Partner or Lover Chapter 9: Locked in a Bedroom

"Ok. So what can YOU do to be of service for me?" Hiead said, unwilling to admit that he needed help to sort out his problem. Zero got a thoughtful look on his face, the palm of his hand supporting his chin, and started talking about the plan he had formulating in his head. 

Zero patiently waited for some feedback. When he got none, he continued explaining the basis on which he formed his plans.  "You just have to show her you care about her. But just don't force all of your feelings on to her all at once… that just might make it worse than it is. You have to show Ikhny that you respect her for what she does and who she is, which is being a repairer," Zero explained.

"Just start of by treating her nicer than you do currently. Then, start talking to her about anything that you want to, and get to know her a bit better," Zero said.

"Ok... I think that just might work," grumbled Hiead regretfully, with a distasteful look on his face because he was taking help from Zero.

"All right then, let's get started shall we?" Zero exclaimed jumping up from the bed, and walking towards the door.

Hiead's eyes widened, as he too jumped off the bed and followed Zero. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course I'm sure!" exclaimed Zero, marching down the hallways towards where the girls would be. Hiead just tentatively followed Zero, glaring at his back the whole time.

Once they found the girls, in the recreation room of all places, Zero started to walk in, only to be stopped by a hand pulling him backwards.

"What's the big idea Hiead?" asked Zero, his eyebrows knitting together as he brushed off Hiead's hand from his shoulder.

Hiead glared, and then answered, "I don't think this is such a good idea... and it will ruin my image." Zero just laughed at that.

"Oh come on... you're not scared of a bunch of girls are you?" Zero teased, poking a finger into Hiead's chest.

Hiead snarled, turned around and walked away from the recreation room. "No, I just think this is a bad idea. How about I do it on my own time?" Hiead asked, not turning around.

"Fine! Be my guest," Zero shrugged, as he ran to catch up with Hiead. Then they both headed down to the pro- ing hanger, to have a one on one battle.

Once they entered the main room, they could see Roose and Yamagi in a battle of their own, with Clay monitoring their pro- ing status from inside the control room.

*

*

Done with their battle, Roose and Yamagi came back out, dragging their sweaty bodies from the metallic machines.  They walked inside and saw Zero and Hiead waiting for them.

"Hi you guys!" Roose said, walking up to greet them. "If you came to battle with us, your out of luck, cause I'm all wiped out!" said Roose, collapsing onto the floor.

Zero just smiled, while Hiead snarled. "Who would want to battle with you wimps anyways?" Hiead growled, walking towards his pro- ing. "At least Enna here can put up some sort of a defense against me," he said while smirking.

Hiead suited up, and went onto the field, waiting patiently for Zero to come there.

----

Kizna just stared into space as she heard the girls gossiping behind her. She felt footsteps behind her, and a few seconds later, a soft body moving to sit right next to hers. She turned her head slightly, and saw that it was Ikhny who came. She turned her head back and stared out the window, like she was doing previously.

"You know, sometimes I wonder about Hiead..." Ikhny started, trying to start a conversation, with her closest confidant.

Kizna was startled out of her revere, not expecting Hiead to be their main topic in the conversation. "What about Hiead is bothering you?" Kizna asked, finally turning her head all the way, to get a good look at her friend.

"Well, it's just that he's so cold and distant all the time, and when I try to help him, he just pushes me away. But recently, he's been acting really weird... staring at me from time to time, and when I ask him about it, he just glares at me and ignores me again. I don't know what to do..." said Ikhny, staring out the window like Kizna was doing earlier, deep in thought. She went on and told Kizna some of the other unusual things she caught Hiead doing too.

"Well, apparently, you're starting to rub onto him, and he's taken a liking to you Ikhny," Kizna grinned, giving a playful nudge to Ikhny. But Ikhny didn't react to her, and Kizna realized it was time to get serious.

"But really Ikhny, I think you should just give him time. He'll open up to you in due time.  It already seems to me that you've snagged a soft spot in his heart for you, since he's not yelling at you all that much recently, but like I said, just give him time to get his feelings sorted out. I think all this must be frustrating for him because he's always cold, distant, and detached from everyone and he probably hasn't felt anything close to love, for anyone in a long time," Kizna stated, looking over to see the other girl's reaction.

Ikhny looked over at Kizna, and gave her a small smile. "Thanks Kizna. You always know how to make me feel better. I knew I could count on you, when I needed advice on anything," she whispered, as she got off the grass-covered floor and joined the other girls again.

Kizna smiled as her eyes followed Ikhny's retreating form. She got up and decided to go and look for Zero, since she was tired of hearing Wreka going on and on about the latest gossip on GOA.

She walked past the girls, and waved her hand at them, signaling that she was leaving.

"Kizna! Where are you going?" Saki asked, interrupting Wreka in the middle of her speech.

"Oh, well I'm going to look for Zero, I'll be back after I find him... I just wanted to ask him something," she said. 'I never lied to them. I do want to ask Zero something when I find him, about Hiead that is... but how long I'll take, that is for me to know and them to find out,' she thought as she walked out the recreation room.

She made her way to the pro- ing battle room, knowing that it was Zero's favorite place to be, besides the mess hall and the wing where the goddesses were located.

She walked inside, just in time to see Hiead and Zero get suited up and go onto the field to battle. She went in and stood by Roose, Clay and Yamagi.

"Hey Kizna," the three boys said simultaneously.  Then they immediately turned they're attention back onto the battle that was going to take place.

Once Hiead and Zero were both in their pro- ings, and on the field, they started the battle. Zero immediately rushed at Hiead, trying to land a quick punch on Hiead and knock him out once for all.

Ten minutes passed, and neither one landed a punch on the other. Both of them were tiring quickly.  Hiead finally landed a punch on Zero and sent him sprawling to the ground.  Both boys were tired out and dripping with sweat.

Zero growled as he strained to lift his body off the dusty ground. "Your gonna pay for that Hiead!" he said as he once again charged towards the silver haired boy.

Zero felt a rush of adrenaline flow through his veins, giving him a surge of energy, allowing him to go faster.  His felt the tips of his hair heat up and his hair started turning bluish - green at the ends, until his whole head was painted in a soft bluish- green hue. Soon, all Kizna, Clay, Hiead, Roose and Yamagi saw was a blur running around, circling Hiead.

Hiead's eyes widened as he realized Zero was far faster than before and could catch him at any moment. Hiead finally realized that he could barely keep up with Zero's movements.

Hiead immediately felt his muscles tense up and become stiff, his eyes diluting, allowing him to pay closer attention to Zero's movements, or at least the best he can do to follow Zero's movements, since it was faster than he had expected.

Unexpectedly, Zero striked Hiead in the stomach, punching him with force that Hiead had never felt before. Hiead's eyes widened once again, surprised at how good Zero had gotten. 'Fuck! Damn him! When did he become so fast?!' Hiead thought, cursing his luck. 'What happened to him? I can barely keep up with his moves. And it feels like he got a power boost or something…  he is twice as strong as he was from before! It's inconceivable…'

Hiead tried to counter the attack with a punch of his own, but was not fast enough, and just barely grazed the pro- ing suit that Zero was in. Hiead growled in impatience, as he tried again. But his attempts were futile. He could not land a punch on Zero; even if he tried a million times... he just was not fast enough.

----


Kizna looked at the battle in front of her. She was surprised to see the EX level of Zero raise above what it usually would.  In her current position, all she could see was a very fast moving object race around the pro-ing, which contained Hiead. She saw Hiead double over because he was punched in the gut, and then try to retaliate after he got his balance back. Realization, that Zero was actually moving faster than Hiead, hit her head on as her eyes widened in shock and her hand moved up to cover her now open mouth.


"Z-Z-Zero, what happened to you? When did you become so fast… and strong?" she muttered, as she saw Hiead falling to his knees, exhausted by the repeated punches that he took to his gut, face, and legs.

Zero took a break from punching Hiead's lights out and offered him a hand to help him up. Hiead threw a glare at his opponent, swatted his hand to the side, and tried to get up himself, only to find that he couldn't because of all the beatings that he taken head on. Zero helped him up without his consent, pulling on Hiead's arm, forcing him to stand up.

"See Hiead? You do need my help..." Zero said in a cocky tone as he started walking back in, heading towards where he last saw Kizna, Yamagi, Clay and Roose. When his eyes caught sight of them, he saw that they were staring at him slack- jawed, shocked at what he had just done. Then they saw a bruised Hiead coming in behind Zero.

"Enna, I'll get you back for what you did - " Hiead started, but ended up in a coughing fit towards the end. Zero turned and looked at how Hiead was doing.

'I think I beat him a bit too much. I think he might need to go see Dr. Rill,' Zero thought, as he headed over to where Hiead was kneeling, and tried to stop the coughing fit by rubbing Hiead's back.  "I think you have to go and see Dr. Rill," Zero said, grasping Hiead by the arm and walking him out towards the medical wing. Before he went out the door though, he stopped, turned around and asked the others if they were coming. The four of them were still in a state of shock, but soon snapped out of it and followed Zero towards the medical wing.

Once they got there, Zero placed Hiead on a bed, and called out for Dr. Rill. She came and took a look at Hiead. "What happened to him?"

"OH, Hiead and I were battling with our pro- ings, and I accidentally got carried away..." Zero stated, looking a bit sheepish. Dr. Rill just shook her head, and muttered something about boys under her breath, as she looked for some medicine to help Hiead.

Kizna finally came back to her senses, and walked over to where Zero was standing. "Zero, what happened back there?" she questioned in a curious tone, desperate to find out what was going on.

Zero looked over to her and shrugged.  "I can give you a made up explanation, but to tell you the truth, I really don't know Kizna. I wish I did though. It may have been that extra practice you put me through when your arm was broken," Zero muttered, his voice going an octave or two lower.  The extra practice was not as pleasant as it seemed to be, when Kizna first mentioned it to him.  He continued with his explanation.  "It increased my strength and speed. However, I mean, Hiead and I are doing the same things... I still don't see how I could have beaten him so easily," Zero finished, scratching the back of his head in a slightly embarrassed manner. 

Kizna smiled lightly and placed a hand on his shoulders. "You were great out there nevertheless.  I think because you wanted to really beat him you were able to do so.  You just needed more self confidence," she stated.

"Huh?"

"Well, you are very stubborn, and you do have a very strong will," Kizna admitted.  "I guess what I'm trying to say is that, when you want to really do something, and you put your mind to it, you don't stop till you achieve that goal, no matter what the cost. And I guess, your will - power and stubbornness just took over, and you pushed yourself until you were satisfied with the results that you got: winning the battle," she said, squeezing his shoulder lightly.

He gave her a sincere smile. "Thanks Kizna," he said, as he turned and faced Hiead.

Hiead had his eyes closed, but could still hear everything that went on around him. "Hey Hiead, sorry about earlier… I guess I just got carried away," Zero said sheepishly.

Hiead just grunted in response, too stiff to move any muscles. Dr. Rill came back with some medicine, helped Hiead sit up and take his medication. As soon as he swallowed it, he felt darkness take over him, as he closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Roose, Clay, and Yamagi had gone back to find the others earlier, while Zero and Kizna were talking, and now Kizna and Zero were the only ones left standing beside Hiead's bed side. Kizna turned around, and headed for the door, deciding to get Ikhny, knowing that the girl would want to stay by Hiead's side, even though she might not admit it. As she was just about to walk out the door, the door opened, and Ikhny came rushing in, almost knocking over Kizna.

"Oh! Hi Kizna, I heard from the other boys what happened to Hiead, and I came to see if he was alright, even though he might not even care..." she said, whispering the rest of her sentence, not wanting any one else to hear.

"It is ok Ikhny, I was just about to come and get you thinking you might want to see how Hiead is doing. Dr. Rill said that Hiead should be back to normal by the morning. The medicine she gave Hiead must be very strong."

Ikhny just nodded in response, not paying complete attention to what her friend was saying. She went over to the bed where Hiead was laying, her eyes roaming over his sleeping form. She sighed and sat on a near by chair, that was placed conveniently beside Hiead's bed.

At that moment, Zero decided to leave them alone for a bit, and dragged Kizna out from the medical wing.

Ikhny watched Hiead's chest rise and fall with every breath he took. 'He looks so peaceful when he sleeps... No worries, no hardships, and he looks ten years younger... He looks somewhat cute when he is asleep,' Ikhny thought.  Her eyes widened slightly, shocked that such a thought would come in her mind.

Her eyes finally rested on his head, and she wondered what it would feel like, to run her hands through his silver hair, knowing fully well, that when Hiead is awake, he would never even let her lay a finger on him. She could not resist temptation any longer, and ran her hand through his silver hair, entranced by its beauty.

'It's so soft...' she thought with amazement, letting her hand rest in his hair for just a while longer. But she knew that when Hiead woke up, and found her like this, he would be furious and she would unfortunately be on the receiving end of his unrelenting fury. So, reluctantly, she pulled her hand out, and just listened to the soft breathing of her candidate beside her.

----

Zero pulled Kizna out of the medical room, wanting to give some privacy to Ikhny. He thought that the other candidates and repairers might still be in the recreation room, and went to see them.

He let go of Kizna's hand once they entered the room, and walked up to the group, with Kizna in tow.

"Hey Zero, Kizna. How is Hiead doing?" Wreka asked, her face indifferent, her voice not really portraying any feelings towards the subject.

"Oh, he is fine, just a bit bruised up here and there. He should be fine by tomorrow morning," Zero said.

Zero thought he heard a distinct 'darn!' from Yamagi's mouth but dismissed it as him hearing things.

"Ikhny did look a bit worried when she got word on what happened to Hiead," said Roose.

"She's fine now. She is probably going to stay there for a while," Kizna stated, a smile playing on her lips. She knew fully well why Ikhny was staying there longer than necessary, but she wouldn't tell anyone unless Ikhny said it was okay.

 Yamagi decided to change the topic. "So, what do you guys want to do for the rest of the day? I'm all wiped out from the pro- ing battle that I had with Roose, so I'm not doing that again today."

"How about we play truth or dare?" Saki suggested. 'This is a great way to force Zero and Kizna to get together, but then again, I don't want to force this upon them...'

The rest of the group was a bit hesitant when Saki proposed her idea, and their eyes widened at that suggestion. "What's wrong with that? It won't be too bad…" Saki started, an evil glint taking over her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders. "Right?" she asked in a buttery sweet tone.

After contemplating the pros and cons, Kizna spoke up. "All right I'm in, since I have nothing better to do," she said, as she sat down on the ground where she was previously standing.  Unfortunately Kizna did not take notice of Saki's overly sweet tone or her glinting eyes.

"I'm in too," said Zero, following suit.  Being the gentleman that he was, Zero would not leave Kizna alone in this.

Everyone soon agreed, and they were all seated in a circle on the floor of the recreation room. "Ok, then I'll start, since I suggested the game," Saki said, as she made up her mind on who to pick as her first victim.

"Kizna, truth or dare?"

"Um... I'll go with truth," Kizna said, looking slightly nervous.

"Ok, so, what exactly happened that day, when you and Zero "fell" into that closet?" Saki asked, knowing that Kizna would have to tell the truth. Kizna went ahead and told them that they both fell asleep, only to be woken up by the Victim attacks. Saki was very unhappy with that answer, but did not press on further.  Kizna told the truth… just not the complete truth.  No one asked her to explain further, so she did not divulge any other details. 

They continued the game for quite a while, hearing things they never wanted to hear, hearing things they never knew, and doing things they would never have gotten the courage to do before.

Soon they got a bit tired of this game, even though it provided some excitement for the time being. They stopped playing after a bit, and started discussing what they could do next, since there was plenty of time till dinner.

"You know, I think I'll go and check up on Ikhny, and see how Hiead is doing as well, even though I really don't give a damn as to what happens to him. It's Ikhny I'm worried about," Tukasa said, as she got up. "I'm going to the Medical room now. Anyone else want to come with me?" she asked.

"I'm coming. I want to see exactly what happened to Hiead. Zero, you must have really done a number on him, to send him to the medical room," Wreka said, as she got up and stood by Tukasa.

Roose got out a pack of cards, and Yamagi decided he'd play with Roose.

"Where'd you get the cards Roose?" Zero asked, walking up to the two boys.

"He snuck them in," Yamagi answered for the other boy.

"Really?" Zero clearly looked impressed.  "Past Azuma?"

"No you dolt! We could bring stuff remember?"  Yamagi sighed in annoyance.  Zero blinked, then shrugged his shoulders and walked away. 

After Tukasa and Wreka left the recreation room, Clay and Saki said they wanted to do some research on the goddesses, for some unknown reason, and decided that they would head out to the library that was in GOA. Now, that just left Zero and Kizna with nothing to do again.

In a far off corner of the recreation room, they could hear Yamagi and Roose bickering over a card that one of them played.

"Hey Kizna, what do you want to do?" Zero asked, looking over at her.

"I'm really not sure...do you think you want to work on your anti- gravity sickness?" Kizna asked.

"Sure, why not. But first, I want to stop by my room and get something," Zero said, standing up. Kizna stood up with him, and they both walked out of the recreation room. Roose and Yamagi saw that Zero and Kizna were going some where, so a minute after they had left the room, the two boys stood up and followed them, to see what they were up to.

When the boys went out into the hallway, they started following Kizna and Zero, at a distance, not to be caught by them. As they were sneaking behind walls, trying to keep track of the other candidate and his repairer, they saw Saki and Clay doing the same thing... Following Zero and Kizna.

"What are you guys doing?" Saki whispered harshly, looking over at Roose and Yamagi.

"I should ask you guys the same thing!" Yamagi said in a slightly louder tone.  Roose hissed at Yamagi, asking him to quiet down.

"Oh, we were headed out for the library, when we saw Zero and Kizna leaving the recreation room. So we decided to go and follow them to see what they were up to," Clay said, as the four of them ducked behind another wall, just as Zero and Kizna turned the corner again.

"It looks like Zero's heading back to our room," Clay said. The four pairs of eyes finally saw Zero open the door to his room, and let Kizna in, following her soon after.

Saki jumped up from her spot. "That's it!" She exclaimed. "We can lock them up in the room!"

"Yea, and they have every thing that they need right there," said Yamagi, a smirk on his lips.

"Saki glared back at Yamagi. "That was not funny," she stated, just as Roose burst out laughing. Then she turned her glare on Roose.

"So are we going to lock them in there Saki?" Clay asked, getting up from where he was hiding.

"Yea!"

"Oh, ok," said Clay, as he walked towards the closed door, and pressed a few keys on the keypad that was beside the door, on the outside. He set the time limit for one hour, when it will open again. "All right! Done. They'll be locked in there for exactly one hour," Clay said turning around.

----

Zero went in behind her, and heard the door close behind them. Kizna surveyed the neat and spotless room. "Wow, it's cleaner than I thought!" she exclaimed.

Zero chuckled. Then he heard a soft beeping noise from outside the door, and immediately knew that someone had pressed the key pad that was outside the door.

"Oh shit! Someone's outside," Zero said, as he ran towards the door, trying to yank it open. "It's locked!!" he exclaimed, banging on the door.

He heard someone snickering on the other side of the door, and growled in anger.

"Great! Now we're being locked up in a room, there goes the anti- gravity sickness plans..." Kizna mumbled under her breath.

"Have fun in there you two," they heard someone shout through the door. At that comment, Kizna, who was seated on one of the beds, turned bright red, turning her face away from Zero and the door. Zero was once again, clueless.

Then Kizna spoke up. "You know, that sounded a lot like Yamagi..."

"I think your right," Zero said, his head shooting up to look at his partner. He walked back to the door and started shouting again. "Yamagi! You better let us out now!"  All he got in response was some more snickering, and he sighed in defeat.

He heard the rest of the candidates and the repairer leave from the door, and went to sit by Kizna, who was sitting on his bed.

"You know, I've never been in your room before," Kizna stated matter-of-factly, turning to face Zero. Zero just smiled at her.

After both of them calmed down a bit, they started talking, chatting about anything and everyone that came to mind. Soon, the topic turned onto how Clay would look in a dress.

"Oh, so your saying Clay's gay??" Zero said, trying to act shocked, but knew it wasn't true.

"You know, I don't even know how we got onto this topic, but I don't think Clay would look too good in a dress..." Kizna said, who was now laying down on Zero's bed, her feet crossed at the ankles. "Though on the other hand, I don' t think you would look so bad in a dress you know…" She said, chuckling slightly.

"… Now you're saying I'm a cross- dresser, and I'm gay???" Zero said, glaring at her playfully. Kizna just giggled in response.  Zero got an evil glint in his eyes as he decided to have some fun with his repairer. 

"You know," Zero started as his face became serious.  "I was wondering about that actually."  Kizna shot him a confused glance.  "Whenever I am around Hiead, I get this funny feeling…  I think I might have fallen for him!" Zero exclaimed, glancing at Kizna out of the corner of his eye to see her reaction. 

Kizna did not know what to say… she definitely was not expecting this, but decided to play along with him.  "I guess that's fine…I mean, I really like you and all, but I can't stand in the way of true love… How about once we get out of here, I'll stop by the hospital wing and let Hiead know?" Kizna said, trying to suppress her giggles.  "I think you and Hiead would make a great couple!"

"What??? You're kidding right?" Zero asked incredulously.  Kizna shook her head.  "You better take that back Kizna!" Zero growled. He was sitting on his knees facing her.

"Or what?" Kizna countered, raising an eyebrow at him. Zero didn't say anything in response. He took her by surprise, grabbing her sides, and started tickling her.

He had her on her back and was tickling her sides until she couldn't stop laughing. After about five minutes, he decided that was enough torture for her, and let her go. Kizna's face was red with laughing so hard and she panted beneath him, grateful for the respite. She looked up at him with eyes sparkling brightly with happiness. "Beautiful," he whispered.

Kizna felt herself blush at that complement as she looked on at Zero. Some how, Zero had ended up lying on top of Kizna, both their bodies tangled up in his bed sheets. He felt his breathing become faster and deeper, because of the close proximity. He could feel her soft breath on his face, as he stared into her wide eyes. His throat contracted as he tried to swallow. Zero pulled Kizna closer to him, as he put his face in her hair taking in the heavenly smell.

"I love you," he whispered, as he caught a hold of her lips with his in a fiery kiss that sent both their minds spinning, their bodies wanting more. Kizna moaned as she felt him applying more pressure on her lips. She felt his tongue graze her lips as she slightly parted her lips, and felt his tongue roll over hers. She shivered slightly and moaned out his name. Kizna brought her hands out, wrapping them around his neck, her fingers playing with his chocolate brown hair.

Zero felt like his heart would burst out from his chest; his heart was beating so loudly.  He felt her shiver slightly, moan out his name, and wrap her arms around his neck. His hands roamed down her body, down to the hem of her shirt. He lifted it slightly, and felt her warm skin touch his cool fingers.

He knew he had to stop before he got carried away and did something that he would regret later on, but it was like his body was on autopilot and it wasn't answering to what his mind was telling him. He broke off the contact with her lips and took in a deep breath before his body took over again.

He placed his cool lips on her neck; placing butterfly kisses down her slender neck. Kizna closed her eyes and just savored the feeling. She pulled him closer as she felt him suck on her neck slightly before moving on. Her hands moved down from his neck to the front of his shirt, as she unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt wanting to feel his cool skin under her fingertips.

She felt his hand slip up her shirt, caressing her back as she pulled his face back to her lips. Before she could kiss him again, he forced himself to stop, knowing that if he kissed her again, he would get carried away, and he didn't think he had enough resolve to pull away again.

"Kizna... We'd better stop before we do something we'll both regret.  I don't think I'll be able to stop again-" he started. Kizna just shut him up by kissing him on his lips again. As fast as it had started, it had ended, leaving Zero wanting more. Zero opened his eyes and stared at her wondering why she pulled back.

"I know, we should stop," she whispered, giving him a small smile. He smiled back, and rolled off her and lay beside her, trying to catch his breath. Zero pulled her body close to his, enjoying the close proximity of their bodies as he basked in the heat that her body radiated.

Kizna rolled onto her side to face him. She scooted closer to him, pressing her body up against his. She lifted her head up slightly, and placed her lips next to his ear. "I love you," she whispered, as she placed a kiss on his ear, and snuggled up to him.

Kizna's sharp ears picked up the sounds of feet right out side the door. So she got up and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. A few seconds after she closed the door, Zero heard a beep, and knew that their friends were back to let them out. He sat up, and saw the door open, while he straightened out his clothes.

"Hey guys!" Zero said.

"Hi, I saw that the door was locked, so I came to open it..." Clay said, acting as if he wasn't the one who closed the door, locking them inside.

"Uh huh, sure Clay," Kizna said grinning, walking out from the bathroom, looking as good as new. "We all know it was you guys who locked us in here in the first place, so don't try to hide it!"

"What are you talking about Kizna? And what are you doing here anyways?" Roose said, while Yamagi tried to hold his breath, trying to prevent himself from laughing.

"Argh… never mind, if you don't admit it, fine. But I know it was you guys," Kizna said, glaring at all of them.

"But I am interested in finding out what transpired in this room, while you two were locked up in here…"Saki said, holding back her laughter at the looks on Zero's and Kizna's faces.

"Nothing happened Saki… you know, there isn't much to do in here first of all, so we just talked for a while.." Zero said.

"Oh, sure! You're here locked up with a girl for heaven's sake! Surely you weren't talking for the whole one hour. Even I would get bored of that!" said an exasperated Yamagi. Zero and Kizna both blushed at that thought.

"You pervert!!" Kizna said, slapping Yamagi over the head.

"Hey! That was just rude, and uncalled for!!" Yamagi said.

"Well it's your own fault for bringing up such perverted thoughts!" Kizna countered.

"Whatever, just break it up you two," Zero said, getting up and standing in between them. "It is just about dinner time, so why don't we head down to the mess hall right now?" said Zero, as he walked outside into the hallway.

They stopped by the medical room, to pick up Wreka, Ikhny, and Tukasa, and then continued on their way to the mess hall.

(Rewritten: 5/2/04)