A/N: Go with me on this. This fic was originally born on the 13/1/2007 to KalliopeStarmist in the Naruto fandom under the name The Fortune of Mrs Sakura. I am converting it to Escaflowne with her permission. The concept is hers. The rest is mine-ish (Damn you Shoji Kawamori!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or anything you recognise. Also a warning for strong language and implied adult situations.
* And Okaeri will be updated soon, I just had to get this out. So I will update both ish. ^^ *
Chapter 1: Mrs Hitomi Takaya
Hitomi Kanzaki was worried.
As consultant seeress to the Abaharaki in their covert war against the consumerism and global takeover by Zaibach Corp and one Isaac Dornkirk, she could sense the growing tension in the group of individuals she had grown to care for.
She was currently sitting in the kitchen of the co-leader's slightly decaying mansion, puzzling over life. As a mystic and even more so, a seeress, she was used to seeing strange things and having visions that made no sense.
Some members of the Abaharaki were uncomfortable knowing that they were acting on the information of a woman who had seen the future. She could understand why they didn't like it. Then after the leaders of the organization put their weight behind her, she felt slightly less intimidated, only slightly.
But she had never had a dream or vision of her own future. That was a first.
It was common knowledge among the mystic community that seers saw the future of others, never their own. That was their curse in some ways. They could stop the tragedies of others, but not their own. A price to pay for their gift, if you saw it that way.
It was her latest vision that had completely freaked her out. Well she hadn't been conscious, so call it a dream for argument's sake. But she didn't dream. Another effect of being a seer, her sleep was dreamless always.
So what could she call it? A vision? But it was of her own future, something impossible. However it was like other visions in that she felt separate from the events, an onlooker; only this time to her own destiny. And she wasn't to the side of the event.
No, this time she was centre-stage, looking through her own eyes and feeling what she had felt, herself. And it was that specific concept that confused her the most.
Normally a deep sleeper for all hours without daylight, she found herself out of sorts sitting in the dark kitchen at 3 am, holding a glass of milk and trying to figure out what on Gaea had happened to her. It seemed the gods were going to give her an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on as the lights flickered as they did in horror films, and a tall dark form stood at the door.
The lights spread through the room, apart from one which hissed in anger as it shorted. "Damn," the quiet voice cursed as the now male and slightly dishevelled apparition moved slowly and sleepily to the fridge.
Van. Van Fanel, one half of the Abaharaki leadership. Silent but deadly, he was called by many members as he was nothing like Allen's loud and commanding presence. Van could sneak in the back door of a boardroom meeting without anyone recognising him, even though he was an executive of the family company. Irony personified she thought, although it could be attributed to his Draconian side. Serpent-like and all.
She watched silently as he moved from the fridge with a carton of milk to the sink where he reached for the kettle. Unlike his usual sharp self, he was slow in movement and wasn't giving off his usual piss me off and die aura. His fingers curled round air the first two times before he grasped the handle and growled in annoyance.
Hitomi coughed quietly waiting for him to turn round. He didn't.
He turned the tap on, filling the kettle with water, yawning loudly and sniffing the air, Hitomi thought that if he was anymore like a dragon, his tongue would be waving in the air instead. She heard the water being cut off as he turned the tap, so Hitomi coughed again, only louder and more exaggerated, rolling her eyes at Van's sudden lack of hearing.
He could usually hear people talking from quite a distance, normally ruining any birthday surprises that were cooked up for him.
Still no recognition was given to her as Van mooched back over to the kettle stand and plug socket. Hitomi raised her eyes to the ceiling and then lowered them as she tried again, "Van." She murmured as loudly as she could in her quietest voice, not wanting to scare him. Though he scared people easily himself she remembered. So why would he be scared of her appearing in his kitchen?
She opened her mouth to yell at him this time and to fully wake him up, but he turned round and blinked as if in shock, "Hitomi?" his eyebrows crossed together, "What are you doing up?" he quizzed, looking as if he couldn't tell whether he was dreaming or not.
She rolled her eyes, turning her glass, half-full of milk as she murmured, watching it swirl in the glass, "Couldn't sleep."
"You?" he asked, as if interrogating, "You couldn't sleep?" the incredulity in his voice made her look up at him, curiously, "Yeah. Why?" she asked, starting to understand what people meant when they said he could turn a question into a fierce cross-examination.
He shrugged, "You sleep like a panda in an animal sanctuary. If we didn't wake you up every morning you'd hibernate for more than three months of the year." She smiled weakly at his joke and placed her cheek on the granite table top. "Just had a bad dream that's all. I couldn't get back to sleep so I came down here."
"You don't have dreams." He replied, his eyes completely focused on her as if she was driving toward him, caught in her headlights. She returned the gaze, slightly more uncomfortable as she murmured immaturely, "I have dreams."
"No you don't." he returned, "You're a seeress. You told me before that you don't dream. You go into a coma for eight hours without any brain activity."
She rolled her eyes in annoyance that he had remembered this of all things. And having caught her lying in his eyes, he would probably go into full on interrogation mode. "What is it?" he asked,
"Nothing," she retaliated. "Seriously. Just a weird dream is all."
"Hitomi, you told me…"
"I know," she replied, trying to keep her punching instincts at bay, "But I had a dream tonight. Ok? And it woke me up. That's all. I'm going back to bed. Night."
"Don't even try it."
Feeling like a weak member of the gazelle herd being watched by a lion she slid from her seat slowly and then jolted in the direction of the door. She flinched as she heard something slam onto the worktop, she spun to see the kettle vibrating on its stand from the impact. And then saw in her original direction a shadow covering her own.
Hitomi turned back to see him standing in front of her, glaring down at her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance. Grabbing her forearm, he guided her reluctantly back to the kitchen table. Then rummaging in a cupboard, he reached out and found two mugs. He examined them, then satisfied that they weren't too chipped or dirty and placed them on the table.
Finally, he sat down on a chair, sighed, ruffled his hair out of his eyes and spoke, "Spill whatever it is whilst we're waiting for the kettle to boil. You can do the rest after and we'll talk it through, ok?"
"Why do I have to make the tea?" Hitomi huffed. "Because your tea tastes better than any attempt I make and you know it." Van smirked slightly, before returning to his previous serious disposition. "So? What it is? Did you have a vision?" She sighed and shrugged, "That's the problem. I have no idea."
"You can talk to me you know. We've been friends for…"
"…7 years. I know." She cut across him. "Ok," she took a deep breath, "Go with me on this." He nodded warily as if finally cluing in to her perplexed attitude.
"I had a dream. I know, weird thing number 1. Weird thing number 2 is that it felt like a vision, but somehow different. Weird thing number 3 is that as a sort of vision, it showed my future."
She watched Van try to take in everything she had said, and she could see his growing surprise at her final revelation. "You saw…your…?"
"Yes. I mean…I…Oh gods I don't know. It's possible. It just seemed like a vision and I don't…"
"…dream. Yeah we've established that." He looked out the window behind her into the untameable garden, averting his gaze. "So? Are you going to tell me what you saw?" he resumed questioning and looking at her in the dim light. "Or was it really traumatic being imprisoned for bigamy with 3 or more members of that Fanelian boyband you love so much?" he smiled gently, relieved at her laughing and relaxing slightly.
"Well, I was married." She muttered as quietly as possible, knowing that Van would still hear her. And so he responded, "Married, huh?" he murmured casually, "Do I want to know who to?" he shifted in his chair.
"Gaddes," she managed to whisper in her quietest possible voice, starting to turn three shades of red.
The look of incredulity on his face only added to her own puzzlement at the idea. And then the echo from the doorway only increased it further, "Gaddes! Gaddes? Why not me?" came the ever cocky voice of one of the lesser known members of the Abaharaki.
"Dilandau!" Hitomi jumped and turned round at hearing him. She glared at him casually standing in the doorway, then hissed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Listening in on a very interesting conversation is what, Holy one."
Hitomi grimaced at the nickname the Zaibach spy had given her. Having a mystic mother himself, he knew how well respected true seers were. Van rolled his eyes, but relaxed slightly, seeming slightly glad of a companion to voice his own shock whilst he continued his mime act.
Dilandau took the pause in the conversation to pull up a chair and sit at the table next to Van and facing Hitomi. "Well?" he pursued. "Well what?" she growled at him, feeling wary of the man who had been lurking in the shadows since the beginning of the conversation.
"We can trust him." Van supplied and Hitomi rolled her eyes extravagantly, "With saving the world as we know it yes, but not with my secrets. This'll be round the whole country before Tuesday."
"Why Tuesday?" Dilandau goaded, not even bothering to conceal his smile. "Aw, come on. I've known you two since high school. Let me in on this." He pouted in protest.
Hitomi sighed, "Fine, stay. But you do not tell a soul of what you've heard! Okay?"
"Ay, ay Holy one!" he gestured lavishly. He then rubbed his hands as if in glee, "So?"
"What?" Hitomi asked, starting to feel antagonized and wishing she hadn't left her room in the first place. "Aren't you going to tell us what happened?" he saw Hitomi's wary look and elaborated, "You said you were married to Gaddes. How the hell did that happen? What was he like as a husband? Why were you married to him?"
Trying not to reach across and strangle Dilandau, she looked across to Van as if he would save her from the unending questions and humiliation of describing her dream/vision. But he was equally as traitorous as his expression clearly showed interest into the details of her marriage. She growled under her breath and sank further into her chair. "Fine." She muttered like a sulking child,
"I'll tell you. This does not leave your brains, your mouths or this very room? Understood?"
She wanted to hit something or preferably one of them as the nodded like eager school children waiting for their afternoon story. Taking a deep breath, she started.
Her bed was never usually this warm, she mused.
Or comfortable, as the mattresses in Van's house were all quite old. Must be the extra blankets she assumed, and then she felt it. As if there was another part of her conscious. She experienced her body move of its own accord, as if she was separate from it. She rolled over and to her complete shock into a muscled chest and arms which equally as relaxed in fashion, wrapped round her waist and pulled her closer to the torso laying opposite her, leaving no space between them at all.
She found out for certain that she was separate from her body in some way when the other body occupying her bed placed open mouthed kisses along her neck. She felt like screaming and pushing whomever was trying to grope her out of the bed as fast as possible, then calling the police to inform them she was being assaulted in her bed, or rather her bed in her friend's house.
But for the rest of her, it seemed a welcome action as she felt her body tingle gently and her stomach turned in a comfortable way that made her feel she wanted to stretch out like a cat. The other part of her smiled gently and pressed her face into the crook of the man's neck, inhaling his scent if there was one to be recognized.
She opened her eyes slightly and saw black hair.
"Van? Holy shit! Van?!" Was all her true self was capable of babbling to herself inwardly. "What the hell happened? I don't remember him ever being like this. And why is he doing that?" She shuddered, but the other her, the other part of her conscious seemed to enjoy it and responded in kind.
"Morning," came a slightly croaky voice placed around her left ear, and then traced the outer shell slowly with his tongue as if trying to entice her into something.
Hitomi shrieked in indignation mentally. "Okay Van, you must be drunk or confusing me with someone else but we should NOT, NOT be doing THIS!" And to her complete horror the other her giggled.
"Giggling? Why the hell am I giggling? Who the hell is this?" She cried out in mind wondering what sort of screwed up vision this was.
She didn't have to wait for long as she found herself rolled onto her back, then discovering the man that had been molesting her, was leaning in to kiss her. "Gaddes? Gaddes! What the hell is he doing touching me like that? What sort of twisted future is this?!" But apparently the other side of her was quite content to play tonsil tennis with the right hand man of Van's fellow leader.
"Happy Anniversary Mrs Takaya." He murmured against her lips, smiling down at her. Then she in response kissed him back gently, "Happy Anniversary to you too." He grinned and leaned down to lavish her collarbone when she pushed him away gently and sat up, staring him directly in the eye,
"Don't even try it! Where were you last night? Hmm?" she folded her arms.
"Damn! Domineering already, huh? I can see why you marry him if you're in charge," Dilandau cut in and was delivered a swift kick to the shin, which he clutched and hissed in response. "Shut up and let me continue!" Hitomi murmured harshly. "Yeah, yeah," He replied flippantly, "But don't tell us all the sordid details, I don't want to know your fantasies about bumping uglies with Gaddes."
Intuitively he pulled his other shin away from her reach and nodded for her to continue.
Gaddes looked at her and sighed, "I was helping Allen. That's all. You have got to stop worrying. I can look after myself." Apparently pacified, Hitomi crawled into his lap, rested her head against his shoulder, pulling his hands into her lap and murmured wearily, "I know, just the last vision I had of you…" she broke off, paling slightly, then whispering as if her volume would make it easier to say,
"…You died."
He gently kissed the top of her head and murmured, "True, but if it hadn't been for that occurring and you stopping it from happening…"
"We wouldn't be here." She finished and tilted her head so he could bend down and kiss her with greater ease. Within seconds they had resumed their previous horizontal position and Gaddes' hand was steadily creeping under her vest top.
"Oh Dear Gods please don't do this! For the love of the Abaharaki! And my sanity!" However the increasingly intertwined pair were halted by the sound of three loud knocks on the door.
"Thank Escaflowne! No! Thank whoever opens that door!"
"Yo!" came a loud voice, as the door careered open with a bang as it hit the wall with carelessness. The loving couple separated to the inward cheers of the real Hitomi. However her counterpart turned to the two men standing at the door and said in an annoyed tone, "Boys, as much as your need for my husband is, I don't think I'd be happy if you barged in on us again."
"Why? Might we see something indecent?" Pyle grinned suggestively and received a one finger gesture from Gaddes and two from Hitomi.
She then sighed softly and pulled herself out of her husband's embrace, squeezing his bicep and said gently, "Go with Kio and Pyle. You're obviously needed. I'm going to take a shower." Gaddes nodded and pulled on a pair of trousers and then a shirt, buttoning it as he went to the door. "See you tonight." He called as he kissed her on the cheek and then closed the door behind him as he left. "Ok, take care," she murmured back with a sigh as she rummaged around for her bathroom things and her clothes for the day, her eyes lingering on the door resignedly.
"Is that it? Really?" Dilandau broke in, causing both Hitomi and Van to glare at him.
"I was expecting R-rated stuff here Holy one. You're pretty innocent aren't you? So it must have flustered you having a vision or dream *cough* dream of getting intimately acquainted with someone you rarely talk to." He wheedled.
Hitomi looked at him through narrowed lids, but refrained from violence as the other occupant of the kitchen spoke, "That's not all is it? Hitomi?" Van asked carefully, noticing how Hitomi still seemed agitated.
She looked up at both men and nodded wearily. She then turned to the far wall, and then back to Dilandau, "Kettle's boiled, Dilandau. Why don't you make the tea and I'll continue?" Dilandau glared angrily, "Why should I make the tea? I'm a man! You should do it."
"It's Zaibach tea Dilandau. So you're more suited to it. Do it or I'm going back to my room." She threatened and for a moment smiled triumphantly at his getting up and stomping over to the kettle.
Hitomi sighed once more as she continued to delve into her account of her vision earlier that night.
After having a shower and getting dressed, she walked slowly back into their bedroom in Van's mansion where they now lived due to the ever growing pressure of trying to bring down Zaibach. She smiled to herself in the knowledge that even with all the suffering, she had some happiness and raised her left hand towards the sunlight streaming in the window. The small gold band on her finger shone brightly in the early morning glow.
I wonder how long I've been married to him? And happily? Really? Even though we barely speak?
And as if in answer the dominant part of her conscious flex her hand, her fingers moving to take off the ring and examine the inside of it. It was strange to feel a flood of warmth and happiness as her pinky finger swirled round the inside, feeling the characters engraved onto the metal band. She then held it close to her face where she smiled, as she read the engraving, 13.1.07.
Well there's my answer. A year. And what's this about me having a vision of his death? And it leading us to this?
"Confused much!" Dilandau muttered as he brought the now three unchipped mugs back to the table with a loud clatter. "Can I continue? Or would you like to commentate incessantly?" Hitomi muttered irritably, her nails digging into her palms as Dilandau beamed innocently at her, "No, no Holy one, you're doing a grand job yourself."
It was Van who pacified her by getting up and walking over to the fridge, hunting through the shelves and finally closing the door with a packet in hand. He sat back down and pulled her hand into his, then placed the packet of chocolate digestives in her cupped hand, "Here." Hitomi stared at him and his unnaturally supportive gesture. She smiled in return and murmured, "They're all for me right?" Dilandau snorted and gestured silently for her to go on.
But there were no more answers to be found in their bedroom as she was on the move again, quietly opening the door, aware that other members would be asleep at this time having completed tiring and annoying night shifts that were needed in their covert war against Zaibach. Hitomi knew how aggravating it was to be woken midway through sleeping after falling into bed at dawn from a tiring assignment.
So she cautiously meandered down the hall towards the stairs and then along to the kitchen. Before she could even reach the fridge, kettle or table; she was surrounded by three female members of the group at the doorway.
A blur of well styled wavy hair obscured her vision as Millerna squeezed her, before pulling back and grinning, "How are we this morning? Did we have a good night last night? Hmm?" Hitomi sighed and retorted remotely, "If you call trying to hack into the security system of Dornkirk's palace and failing numerous times and trying to stave off being caught by the search strings a good night, then yes."
"What she means is, how are you and the husband?" Merle chipped in, "You know, it being your anniversary and all." Millerna cheerfully supplied at the end.
The enthralling conversation was pushed even further as another woman joined the room and entered the conversation. Hitomi felt the main part of her conscious feel gratitude as Celena piped up at that point, "Oh that's right!" She then turned to the other two women as if sharing a vitally important secret that would take down Zaibach, lowering her voice, "Gaddes was with my brother all night. They were on surveillance last night at the nightclub some of the workers frequent. They only got back around 2 this morning."
Despite the sheer twisted sensation of being only a somewhat voyeur to an alternate reality where she was happily married to Gaddes, it was mutual amusement from both her true self and dream conscious as Millerna then pouted dramatically, "Aww, well that's no fun. Surely you must have some plan for today Hitomi?"
Nodding she replied innocently, "I've got various files to go through and look for a connection to Dornkirk's finances, see if I can find a paper trail back to him and his illegal dealings."
"No!" Hitomi stared at her feline friend, wondering at her sudden distress, "Hitomi are you completely oblivious to anything romantic in this world?" Merle cried as if in emotional agony. And among the suddenly large group of people congregating in the kitchen, a male voice replied calmly,
"Yes."
"Shut up Van." Merle responded, and then turned back on Hitomi, "Come on Mimi, surely you must be doing something interesting with your husband of exactly one year?"
"She will be later." Came a second male voice and a kiss was planted on Hitomi's forehead.
"Gaddes!" Merle once again explored her loudest possible volume, "What are you going to do for your lovely wife on your FIRST wedding anniversary?" Merle poked the arm wrapped around Hitomi's waist as the hand delivered to her a steaming cup of tea.
"Thanks." She smiled in appreciation and got a kiss in return, but their little doki-doki moment was shattered by Merle's broken volume control as she asked at full volume, "What are you doing for your anniversary!?"
"Taking her out for dinner this evening." Gaddes calmly supplied as he rested his chin on Hitomi's head, surreptitiously smelling her freshly jojoba shampooed hair. In return Hitomi relaxed against her husband's chest and calmly sipped her tea, watching Merle as if she was a mildly entertaining street performer."We don't mean McDonald's, moron!" Millerna flipped him upside the head.
Hitomi sighed and turned slightly in towards her husband's body, slipping an arm round his back and placing her cheek on his chest, sighing as if talking to toddlers, "Millerna, my husband may be an ignorant moron, but he does have a concept of romance, however small that may be." Gaddes grinned and pulled her flush against him, tilting her chin up to face him.
Feeling very much like a voyeur to her own self, she prayed she wouldn't have to witness PDA between herself and someone she barely spoke to in reality. Luckily they were cut off by Kio who murmured overdramatically, "No! Don't break my heart further Gaddes! Stop throwing it in my face that you're not homosexual!"
The room broke out into laughter, Hitomi spraying tea onto Gaddes T-shirt and grinning slightly,"It needed washing anyway," causing further laughter. Gaddes bent down in another attempt to kiss his wife, and was stopped by destiny playing it's hand in the form of Allen Schezar bursting into the kitchen, declaring, "Alright you two, break up the love-fest. Time for work." Hitomi slyly grinned at Allen, still leaning against the damp patch of her husband's shirt, "Surely Allen you could allow us some time together, we need to work on our marriage every now and then."
Allen looked at the honey haired woman and was about to respond when Pyle cut across, "If that isn't a metaphor for sex then I don't know what is." Hitomi smiled at the rumbling of laughter coming from her husband's chest. But Pyle continued, "And as much as you two make a good couple, I beg you to stop throwing it in Kio's face. He's had such a tough year!" Hitomi joined in the laughter and nodded, turning round to face Kio and smiled benignly, "Ok Kio, for today I will stop rubbing it in your face that the better girl won."
Kio smirked and jokingly wiped away a non-existent tear, "Well I'll be the one spending the day with him. So who do you think has really won?" He gave her a cheeky peace sign making Hitomi laugh heartedly along with the amused congregation. She kissed her husband on the cheek, muttering softly, "Be safe," as he pulled away gently from her grasp. She smiled slightly, waving at the group that walked out of the kitchen still laughing at their various antics.
Back in the kitchen however, the trio of female cupids were unhappy at the now lone member of the Takaya family. It was Merle who literally pounced on her brother sitting at the kitchen table, placing her arms around his neck tightly and declared loudly in her brother's ear, "Vaaan!" to which her brother calmly replied, without looking up from his newspaper, "Whaaat?"
Hitomi smiled at the siblings' behaviour, leaning against the worktop with her husband-made cup of tea. "Why didn't you give Gaddes the day off? It's their wedding anniversary!" Merle tightened her arms before flinging one hand in an elaborate gesture at Hitomi, then wailed in an overdramatic fashion she commonly used, "Look at Hitomi! Look how heartbroken she is that she can't spend the anniversary of the happiest day of her life with the man she loves!"
Hitomi giggled at the comment.
"Giggled?" Dilandau but in again, receiving a smack upside the head from Van and a kick in the other shin from Hitomi, "What is with you two? Were you raised on violence?" he asked indignantly. "No, we just found someone to bestow violence on besides each other." Van supplied calmly, making Hitomi smirk behind her tea cup. She sighed and continued.
… watching Van roll his eyes, not even looking up at her, replying coolly, "If she's so heartbroken, then why is she laughing?"
Before Merle could cut across and yell at Hitomi for not milking the situation, Celena slung an arm round her shoulder and spoke in a mournful tone, "Because she's hysterical that she can't spend just one 24 hour period with her husband. And you cruellest of men do not see the pain you have caused by rupturing their day of love."
"You make it sound like I'm trying to break them apart." Van replied, still looking at his newspaper, but he seemed somewhat defensive, as if he wasn't happy with being pestered about the situation.
"Well you could give me the morning off?" Hitomi slyly answered, calmly sipping her tea as if she wasn't trying to back Van into a corner. "After all it is my wedding anniversary…" she tailed off and met Van's slightly uncomfortable gaze. He shrugged, his shoulders bunched tightly, almost awkwardly and nodded, "Fine. Just as long as you get these hellions off my back." Hitomi nodded, placing the mug on the tabletop and waltzed out of the kitchen and back to her room.
"Is THAT it?" Dilandau asked incredulously, "That's why you woke up? That's why I'M still awake?" He received a biscuit thrown at his forehead which left a smear of chocolate,
"Ok. Well that's alright then." He said to the resounding silence.
Hitomi woke up the second time in a completely different manner, or
At this point Hitomi sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and asked annoyed, "I'm up! I'm up! Van? Celena? What's going on? What time is it?" The look she received from both people in her room made her nerves fry in panic, baffling dream or no baffling dream.
"What's happened?" she managed to put across and Van murmured gravely, "The Dragon Slayers found them watching them. They managed to get away but Gaddes was…"
"Was what? WHAT VAN? What happened to my husband?" she grabbed onto his arm as she pulled the sheets off her, standing to face him, unconsciously pressing her nails into his skin, "He was shot in the shoulder." Celena murmured quietly.
Hitomi paled instantly and swayed on the spot, "Come on," Van took her hand, "We're going to the hospital. We just got the call, we don't know any more."
Led out of the room, out of the mansion and into the passenger seat of the car in staggered silence, she turned round to Celena sitting behind her and asked frightened, "But the hospital? Is it safe for them to go there? If the Dragon Slayers find them? Will they recognize them? Shouldn't they go to Millerna?" Celena gripped her hand through the parting and squeezed, as Van started the car as fast as possible before speeding down the driveway and onto the road. "Don't worry Hitomi, it's going to be alright." Came from someone in the car, but Hitomi was too preoccupied to notice.
Not another word was said as the car raced along the backstreets leading up to the hospital. Van weaved through the car park and stopped at the entrance.
Hitomi undid her seatbelt and bolted out of the car and into the entrance without a word, Celena following quickly behind her.
She walked up to the receptionist and asked in a quiet voice, "I believe my husband's here? He was in an accident. Takaya Gaddes?" The receptionist stopped herself repeating the procedure for visitors as she saw the fright and fractional wrath in Hitomi's eyes. She clicked on the mouse a few times, typing the name into the computer and murmured worriedly in answer, waiting for the green eyed woman to explode, "We have no one under the name Gaddes here miss."
It was Celena who retorted exasperated, "Takaya is his surname, and its Mrs. She just said he was her husband!" Her voice rose in anger and the receptionist nodded, turning red at the volume and embarrassment, once again typing in a name, then responding quickly, "5th floor, Arzas ward." Hitomi nodded and both women raced off to the closing lift door, sliding in between the gap and pressing the button they needed.
Hitomi's stomach churned in sickness and fear, why hadn't she seen this? Why hadn't she felt anything in the way of danger as they left?
And he had been shot.
Why had nothing come to her? Why hadn't there been a vision? Was it because of her curse, as he was her husband would she no longer see anything connected to him? She felt Celena slide her hand into her own curled palm and squeezed in reassurance. The only reassurance she wanted was from her husband's own mouth and conscious mind.
She was so lost in her ominous thoughts that she was tugged out of the lift and back into her state of sheer panic and angst by Celena. They turned the corridor and saw Allen sitting on a cheap plastic chair, with a bandage on his arm looking as if he was veering away from coherency.
"Allen!" He shot up from the chair and turned to the two females standing in front of him. Celena sped over to him and leant against him in relief that he was safe and alive. He smiled down at her, looking back up to see Hitomi's ashen face, "He's in that room," he pointed to the door in front of him. "They won't let me see him." He trailed off as Hitomi let out a shuddering breath, frozen in the ignorance of her husband's welfare. She felt someone come behind her and felt a hand on her arm as Van had appeared and gently guided her over to the chair next to Allen's.
Van leant against the wall opposite them and asked Allen quietly, "What have they said?" Allen shook his head, "They took him into theatre when we arrived and then put him up here, nurses and people have been in and out, but they won't let me see him." His anger was clearly displayed in his tone.
Hitomi could barely pay attention to the conversation. Her entire focus on what was going on behind the door. Whether her husband was alive, hanging by a thread or dying? She wanted answers dammit!
She tried to inhale deeply and not to cry.
Her grandmother had always told her not to cry over things as they foretold future sadness. And she was not going to lose her husband this time. She would do whatever necessary to keep him alive.
"Damn, so it's not just a summer fling is it? You really are in love with him!" Dilandau muttered in shock. Hitomi coughed uncomfortably at his words, turning multiple shades of red and biting her lip, recalling the vivid emotions that had passed through her. It caught her completely offguard as Van uneasily asked her, "Do you…do you have feelings for Gaddes?"
Hitomi looked at the two men with interest written all over their faces and shrugged tiredly, "We barely speak. I've always thought he's one of the people that's uncomfortable with my talent. So I've never tried talking to him…"
"In case he hisses at you and calls you a devil child?" Dilandau asked, condescendingly. Hitomi growled at him, "You weren't there when Van told people I was a seeress. The stares you get, the wariness, even fright that you'll put curses on them."
Dilandau rolled his eyes, nodding, "You forget Holy one. My mother's a mystic, growing up with mystic kids calling me a changeling cause of my hair and eyes. Not one of my favourite memories." Van watched the exchange as Hitomi smiled weakly and offered a chocolate peace offering which Dilandau accepted without remark. "So you've never really looked at him?" Dilandau muttered through biscuit crumbs. Hitomi grumbled before answering, "No, and he's not my type anyway."
"So what is?" Dilandau unleashing his gall once again, but pulling his body away from the other occupants of the table to ward off bruises. Hitomi ignored the comment before continuing.
Hitomi was so focused on the door in front of her and trying to breathe and not curl up in a ball of wailing, that she glazed over slightly when the door opened and a nurse slipped out. She shot up in the chair as the others fixed their postures to alert ones in preparation for news.
The nurse smiled gently at the group, "He's heavily sedated but should be fine…"
"And his arm?" Hitomi asked, praying to the gods above for no damage, watching the nurse's face for any signs, receiving a reassuring smile as she answered calmly, "He will need to rest it, but luckily the bullet didn't hit anything major. He was very fortunate. You can go in now. But not for long, he needs to get some sleep."
But half of the sentence was lost on Hitomi as she leapt towards the door and opened it, looking in to see her sleeping husband. His face completely calm, devoid of pain or worry; she exhaled in a truly calm fashion for the first time since she had woken up. She found a hand resting on her shoulder, squeezing it gently, turning to see Allen smile tiredly at her.
"Well at least he's getting some time off on his anniversary." Celena murmured genially, smiling at Hitomi who felt relieved at her husband's safety but anger at her inability to have foreseen it.
Allen laughed quietly at his sister's remark and took her arm, "Come on. Let's give Hitomi the time she asked for." To which Hitomi rolled her eyes and Celena grinned guiltily. Celena hugged her briefly on the way out, and followed her brother.
Hitomi walked over to her husband's bed and sat on the plastic chair beside it, trying not to pay attention to all the tubes and machines around Gaddes and focus on him. She reached out and took his surprisingly warm hand and entwined her fingers with his, hoping he would know somehow she was there with him.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up Hitomi." She looked up to her husband, believing he had woken up and had accurately read her expression, but he was still lacking consciousness. So she turned to the door and saw Van leaning against it, bangs obscuring his eyes. She rolled her eyes, "I'm not," tensing as she heard him scoff, "That's not true and you know it, whenever anyone gets hurt you blame yourself for not seeing it. But you can't live like that."
Hitomi jolted as the hand she held stretched and ensnared her fingers more tightly and two dark eyes smiled at her sleepily, "Do what he says love. It's not your fault."
"Hey." She smiled, truly happy to see her husband, watching him smile back slightly, "Happy anniversary." She murmured warmly, as his smile grew, and his fingers traced up her forearm gently and back down in reassurance, "Surprise!" he replied cheekily, "Girls love an injured man right? You can play Nurse!"
Hitomi laughed and turned back to the door to get Van to berate her husband, but saw that he had slipped out. She returned to her husband and smiled flatly, "Thanks. It's exactly what I wanted. A panic attack."
She watched as Gaddes' smile dropped and he sighed, "I'm sorry. I know I joke, but…"
"You're an idiot and I married you, making me an idiot too?"
"No…"
"It's ok." She murmured, moving to perch on the side of his bed, wanting to feel closer to him,
"It's what we do. I just don't like being scared that's all." She whispered, not wanting to raise her voice in anger or sadness. "Who does?" came Gaddes' gruff voice, his tone changing.
It was strange, the feeling of panic as it slowly faded, but still lingered as his grip on her hand returned and tightening as he managed to express, "I thought I'd never see you again. And then Allen would steal you away from me! And I'd have to watch from above powerless."
Hitomi laughed softly, and placed her head on his good shoulder, her breath warming his neck,
"I would never dishonour you that way. I would remain a widow for life. Never look at another man again."
"Don't talk like that." He winced, as she kissed his cheek gently, "Ok," she replied tenderly, then mumbling against his collarbone, "Even though you started it."
He sighed, relaxing against the pillows as best he could, an eye lazily on his wife who stared back semi-alertly at him, thankful he was still with her. "Hitomi?"
"Mmm?" responded his ever sleepy wife, who seemed to have comfortably slumped on his good shoulder, "Hey! I'm the one on the tranquilizers here! Stay awake for your damaged husband!" He huffed, shifting his good shoulder as much as he could, watching her snort at his comment, replying,
"You have my undivided attention o wounded one."
"Do you think you move slightly?"
Hitomi jumped up off the bed, concern flooding her face again, preparing to sprint off, "Why? Have you lost feeling in your arm? Do you feel extremely cold anywhere? Do you want me to call the nurse…?" she was stopped mid tirade as he pulled her by the arm to meet her lips with a kiss. "No," he murmured, slightly exasperated, "You worry too much woman."
Cutting off a retort he continued, "I want you to sit in my lap."
"Your lap? Why?"
"How else are we going to celebrate our anniversary with my shoulder? You'll just have to shift somehow." He smiled up at her, watching the growing anger show on her face.
"You bastard!" she murmured angrily, hitting his uninjured shoulder, "There I am worrying my arse off, and all you can think about is…"
"Your arse, exactly." He grinned, continuing slyly, "It is our anniversary after all." Hitomi sighed at the amusement shining in her husband's eyes. Slowly she smiled at him mirthfully, "Hmm, I don't know. When's the nurse returning?" before leaning closer to him.
"Okay! Okay! We get the picture, you do do the dirty with him." Dilandau waved his arm, expressing verbally and physically that he didn't want to hear any more. "No wonder you're so traumatised." Dilandau put on a sympathetic countenance, only to have another biscuit fly at him, which he caught and munched on as if it wasn't a weapon. Hitomi put her forehead on the calmingly cool table, sighing softly to herself and feeling the return of her drowsiness lull her into a calmer state now she had relieved her burden onto someone else.
"Is that the end?" came a quiet question from the third occupant of the kitchen and owner of the house. Hitomi rolled her head slightly to the voice's direction and nodded slightly, "Yeah." She exhaled. "So you didn't get to jump him then?" Dilandau pressed, waiting for Hitomi to lash out verbally and physically, instead saw her shake her head and yawn as she lifted her head off the table.
"Come on, let's get you to bed. You can worry about it in the morning." Van murmured, rising up from the table, taking the empty mugs with him and placing them in the sink. He only just caught her quietly murmur, "Thanks for listening you two. But don't tell anyone. Or I'll be forced to get violent." Her threat quietly issued held no weight, followed by a loud yawn and tired exhale.
He returned to her side of the table and gently helped her up. "I'm not worried." She attempted to reassure him. "If you say so, but try and get back to sleep?" he responded as she nodded, not bothered or able to argue back.
She then quickly turned back to the table and picked up the packet of chocolate biscuits, "I'll just take these in case."
A/N: Please tell me if you want me to pair Hitomi with anyone, I have a list already, but if there's anyone I've forgotten and you remind me I'll try and add them!
Hope you enjoyed the ~ Twilight Zone ~
And see you next chapter! Please review!
(Here's your incentive --) Maybe Hitomi won't marry Van! *bites nails warily*
Sina xx