once told him. He was always gentle, and had a passion for piano. There had been a future for him, one that had been stolen away from him.
"Kira, are you alright?" Lacus asked again, this time with a worried look on her face.
Was he alright? Kira wanted to laugh. Not at Lacus of course, but at himself. Laughing at the irony. Laughing at the idiot he had become. Laughing bitterly at himself for hurting Lacus. He always brought tragedy on all those around him. True, people would reassure him that none of it was his fault. That he had also been a victim. But he still felt guilty. It was his fault...
"You're thinking about the war aren't you?" Lacus merely stated. "And Fllay." She added.
"Yes." He replied, not wanting to lie to her although he had to pause a couple seconds before responding. "But also about Nicol."
"Kira..."
"I know you and everyone else told me to forget and move on, but I just can't!" He yelled, frustrated. Immediately he felt guilty again for shouting at Lacus. She was only trying to help after all. He had problems, not her. Here he hurt someone again.
"I never asked you to forget."
Kira's eyes opened wide, and he turned to face Lacus. "What do you mean?"
Lacus sighed. "Kira, I know it's impossible to just forget. Even I can't forget. All those people...my father..."
Her father...he had never considered that. He had been paying attention to his problems so much that he never considered to realize other people's pains. But then again, no one else really consoled Lacus either, which was strange.
"I'm not asking you to forget. In fact, it would be an insult to the deceased to forget. What I want..." She walked up to him, and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Is for you to open up to new possibilities. All those that perished would have died in vain if the survivors didn't become happy. That includes you, Kira. If you continue to deny yourself, they will never rest in peace."
Kira nodded. She was right. He looked up to her smiling face. She looked so sweet and composed. The complete opposite of Fllay. She knew she had to be strong. Even with the death of her father she didn't turn hysterical. She knew what she had to do, and she carried on.
"Thank you." He managed to say.
She smiled in understanding. "Anytime."
"Where are you taking me Dearka?" Miriallia asked, confused.
"Here."
Miriallia looked up, and spotted an ice cream parlor. "Ice cream in the middle of winter?" She asked, questionably.
"Well, I think it tastes better when the weather's cold." He shrugged. Then he proceeded to drag Miriallia inside despite her protests. "So, what flavor do you want."
"I don't really care." She responded back. Dearka handed her an identical sundae to his, and they proceeded towards a table. Little did they know that Cagalli and Athrun had just entered the same building.
"So Cagalli, do you want a single scoop or a..." Athrun got cut off my Cagalli's hand over his mouth.
""Sh...don't you see them together?"
"Yea, but what does that have to do with...oh, I see..." Athrun sweat-dropped nervously as he recognized Cagalli's scheming look. "Cagalli don't you think you have enough schemes to worry about as it is?"
Cagalli suddenly had a frown on her face. "That's true...but can't we help them out a little bit?"
Athrun shook his head. "I think their issue is a bit "
"Since when has anything been not complicated?" Cagalli argued.
"I don't know." Athrun confessed. "But I just get the feeling that this isn't something for us to interfere in."
"Oh, all right." Cagalli responded, pouting. "But we could still watch them, can't we? I mean, we have to make sure Dearka doesn't do anything completely stupid."
"If you really want." With that, the two headed towards an obscure table, close enough to hear, but not be seen.
"So how have you been doing ever since we got here?" Dearka asked, attempting to start a conversation.
"You've been living in the same place as me. How could you not know?"
"Well, there could be things I don't know about you." Dearka scratched his head.
"Possibly." She responded as she popped the spoon into her mouth again.
"Well, I want to know more about you." Dearka confessed. "I want to know you more because..."
"Well, I'm finished with my ice cream." Miriallia stated quickly, cutting Dearka off. "I feel like going back now. Is that alright?"
Dearka nodded his head, although he looked disappointed. Throughout the whole trip back, the two avoided each other's eyes, neither one willing to confront the other. Both feared what the other would say, if given the chance.
"Is there really no where to go out?" Yzak asked Arabella.
Arabella nodded. "Unless you break over the door, we can't go anywhere."
"So why don't I just do that?" Yzak got himself ready.
"Not if you want to be able to stand afterwards."
Yzak sighed, exasperated. "Fine! We'll just wait until someone managed to come across us."
"It's not as if we had an alternative." She retorted back. Slowly, she fumbled around, and came across a couple candles and matches which have been conveniently placed there. "It's too bad that there isn't a light switch in this room. I forgot about that until we got locked in."
"So the perfect little princess does forget once in awhile, doesn't she?" Yzak snidely remarked. To his surprise, Arabella sighed.
"If only you knew."
"I may know more than I let on." Yzak put on a smirk.
"And you might just be bluffing." Arabella smirked back.
They both burst out laughing. "I guess it's always a stalemate when it comes to us." Arabella said quietly.
"I suppose."
They both stayed quiet for awhile. Then Arabella managed to have the courage to say something. "Well, I was wondering...just why is it that you keep yourself so distant?"
Yzak raised his head up, and looked straight into her eyes. "What would you say if I asked you why you act the way you do?"
"I...I can't answer that now..." She stammered.
"Then I can't answer either." He stated flatly.
"I see..." She smiled wistfully. "I would be a hypocrite if I expected otherwise."
It became silent once again, each person diving into his or her own thoughts. Then Arabella suddenly brightened. "Well, even if you don't want to tell me about yourself, you could still tell me something about the others, right? Do you have any funny stories about them by any chance?"
"Yzak suddenly had an evil grin on his face. "Oh, it would be my pleasure..."
"We've been looking all over for you two!" Cagalli acted as if she were shocked. "Dearka and Miriallia already took care of things, and so we started to look for you two instead. We were scared that you two just disappeared."
"How did you end up being locked in here?" Athrun asked.
"I don't know." Arabella confessed. "There might have been a glitch with the lock. I'll have someone look at it tomorrow." Then she faced Athrun, and tried her best not to laugh. "Well, I have work to do so I'll see you later."
"What is she trying not to laugh about?" Athrun asked Yzak as he watched Arabella's retreating form.
Yzak burst out manically. "I told her about the pajamas you wore during the war."
Chapter done! I'm really sorry about not updating quicker. It's just that I've been VERY busy. I'll try to update as much as possible.
So how was it?
Were the characters in character? I hope they weren't too OOC...I get the feeling that some of them were...
And about Lacus and her father...was it just me or during the series they seem to just skim over that really quickly? I don't know...I think it's just me...lol
Hopefully this chapter was better...
Oh, and in the next one, Kira and Lacus go with their plans, while we see a very interesting scene with Dearka and Miriallia (I mean, after the above DXM scene, who knows what would happen? Lol...), and of course, Cagalli will be goofing off as usual, dragging Athrun along. Wait for it!
Oh, and as a side note...I know that Cagalli and Athrun seem very happy compared to the others in the fic. So it may not seem so realistic right now, but trust me, they will be going through issues too, it's just that that's not going to happen until it's near the end of the story. Well, with that said, just one last word:
Thanks!