A/N: Alright, well, most of the mysteries from the second chapter are explained except for a couple because I don't want this story getting too rushed. There's nothing worse than a rushed plot line, so I'm trying to keep a steady flow of info going on here. Also, that would explain my short chapters. In my opinion, shorter chapters are a small price to pay for a well-proportioned story, wouldn't you agree?
Being that it was the middle of Fall, the sun was already beginning to set by the time that Hitomi made it to her school. It seemed weird that she would come to school on the weekend and it felt rather eerie. Sure, perhaps before she'd come back from Gaea, she would come to use the track, but now... well, she hadn't exactly been going out of her way to get to school for any other reason than school.
She leaned against the soccer post and looked at her watch. It was ten-to-eight and her little admirer still hadn't shown up. Well, she supposed that was a good thing. That way she wouldn't have to embarrass the poor man by rejecting him for a man that lived in a mystical world. Yeah, that news wouldn't be too good for his ego. Nonetheless, she waited.
"So, you came after all," an oddly familiar voice said, surprising her.
She gasped, wondering how she hadn't heard any approaching footsteps. She looked around but could find no one, there wasn't even a silhouette of anybody around her. "W-Who...? Where... Where are you?"
"Up here."
She pushed herself away from the goal post in an instant and whirled around to find a tall, dark form balancing atop the post. His silhouette and voice suggested a man, but the long hair that was gently flowing in the breeze suggested otherwise. What man would keep their hair so long nowadays? "Who are you?"
"I'm hurt," the man chuckled, "I thought you would have remembered the man you once loved."
"Amano...? When did your hair get so long?"
She may have heard the words "stupid girl", but they were so low that it could have been only her imagination. The figure stepped off the post and gracefully landed on the the ground, his knees bending to absorb the shock from the fall.
With him suddenly so close, Hitomi could finally see the man's features and she gasped. "A-Allen! But when did you... how did you... Van! Is Van with you? Where is he? Can I see him?"
Allen chuckled, placing his hands on his hips, cocking his head to one side and quirking a single blond brow. "I come all this way to see you and you blabber on about Van? How heart-breaking."
She bit her lower lip and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Allen. How've you been?"
He shrugged and she rolled her eyes. If he wasn't going to talk about himself, why'd he bother complaining about her talking about Van? Wait... was he the transfer student Yukari had spoken of? Why had he come to Earth just to go to some random Japanese high school? And Yukari had also mentioned other people. Was Van one of those other people?
Allen sighed, a kind smile replacing that smirk and his stance softening into a more relaxed posture. He reached a hand out to her as he suggested, "Why don't you come with me? There are some people I'd like you to see."
"V-Van?" she asked hopefully.
An odd look glinted in his blue eyes, and she could have sworn she saw a poorly-disguised wince wrinkle his features. He gave her a half-hearted smile and reached his hand out a little further. "You have a one track mind, Hitomi. Now come on. Let's go."
She reluctantly took his hand and let him lead her away from the school, toward Amano's house... no, the house next to Amano's. A shudder of anticipation ran up her spine and her cheeks flushed, remembering those beautiful eyes of Van's. She really hoped that Van would be there, but Allen's reaction to her asking if he was there worried her. Was he not there? Well, he could have just said no, if he wasn't, but he'd just looked... pained.
Wait... what if he was hurt? Or worse, what if he was... dead? Her blood ran cold and her knees nearly buckled under the weight of that realization. Was Van dead? Was that why Allen had come to see her? To tell her that the man she loved had died? Oh, she'd known Van would get hurt if he continued to fight and she'd left him anyway! How could she have been so stupid?
"A-Allen," she murmured his name, holding his hand tighter, "Van... he isn't with you, is he?"
His hand gently squeezed hers, offering comfort as he answered, "No."
She lost any and all strength, giving it up to that one syllable, to that one word that confirmed Van's pain... that confirmed that she would never see him again. This time, her knees really did give out and she allowed Allen to catch her before she hit the ground. Tears blurred her vision and the sound of her blood flowing through her veins drowned out the knight's voice. It didn't matter what he had to say, it didn't matter where he took her. Van was dead and she was never going to see him again.
"Hitomi, please," Allen's voice echoed in her mind, "You're overreacting."
Overreacting? She was overreacting?! How could she be overreacting when the man she loved was dead? No, this was the least she could be doing. She could have taken her blond companion's sword and plunged it through her heart. Actually, she would have if she'd had any strength to do so. "He's... dead."
"N-No, he isn't!" he exclaimed, "At least not yet. He will be soon, though, if we don't get to Gaea quickly."
He's not dead, she silently told herself, closing her eyes against the evidence that pointed to the contrary. Not dead... yet? "But why do you need me?" she asked, "What could I possibly do to help you? And what do you mean 'not yet'? Where is he?"
"When Van was captured, he left your necklace behind," the blond told her, "We're sure that he wants us to bring you back to Gaea and use your powers to find him. We all tried to see if we could do it, but we couldn't. So, we need you."
"But I stopped fortune telling, remember?" she asked, some of her strength returning. "Th-There's no such thing as predetermined fate, so we have to make our own destinies."
"Yes, but is it really a part of our destiny for Van to die?"
Hitomi's eyes widened as the words of that rhetorical question hit home... hard. If she didn't use her powers, then Van was going to die and it would be all her fault. She didn't want Van to die!"I don't want Van to die. He can't die. He won't, not if I have any say in the matter. But... my fortune telling..."
"You won't do it again this once? For Van?"
Once again his words hit her hard and she remembered what she had thought not long before: "People's emotions sometimes move the heavens". She was willing to move the heavens to be beside Van again, she was willing to leave Earth for Gaea to be by his side. Could she not do her fortune-telling once more for him? "I'll do it," she resolved.
Allen nodded, smiling. "That's my girl. Everybody back in Gaea is looking forward to seeing you again."
She smiled, but deep inside she was in pain. She had resolved to move the heavens to be with Van again... and she may have to do just that.
A/N: So, if that man in the shadows wasn't Van, then who was he? And why is Allen calling him 'Milord'? Is Allen lying or telling the truth and who's the bad guy here? Stay tuned to find out! And some reviews wouldn't hurt, either... (hint hint, wink wink, nudge, nudge)