BACK TO SCHOOL !

( The Vacation Saga )

Author's Notes

Note that I don't own ANY of the characters throughout the fanfic. * sob *

***

Zechs had his own ways to achieve his aims and he peered closely at the gadget that was sitting on his palm. He had sneaked it out from Quatre's possession and was impressed by its tracking functions. Without a second thought, he destroyed it and smiled almost victoriously to himself.

[ Now it's time to " tip " Michael off ]

Quatre urgently gathered Trowa, Wufei and Duo into his room and filled them in with details on how the tracking device he had received from Professor J was stolen. The other threesome listened on worriedly as this meant that they had lost track of their target.

Q : " What's the best course of action ? "

W : " Leave immediately ? "

D : " No, that's too fishy. "

T : " But can we afford to NOT know where Michael is ? "

There was a general moment of silence as the boys pondered through their options.

Heero and Relena were both standing together on the balcony where they had almost come clean with their emotions. Both were still a good distance away from each other, but it was obvious that they enjoyed each other's company. Relena was simply lost in her own world, her eyes glassy as her mind completely stopped racking itself with thoughts.

[ This is life ]

On a whim, Relena peered over at Heero who was also leaning against the balcony. His focus was on the horizon as the wind slowly caressed his brown bangs. They were here because Relena had announced that she wanted to leave the room again. Heero had soundlessly followed her, much to her exasperation. However, when she took her place on the balcony, no one was more surprised than her when he did the same too !

[ I guess he needed a break too ]

Relena smiled inwardly as she resumed her relaxing therapy, her eyes lazily observing the dark red lines seeping through the clouds as the sun began to set.

" Relena .. "

" Heh ? "

The sudden voice which called her shook her out of her blissful oblivion. Turning to look at him, he had his hands still propped onto the balcony, with his head in her direction. The golden-red rays framed his face and caused his eyes to appear champagne-chrome in colour.

" Is this the kind of peace you've always craved for ? "

Relena's eyes turned wide at the question, wondering what prompted Heero to ask such a question.

" I … I reckoned so. "

There was a few minutes of silence between them and Relena gradually felt uncomfortable for the issue was left hanging in mid-air.

" Why did you ask ? "

" … a spur of the moment. "

" Oh … "

Silence fell over again over the pair as the dark red sky morphed into blackness.

Michael had been VERY worked-up on the sudden disappearance of those irritating boys and his dear Relena. It wasn't surprising that they had hid their trail really well, but it still irked him at times. He had really wanted to take advantage of the school holidays to get to know the Peacecraft lady well, perhaps even to educate her on the company she was with. During this entire period, he had busied himself with handling his father's business and went about his many activities i.e. holding parties, knowing more influential figures, having golf sessions, searching for more books to read, bossing the servants around, brushing up on his shooting skills and inviting his friends over to his place to have a riot. However, his mind was usually on Relena most of the time, wondering where she was and what she was doing.

It definitely came as a nice surprise when a package addressed to him had a RETURN address, a sketched map of this location which allegedly showed where Relena was at and an anonymous note which merely said …

If you should believe this information, you'll find the object of your affections there

[ Short and sweet huh ]

Michael wasted no time in delivering his orders. He did not really care whether it was just a prank. He had all the money and time in the world and he certainly wouldn't want to waste an opportunity to meet up with his beloved indeed.

Noin stared suspiciously at Zechs, who seemed to be in high spirits. He was humming a tune to himself while flipping through his trusty organiser. Part of her was beginning to suspect that he had done something which was dead-set against their intentions but that it would be futile to stop.

[ Should I just confront him ? ]

Noin gently put down her book as she peered at Zechs. He was now tapping his pen on the table, pondering on what to write. She was glad that their room had the bare essentials, unlike Heero and Relena's room.

" Zechs ? "

" Hmm ? "

[ He sounds distracted ]

" Why are you in such a good mood today ? "

" Because I'm happy. "

[ Baka ! I know THAT ! ]

" How about letting me know in greater details ? "

Zechs turned to look at her and smiled mysteriously.

" You'll know soon, my dear. "

Noin shivered involuntarily.

" So you think Zechs-san is up to something ? "

" Positive. "

Quatre thought for a while as Noin sipped her tea in his room. Dorothy was sitting on the bed, frowning as she took in the bad news.

" He looked too happy. "

" That's right Dorothy ! He's been acting like this since yesterday and it's spooking me out. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd rather have his stormy disposition back. "

Quatre wondered whether the disappearance of his gadget was linked to Zechs. In fact, he had almost no qualms that Zechs had been the culprit. However, what was the use of stealing that gadget for ? It wasn't as if Zechs knew of the existence of Michael, right ?

" He's a family friend of ours .. "

Quatre bolted upright with this sudden recollection of Relena's introduction of Michael to them many months ago, scaring the wits out of Noin and Dorothy.

" Now Quatre lost his mind too ? "

Quatre suddenly snapped back into reality and flushed a little at his action.

" I'm sorry about that, but I think I've figured out what Zechs-san is up to. "

Duo mused to himself as Quatre told them about his suspicions. It was tricky, as they would be the only ones to stop Michael from coming. Heero was still in the dark about the tracking device which Quatre owned and it would definitely piss the perfect soldier to no end. No one wanted that, since Heero had been unravelling a different side of his nature and it was fascinating but addictive to them. They wanted to know more about Heero's emotional side and they weren't willing to allow anyone to disrupt their perfect .. well .. almost perfect plans.

D : " So that old fox gladly told Michael our exact locations. "

T : " It ain't surprising. "

W : " But what should we do to prevent him from approaching ? Blast the hangar ? "

Q : " That's drastic ! Maybe we can sabotage his travelling plans. "

D : " Reject his visa ? "

T : " Hijack ? "

W : " Kill him off ? "

Everyone stared at Wufei.

W : " All right, that was extreme. "

T : " But we don't know where he is now. Our tracking device is destroyed. "

Q : " Maybe we can keep a lookout at the possible places he could land. "

D : " Heero would smell something fishy right away. "

H : " What would I smell ? "

Everyone ( except Trowa ) : " AAARRRGGGGHHHH !!!! "

Relena retreated to her room alone, feeling slightly warped from the queer little conversation she had with Heero. As she opened her door, the looming figure of her brother approached her.

" Onii-san .. ? "

" Relena, you'll be freed of this in no time. "

" Eh ?! "

With a hug, Zechs left a puzzled Relena to her thoughts.

Sally, Catherine, Dorothy and Noin could no longer contain their patience. Now that they knew that a possible intruder would ruin their plans, it would destroy the budding but very precarious relationship between Peacecraft and Yuy.

S : " We need to jump the ship now, we need ACTION. "

C : " How ? "

D : " We'll need drastic plans, to make them both SPIT out their feelings for each other. "

N : " When do we implement the plans ? "

S : " Once we come up with one. "

Michael looked out of his private helicopter and smiled in anticipation.

[ Soon .. Relena .. soon ]

The boys stared at Heero, all were at a sudden loss of words. Heero was leaning against the door, apparently no one had noticed him opening it. They had the words GUILTY written all over their faces and Heero knew they were hiding something from him.

[ Then again, they hid almost everything from me ]

D : " Hey Heero ! Err .. wanna join in for a guys' chat ? "

Q : " Yeah, it'll be fun ! "

W & T : " … … … "

H : " What the hell is going on ? "

D : " Err … "

The rest were obviously cringing now, although Trowa wasn't showing much on his expression.

H : " Damn it, tell me already. "

Nicholas and Quatre's sister were busy shopping in the district when they chanced upon a boy who was alighting from his helicopter. They had landed on an empty patch further ahead, rather than choosing a proper hangar or landing ground. They dismissed it anyway and continued scouting around for souvenirs to bring home.

D : " Heero, promise that you won't flare up. "

H : " That'll depend. "

Wufei rolled his eyes. That was so totally expected from Heero. However, they were losing time and if Zechs had really informed Michael of their location since yesterday, he should be around at any moment.

Q : " Duo, tell him everything. "

D : " What ?! "

W : " We don't have time. "

There were collective sighs from the rest of the guys, except Trowa.

Michael stared at the map on his hand, luggage in another. He had prepared a nice present for Relena and was excited at the prospect of seeing Relena again.

The girls huddled in a corner, whispering furiously. Their minds worked quickly and within minutes, a plan was roughly formed. All they lacked were the intricate details, but they were running against time.

S : " Attack Relena ! "

The girls charged out of Sally's room and ambled down to their unsuspecting victim's premise.

H : " You guys WHAT ?!! "

It was obvious that Heero wasn't taking things into his stride. His cobalt eyes were flashing dangerously and his cool demeanor was adding to the scariness of it. He'll rather have his gun do the talking for him.

Q : " We did this for you .. "

H : " … … … "

D : " The thing is, Michael should be approaching soon. "

H : " I .. "

A piercing scream shot down the hallway and Heero bolted out of the room before the rest had even figured out what was happening. The scream belonged to Relena and that was all Heero needed.

Author's Notes :

AAHH !! This chapter is really late, I know I know. Gomen nasai, but my exams have finished and that is why I'm writing again. I've been watching a lot of Slayers .. from the movies TV NEXT TRY. Heh heh … it's a damn good series and I'm already having ideas on writing a Xellos + Fillia fanfic !

Updates will be much more quickler, probably every week or even sooner. Ah, the aftermath of the exams is something worth living for indeed !

28th May 2002