Disclaimer: The Vision of
Escaflowne, Tenchi Muyo, Rurouni Kenshin characters and any other anime
characters who pop up later on are property of their respective owners. (I
will likely add in series titles here as the characters pop up, if they do).
Dimensional Chaos
"New
Arrivals 01"
by P-Chan E-mail me! Puh leez! I
need some input! Or encouragement!
Author's Note: My first fic ever!!! Be kind!! Oh—some of the
characters you don't recognize from Esca are from other series, but treat them
as new characters to make it less confusing. Happy reading! Review, review!
"Hey Hitomi!" yelled Yukari, running to catch up with
her best friend, Hitomi Kanzaki, as they walked to their next class. "Do you want to go to the mall after school
today?"
Hitomi turned around to face her friend, her shoulder
length honey colored hair tossing softly and her
green eyes sparkling, but with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Yukari, but I need to meet my mom after class. We're going to the airport to pick up the
exchange student that's staying at our house, remember?"
"Oh yeah! What's her name again?" Yukari questioned.
"It's Keiko. Keiko Kubayashi. Or at least I think
so," Hitomi answered, with a sheepish
smile.
"What do you mean, you 'think' you know?"
"Well, ummm...you see, the papers they sent us got...
well... smudged... not too much but they were smudged... when I... uh...
accidentally spilled my juice on them last week. From what was left I concluded
that the closest name possible was Keiko."
"That was a smart thing to do, Hitomi. Well, at least now there will be someone new
to go to the mall with, " Yukari said
mischievously. With that, the bell rang
to signal the beginning of class, and the girls settled down to yet another
boring lecture on the ever-present laws of gravity.
***
Hitomi got into the car beside her mother and turned to her excitedly. "What do you think she'll be like,
Mom?" Will she like me? I hope we will get along-it'll be like
having a sister. We can stay up late,
do manicures, talk, watch TV..."
"Did you remember to bring along the description
card, Hitomi?" her mother interrupted as she turned into the airport parking
lot. "I'm still worried that we won't
know who she is because the agency didn't send us a picture."
"I'm sure we will, Mom," Hitomi said
optimistically. "Oh no! I just thought of something—she's half
Japanese and half English, isn't she? What if she can't speak Japanese? What will we do?"
"Now, dear, I'm sure that she'll be fine. She would not have been chosen to come here
if she didn't know Japanese. And you
can always teach her, Hitomi." She
opened the door to the airport and smiled at Hitomi. "I know you'll make her feel right at home."
Hitomi smiled back and began to scan the bustling
crowd at the airport. She watched as
the last passengers from Keiko's flight straggled out of the lobby. Only a few were left in the seats—a mother
and her children, an old man, a boy around her age, and another teenager—a girl
who also looked about her age. Hitomi walked up to the girl, who at close range
looked a few years older than she, with shiny long black hair that Hitomi
envied.
"Hi! I'm
Hitomi Kanzaki. You'll be staying with
us for the next year as an exchange student, right? We've come to take you home."
The girl looked at her a little strangely. "Umm... I'm sorry, but I have no idea what
you're talking about. Is this a joke?"
Hitomi blushed, embarrassed. "Then you aren't Keiko Kubayashi?"
"I'm afraid not. I'm sorry. Goodbye." The girl walked quickly away from Hitomi.
"All boarders of flight 420 to Tokyo, Japan, please
prepare for departure at gate 46," the overhead loudspeaker boomed.
Hitomi
looked around the empty waiting area, dismayed. No one was left in the lobby. She turned to find her mother so that they could find help in locating
their missing guest.
Her mother was standing to the side, talking with the
young boy she had seen earlier, who looked about her age. "Hitomi!" she called. "Come here!"
A confused Hitomi made her way over to her mother.
"Hitomi," her
mother said, "it seems there has been a
mistake in the papers. Meet Keith
Kubayashi, our exchange student." She
indicated the young man who was standing next to her, smiling shyly at
Hitomi.
A boy? thought
Hitomi. Keith? Oh no. What kind of a name is that? It does have a nice ring to it, though—it
must be English. Out loud she said politely, "Hello, Keith. It's a pleasure meeting you."
What was Yukari going to say?
***
The city bustled with activily. Cheerfully, Merle handed a lunch to a
construction worker. "There you go, Mr.
Ikagi." With a soft, irritated mrow,
she scurried after the naughty street children, leaving Van to trail behind,
watching the reconstruction with pride. When he'd finally caught up with her,
Merle glared playfully at him. "You're so slow, Lord Van!" Van smiled slightly,
but didn't respond. Pouting, Merle realized that he was too absorbed with
watching his people to pay attention to her bantering. Sighing, Merle pulled
him toward the shops that had already been restored. "Lord Van, let's enjoy the
afternoon a bit!" Letting himself be led by his childhood friend, the King of
Fanelia continued to tour his kingdom with pride.
As he strolled along the street, Merle bubbled
happily about everything she saw while Van nodded occasionally to acknowledge
her cheerful chattering. Abruptly, Merle directed her full attention on Van.
"Where's your sword?" she asked. She scrutinized him.
Van shifted uncomfortably.
"It's at the palace."
Merle raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that?"
Van's expression became pensive. As he spoke, his
eyes grew serious. "Though his methods were less than admirable, my brother's
ideal of peace is a vision I, too, aspire to attain. I prefer his vision to the
violence of the Great War. At least here, in Fanelia, I'd hope to be able to
explore the kingdom without feeling a need to have a sword. Do you understand
what I'm saying, Merle?" An awkward silence followed. A subdued Merle nodded,
her eyes full of understanding and sympathy. But, shaking off the gloom that
had settled upon her shoulders, Merle shoved Van playfully, taunting him,
"Catch me if you can!" The serious mood broken, Van grinned and followed her as
she wound her way through the alleys and streets of Fanelia.
Heedless, Merle drew Van away from the buildings and
into the shade of the surrounding forests. Delighting in her feline agility,
Merle sped ahead, occasionally glancing back to make sure a hapless flag of red
continued to trail after her. She tightened her grip on her knapsack, too, so
that she wouldn't drop it as she ran through the woods. It would not do to
lose Van's new gifts from the generals, she thought.
Determined to truly outrun Van, Merle soon became lost in the maze of trees.
She had planned to head towards Escaflowne but, in her haste, had lost her
sense of direction. Moving more slowly, Merle reached a clearing and decided to
wait for Van to catch up.
***
Van shook his head, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
He could not help but feel as carefree as a child again, as if he were still
the little prince of Fanelia, and not king. Ah, Merle, you're lost again, Van
thought. Taking his time, Van followed the obvious trail Merle had left in her
passing.
***
Pouting, Merle glared at the trees. He's doing this on purpose, she
thought. Sighing, she was about to settle down for a long wait when the leaves
behind her rustled. Whirling, Merle beamed and cried, "Lord Van!"
***
Shifting his shoulder pack, a lone figure trudged through the woods. Silently,
he walked slowly, ignoring the shy, curious forest animals that dared to
approach him. His garments were simple and primarily blue in color.
Perpetually, a smile ghosted across his lips. A sheathed sword swung at his
side, its hilt glinting in the forest light.
***
The smile left her face and Merle's eyes widened as the mountain bandits
surrounded her. Drawing back, she snarled, but a harsh cuff from one of the
bandits silenced her for a moment. She whimpered and screamed, "Lord Van!"
***
A cry reverberated through the woods. Two figures started and turned toward the
sound. The birds fluttered as flashes of blue and red sped through the trees.
***
Merle gasped in pain as another bandit struck her.
The men took her knapsack and she scrambled to retrieve it. "That belongs to
Lord Van!" she cried angrily. One of the bandits grabbed her, trapping her
wrists. Another put a sword to her throat. Merle's eyes widened in fear again.
"Kill her."
Merle felt the touch of cold steel on her skin. She
shut her eyes and squeaked in fright.
"Stop!" Merle's eyes flew open. Van stood in the clearing
now, preparing to fight off the bandits. His red eyes glinted dangerously. Then
she remembered that Van was completely unarmed.
"Lord Van! Get away from here!"
"Let her go," he said threateningly.
The bandits laughed. "What will you do, boy?" Van
clenched his fists angrily. He flung himself at the taunting bandit and Merle
screamed in fear for him. Others joined the bandit, and they soon overpowered
Van.
"Kill him first," said the bandit leader. Merle
screamed and struggled furiously, heedless of the sword at her throat.
Helplessly, she watched as one drew a sword and prepared to slit Van's throat.
Clang!
An
unusual-looking sword braced the bandit's blade, keeping it just inches from
Van's skin. Van and Merle gaped at the stranger in blue. A smile ghosted across
his lips and stayed there.
"Perhaps the weak do not need to die. Shall we see if
Kenshin was right?"
In a blur, the
stranger engaged the bandit with his sword. The queer blade flew, the stranger's
strokes so rapid that the bandit barely avoided being sliced to death. With
unearthly speed, the stranger defeated the bandits, forcing them to flee one
after the other. Soon enough, the clearing emptied until only Merle, Van, and
the stranger remained standing.
The mysterious young man looked up at Van and Merle,
his bangs falling away to reveal a boyish, smiling face.
"The times are dangerous, even here, it seems. A
sword is as necessary as ever."
"Who are you?"
Ignoring them, he continued to speak, addressing no
one in particular. "I was told once that 'The strong survive and the weak must
die'. Do you think that's true?"
With that, he turned and vanished, leaving Van and
Merle gazing at his retreating back, too surprised to follow.
Stay tuned for the next chapter! Mwahahahaha!