(A/N: Hey all! Sorry this took so long. My compy's been actin up, and I lost this entire chappie! I had to re-write it from memory! So if it's a little weirder than usual, that's why. ONWARD AND UPWARD PEEPS!)


"LOOK! LOOK!" Hinode cried, "The Eiffel Tower!"

"Isn't it pretty!" Sora squealed.

"Yeah, yeah…whatever." Akne drawled through a veil of smoke.

Trowa's eyes glittered with excitement as he stared out the window.

Paris.

City of Lights.

Home to some of the world's most beautiful works of art.

He couldn't wait.

Quatre, ever the empath, caught the look in his eyes and smiled.

"As excited to be here as I am I take it." he observed.

Trowa said nothing but gave a light inclination of the head.

"Me too." Quatre smiled, somehow forming a sentence from his friend's silence, "I can't wait to see the Mona Lisa either!"

Wufei stared a moment at the blond Arab then shook his head.

"How does he DO that?" the Chinese teen had to wonder.


Duo was once again, being ordered around by the flight staff having resumed his position as Akane's Personal Dog.

"Ch. Knew it was th' booze talkin'." He grumbled internally, trying his best to make Seared Fois gras for the co-pilot through a hangover that had yet to fade, "No WAY I'd think you were cute SOBER!"

"Achoo!" Akane sneezed, rubbing her nose to rid herself of the itch.

"Are you sure you're not catching cold Miss Kakyoin?" Domino asked, staring at her hard.

"I'm fine." She snapped, "Someone's...thinkin' ill a me 's all."

She glared poisonously at Duo's back.

"HEEP!" Duo squeaked, feeling as though two holes were being burned through his spinal column.

Heero had to admit he was a little impressed.

That Akane girl's fierce stare was comparable to his own.

A pity that she hated him really.

With their common love of firearms and explosives they probably could've been the best of friends...had the circumstances surrounding Heero's birth been different of course.

Relena was not doing well.

Her hangover was unprecedented.

In fact, it was almost as bad as Duo's.

"How did they talk me into it?" Relena moaned, slumping against Heero as her head throbbed, "Pleeeeeease hurry up and kick in, Mr. Asprin."

"Dumbass." Akane snickered to herself, "Ekiyabe(1) is th' only way ta go."


-Later...In the Louvre...-­

"Astounding…" Wufei said, taking in the "Venus de Milo", "Remarkable really. To think this was carved by hand."

"…huh…her eyes really DO follow you!" Duo thought, a little fascinated, a little creeped out as he walked this way and that to escape the gaze of "The Mona Lisa".

Trowa gazed at the "The Gleaners" a serene look on his face.

"I agree." Quatre murmured, "Quite beautiful."

Heero gave them a look, then shook his head.

"Miss Kakyoin, would you like to move on to the Picasso exhi-?" Domino never finished his sentence.

Akane had escaped again.

"Akan-neeeeee!" Sora moaned smacking a hand against her forehead.

"We were actually enjoying the museum!" Hinode groaned, eyeing Wufei's ass.

Domino was off like a shot, knocking over several museum patrons and nearly destroying several priceless works of art.


Relena and the G-Boys just stared after his trail of dust, a bemused expression on their faces.

"What do you think?" Wufei asked no one in particular, "Should we help him find her?"

"…it would be the right thing to do." Heero muttered.

"It WOULD be the right thing to do-" Dou interjected, "-except…we're on vacation. So…we should care cuz why?"

"…"

Trowa said nothing but tilted his head slightly.

Heero noticed instantly.

But as he was not fluent in "Trowa Speak", he had no idea what the teen had said.

So naturally, he was on Quatre faster than the blond boy could blink.

"What did he just say?" he asked, staring the Arab down without really meaning to (conditioned reflex)

"Uh-um-ah!" Quatre stammered, "Huh-he s-said thuh-thuh-that wuh-WESHOULDHELPDOMINOLOOKFORHER!AAAAH!DON'THURTME!"

"Leave him A-LONE Heero!" Sora shouted, hugging the now bawling teen close.

"YEAH!" Hinode cried, joining Sora in hugging Quatre, "He's SPOSDA be your FRIEND!"

Heero's eyes took on a look that might have been better suited to a very confused child.

"What did I do?" he wondered.

"There, there." Relena said, patting her boyfriends messy hair, "It's not your fault."


Akane strolled through the City of Love, taking in the familiar sites.

She nearly walked past the fountain just outside the Place de la Concorde but quickly back tracked and smirked mischievously.

"'kay Kazu." She grinned, "Just like I promised!"

She dashed for the pigeons perched on and around the fountain, nearly colliding with a man with midnight blue hair.

The man did a rather comical double take as Akane shot past, lilac eyes dancing with glee as she terrorized the rats with wings.

The pale pink tinge in the man's cheeks drained away as he watched the fair-skinned teen continue to chase the pigeons.

"Ća va?" the woman on his arm asked him worriedly, taking in his ashen complexion.

"…oui…ća va." (2) He murmured as they continued on their way.

"Haaa…that felt good." Akane grinned, sitting on the cobblestones, taking no notice as the man glanced back at her one last time.


"THERE SHE IS!" a familiar voice shouted.

Akane didn't even need to look up to know it was Sora.

And to know that Domino was in her company.

"Shit." She hissed, leaping to her feet.

Akane was already looking for a means of escape as she ran in the opposite direction as Domino.

It was pure luck that sent that souped-up Vespa her way.

Without so much as an 'excuse me' or 'sorry', she dropkicked the rider off and took off like a bullet.

"Where t' go…where t' go…" she mused as she drove away, "…huh…I never did see the L'arc de Triumph th' last time I was here."


"Dammit!" Wufei snarled, "How does that woman keep DOING that!"

His warrior's pride was taking serious hit points every time Akane managed to slip through his fingers.

His comment, however, fell on deaf ears.

Sora and Hinode were too busy trying to pacify Domino to listen.

"I gonna be fired." Domino mumbled, rocking back and forth, "..gonna be fired…just know it."

"Would that really be sucha bad thing?" Duo asked sardonically.

"Duo! That's a horrible thing to say!" Relena cried.

"But it's true." Hinode sighed.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with them." Quatre exhaled.

"This can not be good for his heart." Sora nodded.


Heero approached Domino, gun in hand.

"Sir, may I request your permission to retrieve the target using...any means necessary?" he asked, speaking more then than he had the entire trip.

Glancing bleakly at the firearm, Domino nodded weakly.

"...nn weethfl futh..." he mumbled into his knees.

"What was that?" Duo blinked.

Wufei shrugged.

"…he said…no lethal force." Trowa murmured.

Everyone turned and stared at the stoic pilot of Heavy Arms.

"He speaks." Duo grinned, eyes wide with shock.

"Of course he does." Quatre said defensively, "He spoken before."

"But he does so so rarely!" Sora smiled.

"You gotta admit Q-chan, it's a little shocking after nothing but silence forso long." Hinode laughed.

"Why am I the only one who can understand him?" Quatre thought to himself tiredly.


"...whooooooa." Akane said, stunned to say the least.

She strained to see all the way to the top of the L'arc de Triumph...and failed (ah the miseries of being short)

"I didn't think it'd be THIS big." She muttered, a grin slowly formingon her lips, "...AWESOME!"

After acting like a giddy tourist forapproximately...hmm...ten seconds, Akane hopped back on the "borrowed" Vespa and took off foranother location.

"Hmm...now where was that winery located again?" she thought to herself as she zipped along, "...nnn...NNNN-this just shows how livin' with four guys'll effectcha! I don't WANNA ask fer directions, DAMMIT!"

But thankfully, her femininity (she still HAS that?) prevailed and a five minute conversation later, she was back on the road.

"Alrighty then!" she smirked, driving around a the road block and blazing on by, "Suo'll wanna '40 a course, but whaddabout Taka?"


Heero and the others stared at Akane's back as she shot past the barricade.

"...shit." Heero muttered, scowling.

"I thought fer sure that would work Heero." Duo said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

Domino rocked back and forth on the ground in the fetal position, sucking his thumb.

Sora and Hinode did their best to comfort him.

"There, there." Sora said, a bit unsure of herself, "It's not your fault."

"Y-yeah." Hinode said with forced cheerfulness, "Akane just has a restless spirit is all!"

"That's right!" Sora said, nodding at Hinode, "It isn't your fault she can't sit still!"

Trowa tugged on Quatre's sleeve.

"Hm?"

Quatre, looked at Trowa.

"…"

Trowa said nothing just stared.

"I'll see if it's alright." Quatre said peaceably.

"What's up Q-man?" Duo asked.

"Trowa wishes to know if he may return to The Louvre by himself." Quatre replied.

"May I go along as well Heero?" Relena asked gently, "I barely began to take in all th-"

"Take Relena with you." Heero barked, intent on capturing his quarry, "Meet us at the Hotel when you finish."

"Trowa, somehow I get the distinct impression that we're not wanted." Relena harrumphed as they stalked off.

Trowa ignored the girl, focusing solely on his goal of getting to The Louvre with his sanity still intact.


-Several Hours Later...Back At The Hotel..­.-

Akane, somehow, someway, had beat the G-Boy's home.

She was lying on her stomach in a pair of boxer style undies and an oversized Tee (stolen from Takaomi), watching "The Simpsons" in French and twirling a bottle of wine in her fingers by the neck.

"Hey guys." Akane smirked, sitting up and folding her legs primly, "What keptcha?"

Heero began shaking in silent rage.

Duo's face turned beet red with just barely contained anger.

Wufei cracked his knuckles loudly, eyes narrowed into slits.

Quatre was being held up by Hinode and Sora as he had fallen asleep twenty minutes earlier.

Justas it looked like all would break loose...Domino broke the ranks, glommed onto.

Akane and bawled like a baby.

"There, there." Akane said grinning awkwardly; p'atting his smooth, shaven head, "Calm down, ya big girl."

Domino lifted his large face off of her shoulder (he fell to his knees) deluges of tears still pouring down his face

"...hhhhhh...WHYYY?" He asked loudly, giving her a shake.

"Eh...I just like screwin' with ya." Akane shrugged.

Domino burst into tears again just as Relena and Trowa walked through the door.

"WHADDID I DO T' DESERVE THIS?" He wailed.

"Dunno." Akane shrugged again, "But whatever it was, it musta been pretty shitty."

"Um…whud we miss?" Relena had to ask Heero.

"Something's are better left unsaid." Quatre said.

"Um, could you cry on the bed or somethin'?" Akane asked the still-sobbing Domino, "You're gettin' me all soggy."


(A/N: Mysterious packages begin to arrive for Akane. Are they from an Admirer? Or someone far more sinister? Are they linked to that mysterious man? What will happen as the group leaves for Madagascar? R&R)


(1) Ekiyabe- Ekiyabe is an almost instantaneous Japanese hangover cure. It's why Akane's back on her feet. She gave some to Hino and Sora (who in turn snuck some to a few of the boys)

(2) "Ća va?"; "…oui…ća va."- "Are you alright?"; "…yes…I'm fine."