It would be best to capture Murrue and the others as well while at it, to avoid future trouble.
Of course, aside from that, he had other matters to attend to.
According to the storyline, Kira shouldn't have been secretly watched by ORB personnel.
Presumably, they were also considering the Ultimate Coordinator's keen senses, avoiding any complications that might arise from being discovered.
This gave Fred a window of opportunity.
The Atlantic Federation people would likely arrive in about two days. Before that, he needed to take Kira, the Mobile Suit, and the Battleship.
"Alec, you go to the hotel first and prepare."
"I'll go find Zero."
"Alright."
Zero was Kira's code name, though Fred hadn't told anyone he was looking for the Ultimate Coordinator—just that he was fetching a friend.
As the overall Commander, Fred taking someone away mid-operation wasn't too troublesome a matter.
Alec opened his mouth upon hearing this. As the bodyguard, he really should have been the one to follow along.
But Fred seemed resolute in his decision. Although Alec was his bodyguard, since Fred had said so, he didn't press further.
He only said, "Stay safe," before the two parted ways. Alec headed toward the hotel, while Fred boarded a driverless car heading for the technical school.
Soon, as the spacious vehicle sped along, Fred watched the scenery rushing past outside. For once, a rare sense of gravity settled in his heart.
Would he be able to take Kira away smoothly? It had been years since they'd last met, and he couldn't quite gauge Kira's thoughts anymore.
...
"When do you think the war will end? ZAFT's been doing counterterrorism for over a year now."
Walking along the spacious, tree-lined avenue, Tolle looked up at the sky.
Though the war hadn't reached them directly, its effects were still felt.
Both prices and the overall happiness of society had been impacted to varying degrees by the war.
Simply put, people were afraid they might be caught up in it too.
"It won't be that soon," Kira said softly.
"ZAFT says they're going to root out the Blue Cosmos bases within the Atlantic Federation's territory."
Currently, they were at war with several neighboring countries friendly to PLANT.
It would take a while before they could actually push into the Atlantic Federation.
"Then it looks like it'll last a long time. I heard many people from the Atlantic Federation are already taking refuge in the Eurasian Federation because of energy shortages."
"The Eurasian Federation is making a fortune out of it," Tolle remarked.
"Yeah, but it's good that we're maintaining peace on our side."
Kira nodded, not feeling like they were missing out on anything.
Everyone who came here wanted a peaceful life, after all.
At the very least, he loved his current life.
Just as they were talking, the little bird that had been perched obediently on Kira's shoulder suddenly spread its wings and took flight.
"Dolly?"
Kira called out in confusion, his gaze following Dolly as it slowly drifted forward.
Then Dolly landed on a young man.
The young man looked a few years older than them, with gentle features and a faint smile on his face. Dolly was now perched on the young man's strong fingers.
A harmonious scene.
"What's going on...?"
Kira looked at the young man before him, feeling a sense of familiarity.
But he was certain he had never met this person before?
And why would Dolly, who was usually wary of strangers, land on his hand?
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Kira's mind.
Yet none of them found a clear answer until he saw that familiar smile the young man directed at him. Though the face was different, and the height had changed, the feeling that smile gave off was etched into Kira's memory, stirring waves of familiarity.
"Huh? Someone you know?"
Beside Kira, Tolle, who had witnessed the same scene, asked curiously.
"Yeah..."
After a brief reply, Kira turned to his friend with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry... Tolle, you go on ahead."
"Huh?"
Tolle glanced somewhat oddly at the figure in the distance.
But he didn't seem like a bad person.
And besides, what bad people could there possibly be in ORB?
After silently chiding himself for that thought, Tolle let out a chuckle.
"Alright, take care now."
With just that, Tolle headed off in another direction.
Meanwhile, Fred, with Dolly's help, made his way over to the Kira he hadn't seen in years.
It was largely thanks to Dolly that he'd been able to pinpoint the location so quickly.
"Long time no see, Kira. You've grown taller."
Hearing those familiar words delivered in an unfamiliar voice, Kira's suspicions were fully confirmed in his heart.
The joy he felt was impossible to hide, written all over his face.
"Big brother!"
The moment Kira's voice rang out, his small frame had already thrown itself into an enthusiastic embrace.
"..."
Suddenly feeling as if he'd been hugged by a bear, Fred nearly lost his breath.
Kira truly lived up to being an Ultimate Coordinator—his current strength, while still not quite matching Athrun's, wasn't far off.
Caught off guard, Fred almost choked.
Thankfully, his body was far more robust now, or else he, as the older brother, would have been thoroughly embarrassed.
"Why did big brother come here, and why are you—"
Kira's voice grew softer as he looked at Fred, whose appearance had changed so completely, even his hair color different.
"Let's talk back at my place."
Fred said with a smile.
The hotel he was staying at wasn't far from here, and soon the two arrived at their destination—an ordinary hotel room.
Fred quickly removed the disguise from his face.
Aside from the hair color and his grown physique, it was like the older brother Fred from the moon, scaled up proportionally.
"Sit down, have some tea, and we'll talk slowly."
Fred placed a complimentary drink from the hotel in front of Kira.
"Ah... alright."
His brother was as composed as ever.
At the very least, there was no way Kira could calmly sip tea right now.
Still, despite that thought, Kira accepted the drink.
The warmth of the tea seeped through his palm and into his heart, steadying his nerves somewhat.
"After I faked my death in Copernicus, I went to PLANT."
"What?!"
The moment Fred spoke his first sentence, Kira let out a startled cry.
He'd never heard anything about his brother faking his death—he'd only assumed they'd moved back to the Atlantic Federation.
He never would have imagined that Fred, a Natural, had gone to PLANT of all places.
"Ahem."
Fred cleared his throat lightly, drawing Kira's attention back to him before continuing.
Picking out the parts he could share, Fred quickly gave a rough summary of what had happened over the past few years.
"So... all these years, my brother has been working for world peace...?"
"Not quite that noble."
Meeting Kira's gaze—eyes that had already fully believed him even without any proof—Fred chuckled.
"I just wanted to balance the powers at play."
"Though war is still unavoidable, I'm afraid."
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