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Kira Yamato (キラ・ヤマト Kira Yamato) is the protagonist of the television anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and an important character in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. In the Japanese anime he is played by Soichiro Hoshi and in the English version he is played by Matt Hill. In Gundam SEED, Kira is a first-generation Coordinator who lives in the neutral space colony Heliopolis. An expert in computer science, he helps with special research at the college he attends. His life is skewed in a totally different direction when he unwillingly gets involved in the ZAFT attack on the colony and becomes the reluctant pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike. Kira ultimately enlists in the Earth Alliance military, OMNI, joining the crew of the battleship Archangel in the fight against ZAFT. Kira coins the nickname "Gundam" for his machine from an acronym within the name of the Strike's mobile suit operating system (the "GUNDAM" acronym also finds its way into subsequent mobile suit operating system names within the Cosmic Era timeline). The nickname stuck for similar high performance prototype mobile suits that use the GUNDAM operating system. In both Gundam SEED and SEED Destiny, his friendship with Athrun Zala forms one of the main themes of the storyline. Crossfire at Heliopolis: The GAT-X105 Strike Gundam|GAT-X105 Strike During the Bloody Valentine War, Kira lives on the neutral colony of Heliopolis until it is attacked by ZAFT forces. During the evacuation, Kira decides to follow a mysterious stranger, who he later pushes into an escape pod. Kira eventually finds two prototype mobile suits, the Strike and the Aegis and a battle taking place between Earth Alliance soldiers and the Rau Le Creuset ZAFT special forces team. While Kira rushes to help an Earth Alliance officer, Murrue Ramius, he recognizes one of the ZAFT pilots as his old friend, Athrun Zala. The two friends are stunned by each other's presence. Murrue attempts to shoot Athrun, but he captures the Aegis and escapes, while Murrue and Kira board the Strike. Outside the factory, Athrun informs GINN pilot Miguel Aiman the Strike is being piloted by an Earth Alliance soldier. Miguel tells Athrun to take his machine back to the ship, and that he will capture the Strike. Murrue is no match for Miguel, and seeing that his friends Sai Argyle, Kuzzey Buskirk, Miriallia Haw, and Tolle Koenig are in the vicinity of this battle, Kira takes control of Strike and fights back, ultimately forcing Miguel to retreat. After the battle, Murrue tells Kira and his friends that they have to stick with her because they have stumbled upon an Earth Alliance military secret. They are soon joined by Mu La Flaga, Natarle Badgiruel, and several other Earth Alliance survivors of the raid on Heliopolis. It becomes clear to Mu that Kira is no ordinary human, he was able to rewrite the Strike's OS in a matter of seconds and pilot it so adeptly, and asks if Kira is a Coordinator. When Kira says yes, some of the Earth Alliance soldiers pull their guns on him, but Tolle vouches for his friend saying that Kira may be a Coordinator but he is not an enemy. Murrue mentions that Orb has a policy of non-discrimination against Coordinators, so it makes perfect sense that Kira was living on Heliopolis. Mu apologizes for stirring up a fuss, saying he was only curious. Kira initially refuses to pilot the Strike again, but Mu, who acts as somewhat of a mentor in the series, tells Kira that he is the only one capable of piloting it and that if he has the power to make a difference, he should put it to good use. In a later battle with Miguel, Kira kills him. Miguel is the first person who died at the hands of Kira Yamato. On the Archangel After becoming the pilot of the Strike, Kira often has to confront his childhood friend Athrun Zala, a ZAFT soldier. While Athrun is driven to fight to protect his nation; Kira, even though he hates war, wants to protect his friends who are onboard the Archangel. When Kira confronts Athrun for the first time after the destruction of Heliopolis, Athrun tries to get him to join ZAFT. He tells Kira that his mother was killed in the Bloody Valentine Incidentand that drove him to join ZAFT. This has a profound effect on Kira, but he refuses to join ZAFT and escapes when Mu La Flaga intervenes. A twist of fate lands PLANT pop idol Lacus Clyne - who happens to be Athrun's fiancee - onboard the Archangel. Natarle Badgiruel uses her as a shield to stave off ZAFT forces after they destroy an Earth Alliance fleet, killing Vice Foreign Minister George Allster in the process. Before he withdraws, Athrun asks Kira if it's his idea of justice to fight with cowards who would use innocent civilians as hostages, and vows to rescue Lacus. His words cut Kira deeply, and he frees Lacus and returns her to Athrun. Again, Athrun asks Kira to join ZAFT but Kira refuses, saying that he has friends on that ship he must protect. Athrun tells Kira that the next time they meet, he would shoot him, Kira returns the sentiment. Lacus is saddened because she's leaving Kira, the new friend she's become fond of, realizing that he had similar sentiments as her as a pacifist yet has the strength to fight. When Flay Allster, George's daughter, witnesses the death of her father by ZAFT hands, she hated Kira for being a Coordinator. She later apologizes, faking affection for him in order to make him kill all the Coordinators on her behalf. Her misplaced sentiment makes her believe that Kira would fight harder for her. Kira's fighting abilities take a more violent turn as evidenced when he damages the GAT-X102 Duel, giving its pilot Yzak Joule a scar across his face. Later, when the Archangel rendezvouses with the Earth Alliance's 8th Fleet, Flay, and Kira's other friends volunteer to enlist. This causes Kira to decide to officially become an Earth Alliance soldier as well. Soon after, during a battle that results in the destruction of the 8th fleet, a fleeing shuttle of survivors from Heliopolis accidentally crosses in the middle of his fight with Yzak, who has sworn revenge against Kira. Yzak shot down the shuttle thinking it contained retreating Earth Alliance soldiers, which Kira tried to protect in vain. This event would haunt him for a long time. One of the passengers was a little girl named Elle, who gave him an origami flower as a token of her appreciation for his protection in earlier battles. When Flay brings him back the flower, Kira breaks down and cries. Flay comforts and kisses him taking advantage of his reaction to the tragic events, and eventually the two of them have sex. They later grow apart as Kira becomes obsessed in only protecting the ship, even later bunking in the Strike. These incidents lead Kira to use a more violent fighting style against the ZAFT forces which engage the Archangel at in the North African desert and later in the Indian Ocean. Enter the Desert Tiger: Andrew Waltfeld encounters Kira Yamato While fighting the ZAFT forces in North Africa along with a resistance group called the Desert Dawn, Kira is reunited with Cagalli Yula Athha, the girl he helped escape from Heliopolis. Cagalli slaps him in the face because she has been so worried about him and is shocked to see him piloting a mobile suit. She later apologizes for her reaction. sounds sincere. After a squadron of ZAFT's BuCUEs under the command of the dreaded Desert Tiger destroy the town of Tassil, Cagalli and other members of the Desert Dawn recklessly chase after them. Several of the resistance fighters, including Cagalli's friend Ahmed El-Fasi, are killed, though Kira arrives in time to save Cagalli. After the battle, Kira argues with Cagalli, saying it's foolish to die in the desert for nothing. She says everyone fought bravely, pointing to Ahmed's body. Kira and asks her what she thinks they can protect when they only wanted to avenge the town's downfall despite having had no casualties. Later, the two of them are sent to gather supplies. As Kira and Cagalli sit down for lunch, a (poorly but effectively) disguised Andrew Waltfeld steps up and disagrees with Cagalli over the best sauce to put in Kira's kebab. Blue Cosmos terrorists attack, targeting Andy. In the confusion, Kira picks up a gun and throws it a terrorist and then kicks him. Andy thanks Kira, and, Cagalli realizes who he really is. Andy brings Kira and Cagalli the place where he is headquartered. Though they want to leave, he wants to thank them and clean up Cagalli since she is covered in chili and yogurt sauce. Andy's girlfriend Aisha takes Cagalli away to be cleaned up, he pours himself and Kira some coffee and they talk. Aisha brings in Cagalli in a nice dress, and Kira calls her a girl. When she gets mad, Andy and Aisha laugh at them. Andy asks Kira how he thinks the war will end. He pulls out a gun and asks Kira if a war ends when all your enemies are destroyed. He says he saw Kira fighting and knows he's a Coordinator, and he doesn't know why Kira is fighting his own kind, but as long as Kira pilots the Strike, they're enemies. He then puts the gun away stating that his home is not a battlefield and that Kira had saved him so he lets Kira and Cagalli leave. Because they know each other, Kira and Andy find it difficult to fight in their next battle. Kira asks Andy to stop because the battle is over, but Andy is determined to keep fighting until one of them is destroyed. Kira activates his SEED abilities and destroys the LaGOWE that Andy is piloting. Kira cries after the LaGOWE explodes because he didn't want to kill Andy. Flight Over the Indian Ocean: The Winds of Change While traveling on the Indian Ocean, Kira remembers his final battle with Andy, the death of Flay's father, and the destroyed civilian shuttle and begins to cry. Cagalli she hugs him and tells him everything will be okay, and finds herself holding his hand. She tells him not to get the wrong idea, as she simply wanted him not to cry anymore. She asks him why he is with the Alliance when he is a Coordinator. He recalls being asked that many times. She asks about what Coordinators can do, and Kira says that their abilities come from studying and training, not just by virtue of birth. Flay hears their voices, takes off her uniform, and in her undershirt and asks Kira why he didn't invite her out, then holds him and asks him to come inside. Cagalli decides to stay out of their way, and Flay eyes her jealously. Later, when the Archangel is undergoing repairs at Orb, Kira ends his relationship with Flay, realizing that they were not right for each other. It is unclear whether he realized she was manipulating him or not. He also meets up with Athrun face to face, who is spying to see of the Archangel is in Orn. Although Athrun knows Kira is the Strike pilot, he does not reveal this in front of Yzak and the others. Before he leaves Orb with the Archangel, Cagalli shows Kira that his parents are watching him depart. Kira asks Cagalli to apologize to them for him, explaining he can not see them right now, especially when he might say things that he may regret. Kira tells her to be safe and thanks her for comforting him. As he turns to go inside the Archangel, Cagalli embraces him and tells him not to die and to come back to see her again, which Kira promises. Kira and Athrun: A Tragic Duel While en route to the Alaskan Base JOSH-A, the Archangel is attacked by Athrun and his comrades. During the initial skirmish, Kira damages all of ZAFT's opposing Mobile Suits. However, he accidentally kills Nicol Amarfi, a close friend of Athrun's and pilot of the GAT-X207 Blitz, when he tries to protect Athrun. After seeing Nicol sacrifice himself to protect him, Athrun realizes that his death could have been prevented by killing Kira. In the next confrontation between the two, Kira's friend Tolle Koenig is killed when Athrun destroys the FX-550 Skygrasper he was piloting. Kira and Arthrun fight in a frenzy, trying to kill the other to avenge their dead friends. Kira is seriously injured when Athrun attachs the Aegis to the Strike and self-destructs it. Acquiring a New Mobile Suit: The ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam|ZGMF-X10A Freedom Although believed dead, Kira ends up on PLANT in the mansion of Lacus Clyne. He is pulled from the wreckage of the Strike by Junk Guild member Lowe Guele, who turns the seriously injured Kira over to Reverend Malchio, a friend of the Clyne family. (Kira later thanks Guele when ReHOME delivered supplies for the Three Ships Alliance later in the war). During this time Lacus and Kira develop an affection towards each other, Lacus tells Kira that he's safe and that he can stay with her for as long as he wants to. However, he overhears a message to Lacus's father Siegel Clyne from Council member Eileen Canaver that PLANT chairman Patrick Zala lied about ZAFT's newest major operation and that the bulk of ZAFT forces are actually on their way to crush JOSH-A in Alaska, the main base of the Earth Alliance Military and where the Archangel is currently stationed. Kira decides to leave PLANT and save his friends again. Lacus helps Kira enter a ZAFT base and gives him the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, then kisses him. Kira then returns to Earth. During the Battle of JOSH-A, Kira alerts both ZAFT and Earth Alliance soldiers of the impending danger of the underground Cyclops system. Yzak refuses to believe him and attacks Kira with the Duel. Even though Yzak killed Elle and the other refugees, Kira refrains from killing him, keeping with his vow to not kill anyone again. Instead disables the Duel's saves Yzak from the Cyclops blast. Following the Battle of JOSH-A, the Archangel defects to Orb and later to the Three Ships Alliance. In Orb, Cagalli tearfully welcomed back the friend she almost lost by means of an embrace that tackled him to the ground, followed by a beating with Cagalli furiously calling him an idiot and admitting she feared she'd never see him again. Kira comforts Cagalli by reminding her that he kept his promise to return. Later, Athrun aided the Archangel during the invasion of Orb by the Earth Alliance after considering what he has seen and heard and decides in the end that Kira isn't his enemy. By joining the battle at Orb, Athrun also brought with him the brother unit of the stolen Freedom, the ZGMF-X09A Justice. After staving off the Earth Alliance, he and Kira call a truce to discuss the situation and settle their differences. They acknowledge the deaths of Nicol and Tolle who were both apparently good people who didn't deserve to die, as well as acknowledging the fact that they wanted to kill each other despite still being best of friends, in order to avenge the deaths of their comrades. In Phase 40, that Kira makes his assertion that was previously noted by Lacus Clyne on whom the enemy to be fought really was, which greatly confused Athrun Zala in his quest to search for what he should fight in, or more importantly what he should be fighting for. Kira asserts that they should find "what it is they are looking for", which basically asked Athrun to join Orb, making him and Kira allies for the first time. They would eventually proceed into bringing about an end to the war, but the nature of their true fight is long from finished, or perhaps will continue on forever, but regardless, they would have a future. This accord is quickly interrupted when the Earth Alliance attacks again. Uzumi Nara Athha sacrifices his life in order to allow them to escape and to prevent the Earth Alliance from getting their hands on their main target: Orb's mass driver. Before that happens, however, he gives Cagalli a photograph of her and Kira when they were babies and tells her that although she is leaving her father she won't be alone, for she will be with her brother. When Cagalli shows Kira the photo after the ''Archangel'' and the ''Kusanagi'' ascend into space, he is flabbergasted, especially since the woman cuddling them is not Caridad Yamato, the only mother he had ever known until then. Rise of Three Ship Alliance & The Mendel Colony Conspiracy Eventually ''Archangel'', the Orb ship ''Kusanagi'', and the Clyne Faction's stolen ZAFT ship ''Eternal'', formed the Three Ships Alliance, supported by Kira's stolen ZGMF-X10A Freedom and Athrun's ZGMF-X09A Justice units. This new group received assistance from the Junk Guild, and the prototype Archangel tender ship turned Junk Guild vessel ReHOME served as a tender ship for the TSA. During the Battle of Mendel in a running gun battle between Kira, Mu La Flaga and Rau Le Creuset, Kira learned from Rau Le Creuset, who hands him an exact copy (albeit in a well-cared-for frame) of the photograph Cagalli had shown to him earlier, that Haruma and Caridad Yamato are not his biological parents. His true parents were Ulen and Via Hibiki who are both deceased but were both astute geneticists in their time. He also learns that he was the Ultimate Coordinator; his fetus was artificially developed outside his mother's womb, and all his genetic enhancements were exactly as they were intended to be. He was the first and the last fetus to be successfully developed using the apparatus. Kira also learned that Cagalli is indeed his twin sister, but she was born naturally. It has been proven that freelance mercenary Canard Pars, the only "failed" Ultimate Coordinator prototype to survive, is Kira's older brother through genetics. The two have never met, and it is probable that that they never will with the current events in the Cosmic Era. After learning the truth about his existence, Kira is shocked once again when he learns that Flay is still alive as she desperately tries to communicate with the Archangel and in the process everybody on the battlefield hears her voice, including Kira. Upon hearing Kira's voice again, Flay weeps with joy. Unfortunately, Kira fails to retrieve her escape pod because the Freedom is beheaded by the GAT-X252 Forbidden and GAT-X370 Raider after Kira recklessly tries to get to Flay before everyone else does; and Flay winds up onboard the Dominion instead. As Forbidden and Raider pilots Shani Andras and Clotho Buer continue their assault on Kira, Athrun and Dearka Elsman step in and save him. After making it back to the ''Eternal'', Kira looks at Lacus and passes out after briefly apologizing for thinking he was seeing Flay instead. When he wakes up from this blackout, again he looks at Lacus and imagines he sees Flay naked, an obvious flashback to the time when they were having sex, he shakes the thought away as his mind had been reeling from the traumatic recent events, noted by Mu La Flaga in which he knew that it must have been difficult for Kira. Just as Cagalli is about to ask Kira about the framed photo of the two of them when they were babies, Athrun grabs her arm and takes her outside, leaving Kira and Lacus alone together. Kira tells Lacus he vowed not to cry, and she tells him he can cry when he feels like it, which he does. Kira cries himself to sleep in Lacus' lap and Lacus comments that he has "suffered too many sad dreams, but the 'you' now, right here, is everything." Hinting to the fact that Kira should be able to move on, past his sadness as he is worthy of a future. Battle at Jachin Due: A Day of Destiny Kira, Athrun, Lacus, Cagalli and the Three Ships Alliance helped in ending the Bloody Valentine War. Just before the final battle, Lacus not only helps Kira come to terms with his true origins by telling him that his birth (regardless of how he was born) and meeting of him has made her so happy despite all the sadness she has endured, but admits her love for him by giving him the ring that belonged to her mother. Kira responds with a thanks for her support and and kisses her on the cheek. In the final battle at Jachin Due, Kira engages Rau Le Creuset who now pilots the ZGMF-X13A Providence. While fighting Le Creuset, Kira again hears Flay cry out from an escape pod and backs out of the fight in an attempt to rescue her. Instead of going after Kira, Le Creuset points his beam rifle directly at Flay's escape pod. Kira manages to block the shot with his shield and get one last look at Flay. Noticing that she has tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, Kira becomes easily distracted from the one of Rau's DRAGOONs as it fires from above and destroys the pod, killing Flay. Upon seeing the pod explode, Kira cries out in anguish and begins to descend aimlessly in the Freedom, realizing Flay's death could have been prevented if he hadn't lost focus on Le Creuset. However, Flay's spirit briefly materializes in order to say thanks and apologize to Kira. She also assures Kira that her true feelings will protect him from now on. Unfortunately for Flay, it appears Kira does not hear these words as he has no reaction to them. Driven by anger over Flay's death, Kira activated his SEED Factor, removing his doubts caused by Creuset's words. Finally, in a brave charge, a heavily damaged Freedom stabbed the cockpit of the Providence with his beam saber, mortally wounding Le Creuset in the process. The sabotaged ZAFT superweapon GENESIS the destroyed the rest of it. The apparently injured Kira was later rescued by Cagalli and Athrun. Second Bloody Valentine War The Second Bloody Valentine War takes place two years after the previous war, where Kira and Lacus lived in an orphanage in the Marshall Islands, run by a Clyne family friend, Reverend Malchio until a disaster forces the group to move in with Murrue Ramius and Andrew Waltfeld at their shared mansion in Orb. As the events escalated, the mansion was destroyed by an unknown force (later deduced as Durandal's forces) trying to assassinate Lacus. The attempt on Lacus's life forces Kira to once again pilot the rebuilt Freedom and participate in combat in order to protect his loved one, despite his reluctance in once again taking up arms. He still manages to abide by his "No kill" policy to the best of his abilities, demonstrating his still incredible piloting skills. Kira and Lacus returned to the Archangel as Orb joined the Earth Alliance, forcing them to take in secretive residence in the Kingdom of Scandinavia. Before leaving Orb, Kira kidnaps Cagalli from her arranged marriage, despite Cagalli's initial objections. He also helps Cagalli realize her mistake in letting Orb side with the Earth Alliance and provides an embrace to help her come to terms with her error in judgement, despite her good intentions. Return to the Battlefield Kira continued to fight in the rebuilt ZGMF-X10A Freedom. His first sortie with the Archangel was in the Dardanelles to stop the EA/Orb offensive against the ZAFT battleship ''Minerva''.When he arrived, he destroyes the ''Minerva'''s main "Tannhäuser" cannon, which was fully charged and therefore caused severe damage to the ship, killing several crewmen but could have possibly killed more crewmen on the targeted enemy. Then, he proceeds to disarm any mobile suits on both sides of the skirmish. Kira was blamed for causing the death of ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited pilot Heine Westenfluss by the hands of Gaia piloted by Stellar Loussier (both were trying to get Kira and Heine got in Stellar's way). He continued to distrust ZAFT, even after he learned Athrun's support of it in his meeting with Athrun, Cagalli and Miriallia in Crete due much to the fact that Lacus was previously targeted by a special ops team of Coordinators using newly designed ZAFT Mobile Suits. He would later intervene once again in the EA/Orb battle with the ''Minerva'' in Crete, where he consequently saved the Minerva from a possible finishing blow, but was still regarded as the enemy. Kira was confronted by Athrun in the ZGMF-X23S Saviour, who believed Kira and Cagalli to be in the wrong as their power seemed to only create confusion and unnecessary deaths. Due to the situation around them, primarily his distraught twin sister, Kira declares that if Athrun thinks that the Archangel's presence in trying to stop the battle is pointless then that makes Athrun his enemy. Kira would easily defeat Athrun, and destroys the Saviour. Freedoms Last Battle Kira soon went to Berlin to fight against the monstrous GFAS-X1 Destroy, and was eventually joined by the Minerva, along with Shinn Asuka's Impulse, where he defeated Stellar Loussier by stabbing his beam sabers into the Destroy while it was preparing to fire the chest plasma cannons (consequently saving Shinn's life), causing the gigantic mobile suit to explode and killing Stellar Loussier in the process. Unfortunately, the result of his actions, despite having taken down a mobile suit that killed many and by stopping it saved many more; had gained him a new enemy: Shinn Asuka, a former Orb citizen who joined ZAFT after his family was killed in the assault on Orb by the EAF during the first war. After the death of Stellar, whom Shinn vowed to protect, his grudge towards Kira and the Freedom turned into a deep personal hatred. It was also around this time when Kira had captured an Earth Alliance officer by the name of Neo Roanoke, whom he had felt a strange connection with, he soon discovered why when he actually saw the officer in person and noticed he looked so much like his old friend and comrade, Mu La Flaga. Neo was fairly cordial to Kira and the others aboard the Archangel and behaved much like Mu, but he claimed that he was not this person. In the following battle, upon the orders of Chairman Durandal deemed "Operation Angel Down", the Freedom was attacked and destroyed by Shinn and his ZGMF-X56S Impulse mostly due to Shinn's knowledge of Kira's unwillingness to kill, uncertainty of the enemy being ZAFT, and Impulse's ability to replace damaged parts on-the-fly. Kira was able to survive the destruction with relatively minor injuries by using an emergency cutoff control to shut down the Freedom's nuclear reactor before it went critical, which also shuts down the unit's phase shift armour, allowing it to be ripped apart by the explosion from the Minerva's Tannhäuser (fired at the submerging Archangel). Then, the almost intact upper torso of the destroyed Freedom containing the cockpit, sank into the ocean before being rescued by Cagalli in the MBF-02 Strike Rouge. The ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam|ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Upon hearing that Lacus and her ship Eternal were under attack by ZAFT forces after investigating the remnants of the space colony Mendel for clues about Chairman Durandal's plans, Kira rushed back to space in Cagalli's Strike Rouge mounted on booster rockets. Being outnumbered and outclassed by newer ZAFT's Zaku and Gouf squadrons, Andrew Waltfeld told Kira whose Strike Rouge was seriously damaged to go into the Eternal to pick up his new unit. Back on the Eternal, Kira and Lacus were reunited. After some initial hesitation, Lacus finally presented Kira with his new unit, the newly constructed ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom. He used his new mobile suit to disable the attacking forces within two minutes. Kira soon rushed back to Earth with the Strike Freedom to help Cagalli defend Orb, which was under ZAFT attack because it had provided refuge for the LOGOS leader Lord Djibril by Yuna and Unato. In addition, he brought Lacus Clyne down in the Infinite Justice in a ploy to both fool the enemy and deliver the suit ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice to his friend Athrun Zala. Second Battle of Orb When Shinn launched in Destiny to confront Cagalli's Akatsuki, Shinn's beam boomerangs were about to finish off the Akatsuki when Kira appeared from the sky, hand in hand with Infinite Justice (Lacus Clyne was piloting Infinite Justice during re-entry at that moment). Kira fired his rail cannons to destroy Shinn's beam boomerangs and forced the Destiny to back away from the Akatsuki. Everyone was surprised by the appearance of the new Freedom, which was supposedly destroyed during Operation "Angel Down". Kira activated his SEED Factor when Shinn tried to use the anti-ship sword to slice apart the Freedom, he caught and removed Shinn's anti-ship sword. He then fired the railguns at point-blank range at the Destiny, which angered Shinn and made him activate his SEED Factor as well. Kira and Shinn then exchanged several fly-by beam rifle shots and was forced to retreat when the latter's mobile suit's recalled back to Minerva because Rey Za Burrel orderd Shinn to do that. With Destiny no longer on the battlefield, Kira then disabled many of the ZAFT mobile suits invading Orb and thus single handedly turned the tide of the battle. When Shinn relaunched accompanied by Rey, Kira, still in his SEED Factor, managed to hold his own against the Shinn & Rey: Kira was immediately engaged by Shinn with several fly-by beam rifles shots. Shinn then used Destiny's "Palma Fiocina" palm beam cannon to attack the Strike Freedom. However, Kira moved away from the palm's trajectory,kicked the Destiny's arm away,and prepared to aim at Destiny when Legend intervened. Rey then engaged Kira by shooting his DRAGOON funnels attached on the Legend's backpack, being noted by Kira as similar to Rau's ZGMF-X13A Providence. Legend's mounted DRAGOON guns got the Strike Freedom out of balance momentarily and was target locked-on by the Destiny's long range beam cannon. Shinn was about to fire when he was stopped and distracted by a beam boomerang from Athrun's Infinite Justice. Thereafter, Kira faced off against Rey's Legend, while Athrun engaged Shinn in melee combat in which he sliced the right hand of Destiny. After the ZAFT forces retreated, Athrun lost consciousnes, losing control of the Infinite Justice. Kira, in Strike Freedom, caught the Infinite Justice in mid-air preventing him from crashing. When Kira removed Athrun's helmet and flight suit, Athrun's wounds had re-opened and were bleeding profusely. Kira then ordered a stretcher to bring Athrun to the Archangels sick bay. When Cagalli's televised broadcast from Orb Union's Parliament was suddently interrupted by a broadcast by Meer Campbell (Lacus imposter), Kira flew Lacus in the Strike Freedom to Orb's Parliament building in order to retake the broadcast from Meer Campbell. Return to Space Following the destruction of several PLANTs, ZAFT withdrew its forces from Orb's coastline, and sent its Flagship the Minerva to reinforce the ZAFT Lunar Team in an attempt to destroy the Earth Alliance's Lunar-Based Laser Cannon, "Requiem" (which fired and destroyed those PLANTs). During that time, Kira was promoted to Admiral and appointed as the Commander of the Orb Space Fleet. The Archangel was also officially commissioned into the Orb Military Fleet and assigned as Kira's flagship. Archangel was ordered to the lunar city of Coperncus to gather intelligence on Durandal's operations. Cagalli was forced to stay in Orb to help coordinate the recovery as well as lead the country in this dark hour and held a manning-of-the-rails ceremony for the Archangel and took this opportunity to embrace Kira goodbye as well as Athrun and Lacus. When Archangel returned to space and docked in Copernicus, Kira accompanied Lacus to do some shopping, annoying Athrun. There, they received Meer Campbell's red Haro containing a message from Meer requesting to meet with Lacus. When Meer and Lacus finally meet, Sarah (Meer's bodyguard) had organized a team of assassins to kill Kira and Lacus who were accompanied by Athrun and Meyrin Hawke to fight them off. Athrun requests backup from the Archangel which sent Mu La Flaga (Neo Roanoke) to aid them in the ORB-01 Akatsuki.Just when they thought it was safe, the dying Sarah, aimed her gun at Lacus, intending to finish her mission at all costs. Meer took the shot for Lacus, and died later. Shortly after Meer's funeral, Durandal announces his "Destiny Plan" to the world and his vow to eliminate anybody who does not follow him. Orb quickly denounces Dunrandal's plan and orders their space fleet to stop Durandal from accomplishing the "Destiny Plan" and prevent the destruction of Orb. Battle of Messiah: Assault on REQUIEM In the final stages of the war, Kira and Athrun quickly become a major part of the final line of defense between the world and Chairman Durandal's Destiny Plan. In the final battle, Kira ordered Athrun and the Archangel to disable the Requiem directly, as the Strike Freedom confronted Rey's ZGMF-X666S Legend in a one-on-one battle after having bested Shinn's Destiny by Freedom's DRAGOONs. The Strike Freedom managed to destroy several of Legend's DRAGOONs before attacking the Legend directly, disabling it. After that, the Strike Freedom docked with a METEOR once again and combined with the Eternal, the Strike Freedom attacked the space fortress, Messiah, leading to its eventual destruction. Then, Kira went to meet Gilbert Durandal in the command center of Messiah. While they were talking, the captain of the Minerva, Talia Gladys, arrived. Gilbert was shot down by Rey Za Burrel, Gilbert's most loyal and dedicated follower. He had been enlightened by Kira's words and dreams of a future, which would have been suppressed by Durandal's Destiny Plan. Before leaving the Messiah, Talia Gladys asked Kira to tell Murrue Ramius, her Archangel counterpart, that she had a son and she wishes Murrue to meet him someday. Kira agreed and was able to leave the Messiah in Strike Freedom before it fell onto the moon surface and exploded. Aftermath Afterwards, at the ravished Orb memorial previously visited by Shinn and Kira in episode 8, Athrun introduced Kira to Shinn as the pilot of Freedom. Shinn was stunned by the identity of the pilot whom he tried to defeat numerous times, and previously met before without that knowledge. Kira made an overture to Shinn to shake his hand and to make peace with him. Kira stated that no matter how many times some humans desired the destruction of other people based on differences that could have been accepted, yet neglected, he was prepared to restore peace and to ensure that humans, Coordinators and Naturals alike, never again go down the path of mutual destruction and asked Shinn to join him in the fight of the world he truly wished for. A crying Shinn agrees. Kira became a commander of Terminal and the Orb Military, as evidenced by his former "superiors" from the previous war, Murrue Ramius, Mu La Flaga, and Andrew Waltfeld, now following his command at the end of the second war. Kira's accomplishments in both Bloody Valentine Wars proved that he is one of the most skilled mobile suit pilots in the SEED universe. Relationship with Lacus Clyne Despite artistic scenes in the SEED OPs, EDs, and commercial screens depicting Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato as lovers, the relationship was often questioned by fans. While it did seem that they cared for one another, it could have been interpreted as fraternal love as the two had never been seen in what is typically called a "Hollywood Embrace" (which is an embrace followed by a deep kiss). Some saw the relationship as more "real" because while they never express their feelings toward each other with something as typical as a deep kiss, they were often shown as being the most happy and confident when they were together. Moreover, in SEED, Lacus entrusted Kira with her ring during later episodes, followed by a kiss from Kira on Lacus' cheek. What certain audiences failed to understand is the fact that, at least in old Japanese (or East-Asian in general) tradition, by entrusting an ornament from a woman to a man, it usually implies "romantic" love & later, marriage. However, there were still doubts to the relationship as at the end of SEED, as it was obvious that Kira seemed distant due to his traumatized mind and heart. Nonetheless, in the short 'aftermath' OVA following the end of SEED, Lacus and Kira were clearly seen living together. However, by the sequel series Destiny, Kira and Lacus' relationship as a couple was magnified by the fact the two are often touching one another through embraces and hand holding. Destiny put to rest any doubts of the relationship especially as Lacus is shown constantly uneasy whenever Kira goes off to battle. Her feelings are reciprocated when she hijacks a shuttle (with the help of Andrew Waltfeld) to go into space. Kira is seen also uneasy and his concerns are justified when he defends Lacus with the Freedom from incoming missiles trying to stop her from hijacking the shuttle. In the Special Edition, as Lacus goes into space, their communication is about to break up and Kira tries to convey his feelings for her, but alas, the communication is cut off. And later, viewers see the depth of their relationship as the couple often embrace while staring lovingly into each other's eyes as in the instance when they are reunited in the episode Lacus hands the Strike Freedom over to Kira, she is seen flying into Kira's arms as he eagerly embraces her. Throughout the show the pair are shown side-by-side, in support of each other. Fighting Skills In the original SEED series, Kira is shown to be inexperienced with handguns, preferring not to use them. During a Blue Cosmos assassination attempt on Andrew Waltfeld, Kira chose to throw the gun rather then shoot someone. He even had to be reminded by Mwu to remove the safety on his gun in episode 44 while in pursuit of Rau on Mendel station. He is consistently shown as a skilled unarmed fighter, however, and is extremely efficient with his MS's artillery. In Destiny, his handgun skills improved dramatically and it was seen in both assassination attempts on Lacus Clyne. His implied status as a person with high spatial awareness ability also has an impact on his fighting abilities. Trivia | |||||||
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