(Ch.2)

A clear midnight sky . . . crystal like stars . . . an endless sea of blue . . . golden fine sand . . . silver moonlight playing upon the waters of the ocean. A cold, chilling night breeze . . . the rustling of the leaves 'n trees . . . the whispering of one's name.

" . . . Heero . . . ?"

Golden wisps of hair, flowing gently and gracefully in the night's air. The eerie glow cascading upon her, highlighting her features within the darkness.

But what's this? A sound, small and meek, silent but yet audible. Then, something clear 'n silvery falls off to the side of her, then soon hitting the sand below. Could it be . . . tears?

What was it that caused this indigent soul to shed such leniency? To make her have such a strong emotion that comes deep from the heart. Only something like that could come from a great pain of sorts, especially with one who can be so strong.

Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, sending a series of gusty waves over the beach and sending the golden haired girl down upon the sand from fright. The clear night sky with the shimmering stars no longer shown up above, but instead filled with the dark bellowing clouds that promised rain.

She curled up into a feeble position, hoping that it would all just go away. Her pain, her sorrows . . . the reality of things. Her tears mingled in the cold touch of rain, falling into the soft sand below. Her muffled sobs and cries drowned out by the resonant sound of the clashing storm from above. She just cried and cried, and kept on repeating the same thing over and over again. Perhaps in hopes of it being able do undo the things that caused her torment, her cries of desperation escalating all the more.

"Why . . . why, Heero, why . . . ?"

That night, Relena kept on waking up, not being able to sleep for more than half an hour's time. Every time she tried to just sleep and forget what she saw, the same reality would come back to her in the very same dream. It was never different, always the same . . . as if her own heart was telling her that no matter how much she would wield herself to forget, believing that it never happened, she would never be given that alternative. Her emotions had entirely taking over her mind and body.

Finally after enduring such a night, Relena fell asleep into a deep void of nothing, her body being able to rest, her mind just wandering about in darkness. She was finally able to rest a bit, for only in a couple of hours, it would be morning.

'When I left Relena last night in her apartment, I cursed myself for allowing her to stay alone, by herself, in the state that she was in. I don't know what was it was that got her into such dire straits, but I know that it was a very absurd decision that I made to let her be.

This morning, when I first awoken from a restless night, I decided the first thing that I would do today, would be to check on her. I had every intention to stay with her the entire day to make sure that she would be alright, but something kept on nagging at my head, that the cause of this was something that she would have to deal with on her own. Regardless of the fact, I got out of bed, got ready and head back over to Relena's place.'

Hiragi didn't waste anytime, and soon he was at Relena's door in a matter of minutes. He knocked on the door and waited for quite some time. He checked his watch to make sure that it wasn't too early incase he were to intrude on her, but his watch read 10:22 am. He knew that even on Saturdays, Relena would always get up about 8:30, 9 o'clock. The time being as it was, Hiragi became more concerned over the young girl inside.

Once again, he knocked on her door, this time calling out her name to try and stir her attention. He waited with what little patients he had left for her answer. With every passing second, he became more and more determined to let himself in if she would not answer soon. How he'd do that, he'd figure it out if and when it came down to it.

Still drifting through an endless black void, Relena heard something coming from afar. What was it, she was not sure. It sounded as if it was like a pin drop, or maybe it was something a bit heavier. It was very short and brief, so she could not determine what it was. She decided to wait and see if it would happen again, and indeed it did. She was rewarded with a much louder and clear sound than before. It sounded as some sort of thumping or rapping, and then she heard something more familiar to her.

" . . . Relena . . . "

It was like a whisper, soft and gentle. It beckoned her towards its source, drawing her closer and closer. She began moving towards it, a light that was illuminating the darkness. Then all of a sudden it was like a whole rush of wind went right past her.

Relena opened her eyes and saw the image of her room around her. She saw the candle on her nightstand, and then the window. Remembering what happened the night before and feeling the bear within her arms, she sighed. She got out of bed to see if anyone was at the door, for she thought she heard someone calling to her, even if it was from a dream.

Relena placed the bear down next to the candle and put on a robe. Not even bothering to try and make herself presentable, Relena just tried to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. She walked to the door and looked through the little peephole to see who it was.

'Hiragi.' Relena mused. 'What's he doing here so early in the morning, and on a Saturday?'

Upon opening the door, Hiragi was getting ready to open the door through other means, but stopped himself quickly as he saw Relena open the door.

"Hello Hiragi," Relena tried to say politely. "What brings you to my door early this morning?"

'That's a rather silly question.' Thought Hiragi. "Uh, Relena, do you know what time it is?" He pointed out.

"No," she said tiredly this time, giving off a small little yawn behind her hand. "I just woke up. Why?"

"You just woke up?" He said, a bit taken aback. "Relena, the day is almost half gone."

Relena took a while to comprehend what he was saying, but then it finally hit her. Relena's eyes widened a bit from shock, and took in the first observations of the new day around her. She couldn't believe it; she slept practically half of the day away!

"Hiragi, what time is it!" She said bewilderedly. 'Did I actually sleep in for that long!'

"It's 10:37 now. What time did you go to bed last night?" He asked, concern fully heard in his voice.

When Relena heard that question, it rang through her head like a gong. Relena shut her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to push aside the memories of the ordeal that she went through last night. She didn't want to remember them right now, and she definitely didn't want Hiragi knowing of it anymore than he already did.

"I went to bed as soon as you dropped me off, after a shower of course. I just didn't sleep well because of the storm last night, that's all." Relena didn't lie, but nor did she reveal the real reason behind her dreadful night. It was partially true, from a certain point of view, but she just didn't want to tell Hiragi of what's been going on with her.

"Oh . . . " Hiragi trailed off, trying to think of anything more to say. "Um . . . are you okay Relena? I mean, I left you last night, and you seem better today, but-"

Relena bit her tongue at that. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide her . . . condition, as it was. It was plain as day for Hiragi to see that she wasn't herself lately.

"I'm just not up to speed right now Hiragi, that's all." Relena didn't care if she sounded convincing or not. She was tired of doing that already. Tricking people into thinking things that were lies weren't her ways.

Hiragi nodded. "Well, can I come in?" He asked politely.

"Um, sure." She replied out of courtesy.

"Oh, and since you just got up, would you like some breakfast? I'll cook it for you." He hoped that Relena would accept his offer. Today he just wanted to take care of her and spend the day together.

"You don't have to do that Hiragi." Relena stated as she let him into her apartment. "If anything, I should be the one who should be hosting." She said sarcastically.

"But I want to do it." He said in a matter-of-fact sort of tone. Then instantly he had a sly glint in his eyes. "Besides, you need to change and relax. You said it yourself that you weren't 'up to speed.'"

Relena furrowed her brow at this. She didn't like it when people used her own words against her. It made her frustrated and left her no way to win the conversation. Sighing, she nodded her head in consent and headed to her room while Hiragi went into the kitchen.

"What would you like to eat?" He asked, his nose poked into the fridge.

"I don't know." She called from her room. "Something simple, like toast. I'm not feeling that hungry right now."

"Okay, but I'm going to make a little more food then that. You need your strength if anything."

"Fine."

Hiragi began pulling out some food from the fridge and cupboards. Then he set to work, making breakfast for Relena.

Somewhere in space . . .

"How many!" Shouted an enraged man, concealed in the darkness of a small room. He slammed his fist onto the table before him. The young man that was on the screen in front of him was trembling by the voice of his superior.

"S- sir, I, s- s- said five- five thousand nine hu- hundred and four- forty three." The young man swallowed hard as soon as the number was given once again. He expected his superior would do something rash, but it was quite the opposite.

The man began chuckling, which soon turned into a psychotic grin and cackle. "My dear boy, was that all?" He asked, bitterness and sarcasm dripping in the articulation of his very words.

"Ye- yes sir." He replied obediently. He could see the coldness in the other man's eyes, the dark gray orbs that had a dull gleam to it, and reflected nothing from within. Was it just him, or did he feel a certain coldness all of a sudden?

The older man dropped his insanely smile and asked, "And what of our little problem?"

The young man perked up a bit at this, for it was what he was looking forward to delivering. "That, I can confidently say sir, has been eliminated."

"Good, good." With that, he shut off the transmission and just sat in the darkness, an evil grin just appearing out of nowhere. 'Now, it begins.'

Author's Note: REVIEW ONEGAISHIMASU