Categories > Anime/Manga > Gundam SEED > Dawn's Departure

Surprise! Suprise!

by rinzy 1 review

Four years after the war, Asuran, Cagalli and Kira thought things were finally settling down. But things aren't as simple as one Coordinator decides that the war never had to end.

Category: Gundam SEED - Rating: PG - Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance - Characters:  Cagalli Yula Athha, Dearka Elthman, Kira Yamato, Lacus Clyne, Mirillia Haw, Yzak Joule, Athrun Zala - Warnings: [!!] - Published: 2005-06-11 - Updated: 2005-06-11 - 1865 words

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Disclaimer: Gundam Seed is the property of Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, Bandai, etc. The author claims no right over any of its concepts, characters and locations aside from those created originally for the purposes of the storyline.

A/N: This fic ignores the existence of Gundam Seed Destiny.

Chapter Summary: Asuran, Cagalli, Kira and Lacus meet up in Orb to catch up on each other's lives after four years of peace, but peace doesn't come so easily as one might think.


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Chapter 1: Surprise! Surprise!

Four years after ZAFT and the Earth Alliance finally conceded into a truce and began peace talks, most of the structures on Earth and on PLANT were finally rebuilt. Orb was no exception, with Cagalli Yula Attha being called to succeed her deceased father's position, she had thrown herself into rebuilding the war-ravaged city, and her efforts had paid off. Kira Yamato had returned to Orb with her, and in realizing that no semblance of his old life could be resumed, he had thrown himself into helping Cagalli with her efforts to rebuild what was left of Orb.

Cagalli got out of the car, wondering why Asuran had left a message that asked her to meet him on such short notice. She knew that Asuran was here on business, but he didn't exactly explain to her what he was in Orb for.

Cagalli started as she heard someone calling her name out.

"Cagalli!"

Her face lit up in a smile, as she saw Kira approaching her.

"Hey! What are you doing back here, I thought you had work until later?" Cagalli asked.

Cagalli had extended the invitation to Kira to live with her when the war was over. She had reasoned that since they were siblings, it would be best that way. Unfortunately for Kira, when Cagalli set her mind to something, there was no easy way to stop her.

Kira smiled back, replying.

"Well, Asuran said he had to talk to both of us, so he gave me a call and told me you were on your way back already."

"Oh, then I guess we should go inside and wait for him then." Cagalli said, making her way to the entrance of the house.

Kira followed her, entering the house.

Famus, their butler greeted them at the door, welcoming their arrival.

"Mr. Asuran Zala is waiting for you at the dining room, Ma'am, Sir."

Thanking him, Cagalli and Kira made their way inside the dining room.

"Why is it so dark?" Cagalli frowned, wondering if Famus had been wrong in telling them Asuran was waiting for them in the dining room.

Cagalli bit back a scream as suddenly, there was a pair of arms wrapping around her waist. She gasped, frozen, shock enveloping her. Kira tensed as he heard Cagalli's gasp, but hands also went around his eyes covering them.

Kira smiled, the hands covering his eyes felt warm, and very familiar. The scent of jasmine and lavender also enveloped him, and he slowly relaxed, knowing exactly who's hands it was.

The lights were flipped open, and Cagalli turned to find a pair of warm blue-green eyes staring down at her, his lips quirked into a small smile. Kira chuckled, as the hands covering his face were also removed. He smiled down at Lacus, catching her hands in his.

"Asuran!" Cagalli exclaimed at the same time.

"Surprised?" Asuran whispered against her ear, loosening his arms around Cagalli's waist, amused.

"You scared me!" Cagalli's face was flushed with embarrassment. She hit Asuran's chest, frowning up at him, and while Asuran tried to regain his breath, she realized that there was someone in the room with them.

"Lacus!" Cagalli stated, looking somewhat baffled at the pink-haired girl's presence in Orb. Behind her, the Haro Pink-chan was flapping its ears, miraculously silent.

Kira turned to Lacus. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Lacus smiled sweetly at him, explaining. "Well, Asuran said both you and Cagalli were hard at work, so I thought it might be nice to surprise you with a dinner where we could all relax. Besides, the four of us haven't seen each other in a few months, so I thought we could take the time and catch up."

"Haro! Haro!", Pink-chan interjected, as if emphasizing the point.

"I see." Kira answered, as he led Lacus to sit down, while Asuran did the same. When everyone was seated, dinner was served.

Dinner was a four-course meal consisting of: appetizer, soup, the main course, and dessert.

"Orb is starting to look like its old self. Everything looks really good." Asuran remarked, while placing a piece of the steamed salmon drizzled with its accompanying sauce inside his mouth, enjoying the rich flavor.

Cagalli shook her head, making a face. "Not even close! There are still a lot of things to be done. Kisaka has his hands full just trying to help me organize which should be prioritized. It's good that everyone is lending a hand to the rebuilding, so things are going pretty fast nowadays, but makes things absolutely crazy for the council members. Negotiations with the nearby countries are also taking up so much time, since we need the resources and materials to rebuild the city, and so do they." she paused in her tirade, sipping some water.

Lacus and Asuran looked at her with interest, both understanding her plight. Asuran recalled the first time he had been present during one of the council meetings, and how Cagalli had steered the council into doing what she wanted. Cagalli was blunt and forceful by nature, knowing exactly which buttons to push when it came to getting what she wanted. But even by being a skillful negotiator, it was difficult to rebuild. All of them knew that even if Earth and PLANT had negotiated peace talks, it did not mean that all Naturals and Coordinators friends -they simply tolerated each other's existence. Therefore, resources were still cautiously hoarded by each side, and distrust was still rampant -even after four years.

"What about PLANT? How has the reconstruction been? " Cagalli interjected, disrupting Asuran's thoughts.

Lacus smiled optimistically. "A lot too has been reconstructed, but as you said, there are still negotiations to be done. We're all hoping for the best"

"That's great!" Kira exclaimed, happy for Lacus.

Time went by quickly, with the conversation centered mainly on the political climates of each country involved in the war. As it was, the four of them had that particular history in common, and too much had happened during the outbreak of the war to simply ignore the topic. Each realized how much luck had played a role for them to able to escape with their lives, and none of them were taking it for granted.

Cagalli took a sip of her drink as she finished her meal. They had been talking for hours, and her eyes were starting to get a little blurry. However, she didn't want to sleep, since she knew both of them would be leaving soon. With their busy schedules, one could never be sure when they'd see each other again. But what Cagalli didn't realize was that Asuran had been keeping his attention on her. He knew that she was getting tired, but was just too stubborn to admit it. She was blinking more often, as if trying to keep her eyes wide open.

Asuran turned to Kira and Lacus, halting their conversation.

"Can you excuse us?" Asuran said, going over to Cagalli, helping her stand up.

Lacus nodded. "Go ahead." She smiled at Asuran, grateful that she'd also be able to talk to Kira alone.

Cagalli stared up at him, an inquisitive look on her face.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked.

Asuran chuckled, lightly tracing his thumb over the dark lines under Cagalli's eyes.

"You're being a workaholic, Cagalli. You need some sleep." He answered gently.

"But..." she protested, turning to go back to the dining room.

Asuran caught her hand and led her upstairs, despite Cagalli struggling against him.

"Cagalli." He warned, "if you don't cooperate, I'm going to throw you over my shoulder."

Cagalli glared at him, "Asuran Zala, don't you dare...!" Asuran turned to Cagalli and smiled, pulling her against him. "Don't you not want to spend time together? Just us?" He asked gently. Cagalli blushed, not answering.

Athrun continued to lead her along, and paused at the hallway. "Which one?"

Cagalli pointed to the left one, and Asuran led her to the door. He took her hands, enclosing them in his.

"Good night, Cagalli. I'll see you tomorrow."

Cagalli frowned at him. "You'll be here tomorrow?" She asked, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.

Asuran chuckled, and nodded, bringing his face close to hers. Cagalli closed her eyes obediently as Asuran covered her mouth with his, kissing her.


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Meanwhile, in a secret underground facility in ZAFT, soldiers were arranged in a military formation. They were wearing the red and black ZAFT uniform, however, there was one missing element-the ZAFT insignia was removed. The former ZAFT military protecting PLANT had long been disbanded, and the facilities had been declared abandoned when the peace treaty was signed.

Overlooking the soldiers, there stood what looked to be a young man addressing the soldiers. The young man couldn't be much older than twenty, with piercing gray eyes that stared down impassively. Dark navy blue hair framed his pale emotionless face, as he continued on with his speech.

"...and today, we revive what had been foolishly stopped four years ago, and this time, we will win. Coordinators will be the new humanity!"

A resounding cheer went up, echoing across the hall. The young man nodded at his audience, making his exit.

"Aya, do you think they're ready?" An aging scientist approached the young man. Aya looked at him answering, "They'll have to be. We've spent the last four years preparing for this. We can't stop now."

Tonight, everything would start. The plan was already in motion, while their targets had already fallen into the trap. Internal political connections had helped, as planned. Aya smiled sardonically, knowing how easy it was to find corrupt politicians to back up an issue, as long as they saw some profit for themselves.

With that backing, they had mobilized their weapons underground, and soon, their goals would be realized. A vast number of coordinators had also backed him up, believing, as he did, that coordinators should be the only race. Aya brushed his hair back, placing his hand on the glass enclosure in front of him. He stared at the G Mobile Suit and the maintenance crew doing the last few, finishing adjustments.

One of the men waved at him, signaling that they were ready. Aya pushed himself off the glass pane, making his way down the hangar.

Aya boarded the Gundam, pressing a few switches that booted up the O/S and the Phase Shift Armor.

"Aya Vasil, Fusillade, launching!"


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Chapter 2 Summary: As Lacus and Kira talk about the future and think that things are finally settling down, Aya Vasil launches his plans into action. This causes the four to re-evaluate the peace they had thought they achieved. Was it only an illusion?
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