Disclaimer: I do not in fact own Escaflowne. If I did, trust me the story would be so screwed up it didn't make sense…

Chapter 1

It always seems to start with running.

The wind in her face, her mind and body focused on a single goal ignoring the surrounding world. Hitomi Kanzaki was always running when something important happened. She started track team, meeting her best friend Yukari Uchida. The track team eventually led to her first crush Amano, and soon to love. She was running when she encountered that young prince from the distant planet known as Gaea, and it was running that she left to that world.

Gaea, a planet where the Earth and Moon hung in the sky, where giants fought with the chivalry code of knighthood, and dragons roamed the lands. A place where angels really did exist; Gaea was a planet where everything she thought to be just a myth, really did in fact exist.

BANG!

With the shot of the gun, the blonde woman lurched from her starting position and she sprinted off into first place, her mind refocusing onto the task at hand—winning this last race. Why was it that Hitomi thought of Gaea now of all times? It had been 5 years. She was a junior in collage, getting ready for her finals, competing in prep district races for a chance to go to Regional's. What did Gaea have to do with her collage scholarship to a GREAT university, or her final exam of the semester in 3 hours? Yukari had many a time caught her friend daydreaming of the vibrant planet, and told her again and again to let go of the dream.

But it wasn't just a dream, it was real. The people she had met and learned to love in the medieval like countries couldn't be just a dream. A dream couldn't give the nagging headache that Merle's arguments gave her, nor could it make her laugh as hard a Millerna could. It also couldn't create the breeze she felt as she rode behind Van in the Escaflowne's dragon form. A dream wouldn't leave Hitomi with the heartbreak she felt even years after their separation.

Her feet began to fail slowly as Hitomi realized exactly what Gaea had to do with her life today. It was the five year, three months, and two week anniversary of the day she had met Van on the tracks of her old high school field. Ok, so maybe it's not a very specific date that should ruin her entire day, but ever since that day, Hitomi couldn't help but think that something was in fact missing from her life. She had been counting the days that she no longer felt whole again. She may have physically left Gaea, but her heart and thoughts were still there.

Yukari never believed her when she said that her life wouldn't be the same again after that war-torn planet. But then again, her best friend hadn't even believed her story and claimed she had been hallucinating. No one understood the turmoil she was in, her heart and body being in two separate places. In high school, it had in fact shown. Her grades slowly began to drop until Hitomi realized that she couldn't change where she was. She was the love struck fool who left her only key to Gaea with the Fanelian king. She couldn't go back any time soon, at least not without the pendant.

As her black track shoes passed the bulky white finish line, Hitomi slowed to a stop where she bent down, breathing heavily. She hadn't won; she knew that much for a fact. She wasn't focused, and a certain red head in the bleachers had noticed this. She skipped down the steps and onto the grass where she approached her weary friend with a raging fury, but also a compassionate concern.

"What was going on out there, Hitomi?" she asked, her brown eyes burning with a determination. Even after high school, Yukari did, in fact, appoint herself as Hitomi's personal manager, keeping her stats accurate, signing her up for multiple competitions. This year, it had led to her actually managing the whole team again.

Hitomi managed to flash back at her friend a charming smile, hiding the truth from her. Yukari didn't like to hear about it, she didn't believe it. Ever since she heard Hitomi's whole spill on how she was no longer complete, Yukari Uchida did not like to hear about the planet Hitomi seemed to value more than their friendship. "Sorry Yukari," she apologized, flashing a sympathetic smile. "I just wasn't focusing…"

The red head defiantly put her hands on her hips, clip board in hand. "Well, of course you weren't focusing! Hitomi, you went backwards on your record—nearly 13 seconds!" she exclaimed, thrusting the stopwatch in her friend's face.

Hitomi's green eyes stared in shock at the timer. She had passed the 13 second barrier as soon as she came back from Gaea, and she's never gone over it since. '12.58', it was too close for comfort.

Sighing in complete defeat, Hitomi fell back into the green grass, her eyes locked onto the clear morning blue sky above. She wished that Gaea would hang in the sky as Earth did all those years ago. Whenever the young school girl got homesick, all she had to do was look into the sky. However, now that she was heartbroken and longing the world she barely knew, Hitomi couldn't find the comfort in the sky. "This just isn't happening," she said, putting her arms over her eyes.

The auburn haired woman placed herself next to her friend as she attempted to lighten the mood. "Well, while you were stretching, I got a call from Amano," she began, reflecting on her lovely experience. Although Amano had in fact left for America right after Hitomi returned, the three of them had somehow managed to keep in contact. Hitomi especially urged it since she had realized Yukari's feelings for her first crush. "He said that he'd be in the station this afternoon, around noonish. He just landed in Tokyo and is getting on a train to get here," she continued. A few weeks ago, they had received news that Amano was coming back to visit family, and Yukari claimed his time (when he was away from family) immediately.

As her friend continued, Hitomi's thoughts turned to the place she loved. Gaea; how was Merle doing? Was she still clutching onto Van like a spoilt child? Was Chid still a child, or had his sudden reign matured him faster than a child should? And how was Millerna and Dryden's marriage? Was he finally the man she deserved, or had Millerna gone away and married Allen? And Allen... last thing she remembered, Celena was found, however, she wasn't entirely herself. How was she, and more importantly, how was Allen coping with it? And then there was Van…

"You're doing it again…" Yukari whispered under her breath. Hitomi jumped at her friend's accusation, lifting her arms off of her head and sitting up slightly.

Hitomi tried to laugh it off. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Yukari-chan," she lied, scratching the back of her head as a nervous gesture. However, the red head saw behind the act. She had in fact grown up with Hitomi all throughout middle school; she knew Hitomi's little twirks like that.

Yukari avoided her friend's gaze as she looked up at the next set of racers. "Why can't you just realize that it was just a dream, Hitomi?" she questioned, her gaze switching to the birds in the trees. Hitomi sighed. Yukari meant the best for her, and she knew it. However…

"I just can't act like it didn't happen…" the blonde replied wrapping her arms around her knees. "You may not believe it happened, but I woke up for weeks asking myself, if it was just a dream. Then Merle would come running in, reminding me that it wasn't…" It wasn't like the thought hadn't in fact crossed her mind. Maybe it was better if she just filed it away in her memories as a dream, a very good dream. But the people she had met, the deaths she had witnessed. What all had happened wouldn't allow her to just call it a dream. But this was something she knew Yukari would never understand.

The silence that developed between them reminded Hitomi that she was in fact alone. Yukari had tried her best between the years to keep their friendship alive, but Hitomi couldn't help but feel it slipping.

At first, Hitomi had secluded herself for months in her room, writing down each individual memory down inside a long expansive journal, which she now kept with her at all times. Even after that, the rumors that spread from that single week she had been gone in Earth time went wild, and Hitomi wouldn't confront them. It only mattered to her that she knew the truth. She was now an outcast, her only friends being Yukari and her memories.

And she could feel one of them slipping away.

The whistle blew for the freshmen to gather next to the coach and Yukari stood up. "I better go," she said, packing her things together. "I'm going to pick up Amano," she explained, as she prepared to leave. "You're more than welcome to come with me, I'm sure Amano would love to see you again, it's been a few months."

"No," she declined. "I've got that final in three hours to study for." Well, it was that, and she really wanted to be alone with her thoughts. However, the Finals were something real in Yukari's mind, something she could deal with. If Hitomi mentioned Gaea or Van, the tension would finally snap. "I'll see you guys this afternoon, after my test."

A light in Yukari's eyes began to glow brightly as she hoped that Hitomi might be coming in terms with the fact that she had a life that was real. The red head nodded, before waving bye as she left the track field leaving the disheartened female alone in her thoughts. Which, that wasn't usually a good thing-- especially on the five year, three month, two week anniversary.

Sighing, Hitomi stood up. She did have a real exam to study for, even if it wasn't in the reality she wanted. So, Hitomi packed all of her things up inside her duffle bag, after leaving to the locker room to change back into regular civilian clothes. Today was not going to be a great day for focusing, so Hitomi decided to go to the one place she knew she could in fact focus without thoughts of family, Yukari, or even Gaea to break through…

Of course at noon, the campus cafeteria wasn't exactly the quietest place. But on a day like today, the noise would force her to think only on the study material in hand rather than that mystical planet where the Earth and moon hung in the sky. So, with that course of action planned, Hitomi took a seat in the center of the dining hall, coincidently the loudest part of the entire room. A smile crossed her face as she sat down at a small table.

Hitomi threw her duffle bag on the floor next to her and began to dig for her World History textbook. Yeah. World History. Yukari had about fell over when Hitomi said that she would begin majoring in History, rather than Physical Education, like many had planned for her to do. After Gaea, the heartbroken Hitomi became obsessed with the unexplainable myths and legends in the world and the Medieval and Renaissance eras, along with Feudal Japan and Samurais. A girl who before her claimed 'journey to another world' used to dissect movies to prove them wrong and laugh at them, was blaming missing objects on pixies and the world's strife on Pandora's mythical box of evils. Yukari had thought it was just a phase, much like her own guitar one, and would grow out of it in a few months. But after five years it still hadn't passed.

As the college student's eyes fell on her textbook, she began to glare at it. Ok, so maybe she was in love with history, but she wasn't in love with studying. Yeah, she thought bitterly to herself. Study, study and more studying. And with that, she opened the red covered book and turned to their current section—Europe Renaissance. As an attempt to advert her focus, Hitomi quietly began to read aloud.

"The Renaissance was a time of renewal in the arts and science. Many famous works…"she began softly to herself. Although the clattering of metal and the resonance of conversation was distracting, Hitomi began to zone out, focusing on her own voice, and the words they formed as she studied. Sure, she was talking to herself, and the surrounding students had to be annoyed with her, or considered her weird, but Hitomi pushed those thoughts from her mind as she concentrated on the words her lips formed.

Her thoughts remained clear and focused on the Renaissance—it began in Italy, but soon spread all through Europe. It was also a time in which they developed ideas of John Locke and Niccolo Machiavelli which in turn was used in the basis of the United States constitution. Her thoughts were set in stone, until of course, some stupid commotion brought her attention away.

Ok, so maybe her focusing ideas weren't perfect, but they were better than the distractions of Yukari's discussion and him. But then again, that was the whole reason she even responded to this wild commotion.

"Whoa, man," some random guy had said, grabbing his friend's attention from their extra large pizza. "Look at that—that isn't natural," he commented, pointing out the window. Of course, everyone within a 20ft radius had in fact heard him, and quickly gathered to see what he was pointing at. They all gasped in surprise as continued to look on. Well, curiosity happened to get the best of Hitomi too, as she stood up to walk over to the window, setting her book on the table. She pushed her way through the developing crowd to gain a better view of this 'unnatural occurrence' in small town Japan.

A small gasp escaped her mouth as Hitomi's eyes caught sight of what everyone else had saw. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. She immediately turned on her heels and ran towards her table. She grabbed the duffle bag and entirely forgot the red bound book which lay on the table. All of that focus and clear thinking she had obtained flew out the window as Hitomi continued to run through the campus streets. Only one thought ran through her head as Hitomi ran:

Van, you came back for me. But then her rationalism would kick in. But wait, why is he back here? Every time he comes back-- something is wrong. Please let everything be ok Van…

The sun was almost directly overhead when Van's feet reached the ground. He quickly folded his wings as he noticed a group of talkative teenagers on the other side of the building in which he had arrived behind. Nice cover, he mentally thought as he quickly checked himself. His sword was still firmly on his belt, and his shirt… where was his shirt? But then, the red fabric in his gloved hands reminded him of Merle's advice. 'Van, at least appear to have SOME sense of civilization when you go over there' she commented, advising him to take his shirt off before he broke out the wings and flew to the Mystic Moon. 'We've had to replace too many of your shirts because you're too impatient, Lord Van.'

Van would have laughed at her comment, but he wasn't thinking rationally anymore. As a matter of fact, Van hadn't thought rationally since that day five years ago when Hitomi left Gaea. Then it hit him; he was on the Mystic Moon, the homeland of Hitomi—his Hitomi.

His senses popped back into place as to where he was and why he was exactly here. He had called on the power of Hitomi's pendant for help, its pink glow directing his wish to appear on the Mystic Moon a reality. And now that he was actually here, Van was at a loss as to what to actually do. He needed to find the blonde headed woman, but he had no idea where to look or even how to look. This wasn't his country, where the laws where his own, or even his planet. How was the King of all Fanelia supposed to find, as Hitomi had called herself, an 'average school student' on a different planet?

His thoughts were abruptly stopped when the girls actually turned the corner and found Van frantically looking around with no idea as what to do. A red headed girl in front smiled at him with sympathetic eyes realizing that the man was, in fact, lost. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked, taking a few steps forward. Van looked at her with a confused expression, but shrugged off this strange feeling as he took back his leadership role of deciding how to solve the problem at hand.

"Actually," he said straightening a little, as if to seem like he knew in fact what he was doing. "Do any of you know how to find Hitomi Kanzaki?"

The red head in front of him seemed slightly taken aback by his question; however it was the girls behind her that answered his questions. "Oh, I didn't know that Hitomi-chan knew any cosplayers."

"That would explain her whole NEET attitude…"

The two girls behind the red head continued to laugh, as her and Van's patience began to grow thin. "Yukari-chan," one of the girls behind her began, "since Amano called and said he was being picked up by family, why don't you take Van back to the dorms to wait for Hitomi to get done with that exam?" she suggested. At the mention of the red head's name, Van's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Yukari?" he asked, his eyes full of hope. "I've heard Hitomi mention your name so many times." Yukari took a step back from him. Something felt so wrong, yet so vaguely familiar about this guy. It was almost like…

"Did Hitomi meet you at some Ren Fair or something?" she timidly asked.

The look on Van's face should have answered her question, because he was confused beyond all coherent belief. "What's a Ren Fair?"

The girls behind Yukari burst out unto laughter as something seemed to flicker inside the auburn covered head. Yukari gave a quick glare to the girls behind her. The freshmen immediately shut up as their senior took the confused boy away from them.

As Van was being dragged away to a strange blue carriage, Yukari was wrapped on his arm, much like Merle usually was, except, it wasn't near as gentle. "I need answers…" she explained, opening the door to the unhorsed carriage. As she walked around to get into the other side, Van was amazed by the strange devices in the car, but decided not to ask any questions. The red head was acting especially strange. As she sat in the car, she tried to breathe slowly to calm herself down. "Who the hell are you? Hitomi doesn't know any cosplayers, and she's only been to one Ren Fair and claimed it wasn't what she expected…"

The raven haired king looked at her confused beyond all belief. "Yukari, I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Just answer me this, and I'll decide if Hitomi needs to see you…"

Van turned to look at Yukari, square in her chestnut brown eyes. But she turned away from his gaze and began to turn on the machine, and they began to move. He had to tell Yukari who he was, he was sure that Hitomi had told their story to her closest friend. Besides that, this fiery red head was the only connection he had with Hitomi in this world. If she couldn't get him to Hitomi, who would?

"I'm Van Slanzar de Fanel—King of Fanelia…"

Ok, so that's the beginning of my story. I know Hitomi is just a little out of character, but trust me, she'll be back to normal in later chapters. She just doesn't feel "whole" again, ne? Anyways, any advice is more than welcome; because I'm sure I need it. Anyways, I'm looking for someone to help me with the storyediting, etcSo yeah, I'm looking for advice! Keep that in mind and watch out for the next chatper

TehDono has left the building!