Between the Shadows

By: Ethereal Fury

Chapter Nine: You Again?!

Huddling in the shadows, Zephyr cautiously approached the heavy wooden door that led to the tavern. He had been instructed to ensure no one saw him, so after confirming that no one was indeed in sight, he knocked upon the door three times, gave the password, and was allowed in.

He scanned the room with his gaze and found that the Boss' guards were nowhere to be seen. He then strode over to the bar to wait, as he had been instructed, for two men in black to approach him. Upon sitting on a stool, taking off his leather jacket and hanging it on the back of the stool, Zephyr was greeted with the rather pleasant view of the waitress' rear end, who, feeling eyes on her, turned around and approached the new customer. "Well, well. What can I get you Mr. Kane?" she asked with a smile.

At that, Zephyr looked sharply up. "Aurora?! What are you doing here?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes. And why do you look so fine in that miniskirt, he inner voice added with a chuckle and a wolf-whistle.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "I'm here on a secret mission to assassinate the President," she told him in a hushed whisper. After seeing the shocked look on Zephyr's face, she laughed and explained, "No silly; what do you think? I'm a waitress here."

"Don't joke about things like that," he growled. That comment had hit too close to home— that was why he was there.

Aurora pouted. "You're no fun," she stated matter-of-factly.

Zephyr shrugged. "I take it this is one of those things your father doesn't approve of… like hanging out at the Akademy with Reed."

"Wow… so you CAN say more than three words," she teased.

He arched an eyebrow. "I am quite articulate, thank you. I just don't find it worthwhile to waste my precious breath on people like you," he shot back.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you cracked a joke Mr. Kane," Aurora said with an amused laugh.

"Then I guess you don't know better," he replied, scanning the drinks list.

"That's two jokes… is that a personal record, Mr. Kane?" she vexed. "By the way, what brings you here?"

At that, Zephyr tensed visibly. "Akademy business," he answered tersely. It wasn't the truth… but it wasn't a total lie either. He wasn't working for the Headmaster or ZEG… but he could still pretend.

Aurora shot him a funny look and leaned on the counter. "Like top-secret info you can't disclose?" she asked curiously.

He nodded, then lowered his voice. "You do know this place is Aerian, don't you?" he inquired.

"Yeah… I kinda figured since they spoke that funny little language of theirs… but so what?" she questioned.

Zephyr leant closer, making Aurora's breath catch in her throat at his closeness. "Aerians hate Zanarkists. They're very warlike… don't get on their bad side," he explained gravely, sitting back in his original position.

Aurora backed away a bit and brought a hand to her chest in mock shock. "I didn't know you cared Mr. Kane," she giggled.

"I don't… but if they get to you first, it'd take away the fun of slicing you in two with my gunblade if you annoy me," he replied with a smirk.

She made a face at him. "Meanie! Didn't your mother teach you to be nice to girls?" she retorted.

The smirk faded from Zephyr's lips and he visibly winced. The drinks list all of a sudden seemed exceedingly riveting and he glued his azure gaze to it. Aurora wanted to kick herself—he went to the Akademy, he probably had no mother… why did she just have to blurt that out? They were even having a conversation… She found herself resting her elbows on the counter and looking at him as he scanned the drinks list, mere inches from her, his jagged mahogany bangs falling over his sapphire eyes and occluding that tiny scar above his right eyebrow that Aurora found so appealing.

She studied his chiseled features, wondering what it would feel like to run her hands through his soft auburn hair and gaze at those eyes of his. Aurora had never seen eyes of such an intense cerulean hue—sure, one of her eyes was blue, but it was much lighter, almost gray. Zephyr's piercing gaze was so blue it was almost indescribable, and Aurora felt she could lose herself in those depths just trying to conjure up a word to illustrate them. She felt a familiar flutter in her stomach and slight quickening of her pulse at his closeness. She couldn't believe she was acting like a giddy schoolgirl, but she couldn't seem to keep her thoughts off him… and almost none of them involved him sitting on that stool.

"I'll have a 'Sex on the Beach'," Zephyr said in a low voice, not taking his eyes off the drinks list.

"Sure, anytime," Aurora replied, with a far-off look in her eyes. She hadn't really been listening, lost in her not-so-pure thoughts involving him. Two words of what he'd said registered—'sex' and 'beach' and she had unquestionably began picturing him in a swimsuit, a romantic sunset picnic, the beautiful Zion beaches, swimming… and before her thoughts could get any further, she found him staring at her with an annoyed scowl.

"I meant the cocktail," he stated, interrupting Aurora's train of thought.

Immediately, she blinked, snapped out of her reverie, and realized she had been staring at him quite intently. She blushed a deep shade of crimson and turned away, trying to regain her composure. She was mortified—she'd just said she would have sex on a beach with him any day! The fact that he could have meant the cocktail— they were in a bar after all— had not even crossed her mind… and she had been gawking openly at him whilst trying to picture him without a shirt… what was wrong with her? He didn't seem overly perturbed at her comment, but then again, when did he? With a sigh and hoping the earth would swallow her, Aurora turned back to Zephyr. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" she teased, hoping to hide her embarrassment.

"That coming from the girl that works the bar and mistakes a drink for a request to sleep with her… no," he retorted, handing her the drinks list.

Aurora nodded and pulled out a chilled shot glass, peach Schnapps, orange and cranberry juices, and the bottle of vodka. She poured the orange and cranberry juices, along with the schnapps, into the glass and skillfully tossed the vodka bottle up into the air, catching it with one hand, and spinning it about a few times before pouring the clear liquid into the glass. "Sex on the Beach," she informed him with a slight blush, handing Zephyr his glass, who took it with an amused expression. He had to admit that had been pretty cool.

"What? You work at a bar, you learn the moves," she defended.

"I'm sure your father will be thrilled his daughter can throw bottles around without breaking them," he commented dryly, taking a sip of his drink.

Aurora shrugged and leaned on the counter, examining Zephyr closely. She noticed he had a few cuts and scrapes on his face and a rather big gash on his bare left forearm. "Probably not, but whatever… hey! Where's your gunblade? And what happened to your arm?" she inquired, pointing at Zephyr's empty hip then his arm.

"Not here. One is not exactly inconspicuous when they have a four-foot sword like thing dangling from their hip. And the arm is from training," he replied matter-of-factly.

She nodded and chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. "How come you use a gunblade too? I thought there were only two gunbladesmen in the Akademy… Reed and some other guy with a real sexy name… Zephyr something or other… he's supposed to be a real hottie and unbeatable with the blade," she mused thoughtfully.

Oooh Leonstrife… she thinks your name is sexy… and she thinks you're cute, his inner voice smirked. Zephyr bit back a smile and commented, "I bet you didn't hear that from Reed."

Aurora shook her head. "God no! He doesn't think there's anyone in the world better looking than him… conceited brat… do you know that Zephyr guy?" she asked hopefully.

"Maybe," he replied with a smirk, downing his shot. I am that Zephyr guy.

She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You men are all the same… argh! You're impossible! Can't give a straight answer… just like Reed. Speaking of which, do you know where he is?" she inquired, wiping the counter with a rag, completely forgetting he still hadn't answered her question on his use of a gunblade.

"Getting sweaty with some girl in the gym," he answered, taking out his wallet.

Aurora wrinkled her nose. "Thanks… that was more graphic than I needed…," she said in disgust. The picture of her ex-boyfriend, if you could even call him that, tangled in the arms of another girl in the Akademy's gym was not exactly a pretty sight. It stung to know that he had gone and found someone else only hours after she had stormed out on him. Okay, so it may have been her fault— she had stormed out on him after all, but he didn't need to rub it in like that, going at it with some other girl… that conceited jerk!

Zephyr looked up and arched an eyebrow. "They're sparring. Reed did hand-to-hand combat before settling for the gunblade," he explained. He knew very well how his statement had sounded and was enjoying her embarrassment once again.

Aurora blushed— she couldn't believe she'd suggested Reed was getting it on with some girl (although that was probably true too)… training had not even crossed her mind. "Eh… sorry… I, uh, misunderstood what you meant," she apologized shyly, looking away. Great, so much for getting anywhere with him… she'd just embarrassed herself hugely twice and now he probably thought she was some sort of sex-crazed daddy's girl.

She looks so cute like that… I mean… argh! Zephyr thought. He flashed her a rare grin, a real one not just his customary half-smirk, and shook his head. "Really, get your mind out of the gutter," he said dryly, placing a five-Zanarkad bill on the counter.

"Wow… another joke… and a smile," she teased back, taking the bill.

Zephyr's grin widened, just to spite her, revealing perfectly aligned white teeth. Aurora was surprised to notice that he had a truly breathtaking smile. The most adorable dimples adorned his cheeks, his intense blue eyes crinkled and sparkled, and his jagged mahogany locks, spiky in places, flowing in others, fell in an amazingly cute messy heap over his eyes. She never would have imagined him as the dimple type, but the radiance of his smile shattered whatever expectations she may have had. Zephyr leant in close and replied in a husky voice, "Don't get used to it". He then took his change from the dazed and speechless Aurora, put on and zipped his jacket, and turned on his heel, taking only a few steps before being met by two of the Boss' guards.

"Leonstrife? Follow me," one of the guards said.

Zephyr nodded and took off after the men, trailing a few steps behind them. They walked towards the back of the tavern, turned down the now-familiar hallway, and entered the wooden door on the right. Zephyr was once again met by the darkened, elongated narrow room with the candle-lit table, where the Boss sat in all his monstrosity.

Aurora cocked her head to the side in contemplation. Leonstrife? That was strange, his name was Kane, right? She figured that must be his cover-up name or something. With a sigh, she turned back to tending the bar. Spies… who understood them anyway? Always so secretive and mysterious. But that was what attracted her to them, right? Still, she couldn't shake the name off her mind; it seemed so familiar somehow. Leonstrife… Leonstrife… she knew that name from somewhere, she was sure. Now, from where was a totally different matter.

She furrowed her brow in frustrated concentration as she wiped the counter. Could it be from one of her father's friends? No… that wasn't it, she'd met them countless times and she would have remembered an unconventional name like that. Besides, politicians never went with long-winded names; they preferred shorter ones that went with their slogans. It wasn't any of her friends or schoolmates from her native Komark either. Aurora had not been born in Zanark; her mother and father both had, but she had been born in the remote city-state of Komark on one of her father's diplomatic assignments. They had moved back to Zion when Aurora was seven years old, when her father had accepted a position in Zanark's United Party.

She put on a smile and attended another customer, one of the tavern's regulars. When he was gone, she went back to thinking. There was something about that name that wouldn't let her rest until she figured out whose it was, and she was determined to do so. One of her father's childhood friends perhaps…?

***

R&R!