DISCLAIMER: 'Rebound' is a story based on characters and situations from Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed which is a property of Sotsu Agency, Bandai Studios and TV Asashi. This work is non profited and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Unless specified, all materials in the web is work done by HERMIT JUNCTION. Please do not use without permission any text or artwork.

WARNING: Text and all related materials are rated PG13/T and may mild strong language, violence and suggestive adult themes unless otherwise stated. Please do not read if you are underage or maybe offended by such material. Spoilers for Gundam Seed.

NOTE: This fanfiction disregards the plotline of the original series' sequel Gundam Seed Destiny. Please see author's page for the site hosting of this fanfiction.

Gseed Aftermath Trilogy I:
REBOUND
a hermit junction project

Chapter 10

'Morning.' Dearka greeted as Eneta sat up from his bed.

Eneta eyes followed Dearka as he walked across his studio with a glass of water in his hands. 'You want anything? Milk? Coffee?'

'Coffee!' Eneta said quickly, standing up, her clothes from last night wrinkled. She smiled when Dearka looked at her weirdly. 'I like your coffee.'

Dearka grinned. 'Bartfield has shared some of his secrets with me.'

'Can I use your bathroom?' Eneta asked.

'Yeah, wait.' Dearka walked towards the closet and pulled out a T-shirt. 'You might want to change that.'

'I guess.' Eneta sighed, looking down at her wrinkled shirt.

Dearka exhaled loudly as the bathroom door clicked shut. Eneta was always the gentle girl, always thinking for others before she cared about her own business. His Father had been nagging him about Eneta, always asking if they were doing good. A lot of their recent quarrels were about her. His aunt had also gotten into the habit of asking similar questions and he had found it hard to give them a satisfying answer.

He hoped Eneta really understood him. He didn't want her to waste her time on him. She was still very young and there were millions of guys better than him out there.

'That coffee smells great!' Eneta exclaimed, stepping out of the bathroom, refreshed.

Dearka eyed her. 'You took a shower?'

Eneta shrugged. 'You had a fresh towel, I thought I'd make full use of it.'

'Here.' Dearka handed Eneta a mug.

'Smells good.' Eneta said. 'What is it?'

'Just a regular, I used some of the Hawaiian beans Bartfield gave me from my visit at Orb.' Dearka said.

Eneta nodded. 'You know, I always preferred latte, not too strong you know, but this smells great.'

'You like lattes huh?' Dearka said absently, staring down at his own mug.

Eneta looked at him. 'You okay?'

'No – yeah!' Dearka said quickly, giving her a quick smile. 'I'm good.'

'Thinking back, we've always just been friends haven't we?' Eneta said, looking at him sideways.

'I'm sorry.' Dearka murmured, lowering his head.

'There's really nothing to be sorry for.' Eneta said. 'I'm not the kind of person who'd ruin a perfectly good relationship. I don't want you to be unhappy now do I?' She set down her mug when Dearka didn't respond. 'Do you love her?'

Dearka looked up abruptly.

Eneta cocked her head. 'You didn't answer my question last night.'

Dearka bit his lip.

Frowning, Eneta closed her eyes. 'It's a 'her' right?'

Dearka almost choked to death on his coffee. 'Of course she's a she! It's already bad enough that people think that there's a thing going on with me and Yzak despite him being locked up with Shiho twenty four seven!'

Eneta laughed. 'So?'

'I – I guess I do.' Dearka said. 'It's complicated, there's too much between us.'

'Like?'

Dearka looked at her before opening his mouth. 'She's a natural, her boyfriend died during the war.'

Eneta raised her eyebrows. 'It's been two years already.'

'They were really close.' Dearka said. 'There's no room for me.'

'Are you sure?' Eneta asked. 'I mean, it's you we're talking about.'

'I'm not Mr. Perfect you know.' Dearka said dryly.

'Still…' Eneta's voice trailed. 'What's she like?'

'You really want to know?' Dearka asked uncertainly.

Eneta rolled her eyes. 'I'm not going to hunt her down and kill her for god's sake!'

Dearka sighed and stood up, walking to the back of the counter. 'She can't cook, that's number one.'

Eneta laughed. 'Surely she can't be that bad!'

'No, seriously, she can't even fry an egg.' Dearka said, shaking his head. 'She's eighteen, a photographer and is out of town for most of the year. Oh, she has a twin brother and a very protective sister.'

'What do you like about her?' Eneta asked, looking at him.

'I don't know.' Dearka said promptly. 'I really don't know.'

Eneta sighed. 'Then you really must love her.'

Dearka watched as she hopped off the stool and grabbed her purse on the couch. 'I better get going, I have a class at ten.'

'But it's Saturday.' Dearka said.

'Well, today's actually a tutorial.' Eneta replied, looking over his shoulder.

'I'll drive you!' Dearka said quickly.

'It's okay, I still have time.' Eneta said, glancing at the digital clock that read seven thirty.

'You sure?' Dearka asked uncertainly. 'It's really cold outside.'

'I'm sure!' Eneta rolled her eyes and opened the door. 'Now get back in there, you're only wearing a tank for Christ's sake!'

'Be careful.' Dearka said, holding the door open.

'I will.' Eneta reassured. Shouldering her purse, she turned and gave him a smile. 'Can I kiss you one more time?'

Dearka looked down at her for a while before he stepped forward and brushed his lips across hers. Closing her eyes, Eneta cupped his face and deepened the kiss. She smiled up at him when they parted. 'I'm sorry I can't make you happy Dearka.'

'Don't be sorry.' Dearka whispered.

'No.' Eneta shook her head. 'You are unhappy, you've been happy for the last two years, I can see it in your eyes, that cynical smile of yours doesn't hide away the fact that something is missing in your life and it breaks my heart knowing that I can't fill that void for you.'

'It's not your problem.' Dearka insisted, hugging her.

'I better go.' Eneta said softly, pulling away from his embrace. 'I'll see you later.'

'Later.' Dearka held out his hand and watched her enter the elevator, giving her a short wave before the door closed. He stared at the elevator door for a while, pondering on what she said. Was it that obvious?

Turning, he was about to step into his apartment again when something caught his attention. He couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise when Miriallia stepped out from the corner.

'Good morning Dearka.' Miriallia said softly, smiling at him.

Dearka stared at her. It had been three months and it was pretty obvious that she had lost some weight despite her baggy clothes. 'What are you doing here?'

'I have a press conference today.' Miriallia replied.

Dearka took a deep breath. 'I know. What I meant was why are you here at seven thirty in the morning?'

'I'm sorry to disturb you.' Miriallia said quickly. 'Miss Hahnenfuss gave me your address because I really needed to see you.'

Dearka looked at her. 'Really?'

Miriallia looked away, her heart skipping a beat. 'I may have come at a wrong time, but I really needed to see you.'

'Why?'

Miriallia reached into her jacket pocket and took out a dog tag. 'You left this.'

Dearka reached out one hand and grabbed the dog tag around his neck in reflex. 'What are you talking about?'

'That's mine.' Miriallia said quickly. 'You took the wrong one by accident that morning.'

'Right.' Dearka kicked himself mentally. He took it off and handed it back to Miriallia, who took it, careful not to touch his hand. He frowned.

Miriallia stuffed the dog tag into her pocket and dropped his onto his outstretched palm. Dearka narrowed his eyes and closed his fingers over her hand. 'You've been out here long?'

Miriallia shook her head. 'No, I, uh…'

'You're freezing, do you want a jacket or something?' Dearka asked. He looked down at her intensely, willing her to ask something, anything. He'd rather her scream at him, demanding why he had left without a word three months ago then stand here, looking down as if her feet were the most interesting thing in the world.

'No, I'm fine.' Miriallia snatching her hand away. Taking a step back, she gave him a small smile. 'I have to go, my press conference is this afternoon.' When she saw that Dearka was not prepared to respond, she swallowed and turned.

Dearka watched her take a step, then pause.

'Am I the one who took away your happiness?' Miriallia asked. Dearka stared at her back. 'What can I do to give it back?'

Dearka felt his heart stop as Miriallia turned her head slightly, giving him a smile with tears welling up in her eyes. 'I'm sorry for everything, I really am.'

'I don't need your apology.' Dearka said through gritted teeth. 'That's the last thing I need, trust me.'

'I know.' Miriallia whispered. 'It just makes me feel better.'

'Does it?' Dearka asked.

Miriallia turned away again. 'Even if it doesn't, I make myself feel that it does.'

She had literally felt her heart break at the sight of Dearka kissing another girl. She didn't want to imagine what they did behind that door, but the images kept swirling in her head as she stood around the corner, unable to move by the cold weather.

The thought of Dearka kissing another girl, touching another girl disturbed her, but then again, she couldn't demand loyalty from him when she had Tolle in her mind during their time together.

She couldn't help the tears though. She hated crying but she found it hard to hold the tears back.

'Have you slept at all last night?' Suet demanded.

'I did.' Miriallia lied, taking out a decent shirt.

'Where have you been? We lost you after the dinner, the guys wanted to bring us to one of the local nightclubs!' Suet said, fiddling with her nail filer. 'They have some really cute guys there.'

'Do they?' Miriallia smirked over her shoulder. 'Since when did you like to pick up guys at nightclubs?'

Suet shrugged. 'I have my needs.'

'Did you hook up with anyone last night?' Miriallia asked, shrugging on the shirt.

'There was this one guy,' Suet said, 'but we didn't do anything. He gave me his number though.' She eyed Miriallia. 'Where did you go last night?'

'I was tired, I came back to the hotel.' Miriallia said absently.

Suet narrowed her eyes in suspicion. 'Really?'

'Just be glad that I'm standing in front of you in one piece.' Miriallia said tiredly. 'I just didn't sleep well last night, I'm fine.'

'If you say so.' Suet shrugged, standing up. She glanced at her watch. 'I have to have a briefing with Major Hahnenfuss, you make sure you're down there by two thirty okay?'

Miriallia nodded. When Suet left the room, she sat down on the bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her mind was blank, like her expression. She looked dead in the mirror, disgustingly dead.

Reaching out one arm weakly, she grabbed her bag and rummaged through it until she found her organizer. Flipping through it, she took out a picture, the first picture she took on Archangel.

Would this be the only memory she'd have of him in the future?

Placing the organizer on the table gently, she stood up abruptly and headed for the door. She couldn't think much even if she wanted to. She had to force herself awake, she still had work to do before she left PLANT tomorrow.

She felt herself drag her feet out of the hotel room. People around her were chatting away happily, most of them on vacation as she entered the elevator. She felt sickly uncomfortable near all this merriment and wanted to run away.

'Miss Haww, are you okay?' Shiho asked, looking at Miriallia's pale face. 'You're not sick are you?'

'I'm fine, really.' Miriallia said weakly. 'Is everything going well?'

'Everything's going according to plan.' Shiho assured.

'Great.' Miriallia said absently, looking around. She watched as people started to fill the open area. 'Is my collection really that popular?'

'Hell yeah!' Suet exclaimed. 'Don't forget that I'm your agent!'

Miriallia nodded. 'Sorry.'

Shiho watched as Miriallia held onto the table for support. 'Are you sure you're okay?'

'I am.' Miriallia insisted, managing a smile. 'Let's get this bad boy on the road.'

The press conference was longer than she expected as it started off with questions from the collectors and some journalists. She felt dazed, her mind in a foggy state and didn't really know what she was asked or what she answered.

She was now signing her photo collection for her readers, managing a weak smile as some of them shook hands with her.

'You capture the essence Miss Hermance, you really do.' One middle aged man said. 'Some of your photos made my wife cry.'

'I don't know if I should be happy or sorry.' Miriallia said.

'You should be happy, because you touched others.' He said.

She touched others? Did she really touch people with her photos?

Miriallia stared in awe as one woman fanned out six copies of her collection before her.

'I'm a big fan!' she said breathlessly. 'The others are for my classmates.'

'Thank you.' Miriallia smiled, wincing inwardly at her tired hand as she scribbled her signature on each copy.

'You might want to capture some happy things though.' The girl said as she shook hands with Miriallia.

Miriallia blinked. 'Happy things?'

The girl nodded. 'Yeah, you seem to, have more uh, negative emotions in your photos, but hey, they're still great.'

Miriallia looked out, watching as friends who bought her collection chatted with each other happily, waiting in line. They were leading normal lives, even after the war, people were moving on. She was still standing on the same spot, unwilling to put the war behind her. She couldn't return to her peaceful life before the war, nor could she move on. Why? What was wrong with her? She was hurting the people around her, her family, her friends… Dearka…

'Miss Hermance?'

Miriallia snapped back to reality and looked up, taken back by the amber eyes that were staring down at her. They were really bright orbs. She had really long black hair and was handing out one copy of her collection for her to sign.

'I'm really sorry.' Miriallia apologized, motioning for her to set the book down for her to sign.

The girl held out one hand for her to shake. Miriallia shook her hand, blinking curiously as she realized she was wearing black gloves. She was about to let go when the girl suddenly tightened her grip, refusing to let her hand go. Miriallia looked up at her, feeling a chill rise up her spine.

'I'm sorry, but you've put yourself in between him and his target.' She said in a low voice, narrowing her eyes. 'He has no choice but to shoot you.'

'What?' Miriallia whispered, but before she could get an answer, the girl gave her a warm smile and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

'Is everything okay?' Suet asked, shaking Miriallia who had dazed off, staring into the crowd.

Miriallia blinked, then shook her head violently. 'I'm okay, I'm fine.' She smiled at the next person and was about to sign his copy when she suddenly felt a pair of eyes looking at her. Jerking her head up she scanned the crowd and held her breath. Squinting her eyes to make sure her eyes weren't failing her, she was almost certain that it was Dearka standing at the back of the crowd.

'Miss Hermance?' the man frowned at as Miriallia's pen stopped inches away from the cover.

Miriallia watched as Dearka turned sideways, looking at her briefly before turning away, his back facing her. He was going to walk away, the thought was more unbearable than watching his shuttle launch, shooting off, sending him back to PLANT while she sat on the platform, unable to stop the tears she hated so much.

She hated so much…

She felt the tears streaming down her cheeks again.

The noise around her somehow sounded distorted as she felt a sting in her chest. Looking down, she saw blood oozing out, staining her white shirt. Her vision started to blur as she felt her body fall back. In her blurred vision, she could make out people rushing towards her, blocking the light. She felt her world go dark as the noises started to faint away.

She could see Dearka's back fade into the darkness, melting into a canvas and when she reached out, she caught nothing but emptiness.

'She's not in your death list.' She looked at him sideways, her amber orbs narrowing slightly as she watched him throw his equipment into the duffle bag.

'My death list is already pretty long.' He said, adjusting his cap.

'Why bother?' She asked, crossing her arms, leaning against the wall.

'A little warning.' He replied, giving her a smirk. 'Because I'm going to rock their worlds and put them in hell.'

'Is this shot for Marni?' She asked in a low voice.

He looked at her briefly before nodding. 'He's dead because of her.'

'You know perfectly well that he killed himself.' She said darkly.

'That's why I didn't kill her.' He countered. 'I'm doing her a favor.'

'You're walking on thin ice Russ Enzia.' She smirked, pushing herself from the wall.

He smirked and threw the bag of equipment to her. 'And you're walking on this piece of thin ice with me honey.'

'You want me to draw the curtain's open?' The nurse asked, giving Miriallia a bright smile. 'It's been raining for a couple of days but the sun's coming out.'

'Sure.' Miriallia said weakly. She watched as the curse threw the curtains aside, the sun shining into the ward. She could still see the raindrops from the previous artificial storm drip from the window. 'Do you have like a schedule for storms or something?'

'There's a random system.' The nurse replied, fastening the curtains. 'We like to keep weather unpredicted, like Earth.'

Miriallia nodded. 'Neat.'

'You feel a bit better?' The nurse asked.

'I'm okay, it still hurts a little.' Miriallia replied, looking down at the wound on her left shoulder.

'Must've hurt bad.' The nurse said, shaking her head. 'Shot in the shoulder.'

'It'll heal.' Miriallia took a deep breath. 'I've been here for almost four day right?'

The nurse nodded. 'Lucky you were rushed to the hospital or you'll loose too much blood. The doctor will come and check on you soon and he'll see if you can leave today.'

'Good.' Miriallia looked down at her lap. 'Are you sure I can't go out?'

The nurse looked at her with raised eyebrows. 'You know you can't, security issues.'

Miriallia sighed. 'I know.'

The nurse gave her a warm smile and closed the door behind her.

Brushing some of her hair out of the way, Miriallia looked out the window, the sun shining in. It had started to rain on the day she was admitted to the hospital and it hadn't stopped since. In the middle of the night she could even hear thunder.

She had passed out on the day she was shot and didn't know what happened until the next day when she gained conscious again. Suet had been at the hospital the whole night and cried at the side of her bed, blaming everything on herself despite Miriallia's reassurance that all was just unfortunate coincidence. Suet had wanted to stay but the publisher back at Orb insisted that she return to Earth to clean up the mess. When Orb guaranteed that all connections with ZAFT were made and they'd send a representative to escort her back to Orb, Suet agreed to leave.

No one came ever since and the only people she saw were the nurse that was responsible for taking care of her and her doctor.

In the back of her mind, she was expecting someone, but she knew he wouldn't come.

Feeling her throat go dry, she reached out one hand, wanting to pour herself a glass of water but couldn't since her left arm was in a sling.

'Let me help you.' A voice rang from the door. Looking up, Miriallia was shocked to find Athrun standing there. In silence, she watched him pour the glass of water for her.

'What are you doing here?' Miriallia asked in a low voice, blinking at him as she took a sip of her water.

'I'm the representative from Orb to escort you.' Athrun replied, sitting down.

'But… what about Cagalli?' Miriallia asked worriedly. 'Isn't her safety more important?'

'She was the one who insisted that I come.' Athrun said, crossing his legs. 'She said she had this feeling something might have happened and didn't trust anyone but me. Don't worry, Ramius and Bartfield are in charge of her security now until I return to Orb.'

Miriallia nodded and looked down.

'How do you feel now? Any better?' Athrun asked softly.

'I'm okay, not dead yet.' Miriallia replied with a weak smile.

'I've spoken with – ' Athrun stopped when the door opened again and Yzak came in, dressed in his ZAFT uniform.

'Athrun?' Yzak blinked closing the door behind him softly. 'She's leaving today?'

'Might.' Athrun replied, standing up. 'The doctor's going to do a final check on her.'

'Miss Haww.' Yzak walked up to the bed. 'I believe this is the first time we've met. I'm Yzak Jule, Commander and Colonel of ZAFT, I'm the head of Shiho Hahnenfuss, the Major in charge your security.'

'Yzak Jule?' Miriallia repeated.

Yzak nodded. 'We've taken full responsibility for this incident and have started investigation. I'm here on behalf of ZAFT to apologize for what happened, we should have done better.'

Miriallia looked at him for a while before averting her eyes. 'You're Dearka's Commander right?'

Yzak narrowed his eyes at her slightly before nodding.

'I guess you know something about me then.' Miriallia said softly. 'You are his good friend, after all.'

'A little.' Yzak said reluctantly. 'But not much.'

'Is it true that he refused to accept this mission?' Miriallia asked, looking up at him. Seeing that he looked uncomfortable, she gave a short laugh. 'From your expression, I take that it's true.'

'How did you know?' Yzak asked.

'Major Hahnenfuss told me.' Miriallia replied shortly. Taking a deep breath, she managed a smile. 'It really is okay, I was just curious.'

'Miriallia.' Athrun frowned as Miriallia lowered her head.

'I'm sorry.' Miriallia whispered. 'I – I didn't mean for you two to see me like…'

Yzak looked away uncomfortably. Seeing a box of tissue sitting on the nightstand, he pulled a few out and handed them to Miriallia.

'They just won't stop.' Miriallia murmured, taking the tissue from Yzak, only to grab it in her hand. She looked up, biting her lips so hard they were about to break. Unable to contain the tears anymore, she leaned her body forward and covered her face with one hand, sobbing into her knee. 'I know I put myself into this mess and I only have myself to blame but I still can't help but hope and disappoint myself over and over again…'

Yzak and Athrun looked at her uncomfortable. It was already hard for her to be alone, millions of miles away from home with no one around but to have to cry in front of a stranger and someone next to being a stranger. They really could do nothing but listen to her cry.

Half an hour later, Yzak and Athrun left the room. Athrun was surprised to find Dearka standing beside the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes staring into space.

'You brought him here?' Athrun asked in a low voice, making sure that the door was closed.

'He made me.' Yzak muttered. 'Don't ask him why he's not in there because he won't answer you and won't budge either.'

'How's the investigation going?' Athrun asked, steering the attention away from Dearka who he sensed was not in the mood to discuss his issue with Miriallia.

'Well, we – '

'Excuse me sirs.' A slightly muffled voice rang from behind them. Turning, they saw a male nurse pushing a cart, his voice muffled because he was wearing a mask. He was wearing a nurse cap that matched his green working robe, strands of red hair escaping from it.

'I'm sorry, I need to do some preparation before the doctor comes.' The male nurse said.

'Sure, go ahead.' Athrun stepped back.

'Weird, did you see other nurses wearing a mask?' Yzak asked, frowning.

'The ones in the labs, but no in the corridor, maybe he just came out and forgot to take it off.' Athrun said absently.

'Maybe…'

'You were saying?' Dearka asked shortly, looking at Yzak.

Inside the ward, the male nurse pushed the cart up to the bed. Miriallia looked at him a bit surprised. 'You are?'

'Your regular nurse had a family emergency so I'm going to take her place.' The male nurse replied, smiling at her from behind his mask. 'I hope you won't mind. In your condition, there's a big chance you're going to get out of here anyway, so don't worry.'

Miriallia nodded and watched as he busied himself, taking things out of the cart.

'I'm going to clean your wound again before the doctor comes, okay? So would you mind pulling your robe over your shoulder just a little bit.' The male nurse said as he took out a role of gauze, forceps and some wetted cotton balls. He turned and helped her out of the sling. Miriallia winced at the familiar sting.

'You're doing really good.' The male nurse commented, examining her wound. 'It's healing real nice.'

Miriallia kept silent as he helped her bandage the wound once again. She was about to thank him when he suddenly pushed her back against the headboard. She felt her heart skip a beat as his voice rang against her ear through his mask.

'That shot was a warning.' He whispered with a dangerous edge, one hand on her good shoulder. 'Don't put yourself in between me and my targets or you'll find yourself staring down the barrel of my gun. I won't hesitate when it comes to pulling the trigger. Don't make your way onto my death list.'

Miriallia stared at him with wide eyes as he pulled back and smiled down at him, taking his mask off. Reaching for the box of tissue, he pulled one out and handed it to her.

'You don't look good crying. The doctor's going to be here any minute.'

End of Chapter 10
Finale: 03/08/2005

A/N: Next update will probably be the last one for 'GS Aftermath Trilogy I', make sure to watch out for any clues to the next installment! REVIEW! Thank you.