Chapter 02 - Nameless

"Shura, stop it. Can't you see he has passed out already?"

Shura was in disbelief. This random guy had just kissed Cagalli, kissed her right in front of him. He knew he couldn't feel this way—they had been friends since Cagalli confessed she was leaving Orb because of a disagreement with her father, or in her words, "I wanted to explore the world before I got tied to marriage and administrative duties." With these words, he vowed to stay by her side, accepting that maybe their fate was to be just friends.

But-

This random, drunk guy, walking carelessly along the tram tracks, had suddenly stolen a kiss. Shura had been dreaming of confessing his feelings, sometimes imagining kissing her, but he had stopped himself from doing more than just dreaming.

The words he had just blurted out came directly from his reserved feelings. He wanted to punch this guy, really. But as Cagalli said, the guy had already passed out and wouldn't even know his life was in danger or maybe even remember what happened. Shura tried to calm his nerves.

"So what do we do?" Shura asked, picking up the drunk Athrun and carrying him to the nearest bench.

"Well, we can't leave him outside, even though he's drunk. Should we call the police or an ambulance maybe?" Cagalli asked as she helped Shura fix Athrun on the bench.

Then, they heard his phone ringing.

"Ah, that's it," Cagalli said and attempted to search his pants.

Shura stopped her midway. "I'll do the searching," he said, locating the ringing phone. He found it and saw the name Kira on the screen. He handed the phone to Cagalli.

Cagalli answered, "Hello!"

The voice on the other end sounded a bit awkward. "Uh, hello! Am I not mistaken? This is Athrun's phone, right?" the voice said.

Uh, so this guy's name is Athrun, Cagalli thought. "I guess," she answered.

"My name is Kira, and yeah, I'm looking for the owner of this phone."

"Glad you called. This guy has passed out on a street here. You can find us in a street near Graslei quay."

"Passed out?" Kira asked in a worried tone. "What happened?"

"Well, a lot of things. Maybe you can come and pick him up because we are thinking of calling the police or an ambulance. Drunk as he is, we can't leave him in the cold streets," Cagalli replied. "I'll send you the location and we will wait for you, but please hurry up."

"Yes, that would be great. And who am I talking to?"

"Cagalli." She put the phone in front of Athrun and the phone unlocked. Then he tried to find Kira's name and sent him their live location.

Half an hour later, Kira arrived at the specified place in a car. He saw two people standing outside, a woman and a man. So the woman must be Cagalli. He scanned the place and saw the familiar figure slumped on a bench. He hurried to them.

"Hello, I'm Kira. Nice to meet you," he said, offering his hand first to Cagalli.

Cagalli took it. "I'm Cagalli, and this is my friend Shura."

"I imagine this is your friend," Shura replied, pointing towards Athrun.

"Yes, definitely. Do you know what happened?" Kira asked, walking over to Athrun. Athrun was sleeping soundly on the bench, clearly drunk.

"We don't have any idea. I mean, you are the friend, right?" Cagalli replied.

"Yes, we were chatting, and he didn't tell me he was drinking. He usually asks if I want to drink. I thought he was in his flat."

"Well, it's good that you called," Cagalli replied.

Kira went to the bench and picked up the drunk Athrun. He was heavier than usual. Since Shura didn't want Cagalli to have any physical interaction with Athrun, he took Athrun's other side and helped Kira carry him to the passenger side.

Kira buckled him up and returned to the waiting people. "Well, really, thanks. You're very nice."

"Uhm, and before we forget, he was almost hit by a tram. I guess he was trying to make his way to the stop, but he was drunk. Your friend here has got so many issues," Cagalli replied.

"This is getting a little shameful because honestly, I didn't know what was happening with him as we were even chatting this evening," Kira replied in a puzzled tone.

"Just ask him as soon as he sobers up," Cagalli replied. "Take care."

Before leaving, Kira posed a final question to Cagalli, "I remember his left cheek seemed red. Do you know what happened?"

"He kissed me, so I slapped him," Cagalli replied, her voice tinged with anger.

"I apologized on his behalf, but trust me, that's not like him," Kira commented.

"Regardless of whether it's like him or not, he should have known better. Anyway, you can skip that part. I've given him enough to think about, and we're even now. Goodbye," Cagalli said firmly.

"But Cagalli, he kissed you on the lips. Should we report it as sexual harassment or something? You said being drunk isn't an excuse," Shura pressed.

"I trust his friend at least. Kira, you seem like a good guy, so I'll trust you when you say it's out of character for him. But I can't let this slide. Just do me a favor and skip the details. He needs to reflect," Cagalli replied. "But I appreciate you letting him know about his behavior."

"What exactly happened, if I may ask?"

"He was leaning on me after I pulled him. I was trying to talk to him and then he blurted out something like, 'Can I kiss you?' I was about to refuse, but before I could, his lips were on mine. So I slapped him instinctively," Cagalli explained.

Kira grimaced, "That sounds painful. I'll honor your request and talk to him about his actions. I know you might see me as biased since we're friends, but honestly, he's not the type to make advances on girls. In fact, girls at the university were interested in him. I really can't imagine him doing something like this."

"We're not interested in his popularity," Shura interjected, shedding light on the personal impact of this incident on Cagalli. He did not like where the conversation was going. They are learning more about this guy. He's not just some drunk guy to her; he has a name and a personality. "I don't mean to cut this short, but it's late, and we're already delayed getting home," he added, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Sorry for keeping you, and thank you again for caring about Athrun," Kira replied. "Goodbye and thanks again, Cagalli and Shura. By the way, I can drop you at your flat," Kira offered and went to the driver's seat.

Shura, a little flustered, did not want Kira to know their address. Then they will have a reason to return, so he said, "Well, no worries. Our flat is not far from here."

"Yeah, I think you need to look after your friend now," Cagalli replied.

"No, I insist. It's the least I can do."

"No worries. It's nice to walk around the city at this time of the night," Cagalli smiled.

"Okay. Then I'll leave you. Take care," Kira replied and started the car. In a moment, the car turned left and it was out of sight.

"Shall we?" Shura asked.

"Yeah, we should be on our way," Cagalli replied.

Morning came, and as expected, Athrun woke up with a heavy head, dry lips, and one swollen cheek. He was very thirsty, so the first thing he did was go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He gulped it down and then proceeded to the bathroom. Checking his image in the mirror, he saw that one of his cheeks bore the mark of a hand. It looked like he had been slapped. He touched it, and it felt painful. Whoever slapped him must have been really mad. Who did it? Why couldn't he remember? Was he really that wasted?

It was a good thing he had no classes today. Otherwise, he would have to think of ways to hide the mark.

A little while later, he sat on the sofa and closed his eyes. His head was still spinning from last night. Then, he realized he was already at his flat and thought, how did he get home last night?

His father walked up to him. "Seems you're sober now. Care to tell me what happened last night? Suddenly you were lashing out, then your friend brought you back home in a drunk state," Patrick said.

"Friend?" Athrun repeated.

"Yes, Kira. You were so drunk that you didn't even remember," Patrick replied.

"Who's fault is it anyway?" Athrun replied.

"Can you explain one thing? Can you tell me why you are so against this proposal? It's not even the first time, and the first time, you accepted it. What made the difference?"

Athrun thought about it. What changed? Probably because of the freedom he felt while he was away in the city. A freedom he did not know existed back home. Talking to people, and learning about their lives, he felt that he should be the driver behind his own life.

"Ghent."

"This city? What about it?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Well then, you can have as much freedom when you are here, but you are still my son. And with that goes the name and the responsibility within it. You will finish your studies here, and then return to the country to do your duties. There is no escaping it."

In truth, although he didn't say it, Patrick knew that Athrun felt restricted. He knew what it felt like to finally explore other countries, other cities, new cultures, new people. He can have all these experiences, and it will probably help him as a leader in the future, but responsibilities are responsibilities.

Patrick walked away. Athrun felt a little surprised. In times when he expected scolding, there was none, but he realized his father was right. He could never escape the responsibilities. He would not, more like he could not.

He got up and went back to his room. He realized that his clothes had changed, probably Kira had changed him. He searched for his phone. He found it lying on top of his bedside table. Then beside it, a pin also rested. He took the pin first and examined it.

"Cagalli."

He felt dizzy and decided to take another nap. But before closing his eyes, he remembered the silhouette of a blonde woman, staring back at him. This memory seemed to bring warmth to his chest. He closed his eyes.

The next day, Athrun found Kira and Lacus happily chatting in their classroom. He sat near them.

"Everything okay?" Kira greeted.

"Yeah."

"Sure? Because I think that a good person would not pass out in the middle of the night if he is okay," Kira said.

"What happened?" asked Lacus.

"We can talk about it later. Anyway, thanks for bringing me back," Athrun said to Kira.

"Well, we have Cagalli and Shura to thank. It was them that found you passed out on the street."

Only the name Cagalli registered to Athrun. It was the same name on the pin. He was still puzzled about why he had the pin. "Cagalli?"

"You probably don't remember them, but as you said, we can talk about it later."

They quieted as the teacher walked into the room.

During class, Athrun's mind drifted. Now he had a mysterious woman to wonder about—the one who brought warmth to his chest. A smile began to form on his lips as he thought about her. However, his thoughts also drifted to the pin resting on his bedside table. He touched it and unconsciously caressed it. Why did he have the pin? How did he get it?

The teacher's voice floated in the air, "Now that we've discussed all the classical political thinkers, who do you think is the most influential?"

The teacher looked around the room. Only one face was not facing her.

"Athrun," called the teacher. No response. The teacher repeated, "Athrun Zala." The whole class was now looking in Athrun's direction.

Kira, who was sitting at the back, nudged him with a pen. Athrun became aware.

"Athrun, this is a first," said the teacher.

"Oh, sorry for that lag," he turned his gaze to the teacher and then replied, "I think one of the most influential classical political thinkers is Karl Marx. Together with Frederick Engels, they inspired the idea of a class revolution led by the workers."

He heard the question, but in a rare moment, his own name didn't register with him. His mind was preoccupied by two individuals: a mysterious blonde woman and an enigmatic name. His curiosity had been piqued. A question lingered in his thoughts, a persistent feeling that he truly wanted to know more about them.

The teacher was impressed; she believed she had caught Athrun off guard, observing him gazing out the window with a sigh, seemingly lost in thought. Despite this distraction, he managed to answer the question, which impressed her.

"And how is it relevant today, in the age of advanced technology, where people have now conquered space?"

"I think the idea of a revolution is powerful. It gives hope to the oppressed people that they can rise to end the system and the people that oppress them. It's just on a larger scale now, where powerful countries bully the weak, but the weak can also fight back by building their strength and establishing strategic alliances and collaborations. Though honestly, it will take a long while, but - hope itself is hard to kill."

"Yes, very insightful. Very good. Now moving on—"

Athrun went back to staring out the window, his mind drifting again. Who are you? This mysterious woman, who brought warmth to his chest, had begun to occupy his thoughts.