Hello again, I can't tell you how happy it made me to see the review count double for this story literally overnight. It made my stomach go all funny so I thank you more than I can explain.

Gaea's Very Own Rogue

Chapter 3

Early morning in the centre of the buzzing Gaean city is as busy as Hitomi had expected and hoped. A tide of commuters and early-bird shoppers shift and sway through the streets, faces turned up to bask in the sun and Hitomi is indistinguishable from the hundreds-strong crowd.

Even if Mishime has followed her, she will be impossible for him to find and keep track of.

The balls of her feet ache in protest and she dearly wants to stop in a café to catch her breath but the chance of managing to escape the swarm seems slim. Instead, she lets the people direct her through the wide streets, having no idea where she is heading herself. It feels wonderful, the notion that in this sea of faces, she is hidden from the world; anonymous and free to think what she will. For the moment, she feels completely safe.

Hitomi continues down the street, trying to keep from stepping on people's feet while keeping her eyes directed in front of her, when a gap in the crowd breaks for the moment in front of a very high-class fashion store.

She has to take the chance to escape and relax for a moment and so she shoves and apologies her way through the tutting commuters until she is separated from the crowd and expelled into the shop.

Before she draws a breath, having not been in here for two seconds, she has already recieved a few snooty glances from the employees; very posh, thorough-bred women who look down their large noses at her.

Hitomi holds her head high; advancing past some beautiful dresses and obscenely expensive shoes, conservative clutch bags and some of the most sparkling jewellery she has ever laid eyes on.

She manages to ignore the heavy atmosphere while leaning over the jewellery counter, her eyes wandering over the diamonds and gems and silver bands before she notices someone standing on the other side of the counter in front of her.

"Can I help you, madam."

The woman is clearly an employee, dressed in a very grand suit, diamonds clutching her scrawny throat like talons. Her eyes scan over Hitomi in her denim and fabric and her expression says it all. 'Your type doesn't belong in a shop like this.'

Hitomi straightens up, her emerald eyes levelling with the woman's.

"Not right now. I haven't seen anything I like yet."

Her expression remains neutral and she almost dares the woman to retort back.

"Well, madam. Might I suggest something a little less...diamond. It takes a certain class of woman to pull of diamonds and silver."

Hitomi reddens, her brow furrows and she averts her gaze in shame. Her 'class' has nothing to do with this woman!

Feeling the gazes of the other employees turning to them and hearing the whispery voices of gossiping, Hitomi forces a smile.

"But it's nice that you attempted it anyway, isn't it."

The woman's face is enough to give Hitomi a brief shine of satisfaction. That'll teach her to mess with Hitomi when she is feeling down.

The employee behind the counter is about to snarl a reply when Hitomi feels another presence behind her shoulder.

"Leave her alone, Leino. You're going to have no business if you chase away all your customers."

Hitomi turns to the speaker, a young girl with naturally tanned skin, big blue eyes and a pixie bob of pink hair.

"Sorry, Miss Merle. I didn't see you there."

The woman behind the counter curtsies with a big fake smile.

Hitomi frowns at her and turns back to 'Merle'.

"Uh. Thank you. I had it covered but thanks anyway."

Merle smiles in a reassuring 'I hate her too, don't worry about it' sort of way, and bares a mouthful of straight teeth and two rather pointed canines.

"No problem. I'm Merle by the way." She extends her hand in an offer.

Hitomi shakes her hand and smiles slightly if rather dazed, "Nice to meet you, I'm Hitomi." This woman is obviously just as spoilt as the employee and she feels a stab of resentment, "And I've got to go; I'm pretty busy. Goodbye Merle."

"Goodbye!"

And without another word, Hitomi dashes from the shop with indignation burning in her stomach before anyone could notice she really did not belong with the highly-paid, highly-spoilt shoppers and employees.

Merle watches the girl go, her smile fading before turning back to the counter, eyes fixing on the diamonds and jewellery,

"I wish you wouldn't do that to people, Leino. There isn't any sort of requirement to be allowed to look around in here."

"Of course, Miss Merle. I feel dreadful, truly."

"Of course you do. May I have a look at that one?"

She presses her fingertip against the pane of glass to indicate the diamonds she is interested in, her fingernail clicking against the surface.

"Here we go, Miss Merle. Any special occasions coming up?"

Merle holds the choker necklace against her throat, turning this way and that and frowning in thought.

"Mmm." She hands back the necklace and points to another, receiving it without a smile. "Brother's hosting another company ball. I'm going to need a dress as well."

The employee's eyes light up at the mention of the ball. It is always the talk of the town when it comes up each year, everyone wanting to catch a glimpse of the adored Fanels in their finery, surrounded by the loyal workers at Escaflowne Corp. and the magnificence that the ball guaranteed. To have the opportunity to attend is an honour bestowed on close friends and family of the Fanels, employees of the corporation and their plus one.

The female employee of the fancy store leans closer to Merle who is sampling a diamond ring.

"I would love to go to the ball, just once. It would be the highlight of my year..."

Merle spares her the slightest glance before turning back to her reflection.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I would love to." The suggestion in her tone is thick.

"Hm. That's nice to hear." And her indifference sours the woman's expression.

Handing back the ring, Merle tucks her hair behind her ear and turns away, her eyes scanning the sea of expensive but luxurious dresses.

"Finding a dress is going to be harder than I thought."

Not too far away from the centre of the city, the door to Hitomi's apartment eases open with a quiet squeak and a figure, dressed from head to toe in black, takes one step inside before freezing.

His ears perk, catching any sounds in the apartment, before taking another step.

Nothing else moves.

He is safe to proceed.

A twisted grin settles on his lips and he eases the door shut behind him, blocking out the world from his little fantasy.

"Honey. I'm home..."

A thrill of delight runs through him at the vision of Hitomi rushing in to greet her husband, pecking him on the cheek before starting on his dinner. He would sit down in front of the T.V., order his wife to slide in a pornography DVD for him to enjoy while his food cooked.

His grin widens, that would be his perfect day. After he'd finished his food and the DVD, he would order Hitomi to go warm up their matrimonial bed before joining her for a few leisurely hours of fumbling and fucking.

Feeling himself heating up, Mishime throws himself down on the couch, hanging his arms across the back of the chair while his blood cools down.

Angry thoughts rotate round and round in his head, taunting his inability to claim Hitomi.

'If I want her, I'll get her, alright? I just have to work on her a little longer. It'll be worth it after the disappointment Tsumatsi gave me. Silly bitches, the pair of them.'

Tapping his fingers on the cool fabric of the settee, his gaze circles the room, taking in his surroundings. It is nothing too fancy, modest decoration and sparse furniture but Mishime feels a frown pulling on the corners of his mouth; even if this little flat is nothing to boast about, it is Hitomi's. It is hers to do with as she will, here she answers to nobody but herself and that independence angers Mishime.

Women shouldn't have such independence.

The phone beside him blares in the little room with its shrill scream, and he stares at it for a long time before it stops. Eventually a little red light begins to flash on the black box beside the phone, new message.

Mishime reaches across the couch and stabs at the play button on the answering machine.

"You have one new message. One saved message. To listen to the new message, press play. To delete the message-"

Mishime presses play, wondering who the hell had Hitomi's number already in this big city.

"Hitomi! Hey, you're obviously not in right now but I thought I'd call-"

A sneer envelopes his lips at the sound of Yukari's voice; that little wench annoyed him with her constant smiles and laughs.

Stabbing the button to delete Yukari's message, the mechanical voice kicks in again.

"Message deleted. You have one saved message. To listen to saved message press skip."

He complies, fully expecting to hear his own voice blare back at him.

What he really hears causes his heart to jolt.

"Uh hi, Hitomi. It's Van, from the bar tonight, remember. Uh, I've been thinking about where you might like to meet up. There's this little coffee shop just off the city centre, about half a mile north. You'll know which one I mean. I thought…Well, if you want to meet up then I'll be there at about ten-thirty in the morning. I hope you decide to come…Goodnight, Hitomi."

It's him. That voice is the same as the one who spoke so daringly to him on Hitomi's cell phone.

Fury beyond anything he'd ever experienced settles in his lungs and he has trouble breathing when he recalls what that voice had said about Hitomi.

Mishime has to admit, he had thought the voice on the phone before was just a stranger Hitomi asked to scare him off. Now, to find out Van really knows Hitomi, that they went out on a real date, he feels his blood begin to boil.

Stabbing at the skip button until it almost cracks under his fingertip, he almost desperately tries to find his own recorded message he had sent Hitomi.

Nothing.

It's not there.

Hitomi has deleted it.

His breath rips out in rags, the tendons in his neck bulge and, heaving himself from the couch; he rips the answering machine from its cable and launches it at the nearest wall, revelling in the smashing of black plastic.

There, now no-one's message would be heard.

Physically feeling the anger in his chest demand more, he steps over the crushed answering machine, making his way to single bedroom, unfurnished except for a single bed and a set of drawers.

He needs a way to invade her privacy; more than just being in her living room. Affect her more than just wrecking her measly answering machine.

Pulling out the drawers until they crash to the floor, Mishime spills the contents out, rifling through her clothes and redecorating the room with the splintered wood.

Her mattress is next to be overturned, blankets shredded and wooden frame kicked askew, the curtains are torn down from their hooks.

Standing in the middle of the destroyed room, Mishime struggles to gain control over his breathing and his chest heaves with exertion, his face red with strain but his anger has been satisfied.

He imagines to himself, not for the first time, taking his anger out on Hitomi; a backhanded slap now and again would do it. Just to show he means business.

Feeling his fury finally subside, he closes the bedroom door on the chaotic scene behind him and re-enters the main room of the apartment.

It's too neat. Everything is too neat and Mishime itches to mess it all up, to mess Hitomi up.

Another sneer locates itself on his lips as he begins his destructive streak, tipping over chairs and tables, clearing with mantelpiece with a single swipe, emptying the contents of the fridge onto the floor.

A sudden crash makes him jump and his attention is drawn to the kitchen drawer that has fallen and scattered its contents.

At his feet, a single red felt marker comes to a stop and Mishime, chest heaving, hair in a tangled knot, shirt torn and pants creased, reaches down to pick it up.

His eyes avert to the wall over the mantelpiece and, flicking off the lid, he approaches; pen in hand, message in his head, canvas in front of his eyes.

The room is left as it is for hours after Mishime finally leaves, whistling a jaunty tune until Hitomi arrives back home, shopping bags in hand and a smile set on her lips.

It does not stay for long, however, for one glance around the room pours dread over Hitomi's heart and her breath catches in her throat.

Everything...All of her things have been more or less destroyed. Photo frames lay shattered on the floor, vases of flowers were obviously crushed beneath foot, side tables lay on their side...

She drops her bags where she stands, her hand flying to her mouth to conceal the cry of despair.

Her hotel room has been ruined, there's barely anything to salvage...moving through the room to her bedroom, another intake of breath keeps her tears at bay as she sees the wreck her room is in. Someone has been in her bedroom, her privacy, and destroyed everything.

A cascade of tears flood her emerald eyes and she tries to brush them away, only to let out a sob, and another, before her whole body is shaking with suppressed cries.

It is the worst experience she has had to date. The feeling that someone has forced their way into her life is bad enough, but to have her little world invaded and wrecked is something entirely different.

Hitomi makes her way back to the main room, trying to look at anything but the room as a whole, emeralds dart from one surface to another, taking in the damage with a heavy sigh. Something large and red on the wall opposite her kitchenette catches her attention from the corner of her eye, and she turns slowly, dread settles like a cold sweat over her skin.

Roughly 4 feet up and across, in a rushed chicken-scratch scrawl, a message is not only imprinted on her wall, but in her mind too. She feels sick; her eyes are wide and brimmed with tears of a different sort. These, unlike the last, are not just of frustration and fear. They are tears of total vulnerability and of having no protection against a ghost that won't quit haunting her.

"Perhaps this message won't be so easy to wash away. I love you Hitomi."

She feels her throat contract and she struggles to breath, Mishime has been here. In this very room.

She imagines him writing the message on the wall, a manic grin of glee on his lips.

Her fear is overcome with disgust and the panic in her heart begins to rise.

She stumbles backwards over an overturned table and falls onto the cushion of her couch with an 'oof'.

Her hand grazes her phone when she reaches out to pull herself up and she stares at it for a good long while, her brow furrowing in thought through her tears.

Van, cracking open a fresh can of beer, settles himself sideways across the leather couch and crosses one foot over the other when the phone jumps into life behind his head on the side-cabinet.

He lets out a huff, glancing longingly at the alcohol in his hand before placing it beside the phone and picking up the electronic device.

"Hello."

"Van?"

"Hitomi? What's wrong?"

"Could...um, could you come over? Just for a bit."

Van's brow furrows at the desperation in Hitomi's voice, and he leans back against the arm of the couch.

"Of course, what's the address?-"

Hitomi has lost track of time when Van comes bursting into the hotel room. She could have been sitting there for 1 minute or 100 but it all seems a blur.

She looks up with tear-brimmed eyes and the urge to cry grows in her throat again.

Van takes one look around the room, at the smashed glass and overturned furniture, and reaches out for her silently, not finding words to say.

She doesn't hesitate to jump into his arms and bury her face in his chest, a cry tearing from her painfully.

"It was...him...Mishime...he was in here..." Her sentences are broken between her ragged breathing but eventually she is able to recount the story to Van, who listens with growing unease.

"Christ, Hitomi. You could have been in real danger. I'm so glad you called me."

His hand strokes the nape of her neck, trying to comfort her, before his gaze stumbles over the message on the wall.

An expletive stumbles from his lips and he holds Hitomi closer, as if trying to protect her from it.

"You're not staying here tonight, are you?"

Hitomi wipes away the tears on the back of her hand, pulling away from Van's arms with a sudden sense of modesty and grabs the bags she'd dropped; clearing them away from the door.

"I don't want to but I don't have a choice. I have nowhere to go; I can't go back home, he'll just follow me, and I can't keep moving to new hotels otherwise I'll constantly be looking over my shoulder. I'll call the cops on him, that's all."

Van tries not to look at her, his eyes settle on the message again and he feels an angry shiver run through him.

"The cops won't do anything; they're crooked as fuck unless there's something in it for them."

Hitomi's brow furrows, "But that's...that's totally immoral! What happens if you catch an intruder in your house?"

"Sweetheart, this is Gaea. You have free reign in handing out justice so long as no-one actually dies. People here have to look after themselves, rather than rely on the cops. I'd say calling them would be a waste of time."

"Then...what do I do? I can't stay here tonight and expect to ward him off myself if he comes back." Her frown steels into a line of determination and she marches out of the front room into her bedroom, marching back in with a duffel bag.

"I'll have to move back home. Even if Mishime follows me, at least I know I can turn to the law for protection."

Van's russet eyes follow her movement around the room, his mouth in a frown, his dark eyebrows knitted together.

"So you're just going to let him run you out of the city."

"I have no other choice." Her tone is bitter and Hitomi picks her way through the furniture, picking up photos and belongings from the debris.

"Get an apartment at the Winston. They refuse access to anybody who doesn't have a member's card; if you get a place there Mishime won't be able to get to you."

Hitomi pauses in packing her bag and looks at Van with a bemused expression.

"The Winston? If you're talking about the incredibly high-class, obscenely expensive apartments I drove past on the way into Gaea, you're way off the mark by suggesting I stay there. I couldn't afford that with all the money I make in a year."

She continues to stuff her bag with anything she found that was still intact, trying to distract herself.

Van exhales, a lead weight in his cold heart.

If he is perfectly honest, which is rare, he doesn't want Hitomi to leave. In the endless line of bimbo-broads who call themselves his conquests, Hitomi is a breath of fresh air and he knows he would miss her if she left.

His anger at Mishime builds inside him, just for making him liable to emotion towards a woman after years of keeping them out.

"Move in with me."

The words have found their way out of his throat before he can stop them and a cold feeling like despair grabs at him.

Hitomi stops again, her emerald eyes boring into auburn. A flicker of a smile works at the corner of her lips, a sign that she's not sure whether this is a joke or not, and whether she should laugh.

"Excuse me?"

Van shifts his weight from one foot to the other, trying to draw his gaze away from her. He's come this far, it would be rude not to just go ahead and repeat it.

"Move in with me. In my flat. You'll like it..."

She lets out a nervous laugh, breaking off the stare and averting her eyes elsewhere in the room. They rest on the message on the wall and she swallows, looking down at her half-packed bag.

"It's not a case of me liking it. I've known you for...what, a day? Not even that."

Van frowns again and it is almost a childish pout.

"And? Is there a schedule on how long I know you before I can help you out?"

Their eyes meet again across the debris in the room and Hitomi can't help the blush that floods her cheeks.

"No but...I don't want to burden you with all this."

Van breathes out a sigh of heavy relief and the tension in his shoulders evaporates. She seems to be persuaded in his favour and he eases a slow drawl of a smile onto his lips.

"If I considered it a burden, would I have offered?"

Hitomi watches him for a few more seconds before turning back to the open bag with a shy smile.

"Help me pack?"

Half an hour later, Hitomi is seated in the passenger seat of Van's two-seater mustang in silence; her bags stored away in the boot. She has been sitting here for a few minutes while Van is inside the hotel reception, explaining that she would no longer be staying there and that someone at the main desk had failed to stop an intruder destroying the room.

Hitomi feels another blush spark up along her cheekbones, Van has already been so good to her, offering his flat as her refuge, but he had insisted on going that extra yard for her.

She spots Van exiting the hotel from the corner of her eye and she bites her bottom lip, feeling the car heat up when he pulls open the door and slides into the front seat, the steering wheel between his jean-clad knees.

Van exhales a relieved sigh and turns to her with a devilish grin,

"All set? You haven't forgotten anything, have you?"

A shake of her head responds a no and Van coaxes his car into gear, reversing out of the parking lot and performing a neat u-turn in the middle of the street, once again forgetting his seatbelt.

Revving to encourage his car to run smoothly, Van steps on the accelerator and speeds down the tarmac, doing his usual 45mph in a 30mph zone. He notices Hitomi's hand clenched in the leather seat and, frowning, he drops his speed just slightly, taking the corners a little slower and taking a little more care.

"It's not far to my place, a few blocks away from where we met up yesterday."

"Okay."

She looks away from him, out of the window.

Van turns to her, distracted from the traffic in front of him as they slow into a queue of cars. Her whole posture screams discomfort and he feels another frown at the corner of his lips.

"Something the matter?"

Hitomi looks down at her hands, folded in her lap, and sucks her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I can't help but think I'm going to be nothing but trouble for you. You've done so much for me already and I'm going to outstay my welcome."

Van smiles at her worry and reaches across the car, settling his hand over hers in her lap while returning his eyes on the road.

"Trust me, okay? You can stay for as long as you need to, I really don't mind."

The atmosphere in the car becomes intense when they simultaneously look down at Van's hand on Hitomi's; his fingertips curve around her fingers and his palm feels hot against her skin. Silence descends upon them and Hitomi can already feel yet another blush spreading.

Van clears his throat and draws back his hand, running it through his dark hair before replacing it on the steering wheel and navigating out of the traffic jam. He catches a glimpse of himself in his rear-view mirror, and mentally scorns himself for losing his composure.

The apartment is cool when Van unlocks the front door and stands back to let Hitomi enter, wanting to see her expression.

Truth be told, he is damned proud of this place. Being the first apartment he's bought with his own money, as opposed to the family money, it represents his independence of the Fanel family. He remembers his first night here; inviting Allen, a good friend of his, round for drinks and movies and not sleeping until dawn the next day.

It brings a smile to his lips which is magnified when Hitomi steps inside and draws a gasp.

She takes in the lavish surroundings with a look of bewilderment; the probably very expensive leather couch, plasma widescreen television mounted on the wall above the fireplace, marble-countered kitchenette, it is all observed with respect and amazement.

Hitomi turns back to Van and half-smiles, not sure what to say.

Van just shrugs, ushering her inside and shutting the door behind him.

He has to laugh quietly to himself when he realizes Hitomi is the first girl he has brought home that has actually paid any attention to the very bachelor-esque penthouse rather than getting his clothes off as quickly as possible.

He tries to remember the name of the last girl he had brought home, when it strikes him that he had learnt not to invite them back to his place after the first few one-night stands resulted in him having to cook breakfast for them and usher them out of the door. Hitomi is must be different.

His attention is roused when Hitomi calls his name, watching him curiously.

"Van? You seemed a little out of it."

He closes the door behind him with a kick of his foot, unloading the bags in his hand onto the floor beside the couch.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking. Would you like to see the spare room now or are you hungry? I'll cook you something."

Hitomi smiles gently, settling herself on the leather couch.

"I am rather hungry, if you don't mind. I can give you a hand if you like?"

Van dismisses her offer and strides into the kitchenette, racking his brains for any recipe that is impossible to get wrong.

Receiving the cheese-on-toast with a grateful smile, Hitomi settles back down when Van takes the spot next to her, stretching out his long legs and resting his arm on the back of the couch, he watches her for a moment before digging out his cell phone.

"You don't mind if I have your cell number, do you? Seeing as the number at your hotel is useless now."

Merle hates using the elevator in her apartment block. Although the block is expensive, high-class and of superb quality, the elevator still makes her feel squeamish.

Maybe it's the small confines or the annoying tinny music or the fact that she had once got so drunk, she'd broken the elevator and been stuck in there overnight that aggravates her; whatever it is, Merle is glad to be rid of it when it reaches the penthouse and she bounds out.

Swinging the small bag of beautiful jewellery in one hand, she almost skips to the front door and, shaking the door handle aggressively, finds it unlocked. Marvellous, Van must be home!

Opening the door wide until it bounces on its hinges, Merle holds up her purchases with pride, a huge grin on her lips before her blue eyes catch an unfamiliar figure on the leather couch beside Van and her smile disintegrates.

Her eyes flick to Van, who stands to greet her innocently.

"Merle! I didn't expect you back so soon."

"I can see that. Obviously thought you had a few more hours to get your latest conquest out of the apartment before I got home. At least this shows that you don't care what you have to do, just so you can get that ego-boost."

Hitomi, mouth hanging open at the outburst, jumps up to explain, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment but Van gets in before her.

"Merle, you've got it wrong. This is a friend of mine; she'll be staying here for a while."

Merle, not bothering to even take a good look at the girl, storms into the kitchenette and abandons her new jewellery on the counter. She glares at Van again and fumes,

How dare he break their promise? She had honestly thought life was looking up, that they were number one in each other's lives again, but Van had fallen straight back into his fuck-and-chuck lifestyle.

She feels tears prick at the corners of her eyes and she wipes them away angrily.

"So you've taken to inviting them to stay a few days, have you? Got tired of having to chuck them out the next morning?"

Van, his dark eyebrows knitting together in anger, displays an expression that makes Merle stop in her tirade. His auburn eyes burn with anger and his mouth is set in a line to stop himself shouting.

"I said you've got it wrong, Merle. This is Hitomi; she needed a place to stay while she sorts out a new apartment. If you'd have controlled your temper instead of insulting Hitomi without knowing the full story, maybe you wouldn't have made an idiot of yourself."

Merle freezes, her blue eyes widening and turning to Hitomi. Her mouth gapes and her cheeks go pink until she flashes another giant grin to cover her shame.

"You're the girl I saw today! In the city centre?"

Hitomi attempts to reflect her sudden change in disposition but she can't shake the feeling of being ridiculed in front of Van.

"Yeah that was me. Nice to see you again. Like Van said, I'm only staying here until I can find a place of my own."

Merle has seemingly forgotten about her mistake seconds before as she flocks past Van to Hitomi, shaking her hand enthusiastically and giving her the usual inspection that everybody new receives.

"What a coincidence, huh? So sorry for mistaking you for one of Van's whores. I should have guessed as soon as I saw you; you're far too innocent looking. New to Gaea?"

Van clears his throat for attention and Merle quietens down, her eyes casting down to the floor in disgrace. She knows Van doesn't like it when she imposes on things she has no business in and she turns to him like a misbehaving puppy, her bottom lip trembles in anticipation for Van's wrath.

His resolve to give her a piece of his mind vanishes, however, when he sees her big blue eyes watering and her trembling pout; instead he settles for pointing in the direction of her bedroom, his expression proving he will not be disobeyed.

"Go to your room and...and think about what've you done."

She doesn't need telling twice and she scarpers, flashing an apologetic grin to Hitomi before disappearing.

Van's shoulders hang and he drags his feet back to the couch, reclaiming his place on the seat and patting the cushion beside him to draw Hitomi down.

"I'm so sorry about that, she gets the wrong end of the stick more often than not."

Hitomi awards him a reassuring smile and sits facing him, her emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.

"She seems...nice."

Van groans, fatigue evident in the set of his mouth.

"I think she's determined to turn the whole city against me."

"Oh. She seemed happy to see you when she came in..."

"She has her moments. Usually she's a good kid."

They settle into comfortable silence, the faint thump of Merle's music in the background. Hitomi can't help the smile spreading on her lips when she catches Van's profile out of the corner of her eyes. She honestly doubts any girl has ever been so lucky, to be taken in by such a perfect specimen as Van and treated as his equal not even a day after meeting him.

She swallows the girlish grin when Van turns to face her, instead distracting herself with looking around the room.

Her heart swells again at her luck and she finally turns to Van; her emerald catching his auburn; noticing the flicker of his pupils from her eyes to her lips and back, the tiny smile teasing the corner of his lips, the fire in his eyes...

Hitomi feels her cheeks heating up and she has to turn away again, facing the plasma screen of the television.

"Thank you for letting me stay, Van. I can't tell you how much this means to me, you helping me out. It's...it's more than you ever needed to do, to be honest."

"No problem, Hitomi. It's my pleasure to have you here."

When she turns to him, curious about his gravely tone, it is not to question him but to notice that his eyes aren't focused on her own, instead they are fixed rather hungrily on her lips and the fire that ignites in Van's eyes causes a burning shiver to run though her that Mishime had never induced.

She doesn't move an inch, like a mouse in clear view of a serpent, leaving a wide opportunity for Van to make his move. A snake smile smoothes onto his lips and he reaches for her, consequences be damned.

End of Chapter 3

Important points

This is a lot shorter than the last two, which I'm not sure is a good thing. Please review and let me know what you think.

I keep getting that feeling that now that it's updated, you're all going to be disappointed. I'm probably being paranoid and insecure but I can't help it, so please please review offering a couple things I could improve. It would really help me get over my complex.

Merle's changed a little, is she any better to cope with? I know someone said they really don't like her but I wanted to portray how she's coped living in a city like Gaea.