A.n.-Well, thankyou very much to everyone who reviewed and wanted more. As you wish, I hope you enjoy it:).
Chapter Two
Pastels and blinding white.
The only two things that Hitomi had been able to really make out sense she had arrived...in this place. But that was probably because all she had done was stare blankly at it. She had come back, risen up from the empty sea of black she had drifted in timelessly. Risen up as though she had died and been forcibly resurrected that was. She'd of been happy to of dwelled forever in that blue-black ocean of forgetfulness...
They should not have brought of brought her back, played as though they themselves were Kami's. She had played her role in Fate's Game and held no desire to do it again. She would not play...and they could not make her. She deserved her peace, didn't she? If nothing else, couldn't she have that? After everything that had happened...how had so little changed? And what had, wasn't of as much importance as she would have thought that it'd be. She'd thought that when this happened she'd be completely lost, that she would sooner kill herself then allow herself captive in such a manner. Degrading as the situation was...Hitomi didn't couldn't bring herself to care all that much.
Her mother had signed all the right papers and Hitomi was now a property of them. Not of herself, not of any one or anything. Her ass was there's, so to speak. And in the days...weeks perhaps would be a better description; she had not heard even a whisper of her mother. Hitomi wasn't surprised. It didn't exactly fit in with her idea that Hitomi was going to come out of this 'phase' intact when she finds said teenager bleeding on her bed with more then older marks on her to tell that she had done it to herself. Not to mention all the cocaine running through her system and the evidence of it on her dresser. What did she expect? For her mother to come leaping to her rescue, try to get her out of here in at timely manner, come and visit with tear stained cheeks professing her love and promises that she and Hitomi would get through this together.
That's what happened in fantasy families, fantasy lives.
Never Hitomi's.
Hitomi swallowed hard, her eyes clouding with tears. No...She wouldn't cry. There was no point in tears. It would change nothing, nothing at all. She laid there in silence as she did whenever she was drawn into consciousness. She knew better now then to cry, try to convince them to release her, demand answers and ect. After the first two times of being drugged into compliancy Hitomi had found it was better just to lie there like a life sized doll. At least that way they didn't bother her. Then they couldn't claim her 'hysterical' and 'dangerous to herself' and have an excuse to poke her with needle after needle, keeping her in a state that was neither alive nor dead. That, to Hitomi, was the most frightening concept. Trapped in between. Unable to die, but not alive either. She would rather burn.
Burn...Fire...
Fanalia...How it burned under his hands...Nothing remained...Van...Oh Van...how could you of all people...
Strange...at times it seemed she could nearly forget...forget exactly what had happened to send her...here. She'd gathered from the nurses whispered conversations about her that she had O.D. on coke. Too much too fast for her body to handle. Not to mention all the S.I. wounds they had found on her. Her secret was out and Hiomi more then ever before just wanted to crawl into a dark hole and die of embarrassment. So much of her revealed, her body reflected her torment - not something she wanted any one to see. She didn't need there help, they could do nothing anyway. If she herself couldn't help her, then how could anyone else expect to? And she had found a way to help herself, and she knew that it had now been viciously ripped away. For they wouldn't understand, wouldn't approve of her methods.
Hitomi wrapped her arms over her middle, her pale face twisting to a grimace. She looked like a sad, adult-size doll.
Van's face flashed before her mind, the hatred blazing in his eyes as his sword had come down on her small frame again...and again...and again. If not for the bandages Hitomi could feel upon her skin beneath the draw-string pants and grey thread-bare shirt she wore, Hitomi may have been able to pass it off as just another bad trip. But she could feel them, over the places where she had felt his blade sink in. And her face...she could feel the cut on her face, a small bandage was there so she assumed it had not been deep enough to need stitches.
So it would appear any way. But how...how had Van...and Dilandau for that matter ended up in her bedroom? And why would they try to kill her? It didn't make any sense! Unless...her visions, yes, maybe it had been a sort of vision she'd had...but with the reaction to the coke and her stress...what? The wounds just appeared? That wasn't a very good explanation either but --
She was walking.
Hitomi looked expressionlessly to her right and saw a nurse there, her hands gently on Hitomi's elbow to guide her. The woman was chattering mindlessly about...about something. It was like someone shouting against a sound-proof glass. Muffled, she could see her lips moving but...couldn't hear a word she was saying. Hitomi mentally shrugged. It wasn't as though it really mattered anyway. Nothing mattered any more...
She was led to a rather large room, two beds were opposite from each other with a single window at the end of the room, bared and with glass too thick to break, clear dressers were next to each bed. The floor was carpeted, a light lavender that had seen better days. A brown door on what Hitomi assumed was her side of the room there was a brown door. The walls were an off white, no photos of any kind or any sort of personality was given to the room. Sterile. Clean. Perfect.
Hitomi wanted to tear it apart in an instant.
Hatred flowed inside of her from the sight of the single mattress bed to the horrid wall paint to the clear, plastic dressers.
The nurse was saying a little more, pointing to the two duffle bags under the bed on the right. Hitomi recognized them as her own and assumed they held what belongings of hers she'd been allowed to have in this place. The nurse patted her fondly on the shoulder before leaveing Hitomi on her own. Hitomi blinked slowly, looking around the hated room again. So she was to be staying in here for the rest of her fucking life? In this stupid, organized little room! So this is what they would have her be! Clean, perfect and polished! This is how they planned to destroy her. Slowly, pick her apart until she was just like this room. Sterile of life itself.
No! NO! She wouldn't have this! She could take the constant drugging, she could take her Okaa-san's betrayal, and she could take the fact that in here she'd most likely never have another fucking release from this dreary existence again but not this! This was the last straw!
Hitomi let out a scream, ripping her bags out from beneath the bed and throwing them up against the window. Fury blossomed in her chest as she ripped the drawers from the empty dresser and threw them onto the floor. Grabbing the plain, grey colored covers from the bed she threw them down as well, tearing at the sheets like an animal. Satisfied with her destruction there she looked for more to destroy. Her eyes fell on her bag. A ravenous desire for more festered through her, filling her with power - power beyond reason. Hatred bloomed through her chest as she grabbed them, ripping them open and tearing the clothes out of them by the dozen. It was obvious who ever had packed it had gone to the extreme in digging through her wardrobe to find the pinks, blues, oranges...but the majority was still black.
Grabbing a pink sweater with fluffy frills across the middle she clamped down on it with her teeth like an animal, tearing the soft, compliant fabric with all the strength she could muster. She smiled in pure pleasure at the sound of the fabric tearing, beyond repair. Just like her. Destroyed, never to look the same again. She reached to the same to a blue small shirt with blue glitter on it when she was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind.
Hitomi started to scream, only to have a strong hand clamped over her mouth. Hitomi bite down hard, relishing the metallic taste that filled her mouth. Her advisory hissed in anger, back-handing her hard to the ground. The world swam around her as Hitomi lolled onto her back, her vision sharpened and the rage that filled her barely dimmed. She rose to attack again only to be pinned to the floor; Hitomi kicked and squirmed with all her might only to feel two more hands come down on her shoulders, these ones like steel. Unbending and cruel. Hitomi cried out in frustration, her eyes shooting up to take in her attacker.
All at once Hitomi stopped moving, her anger and hatred instantly lost as she became lost in a gaze as red and vibrant as the blood she tasted upon her tongue.
He's here...he's alive...he's really...Kami-sama...Dilandau...how?
Hitomi felt tears enter her eyes and slowly, she tried to reach up with her hand, feeling the other pressure lift warily to accommodate the movement. Hitomi didn't bother to glance and see whom the other assailant was...whoever they were they didn't matter. Dilandau...Dilandau was what mattered. Emotion welled up inside of her though she couldn't really explain why. She was...happy in a sense to see him, he that had so occupied her thoughts. He was here...which meant he was real...right? Which meant...she wasn't crazy?
She touched his face gently, her fingers trailing down where the scar Van had once given him had laid. Though now, there was only unblemished white skin. It was cold beneath her finger tips, but so solid...real. This was real. Relief splashed over her in a cold wave, trickling down through her body like a cool drink on a warm day. His eyes were narrowed, the crimson orbs like mirrors. Showing all, but giving nothing in return. He didn't move, his brow crinkling in confusion. Real...so real
"What's going on in here?"
The trance was broken with that quiet, soft voice like a pistol fired in the dead of night. Hitomi snatched her hand back, squirming out form underneath Dilandau's accomplice and his own lax grip... She rose slowly, backing away into the far corner, her eyes shooting from face to face in the room. Her gaze was that of a sheep surrounded by wolves.
Dilandau's here...he's here...right now...but...why isn't he trying to kill me?
The one holding her down had been a girl with shaggy blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Her skin was a dark shade of peach, her lips full and lightened with red lipstick. Black eye-liner rimmed her eyes, and she wore an expression between irritation and confusion. Hitomi swallowed hard. Hitomi had never seen the woman before, but the mark of Gaea stood out upon her. She resonated with it just as Dilandau did.
Hitomi glanced over at the doorway and saw a boy around her age with golden blond hair and baby blue eyes. He had the face of cherub angel, his slight build only adding to that. He was staring at her with an expression of concern, his gaze flickering over to Dilandau then to her.
He was one of the Ryuugekitai...Chesta...his name...it was Chesta...I don't know...yes, I don't know how I know but that was his name...
"Looks like we got a geniune crazy here." The girl said softly, cuttingly," Look, unless you want to be drugged up on sedatives I suggest you stop acting like you need it."
Hitomi narrowed her eyes slightly, anger curdling through her veins underlined with embarrassment as she realized...she was right. She was acting like she was crazy. Hitomi smirked slightly. They already thought she was crazy or she wouldn't be here...ne? So what did it matter? But the thought...thought of being injected with more of their sedatives was enough to calm her down.
Hitomi said nothing blinking slowly at the girl.
"Maybe she's mute or something."
Hitomi felt her lips curl back, a sharp retort flying up her throat to her tongue...but not making it to her mouth. Hitomi swallowed back her rage and simply glared at the other girl. Turning her face with an expression of dismissal Hitomi steeled herself and walked away from the corner and going to sit on her bed instead. Out of the corner of her eye Hitomi could see that her actions had vexed the older girl. Hitomi smirked, leaning backward to rest up against the wall. Hitomi crossed her legs, spreading her hands palm down next to her in a relaxed manner.
Dilandau rolled his eyes, his hand going up to smooth through his silvery hair. Hitomi watched each movement he made with something akin to morbid fascination. He wore a simple pair of black pants with a black wife-beater. Even in the common clothes he managed to look other-worldly, the aura of power still resonated from his form like a second skin. It was in how he moved the way he breathed, the way he glared at you from behind intense crimson orbs. Every move was designed to capture the eye, never fail to enrapture or please. Even as he sweetly drove his sword into your chest and drove you Death's interment embrace.
"What did you want, Chester?"
"I...um, Dr. Marko is looking for you."
"The old bitch is always looking for me." Dilandau stated calmly, his lips drawn down in annoyance, "Did you hear what the baka wants?"
"Ne, but I bet it has to do with...class earlier."
He chuckled then, his laughter soft but with that edge of malice, maniacal and cruel.
"He should have known better." he replied.
He brushed past Hitomi with barely a glance, but under Hitomi's nearly obsessive gaze she could see the way he had tensed, the way his red eyes seemed to dwell on her though his gaze was locked upon...'Chester'...as he referred to him.
Hitomi wet her lips and watched him leave, her heart pounding fiercely in her chest. Her blood was fury inside of her, like fire ants running through her veins. Her throat felt dry as she tried to swallow, barely restraining the urge to leap at him, tackle him down just to be in contact. To prove that he was real, not a mere figment of her imagination. But as real as she herself.
You touched him before and thought him real, and no one else even saw him...saw him as he chased you to your Sanctuary...
Hitomi pushed the pessimistic thought away, wrapping the comfort of the other around her like a blanket instead.
"Take it from me Chika, and stay away from Him. Psycho you may be, but you can't handle that fire."
Hitomi turned her gaze to the older girl, her eyes cold as she stared into sapphire eyes, even as a blush worked its way up her neck and to her pallid cheeks. She didn't...want Dilandau that way. He'd tried to kill her on more then one occasion...slaughtered thousands...and laughed, enjoyed it even.
That was the Dilandau of Gaea...you can't weigh those sins on his Reincarnation. Just because he looks like him, acts just like him...you can't just say its him...it can't be anyway. You saw Celena...
Hitomi tilted her head ever so slightly. That was true. But, there was no way that he could be...be so much like the Dilandau he once was unless...unless his soul hadn't truly been rinsed clean. Perhaps he had been sent here, and Fate of course had some sort of a hand in it. Dilandau...one of his slayers...this wasn't a coincidence. In her life, there was no such thing.
"Not that I'll ever hear you say it, but for reference names Raelin. Rae for short. I'll be your roomie, so long as you don't have too many fits like today. If you keep that bullshit up you'll be back in the Valium Hall before you can so much as piss yourself. They told me your names Hitomi; I'll be your guide for a couple days until you get the hang of how things work in this joint."
Hitomi said nothing, feeling no real need. She didn't even blink, staring hard into Raelin's face. The girl got a look of disgust and irritation upon her face and Hitomi was sure she was cursing in her head for being stuck with the...what was that word she said? Ah yes, mute. Hitomi didn't give a damn though. She didn't want to be here any more then the girl wanted her to be, so they were even-steven in her eyes. Muttering under her breath the girl walked over to where Hitomi's clothes lay scattered.
"And rule Number One; keep your shit up off the floor and off my side!"
She moved to kick at Hitomi's bag, but the petite once-track sprinter was on her feet in an instant, emerald eyes cold fire as she stared at the girl. Raelin raised an eye brow, uncertainty flickering across her features. She tried to laugh it off, her voice both sweet and like nails on a chalk board at the same time. It would have been beautiful if not for the cruel edge like the blade of a sword to it.
The girl conceded ground to Hitomi there, and Hitomi thought she saw a glimmer of respect in those jaded eyes. Hitomi didn't need her clairvoyant skills to tell her what the girl had been doing. It had been a test, see if she was strong or weak, how strong her own sense of being was, whether or not when something of hers was threatened whether there would be a reaction of any kind. Hitomi was more then willing at that moment to give her a reaction. She'd give her a reaction that would last into next week!
The girl snickered slightly, walking over to Hitomi. Hitomi turned slightly to face her full own, her elfin features set with defiance as she stared the girl down. Raelin reached up, her fingers trailing onto Hitomi shoulder as she tapped Hitomi's arm gently before she brushed past her.
Hitomi watched her, never once moving her head. Only the emerald lasers that were her eyes.
"I meant what I said, Kanzaki. You're free today and tomorrow to get settled. Real fun starts tomorrow."
With a flick of her golden hair she was gone.
Hitomi released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding as soon as she heard the girl's echoing footsteps farther down the hall. Hitomi felt her knees shaking as she dropped back down on the bed. Hitomi laid there a moment, dragging her flat, heavy pillow to her chest.
He as here again. But then, she'd always known she would eventually meet him again. It was only a matter of time. Hitomi let her eyes flutter slowly. Even with...him...here that still didn't tell her...what 'here' was exactly. Obviously a mental hospital if the Valium and the nurses were any clue, not mention the sedatives she was given, but that didn't tell her much of anything. Hitomi stared down, how to find out though? Hitomi sighed. Maybe she should of just as Rae...Raelin - wasn't it? - About that even if she was...weird and irritating.
Hitomi looked down, noticing for the first time the emblem in dark blue stitched into the thread-bare shirt she wore. Hitomi sat up slowly, pulling the shirt away.
"Shikoku Asylum..."she whispered, her fingernails running over the faded corporate signature.
She felt her lip twitch as she dug her nails in as hard as she could, sadistically relishing the feel of her nails scrapping through the shirt against her flesh. Delicious. Pleasant though it was, it did not detour away the disgust that rolled through her gut at the sight of the Asylums name. She knew where she was, yes, but wearing they're clothes just reminded her of just how much of their property she had become. Every breath she drew, every step she took was a step for them and no longer just for her. They owned her ass, end of story.
Angry Hitomi ripped the shirt off, grabbing he neckline and jerking it had in opposite directions with her hands. The shirt resisted, but eventually ripped down the middle. Satisfaction flittered through her as she tossed it into the metal waste basket next to her dresser. Hitomi stood and quickly shut the door after she realized belatedly she wore no bra on beneath the shirt. She hadn't really realized it before. Hitomi noticed instantly there was no inside lock with a limited amount of surprise. Wouldn't want to give the psychos any ideas about privacy, now would we?
Snorting beneath her breath Hitomi stripped out of the draw string pants and tossed them into the trash as well to join its friend of a shirt she'd shredded, and after a pause the colored clothes in the bag as well. No point in keeping them. They served only to incense her anger at the fact that her things had been gone through, her precious things - few though they were - had been touched and rummaged through. Not to mention the fact that it was a last ditch resort in trying to resurrect a dead teenager. That Hitomi had died long before; don't bother looking for a grave though. What would be the point in such sentimentality would none would visit the site in the first place?
Throwing the bag onto her bed Hitomi glanced at the closed wooden door. Walking over to it, Hitomi opened it to in a simple bathroom. Single toilet, sink, and a stand in shower. Hitomi took small notice of the mirror, knowing without needing to doubt that the glass was probably the kind that when broken would not shatter. More the pity. Walking over to the toilet Hitomi relieved herself then walked over to the mirror. Her face was pale as ashes, her eyes wide and lined with red and black, sunken in so they looked like bruises. Her hair was matted, greasy and unruly. Hitomi had to admit...she did look as though she belonged here. With all the other crazies...
Hitomi observed the bandages on her body without expression. Curiosity getting the better of her she pulled against the bandages, unwrapping them from her body slowly. She let them fall to the ground. Cuts outlined her body, mostly healed though still red and stinging to the gently touch of her finger. Turning to the cubical shower Hitomi turned the faucets until the water was hot as it could be. She stepped under the divine spray of the water for a long time. Her flesh felt as though it were on fire, squirmed and screamed as though it were melting right off her bones. Hitomi smirked against the pain, embraced it even as she sank down to her knees, her head bowed and eyes closed so tight they appeared to be stitched short.
Why? Why is this happening? Why can't I just...fade away? Far, far away...where I never have to see any of this...why can't it just stop...
Tears threatened but Hitomi held them back, pushing them down deep inside of her in an eternal flood that would only grow in strength. More then ever before Hitomi craved a knife, razor, one lousy snort of coke - SOMETHING to make this less real, to let her just float away where nothing ever hurts. And Gaea? Gaea would be less then a distant memory.
Hitomi dug her blunted nails into her arms, raking them down even as the hatred grew inside of her. A deep, festering loathing that swam in her veins like a fish in a river. As potent as though it had always been there, inseparable from her being. Hitomi opened her eyes slowly, vacantly realizing the water had cooled to a luke warm. Leaning back against the wall Hitomi didn't bother to move any farther.
There she remained until long after the water turned as cold as ice.
And so began Hitomi's life in Shikoku Asylum. She could almost hear the rough grate as the wheels of Fate began to churn into place. Pawns after all, never know just how deep they're going into the game, whether they'll die or make it to the other side of the board to be gain the powers above their status. Pawns, after all, are oh so expendable for the glory of victory
Nearly two weeks had passed since Hitomi's arrival into Shikoku Asylum's pastel and off white walls. Two weeks of classes varying from lessons from where her school had left off, to group therapy, to personal appointments with Dr. Miroku. In those two weeks Hitomi had uttered a word to no one, simply watching and learning from those around her. What would be the point of telling them, her prison mates or those sent to 'help her'? Watch that expression of false concern, sympathy, and understanding flitter across their features like a bird's wing and then try and force herself to believe what she knew was a lie? A mere ploy to get into her head and make her 'okay' again. To break her into what they wanted.
When would any of them understand that she new would be 'okay' again? That there are some things that just can't be washed away by raindrops of acceptance and suppression.
Rather she had spent the last week and half observing one individual that she avoided contact with at all costs. Dilandau...or Draco as he was referred to by those with the courage to utter it. And always with the suffix, -san those with him that Hitomi had identified as members of the Ryuugekitai however...it was -sama.
This didn't really surprise Hitomi to be honest. It only reinforced her idea about Draco...that he really was Dilandau's reincarnation...but not a part of his soul with a new beginning. Oh no...for his mannerisms, his very gestures, that strength...it had Dilandau-sama of Zaibock written in bold, fat letters all over it.
Hitomi sighed slightly, crouching into a smaller ball behind one of the trees. It was lunch time for the patients, and some where allowed to go outside. It was a large yard really, but with the high walls with barbed wire atop them was more then enough to push any thoughts of escape far from ones mind. Even the trees were enough distance away that a leap to freedom would only end in severe cuts and maybe even a broken arm or leg.
She ran over the moments she'd had before she'd awoken to find herself in the hospital with a new fervency every day. Going over what she could remember, checking the fading wounds on her arms and belly. So fresh when had last looked at them. Too wide to of been made by a razor, or her favorite, the shard of the mirror she'd broken. Too clean a cut. But...Dilan...Draco had given no sign that he recalled that of her. And...she'd felt nothing from Van. But hadn't expected to. Van was dead, she assumed. After all...time on Gaea flew differently then here. It was easier for her heart to believe he rested in a grave then that he just simply...didn't wish to speak or hear from her any more. She hated the dependence she felt towards him, hated it with a passion...better dead. Then...she could work on forgetting. Cutting further the strings that still bound the Other Hitomi to her.
Hitomi snorted.
Forget? She would never forget. But maybe...it would hold less pain.
So what had happened? A bad trip from the coke combined with the powers that she herself didn't understand? A mixture of that and her own fears? What?
She didn't know...didn't care really. It was done. Whatever it was, and however distasteful, this was reality.
"So this is where you hide?"
Smooth baritone, underlined with malice and as cold as the way his sword had felt piecing her flesh-
Hitomi jerked unnaturally from her thoughts, whipping around and bracing herself on her forearms as emerald green meet crimson red in a fiery embrace. Hitomi licked her lips slowly, nervously. Butterfly's danced in her belly as she fought to keep her calm. She'd avoided him nearly two weeks, watching and waiting, sprinting when he came near - avoidance had become her forte and yet...he had snuck up on her.
He sat down next to her, drawing one knee up to his chest and draping his arm over it lazily. He tilted his head at her, his eyes that of a predator watching its prey. Hitomi stared, wordlessly, at his face. Just as she remembered. His features were not so much handsome, as they were beautiful. Ivory skin stretched taunt over bone and muscle that could of been carved from a Greek God. Eyes that were wide, wide and vibrant with life, revenge, hatred, whatever he felt it burned, burned and burned like the fire he worshiped.
He scowled, the expression so perfect and twisted, and yet it was still so compelling. It seemed impossible he could ever make an awkward moment, ever fail to please the eye. The thought made a blush worm its way up her cheeks, kissing the top of her high cheekbones with a red fairy dust.
"You can cut this wordless shit. I know you can talk."
Hitomi bit her lip, unsure how to respond to his words. Her eyes lowered shyly, before rising again to meet his. His expression was curiously defiant and Hitomi knew that he would not stop until she dropped the act. Because, like in his past life, he would always get what he wanted. Always. She frowned slightly, moving closer to him as to assure only he would hear her words.
"...Why didn't you meet me at the track?" she whispered, voicing the one question that had plagued her night and day for weeks upon end.
Red eyes widened, embers dancing around her reflection in his eyes.
"...That was only a dream." he grabbed her shoulders, "What the fuck are you? Why do I...why do I know your face? Why is it whenever I see you I--" he cut himself off abruptly, glancing away.
Hitomi smiled slightly, the gesture weak and devoid of joy," Feel as though you want to kill me? I wouldn't be surprised...if you...do feel that way."
He narrowed his eyes, targeting them upon her like a missile about to strike, he glanced around nervously over to the doctors chattering several feet away before lowering his hands. Wouldn't want them to get the idea that this was anything but a friendly conversation. Hitomi suppressed the urge to snort. Even if it was in fact anything but.
Hitomi leaned back slightly, resting against the tree and near his shoulder. So surreal, to be there, with one who wore the face of an advisory. One who had nearly caused her demise multiple times, nearly killed her allies...had killed so many with the gusto a child in a Candy Shop who just found out he can sample everything there is.€
"Tell me, do you...dream?"
"What sort of a ridicules question is that?"
"Do you dream of Gaea?" Hitomi pressed.
"Gaea...the place where the earth hands in the sky with the moon. Is that Gaea?"
"...Hai."
"But...what exactly is it? Where...when is it?"
Hitomi frowned slightly, her brows tilting downward on her pale face.
"Gaea is...Gaea. Its another world beside this one...when? I can't really tell you that. For me...what I remember happened almost three years ago. Time...it runs differently in Gaea then it does here. Its...difficult to explain."
"I knew your name before I even meet you here. I thought you were just a dream until that day...when you were going psycho over your clothes." he smirked," What's the matter, mama forget to pack your favorite shirt?"
Hitomi huffed, rolling her eyes..."Not exactly."
"How did you know about the meeting at the track?" he pressed, his expression so intense. She knew then he wouldn't stop until he knew...everything. She had expected no less.
Hitomi shook her head slightly, a smile of irony taking her face, "I was going to ask you that. I saw you...I felt you at my school that day. Why were you there?"
"I was here; I've been here a good four years with no pass to the outside world. I dreamed that...I remember going to sleep, and then...the dream was lucid enough for me to control it to an extent."
Hitomi laughed slightly, "Connected through a dream...how...poetic."
Draco narrowed his eyes at her mockery. He rolled his eyes, shifting his position ever so slightly, glancing furtively at the doctors whom were still engaged in conversation.
"You've been avoiding me, Kanzaki."
"Caught that did you?"
"Why?"
"...I don't know."
His eyes swiveled to face her, two piercing brands that saw right down to the dark pit of her soul. Hitomi could feel his aura, pulsating around hers. Devastating in its strength, pressing against her. Buckling her will beneath it with nary an effort.
Hitomi averted her gaze slowly.
"...I was afraid."
He smirked, enjoyment flying across his face. The expression didn't surprise Hitomi. Though a part of her kept telling her that it as wrong to compare Draco in such a manner to Dilandau, she couldn't help it. They were a...inseparable entity. One in the same that she could tell right off.
"Draco..."
He snarled slightly at her, his nose wrinkleing, "Don't call me that."
Hitomi blinked, shocked."W-what do you mean? That's your name."
"My name is...Dilandau Albatou. Draco is the name they gave me. But it isn't my name. I am Dilandau Albatou."
Hitomi swallowed hard, "No, you have to understand...I, I don't know whets going on exactly but your...your not him, reincarnation maybe but-"Hitomi dropped off, her protest as bitter in her mouth as ash. The lie itself choking her.
"All my life, Kanzaki, I have dreamed of Gaea. I have walked this world without a purpose, knowing I didn't belong here. And now, you've shown me why. Because I wasn't meant to be here at all. I died on Gaea, didn't I? And now...I've a chance to set it all right. Settle old scores."
Ice settled its way deep inside Hitomi's heart and she drew back without thinking, images flashing in her mind of Allen-san dead, Van and all of them...dead at his hand, revenge long denied finally won.
"You died...in a sense. But they...they must be dead now as well. I...I can no longer feel Va--"
Draco - no, Dilandau lurched forward, his hand covering her mouth before the name could slip all the way out. His eyes blazed an inferno, rage pouring out of him in a heavy wave. Hitomi buckled beneath him, falling back onto her side with him leaning over her. His breath was warm on his face and Hitomi lifted her hands, pushing futily against his muscled chest, her breath coming in heavy gasps.
"Don't you dare say that bastard of king's name to me."
Hitomi swallowed hard before nodding. He glared down at her a moment more before removing his hand, though he didn't move from the superior position above her prone body.
"It's over...Dilandau. The war, Zaibock...there's no reason to return to Gaea...you couldn't if you wanted - "
"Because 'Gaea is beyond my reach?' " he mocked her lightly, shaking his head, he was so close his silver bangs brushed her forehead...like silk, "It wasn't beyond yours then. Why should it be now?"
"I won't go back."
"You will. You will take me from this hell hole and back there. Where things make sense."
"I can't.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"There's no reason to return to Gaea."
"There's every reason. That fucking King for one and the prissy knight, your lover if I remember correctly. "He leered down at her, a smirk on his perfect lips, "You sure got around a lot on Gaea, didn't you? Both the King and the Knight's whore."
Hitomi reacted without thinking.
SLAP!
The sound resounded around them and Hitomi pressed up on him hard with her hands, wanting nothing more then to run. Angry tears welled in her eyes. Escape, escape from him and his words and memories they welled up inside of her like a hurricane.
"I was no one's whore!" She hissed in anger, pushing harder, though he didn't budge an inch.
His face moved slowly back to face her, glaring handprint visible on his pallid features even as blood dripped down his chin to her lips. Hitomi shrank down, knowing she had by far over stepped her bounds. The metallic, yet sweet, taste of his life fluid rested on her tongue.
"What's going on here!"
Hands roughly pulled Dilandau up.
Hitomi stood shakily, backing away ever so slightly.
"I...I tripped." she blurted out.
The doctors stared at her in amazement.
"Hitomi-san..."he breathed, the other pushing Dilandau behind them suddenly, there interest lost in him.
Hitomi moved away slowly, her head bowing down. The first time she'd spoken in two weeks, that would be enough to give Dilandau enough of a running start. She glanced upward, her eyes meeting his. A moment passed before he turned and walked away. She refocused her attention on the doctor before her, he was blubbering over her, talking of progress and the like. Hitomi let them lead her away, not even listening, staring behind her at the spot where she and Dilandau had been sitting. She swallowed hard, knowing it would not be the last meeting. She pressed her hand against her heart, trying to slow the rapid beat that was not from fear alone...not fear at all.
A week had passed since they're meeting in the courtyard, in that Dilandau had become almost inseparable from her side. In class he was in the desk next to her, in group therapy he was as close as he could be, his fingers lazily toying with the back of her hair. Learning everything she could remember from Gaea and comparing it to his own. About his friends even...the Ryuugekitai. Hitomi learned briefly through him that their memories of that time were...hazy more or less. They knew, but they didn't at the same time. And to top it all off, they had all meet up here, in Shikoku Asylum. Things that only proved to point Hitomi all the more that her meeting here with Dilandau had not been a mere coincidence. It was Fate's own hand hovering above their head, tinkering with this and that. The question Hitomi wondered however...was why? Why was this happening and why now?
Despite the fact that Hitomi felt he was only using her as a possible way to return to the world that haunted his memories and dreams...she too was becoming obsessed...but not with Gaea. With him. She watched him, day in and out. Found herself loving the way people simply moved from his way, parted as though he were Moses and they the Red Sea. Even the doctors were careful when they approached - as though he were ticking time bomb.
It was...an amazing thing to see, and to be apart of. Ever since they're dream-meeting she had thought of little else but him, wondering about him in various shapes and forms. He would be her destruction, she could feel in her very bones...he was fire, and all that touched him would eventually turn to ash.
The thought didn't detour her though. If nothing else...it strengthened it. She was drawn to Dilandau like a moth to a flame. More potent then the highest quality of Cocaine on the streets, more of a release then slashing her body fifty odd times with the sharpest blade. He was a drug, an intoxication that she couldn't get enough of. She tried to hide it, tried to hide the desire she felt to be at his side...but it was a pointless exercise. He knew. She could see it in his eyes, as they ran lazily over her body. He knew, Dilandau always knows...impossible to tell a lie or hide anything. He would always know.
For so long Hitomi had walked alone, her shadow her only true guide and companion. Broken dreams her food, her tears her only drink and suddenly...there was Dilandau. He eclipsed her doubts, her fears, her thoughts with the mere shadow of his presence. He didn't care how she acted, didn't ask her to pretend to be anything she wasn't. No piper to pay when she was with him. There was no need...because she wasn't pretending any more. She didn't have to...there was a freedom in that more succulent then anything before. And she savored it...every moment of it. Longed for it in the nights she lay in her bed alone.
His revenge for the slap had been most unique as well. Whole thing of Shikoku tasteless green gelo...somehow found its way in a bucket on a beam above where she usually sat in cafeteria. The Asylum staff was still hunting for the perpetrator, as of yet there had been no leads of course. Dilandau never left finger prints. It was rare that Hitomi had been embarrassed as she was at the moment, standing there speechless as every one pointed and laughed in her face. And Dilandau? Dilandau just tilted his chair back on two legs, his feet propped up on the table, tell tale smirk upon his albino features. A mild revenge for what it could of been.
She'd turn and ran from the room, Dr. Miroku coming to find her moments later in her bathroom trying in vain to get the goop wash off. After a few questions to which Hitomi gave halting questions about not knowing who would of done it and such she let her be.
Dr. Miroku was a small woman in her late thirties with graying blonde hair and sharp, intelligent green eyes. Didn't take a brain scientist to know that she hated being there nearly as much as the patients themselves. Just another way to pay the bills, just a job is all it was. Hitomi had hated her onsite from the moment she had meet her. Seen the false sympathy in her eyes, the quiet frustration in Hitomi's silence, the way she fidgeted with her pen and glances scrumptiously at the clock, begging for her time with the Freak Show to be over.
It never ceased to astonish Hitomi, however, that the woman seemed completely oblivious just how obvious she was. For a woman who was suppose to know everything about the mind, about so many different disorders and how to help them, who most likely had an A+ in Body Language...could be so bad at covering her own. Bitch.
Hitomi leaned back on her bed, staring at the far wall. Raelin was off...somewhere. Where didn't really matter all that much to Hitomi. She and the girl still rarely exchanged words, neither feeling the need to. Finding common ground in their silence rather then feeling the need to 'get it all out there'. While she had been at first angry for his prank, it had diminished when he later came and visited her in her room, sitting next to her for varies stretches in time. Talking now and then of that, not only Gaea but this world as well. Music, various experiences of theirs from the outside.
Hitomi sighed, pulling her pillow to her chest. She didn't bother to glance up as she felt a familiar presence darken her doorway.
"Hello, Dilandau."
"Kanzaki."
He sat down next to her, his hand going of its own accord to slip around her waist in a movement that was not meant to be comforting but rather possessive. Emerald eyes lifted to meet the harsh red of his gaze.
"What do you want from me, Dilandau?" She questioned softly.
"Why would you ask that, Hitomi?" he drew out her name, makeing it sound so dark...no one had ever said her name quiet the way he did. His voice caressing every syllable.
"You know I can't open the doorway to Gaea...you know everything now...so, what is it that you want from me?"
"If you don't know, Kanzaki, then I don't have to tell you."
Hitomi smirked slightly, "Somehow I figured you'd say that."
"Heh."
"Tell me, Seer, can you still tell the future?"
Hitomi tensed.
"I haven't done that for a long time, Dilandau."
"Tell me mine."
"No."
"Why? Afraid of what you'll see?"
"...Hai."
"Why?"
"I don't want to see any more."
Fingers, hard as bone turned her chin to face him, "Tell me."
"I don't have my cards."
"Liar." he whispered into her ear.
Hitomi tensed. He was right, of course. Okaa-san dearest had packed those as well. They rested, ominous as ever, in her blue carry bag under her bed. Inescapable as Dilandau himself.
"Onegai...I don't want to."
"Later then."
"Never." she insisted.
"Later." he replied, his voice hard as ever, not a request but a command.
Hitomi turned away from him, "Your so arrogant, Dilandau."
"My best feature."
"Dilandau...why do you so readily accept this life...this other life of yours. Its not life you were born to, you know. Your not..."
Dilandau sighed, looking out of the corner of his eye at her, red gaze unwavering.
"Let me tell you a story, Wing Goddess." he began slowly, his hands clinching on the cloth of the black t-shirt she wore.
"Once upon a time there was a young man, this man was found in the Ally way of a place called Domino, Japan. This man awoke dressed in nothing but a pair of pants and lavender shirt. He awoke with no memory of how he had come to be there, no memory at all. Only a deep anger and resentment inside of him."
Dilandau turned to face her, pushing her down gently to her back, his head propped up by his elbow just inches from her face. His other hand trailed gently down her face. Breath caught, Hitomi stared upward at him.
"He wandered for a while until in the darkness, committing acts of what others would term atrocious and cruel. This man sought to feed the fire of hatred that burned like the fire he loved. This man became a leader of those who were lead...interesting lives along side his own. This man became a thief, killed at his own whim, a leader even. This man dreamed of another place, saw flashes of it at night...and of a woman dressed in a short school uniform skirt and jacket. A girl that had powers that many sought for."
Hitomi swallowed hard, her fingers clinching nervously, though she unconisouly held her breath to learn more.
"And he knew that this girl would answer all of his questions. Before he could complete his quest in finding her exactly he was betrayed by one he thought was his ally. The betrayer ate his own heart and suffered the fate of turning traitor. And so the man was captured and brought to a far away place, locked away and feed only the pills they gave him, trying to make him 'right' again. And all the while he dreamed of this other place. Of another man he hated and longed for the blood of. And he knew this was the man he wanted to kill. He meet the girl and she revealed to him his true name, and with it memories that he had been kept from him."
"...and what does that man want?" Hitomi whispered.
"What was stolen from him."
"Dilandau...so are you trying to say that you were transported from Gaea from Celena to here? A little sketchy. "Hitomi replied, though despite her skeptical tone...she couldn't help but believe him.
"I don't claim to know how the fuck I got here, Kanzaki."
Hitomi blinked slowly.
"Besides, do you really think I plan to spend the rest of my life in this pit of hell?"
Hitomi rolled her head to the side, "And what do you plan to do? Escape? You wouldn't make it over the fence."
"Do you have such little faith? This place is nothing. I only had to bide my time until their guard slips...and it has."
"They still watch you like a hawk, and if you do attempt it then they'll - "
"They'll what? They won't. Besides, it won't just be me. Your coming as well."
"Nani!"
"Why so surprised? You didn't think I'd leave you here, baka. Now that your mine, you're not going anywhere but where I do."
"I'm not some possession you can claim!"
Dilandau chuckled, nuzzling her neck slightly. He smiled of incense, of fire...of strength. It was dizzying.
"You are mine until I say otherwise, Kanzaki."
"You just want to use me to get back there and kill V...him. You don't even know if he still exists."
"He's alive. I know it. I can feel it. And yes, I do. But there are advantages to that as well, Hitomi."
Hitomi seethed beneath him, trying in vain to hold onto her rage. It was her only and final defense against the demon that lay before her. He Laid next to her, his arms like iron around her waist. And Hitomi knew without even having to consider it that he was right. She was his, and where he went she would as well. Would she rather sit here in her cell day by day, brainwashed into being what they viewed a person normal enough to entire society? What did she have to go back to? Nothing...and that was her weakness. Dilandau was good at that, finding that emotional crack in your armor and going strait for the kill - for the blow that would send you to your knees before him.
Hitomi felt a lone tear trickle down her cheek, even as his mouth caught it before it descended far. His touch sent lightning through her, and her gaze moved up to his, to the wicked smile she knew would be upon his lips.
She was lost, and he her only anchor into sanity. The blind following the blind in that area.
Hitomi felt something in her break, drift away into a sea of black as she stared up at him. Into the blaze that was him, to the iron that was his will. Hitomi closed her eyes, diving deep within herself, submitting not for the first time, the hand that fate had dealt.
End Chapter
A.n.-Mm, well, what did you all think? Was it what you expected? I'm taking strains to keep Dilandau-sama in character here...how am I doing? Do you still want more:)