Cagalli happened to notice Athrun opening his eyes. Seizing the moment, she threw the blanket covering her over Athrun, drew the pistol from her holster, and retreated to the opposite rock wall while chambering a round. Strangely, however, Cagalli didn't aim the gun at Athrun.
Athrun also threw off the blanket, drawing his dagger in readiness. At this distance, if he could dodge her first shot, he was confident he could kill Cagalli.
"I'm sorry! I don't want to shoot you!" Cagalli said to Athrun, her voice trembling. "But... that mobile suit will be used to attack Earth again, won't it?"
"Huh?" The fury from feeling betrayed by her trust dissipated halfway. Athrun didn't understand Cagalli's meaning, but... he wanted to hear her out.
"I know Orb shouldn't have built it, but that MS... it'll kill so many more people on Earth, won't it!?"
"Then shoot me. I'm the one who pulled the trigger in that mobile suit. I'm a ZAFT pilot—I can't let you touch that machine. If you insist on doing this, I'll have to kill you."
The two remained locked in a stalemate, neither moving, both waiting for the other to act.
True to her words, Cagalli hadn't taken the gun with the intent to kill Athrun. She only wanted to subdue him so she could destroy the Aegis Gundam.
Similarly, Athrun didn't want to kill Cagalli. But if she refused to abandon her plan to destroy the Aegis, he would have no choice but to act—because he was a ZAFT Forces soldier, the pilot of the Aegis Gundam.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
Cagalli panted heavily, her face wet with sweat and tears. Suddenly, the words Andrew Waltfeld and Yang Hui had once said to her echoed in her mind.
"If they're enemies, then you have to fight until one side is destroyed."
"The first path is for humanity to go extinct. If humans die out, there won't be any more wars."
...
Cagalli knew they were both right in their own ways. But she refused to accept it, refused to abandon her ideals and beliefs. She wanted everyone to coexist peacefully, wanted everyone to understand one another.
Finally, under Athrun's stunned gaze, Cagalli shouted "Damn it!" and threw the gun away.
Athrun reacted instantly, kicking off the ground and tackling Cagalli to pin her beneath him.
"BANG!"
The gun fired harmlessly, though the bullet grazed Athrun's stomach, leaving another wound.
"Are you insane?! You don't throw a loaded gun!" Athrun yelled. A chambered gun could easily discharge when hitting the ground—her reckless action could have gotten them both killed.
"I-I'm sorry..." Cagalli stared blankly at Athrun, who had protected her, offering a meek apology.
"Honestly... what the hell is wrong with you!?" Athrun rolled aside and sat up, completely exasperated. From the afternoon onward, everything Cagalli had done defied his expectations. This girl's thought processes were definitely not normal!
"I...um...that is..." Cagalli didn't know how to explain herself. Honestly, looking back on her actions now, she found them utterly bewildering and couldn't understand why she'd acted that way. But seeing the wound on Athrun's right abdomen made her forget all about the awkwardness.
"That injury! Was it from just now—"
"It's nothing serious." Athrun waved it off, signaling for Cagalli not to worry as he stood up to fetch the medical supplies for a simple bandage. But then...
"Give it to me! Let me help you!" The moment Athrun picked up the kit, Cagalli clung tightly to it, refusing to let go.
"No need, I can manage." Truth be told, Athrun was a bit wary now—he genuinely feared Cagalli might do something unpredictable again.
"Just let me! At this rate, I'm the one always owing you. At least let me repay you a little!"
"Sigh..." Athrun relented with a sigh, his heart softening. But...
"Uh...before that, could you put some clothes on first?" Flushing, he turned away and muttered the reminder. Cagalli no longer had the blanket wrapped around her—only her undergarments remained.
"Huh?" Cagalli froze, then plopped onto the floor, covering herself as tears of embarrassment welled in her eyes.
"They should be dry by now."
With that, Athrun stepped out of the cave, giving Cagalli space to dress. As for whether she'd grab the gun to subdue him again...he was confident she wouldn't. If she'd truly wanted to kill him, she wouldn't have taken such a reckless risk earlier.
Soon after, Cagalli finished dressing and bandaged Athrun's wound. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they kept their distance, exchanging no further words as they settled down to sleep.
...
At dawn, the sun peeked over the horizon, its faint glow spreading across the sea, dispelling the night's chill and warming all living things—heralding a new day's hope.
"Beep beep beep—"
The alert from his wrist terminal jolted Athrun awake. He immediately rushed out of the cave and climbed into the Aegis.
"Ath—Athrun! Can you hear me? Respond!"
"Nicol? Is that you?"
"Athrun! Thank goodness! I'll pinpoint your location from the signal now!"
"What's going on?" Cagalli, startled awake by the noise, hurriedly asked.
"The radio's working again!"
"Huh?" A pang of disappointment struck Cagalli. She could hear the joy in Athrun's voice—if the radio was restored, it likely meant ZAFT had found them. Which also meant...she and Athrun would have to part ways.
Though Cagalli wasn't a soldier of the Earth Forces, the fact remained that she'd piloted the Skygrasper to shoot down a ZAFT transport. Worse, as Orb's princess, falling into ZAFT's hands wouldn't just endanger her—it would spell disaster for Orb itself.
But the next moment, the signal receiver picked up something else.
"Coming from the sea...?"
Nicol had just contacted Athrun, so this new signal could only mean one thing—an Earth Forces search party looking for Cagalli.
Seeing this, Athrun disembarked and told her, "My rescue team will be here soon. But it seems someone else is approaching from the sea, searching from the direction of your aircraft. I need to hide it first."
"Huh?"
"I'd prefer to avoid fighting in a place like this."
"Hmm... Then... I should head back to my mobile suit too, hide and observe the situation for now."
"I see."
A strange silence briefly enveloped the two of them. Though both had many things they wanted to say, the words remained unspoken, ultimately condensed into a simple: "I'll be going then."
After Cagalli had walked some distance away, Athrun suddenly called out to her: "You're not with the Earth Forces, are you?"
Though Cagalli had shot down his transport in an Earth Forces Skygrasper, this brief encounter stirred something in Athrun's heart. He didn't want this girl to become his enemy.
"I'm not!"
"..." Receiving this answer brought Athrun a flicker of joy, but his emotions quickly grew complicated as thoughts of Kira surfaced. "Even though you're not a soldier, you still..."
"My name's Cagalli. What's yours?"
"...Athrun." After a moment's hesitation, Athrun told her his name.
Cagalli smiled at this and ran off toward the other side of the island, while Athrun turned away as well. The two departed in completely opposite directions, unaware that fate would intertwine their paths again someday through chance and necessity.
...
Since the Archangel had been searching nearby waters for Cagalli, they managed to retrieve her before ZAFT's rescue team arrived. Faced with Yang Hui and the others who came to greet her, Cagalli offered an awkward smile, but the weight of Yang Hui's gaze bore down on her, making it hard to meet his eyes.
"Sorry about that..."
"Hmm?" Yang Hui feigned surprise, turning to Lyle. "Lyle, did the sun rise from the west today?"
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Cagalli's face flushed red with anger.
"Was I wrong? If the sun didn't rise from the west, why would you actually apologize?" Yang Hui teased.
"Yang Hui! You're such a jerk!" Cagalli shouted, itching to punch him.
"Alright." Surprisingly, Yang Hui didn't get angry. Instead, he patted Cagalli's shoulder with an elder-brotherly gentleness. "Seeing you this lively means you're fine. I don't know what happened, but I hope you've learned something from this experience."
With that, he left with Lyle before Cagalli could react.
But contrary to Yang Hui's expectations, Cagalli didn't start yelling. Instead, she froze in place.
"Kisaka..."
"What is it?"
"He... didn't scold me just now?"
"Pfft—no, he didn't."
Even Kisaka, known for his stern demeanor aboard the Archangel, couldn't help but laugh.
"D-Don't laugh!"
"Sorry... but I really couldn't help it, hahaha..."
"Hahaha..."
The reunion had taken place on the bridge, where nearly everyone was present, and now they all burst into laughter. Had this girl actually grown so accustomed to Yang Hui's scolding that she felt uneasy without it?
"S-Stop laughing! Captain Ramius! Major Flaga! Kira! All of you, quit it!"
"Hahahaha..."
...
Before the door closed, Yang Hui overheard Cagalli's bewildered question and the ensuing laughter. He shook his head with a wry smile.
"Can I ever shake off this villain persona?" Yang Hui asked Lyle with a wry smile.
"Just realizing that now?"
"So you think I'm a villain too?"
"Obviously! Aside from Ms. Huang, Wang Liu Mei, and Yurin, who doesn't see you as a villain? Do you have any idea how we survived your training back then?" Lyle narrowed his eyes and glared at Yang Hui.
"Well, you were all just too weak." Yang Hui shrugged indifferently. Villain or not, as long as his wife thought he was good, that was enough.
"You bastard! If only I could beat you, I'd—"
"There is no 'I'd,' because you can't beat me."
Lyle: (╬ಠ益ಠ)
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