Partially Awake
Chapter 4: Delay

Author's Notes: I was very shocked upon reading the reviews for the last chapter, but shocked in a good way considering the good response. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and read the last chapter, your responses has made me way beyond happy. I never knew how many Yzak/Shiho fans were out there. Speaking of them, would anyone be interested in seeing a LiveJournal community dedicated to them or something like an drabble/fanfic/art challenge? Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

As cliché as it sounded, there was no other way to describe the day other than dark and gloomy. The moment the Voltaire docked at the military base at Aprilius One and Yzak disembarked, he heard the sound of rain drops and looked out the nearest window to see that it was pouring outside. Pouring almost seemed like an understatement when he looked at the rain and saw the people who happened to be outdoors. From the way they reacted it seemed more like someone was constantly spraying them water from a water hose. But he paid little attention to it, after all the rain would probably stop by the time he would leave the base. So he did his paperwork, talked to his superiors and took his time to assure that everything was properly arranged before picking up his bag and heading towards the exit.

As the sliding doors opened before him, he saw that it was still raining.

Groaning in annoyance, he wondered what idiot had chosen to program rainy weather on a warm June day. It was not like they were on Earth and bound by the laws of nature.

"If I didn't know better I'd say someone had fallen asleep on the weather controls again."

"You think that the flood last year would teach them to keep a closer watch on these guys," Yzak answered, recognizing Shiho's voice. He glanced at her quickly and saw that she was standing beside him all by herself. "Where's Dearka?"

"He got a ride home with that blonde girl from the bridge," Shiho told. "What are you going to do, get a cab?"

Yzak opened his mouth to answer but at the exact same moment a buzzing sound came out of no where. Both he and Shiho looked puzzled for a second, then Shiho reached into her pocket and took out a small cell phone. Her eyes widened as she read the name on the display and for a while Yzak thought that she looked as if she was frozen in time, the way she stood completely still. The cell phone, however, did not stop buzzing.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" he asked.

"No, I'm going to stare at it and hope that it will just disappear out of sight if I stare long enough," Shiho said without the slightest hint of sarcasm and sounding like she was totally serious about what she had just said.

Rolling his eyes, Yzak snatched the cell phone out of her hands and before Shiho had the chance to do anything, he flipped the cell phone cover open and answered the call. What the hell was she being so afraid of?

"This is Shiho Hahnenfuss' phone, Yzak Jule speaking."

From the receiving end of the phone he could hear a delighted gasp.

"Yzak, how lovely to finally be speaking to you! How have you been?"

It was the voice of a woman, Yzak's first impression was one that was slightly older than his mother and whose tone sounded much more formal in a way. Confused at the woman's familiarity with his name, he looked at Shiho for an explanation. The latter just gave him a "You have yourself to blame" look and said nothing.

"Fine," Yzak answered uncertainly and struggled to keep a frown off his chance when he looked at Shiho. "How have you been, ma'am?"

"Absolutely wonderful, thank you for asking," the woman replied. "Friedrich and I are so happy that you and Shiho are back already, we are looking forward to this joyous occasion. Speaking of my daughter, is she around?"

"Yes, she is," Yzak said with some satisfaction upon realizing who the lady was and seeing Shiho shake her head in panic at the slightest possibility of having her cell phone handed back to her. "I'll get her right away. It was lovely speaking to you, Mrs Hahnenfuss."

Despite Shiho trying to squirm away, Yzak grabbed her hand just in time and placed her cell phone in it. As if that was not enough, he used his other hand to make sure that her hands were secured around the phone. Shiho glared at him when he pulled away with a smirk but said nothing and instead raised the phone to her ear.

"Hi mom... how are you? Yes, I realized that I was going to call you the minute I got off the ship... no, of course I wasn't trying not to answer, I was just... doing something. ...I was looking through my bag. ...for a hair brush. Yes mom, I do own and use a hair brush."

There was a clear difference between Shiho as she normally was and the Shiho standing before him talking on the phone with her mother. The one before him felt almost alien in a funny way, the way she looked down at her feet when she spoke and mumbled incoherent answers. Once in a while when the high pitched voice on the other end became too much she would hold the phone about a feet away from her ear and afterwards resume the conversation when it was her time to speak as if she had listened to every word. Yzak stood there watching her, finding himself struggling to contain his laughter.

After a good ten minutes Shiho finally hung up with a relieved sigh, but did not stay that way for long. The moment she looked at Yzak again she looked like she wanted to tear him apart right there.

"Bastard."

"For being polite to your mother and answering the phone? Thank you."

"My mother has invited us for dinner," she told, crossing her arms. "She's invited your mom as well."

"So?"

"So?" Shiho repeated. "You do not realize the cycle of evil and eternal torture you have started by answering that phone call! You were nice, you were polite... my god, she's going to love you and that's so not what we want! This is my mother, first impression is everything to her!"

"We'll get her to un-love me then!" Yzak retorted. "She can't be that dangerous! Stop freaking out!"

"Who's freaking out?" Shiho yelled back, but then next moment she seemed to calm down as she realized what she was saying. Sighing again, she placed her cell phone back in her pocket. "Let's just call it a day... the dinner is at my parents' house, tomorrow night at seven, so let's..."

"...meet up and discuss our strategy before that?" Yzak finished.

"You read my mind," Shiho smiled. "See you tomorrow then?"

Yzak answered with a grunt and Shiho interpreted it as a yes. She gave him a light wave, then set off out in the rain to find a cab.

"Dial this number and you have the chance to win..."

Zap.

"Salazar, I will have my revenge!"

Zap.

"The most common species of wombats is called Vombatus ursinus, or simply known as the common wombat..."

Zap.

"Oh Richard, I love you so much! But my father will never let us..."

Hitting the power button on the remote, Yzak turned the TV off and dropped the remote carelessly on the coffee table. In the corner of his eye, he saw the remote bouncing off the coffee table and tumble to the floor but he remained completely unphased as he leaned back and rested against the soft cushions of his couch. The clock hanging on the wall above him kept ticking annoyingly and he did not have to look up to know that it was 5:13 p.m.

Why the hell hasn't she called yet? Yzak asked himself for what felt like the hundredth time and did his best to resist crushing something with his bare hands.

5:14 p.m.

Dinner was less than two hours away, he still hadn't gotten dressed considering that he was supposed to meet Shiho before that. He reminded himself that it was her idea that they would meet up, therefore the fault was all hers for not calling him when she should have. Still, it did not lessen the simmering anger in Yzak's mind, he still felt like breaking something although considering how Spartan his apartment was when it came to decorations it was not so strange that he didn't find anything worth breaking.

Screw her, Yzak thought as he rolled off the couch and up on his feet.

It was with a frown that he pulled off his T-shirt and took off the rest of his clothes. They ended up in a messy pile on the bathroom floor as he stepped into the shower. Normally he wouldn't have left them there but not even the cold water against his skin seemed to cool him down at the moment. He felt his heart pounding in a quiet, yet fast manner as if it was refusing to let him forget just how irritated he felt.

The bar of soap became the first victim of his impending wrath. He gripped it too hard and it slid out of his hand and tumbled to the floor. Cursing to himself he used every bit of restrain to not treat the shampoo bottle even harsher.

That woman... she says this and that and in the end she doesn't even attempt to contact me!

Yzak told himself that he did not care and that she could be kidnapped, abducted, captured for all it matter.

Ten minutes later he emerged from the bathroom, clad in a cotton bathrobe and walking into his room with a less than happy look on his face. Instinctively he pulled out a pair of pants and white shirt out of his closet. Looking at the clock on the wall as he buttoned his shirt, he noticed that dinner was now less than an hour and a half away.

He told himself that he should probably get to the shuttle port.

It was a pretty good idea, in fact the best one he had had all day. It crossed his mind that he had spent most of the day in front of the TV and waiting for Shiho to call but he promptly decided to ignore that. He would go to the space port and surprise his mother by greeting her there. After all, she was coming all the way from Martius One and her bodyguards aside, someone needed to make sure that she got to the Hahnenfuss residence safely.

Picking up his keys from the coffee table and feeling extremely pleased with his idea, Yzak headed towards the front door. Pressing down the door handle he opened the door and it swung open out in the corridor, barely missing the brunette who was standing right before it.

"...Shiho!" Yzak exclaimed, eyes widening as he stopped with one foot out the door and the other still inside the apartment.

"It's okay, no noses broken," Shiho replied and smiled sheepishly.

Yzak blinked, feeling nothing but shock at seeing her. But his state of shock only lasted a few moments and it didn't take long for it to be replaced with the feeling of anger that he had carried around all day.

"Why the hell didn't you call!" he asked rather loudly.

"I didn't have your phone number," Shiho answered with a sudden defensive tone in her voice and crossed her arms. "It's kind of difficult to call when you didn't give me a number and apparently you're one of those pesky people who prefer not to be listed in the phonebooks. So, I came over here instead. Speaking of calling, why didn't you? I mean, I'm sure you can access all information regarding me seeing as I'm in your group and all."

At that moment Yzak felt like just going back into his apartment and closing the door after him. Of course, that would be followed by locking the door, unhooking the phone and made sure that he remained completely unreachable until it was time to return to the Voltaire.

"...nevermind," he muttered and stepped out of the apartment fully. He locked the door quickly, then turned to Shiho again and grabbed her arm without actually looking at her. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Shiho questioned, struggling as Yzak tried to drag her away from the door.

"To your parent's house, where else?"

Yzak rolled his eyes as he dragged her down the stairs, deliberately avoiding the elevator considering that what happened at the Voltaire was still fresh in his mind. Shiho grabbed on to the railing with her free hand, thus stopping herself and Yzak from going any further.

"Dinner is in an hour and a half," she reminded. "And shouldn't we be discussing our strategy before that?"

Remembering what they were supposed to do in the first place, Yzak stopped and let go of Shiho's arm. But he remained standing right in the middle of the stairs and looked up at Shiho who was standing a few steps above him. For the first time since she got there he took a closer look on her. Her hair was in its usual style, bound at the end with a simple black, ribbon. Just like Yzak, Shiho wore both dark and light color, with a pair of gray tweed pants and simple, white cap sleeve blouse. With the black pumps and the black blazer she wore Shiho looked nothing but proper and respectable, like someone Ezaria would like.

Frowning, Yzak stepped up to the same step as the one Shiho stood on and pulled at the end of the ribbon, causing her hair to loosen from its bindings. A moment later he was working on unbutton Shiho's blouse from the top.

"W..what are you doing?" Shiho stuttered nervously, her face reddening rapidly.

"Strategy," Yzak answered, having unbuttoned the top three buttons and making her cleavage as low as possible without making her looking completely outrageous.. He stepped back a little, looking over Shiho again. "It won't do. The pants have to go."

With that he proceeded to drag her down the stairs again but they had hardly reached the exit before Shiho questioned him again.

"The pants have to go?" she repeated. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You look too proper," Yzak explained, exiting the building with Shiho and directing her to his car. "My mother will get a good first impression of you and that's not what we want."

He left Shiho standing by the right side of the car and got into from the left. As he sat down in the driver's seat, he saw that Shiho was still standing there even though the car door was wide open. Yzak sighed as he saw her arms crossed and assumed that she was less than pleased. A few seconds later Shiho bent down so that she and Yzak were at the same eye level.

"So what are we going to do? These are the kinds of clothes I wear."

Yzak rolled his eyes.

"Just get in the car and we'll fix this," he answered with restraint and swore that he was going to strangle her if she didn't get in now. For once his anger seemed to have some effect, because after a few seconds where she appeared to be thinking, Shiho got into the car and shut the door.

Yzak started his car with a roaring engine and speeded away from the parking lot like hell hounds were running after him. Shiho flew left and right in her seat every time he made a turn and suddenly the seat belt seemed to provide just as much security as a paper band.

"Could you slow down a little?" she asked but judging by the way Yzak left tire marks on the asphalt behind him she concluded that her request went unnoticed. "Where are we going anyway?"

Yzak did not answer and she could tell by his silence that this was not going to end well.

"I hate you."

"Don't be stupid."

"No really, I hate you."

"You're being overly dramatic."

"Oh yeah? You try wearing this and not be dramatic."

Yzak turned his head a little and saw Shiho pulling at her pleated skirt in a misguided hope of making it longer. The skirt was not that short as it reached to a little above her knees and it did not seem that uncomfortable either. But Shiho's face, scrunched into an expression of dislike, clearly told him that she missed her tweed pants that currently lay folded in the back of Yzak's car along with her black blazer. The blouse was the only thing to have been kept and along with the addition of the skirt with pink flower patterns, large plastic earrings, a pair of pink strapped sandals, a bit of make up and her hair let loose she looked more girly than proper and respectable.

"What I don't get is why I have to be the one to dress differently and make a bad impression," Shiho grumbled. "You weren't this willing when I suggested that you make a few changes as well."

"That's because you told me to pierce my lip and get a pink wife beater," Yzak muttered, glaring at Shiho.

"Hey, I'm not the one who walked around with a giant scar on my face for a year."

Sighing, Shiho gave up pulling at her skirt and instead diverted her attention to the giant wooden door in front of them. They had been standing right on the doorstep of Shiho's parents house for a few minutes now and neither seemed that anxious to ring the doorbell.

"Fighting battles in space is preferable to this," Shiho said.

"Quit being such a coward and just ring the damn doorbell," Yzak muttered, although he felt a bit nervous himself. He was holding a bouquet of flowers though and thus had a valid excuse for not using his hands.

Their roles were almost reversed as Shiho was the one to shoot him a glare. However, after a while she turned away and brought her hand up. She rang the doorbell and then took a deep breath. Everything was quiet for a few seconds, and then they heard the quiet sound of footsteps and the door being unlocked. It swung open to reveal a young looking woman wearing a gray knee length skirt and a white shirt. Judging by her dull and simple attire Yzak assumed that she was either a maid or a housekeeper.

"Hi, I'm Shiho Hahnenfuss," Shiho introduced herself. "We're..."

"Yes, Mr and Mrs Hahnenfuss are waiting for you and Mr Jule in the lounge," the maid informed before Shiho had the chance to finish her sentence.

The maid stepped aside with such a wooden smile that it looked like it had been glued on. Yzak gave Shiho an odd look as they went inside but the only explanation he got was a discreet eye roll.

Upon entering the house Yzak instantly felt the sense of treading into a rich and old house. Of course, all houses in PLANT weren't really that old but the hand carved wooden furniture and elegant lamps, vases and other decorations told him that the Hahnenfuss household revelled in the classic Victorian look. The maid immediately took their jackets the moment they took them off and in the process also took the flowers Yzak had brought with him. Before he had the chance to protest, the maid gestured politely towards their left, which led to the lounge.

Yzak walked beside Shiho and noticed how in the next few moments her body seemed to tense up as if she was facing something immensely dangerous. They entered the lounge together, where a tall and broad man with grayed hair stood with two glasses in his hands. He handed one glass over to a woman with auburn hair who was sitting on a Victorian sofa. The woman happened to look up and caught sight of Yzak and Shiho.

"Shiho, you are here in time," the woman spoke, sounding genuinely surprised at the fact.

"Yes, mother," Shiho answered with an awkward smile.

"And you're wearing a skirt," the woman noted, even more surprised.

Yzak swore he saw Shiho's eye twitch slightly but she managed to calm down and look normal.

"Well, that's what you would normally call it," she said, still smiling awkwardly.

"A pink skirt with flowers on it," the woman went on.

"Well, I was originally going for skulls and chains with polka dots but they didn't have that at the store," Shiho laughed but it did not last long as tense silence filled the room along with the completely serious expression on the woman's face. "That was supposed to be a joke... you were supposed to laugh... uh, nevermind."

Both the man and the woman looked completely puzzled for a moment, then they both turned to Yzak and walked over to him.

"Yzak, how lovely it is to finally see you face to face," the woman spoke warmly and reached out her hand for Yzak to shake.

"Mother, father, this is Yzak," Shiho introduced as Yzak shook hands with her mother. "Yzak, meet my parents, Friedrich and Keiko Hahnenfuss."

"No need to be formal, just call me Friedrich, Yzak," Shiho's father said jovially and shook Yzak's hand with enthusiasm. "We're going to be family after all."

His words couldn't have scared Yzak and Shiho more.

"Have a seat," Keiko smiled and gestured towards the sofas. "Friedrich, could you make two more drinks please?"

"Coming right up!"

Following Keiko, Yzak and Shiho crossed the lounge and sat down in the sofa. Their fingers happened to touch as they both sat down and Yzak looked at Shiho to see her smiling sheepishly at him, as if trying to reassure him. Only when Friedrich offer them their drinks did they break hand contact. Keiko, who was sitting in another sofa across from them saw this small gesture and her lips formed a smile half hidden by the glass as she took a sip from her drink.

"So Yzak..." Friedrich spoke. "I hear the ship you are stationed on is the Voltaire? Very fine ship and I have to say that I am impressed that you have managed to come so far considering your age. I hope that the crew isn't giving you a hard time because of that."

"Not at all, sir," Yzak replied politely. "I have been very fortunate in that aspect."

"That's good to hear," Friedrich laughed. "I hope my daughter is not too much of an inconvenience for you."

"Not at all, sir. She is a good soldier, truly irreplaceable."

Despite how it often seemed the opposite, if Yzak truly wanted to he knew how to handle people quite well. Especially his superiors and those who were older, after all he was Ezaria's son and done his fair share of conversing politely. Judging by their reactions his compliment seemed to have worked. Friedrich raised his eyebrows a little in surprise and exchanged the same kind of look with his wife but overall they seemed very pleased with what they were hearing.

Shiho, however, did not.

Yzak only managed to catch a glimpse of her, not wanting to look at her directly and for her parents to see that he was staring. But the quick look he got told him that she was looking just as surprised as her parents at what he had said but much less happy. Before Yzak had the chance to give her a questioning look the doorbell rang loudly throughout the house. He heard the maid hurry down the hallway to open the door and moments later someone stepped inside. All four of them glanced towards the hallway to see a man standing there.

The man couldn't be described as anything but giant. He was probably bordering seven feet tall with broad shoulders and a dark skinned muscled body that not even modern genetic enhancement could make. The man was almost bald, with dark sunglasses covering half of his face and wearing a dark suit that looked like it had come straight from the store.

"My name is Kevin Jones, I am here to escort Mrs Ezaria Jule and ensure her safety," the man spoke solemnly in a low, deep voice. "I would like to speak to a representative of this household, preferably Mr Friedrich Hahnenfuss or..."

"Oh Kevin, you don't really have to do that every time I go and visit someone!"

Yzak turned his head fully to see his mother coming through the door, dressed in an elegant blue dress with a light blue jacket. He stood up automatically, as did the others.

"Ezaria, wonderful to have you here," Keiko greeted with a broad smile, approaching Ezaria and giving her a hug.

"Thank you, Keiko," Ezaria replied. "Arriving at the shuttle port was completely awful, all those people trying to elbow their way through the crowd. Fortunately I have Kevin and never have to worry about that. Friedrich, nice to see you!"

"Likewise Ezaria," Friedrich smiled and shook Ezaria's hand. Offering his arm to both ladies, he led them into the lounge with Kevin following them. "How are things?"

"They could be better but I'm not complaining. Kevin was assigned as my new bodyguard a few weeks ago and if you ask me he could use a bit lightening up. Isn't that right, Kevin?"

"Lightening up is not a part of my job description, ma'am."

"But you could sure use it. Oh, Yzak!"

Forcing a smile to his lips, Yzak hugged his mother and let her give him an airy kiss on each cheek. Judging by the way she spoke to Friedrich and Keiko, it seemed like nothing had changed with his mother since last time he had seen her. But he could tell that she was happy to get out of her house and considering how close Kevin kept to her and cast dark shadows by just standing there and being tall, he really couldn't blame her for being so enthusiastic about things.

"Hello mother," he greeted when she let go of her.

He expected a bit of motherly affection, asking him how things had been or at least commenting that he needed to take care of himself more. What he did not expect was how his mother almost pushed him aside after that quick hug and turned all her attention to Shiho.

"Ah, so this is my future daughter-in-law!" Ezaria said joyfully and took a long look at Shiho.

Yzak watched them with a bit of nervousness. His eyes went back and forth between the outfit that Shiho wore and to Ezaria. If it was anyone besides Shiho who hated pink flowery skirts, it was Ezaria. If it was anyone who disliked girls who looked like they cared more about fashion sense than common sense, it was Ezaria. With the way Shiho looked, this was bound to start the beginning of the end of the engagement.

"You look so much prettier than I could have ever imagined," Ezaria complimented with an honest smile. She brushed Shiho's hair aside lightly. "Those earrings are very cute, where did you get them?"

Shiho forced a smile.

"Actually Yzak bought them for me," she told, watching Yzak stare at her in horror upon seeing his plan on her making a bad impression being crushed into pieces.

"Oh, did he?" Ezaria was truly beaming with happiness. "You can't imagine how happy I am to hear that you two are getting along, you're a match made in heaven, aren't you?"

Shiho walked over to Yzak's side and he felt his entire body tense when she took his hand.

"Yes, he's the brightest star in my life," she agreed, faking another smile.

She squeezed Yzak's hand harder, causing him to grit his teeth in order not to cry out in pain. The fact that his body had tensed up upon her taking his hand was not because of nervousness or anything that silly. Despite Shiho going a very good job faking a smile for Ezaria and her parents, she was doing an even better job at digging her nails into Yzak's hand to show her dissatisfaction at the way things were going.

Yzak made a mental note to never, ever let her hold his hand again.

Fortunately the gathering in the lounge came to the end a few minutes later when the maid came in and announced that dinner was served. Friedrich offered his arms to Keiko and Ezaria and led them into the dining room. Yzak took this opportunity to wriggle his hand out of Shiho's grip.

"Damn it woman, are you insane!" he hissed as quietly as he could.

"That's what I should be asking you!" Shiho retorted, also in a hushed voice. "One, your whole plan of dressing me up isn't working squat! Two, what the hell were you thinking sweet talking my parents like that? We're not supposed to impress them!"

"What do you suggest I do? Spit in their faces every time they talk to me?"

"Miss Hahnenfuss? Mr Jule?"

Shiho and Yzak turned their eyes away from each other and saw that the maid was still standing there, obviously waiting for them to join their parents in the dining room. The maid stared at them with a stoned look and Yzak groaned inwardly for not making sure that they were alone before speaking. He silently offered Shiho his arm like a true gentleman and she took it like a proper lady. Together they exited the lounge and walked past the maid as if nothing had happened.

They rejoined their parents in the dining room and the food was served without any complications, aside from the maid giving Yzak horrible glances that made him feel like he was about to turn into stone any moment. Shiho felt it as well, as he noticed that she was slouching slightly as she sat as if she did not want to be noticed or looked at. Not that it mattered, Ezaria, Keiko and Friedrich seemed like they were in their own world as they spoke jovially. Keiko informed Ezaria of the latest gossip and considering everything she had to say the two of them could have probably gone on the entire evening, if not for the fact that a few things were simply too vulgar to be shared during dinner. Friedrich joined their conversation occasionally by adding a few details to the stories Keiko told.

Despite the topics Yzak felt grateful that it was not worse. He and Shiho spent most of the time poking around their food and when dessert finally was served he calculated that he would only have to endure about twenty minutes of more poking before dinner was over and about another hour he would be able to leave.

"...if I wasn't for the fact that his wife works with Friedrich I wouldn't even have invited them to the party tomorrow."

"We'll just have to make sure that he'll be kept away from the drinks, I'm sure Kevin can handle that. Of course, he'd have to take part of the toast..."

Yzak nearly choked on the soufflé, but managed to transform it into a barely audible cough. However, it was enough to gain the attention of his mother who was now staring at him with a rather concerned look on her face.

"Is something the matter, Yzak?"

Yzak bit his lip.

"No, it's just... you mentioned something about a party?" he asked casually.

"Ah, I see," Ezaria said, sounding rather delighted. "We forgot to tell you, didn't we? Since the wedding is so soon we decided that we had to hold the engagement party as soon as possible. We'll be hosting it right here tomorrow right, aren't we Keiko?"

"That's right," Keiko agreed, just as delighted as Ezaria. She looked towards Yzak and Shiho. "You two don't have to worry about a thing, we've taken care of everything for you."

Yzak's lips automatically formed a smile.

Inwardly, he was wishing that he had choked on the soufflé for real and died at the spot.