Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne

No one to help

Walking keeping my guard up, "Where is that moron partner of my?" I let that slip. Walking thinking that I am going to be toast out in the middle of nowhere, why did he have to leave me here all alone. Well I guess I could have waited 5 more minutes, but he was taking so long. Stupid! Why do I have to be so impatient? Stop whining, what good is whining if I have Army skills. I will just find my way back.

"Dragonet, Dragonet do you read me? Where are you? I'm at ground zero. If this is one of your pranks I will kill you" I thought for two or three minutes and was going to answer him but, "Hitomi sorry I mean Dragonet please answer me."

How could I refuse him saying please and I wanted to get him for saying my name over the air in enemy territory, he also sounded worried too. "Dragon I'm alive don't freak! I'm just lost because you took your pleasing time and I went looking for you. And another thing, do you always forget no names over the air…."

"Dragonet kept talking I am tracking you with a little trick I found out."

"Is it one of those tricks that anyone can find me, because if it is I will never forgive you for getting us captured and….." I heard movement in the woods. I wasn't sure if it was Van or not. So my training finally kicked in and I threw a grenade that froze everyone in a 1/2 mile radios around me.

I took out my pistil and slowly walked to the sound when I heard a groaning that sounded like "Hitomi". I knew just from the sound that it was Van.

"Van is that you?" I asked the groaning.

"Hitomi who else would it be? I try being a helpful guy and what happens? You freeze me. But of course you have to be little, oh miss protective. Why did they have to give the girls those freezing things, when all they do is freeze their partners who are guys that are trying to help them?" He shouted to where he thought I was.

"Feel better." I surprised him, "Your little tracking thing was not that good if you can't correctly locate me." I noticed that he was expecting to get frozen, because he was sitting down.

"I do not feel better." He told me as I sat next to him preparing myself for a very long lecture, "I was worried sick that the enemy found you and then I felt mad because last week you played a little trick on me and ended up finding the village that I was looking for. Key word here stealer. And why do they have to give the girls those stupid freezing grenades when all they do is freeze their helpful partners and blame it on, ' have to be extremely careful.' I bet ten years ago when girls were not allowed in the front lines they did not have a problem on partners freezing in the middle of nowhere. And you know what, that little trick that I did, did help to find you. I just learned it last week from the village that you found, but I was the one that was supposed to find it. But tell me was that a prank you pulled, because if it was you better run now when you know you have a head start.Hitomi I was really worried. I told you to stay for one hour, I come back to give a full report and you are missing. Did you know that the reason I was gone so long is that I found that the enemy has an army of at least two hundred men, not counting women. When you where gone I thought that one of them took you. I was worried sick. If one of them really took you I would go down there and try to save you. But I figured that there was no blood shed so I called you on the radio. When you did not answer I called you again, I was so worried I called you by your name and was more worried when that happened because if you where captured they would know your name. But all that worrying for nothing, you called in and blamed it on me. Hey, I'm not frozen anymore. Let's go home."

"How come you couldn't find me with that new trick of yours?"

"I just learned it in that little village that you found and that I was supposed to find." He told me. If you didn't notice already I'm playing my own little trick on him. How it goes is that I keep him talking so that his anger is all released and he forgets all about our little incident. You see since girls have only been in the front line for two years then we are on watch. Even if we mess up (like I just did) we get put back into the lame places. And I also want to be in the CIA, so they are already watching me. I think that Van actually enjoys these freezing moments. It gives him a chance to lecture someone on their "wrong doing." And I don't think he will ever tattle on me because he knows how much I want to be a CIA agent and that is the only reason I joined the army. "Hitomi, are you even listening to me because this is important stuff. I keep on telling you that you can't day dream like you always do. If you want to be in the CIA then you have to learn. It will be hard on you, but even more hard if you day dream. No one will want a day dreaming partner."

That was then did I realize he is teaching me the best lessons I will ever learn in the easiest way. I looked him in those brown eyes and told him, "I am ready to listen, Van. Really if you want me to say your lecture sentence by sentence I will try. I may not get it done right but I will try, honest." I did not mean to put it in such a mocking and teasing way, but what was done was done.

"I don't feel like you are taking me seriously anymore. And you are always looking at the ground. I feel like I'm talking to myself. Hitomi when I give you advice or a lecture, please, look me in the eyes." I looked at him and took in all I could, black hair streaked by the sun, brown, chocolate eyes that always made me melt, and a man two years older than me and it showed it in his height, he is at least six feet tall. I was five' five", twenty years old, had brownish blond type of hair, had green eyes and had no make-up on (as if I wear make-up anyway). At the next look I took in his clothes, they where the same as mine, our camouflage. The only things different were the certain badge (a girl badge and a boy badge) and the badge that said our last names and rank. "That is better. How about we leave now?"

I heard something in the brush around us. "I don't think you will be leaving soon."

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