Fwee! Enjoy chapter 3! (Hey, the AN's short for once! GASP! … Never mind. Not anymore, after all that. Sigh. Hangs head and trudges off.) Since I already wrote so much, I might as well mention that some of this chapter may be a bit humorous to some. Once again, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Fwee. I don't own Escaflowne. Hmm… I wonder how many collective hours a year fan fic writers waste on these retarded disclaimers. Probably a lot. How much do I? Hmm…
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Last time: "Say," He asked as he followed her from quiet clearing, "What's your name?"
"Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki." Came the melodious reply.
"Hitomi." It sat well on his tongue, and he pondered over it as he left the temporary refuge of the starlit forest glade, blissfully unaware of the many trials and hardships he would face in the near future.
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Drip.
The low whirr of machinery droned in the musty air.
"So," Came a harsh monotone, "The sword has met the girl from the Mystic Moon. Good, very good. Matters are proceeding precisely to plan. The Fate Alteration Machine will soon accomplish its true purpose."
Drip.
Chapter 3: Icy Water
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"Ugh…" Hitomi's eyes strayed to her watch for the umpteenth time. "It's 2 am and we still haven't found a place to camp! My feet hurt and I need to sleep!"
"You're tired already? We haven't been walking that long." Her platinum-haired companion recited his mantra and gave her a sidelong glance. His earlier nervousness had fled almost entirely, giving way to irritation. It was going to be a long night.
"What? We've been walking for four hours. I'm not in as good of shape as you," The seer's eyes were fastened on the rough, leaf-covered ground as they continued to trudge through the forest, "I'm tired, Dilandau!" She whined. Dilandau had to fight with all of his considerable self-control to keep from strangling her. His right eye twitched incessantly, and he sighed for what was likely the hundredth time in half as many minutes.
"I'm not sure I know what we're looking for, but hopefully…" His voice trailed off to return in an awed squeak, "… We'll find it soon…?"
A brick house just sat there in a small clearing, patiently waiting for a guest to shelter. It was quaint and small, but it was something truly amazing… Shelter.
"Look, Dilandau, a house!" Hitomi squealed and raced for the cabin. Before she had gone three steps, however, Dilandau grabbed her by the kerchief and pulled her back.
"Wait a minute. Someone might live there. We should find out before we go barging in." The ex-captain had no clue how he knew what to do, but he did. The sensation had become rather familiar and he shrugged it off. Subconsciously, his hand strayed to his sword hilt. At the caress of rough leather, he eased it off. What was that about?
"O-okay…" Came his companion's reply.
"You should probably go up to the door first. Maybe because you're a woman they'll react better to you than they would to me." He didn't know why he said that, either, but it did seem like good advice. However, some small part of him that remembered everything whispered that it was because the cabin-dwellers might recognize him and be scared off, or even attack. Dilandau either didn't hear it, or chose not to hear it.
He was shaken from his reverie by a few sharp taps on the oaken door, and dove for cover behind a tree. On instinct, he peeked out from the side to see what was going on.
"Um… Hello?" Hitomi gulped. It was obvious that she was nervous, but it couldn't be helped. Dilandau only prayed that she would play her cards right.
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Hitomi stood there for a long moment, goosebumps raising on her exposed legs from the caress of the sweet-smelling, chilly air. At a sudden dull creak, her eyes riveted on the opening portal.
A tall, bearded man emerged with a single sepia eyebrow cocked. His voice was rough as sandpaper and deeper than the Mariana Trench, but it still held the pleasant chime of congeniality. "Why, hello there, miss. I'm Elis Tark. What can I do for you?"
Hitomi smiled. "My name is…" She paused a moment. The chances were good that the man had heard her name before, and Dilandau's as well. "My name is Mia Kanza. My companion Dil and I were looking for a place to stay for the night. Could we stay here for now? We'll leave first thing in the morning."
"Sure thing, little lady. Miss… Mia, wasn't it?" Hitomi nodded. "Say, what's your friend's last name? I don't think I caught it."
'Mia' lowered her eyes for a moment. "I don't know, sir. He has amnesia, so we just agreed on a first name for him. We decided to hold off on a last until we can figure out his real one."
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On the other hand, 'Dil' was torn between gawking like a fish from shock and fuming from the childish nickname. He opted for the former, stunned by her ability to lie with such a straight face. How does she do that? And I thought she was nothing but a meek nervous wreck!
He quickly returned his attention to the pair's conversation, lest he miss any important lies 'Mia' told and blow their cover. Although he was mystified as to why she was telling them in the first place. The albino already suspected that he had something to hide, but did she need to conceal something, too? He would have to ask her about that later.
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"So, where is your friend, this 'Dil'?" Elis asked, slightly suspicious. This was definitely a very strange girl. Polite, but still very strange nonetheless.
"He's hiding back in the woods over there," The athlete jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "He thought it was best that I approached you first since he's armed and I'm a woman. You'd probably react better to me than him," She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to the woodsman, "But I agreed for a different reason. Except for the scar on his left cheek, he looks exactly like Dilandau Albatou."
Elis' eyes grew wide with shock and fear, only concealed from said ex-captain by Hitomi's closeness and his long, unkempt bangs. "W-what?" His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper, "The Dilandau Albatou?"
"Yes. Except for the scar, they look identical, but Dil's personality is the complete opposite of Dilandau's. I only ran into him in the woods about four hours ago, but I know he wouldn't hurt anyone. He's a nervous wreck and really quiet, too. There's no way he's Albatou. Even if he was, it's unlikely that he'll ever regain his memory, so we're safe. It'll be fine."
Strangely, something about this girl and the way she spoke so simply and reassuringly made Elis trust her. He sighed and spoke again, quietly so that Dilandau wouldn't hear. "Alright girl, I'll meet him and then make a decision. Go drag this friend of yours out."
"Okay!" She chirped cheerfully and trotted back to the line of trees to retrieve one very nervous and hesitant Dilandau Albatou.
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"Hitomi…? What was all that whispering about? And why did you lie to him about our names?" Dilandau softly demanded. He needed answers, and he needed them now. And he wasn't moving until he got them. "I already suspected that I had something to hide, but you? Tell me, who are you really?" Claret eyes narrowed in suspicion. He trusted her, but only to a certain point.
His companion sighed heavily and lowered her eyes a bit. "Fine. I'll tell you. I was a 'hero' in the Destiny War. In fact, I was a pivotal player during the war. Zaibach and the Alliance were always fighting over me. All because I'm a seer." Her eyes shut tightly in remembered pain. "During the war, I used my Tarot cards - cards used to tell the future - to read the future for people. Where I come from, most people's readings were wrong a lot, but even on the Mystic Moon, my readings were always much more accurate then theirs. When I came here, they were always right. I could, and maybe still can, change destiny through my feelings. I can see things that no one else can and have premonitions. I saved my friend's lives many times with my powers, but also hurt them and others just as often."
"W-Wait a minute! You're the seer? And you're from the Mystic… Moon…" Dilandau gave a nearly inaudible gasp. For an instant, an image of Hitomi sitting on the shoulder of a white guymelef pointing at a blue one flashed through his mind. It vanished without a trace in the next. And how did he know about the 'Mystic Moon' and the 'Wing Goddess', anyhow?
"Dila- Dil. Are you okay?" She had noticed his wide-eyed gasp.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Damn. Why does this keep happening? I know I remembered something, but what was it? I really only have memory of the past 4 ½ hours, but I know that I remember even more than that. I'm already tired of these memory flashes. They're just teasing me. …But if I want to remember, why do I get the feeling that it's a bad thing? It suddenly dawned on him that he was leaning heavily against the rough bark of the tree trunk, and pulled away from it as if it were on fire.
"Mia, what did you come over here for? Will he let us stay the night or not?" The albino looked her straight in the eye, shaking off his doubts and putting the questions away for a better time. There would be a time and place to confront her with them, but it wasn't here and it certainly wasn't now.
"Well… He wanted to meet you before making a decision. I guess he just… Wanted to know what he was getting himself into, that's all," She tossed him her trademark reassuring smile, "Let's go!"
Whatever you say, seer from the Mystic Moon. This is crazy. He thought as he let her drag him off to the cottage. Something told him that this was a very bad idea.
---
Elis' eyes widened a bit as Hitomi pulled Dilandau out from behind the tree. The Sorcerers hadn't assigned him a small task this time. That was definitely Dilandau. The seasoned Zaibachian spy had seen him distantly several times, and once actually talked to him. Even if Elis hadn't recognized his face, very few had the skill to hide from him the way the albino had. Elis hadn't even begun to suspect him hiding behind that tree!
As the unlikely pair approached, he carefully schooled his expression into a mask of congeniality. There was no reason for Dilandau to suspect anything. And though he was likely not anywhere near as volatile as he had been during his encounter with Elis several cycles earlier, given the honed muscles and well-cared for sword, the former captain was just as dangerous. While his personality may have changed, his muscle memory and body certainly had not. Elis would definitely need to be careful.
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Not two meters out of the tree line, Dilandau took one look at the man and said, "I don't trust him."
Hitomi shot her companion a quizzical sidelong glance, green eyes sparkling in confusion. "Why? I thought he seemed fine."
"Look at him. It's obvious that that smile and pleasant expression are all a façade. And his eyes. They're hard, and he's studying me like a predator sizing up a wounded deer. His frame is wrong, too. Sure, it's muscular, but not nearly enough so for the average woodsman. Something's not right here." Crimson eyes narrowed to mere slits as they peered through his silver locks. "I don't trust him." Dilandau's hand strayed to his sword, and this time, he didn't bother to remove it. He wasn't going to relax for a second as long as he was near this man.
"You're being paranoid, Dil. You need to learn to trust people. Give him the benefit of the doubt!" She smiled happily and trotted off. Dilandau sighed.
"You're going to get us both killed, woman." He muttered under his breath and followed her to the door of the cabin, not even realizing what he had said, or that he had even said anything at all.
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End Chapter
It took me a bit to decide whether or not to put people in the house, but finally I decided that I would. I hope that they help me out later for explaining things, though I may have to pull some strings as far as recognizing Dilandau (and Hitomi, too) goes. Anyhoo, I hoped you liked it, thanks for reading, and bye!
PS. It's New Year's day right now, so while this will probably be posted about a month or so after I've written this, I wish you an uber late Happy New Year!
Aurah
PLEASE REVIEW!