Chapter 21

AN: (Raine here) Listen, I know it's been a long time, and I know ANs go at the bottom, but I have to get this out now. Between writing a REALLY long fic with someone else, and school and tests and stuff....I've barely had time to even think about this. I don't even KNOW what Sevy's up to. That's why I'm getting my act together now. Thanks for being so patient, guys. We love you.

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Aki paled. "Another spirit?" she questioned. Hein said nothing, but nodded. "Yeah, and it's nearby. We should try to get it before it runs off on us. It's really close, now that I enlarge the map..."
Aki leaned against the wall, groaning with exhaustion. "Why now....why now, Hein? Can you tell me that?"
He met her eyes for a breif moment and shook his head. "No, Aki, I can't tell you that. I don't know why now. But we have to go. Go to your room and get changed."
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she asked, referring to her long gown. Hein smirked. "Spirit hunting in a dress?"
"Sure!" Silence.
"Get changed, Aki."
"Alright..."

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"How nearby is it?" Aki asked as soon as she'd pulled on her other boot and followed Hein down the hall towards the Hummer.
"Close enough that we don't even have to leave the Barrier?" Hein replied, frowning. Aki glanced at the scanner. Sure enough, it showed the Barrier, and a glowing light, the spirit, moving slowly within the perimeter of the Barrier.
"Think it's a person?" Aki inquired. Hein shrugged. "It has to be, I mean...there are barely any animals remaining, aside from that bird you keep talking about, and there aren't any phantoms...unless..."
"No," Aki replied firmly. "It has to be a person. Let's find the person, and then we can go back and have fun with the time we have remaining."
"It might not be so easy, Aki. This person is moving around, and there are a lot of people in the Barrier this evening."
"Well, let's get going now!" she persisted.
Hein smiled faintly as Aki tugged on his sleeve. "Aki, be patient!" he demanded, and she frowned stubbornly.
"I was having such a good time..." she muttered.
Hein nodded. "Yeah, and so was I. But duty calls, you know that better than I do, doctor. Now come, let's go."
Aki groaned in protest as she was dragged along by Hein to an area that was more populated.

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The couple ended up returning to the ballroom, where Aki complained that she was tired, and Hein told her to keep her mouth shut if she had no suggestions. "I won't take you anywhere tonight if you don't help me out. It'll go a hell of a lot quicker if you just help me. Get out your scanner and start looking, Ross. If we hurry, then we'll still have a good portion of the night left."
Aki frowned at him, narrowing her eyes in defiance as she took off in the other direction, pulling out her scanner.
"Give me a beep if you find it," Hein called to her and she gave a slight nod, waving him away with her hand as she turned her back to him.
Hein smiled. "Again with the PMS...must it always be me who has to deal with it?" he muttered. "I don't think it would be fair if you believed that, Major."
"Dr. Sid?" Hein asked, raising his eyes from his scanner to meet the eyes of the shorter man who stood next to him with a patient smile.
"Aki is trying very hard to find these spirits, but her attraction to you mixing with her recent loss of Gray is also mixing with the fact that she hasn't gone to a party or had any real fun in quite some time. Cut her some slack, Major."
Major Hein furrowed his eyebrows at the older man and snuffed. "What say do you have in this, Sid?"
"I don't have any say-"
"Exactly," Hein interrupted.
"I'm just making a suggestion," Sid finished.

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Aki walked along the brightly lit hallways, watching her scanner as it bleeped every so often, reminding her of the life form.
Bleep! "I know," Aki said to the mechanical wrist device.
Minutes later, bleep! "I know!" she replied again, frowning. "All I wanted was a little fun..." she whined. Was that too much to ask?
As luck would have it, the bleeps began to quicken, meaning the spirit was nearby.
"Come on, come on little spirit...where are you?" Aki whispered, watching the people around her and the scanner, which had indeed focused on one of the people in the hallway. Following the direction her scanner pointed, Dr Aki Ross found herself staring at the spirit holder.

Councilwoman Hee.