Notes and disclaimers: Okay so I don't own Gundam Wing but I own the Satostyee family (Keiko, Nataski, Nanaskae and Akirra), and Coldblade. I also own Starlight. All the other characters I could care less about.
Chapter 5When Relena saw Keiko first thing Saturday morning, the blonde knew something was up with the assassin. Keiko was nervous and edgy yet anxious and excited at the same time. Relena guessed that Keiko had a date with Trowa later that night. She figured that Keiko might be a little nervous throughout the whole day so she decided to do something to get Keiko's mind off Trowa.
Relena grabbed her purse right after dressing in jeans and a plain shirt. She found Keiko and told her, "We're going horseback riding today. I hope you know how." She added to the girl.
Keiko was speechless then managed to say, "I don't know how to ride. I've been once in my life, but I was sitting in front of…my brother." She said in a bare whisper. Relena shared her pain for a few silent minutes.
"Well, are you still willing to learn?" the blonde asked slowly.
"Actually, yes. I've always wanted to, but I've always been too busy." Keiko replied with a tiny smile. Relena returned it and soon they were on their way to a stable just a few miles away.
Hours later, long after Relena and her bodyguard had returned to the mansion, Keiko went home to shower and dress for her date. The water was warm and when she stepped out of the shower, the phone began ringing. She quickly wrapped a towel around her slick body and hurried to answer the phone.
"Hello?" she said.
"Is this Keiko Assassin?" a man's voice asked.
"Yes. Who's this?" she asked cautiously. A frown was on her lips as she waited for a reply and her eyes narrowed.
"It's your client. Who else would call for your skills?" the man retorted.
Keiko kept silent, but waited for him to go on.
"I called to see if you completed your assignment yet." He said.
"You know very well that I am not going to kill Relena." Keiko said hotly.
"I paid you, so now you must complete the job." He said in a hard tone of voice.
"Thanks, but no thanks. She's not ever going to die by my hand or anyone's." Keiko was already angry and the level of her anger rose each passing minute of the phone call.
"She will. Even if I must do it personally, she will die eventually." His voice was dead even.
"If you do, I will hunt you down and take you out." Keiko fumed. She slammed down the phone and unplugged it from the wall.
She stormed back to the bathroom where she roughly rubbed herself dry. After that she dressed in a blue jean skirt and a white half shirt. The shirt's neckline gave a hint of her womanly curves but nothing more. She slipped a fluffy white robe onto her arms and tied the cord around her waist so she could apply her make up and also fix her hair. She pulled some of her long black hair back into a half ponytail. When her make up was applied, she went to her bedroom where her jewelry box was stored. She pulled out a pair of earrings in the shape of bullets and slipped them into her ears. Next came her locket and then two bangle bracelets that went on her left wrist. Keiko looked at herself in the mirror before getting her shoes from the closet.
"Wow. This looks good together." She whispered as she opened the robe folds. "A Western look. I haven't pulled that off in a long time!"
She then realized she was calm once more. Maybe getting ready for a date relaxed some people, it sure calmed her. Taking her hemp sandals from the closet floor, she buckled them around her ankle.
Just as she was about to slip off the robe and put it away, the doorbell rang. Curiously Keiko hurried to answer it and found Starlight standing there.
"Starlight! What are you doing here!" Keiko exclaimed. She was surprised her friend just unexpectedly appeared at her doorstep.
"Well it certainly looked like you're going somewhere." Starlight raised her eyebrows. "Where are you going that I don't know about? And why don't I know?"
"I didn't tell you!" Keiko asked, mock surprise in her tone, "I'm going out with Trowa. Now, answer my question. Why are you here?" she replied.
"I need to look through some of your old files. I just received a new assignment, by the way." Starlight replied, a serious tone taking place ion her voice. She brushed back a strand of hair as her friend let her inside.
"Why do you want to look at my files? You do still have yours, right?" Keiko replied.
"I know and I still have them, but you have more ideas for completing random assignments." Starlight retorted.
Keiko sighed exasperatedly, "Okay. I don't know how late I'll be, but you better be gone by at least ten."
Starlight threw a salute to her fiend with a grin as she made her way to Keiko's filing cabinets. Leaving the door open long enough to grab her purse, Keiko called over her shoulder, "Bye!"
"Have fun! And I want details tomorrow!" Starlight called back, already thumbing through files.
"Sure!" Keiko closed the door and went down to wait. Trowa was picking her up and she didn't want to keep him waiting. She wasn't waiting long herself when Trowa pulled up in a blue truck. She joined him inside, while saying, "Hey! So where are we going?"
"Hi yourself. I thought we'd have dinner and then a movie. Sound okay with you?"
"Totally." She smiled.
Trowa drove to a small Japanese restaurant.
"Japanese? You like Japanese?" Keiko asked tentatively.
"Sure. Besides, I was thinking you'd prefer this over French or Italian." He replied casually.
"Thank you." She said, her face feeling a bit hot. She stared out the window as they went along.
Trowa stole a look at his date and caught sight of a touch of blush fading from her cheeks. He smirked to himself as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine. When they walked through the doors of the restaurant, Keiko was stunned at the interior. It was pure Japanese; her home culture. Trowa had to steer her to the front desk.
"Oh," Keiko shook from her thoughts and tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. She was still looking around at the decoration of the small place while a waiter led them to a table for two near a large portrait of a couple.
When Keiko was seated she glanced at the portrait and nearly gasped, but kept her mouth shut.
"Aw, so you admire our portrait." The waiter said. "That couple helped this restaurant on its feet. They helped buy the place and everything needed to start."
"What were their names?" Trowa asked curiously.
Before the waiter spoke up, Keiko quickly said, "Nanaskae and Akirra Satostyee. They were very well known, and also very wealthy."
The two looked at her. Carefully schooling her emotions to indifference, she shrugged, "I came here when I was younger."
"Well anyway, what would you two like to drink?" the waiter asked.
"Green tea please." Keiko said promptly. Trowa's voice echoed her as he indirectly stared at her. She was even more a mystery now.
The waiter left and soon brought them their cups and left a kettle on the table to refill their cups when needed.
While Trowa watched Keiko, the girl in turn stared at the portrait. Her face was carefully schooled not to reveal what she was going through emotionally but as the minutes ticked by, so did her steel hard control. Then she turned her head and found Trowa's eyes passing over her face and what was above the table of her body.
"You know it's rude to stare." She teased with a small smile. She pushed all her other emotions to the back of her mind and focused on this night.
Trowa blinked and gave a smirk in return.
"But does the object of observation cry any objections?" Trowa casually retorted.
Keiko took a long drink of her tea before replying, "Not one little bit."
Trowa's visible eyebrow flew up slightly in surprise. He was shocked that she would say that.
Keiko had also shocked herself; she was shocked that she would say it, let alone mean it too. And she did mean it.
He leaned on his elbow as he said, "How come every time we're together you are more surprising and even more mysterious, though I learn something about you?" he smirked.
She blinked, surprised at his question. She looked down at her cup and then back up into his green eye. "Well being mysterious is part of my nature and besides, at the moment you know more about me than I know about you. So how can we work out a fair trade?" she asked.
"First you can start by telling me who those specialists were that you trained with and we'll go from there." He said.
Keiko hesitated but then replied, "I trained with assassins."
"Hm…great reflexes, silence like a cat and a mysterious nature do add up to that. Yes, I'd say your skills are now a very obvious result from training with assassins." Trowa remarked.
"Now I only have to tell Duo." Keiko added as a side remark.
"He'll have fun hearing that." Trowa replied with a tiny smirk.
They ordered their dinner and ate it with occasional senseless chatter. When they finally arrived at the movie cinema, Keiko suggested, "The Ring is supposed to be good. Chloe saw it about a week ago." She added.
"Oh really?" Trowa raised an eyebrow slightly. He paid for the tickets and they then found their seats.
TBC