Archerygurl:

I've changed my name!
'Meisha' it is. Hope that doesn't confuse people too much.
Once again, I'd like to thank all of my readers and reviewers.

Sorry for the long wait!
Enjoy chapter 4!

I'd like to dedicate this to Brownsugarcandy.
Her reviews and comments always make me smile/laughoutloud (causing people to give me strange stares)
xD
'Learn about Athrun in plant bio? Of course...'

Recap:

He knelt down to see that she had fallen fast asleep. She looked peaceful and so non-aggressive when she slept. He smiled when she mumbled something and shifted in her sleep. He felt bad for reprimanding her earlier and wanted to apologize. He leaned over her again, until his forehead rested on hers. He closed his eyes.

"Kira…" she mumbled ever so softly.

He stood up, smiled, and gently ruffled her hair before leaving the room.

The Heart's Diamond

Chapter 4

Emotional Clash

The alarm went off, but she was quick to silence it. She hit the snooze button and knocked it off the dresser. Five minutes later, it began ringing again, but this time she couldn't reach the snooze button. Frustrated, yet content that her plan had worked, she forced herself out of bed to stop the annoying sound. She looked around her room as her eyes adjusted to the light. Had last night happened or was it just a dream? No, it must have happened. How else would she currently know his life story? She hurried to get ready and begin the mission.

She finished up her muffin as the phone rang. She leapt over the couch to answer it and found a distressed Lacus. Apparently another clue had been found and they had been called in to investigate before going to Heliopolis. The frantic girl said she'd pick up Cagalli in the next ten minutes. Cagalli wondered what new clue had surfaced. She hoped it would helpful for the coming day.

"What the hell does this mean?" Cagalli asked in annoyance with the current situation.

When she and Lacus had arrived in the office the atmosphere was filled with confusion and frustration. Somehow a lovely 'Ace of Clovers' had found its way onto the chief's desk.

"Well at least we know that radiated ace didn't count as a clue," Luna said in a somewhat relieved tone.

"Yes, but it doesn't help. We assumed it to be true, but now that it's confirmed we only have two more cards until it's over," Rey said, bringing in the truth of matter.

Cagalli flinched at his tone. In other words, they had about two chances to find Kira.

"But does this mean…" Lacus started, unsure of how to word her conjecture. Athrun nodded, and she left it at that.

"So one of us is the culprit?" Shinn asked, standing up from his seat.

"It can't be…" Luna shook her head in disbelief.

"Or at least someone who had access to the building in the middle of the night," Athrun stated.

Everyone turned to look at the chief and he shifted uneasily. They didn't necessarily suspect him—it was just such an odd thought that they had to look at him.

"I regret to admit, that this may be my fault," he started, causing the perplexed looks to morph into astonished ones. He didn't waste a moment in explaining. "Last night I felt a draft enter my room, but I paid it no mind and went back to sleep. When I had woken this morning I came into the office and found the window open and the card on the desk held down by a paperweight. I checked the video surveillance, but it seems it was disconnected earlier in the evening."

"S-sir…" Lacus started, her face holding and hiding many emotions.

"H-how could you?!" Cagalli yelled. "That may have very well been our only lead!"

"Cagalli," Athrun said firmly.

His voice told her to stop, but she couldn't help herself. He saw that she was about to shout something else, but he quickly moved over to her grabbing her wrist with one hand and placing another over her mouth. She was shocked by his intervention, but made no move to protest. He shook his head and her eyes told him she wouldn't speak out of line. He released his hold on her, but remained standing by her.

Everyone seemed to be stunned by the event that had just passed. When had the two of them become so close?

"Heh, maybe it's a sign that we're not supposed to find him," Shinn said sarcastically as he stretched his arms in front of him.

Cagalli was furious that he would even suggest such an idea. She would have lunged at him had Athrun not done it first. He grabbed Shinn by the collar and easily lifted him inches off the ground. A look of fright passed over his face, but was quickly replaced by a cold, hard glare.

"Don't ever assert such a claim." His voice was dangerously low.

Durandal cleared his throat and waited for the officers to turn their attention to him. When the clash between the two didn't seem to lessen, he began speaking anyway.

"Cagalli, Lacus, I truly am sorry that I had not acted sooner. But what is done is done. The facts cannot be changed. We can only go off of what we are given. Kira's letter is still our strongest lead. As such, I would like us to continue as planned and gather as much information as we can in Heliopolis. Lacus, I would like you to investigate as an official officer. Athrun, Cagalli, you will act as civilians. Rey, you may accompany them to the station, but I would then like you to return and remain here with me. Shinn and Luna, you are to act as a tourist couple."

Shinn made a disgusted face, causing Luna to smack him upside the head. Durandal ignored the scene in front of him and asked if there were any questions.

"Why do I have to be with her?" Shinn asked, pointing an offended finger.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Luna's face was red with anger or embarrassment. Or both. "It's not like I want to be your partner, either!"

"Jeez, by the end of this mission you're probably going to cause me the most harm," he said covering his ears. Her indigo eyes glared at him in response.

"All right, that's enough," Durandal said, silencing the bickering duo. "You were selected for this role because you fulfill the requirements perfectly."

They were speechless at the comment. Cagalli smirked.

"Unless you want to be with me…?" she suggested innocently, batting her eyelashes at him. Athrun's eye twitched and Shinn almost choked on his words.

"Y-yeah right!" he spat, fighting the red tint that appeared on his cheek.

"We should be going," Rey stated in both an attempt to arrive at their destination on time and to stop any further nonsense. The others nodded before heading out the door.

"Shinn, I'd like to speak with you." As Athrun held the door for the ladies he overheard bits of the conversation.

"You weren't in your room last night."

Shinn waited a moment before answering.

"I had things to take care of."

"Athrun, what's the matter?" a curious Luna asked as she peered up at him.

"Hm? Ah, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"We noticed. Lacus only asked you the same thing three times," Cagalli mentioned casually. Athrun switched his gaze from the blonde to the pink haired girl as he apologized. Luna giggled at his embarrassment.

"It's all right. I was only asking if we should split into our designated groups before arriving at Heliopolis. It would appear less suspicious."

Athrun nodded in agreement, but Shinn and Rey were nowhere in sight.

"I don't mind replacing Shinn with Athrun," Luna chimed in, very happy with the idea.

"No!" Cagalli blurted. The three turned to look at her in surprise. "I mean, not yet. Um, we should wait for the others so that we can make sure everyone agrees since the decision was originally made by Durandal and we need everyone's approval before making changes. It's not that I mind not being with you—or anyone specific for that matter. It's just—"

"I agree with Cagalli." Lacus put a stop to her rambling. Cagalli silently thanked Lacus for her interruption. She had no idea why she was babbling like an idiot.

"Here they come now!" Luna exclaimed, as she waved to them.

"Lunamaria, has Shinn been acting… different lately?" Athrun asked. He wasn't sure how exactly to phrase the question. Cagalli and Lacus looked at him questioningly, but waited for the girl's response.

"So you've noticed too?" was her reply. "I thought it was only me," she added with a sigh.

Actually, Athrun hadn't suspected a thing. He was just curious since he had heard a part of their conversation earlier. He decided to nod and let her continue.

"He's still a jerk, but he's been even more moody lately. I saw him at the home furnishing store randomly and he was buying some weird supplies. I asked him what it was for, and he said it was for rock climbing. When he started rock climbing is beyond me, but I just decided to leave it at that."

"I see," was Athrun's response. "I'll be right back." He made his way over to the two boys heading their way. "Shinn, we need to talk." Shinn opened his mouth to decline, but Athrun didn't give him a chance.

"Now."

Shinn grumbled before accepting and following Athrun behind a brick building. The girls exchanged confused looks as Rey came to join them. When Luna asked what that was about he simply shook his head.

Once they were out of sight Shinn demanded to know what the problem was.

"How's rock climbing?" Athrun asked.

"Luna…" Shinn muttered, glaring at Athrun. "It's fine. You should try it sometime."

"At four in the morning?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Even you should be able to see how suspicious this is. Disappearing in the middle of the night, buying strange equipment which is conveniently ideal for breaking into homes and buildings…"

"You're saying I kidnapped Kira and stole the diamond?" Shinn challenged, an amused expression plastered on his face.

"I'm not ruling it out. And you're making it awfully difficult."

Shinn's expression changed to rage. Athrun stepped forward, but Shinn refused to back down.

"Well?"

Emerald met ruby and the piercing gazes only intensified as the minutes passed before one admitted defeat.

By the time Athrun and Shinn had returned, the group had decided to play a game of charades. Luna was hopping around and Cagalli was shouting out the names of different animals.

"Rabbit… Giraffe… kangaroo!"

"Bingo!"

"Alright! Another point for Cagalli," she said, pretending to add a point to her score. "Lacus, are you even trying?"

"This is… such an odd game," Lacus replied in honesty.

"Idiocy…" Rey mumbled.

"Hey, welcome ba—oh my gosh, what happened to you, Shinn?!" Luna shrieked as she pointed a finger at his busted lip.

"He ran into a pole." Athrun answered for him. Shinn simply nodded. It was clear that he had received a blow to the face, but no one dared question his response. Luna just nodded with her eyes wide open.

When Luna proposed the idea of switching the roles assigned to them, Shinn insisted that he remain with Luna. Cagalli thought about pretending to feel insulted, but let it go. They entered the station in their separate groups as Rey bid them farewell and good luck. Lacus was the first to buy her ticket and entered the train while Shinn and Luna argued about who was going to pay. No one could tell whether they were acting or actually fighting.

The remaining two decided to pay separately and Cagalli was the first to go up to the counter.

"Not going to ring the bell a hundred times?" came the sly remark. She looked up and immediately felt uncomfortable looking into the familiar, beady, dark eyes. When he leaned a little closer to her, she instinctively moved back, running into someone.

"We'd like two tickets, please." The voice was her savior. She tilted her head back to see Athrun staring down at her. His hands were resting on her shoulders. She smiled up at him and he shook his head with a slight smirk.

Fifteen minutes had passed and Cagalli was bored out of her mind. She hated sitting still and her companion wasn't doing much to entertain her. She asked what he and Shinn were talking about earlier and his response was a simple 'nothing really'. Even after reminding him that the conversation had resulted in a bloody lip, he only added that she was better off not knowing. It was clear she wasn't getting any more information. She glared at him, but he seemed not to notice as he flipped through the pages of his book.

She sighed before giving up. Obviously her attempt at giving him the silent treatment to get attention wasn't working as planned. She leaned her head against the window and watched as the trees came and went. Closing her eyes, Cagalli let her mind focus on the most recent events.

What would they find in Heliopolis? Was she ready to face whatever they found? She was brought back from her thoughts when Luna appeared beside the two.

"Hey guys," she chirped. "I was just going up to the front to get something to drink. Wanna come?" All the while she was watching Athrun, her eyes filled with hope.

"I'm fine," Cagalli said bringing the girl's attention to her. Luna glanced at the girl as though she had completely forgotten about her.

"Athrun?"

"Sure." He placed his book in the pocket of the seat in front of him before standing up. "Are you sure you don't want anything, Cagalli?"

"Positive." There was a bit of resentment in her voice, which surprised her. The others didn't seem to notice and she was thankful.

"Athrun, you go ahead," Luna instructed as she shoved Athrun down the aisle. He shot her a questioning look before walking away. She turned to look at Cagalli and grinned.

"Thanks."

Before Cagalli had a chance to say anything, Luna hurried along, calling for Athrun to wait for her.

Cagalli was confused. Thanks? What had she done? Refuse to go along so Luna could have Athrun to herself—wait, did Luna think she was setting them up?

Cagalli banged her head against the window. 'Well, whatever' she thought as she watched them walk back. Athrun was saying something and the girl was gleaming with happiness.

Suddenly, the train jerked and Cagalli almost fell off her seat. She had grabbed on to the arm rest just in time. She looked up quickly to see if everyone else was all right. It seemed Athrun and Luna weren't as lucky. The shock had caused Luna to lose her balance and she would have fallen over had he not grabbed on to her. It only lasted a split second, but the moment where Athrun held Luna in his arms, seemed to reside in her memory.

He had immediately released her and apologized, embarrassed by the situation. She seemed to be ignoring him completely and was blushing tremendously at the thought of their contact. She bounced over to Cagalli, who could only stare at the two.

Her mouth ran and words spilled out, but Cagalli hadn't caught a single sentence until she said she was leaving.

"Okay, well I'm going to head back to my 'boyfriend'," she said reluctantly as she turned to walk back to her actual seat. Before leaving she winked at Cagalli, who just continued to stare back. It wasn't until Athrun had sat back in his seat and snapped his fingers in front of her face that she blinked twice and turned to face the window again.

'Well… she can have him,' she thought to herself as she watched the trees pass one by one.

Athrun wasn't sure why, but Cagalli was acting different. The air around them seemed to have shifted for the worse. The roles had switched. He was now trying to get information out of her. He tried asking her questions, but she only gave him one word answers. On top of that, she didn't make eye contact with him. He was about to give up when his cell phone rang signifying the receipt of a text message.

"There's someone we need to meet in Heliopolis." He waited for a response, but got what he expected: nothing. "He may be able to give us a hint about Kira's location."

Just as he expected, the sound of her brother's name brought the girl out of her trance. She turned to look at him and their eyes finally met. She nodded and couldn't help but smile.


Archerygurl:

Smile? Because they're likely to find out about Kira... or because it's Athrun she's speaking to? Can anyone stay angry at Athrun for long?
Argh, such a dense boy.
.___.

And who's this person they're going to be meeting? Maybe Nicol? Or Dearka? Or Yzak?
hmmmmm, your guess is as good as mine.

Thanks for reading.
If you choose to review, I would be ecstatic.

=)