Disclaimer: One penny, two pennies, three pennies…
AN: Holy crap, 98?? I was so surprised when I realized I'm just two away from
the triple digits… And I repay you with a late update. ^-^. Well, at least you
still get the chapter, but I'll try to be on time next update!! Also, can't
thank you enough for all the positive reviews! Peace all! Heh, I'm kind of
hyper…
To Erimation-limited2-nothing: Ha, you'll find out.
Queens of
Shadows: Maybe… who knows what I've got planned?
The Fic Critic: *backs away slowly*
I have a feeling you'll be one of the ones I'll have to run away from later on…
Morrighan of Crimson And Sable: You
and Fic Critic have a few alike views… ^^ And did you expect any less? Aki's
pretty sneaky…
Anrui Shino: Ooh, so you're the
supernatural type eh? Heh, you sound like me.
Thanks again for the reviews and
everything!! Enjoy the chapter.
Black Hair and Gray Eyes
Chapter 18
In a room of pure darkness, a single hourglass
shone brightly, seemingly glowing. The golden sand inside the hourglass fell
slowly through the small hole, trimmed with some gold itself, and onto a large
mount at the bottom. In the upper half, only a bit still remained, but enough
so that it would take a while to fully empty itself, all things considered.
Two bright blue eyes materialized out of
nowhere, and a hand could be seen near the hourglass, illuminated only by the
glow the object gave off. The hand softly caressed the hourglass's golden rims
as the eyes concentrated on the sand inside it, watching as the grains fell.
"I'm sorry, but this was all I could
get." A thin layer of fresh new sand fell on top of the old, and the two eyes
disappeared, blinking into the darkness...
*~*~*~*
"I can't believe you skipped class!"
Relena called, exasperated, from behind the kitchen counter while Aki sat at
the table, looking bemused. Though, she did have a reason to; Heero was just
reaching up to get a glass for her, standing close. Apparently, Aki was proud
that her little game had paid off, even though the final result came from not
her own schemes, but from an incident.
"I thought those two are up to
something! I mean, they sounded
suspicious, and I haven't been convinced they're innocent quite yet…" Aki
half-whined good-naturedly. Relena turned to the fridge, but Heero already had
the orange juice in his hands, ready for her. "Besides, I'm only suspended for
a day." Was the girl trying to peeve
her?
"Only a day? Aki, you were suspended and
that's all that counts!" The kitchen staff giggled slightly at the display,
making Aki smile too, but Relena was annoyed. They were not taking this
seriously enough; her daughter had just broken school rules for heaven's sake.
"There is nothing to laugh about!" Aki smiled at her mother's stressed
attitude.
"Mom, once, I promise. But, it's not
like you were the perfect example yourself." Now how did she get a hold of
that? "I mean, running right into the field of danger, letting Dad try and kill you? Who are you to speak?" The kitchen
staff laughed again as Aki teased the most powerful woman alive.
"Don't you get cocky, young lady!"
Relena snapped, nearly spilling her juice. "You don't under-" Relena stopped as
Aki raised one finger, signaling that she should be quiet.
"Shush!" Aki placed something in her
ear. "I can hear something besides a car again!" Heero strode over and leaned
in. The blonde woman sighed in frustration and ran over.
"Okay, but you're explaining after
this!"
~*~
"So, we've got it all planned right?"
The first man asked. The voice was rather loud, so Aki guessed they were by the
trunk of the car. She grimaced; the tracker was by there too. Hopefully, they
wouldn't be checking around.
"Yeah, the girl is valuable. We'll go
get her then. Besides, it's the perfect opportunity…" The second man replied.
There was a loud banging sound, and the voices sounded a bit clearer.
"Now what?"
"Well, we got the stuff, and the time,
now we just have to tell Boss." The other man gave an agreeing grunt, and their
voices began to fade.
"So, we go in, then…."
~*~
"Damn!" Aki slammed her fist against the
table and threw device to the ground. Relena and Heero looked at her in shock
at her language.
"What happened?" Obviously, they hadn't
heard.
"They were so close to telling me what
they were up to, but they just walked out of range." Her hand made a dismissing
wave and she sat down in frustration. The two adults looked at her. "Oh, yeah,
right. They said something about me being 'valuable', and they seem to want to
kidnap me someday."
"You're kidding me." Aki shook her head
at Heero and handed him the earpiece.
"It has a recorder, you can check for
yourself." He did so, and her mother tapped her shoulder. "Right, and I have a
tracker on the van too. If you want to get the signal…" She pulled out the
large circular object and set it on the table, "here. Probably should before
they find it."
"Aki, you know we're going to have to go
to the Preventers headquarters about this." She said sternly. Aki nodded.
"We'll go this evening, but first, I have to call Une." She turned and left.
"Aki, go to your room and wait until I'm done."
*~*~*~*
Placing her bag on her bed, Aki had
intended to do homework, but her mind was on other things; what she had seen in
her locket earlier. It was… odd to say the least, not that she hadn't known it
was going to happen. What had surprised her was the fact that it had happened
so soon. She knew what it meant too.
Flipping her locket open, she traced the
thin black outline that had slowly formed. It hadn't changed all day, which was
good news. Lying on her back, Aki studied her current position.
Would she tell her parents? Or her
friends? Or Lee?
The thought was not welcome. She wanted
to protect someone from this, but how? Could she really just make them forget
her? Not in the time given… but, Lee and her friends, she could at least help
them out…
"I should go to sleep, after I finish
some of these things… Maybe it'll help clear my head…" She flipped open her
first notebook, and silently began to study. It was promising to become a very
difficult time from now on…
*~*~*~*
"Well?" Heero walked up behind Relena as
she disconnected the line with Une, pulling her into a slight embrace. Things
were becoming troubling.
"Lady Une wants us to go to HQ tomorrow,
and to bring Aki with us. She might have to go for more protection, as well as
us with the Christmas we're planning. It's just not safe for a lot of us to
come together at these times." She turned into him, wrapping an arm around his
waist.
"Do you think they're the same group who
shot me?"
"Who knows, Aki severely traumatized the
one she left standing. He's in a mental ward now." Heero snorted at the idea.
Relena knew what he meant: why would someone hire a man who was traumatized by
an incident like that? "Well, the group was
never named. Perhaps they were thinking of that?"
"Who in that state of mind would want to
join a gang?" She had no answer to this particular question. This wasn't making
much sense at all, and Heero was only confusing her more.
"Why is it that Marimaia was so right?
Time is like an endless waltz." Burying her face into Heero's comforting chest,
Relena could feel Heero's hands hold hers and lead her away, closer to her
bedroom. "Only the waltz is going so much quicker than normal. Things like this
seem to be coming up so much…"
"You should stop worrying and rest." He
lifted her into his arms, reminding her briefly of the time he had carried her
through the alleyways, after Aki earlier in the year. So many things had
happened since then… What was waiting for her and her family now?
"Stay with me… will you Heero?" She was
already falling asleep as he carried her in his swaying arms.
"Of course Relena."
She could hear the bedroom door opening, and Heero placing her on the bed. He
placed a small kiss on her forehead and caressed her hand, drawing small circles
in her palm.
"Thank you…" Relena drifted asleep.
*~*~*~*
Shorter than usual… but this was a more
difficult one to write. Thanks again to all you reviewers… and sorry for the
late update!!