[Author's Note:] I swear, it's monsoon season where I'm living at. No snow, but lots of rain that threatens to drown shorties like me...

Now I wanted to thank you for continuing to read my fanfiction! Tynuccia: I do not deserve such a warm welcome! I am renewed with determination, and I thank you for never-failing to put faith in me.

Disclaimer: I, Candide Avedo do not own anything that has to do with Gundam Seed, or with any other franchise I fail to mention.

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Fiery Burning Sort Of Love

'

A slender woman with shiny pale hair drove a pristine black sedan in town. Her long fingers gripped the steering wheel lightly, gently turning right. Tall buildings flew past, lining a busy main street. Consulting a map on the dashboard she made a left, driving into an underground parking entrance.

Finding a parking spot, she stepped out of the vehicle, locking it with a resounding *beep*. Heels echoed sharply against the asphalt, the strides rhythmic as a woman routinely walking with a professional air. A professional waddle that many had ducking for cover.

Punching in some access codes, she rode in an elevator, stopping on the fifth floor. Reaching a metal-framed door, she placed in some more numbers on a keypad door lock.

*click*

Stepping inside the suite, her eyes carefully studied the carpet, to a small closet where outdoor items were stored. Slipping off her shoes and donning slippers, she casually walked in. Noting that the place was truly empty, the woman dug into her purse, fishing out a cell phone and dialed.

"Yzak? Why aren't you picking up your phone? Has it run out of batteries? You've let it gone to voicemail. Anyway, nevermind- I'm in town, right in our condo. Call your mother when you get the chance. You've clearly forgotten I'm coming by for a little while."

'

Smoke filled his lungs. Yzak knew he also wouldn't forget the taste of burnt wood on his tongue. Various profanities swam through his mind at the insanity of what he was doing at this moment. It was synonymous to a leap of faith, rushing into the burning building head-first on a little boy's word that Shiho was inside.

Capital L, capital F.

Immediately through the main threshold of the building the heat slammed onto his body with scalding force. He was thinking about turning back, as there was a slim possibility he was mistaken. She is not that reckless. Well he'd be lying to himself. As a man who's escaped and fought in many dangerous situations, he understood time was limited. Preferrably checking to make sure she was not inside was a no-brainer.

Shiho was also as good as dead later once he finds her.

With the hazy air all around it was next to impossible to see. Were there even stairs? It was a building of an older design, with wood floors instead of carpet. He'd hope there was some sort of fire-resistant coating on the varnish.

Amidst great focus he found a set of stairs (the little boy quickly yelled out that Shiho may be on the fourth floor) adjacent to the elevators. He pushed open the fire-resistant doors to the stairwell, mildy concerned that the smoke was making it's way here as well. Clearly the safest place in the building, Yzak took mental note that in this situation, making their way back to the stairwell as quickly as possible would be the best.

Fourth floor... His oxygen supply should hold for now, but the stairs had exerted him quite a bit. Not knowing what the other side would reveal, Yzak grasped the handle, and pulled open the door.

Argh! He was slightly alarmed by the attack on his senses, as even thicker smoke began to seep into the stairwell. Yzak hurriedly pulled the door shut behind him, covering his nose. Flames were at his back, and Yzak grew wary. It would be dangerous if the fire was already spreading this way, it would make getting back out difficult. Beyond the spreading flames to his left and right was darkness. The only thing he could distinguish was little patches of light were barely visible in some distances, stretching out to his left and right.

Which way to go?

"SHIHO!" Yzak yelled, regretting it. He coughed as he inhaled the thick air. Dammit, where are you?! He stayed as still as possible, awaiting for any sound.

Then, he heard it. Yzak could faintly hear a cough, followed by another cough. To the left. Cursing his legs to go faster, Yzak narrowly dodged a particularly aggressive flame that reached for him, throwing himself against the wall. Fingers touching the charred walls, he winced. They were hot to the touch...

Knowing he only had a matter of time, he crouched low, squinting for any signs of movement in his way. Concentration was difficult, with the crackling of the burning wood around him. Distantly, he'd also heard a pillar or some such thing break and crash below.

Inching forward, he stayed patient. "SHIHO!" He shouted, his eyes falling upon a slumped lump on the ground leaning against the wall. Her long hair had somehow come undone, tangled, and coated with ash. Reaching forward he touched her shoulder.

Shiho moaned in response.

"Stupid, look what you're getting yourself into." Yzak muttered as Shiho coughed, gasping lightly. She was conscious, but clearly she was putting plenty of effort against being overwhelmed and not to lose her wits. His arms supported her shoulders. Shaky hands rested on Yzak's hands and pulled herself to a sitting position. Gently she made to stand, but Yzak kept her down. "Don't bother standing up, smoke's everywhere."

"Yzak." Shiho whispered, pointing further down the hall. Frowning slightly, Yzak followed the direction of her finger. There, not too far from their location was a female figure unconscious, splayed on the ground.

He sighed. "So you've found her." He shook his head. "What are you going to do, you can't even get yourself up." Yzak added, watching her stand.

"Let's get her and get out of here." Shiho breathed, visibly summoning more of her strength. "Not sure how long this building is still safe for." She suddenly moved towards the figure on the ground, falling to her knees and feeling for her wrist. "Pulse. Still alive." Yzak watched her make a move to pull her up-

As upset as he was being dragged into this, there was no other choice. Save them now and talk later. His relief upon finding Shiho successfully was intermingled with anger at Shiho's penchance for trouble.

"Stop, I'll do it." Yzak pushed her hands out of the way, almost rough in his haste. He grabbed both the unconscious woman's arms. Carefully he crouched down to give her a piggy back, with Shiho tugging on the woman's limbs to make it easier to do so. "Are you going to be able to stand? I've got this part."

Shiho appeared to want to make a fuss, but he sent her a sharp glare, daring her to argue. Instead she nodded, pulling herself straight up. "Turn back around?"

"There's no other way- safest part of this building would be the stairwell. Just follow me." Since the builders would have reinforced the main way out in case of an earthquake or a fire, the stairwell would be the choice. The few minutes they've used to interact had cost them some escape time. Flames were a bit more aggressive, they've really had no choice but to turn back to the stairwell. Yzak moved first, since Shiho could be behind to catch the woman should she fall from his grip.

The walls were creaking and crackling around them. Yzak could feel Shiho's tension; inspite her exhausted appearance, she had no trouble staying alert. The floors were feeling hot on their feet as well, and he urged them to move faster (why does the door to their safety seem farther away now?).

"Yzak, the floors are getting hotter." Shiho gasped out, coughing. It was as though seeing him had renewed energy within her, voice steady.

CRACK, SNAP, CRASH!

Before Yzak could reply, the wood beneath them broke apart. The sensation of free-falling had them let out a scream, the floor revealing the third level below them. Fear of being enveloped in flames had Yzak wildly looking at the floor in case they were headed for an unpleasant surprise. The woman behind his back didn't say anything, still "blissfully" out of it. His reflexes were in effect as he landed on his side, preventing himself from crushing, or letting go of the woman.

Shiho was seemingly alright as well, landing roughly beside him with a heavy grunt. "You okay?" He asked, and she nodded. Looking about them, he could see the fire had mostly come through and originated here, as charred wood was everywhere. There was a fire roaring beside them, blocking the stairwell entrance that they'd needed to get to.

"Come this way, we need to find a different exit." He pulled the woman on his back again (looking a little charred herself), to cautiously tread on the burnt wood below their feet. There was not telling if the wood would cave here either. Shiho stayed close. There was a faint glow of light that shone through ahead of them to their left, illuminating through the haze of smoke.

It was a window.

Yzak turned to Shiho, jerking his head towards the window- more-so an opening to the outside that overlooked a swimming pool beside the building. The glass had broke a while ago, no doubt when the fire was spreading to this side.

The floor was creaking at their feet again. There may be limited options here. Neither alternative safe or logical.

"Shiho." Yzak muttered, and looked at Shiho's blank face. "We're probably gonna have to jump."

He was expecting her to object, however all he got was a, "Okay let's do it." as an answer. Inwardly he smiled, amused. There was no need to ask, Shiho was going to act like she was okay with the ideas usually. Especially if he was in "Commander Mode". The unconscious woman obviously had no objections either.

The wood cracked, and the sound of splintering was loud under their feet. They both edged towards the ledge, where they had no effort in standing out and poising to jump. Yzak stood first, since he'd need to make sure the woman was still on his back when he jumped. In theory the water should suffice in breaking their fall. Shiho would jump in right after them.

"Ready?" Yzak coughed. His breathing was becoming laboured, his body feeling a litttle strained. Blackened arms gripped around the woman's legs, wrapping them tighter about his waist.

"Ready whenever you are." Shiho's hand pressed on his shoulder, in a reassuring manner. Her touch was warm, steady and unwavering. She was going to be fine.

With a nod and careful analysis, Yzak knew there was no concern. He pushed off the ledge with his right foot-

Just as the floor caved below him.

SHIHO!

Already in the air, Yzak had no chance to look behind him, as he focused on landing square in the water.

*Splash*

The crashing sounds of wood and structure breaking behind him was accompanied by many screams and shouts by the audience standing back. Thick clouds of smoke further filled the air.

Upon landing the cold water stung and threatened to engulf them immediately. The temperature was intensified within the pool, like hundreds of needles poking at every surface of their bodies.

Yzak's first instinct was to bring the woman to the surface, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her to the pool's edge. It didn't even matter that he didn't know how to swim; the woman they were saving was most important now. Madly flapping his legs, imitating the moves he'd seen swimmers do. He'd touched the bottom of the pool lightly upon impact, surely the pool wasn't that deep. The woman had regained consciousness. She was staring about wildly and gasping for breath.

"Ma'am it's okay- stop thrashing, grab onto the ledge, can you pull yourself up?" Yzak managed to ask, panting. He did feel the strain of exerting himself now, after making that leap. His swimming was not very effective either.

"OVER HERE! They're ALIVE, OVER HERE!" Relief washed over him as he'd heard a loud shout. Someone had seen them, by the sound of it, quite a number were coming to their aid. Their escape from the third floor must have been easy to spot, with their death-defying leap.

More shouts were heading their way, as the first few pairs of hands pulled the woman up from the water. Yzak sighed to himself. They'd done what had to be done, a boy didn't have to lose his mother. Where's Shiho...?

"You actually swam." A hand reached out to him, amidst the din. Shiho's smiling face drenched in water, looking very pleased. So pleased that Yzak was debating on swimming again for her enjoyment.

Yzak smirked, shaking his head. "I survived and that was not swimming." He reached for her hand and she pulled him up. A towel was draped around both their shoulders, as people surrounded them, pulling them both by the arms to the awaiting ambulance outside the property. They were pushed along, being made to head towards the awaiting, anxious crowd.

Standing side-by-side by the ambulance, they both were busy insisting that they were fine, and ready to go. One of the workers wouldn't have it.

"You must be Shiho Hahnenfuss?" A paramedic had looked at them sternly, holding a stethoscope. He didn't look unsure when he asked this. Shiho beside him nodded, waiting patiently. The paramedic then turned to him. "Yzak Jule, right?"

"Yes."

The man looking after them paused to roll up Shiho's sleeve; she had removed the char-coated fabric earlier. He'd quickly studied Shiho's face as he placed a blood pressure cuff on her arm. After a few moments, he nodded and removed the device.

"Charity work doesn't stop for you two, does it?" The man in front of them then smiled. He'd looked over their heads when he said, "There's someone that would like to speak with you two."

Something soft wrapped itself around Yzak's legs, suddenly pulling him to bump shoulders with Shiho. Both of them looked behind to see the little boy, smiling happily. Gripping their legs tight.

"THANK YOU!" He said gleefully, squeezing each pair of legs in each arm. "Mummy's getting help right now- they say she will be okay!" Despite being happy, he held a shaky hand out, pointing to the direction where the woman was laid out on a stretcher. There she was, being cared for by a few of the other paramedics.

Thank you. When this little boy said it, all his gratitude was put into these two words. It felt, satisfying. Two words that makes me-warm?- even in this weather.

Shiho had bent down, to wrap her arms around the little boy. "You're welcome." She smiled so warmly that the little boy embraced her again.

Something inside Yzak squeezed.

"You take care of her now, okay? You've got an important job, to make sure your mom gets fully better." Shiho let him go, watching him with a satisfied, relieved expression.

The little boy also turned to Yzak. "Thanks Mister, you saved two people!" As he said this, Yzak was faintly aware of a few flashbulbs in their direction. Loud voices were audible now, that his attention could afford being distracted. Did it matter that people were taking pictures of them again?

There was a loud, barking sound right after, and Koko had bounded over to them, nearly toppling Shiho over. "Ahh, Koko, I'm fine, I'm fine!" Shiho had taken a moment to grab onto the leash again, looking heavily relieved that her dog did not run away. Evidently the man who was holding onto Koko while he was running in after Shiho couldn't keep a hold on him for long.

The same paramedic studied Yzak with stern eyes. "You sure you're okay?" He pulled on Yzak by the arm.

"Yes." Answered Yzak, as best as he could.

"You wouldn't need a ride now, do you?"

"I'm sure sir, we can handle it from here." Yzak wasn't sure how to react when the man bent his head closer to Yzak.

"You two had best be careful. Good deeds are priceless, but don't lose your lives over it if it's dangerous, okay? And I'm not saying that I am de-valuing the skills of a Coordinator, either." He clapped a hand on Yzak's shoulder. "A life is a life. No one will forget you for this."

Yzak was a little surprised to feel Shiho's hand resting on his arm. She had worn a confused expression having listened late to the middle-aged man's words.

The man turned to Shiho, clapping a hand on her shoulder as well. "Be careful with yourself young lady." he added, "A few people saw you running into the building earlier. I want you to never do that again you hear? Stay out of trouble."

Shiho smiled sheepishly. Her face was coated with some ash that failed to wash off, but her eyes were sparkling with satisfaction. "I like to be honest sir- I can't guarantee it. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble."

Both of them waved farewell, as a number of onlookers kept eyes on their retreating backs. A few people with cameras and note pads appeared to want their attention, yet were not sure how to handle speaking to them. Yzak had glared at them warningly, summoning as much displeasure as he could. He wanted nothing more than to talk to Shiho, in private.

'

They were reduced to walking briskly in silence. Shiho was leading the way, aware of the tension Yzak himself was witholding. Even Koko was aware of the situation, the mammal apparently understood life and death situations clearly including the seriousness behind it. The female beside him wiped her face with the cloth given to them earlier. He didn't know where to start. Now that they were both safe, he was indignant as to the situation they were both subjected to previously.

That insane, spur-of-the-moment event that I recall Shiho is good at.

An image of Elias Hahnenfuss's face being displeased and damning him to eternal hell was plastered to his mind. Their times together seem to involve risking their lives often, with close-calls each time.

EACH TIME.

"Gah."

Shiho cocked her head to the side questioningly. She didn't appear surprised, merely patient at when he would be emitting some sort of outburst.

She knows I'm upset, that I would be upset about this. She must be amused right now. He bit his tongue, trying his hardest not to freak out at the woman who was effectively driving him crazy.

"So..." Shiho began, peering up his face to his left. A car whizzed by.

"So what?" Yzak replied. "Have you ANY idea how dangerous that was? Are you out of your mind?" He couldn't hold it in. "Wait, not out of your mind- crazy? Crazy is the word for it. You rush into a burning building, because of a little boy's word? You could hear the sirens already, Shiho, couldn't it have waited until the correct amount of help arrives? What if the building collapsed while you were in it? I know I said I was cold, but I didn't want to do THAT." He took a deep breath. "What if I couldn't find you? You're still recovering from the last time, and you think it's okay to actually go rushing into a structurally unsound, smoke-filled, danger zone?! All for someone you don't know. You're not at work right now."

Grabbing her arm to spin her around and have a look at him, Yzak wanted her to see sense. "I had plenty of 'what-if's going on in my head while I was busy running inside looking for you. What if I couldn't find you in time?" he saw the comprehension in her eyes. "What if I was too late?"

His throat almost closed at those words. Yzak almost choked out the last part, finding difficulty in imagining what would have happened had he been too late. Too late. Like last time.

Shiho appraised his expression. Closing her eyes briefly, she plucked up some sort of courage before responding. "I'm sorry for being troublesome Yzak." She began walking again, Koko and Yzak in tow. "At the same time I'm not sorry. I sound like a lunatic for running after the woman, but I couldn't help it. There's no way I'm going to let a little boy know what it feels like to have no mother. I'm going to try my best at least."

Yzak contemplated this. He'd reckoned that would have been her answer. He realized that little by little, he'd begun to understand what values were most important to this woman who'd known so much more about him. Gradually he had become comfortable with the unpredictable sides to her, and suddenly- wanting to discover more. What else was there?

"You're going to have to stop doing that, and consider my nerves into the equation of your thoughts. What about your father? What's he going to say?"

Shiho had no hesitation. "He'd have to deal with it. I can handle myself Yzak, you know that. I'm not going to do something I can't handle. You trained me, remember? That was one of the first things you taught me."

Silence took over again. Moments passed, and the wind blew at them briskly, chilling their exposed faces once again. Their walk was slower now, a little more exhausted than before.

"You came for me." Shiho said suddenly, looking at him again. "You did it before, and you did it again."

Yzak let out a snort. "Well of course I did, what was I supposed to do, let you do it yourself?"

At the corner of his eye, he could see her eyes sparkle up at him, face turning red. "The firemen were coming, you'd heard it." She whispered. "You still came."

"Don't sound so surprised, you know how I feel." he snapped, concern mingling with a little frustration. "I'd come for you even if you didn't ask." Yzak wanted to bite his tongue, letting his sentence hand abruptly.

A sigh was all he got for a reply. Wondering what was the matter now, Yzak stole a glance and saw her eyes had softened. "Yes?" he asked almost sarcastically.

"Hmm." was all Shiho replied. To that she quietly linked her right arm to his left. Her lithe form pressed slightly, matching his stride.

"H-Hey, what are you doing?"

"No one's looking, you don't have to be so tough right now." Shiho replied, smiling lightly. The only acceptable thing was that Koko had stopped being hostile, shockingly behaved.

Yzak cleared his throat. "How soon until you get home?" He couldn't reply to this, not yet. He was trying to distract himself from the young woman so close to him, resting on his arm. The only other time they were close like this was...

Clear the head.

Scolding his thoughts in the direction it was leading, he blamed it on the fact that: A person of the opposite gender was being very close to him. He'd noticed of course that she was a woman like last time, but still... His fingers twitched. She smelled good. Even with the smell of smoke on them, he could still distinctly smell her. Yzak scoffed inwardly. A regular woman wouldn't make him this wary. No, of course not.

This was Shiho.

As though reading his thoughts, Shiho cleared her throat as well, pressing herself closer to him. "Only about ten minutes to go, at our pace."

She is purposefully leaning.

He gritted his teeth. It wasn't as if he'd never been this close to the woman before, honestly. "That's good." There was no denying that having their arms linked felt good. It felt- natural?

God.

Walking in comfortable silence, they would now and then come close when a particularly strong gust of wind threatened to cut right through their clothing. The weather was alright, actually. There was no minding the cold. Their clothes had long-since dried so the breeze did not sting as much.

What was ten minutes felt like five. Did they run all the way to Shiho's house again? He'd grown accustomed to the slow pace. Rounding a corner the front gates to Shiho's house loomed ahead. Pulling her arm away from Yzak, Shiho fished in her pockets for her keys.

Arm feeling strangely empty, he waited on Shiho to punch some codes into the gate, to let them in. As he did so, he watched Shiho enter, then turned to look at him questioningly when he did not follow.

"Aren't you coming in?" Shiho had asked so casually, a little surprised that he did not do so automatically. Her hand had let go of Koko's leash, the dog still waiting on her to come inside.

Pushing back the recent anxious thought of being alone with Shiho, having to deal with Hahnenfuss senior at the end of an exhausting day added to the negatory decision. "I think next time. I'll see you later." He felt awkward at saying goodbye. What could he do to let her know that he will come back, without sounding all cheesy?

Demonstrating her knowledge of her reading abilites regarding him, Shiho stepped outside once more. She smiled lightly, leaning in to give him a hug.

"Thank you, Yzak." Shiho whispered close to his ear, arms gently pressing on his back. "You know what I mean."

"I do." Trusting his instincts Yzak's moved his arms to her shoulders, enveloping her within them. He couldn't control the next thought: She fits.

She'd relaxed in his arms. The constant threat of danger made him hold her longer still. He was grateful for this solitude. Her warmth continued to keep him calm, spreading down to his toes.

Yzak furrowed his brows. The warm feeling on his toes should not feel so wet. Oh, no.

"What the HELL?! Shiho, your dog PEED on ME!"

Moment ruined by an ass-of-a-dog.

'

The squelching noise was disturbing. Nose scrunched in annoyance he waddled his way to his rental, summoning ultimate tolerance towards his wet socks- wet from the water, and wet from Shiho's dog.

He stunk. Stale pee was not going to be tolerable. Wonderful that he had an hour-long drive. Thinking it would be better to remove his shoes, Yzak thought better of it. Or-he could probably drive barefoot. Wanting nothing more than to let the damn dog loose in space (see how he'd like it), he'd forgotten that his cell phone had been on silent all this time.

Fishing for his pocket and thanking the space gods that it was water-proof, he listened for his messages.

5 missed calls.

Who would be calling him so many times and not realize he was probably busy? The familiar number made his stomach roll.

Mother was in town.

'

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[Author's Note: March 18, 2017] So as I'm typing this, I'm managing to think to myself how surely in the future, methods and techniques are in place to prevent power outages and other things in the event of a fire or earthquake. Apologies for making Koko seem mean, he's just very protective of Shiho. I guess he was "marking" his territory.

I finished the last part while being on the plane to Mexico! Five-hours long flight, I told to myself I'll bloody finish this chapter if it's the last thing I do on this session! Mind you I'm still tired from the 4-hour sleep, working the day before, and energized by coffee and sheer will-power.

Sorry for my ramble, I hope this chapter meets expectations! (Must find wifi to upload this)

-Candide Avedo