Author's note: Whew! Finally, the long-awaited chapter. Firstly, I apologize for the long wait. And of course, I must thank you all for your patience and understanding. This chapter is the continuation of Chapter 8. Characters included in this chapter are: Shinn, the orphanage children, Haruma, Caridad, Mu, Murrue, Reverend Malchio and Cagalli. The purpose of this chapter and the previous one was to sum up most of the characters that were present for the meeting in chapter 7. However, due to insufficient time and too lengthy descriptions, I have concentrated on more important characters. Feel free to let me know if you would like me to list out all the characters that were at the meeting.
Before we begin, I would like to thank several readers: The WayFarer 2000 (I'm really glad that you enjoyed this story and the scene with Torii. I just felt that Torii had a rather significant role in the relationship between Athrun and Kira! Really happy to know you liked it!), Zero'N'oveR (Thank you for the compliment, and I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I apologize for taking so much time to update.), Raven (Hello, I'm glad you liked the story. Hope to hear from you soon!), (Thank you so much for your review, I'm seriously happy to hear that you liked it so much! Thanks for waiting for the next chapter.), Orgoth225 (Oh, hello! Glad you decided to be a member. I really hope to hear from you soon and thanks for the review!), snowdrop.tears (also known as personal friend!!! Finally, the next chapter's up. So don't nag at me anymore, okay:D I've been trying to change what you've commented on. And as for my style, I didn't actually feel it changing. Is it really different!?), revenantangel94 (Oh, I'm so sorry I took so long and I apologize for any inconvenience caused. Thanks for you review and I hope you like this chapter too!), silvermoon8573 (Well, I'm glad we have rather similar ideas. And I'm sorry if you think I'm torturing Kira too much. I promise I won't do that too much!), LuciouscandY1594 (Hmm. I actually plan to have a whole chapter on Kira's thoughts after I'm done with this story. You know, like additional bonus chapters because I can't really fit it into Lacus' point of view. Hope you can take some time off to read that. Glad you like the story!), purple kimono (I'm glad you liked it so much but I hope I didn't upset you too much… If so, I'm really sorry. Hope to hear from you soon.) and scent of white plum (I wouldn't say the ending is totally sad or happy. But I can't give it away, can I? Hope you will read to the end and thank you for your review!)
And let's not forget the readers who replied me when I wrote the author's note and I would like to really thank them for their support: Zero'N'oveR , snowdrop.tears, revenantangel94 and blueflamesofsadness (I'm really glad you like this story and yes, Kira can be considered as terminal. Hope to hear from you soon.)
Lastly, I would like to thank askani16 specially. I received a lot of help from askani16 when I was writing this chapter, so thank you very much. This is a special dedication to askani16! Cheers!
Now, shall we get on with the story?
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny and the characters…
Time had never been so precious to me.
Every minute, every second that passed only reminded me of the little time he had left, and the agony that ate me alive flared up until I longed to scream and run.
That was all I wanted to do – to run endlessly, aimlessly…
Because, for once, intense fear had replaced my longing and regret.
When Kira had captured my heart the way he had first caught my hand as I drifted from the shuttle, I fought desperately by his side, hoping to end the war and keep him safe for the beautiful future I knew we had grasped tightly in our palms.
I sang the song of peace.
Yet, this wasn't it… this wasn't what we had earned, wasn't what we had expected. Not this pain, sorrow or agony…
I wished time would turn back to those three years which had faded into nothing but a hazy memory hidden far and deep inside me. So distant that it seemed like a mere illusion, so unfamiliar that it probably couldn't have happened at all… But that happens to memories, isn't it? Time never stops; joy, pleasure, delight and laughter become sheer memories… vivid in the beginning, but they'll slowly fade into a thread of dreams until they disappear with the person embracing these reminiscences…
How could I ever forget him?
What should I do? What would I be in the many lonely years destined to come? Where would I be without him? How could I even live when the one whom I had given up my heart to was about to leave forever?
He was always seeking the right answers to questions that had never seemed solvable. And now, I was struggling through the shadows, searching for the reason as to why I was slowly extinguishing his life… Was I really protecting him?
Or hurting him?
I was so tired of the life I was forced to lead. Would it be alright if I just lay by his side and drifted off into an everlasting dream, holding that warm hand I missed? If reality was so harsh, so implacable, would it be alright if we existed in dreams, safely kept away from the truth of life?
I wished to, I wanted to…
But he would never have allowed me to do that, not when he had fought so hard to keep me alive. And yet, I was throwing away his life which he had struggled equally hard to protect.
Would you hate me, my Kira?
§ ♥ §
It came softly at first, but as I neared his door, it grew louder. A voice so familiar, yet so strange to me in the silence…
"Hi, Mayu here. Sorry, can't talk to you right now. I'll call you back later. Please leave your name after the beep…"
Cautiously, I peered behind his door and saw him lying on his bed, an arm under his head. There was no surprise when I noticed his room shrouded in darkness like every other room in the Orb Mansion…
I watched silently as he gazed at the pink cell phone he held in his left hand, twirling it around slowly. Then, he flicked it open again.
"Hi, Mayu here. Sorry, can't talk to you right now. I'll call you back later. Please leave your name after the beep…"
The dim light from the cell phone lit up his face and I noticed the shiny trails of tears that ran down his cheeks.
He was not much different from Kira, was he?
He was just another soul broken by the turmoil of war. A wonderful family blown to bits by gunfire… Both he and Kira would never forget the horror of war that was etched deeply into their hearts and minds.
But the reassuring hand that stretched out to him, and the words Kira had said…
No matter how many times it's blown away, we will replant the flowers once again…For sure…
They had delivered a seed of hope into the darkness of Shinn's heart. And with it, Kira had gained Shinn's respect and loyalty.
Shinn had begun to call Orb his home; he accepted his place in our family as we lived in the Orb Mansion. But he was soon to lose a member of his family again, one whom he had been close to…
The cell phone closed with a resounding clap.
He drew it close to his chest, curling up into a tight ball… as though he was yearning to hide from the pain and agony.
The tears began their torment again…
§ ♥ §
The room was dimly lit, the lamp on the dresser casting an affectionate, warm glow which took away none of the chill. I hadn't expected any of them to be asleep and I was right…
They sat huddled close together for comfort on the large bed and they turned around as the door of their room opened and a sliver of light fell across their bed in a wavering line.
"Aunt Lacus…" His voice was hoarse when he parted his dry lips to speak and it trailed off into despaired silence. I glanced at the dozen small tear-stained faces staring up at me, each praying for that little relief from the pain that brewed in their young hearts, pain that wasn't for children this young and innocent to bear.
And he was just like them. So innocent, so pure, so naïve… he needed none of this to taint him.
I shifted my gaze to their tiny chubby arms, crossed over their chests protectively, each clutching an item close to their heart. And slowly, I recognized each item. The doll, the train, the book, the bunny, the color pencils, the beautiful pink dress, the musical box… Every object had been a gift from Kira - the very last gift he had given them before he lay confined within the white walls.
Slowly, I approached the bed and settled down between the children, stretching out an arm, hoping it would provide any comfort. Even the littlest reassurance I could muster would be a relief to their battered hearts…
They clung to me the moment they could reach me, their little hands hugging me as though I was the only thing that could keep them from drowning in the raging dark sea of grief.
But they were too young to understand that even I could not save myself…
And as I cuddled them close to me, cradling small bodies in my arms, I couldn't help but bury my face in their soft hair and cry as they too broke down. Their silent weeping had changed into painful sobs that made my heart ache.
"I don't want Uncle Kira to go…" the little darling by my side whispered, cuddling closer. The other orphans whimpered, curling up and embracing their precious presents tightly to their chests.
I didn't know what to do, what to say… and I could only caress their wet cheeks, murmuring soft endearments to them as I led them each back to their place and tugged the quilt around them, watching as they curled up instinctively the moment they left the warmth of my arms.
I gazed at their trembling forms by the door, unable to say anything but "Ssh, sleep now. We'll see Uncle Kira tomorrow…"
"Aunt Lacus," the tentative murmur made me turn around. The young girl was gazing up at me with large, tearful brown eyes and the children around her were staring up at me. I knew I hadn't taken away any agony from their hearts…
"Can we call Uncle Kira 'Daddy'?"
The question surprised me, but I saw the depth of their love for the young man who had treated them like his children.
"Of course," I muttered gently, forcing a weak smile, "he would have loved to hear all of you call him that…"
And as I closed the door, tears had begun to fall again but I didn't have the strength to wipe them away.
I knew he really would have loved it…
§ ♥ §
Who exactly are parents? Are they those who create you, and give you life? Or are they those who raise you, teach you, protect you… never asking for anything in return except your wellbeing, happiness and delight?
Fate had never really meant them to be a family, but somehow, he was calling them 'his parents' and referring to them as his 'family'… And I guess, it was right - it wasn't just some soft of wishful thinking on his part.
Because the perfect parents aren't just connected to the child by genes… It's the feelings and emotions nurtured over time, and the little fragments of wisdom passed on with the sole hope to guide the child and keep it safe. And that had managed to form an aching homesickness for a couple he knew, a couple he called 'Mum' and 'Dad' even though he knew that they were never supposed to be his parents…
Parents were just so simple. They were the ones who promised not to worry about you when you told them not to, but deep inside, their heart longed for you to stay safe, to be with you and stay a step behind to catch you when you fall, and to cradle you like when you were a child, but this time, to soothe away any pain and sorrow they knew would be unleashed as you took each step in a life that can never escape agony's clutches…
Isn't that right?
That was why she held each item she took in her hands so close to her breast, letting her tears fall on their surfaces, then smoothing at them unnecessarily with her quivering fingers.
Just to feel closer to Kira one last time…
I stood in the dark shadows behind their door, peering into the silent room through the narrow seam… watching sadly, knowing I was the cause of their grief… all because I was the one who had somehow decided the fate of their precious son, twisting his life between my fingers as though it were some puppet I could manipulate, a puppet whose strings I would cut when I wanted to…
But I was trying to protect him, wasn't I? I never wanted to hurt him. But somehow, it didn't seem right that I was being so selfish…
Kira's belongings lay strewn across their bed, everything he had once touched repeatedly caressed as Caridad sorted through them, and Haruma, with tender, gentle fingers he had used to stroke his son's cheek, folded his clothes into neat piles to be stowed away at the back of the cupboard, away from eyes forever…
Yet, I couldn't bear to let them go. Because every item stowed away meant a part of his life slipping away, just like every single minute that passed. And I ran my eyes over them desperately, seeking the fond memories they brought, until I could no longer see from unshed tears.
The little notebook he carried with him to every meeting, filled with his many tidy scribbles…
The wallet in which he kept a miniature portrait of our family…
The stacks of files he brought home every night…
The medal he had received for his bravery in the Bloody Valentine Wars…
Every single item a part of his life, every item kept away in the large box, every item reminding me of the pain that dug deep into my soul…
And I knew this was truly the end.
We had never touched Kira's belongings in six years; Mana cleaned his room everyday like he was home.
Because we had believed that he would one day step into the doorway of the Orb Mansion again. Whether it was a day, a week, a month, or a year… we said we would wait for him and we chose to believe that we would hear his laughter again. How could he not, when he had made it through two wars? When he had returned to me every time, just as he had promised to.
I knew he would fight till the very end. Because he was Kira Yamato.
And that was why we had never asked him if he wanted to leave and neither did he tell us he wished to. Maybe, even he thought he would leave those white walls and floors someday…
Yet, six years later, we felt it was time.
But Kira… If I had asked you, would you agree? Would you think us selfish for ever asking you that question? Were you ready to release those tender fingers that were grasped tightly around the world and the lives you had fought to save?
Were you ready to… die?
Your life didn't come by easily, Kira – since you had stepped onto that battlefield, every minute had been used to save your friends, to save yourself. I wonder how hard you grasped those controls when you were alone in that cockpit; how fast you pushed those buttons that would somehow determine if you would be the survivor of each battle; how much time did you spend to upgrade those machines that were meant to fight but keep you safe?
Yet, you couldn't enjoy what you had fought so hard to achieve. You had to suffer for everything you had done for us…
So now, we were actually taking apart your things… your life…
Caridad reached out slowly to the drawer she had extracted from Kira's writing desk earlier in the day. Her trembling fingers froze within its depths before she picked up a delicate wooden chest which she sat on her lap gently, running her fingers over its surface.
I had seen few of its kind. Even from a distance away, I could see the elegance of the little chest with intricate carvings all along its side and tiny engravings which I couldn't read on its lid. But I never knew that Kira had possession of such a treasure.
Caridad turned it over gently, exploring each ridge and curve with her fingers until they paused at the delicate engravings on the lid. "Family…" She whispered softly, her voice slightly cracked from misery as her fingers stroked the faint words lightly. She shifted her attention to the metal clasp and flicked it up, lifting the lid; her actions slow, as though she was too exhausted from all the agony and despair.
I couldn't see what was inside but as she reached in, she pulled out a silver chain with a pretty silver band.
I fell back a step as the familiarity of the sight sliced through my light-headedness, making me gasp softly at the intrusion of the memory and the unexpected appearance of that trinket.
That silver band… I knew it so well.
It felt like a memory from so long ago, hidden beneath the thick blanket of six years' sorrow and agony. Yet, I would never ever forget it.
That warm hand under mine as I pushed the silver ring into his palm… Those words filled with hope that had slipped from my lips – Come back… Come back to me… That promise, sealed with the kiss as he pressed his lips to my cheek…
I sagged against the wall, my legs weak from the surprise of seeing that distant object of the past appearing.
Come back to me…
I was crying hard, allowing my tears to drip on the floor endlessly, like a broken string of pearls that could never be threaded back together again. He had come back to me then, fulfilled his promise like he always had. He had brought back that ring with him too, nestled against his chest as it hung around the silver chain around his neck.
I longed to hold his hand, ask him not to go, to hold on tightly to the life that was slipping away… to come back to me…
Would it help? Would it make him stay? He had returned as he had once promised to, hadn't he? So, would he live because I wanted him to?
No, that wasn't what I wanted, was it? I wished to protect him, I promised not to let him suffer again. So I couldn't…
Yet, I clung on to those words desperately, like clutching a handful of sand, struggling to hold them all in my hands.
Come back to me…
Come back to me…
Please…
§ ♥ §
I had never remembered the garden ever being so quiet or unfamiliar…
In the darkest, coldest night, it was always a haven in which the entire household would retreat to after work, when we sat huddled around the stone fountain, talking, laughing… sharing the deepest secrets we held hidden in our hearts…
I remembered the sweet smell that always stayed lingering in the air - the fragrance of Mana's roses and daisies, interweaving with the scent of the night's fresh grass. And there was the peaceful gurgling as crystal-clear water bubbled in the basin, mixed with the heart-warming laughter of post-war veterans, as we enjoyed every moment of the peace we had fought so hard to achieve…
Yet, I wondered if we would ever hear it again. Maybe this haven of ours would stay frozen in silence forever…
The night sky was dark and starless… a black cloak tossed over the entire world. No wind rustled the leaves; the night creatures were silent; none of the old joy could be heard, and with each step, my feet made no sound on the hard concrete …
My fingers felt numb on the cold granite of the fountain basin. Slowly, I drew my hand across the rim, feeling the rough stone beneath my palm, watching the water ripple, my reflection distorting slightly. But the water remained rather still; the stone statue of the angel had stopped sprouting water from the urn she held. Leaves and flower petals had drifted into the pool and they swirled around in the cool water.
So forlorn and desolated…
It must have been ages ago when I had stepped into the garden with his warm hand in mine. And perhaps I never would feel that again…
I turned and returned the way I had come.
The Orb Mansion in the distance was silent and the warm lights that glowed in the numerous windows that ran along the walls of the lit corridors seemed to make the entire house glisten in the otherwise dark night. It seemed so inviting, so welcoming… yet, without him, it hadn't been home…
They were silhouetted against the light of their room on the second floor, leaning against their balcony railing as they stared out at the world. The world they had both fought hard to obtain; the world Kira had struggled to gain…
Love's a strange thing. It's so divine, so precious, so pure… yet it obscures our hearts sometimes, making us love a person no matter what he or she becomes, no matter how much time passes, no matter how painful love can be…
She understood this pain, didn't she? She had once lost Mu in the first war, only to find him again in the second. But still, she should know the agony of losing one's love, shouldn't she?
Or maybe, it hadn't hurt this much. Because when Mu had sacrificed himself, the pain came mercilessly, tearing itself through her soul in that split second, and as time passes, the agony dulls but it never leaves, buried somewhere deep inside. And as for me, I was done with six years of misery and woe…
I gazed up at them, huddled together in each other's arms. Their soft sobbing drifted down towards me like a dark, heavy blanket.
But they had each other.
While I… had no one…
§ ♥ §
I wandered unfeelingly between the neatly trimmed hedges, noticing none of the pink roses which adorned the emerald leaves.
It was the hint of brown and the still figure hidden behind the small vine-covered gazebo that caught my attention and I halted rather reluctantly. I saw him in the middle of the small field of daffodils, his back to me, his eyes facing the dark sky, but I knew he saw nothing.
A blind man lives in a world of darkness…
I tried to make my way past him without him noticing me. I couldn't bear looking at another person, because all I would see was just grief, and they would tell me how much they regretted this, and what they wished they could do to make it up to him…
Their words could never take away the sorrow; I could only watch weakly as my soul strained to keep the emotions in control…
I wanted to make Kira happy too, but what deceit was this? How could I be promising not to hurt him, when I was lying to him, feigning ignorance as we secretly arranged his last day so everyone he knew could see him, but we wouldn't allow him to see them for the last time, perhaps he wouldn't ever know what we were planning as he slowly slipped off into a deep slumber…
Was this selfishness?
Before I could reach the front doors, he had already noted my presence. If I hadn't felt like my life was being torn from my body, I would have giggled at the game we seemed to be playing and at how forgetful I was to disregard his sharper senses…
"Miss Lacus..." His head turned slightly in my direction, "Is that you?"
I licked my dry lips, "Yes, Reverend Malchio…"
"Thinking about something?" He murmured, turning slowly to face me. I didn't reply and he acknowledged my silence.
"Confused, is it?" A gentle smile quirked at his lips. He paused, lifting his head towards the dark sky as he took in a deep breath. "Mana's flowers used to smell so nice…"
"Life is something so complicated and yet so simple, don't you agree?" He smiled gently, tilting his head up to the heavens. Then, raised a hand slowly and pointed at the dark sky.
"Life is like… a star, and every single star hanging in the night sky is a person, yes? There must be billions of them hanging in this beautiful night sky," he sighed softly, his blind eyes facing the dark cover of the night.
I raised my head and stared up into the starless black cloak. Stars… Those beautiful twinkling jewels which stayed nestled in the warmth of their dark veil? Not on a sorrowful night like this. Maybe, even they knew he would soon be gone, maybe they understood the pain of losing a pilot who had once soared through the skies in the Strike Freedom… Maybe, they knew that the Strike Freedom would never float amidst them ever again, because its soul would forever fade away.
I didn't tell him that he was wrong, that the majestic image he had painted in his mind was not real, was not going to happen anytime tonight.
After all, everyone deserved to have their own dreams and their special something to believe in, even if it was just false hope… Couldn't we live in our dreams; where at least there was something to trust in, where we could hide from the harshness of the truth? Besides, those six years hadn't been reality, it was just a fantasy driven and fueled with optimism that wasn't even strong enough to support all of us till the end.
Just how long did we think we could hang on? And how long did we think Kira could hang on?
Those were just bleak hopes in an equally artificial fantasy. But six years were enough… I would snap soon and we had been constantly driving Kira onwards, with those hopeless dreams that he would recover. It was time to end his torment…
"You see the stars in the sky, don't you, Miss Lacus?" Reverend Malchio whispered, gesturing at the sky. "Sometimes you don't have to see it with your eyes," he added softly, when I didn't reply, "It is much clearer to see with your heart." I glanced at his face silently, his features pale under the moonlight.
To see with my heart?
It was so clouded with pain, fear and regret. There would be nothing to see, but a hollow aching darkness that crushed down on me.
He lowered his head and turned in my direction, as though he could tell what I was thinking and urging me on. Slowly, hesitantly, I looked towards the skies and closed my eyes. Tried to will away the frightening darkness…
Nothing… I saw no stars; nothing…
But I parted my dry lips and murmured a quiet 'Yes, Reverend Malchio. I see them…' He smiled and turned back to the heavens.
"Isn't it beautiful? To be one of those glittering orbs in heaven amidst the many. And as we look down from the warm blankets of darkness, there are hundreds more surrounding us, each one a different person we meet in our life." He breathed a contented sigh.
"Some will always stay by our side, in that same position," He continued, "While others are like the shooting star, that streaks past you and you might never meet them again…"
"But stars will never burn forever, will they? Eventually, someday, sometime, they will burn for the last time and die out."
He turned to me again, smiling gently. "When large stars near the end of their lifespan, they can no longer support their own mass and its core suddenly collapses. The shockwave formed by its sudden collapse causes the star to explode in a supernova." He sighed contentedly, "Supernovae are beautiful. They're so bright they can outshine the star's entire home galaxy. Can you imagine how pretty it must be?"
I looked away even though I knew he couldn't see into my eyes. I understood where he was heading, and the raw remains of my heart were being torn apart once more. Those familiar tears began streaming down my cheeks again, but I made no attempt to brush them away.
The Reverend raised his head again, a light hint of his smile returning again. "Mr. Yamato's star has always been the brightest." Then, his grief set in again. "I really do hope to see his last display of light. I am sure that it would color the skies in the most beautiful hues… Don't you agree, Miss Lacus?"
Once again, my voice remained caught in my throat. I raised my head to look at the piece of dark sky he would have been watching if he could see and I was rendered speechless.
There, within the dark covers of the night, laid a single star, peering down at the earth, its bright light standing out sharply against the black and it twinkled… like eyes that seemed to guard the people underneath.
I turned abruptly and headed back towards the Orb Mansion, every inch of me screaming inside, dying to collapse on my bed and forget everything Reverend Malchio had said to me… because I recognized the truth behind it, and all along I had believed it until Kira had been the victim…
"Good night, Miss Lacus…" He muttered as I walked away, a slow, uneasy step at a time.
One step, two steps… And then, I had broken into a run, crashing through the front door and closing it behind me dazedly. I stood leaning against the dark, smooth wood for a minute, before my knees caved under me and I slid to the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees as I cried.
§ ♥ §
I was approaching the lounge in my daze, my feet dragging slowly across the cold parquet floor. A step at a time, bringing me closer to the glowing light at the glass door…
The tears had dried and they left tracks upon my cheeks; the agony hidden deep inside had somehow faded to a throbbing pain that left me floating between reality, dreams and illusions. The box in which I had callously stowed all my feelings in had slit open and my emotions drifted out little by little...
An occasional memory... A sudden slash of painful regret...
Until I couldn't tell if I was alive, dead or somewhere in between...
I paused outside the dark lounge to glance into the dim room with its drawn curtains, the only light came from the screen embedded in the wall and through it, I saw him - lying on that hospital bed, his violet eyes closed from exhaustion and pain.
The sight blazed through my soul and I couldn't feel the painful tears welling in my eyes, or the numbness that had escalated through my body.
Hesitantly, I reached out to the silver handle when it was within the reach of my feeble hands and grasping it, I hauled myself into the doorway, unable to tear my eyes away from his pale face.
He looked so innocent, so chaste and ignorant… so angelic... It was as though he was merely sleeping, bathing in the pleasure of delightful dreams just like how he had always looked when he laid in the soft, warm covers of his own bed.
And I could no longer feel my feet step forward as my soul deluged with the desire to touch him, to feel him. A faint smile attempted to curl my dry, parched lips…
"You can't sleep either, can you?"
The voice ripped me harshly from a beautiful world of fantasies and that weak smile left instantly as the truth came back to me relentlessly. The brutal truth that lay hidden in unsympathetic reality…
She was there, huddled in the farthest corner of the sofa, her knees drawn up to her chest, teary eyes watching me silently. I looked away, unable to stare into the intensity of those sorrowful, golden orbs.
"Well, neither can I…" She whispered softly.
Tottering unsteadily, I backed towards the sofa and sank into it beside her, keeping my sight fixed on the screen, allowing the heartrending image presented in it to send wrenches of agony jolting through me.
We suffused in pure silence for a while, both pairs of eyes staring at Kira with intense affection. One boy with a true heart, who grew up to be a charming man… the last person I could really call husband… the last person she could really call brother…
"You know," She murmured, breaking the stillness for the first time in minutes, "The first time I met him, I felt he was the thickest blockhead I had ever met. He couldn't tell if I was a girl or a boy, and he tried to save me, a stranger he didn't even know," She smiled faintly, her golden eyes glazed over with unshed tears, "He dumped me at the nearest evacuation point while he himself had to run across the battlefield to the other evacuation point. He was just so stupid!" She chuckled softly.
I gazed down at the cold wooden floorboards, my mind slowly registering her words.
The first time I met him...
The first time I met him, he was just a broken soul drifting amongst the hatred of war, helplessly twirled into the brutal dance of conflict and hostilities… But that was a long time ago, wasn't it?
He would never suffer the pain of war again, or the agony of suffering either. He would leave this malicious world tomorrow, just as we had planned, just as we had hoped he would, because I swore I would not let you suffer again.
"You must be wondering why I'm thinking about all these."
I shifted my gaze to her face, partially shielded by her disheveled blond hair. A soft tender smile played across her pale lips as she watched her dozing brother with eyes filled with affection.
"I guess, when the end approaches, one starts thinking about the beginning..." She whispered softly.
Calm silence drowned us once again.
"Don't you think we're so different? Even our looks contrast. And to think we're from the same parents…" she murmured suddenly, smiling giddily. "I must have labeled him nearly all the despicable names on earth. Moron, jerk, jackass… But I'm so glad we met; I'm so proud to say that my brother is Kira Yamato." She continued gazing at Kira for several more minutes, seemingly indulging in the wonderful memories of the past she had raked up.
Then, her faint smile weakened as she parted her lips to speak again. "I've nearly lost him so many times. Every battle, I worry about not seeing him again, or going home without him by my side." A single sparkling crystal slid down her left cheek, trailing over dried tears.
"I couldn't believe Athrun had killed him… I couldn't believe he had died after all he had been through. Kira took too many risks, didn't always know what he was doing and always cried. But he was kind, he was nice; he deserves none of these." Her voice cracked with emotion, "So many times he freaked me out. I don't know what would have happened to me if he had died. But tomorrow, it's over, isn't it?"
I wanted to reply but the rasping noise emitted from the speakers made us both raise our eyes to stare at the screen, distracted.
He had awakened, his lean, muscled body donned in a sheen of sweat. Every time he shifted, the white sheets clung to him, wrapping themselves around him tightly, as though trying to pull him into darkness… into nothingness… Brown hair matted on the white pillow, framing his little face in a tangled mess of sweat-drenched tresses.
I clutched a hand to my mouth as the tears fell unstoppably. I didn't notice that Cagalli had too begun to cry, until both our painful sobs had merged into a wave of sorrow and agony.
Everything around Kira was supposed to be pure and innocent. Pain and agony wasn't… They tainted him… He never was supposed to be in there, never was supposed to be exposed to the stabbing pain. He belonged with us; he had the right to live a life without this torment…
But…
I was running, fleeing from the room as I tore down the corridor. Running endlessly, aimlessly, just as I wanted to. But it didn't help; every step couldn't take away the anguish.
It hurt so much, so bad that even when I crashed to the hard wooden flooring, it didn't matter, because I was being torn up inside…
Author's note: That's all, I hope this chapter has met your expectations. The next chapter should be ready within a week or two. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. Please drop me a review, I would really appreciate it! Criticisms are welcomed too. But I really do hope all of you liked it. And lastly, let me thank all of you for reading this story and the readers who have supported me for so long. I really feel fortunate to have readers like you! Thank you so much! Remember to review!