Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Your Revolution is a Joke ❯ Anthem of Our Dying Day ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Here it is… The sequel! Don't shoot me if you liked it better as a one-shot. I won't force you to read this. -Cowers in a corner-

I had some questions asking if they were staying with the military. No, they were just waiting on earth until living arrangements or transportation could be arranged. I figured that Kira wouldn't want to live with his parents, and nobody else would really have family on earth other than Mirriallia and Sai.

Warning: OOCness

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or Anthem of our Dying Day by Story of the Year.

The stars will cry
The blackest tears tonight
And this is the moment that I live for
I can smell the ocean air

He let his leg swing over the edge of the rooftop. This had been one of his favorite pastimes for the past weeks. Just sitting and thinking. He had so many decisions to make. Should he go home? That was an obvious no. He'd betrayed his army. Defied his commander. He had committed crimes punishable by death. At least he would be safe in Orb. There were many other decisions to make as well. Should he go back to school? If not, what would he do? He didn't have a definite answer to any of these questions yet, but he hoped to get some soon. He had been staying at the Athha mansion, but he had to leave sometime, after all, he was probably already overstaying his welcome. Yzak Lacus and Athrun would be in similar situations, though he wasn't sure if their family status would help or hinder their attempts to get their lives back to normal. He wasn't sure about Miriallia and Sai. If their parents wouldn't take them back, they would be in the same boat as everybody else, but why they wouldn't, he had no idea. He kept telling himself that they wouldn't have a problem, but it did little to ease the guilt he felt. He didn't even know why he felt guilty. He had done what was best at the time. What else could be expected?

Miriallia wandered aimlessly through the seemingly endless hallways of the Athha mansion. She had been doing it a lot lately. It seemed to be the only thing she could do without running into Dearka. Things had been awkward between them since he had dragged her and Sai away from their parents. It felt almost like he regretted doing it. Miriallia was actually very thankful that he had done it. She wouldn't have been able to put up with the awkward sympathetic smiles for more than three days. She was still trying to figure out where she would stay. Going back to her parents' place was no longer an option for her. Sure, if she wanted to, she could go back, but she didn't. She could probably find a cheap apartment and get a full-time job as a waitress or something, but she really wanted to finish school, and she wasn't sure if she could pull that off and still be able to afford an apartment as well as living expenses.

She was jarred from her thoughts when she came to pull-down staircase that she didn't remember seeing ever before. At a glance, it appeared to lead outside. She could see stars above, and a soft breeze was drifting through. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to check it out, she started to softly pad up the ladder-like stairs. She gasped when she got to the top. The view was amazing, much too beautiful to describe. It reminded her of the time she went camping with Kira, Kuzzey, Sai and Tolle. Her thoughts faltered for a moment at the idea of Tolle. That was right. The last time she saw anything this beautiful was with Tolle. They had gone to a lake, and all sat on the dock and watched the sunset. It had really been amazing. Things would never be the same. Everybody had changed so much during the war. Sai was much more mature, nowhere near as carefree as he had once been. Kuzzey, well, to be perfectly honest, she hadn't seen Kuzzey since he had left the Archangel. And Kira. Kira was much, she wasn't sure how to describe it. Colder seemed to harsh, and, well, she couldn't think of any other words that even stood a chance of working. Kira had just changed. She supposed she had as well. She was a whole different person without Tolle. So often now she wished she had never met him. That would have made things so much easier on her, but whenever she started thinking like that, she remembered all the amazing times they'd shared together, and she was happy. Happy that she had at least had a chance with somebody as wonderful as Tolle.

And here I am
Pouring my heart onto these rooftops
Just a ghost to the world
That's exactly
Exactly what I need

He heard a gasp, and tensed. Somebody had found his spot. Turning slowly around, being extra careful not to make a sound, just incase that if by some stroke of dumb luck, he had not been seen. He could hide somewhere, and still be able to come up here tomorrow night and be alone. As soon as he had turned all the way around he froze. It was Her. Just his luck that he had to be discovered by the one person he had been trying so hard to avoid. But she wasn't looking at him. She was facing the opposite direction. She wasn't moving at all. He couldn't even tell if she was breathing. He found that while he was thinking this, he was walking towards her. It felt like that same unnamed force that had made him go to her when they had first arrived on earth.

“It's amazing, isn't it?” He asked, in his smooth voice.

Miriallia must have jumped at least a foot when she heard the voice behind her.

“D-Dearka?” She asked, her breath still not calming. What was he doing up here? Part of her just wanted to run down those stairs and lock herself in her room, but the other part, the part with the voice, the part that always got what it wanted, the part that she so deeply despised, wanted to stay.

“You shouldn't let your guard down like that.” He said, with that smug smirk that made her want to scream at him, made her want to hold him. Whoa. That voice was getting a little over-confident, making statements like that. “What? Don't you have anything to say to me?” The smugness! Ooh it made her hate him, love him even more! Ugh! She wanted to scream. Didn't that voice have a mute button or something?

“What are you doing up here?” Could she have said anything stupider? It was like, the voice was taking over everything and wanted her to suffer for ignoring and despising it for these past years.

“Well, I was enjoying the view, until you came along.”

“So you can't enjoy it now that I'm here?”

“Hey, That's not what I meant!”

“Well it's what you said.”

“You know what I- Never mind. It's probably too complicated for your little natural mind to comprehend. I think I'll go back to enjoying the view now. Would you mind closing the stairs behind you?” He asked as he walked towards the edge.

“Excuse me?” She asked, following close behind him. The voice had gotten off easy this time. She could take it out on this jerk right now.

“You heard me.” He sat down, once again swinging his leg off the edge.

“Isn't that a little dangerous?” She asked, forgetting her anger momentarily as she saw him sitting so close to the edge.

“Only if you plan on pushing me.” Not a bad idea. Whoa. Did the voice just agree with what she was feeling? She knelt down beside him, and looked down over the city.

“It's beautiful.”

From up here the city lights burn
Like a thousand miles of fire
And I'm here to sing this anthem
Of our dying day

He smirked inwardly as she knelt down. He knew she had been trying to avoid him as much as he had been trying to avoid her. If she was the one following him, at least it wouldn't look like he had broken down and given up on avoiding her.

“Fire.” Came Miriallia's voice after many minutes of silence.

“Huh?” He asked, confused.

“It looks like fire. All the lights, like tiny flames.” She was right. It did look like fire.

“I guess you could look at it like that.” He said, trying not to sound like he cared all that much. Why was he so worried about what she thought of him? He never cared about anybody's opinion until he'd met her. But why did he care? She was just another girl, granted much more beautiful, but still just another girl. He was acting as if he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Him, Dearka, the infamous playboy, settling down, ever, never mind this early, was a thought that could probably make even Yzak laugh. “So, what was so interesting?”

Miriallia was once again pulled from her thoughts when the question was asked. “Huh?”

“When you first came up here, you looked like you were pretty deep in thought.”

“Oh.” She looked at her hands. It just felt so wrong talking about Tolle with Him. “Nothing. Just som- nothing you'd be interested in.” What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she form complete sentences?

“Oh? And how would you know what I'd be interested in?”

“I-I just know.”

“Oh come on! Why not just tell me?” He smirked. “It's not like it's anything about me is it? Of coarse, I'd still be interested even if it was about me.”

Oh how she just wanted to rip that smirk off his face. What was she supposed to tell him? `Oh yeah, I was just thinking of all the great times that I had with my now dead boyfriend who happened to be killed by your friend there.' Somehow, she doubted that would work. It was hard enough to just think it without bursting into tears. To actually say it… And not only that, but knowing her luck, Athrun would probably just happen to be walking by at the time, and hear it.

For a second I wish the tide
Would swallow every inch of this city
As you gasp for air tonight
I'd scream this song right in your face

He's lost her. After asking her about what she was thinking. She was just sitting there, staring in the direction of the ocean, apparently deep in thought. What could she have been thinking about that could launch her into such a complicated train of thought? Looking at her again, he noticed she had tears in her eyes. This shocked him. What the hell was she crying about? What could she have possibly been thinking of that could have launched her into waterworks? Dearka's eyes widened with realization. Her boyfriend. Oh shit. Shitshitshitshitshit. He knew just as well as anybody that talking about that guy, whatever his name was, was a big no no. How could he have been so stupid? Mentally slapping himself as hard as he could, he rotated his full body to face her. Hooking a finger under her chin, he used his thumb to wipe the tears away before they even fell. If there was one thing he was better at than fighting, it was comforting. Girls were so easy to get when they were on the re-bound.

She was such an idiot!!!! How could she have actually let herself cry- almost cry like that? Now her probably thought she was some weird freaky girl who could go from thinking about how pretty fire is to crying because of a simple question. `What if he feels guilty?' No! He couldn't. It wasn't his fault. It was hers for being so emotionally unstable. She should be over it. Tolle wouldn't want her to dwell on the past like that. He'd want her to be happy. Even if it means being with someone else? AUGH! Wouldn't the voice ever shut up? Or at least make up it's mind as to who's side it was on. She'd prefer the first one, but the second wouldn't be all that bad.

Dearka couldn't believe it. He'd lost her again. Her attention span could probably rival that of a goldfish, which from what he knew, was around three seconds. Yup, a definite possibility. Why couldn't he change the subject? It would seem way too obvious. And he couldn't exactly talk about what'shisname either. Hell, he didn't even know what he looked like. Looked like he'd have to take the dangerous route. Talking about him.

If you were here
I swear I won't miss a beat
Cause I never
Never have before

“What was he like?” Wow. That was the last question she was expecting from him. `Don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cry.' It was a constant mantra in her head. She kept repeating it over and over as she stared at him. Was he serious? He actually wanted to know about Tolle? What he was like? No. He had to be insane. Why would he want to know something like that? Miriallia bit her bottom lip to keep from saying anything stupid or cruel or humiliating. `Well aren't we feeling oppressive today? Why don't you just let me handle this? Just say whatever I say. It won't be that hard.' Was everybody crazy? There was no way she would ever do what the voice told her to do. And why was it ordering her around like that?

“He, he was, impossible to describe.” She started out speaking in nothing more than a hoarse whisper, but her voice gradually gained strength as she went on. “He always knew what to say, a-and how to say it. He would always stand up for what he believed in. He would do whatever it took, and always put his friends first.”

Athrun was walking down one of the almost unused hallways through the mansion, intent on seeing Cagalli when he cane to what appeared to be a staircase leading outside. Maybe to the roof? But why would it be open? He stepped up a few stairs, stopping when he heard voices.

“-lways stand up for what he believed in.” That was Kira's friend, Miriallia. “He would do whatever it took, and always put friends first.” He could only guess who she was talking about, but he had a pretty good idea about who she was talking to.

“You know, you shouldn't blame Athrun. He was only following orders.” Yes. It was who he thought. But, why were they talking about him? Unless… That was hardly romance material.

“Whoever said I did?” She sounded a bit upset at Dearka's statement. Athrun really didn't like the direction this conversation was going in.

“No! I-I didn't mean anything. I just, you know, thought that you would feel-” Smooth Dearka. Real smooth.

“You have no idea what I think or feel!” The voices were escalating. Time for him to take his leave. On the second step from the bottom, there was a loud squeak.

From up here the city lights burn
Like a thousand miles of fire
And I'm here to sing this anthem
Of our dying day

Dearka tensed. It would appear they had an eavesdropper. He walked slowly towarst the opening, not wanting to make any noise to alert their intruder of his presence.

All of Athrun's training told him to run, to hide, get the hell out of there, do anything to prevent his capture. But he couldn't. He was frozen to the spot. Why couldn't he move Damnit?!

Dearka carefully looked down the entrance, before muttering an `Oh shit.' Why did he have to be there? Crap. He'd probably heard their whole conversation about him. And he had such a sheepish smile on his face. He couldn't have possibly just been getting some fresh air. No. He had to have known. He didn't look at all apologetic. Nope, nothing but sheepishness. Well, if Miriallia wasn't totally pissed off at Dearka before, she sure would be now.

Athrun started climbing back up the ladder-like stairs. He'd been caught so he might as well keep whatever scraps of dignity he had left and to this properly. Once he got to the top, Dearka just stood there glaring at him. He glanced over to Miriallia. Their eyes locked for a split second before she looked away. This must be really awkward for her. He hadn't exactly made a point of talking to her that much. He hadn't really apologized either. Not that he didn't want to, he just felt that it would make things worse. `Oh, hey, you know I'm really sorry about killing your boyfriend, but you know, Kira killed my friend so it all really evens out. Please don't be too mad.' That would go over great.

“What the hell were you doing?” Dearka asked. He didn't raise his voice at all. He kept it even, but dripping with venom. “You know what would have happened if this happened a month ago? You would have been killed instantly, unless they decided to torture you first.”

“I was just walking and decided to get some fresh air.”

“So then what was with the `I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar' face?”

“I shouldn't have to explain myself to you. I am your superior.”

“That really doesn't apply to this.”

“I-I should be going.” Both men turned their heads to where the meek voice was coming from.

“No, please don't let me drive you out.” Athrun said, once again back to his calm stoic self.

“I'm sure she could drive you out if she had a knife.” That made Miriallia blush, and confused Athrun to no end. “That's right Athrun, you haven't heard this story yet, have you? You see, I was simply lying down, minding my own business when she came into the room, grabbed a scalpel and proceeded to attack me with it. Caught me with it too.” Miriallia was blushing furiously, and appeared extremely awkward. Athrun looked at her and raised an eyebrow. He had a hard time believing the natural girl would swat a mosquito, never mind attack another human with a scalpel. “So, if you ever feel like making her mad, be sure to check the surrounding area for any sharp objects.” Now he was just doing this to make Miriallia as awkward as possible.

Of our dying day
Of our dying day
Of our dying!!!

Miriallia started heading towards the exit before she could shout something stupid like how she thought he was the jackass who killed Tolle. That would just make things even more awkward between her and the blue-haired coordinator. She couldn't have been fore than a few feet from the entrance when Dearka grabbed her shoulder.

“Leaving so soon? I'm quite sure you said you didn't have any plans.” It was a lie, but if she denied it, he would retaliate with some smart-ass remark about her bad natural memory and then proceed to question her about her plans for the evening. He really didn't want to make her that uncomfortable, but she really needed to straiten things out with Athrun.

“I should be going.” Athrun stated, once again in his polite, formal voice.

“Listen Athrun, I know you probably have some awesome plans, but you two really need to work things out, for Kira's sake.

He was bringing Kira into this now? Miriallia couldn't believe it. But it was sort of true. Things had been awkward between her and Kira ever since Athrun had joined the Archangel, and she really didn't want to ruin their friendship because of somebody who killed somebody close to her.

“So why don't we all sit down and chat?”

How was he able to manipulate her like that?

“I really should be going. Cagalli's expecting me soon.”

“I did tell Sai that I'd catch up with him sometime tonight.”

“They can wait. This can't. Who knows if an opportunity like this will ever come up again?” And that was a bad thing? This was already off the awkwardness chart, and they hadn't even started talking yet.

Dearka was evil. That was the only conclusion Athrun could come to. Couldn't he see how this subject affected the girl? Sure, it made him awkward as well, but he really didn't want to admit that.

“So, Athrun, ask a question.” He hated the blond boy. He despised him and wished him a fate worse than hell. But he couldn't not reply. It would just prove to make things even weirder between the two. Less awkward, more weird, or same awkward, no weird. He couldn't decide which would be better. For lack of anything better to say, he quickly blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“What did he look like?”

Miriallia was stunned to say the least. He was actually going along with this? Was he out of his mind? Crazy? Psychotic? He must be. Maybe she could say she had a picture in her room and lock the door, never to be seen or heard from again. No, they were too smart for that. But she did have a picture, not in her room, but with her. Sighing, she dug into one of her pockets, and, looking out towards the city, handed it to Athrun. Tonight, she would go after Dearka with a scalpel again, but this time, she would finish the job. He didn't deserve to live. Hell he didn't deserve to die either. He deserved to remain forever on that fine line between the two. It would be pure torture, but even that could be too good for him.

For a second I wish the tide
Would swallow every inch of this city
And you gasp for air tonight!!

Athrun looked at the photograph she handed him. There she was, with a brown-haired boy, smiling like nothing could ever separate them, in front of the most amazing sunset he had ever seen. He had to be honest, she didn't appear to be capable of smiling like that anymore.

They went on for a while, just discussing things, until they both ran out of things to say. Dearka had stood over them and smirked the whole time. The silence wasn't the least bit awkward, it was actually pretty comfortable. The trio eventually wandered over to the edge of the roof, and sat down. Dearka sat right beside Miriallia, so that he could put his arm around her, which he did. This action caused her to get extremely tense, before eventually relaxing, even going so far as to rest her head on his shoulder. Athrun was farley close to them as well, though he was careful to give them their space.

If only Kira could see them. He'd probably go into shock. Athrun knew his old friend didn't expect the two to get along under the circumstances, and seeing the two of them sitting so close together without Miriallia crying or acting the least bit awkward would surely make him wonder.

Miriallia was quite comfortable with Dearka's arm around her, and she was surprised at how safe and warm she felt. A small part inside of her was still screaming at her, telling her that she'd betrayed Tolle by forgiving his killer, and even getting cuddly with another guy. She shushed that part by telling herself that Tolle wouldn't have wanted her to hold a grudge. He would have wanted her to move on, to be happy. She decided that Dearka would receive a simple, painless death instead of all the torture she had planned out for him earlier.

Dearka couldn't help the smirk that came onto his face when Miriallia leaned her head on his shoulder. Maybe he hadn't screwed up that badly after all, though he still felt that he would get at least a stern talking to, possibly a good yelling session tomorrow.

The cozy couple were knocked from their thoughts when they heard Athrun mutter something.

From up here the city lights burn
Like a thousand miles of fire
And I'm here to sing this anthem
Of our dying day

“Fire”

“What was that?” Dearka asked

“Fire” Athrun said louder. “The city, when you look closely, it really looks like it's on fire, with all the little lights.”

“You are both crazy.” Dearka said, referring to the two who could see what he couldn't in the city below. He stood up, causing Miriallia to tumble off him and onto the hard concrete roof.

“Hey!” She yelled half-heartedly. Pretty soon she heard Athrun yelp, and, out of the corner of her eye, saw him jump up. Looking over, she saw Dearka pressing hard on a pressure point in Athrun's back.

“What the hell was that for?” Athrun asked, sounding slightly ticked-off, and not at all like the coordinator she had been talking to 45 minutes before.

“That was for reinforcing her ideas about the city looking anything like fire.”

“But it does.” Athrun stood up as he said this, ready to get revenge on the blonde brat. Miriallia turned halfway around, in order to watch the two bicker like three year olds. She really wished she had her camera with her right now. She had been practically glued to the thing before they had gotten involved in the war, and she was really starting to miss it. Kira always told her that sometime he would put glue all over it, and hope she would get stuck to it. She had almost immediately started lecturing him on what a trick like that could do to a camera. She would have to be careful around Dearka as well, he seemed like the type to pull a stunt like that.

From up here the city lights burn
Like a thousand miles of fire
And I'm here to sing this anthem
Of our dying day

Somehow, the battle between the two coordinators had been switched around yet again, and now Dearka was chasing Athrun. As Athrun ran past her, he grabbed her by the arm, and spun sharply around, using her as a human shield. Dearka came to a stop mere inches from her face. “That's low Zala. Really low.” Athrun had a strong enough grip on her that she wouldn't even try to break free for fear of hurting herself, though she doubted Athrun was stupid enough to let that happen. Kira would go after him. He had become rather protective of her ever since Tolle had died.

“Admit defeat Elthman.” Athrun spat with fake hatred.

“NEVER!” Miriallia couldn't help but laugh at that line. It was just so cheesy, like something you'd see in a really old movie. This surprised Athrun, and his grip on her loosened. Dearka noticed this and took advantage of it by pulling Miriallia to him, and holding her in the same position Athrun had her in just seconds before.

“Curse it! My plan has failed.” Athrun shouted, falling even deeper into his role. Dearka looked at Athrun, before they too started laughing. Picking Miriallia up bridal style, Dearka went back to the edge of the roof, and dropped her in his lap. “I should probably be going now.” Athrun said, before turning the other way and heading to the exit.

“Isn't Sai expecting you?” Dearka asked, not really wanting this moment to end.

“Sai can wait.” Dearka smirked.

“So does this mean I won't die an untimely death-by-scalpel?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“Everything.”

Was there a creature more confusing than a female? Somehow Dearka doubted it. They had crazy mood swings, and crazier moods to swing from.

Men were so confusing. Almost every one had two totally different sides. Miriallia figured that she had seen Athrun's other side that night, and it was something that she thought he should show more often. Something told her Cagalli would like that a lot.

They stopped talking, and just stared towards the city. They had no sense of time. It didn't matter. Not to them.

From up here the city lights burn
Like a thousand miles of fire
And I'm here to sing this anthem
Of our dying day

Eventually Dearka started to get sore from sitting in the same position for so long. He decided to leave now, and was about to tell Miriallia when he noticed something. She was asleep. In his arms. He couldn't decide whether this was a curse or a blessing. If he was caught while dropping her in her room, he risked a beating from whoever found him. But, he would be able to go into her room, which would probably even things out a bit. Standing carefully so as not to wake the sleeping girl, Dearka started down the stairs. Once at the bottom, he tried to remember where her room was. Eventually remembering it, he started quickly to the right. He walked through the many halls of the Athha mansion, before coming to her room. Carefully opening the door, he slipped inside, and headed to the bed. Wit one hand, he pulled the blankets back, and held her with the other. He gently put her down, covering her up with the blankets. He was about to leave when the other half of the bed caught his eye. An evil smirk worked its way across his face as he analyzed the queen-sized bed. Oh yes, he would. Careful so as not to disturb the girl's sleep, he eased himself into the bed. Sure, he would be screamed at in the morning, but that really didn't matter at the moment.

He really couldn't wait until the next morning.

Our dying day
Of our dying!!!

A/N: Wow, 10 full pages on word. I really felt that Athrun and Miriallia had to talk things out, and I decided to do it this way. It got kind of fluffy in there, and I had to add humor. I'll probably add a third chapter if I can find a fitting song. I might not even use a song if I'm feeling adventurous but I doubt it. I might use `Red is the New Black' by Funeral For a Friend, or `In Your Hands' by Thrice. I might even use some Avenged Sevenfold (Trashed and Scattered) But I can't think of a fitting theme for it. Any song recommendations?