Gundam Seed: Kira Reloaded c17

As Earth Forces loot the Barracks and bring all the supplies aboard, the Captain orders Kira to have some free time.

Since it was an order, the Pilot of the Strike could only sigh and roll his eyes. 

But then the lieutenant told him it was a great chance for him.

It took a couple of minutes to understand what he meant. 

A small grin started to form on Kira’s face as he began to stroll towards the crew deck.

“Lacus~” Kira, with an almost singing voice, called the girl’s name.

“...What is it?” The girl poked her head from her room. 

“Let’s go on a date~” He grinned while saying that. 

“D-Date? B-But we–” 

“I just liberated this town, and apparently, I am getting paid, so I should have at least months or so salary available.” He said that while stroking his chin. He wonders if he gets extra for each kill he does. That would be a nice Incentive, considering none of the Geneva stuff is in effect since the UN doesn’t exist. 

“I-I see…”

“And on top of that, we have at least over a day and more to relax~ so~” His hand, like a viper, sneaked around her waist and pulled her closer.

“We can explore the town.” 

Her eyes widened for a second. ‘So bold,’ Lacus thought to herself. There was no way she could decline. 

“But, I don’t have clothes; people will easily recognise me.” 

“Leave the insignificant details to me~” He started to pull her towards a direction.

‘He came prepared.’ 

The girl realised that he had thought everything already.

“Very well.”

~~~

The pair, dressed in casual clothes, were looking around the town. Lacus was wearing a white sleeveless hoody with sunglasses covering her face; she got slippers and shorts to fight the heat since it was a desert town.

With shorts and sneakers, she looked like another girl. Kira was dressed in a similar style with a t-shirt and shorts. 

“The town looks so happy that ZAFT has been removed.” Lacus smiled as she saw how people were acting.

They were dancing and celebrating with food. Some of the stalls even give away free food.

“Yes. I am still looking for that Kebab store.” Kira, like a stalking predator, was looking around for that elusive food. 

The girl giggled, hearing how serious he was with this. 

“It should with all those restaurants.” The girl suggested as she looked around for it as well.

“Yes, but we are not just looking for basics; we are looking for THE Kebab store.” He said while looking left and right.

“What’s the difference?”

“Those are the General food restaurant that normally sells average meals, including kebabs, and the other is a pure kebab restaurant.” 

“Oh, so it’s like that.”

“Worst case, I will raid another town with Strike.” 

“...” Lacus looked at him. She hoped that he was joking, but he was dead serious.

“I am sure we will find what you are looking for.”

She smiled at him while hugging his hand. The pinkette internally switched to support mode. The girl must ensure he doesn’t do what he said he would!

Eventually, a peculiar smell assaulted Kira’s nose. His eyes nearly sparkled.

“Bingo, found it!” 

The pair arrived at a local Restaurant. He could see big chunks of meat spinning and being cooked.

“...So that’s a kebab.” Lacus looked intrigued, but Kira looked at her as if she was an alien.

He got closer, even making her blush, which he ignored. Instead, he asked a crucial question.

“You never had a kebab before?” 

She shook her head.

“I don’t think they are a thing in PLANTs. Much of cultural heritage has been discarded to unify Coordinators and give an image of when we declared independence from Earth and our past,” the girl whispered back to him.

“...oh right,” Kira recalled hearing something like that in Heliopolis. But then he realised that he had never had a Kebab in the Gundamverse, either!

‘Holy! Shit, Now I feel like a heretic too.’

“Did you have before? I never knew they had something like this in Heliopolis.” Lacus enquired with a smile, which made Kira nervous. How should he reply to that?

“In a– way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Kebab is just a form of barbeque.” He started to explain this in more detail.

He went over different types depending on regions. 

It was so strange. She didn’t know regional stuff like that still existed. Many old countries have fallen and reformed into bigger and chunkier countries.

So it's strange for her to hear something Turkish style or Albanian. There is barely any difference, but it depends on the restaurant and how they interpret those styles.

She was more curious about how a guy who grew up in space knows that much about food only found on Earth. She doubts Heliopolis has that much selection, considering food is imported. It's all about efficiency.

“I see.” After explaining an array of stuff that Lacus is certain has nothing to do with kebabs, like the spread of culture over the centuries, the pair were ready to order.

“Since I have no idea, order me something simple; I don’t want to get overwhelmed,” she whispered to him.

“Sure, you can’t get wrong with chicken. If not for mobile suits, I am sure chicken could unite the world.” 

She looked at him weirdly. 

“Think about it. Regardless of cultural and religious differences, all people eat chicken.” 

The pinkette deadpanned at him but then started to think. Considering religious differences, one doesn’t eat another, but everyone eats chicken.

‘Sigh I should stop thinking like this, but he is right.’ The girl massaged her forehead; how on Earth did he come up with this stuff?

As she thought about that, he went forward and started ordering. She never thought he would know a couple of Arabic words. Had he studied the language? People should be switching to standardised languages by this point.

Regardless, after ordering, they went to a corner and sat down. They had a perfect view of the street.

“Don't you think this is beautiful? How are people happy with the freedom they acquired?”

“Are you saying that ZAFT is bad?” He enquired with an interested tone. Is the girl condemning her military? 

“I am not saying that. I am saying that I want this kind of jovial look from all of the people.”

“That is a scary thing you are saying, but that's why I like you so much.”

“W-What are you saying? Out of the blue like that!” The girl stuttered for a second before suddenly getting serious.

“But what do you mean?”

“Because dear, you can’t force everyone to be happy suddenly. People are different, and you have to accept all of it. We have the seven sins and seven virtues for a reason. You can’t only have war because, without war, there is no peace in the first place.” 

He explained to her as he pulled out a coin and showed both sides.

“Hoping for one but ignoring the implications of the other side is like enjoying half of the painting. 

This conflict started because peace lasted for a very long time.” He said the last part with a casual shrug.

“Yes, I know; I still like seeing people happy like this.” Lacus almost rolled her eyes at him. She had already heard that and could not deny it, as it was humanity’s true face.

“Well—”

“What?”

“Well, for fulfilment's sake, one should first find one's happiness before spreading it to others,” Kira said with a sigh as he told her the grim truth.

“You realise that Desert Tiger is not defeated yet, and Gibraltar is most likely already deployed reinforcements.” 

“...So people shouldn’t celebrate?” She almost pouted at him.

“No, I am saying that people should get wasted as much as possible before awakening from their dreams.” He explained with a strained smile.

“... That's not what I meant!” 

First, he mumbled her perception with layers of human psychology, then told her that it was temporary, and lastly, he told her that one should get wasted like it was the last day of one's life.

‘Wait…’

She then smiled as she realised something.

“So under those layers of cynical Kira, there lies a kind-hearted man. I knew it!” 

One of his eyebrows went up as the waitress brought a selection of sauces.  

“How do you conclude like that?” he asked, genuinely curious. As someone who started delving into philosophy thanks to the craziness of his new world, he wanted to know how she concluded like that.

“Well, someone who doesn’t care, you wouldn’t have said those things.” 

“I suppose, but my caring radius is very small; it's you and Strike, so—” He shrugged.

His casual response made her facial expression go through several different types. 

“And Archangel?”

“Oh, and the ship and its crew. But that's about it. It's more or less a man's thing. It is women who by nature care more.” 

“I do not doubt that the majority of people who running things behind those doors are men.” 

Lacus understood what he meant. He talked about the industrial complex controlling the Natural countries and the army.

“Yes, anyway! Here comes our food!” 

For now, the girl decided to forget about the issue of a massive war. Instead, she was extra happy with her discoveries! 

But then she palled when she saw the massive plates.

“...umm—UMM. I asked for small…” 

“This IS small.”

As Kira said, the woman placed his portion on the table. Lacus' eyes nearly rolled up as she saw the amount of meat he got!

“Don’t look that worried. Let me show you how to eat this~.” Kira smiled as it was his time to shine.

~~~

“There you are!” A girl’s voice interrupted Kira’s eating.

“At least you know what kind of food—” The Blonde girl’s eyes widened as she saw who Kira was having dinner with. She could see pink hair. There are very few people in this place who have pink hair! That’s a coordinator's hair colour!

She swiftly walked over and sat down at his table.

“What is going on?”

“Hmm? I am having a date, which you are interrupting.” Kira rolled his eyes.

“Are you nuts?” She nearly hissed at him.

“Kira…Who is she?” Lacus looked confused. She hadn’t met this girl before!

The Strike’s pilot shrugged at the pinkette.

“I met her in Heliopolis before stuff happened. She started crying her eyes out the moment she saw Mobile Suit. It was weird, but I stuffed her into the escape pod before boarding my mobile suit.”

“I didn’t cry!” The blonde snapped.

“And I had my reasons, AND my name is Cagali!” The blonde introduced herself.

“Besides, why did you board that machine? It's a war machine.” The girl asked with a frown.

“Because I wanted to wage war? Beat the shit out of people who invaded my home. I kind of was successful, but then those idiots used Anti-fortress rockets to blow up Heliopolis rotation cables.” 

The way Kira explained it made the blonde out of words. She didn’t know if she should try punching or berating him or — something! She didn’t expect that kind of answer. Lacus wondered how long his patience would last. She could see how annoyed he was. The blonde was pressing the wrong buttons the whole time.

“...” 

“...”

“You can’t pilot that machine. It's a mistake.”

“Sorry, but you cannot tell me what to do, blonde.”

The girl was about to grab him, but Kira grabbed her wrist. He was around three times faster than her. Being a coordinator is no joke in this kind of situation.

He was quick, and she quickly felt the pain.

“Believe me, if not for Kebabs and Lacus, you would be on the floor with a dislocated shoulder.”

Cagali hissed at him in anger, but she couldn’t move her hand. She was about to make a fuss, but the girl dropped to the floor from the recoil when he released his hold.

“Oh, look what you did. You slipped, so let me help you up.” Kira was about to help with faked concern but

The blonde blushed as she stood and walked away with an embarrassed look.

“...Was this necessary?” Lacus was a little bit spooked. She didn’t expect he would humiliate her like that!

“Yes. she poked the bottom line. She interrupted our date, and on top of that, she tried to force her ideology on me.

Even her family supported the creation of G-weapons; I don’t care. Strike is mine, and it's why we are alive in the first place.” After saying that, his serious expression disappeared, replaced by a smile.

‘Not the best third encounter with my ‘dear’ sister.’ Kira thought to himself.

“Now, let’s return to our food~”