From one Yamato to another
Written by Spiritblade
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SeeD. This story was inspired by the NGE fanfic 'From One Ikari to another', or something along that title line. I cannot remember who wrote the story, but I do know its author was first-rate, and the story proved it beyond question. Let me see if I can make the mark as well. Now then, on with the story.
It's strange that I'm writing this as my gift to you long before you have drawn your first breath. And even before then, I cannot help but think about what you will be like the moment I hold you in my arms – the end result of a love strengthened by dreams and tempered by tears and sorrow. My life was not exactly the life I would have wanted to live – but had I not walked that path, I would never have met your mother…and in that moment that was the calm of the storm, gave you life. And, knowing your mother, I doubt that you will be the last she and I will bring into this world.
You may very well have brothers or sisters to look after.
But, you…before they come…you will be the first to gaze upon your first sunrise. You will see the uncounted stars that spread forever into eternity of the star ocean that has borne witness to every human folly and victory.
You will hear their words echoing in the soft wind of the cradle of Mankind, in the crash of the oceans, in the roar of the thunderstorms…and in the songs your mother sings and in the stories she will tell you.
You will touch all that humanity has seen and done, and perhaps, you will learn the reasons why. Am I forcing my dreams on you? Maybe I am…but no matter what your choice will be in life, know that I will be there to guide you and light your way.
Your life, I think, will be…easier than mine, bereft of the decisions I had made long before your mother and I chose to make our dream a reality.
We have a standing bet, she and I, on whether you would be a boy or a girl. By the time you are able to read and understand the contents of this letter, I think you would already know who had won the wager.
What would you look like?
Would you have her pink hair or my dark brown ones?
Would you have her azure eyes that glow with life of the summer skies, or my amethyst ones that – your mother said this – remind you of the starlit heavens you may very well love?
Or would you have my sister's – your Aunt Cagalli's – amber eyes and golden hair?
What would you be like?
Would you be like me – clumsy and with a penchant of finding oneself in hot water? Or will you be like your mother – gentle and wise, who guides the way through the mightiest tempest? Will you be as fiery-hearted and passionate as your Aunt Cagalli, who leads her entire nation from the front, facing down each and every challenge?
I don't know, but I look forward in finding out. This letter I write to you is but one of many that I will write till the day you are born – and maybe, long after. With these, I put all my dreams in words that you and I can share with the barrier of me being your parent and you being my child present. I have never been good with words, but your uncle, Athrun, says that I can really make a point by simply being vague. Your aunt, on the other hand, has bopped me over the head more times than I can count because the cat ran off with my tongue.
Your uncle, Athrun, has commented off-handedly that said cat loves doing it because it's fun. Said cat has pink hair and blue eyes. Do the math – and yes, it's your mother.
Your mother, however, has made an art out of teasing me. I swear that she has been spending way too much time around your aunt that it's like having a second Cagalli around. But, Kami-sama, I love to see those eyes of hers sparkle with life and laughter. Even as the years pass us by, your mother grows more beautiful.
There's a playfulness there, too, that is way too reminiscent of a lioness – something I have long attributed with your aunt. Now, don't go telling her or showing her what I wrote in these letters, because that will bring about 'divine' retribution. Your mother, despite her gentle and wise exterior, is somewhat a trickster at heart. If I told you half the pranks she played on me, you would be carted off to the hospital due to broken ribs.
As to how your mother and I met…well…I suppose I'll let her tell the story. But before I met your mother…if someone had told me back then that my fateful meeting with your mother had been destiny, I would never have believed him/her.
But, I'm glad that somewhere, I learnt to.
X X X X X XLacus Klein-Yamato gazed at the manuscript that her husband had been writing before he retired. She smiled, casting a quiet gaze at his sleeping form. His face, even in the darkness, was peaceful as the dreams and memories that haunted him from the Crimson Valentine War were muted. Kira Yamato slept the sleep of the just – something he had long deserved after paying the high price demanded of him.
In his arms, she saw that 2 orphans of the orphanage they were running, slept blissfully in his arms, the nightmares and the terror it brought, unable to touch them in their guardian's gentle embrace. Even before he embraced his own flesh and blood, Kira was already a father figure to the orphans who relied on him to be both guide and unshakeable pillar. Cagalli had once, way before she knew Kira was her brother, had once described Kira's firm embrace as one that felt as if one was being embraced by an entire world.
She hummed softly even as she slipped into the bed with him, leaning over to kiss his brow. She didn't need Cagalli to tell her that. She had felt it many, many times.
"I may have given you, my love, the faith to believe. But, you, Kira, gave me the courage to see it through. Shine your light, shine bright, bring starlit light on the endless night."