A/N: Wow, I haven't updated in awhile! I'm really, REALLY sorry about that! I had so much junk come up with school, church, family, and of course stupid writer's block that it took me longer to write the second chapter! Whew, but I finally got it out before the second week of school I might add; I'm proud of myself! Anyway, THANKS to all of those who reviewed; I hope you're not too mad with me. But, I have seem to make this chapter almost as long as the first one. Another shocker. Please don't expect nine paged chapters all the time; the norm will probably be from 4-5 pages. Also, I know it doesn't look like a D/A fic right now, but I PROMISE the romance will come soon! A little info about me: whenever there's a couple I like, and I write a multi-chapter fic about them, I have to make them go through hell before they can have a good ending. Hence why this is under angst. Ack! No! I made typos in the first chapter! Ack! So, I edited it, only correcting junk. Also, guess what? It seems that on my computer, I have "broken" the spell check on it, so if there's any grammar or spelling mistakes, I apologize in advance. The only friends that I have that are D/A fans are Domon and Rachel; Domon's too lazy to actually read AND edit my fics (Sorry Domon-kun, but it's the truth! ^.^) and I don't get to talk to Rachel much because of school, so there's no one I can get to edit it. Well, I have rambled long enough. Now, chapter three hopefully won't take me as long to write since I ACTUALLY know what I'm going to write for it.
Disclaimer: If you want a disclaimer, read chapter one.
" " is speaking, * * is emphasis, and 'italics' is thinking. Just FYI.
The Bitter Suite
"What?! You guys are leaving already?" Domon demanded when Sai Saici told him the news. Rain was shocked as well, but had only murmured a "oh, what a shame."
"Yeah Bro, I mean, the tournament's over. We gotta go back," Sai answered.
"He has a point there Domon," Rain replied, placing her delicate hand on Domon's shoulder, hoping to calm him down. "They only came here to fight in the tournament, and since it's over, many countries would naturally want to bring them back to train." Domon sighed heavily and looked at Sai Saici with tired, sad eyes.
"Take care Sai Saici." The Neo-Chinese fighter smiled and nodded.
"You bet! You too Bro!" Domon faintly smirked.
"I will." Sai turned his gaze to Rain and nodded.
"Take care too Sis." She smiled.
"I will. Goodbye Sai Saici." The young Gundam fighter ((A/N: oh wait, they're all kinda of young, huh? ~.;)) smiled back, waved, and ran out of the hotel.
"Perhaps we should go get some rest as well," Rain offered with a smile. However, Domon didn't seem to agree. Instead, he walked over to the front doors of the hotel. "Domon? Domon, where are you going?" He paused there for a moment, trying to figure out that himself.
"…I'm going for a walk…" he finally answered, his voice sounding as dull and as dark as when they were first partnered up. Rain bit her lip, confused by Domon's behavior and did her best to hide her concern and disappointment about not spending some time alone with Domon ((A/N: And not like *that* to all of you perverts out there who thought she was talking about sex!)).
"Oh…Ok…Try not to be too long I guess…" she answered, wanting to go with him but deciding against it. He had been through a traumatic battle with the Dark Gundam; he would need time alone to cope with it she supposed.
"I won't…" he said and walked out the door without even looking back at her.
~*~
Allenby sighed heavily as she put her last jumpsuit into her suitcase and stopped as she was about to grab her vest when she saw her reflection in the mirror of her vanity of her hotel room. How dire and serious she looked as well as…dead.
Her brow was smooth of any creases, there were no blemishes on her skin or bags under her eyes, so she did look rather nice. But there was a small frown on her face, and her eyes that were usually shining with joy and excitement were now dead of all emotion. She stood up straight and continued to look at herself in the mirror. She wasn't wearing her jumpsuit and vest today, oh no. She was wearing her formal navy blue military uniform.
Today, she wasn't Allenby Beardsley, the happy, carefree girl that bumped into the love of her life at an arcade. Today, she was Lt. Allenby Beardsley of the Neo-Swedish military, the strong Gundam fighter of her nation. And she didn't have any family…or friends…she was all alone…
She sighed again as she tugged at her jacket, which now felt slightly a little too snug around her chest and glanced at the clock that sat on the vanity; it was 3:00 A.M. Within a few hours, she would be back home in her home country, go to the expected banquet they would hold at the base in her honor for her brave attempts at the Gundam Tournament and for nearly making it to the finals. Then it would be back to training for her, and they would of course try to make improvements to the Beserker system and force her to use it for the next tournament.
If Domon knew that they were going to make her use that damn machine, he would march right over and give those guys a good beating. But Domon wasn't here…
She managed to blink away her burning tears, although the all too familiar lump in her throat formed again, and she could hardly swallow it was so big. Slowly, she walked out onto the balcony and looked out onto the ocean, watching the rheumatic waves flow back and forth. However, not even this old pastime help calm her down; in fact, it only made her more upset as she remembered the night when she snuck out and bumped into none other than Domon on the docks as he was training. The tears formed in her eyes, and she could do not to stop them. Her eyes turned to the stars, trying to find solace in the shining heavens above her, but finding none. Subconsciously, she gently held the green charm of her pendant, the only heirloom left to her by her mother, as she continued to gaze at the stars and whispered the name of her lover softly into the night sky.
~*~
Domon kept walking, but he wasn't paying attention to where, nor did he really care. Anything just to escape it, escape the painful lie that he had started, escape the poor girl left in the dark of his deceit, escape the suffocating memory in his heart.
"I NEVER LOVED YOU!!!!"
The words cut at his soul as they kept repeating themselves over and over again in his head. The pain was still unbelievable; it felt like his heart was still breaking, still shattering into yet small pieces as her confession pounded in his heart. All his life, people came and go. Everyone he had ever loved seemed to leave him. He just never thought *she* would be one…
It was a miracle from Kami when his father was freed and alive. Maybe…maybe he was hoping too hard then. Maybe he was asking for too much from Fate to think that he could live happily ever after with the love of his life. But why couldn't he?! Hadn't he suffered enough in his life?!!
His mother was killed by the government of the country he fought for. His brother was presumed dead courtesy of the Dark Gundam. His father was in a frozen sleep years. His mentor turned evil and had to be killed by his hand. His ally Schwartz turned out to be a cyborg form of Kyoji, and just when he thought he would have his brother back, he had to kill both Schwartz and Kyoji. And now, the woman of his dreams rejected his love!!
"Kuso," he swore under his breath as he continued walking, still not paying attention to where he was going. If he was, he would've realized that he was just outside the hotel where a certain member of a military force in Europe was staying at, who just also happen to be a Gundam fighter with blue hair.
Suddenly, as if compelled to do so by some mysterious voice ((A/N: Like me!! ^_^)), he stopped and turned to look out onto the ocean. And just like his elusive faerie, he thought back on their chance meeting on the docks the night before their Gundam match. He would give anything if she could fall upon him again. He promised this time he would catch her with open arms, not his back. His gaze turned upwards to the stars, filled the half-hope that he would see her falling down to him. But, Fate wouldn't honor him with that pleasure. With a heavy sigh, he turned and began to walk slowly back to his hotel, back to his "true love."
~*~
Surprisingly, everyone of the Shuffle Alliance, except Domon, came to see her off. She didn't know what surprised her the most: the fact that four men, that she didn't know personally but respected, came to wish her a safe journey home or the fact that they didn't hate her, since she almost came between Domon and Rain when she knew they were all fond with them as a couple. However, she was happy nonetheless. But what even surprised her greater was the fact they all came bearing a gift from each of them.
She saw Argo first and gulped slightly. What was she going to say to him? Because of her, his new friend was blind and had to retire from the Gundam fights for good and was almost killed by her as well. Also, she beat him in their match because of the Beserker system; without it, she was almost certain that she would've *never* beaten him. She faintly smiled as she looked up to look him in the eye.
"Uh, h-hello Argo Gulskii," she got out. He nodded in response.
"Allenby Beardsley," he began in his deep voice.
"I…I'm really sorry about what happened at our match…"
"It is alright. I know that you did not invoke those powers willingly. The fault is not yours," he interrupted. Her eyes widen in shock at his words; how could he say that? She was so sure that he hated her, but now, he was telling her that everything that went bad due to her wasn't her fault! Slowly, she shook her head and opened her mouth to object what he said when he spoke again.
"Andrew Graham feels the same way as I. He knows that Wong was the one that activated the Beserker system, making you attack him. He does not blame you for it. We want to both give you this as a token for luck in the future," he continued, shocking her even more, as he pulled from a pocket in his jacket a beautiful baby blue scarf. The silken cloth almost shimmered in the sunlight and almost appeared see-through. A soft gasp in disbelief escaped Allenby's lips as he placed the gift into her hands. She looked at it amazed and let her fingers rub the soft cloth.
"It's beautiful…" she whispered softly.
"It belonged to Andrew Graham's wife-"
"What??" she demanded, looking at him incredulously. "I, I can't accept this! This belonged to his wife; surely, this has a *lot* of emotional value to him!!"
Argo smirked faintly. "He had a feeling that you would say that. He told me to tell you that your fiery spirit reminded of him of that his wife possessed as well. He hoped that her kind soul would help encourage you in future battles both in and outside the ring and that you would not be forced to use that bereft machine. He wishes for you to keep this." Seeing that she wouldn't be able to talk him out of it, partly nervous about trying to talk him out of it anyway, she nodded and tied it around her neck. Surprisingly, the scarf went well with her military uniform. The traces of a small smile appeared on Argo's face as he watched her put it on, but nothing could prepare him for what happened next.
"Thank you," she whispered as she gave the tall stoic Gundam pilot a hug. He blinked in surprise at the geuster and cautiously patted her back. She jumped back and smiled brightly, reminding him a happy little kid at an amusement park.
"You are welcome," he replied, giving her a rare smile.
"Allenby Beardsley!" a sharp voice demanded.
"Huh?" Allenby asked, turning to the direction of the voice that was calling her.
A woman dressed in a dark brown military uniform and with long wavy green hair walked towards the two. "Attention!" Natasha demanded, and Allenby did as told, standing stiff as a board. She walked right in front of the Neo-Swedish fighter and looked her over, as if she inspecting her. She lifted up her chin and looked her squarely in the eye before letting her go and taking a step back. A faint smirk was upon her cherry-colored lips. "You have the fire of a true warrior in your eyes…never lose that." Allenby nodded.
"Yes Ma'am; I won't!" she chimed, smiling at the stern woman standing right before her.
"You are a true fighter Allenby Beardsley. I expect to see you at the next tournament with your skills improved," Natasha ordered. Again, the blue-haired pilot nodded.
"I will." Natasha smirked again.
"I know you will. Train hard… Lieutenant Beardsley." The Neo-Russian stood straight and gave her a salute. Allenby smiled a little more and saluted her as well.
"Come along Argo!" she snapped and left with Argo following close behind, after giving Allenby a shake of his head for farewell.
"Bye Argo! Bye Natasha!" she yelled, waving them happily. She turned to leave for her plane when she almost literally bumped into George. "Oh! Sorry about that! Hi George!"
He smiled and bowed. "Good morning Mademoiselle Allenby."
"Uh…I thought we agreed that you wouldn't call me that anymore…" He merely kept smiling and stood up and looked down into her eyes gently, his violet eyes shining with kindness.
"And I thought we agreed that you were too important not to be addressed properly." She sighed in defeat, and he chuckled slightly. "I have something for you."
"Please George, no gifts, please." She pointed to her scarf. "Argo and Andrew already gave me one. I couldn't take anything from you." However, the Rose Knight paid her no mind.
"Roses are the pride of Neo-France, as I'm sure you know. In my country, they represent wealth…beauty…love…respect…and honor." He whipped out a single rose, yet it wasn't full bloom or red; it was a lovely shade of sky blue. ((A/N: Yes, I do realize everything given to her is blue, it's symbolic! And yes, these are *true* blue roses, not the royal violet-y color you get at the florist.)) "Mademoiselle Allenby, I wish all of these virtues to be bestowed upon you. You have earned and deserve each of those blessings." Slowly, she took the flower into her hand and stared at it in shock, thinking of his words deeply.
'Do I really deserve happiness and love?' she thought, still gazing at her gift. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Thank you George, it's really pretty," she replied, her smile growing slightly. He nodded in agreement.
"I hope you have a pleasant journey back."
"You too Rose-boy." He chuckled and said that he would. She wanted to tell him more, but there was another person that demanded his attention.
"Hey! George! We got to go! My father's shuttle just came in!" Princess Marie-Louise shouted, waving her hand in the air so he could find her in the crowded airport. He turned, smiled, and waved back to her.
"I shall be right there my princess!" he called to her. She blushed slightly, nodded, and left for her ride.
Allenby smile turned sad and almost formed into a frown as she watched the scene between the two lovebirds. 'I wish I could have that…' she thought sadly.
"I'd better not keep you waiting."
He nodded and bowed. "Adieu Mademoiselle Allenby!"
"You too George!" She smiled and waved as he left. "Have a good life with her…" She sighed and looked to the rose again. Somehow, as they are all able to in the tv shows or movies, she pinned the blossom onto her military uniform. With a deep breath, she picked up her bag and once more turned to leave to make her flight. It was then that she met Sai Saici. "Uh, hi Sai Saici!"
'What is this? Bump-into-each-member-of-the-Shuffle-Alliance day? Although I wouldn't mind bumping into…No! No Allenby, don't think such thoughts! You let him go, remember? He's isn't yours!' she yelled at herself.
He smiled back at her. "Hey Allenby!" She smiled and nodded, and he looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up at her. "Uh, look, I…I know how you felt about Bro…"
"Sai Saici, it's-"
"And I just want you to know…I'm not mad at you. You did the right thing back there, and well…I'm sorry that you didn't get a better reward." She faintly smiled at him.
"I fought against the Dark Gundam and got to see the world saved, who can ask for a better reward?" she asked, trying to sound like her usual cheerful self. He looked up and nodded.
"Here, I cooked ya up something!" He handed her a small dark blue parcel, and she took it and smelled it.
"Mmm, it smells good! What is it?"
"Uh, well, just a little special recipe of mine that I like to call Dragon Chicken Claw!" he informed her proudly. ((A/N: Ok, I know that was a really corny name, but I couldn't think of anything else.)) "Cecil ate some when she was last here, and she said that it was her favorite. Thought that since you were a girl with blue hair from the same area, you might like it too!"
"Thanks!" She smiled at him and gave him a high five. "It'll be better than the junk they serve at the base!" They both laughed and shook hands.
"See ya at the next tournament!"
"Count on it." After a few more giggles from them both, Sai Saici waved goodbye and ran off. Allenby smiled faintly as he left and turned around, thinking she could finally leave herself. However, she met up with Chibodee and his girls. "Oh…hi Chibodee…Shirley, Cath, Janet, and Bunny…" She was now thankful that Domon had taught her all of their names. There was no time to mourn about her broken heart though as Bunny, Cath, and Janet came running up to her and hugged her.
"You go girl!"
"Take care!"
"Wish you the best of luck!"
She couldn't tell who said what, but she smiled nervously and tried to hug them all back, but since it was three people hugging her at the same time, it was a difficult thing to do. "Th…Thank you…Thank you all," she finally got out as they let go and seemed to almost automatically jump back to Chibodee's side, smiling at her friendly. Shirley and Chibodee chuckled, and the red-haired woman, with a small grin on her face as well, walked over to Allenby, holding a box.
"Here, thought this would be better than some military uniform," she smirked, handing her the box. Allenby blinked in surprise.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Why don't you open it and find out?" Allenby did as she was told and looked in to see a suit exactly like the girls' magenta ones, except that it was nice shade of ice blue. "We figured it'd look better on you than on any of us, so…"
"But…why?" Chibodee took a step forward.
"You earned it. You work hard, you're a decent person, and you got a good body; you're the Neo-American woman, like my lovely ladies, 'cept you were born in a different country. Therefore, I'm making you a honorary Neo-American and giving you a upgrade in your wardrobe so you can be as stylish as my girls," he answered with a toothy grin. Allenby laughed.
"Thank you." He nodded, and Shirley walked back to his side.
"Well, I think it's time to go…what do you think girls?" he asked. They all murmured something along the lines of yes, and with a lengthy string of goodbyes, Allenby was finally back by herself…alone. She smiled sadly, picked up her bag for the final time, and began to walk back to her terminal.
~*~
Sai Saici made sure he was hearing-range away from Allenby when he went to the pay phone. "Hey, can I talk to the person in Room 715B? Thanks."
~*~
Domon awoke to the vexing ring of the phone, and he sluggishly got out of bed without waking up Rain, who was sound asleep beside him, and picked it up. "Hello?" he asked, his voice sounding groggy, tired, and stripped of all emotion.
"Hey Bro!" a familiar voice chimed.
He smiled at the sound. "Sai Saici!" he exclaimed in a whisper.
"Bro, why aren't you here?"
"Huh? There for what?"
"To see us off. Everyone's already left, even Allenby's walking out as we speak."
"WHAT??" he demanded.
"I said that Allenby was-"
"I KNOW what you said! She, she's leaving?!"
"Yeah Bro, didn't you know? Neo-Sweden is headin' back today! You're gonna miss her Bro! Hello? Hello! Bro?"
However, Domon didn't give Sai Saici a response. He promptly hung up the phone, grabbed his cloak, and ran out the room. Somehow, Rain managed to stay in her peaceful slumber in spite of everything going around her.
~*~
He was in a dead run, racing to the airport. 'No! No! She can't leave me yet! I *won't* miss this chance to say goodbye to her!! I have to let her know!' he thought furiously, running faster. Nothing was going to stop him. Domon was in a state that few manage to reach when pure love is their only drive and makes them focus only onto that one person and makes them exceed their natural limits. 'I'm coming Allenby…please, oh Kami, *please* wait for me!'
~*~
Allenby walked down the terminal slowly, as though as the next step would bring her to her doom. A part of her didn't want to leave; she wanted to stay just a bit longer and see if Domon would come to her, just once more, just to say goodbye. Surely, he knew that she was leaving today; there was a listing in the paper of every Gundam fighter that was returning to his/her home countries. However, she didn't stop. She decided that Domon was going to spend his life with Rain. She would have to move on….without him.
She was coming out and moving close to the spacecraft. Dr. Behluima waved at her with a warm smile before walking in. She threw a fake smile on her face when he looked and her and let out a deep sigh when he disappeared into the spacecraft. "Well…here goes nothing…" she murmured as she began walking towards it again.
~*~
Domon finally reached the airport, and he frantically began searching for the right terminal. There was Neo-America, Neo-France, Neo-Russia, Neo-China, Neo-Norway…where was Neo-Sweden? He looked up and saw a sign that told him the answer. It was…the other side of the airport from where he was!
"Oh no!" he thought outloud and began running once again, although, his pace was slowed slightly from being somewhat drained from all the other running. His eyes faintly saw another sign reading "Terminal 47, Neo-Norway."
'Good, only three more terminals,' he thought as continued running with all his might.
~*~
Allenby walked into the spacecraft and took her seat and look fornlornly out her window. Cautiously, she touched the glass, her frown growing slightly as she continued gazing out of it. He didn't came. Once again, he didn't come for her. She fought against the tears as she remembered all the times she spent with him in the short flicker of time that was theirs.
"Goodbye Domon…I love you…" she whispered, allowing only one tear to slide down her cheek as the spacecraft started its engines.
~*~
Domon finally came to the terminal, gasping for air, when he saw a man working at the airport fixing to close it off. "What are you doing??!" Domon demanded.
"Sorry dude, but the ship's leaving. They're headin' out now; there's no sense in keeping the terminal open," he answered. However, this man didn't learn the one thing you shouldn't do to Domon Kasshu: The King of Hearts, don't tell him what he can't or can do.
"Grrr…Allenby!!" he yelled and charged right through, ignoring the man's shouts for him to stop. He finally reached the end of the terminal to see the ship starting up.
"WAIT!!!!" he cried at the top of his lungs, jumping down from the ramp to the runway. "ALLENBY, WAIT!!! PLEASE WAIT ALLENBY!!!!"
The ship started down the runway, but Domon continued chasing it, screaming out her name repeatily, but Allenby couldn't hear him; the windows to the ship were sound proof. She had closed her eyes and went into a deep state of meditation, thinking, struggling, and trying to forget her first and only love. Had she only had known how close he was right then and there.
Even when the ship took off, Domon didn't stop running at first. He ran about another twenty feet, before standing, looking up at the fleeting shuttle with a broken heart. "ALLENBY!!!!!!!!!" he cried again. Feeling the defeat of one, not being with his real true love and two, losing the one chance he had to see her again, he fell down to his knees, struggling not to cry as he held his head in his hands and the pain struck him anew, its sting sharper than before. However, the tears did escape his eyes silently, and his poor tired body shook as he cried. "Allenby…" he whispered again and continued weeping over his shattered soul and the woman who still held his heart.