A Dream of Escaflowne
One Writer's Sequel to the Vision of Escaflowne
by Hibana
Author's Note: Read and Enjoy (hopefully). This story starts roughly three months after the end of the tv series (not the movie).
Disclaimer: I do not own Vision of Escaflowne. I also do not own "The Extra Mile" from the Pokemon 2000 songtrack, which I use here (though I do modify it a bit).
Prelude
An alarm clock beeped, awakening Hitomi Kanzaki from her peaceful dreams of flying. She turned it off, stretched her arms with a yawn, and smiled. Jumping out of bed, she grabbed her uniform from its hook on the wall, brushing a prism wind charm in the process. Its crystal chimes rang as clear and bright as the sun reflecting through the prism. She ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and humming a Fanelian tune. Her humming was heard by her mother as she passed by, and she smiled.
"Good morning, Hitomi," she called.
"Good morning Mom!" cried Hitomi from inside the bathroom. A moment later she bounded out of the bathroom, now fully ready for school, and kissed her mother on the cheek.
"Breakfast is on the table, dear, and I already put your lunch in your backpack," said Hitomi's mother.
"Thanks Mom! You're the best!" said Hitomi, before bounding down the stairs.
"Good morning, Hideko," she said, messing up her little brother's hair as she passed him.
"Morning, Hitomi," he said, smiling at his older sister, not seeming to notice his hair. "Hey, are you coming to my baseball game today?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said, grabbing a piece of toast and her backpack. She patted her brother's head and fixed his hair in the same motion. Hopping over to the entry way, she slipped on her shoes, hopping on one foot as she got on each shoe. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad! Bye Hideko! See you after school!"
"Have a good day Hitomi!" called her mother after Hitomi as she ran out the door.
Hitomi ran down the sidewalk and out the gate and smiled, thinking of a certain king who was most likely still in bed. Just thinking of him brought her closer and closer to him, until her mind touched his. ~Good morning Van!~she cried happily in her mind, reaching out to him.
On Gaea, Van was awake but still lying in bed.
~You're far too awake this morning,~ he said.
~Come on, Van, you've got to get up, or else Merle will get you like the last time....~
He sat up bolt straight, throwing off the covers. ~Fine, I'm up!~
Just then Merle opened the door, carrying a water pitcher. She stopped when she saw Van awake. "Awww, Lord Van...." she moaned, whining since her prank was ruined.
~What'd I tell ya?~ chirped Hitomi.
"Nice try, Merle," said Van. "You almost had me if it wasn't for Hitomi."
"Hitomi! No fair!" she cried.
~Sorry, Merle, but I'm on Van's side~
"She says she's sorry, but she's on my side," Van relayed to Merle.
"It's still not fair," muttered Merle, her ears drooping. She turned to leave, but glanced back to see the happy smile on Van's face as he listened to something Hitomi was saying. She smiled and darted off to get breakfast.
Back on Earth, Hitomi ran down the street, smiling. It had startled her, and him, the first time they had connected. Discovering that their thoughts could touch had been quite a shock, knocking both of them out of the chairs they had been sitting in. She had been thinking of him, imagining his face in her mind, as she had the day she received his feather, and wondered inside, I wonder how Van is doing today… when she had suddenly heard his voice in her head saying her name. It didn't take them long, after the initial shock, to try it again and work out the kinks behind this new form of communication. Now it was commonplace to both of them—a sort of instant message or IM, Hitomi thought, though Van had no idea of what she meant.
~So, what do you have today?~ asked Van, distracting Hitomi from her thoughts.
~I've got an algebra quiz that I didn't have time to study for!~ she said.
~Well, if you'd have studied instead of reading that book....~ began Van.
~You're one to talk! You were supposed to have done the paperwork instead of playing chess with that general!~
~As king, I believe the people should come first before all of my other kingly duties.~ replied Van in his loftiest tone.
~Hah! I guess getting whooped by him comes first as well.~ she returned.
~How did this become about me instead of you and your quiz?~ retorted Van
~Oh no! The quiz! I forgot again!~ cried Hitomi, picking up speed as she rounded the corner towards the school. She could hear Van's laugh in her mind and it made her smile bigger.
Some girls called her name and waved hello and she waved back. More people said hi; virtually everyone she passed greeted her. Her smile fell on them all. She bounded into the school up the front steps in three leaps, racing for her classroom.
"That Hitomi, she's always so nice," said one girl.
"Yeah, always smiling," said her friend.
Yukari spotted Hitomi and caught up to her. "Hey Hitomi, did you study for the quiz?"
"No, I didn't.... hey, how was your date with Amano? Where'd you go? How'd it go?" she asked.
Yukari blushed. "Oh, it was, um...., really romantic, he brought me flowers and everything..."
"He did! Wow, Yukari!" Hitomi began, excited for her friend.
~Quiz?~ piped Van in Hitomi's mind.
~Be quiet, Van~ she retorted.
"Yeah, and then he took me out to this nice restaurant, and..." Yukari went on, and Hitomi listened eagerly, supporting her friend through her excitement. Yukari and Amano make such a cute couple, she thought privately. After her return from Gaia, she had noticed and encouraged her friend's feelings for her former crush, and they had started a successful long distance relationship. Once Amano moved back to the town, however, their relationship was able to take on a normal feel.
They continued talking until the bell rang and they had to run to their classroom. As they sat down, Van piped again.
~Algebra Quiz?~
"Oh no!" cried Hitomi. "I forgot to study again!"
~Relax, Hitomi, you don't have your math class until after lunch, right?~
"Oh no, Hitomi, what are you going to do?" said one of their friends.
"Don't you have it after lunch?" said another friend a moment later.
"That's right. I'll just study during lunch. I'm okay," she said. ~Thanks Van, for reminding me.~
~No problem.~
Back on Gaea, Van walked through the castle, following Merle to the kitchen. All the chefs greeted him, not only out of custom but out of friendship. One of them tossed him a fruit and Van caught it and smiled, since it was his favorite.
"What would you like for lunch today, King Van?" asked one of the chefs.
"Anything. I'm being spoiled on your cooking. If this continues on as it is, we will need a larger throne," Van answered, and the cooks laughed.
Leaving the kitchen, he traveled through the castle, being greeted by everyone he saw. He smiled at them all, stopping occasionally to ask someone about specific events such as their engagement, birthday, or anything involved in their personal life. He swept through the castle leaving smiling faces in his wake.
"Our king is so awesome," sighed one of the maids.
"He even knew it was my birthday!" cried another girl.
"Yeah, and he's handsome too," said a third maid.
"Keep dreaming. You know he's in love with the Seeress. I bet he's already talked to her today," said the first.
"What do you mean? I thought she went back to the Mystic Moon?" said a fourth maid.
"You must be new here," said the birthday girl.
"She did go back, but our King Van can talk to her in his mind," pronounced the first maid.
"But isn't that strange?" said the new maid.
"It is a little. But this way the Seeress can give him advice and stuff like that. She's even saved his Majesty's life when he almost ate that poisoned bug that fell in his food," answered the first.
"She's sort of like his guardian spirit," said the birthday maid.
"Wow, the Seeress from the Mystic Moon looks after our King..." said the new maid in awe. She had heard the legends of the Seeress's power (but Hitomi would have been floored by the exaggerated legends of her).
"And our country," said the first maid proudly.
"And it's soo romantic," said the birthday girl dreamily.
"Well, I can still dream, can't I?" said the third maid, and the others giggled.
Van, unaware of their talk, continued on through the castle, with Merle at his heel. He passed by a window and had to pause, leaning against the sill and taking a bite out of his fruit as he looked across his kingdom, radiant in the morning light.
One of Hitomi's teacher passed out a new project guide sheet to the entire class. Hitomi looked and saw that it was called 'The Poem/Song Writing Contest.'
"This new project is worth 100 points and it is an actual contest. We hold it every year among the junior class to find the best poem or song which will be published in the yearbook. Your subject can be anything as long as it is nothing inappropriate, and I will let you use your own discretion on that matter," said the teacher, looking at the class with eyes that warned, don't do anything stupid. "Feel free to write about anything that interests you. Why, last year someone wrote a dramatic, though humorous, poem about the tragedy of melting ice cream." The class laughed. "It can be anything from humorous anecdotes to laments to romantic... we've had a wide range throughout the years. Your project will be read aloud in front of the class, and three winners will be chosen from each classroom to participate in the finals."
The bell rang, and the students gathered up their things to leave. "Your project is due next week!" called the professor.
Hitomi gathered up her things and bounded over to Yukari. "So, are you going to write a poem about Amano for your project?"
Yukari blushed. "So what if I might? And what are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet..." Hitomi said.
~Hey Hitomi!~ came Van's voice.
Hitomi smiled. "I think I can figure it out."
~So, how did the quiz go?~ asked Van.
~Good, thanks to you constantly pestering me to study. I think I did well on it.~
~I'm glad.~
Initially it had taken a great deal of explanation for Van to understand exactly what type of work she had to do for school. His education had been private tutoring in matters pertaining to his position as prince, and as such, he had no idea of what went on in a classroom. He quickly realized, however, that tests and papers were bad and needed Hitomi's full attention (and not his distraction) and that quizzes were small, annoying versions of tests. He had learned not to bother her when she had the former.
~So, what's up in Fanelia?~
~What's...up?~
~It's a figure of speech.~
~Oh, well, anyway, we're going to have a festival next week to commemorate the end of the rebuilding.~
~Congratulations! I knew it was getting close, but you didn't tell me you were this close!~
~The people have really worked hard. I think, getting so close to the end, that it really inspired them to push forward. We're ahead of schedule~ Van thought with a laugh.
~Is it gonna be big?~
~You have no idea~ groaned Van, and Hitomi's laugh rang in his mind. ~We have so much food and activities being planned, and of course I get to plan them...~
~Poor Van. I'd offer to help, but I'm sure you're gonna make me help you plan anyway, so I'm not.~
~Thanks ever so much~ remarked Van dryly, making Hitomi laugh again. ~Though, I was going to ask you to help plan the booth layouts...~
~See! There you have it!~ she said.
~All right, you got me. But will you?~
~Of course I'm going to help you! Did you think I'd let you do it all on your own?~ she teased.
~I hoped you wouldn't.~
~I would never abandon you to the trials of kinghood.~
~You know, when you put it that way, you make it actually sound hard,~ returned Van, and Hitomi laughed.
She opened the gate to her house and walked up to her house.
"Mom! I'm home!" she called, slipping off her shoes and running to her room. She put down her book-bag and ran to the bathroom to change.
"You'll have to hurry, dear. Hideko's game starts in twenty minutes!" called her mother.
"I know!" called Hitomi, already coming out of the bathroom while pulling on different socks. She ran back to her room and fumbled through her bag. "Let's see... what should I take with me?" She went back and forth on whether to grab a water bottle or a snack, and after grabbing both, happened to see her poem project sticking out of her back-pack. "I can take this with me and see if I get any inspiration," she thought aloud, and picked it up.
"Hitomi!" called her mother.
"Coming!" called Hitomi, and ran out the door.
Both she and her mother got into the car and her mother began to drive down the driveway.
"You're brother is already there, warming up," said Hitomi's mother.
"I'm sorry, I ran as fast as I could home, but track practice just got out late," Hitomi said.
"I know, dear. I know you did your best," said her mother, and looked over and saw Hitomi's project. "Oh, you have a new project!"
"Yeah, I get to write a poem or song for this one," she said.
"Do you know what you are going to write about yet?" asked her mother.
"I think I have an idea," she said, and an image of Van came into her head. Now that she thought of him, she reached out to him and thought, ~Hey Van, do you want to see a baseball game?~
~What's baseball?~
~It's a sport people play with a ball and a bat and two teams. One team tries to hit the ball while the other tries to catch it and get it to a base before the runner does... you'll just have to see it and it'll make sense.~
~Okay. It sounds interesting.~
Meanwhile Hitomi's mother was speaking. "—I'd enjoy hearing it when you're done."
"Of course! I'll need you to help check it anyway," said Hitomi, smiling.
Her mother smiled, too, though not at Hitomi, but at the change in Hitomi, since she came back from that adventure.
It had, of course, come to light. The changes in her had been too noticeable to be overlooked, apparently, besides her sudden and astonishing disappearance. But her mother had taken it rather well, and after one late night's confession, lots of tears, and an explanation of how it related to Grandma, Hitomi's mother had understood. After all, Grandma had told Mother her story too.
Late that night, Hitomi sat up attempting to write her poem, having not written a word during the game, since she had been too busy cheering for Hideko and explaining baseball to Van. Now she pondered over a blank sheet of paper, tapping her pencil against her head. Sighing, she looked out the window as the curtains blew around her. The moon was full and bright.
Finally I can relax,~ came Van's voice through their connection. Hitomi smiled.
~You poor thing,~ she said back to him.
~Poor?~ Van asked. ~I'll have you know, that while Fanelia is certainly not the wealthiest country, we are increasing our wealth every day and as king… wait, is that another one of your expressions?~
~Yep, that's right.~ Hitomi said back, giggling. There was a moment of silence as both of them on either world, stretched and yawned.
After a moment Hitomi said, ~Hey, Van?~
~Yes?~
~I think...I think for my project, I'm going to write about you.~
~Really?~ came Van's voice after a moment, sounding odd.
~Uh-huh! But you're not going to be able to help me write it.~
~Why not?~
~Because I want it be a surprise, silly.~
~All right, I guess I'll wait.~ said Van. After a moment he said, ~It isn't going to be any embarrassing stories about me, is it?~
Hitomi couldn't help herself. She leaned back her head and laughed. In a room over, Hitomi's mother and father looked at each other. "Sorry! I just thought of something funny!" she said, which was close to being true.
Van, in his room on Gaea, smiled back, waiting for Hitomi to stop laughing. When she did, he told her ~Well, if I can't help you with your homework, I better go to bed. I have another meeting tomorrow.~
~All right. Talk to you in the morning~ Hitomi said back, and felt Van's presence slip away. Still smiling and warm inside, she stared at the paper till suddenly, inspiration hit her. She quickly began to scribble furiously on her paper, quickly working through it. The moon was much higher in the sky when she finally turned off the light.
"Hitomi, this is beautiful! Where did you get the inspiration?" asked her mother after reading Hitomi's poem the next day.
"I was just thinking about a friend," she said, smiling happily.
After a moment, Hitomi's mother asked, "Is this one of your friends from... the place you went?"
"Yeah, it is," said Hitomi, thinking fondly of Van, imagining him as he was at the moment, sitting at his desk with mounds of paperwork, scratching his head in frustration. "A very special friend."
Hitomi's mother wondered, but said nothing, and handed her daughter's report back to her.
A week later, Hitomi stood in front of her class, waiting for her cue to began. In her mind she reached out for Van, and when she had connected with him, nodded affirmatively.
~Here goes,~ she thought as the teacher nodded to her, and she took a deep breath before beginning, then said,
"My poem is called the Extra Mile, and it is dedicated to a friend of mine, a special person, whom none of you have ever met, and probably never will, because he lives so far away, but who taught me so much in the short time we spent together. He is the reason I am who I am today, and I wish with all my heart that he could hear me right now."
On Gaea, Van stood still, frozen, listening.
Hitomi began:
"Countless eyes are watching,
in this our finest start.
It's time to realize the dream,
of who we really are
I'm gonna freeze this space and time,
rise to meet the call
Since the moment may keep mind,
and through it all
Straight as the arrow flies
as we run towards the finish line
With all the strength I've found
my feet won't touch the ground
I will scale the heights if I believe
Your wings of faith will carry me
I'll go the distance just to reach the arms I'm running to
I'll go the extra mile for you
I know it won't be easy
to make you understand
I wanna take the glory
and put it in your hands
Cause you're the light that makes me shine,
you're the hero in my eyes
Win or lose, do or die,
I have made it high
Straight as the arrow flies
as we run towards the finish line
With all the strength I've found
my feet won't touch the ground
I will scale the heights if I believe
Your wings of faith will carry me
I'll go the distance just to reach the arms I'm running to
I'll go the extra mile for you
In the end, I wanna be able to say
I'd give all of me
for the world to see
And I would do it all again
I will fly like you with this strength I've found
You taught me to keep my feet off the ground
I will scale the heights because you believe
And your wings of faith will carry me
I'll go the distance just to reach the arms I'm running to
I will always go that extra mile for you
Oh, and it would be worthwhile
To go that extra mile
for you.
Her entire class stood in utter rapture as they listened to her poem. The teacher was the first to speak.
"Ms. Kanzaki, that was...beautiful," he said, and one by one the class began to clap in thunderous applause. Yukari was among them, and was filled with curiosity for who this friend was, though she had a guess. One of their friends leaned near.
"Hey, Yukari, do you know who Hitomi was talking about?"
"No," said Yukari. "No, I don't. But it all makes sense, doesn't it? It was someone she met when she went on that trip to Europe."
Europe was the explanation that had been given to Hitomi's friends and school. The tale was that Hitomi had suddenly been offered an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go, and she had taken it immediately, resulting in her few weeks absence from school. Yukari knew that something…else…had happened, but since she didn't know what and couldn't explain it (though it always felt odd when she tried to remember what had happened) she went along with the story.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I would think she was in love," said one of the friends, and they all looked at each other and giggled.
On Gaea, Van slowly sat down in his chair, emotion flooding through him. Merle looked at his face, and was startled to see what she saw there. A mixture of joy, awe, rapture, love, shock, was all on his face, and she, for once, did not know what to say.
"Lord Van?" she queried, but he did not reply, lost in thought and emotion.
She quietly slipped out, leaving Van alone.
After school, Hitomi was walking home, quietly meditating over her poem, and waiting to hear from Van. She shivered in the wind, for it was cooler than she had expected. Rounding the street, she was opening the gate to her house when Hitomi heard him.
~...Hitomi...~ came Van's voice, and she shivered, though not from the wind, for in Van's voice powerful emotions gathered that she dared not recognize. Van said her name again, and she started at the feeling, as waves of a foreign emotion—both not from her and new to her— swept through her. She paused, then hurried inside the yard and ran up to the door.
~Hitomi, I...~
She shivered again, and then the image came.
They had only a month ago learned that they could send images through their connection, when Van had focused on Merle so that Hitomi could see her as the cat-girl grew and changed her style. But this...this was a completely different kind of image. This one consisted of something that was not real, something imagined, but in the act it became real.
In her mind Van stood before her, and yet Hitomi stood distant, saw from a distance herself and Van. She saw Van step closer, lean forward, the image suddenly changed, so that she saw him, standing clearly in front of her, and yet not, he moved even closer and...kissed her. She gasped, and as she did she felt the kiss on her own lips.
Then it was gone, the connection broken, and Hitomi was glad to be leaning against the wall by her door. She trembled all over. Slowly she raised a hand and touched her mouth, and trembled again thinking of how real the kiss had felt. She dared not reach out to Van, and instead, dashed inside her home. Her mother saw her come in, and asked her, "Hitomi, how did your poem go?" but stopped short as she saw the look on her daughter's face.
Hitomi ran to her room, falling onto her bed, where she stayed, staring at the wall…coincidentally where above her desk was a picture of her friends that she had had drawn before she had left Gaea. On it was Van, smiling warmly...and to Hitomi, it seemed as if his eyes were shining at her, with what she had dared not see...no, she had known his feelings all along, hadn't she? She just hadn't thought about them, hadn't realized the truth...until now. And the kiss...there had been something...magical about it, beyond the kiss itself (which was still making her heart race); she was sure it had transcended the gap between them. Thinking about it, she faced the truth: Van was still in love with her. This entire time, all those conversations...and she had never acknowledged it. Neither of them had dared to acknowledge it. They would tease each other, laugh and talk, but always carefully avoid the topic. Neither wanted to remind themselves, or each other, of how much they felt…and how they were apart.
Suddenly longing swept over her. She was in love with him too, and she suddenly, irrationally, wanted to be near him, so much so that she wanted to fly out of the house and out into the light, into his arms...she wanted to be with him again, to talk to him, face to face, to kiss again...she wanted to be with him.
Then reality set in with a sickening twist. She couldn't, she realized, she couldn't be with him. She couldn't go back to Gaea, for if she stayed there then she would cause untold events, countless disasters with her power that was tied to her emotions. But...I love him... she whispered to herself. Isn't that enough? Shouldn't it make everything all right?
The hot tears started to overflow, pouring down her cheeks as she wept bitterly, for she had fallen in love only to be forced apart.
Besides, what was there for her? He was a king, king of Fanelia, of a country! And she was just a girl from another planet… not a princess or anything... even if she could... she could never really be with him. She forced herself to work through the possibilities. Even if she returned, even if she and Van still loved each other…she couldn't be with him. And what would she do there? Be the Seeress from the Mystic Moon, the King's sorceress—be there when he had to marry? She knew his advisors were already harping on him for that, though he had tried to shield those thoughts from her. They wanted him to marry, to have children who could be heirs for the Fanelian throne. To choose a queen to help him rule.
She could never be that. She could never be a queen, be a co-ruler of a country. So, what would she do? Just stand by and watch as he married someone else? Just the thought of that brought tears to her eyes.
No, it was all wrong. All wrong. There was just too many things, too many problems, too many barriers that prevented it. She forced herself to face the truth. What they experienced had been wonderful, but it was over. She'd been willing to accept it before, when she had gotten back. But now, now her heart ached at the thought that this, whatever it really was, was over. That not only was it doomed at the start, but it needed to end.
Oh, why did he have to go and kiss her! Why did he have to complicate everything so much! Couldn't he see how this would never work, how it would hurt her like this?
~Hitomi?~ His mind brushed hers, soft as a feather touching her cheek, hesitant.
She swallowed, tears hot on her cheeks. She forced herself to reply.
~Go away Van~.
On Gaea, Van recoiled from shock, the connection severed. Go away? He thought, confused. But I…
He didn't understand. Hitomi had showed him through her poem that she still cared about him, and he had showed her that he still loved her. Loved her so very much. And go away?
He was confused…and hurt.
Hurt turned into dejection, dejection into pain, pain into anger, anger into sullenness. Thoughts towards Hitomi turned darker and darker as the silence went on between them.
Well, fine! He thought angrily. Fine, then, Hitomi! Two can play at this game. I reached out to you and you rejected me. Now you won't speak. But I don't have to speak with you either! Until you break your silence, I'll hold mine.
The castle-folk noticed his mood, so different than his usual, as he brooded and sulked around the castle, snapping at everyone, even Merle, though she was the only one brave enough to give back as good as she got, finally demanding, "What's gotten into you, Lord Van!"
But Van wouldn't explain, and the people were left in misery, stuck with a temperamental, short-tempered king with a habit of staring out the window towards the Mystic Moon with a pained expression and a hand on a crystal pendant.
On Earth the change in Hitomi was striking. The very next day at school her friends and classmates asked her repeatedly what was wrong, if she was sick. The change from a cheery, bright-spirited Hitomi to this sad person was drastic, and her friends worried. Not even the announcement that she had won the poem contest, delivered to her by Yukari a week later, could cheer her up.
"See, Hitomi! See! You won! You're going in the yearbook and everything! You won, out of all the rest of the juniors in our class! Isn't it exciting!" Yukari said cheerfully, holding up the announcement.
"Not really," replied Hitomi, working on homework.
"But Hitomi… your poem was so beautiful, and… well, I would just think you'd be happy that you won."
"No. I wish… I wish I'd never even written it," she replied in so sullen a voice that Yukari immediately confronted her.
"Hitomi! How could you say such a thing! That's it, I've had enough. You've been like this for a week now, and you haven't told me or anyone why! I demand an explanation."
Hitomi could tell that her friend wasn't going to give up until she found out the truth, so she reluctantly began to explain as best she could.
"Remember my pen pal? The guy I met in G- in Europe, the one I've been writing too?" That had been part of the story, too—after she had connected with Van, she told Yukari that she was writing to her friend, like a pen pal, and that she was thinking of something to tell him—it was the only way to explain how she was constantly distracted.
"Yeah, the one you said you really liked. Why, what happened?"
"I sort of sent him a copy of the poem," Hitomi said, giving as close of the truth as she could.
"Really! I would think he'd be happy to see it! After all, you wrote it about him, and it's obvious you still really like him."
"That's just it."
"Wh—Hitomi, I don't get it. You're going to have to be clearer than that."
She sighed heavily. "We sort of had a fight. Well, not really, it's just...it's complicated." At her friend's look she said, "All right, all right! He, well, he sort of told me that he still really cares about me."
"And? Hitomi, how is that not a great thing!" Yukari exclaimed.
"Because it isn't! Because he's thousands of miles away and we can never be together!"
"I don't understand, Hitomi. I mean, it's not like you'll never see him again, or that you can't go visit."
She shook her head. "It's not that simple, Yukari. It's complicated. It's really complicated, all right? There's a lot of things that make it so that I can't ever be with him..." She threw up her arms, gesturing vaguely, trying to make her friend see.
"What type of things?" pressed Yukari.
She gestured again. "Big things! Like, for example, his responsibilities! He's got lots and lots of responsibilities, and I wouldn't be able to help him with them! He needs someone else, someone better suited to be with him—I'm not the right fit. And if I go back, I can't help but cause things to happen, like I'm the trigger for all sorts of events, very few of them good. It's just… we just…can't." She said finally, tears in her eyes.
Yukari paused, thinking over it and then nodding to herself. "I think I understand...Hitomi, I understand. But...I don't know, maybe...if you really love him... wouldn't you try anyway, no matter the odds, no matter how hard it would be?"
Hitomi thought about it…but then her hope gave way in the face of all that stood between it and her dream. "You don't understand, Yukari! It's not that simple!"
"Then tell me. Help me understand," Yukari pleaded, but Hitomi shook her head. It was too late. It was over. She knew herself, and she knew Van. Neither of them would dare to connect again like they had before. It was for the best, Hitomi told herself over and over as she let Yukari put an arm around her shoulder. It was over.
It had to be…for everyone's sake.
But you, readers, know that of course, it isn't really over for Van and Hitomi.
Congratulations on making it to the end! I know that I am a very wordy writer, so I appreciate it that you made it to the end of my dithering.
Oh, and if you were curious or missed it, the lovely lyrics are from the song "the extra mile" from the Pokemon 2000 movie soundtrack. I always thought it was perfect for Hitomi and Van. And in case you were wondering, the part that I modified to suit my purposes was the final segment-so that part was all me. :)
A note about this story. I wrote the first version when I was twelve. I rewrote it when I was 16. Now, here I am, 20, revisiting and rewriting it all over. I just can't stay away, it seems, from this couple. I also can't help but rewrite this story every time I look at it (I'm always appalled by my writing from when I was younger. Even this version still contains some of the traces of what I hate about my writing, but I figure it's well enough).
I am mainly publishing this story as writing practice, though I hope that everyone enjoys it and what's to come. I'd love any and all feedback!
Thanks!~ Hibana
