Gundam SEED Destiny
Kira
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Final Phase 28: Beginning of the End
February 5, 74 CE
Linz, Austria
1:10pm
He was sitting in a small café, absently eating a fish sandwich. However, his attention was focused upon the newspaper on the table beside him. It wasn't as difficult as it had been a few weeks ago for him to translate the German paper enough to understand it. German wasn't his best language, but he was learning. And what he was seeing made him feel somewhat reassured.
The people in the area were moving on. He could still detect certain amounts of bitterness towards Coordinators and the PLANTs by reading between the lines. But it was a definite step up from the outright racism that many papers in many other countries were still writing. He knew better than to think people could get over their negative emotions so quickly after so much hate and death. Only time would help heal those wounds, but this was a definite step in the right direction.
A presence beside him quickly drew his attention. It was the woman who waitressed and owned the café. She looked quizzically at his half-eaten meal, reminding him that it was still in his hand, before setting his bill down next to him. Quickly finishing off the sandwich, he fished through his pocket and withdrew his wallet. An empty wallet glared up at him.
Glancing up at the lady, who was still lingering over him, he saw that she'd easily seen his empty wallet as well. A nervous laugh tore its way out of his throat as he watched her expression morph from serene to glaring within a moment.
"I swear I will pay for this," he said quietly in a broken German.
"Darn right you will, kid," the lady said as her hand flashed down and clamped tightly upon his earlobe. With no sympathy whatsoever, she yanked him towards the backroom and shoved him towards the sink, which had a very large pile of dishes mounted next to it.
"Wash, now," she barked commandingly before marching back out into the dining area.
Akira could only stare dumbly down at the sink and filthy dishes for a few moments, wondering how he had gotten himself into this. It was a deep, barking chuckle from over by the large stove that snapped him from his stupefied state.
"Best get to work, kid," the man suggested, amusement thick in his accented voice. "Oria is a real slave driver when it comes to bums that don't pay."
He had wept for hours uncontrollably. Even with the cockpit of the Gundam he was inside set at a comfortable temperature, he wrapped himself up into a tight ball. Tears had fallen like rain no matter how many times he tried to dry his face on the blanket he was nestled in. Tears had fallen until he had no more to cry with, and still he wept.
The blanket stunk of smoke and was half-burnt from the fire that he'd pulled it from, but he paid it no attention. It was all he had left of the Falacci. They were gone. The café, their home, and their lives had all been destroyed in an instant. They were gone. Why? Why did they have to die? They hadn't done anything wrong!
Was it simply because they had known him? Was it because they had done as he'd asked and kept Meer Campbell safe from the masses that wouldn't hesitate to harm her simply because of who she was trying to impersonate? He knew there was only one way that ZAFT could've found out about them; Meer had told them. Why did she have to tell ZAFT about them? As far as he knew, Meer had never been treated with anything more than respect and courtesy during her time at the café. So why did she have to tell them?! Surely she had known that this was going to happen?
He had taken her there because he simply didn't have anywhere else he could've put her. The Falacci were really the only people on Earth that he knew of that might be willing to help him. They were supposed to be protected in the anonymity; no one would've suspected a pair of simple café cooks would be in semi-regular contact with a wanted terrorist as himself. But he still had hesitated in his decision in bringing her to them.
Because of this very thing happening!
He should've trusted his instincts and kept Meer close to him at all times. Then she wouldn't have known about the Falacci to begin with. Now not only were the Falacci dead, but so were an entire battleship of ZAFT personnel. And despite his own beliefs and convictions, he just couldn't find it within himself to pity those who he had so cold-bloodedly killed when they were the ones directly responsible for murdering the Falacci. It was all their fault; them, Gilbert Durandal, Meer Campbell, and most of all himself.
But why? Why did she tell Durandal?!
'I need to find her, talk to her,' he realized. As he finally lifted his head, his glazed over eyes were reflected back to him on the multiple monitors of the Karai Gundam as he felt a burning wave of heat enter his body. Akira Iyadomi was angry.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE) It's short, I know!
But unfortunately, like you've likely all realized by now, I've completely lost what little drive I had to finish this story. I decided to post this one final scene and then end it. Before any of you start yelling that there's still so many unanswered questions and unresolved problems, I consider this 'ending' as a good finishing scene for the story and a good place for a potential sequel to start up, if I decide to return to this story-verse in the future. Hopefully, the next story will feature a send-off for Akira Iyadomi's character that you all can like.
If there's anyone out there who lacks the patience in waiting for me to write the sequel, I'll be perfectly happily to let you write your versions of the ending. I'd be more than happy to beta-read for you. Not to sound arrogant or egotistical, but if you decide to take up this offer remember this: I have VERY high and strict standards.
Until next time...