Pillow Talk | By : tenohikari Category: Gundam (all others) > General Views: 5703 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Title: Pillow Talk (Chapter 3)
Author: Tenohikari
Betad by: Nevermore Amaya
Fandom: Gundam Seed Destiny
Pairing: Kira/Shinn (um... yay for non-existent pairings)
Rating: PG-13/R
Warning: A little AU-ish but there are spoilers for the series thus far and shounen ai/yaoi themed if you haven't gotten that from that pairing.
Legal Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed Destiny. Gundammit.
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Chapter Three
When he stepped onto the bridge, both Murrue Ramius and Amagi paused in their conversation to regard him with friendly smiles which Kira struggled to return half-heartedly as he approached. He decided not to join them or anyone else sitting on the bridge, instead, he walked up to the view point and stared out the window looking straight ahead, his purple eyes took in the bright scenery of the snow covered mountains that surrounded their ship as they headed for the ocean.
After the Chairman of PLANT had made his world wide announcement - which will lead to world wide panic, if it hadn't started already. His feelings told him that something drastic was going to happen and soon and Gilbert Dullindal would be responsible for it. Unlike Athrun he would never trust a man who used an imposter who called herself "Lacus Clyne" - who probably had a hand in the attempt to assassinate the real one - in order to control people with their devotion to the idol.
'Using people against people; Chairman Dullindal is just like him...' he mused with a frown. Where Rau Le Creuset had depended on hatred and destruction to bring an end to everything, Dullindal used devotion and the pursuit of peace as tools to gain mass control. Inevitably the goals of the Chairman of PLANT would coincide with Creuset's. Labeling Logos as the enemy. The malevolent "merchants of death" as Dullindal referred to them were in some way affiliated with other countries across the globe. Bring the war to Logos and any other country that is believed to support them. Including Orb.
Up front he saw Cagalli sitting beside the ship's pilot Arnold Neumann, and admired the fact that even though the same worries were going through her mind, she managed to maintain a calm face. With the world about to be thrown into chaos, he knew the young monarch would have to take back her power to ensure their country and its people's survival. But this did not worry Kira because he had complete faith in her. Cagalli may be his biological twin sister, but she was still Uzumi Nara Attha's daughter.
"Were you able to get some rest, Kira-kun?"
He snapped out of his daze and turned towards Captain Ramius, who was concerned by his silence. Kira quickly clamped his mouth shut before he had the chance to brush the question off with a lie. He hadn't slept well at all with the Impulse pilot's voice yelling in his head. No matter how many times he tried to suppress them, images of Shinn's reaction to the truth would always linger in his mind. As much as he wished that the young ZAFT soldier would understand, Kira knew what to expect.
"The Freedom, I know it's one of the most powerful Gundams out there, but if it causes anymore harm to my team mates... I'll have to destroy it."
Glancing over to Miriallia, who had taken back her position as the Archangel's CIC, Kira wondered if he could tell her what happened. Even if she couldn't give him any suggestion on what he ought to do this time, he would be glad to confide in someone who knew his secret. Unfortunately, no sooner did he take a step in her direction did she announce that several BuCUEs and BABIs had been spotted on radar, and were headed in their direction.
Damn. He had been expecting this, but didn't anticipate ZAFT going after them so soon!
"I'm going out!" Kira informed them, running towards the doors.
Cagalli turned her seat around and stood up. "Strike Rouge and the Murasume unit will join you."
Quickly he turned on his heel and blocked the exit as she approached. The princess of Orb blinked and stared at him oddly. "What are you doing, Kira? You're blocking-"
"Stay here," he cut her off, and glanced towards Amagi who was about to call the other pilots. "I'm going out alone."
All eyes, except for Neumann (because he was piloting the Archangel) were now on him - staring in disbelief. Murrue opened her mouth to protest but it was his sister who beat her to it.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded, "We're not going to let you fight by yourself!"
"I never fight alone," Kira reminded before addressing the crew, "The fact that they're sending all those units can only mean that this is a trap. We can't be intimidated into it by fighting back, when our main objective is to return to Orb. I'll only be covering the Archangel until we reach the ocean."
"But..."
Calmly he placed his hands on Cagalli's shoulders and gently pushed her back a step into the room. It was when he was standing right front of her, having to look down to meet with worried amber eyes, did the brunette seemed to be aware of how much taller he had grown. It was only a year ago, that they were about the same height and almost the same build. His sibling seemed to note his surprise with annoyance as she tear her gaze away.
"Fine... but I'm heading out if you're not back before we dive!"
A broad smile animated his normally sober features as Kira once again moved back towards the exit. "Everything will be all right. I'll be fine," he promised his twin.
Deja-vu struck suddenly and Kira Yamato found himself remembering Heliopolis once again. Where it had all started for the two of them. The two year old memory of shoving her into the elevator leading to the last available shelter was now fresh in his mind. He had said almost the same exact words to Cagalli - who had been a stranger back then - before he eventually became the pilot of the Strike Gundam.
Maybe it was destiny that constantly brought them back together during war time, and he hoped, would continue to do so. Before the doors closed between them, Kira turned to look back over his shoulder and smiled.
"I'll be back, neesan."
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'What happened to us?' Lunamaria Hawke wondered as she watched her once close comrades as they sat around the wreck room in deafening silence.
True, Rey had always been the quiet one of the group, but at least he acknowledged the rest of them. For the past few days, he'd been more distant than usual. He barely even looked her way when she stepped into the room. Then again neither did Athrun, who sat on the other side of the room, holding his head in his hands.
Wordlessly she walked across the room to sit beside him, silently offering the veteran pilot her support. Only that he seemed oblivious to it... or didn’t want to accept it, she couldn't tell. What she did know was that he was suffering.
Only recently did their ship join "Operation: Angel Down" and Athrun was powerless to stop or even warn his former allies.
"Athrun-san," she began while leaning closer to him - though being careful about her injuries. "Do you want to talk about it?"
From between his fingers, she saw one visible, weary, emerald eye regard her silently. A soft sigh escape his throat as he sat up, running a trembling hand through his dark hair. He glanced her way for a moment and Lunamaria actually believed he was about to confide in her...
... Until Shinn, who was already dressed in his pilot suit, stepped into the room.
She watched Athrun tense as those cold crimson eyes glanced in their direction before looking away in disinterest. Shinn walked over towards Rey who stood up and the two grinned at one another. Lunamaria blinked, and wondered if she was seeing things. Why were they in a good mood all of a sudden? Whatever the reason, it seemed to infuriate the older teen sitting next to her even more.
He stood up abruptly, and walked over to pilot of Impulse, glaring warningly at him. It almost sent chills down Lunamaria's spine at the sight of it. The Zaku Warrior pilot thought she had saw Athrun when he was provoked after slapping Shinn for acting foolishly heroic; but it was nothing compared to the threatening expression he was wearing now.
Lunamaria had to admire Shinn a little for not being intimidated as he returned the glare with as much ferocity. She expected both of them to shout at one another any minute, or even raise their fists and let them do the talking; but the younger pilot merely side stepped his senior and went straight to the elevator leading to the hanger.
"Shinn!"
Athrun cried out as he turned around quickly only to watch the other boy smirk just before the door hissed closed. Unable to do anything now but watch the oncoming battle on screen, the former pilot of Savior sagged his shoulders, bowing his head in a defeat.
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After launching from the Minerva, it didn't take him long to locate his target as he dived into the battle below him, effectively blocking the Freedom's escape route. The other ZAFT mobile suits - the ones that were still in one piece - quickly left him to his prey as they focused their attention on the Archangel. Shinn couldn't really care less, in fact he was thrilled with a one on one fight. He was confident in his piloting skills now more than ever.
"I made a promise to Stellar and myself," he said out loud, "That someday, you were going to be destroyed..."
No matter how angry he felt, Shinn wouldn't let it hinder him. Instead he focused. His mind clear of everything except for the image of the dying girl he held in his arms. The girl he laid to rest in freezing waters while Athrun poorly tried to convince him of sparing her murderer.
"...And I'll be the one to do it!"
As their mobile suits exchanged blows, Shinn's lips twisted into a grin at his opponent's attempt to hit him. In the past he might have fallen victim to the enemy's strategy; but now he would take advantage of it. The pilot of Freedom may be weak-hearted by never shooting to kill, but Shinn wasn't.
'The Freedom is indeed fast. It's aim is also accurate but he never targets the cockpit. The pilot always aims for the weapons or the main camera. That's where the Impulse's chance lies.'
For the past few days he'd kept himself busy with combat simulations and strategy lessons from Rey. Until his dreams were no longer of his family living peacefully in Orb, or settling down with his precious person after the war was over; but destroying the Freedom and reducing it to scrap.
"If you had only listened," he growled, tossing his shield in the other mobile suit's direction, and skillfully letting one of his shots ricochet off it to damage the enemy. "She would still be alive."
"If you hadn't interfered..."
'What do you think you can accomplish by being a sitting duck?!'
'Kira isn't your enemy!'
Shinn seethed as the words the pilot of Freedom had shouted to him over radio and Athrun's outburst in his room came back to play tricks with his memory. The two voices merged together until now he was hearing only Kira - his Kira - speak those same words. Such a distraction caused him to lose focus for a mere second, giving enough time for his enemy to take out the main camera by beheading the Impulse.
"He's not Kira," Shinn hissed as he gripped the controls, "Your Kira takes pictures. He wouldn't be fighting against you. He would have listened..."
Swearing under his breath, he cleared his mind again and ordered Meyrin to launch the Chest Flyer and Force Silhouette.
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Kira gritted his teeth as he tried to stabilize the Freedom's balance before it began to tumble down the snow covered mountain side. This wasn't good. The enemy mobile suit was insistent on his annihilation as he heard as the alarm went off. Just before the blast could connect he launched Freedom back into the air to engage in combat once again.
'Why?' Kira wondered as he dodged another incoming attack, 'Why did it have to be this way?'
He had already had many opportunities to take his enemy down, and missed them all purposefully. Kira could never again bring himself to make another direct kill by aiming at the cockpit. From the moment he received the Freedom, his initiated his "no kill" policy and was confident enough in his piloting skills to uphold it.
Piloting skills that were now being pushed to the limit, as his opponent seem to shield and evade his calculated shots with ease. Indeed the Impulse Gundam was quite formidable, this wasn't the first time they clashed after all. Aside from his policy, Kira again had to face the same dilemma he had two years ago. That the person whom he was fighting against, was someone dear to him.
"You've gotten better, Shinn," the brunette commented to himself as he tried to keep as much distance away from the Impulse as possible. At the same time he had been listening to the Captain of the Minerva try to convince them to surrender through the International Emergency Channel.
As much as he wanted to end this battle peacefully, Kira knew that something more important hung in the balance than just their lives. With the world being torn between PLANT and the Earth Alliance, ORB must once again be neutral in order to survive and bring stability.
With that thought in mind, he quickly sent the Archangel a message and hoped they would follow through. Their top priority should be taking Cagalli back to ORB to regain power. It was probably the only chance to save their country.
At Murrue's refusal of the offer over the channel, he allowed himself to concentrate once again on defeating the attacking mobile suit, while trying to keep them both alive. It was a difficult task and when he saw an opening he took it, decapitating the Gundam and hoping that without the main camera, Shinn would have to retreat.
Yet even with it's torso split apart, the pilot continued to fight him using only a light fighter craft that he assumed had once been the cockpit. Kira felt the wind knocked out of him as the fighter slammed forward into the Freedom before he had the chance to dodge. Machine gun fire followed, giving him no chance to recover.
By the time he managed to breathe, Kira realized he was spiraling downwards and quickly hit the thrusters before the Freedom crashed into the ground. Righting the mobile suit up in mid air, he turned to escape.
'Can't keep this up... need to help the Archangel...' Kira thought in a haze, wondering how the others were fairing against the Minerva and the other ZAFT forces that were pursuing them.
Yet once again, the Impulse - with it's undamaged new armaments - moved in to block his path. Kira cursed his luck and drew out the beam saber as he decided to switch tactics. Instead of aiming at the normal places, he would pretend to attack the Gundam's torso and catch Shinn off guard by trying to shield himself or dodge.
However, he wasn't counting on the Impulse disassembling itself, splitting apart just at the right time. His saber swiped through air and Kira didn't even have a chance to dodge as he was shot at from behind. With one wing blown off and the other severely damaged, he struggled to gain control - losing grip instead his last saber - and get out of the way before Shinn could lock onto him.
Now, Kira was struggling just to stay alive as he weaved through streams of laser fire that came his way, and at the same time distancing himself from the Impulse whenever it got too close. Even when he did use the beam rifle, Shinn managed to maneuver his Mobile Suit fast enough to avoid each shot rather than blocking them. Until finally, a few well-placed hits forced him to release the weapon, before it had a chance to explode and take Freedom's arm off.
With nothing left to attack with, his seed activated and Kira pulled up his shield as the Impulse - now armed with it's sword - came charging at him.
"Everyone..." he managed to whisper as the blade pierced it's way through shield and torso.
I'm sorry.
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"Launch Strike Rouge, I'm going!" Cagalli yelled as she bolted from her seat and was prepared to head to the hanger. That was until Murrue's umber stare held the princess in place.
"You will not," the Captain sternly informed her. "Kira-kun is right, our number one priority is to get to Orb. I swear I will not lose you or any Murasume along the way."
Much to the teenager's surprise she found herself sitting back down. This was what her brother had wanted after all. "But Kira," she began to cry over the sound of thunderous explosions coming from outside. "What about Kira?!"
Amagi, seated within the Combat Information Center, looked torn between agreeing with the Archangel captain and sending his restless pilots out. As much as he hated to admit, their men probably wouldn't stand a chance in this situation. They were out numbered. If their ship didn't make it to the ocean to escape now, or they would all surely meet their end here.
"Kira-sama will be fine," he assured her before Neumann announced that they had finally reached their destination.
Much to Cagalli's tears and protests, Captain Ramius ordered for the Archangel to dive, just as the Minerva prepared to fire their primary weapon at them. Yet for some unexplainable reason, a large explosion erupted between the two ships before it fired. Massive waves rocked the enemy backward giving the infamous legged battle ship to submerge itself into the waters.
Though severely damaged from the blast, the Archangel had made it.
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This couldn't be happening, Athrun told himself as both the Freedom and Archangel had disappeared from sight. Before the operation had started the feeling of dread had overpowered him the moment he stepped out of the Captain’s room. Perhaps he should have listened to her advice by remaining in his own quarters rather than being a spectator. Yet he stubbornly forced himself to watch the entire battle and felt his stomach twist into several knots at the damage Freedom had took before the final blow, and when the Minerva had fired Tannhauser at the Archangel. All that remained when the smoke cleared and the water settled, were the floating scrap heaps and debris of what was once been a mobile suit.
"This is impossible!"
He stood there by himself, wide eyes fixated to television, and unaware that both Lunamaria and Rey had left for the hanger. Athrun brought one trembling hand to the screen, pressing his palm against it. Silently he prayed that the real Freedom would rise up above the wreckage, and felt his heart constrict every second it didn't occur.
'Kira... is it too late? Are you really gone?'
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Athrun typed in the access code for the bridge so he could talk to Captain Gladys. Using his FAITH status, he would find the answers to those questions himself.
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