Part 7
Previously –
He took her hand, and then brushed her blond fringe back.
"I once told you that I would protect you. I promised you that a long time ago, and it still stands. I'll always protect you, Cagalli."
Her eyes softened and filled with tears.
"Thank you, then." She replied simply.
Outside the ward, Ryo Handel stood watch along with a troop of guards, trying his best to guard the room, not wanting to screw up again. He stiffened as he heard the sharp click of footsteps approaching.
"Who's there?" He called out.
A willowy figure with flaming red hair emerged and came into sight. The girl stared ahead, and then jumped, apparently taken aback at the number of guards.
"I'm…er… here to see Mr. Zala. He's due for an important meeting."
"Mr. Zala is inside the room. Would you like me to call him out?"
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary. I'll just stand here and wait." She cocked her head, and then flashed him a small smile. "You're the Princess' bodyguard, aren't you?"
"Ye- yes. How did you know?" Ryo asked cautiously, feeling just a bit paranoid.
"Oh, I saw you at the party. Athrun pointed you out to me. I'm Meyrin Hawke." She extended a hand towards him, and Ryo shook it.
In that very instant, Ryo knew that Meyrin Hawke was special. He felt it when she placed her slim ivory fingers onto his palm, and he confirmed it when he looked into her eyes.
"Nice to meet you." Ryo said warmly, feeling like he meant it from the bottom of his heart. She smiled at him once more, and Ryo felt like smiling too. In fact, he was still grinning like a fool when the door swung open and Athrun emerged from the ward.
"Meyrin! Am I late already?" Athrun exclaimed upon seeing her. Ryo gave a small start and turned to look at Athrun warily.
"Not at all, you're right on time." Meyrin gazed at Athrun fondly, and the two of them walked off.
"Oh, goodbye Mr. Handel! It was nice meeting you!" Meyrin called, turning back abruptly as she reached the end of the hallway. She gave a little wave, and then followed Athrun out.
"Goodbye." Ryo said glumly, more to himself than her.
He felt as if someone had just stabbed him in the stomach and then left him there to bleed. Fine, so maybe that was a tad exaggerated, but he felt like someone had just socked him in the stomach at the very least. He clenched his fist, trying to control his emotions and to keep his face a blank mask. After all, he was a bodyguard, and he wasn't supposed to get attached or attracted to anyone.
It's a lonely life you chose, Ryo, so stop torturing yourself already. You can't possibly have fallen in love with a girl you met barely 5 minutes ago. You're just deluding yourself. Get over it. I'm fine with this – I'm fine with everything.
Ryo sucked in his breath, plastering a (what he hoped to be) confident grin on his face. In his mind, he couldn't help but think of how lovingly Meyrin had looked at Athrun, as well as the immense feeling of sadness and disappointment that accompanied it.
"Gosh, Cagalli, I felt so guilty when I heard about what had happened! I should have noticed earlier that you were gone – but Kira and I were so wrapped up with managing the ball that it totally slipped our minds." Lacus said to Cagalli the next day when she came to visit (They had sent Ryo out yet again, much to Ryo's annoyance). Lacus' voice was filled with remorse, and she looked as if she were about to cry.
"It's true, Cagalli, we really are very, very, very sorry." Kira continued, sounding as guilty as Lacus was. The couple looked up at Cagalli expectantly, as if waiting for some sort of reprimand or explosion.
"Erm… guys… it's OK." Cagalli said uncertainly, not knowing if they were being serious or not.
"Really?" Kira probed. "You don't blame us or anything?"
"N…o… Why would I? You weren't the ones who set the place on fire." Cagalli exclaimed incredulously.
Lacus laughed in relief, and then her face turned solemn. "It's just… oh Cagalli! You've been through so much and – and we've never been able to help you…"
"That's not true! It was you who rushed me to the hospital when I got poisoned, and Kira, don't you remember? You were the one who spotted the assassin who tried to knife me. The both of you have done the best that you could…" Cagalli reassured them.
Lacus smiled quietly. "You are a nice person, Cagalli. You're lucky to have Athrun there for you, and he's lucky to have you there for him."
Cagalli's reaction was immediate and somehow amusing. She made a sound somewhere between a cough and a strangled cry, and her face turned a startlingly bright red.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" She spluttered.
"Oh, come on Cagalli. He obviously still has feelings for you." Kira laughed.
"How would you know?"
"He's saved you twice already."
"So?"
"He stayed by your bedside last night while you were asleep."
"Really?"
"Yeah. And today, I heard that the Chief Inspector slammed him during a meeting regarding your attackers."
"What!"
"Apparently, Athrun wanted to look into the background of the guy who knifed you in greater detail. The Chief Inspector said he had done the basic background check, and he couldn't find any clues. Athrun, being Athrun, insisted on investigating further, and the Chief Inspector asked him who was in charge. Then, of course, they had a fine little quarrel, almost ending in a fist fight had it not been that the other policemen pulled them away from each other."
"Oh…" Cagalli breathed. "Good grief, Athrun…"
"The last I heard, the two men are still on hostile terms – with the Chief Inspector threatening to kick Athrun out of the investigation, and Athrun sticking to his stand that they had to delve further." Kira concluded.
Cagalli shook her head. "All this out of just one meeting?"
"Yup." Lacus said almost happily, "Doesn't that show something Cagalli? Athrun's usually so calm and collected, but he's losing his temper over this affair."
"I don't see what that shows."
"It shows, my dear sister, that Athrun cares a lot for you." Kira said firmly.
"Maybe. Well I'm going to sleep now, if you don't mind. Would you help me tell Ryo that he can come back in?" Cagalli said abruptly. Without waiting for an answer, she turned over so that no one could see her, and then smiling silently into her pillow, she fell into a dreamless slumber.
"Chief Inspector Reyn-" Athrun called as he spotted Reyn in the process of eating his dinner in the cafeteria. The Chief Inspector groaned inwardly – it was only the 329th time Athrun had approached him that day. The day before, they had gotten into a little tussle, and the two men had ignored each other for the rest of the day. Reyn hadn't exactly liked it, but he much preferred it to the kind of treatment he was getting now. It seemed that Athrun Zala would not stop bothering him until he had given him what he wanted.
Athrun ambushed him in the morning, wouldn't stop trying to speak to him during meetings, hunted him down in the hallways, and had been, generally, a holy terror. Reyn had shaken Athrun off half an hour ago, when he had managed to hide himself in the broom closet in time. Now, Reyn was just looking forward to a peaceful dinner – just him and his chicken potpie, like always – but right now, it seemed as though that was quite impossible.
Reyn glared into his meal as he heard the approaching footsteps, and as Athrun slid into the seat next to him, Reyn decided that it was no use getting angry. He mustered all the self-control that he had, and then forced a smile before turning to look at Athrun.
"Mr. Zala, we have been through this before. My team has previously conducted a check on the man. We couldn't find anything. I would be just wasting my team's time if I were to listen to you and ask my men to check again. Now, can we please change the subject? Contrary to popular belief, I do not actually enjoy being badgered by other men who think they can do my job better than I can." The Chief Inspector attempted to pick his tray up and walk away, but was soon stopped by Athrun's arm.
"I don't wish to offend you, Chief Inspector, but I believe that you have been looking in the wrong places." Athrun said firmly. "I have talked with your other men, and so far, all you've done is a basic background check. The basic background check, meaning information on his immediate family, criminal records, income, job – all those, Sir, in this context, are unimportant."
The Chief Inspector clenched his fist and stared at Athrun indignantly.
"And what, Zala, do you think is important?"
"Well, for one, the friends he had – or the people he hung out with. We have to find out if he knew or was vaguely related to anyone who was near the Princess." Athrun explained, almost in exasperation, "These attacks are obviously being carried out not just by one person, sir, we need to find some sort of connection."
"Connection with what? Even if you do find out that he was related to someone who knew the princess, that doesn't mean anything! We might be blaming someone innocent, drawing the wrong links, do you know the consequences of that, Mr. Zala?" Reyn replied in an equally exasperated tone.
"Yes, and I am fully aware that I may be on the wrong track, but as far as I can see, your team hasn't come up with any substantial results either."
A nerve twitched dangerously on the Chief Inspector's forehead. The atmosphere changed rapidly to that of tense silence, and for a while, both men did nothing but eye each other. Finally, Athrun dropped his gaze, gave a little cough, and then started speaking.
"I apologize for that comment, Sir, it was most rude of me. However, my wish to investigate further still stands. Therefore, this is what I am proposing to you. I will do all the research myself, but I would like to seek your permission to interview the prisoner as and when I wish to, as well as gain access to the police archives." Athrun said quietly.
"What makes you think I will agree?" Reyn hissed, very much offended by Athrun's words.
"Because otherwise, you wouldn't be doing all you can to help the Princess. You'll be being irresponsible, and if anything should happen to her, I'll make sure all the blame will fall on you." Athrun said coldly. The Chief Inspector looked up at him, partly in shock that such words should escape Athrun's lips – Athrun Zala was, after all, known to be a cool and reasonable man, to say such things and use emotional blackmail was most unlike him. Still, his words held some amount of sense, and Reyn's shoulders slumped in resignation.
"Ve…Very well. But I'm warning you, you are not authorized to take any action or present any findings before seeking my approval. Good day, Mr. Zala." With that, Chief Inspector Reyn stood up (a bit shakily) and walked away, leaving his unfinished food on the table.
Athrun smiled for the first time that day, feeling both exhilarated and ashamed at himself – but he had promised Cagalli that he would protect her. He had let her down once before, and once was enough.
He had watched her face fall as he walked away that day, and the sunset was reflected in her tear-filled eyes. He was going back to ZAFT, and all of them had questioned his decision. It was betrayal to them: he had chosen to fight against them, to join the enemy.
She, of all people, had believed that he loved her more than his principles, and it showed plainly on her forlorn face when he refused to go back with them. She stood rooted to the ground, stunned and hurt.
There and then, he wanted to run back and tell her that he had changed his mind, and that he would rather die than to be separated from her. But he couldn't – pride and stubborn belief in ideals were in the way.
And though none of them had spoken about it, he knew that there was a resounding question in both of their minds:
Are we really too different?
A/N:
Kageharu Kaco: Muahaha! I added a line in there somewhere to explain Lacus and Kira's absence, but as for Meyrin, I don't really think that she would :S erm… be familiar with Cagalli or look out for her. Haha. (I am such a cheater, I know. -gets splattered by tomatoes-)
Cari-Akira: Heh… I actually meant… went to the toilet to soak the sheets using water from the sink oO; oops… haha... maybe it's rather ambiguous in the story, but, just to clarify!
SORRY FOR THE SUPER LATE UPDATE. I seem to be losing my inspiration for the story somehow. Maybe it's the effect of watching too many cartoons… Ahahah -laughs nervously- But anyhow, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!