Author's note: Hello there! I'm so sorry that I took such a long time to complete this chapter. I was out of town recently and unfortunately, this chapter was relatively hard to start off. I was experimenting with several beginnings and the content was difficult to link. But, finally, it's completed... However, I must admit that this chapter isn't as well written as my other previous chapters. So I'm sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations...
Now, about this chapter, Lacus has a talk with Cagalli and manages to convince her that letting Kira go is for the better. Later, she speaks to Chloe (Kira's doctor) and after, she voices her concerns and thoughts to Kira although he is still unconscious from the operation.
Before we begin the chapter, I would like to thank Kiheada.Ray.T.shadow2777SephirothxXcatfishXxDreams – UnitedKween Of Rosesrevenantangel94askani16 and some.azn.guy for their support and reviews. Thanks a lot!
Now, let's get on with this chapter...
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny and the characters...
The corridor was empty...
Muffled thunder rumbled overhead and soft shards of light fell on the polished floor, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared, distorted by the heavily-curtained glass windows...
The blinding lights overhead were so bright, so white... so bare...
And as I tottered through the corridor, fear enveloped me in a dark, ominous shroud. Yet, those lights seemed to taunt me... so bright as compared to that horror... their mocking rays shining down on me, exposing me... ceasing the last bit of privacy I had to my thoughts, exposing me to the mercy of fear...
The glass doors seemed like a long distance away. Light lit up the glass mystically as lightning streaked through the sky. The silver handles were icy when I reached for them and slowly pushed the glass door open.
Outside, rain was falling in glacial torrents, dark beads of water plummeting towards the ground...
I teetered towards the hospital garden where rain clouted down upon it mercilessly, and stopped just at the edge of the glass shelter leading from the entrance. I reached out gently, letting the rain fall on my palm.
The rain felt so cold... so wet...
"May I speak to you, Lacus?" The voice was soft, yet filled with a light bitterness.
I turned around, staring at her silently.
Cagalli acknowledged my silence. "Kira's made it through the operation..." She muttered sadly, "Is this considered destiny? Does it mean that Kira is supposed to live?" She glanced for the first time into my eyes and I saw the painful tears well in her golden orbs.
"I won't let you take away Kira's life, Lacus... I can't..."
My voice caught in my throat when I parted my lips to speak. "I don't want to see Kira suffering anymore, Cagalli. I think that... I think that letting Kira go would do him good, would do us good..." I whispered hoarsely, looking away and turning back to glance at the dark sky.
The sky was crying...
"Me neither, Lacus... But, it's just so hard to let him go! He's my brother..." Her voice dissolved in painful crying.
A single tear slid down my cheek, so cold, so bitter...
The rain continued to fall in cold sheets, drenching the earth...
My voice that came was cold and distant that it was a stranger to me. "I wanted Kira to be my husband... I wanted Kira to be with me all my life... I've lost my parents, Cagalli... Kira is the next closest thing I have..." I mused bitterly, lowering my head as crystals streaked down my cheeks, "But..." I shook my head.
Cagalli glanced at me, agony and fear lacing her eyes.
"It's unfair to Kira..." She whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks.
"I know... But it's for the better... Cagalli..." I muttered, gazing at her with teary eyes.
She stared at me silently. And slowly, agonizingly... nodded...
"And what of Athrun? He would be infuriated. Shinn and the others would be livid." I asked softly.
"I'll talk to them. Will you speak to Chloe?"
I nodded. The tears had stopped but the rain continued...
"Lacus..." Cagalli approached me slowly, taking my hand in hers. Her grip was so cold... that the bitterness seeped into my heart. It was so hard for me... It was so hard for her... "I don't want Kira to leave this world unhappy. I want him to breathe his last in joy... He mustn't know this... He mustn't know that we... plan to make him leave this world..."
I nodded.
Then suggested what I felt would make Kira's last moment one of joy.
"Let's take Kira away from the hospital. He shouldn't need to spend his last moment here. And should we contact all the people Kira has once known? They have the right to know about this... We can arrange for them to see Kira for the last time, without letting Kira see them... without letting Kira know we plan to take his life..."
She nodded gratefully, a single tear streaking down her cheek. Slowly, she hugged me... before turning away and heading back into the lonely, bleak corridor of the hospital...
I watched her disappear. A lonely figure fading slowly... gradually...
Turning, I gazed at the rain for a moment. It hadn't ceased...
The sky was still crying...
§ ♥ §
Her office was silent except for her soft breathing. I watched as she shrugged out of her surgical coat and tossed it carelessly over the back of her chair, her usual tidiness dissolved in her exhaustion.
She collapsed in the chair and swiveled it around to look at me, running a shaky hand through her turquoise hair. A gentle smile played across her lips.
"You wanted to have a word with me, Lacus?" Her voice was gentle and weary.
I was silent for a while, merely watching her tired face...
"Kira was assigned several doctors before you became his surgeon. And every doctor he saw encouraged us to end Kira's life... They said it would be for the better of Kira and for us..." I paused, looking down at the white surface of the desk as tears threatened to overwhelm me, "But you're different, Chloe... You've tended to Kira for years but you have never asked us to end his life. Why?"
I glanced up at her, my vision blurred from tears.
She looked away from my gaze and stared at the window of her office. Rain was streaking down the glass in endless trickles.
"Kira... is a unique individual. He has a strong will, Lacus... It's just that, when you're with him, you will never see him as a patient but a beautiful soul... It's not right to taint him with the word 'death'..." She muttered softly, her eyes dazed in her thoughts.
It was hard for me... It was hard for Cagalli... It would be hard for Chloe...
"Chloe..." I murmured gently, waiting till she turned to look into my eyes, "We've decided to let Kira go... Cagalli, Caridad, Haruma and me... We've decided..."
Her eyes widened as she stared at me, her hands shaking ever so gently...
"Cagalli will be speaking to Athrun and the others to convince them... We've decided..." My voice was quivering... trembling... I had to stop it. I had to gain control over my spewing emotions. The box in which I had locked my emotions in was threatening to break into irreplaceable pieces...
Muffled thunder rumbled overhead...
"Lacus... no... This isn't right," She spoke quickly, her hand grabbing mine from across the desk. Tears glistened in her eyes.
"We've decided. I'm sorry, Chloe... I know we're being selfish to you and to Kira but... we'll do anything to protect Kira from this agony... We just want Kira to breathe his last in joy..."
The agony gnarling at me was intense. Slowly, I stood up and gently released my hand from her pleading grip...
"I'm sorry..." I muttered, turning away and heading out of her office door. The door closed behind me, shutting me out from the agony Chloe was facing... the agony we were all suffering from...
I glanced down the corridor... staring at the window across the hallway. The rain was still falling endlessly...
§ ♥ §
I ran a hand gently through his brown locks; brushing his fringe back from his forehead... watching the peaceful face asleep beneath my finger tips... the handsome face devoid of all that pain for just a little while as he floated through his dreams...
If only you could remain like that forever, always so free... dreaming of dreams without that familiar agony...
I studied his face closely... affectionately... Noting the beautiful high nose, the pale soft skin, the gentle lips obscured by the oxygen mask which clouded over with white mist at every soft breath...
How I wish your face would always stay in my memory... even after I let you go...
My eyes flittered to his chest, watching it rise weakly. A sign of hope... a sign to show that he was alive...
Yet, my heart clenched at the white bandages, the cause of the fourteen-hour operation...
I glanced towards the dark window. Outside, rain was flooding the streets, trickling down the glass in endless streams. Muffled thunder rumbled...
The sky was crying, Kira...
Returning my gaze to his calm face, I brushed his cheek gently and bent forward, pressing my lips to his temple. He never woke... but his breath hitched once before it steadied again...
His body was cold when I slowly tugged the quilt around him, careful with his chest.
He remained under the effects of the strong anesthesia.
Painful exhaustion tugged at me. It hurt to cry... If only I could be rid of the pain for a moment, just like you, Kira...
My voice was trapped in my throat when I forced my lips apart. Softly, I spoke the first word I could manage, "Kira..."
"I pray you will be free from this torture..." I whispered, stroking his brown hair slowly, "Will you hate me for making you leave? Am I being selfish?" A strained chuckle escaped my lips. "I love you so much, Kira... It hurts me to let you go. Will you hate me? For making you leave this world without your consent? It seems like I'm manipulating you..." I mused bitterly.
"We just want you to live your last moment happily. Not in this hospital, not in this agony... They're tainting you, Kira... You're not supposed to be here..."
The sky's crying, Kira... tears of pain, fear, agony... They'll never cease, Kira... never... until you're free from this pain...
The sky's crying... for you...
Author's note: Somehow, I feel that this chapter is not as well-written as the previous chapters. So, I'm sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations. Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. I had a really hard time trying to write this so please review to help me identify what is wrong with this chapter??? I simply don't know why this chapter is so badly-written as compared to the rest. Please, please review!!!