A/N: This is my second fan fic that I'm starting. The first can be found in the full metal panic section. I accept both praise and flames. I hope this will be a great story for all you readers! Hitomi and Van are OOC but in a good way I hope. All the places mentioned are fictional.
I don't own Escaflowne. Too bad…
Chapter 1
Rain poured down the sides of the car as Hitomi and her family drive further into the lush green mountains of Dask to their new home on the other side. The town was called Lico and it was surrounded by wooded forests and a whole book full of legends.
Hitomi thumbs through her new book called "Legends of Lico" (pretty original huh) with wide eyes as she reads one legend in particular that caught her interest.
Two-faced beings
Before the name Lico was born, the town was named Tombstone (not referring to the movie tombstone) and people say that beings with split personalities thrived on the blood of anyone who visited the town. Not much is known about the other side of this blood thirsty race.
The information was short but it caught Hitomis interest immediately. She loved dabbling in myths and she was currently trying to start a book and was hoping this move would inspire her.
Her mother and father were moving because of their jobs. Both work in the same clothing company named Kanzakis Finery that hit it big in the southern part of this country called Pasi and they built a small shop up north and it's hit it big. Bigger then they thought. So they decided to move up to the northern store and run it by themselves.
I was very excited to get to move. I didn't have very many friends in my old town called Shasta and I was hoping to make new friends up north. The drive was 8 hours long and after driving all day they were finally almost there.
Hitomi gazes out the window and through the rain at the tall trees that lined the road. She couldn't wait to go exploring in the woods!
An hour later they reached the town and Hitomi sat up straight in her seat to look at everything as they drove by. There weren't very many people who lived in Lico but since the rain had stopped people were walking the streets or striking up bargains at the local markets.
They passed the high school that Hitomi would be attending and she scanned the kids that would be her future classmates. They all seemed really nice. At least from far away anyways.
After unpacking all their bags and after Hitomi fixed up her room she grabbed her flashlight and told her parents she was going exploring in the woods that surrounded their small white home. The trees seemed to block each house from their neighbors so they were all sort of isolated in a sense.
Stepping out into the fresh mountain air, Hitomi notices that the sun was already setting behind the mountain. She wouldn't be too long anyways. Walking around back she clicks her flashlight on and heads into the woods keeping note on which way she traveled so she didn't get lost.
It was dark sense the trees were so thick the sun couldn't penetrate the canopy above. Being careful on where she stepped, Hitomi stared in awe at all the forest life going on around her. Squirrels and birds chatted up a storm as she passed. Getting lost in the life around her, she doesn't realize how far she's gone until she steps out into a clearing as sees the back of another house.
"What the heck? How far have I gone?" She says aloud to no one in particular. She starts to head back to her house when something catches her eye over by an old shed. Curiosity gets the better of her as she walks slowly over to the shabby shed.
She kneels and picks up something white and long. "What is a feather doing all the way out here? And by the looks of it, it's from a very large bird!" She examines the long, snow white feather and slowly runs it over her cheek feeling of smooth is was. I'll keep this as a good luck charm. She thinks excitedly as finding such a cool thing on her first day.
Pulling her hair in a pony tail with a rubber band that she keeps around her wrist she cleans the feather and sticks it in the rubber band that bound her hair so it sticks out a little.
After securing her prize, Hitomi heads back the way she came towards her home and to a good nights sleep.
The morning sun shines into Hitomis new room as her mom comes in to shake her awake. "Wake up sweetie or you'll be late to your first day of school." Her mom says in a light voice. Hitomi mutters and cracks her eyes open, blinking at the light from her window.
"Breakfast will be reading in 5 minutes so be down on time." Her mom calls over her shoulder as she leaves the room. Hitomi rolls over and sits up fully awake. She had had a wonderful dream last night but she couldn't remember anything except feathers like the one she had found yesterday. White, snowy feathers falling around her in a clearing.
'Oh well. I don't really pay attention to dreams anyways.' She thinks as she discards her pajamas and dresses in tight blue jeans and a blood red shirt saying 'Free blood on me'. It was one of her favorite shirts that she had bought in a gothic story the other week. It went with her interest in vampire myths and she had dozens of shirts for werewolves, angels, orges, unicorns etc. The list went on forever.
Heading down the small hall to the kitchen, Hitomi sees that her parents are already eating. She sits and her mom passes her a stack of pancakes.
"Hitomi don't you think you'll be a bit cold in that shirt?" Her fathers says as he eyes her shirt and then looks out the window just to see the sun shining through. Her father didn't approve of tight clothing but her mom just shushes him and smiles at her unique daughter.
"Hitomi won't be cold. She can adapt fast to climate changes." Hitomi nods and smiles back at her mom for the encouragement.
"Yes I know honey." Her father says defeated as he turns back to the paper. The grandfather clock chimes once signaling in the middle hour. It was 7:30 and I had to be at school at 8 but it was 2 miles away and I had to walk since my parents had to run the shop. I didn't mind though. I liked walking and getting to look at everything slowly.
I stuff the rest of the pancakes in my mouth and rush into the bathroom to brush my teeth. 'Almost ready. Just one more thing.' I think as I sail into my room and gently pick the feather up and place it in my rubber band again. 'There all set for school.'
Hitomi hugs her mom and dad and slings her backpack over her shoulders as they wish her good luck and to call if she stays after school. "Bye!" She calls as she walks down the gravel driveway and out onto the asphalt road. The air was crisp and was indeed a bit cold despite the sun shining but she'd get used to it. Soon she couldn't see anything but trees around her as she walks along the silent road. The school was on this same road. Actually the whole town was on the same road. It was just a main road that ran from one side of the valley to the other side.
The walk was quiet and relaxing and she spotted the school in no time at all. Teens were all laughing and talking to friends they hadn't seen over the summer and cars whizzed by as the seniors showed off in their new cars. Hitomi smiled in a friendly way as she approached the front doors.
"Hey are you Hitomi?" A female's voice calls from behind her. Hitomi turns and sees a tall girl with red hair and brown eyes. She was with a group of kids and they all smiled and called her over. 'Maybe it won't be hard to make friends after all.' Thought Hitomi as the group surrounds her.
"How did you know my name?" She asks a bit overwhelmed.
"Well seeing how this isn't a big town we know if someone's new and we know who they are pretty fast." The red-haired girl who's name is Yukari says smiling.
She then stands next to me and introduces them one at a time. "This is Millerna, Allen, Gaddes, Merle, and Amano." She puts a protective arm around Amano and says, "But Amanos mine so don't even think about it." She laughs and everyone pushes her for being so protective. 'They seemed really nice.'
"So what are your classes?" Yukari asks before finding out the Hitomi hadn't gotten her schedule yet. "Well let's all get it with you and hope you have classes with us!" The blonde named Millerna says as she steers Hitomi in the direction of the doors with everyone following.
Hitomi gets her schedule and reads it aloud, " 1st period Math, 2nd period Literature, 3rd period Advanced Art, 4th period Japanese, Lunch, 5th period World History and 6th period is Gym." She finishes and Yukari squeals. "Yay you have Math, Literature and Gym with me and Millerna and Japanese and World History with Allen and Gaddes. You don't have any classes with Merle and Amano though. That sucks." Yukari says as the bell rings for the first period.
"Come on I'll show you to Math and Literature and then tell you were art and Japanese are." Yukari and Millerna take both of Hitomis hands as they laugh their way down the hall to Math class with Mr. Tubby. The Math and Japanese classes went by easily as Hitomi talked with her two new girlfriends. Then they showed her the art building that was outside the school before telling her to meet them in the commons area at lunch.
Hitomi waves them goodbye and enters the class to talk to her new teacher Ms. Memmot. The teacher smiles and points at a seat on the far side away from the teachers' desk and the second row from the back. Hitomi sits and pulls out her favorite art pencil. She loved to draw, especially when it came to her mystical creatures. She'd had a lot of comments on her shirt and she felt like she already fit in with everyone.
The second bell rings signaling the start of the class but as the teacher walks to the front of the class to begin, the door opens admitting a late arrival. Several small gasps as heard as the students suddenly advert their eyes to any place away from the new student.
Hitomi stares openly at the guy who strides in where loose blue jeans and the coolest leather jacket Hitomi has ever seen. The guy in question scowls at Ms. Memmot and Hitomi notices how nervous the teacher got. 'Why is everyone acting so scared of this guy?' Hitomi thinks as she analyzes the guy at the front of the room. He had messy black hair and blood red eyes that blazed with fire.
The teacher regains her composure and says, "Welcome to Advanced art Van, please take the seat in the back behind the girl with the brown hair." The teacher points to the seat behind Hitomi and suddenly that fiery gaze meets hers before they flicker ever so slightly to something behind her and then back to her. Something crosses his eyes but is gone so fast Hitomi didn't register it.
He walks to the assigned seat and plops down with a scowl and his face. The people closest to him shake and look down at their desks. Hitomi could feel his gaze on her and she finally gets up the courage to turn around and face him while the teacher is passing out art supplies.
Red eyes stare into her with an icy cold glare that makes her shudder inwardly. "My names Hitomi, what's yours?" She asks even though the teacher just said it. She wanted to be friendly with everyone in her new school.
"Up yours bitch." He growls before turning his attention to the teacher who had made it to their side of the room and handed Van a box of charcoal pencils before moving on to Hitomi.
His response was not what she expected and heat rose to her face at being insulted by such a crude person. "I haven't done anything to merit that kind of insult." She says in a low voice so the other students didn't hear her.
He glances at her again but his gaze wasn't on her face. He was looking at something else. 'What could he be looking at?' She turns forward to try and find what would catch his interest but saw nothing.
'He's just a jerk anyways. Why waste my time trying to get to know him.' Hitomi thinks darkly as she decides to just ignore him for the rest of the period.
After art, Hitomi walks outside and heads towards her Japanese class. She still feels that cold gaze on her and she knows he's watching her but she doesn't acknowledge his presence and just walks into the building. Japanese goes by well with Allen and Gaddes both yakking their heads off about the town and how it was cool that she moved here from the south.
All the while her mind drifted back to Van. 'What an arrogant person. Saying something mean like that to her when she was just being friendly.' She scowls inwardly and pushes all thought of that jerk out of her head. The bell rings and she follows Allen and Gaddes to the commons area where Yukari, Millerna, Amano and Merle were waiting for them at a table. They all go to the lunch ladies and order some food while Hitomi sits and takes out a plastic container that contained the chicken she had cooked last night after she got home. She loved to cook and bake and found herself doing it a lot while her parents were off working.
The gang comes back and stares in awe at Hitomis meal compared to the lunch chicken they got. There was no comparing the two. They talked excitedly about what to do after school. She smiles and listens until a familiar stare attracts her attention. Van was sitting in a corner with another guy with white hair. His eyes bore into hers even from far away and she couldn't tear them away.
Yukari notices the Hitomi is distracted and follows her gaze to Van. She gasps and shakes Hitomi away from the stare. Hitomi had felt Vans eyes stray to her shirt and read what it said before getting yanked away. "What the hell are you doing staring and Van Fanel like that? No one makes eye contact with him or his brother Folken." Yukari whispers fiercely as the rest of the gang stare wide-eyed at Hitomi.
"Why what's wrong with him?" Hitomi whispers back a little afraid.
"They say that he and his brother were sent here from another continent because they killed their parents and anyone else who came near them." Hitomi gasps and shivers uncontrollably. 'Oh my god and I was actually talking to him.' Hitomis mind freezes before another voice enters. 'Calm down Hitomi. You shouldn't believe everything that is said. You know better then anyone how rumors are more then often false.' She reasons with herself.
The end of lunch bell rings and the gang splits up. Hitomi sits in the middle of World History class alone because Allen and Gaddes had their seats in different spots. She brought out a small sketch book and started drawing a sketch. She wasn't sure what it was until she was done and the image shocked her. She'd drawn Van but he didn't look the same. His eyes were soft and a smile graced his lips as his gaze was drawn to something to his left.
Hitomi shook her head at something so foolish. What if that story is true? That would explain why he looked so mean and why everyone was afraid of him. No, that couldn't be true. People tend to believe anything they hear so maybe that rumor made him become mean to everyone.
A sigh escapes Hitomis lips as the bell rings through her thoughts. Last period of the day. The school day sure does go by fast. Hitomi heads towards the girls locker room to see Yukari and Millerna waiting for her. They smile and wave as she approaches.
"Hey did you bring your gym clothes?" Hitomi nods and takes the small red and white shirt out with the matching shorts that were assigned to all students.
"Awesome lets get dressed and get out there. I heard we are playing soccer today since its so nice out." Millerna says with excitement as they head into the locker room and begin to change their clothes. Hitomi grins. She loved soccer!
She quickly changes and walks out to the huge gym were the guys were already passing a soccer ball back and forth showing off the girls. Hitomi had never been in a coed gym class and the guys staring at her made her nervous. 'Great just what I need. I'll probably screw up and make an idiot out of myself.' Hitomi thinks with dread until Yukari and Millerna walk up and correctly interpret her look.
"Don't worry Hitomi. Those guys are the worst at sports. They are just all talk and show." Hitomi smiles at that and gets a challenging look in her eyes making Yukari and Millerna laugh.
Hitomis look was short lived when they catch a lone figure off to one side of the bleachers. Van. He was watching the guys with a scowl on his face. Hitomi looks at his outfit and it matched hers except he wore pants instead of a shirt and a red jacket. He probably doesn't know how to play any sports either. She thinks with a smirk, her shy attitude getting replaced with a competitive air about her.
The coach comes out then and blows his whistle. He places everyone in roll call by their last names and Hitomi finds her self a row away from Van so they were only a few feet a part. He had that cold stare again as his eyes flicker to her and then back to the front. Hitomi gulps and reaches to the back of her head where she runs a finger over the feather for good luck.
Then something hit her. 'Wait a minute. In art class he was staring at something above her and just now he was doing the same thing. Was he looking at the feather? Maybe he knows where it comes from.' Hitomi looks at Van in a calculating way as she tries to figure out this new information.
"Kanzaki! Pay attention! We are making teams now. You are with the green team over there." Hitomi jumps at the sound of her name and walks red-faced over to the green team that Millerna was in. The coach split up the class into 4 teams that would face each other on different fields outside. The green team was going against the red team that had Van in it. Yukari was on the other field.
Hitomi stood in front of the ball and was slightly surprised when Van was picked for the opposite team. Now she faced him and this time met his piercing gaze with a challenging look of her own that made him lick his lips. Why did he do that? She wondered before returning her attention to the coach.
He blew the whistle and Hitomi lunged for the ball but somehow Van was faster as he expertly guides the ball with his feet and races down the field. 'Damn he's fast!' Hitomi thinks as she races after him oblivious to the other students. 'How can he be that fast? No matter I didn't have the best sprint time in Shasta for nothing.' Hitomi thinks as she gains on Van slips her foot under him to hit the ball out of his way without tripping him.
He spins around and stares at me with the most amazed look I've ever seen. The entire class gasps and steps away from Van and I as the game comes to a halt. I wasn't sure what I did wrong. Weren't you supposed to try and take the ball away from the opposing team? I didn't trip him and foul up so what was wrong.
Van regains his cold stare after a second and walks up to me with a menacing look on his face. I've never been this close to him and up close I notice that there were faded scars on his cheeks like he'd been scratched and his eyes looked red from lack of sleep. He stops an inch from me and looks down at me before his eyes do the flicker thing again but this time I know what he's looking at. When his eyes return to mine they seem almost confused before he turns and stalks off to the soccer ball that lay abandoned on the grass.
'What just happened?' I ask myself and I still asked myself as I'm getting dressed back into my normal clothes. The coach decided we could go home early. I say goodbye to my new friends saying that I had to get home right after school and that I'd just see them tomorrow. I didn't really have to be home right after school but I needed time to think and I wanted to go back to that house that I'd found the feather at.
I had wanted to confront Van after school about the feather but he was no where to be seen and so I decided to wait until tomorrow.
Dropping my bag off at my house I grab some chocolate and head out into the woods munching quietly on the yummy chocolate bar in my hand. Hearing voices I stop and quietly continue to the edge of the woods where I cover my mouth to cover my gasp.
Van and Folken were standing together in the clearing behind the house. 'That must be their house.' Hitomi thinks as she strains her ears to listen.
When she couldn't hear anything she peaks around the bush and screams.
A/N: Well that's the first chapter. I like leaving cliffys. Well please review on what you think! I'll update after 2 good reviews. Thanks guys for reading!