Chapter 1: "The Tower" Once Again

The afternoon sun filtered in through the leaves of black pines, maples, and cherry trees creating hundreds of glittering spots on the sidewalks of Temple University. There was a noticeable buzz of energy in the air as students made their way to the last few finals of the spring semester. As the tower bell echoed across campus, marking the hour, the students anxiously took their seats in the designated classrooms. So unusually silent were the sidewalks outside, that a girl's hurried footsteps could easily be heard long before she was seen.

The smack of Hitomi's tennis shoes against the pavement reverberated off the old stone buildings and warned any lingering students to get out of the way or be trampled. Hitomi clutched a pencil in her sweaty palm and the breeze blew through her short light brown hair. Her light blue knee length dress made a flapping noise as she ran and her composure was that of a girl in sheer panic.

'Geez, I can't believe how late I'm gonna be! After all those hours studying I had better not get locked out.' She thought.

Meanwhile, in the classroom, a girl named Kaori sat staring at the empty seat next to her. She impatiently brushed back her shoulder length jet black hair and sighed in frustration.

"Where the hell is she?!" Kaori muttered under her breath.

Hitomi dodged a group of boys, almost tripping on her own feet.

"Excise me! Sorry! Watch it!" She yelled, then took a sharp left into an ally between two buildings.

Sprinting was second nature to the track star. It hadn't taken Hitomi very long to become the top female track and field sprinter on the varsity team, much to the pride it brought the Kanzaki family. By the end of the fall semester of her sophomore year Hitomi had broken almost every school record. Now it was the end of sophomore year and no matter how fast she ran it was not going to stop her from being late to her last final.

Hitomi gave a quick glance at her silver wristwatch. 2:28pm. Her Japanese history final was in two minutes. Her socks had long since slipped down into her shoes and the bra she was wearing was definitely not meant for high speeds. Never the less, her long legs picked up speed.

A boy's moccasin clad feet moved quickly through a grassy field, making the slightest rustling noise.

Hitomi shook her head slightly as if to clear her head.

'Time to concentrate on the task at hand, Hitomi. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. I don't have time for this game.'

Even so, she smiled slightly and mumbled to herself.

"I always win anyway."

The black haired young man panted roughly and threw his bow and arrows aside. He picked up the pace and all silence was lost in his sprinting. The deer he had had his eyes on saw him and darted away. It didn't matter. Van wasn't after the animal anymore. The promise of sweet victory was all he could taste now.

Hitomi left the ally and could see the Hall in front of her. Up the hill, cutting a corner past a blossoming cherry tree, and up the steps. Almost…..there. Hitomi's hands slammed into the oak doors and pushed them open.

"Ha!" She cried out loud, her shoes squeaking against the marble floor, "I win!"

Van leaned against a tree with his head down trying to catch his breath, his disheveled long black hair getting in his face. Only a few seconds behind Hitomi.

'If I had just pushed myself a little harder I would have beaten her for sure!' Van thought.

But, he smiled in spite of himself. She had to race up a hill and some steps, both had slowed her down. He would never beat Hitomi in a foot race, whether she was physically with him or not.

With they're other worldly game behind them, Van stood up and returned to his hunting.

"Oh crap." Kaori mumbled as the professor took one last look at the clock on the wall and moved toward the open door.

Just as it was almost closed, Hitomi thrust her foot between the door and the wall. Professor Chang raised his eyebrow at the tardy student. Hitomi was breathing heavily from her run, but managed a clever smirk up at her teacher.

"Humpf." Dr. Chang said, and opened the door to let Hitomi in.

Hitomi's cheeks turned a bright pink and she took her seat next to her best friend, Kaori. Her frazzled state made the students in the front rows giggle.

"Where were you, Hitomi?" Kaori said through clenched teeth. "I was sure you were gonna miss the test and leave me to flunk it all alone."

"Sorry I'm late, Kaori. I was packing and I lost all track of time." Hitomi grinned, "I bet I've made a record! Fastest sprint across campus."

The professor cleared his throat loudly and the girls put their heads down and quickly got to their test. A soft, comfortably warm feeling was spreading in Hitomi's stomach and she had to sigh. It was always so nice to be with Van.

(After the test)

The oak doors swung open and a mob of students poured out. The campus was once again filled with the chatter of young adults talking about how hard each test had been and what their plans were for the summer. Hitomi and Kaori strolled behind the larger group.

"That was the hardest test I've ever taken!" Moaned Kaori, holding on to Hitomi's arm for support as they walked.

"Yeah, it was pretty difficult."

Kaori gave her friend a look.

"Surrrrre." She said, rolling her eyes, "That was probably a synch for you, miss history expert."

She straitened up and flounced her hair, obviously trying to tease Hitomi.

"Look at meeee." She squealed, "I am the best runner at University and I have a 4.0 GPA. If only I could get my head out of the clouds and get a life I would have a boyfriend."

"HEYYYY! Its not MY fault you took this class just to flirt with Ewan Clark! And so what if I have my….mind on other things besides boys? I do-"

"Shhhhhh!" Kaori put her hands over Hitomi's mouth as a rather handsome boy walked by.

Kaori struggled to make a pretty face and stepped in front of Hitomi. Hitomi fumed at her back.

"Hi, Ewan! How are you?" Kaori burst out and waved to the blonde headed boy.

Ewan gave her a nervous smile and made his escape by pretending to hear a friend call his name. Kaori beamed after him, hearts in her eyes. She giggled and clutched her fists beneath her chin like a giddy schoolgirl, her test forgotten. Hitomi rolled her eyes.

'Kaori may be the fifth top sprinter on the team and my friend, but she has sticks for brains.'

"I am going to have his babies." Kaori whispered with a hint of lust.

Hitomi laughed and forgave her friend's words. She was always calling Hitomi an air head, but that didn't make it any less true. She knew it was one of her "flaws" along with her short temper. But, after seeing a completely different way of life, a completely different world, it was hard for her to get excited about life in the real world. Her dull, normal life on planet Earth.

Kaori glanced at Hitomi, who has now laughing harder. Kaori couldn't help but smile.

"Forget about the stupid test." she said more to herself than to Hitomi, "At least one of us did well."

The girls continued to walk through campus, enjoying the beautiful day and chatting about nothing in particular. Hitomi looked up into the sky and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face as Kaori yakked on. The years had been good to her. Her light brown hair was slightly more than chin length now and she still had bangs that loved to get in her emerald eyes. Short hair helped against wind resistance. Hitomi was 5'5" and knew that she wouldn't grow any taller. Her flat chest had finally popped out a bit since high school and she was now a good C cup, though she concealed this evidence as much as possible. The 20 year old undeniably wasn't a stick figure anymore. It had been five years. Five long years since she had returned to Earth from a world called Gaea.

Suddenly, Hitomi had an eerie feeling that she was being watched. She opened her eyes and spun around, startling Kaori out of her gossip world.

"What's up Hitomi?" Kaori asked.

Hitomi stared intensely at the scene behind them searching for the cause of her unease. Just a few students walking back to their dorms and a group of boys playing Frisbee on the lawn. No one was watching her that she could see, but she couldn't shake the threat of danger hidden among the falling cherry blossoms and the smiling faces. The sun had lost all its warmth.

'Why do I feel this way? Is my power of sight trying to warn me of something? What is out there?'

"Earth to Hitomi?" Kaori said, "Did you forget something?"

Hitomi looked back at her friend and the strange feeling of dread vanished.

"Oh, no. It's nothing. I just had a weird feeling." Hitomi said, smiling away any evidence of her vision.

"Like, did you have another one of those premonitions? Did you see the future? WAS EWAN IN MY FUTURE?!" Kaori shrieked.

Hitomi hadn't told Kaori anything about her adventures in high school, nor had she told anyone besides her family, Yukari and Amano. But, when Kaori found out about how good Hitomi was at tarot card reading, she refused to take no for an answer. Hitomi reluctantly read Kaori's cards, her first reading since high school, and discovered that while she may be a bit spoiled and immature, a separation from someone she cares about would reveal maturity and hidden talents. Pulling The Tower, the card of distant separation, frightened Hitomi so much that she refused to do a reading again. She had no way of knowing who would do the staying and who would do the leaving.

Kaori still joked about how serious Hitomi believed her "guess work" to be.

"Yeah, I saw him in your future, Kaori." Hitomi smirked, "He was running away from your stinky perfume."

"Har har. Seriously though, you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Later, the girls parted ways and Hitomi returned to her dorm room to finish packing. She was always surprised at how empty and alien her room seemed with all her stuff in boxes moved out into the hallway.

'It's like I never lived here at all.'

Her father and brother soon showed up to help move her out. With all her things thrown into the back of their old pickup truck, Hitomi stopped to give one last glace at her building.

'Another year down.'

"Come ON, Hitomi!" her younger brother, Mamoru, shouted from the back seat.

"I'm coming!"

Hitomi bowed to the Hall, as if to say goodbye and thank you, and ran to the car. Little did she know how definite this goodbye would be.