Disclaimer: Gundam Seed belongs to Mitsuo Fukuda. Yukimasa Sahaku belongs to Centurious the Azure.

Gundam Seed: Fated Shift

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

(Morgenroete Technical College, Heliopolis Space Colony, L3, September 17th, C.E. 70)

Fifteen-year-old Flay Allster sighed, fidgeting nervously in her chair in the lecture hall at Morgenroete's technical school. It was unseasonably warm day and the air conditioning was out, her long fire engine red hair clinging damply to the back of her neck. There were times when she wondered why her father insisted on wanting her to stay at Heliopolis, when she could have easily attended school back in the Atlantic Federation homeland.

It was everything the pretty redhead had to not fall asleep as their teacher, Seijuro Kato, continued his lecture. Many of her classmates were already passed out from a combination of the heat and Kato's droning monotone voice. Flay was about to give in when the bell rang. "Saved by the bell!" She remarked, quickly packing her bag, making for the door, the warm sun feeling welcome against her elegant, pale face.

"It's such a nice day, maybe I'll walk home." Flay remarked, walking down the sidewalk. Despite how warm it was, she couldn't help but relish being in the outdoors. She would have preferred being at the Allster Plantation in Virginia outside of Washington D.C. back in the Atlantic Federation where she could take her horse out for a ride through the pastures, but a brisk walk through the local park would be just as well.

(The same time)

Unbeknownst to many others, as the college was letting out classes for the day, a team of engineers and scientists were currently working on a top secret project in a secure facility beneath the campus, one that would cause a major shift in the fate of the Cosmic Era.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the screens of the various terminals. One terminal was currently active, as a young woman with long brown hair labored over the keyboard, the screen scrolling with lines of code. Her eyes flickered back and forth, before she groaned in exasperation. "My brain is going to leak out of my ears if I have to look at this any longer! What is it I'm missing?" She growled in frustration.

A tall stunning woman walked up next to the brunette, her considerable bust straining against the orange coveralls she wore. Long pink hair flowed down her back in thick wavy curls; her blue eyes reflected the lines of code. "How's it going, Murrue?" The woman drawled leaning over her friend's shoulder.

"It's getting there, Sharon. We just need a little bit longer and we should have a working Operating System for the G-Weapons." Lieutenant Murrue Ramius said to Ensign Sharon Heim. "Although I think I'm going to need a break here before too long. I'm going to lose my mind if I have to look at it any longer."

Sharon chuckled, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Don't blame you one bit." She put a comforting hand on Murrue's shoulder. Her massive breasts digging into her comrade's back, which the brunette found just a little bit uncomfortable. "Let's take a break and get a breath of fresh air. The operating system isn't going anywhere. Running yourself into the ground certainly isn't going to help it move along any faster."

Murrue stood up, turning off her monitor. "I suppose you're right." She sighed, running a hand through her shoulder length brown hair. "As long as we're doing this, how about we grab lunch? I'll pay."

"Don't mind if I do!" Sharon winked, hugging her ample chest. The two walked by two of their coworkers. "Hey boys, we're going to get some lunch, we'll be back soon."

"We'll be here." One young man drawled, eyes still glued to the screen. He leaned back in his chair. "We are so close, Kei. I can feel it in my bones. If we could just work out the last few lines of code we can make this Operating System work. It will go a long way to making the Astrays combat ready for Naturals."

"I hear you, Masa." The one known as Kei said, scrolling through a couple of windows as schematics for mobile suits danced in front of his eyes. "It's rather convenient that our clients came to us for help. They do all the heavy lifting and we reap the benefits! We've managed to copy all the data except for that Phase-Shift Armor so far. But that's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things."

"There's a part of me that really doesn't want to release these new units." Masa frowned. "It's going to be the cause of a new arms race. ZAFT builds mobile suits, Earth Alliance builds mobile suits of their own, and next you thing you know, it's lather, rinse, repeat."

"The Earth Forces would have developed mobile suits of their own even if they hadn't come to us for help, Masa." Kei shrugged. "But I get what you're saying. Look at it this way. If the Atlantic Federation and her allies get their own mobile suits, then the war will end that much more quickly." Masa had no more words for his co-worker, instead just focusing on his screen as schematics for one of the new machines scrolled in front of him reading "GAT-X105 Strike."

After staring at his screen for another half hour, Masa sighed, turning off his monitor. "I'm going to call it here for the day, Kei. If I have to look at one more line of code, I'm certain my brain is going to come gushing out of my ears! I'll catch you tomorrow morning." Not even bothering to hear his friend's response, he stripped off his coveralls, putting on his usual attire of a red hoodie, jeans and red sneakers.

Daisuke Ikari, aka Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku, was a seventeen year old native son of Orb, but with his pale skin, neck length black hair that matched the void of space itself, and blood red eyes that held a calculating gleam. Many would think he came from the Eurasian Federation, specifically a certain region of Romania that was known for a guy based off the infamous madman Vlad the Impaler who may or may not have had a fetish for drinking blood and turning into a bat.

Unlike Count Dracula, Yukimasa didn't wither into ash at the sight of the sun; he welcomed it like an old friend. He held his hands out in a wide, theatrical manner, as if he wanted to embrace the sun. "Ah, after being cooped up underground all day, I forget about that giant ball of gas half the time, ironic considering it's the national symbol of my country, but we all have our senior moments."

He took off down the sidewalk, taking in the atmosphere. Heliopolis was a decent representation of the Pacific Island nation, the United Emirates of Orb, despite being September, the colony was kept in a near brutal eternal summer. It was nearly always humid, but at the very least it meant he got to see the girls in shorts and skirts, and even better, short skirts. He walked to a nearby park, sitting down on the first bench he could find.

"It doesn't get much better than this." He remarked, until he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Lips twisted upward, revealing twin rows of spiky teeth in a huge grin. "Or maybe it does." Flay had decided to take a brief walk in the park before heading home. "Hey beautiful! Over here!" He called out, waving frantically.

The redhead lit up when she saw him. "Hey Masa!" Flay was one of the few people who knew of his true identity. She gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "So I see we had the same idea?" He just responded with his usual grin. "Class went fine, although I'm still finding it difficult keeping all the different communication algorithms in order."

"No one pegged my girl as being good with machines, I bet?" Yukimasa drawled. "Shall we take a little walk in the park? It's such a lovely day, and being with a pretty girl makes it all the more enjoyable." Flay gave a playful smile, and a wink, grabbing onto his arm. Her long fire-engine red hair fanning out behind her in the breeze. Not many people knew of their little romance, and that's just how they liked it. Not many people would expect the daughter of Atlantic Federation Undersecretary George Allster to fall for an Orb noble, and a Coordinator on top of it.

(Morgenroete Technical College, September 18th, C.E. 70)

Despite being just a simulacrum of the planet below, it was a gorgeous day on Heliopolis. Sitting at a gazebo on the campus was a young man of sixteen, eyes glued to his laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard, while occasionally flickering to the news stream playing about the war raging far away, mentioning about a skirmish between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance off the coast of the Republic of East Asia.

"Hey Kira!" A voice called out, causing Kira Yamato to look up, where he saw two of his friends approaching. Tolle Koenig was Kira's best friend, wearing a button up shirt and dark blue jeans. "Honestly, if you spend any more time with that computer, you're going to become permanently attached to it! I'm hoping you don't plan on marrying it, Kira. Otherwise I'll be really worried about you."

"Oh don't pay any attention to him!" His girlfriend, Miriallia Haw lightly smacked Tolle on the arm. A slight wind blew through, causing her orange dress to billow about her. Miriallia, or Miri to her friends, frantically grabbed at her skirt, not wanting to expose her underwear. "Although there is something we wanted to discuss with you, Kira. If you're not too busy right now."

"I was just going over some notes for next week's exam. Kato has been really cramming this down my throat. I'll welcome the distraction." Kira snapped his laptop shut before slipping it into his bag. Both of his classmates took a seat in the shade of the gazebo across from him. "So what is it you guys need?"

"We'll cut right to the chase with you, Kira. Tolle and I set you up on a date." Miri said plainly. "I'm serious, all you ever do is study and spend time in the library! You need a girlfriend! But don't worry; we set you up with the perfect match. You two will get along just fine!"

"Just whom exactly did you set me up with?" Kira asked nervously. Despite being for all intents and purposes, a colossal geek, the young student's hormones were in perfect working order. More than once he snuck a quick glance at some of the girls walking by. Especially Flay Allster, one of the prettiest girls in the entire school, but she was way out of his league.

"No one in particular. Just Yui Takamura." Miriallia smiled, pulled out her digital single lens reflex camera at the same moment, snapping a quick picture of Kira's gobsmacked expression. She had aspirations to be a journalist, so she was always looking for photo ops. "Well, Tolle, it looks you were right, Kira did completely lock up when I said it was Yui. I guess I owe you five bucks."

She wasn't wrong. All thoughts of the redhead were quickly flushed out of Kira's mind. If Flay was pretty, then Yui Takamura was an absolute goddess. He had seen her plenty of times around campus, a wild mane of long dark brown hair hanging freely down her back almost to her rear end, eyes of a deep purple that matched his own. She moved with a fluid poise few could hope to match. He wondered if she was some kind of royalty. He recalled one particular incident just two months ago when his group of friends went to the pool.

Yui had been there, wearing a light blue one-piece racerback swimsuit with a white swimcap. She had been just lounging by the pool, soaking up the rays. She had then entered the pool with a slow grace. It had enraptured him, watching as she slowly waded about in the water. He was so immersed in his memories, Tolle had to smack him upside the back of the head to snap him out of it.

"Wake up, Buttercup." He snickered, while Miriallia giggled. "Yes, we set you up with Yui. Let's face it, not only is she smoking hot, but she's a total egghead just like you."

Miri patted Kira on the shoulder. "At the very least give her a chance, Kira. I think you two have a lot in common."

"Wow, thanks Mir." Kira weighed his options. Okay…I'll give it a shot. When does she want to meet up and where?"

"Day after tomorrow, there's this really nice little Italian place that we went one time. It's called Tony's. The food is really good, not to mention very affordable." Tolle said, leaning in close. "I'm doing you a major solid here, my friend. I want details about what happens, got it?" Miriallia grabbed onto his ear, dragging him away.

"Meet her at 6pm sharp! Yui doesn't like being kept late!" She called out.

(September 20th, C.E. 70)

Kira fingered the collar of his white dress shirt as he nervously paced outside Tony's. He checked his phone, the white display numbers reading 5:58. "I'm not late, I even made sure to come early." He muttered to himself, he leaned up against the nearby telephone pole. It was then he caught sight of her. Yui wore a simple short-sleeved dress colored a lovely shade of turquoise with matching ballet flat shoes. Long brown hair hung freely down her back, as the light caught the silver pendent hanging around her neck. "Good evening, Yui. It's nice to see you." Kira said, fervently praying he wasn't blushing.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Kira." The young lady was blushing slightly. Clearly she was feeling as awkward about the date as he was. He couldn't help but find it to be incredibly cute. Yui ran a hand through her long brown hair, "I'm sorry if I'm late. I had washed my hair and it still wasn't completely dry yet. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"No, you're just fine. I thought I might have messed up!" Kira let out a sheepish grin. "Shall we go in? I'm certain we don't want to lose our reservations now, do we?" Yui nodded. Kira held open the door, allowing her to go in first. They sat down in the waiting room. The door opened, admitting someone Kira didn't expect to see.

"Oh hello there." Flay said. "I guess we had the same idea when it came to dinner." The redhead wore a white blouse and knee length skirt a few shades darker than her hair, complete with a white-gold locket around her neck, and a pair of matching hoop earrings, her ensemble complete by a pair of high heels matching the color of her skirt with two inch heels.

"Yo Kira!" Yukimasa Ikari said, giving a jaunty wave. His eyes widened a little at the sight of Yui. His lips pulled into his trademark grin that people said resembled a shark. "Well now. The day has finally come! The King and Queen of Nerds have finally united!" He gave Kira a strong smack on the shoulders. "Good show, my friend! I never thought the day would come when you hooked up with Yui Takamura of all people!"

"It's only our first date!" Yui protested, her cheeks flushing ever brighter.

Flay just let out a delicate giggle, befitting a girl of her social status. "Don't mind, Masa. He's always like this." She leaned forward slightly. A playful gleam showing in her blue eyes, "I for one think it's great you two are going out."

"Uh…thanks Flay." Kira said. He couldn't help feel conflicted, while he had always a huge crush on Flay; he wasn't getting the usual sensations. Perhaps it was because Yui had subconsciously taken hold of his hand, he couldn't help but notice how soft Yui's skin was, making him wonder about the kind of lotion she used.

It was then the hostess came up. "Excuse me, but are Mr. Kira Yamato and Mr. Yukimasa Ikari present?" The two boys raised their hands. "I'm sorry, but we had a slight error. It seems we misplaced one of your reservations and we only have one table available. I'm terribly sorry about the inconvenience." She bowed her head in shame.

"It's quite all right, dear. If the table is large enough, we can all sit together." Yukimasa said, waving a hand dismissively. "If that's okay with everyone?"

"I have no problem with that." Flay said.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that." Kira said, looking to his date who just gave a delicate nod.

"Well, I guess this just turned into a double date." Yukimasa said, flashing a debonair smile at the hostess. "Care to show us to our table now?" This earned him a slap on the shoulder from Flay. "What? Can't a guy compliment a beautiful woman? You like it when I do it!"

"Just make you keep your little friend in your pants, all right?" Flay rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I'm sorry about this, but he flirts with every girl we come across! When I'm not kissing him, I want to strangle him!"

"Flirting with all those girls just makes me appreciate you that much more, honey. Yeah they're all fairly nice on the eyes, but none of them have your poise." He planted a kiss on her cheek, "Your grace." Her cheeks flushed on the second kiss. "Not to mention your killer good looks. They're all rather plain compared to you."

Kira decided it was time to change the subject. "How are you guys doing with school?"

Yukimasa shrugged. "About normal…Professor Kato is a total slave driver. I think he just likes foisting work on me. He spends the bulk of his time locked up in his lab. I can't recall the last time he actually delivered a lecture himself." Both Kira and Flay shared a slight glance. They both had Kato and noticed that he seemed delegate more and more authority to Yukimasa, who served as one of his teaching assistants.

"That is weird." Yui remarked. "I'm the TA for Kato's other class, and he's been doing the same thing for me." It had been rather unsettling for her to run the classes, giving that she was more or less the same age as the people she was teaching. The waitress then appeared with menus for the four teenagers and they ordered their meals. Salads for both of the girls while Kira got spaghetti and Yukimasa got a large 8-inch pizza.

With bellies full, the two couples departed the restaurant, "So where do we go now? The night is young." Yukimasa said.

"How about to Glenn Park? The lake is beautiful this time of night." Yui suggested.

"That's a great idea! Can we go, Masa? It would make me very happy if you say yes." Flay said in slightly suggestive manner. Clapping her hands together, Flay pulled out the most devastating weapon in any girl's arsenal, the Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom, a weapon that to this very day had no available countermeasure. "Please? Please can we go?" Yukimasa just sighed, giving a resigned nod. "Yay!" She cheered.

Yukimasa looked to Kira. "Best get used to this while you can, Kira. Nothing can beat those eyes. I'm sure Yui will use them on you once you get the chance."

"Yukimasa!" Yui sputtered, feeling her face heat up. "Don't say that! This is only our first date, We barely know each other." Yukimasa began laughing, while Flay struggled to stifle her own giggles. "It's not funny!" She shot a fierce glare to Kira. "Don't you even think about it or I'll give you one right across the kisser!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Kira said, pushing down his laughter. He couldn't deny Yui was kind of cute when she was angry.

"Glad to see you're so predictable Jellyui!" Yukimasa teased, not fazed in the slightest at the dirty look being sent his way. "You see, Kira. Yui likes to project the image of being rock solid, and that nothing ever fazes her. The truth is she's just a big old pile of jelly underneath. It's all in how you approach her."

Flay latched onto Yukimasa's arm, not wanting to antagonize Yui any further. "How about we go over to the beach? I think it would be a lovely place to take a walk."

"Whatever my Red Queen wants, my Red Queen gets." Yukimasa said, giving her hand a delicate kiss, causing her to start giggling again. Kira couldn't help but think they made a nice couple. The two began heading in the direction of the park. "The two of you are coming, right? This is a double date after all. It kind of negates the purpose if both couples aren't present. So get to it, kids!"

Kira and Yui looked to each other shyly. He tentatively reached out. "Do you…want to hold hands, Yui?" She looked away, wishing she didn't blush so easily, before reluctantly holding her own hand out. He gently took it, once again noting how soft the palms were. They followed after their fellow couple, heading down the road to Glenn Park. "I didn't say this earlier, but you look absolutely beautiful in that dress."

"Thank you." Yui responded quietly. She finally dared to look Kira in the face. Her first thought was that despite his gentle and studious demeanor, she could tell there was a great strength within. It came out especially when Yui looked into his eyes, a brilliant strident purple.

Yui cautiously inched closer to him, not wanting to startle her date too much. She jumped when her hand was squeezed. She looked to Kira who gave her an easygoing smile. "I'm glad I agreed to this. I've enjoyed this so far. How about you?"

"Yeah…I have." Yui smiled a little.

The two couples soon made it to the Glenn Park Lake. Flay laughed in delight, taking her red two-inch heels off, and began running along the sand, laughing like a happy child. "It's a shame we didn't bring our swimsuits! You would like that, wouldn't you, Yukimasa?" Flay teased.

"It wouldn't be a bad image, Flay." Yukimasa put his arms around her. "Still, you don't need much to look beautiful anyway. I love you sweetheart." With that, he gave her a gentle kiss. His eyes fell on the nearby playground, the swingset in particular. "Hey, you're never too old to play on the swings. How about I push you?" Flay giggled, grabbing him by the hand. "I'm guessing you like the idea!"

Flay sat down in the seat, "You ready?" She asked, holding tight onto the chains. Yukimasa gave a nod, pulling Flay back in the seat.

"Red Queen 01, this is the control tower you are cleared for take off." He said, before giving a hard push, and with a happy cry she swung up into the air. Kira and Yui looked on in amusement at how happy the two of them looked together. They subconsciously held each other's hand a little tighter, before two pairs of violet eyes locked with each other.

"Maybe we should join them? There's plenty of swings available." Kira ventured, to which his date gave a shy nod. The two took seats besides Flay, and they began swinging as well. Yui relished the rush of the wind in her face, blowing through her thick mane of dark brown hair. "Hey Yui?" The young student gave his date an uncharacteristic smirk. "I bet I can swing higher than you!"

"You're going to be disappointed then!" She said, "I don't like to lose!" With that, she began pumping her legs harder to gain more speed, beginning to pull ahead of her date. Kira laughed, beginning to do the same. All four of them were enjoying the quiet moment. It was just a chance for them to act like normal children for once, a moment they'd later on learn to treasure.

The sunlight pouring through the massive glass windows began receding, causing the sky to turn the brilliant colors of twilight, the slowly darkening blue trimmed with violet and orange. The two couples were beginning to tire out. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but this was a great evening." Yukimasa stretched his arms up high to the ever-darkening sky before putting them behind his back, throwing an aside glance to Kira and Yui. "It was nice sharing it with you guys."

"Thanks for letting us." Kira said, looking over to Yui. "We're going to head home. I have a test in the morning and I'm certain Yui's family is waiting for her."

"Have fun you two! Don't do anything naughty!" Flay called out, waving. Kira just shook his head, as he put his arm around Yui's waist. The two of them left the park, heading down the road, the street lights began blinking to life.

"I just wanted to say Yui…" Kira's voice trailed off, finding himself entranced by Yui's face. The graceful but strong lines of her cheekbones, he was certain she was of nobility. Yui cocked her head slightly, waiting for him to finish. He quickly recovered. "Uh, I wanted to say, that I had a really great time tonight." He looked away slightly. "Maybe…we could go on another date real soon? I was thinking maybe to the movies."

The image of her smile would be one forever burned into his mind and heart. "Sure. I think that would be a lovely idea. It probably would have to wait until next week or the week after. I need to help Professor Kato with exams, not to mention I have a swim meet."

"Uh sure! I'm not in any hurry. Perhaps…I could come and cheer you on?" Kira closed his eyes, really hoping he wasn't blushing. His entire body stiffened when a pair of soft hands rested on his cheeks. The young student opened his eyes to see Yui inches from him, blushing herself. "Provide you some moral support?"

She planted a gentle kiss right on the lips. "You'd better. Or I'll make you have to take extra study sessions." Yui smiled. Despite being only one date, she could feel a connection to Kira. There was something in his eyes that made her want to be near him. Yui Takamura never would admit to anyone, but perhaps she was falling in love with Kira Yamato. Still, she wasn't going to make it easy for him. A girl did have to have standards after all…

(Glenn Lake)

Yukimasa and Flay remained at the park, wanting to enjoy the peace and quiet of the landscape before heading hone. They sat on some rocks, listening to the sound of the water lapping against them. "This makes me think of quiet summer evenings at our beach house in North Carolina." The redhead watched as the stars began winking into existence against the night sky. She rested her head against Yukimasa's shoulder. "If my father knew what we were up to, he'd throw a conniption fit."

Yukimasa just leaned in close to her, relishing the scent of her cherry scented perfume. "Well, your old man isn't here. He's a couple hundred thousand miles away in Washington on Earth. It's not exactly like he has any influence on your life when his entire schedule is always constantly full of meetings and golf games with senators and the like. So I don't see any reason for you to worry."

Flay just smiled. "Yeah, Daddy was trying to set me up with another of my classmates, Sai Argyle." She shrugged. "Don't get me wrong. He's a nice enough guy, but he's a little boring." She leaned into Yukimasa's side, clutching his arm tightly. "You, Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku, are anything but boring. I've come to expect a certain amount of spontaneity because of you."

The young man just gave a wide sharkish grin. "I aim to please, my lady. If you want something crazy and random done. There's a fair chance I can oblige. If nothing interesting happens, you just have to do it yourself." Yukimasa held Flay close. "Still, I don't think this is the time to do anything crazy or random." He leaned in close, taking in the sight of her bluish-gray eyes, so full of life. "I wouldn't want to ruin the moment, after all." With that, they kissed against the backdrop of the crystal clear night sky.