I don't own Escaflowne or any of the song lyrics I randomly put here. And no,
I'm not a hacker, so sorry if this isn't all correct. Please R/R.
Memories of a Forgotten Angel
Chapter One: Hard Wired
"...All the secrets and the mysteries
You've been selfishly withholding
The dreams and hopes
That once were yours
Will now be collected and dispersed..."
-Tracy Chapman, "Hard Wired"
As she stepped out of the steamy hot water, Hitomi Kanzaki sighed blissfully and wrapped
herself in a terry cloth towel. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a refreshing
bath, sending all the dirt and grime off of her and down the drain. Too bad her troubles didn't
join them as well.
Drying herself briskly, Hitomi gingerly steeped around her cluttered room, searching for some decent clothing, but eventually just threw on gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt two sizes too big that she had on before, daring to go without a bra or even underwear. She caught a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror as she headed downstairs, and maybe she would have lamented how her outfit along with her short haircut made her look like a boy. But since it was unlikely that she would be going anywhere, she frankly didn't give a damn about her appearance.
Though she wouldn't officially turn twenty-one until tomorrow, Hitomi helped herself to a beer from the refrigerator. Her father wouldn't notice it's disappearance when he came home later that night, if he even would come at all. Most likely he would go to a business party after his work, flirting with female co-workers that probably around the same age as Hitomi. The idea of it, along with the bitter taste of alcohol, made Hitomi grimace. Her father would be offered better refreshments than she, that's for certain.
The sound of tires squealing outside caused Hitomi's body to stiffen, and her hand shook violently as she finished the last of the can. That was why she drank, despite the god awful taste, it was slowly helping her forget. The forget that day exactly 3 years ago. The snow, the ice, the treacherous roads, the moving van slipping into the path of her mother's car, the screams, the glass, the sight of her mother's and brother's mangled bodies being pulled from the wreckage while Hitomi came out without a scratch on her body. She had celebrated her eighteenth birthday at a funeral home, dressed in black, and alone.
That's why, though he never really showed it, deep down her father hated her, because she had survived and his precious wife and son did not. He used to love her, but they grew apart, especially after her freshman year of high school. Not knowing she could hear every word he said, her father would describe Hitomi to his friends as, 'Moody, depressing, deceitful, and a general freak of nature for surviving that damn accident.' So in return, Hitomi resented her father, thus explaining their avoidance of one another. They were more like two strangers having the inconvenience of a shared house then like a family, a situation Hitomi couldn't or wouldn't complain about.
Her high school diploma hung on the home office wall, right above her computer monitor. It was a small wonder she received it at all, considering that she would have failed most of her classes several of times. It's not that she didn't do the work, it's just that during class she would sense of concentration and stare out the window at the sky, searching...
Hitomi shook the thought out of her head as she sat down in her chair, jiggling the mouse to deactivate the screensaver. She had left her instant messaging program on, with an away message saying, "Bath...brb." There were 5 messages while she was gone, and she didn't even have to look at the name to know who it was.
"Hi Ame," Hitomi typed quickly, and soon a message returned. "Hitomi! Hey girl, what took you so long?"
"I was in the bath, like my away message said. Anyways, what's going on?"
"Nothing much. Just poking my head through the Tokyo police database."
"Ame, that's serious." Even though her Hitomi had just become a hacker under Ame's guidance, she never really did anything cruel or really big. She had seemed to be a natural to this line of work, somehow locating the files she wanted in her mind, knowing how to unlock almost everything she tried to.
"You're such an amateur. I'm just taking care of a few unpaid parking tickets they wrongly gave me, nothing big; they have no idea what I'm doing, as usual. Did you hear? Someone even hacked into the website and put up a picture of a naked woman. Man I wished that was me, both the hacker and the woman."
Although Hitomi was used to Ame's sexual flamboyant behavior, she was still slightly shocked. But she hid it well as she brought back up a point. "I'm not that much of an amateur. At least I don't type in l337."
"Hell yeah. Any idiot who types like that when hacking a page is bound to be caught. So, what are you working on?"
"Nothing special, just tracking IP address of some jerk that has been threatening Yukari with emails. If I get the location of the guy for them, Amano and her will personally fly from England to the guy's doorstep to beat the living daylights out of him."
"Ooh, they should sell tickets to see that...hold on..," There was a pause before Ame spoke again. "You're not going to believe this."
"What?"
"I found some investigation this one detective is doing on accident. Apparently, there's a cult that resides at a warehouse in the Tokyo bay that claim that they, get this, 'spiritually travel to a world they call Gaia.' What kind of crap is that?"
The entire Earth seemed to stop spinning as Hitomi's heart froze at the sight of the word, 'Gaia'. It......it.....can't be! No, I....I...
"Hello? Hitomi? You there?"
"Yeah."
"Good. I thought the pigs had busted in on you."
"Why would they do that? I'm only an amateur. Where's the place of that cult again?"
"You can't be seriously thinking of joining, are you?"
"Give it to me. Please."
"Fine. According this report, it's at Port One, in a abandoned factory that used to belong to a fish company called 'Nanisawa Fish'. I certainly hope you know what you're doing getting involved with these whackos."
"Thanks Ame."
"No problem," the other girl responded, but Hitomi was already out the door.
Chapter One: Hard Wired
"...All the secrets and the mysteries
You've been selfishly withholding
The dreams and hopes
That once were yours
Will now be collected and dispersed..."
-Tracy Chapman, "Hard Wired"
Drying herself briskly, Hitomi gingerly steeped around her cluttered room, searching for some decent clothing, but eventually just threw on gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt two sizes too big that she had on before, daring to go without a bra or even underwear. She caught a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror as she headed downstairs, and maybe she would have lamented how her outfit along with her short haircut made her look like a boy. But since it was unlikely that she would be going anywhere, she frankly didn't give a damn about her appearance.
Though she wouldn't officially turn twenty-one until tomorrow, Hitomi helped herself to a beer from the refrigerator. Her father wouldn't notice it's disappearance when he came home later that night, if he even would come at all. Most likely he would go to a business party after his work, flirting with female co-workers that probably around the same age as Hitomi. The idea of it, along with the bitter taste of alcohol, made Hitomi grimace. Her father would be offered better refreshments than she, that's for certain.
The sound of tires squealing outside caused Hitomi's body to stiffen, and her hand shook violently as she finished the last of the can. That was why she drank, despite the god awful taste, it was slowly helping her forget. The forget that day exactly 3 years ago. The snow, the ice, the treacherous roads, the moving van slipping into the path of her mother's car, the screams, the glass, the sight of her mother's and brother's mangled bodies being pulled from the wreckage while Hitomi came out without a scratch on her body. She had celebrated her eighteenth birthday at a funeral home, dressed in black, and alone.
That's why, though he never really showed it, deep down her father hated her, because she had survived and his precious wife and son did not. He used to love her, but they grew apart, especially after her freshman year of high school. Not knowing she could hear every word he said, her father would describe Hitomi to his friends as, 'Moody, depressing, deceitful, and a general freak of nature for surviving that damn accident.' So in return, Hitomi resented her father, thus explaining their avoidance of one another. They were more like two strangers having the inconvenience of a shared house then like a family, a situation Hitomi couldn't or wouldn't complain about.
Her high school diploma hung on the home office wall, right above her computer monitor. It was a small wonder she received it at all, considering that she would have failed most of her classes several of times. It's not that she didn't do the work, it's just that during class she would sense of concentration and stare out the window at the sky, searching...
Hitomi shook the thought out of her head as she sat down in her chair, jiggling the mouse to deactivate the screensaver. She had left her instant messaging program on, with an away message saying, "Bath...brb." There were 5 messages while she was gone, and she didn't even have to look at the name to know who it was.
"Hi Ame," Hitomi typed quickly, and soon a message returned. "Hitomi! Hey girl, what took you so long?"
"I was in the bath, like my away message said. Anyways, what's going on?"
"Nothing much. Just poking my head through the Tokyo police database."
"Ame, that's serious." Even though her Hitomi had just become a hacker under Ame's guidance, she never really did anything cruel or really big. She had seemed to be a natural to this line of work, somehow locating the files she wanted in her mind, knowing how to unlock almost everything she tried to.
"You're such an amateur. I'm just taking care of a few unpaid parking tickets they wrongly gave me, nothing big; they have no idea what I'm doing, as usual. Did you hear? Someone even hacked into the website and put up a picture of a naked woman. Man I wished that was me, both the hacker and the woman."
Although Hitomi was used to Ame's sexual flamboyant behavior, she was still slightly shocked. But she hid it well as she brought back up a point. "I'm not that much of an amateur. At least I don't type in l337."
"Hell yeah. Any idiot who types like that when hacking a page is bound to be caught. So, what are you working on?"
"Nothing special, just tracking IP address of some jerk that has been threatening Yukari with emails. If I get the location of the guy for them, Amano and her will personally fly from England to the guy's doorstep to beat the living daylights out of him."
"Ooh, they should sell tickets to see that...hold on..," There was a pause before Ame spoke again. "You're not going to believe this."
"What?"
"I found some investigation this one detective is doing on accident. Apparently, there's a cult that resides at a warehouse in the Tokyo bay that claim that they, get this, 'spiritually travel to a world they call Gaia.' What kind of crap is that?"
The entire Earth seemed to stop spinning as Hitomi's heart froze at the sight of the word, 'Gaia'. It......it.....can't be! No, I....I...
"Hello? Hitomi? You there?"
"Yeah."
"Good. I thought the pigs had busted in on you."
"Why would they do that? I'm only an amateur. Where's the place of that cult again?"
"You can't be seriously thinking of joining, are you?"
"Give it to me. Please."
"Fine. According this report, it's at Port One, in a abandoned factory that used to belong to a fish company called 'Nanisawa Fish'. I certainly hope you know what you're doing getting involved with these whackos."
"Thanks Ame."
"No problem," the other girl responded, but Hitomi was already out the door.