Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ The Hawk of Endymion ❯ Face to Face ( Chapter 1 )
On the day when young Mu met a certain person...
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 06.12.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 873 | Status: Completed
Note: This story is for the Gundam SEED LiveJournal theme community, "Endless Future." The basic premise is that one writes a variety of fics based upon a particular character or pairing, based upon a set of 50 'themes.' For the most part, I'm using this for some writing exercises, and to get out a few scraps of ideas that wouldn't otherwise work. Every set I do for any given character or pairing for this thing will follow it's own sense of loose continuity, unless otherwise noted.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Mu La Flaga - "The Hawk of Endymion"
Part 01 - "Face To Face"
Set #1: Themes #1 (Meeting) & #12 (Father)
Written by Infinity Blade
For all intents and purposes, young Mu La Flaga had never gone without much. His father, Al De Flaga, was one of the wealthiest men in the Atlantic Federation. The respect held for that man in governments from Earth to the colonies was tremendous. One would have believed that any child should've counted himself lucky to have that man as a father.
They would, at any rate, unless they knew everywhere that man's money went. Mu knew. He knew far more things than a child should... About the war weapons that man funneled his money into, and the illegal research, all for the purpose of gaining more wealth and power. That was all that concerned Al De Flaga. That, and nothing else. Not even his own son.
Mu was, certainly, that man's son. Despite everything, however, despite his inherent wealth, despite the fact that he could have anything he wanted... it was only by blood. Were that man to have his way, 'that woman's child' wouldn't even exist. For that matter, if he had his way, 'that woman' would not exist, either.
He did, indeed, know more than a child should. Particularly about his parents' relationship. The only reason Al De Flaga had married Mu's mother was out of convenience and the need to prevent scandal. He was a production of a one night stand with a woman of 'low stature' in comparison to where that man stood in the place of the world. Mu knew it'd been a long time since that man had figured he was 'unfit' to be his heir, and labeled him as a 'weakling.'
It hadn't been always like that. There was a time when it'd been different... but that time had long since passed. He was unsure what had brought about the change in that man's attitude towards him. All Mu knew was that it happened.
Mu knew all of this... and yet, there was a part of him that could care less. Mu knew who he was, and that so long as he kept his goals focused, he would be destined to be a great man. Certainly, far better than that man...
Mu fidgeted as the maid adjusted his shirt in one of the well furnished rooms of the Flaga mansion. He always hated being dressed up like this, much less having to do it and not knowing why. The maid just smiled as Mu heard the door open behind him, giving him a slight push to indicate he should turn around. As soon as he did just that, though, he felt his world stop.
Standing before him was another boy, about his age. Only this boy looked exactly as Al De Flaga had when he was a young boy, from what Mu had seen in photographs. The boy merely smiled, something which somehow sent a shiver up Mu's spine. He extended a hand, and though he was hesitant to do so, Mu cautiously shook it.
"Greetings, brother," the other boy said, and as Mu felt himself freeze upon hearing that word, the boy's grip... tightened. Considerably. "My name is Rey Za Flaga."
Mu jerked his hand away from this 'Rey' person, taking a step back from him. "What are you talking about...? I- I don't have any sort of-"
"Don't disrespect him, Mu," a voice said darkly, and Mu's eyes shot up to find Al De Flaga standing in the doorway.
"'Disrespect him'!?" Mu exclaimed. "Dad, who is he? Since when do I have a brother!?"
Al only silently walked in, a calm but firm look on his face. He looked at Rey, smiling briefly, before he turned his gaze back to Mu and his expression fell flat. "He is my son. My true son, and you will treat him with the respect that he deserves. Do you understand me, child?"
Mu just stared at the two of them, his mouth agape. Suddenly, he could feel tears welling up, but he held them back.
Rey only continued to smile despite his 'brother's' distressed look. Mu just couldn't take that any longer. Something about that boy's face, something about that smile... all it made Mu want to do is run.
And that's exactly what he did, straight out of the room. He was unsurprised, of course, as Al made no attempts to stop him, and when he looked back...
Rey still continued to smile.
The Flaga mansion was incredibly massive. One could wander around in it for hours and get lost, easily. As such, when Mu found himself running, he couldn't make it through half the household without feeling a little winded. Finally, he found himself content to wander around aimlessly as he pondered on what he had just seen...
The only place that Mu could imagine someone like that would have come from is another affair. He knew his parents didn't truly love each other, and what his father was known for... but there was the boy's age. He couldn't be much older or younger than Mu was himself, so where had he been the whole time? To pop up all of a sudden... how could that man refer to him like that? What was it that made this Rey his 'true son?' It made no sense and did little more than give Mu a headache the more that he thought about it...
On top of everything, that this came so suddenly...
As he wandered, the boy came upon the door to his father's study. He heard voices, one of which being Al De Flaga's. Curiosity getting the better of him, Mu cracked open the door, desperate to hear anything that would shed some light on everything...
Al was speaking to one of the caretakers that took after Mu. "Make sure you educate him and treat him well," the man said, obviously speaking of that other boy. "Whatever you do, don't make him into another weakling..."
Standing there in the dark, one of the boy's hands clenched into a fist. He knew that was what his father thought of him, and had been told as such to his face. Mu knew better, though. He may not have been up to that man's view of 'perfection,' but he knew better...
Then, he felt something. Something inside him. It was a brief feeling, one that he couldn't place, and in the coming days it was such a small detail he wouldn't remember it. But for just a moment, he felt an invisible sort of... pressure around him, and quickly spun around to find Rey standing right behind him.
Quietly, Mu closed the door and then glared at the boy. Rather than simply smiling in the face of his confusion, Rey now smirked. "I do not believe Father would appreciate you spying on him, Brother."
"What's it to you?" Mu snapped, not feeling the need to keep his speech formal, as he normally did in his father's presence.
"My, my," Rey chuckled lightly, his eyes narrowing a tad. Combined with that cocky smirk, it gave the other boy a look that was almost downright sinister. "I don't know why you're so upset, Mu. I merely came to this place to meet my dear brother..."
The sarcasm wasn't lost on Mu, but he didn't reply.
"In truth, I don't like this anymore than you do," Rey said, and the comment almost seemed sincere. "Being what I am, where I am... it's not where I want to be. It's not where I believe we should be."
Mu was certainly an intelligent child, but he was still just a child, and Rey's babbling was starting to lose him. Huffing and waving a hand, Mu turned and began to walk off. "Whatever."
"That man, Al De Flaga," Rey suddenly said, and Mu stopped briefly, glancing back. "Our creator... he truly is a fool, isn't he? To think that he can do all that he does with no repercussions?"
Though it hadn't been his intent, Mu couldn't help but smirk slightly. At least he said something that made sense. "Yeah," he said simply before turning back to walk off once more. "Yeah, he is..."
It happened in the dead of that night.
Mu awoke to people screaming, flames erupting out of every corner of the mansion. Maids rushed him from the burning building, the boy unaware of his parents' fate. Of his newfound 'brother's' whereabouts. He knew nothing.
Even still, he stood there with the crowd of people, watching as his home - his life, burn to the ground.
It didn't take long to realize they were gone forever. That his parents had died, even though it took days of investigation to confirm this.
The body of Rey Za Flaga was never recovered, the boy thought to have been completely incenerated in the fire.
As the years went on, though that first time of feeling it was but a fleeting memory, Mu would still feel a slight 'pressure' every once in awhile...
-End of Part 01
Notes: You can find the LJ community that spawned this here: http : // www. Livejournal .com/community/endless_future/
Just take out the spaces, since FF.net doesn't like internet addresses. :P
The notion of calling Chibi Rau "Rey" was just a random idea I had. Not the most creative thing, but hey.
I also realize that Al De Flaga is cast in a pretty negative light here towards Mu, despite some of the Flaga family photographs we've seen in the show. Just remember that lots of things depend on perspective, and that this is only one of them from a brief period of time.