Fandom: Gundam SEED/Destiny
Title: Rejuvenation
Author: overbreak or shina or purachinae
Pairing(s): Athrun/Cagalli, should be other
Summary: He should be dying on that instance, but when he refused to grip the Shinigami hand, that's when he knew he got the second chance to live. But instead on his own body, he ended up sharing a body with a girl.
Type: AU, so there's no chance of spoilers, Multi-chapters
Warning: Grammatical errors are overwhelming, short chapter like drabble, OOC is my fetish and NOT so neat writing style
Glossary: Shinigami: the God of Death
hoe hoe hoe
01. crawled out of senses
Phoned silently. That was what he doing in the recent two minutes. Sat nonchalantly on a chair within his room, once and twice he would be clambered by laughter, then after died down he listened patiently over the other lines. His violet eyes both still glowing in amusement, the effect still not died down. In addition to enhance the glimmer on his eyes, the dim ray broke into thousand dots of fireflies.
"Really? That's so unlike you."
Mirth erupted. Once second after, silence ensued. The other line replied. His amusement burst out again.
And now he could no longer hold his choke of hilarity.
"What? You kick her out of your room? With that polite manner of yours? How the hell you could do it, Athrun?" slip him amidst his overpowering noise that not getting any better on the next moments.
But he stopped suddenly. His eyes widened as frantic as that could be.
A thud. Then a long line rang in resonance. Dead.
He stopped to take any breath for few seconds, before realized the phone had died moments ago. Hollered the phone for multiple times and still got the long monotone signal, he then returned the phone back at receiver; thoughts still haunted his mind madly. Athrun was never that type – to suddenly close the call without saying anything. If he was, probably he was in bad mood. But as long as he didn't mistaken on recalling, Athrun still laughing as cheery as his usual self. Both options, dropped.
Then what possibilities Athrun could up to until he heard so loud bang on his ears?
Shivers in sudden wading the window pier, embraced him tight; so taut that perspiration formed vividly on view. Slowly his blonde mane was saturated by pool of nasty feelings. His throat was felt like flying over his guts; the ghastly quiver was graduating without amnesty.
Wind passed by, and robotically his head twisted to the welcomed window. Frown was visible on his brow as the wind was racing constantly, slapped him as verbalized something that he desperately so wanted to know.
"Athrun, I hope you are alright."
hoe hoe hoe
Police siren was devastating the midair as red glow emanated their cars. Some police men were wandering around with suspecting appearance, the rest were attending the body that laid there. That body was covered with spiteful scarlet blood, wounds still fresh and teased everyone nearby to mechanically envelop their mouths with hands. Some blood even still oozing out of his mouth and head, his cobalt tresses were swaying gently as the rescuers moved his body to the ambulance. His stomach looked like broken – like it was crushed until intestines were creaked out of places. He no longer had conscious, from the way he let himself was carried away, so loosely like a still doll which from first had no soul and spirit.
"Bring him immediately to hospital!" one of those men frenetically bawled, amidst the filmy haze that blinded their eyes gradually
His comrades only could stare at him with shaking eyes, as they also knew how much long they just now available to help him, due to isolated place this was
This accident probably occurred because of how shadowy the landscape over there. Provided by sloppy valley that scattered like gold in treasure, this was a very delicious thing to happen. In the night like this – which dark and dim, accidents had come to pass countless already. The reason why the police could come and rescue the poor man was because a driver truck also passed by near there thus the aid could come as quick as that could be.
But seeing from how dire his wounds were, and how late their salvage, they wondered if he even could make it
Mobiles trailed out of the place where the accident took a situate. But out of eyes could stare, out of hands could edge the feelings, there was a lone figure standing motionlessly on the soaked soil, still clad on the previous garment that clothed his body, eyes sharply widening towards the innocent ground.
He leisurely brought his hands upwards, and quiver could not escape his unmoving body. He managed to screech words out his mouth, but instead, he finding his mouth agape in fright. The damaged parts of his car still dispersed on field, the burgundy, yellowish flames still fueled in glory.
"W-What did happen… to me?" eventually choked some expressions, he breathed – no, he no longer could breathe
"You have died. Recently."
Surprised of that deep voice, which emitted vigorously from his back, he whipped his body around just to meet eyes with a tall man, who serious expression never once leapt anywhere. He was clothed in a white-ivory kimono which hugged his broad body nicely, eyes were slithered almost close, a flat line splashed his mouth. He, the one who was claimed die, never seen him before. But he felt scared around him, he felt like his soul was absorbed greedily into that tall man. That flat line on his lips, now seemed like dancing in joy, like a smile who laughing above pain' everyone else. He didn't like how this man appeared, and even though he had no idea who he was, but he aware that this man was not nice at all. Dangerous even.
"Who are you?" he kept a firm voice, but failed miserably as his voice clattered unevenly
The tall man smirked his flat smile, "I'm Neo. I'm assigned to bring you to nirvana, Athrun Zala."
Athrun cringed at the sound of nirvana. He always sure he would go to sanctuary. As a human he always obeyed his parents like a puppet, trying to be nice to his friends, and careful on every his steps. He remembered his last call with Dearka, who died of hilarity due to his too forwardness to kick Mia who secretly crept onto his room. Mia was his neighbor after all, thus his parents were not suspicious altogether.
But now, oppositely of his belief, now he really scared of the thoughts of dying. Was he really will go to nirvana? What if his prays were not quite much to provide him a place in sanctuary? What if inferno was waiting him when he tracked Neo?
"Follow me please?"
Neo, offered a hand, still with that flat smile plastered warmly. But after few seconds his hand was left cold, his mouth was grimaced in impatience. Neo decided to ask why, but Athrun' question struck him dumb.
"Are you a Shinigami?"
Neo blinked stupidly, before broke into fits of laughter, his hoarse and low voice coloring the frosty night, "Yes I am. Why do you ask?"
Athrun sighed softly, "I don't really want to die."
Neo snorted sharply, "If you don't want to die, will you still alive?"
"What will you do if I follow you?"
Neo stared the boy for few seconds before mused silently towards himself. The boy, definitely too cautious to ask something like that. On his usual task, he would drag that person to be judged on Nirvana, then decided if he was decent to go to Heaven or Hell. But there were some cases where he was too late to come and the spirit had wandered away on the world. Every person who he dragged away never asked anything, as they even too shocked to accept their deaths so swiftly. But this boy, this blue haired man, seemed so strong and independent. He didn't scared of his own death. Now he even dared himself to ask questions towards a Shinigami – himself!
"You will accept your fate whether you will be on Heaven or Hell." Neo retorted plainly, and he had his hand tried to catch Athrun' hand, but as soon as his hand made a contact against Athrun's, Athrun snapped his hand away, with unexplainable expression was written on his complexion.
He was frowned, and irritated perhaps? Shinigami didn't recognize emotions anyway.
"I don't want to follow you." His voice was flat and cold, competed tone that Neo possessed.
"You must to." Neo tightened his stern voice, as his hand once again tried to reach out, but in no avail. Athrun distanced himself, while wearing a somber expression masked his emotion. Athrun stared once again, he no longer quivered in fright.
"I don't want to die."
"It's your fate. You must die."
"But if I don't hold your hand, then I won't die, correct?"
Neo was gnashing his teeth infuriatingly. For the first time he found someone who rejected his hand. And for the first time he found someone stared him sharply, so prick that he felt the craving to live enflamed in existence.
"You still die. Only that you won't be on Heaven or Hell."
"Then?" Athrun raised his brow curiously; his caution was never down guard at once
Neo could feel that this case would be weirder than ever. He never found someone who rejected Shinigami' hand before. Furthermore, Athrun had touched his hand once. So he couldn't wander away in Earth or returned to his body. This would be a really serious problem if he couldn't drag him away to Nirvana.
"This will be a complicated problem if you don't follow me." Neo crossed his brow; he still attempted to forcefully hold his hand and went to Nirvana as quick as he could be, but Athrun didn't pay any mind to his effort. Neo sighed in despair.
"Then?" Athrun still tried to sound firm. He didn't want to die. He still unsure if he would go to Heaven or Hell. Moreover if he had gone to Heaven or Hell, he couldn't fulfill his dreams anymore.
"Alright, if you wanted to so badly to still stay alive, then I will fulfill your wish. You are no need to follow me." Neo bellowed, felt so annoyed since his self-esteem was crushed into rubbish by the way Athrun treated him.
"Really?" his eyes lit up a little in hope, but Neo's still smile proved otherwise
"But you must face the consequences by yourself. And I can't guarantee that you can return to your body since you have touched my hand."
Athrun froze when finally the Shinigami blonde man' words registered onto his head, "What?"
"The rule says that if you touching my hand once, you are unable to return to your own body," his frown grew deeper, "You can come back to your own body if you kill me, the one that has touched you, and you still store your own body somewhere out there."
"Kill you? Why?"
"Because with kill me, you won't be bonded by death anymore. You know, I'm death itself."
Athrun was left too shocked to move, his body shook in uncertainty. Neo sighed softly, then continued his explanation, "But with you touch me, you have a chance to live again. Because I bring people to Heaven or Hell, so that they can live forever there."
"L-live forever?"
"Yes, live forever without different emotions. Happy forever, or grieving forever. Simple choices right?"
"W-what is that… Then, what will happen to me, Neo?"
Neo snorted indifferently, "You will know about it so soon. But remember," his gaze pierced Athrun who now felt his body was eaten up into thousand crystals that flying to another dimensions and angles.
"I will chase you to get you back to me. You have touched my hand, so simply you are mine, Athrun Zala. You can't cheat death so easily just because you don't want to die."
Neo' words are gradually blurred as Athrun no longer able to hear parts of it, his mind felt like circling into spirals, as his body was perforated to tiny bit dots. Last thing that flashed into his mind was only,
"I'm alive."
hoe hoe hoe
"Ugh."
World like spinning, hovered over him, while laughing at his drowsiness. His eyes were painfully heavy, in need to close momentarily. When he raised hand and intended to rub his eyes, unintentionally his hand made a contact with his own cheek. Soft texture.
His eyes jolted open. What? Soft texture? Since when his cheek became so soft?
Then suddenly the event of yesterday struck him down. He should be dying yesterday. But because generosity of a Shinigami who was fated to bring his soul to Nirvana, he got a second chance to live. But why he felt so uncomfortable with this body?
Eyes took a glimpse of the mirror across his bed. From glances, then stares. From stares, turned into shock. From shock, turned into vast gigantic need to gasp. He would scream if needed, but no, he wouldn't scream even though his appearance was so horrible right now. He gaped his mouth momentarily, and eyes dreadfully widening, in prove to see if he was dreaming or not.
Blonde hair. Amber eyes. Green pajama. Slight burning skin. Two mounds on chest. What the hell this was?
"You have woken up?"
A very annoyed voice called him to waken up from the astonishing alteration he just now got. Was that mean, with those supple two mounds he officially become a girl?
He turned his head over to see a transparent figure, standing with still expression plastered upon. From the exact replica of the figure' appearance and the shadow that mimicking his gesture right now, he then realized who she was.
She was the real owner of this body
"What the hell, why I can see my body over there?" she pointed to him, precisely to the body that he was clinging at.
"I don't know anything!" Athrun replied back, panic now raising in his mind
She advanced towards him, hands ready to fist into ball on the pajama that he was wearing – even though in the reality, yes, it was her. But also no, it was not her since she didn't stay on that body, "You certainly can explain this! Why suddenly I was kicked out of my body and now I can't go back to my body anymore?!" tears almost collected on the rim of her beautiful tawny eyes, but the drops never once plummeted. Whether it because a spirit could not cry or the tears itself did not exist.
He froze while the girl pounding on his chest, left no senses since her fist even couldn't reach his skin. He could see the girl was very shocked to find she lost her body, and from the way she let out her anguish, he could see she was unable to give up her life as well, as him.
He glanced on the clock and realized something. When the long needle was pointed twelve, which meant instantly brought them all to six in the morning, he felt something strange. A sensation suddenly killed him dumb, when he felt like his body floating high, then painfully tore out in swift movement. He closed his eyes tightly, while he could sense the girl was screaming in terror. Moments later, he opened his eyes again, and he froze. The girl also froze insensibly.
They just now exchanged souls!
- - - -
A/N: Hell yes, this story is so fun to be written. I think this can heal my writer-block recently. Oh yeah, all those shinigami parts are my ramblings o.o so please don't consider it too much or thinking it as reality because that's a no. I don't know anything about shinigami anyway. I hope you will enjoy it, because it really fun for me! XD Reviews always make me happy! :)