Disclaimer: Gundam Seed or anything related to it is not mine. And the song "Forever" belongs to the Ambassadors. Cebuano bands rock!
a/n: I am so so so so sorry for being seemingly dead for uh… three months. Family problems, you know, and then I had to relocate myself. And the bad part is, I don't have a pc to play around with anymore. I can only go to net cafes once a week too. Oh woe is me. So please don't clobber me to death… please?
Chapter 14: 'Tis nothing but a memory
January 15 CE 78 8:40 am
I may burn out like a candle and I may pass away
Shiho Hahnenfu tried - hard - to focus on answering her test paper. But it seemed the only thing she could think about was a certain grey-haired young man. The said man was sitting two seats to the left of Shiho, intensely focused on his test.
Come on, I have to finish this, the brown-haired teenager thought. But Shiho's thoughts kept wandering, and so she ended up reading the same line over and over again.
Oh no, this can't be happening, Shiho said to herself. No, it can't be true.
I may fall just like a shooting star but my heart will stay
But she'd read enough teen romance novels to know that thinking about just one person of the opposite sex when she wasn't supposed to meant something was wrong with her.
I'll be yours until forever, forever I'll be true
Denial couldn't help Shiho now. She just had to accept the truth.
God help me, she thought. I think I'm falling in love with Yzak.
8:42 am
To the promise I have made from the day that I found you
Dearka straightened his shirt collar as he trudged down the sidewalk. A smirk appeared on his face as he thought about two things: One, that after what he saw during Christmas day, he was sure Shiho was falling for Yzak, which would mean Dearka would win their little bet. And two, that "Operation: Get Milly Back and Make Tanner Look Bad" was about to commence.
Dearka Elsman was sure he was one lucky guy. He was also sure Shiho would thank him someday for getting her and Yzak together.
Too bad Shiho didn't look too happy during Christmas day.
She might want to kill me before she'd even think about thanking me though, the tan young man thought.
December 25 CE 77 7:32 am
Dearka was awakened by the early morning rays of the sun that went through his open bedroom window and warming his face.
He opened his eyes and didn't bother wiping the dirt off them. He had a feeling he should be in a hurry for something.
And when Dearka opened his bedroom door, he knew the cause of this "feeling".
Shiho and Yzak, who normally stayed at least a hundred feet way from each other, were lying together on the sofa. Somehow they managed to be comfortable even in the limited space.
Shiho's head was on Yzak's shoulder, and her hand on his chest. And Yzak's arm was around Shiho's waist.
Fork the money over, cousin, Dearka thought gleefully, a grin appearing on his face. He went over to the sofa and without warning, pounded his fist on the sofa's arm as hard as he could.
"HEY! WAKE UP, YOU LOVEBIRDS!"
Just as Dearka expected (or hoped, to be more appropriate), the grey-haired man fell off the sofa and hi this head against a leg of the table in front of him.
Shiho, meanwhile, looked like she was about to faint. She hadn't fallen off, but she was sitting down, staring at nothing in particular.
Then she looked at Yzak, who was glaring at Dearka, ready to hit him on the head.
But before he could do that, the only teenager in the apartment let out an ear-splitting scream.
"Shiho, relax!" The blond-haired man shouted, trying to make himself heard over Shiho's screaming. "It's not like you made out with Yzak, right?"
Shiho fell silent. Yzak took the time to stand up. He was just about to give Dearka a little pep talk about surprising people enough to give them heart attacks when Shiho screamed again.
"This can't be happening!"
"Will you shut up?" Yzak yelled. "You're gonna break your windows with all that noise!"
"Not to mention our ears!" Dearka added.
"I'm going through an emotional problem here!" Shiho retorted. "Besides, this is my place! I get to do whatever I want here!"
"Fine, whatever," Dearka said, dropping the topic completely. "But listen, we have to talk."
"Talk?"
"Uh-huh," he said, dragging Shiho away to his room.
"Okay, cousin, hand it over," Dearka said, holding out his hand. "I win the bet. And I've seen the evidence."
"What? No way! I just fell asleep, that's all! And next thing I know, Yzak was there."
"Yeah right," the older of the both of them said, rolling his eyes. "Just give me the hundred grand."
"Mom and Dad haven't given me my allowance yet."
"Okay, I'll give you two weeks. But you are so dead if you don't pay up."
Dearka went inside the McDonald's fastfood chain where Miriallia was working. He wasn't there for Milly however; he planned to follow Tanner when he went out.
The young man saw Tanner wave goodbye to Milly (which made Dearka's blood boil, no doubt) and walked to the door. The blond stood up from where he had just seated on and followed Milly's boyfriend out.
Dearka hadn't tailed Tanner far when he saw the curly-haired guy approach a brown-haired girl whose hair was as straight as Shiho's. In fact Dearka would've mistaken her for Shiho if he didn't see the girl's green eyes and olive skin.
He pretended to just casually walk by them, but stopped to hear vital parts of their conversation.
And what he heard wasn't at all what he expected to hear.
8:51 am
Forever you're in my heart even if we're apart
"Here," Lacus Clyne told Shawn, who immediately stepped on the brakes. "It isn't classy, but it's a beautiful beach."
I say forever I'll be yours, forever I'll love you
Shawn spoke. "This beach… It's abandoned, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Lacus answered. "It's pretty obvious. No one's in here, after all."
I say forever I'll be yours, forever I'll love you
The brunette took the key out of the ignition and went out of the car. He then opened the passenger door ad let Lacus out.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Shawn said, giving Lacus a small smile. He took her hand. "Come on, let's go."
My love will never fade away even if I die
They both ran till they were aware that they were stepping on sand. Shawn took his hoes and socks off, and Lacus her sandals.
"You know, I'm feeling kind of guilty that we're leaving work to have a good time," the pink-haired young woman said, still panting a little.
"Well," Shawn said, also panting, "This was your idea, after all."
"I just don't like the idea of us not seeing each other for a while," Lacus answered. "It won't be the same."
And I will love you until the end of time
"Yeah," Shawn agreed, glad that Lacus seemed to care for him, at least as a friend. "It won't, will it?"
"Shawn, we aren't here to be serious," Lacus said, starting to run to the shallow part of the water. "You won't be able to catch me if you keep dwelling in your thoughts!"
Shawn ran after her. "I just gave you a head start!"
Even without your smile
They were both laughing and splashing like little kids. But then a bigger-than-average wave swept over them, knocking both Shawn and Lacus off their feet.
So hear me please, I beg you
They were both shocked to find themselves in such an awkward position. Shawn was on top of Lacus, his hands on either side of Lacus's shoulders. Lacus, meanwhile, was looking up at the brunette. Her eyes wandered to Shawn's left ear, where she saw an almost unnoticeable scar.
She realized that Kira himself had a small scar at the edge of his left ear. Right at the spot where Shawn's scar was.
Was it just coincidence? If it was, then this was a really big one.
"Lacus? Something the matter?" Shawn asked. He was feeling uneasy in the position he was in, but didn't move an inch.
"That scar on your ear, where did you get it?"
"A few years ago, a cat jumped me and one of its claws grazed my ear," Shawn explained. He had dreamt about it once. In fact, Lacus was there when it happened…
Don't walk away, I need you
"Shawn, could you… um…"
"Oh, oh yeah," the lavender-eyed man said, quickly getting off of Lacus. "Sorry."
To stay with me and be by my side
The blue-eyed young woman was still thinking about what Shawn had said earlier, about the cat incident. It was exactly the same as how Kira had gotten the scar, back when they were in twelfth grade. She knew. She saw it happen.
Athrun had said Kira's body was never found because it probably fell into the Orb trench.
But maybe Kira couldn'tbe found because he didn't drown.
Because he wasn't dead.
It could be possible that Shawn was Kira, yet he didn't seem to remember a thing about the past.
"Shawn? When we first met, did you ever have a feeling that you already knew me?" Lacus dared to ask.
"What? What kind of a question is that?" Shawn said, taken off-guard by the suddenness of Lacus's question. And just as suddenly, he knew: Lacus had put two and two together. And that was something Shawn didn't want.
"You're thinking I'm Kira," Shawn said. "Listen, you can't force me to be Kira just because I look like him.
Hold my hand and we'll work it out, until
"I'll admit it, I've been having these weird dreams," Shawn went on. "I dreamed of you before I even knew who you were. Almost all my dreams were memories. Mostly of you, in fact. Yes, Lacus, I know I'm Kira Yamato."
All this information seemed to overwhelm the woman.
She sat on the sand. What Shawn had just told her was slowly sinking in.
So it is true, she thought. Kira and Shawn is just one person after all.
Forever I'll be yours, forever I'll love you
The lavender-eyed young man sat beside her.
I say forever I'll be yours, forever I'll be true
"Why didn't you just tell me before?" Lacus said quietly.
"Because I don't want to live Kira's life," Shawn answered. "I haven't completely remembered everything there is to remember. And I plan to keep it that way. I am who I am now. I have everything Kira doesn't. The only thing he has that I don't is your heart."
My love will never fade away, even if I die
"What… What are you talking about?"
"My identity might have changed, but my feelings for you are still the same," Shawn admitted. "It's the only thing I wasn't able to change. And something I don't plan to change."
And I will love you until the end of time
The brunette waited for an answer. When he got none, he spoke again.
"See, I don't want you to love me because I remind you of someone you treasure. I want you to love me because of who I am. And if you keep thinking of Kira when you think of me, then you'll never who I am, and how different I am from Kira."
Lacus sighed. She looked up at the sky. There was a group of seagulls flying together. The sun was high in the sky, giving heat to the deeper parts of the sea.
Even without your smile
"I'm getting really confused," the princess-like woman said. "First of all, I don't even know if I should call you Shawn or Kira. Second of all, both of you are important to me, so you can't just tell me to let go of Kira, because that would mean giving part of you up, as well." As she said this, tears started to make their way down to her cheeks.
"As much as I don't want to make things hard for you, Lacus, you'll have to choose between a memory and a real person," Shawn told her. He stood up and started to walk away. "Call me when you make your decision."
Just as Shawn turned around, he saw something shiny glint against the glare of the sun's light. It was a gun. But it wasn't aiming at Shawn. The target was someone else.
"Lacus! Look out!" Shawn yelled, running back to Lacus and shielding her form the incoming bullet. Shawn could actually feel the wind of the bullet as it blew past his back.
"You okay?" Shawn asked as he got off of Lacus for the second time that day. He looked at the place where he'd seen the gun. He saw a man wearing a black trench coat lose himself in a crowd of people on the street. He wanted to give chase, but he remembered that he wasn't alone.
He looked back at Lacus, who nodded. She was pale-faced, but the color was slowly coming back to her face.
"I should take you home," Shawn said. "Can you stand?"
This time, Lacus shook her head. "I think I sprained my ankle."
"Don't get offended or anything, okay? But I think I'll have to carry you."
"Carry me?"
Shawn nodded and took Lacus, bridal style, to the convertible they had ridden to get to the beach, where they were supposed to have a great time.
Both didn't say a word on the ride to Lacus's home, except when Shawn told Lacus to call Athrun to pick her up so someone could take proper care of her.
It wasn't until Shawn's car stopped in front of the Clyne mansion when the brunette spoke again.
"My offer still stands."
Just then, Athrun Zala appeared, with Cagalli Yula Attha right behind him.
"Lacus, what happened?" Athrun asked, approaching the car.
"I just sprained my ankle, that's all," Lacus said, giving both Athrun and Cagalli her I'm-okay-don't-worry smile.
"We'll carry you in then," Cagalli answered. She looked at Shawn. "Thanks for bringing her back here." Though I'm pretty sure you have something to do with this, she thought.
Shawn just nodded curtly. As soon as Athrun had gotten Lacus out of the car and had her riding on his back, he said, "I have to go," and drove away without another word.
"What's his problem?" Athrun muttered.
"Would you mind telling us what just happened?" Cagalli said, getting very curious.
"It's a long story," was all Lacus said.
"Oh, do tell," Cagalli answered. We have a lot of time, you know."
Lacus cast an almost mournful look at the street where Shawn's car had gone. She sighed.
So hear me please, I beg you
"I'll tell you about it inside."
To stay
a/n: Whew… my fingers are getting really sore. Well, that was chapter 15. Wow. Pretty long. At least for me it is. I guess now y'all will have even more questions huh? Like who the hell was that guy who tried to kill Lacus? That'll be answered soon enough. But not too soon or everything will be spoiled. Until my next update! (I promise, this time it won't take three months!)