A/N: So I gather from the shortage of response the last chapter than it didn't go down too well with most of you. Since only RedCrimson and nightdreamerms actually provided feedback, and they seemed to like it, I'll just blatantly assume that everything is fine and keep at it anyway.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED.

Chapter 9 – Perspectives

Athrun strode down the hallways of the Parliamentary house tersely.

The situation had not been entirely unexpected, in a sense, but he hadn't been expecting the severity of it. Who would have imagined that a home-made explosive, one that had a small radius, would just have the luck to end up near a car with a leaky gas tank? Athrun just had to have the luck to be the only one in the office when the call came, and he made the snap decision to send military enforcement.

In retrospect, that had been the smartest decision any of them made all week.

He had just overseen the cleanup of that highway and assigned several more people to do the post-hospitalisation paperwork for all the casualties, and now the final thing to do was to report to the Representative.

And she was just behind this door. He wiped his palms on the hem of his shirt before giving a sturdy knock.

"Come in," a tired voice came from the room.

He twisted the doorknob and entered. Cagalli's worn-out face lit up just the slightest when she saw him, but it felt as though she was giving him a smile more than smiling, if that made sense.

"What's up?" she asked, and Athrun noted the strained undercurrents in her voice. This was not a Cagalli that he wanted to be delivering bad news to.

All the same, he had to. He would really rather that she find out while he was there, because then he'd be able to control the blowout.

He crossed the room in a few quick strides, until he was right in front of her desk. "Cagalli, don't be too shocked, but there was a riot today, on the streets," he said carefully.

She looked confused. "What?"

He didn't want to go on, but he had to. He just had to. "Some of the Coordinator refugees from the war spotted Miss Allster, and they had a homemade bomb. They were drunk, I guess, and they just attacked." Seeing the growing horror on her face, he quickly tried to remedy the situation. "The collateral damage isn't that great, and there weren't as many casualties as you'd expect, so don't worry about it."

Cagalli said nothing.

"Cagalli?" She was worrying him.

Her lips parted, and she issued an order. "Call a press conference. This has gone way too far." Her voice was frighteningly low.

"What will you say to them?" He asked, more out of concern that curiosity.

"Anything. It doesn't matter," she said, her voice beginning to tremble. She slammed her palms on the table, stood up, and began walking past Athrun to the door.

Athrun caught her wrist before she could get too far. "Cagalli, don't. Please."

"WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?" She suddenly exploded. Athrun flinched as she turned to glare at him with her fiery amber orbs. On meeting his own, they softened and began to water. "What else can I do?" she repeated, more quietly this time, her shoulders beginning to shake uncontrollably.

In response, Athrun just pulled her close. Perhaps there was nothing that she do now, without further fanning the flames of this hatred, but at least she should feel at peace.

Three hours.

It had been three hours since Fllay left the hotel. Three hours nerve-wracking hours since she ran from the car. Three dread-filled hours since she laid eyes on Lieutenant Mizuno Sakiya's burnt and bloodied body.

After she screamed, things seemed to happen very quickly. Military reinforcements arrived in time to prevent the run-in from escalating into a full-blown riot. Kenji had come out of nowhere to pick her up from the ground, where she had been too shell-shocked to even try to move. Following that she had been shoved unceremoniously, for the second time in as many weeks, into the back of a van and taken away. Only this time, she was screaming and sobbing as the military van bulldozed through the cars and took her to safety.

When she arrived at the military base, still screaming for someone to help Sakiya, please, one of the medics finally got enough sense to sedate her so she would keep silent and stop pounding on the walls of the van in her hysteria.

Three hours later, Fllay awoke in her room at the orphanage, with the red-orange rays of the setting sun playing across the ceiling. For a brief moment she managed to fool herself into thinking that nothing had happened and she was just waking up to a normal day at the orphanage, but no. The rising sun would never shine through the one window in her room. And there was no way, no way ever, that the image of Mizuno Sakiya's corpse could be cooked up by her imagination.

She had to accept that this afternoon happened. She couldn't wish it away, no matter how much she wanted to.

The drugs still swimming around in her bloodstream helped to keep her emotions under control. As it was, she still felt too hazy to conjure up horror that consumed her three hours before.

Nonetheless, thinking rationally helped her a little. Clumsily, Fllay pulled herself upright and swung her legs over the side of the bed. While she slept someone had taken the initiative to clean and dress the wounds on her palms and knees. She didn't know who, and she couldn't care either. She had to know if the lieutenant was alright. She already had one Coordinator man added to the weight on her conscience; she didn't want Sakiya to be added too, because Fllay knew beyond doubt that she would be the heavier than the rest.

As she cautiously made her way out of her room, she heard raised voices. Carefully, with one hand braced against the wall for support, Fllay made her way to the common dining area, where the sounds of the argument were coming from.

"What the hell? What do you mean, I can't go see her? She's my sister dammit!" That voice was clearly Kenji's, and Fllay's heart sank. Was Sakiya still alright?

Is she still alive?

"I'm sorry, but no. After what happened, you are clearly needed here. As a Sergeant of the ORB army, I'm charging you to stay here and perform your duty." The second voice was more familiar still, and hazy as Fllay was, she couldn't mistake it anywhere.

She was just in the corridor outside the dining hall when the owner of the second voice left and nearly knocked her over in his haste. He didn't though, because his reflexes were much faster than that.

For the first time since everything began, Fllay was looking straight at Kira, and he was returning her gaze plainly, without averting his eyes. Tell him, a part of her screamed. Say it now!

But no matter how hard she tried, the words just wouldn't come. They faltered on the tip of her tongue, died in her throat. Because how could she still think about herself at a time like this? What kind of person did that make her?

Kira saved her from making a decision though. "Are you alright?" he asked, and Fllay could see a mixture of concern and anger in his eyes. Anger at who, she wondered, and she felt fear run down her spine.

Unable to trust her voice, she nodded.

"Go get some rest," he half-ordered and slipped past her brusquely. He was heading towards the back door, Fllay saw, but she couldn't let him leave. Not now, when the silent barrier between them had finally been broken.

"Wait!" she called out hoarsely, her voice scratchy from all the screaming she did earlier.

He paused, but didn't turn to face her.

Fllay didn't know what to say, now that she did have his attention. Should she just go with what she wanted all along? Would it be right for her to selfishly want something for herself now?

The words came unbidden. "How's the lieutenant?" she blurted.

Another pause. Then Kira answered. "She's been hospitalised. It'll be a while before she can return to active duty."

The slight hesitation told her much more than his answer did. Fllay kept staring down the hallway even after Kira had left. She didn't get what she wished for, but she didn't feel any worse about herself as a person. That, she decided, would have to be enough for now.

She peered into the dining room. Kenji was glaring blankly at the wall, as though it had committed some sort of grievous sin against him. "Are you alright?" she asked with her scratchy voice.

He turned his gaze on her, and she froze when she saw the anger in his face. "Do you think I'm alright?" he returned darkly.

She said nothing, just silently turned and left him alone.

Fllay didn't eat much that night. After leaving the dining hall, she returned to her room as ordered, but she couldn't rest. She ended up staring out of the window until Lacus came with her dinner tray, which she barely touched despite all the other girl's coaxing. Lacus had kept trying though, but everything just tasted dry and heavy on her tongue, and in the end the songstress had to settle with tucking her charge in. Fllay didn't resist. Lacus' mothering was actually comforting to a point, and the more she thought about it, the more comfortable with the Coordinator she felt.

Even after the sun had set, even after she was sure everyone had gone to bed, she couldn't sleep. Or rather, she wouldn't let herself sleep. She was fairly certain that something would happen soon, and there was something she wanted to do.

She knew Kira was at the orphanage tonight, but the events of the day seemed to drive her desire to talk to him out of her mind. And the events that would follow made her unable to face him, no matter how much she wanted to.

There was no point in thinking about it now. Fllay sighed silently and got up. She reached for some clothes in the dark and put them on. Then she slipped out of her room, quietly making her way down the hallway, until she arrived at the garage.

She arrived just in time, it seemed. A shadow was making its way around the only car currently occupying the building, and she knew that her suspicions had been right. Her shoe scuffed against the ground, and Kenji's head shot up.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. "Go back in!"

Fllay set her jaw and lifted her head stubbornly. "I'm going with you."

"No you will not." She couldn't be sure in the dark, but if she knew anything, Kenji was probably staring daggers at her.

"If you don't take me along, I'll tell on you." There. She just played her trump card.

For a brief moment Kenji was silent, then he shook his head. "Wait here," he ordered.

Having won the argument, Fllay obeyed. Kenji slipped past her into the main building, leaving her on her own in the garage. Fllay waited a couple of minutes in tense silence, before he returned and threw something soft at her. "Put these on instead," he whispered, before going to the far corner.

Fllay initially started, but she didn't protest, just quietly changed her clothes. She felt a little awkward fumbling around with someone so close to her, but she had to trust in the fact that he wouldn't look. Anyway, he probably wouldn't see anything. The material seemed to be leather, and what felt like a cap that she held on to as she checked herself once over. "I'm done," she hissed, balling up her normal clothes. "Where do I put these?"

"Stash them under the seat," he hissed back right next to her ear. Fllay nearly jumped. She hadn't felt him move. She felt around blindly for the door handle, until Kenji whispered harshly, "This is the driver's side, idiot."

Even in the dark, Fllay could feel her cheeks begin to warm, and without another word she felt her way around the car. She heard a muffled thump as the driver's door shut, and she quickly got in on the other side, taking extra care not to slam the door like she was used to.

Once inside, she stashed her clothes under her seat, and the slight vibrations under her hands told her the Kenji just started the car. Fllay held her breath as the garage doors seemingly rumbled open, letting in the moonlight, and the car accelerated abruptly. She half-expected them to get caught, but of course the noise was all in her imagination, and the car sped away safely.

"Hey, princess, put on your seatbelt," Kenji admonished once he judged them to be sufficiently far away. His posture seemed to relax entirely, now that Fllay could see him better under the moonlight. "I'm going to be in enough shit for taking you along. I'm not about to be arrested for getting you killed in a car accident."

Fllay couldn't help but smile at the idea of that. She reached up and pulled the seatbelt down so she could buckle it. "Thank you for taking me along, then. And for this afternoon." Her stomach flipped as she tried to imagine what condition Sakiya would be in now. Would she be so horrifically injured that they wouldn't even allow visitors?

Kenji snorted. "Like I did it for you. If anything, I did it for her."

Fllay's exuberance at getting away undetected dimmed. "The two of you must be really close," she mused, thinking about the way she first met the both of them. She hadn't spared much thought for him before, but if anything, he was probably more affected by the lieutenant's condition than she was.

"I wouldn't have joined the army if it weren't for her," he agreed.

Fllay couldn't help wondering what must have happened to make them such a close-knit pair. "Didn't your parents object to you joining the army?" She knew that if her father were alive, he'd probably have a fit if she volunteered to join the Earth Alliance. Though if he were alive, she wouldn't have wanted to anyway.

Kenji snorted again. "No. It's a long story."

"And it's a long trip, even with your driving skills," Fllay pointed out quietly.

He seemed to reconsider then. Then he took a deep breath and the words just tumbled out. "Where should I begin? Ok, Dad was a mobile armour pilot in the ORB army. Sakiya's mom died in the war when she was three or so, and at that time refugees from all over were flooding into this country, so Dad met his second wife when he was deployed to control the situation. I guess he married Mom just so that someone could take care of his daughter, since he was gone half the time."

Fllay listened carefully. The siblings must take after their father then, since they look so much alike but they didn't have the same mother.

"Sakiya loved Mom more than I did, since I didn't know her. She died in childbirth. Dad never remarried. His reason being that Sis was already seven and could actually take care of me by then, but personally I think he loved Mom too much. So essentially, I was raised by my sister. And Dr Marie, I guess. She lived pretty close by."

She could just imagine the lieutenant as a young girl, holding her younger brother's hand as they made their way to a smiling Nelia. She missed Nelia a lot, but she was beginning to see beyond the mere caretaker. A wave of pity engulfed her. The lieutenant must have been very strong to pull through despite all that.

"Sakiya and I were always together, until she joined the army when I was ten. I was pretty mad about it, because she wasn't ever around anymore, so when I was fourteen I broke into the military base where she was stationed. There were enough border conflicts back then that no one was spared. I got pretty far before I got caught, and they offered me a choice of getting sent to a juvenile home or enlisting in the military. They were just that short of people. I opted for the latter." He chuckled at the memory. "Sakiya was so mad when she found out."

Fllay couldn't help but be amazed at his story. That was truly reckless of him, but then again, it was reckless of her to declare herself as a volunteer soldier back on the Archangel. Love could cause a person's downfall far too easily, she reflected. Like all those dramas she used to watch, only now it wasn't a drama, this was real life.

Another thought occurred to her. "You rose through the ranks pretty quickly," she stated. If her estimation of his age was correct, at least.

A smug look spread across his features. "It helped that I picked up much faster than all the new recruits. I can understand why our forefathers created Coordinators to man the PLANTs."

Fllay's eyes widened. "So you're a Coordinator?" It had never occurred to her that he would be one. As far as she knew, the ORB army mostly consisted of Naturals.

He shot her an amused look. "Half-Coordinator, to be exact. My mother was from the one of the PLANT colonies."

This was even more interesting. Kenji's family seemed to be much of a mix-and-match. Natural father and sister, Coordinator mother, and him right in the middle of it all. It was of particular interest to her that his father and mother had been able to put aside their genetic differences and live like a normal family had. And that this half-Natural, half-Coordinator could be so nonchalant about his parentage.

"So don't think that you have no future whatsoever," Kenji continued. "Genetics only mean so much, ya'know? That's why we have the whole nature vs. nurture argument. Because smart people don't give a shit about your genetic profile."

Fllay nodded vaguely. Of course, Kenji was under Kira and Athrun, so he would probably know as much. She would rather not have him feel sorry for her, but she couldn't deny that his story did loosen the knot in the pit of her stomach. Of course there was still the trial, and she had never thought beyond that, but perhaps she should. Perhaps there was still a chance after all.

Thinking about it made her heart ache, so she tried to change the subject. "Did your dad object to both of you joining the military during a war?"

He shrugged, one hand loosely draped across the steering wheel. "If he did, he never said anything before he died."

Will she never learn to stop putting her foot in her mouth? "I'm sorry for your loss," she said quietly, fingers consciously playing with the cap sitting on her knees.

He shrugged again, though he kept his eyes on the dark road ahead, as though it held more interest for him than the girl beside. "Lots of people died," he answered vaguely.

She noticed that he didn't accept her condolences. Which, she told herself, was perfectly fine. If he didn't want her sympathy, it was fine. He was doing her enough of a favour as it is. She tugged at the hem of her borrowed leather jacket. Judging by the size, it was probably Sakiya's. And the jeans and gloves concealing her bandages probably came from the same person as well. Ironic how the very person she was going to visit was the one assisting her in getting there.

It had been a rather nerve-wracking experience getting to the hospital. Fllay wouldn't have imagined that any serial killers or potential rioters were truly on the lookout for her at this time of the night, but Kenji, being perfectly paranoid, had insisted on parking the car a fair distance away from the military-sanctioned hospital and walking the rest of the distance there. And he had insisted on Fllay hiding her hair under the cap and glaring viciously at any drunken gangsters out on the streets, so that they could proceed unmolested. Fllay had left the latter to him.

It was both cold and dark at this time, and she was grateful for the jeans and jacket that she had been forced to change into. It had taken them half an hour to cover the rest of the distance on foot, and now they were standing in front of a side entrance. Kenji, in all his paranoia, had insisted that they stayed away from the front counter, lest they "call their superiors and land me in more shit."

The door wasn't locked, and Fllay followed her bodyguard through the twists and turns of the hospital corridors until they emerged in the ICU wing of the hospital. The stark white lighting seemed harsh after the darkness, forcing her to squint. She had no idea how he knew for sure that the lieutenant was here, but then again, she had seen for herself the severity of those injuries. If she had to hazard a guess she would have chosen the ICU as well. Her eyes darted around as they walked along the corridor, inspecting every name written on the card next to the doors.

Slightly ahead of her, Kenji turned the next corner and then took a sudden step back, in the process crushing Fllay's foot.

Fllay suppressed a cry of pain and braced herself to run, in case they got caught. In fact, she had taken a couple of steps back when she realised that Kenji wasn't running. On the contrary, he was just standing there… rubbing his head… and just in front of them stood a man in a white coat.

The man raised an eyebrow calmly as he took in the two of them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Fllay gulped nervously. Busted.

Kenji removed his hand from his head. "Jake you bastard, you might have just gave me a concussion." But he was grinning – to her surprise – as he said it.

"Should have known that you couldn't stay away," he sighed. Now that Fllay was certain that they weren't about to be busted, she could relax and think clearly. This Jake didn't seem like a very old person, from his appearance. He was squarely built, with light brown hair and tired eyes. She squinted at the tag clipped to his collar. It said that he was a medical intern. She gathered that he probably was closer to Kenji's age than Sakiya's. And since this was a military hospital, this medical intern had probably been in a platoon before he was assigned here.

"Duh." Still grinning, Kenji punched him in the shoulder.

Jake bore it with a long-suffering sigh. His eyes flickered from his friend to Fllay, who was trying to make herself as small as possible. "And this is either your girlfriend or partner-in-crime, I presume?"

Kenji scowled. "Neither. Now tell me which room you locked my sister in."

Another sigh. The intern's intelligent eyes turned to Fllay once more, with understanding this time. After all, her face had been plastered on TV enough. Kenji's gaze followed, and he added, "And don't you dare tell on us."

A final sigh, and Jake said, "Room 29. Try not to make too much noise." With that, he brushed past the pair and continued down the hallway, as though nothing had happened.

"Well, come on." Kenji seemed to deflate, and Fllay, staring after the intern's retreating back, made a sound of agreement, and hurried after him.

He gently pried the door open, with one finger on his lips to indicate that Fllay should keep silent. That plan was foiled when a stiff hospital pillow smacked him squarely in the face.

Fllay's eyes widened. That was…

Then the explosion came. The verbal one. "YOU IDIOTS! WHY DID YOU BLOODY HAD TO COME? YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

Kenji picked up the pillow that had landed on the ground after accosting his face. "You're supposed to be resting, sis." His tone was as sardonic as ever, but there was an undercurrent of warmth.

Fllay herself felt tears prick at her eyes. The lieutenant was fine. Sakiya was alive. She crossed the threshold and for the first time, took a good look at Sakiya. More tears threatened to come spilling out. Sakiya looked terrible. There were bandages on every inch of her skin, save her eyes, and her black hair was dull and ragged, chopped off at irregular lengths.

"The pain keeps me up," the lieutenant groused, then catching sight of Fllay's face, snapped, "Oh for Heaven's sake, the tissue box is on the nightstand. Help yourself."

The tense look that had been present in Kenji's face all night melted away as he fluffed the pillow and slid it behind his sister's back. "Did you take your painkillers?"

"Yes, and they can't give me any more or I'll die from it."

Fllay took a tissue and hastily wiped her eyes dry. "Are you really alright?" She gestured helplessly at the bandages.

"They look worse than they actually are," Sakiya said dismissively. "After the reconstructive surgery, I should be able to get back to work."

Fllay was appalled that even at a time like this, she could think about work. Then again, this was the lieutenant who put her duty above personal safety and self-interest, so she really shouldn't have been surprised. Shouldn't, but still was.

"More importantly, you are taking a huge risk to come here," Sakiya continued sternly. "I appreciate that you are concerned, but this is an unacceptable reason. Go back before anything else happens."

Fllay nodded in understanding. Kenji, on the other hand, scowled. "What, no thanks for coming here?"

"What thanks?" Sakiya asked, her voice rising in pitch and volume. "You are in major trouble, young man. As a matter of fact, girl, can you step out for a moment? I have something to say to my brother in private."

Hoping that nothing untoward would happen, Fllay obediently left the room and shut the door. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Now that the adrenaline rush had worn off, she felt quite exhausted. She wondered if it would be safe to sleep on the trip back, or if she should stay awake in order to make sure the driver didn't fall asleep and crash. Her eyelids felt heavier by the moment, and she would have slid right down the wall if she hadn't been awoken by the timely sound of glass shattering.

She was instantly awake, and ready to shoot off at a moment's notice, when Kenji darted out of the door next to her, laughing in amusement and slamming the door behind him. "Don't get too worked up, sis!"

Now that she thought about it, she had seen a vase beside the tissue box… Fllay mustered a smile at the image of the nearly-incapacitated lieutenant flinging a vase. "Did you make her angry again?"

"Probably. Why?" Kenji pretended to dust himself off. "Oh, and she had a message for you. She said she forgot to tell you before she decided to chew me out."

"What is it?"

"Something about getting yourself a spine and kicking the prosecutor's ass, because she'll be watching the news while she's immobile. Or something to that effect, anyway." With that, Kenji marched down the hallway nonchalantly, not bothering to see if Fllay followed.

I'm sure that the Lieutenant did not say that. Nevertheless, the idea that one more person was 100 percent behind her made her feel better. Fllay's heart warmed, and she started down the corridor, on the way home.

A/N: Please read the following note. This chapter isn't really passable by my standards, but I thought it wouldn't be fair for me to disappear until December without updating this at least once. Yes, you read that right. I will be gone until December because exams are coming up, and they are possibly the most important exams I will have taken thus far. I really don't have the time or energy to spare to keep writing after this month, and that goes for all my stories. I barely have enough sleep as it is.

So the first time I will be back is December, and I will have a whole host of stories to update then. I'm really grateful to RedCrimson and nightdreamerms because they're the only ones that made this chapter go a little quicker. I really write much more fluidly when I know what I'm doing right or wrong, and what I should be devoting more paragraphs to and all that. And yes, I openly confess to being lazy, so I will probably work on what's easiest when I come back, which in all likelihood will be something Sound Horizon-related.

As always, thank you for putting up with me. Please review, and have a good day.