Author's note: Finally, this chapter is out. This story is starting to get difficult to write...

Anyway, this chapter is basically about Lacus and the others' preparations to let Kira go. They spend several months trying to contact everyone whom Kira knew and all of them meet in the Orb Mansion to discuss about this. But alas, chaos broke loose and everyone starts quarrelling until Cagalli reveals a screen from which they could see Kira in the hospital. The image triggers painful emotions and reluctantly, they agree.

Before we begin, let me thank: Some.Azn.Guy (I do hope this story ends on a happy note, or rather one that pleases you. I can only say that the ending consists of both good and bad...), revenantangel94 (Thanks for your review and by the way, I know it's a bit too late but Happy Birthday!), askani16 (I know this chapter is updated quite late but I hope you like it! I will try to update sooner.), Zero'N'oveR (I know I tend to be a little long-winded so sometimes, I tend to repeat some stuff. Hope you aren't put off by the repetition and I'm glad you like the character emotion.) and xXcatfishXx (especially for helping me identify what's different about the previous chapter. After reading through once more, I quite agree with you.). Thanks a lot for your great reviews!!!

Now let's get on with this chapter...

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny and the characters…

Silence was starting to play a major part in my life, I realized. And so was darkness…

The heavy curtains were pulled tightly across the windows, shutting out the luminosity of the large, white orb hanging in the starless night sky. The room was shrouded in darkness, except for a gentle, orange glow by the bed where the lamp shone in soft, tender earnest.

So much darkness and silence… like a warm blanket enveloping me... protecting me...

But, what in the first place... was I trying to hide from?

I glanced into the mirror… noting the dark rings around my eyes, the sickly, pale skin, the dull, pink tresses which slid down my back in disheveled knots…

The result of sleepless nights in which we spent hours on the phone and screen, seeking the locations of all who had known Kira… all who deserved to know that he was soon leaving the world…

I remembered the slow weeks that had came to pass. Minutes melted into hours; hours into days; days into weeks…

Time was precious to us; it was the agonizing, little reminder of how much time Kira would still have…

By day, we toiled in the cold, large offices of the Orb government building. Work became excuses to get rid of the tension and the stress… to momentarily disregard the painful knowledge that an important man would leave our hearts, taking away a part of it as he departed...

Work was the painful excuse to forget the fact that Kira would one day no longer lie on the hospital bed…

But, peace and calm was not to be ours...

We found ourselves worried and pressured by the sinister fear, closing in on us as the days passed.

Weary nights never failed to find us driving to the hospital and spending hours staring at Kira. He talked little under the strong medication and anesthesia but we were just contented to sit, gazing at him… aware that soon, we would never have the chance to see him again…

Home became the place we hardly returned to. We never went back to the Orb Mansion after visiting Kira… Instead, we departed the hospital for the Orb government building again. There, in the cold, silent offices, time passed, watching us on the phone for hours as we screened the computers, hunting for the people of Kira's past.

Miriallia had told us of Kira's old schoolmates; Cagalli had revealed stories of the people Kira had saved in the desert; Mu and Murrue had dug through records of the people Kira had known on the Archangel…

So many people to notify...

So many people who had once brushed past this young man...

So many people soon to be clutched in the cold, bottomless grip of that horrid fear...

But we talked little of our decision on the phone, refraining from disclosing the horrid fact that Kira would soon be gone before our very eyes...

Our decision... the single callous resolution which would close the book forever, ending the long and torturous chapters of six anguishing years... like penning a large "The End..." at the bottom of the last page with slow deliberate strokes, then binding the book and tossing it away to the highest shelf where you could see it there but you knew you could never reach it...

"Is there something wrong with Kira?"

"There is something you must know... Not something I can say here... So please, come to Orb...We need to see you, to talk to you personally..."

All questions avoided... None answered directly...

What exactly were we afraid to reveal?

It had been no easy task unveiling the news to those around us...

Fights had raged through the household and the Orb government building... arguments which led to the cold battle between Cagalli and Athrun... the personal criticisms which flew across the conference room during a meeting... the dinner table slowly emptying every night as we began staying away from home in a desperate attempt to clear our thoughts...

Until, one by one, we broke down...

Tears… Endless tears and reluctant agreements to let him go…

I watched the mirror dazedly… It was so hard to let him go… It was so hard to accept the fact…

And now, we had to once again announce that ugly truth…

Pass on that painful agony to all who knew you, Kira…

I reached for the dress arranged neatly on the bed. Azure blue satin… So bright a color yet it was the representation of sorrow… Ironic, I mused bitterly as I slid it on. My fingers quivered slightly as I knotted the ribbons and tugged at the zip.

Then slowly, I reached for the hairbrush and ran its bristles through my hair, unknotting the tussled locks. Clipped the golden pin in the neatly brushed hair and stared into the mirror…

I seemed so neat, so calm on the outside, yet, on the inside, I was churning with fear and emotions…

Stepping away, I approached the door and opened it with trembling fingers. Cagalli turned to glance at me when she heard the soft creak of the door.

"They're all here…" Her voice was cracking with emotion. She took my hand and drew me away from the dark room. The door closed with a click behind me, shutting me out from my safe haven…

§ ♥ §

Friends had turned to foes...

The anxiety which had first clouded the room had given way to bristling anger. Sharp glares pierced through us like accusing daggers seeking revenge...

We were that guilty... that accountable and responsible...

Bathed in that reproachful world of silence...

"We wish Kira to leave this world happily, so I'm afraid we can't allow you to see Kira for..." I flinched when a fist collided with the table in a resounding bang, my words brought to a halt by the gesture of fury.

I glanced up and my blue-gray eyes met the icy pale blue orbs of Sai Argyle.

"Sai..." Miriallia whispered hoarsely.

The brunette never shifted his fiery glance. "Listen," He growled, his voice low, "I don't understand how in the world all of you could come up with such a horrid idea. But, Kira should not need to die..."

Kuzzey Buskirk leaned forward, his fingers interlocked, "How serious is this... gene mutation? Is it so torturous that at this point of time, we must kill Kira?"

I parted my lips to reply but Kojiro Murdoch interrupted, his deep voice filled with protest, "That kid would never have wanted this. I think we ought to talk to him..."

"There's no need to talk. I say we drop this insanity..." Mu barked, "We're being unfair to the kid..."

"We don't know the seriousness of this whole affair. I suggest we see Kira before we start quarreling..." Erica Simmons protested.

I glanced away as arguments and quarrels erupted from across the conference room... painful accusations, insulting criticisms, beseeching protests...

All that agony we suffered from was being passed on to all those you once knew, Kira...

§ ♥ §

I watched the screen distractedly, silently observing the brunette...

I remembered the hushed silence which had swept through the room like a haunted spirit when Cagalli had drawn their attention to the screen... The quarrels and arguments had ceased, only to be taken over by the stunned silence as they personally watched Kira hooked up on the numerous hospital apparatuses, his closed eyes frowning as a stab of pain racked his body...

The still figure lying on the hospital bed, swathed in soft blankets... That young man they all knew in some way... The young man they were gathered here for, debating on his life as though it was something so insignificant, so immaterial that we could manipulate it...

Tears threatened to blur my vision but my gaze continued to stay fixed on the screen, my calm breathing the only sound in the otherwise empty room...

A soft whimper escaped his pale lips and he turned onto his side, slowly and painfully... The quilt slid off slightly with his movement, exposing his bandaged chest.

Tears prickled at my eyes...

What can I do to help you, Kira? What can I do to give you a peaceful sleep, just a single, calm moment for you to dream of those beautiful dreams without you feeling a slightest bit of discomfort, a slightest bit of pain? What can I do to return you all that you should have?

It hurts me whenever I see you in pain, whenever I hear you whimper, whenever I feel you tremble from the agony...

I reached out to the screen gingerly, touching the surface with tender fingers, pressing desperately against the glass.

Icy tears streamed down my cheeks.

I couldn't even touch him... couldn't even tug the quilt around his body... couldn't even press my lips to his cheek to soothe his discomfort...

What could I do to take away the torment?

The image scoured the wounds of my heart with tears...

The same image which had broken down every single person in the conference room, shattering us like fragile pieces of glass...

For minutes, no one had spoken... merely watching the painful struggles of Kira... the tears of shock and sympathy trickling down their stunned faces...

Then, one by one, they left dazedly... leaving the single promise not to visit Kira until the day we were all to meet at the beach where Kira would breathe his last...

I leaned closer to the screen, gazing at it... watching as the man in my heart fell into a fitful sleep. And gently, I pressed my lips against the glass, closing my eyes as tears spilled over my cheeks...

I wish I could help you, Kira... I wish you could transfer all your pain to me, let me share them with you; let me understand just what your frail body has to endure...

It pains me to know that you are suffering... while I am guiltily preparing to let you go without you knowing... selfishly spreading the agony to all who know you...

It's no longer just about us, but everyone whom you have touched throughout your life...

Everyone who remembers you in some way...

Just like how you will always stay in my memory, Kira...

Just like how you will always be part of our lives...

Part of our hearts...

Author's note: That's the end of this chapter. What do you think of it? Please, please review. I really, really appreciate reviews. They're really encouragements to me, so please review.

(In the next chapter I will reveal more about the people who actually came to the meeting in this chapter. There are still quite a lot more not listed in the chapter here. But, do you think that it would be helpful if I list all of them down before I write the next chapter so that it will be easier for you to understand this chapter and the next chapter as well? If so, feel free to tell me that in your review. I will do what I can to clear any confusion!!!)