Disclaimer: Sunrise


Tokyo, September 2020

.

"It's getting a little bit slow now. Should we call it here?"

"Then let's wait until 4pm. It's just 15 minutes away. After that, let's start taking it down and cleaning up."

Kira answered a low 'yes' in agreement to his class rep. for their agenda today. Only a few minutes and their class duty would be over. He sighed, and patiently waited for his class duty to be over.

"Kira," someone called him out. "You're still here?"

"Lacus," Kira replied as he swirled his head toward her. "Yeah, but it's only for another 15 minutes. Do you want to try and go inside?"

"I want to, if you come with me," she smiled, though she knew his answer already.

Imagining what was inside, Kira felt a shrill shiver run through him. There was no way he was going there. "No, I'm good here."

"Kira, I don't think there will be many people who'll come again. I'll stay here if you want to go," one of his classmates said, pushing Kira toward Lacus, with a smirk and a wink, which just made him confused. Looking at Lacus—who obviously heard what his friend had said since there was a dab of pink hue on her cheeks—he suddenly felt a little bit awkward.

Trying to get out of there, Kira said, "Ah—did you see Athrun? Is he still at his robotic club?" He walked away from his class and attempted to find something to talk about.

"Ah, no I think he's still in the class upstairs."

"What's he doing?" No one really used the classes upstairs beside the school committee and a few clubs, for today's event.

"He had something to do," Lacus smiled conspiratorially, remembering when she helped Cagalli with her uniform.

"With his girlfriend?" He smiled, remembering what the two had talked earlier.

"Well, she's not his girlfriend. But maybe it won't be long. Though I think Athrun hasn't realized it yet. He treats her as a friend, but I feel like he had this different look every time he sees her."

"I see. What kind of person is she?"

"She's kind and strong. Though I feel like she had her own story behind her bright personality," Lacus was reminded of her talk with Cagalli. It was thanks to her that she was starting to see where she wanted to be for her own future. "She's a bit different from us too. And I think she would prefer to talk about this on her own, so I wont say much." And then she remembered the thing when they met for the first time. "Ah, right. She has the same strap as you, Kira. I remembered it since that strap is so peculiar."

At the mention of the strap, Kira's interest was piqued; as he was reminded of the other person that he knew who had the same strap as him. "Really?"

"Yep. It looks worn too. Seems like Cagalli really hold it dear to her."

At the name she mentioned, Kira stopped on his track.

"What did you say her name was?" Kira turned to Lacus. It wasn't that much of a popular name. But could it really be her sister? That close to him, right now?

"Cagalli," Lacus repeated, and seeing Kira's interest, she added, "She has amber golden eyes and short blond hair, and—"

Before she could continue, Kira grabbed Lacus' shoulders, stopping her words immediately with his anguished look. "Where is she now?"

"Like I said, upstairs, with Athrun…" Lacus slowly replied, confused as to what's with Kira's sudden change of attitude. But without giving her any answer, Kira ran toward the stairs to the next upper floor.

"Kira, where are you going?" she ran after him. And since Kira's physical build was better than her—with his judo training and all, she wasn't able to catch up with him. But Lacus could hear him stop in the middle of the stairs.

"Athrun!" She could hear Kira's voice. That means—

"Kira, why are you—"

"Cagalli, where is—"

Running with her might, Lacus finally catched up with all three of them. In front of her, stood her three friends, standing up there, staring at each other's face. From there, she could see Athrun's confused face, and Cagalli's shocked face.

"Cagalli-nee…"

It came out in a low voice, but Athrun and Lacus could hear him.

As those words were out from Kira's mouth, it seemed like something came upon Cagalli, as her face suddenly changed into a hard one, and she ran away from them.

"Cagalli!" there was a chorus of her name. Kira and Athrun attempted to run after her.

"Kira!" Lacus grabbed his hand, holding him back.

"Let go, Lacus. I need to talk to her," Kira resisted her, but somewhat he didn't pull away with full force. With his strength, he could let go of her delicate hands easily. But Kira was still considering that Lacus would take a hard tumble down if he did, so he didn't pull his hand strongly.

"How about we let her calm down first?" Lacus said, "She looked pretty distraught after she saw you. Maybe we should give her some time to sort her feelings."

"Why? Does she hate me?" Kira croaked out, jumping into a sudden conclusion. "Does she hate me for leaving her alone in foster care while I'm living with my foster family? Does she still hate me so much that she felt distraught the moment she saw me, and didn't even want to be with me?" All the regret he had felt since the day he left Cagalli alone in that foster care came to his mind. "What kind of brother am I to leave her alone there…"

"I think it's not like that," Lacus shook her head adamantly. "Maybe she just doesn't know how to face you after all this time; she must be so confused right now. She believed that she could never see you again, Kira," Lacus tried to sooth him. Seeing both of them just now, Lacus realized that the one Cagalli talked about with her was Kira. The one that Cagalli had let go for his own sake. The one that she'd believed she would never see again.

And remembering her miserable face at that time, Lacus believed that Cagalli didn't hate Kira at all. "She had always wanted to see you."

"Then why…?"

"Like I said, maybe she needs a little bit of time. She will come around, for sure. Athrun is with her now, so she must be alright. I'm certain she will come to see you after she sorts her mind. Let's wait for her, for now, okay?" she smiled encouragingly, slowly easing Kira to calm down, while she kept on holding his hand.


When Athrun said that he was going to introduce her to his best friend, Kira, Cagalli had prepared herself for two outcomes, that this person was actually his brother, or someone else with the same name as him. And to be honest, she was leaning towards the later one.

So, contrary to what she had expected, seeing her long lost brother after seven years apart, whom she had thought would never be able to see again, standing in front of her, she didn't know what to do. All the possibilities just flooded her mind, what would Kira think of her now? Didn't she break her own promise to look for him? What if Kira knew what she was doing now? Would he be disappointed in her? And what now, that they have reunited again? Would he stay in her life? Was she allowed to stay in his life?

All these questions kept swirling inside her head since the moment she ran away. She couldn't focus on her surroundings, as her mind was preoccupied with Kira.

But eventually, she was aware of someone knocking on the door behind her, calling her name constantly. It was a sliding door, so that person should be able to open it without asking her to. Still dazed, she mumbled an okay to that person, though she wasn't sure if it was heard clearly. But apparently, it was, since the door was opened from outside. As the other person entered the class, Cagalli knew immediately who he was.

Since when was she so aware of his presence?

Moreover, when he sat at the floor beside her, the closeness was treading into her mind, taking it away from Kira's problem for a while, clearing the cloud in her head a little bit.

Time passed without any of them saying anything. Eventually, Cagalli talked first.

"You won't ask me anything?"

Athrun didn't immediately answer her, but finally he said, "Only if you want to talk about it." Inside, his mind was full of questions. There were things Athrun was curious for, but not sure if she was going to answer them since they all sound noisy even to him. And he was afraid to hit the wrong spot with the current situation.

"Why don't you ask me first?" she challenged him.

"You two are relatives?" Earlier, he faintly heard the honorific Kira put after her name, so he thought that they might be relatives.

"He's my twin brother."

"You guys don't look like twins," Athrun's brows furrowed.

Cagalli chuckled, "We heard that a lot."

There were no questions following. Cagalli thought that Athrun was thinking of her feelings and didn't want to push her. She smiled at his consideration, and asked him instead. "You said Kira is your friend since junior high?"

"He is."

"How is he? I mean what kind of person he is now?" It has been years, so many things must have changed with Kira, "How could he win second place at Judo inter-high? He was so weak when he was little; he couldn't even fight and was always opposed to violence."

"He's quite a reserved kind of guy. He was the weakest when we started joining Judo club, but he was a hard-worker, so he rose to the top eventually. I personally didn't think he would continue Judo to the point of winning the interhigh."

"He promised me back then that he would become a stronger person than me," she recalled a faraway memory of Kira. "People bullied him and I was always there to chase them away. I never thought he would take that promise to the heart and make it true." She chuckled, "I guess I'll have to treat him to oden then."

"Huh?"

"It's an old promise. If he could be stronger than me, I promised to treat him oden. If he's a judo interhigh runner-up, he's clearly stronger than me now."

"What kind of person wants to be strong so he can get free oden?" Athrun chuckled, but then continued softly, "You missed him." He could hear it in her voice, the longing for her brother.

"He's all I think about ever since he got adopted." Pulling her phone, Cagalli held it in front of her, her strap dangling, "This is one of a few things I have from him. He insisted on buying this, and said he wanted a matching strap with me."

"Figures. Kira is using it as his phone strap too."

"Really?"

"There was this one time when he lost the strap, I've never seen him so panicked, like a woman who had lost a treasured jewelry. Thank god someone found it. He treasured it good, it was his most precious item." Athrun stared at her from where he was, "He misses you a lot too, I'm sure."

"But he didn't know what I had become," Cagalli shook her head. "I don't want him to see me like this—don't want to see him disappointed in me. And he surely wouldn't want a sister like me."

"That's unfair."

"Eh?" She looked up at Athrun, and as he stared back at her, he could see her face, like it was asking him, 'how so?'

And so he continued, "Don't you think Kira got a say in this too? Would you leave him without any explanation after all these years you two were apart?"

"That's... true, but…" Cagalli hesitated, "I'm afraid… of how he would think of me… Look at him, he's a student who won a national tournament, academically he's one of the best too, I'm sure—in a high end school, on top of that. How can I compare with him? I'm only a junior high graduate; I don't even go to high school and am now doing blue-collar work at my age. Will he ever accept a sister like me?"

"But if it's Kira, I'm sure he will understand." Athrun replied without a hint of hesitation.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Don't you believe him?" Athrun asked back, "Well, maybe I don't know about Kira as you do him, but the Kira I knew is not the type who would mind about such a thing. Besides, if I'm in Kira's place, and you are my long lost sister, I will be so proud of you for who you are now. I don't know the real reason why you don't go to school and are doing this job, but I'm kinda sure you are doing it to survive." Athrun knew Kira had spent some time in foster care, and Cagalli must have too. So the reason Cagalli was doing an odious job like this might be because she didn't have anyone to provide for her. She had to be strong and provided for herself.

What kind of hard life had she gone through?

Suddenly he felt like his heart was constricted at the thought of it.

"You are a brave, wonderful person, and I'm sure Kira agrees with me." Lightly, Athrun tried to put his hand on Cagalli's shoulder, "Try to talk with him once, okay? Give him a chance, he deserved it. You both do."

Gripping her phone tightly in one hand, Cagalli held the strap on her palm. That was what she wanted the most in the world, to talk to his brother once again. But still…

"I'll stay with you if you want to."

Looking at the person beside her, Cagalli looked up to stare at him. His serene face, gazing down encouragingly at her, was somehow calming her down, letting her think more clearly. She was glad that he stayed with her. It made her feel like she was not alone in this.

"I believe Kira is waiting for you downstairs. But you can take your time, I'm sure he won't mind. Well, he'll be impatient, but I know he'll understand. Whenever you're ready."

"Let's go now," Cagalli said, not wanting to stall any longer. "You'll stay… right?" She felt so vulnerable now, she needed some reassurance. At least, she knew that he accepted her already. Whatever happened, Cagalli was almost sure that Athrun would be on her side.

"I'll always be here for you," Athrun said, reaching his hand out for her to take. When Cagalli put her hand on his, he stood up, and helped her on her feet.

"Let's go see your brother," Athrun opened the class door, and led the way, still holding her hand.


Walking back to the stairs, Athrun and Cagalli could hear Lacus' faint voice, "—should have seen her face. She looked so warm at that time while looking at it, remembering the one who chose it for her."

They saw Kira and Lacus were waiting for them there, sitting at the bottom of the stairs, leaning onto each other, while it seemed like Lacus was telling a story to him.

As they heard the footsteps, Lacus stopped. They straightened themselves and turned back, to see Athrun and Cagalli on top of the stairs, hand in hand.

The twins were staring at each other, before Cagalli broke them by moving her gaze sideways. No way, she couldn't do it, she was too nervous. It has been so long she didn't know what to say.

Faintly, she could feel Athrun's hand gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Cagalli-nee…" Kira was the one who broke the silence first.

At his particular call, Cagalli smiled. "It's been a while since I heard that," returning Kira's gaze, she called to him, "How are you, Kira?"

He didn't know how to respond since right now, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was fine, physically, but it sounded wrong to say he's fine. He didn't know what he currently feels. He was confused, he missed her, he had so many questions, and he was afraid of what she felt right now, afraid he would lose her again.

Beside him, Lacus was worried as she saw Kira's conflicted face. She wanted to do something to encourage him, but not sure if it was okay to interfere right now.

As if on cue, Kira slightly tilted his head toward her, and so Lacus mouthed slowly, with a small smile, "It's okay, be honest."

And as if it gave him all the courage he needed, Kira stared back at Cagalli, "I missed you, sister."

"…Me too," she said back, glad that at least Kira didn't seem to hate her.

Drinking the profile of the person he missed the most, Kira stared at his sister from head to toe, and his eyes stopped at something in particular that was familiar.

Without thinking, he walked up the stairs, stopping in front of her and took her left hand, the one that was wearing black knitted wristband. Slowly, he caressed it, as if it was a fragile thing. "You are still wearing this." His eyes didn't move away from it, pain and regret were clear in them.

Cagalli's eyes were staring at the same spot Kira was holding, and smiling sadly, she replied, "People stare and ask questions if I don't." While in the background, Athrun and Lacus were silently questioning their exchange. What was with that wristband?

"There are too many things I want to ask, I don't know where to start," Kira looked down, flustered.

"Me too."

Looking at both of them, Lacus turned her head to Athrun, who caught her movement, and nodded. "Cagalli," Athrun called softly, resulting in Cagalli staring up at him, "Would you like us to give you some privacy?" Their talk seemed to be too private for them to hear. They might need some time for themselves. "Of course I'll stay if you want too, and if Kira's okay with it," he let her choose.

Cagalli realized too, that she needed this private time with Kira. Reluctantly, she nodded, "It's okay, you can go." But at least, she knew Athrun would always support her. Knowing where his heart laid were enough. She could do this alone, she thought.

"We'll buy something to drink, and then we'll wait downstairs, so we won't be far. Take your time. Just look for us if you need anything," Lacus added.

The twin nodded, so Lacus moved to walk away from them. Athrun gave one last squeeze on Cagalli's hand, before letting go and joining Lacus to go downstairs and give them some privacy.


AN: They'll talk for real next chapter, promise. I'm not sure about this one, let me know if you think if it's weird or anything.

See you again then,

Cheers~