'Advent of Destiny' Chapter 1 – 'Reawakened Feelings'
"It's a promise…"
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Gundam Seed/Gundam Seed Destiny. I am not compensated in any way for my work other than in the enjoyment that my readers experience.
A/N: For those of you who have been reading my other story, 'My Sweetest Heart for You', if the thought has crossed your mind that this other story will slow down my progress in that regard, please do not worry. I fully intend to make up for all the time that I was away.
Now that I've that out of the way, I do hope you're going to enjoy this new story of mine. Truthfully, all of my favorite authors have written so many stories, I wanted to try and do that too. It's going to a K x L, naturally . And I'm thinking of putting in some A x C. In regards to what it's going to be about, well… all I'll say is that it's not going to be quite as world shaking as my other story.
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From high up in the clear blue sky, the golden sun shone with a radiant aura. Its rays of light sprinkled down like a thousand shades of light, illuminating the cherry blossoms that had just come into bloom.
With the coming of the gentle winds, innumerable numbers of petals scattered throughout the air, bathing the entire area in a sea of indescribable beauty. Such a sight was one that words alone could not begin to describe… it warmed one's very heart.
Down upon the ground, two young figures could be seen running through the forest of cherry blossom trees. One was a young girl with beautiful pink hair and enchanting blue eyes. And the other… a young boy with piercing amethyst eyes.
"Come on, we're almost there!" she exclaimed.
"We don't have to be in such a hurry… you still haven't told me where we're going," the boy replied.
Upon hearing such words, the girl turned around and clasped the boy's hand, gently tugging him along. "That's why we need to get there as soon as we can, silly," she said, smiling. "…I want us to see it together."
"…" A faint tint of red stained the boy's cheeks at the warmth of the girl's hand.
With that, the two of them started off into the depths of the wood once more.
As they continued running however, a strange mixture of feelings began to arise within the boy's heart…
'…I want us to see it together.'
Those words rang through the boy's mind time and time again…
It wasn't the words themselves that had stirred him so… no, it was the way she had said them. She sounded… almost sad, as though there were something she wasn't telling him. And that was not like her at all…
Before he how time to think about it further, those fateful words rang onto his ears…
"This is it…" the girl whispered to him.
As she slowly let go of his hand, the boy stepped forward so that he too could see. He hadn't watched for but a moment before his mouth fell open, his eyes widened with amazement.
Laid out like a picturesque vision of something taken from heaven itself was a crystalline lake… its crystal blue water as pure as any he had ever seen. From all around, the cherry blossom trees swayed gently in the wind… their petals strewn out onto the surface of the lake. Caught within the fading light of the sun, it was a time of twilight… a mysterious time between the light of day and the darkness of night. Truly… there were words to even come close to describing such a sight…
"…This is…" the boy whispered.
The girl placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "There's a bench just over there…" she whispered to him, pointing a finger.
Silent, the boy walked over with her, sitting himself down upon the bench alongside her. "This place is beautiful, but… you still haven't told me why we're here."
"Did you really think I needed a reason?" she asked, folding her hands over her lap. "…Did you ever think I just wanted to spend this moment with you?"
At those words, the boy clasped a hand over the girl's. "…I wouldn't ask you if I didn't know something was wrong. I could tell on the way over here… you've had something on your mind."
"…"
"…What is it?"
With a sad smile slowly etching itself over her lips, the girl leaned her head onto the boy's shoulder. "…Could we please stay like this… just for a little while?"
Unknowing of what to say, the boy merely nodded his head… gently leaning himself beside the girl, his deepened gaze drinking in the sight of the setting sun.
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Within the now darkened sky, the bright blue moon shone high. The stars wheeled overhead with a light all their own, twinkling in the darkest depths of the unknown universe. Such was a night when lives would be forever changed…
"…I don't understand why you didn't tell me before…"
The girl clenched her fingertips about the boy's shirt, her bright blue eyes wavering with uncertainty. "…I-I didn't know how. But, I…"
Not wanting to hear her speak anymore, the boy gently pressed a finger to her lips. "Please… no more," he whispered.
"…"
Drawing in of a deep breath, the boy slowly stood up from the bench and walked up to the edge of the lake. For fear that if he turned and looked into her eyes, he would…
"…You don't have much time left do you?"
The silence that followed told him all that he needed to know. He clenched his hand into a tight fist, as if trying to find some small anger within him… yet to no avail. Even if she hadn't meant to… even if everything around him seemed to be falling apart, he could not hate her for it.
Narrowly, he turned his head about just enough so that she would know his expression. "…How long will you be gone?"
"…I do not know. Father has only told me that it could be for a very long time..." she replied.
"I see…"
With that, the boy lowered his head, his eyes ushering onto a close. Before he knew it, a sad smile had overcome him…feelings of emptiness and loneliness filling a seemingly endless void within his heart. No… it wasn't just that she was leaving… far from it. But it was that she had waited until now to tell him.
…Damn it, he thought. Whatever the heavens had sent him in this girl, they most certainly felt obliged to snatch her away without so much as a whim to his feelings. Damn it, he thought.
Standing there, watching him as she was, the girl felt her heart wrench in two. It pained her more than he could ever know to have had things end up like this. It wasn't what she wanted… of course it wasn't.
Slowly, she brought herself up from the bench and walked up to him. "…I will be back… someday."
"I wish I could be angry with you right now… I really wish I could be," the boy whispered.
"…"
After but a moment of silence, the boy turned towards her and smiled. "I could never stay mad at you though… even if I wanted to."
"…"
He looked into her eyes, the deepening depths of his amethyst gaze locking with her baby blues. How often had he looked there, he wondered, perhaps never really taking the time to appreciate their beauty. Then again… when did you ever have to do such a thing when you might never see them again?
Unable to help the feelings rising in her heart, the girl wrapped her arms around the boy's waist and embraced him closely. Her eyes shut, wishing to bask in the warmth of his body for as long as she could… so that she might not forget.
The boy's expression fell with a deep sadness. He gently lifted his arms and wrapped them about her, holding her close.
"…I'll make you a promise," she whispered.
"…"
"When the day comes that I can come back to this place again, I promise that yours will be the first one I see."
Upon hearing such words, the boy stepped back and ran his hand underneath her chin, slowly nodding his head. "I'll be waiting…Lacus…"
"…Kira…" she whispered.
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"…Kira…"
"Mmm…"
"…Kira? Geez, wake up already!" Cagalli exclaimed, giving her brother's body a good shove.
"…Wha? Cagalli?" Kira muttered, bracing a hand over his eyes at the sudden flash of morning's light. "…Do you realize what time it is?"
Cagalli sighed deeply, clasping a hand over her face. "Do you realize what time it is? What's wrong with you? The bus is going to be here in twenty minutes, and you're still in bed!"
"…Huh!?" Kira suddenly shot out of bed, the reality of his sister's words finally beginning to sink in. His near bulging eyes shot over towards his clock, widening even further as he realized what time it was.
Leaping out from his bed as though hellfire were licking at his heels, Kira jumped over to his dresser, nearly tearing out the handles of the drawers as he pulled them open. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner!?"
Unfortunately for Kira, in the rush of getting out of bed, he hadn't realized that he was only dressed in a loose pair of boxer shorts. Befitting of his good looks as they might be, that still didn't change the fact that Cagalli…
"Ugh!! What the hell is the matter with you!?"
"What're you still doing in here, anyway!? Can't you see I've got to get ready!?"
From near outside, a young man with long blue hair and piercing emerald eyes was walking by. Even though closed windows, the sound of two of his favorite people arguing was as clear as though they were standing right beside him.
Athrun gave a faint sigh, raising a hand alongside his head. "Guess they're at it already…"
"Why don't you try knocking before you come barging into someone's room then!?"
"Fine then! Don't count on me to bail you out next time, kid!! You can just sleep the whole day away if you want to!
And with that, the sound of the door slamming closed echoed throughout the house. And… while he thought he could've imagined it, Athrun could've sworn that he saw the windows rattle… if just a little bit.
'…I probably shouldn't ask.'
Inside, Kira had finished dressing. With less than ten minutes remaining before the bus would arrive, he hurried in fixing up his hair and brushing his teeth. With that done, he 'flew' down the stairs, picking up some food from the shelves and stuffing them inside of his backpack.
Cagalli, who was waiting by the door, vented her frustration by yelling at him the whole way. …Honestly, he thought, don't 'big' sisters have anything better to do?
Just as they were making their way outside, Kira paused to look back into the living room…in particular, at a picture that was hanging on the fireplace. If only for a moment, he would always look at that picture before he left. It was of Lacus and himself… standing side-by-side. Perhaps it had been the dream, but something about looking at it made him… almost nostalgic today.
"Come on, Kira! Do you want to miss the bus?" Cagalli asked.
"I'm coming, hold on," he replied, shutting the door behind him as he hurried back up to her.
Athrun, leaning against the bus stop sign with his arms folded over his chest, chuckled. "I think you two should try and tone it down a bit next time. Some of the neighbors were complaining…"
'…I didn't think we were that loud,' Kira thought.
Cagalli merely blushed with embarrassment.
"Hmm?" Hearing the sound of something approaching, Athrun turned his sights around to see the bus coming. "It looks like you two made it just in time."
"No thanks to my kid brother here," Cagalli said, narrowing her eyes towards Kira.
Kira sighed. "How long are you going to keep calling me a kid? We were born at the same time, you know?"
Cagalli playfully patted Kira on the head. "Maybe, but there's just no way that you're older than me. I mean, really… how can someone who lets themselves fall asleep so late really be my big brother?"
Kira turned his head away, a faint tint of embarrassment staining his cheeks. "...What're you saying? This is probably the only time I've ever slept in. It's not like…"
"Once is enough for anyone for it to become a habit, kid." Cagalli stated, raising a finger to Kira's face. "Just make sure you don't let it happen again. 'Cause like I said, I'm not gonna bail you out next time."
"…"
"Hmm… it is a little strange though. You're not the kind to let this thing happen, Kira. What happened?" Athrun asked.
"Huh?" Kira turned his sights back towards Athrun. "Oh, well… that is…"
"You two can talk about that later," Cagalli interjected. "The bus is here."
Sure enough, the bus stopped in front of them just as Cagalli said. As its doors opened, Kira, Athrun and Cagalli stepped through them, sitting themselves down next to each other. And as the doors closed back together, the bus sped off once more.
Athrun pulled his backpack off from his shoulders and set it down on his lap. "So, tell me what happened."
Kira turned his head towards the window, his amethyst eyes slowly widening at what he saw. "The trees…"
"Hmm? What about them?"
"It looks like the cherry blossoms are coming into bloom again…"
Athrun looked past Kira out to the trees that they were passing. "Huh, you're right. You know I hadn't really realized… but then again, you seem to have a real thing for cherry blossoms, don't you?"
"…Something like that," Kira replied.
Athrun sat back down, folding his hands calmly over his chest. "No more stalling now. What's going on?"
Kira kept looking outside of the window towards the cherry blossom trees. "…It was a dream."
"A…dream?"
"Mhmm." Kira nodded his head. "It was a dream about a long time ago… about an old friend of mine."'
Athrun smiled some. "I don't think telling you're telling me everything. Who is this old friend of yours?"
Kira's eyes lowered some, the image of her… of that girl, filling the depths of his consciousness. "She's just someone that I used to know a long time ago. I don't know why I was dreaming about her. Maybe it's just because of the cherry trees…" he said, lowering his voice to a near inaudible whisper at the part about the cherry trees.
Athrun's face lit with curiosity. "So it's a girl then. You never told me about this…"
"There's nothing to really tell… she was just someone I knew a long time ago. It's nothing worth bringing up now…"
"…Alright," Athrun replied, thinking it best to let the matter drop at that.
'Hmm… strange. You usually don't 'look' like that whenever you've talked about someone… especially a girl. I wonder this person is…'
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"Are you feeling well, Ms. Clyne? I trust you're enjoying the ride?"
"Huh? Oh, yes… I am. Thank you very much… I know how much trouble this must be causing for you…"
"Please, don't concern yourself. If it is in accordance with your wishes, the consequences of it do not matter to me…"
Lacus smiled briefly. Her eyes shone with appreciate and thankfulness. "…Thank you," she said once more.
"Do tell me though… why is it you're so insistent on coming back to this place? To come even against your father's wishes… there must be some special reason.. isn't there?"
Lacus pulled down the car window and leaned her head outside, the gusting winds snatching the long strands of her pink hair in their grasp. "It's something… personal. But I…" she paused, a faint tint of red coming into her face. "…I have something very important that I have to do there."
"You look as though you have something 'very important' on your mind. Might it be… 'someone'…?"
"Now… you're being a little too noisy, aren't you?"
"My apologies, Ms. Clyne. It was not my intention to pry into your private matters."
"…It's alright."
With that, Lacus leaned her head further outside of the window, allowing the depths of her blue eyes to drink in the light of the sun. As far away a distance as she still was… from just beyond the horizon, the sight of cherry blossom trees were beginning to peak into view…
'Please… wait for me, Kira. I promise I'm coming… wait for me.'
To be Continued…
A/N: From what small direction I see this chapter leading into… this is going to be more of an innocent love story rather than my other story. I did mention that before, didn't I? Still, I'm looking forward to seeing how one of my favorite couples will work things out. Still, if I'm bringing two people together soon... one must wonder... what sort of challenges do you think could await them? Hmm... could be hard to say. I guess we'll all just have to wait and find out, now won't we?
While I'm on my way to becoming a good writer, I'll be counting on all of you to read my stories and let me know what you think. If this is any indication, I'll be writing many, many more stories, as it's becoming something… enjoyable for me. So, until next time.