I do not own Gundam Seed anime, manga or any other materials.
As Kira and Athrun advanced in the academy the weirdest thing began to happen to him. Sometimes when they had mobile suit practice he would suddenly see as his opponent slowed down to a crawl. It was as if time simple slowed down sometimes, in team matches he knew exactly what the enemy team was going to do, and he would take charge of his team almost like it was second nature to him. Yzak made it his mission to dethrone the golden boy of the academy, so he always was in the opposite team. The two got along rather well when they were not fighting each other, the instructors simply called it a friendly competition, Athrun called it the eternal rivals. Nichole was always happy when Athrun and Kira would praise him for his music. Dearka was always taking to Kira about long range weapons, he even challenged him on a target clear challenge. The boys would take a sniper rifle, and use a holographic training program, who got the highest score was the winner. The loser would by lunch, and in every challenge the result were the same. Lets just say that Kira never had to buy his lunch after those challenges. "Kira, do my pocketbook a mercy and lose sometime will ya! I am getting a bad reputation, and the girls think I am in love with you.I keep buying you lunch and they will so call me gay someday!" Dearka pleaded with him, but it was usually in vain. "You want to win, then stop goofing off and train! You don't want them to think you are gay? Get a girlfriend. But I do not do dishonorable things, and losing on purpose is a dishonorable thing." Kira told him as he ate his latest victory lunch. To be fair Kira did do him a kindness, he only chose the meal that was cheapest.
There was another thing that was really weird, and that was all the attention he was getting from a high ranking officer by the name of Rau La Cruze, he did not wait a second before asking his instructors to give him his latest results, and practice videos. This officer even sat in the observation room during some of his team practice matches. It was an unofficial rumor that this officer was scooping out the academy to form his own strike team. Athrun did not care one bit, focus on your studies, work out in the gym and do well in practice nothing else mattered. "If I do badly our father might be the first one to come down here and beat us up. Isn't that right Kira?" Athrun looked at Kira who was still doing something that he considered crazy. He was writing the OS for his practice mobile suit like the 10th time that day. "Athrun, do you mind? I think I improved the targeting by 50% and energy efficiency by 60%. If you let me I will make our team academy champion by the time we graduate. Maybe then dad will let us have a vacation, and you can tell him about that little blond you keep looking at." Athrun looked at him in sheer disbelief, "For the record that is not going to happen. I keep telling you Talia doesn't even notice me! Will you stop trying to make it sound like she is my girlfriend?" Kira just kept typing on the terminal. "Grow a pair, and tell her already. Don't come crying to me when she announces her wedding to some other guy!"
~In the office of Patrick Zala~
"I keep telling Kira that he should stop tweaking the OS, his got the entire program department up in arms over what he did. I swear I keep telling him be discreet." Patrick was complaining to Rau for the 10th time today all the while drinking his morning coffee. "Sir, If you don't mind me saying so I know your sons are top in the academy and they are supposed to graduate in a couple of week. I was hoping to have a competition and have the top 5 pilots join my team. We have been receiving some disturbing information from our spy. He is telling us that the naturals are doing something so secret that most of the Earth Alliance don't know about it." Patrick simply sat down finishing his cup. "Naturals, are natural born idiot, what could they try to do? Reverse engineer one of our units that is what I expect." Rau looked at him and letting a big sigh, "Can we be so sure? They might have some coordinators working with them. You know not all coordinators are loyal towards us. We can not have another surprise attack by the Naturals!" Patrick Zala knew what he was refereeing, and he had to agree. "I know La Cruze, Is it so wrong for me to wish for my sons to grow up in a peaceful time? Is it so bad that I want to keep my sons safe?" Rau knew where he was coming from as well. "It is that very reason why I want to check this rumor out, if it's nothing then fine, but if it is what I think it is then we must do something." Patrick looked at the man and with a stoic face he signed the form. "Very well, you hold your competition but I can already tell you who is going to be the top 2 pilots." Rau took the document and as he was about to exit he simply remarked, "I would not expect anything less from those 2."
~At the graduation~
"Instead of complaining you should be thank me! Guess had I not made you join our team you would not have graduating with all these honors." Athrun told him, but he was not done with his complaints. "No I would be just fine, after I put you and your brother in your place I would be just where I belong in the top! But no you had to do something like that? Are you sure you are a Zala? cause I don't think anyone else would have done that in your place." Yzak told him and the entire row of cadets looked at him with a bit of anger. "Look, It was not my fault that you and Dearka decided to do something so stupid as raid the liquor cabinet of the academy director. Kira and I told you that you would get caught." Athrun told him as to calm him down. "Then you decided to make a video of me doing it, and blackmailed me with it to make me join your pathetic team!" Kira was getting pretty sick of hearing him, "A team that beat yours every single time. I did not blackmail you, my brother did to help you. To which you appear not to be very appreciative off. Now both of you shut up! I am not spending my graduation in the brig. And if I spend my graduation in the brig both of you idiots are spending next month eating your food with a mechanical straw. Now for the last time Shut Up!" The entire class became quite in a second. Kira was royally pissed, and they did not doubt for a second that he would send the next idiot to scream to intensive care.
A man stood at the microphone and with a smile on his face, "Well since everyone has finally decided to quiet down, thank you very much Kira by the way. Lets commence. today you are graduating and joining ZAFT in order to protect our lives and our right to live our lives free from the oppression of the people of Earth. I do not need to remind you that a war is happening right now to secure our right to live free and be able to have a happy future. It is my distinct pleasure to say this class has been the very best we had in the academy. I stand here today, and tell you. You are the defenders of our beloved colonies, and with your hard work the Naturals may finally learn to leave us in peace. Now I would like to call for the top 5 pilots from the graduating competition we held yesterday. Go on boys stand up." Kira, Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, Nichole stood up and waited for their orders. "These 5 have the honor of serving aboard the cruiser under the command of Rau La Cruze. Now boys good luck out there, because with him as your commanding officer you will most certainly need it. Go to the port this instant and do not bother your things have been sent ahead of you!" The few cadets near them had a look of absolute pity when they looked at the 5 going towards the exit. Each and everyone of them knew that their commanding officer was a slave driver. One was even heard saying, "I hope this guys make it back alive." Kira was tempted to simply turned around and thanking one of his former instructors. But he would not do that because she was the person who his brother was secretly in love with.
~At the port~
Rau looked like he was going to receive a promotion as he waited for his team. "Attention, Officer on Deck!" Kira saw Rau and immediately called for the 5 to stand at attention. "At ease, relax Kira there is nothing to be nervous about. We are just going to see that the stupid Naturals don't cause us anymore problems." Rau La Cruze was actually smiling. That made the 5 think that this were going to be some heavy combat involved. Kira I need you to stay, I need to speak to you in private. You 4 go right in and report to my executive officer he will show you your quarters and you should dress in your new uniforms." The 4 left Kira each thinking the same thing, "What was the Captain going to talk to Kira about?"
As Kira followed the captain to his quarters the door opened and he was offered a seat. He sat down and waited, "Well Kira fist I like to congratulate you on you graduation. Second you should be proud your OS is now standard in all our JINN. Your improvements have helped us immensely in the war effort. Now I am going to tell you what our mission is going to be as team lead you should know this. We are investigating possible mobile suit development being conducted by the Earth Alliance in an ORB colony. Before you tell me, yes ORB is neutral, but this may be the thing to expose that lie. We are to take their prototypes and expose ORB for the liars that they are. Now you have an addition mission, you are to infiltrate into the Earth Alliance military as a mercenary. You are to stop any biological weapons deployments that you are able to, and secure mobile suit blueprints for all the new weapons they developed in secret. Questions?" Kira look at the captain and having finished his own analysis on the orders and mission he only had 1 question. "Sir, If I am to posse as a mercenary for the Naturals what are my restrictions as for my role?" Rau knew what he was really asking. "Kira, you have free rein, no restrictions. You may help them as you see fit, and even attack ZAFT units if the situation calls for it. Just do me a favor Kira, try to disable the JINN without killing the pilots if you can." Kira stood at attention and simply said that he will do as commanded. He did not like the idea of having to fight his 4 friends or his fellow coordinators but if this was to be done he did not want Athrun to have to live with the shame. The shame of being labeled a traitor to his own species.
Athrun looked at Kira and he saw his brother looked like they just told him Santa Claus had been vaporized over the north pole, the easter bunny and the tooth fairy both were found dead having overdosed on cocaine. The light in his brothers eyes was completely gone. "Kira what is the matter? You look like they just told you it was the end of life as we know it." Athrun did not understand, how could he. Kira had been ordered to do the unthinkable. To pretend to be a mercenary and help the naturals. He sat down and looked at his 4 friends and prayed to all the heavens that he would not be forced to kill them. But as we all know not all prayers are answered, and not all wishes come true. The mission that they had been assigned would change the lives of so many, but only Kira had a brief idea on just how much. The plan was simple, 5 boys were to pretend to transfer to a university in the ORB colony, from there they would scout the colony and find the experimental mobile suits. Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, Nichole and a guy nicknamed Rusty would take off on the mobile suits towards pick up by the carrier. Kira was told that he would follow the orders that the captain had given him in private. Rau saw the look on Kira's face and he too understood. Sometimes being too smart could really cause a person to suffer in way normal people did not understand. Kira was the ultimate coordinator, these orders would cause him the most pain and Rau knew that. But he also knew that there was no one more committed to saving innocent lives than Kira. "How can he even wake up in the morning? Knowing that he might have to kill his own brother? How can I for that matter. War really does bring the worst of us. I hope my baby brother will find a way to come out of this war alive, and sane." Rau felt pity for Kira, but this had to be done. Blue Cosmos was a threat that simply could not be ignored.