(Walks in nervously) Um…hi everyone, it's been awhile…(dodges tomatoes). Okay! Okay! I'm really, really sorry that I didn't update sooner.

The good news is, of course, I'm here now. XD

Hopefully this chapter would make up for the delay.

Moving on…

Ch. 29: To Protect

Three days. She hadn't uttered a word to him since then. He supposed that he couldn't blame her. After all, it wasn't everyday that one breaks away from an unexpected, hungry kiss and finds out that her best friend disappeared with no clue as to her whereabouts. Of course, just because he could access the situation didn't mean he had to like it.

So Yzak Joule found himself pacing around the room, trying to regain his composure. However, he was irritable, and no amount of walking in circles helped, as the frayed carpet underneath him testified. But what else could he do?

He had been surprised that she didn't slap him when he pulled back. In fact, he had half a mind to smack himself, to ensure that it wasn't a dream. He actually kissed her. Kissed her! Had he turned insane? Hadn't he been furious with her just a few minutes ago? Not to mention, he knew that Naturals, or half-bloods for that matter, would only cause him problems. In no ways could he ever understand them, or fully trust them. Coordinators and Naturals were too different…But he kissed her! Did this mean he no longer cared?

He fell on his bed, groaning, trying to get all these confusing thoughts out of his head. Why did everything have to be so complicated? He was Yzak Joule, the one with the icy glare, refusing to look at any woman twice. How ironic that he had fallen for one, and a half-blood one at that! Yes, he might as well admit it now. He cared for her. A lot.

Now, he was tempted to say that he loved her, but stopped himself. After all, he didn't know what love was. True, he loved his mother, but that kind of love fit into a different category. Sure, he cared for Arabella, and couldn't help but be attracted and attached to her, but could he say he really loved her? Besides, did words carry much weight? He could recount vividly, the numerous occasions when his flirtatious roommate would be standing in a corridor saying "I love you" to a giggling naïve girl. Regardless to say, it was all too soon that the words proved to be empty. So in what way would he sort out his emotions?

His eyes grew wide at the realization. He was turning into a lovesick puppy! The idea had him almost clawing at his hair, trying to get the nightmarish thought out of his mind. What was the world coming to?

Then again, he couldn't help himself. She had been avoiding him! He wanted…no, needed to talk to her. Sometimes he wondered whether searching for Elise's whereabouts acted as a pretense for her to stay away from him. He doubted that, but couldn't help but consider the "what-if's".

He banged his fists onto the nearby table. "I will NOT turn into a sap!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Unfortunately, his uproar wouldn't convince anyone.

It was her fault.

She should have noticed the change in her friend's demeanor. Instead, she had been too wrapped up with her own problems to realize the truth. Now she was left with the dire consequences. Elise had gone missing.

At first, she tried being calm. After all, maybe she decided to take a trip to the main part of the city to get some fresh air. It was typical of Elise to escape without notice. The heated political atmosphere never suited Elise, and the only reason she stayed was to support her best friend.

Arabella slammed her hands onto the desk in despair. What a great best friend she turned out to be. One that attracts danger. Worse of all, not only to herself, but to everyone around her.

True, everyone knew Elise was missing, but they didn't realize that she's been taken. Yes, kidnapped. Of course, people would dismiss this prediction as mere speculation, because there has yet to be evidence to prove it. Arabella wouldn't have considered the thought, if she hadn't pried into Elise's room.

Clothes, papers, books, and the whole random assortment lay scattered on the floor, making it hard to see the color of the floor. The room couldn't have looked any worse, had a hurricane passed by. Arabella pulled off a white cotton sock off a bedpost, sighing. She wasn't too surprised by the condition of the place. Elise had been notoriously known for her messiness. In once sense, it fit her personality perfectly, her lively and carefree nature. Well, at least more carefree than anyone else present within these walls. So the organized desk caught her interest.

It stood out amongst the chaos that was Elise's room, drawing suspicion. Since when did Elise bother to keep her desk clean? The thought bothered Arabella as she attempted to pry open the drawers. They were locked.

Frustrated, she had half a mind to call in a few servants and have them force open the compartments, but then decided against it. Any secrets Elise harbored would be between them. She wouldn't be cruel enough to let everyone else know.

Arabella scanned the room, hoping to find something that would help her break open the lock. She started digging through the piles around her, making sure not to confuse herself more by throwing things haphazardly. After all, it would be a waste of time to go through the same pile, while who-knows-what happens to Elise. Something shiny caught Arabella's eyes.

Looking triumphant, she fished out the set of keys. For once, Elise's clumsiness proved to be useful. The girl had a knack for misplacing items, and not realizing it until too late. Of course, Arabella had smiled back then, even though she found it annoying. No one could be perfect after all.

She sighed. Then again, that's what she had to show to the rest of the world. And since no one has the ability to be perfect, she could only distinguish herself by sacrifice…

She broke out of that train of thought. There were more important matters at hand. She couldn't just stand there and start pitying herself. In fact, that's what she did often, and it became a bad habit she tried so hard to fix but failed miserably.

Sticking the keys into the lock, she furrowed her brow, as key after key proved to be the wrong ones. However, she became elated as a certain key turned, causing the satisfying sound of a lock clicking.

"Well, maybe we're worrying over nothing," Miriallia suggested, although her voice sounded otherwise. The group, minus Arabella, loitered in the sitting room, each trying to act as if nothing happened. They were failing miserably.

"That might be true," Ray commented. The group had been surprise that he decided to join them, but since he acted in a friendly manner, no one protested. That is, with the exception of Yzak, who tossed him a weird look. "Elise hasn't been acting like herself. She might have decided to leave everything behind and return once she calms down."

"Has she done this before?" Lacus asked, worried.

"Not…exactly…" Ray hesitated. "There were times when she grew so frustrated, and sick of being treated the way she is, especially by my sister and her group." He gazed far away, as if reliving a memory. "She said that she needed freedom…that she wasn't strong and patient like Arabella…that she wasn't calculating and influential as me…"

"She told you all this?" Athrun asked with sudden interest.

"Well…no!" Ray jumped, as if coming out of a trance. "It's all speculation really. Then again, Elise is pretty easy to read."

"I guess that's true," Athrun consented, yet continued to look suspicious.

"It's no wonder Arabella's worried though," Ray changed the subject, "even though I hope the best, something tells me that this time it's different."

"What makes you say that?" Cagalli challenged, as she slowly became herself again. The rest of the group seemed relieved by this change. They had been worried that Cagalli would never get herself out depression, and seeing progress made them glad.

"Usually, when Elise would pull off something like this, she would tell someone about it, mostly Arabella. But this time, that isn't the case," Ray's frown deepened. He shook his head, trying to rid his head of negative speculations.

"So should we be worried then?" Cagalli asked.

Ray sighed, "If you want my honest opinion, yes." Silence followed after that.

Lacus spoke up, "Maybe none of this would have happened if we…"

"Don't blame yourself for it," Ray interrupted, smiling. "There was nothing to be done."

"But maybe that's it," Cagalli interjected, "maybe the mood had been so tense lately, and everyone became too wrapped up with their own problems that we didn't pay her the attention she deserved." She hesitated before the next part. "And maybe because the misunderstanding between Arabella and…"

Ray shook his head, dismissing the notion. "No, it can't be because of that. As naïve as Elise might be, she would know better than to believe something like that would happen. She has more faith in her friend. As do I, of course," he added.

Yzak flinched. He had purposely stayed silent the whole time, not particularly wanting to converse with Ray. After all, what useful information would he get from his rival for Arabella's affections? But Ray's last comment hit him. Ray trusted Arabella. That said a lot. They were both Coordinators, supplied with all sorts of prejudices due to their backgrounds, and yet one of them seemed to have bypassed them, while the other still struggled.

Of course, he couldn't dismiss the thought that Ray wasn't being truthful. So he continued to be wary of his actions. But regardless of that, Ray's overall statement had been correct.

"So I don't love her," Yzak thought regretfully. After all, if he couldn't trust her, then he couldn't be loving her. Yet for some odd reason, the knowledge brought him more bitterness than he had anticipated.

"Well, sitting here won't help the situation," Cagalli remarked, standing up. "Besides, worrying doesn't do us much good." With that, she exited the room. Others soon followed, knowing that she was correct.

"Hey Kira!"

Kira turned around, surprised. Why would Ray of all people address him?

"Could you stay here a minute and talk with me?" Ray asked.

"Um…sure," Kira answered, getting more confused. If anything, he grew suspicious of Ray's motives. What could have possibly caused the boy to want to talk to him? All sorts of ridiculous ideas flew past Kira's head.

"I caught you looking through all sorts of travel brochures and magazines. Then I realized who's birthday was coming near, and put two and two together," Ray smirked.

Instantly, Kira blushed, and then became confused again. Why was Ray telling him all this? It's not as if any of it should matter to the guy.

"I take it that you still haven't found a suitable place?" It wasn't a question. Rather, a statement.

"Yes…" Kira admitted, "but I'm sure I'll find a place soon." He didn't understand why he was even having this conversation with Ray. It felt so awkward.

"Actually, you don't have to search anymore," Ray grinned. "You see, there's this perfect place that not many people know about. I'll tell you more about it, if you're interested."

Kira continued to have a confused look on his face. Why did Ray suddenly have his situation in his interest? Then again, he had been failing miserably in planning for Lacus's birthday. He would have nothing to lose.

"All right, I'm listening."

"Athrun, can we talk?"

He turned around, surprised at Cagalli's request. Usually he would be the one trying to have a conversation with her. Intrigued, and not to discourage her, he gave her his complete attention.

"Um…not out here," Cagalli looked around, as if expecting some eavesdropper to be present right around the corner.

"Want to go inside one of our rooms then?" Athrun suggested. His curiosity grew even more. Since when did Cagalli emphasize privacy? Sure, she did value having some time and space to herself, but most of the time she was open.

Cagalli proceeded towards her room, followed by Athrun. Once she closed the door, she started to explain, "Well, it's not that big of a deal, but I just didn't want the others to hear. For once, I didn't want others to interfere, and try to figure this out ourselves."

"Okay…" Athrun nodded, although not quite following her.

"Well, you see…" She suddenly blushed, and then the next second, threw an uproar. "Ugh! This is ridiculous…I can't even say this correctly."

"No, no, it's okay, go on." Athrun calmed her down, becoming a bit alarmed himself.

"This is going to sound weird coming from me, but…we need to discuss our relationship. I don't think we finished the last discussion well enough."

Athrun blinked. Did Cagalli just say what he thought she said? True, Cagalli was outspoken, brutally frank in some aspects, but there was one subject that she avoided as if it were death itself. That happened to be relationships. So what brought on this change?

"I know, you're surprised," Cagalli continued, "but I've been thinking ever since that…incident, and I realized just how unstable the two of us really are."

He noticed her fidget, and realized he was doing so as well. Then again, who could blame them? As nervous as he was, Athrun still understood what she meant by that. People assumed what their relationship was perfect. True, it did seem like that on the outside, and he couldn't say that he hadn't been happy during those times. Yet they had their problems. In fact, they had many. And to make matters worse, instead of trying to solve them, the two of them tried to sugar-coat their mishaps, and chose to ignore them. It was about time that they stopped lying to themselves. He was glad that Cagalli brought it up. Although he had many talents, confronting his girlfriend didn't happen to be one of them.

"I understand," Athrun answered.

"That's good, because I've been disgusted by the lack of trust and support we had for each other recently. We should be an example! Otherwise, the others will never get a move on!" She added that last comment with a smirk.

Athrun couldn't help but laugh. Cagalli was slowly coming back to her original self. Of course, it would still take some work, just as she implied, and they would fail a number of times. It wouldn't be realistic to assume that everything would be lovey-dovey for them from now on. But they both cared enough to try. And with them together, especially with Cagalli's stubbornness, that meant more than enough.

Athrun's face expressed contentment as he emerged from Cagalli's room. He was glad that at least some things seemed to be heading in the right direction. That's what he, and everyone, needed at this time. Too many things went awry, and that dampened everyone's spirit. Knowing that at least one thing was going well made it seem as if the burden had become slightly lighter. That reminded him…

He groaned, knowing what he had to do. After all, it was the right thing to do, and he didn't mind going about it, too much. But he didn't know how Yzak would take it. He wanted to come to and understanding with the ill-tempered boy once again. Athrun found it surprising that Yzak could be rather agreeable in those very rare occasions. But he would have no such luck this time. He wondered if Yzak would even bother to let him say a word before taking a swing at him. Then again, he had to at least try.

Athrun took a couple steps forward, until he stood in front of Yzak's door. He knew he would find the disgruntled teammate there. Yzak had rarely left his room ever since that day, at least to Athrun's knowledge. After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"What do you want?" Yzak grunted as he opened the door.

"We need to talk," Athrun answered. He half expected Yzak to slam the door on his face. But to his surprise Yzak merely grunted once again.

"Let's get this over then."

Athrun relaxed, seeing that Yzak was willing to cooperate. Of course, he couldn't be sure of how patient Yzak would be, so he stayed ready on his feet, just in case he needed to make a run for it.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Athrun asked, wanting to be direct and get this over with. Yzak murmured something under his breath. "What was that?"

"I said I don't hate you! There, happy?" Yzak yelled, furious at having to admit it once again.

Athrun blinked, registering Yzak's words. He continued to stare at Yzak, trying to see if he really was telling the truth. Once he realized that, he tried to make sense of the situation.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I still resent you," Yzak clarified, seeing Athrun's confused look, "but I suppose I don't hate you."

Athrun couldn't help but smirk at this. That was more like Yzak. He knew whether they wanted to admit it or not, there was a begrudging respect between them, and that made them act at least civil towards each other. Being buddy-buddy would be pushing it.

"You try living your life always being beaten by someone else," Yzak continued, "and no, I'm not jealous, so wipe that smirk off your face. It's just that it becomes frustrating after a while."

Athrun nodded his head. He didn't bother saying that he understood. If he did, he would receive a punch from Yzak. There were times when keeping quit was the best solution, as he learned from Cagalli. However, he understood what had caused Yzak to snap, even though they did sort out their differences before. Their truce came about due to mutual respect. Of course, the previous incident caused Yzak to lose that respect, making him lash out.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered how Arabella fared when meeting Yzak in all his fury. Not that he would ask Yzak directly. That would be suicide. But it was natural to speculate. After all, they had been found in the same room. In fact, he had to wonder how Arabella managed to stay intact. It didn't help that Yzak seemed calmer since then.

"If you're going to daydream all day, would you mind doing it somewhere else?" Yzak sneered, bringing Athrun back into reality.

"Oh…um, yea…I just wanted to make sure that…"

"Yes, yes, Zala, I do understand that it was all a misunderstanding. Do you want to shake hands again just to prove it?" Yzak said dismissively, annoyed.

"Sure…" Athrun replied, meeting Yzak's outstretched hand. He was surprised that this went through so smoothly. It was almost as if Yzak had planned this in the first place. Of course, the idea would prove to be preposterous, but one could never put it past Yzak.

"Now that's over, get out of my room, Zala!" Yzak growled, although with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Athrun raised his hands defensively, as he walked out of the place. He couldn't help but smile though. Things did seem to go well for him today.

Arabella swept past the corridors, with fear plastered onto her face. Elise…what was it that she got herself into? Her hands still trembled, remembering the moment she found what Elise was up to. She had the copied documents in her hand, realization hitting her. Her first reaction had been anger. How could Elise do this to her? True, Elise didn't mean any harm. She never did. That's why Arabella didn't mind Elise prying into her private life, because after all, what were friends for? But this wasn't just her life that was in stake. Elise should have realized this, but that didn't stop her from diving into things that could make her punishable by law.

However, Arabella's anger soon became replaced by dread and worry for her best friend. True, Elise could have gotten herself into all sorts of situations. Arabella couldn't pinpoint just what Elise had found out. But regardless of the specifics, anything that regarded the components stated in that document would cause problems. Elise would not survive this ordeal unscathed. If she even survived, that is.

"This is all your fault!" she reproached herself, frustrated. She should have been more aware of Elise's actions. But no, she had been too wrapped up in having what she wanted, focusing too much on personal matters. Because of her lapse of judgment, both were in danger, her country, and those she cared about.

She wanted to just crumble right there, not wanting to deal with any of this anymore. Her position had always been a burden to her. Yet she accepted the weight, knowing full well that doing otherwise would cause disaster. Times like this, however, tempted her to throw everything away.

She opened the door, to find the group inside. Instantly, everyone turned towards her, their expressions showing that they were happy to finally see her.

"Well it's about time you joined us!" Cagalli remarked, without a trace of bitterly in her voice.

Arabella almost crumbled once again. Cagalli…she was so forgiving. She envied her for being so care-free. In fact, all of them seemed so compassionate, so willing to help. How could she do this to them?

She spotted Yzak at the corner, his eyes searching. He looked desperate to talk to her. She would have laughed at Yzak's lowering of his defenses, if the situation wasn't so dire. He would be outraged, of course. They all would be. But what could she do? She tried to burn the image of the kiss out of her mind. No, she couldn't fall into that. As much as she wanted her happiness, there were more important matters at hand. For one, she couldn't knowingly put them in danger. It was for their own good.

"Arabella?" Lacus looked questioningly at her.

Arabella glared straight at them, using every ounce of willpower to keep her eyes from betraying her emotions. "I want…no, I need all of you to leave. Now."

Done!

(Sigh…) I know, it was a bit of a short chapter, and not much going on either. Sorry to disappoint…

Not to mention, my writing style seems to have changed, probably due to the fact that I haven't worked on this story for a long time. I need to get my muse back again! XD

Next time:

Obviously, the group is in disbelief. How would they try to convince Arabella?

Ray and Athrun have an interesting discussion.

And what is this about Miriallia and Dearka?

Of course, confrontation between Arabella and Yzak are in order.

How does that sound for the next chapter?

Oh, and of course, thanks for reading, as always! XD