DEARKA'S PERSONAL BATTLE by LadyAduka02
Author's Notes: I'm finally back after a long time of hibernation! (sweatdrops) Before I present theninth chapter, I'd like to thank you all for making this fic reach over 80+ reviews! (bows down) I'm glad that all of you liked DPB…and rest assured that this fic's gonna get more interesting!
Now I'll stop stalling, and hereby present to you the ninth chapter! Enjoy! (n-n)
(07/12/2005: Lmao, I had a little oopsie with the chapter's order...this is chapter nine, everyone! Thousand apologies! Enjoy this chappie!)
CHAPTER NINE
For a moment, time seemed to freeze, and stood witness as two lost souls reunited after being separated by their different lives for so long…
But if you ask Dearka, this was not the kind of reunion that he was expecting to happen…
"You're the woman who took me in last night…the woman at the park, staring at the sky…" he muttered. "Miriallia…I…"
Mir wiped the tears from her eyes, bowed her head and walked away from Tolle's tombstone and past the blond Coordinator. Dearka's mind was yelling at him to stop her from leaving…but the rest of his body won't cooperate, and so he just stood there shocked. After his past experiences with her and her grief, he knew when to stay away.
He slowly walked over to where she previously was, and read the inscription on the marble slab:
Tolle…died in the year C.E. 71…you shall be forever remembered…
"She's still not over him yet then…"
And with that, the cold winds of Christmas Eve started to blow once more, reflecting the sadness that was in Dearka's heart…
Yzak looked up from the laptop's monitor when his partner came back to their hotel room. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing his appearance: his hair was wind-tossed and had snowflakes on it, his shoulders were slumped and his face expression looked like he was denied of something that he dearly liked.
Of course, the last part was true, referring to Dearka's state right now…
"What took you so long, Elsman? Let me guess, that woman you saw dumped you or something?"
Dearka sighed. "Nah, we just…met at a wrong place and time…"
"Who is she?" Yzak asked, getting intrigued. His comrade allowed himself to fall on the single-seater sofa in exhaustion and looked at the ceiling, deep in thought.
"Remember the Natural girl that I spoke to you about years ago?"
"You mean, Miriallia Haww?"
"Uh-huh."
"So what about her?"
He sighed, and closed his eyes…remembering her angelic face. "She's the woman who took me in last night. She's the woman whom I saw this afternoon…" And she's still the same woman who never grew tired crying over her dead Natural boyfriend…
"Tch…I thought you have already forgotten all about her. Get over it, Dearka. You have too many things to fix, and that Miriallia is out of the question. I mean, you're one of the diplomats of PLANTS, for Pete's sake!" Yzak scratched his head in annoyance and went into his room, took his laptop with him, and closed the door on the man sitting in the living room. Dearka never paid any attention to the message that he gave him; rather, his attention was on the tear-stricken lady who captured his heart so long ago…
…and never failed in doing it once again…
Miriallia looked up from the teacup that she was holding to look at the wall clock that was hung at the dining room…
"10:30 p.m…" she said to herself.
Only an hour and a half left before Christmas, and yet she wasn't feeling the holiday spirit at all. Christmas was fun when the whole gang was still complete…Kira, Fllay, Sai, Kazui, her, and Tolle…
They used to go out to the mall and wait for the countdown to shout "Merry Christmas!" along with tens of thousands of yuletide fanatics, and she used to hug her only man and whisper that greeting softly into his ear…
With all the things that happened five years ago, this occasion seemed…empty…
RING..!
RING..!
"The phone…!"
The sound of the chair rubbing against the floor…
The sound of hopeful footsteps…
CLICK…
"…Hello?"
"Merry Christmas, Mir!"
"Sai! Merry Christmas…I'm so glad that you called!" And she was happy indeed – a pretty smile was on her face as she held the receiver close to her ear.
"Good thing I caught you still in the house…listen, do you want to go out with me and Kazui tonight? We're going to the mall, just like the old times! I heard that the management will be hosting a really grand Christmas countdown at the Orb Square!"
That was when she remembered the presents that she bought earlier… now's the chance that she can give them!
"So…do you want to come?"
Without any second thoughts, she nodded. "Yeah. I'd love to Sai."
"Fantastic! We'll see you at the park then! Take care!"
And there she was, her long auburn hair let down to provide warmth to her freezing nape, and if that wasn't enough she wrapped a warm red scarf around her neck. She was wearing a black coat lined with white fur, which reached down below her knees; black stockings and a pair of nice brown boots. Beneath her coat, she wore a red dress thick enough to keep out the cold from her system. Her glove-covered hands were tucked inside her pockets, and her green eyes searched the area hopefully for any sight of her friends.
White wisps of smoke came out of her mouth everytime she exhaled, and she was slowly getting impatient. In order to fight the loneliness and depression that's slowly taking control over her, she kept herself amused by watching the lovely flakes of snow descending from the heavens…onto the brightly-illuminated, high-spirited city…
"I'm…dreaming of a white Christmas…"
Dearka was watching the people of Orb from above, as they slowly huddled in front of the giant digital clock which displayed the minutes that were remaining before Christmas. He cannot sleep…and he can't help but envy Yzak who was snoring softly in the other room.
The park which was in front of the mall (which was located in front of the hotel) was filled with people all waiting for the midnight to strike, and as they waited they kept on chattering with each other, greeting each other "Merry Christmas!" in advance…
How depressing, he thought. I wish I could have someone whom I can share the holiday spirit with…
And then, he saw her…
Even though their pad was located literally 18 stories above the ground, he was sure that the woman below was none other than Miriallia. He saw her stop in front of the grand fountain in the middle of the park, head turning side by side slowly, as if she was looking for someone. He saw her rub her glove-covered palms to keep out the cold from her hands, and she was hugging herself to keep warm.
A small smirk made its way on his lips. Thank you, Santa Claus…!
It was already 30 minutes past eleven. Christmas is fast approaching, and still no sign of Sai or Kazui or anybody that she knew. Miriallia was starting to get impatient, and the temptation to go home and sleep the holiday away was strong. While contemplating whether to go home or not, she never noticed the footsteps that were coming towards her, and the motion of the crowd before her masked the identity of its owner.
It seemed that the holiday spirit wasn't kind towards her, either…
…or it's just its way of showing that she was never forgotten…
"Hello, Miriallia."
That greeting snapped her out of her train of thoughts. She immediately looked up… "Sai?"
This earned a raised eyebrow from the stranger, and cost her quite a shock upon seeing who it was.
"Dearka…" she muttered, tone disappointed.
"Are you waiting for Sai Argyle?" he asked, while looking around the place as well.
"Yeah…what are you doing here?"
"Well, my hotel's just across the park, and I was watching the commotion from my room at the 18th floor," he motioned to one of the windows at the hotel, "and I can't help but join in."
"I see."
"Oh yeah…" He reached for something inside his coat pocket, and when he pulled it out, Miriallia saw that it was a small, dark red rectangular box, nicely decorated with a medium-sized white ribbon. "Here. Tradition has it that we must give gifts during Christmas, right?"
Miriallia did not take the box immediately; instead she gave Dearka a puzzled expression. He sighed. "You sure are a slow one. It's for you." He shoved the gift towards her. "Merry Christmas."
She stared at it for a few moments, contemplating whether to receive it or to decline it. But it seems that only her mind was working…her hands seemed to have a will of its own. Seconds later, the box was in her hands.
"Thank you…I guess."
Dearka inserted his hands into his dark-green coat, and smiled at her. "Go ahead and open it." Miriallia sat down and unwrapped the box, and when she lifted the cover, her emerald green eyes widened at the sight of a simple silver necklace.
"I was in a hurry to get down here…if I had a lot of time I would've made sure that you get the finest from all of Orb's jewelry shops – "
"It's beautiful, you…you shouldn't have bothered. But," she hung her head down, looking at the pavement. "I don't have anything to give to you in return. I promise the very next day, I'll – "
Dearka's index finger shushed her when she looked up, interrupting her explanation. Soft lavender eyes met confused emerald green ones. "I wasn't expecting a gift in return, Miriallia. Frankly, it never crossed my mind when I bought that necklace. Just...take care of it, okay?"
She removed his finger from her lips and nodded. "I will. Thank you."
His heart almost leapt out of his rib cage when she gave him a sweet smile.
Yeah right, you weren't expecting anything in return, eh Elsman?
Yeah, I wasn't…materially…
Her smile is more than enough for me.
"Miriallia!" A familiar voice caught both their attention, and she and Dearka saw Sai and Kazui making their way through the crowd. When they finally reached the couple, a string of apologies was let loose and all the while, Mir shook her head while saying...
"It's all right. Really. At least you made it before twelve, right?"
"I'm really sorry; I mean, I was the one who invited you in the first place!" Sai explained, scratching his head.
Kazui nodded. "We're sorry we took so long Mir, we had to stop by at the military base to fetch Kira."
Dearka and Miriallia were surprised. "Kira?"
And at that moment, Kira Yamato stepped in between her two guy friends and smiled warmly. He looked exactly the same like he did five years ago. Except that his expression seemed to have matured over the years, and he also grew a few inches taller…
"It's nice to see you again, Mir."
"It's nice to see you too again, Kira."
Dearka took this as a cue to leave. "They're already here, Miriallia. I guess I should go – "
"Aren't you going to stay for the countdown?" Kazui asked right when he was about to turn around. "It's the highlight tonight!"
"No thanks, man." He smiled at Miriallia. "Have fun tonight."
And right before she could reply, he walked away from the group. "My mission is done." He smirked at nobody else in particular. "At least, she won't be alone anymore - "
"Dearka, wait!"
Miriallia raced after him, after excusing herself from the group, and grabbed his arm. He stopped walking and faced her. She smiled. "I'm…I'm glad you're here tonight. Thank you for accompanying me."
Before he could react, Miriallia already stood on her toes and gave him a thank you kiss on the cheek.
At that moment, he was sure that his face turned darker than its usual tone.
And it was in that moment when the event officials finally announced that they were going to start the countdown. The crowd began to chant the remaining seconds. "Five…four…three…two…ONE!" The giant monitor attached in front of New Orb Mall displayed "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" in red and green hues, while the sky was adorned with tens of magnificent fireworks.
Kira, Sai and Kazui all shouted the holiday greetings and rejoiced.
Around them, the atmosphere was all hyper and exciting.
Christmas has finally arrived.
"Merry Christmas, Dearka."
"Merry Christmas too, Miriallia."
And as they continued to watch the fireworks display, he gently held her hand in his…
…and she never objected.
She squeezed his hand tighter.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Tolle…"