AN: see, I'm not dead, and neither is the story. Here's the long-awaited chapters at last.

Phase IX: Catch-Up

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Murrue sat on the couch, immobile. She groaned as she felt the headache coming back. What should she do now? She glanced at her bare finger and felt a pang of guilt. She sighed. She supposed that she ought to be grateful for what had happened, as she had felt it was wrong to lead Gale on like that, and he had done what she had wanted, but couldn't. But she couldn't help but feel sad about it as well. Despite what she told herself, part of her still loved him. He had been so kind to her, and had helped heal her heart after the war, and she felt horrible for doing this to him.

At first, she tried to push him away, but part of her accepted him, because she needed someone there. She felt another pang of guilt as she realised that perhaps the reason that she accepted Gale was because of her selfish need to move on, to forget Mwu, to bury the memories of those things that brought her such pain. She needed a distraction, to stop herself from thinking about Mwu, and despite that her conscience told her it was wrong, she went along with it in desperation. But she still could not deny the fact that she really did end up having feelings for Gale, which was why she accepted when he'd proposed, thinking that she finally had a chance to be happy, and why she had felt her heart ache when he left the house.

But now what?

The logic thing of course, she told herself, was to find Mwu and make everything right with him. But for some reason, she couldn't move. She felt scared, of what she wasn't sure, but just an uneasy feeling. Perhaps it was due to the guilt that maybe she should wait a bit longer. She had just broken up her engagement an hour ago after all, and going back to Mwu so soon felt…wrong somehow. Or maybe she was afraid that Mwu was angry at her and didn't want her back anymore.

But he didn't seem angry the last time they met.

Well, only one way to find out.

Jumping off the couch, she headed for the telephone. She dialled Kira's number and waited impatiently for the boy to pick up.

"Hello?" came Kira's voice.

"Kira-kun, can you tell me where Mwu is staying? I need to see him right now," she told him quickly.

The other side was silent, as if Kira was pondering what to do.

"Kira-kun?" she prompted after a few seconds of silence, "Please, it's urgent."

"Murrue-san…" the boy started hesitantly, "Mwu-san, he already…"

Murrue's knees felt weak as she foreshadowed that something was wrong. "What, what happened?" she asked softly, leaning against the wall for support.

A pause. "He already left for the airport, his plane leaves in half an hour."

The receiver of the phone slipped out of her hand as the answer sank in.

"Murrue-san? Murrue-san!" Kira's voice called anxiously from the other end of the phone.

He's…leaving? Why didn't he tell me…

She sat down in the kitchen, mind numb, thinking incoherently.

I…can't let him…no, I have to…

She made her decision. She jumped to her feet and grabbed the phone still dangling from the cord, where Kira was still calling to her, worried, and quickly asked Kira about Mwu's flight number.

"I, I don't know exactly what flight he's getting on, but I do know the time and have an idea where he's going…"

Murrue thanked Kira, hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and keys and raced out of the door.

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Mwu stood in the line-up to check in his baggage. He glanced at his watch impatiently, looked at the line in front of him, and sighed. He had left the hotel at the last minute, and now he feared that he might miss his flight. He exhaled again, willing the line to move faster. He wished that he could've just flown in, but International laws prevented him from flying a fighter plane into Orb. So he had to deal with commercial airlines.

While waiting, his mind drifted. His conversation with Kira echoed in his mind.

"So you're just going to run away without even trying to work things out"

I'm not running away! I'm just…leaving her in peace, his mind argued.

"Aren't you at least going to tell her that you're leaving?"

Mwu looked at his ticket and sighed. He knew that Murrue would be furious if she found out that he'd left without saying a word. But he felt it was best this way.

Besides, by the time she found out, he'd already be hundreds of miles away and out of her life. Out of sight, out of mind.

However, whenever he closed his eyes, he'd see her gentle face smiling back at him. It was from his memory of the most precious moments that he'd spent with her, the days leading up to the final battle. There was none of the sadness and uncertainty that her face held now. Those moments that he wanted so much to hold on to, yet wanted so badly to forget. Before the war was over, they didn't even think about the future, choosing to live day by day, trying to hold onto each and every detail. Now that the war was over, they both tried to forget.

Forget? It seemed easier said than done.

Because even though the sands of time slipped past his fingers, his heart remained frozen in the past, refusing to release him.

He remembered how, at JOSH-A, his mind had latched onto her image as he turned and walked away. How he tried to forget, but it just made the memories stronger. Then his mind shifted to the past year, of how his mind held onto a single name, a single smile.

Murrue…

But I need to move on, right?

"Next?" the woman at the counter called out, snapping him back to reality. Finally. He checked his watch; he still had fifteen more minutes to board the plane. Dragging his suitcase behind him, he moved forward.

----

Murrue checked the car clock for the tenth time in the last two minutes. She looked at the line-up of cars in front of her and groaned in frustration. Orb may be small, but it was pretty densely populated. And it was just her luck that she had to go through the busiest part of the island to get to the airport. She silently willed and pleaded for the cars to move faster, or for time to slow down. Nothing happened.

She glanced at the clock again. Approximately twenty more minutes until his plane is scheduled to take off.

What'll I do!

She was still a good ten minutes away from the airport, and that would be in smooth traffic. And even if she did make it to the airport on time, she knew that it would take time to find him, if he hadn't boarded the plane already.

There were just too many ifs!

But these planes are usually late anyway, right? Besides, if I know Mwu, he always left things to the last minute.

She wasn't sure about that, but the thought gave her hope anyway. She looked at her bare finger and took a deep breath.

I can't give up now. I have to do this, and I will catch him.

With that thought in mind, she started weaving through the traffic.

----

Murrue ran into the Departures building, breathless as she walked up to the help desk.

"Please, can you…tell me…where to find…the plane that's leaving for Kaosung in a few minutes?"

"Hold on a moment please." The woman at the desk turned to a computer and typed something in. Murrue tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter as she waited. The woman seemed to take an eternity to find what she was looking for.

"Here it is, Orb Airlines, Gate 54, through that door to the right," the woman read from the screen. "Ah, but it's taking off in two—" she glanced up at the inquirer, but she was already gone.

----

Murrue raced through the airport with a sinking heart. His plane was leaving in a couple of minutes, which means that he had already boarded the plane. And without a ticket, she couldn't get through the gate.

She ran past a glass wall overlooking the runway, when something caught her eye. She stopped and with trembling legs, walked up to the window. She could only watch as his plane took off towards Kaosung.

AN: yay for evil cliffies :)

Was that too cliche? ah well... I haven't written serious stuff for a while... I'm feeling a bit rusty.

Uh, since it's been like a year since I last went on a plane, I can't remember the details of the process to check-in, so bear with me and call it artistic license, k.

Meh, reviews and critiques welcome. Flames will be used to toast Azrael in Hell :)