Heavenly
Chapter 7: Sister
"So, you're all set now?" asked Shinn as he looked at Lunamaria. She's sitting in a wheel chair. The doctor already removed her neck brace and some bandages on her legs but part of her head is still bandaged and she still wears an arm brace on her left arm.
"Yes! I'm really grateful to you, Shinn…" said Luna as she smiled at him. Shinn smiled back at her and started pushing the wheel chair, leaving the infirmary. Getting the permission from the captain was easy but it was hard to get permission from the doctor to take Luna and tour her around the Minerva. The doctor has a point because most of Luna's injuries are not yet healed but he can't really argue since the captain already approved. And it might help her to recover some of her memories.
"So, where would you like to go first?" asked Shinn as they walked through the hallway
"Uhm… Anywhere…" she replied excitingly. Then they suddenly stop when they saw a certain blue-haired man walking through the hallway.
"Hey Athrun!" yelled Shinn as he and Luna catch up to him
Athrun saw the two and gave a salute to both of them. Shinn saluted back. Confused about the whole saluting thing, Luna just sat there.
"Hi there, Luna. Good morning" said Athrun cheerfully
"Uhm… Good morning… What's your name?" she said
"My name is Athrun, Athrun Zala of Faith. I'm your commander, so you better get well soon, okay?" said Athun as he and Luna shake hands
"Okay. Athrun, commander. Athrun, commander" she repeated so she won't forget.
"I'm touring her around the Minerva, want to come with us?" asked Shinn
"I'm sorry… I have to go and discuss some matters with Arthur and Captain Gladys" replied Athrun then turned to leave. Luna and Shinn turned to a corner and saw Rey.
"Rey!" greeted Shinn as they approached them
"How is she?" asked Rey in his usual emotionless tone
"Her injuries are healing but the doctor said that it will take quite a long time before she recovers completely" he replied
"I'm Rey Za Burrel, Legend's pilot" Rey introduced shortly as they shake each other's hand
"Legend? What's that?" asked Luna innocently
"It's a mobile suit" replied Shinn
"Mobile suit?" she asked as she blinked a few times
"It's a machine, I'll show it to you when we get to the hangar" said Shinn as he pushed the wheel chair
"By the way, where will you be going, Rey?" asked Shinn as they walked together
"To the practice room" Rey replied then walked ahead of them. Shinn felt sorry. He and Rey always go to the practice room together.
"Shinn…" said Luna as they walk
"Yes?" asked Shinn
"That Rey… Somehow, when we shook hands I felt really cold, like he's a very lonely person…" she said silently
"Don't mind Rey. He's always like that" he said as they turned to a corner and entered the lounge.
"Onee-chan!" greeted Meyrin as she approached them, getting the attention of all the people inside the lounge. Then all of them gathered around her.
"Hi there Luna!"
"How are you doing?"
"We were so worried about you"
"Hey guys. Easy with your questions" said Shinn defensively
"Shinn, who are these people?" asked Luna silently but others seem to have heard it. Then they started whispering things like "So, she really lost her memories" and "She can't remember". They probably heard the news but were still in denial.
"Shinn, what's happening?" asked Luna nervously, noticing how everyone reacted with her earlier question. Then Shinn glared at them, as if saying "don't ask anymore".
"By the way, what are you doing here?" asked Meyrin, diverting her sister's attention
"Shinn is giving me a tour around the ship" she replied merrily
"Mind if I tag along? I don't have anything to do right now" asked Meyrin as they walked out of the lounge.
"Of course!" replied Luna happily. They kept on walking until they reached the hangar. Shinn made sure to keep Luna in a safe distance but will still be able to see the machines.
"What is that?" asked Luna as she pointed a mobile suit, the Destiny.
"It's a mobile suit, onee-chan" answered Meyrin
"It's… scary…" whispered Luna but Shinn managed to hear it
"Why is it scary?" asked Shinn as he looked at her
"It's so big… It can destroy a lot of things…" she murmured
"Shinn! Luna!" yelled Vino as he and Yolant make their way towards them
"Luna, how are you doing?" asked Vino. Meyrin already told him and Yolant about Luna's situation.
"I… I'm doing fine…" she replied quite nervously
"By the way, I'm Vino Dupree, a mechanic here in the Minerva" said Vino as he and Luna shook hands
"And I'm Yolant Kent. I'm a mechanic too like Vino" said Yolant as they shook hands. Then a co-mechanic called them to help with the unfinished work.
"Luna, there is nothing to be afraid of. We use mobile suits to protect people, not to kill and destroy" explained Shinn. Luna nodded in response
"I just hope that some people won't take advantage of it and use it for their selfish reasons"
~~~*~~~
After a few hours…
Shinn and Luna returned to the infirmary after their tour around the Minerva. Even though there was a little confusion earlier, they still managed to have a good time. Shinn lifted Luna from the wheel chair and laid her on the soft bed.
"Shinn, thank you" she said softly
"Well, I did promise that I will always be by your side so that's what I do" he said happily
"All the people here, I feel like they are my family" she said as she recalled all the people she met on their trip earlier
"Everyone here is nice once you get to know them"
"That makes me think of my family. I wonder where mom and dad are…" she said silently as she think of her parents. Then Shinn got tensed. What would her reaction be if she finds out that her parents are no longer here? He had a hard time accepting the fact that his whole family is dead and will never come back and it took him almost two long years just to get over it. But how about her? He knew that she is strong, there is no doubt about that. But what will happen to her if her heart were to be broken again?
"Shinn… Shinn…" said Luna as she poked him on lightly on the arm
"Yes?" he asked as he became aware of his surroundings again
"You were spacing out, is something wrong?" she asked with worry
"No, I was just a little distracted. Anyway, what were you talking about?" he asked as he smiled, convincing her not to be worried about him anymore.
"I was talking about my parents. I hope we'll return to the PLANTS soon. I want to go back to Februarius and visit them there. How will dad react once he finds out that his first daughter is a mobile suit pilot like him?" she said as she laughed a little, imagining her father's proud face.
Shinn didn't know what to say. Should he laugh with her or pity her? Should he be happy that she is talking about her parents happily? He didn't know how to react, but he knows one thing. She should know the truth about her parents.
"Hey Luna, it's getting late. You should rest" he said as he smiled warmly at her and saw her already asleep. She must have fallen asleep while he was mentally talking to himself.
He smiled to himself and was about to stand up when he noticed that Luna still held his hand. He gently let his hand free from her grasp and left. On his way to his room, he saw Meyrin.
"Shinn! How is my sister?" she asked cheerfully as usual
"She's sleeping now. Meyrin, can we talk for a bit?" asked Shinn seriously. Meyrin was surprised with Shinn's serious tone and nodded slowly. They went to the lounge and sat there. Everyone is probably asleep or in their shifts right now so there was no one inside the lounge except for the two.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Meyrin, breaking the silence between them.
"It's about Luna. It seems that she forgot that both of your parents are gone. She mentioned something about going back home to see them" replied Shinn, recalling how happy Luna was when she was talking about her parents.
Meyrin became uneasy. Her sister already cried enough because of their parent's death in the past, and now she'll cry for the same reason again. And the worst thing is that she has to be the one to tell her about their parent's death.
"Meyrin, someone has to tell her soon. She'll be more hurt if she finds out later" said Shinn, distracting her from her thoughts.
"Yes, I know" she started "But she's still recovering. She's in a stable condition now and it might get worse if she finds out" said Meyrin although she already knew that Shinn won't take no for an answer.
"I know it's hard, especially on your part, but she can't go on like this" reasoned Shinn, raising his voice a bit. Meyrin didn't answer and just looked at the floor, all of her problems seem to get her down. First is her sister's condition and now this.
Shinn, noticing her uneasiness, stood up abruptly. "Sorry for bugging you at this time, Meyrin. I hope you'll make the right decision" he said and with that he left and went to his room.
~~~*~~~
After five days…
The doctor finally gave permission for Lunamaria to stay and recuperate in the room that she shared with her sister Meyrin. The doctor said that she might remember some of her memories if she stays in her room. Their number one priority now is for Lunamaria to recuperate and recover her memories, especially of the time when she was held in captivity by the EAF. No matter what happens, they have to know what the EAF's secret weapon is.
Meyrin entered the code and opened the door to their room. She turned on the lights and put her sister's things next to her bed. Luna looked around the room as Shinn pushed the wheel chair. Somehow, this room seems familiar to her.
"Onee-chan, this is our room" said Meyrin cheerfully. Luna just nodded in response as she kept looking around.
"Come on, Luna. Let's put you in the bed" said Shinn as he was about to lift her.
"No. I can walk" said Luna as she pushed herself off the wheel chair. She managed to make a step successfully but when she attempted to make another step she fell out of balance. Shinn luckily caught her in time.
"Are you sure you're fit to walk?" asked Shinn as he put her arm around his shoulders and escorted her to the bed.
"Thank you" she said as she sat comfortably on her bed. She kept on looking around and stopped when she saw a drawer near her bed. Meyrin, noticing her sister looking at the drawer, opened it and was surprised at what she saw. It was a big photo album that her sister has been keeping ever since they were children. Meyrin thought that looking at the photos might help her recover her memories so she pulled it out of the drawer and sat beside her sister. Shinn sat beside Luna on the bed.
"What's that?" asked Luna as she stared at the photo album curiously. Shinn remembered the photo album. He and Luna were looking through it just before the unfortunate incident happened.
Instead of answering her sister's question, Meyrin flipped the cover and there was a photo of a magenta-haired woman carrying a baby with the same hair color.
"Hey! That's me and mom, right?" asked Luna happily
"Yeah" replied Meyrin sadly as she turned to the next page. She just realized that she must tell her sister about their parents.
On the next photo was Luna with her dad and pregnant mom during her 1st birthday. Luna smiled as she remembered her parents.
"Meyrin, when will this ship return to the PLANTS? I want to visit mom and dad at Februarius" said Luna happily. Meyrin tensed and flipped through the pages quickly, trying to avoid any discussion about their parents.
"Meyrin, what are you doing?" asked Luna in annoyance as she grabbed her sister's hand. She stared at Meyrin and saw something different.
"Meyrin, is there something I should know about?" she asked seriously as she looked at Meyrin in the eyes. Meyrin gave up all thoughts about changing the subject and decided that it's time for her to know.
Shinn, sensing that it's time for him to let the sisters be, silently left the room.
"Onee-chan, please listen to me" said Meyrin as she stared at her sister's eyes intently. Luna nodded gently, not breaking their eye contact.
"Two years ago, there was a massive war between the PLANTS and the EAF. It took a long time for it to end. And although it ended peacefully, many people died in the process. And among those people were our parents" said Meyrin sadly
Luna's eyes grew big at Meyrin's last sentence. It can't be! It just can't be!
"You're lying!!! It can't be!!!" she shouted as tears streamed down her face
"It was too late when the information got to the Headquarters that there were EAF spies in Februarius. They were about to send soldiers but the EAF attacked the city. Mom and Dad tried desperately to protect us but…" Meyrin couldn't handle it anymore as tears fell from her eyes. She remembered their parents swimming in their own blood, trying to protect them.
Luna clinged to her tightly as buckets of tears streamed down her face. Meyrin held her protectively as the both of them cried. Then she suddenly felt like she's the big sister now. And she'll probably be for the time being. But being the older or the younger sister didn't matter to her now, all that matters is for her to always be by her sister's side and help her in her recovery.
It lasted for about an hour. Meyrin softly rubbed her sister's back. When the soft cries cannot be heard anymore, she turned to face her sister sleeping. She smiled at her sister's sleeping face then laid her gently on the bed. She laughed slightly as she realized how puffy her eyes are from crying and how wet the shoulder part of her uniform is from her sister's tears.
"Onee-chan, I know that moving on is hard, especially on that time when we realized that all we have is each other. But I'll be here beside you in every step of the way of your recovery. I promise that I will always protect you, that's what sisters are for" she mumbled softly as she gently caressed her older sister's cheek.
Author's Notes: Okay, another fluffy chapter, I know. I just want to emphasize in this chapter how deep Luna and Meyrin's sisterly bond is. Somehow, I'm kinda jealous. Well, because I don't have a sister, I only have brothers (an older one and a younger one). So I wrote this chapter imagining I have a sister heehee... Well I guess it's better to have brothers than to have no sibling at all. But sometimes, they get on my nerves. Especially when they boss me around.
Anyway, back to topic. If you're wondering why I chose Februarius of all colonies in PLANTS, it's because I was born in the month of February, that's all heeheee. And the practice room mentioned above is the gun firing room. I don't know specifically what it's called so that's what I wrote.
Anyway, yesterday I went with our Cagalli and our Andrew Waltfiled to buy some materials needed for our costume. I had the Zaft patch and the patches on the collar made. While our Cagalli bought a new wig for her and for our Athrun. She also bought fabrics for her costume (the green dress that Cagalli wore before her failed wedding with Yuna). I also bought some fabrics for the collar and lining. I'm still tired from all the walking. And I still have to make a trip to the seamstress tomorrow.
Oooohhh... I'm feeling good! Heehee... Because I won our Monopoly game earlier (in the computer with my big brother) Heehee... I wish the money I earned earlier in the game is real! Then I'll have money to buy the GSD figure set that I saw yesterday! I was so tempted to buy (Luna looks so cute in the figure!), sadly I don't have enough money. Well, I better begin saving money for that figure set. Heehee...
Anyways, thanks for the reviews! I will do my best!
Hope you'll have a happy week!
(*^o^*) Peace out! (*^o^*)
Kaycee