Hey, guys. I'm back again. I've gone through and done a bit of fine editing to the story. Mainly just fixing grammar mistakes and misspelled words. I haven't changed much.
This story has actually been finished for QUITE a long time. So, please don't hate me for taking so long to update. n.n;;
In any case… This story is only a measly six chapers. D8
One of the shortest stories I've ever written, but I did enjoy writing it. And I hope you all enjoy reading it as well! D
Disclaimer : Gundam Seed and it's characters belong, in no way, to Leiko Hikaru. For, if they did, she wouldn't feel the need to write stories in the first place, as she'd be too busy playing with all of them.
Chapter 3
The hours turned into days. The days turned into weeks. I continued to wait, never leaving Kira's side for more than a few hours, anxiously waiting for the time when I would see him open his eyes. Just as the doctor didn't want me to do, I had gotten my hopes up, but I began to feel as though hope was all that was going to bring him back.
After my little run in with Kira, I began wondering if ZAFT was really where I wanted to be. I thought about the possibility of there being something else out there for me. If there was something better that I should have been doing. I wondered if I truly was happy, and soon discovered I wasn't. I loved being able to be with Athrun, and to be able to do something with my life, but I felt I didn't belong, and, because of that, I left ZAFT, and returned to the small town that I used to live in with my parents. I made my living there by fixing broken machinery parts until I knew what a wanted to do with myself. After a year or so, I discovered my love for music, and began to pursue a possible career as a singer. I became one of the "lucky ones" in the words of my manager, and with his help, I landed a record deal and got signed.
"It's genius!! Completely brilliant, Leiko!!"
I blinked from within the recording booth, holding the headphones to my ears, spotting my manager dancing about the control room with the studio owner. I couldn't help but laugh. However, the last man, still seated at the control panel, didn't find it quite as amusing. He shook his head with a heavy sigh and signaled for me to leave the booth. Nodding, I set down the headphones and opened the door, walking back into the studio room and slipping on my jacket.
"BRILLIANT!"
"GENIUS!"
"Hey, Hoshi."
"AMAZING!"
"Hoshi!"
"FANTASTIC!"
"Hoshi!!" Smack.
I had given my manager a swift slap to the back of the head. He immediately paused his movements in midair and looked at me over his shoulder with a goofy grin. "Haha. Sorry 'bout that, Leiko." He said, rubbing the back of his head and calming himself down. I smiled and shook my head with a quiet laugh as he turned to the controls manager. "How about you play that back to us!" He said, placing one hand on his hip and putting his free arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a one-armed hug. The man nodded, and turned himself back around in his chair. Moments later, the familiar tune of what was my song began to play over the speakers.
The water that speaks
Only I understand
Encrypted and secret
In the mirror of my soul
Fly with great wings
That outshine the world's pain
Illuminated by the warm sun
I am granted tame freedom
Piercing the white darkness
Go on creating a new era
With a heart that's been released
Fly away
Fly away
In this world, so unsafe
What should I protect?
On the long painful journey, so painful
I feel myself beginning to understand
The light being born
The darkness that dies
I make my way home
To the water that speaks
Out of the darkness
And into the light
To the water that speaks
I make my way home
"Well? How's it sound?" I asked, looking up at Hoshi. I wasn't sure how much I liked it. After all, as they say; 'You are your toughest critic.' However, my manager smiled immediately and clapped his hands in a rather dramatic fashion. "You just wait until the public sees you, Leiko! Once they get a taste, you'll leave them wanting so much more that they won't know what to do with themselves!"
I smiled, laughing as he continued to clap. Sure, he could be a bit dramatic and went a bit overboard when trying to make his point known, but Hoshi was probably the best manager anyone could ever ask for. It wasn't long before my CD was out on store shelves and I couldn't go anywhere without being noticed. However, that didn't keep me from going out once in a while.
"C'mon, Ayame. Hurry up, would you?!"
"For god's sake, Leiko. Chill out. You act like Athrun isn't going to wait if we're a few minutes late! He hasn't seen you in two years after all."
I rolled my eyes and huffed, poking my head in the room to see Ayame observing her appearance in the large mirror opposite her. "Ayame!"
"What?!? God, Lei! Don't do that!"
I crossed my arms, stepping into the room and looking at her with a smug smirk. She raised her eyebrow, although careful not to look me in the eye.
"What?" She snapped, smoothing out her shirt nervously. I could see her cheeks turning red, which only caused my smirk to grow in size.
"I can't believe this."
"WHAT?" She repeated. It was obvious that she was becoming annoyed, but I was enjoying myself. So, I kept my gaze trained on her, never allowing my expression to change, even as I spoke.
"How often have you and Athrun gotten together between when you guys met and now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Once or twice…" She said, looking away as she mumbled, "We went out for dinner a few times…"
"Ayame Rockwell, you've got a thing for Athrun, haven't you?"
I watched with pleasure as she nearly fell over, trying to pretend as though she had no idea what I was talking about. However, I knew better than anyone when she was trying to hide something, and at that particular moment in time, she was doing a rather lousy job. Her cheeks turned bright red.
"What are you talking about? I mean, honestly! How stupid can one person get?" She asked harshly, becoming rather interested in the placement of her bangs in the mirror.
"That! That is exactly what I'm talking about!" I said, pointing. She immediately put her hand down, realizing her mistake. "You're fixing yourself up!"
"So? Isn't that was girls do before they go out?" She was cornered now, and was attempting to come up with some legitimate excuse. However, she didn't fool me.
"Since when do you care about your appearance when we go out?" I asked, crossing my arms once more and settling my weight to my left foot as I smirked. I had her now. She stared at me, obviously unsure of what to say - for once in her life - before huffing and grabbing her jacket.
"Just shut up. Let's go."
With that, she stormed past me and out of the room, and I followed joyfully on her heels, humming a happy tune as I skipped alongside her out to the car. I hummed on the car ride over, I hummed as we entered the restaurant, and I hummed as I sat down. Athrun smiled at the two of us, but his expression immediately changed when he noticed my unusually gleeful mood.
"What's go you so cheerful?" He asked, sounding as though he was unsure about wanting to know. I blinked, looked at him, and then grinned.
"Well… Before we came here, Ayame-" Just then, a rather forceful kick collided with my shin and I immediately bit my lip, tears forming at the corners of my eyes, as I glared at Ayame. She glared at me in return, offering the type of cold stare that said, 'speak, and you die'.
"You okay?"
I nodded my head reluctantly, although the fact that Ayame had kicked me made me want to tell him all that much more, and then smiled at him, forcing myself to remain calm. "Yeah! I'm fine!"
"What were you saying?"
I smiled, rubbing the back of my head with a laugh. "Oh, that? It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Ayame was just being stupid earlier, like always." Once again, I received another painful kick, but forced myself to act as though nothing happened as our orders were taken. I then watched as Athrun and Ayame began to chat. They acted as though they had known each other for much longer than two years, and I even noticed that at points in their conversations, they would break into small arguments, of which Ayame almost always won. I smiled, shook my head, and leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs and putting my hands in my lap.
The past four years had flown by so quickly that I didn't know where they had gone. I was now seventeen, about to turn eighteen the next month - along with Ayame - a very well known singer, friends with one of the best Gundam pilots of ZAFT, and still, I felt as though I was missing something. Whenever I thought of myself happy, I saw everything I had then. My life as it was, my friends… But I also saw someone else…
"Hellooo?? Earth to Leiko."
I was pulled from my thoughts as Ayame waved her hand in front of my face. Blinking, I stared at her, then looked to Athrun, and back to my red-headed friend once more. "Y-yeah?"
She rolled her eyes. "We were just talking about that birthday ball thing that they're throwing for you and me next week. You still don't have an escort, do you?"
After a moment or two, I blinked, realizing that they two of them were up to something. I gave them both suspicious glances. "No.." I replied cautiously, watching as they looked at each other with pleased smirks. "Then again, neither do the two of you."
Well, that turned the tables, now didn't it? Two could play at that game. They looked at me, eyebrows raised, the truth dawning upon them, as though the thought hadn't occurred to them before, although I wouldn't have been surprised if it hadn't. They then looked at each other, faces both tinged with a slight shade of pink, and I smiled triumphantly.
"I don't." Athrun said, shaking his head.
"Me either…" Ayame blinked, staring at her food.
I smiled. "Well, then, you'll just have to go with each other, then. Won't you? Alright! Problem solved! Moving on!"
Ayame glared at me, but her expression changed after a moment, making her appear as though she had just had a stroke of brilliance. "I'll make you a deal." She said, leaning forward, a smirk on her face. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It wasn't normal for her to strike deals with me, seeing as how she got what she wanted, or it wasn't happening. However, I suppose this case was different, because of the fact that she was obviously… interested in Athrun. I smiled and nodded.
"Okay. Whatcha got for me?"
"Athrun and I," She said, signaling to Athrun, who appeared had just caught on to her little plan. "Have got someone in mind that you might have fun with… But, seeing as how you're not too keen on blind dates and all."
I shook my head furiously. "No. No, no, no. No. Not going to happen…. No."
"Oh. Alright, then." She leaned back in her chair. "I guess I'll just be skipping your birthday this year."
"Wha-? Ame, you can't do that!" I said, huffing as I put on my signature pout. "It'll be no fun! And then Athrun'll have to come alone."
"You go with our choice of escort for you, and I'll attend the party."
I huffed again, glaring at her. I should have remembered sooner that even if she did make a deal, she was going to get her way. Blind dates definitely weren't exactly what I called fun. Having experienced quite a few horrible ones in the past, I chose to stay as far away as possible from them. However, if I said no, then Athrun would have to come alone. Ayame knew she had won, before I even agreed, and then returned to eating. Athrun smiled at me, and laughed quietly as he received a punch on the arm.
"Ayame. You realize you've got to dress up for this thing, right?" I had just gotten myself new ammo. I immediately received a cold glare, but seeing as how I had gotten used to them over the years, I ignored it and grinned. "What do you say we fix it up a bit? I'll go with this mystery guy of yours, if you allow Athrun to escort you… In a dress."
"It ain't happening. I draw the line at dresses."
I noticed Athrun looking rather amused out of the corner of my eye as our little agreement progressed and smiled at Ayame. "I'm sure Athrun would love to see how womanlike you can be when you try…" Once again, Athrun's cheeks turned slightly pink, but he pretended not to hear and went back to eating.
"I could care less." Ayame said with a roll of her eyes. However, after a moment she seemed to realize what she had said and immediately looked at Athrun, raising an eyebrow. "I mean… It's not that I don't care about… What I mean is… I just…" She huffed, raking a hand through her hair. "Ugh. Fine."
I blinked. "That was easier than I thought it would be."
Soooo..
What'd you guys think?
After such a long hiatus, surely you're all absolutely overjoyed that I've returned, right??
...It's either that or you'd like to stone me to death while I was being eaten alive by lions. n.n;;
In any case, I'll be uploading the remainder of this story, so watch for it! D
And in the mean time, review! I love hearing from you guys.