Partner or Lover?

by IcBlue-Dmoness

DISCONTINUED. Z&K and H&I are now together, but are facing some problems with the 'higher ups' and Azuma. Zero's having dreams that might be a little more than just regular nightmares. Can his friends help him through this? Read to find out! R&R!

4. 04 Feelings Revealed I

Partner or Lover Chapter 4: Feelings Revealed I

(Rewritten: 02/07/04)

"Zero wait up!" Kizna yelled as she ran behind him towards the pro- ing hanger.  From behind the recreation room, seven heads popped out and stared at the scene in front of them.

"Uhh, Roose?" Yamagi asked, tapping on the blue haired teenager's shoulder.  "We should get going now.  Otherwise we won't get a chance to battle with the pro- ings today." Yamagi stood up from where he was sitting and looked towards Roose.

"Yea…" Roose answered back, staring off into the distance with a glazed look in his eyes.  He blinked a few times, snapped out of his trance, and looked up at Yamagi.  "Wait for me, I'm coming.  Give me a minute," said Roose as he got up and followed Yamagi towards the pro-ing hanger with Tukasa and Wreka behind them.

They walked down the narrow hallway that Kizna and Zero walked through and soon ended up in front of the battle room.  They entered and saw Zero and Kizna waiting for them.

"What took you four so long?" asked Kizna upon their entrance.

"Oh.  We got stopped in the hallway because some people to talk to us. Now we're here so lets get started." Yamagi said, as he walked over to the pro-ing hanger to get his pro-ing. 

Once the three boys were in their pro-ings and on the battlefield, Kizna said, "All right, all systems go Zero."

"Is it every man for himself?"  Roose asked.  Zero and Yamagi nodded.  Roose gulped.  

Zero charged for the pro- ing Roose was in.  The blue haired boy dodged Zero's pro-ing by throwing himself to the side.  Yamagi let out a growl and charged head- on at Roose just like Zero did a second ago.  Roose's eyes widened and he let out a "yelp" as he jumped to the side once again.

"What is this?!  That's not fair, it's two against one now!!" Roose yelled from his pro-ing.  Yamagi chuckled. 

"We just have the same target in mind… that's all," said Yamagi as he winked at Roose.  

After another fifteen minutes of goofing around, throwing punches here and there, the boys finally got serious about training. 

"Oi! Don't come that close!" Roose yelled as Zero attacked him once again.  Zero flew around the battlefield and after a minute in the air, he dived at Roose once again.  His eyes narrowed and he took out his power blade and prepared to chop Roose down the middle.  He lifted the blade over his head as he body propelled him down at an accelerated pace. 

Once in "chopping" range, Zero said to Kizna, "Reroute all power to the power blade.  I'm taking Roose out!" 

Wreka heard this and screamed instructions to Roose.  "Roose! Above you! Zero is preparing to attack. Get out of there!"  Her hands were gripped around the armrests of her chair, her knuckles turning white.

"Huh?" Roose took a glance up and saw Zero coming down at him with a power blade in his hands.  Roose's eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock. 

Roose heard Wreka say something but it did not register what she said to him.  He blinked and asked her to repeat it.  "Use your beam rifle! I gave it extra power.  You have enough firing range to make a perfect hit!" Wreka yelled. 

Roose grabbed his beam rifle and aimed it at Zero.  He let it power up and let out two shots.  It hit Zero straight on- one in the shoulder disabling his left arm and one in the chest.  Zero let out a scream as his power blade was flung out of his hands and his body was thrown to the floor. 

"KIZNA! DO something!" Zero yelled at his repairer in frustration.  Kizna let out a frustrated scream and told him to watch out for Yamagi who was now charging at him.   Zero let out a groan and hauled his body up.  Without his left arm, it would be a bit harder to fight. 

Zero let out an animalistic growl and flung himself over to the ground once more, this time onto his chest.  He crawled over to where his power blade was and held it tightly in his grasp.  He heard a 'whoosh' over his head and looked up.  Flying right above him was Yamagi, eager to attack him. 

Zero let out the breath he was holding and stood up with the power blade in his right hand.  He took a quick glance around him and spotted Roose behind him.

'Roose is behind me and Yamagi is charging right at me…' Zero thought as he quickly thought of a plan.  "This has to work perfectly for me to get out of this alive," Zero whispered to himself.  His eyes narrowed in concentration and he kept his eyes fixed on Yamagi's approaching body.  Zero felt his pro-ing's circuits shortening and he thought, 'I have to do this quick!' 

Zero heard Kizna yell over the speaker, "You only have half your strength left Zero."

Zero nodded to himself and saw Yamagi a few feet away from him.  "Let's do this," Zero said as he raised his power blade in front of his body, trying to defend himself. 

Yamagi flew at Zero, his power blade out as he charged for the brown haired boy.  Both blades hit each other with a loud 'bang', sending sparks flying everywhere.  Zero bared his teeth at Yamagi and put most of his body weight behind the blade.  Yamagi felt his feet giving away from the pressure and he slowly started sliding backwards.  His eyes widened as he looked at Zero in the face. 

Zero turned his head for a quick second and saw Roose charging at both of them from behind.  Zero let out a scream as he threw Yamagi off him and Zero threw his body to the side.  He landed on the sandy ground with a loud 'thump' and felt his body vibrate on impact. 

Yamagi slid back a few inches after Zero threw him off.  He looked up and saw Roose in his face and Yamagi let out a scream.  Roose's eyes widened as his body collided into Yamagi's.  Yamagi's eyes narrowed.  'That Zero is a clever one…' Yamagi thought as he threw Roose's body off his.  Yamagi soon realized that he could not move his hands or legs, and was too exhausted to get up. 

Roose was in the same position. His body was thrown off Yamagi's and he landed on the hard ground and saw sand cloud over him.  Roose groaned and stayed down, every muscle in his body aching from the collision with Yamagi. 

Zero moaned and tried to move.  He felt his arm still moving.  He heard Kizna's voice echoing once again the the pro-ing. "Zero? Are you all right?"  He heard the soft voice say. 

'Kizna's voice is so soothing…calm…' Zero thought as he closed his eyes for a second.  He opened them once again and gritted his teeth as he lifted his upper body with great difficulty. 

"Yamagi and Roose are disabled," Kizna stated as she kept her eyes trained on the battlefield. 

"Well, Zero is too.  He can barely move right now," said Tukasa, pointing over at Zero.  Kizna smiled and nodded. 

"So I guess this is a tie… until next time." Kizna said grinning.  Yamagi, Roose and Zero all crawled back over to the pro-ing hanger and deposited their pro-ings back into their proper places.  Kizna shut off the system and ran into the hanger. 

She saw Zero stumble out from his pro-ing and she ran up to him and caught his exhausted body just in time.  "Hey, you all right?" She asked him in a quiet voice.  He gave a slight nod.  She set him up right and let him rest against the pro-ing's leg. 

He took in a few deep breaths and heard quick footsteps making their way past him.  He opened his eyes and saw Yamagi and Roose were in bad shape also. Wreka and Tukasa tended to them and he felt Kizna's soft hands trailing over his arms.  He looked at her and saw her eyes on him.  He looked at her questioningly and she smiled and shook her head.  "Nothing," he heard her whisper. "Let's get you guys to Dr. Rill," Kizna said to Zero and the others. 

Zero placed his arm around Kizna's shoulders as she allowed him to put most of his weight on her.  The other two repairers were helping their candidates in the same way.  The three repairers walked side by side and Zero turned towards the other two guys.  "Nice battle," he said smiling.  Kizna shook her head.

"I'll never understand guys," she muttered under her breath. 

Zero placed his lips by her cat- like ear making sure Wreka, Roose, Yamagi and Tukasa were not watching and whispered, "You are not supposed to understand us, just like we don't understand girls…"

Kizna felt shivers down her spine and realized she liked the feeling of close proximity between herself and Zero. 

The six of them finally arrived at the medical wing and entered the room.  Dr. Rill was on duty and was working at a near by terminal.  "Uh, Dr. Rill?" Kizna asked.  Dr. Rill turned around and looked over the six children. 

"Come in, come in.  You three look like you are in bad shape," she said as she motioned the three girls to place the boys on the beds available.  "What happened?" she asked.

"We were in a pro-ing battle and got carried away, but I think it was well worth it." Zero said smiling.  The other two boys lying by his side nodded.  Dr. Rill smiled and shook her head. 

She went into another room and came back with a hand full of vials, bandages and other accessories. 

After a few hours of fixing and waiting, the three boys were as good as new.  "Looks like they needed a few hours of rest, that's all," Dr. Rill said as she released the three candidates.  They heard the door 'swish' open and saw a red head come in. 

"Hey guys!" They heard Saki say. 

"Hello, how did you find us?" Kizna asked.  Saki just gave a cunning smile. 

"Well, I got directions from someone who saw you six heading this way and I decided to stop by.  Clay and Ikhny came with me," she said as Clay and Ikhny walked in.  Kizna nodded.

"Are you three all right?" Ikhny asked, coming up to stand by Kizna.  After Hiead got his punishment and was not allowed into the pro-ing battle room until he finished his rounds, Ikhny had become much more aggressive. 

"We're fine," Roose said as he pulled the blankets off his body and sat up in bed.  He let his warm body cool down – that is why he took off his blankets - and sat cross-legged.  For the rest of the evening, the group of nine made idle chat to pass the time. 

An hour before lights out, the teenagers decided to head back to their respective rooms.  Ikhny and Kizna were in the back of the group, basking in the silence that surrounded them.  'It's good to finally get a break from Zero yelling and screaming for once,' Kizna thought as she glanced up at Zero.  He was currently arguing with Yamagi and Clay about something. 

As the group turned the corner, from the corner of her eye, Kizna spotted Hiead watching… no… glaring at them as he walked a good 10 feet behind them.  Kizna frowned but kept her silence. 

She saw him take another turn as the rest of her friends kept walking forward down the current hallway.  'I wonder where he is going.'

Kizna heard her name being called faintly, but she thought it was in her head.  Then she heard it again, "Kizna!"  She blinked and turned her head. Her eyes widened, as she saw Zero right in her face, almost nose to nose.

"Wha-" Kizna started, taking a step back. 

"I said, good night," Zero repeated, frowning at her. 

"Oh, good night. I guess I was lost in thought or something…" Kizna said, as she waved a good night at Clay, Roose and Yamagi.  The four boys went into their rooms and the girls retired to theirs. 

"Hey!! What are YOU doing HERE?" screamed Zero as he entered his room.  Zero glared at the other boy in the room. 

"Humph!" said the silver haired boy as he turned his back on Zero.  "This is my room too you know," he said in a cold voice.

"Don't turn your back on me!" snarled Zero.

"Hiead, what are you doing back so early?" asked Clay as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again.

"I got my rounds done early, so Azuma let me go."  Hiead said in a matter-of – fact tone. 

"Impressive." said Clay, the light shining off his glasses, giving him a mysterious and evil aura.  "You got a hundred laps done in just one day. Very impressive." Hiead just growled.

"I'm going to take a bath now." Said Zero, walking away from the two boys, into the bathroom.

Hiead just smirked in response. He turned around and said, "You definitely need one."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Zero shouted, turning to face Hiead.

"You heard me."

"Why YOU!"

Zero launched himself at Hiead, knocking him off the bed. Soon the two boys were rolling around the floor like some mad animals trying to kill each other.  All of a sudden, a big banging noise startled both boys as the three in the room turned their head and looked at the door. 

"What the hell is going on in here!" said Azuma storming into the room.

"Nothing sir!" said Zero, clambering off the floor and standing up straight. Azuma's eyes narrowed at the response he gave.

"I could hear screaming coming from this room earlier… What's going on here 89?" asked Azuma.

Both Hiead, and Zero glared daggers at Clay, daring him to tell Azuma what happened.

"Uhh, like Zero said, Nothing sir…" Clay croaked out. He visibly gulped and Azuma stared at them for another minute and then left.

Hiead rolled his eyes and Zero and Clay let out a sigh of relief.  Zero headed back towards the bathroom.  Clay read a book and Hiead stared at the ceiling until their other roommate came out of the bathroom. 

Zero entered back into the room, clad in a bathroom towel tied around his waist.  His hair was dripping with water and his feet left water tracks behind him.  He went over to where his clothes were and started looking for his nightclothes. 

An announcement came on telling that lights out would be in ten minutes.

"Oh NO!" screamed Zero, as his eyes widened in remembrance.

"What is it?" asked Clay.

"Huh? Oh, nothing too important… just remembered that Azuma wanted me to do something… if I do not do that… you know how mad he gets… I do not want to do what Hiead just did… " Zero mumbled as he looked for some clothes other than his nightclothes to wear. 

He found a clean shirt and a pair of pants and he removed the towel that was securely fastened around his waist.  He threw the towel onto his bed and was now in boxers.  He slid into his pants and slipped his shirt on.  Zero pulled a pair of socks from under his bed and slipped his shoes back on.   

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes Clay." Said Zero as he went out and closed the door softly behind him.

----

"Man, I'm so tired." Saki complained as she fell onto her bed.  Kizna lifted an eyebrow at her.

"How are you so tired? You didn't do anything all day." Said Kizna, giving her a weird look.

"How would you know what I did and didn't do all day? You weren't spying on me, so you do not know what I did." Saki said ironically.

"Yeah, but I think I know you well enough, to know that you wouldn't do anything that you don't like.  Your pro- ing was not damaged that badly, so you would not have been in the hanger.  So that does not leave very much." Kizna said, stating the facts. Saki just growled in response.

"Hey, it's fifteen minutes from lights out right?" asked Kizna as she looked at her watch.

"Yes it is, why do you ask?" said Ikhny.

"No reason, just that Azuma asked me to do something earlier.  I said I would do it later and I guess it slipped my mind. I had better do it now because I don't want to be yelled at tomorrow," said Kizna as she slipped out of the room quickly. 

Saki and Ikhny looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and got ready for bed.

Kizna walked slowly down the hallway knowing that Zero would not be there yet.  He was late most of the time and was never on time… except when he was hungry.  She laughed at that thought.

She entered the recreation room and walked over to the tree located in the center of the recreation room.  She sat in front of the tress and rested her back against the trunk.  Leaning her head back, Kizna closed her eyes and thought about what she would say when he walks through the door.

She felt herself growing nervous at the prospect of telling Zero her true feelings and being rejected by him.  At last, she heard the door to the recreation room open and close, but no sound of footsteps could be heard.  Kizna's sense of curiosity perked up.  She was sure that if it were Zero, he would have made a grand entrance. 

She got up and turned around only to bump into something hard.  Her head was thrown back and her body followed.  She went back a couple of feet, landing on her bum, rubbing her nose with her right hand.

"Ow… watch it mister…" Kizna growled as she balled up her fist and looked up.  Her eyes widened when she saw Zero standing over her. She blinked a few times taking notice that he was not wearing the G.O.A. uniform.

Zero smiled down at Kizna as he watched her rub her nose and yell at him. 'She looks so cute when she's mad,' thought Zero.  He loved her and it was time to tell her that. It had been on his mind all evening and he had to get it off his chest before it drove him insane. 

"Here, let me help you up," said Zero, offering a hand to Kizna.  Kizna gave him a weird face.

'What in the world is wrong with him?  He is actually acting like a gentleman. Did Roose and Yamagi knock a few screws loose in his head in the pro-ing battle today?'

"What's wrong?" Zero asked, seeing the reaction on Kizna's face.

"You're acting like a gentleman," Kizna blurted out.  "And you never did before."

"Hey! I take that as an insult," countered Zero.

"What?  That you act like a gentleman now?" asked Kizna, giggling a bit.

"No, the other part of it," said Zero, as Kizna "ohh"ed in response.  Kizna patted the seat next to her and Zero sat down.  A comfortable silence set in between them and both were left to drift off into their own worlds. 

'Should I go for it and tell Kizna now? Sure, she might hit me and yell at me, but that is the worst that can happen if I tell her, right?'  Zero let out a sigh and continued his train of thought.  'I finally realize that the feelings I have for her is love, and now I am chickening out.  I have no way of knowing if she likes me or not… though she did say she would not have minded if I kissed her… is that a positive sign?  I'll take that as a yes and go for it' thought Zero. 

Kizna was going through the same turmoil that Zero was going through.  'I will tell him.  After what he told me earlier, I know he has some feelings other than friendship towards me.  I do not think it can go too badly, though I am not sure if he loves me or not.  He might not have feelings of love towards me yet.'  Kizna let out a frustrated sigh and unconsciously rested her head on Zero's shoulder as she stared out into space. Zero looked down in surprise as he felt something heavy land on his shoulder.  He gave a tiny smile as he looked at Kizna. 

Both teenagers had a full view of Zion from where they were sitting.  "Zion is beautiful isn't it?" asked Kizna, not turning to look at Zero. 

"Yes it is," replied Zero as he looked at Zion.  Silence settled over them once again. 

"Um Kizna?" Zero asked.

"Yes?" Kizna lifted her head off Zero's shoulder and looked him in the face.  "What is it?"

"Well…" Zero started.  "I have had this feeling for a long time now, but did not know what it was exactly.  However, today you helped me realize what that feeling was.  I know I've been feeling like this a lot longer than I'm aware of…" Zero trailed off, trying to get his thoughts straight.

Kizna had a lost look on her face.  "Zero, I don't understand. What are you trying to say?"

Zero took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "Kizna,ithinki'vefalleninlovewithyou." Zero blurted out fast.  He looked at Kizna's face and she had a look of confusion and nervousness.  Zero took that as a bad sign.

After a minute Kizna blinked and asked, "What?"

"I knew it was too good to be true." Zero muttered under his breath as he started to get up.  Kizna gripped his hand and prevented him from standing up fully. 

"What are you mumbling about? I didn't understand a word, so I asked what you said."  Kizna pulled him back down did not let go of the arm she took a hold of.

"You didn't?" asked Zero in bewilderment.  "Oh."

Zero gulped and repeated, "I think I've fallen in love with you Kizna."  He turned his gaze back outside the window, not wanting to look back at her, embarrassed.  He felt her grasp on his arm get tighter and he turned around to face her. 

He looked at her and she was about an inch away from his face.  He blinked and leaned his head back a bit.  His lips parted open as breathing became slightly laborious. 

"Uhh…" started Zero, as he backed away from her face.

"Do you really, Zero?" asked Kizna, still smiling and very close to his face.

"Do I what?" asked Zero, distracted by the close proximity of his face and Kizna's, to think properly. 

"Do you really love me?" Kizna asked once again.  Zero nodded in response.  Kizna suddenly pounced on him as if he was her prey. Zero's eyes widened in shock and he wondered what she was going to do to him.

Kizna hugged him tightly as she mumbled out how she had been waiting for the longest time for him to say that.  Zero grinned in relief and joy and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you too Zero." Kizna finally whispered into Zero's ear.  Zero's ear twitched slightly and he blushed in response. 

The two teens finally realized what kind of position they were in.  Kizna was lying on top of Zero who was flat on the ground. as she realized this, she felt the blood rush to her face.  She mumbled something under her breath to herself and sat up- right against the tree.

"What's wrong?" asked Zero, oblivious to what just happened.

Kizna shook her head, not trusting her voice just yet.  She was trying not to turn red again.  Zero shrugged his shoulders and sat beside Kizna.

He put his arm around his partner and she smiled at him.  Like before, she rested her head against his shoulders, but this time she was aware of what she was doing.  They went back to the way they were before, just enjoying the quiet surroundings.  Kizna slid her arms around Zero's waist and felt him stiffen up.  She was about to take her hands back but felt him relax again, pull her closer, and rest his head on top of hers.

"Just give me time… I still have to get used to all these new feelings," Zero whispered loud enough so she could hear him.  Kizna just smiled gently at the way Zero was acting.

"You know," said Kizna, breaking the silence. "I never knew you could be so…romantic and gentleman- like, Zero."

"I can surprise myself sometimes." Zero said, chuckling.  "I guess it's being here with you, like this… it's different now.  I feel calm, and… it's hard to explain." Zero ended, scratching the back of his head, trying to get his thoughts out properly. 

"But what ever your doing to me to make me act this way, I'm enjoying it," laughed Zero, hugging her tightly.

Without any forewarning, the lights went off and Kizna and Zero were surrounded by darkness.  Zero heard his partner groan in response.  "Now we won't be able to get back to our rooms."

"Is that a problem?" asked Zero, laughing softly.  Kizna just glared at him, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to see it.

"Glaring at me won't help you know."

"Huh?" asked a startled Kizna, wondering how he knew she was glaring at him.

Zero chuckled in response. " I know you too well Kizna." Kizna rolled her eyes.

"You think the others will wonder where we are?  Now that it's lights out, you think that they would come looking for us?" asked Kizna.

"Nah, I do not think they would come looking for us.  Clay and Hiead were pretty tired so I bet they just fell asleep right after I left, so I wouldn't be too worried about the guys finding out," said Zero.

He turned to Kizna and asked, "Do you think the girls will start looking for you? Cause, then we might have a problem on our hands. If they find out that we're together, they'll never let us live it down."

"Don't worry, I think they are asleep.  If they were not, they would have started looking for me by now.  You know what I'm thinking?  They were acting a bit strange yesterday and earlier this morning.

"I have this feeling, that they wanted to get us alone, because they never acted like this and it seems weird just to leave us two alone. Ikhny was there and she would have kept me company on a normal day, but she did not. They all must have been in on some kind of plan," said Kizna.

"Ahh… so your saying that I'm bad company now?" asked Zero, pretending to be hurt. Kizna laughed at his antics.

"No silly.  You make great company for me," said Kizna as she lightly kissed him on the cheek.  She was grateful that it was dark otherwise Zero would have seen her turn bright pink again.

After Zero recovered from that kiss, he said, "You know, I think you are right about that.  They were acting a bit strange yesterday. I think that they were trying to get us together. Moreover, I say that it worked… well sort of.  It would have happened eventually… How about we play along with their plans, but we will never get together?  That would be so hilarious. I can't wait to see their faces when they find out all their efforts don't work."  Zero laughed a bit, imagining what their faces would look like if he told them.

Kizna slapped his arm lightly and said, "You're a very bad boy!" 

"Aww… I'm hurt!"  Zero whined playfully.  Kizna giggled.  

She agreed with him saying that they should get back at their friends. "We can get them back at their own game. We will decide on that tomorrow. But for now, I want some sleep, so good night," said Kizna. 

"Good night Kizna," said Zero, as he softly kissed her on the cheek.

With that said, Zero and Kizna laid down on the soft floor of the recreation room since neither of them wanted to get up and go all the way back to their respective rooms in the dark. Kizna curled up beside Zero, rested her head on his chest and slowly fell asleep against him, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist.

Zero felt Kizna move around a bit and looked down to see what she was up to. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything. He felt something press onto his chest and felt a something encircling his waist. He smiled when he felt Kizna's body curl up against him and he pulled her closer to his body.

Soon both of them fell asleep, side by side, each in their own worlds, dreaming of one another.