A Fallen Star (Kira Yamato) Entry Nine
Akane: Hey everyone! :D
Sorry this took so long to update; I'm surprised how suckish I am for writing this summer. I will get better once school starts though, so don't worry. (laughs)
Oh, and the pic of Mai and Kira Blitz12 drew me is on my profile, so go check it out! xD
Azami: ... you don't do a disclaimer?
Akane: Should I?
Azami: -nods-
Akane: Um... I do not own the Gundam Seed characters or the original plot. I do, however, own Mai Zala and everything related to her, that wasn't in the original.
Azami: Good!
Isu-chan: -hands Animegirl a cookie-
Akane: YAY! :D
R&R!!
"So long as children are allowed to suffer, there is no true love in this world."
Isodore Duncan
ENTRY NINE:
This dream started like all the others.
As she ran, she didn't have time to note she was at least two years older in this one. All she could do was cry; it still felt the same. The little girl was still all alone.
The city was still unknown, the snow still fell. This time, she didn't bother crying out for anyone, she knew no one would hear her, but she continued to run.
Even as she thought that, there was one name she wanted to cry out for, to yell at the top of her lungs, except that it continued to escape her. She couldn't run anymore, just continued to cry.
Someone called her name.
The girl lifted her face from her hands, and questioned shakily who it was. The voice was too familiar.
"Mai?" It called again.
She tried to answer the pleading voice, only to hear nothing. She continued to cry; she didn't want this voice to be so sad.
"Mai, wake up! Please…" Kira's voice was uneven.
He hovered partially over her body inside the Ecran's cockpit, so he wouldn't fall to the ground far below. Mai didn't seem injured, but when he tried to shake her awake, it didn't work. He tried yelling her name, but that too failed. For some reason, one that he couldn't place, he was worried about her, more worried then he had ever been in his life.
"Please," he cried. "Please don't die on me…"
But Mai didn't want to hear him so sad. Despite her own pain, she tried to open her eyes. The sudden burst of light forced her to close them until they could adjust. She could still make out the figure standing above her.
"Kira…?" she managed to mumble.
She heard him make a sharp intake of breath, looking down at her. Mai hated the look on his face; the sorrow and the worry, and did her best to smile at him. In the next instant, he had her out of her seat and pulled her into an embrace.
"Thank God you're alright!"
At that exact moment, Mai wanted to cry.
She didn't know whether it was that she had made him worry so much, or if she was just happy. Mai couldn't care less; part of her was happy. She wanted that feeling to last forever.
"I never expected to meet the Hawk of Endymion in a place such as this," One of the men below the two hovering Gundam's exclaimed. Marrue, Mu La Flaga, and several other soldiers were meeting with the Archangel's savior group. He had introduced himself as Sahid, and was a tan, middle aged man.
"You strike me as a man who is very well informed." Marrue pointed out, "Do you also know about us?"
The man chuckled. "You are the crew of the Earth Forces new assault ship, the Archangel, yes? You descended to Earth to escape Zaft's Crueset Team; those machines of yours are --"
"The X105 Strike, and the X104 Ecran," the blonde girl from the back interrupted, making her way to the front of the crowd. "That's what they call those things: two of the Earth Forces new prototype mobile weapons."
Marrue watched the man turn to the girl, then back to her and Mu. "Well, here we are. How good it is that we know who you are and you know who we are. I must say though, we're surprised to see you land in such an unfortunate location; I can only assume that you landed in this place by accident. Now that you're here, though… I am curious to know what you plan to do."
The caption nodded. "Can we count on your complete co-operation?"
"If you're serious about talking," Sahib chuckled, "you should lower your guns first."
Marrue knew everyone watching would be shocked, but it didn't surprise her. Of course he would've figured out her forces had to be near by with their weapons drawn.
Sahib motioned to the two Gundams. "They should disarm as well."
"Very well," the two heard Marrue sigh over the Ecran's comlink. "Ensign Yamato, Ensign Hitamaru, come down here."
"Will you be alright?" Kira asked her, separating the two of them to look at her face.
"I'll be fine; I'm just a little dizzy."
She watched him turn to grab the rope, before wrapping an arm around her waist. "Hold on, okay? We don't want you to fall."
Mai nodded; falling at such a distance wasn't exactly what she wanted to do. She wrapped her own arms around his body, and held on tight.
The small automatic rope elevator started to descend; she held on tighter to Kira, trying not to look down. If it was a different situation, she probably could've laughed about how she was more afraid then heights then heading into battle inside a mobile weapon. She didn't dare open her mouth with all the people staring at them from the ground.
Kira let go of her when they were safely on the sand, and asked if she could walk. Mai repeated herself, but he stayed by her side as they walked towards the group.
As they walked, she began to pull off her helmet, letting her loose hair fall around her; the desert heat was making it unbearable. She regretted it at once.
"Unbelievable!"
"A woman's piloting that thing?"
"Not only that, but she's still just a child!"
As if he hadn't heard them, Kira removed his helmet, still watching the girl beside him out of the corner of his eyes; watching to see if she really was alright. He didn't understand how she could just collapse in the middle of a battle like that, then smile at him. Had it been the stress that caused it?
"A boy?" the crowd continued.
"This is insane! They're only children!"
As the crowd continued, a blonde girl made her way through them, running up to the two pilots. At first glance, Mai had wondered if she really had been a girl, but as she got closer it became clear. Kira and she stopped, and he moved in front of her, becoming a shield.
"So, it is you," the girl growled.
Mai blinked; some of the crowd began to mutter to each other. She saw that the Captain and a man she didn't recognize both looked as confused as she was.
"What?" Kira questioned.
The girl growled again, "Why… what is someone like you doing here, huh?!"
Did she know him?
She raised one of her hands to slap him; Mai's eyes widened and her hands covered her mouth, but Kira caught the girl's hand before it could make contact. She glared at him, trying to free her hand from his grip. Kira's face lit up with realization.
"That's right," he said. "You're that person I met in Morgenroete."
The girl pulled back her hand, but Kira was still holding onto her, so her fist collided with his cheek. Kira released her hand.
"Kira!" Mai gasped.
She watched him raise his own hand on that cheek. The girl had been pulled away by a man, and they were having an argument away from them.
What did that girl have against Kira?
"Mai! Thank goodness you're okay!" Miriallia cried happily, running into Mai's arm the second she was inside. Marrue had told her to go back inside instead of helping Kira and the Strike bring the Archangel into the Resistance camp. Once they were in, she was meant to meet the Captain outside.
The blue-haired girl was used to these hugs, where Mir acted like an over worried older sister, even though she was only an inch taller.
"Jeez, Mir!" Mai giggled. "You had doubts?"
With one last squeeze, Mir released her friend and frowned. "You scared the heck out of me! I was so worried!"
"I'm sorry; I didn't expect to be so tired…"
"Are you okay now?"
"I'll be fine, I just need to get some sleep after the Captain's done with me."
Ignoring the sceptical look from her friend, Mai said her goodbye and went searching for Marrue.
"Well, it may be territory that is under the domination of ZAFT, but look at this land." Sahib explained to the other three figures. With his coffee mug, he circled a part of the map lying on the table between them. Marrue, Natarle and Mu watched. "It's not as if their forces can cover an entire area, yet only three short days ago Victoria Spaceport was taken over. Since that time, they've increased pressure considerably."
The three were shocked at this news.
"Did you say Victoria?" Natarle questioned.
Mu sighed, "Man, oh man."
Taking another drink of his coffee, Sahib observed their reactions carefully before continuing. "The African Community in this area has traditionally sided more with the PLANTs. The South African Union did the best they could, but the Earth Forces abandoned them in the end anyways; everyday the front lines keep edging back."
"Though you guys haven't stopped fighting, have you?" Mu stated.
"As we see it, ZAFT and the Earth Forces are no different; they both come here only to take control and steal away what is ours."
From outside the commanding tent, she could sense the awkward silence that followed his statement. Mai knew he was right about one thing; ZAFT and Earth had a lot in common.
"How well do you say that ship fairs in Earth's atmosphere?" she heard the same man question.
The voice who answered belonged to Natarle, "It can't fly at high altitudes."
"If you can't fly over a mountain range, the only alternative would be to break through Gibraltar."
Mai gasped; she knew going through that area would be suicide for the Archangel. She shook her head, clearing her mind.
"With our battle strength?" Mu mumbled. "You got to be kidding me."
With a deep breath, Mai pulled back to tent's curtain door, calling out to the Commander. The four turned to her; Marrue smiled.
"I'm glad you came, Mai," she said, then turned to the other man. Mai recognized him from before. "This is Ensign Mai Hitamaru, the pilot of the mobile suit X104 Ecran, and assists with our weapon management. That is the reason I called her here; she says she also remembers a layout for this surrounding area."
"Oh?" the man looked at her, eyeing her suspiciously.
The teenager in question bowed slightly, smiling to hide her true feelings of nervousness. She never thought she'd end up meeting a leader to a resistance force, let alone Desert Dawn. That group, she once heard her father say, only caused trouble for ZAFT. They were a nuisance that needed to be destroyed.
Yeah right; her father was simply a crazy man.
"Yes, sir. I remember a lot from my father, who is a military man. I hope to be of assistance."
Quickly, the man she learned was named Sahib explained more about their previous conversation. They discussed several possible outcomes, but Mai dismissed everyone before the older group managed to find a flaw. She could almost remember every detail of her father's data.
"We could try to get past the Red Sea, through the Indian Ocean," she said, gaining their attention. Mai circled that area of the map with her fingers. "Then head over to the Pacific."
"The Pacific Ocean?" Marrue repeated.
Mai watched Sahib rub his chin in thought. "Well, now. That's actually a fair idea."
Natarle, who had yet to say a word, shook her head. "We couldn't possibly cover that distance without stopping alone the way to resupply the ship."
"I understand the Oceania Union is completely within ZAFT territory, right?" Mai was surprised that Mu was asking her rather than Sahib.
"Yes, but --"
"What about the Equatorial Union, is it still neutral?"
"Hey," Sahib interrupted, "aren't you jumping too far ahead? You think you're there already? Take a look here." Again, he pointed to an area with his mug. "The Lesseps' is also here, in Banadiya."
Mai frowned; she had figured that much. Yzak and Dearka had fallen to Earth. They were going to pick them up sometime.
"Ah, so I see what you meant when you said 'get past.'" Mu sighed.
She nodded, watching Sahib take a large drink of coffee. Oddly enough, that moment gave her an idea.
"How did we end up in a camp full of rebels?"
Mai shrugged at Sai's comment. "Your bad luck, I guess.
Miriallia giggled.
She was with the others now, outside the Archangel and in the Rebel camp. The workers were all standing in lines as they waited for their meals; Mai and her friends watched from the sidelines. None of them knew she had even met the resistance leader.
The blue haired teen was the center of the group, sitting on one of the many piled crates beside the ship. Miriallia and Tolle stood at her right, and Sai was at her left. Kuzzey sat on the crate beside her.
This adventure of mine just gets crazier by the day, Mai thought, and chuckled to herself.
"But right in the middle of the desert?" Kuzzey complained, "If I had known we would end up here, I wouldn't have said I'd remain on the ship."
Tolle frowned, looking away from his friend. "If you had gotten in that shuttle with the others, you would've been dead right now."
Mai's eyes softened, she thought back to the battle.
She thought back to Kira. To the time they cried together; comforting each other.
She blushed.
"In a war, you never know who will be next." Mir told them. "What's going to happen to us?"
Mai sat up and looked at them, realizing the sudden change in atmosphere. Even if they were in the middle of war, it was still a little difficult to loose her pop-idol feeling at times like this.
"Oh come on, you guys!" she whined. They all faced her; she pouted and waved her hands in front of her body. "If you all start going around depressed like that, you'll just make me depressed! You might not know this, but depression and I don't go so well!"
Mai yelped; her movements had made her crate loose it's balance, so it tipped and fell on its side, taking her with it.
Gundam pilot versus a crate? Well, you see the winner.
While her friends laughed, she attempted to get back on her feet without her skirt riding up. The blush from earlier crept back to her face, but in embarrassment this time.
She heard Sai's laughter cease when she was standing again, and the other's followed. Mai looked up after straightening her skirt, seeing what her friends had.
Flay had walked up to their group, looking around the site. Sai called out to her, but she ignored him.
"Where's Kira? I can't find him anywhere," she mumbled to them. Flay never stopped to even look at Sai, just kept searching for someone who wasn't there.
Mai frowned and turned away, pretending to still be fixing herself after that fall. She still couldn't understand why something like that hurt her so much, and she also knew Sai felt the same. Mai ignored the look Miriallia was giving her.
Sai and Flay had been engaged. So what was her reason?
His eyes followed the words he typed on the screen as he tried to only focus on the Strike. Lately, Kira's mind was all over the place, so he needed to concentrate on not making any mistakes.
"Hey, what're you doing this time?"
Kira looked up from his work, seeing the mechanic Kojiro's head popping into the cockpit.
"I had to tweak the contact pressure during last night's battle, so I need to make the appropriate adjustments."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Kojiro agreed. He chuckled. "I've got to tell you, you're a pretty useful pilot. All of a sudden you're giving this thing your full attention eh, Ensign Yamato?" Still chuckling, he turned away and left Kira to his work.
The boy watched him leave, but caught a glimpse of something he didn't expect. Kira could see her back from his place the cockpit.
He could tell Mai was laughing at something Mu had said, as the two of them finished talking to one of the mechanics. The mechanic also laughed, before heading back towards the Skygraspers. Kira watched the Lieutenant scratch the back of his head, turning to smile at her. After she stopped giggling, he watched her turn around.
And he felt his heart stop.
Kira forced himself to continue his work again, to ignore the laughing pair below him; to once again focus only on his work. He found it wasn't as easy, if that could've even been called easy, as the first time.
Her smile had been so beautiful.
Mai sighed, switching the basket from her left arm to her right.
She had left the hanger, after helping the Lieutenant update the crew about the previous battle conditions, and what they should do to the exterior of the Skygraspers. She was positive she hadn't been much help, but Mu kept telling her she did great.
He had also mentioned how she must've been tired, and that she should go and relax. Walk around the site, see what's out there.
That wasn't the most relaxing thing in the world to do. Oddly enough, she enjoyed it.
Her walk through the rebel site gave her more of an insight of what was out there, what was going on in the world. She saw the warriors, as they were called, and the citizens helping them. A couple times children would run by, playing and laughing. One little girl had bumped into her, and Mai saw as she apologized that the poor child must've been scared of her.
Of course, Mai couldn't take that. She ended up playing with her and the other children for at least an hour. She barely noticed the mothers smiling, still serving the men their meals. Once, one of the children had fallen, and the mothers went into a panic. Before they could react, Mai had already been comforting the child, singing to him softly to ease his crying. The other children had heard, and begged her to actually sing the whole thing. She was reluctant at first, but she sang anyways, without Mewmo and the background music. Mai was happy she did; the happiness on their faces meant so much to her. Apparently, it had also made the watching adults nearby happy, so they had pitched in to give her fresh fruit and bread or sewn charms. A basket full, even.
But now, the high she had been in with the rebel village was gone. The early pain was back as she wandered the Archangel halls.
Weren't Coordinators not supposed to get sick? So why was she in so much pain recently, ever since she first arrived at the Earth Alliance ship?
But she knew it wasn't only the throbbing in her head that caused her pain.
She refused to admit to the second reason; it was something that only made everything more confusing. Her little world had expanded so much in the past month, it forced her to think more then she would've spending every day in that mansion with her father.
Mai froze. How long has it been since she thought about her brother? She almost felt worse when she realized that he had been less on her mind then he should have. Of course, now that she remembered, she was sure every little thing would remind her of him.
With another sigh, she headed for her room on the other side of the ship.
Mai barely made it around the corner.
"Kira!"
She stopped again, turning to face the hallway to her right. Automatically, she moved back and pushed her body against the wall. She was lucky Kira turned around before he could see her, and that Flay was too focused on him to notice. She could hear them both stop, and she slightly heard the wind. She figured they had both just come from outside, making it in before the sun completely set.
Mai wanted to leave, not to hear this, but her feet wouldn't move. She was frozen in place.
"Flay? What's wrong?"
"I need to talk to Flay," she recognized that voice as Sai. "It's none of your business, Kira."
Mai's eyes widened. Part of her wondered that if she stepped out and pretended to notice them, if she could just call out and stop them before something went too wrong. She tried to move, but she was shaking again.
"This had everything to do with him!" Flay snapped. Mai's shaking increased. "I… I spent all last night with Kira, get it!!"
The basket collapsed on the floor, spilling its contents and masked Sai's gasp from her hearing. Tears started streaming down her cheeks; she covered her ears with her hands.
"Well, Kira?" Sai asked, his voice quavering. If Mai even had her voice, she'd scream. "Explain this to me, Flay. You… you --"
"Why should I explain myself? It has nothing to do with you, Sai."
She shook her head, trying to stop both the shaking and the tears. She didn't want to hear this; her knees buckled together.
"Just forget it, Sai." Kira's voice cut through her mind, piercing it like a knife. She forced her eyes shut, but the tears still came.
"What's that?" Sai snapped back. Why was she in tears while he was angry? What was wrong with her?
Why did this affect her so much?
"Everyone can see that you're chasing after someone who has no desire to be with you!"
She cried out, but not loud enough to reveal herself. She yelled at her body to run before she broke down even more then she was. How that would be possible, she didn't know.
"If I took this seriously, you wouldn't stand a chance against me!"
Mai pushed her body completely against the wall, sobbing in silence in her frozen state.
Kira's voice was the only one she could hear anymore; it was the one that hurt her the most.
"Flay's been… kind and considerate to me. She stayed with me the whole time."
In his mind, where had Mai been?
"She held me in her arms."
Did she cry with him?
"She said she'd look after me!"
Did she have that power? Was she the one who fought by his side?
"No one stops to think about what I'm feeling! What goes through my mind during a battle!"
Her tears became worse; she knew she'd scream at any moment.
What am I to you, Kira?
She forced herself away, finally feeling her legs, even if they protested in their pain. Mai ran, as fast as they could carry her. A trail of tears following behind her.
A whistle echoed throughout the rebel camp, everyone began running around to their posts. Sahib, from the main tent, brought out the radio in his hand and told his men to report.
"The sky is burning!" the man shouted from the other line. "It's in the direction of Tassle!"
In the distance, to the west, black smoke began to rise to the clouds, and red flames engulfed the town below.
Battle was approaching.
It was then, in that moment of tears, that I realized something; something I was very afraid to admit.
I was completely in love with him.
Mai Zala
Thanks for reading!! xD