AN: Hello Everyone! dodges tomato Hey, what's with the tomato's? dodges another tomato is this about me taking too long to write this chapter? runs and ducks for cover as a hundred tomato's fly through the air Look, I'm really sorry. I just didn't get around to writing until a few days ago! more tomato's You don't need to make me feel worse than I already do. I just finished reading Harry Potter, and you know what? My favorite character died! sob So, I'm a bit depressed right now. That may be why this chapter is so depressing. flying tomato But don't worry, there is FLUFF to come! I love FLUFF!
FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF!
FLUFFY!
FLUFFYNESS!
FLUFFED!
FLUFFED WITH STUFF!
FLUFFEDNESS!
Weeeeeeeeeeeeee……………………..llama llama llama!
Hee...hee…..I haven't' eaten in a long time, and if I don't eat, I get HYPER! MUAHAHAHA…………..HA!
girl is running around in circles throwing cotton balls everywhere
I LOVE FLUFF!
mother walks into room
Uh oh…I better just post this chapter…and…um…clean all this up…yeah…looks around her and cotton balls are up to her waist
Heh heh…nervous laugh
Disclaimer: Hello everyone! Since I have energy today, and perhaps too much of it, I am actually writing a disclaimer. Isn't it amazing?
Today, I have Spinel Sun from Cardcaptor Sakura to do the disclaimer.
little black talking teddy bear raises his paw Hello.
So, Spinel, Do I own Escaflowne?
Of course not.
Excellent answer…Cerberus comes flying in carrying a large basket of cupcakes
Cerberus: Oh Spinel!
Uh oh…Spinel attempts to fly away
Cerberus: Oh, no you don't! Cerberus grabs Spinel by the wing and throws him down on the table Let's try this again, does she own Escaflonwe?
NO she doesn't! Cerberus holds up basket of cupcakes in the air threateningly
Cerberus: What did you say?
No, she doesn't own Escaflowne!
Cerberus: clearly ticked off, Cerberus grabs a cupcake out of the basket That's it, you asked for it! Cerberus shoves cupcake into Spinel's mouth. Spinel swallows and his head turns pink Now, does Yugismpuzzle own Escaflowne?
gasp No…she doesn't!
Cerberus: Oh, okay. rummages through basket. Pulls out a cupcake twice the size of Spinel's body Ahhhh……..the BIG one! Now, does Yugismpuzzle own Escaflowne now?
Cerberus tosses cupcake at Spinel. The cupcake doesn't quite fit so Cerberus proceeds to jump on the cupcake like a trampoline, forcing the cupcake into Spinel's mouth. Spinel swallows and his whole body turns pink and begins to float So, does she own Escaflowne?
Spinel has a dreamy expression on his face Yeah…she owns Escaflowne…she owns everything…all hail Yugismpuzzle…
Yugismpuzzle: sweat drop Spinel and sugar do not mix. As soon as he gets sugar in his system, he gets all floaty. sigh Oh well, on with chapter four!
Chapter Four: Competition
"Well, Van, I'm impressed. You've greatly improved." Allen commented after being beaten for the third time in a row.
"Thanks Allen. You're not too bad yourself." Although Van was happy that he had beaten the Knight three times in a row, he couldn't forget the fact that Allen had beaten him seven times beforehand. "Let's take a break."
Van lowered his sword and replaced it in its sheath, Allen doing the same with his. The two of them walked across the courtyard and sat down on a stone bench, allowing the two swordsmen to catch their breath.
Allen took a moment to collect himself before asking Van a question. "So, when did you meet Hitomi?"
"Oh, just yesterday. I found her in a tree."
This seemed to amuse Allen. "You mean, the tall tree, at the top of the grassy hill?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Van said in surprise. "How did you know about that tree?"
"She's up in that tree all the time. She tried to get me to climb that tree a couple of times." Van's cheeks reddened slightly. "She's such a crazy girl. If only she'd get her head out of the clouds…"
"What do you mean?"
"All she ever thinks about is flying. I took her on a leviship once. I swear, she would have jumped over board if I didn't hold her back, she was so happy. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that contraption she's got in her barn is a mini-leviship that she's built herself."
'That would explain why she likes Komali so much.' Van thought.
"How long have you known Hitomi?" Van asked.
"Several years. Since she was very young. The first time I met her wasn't exactly a happy occasion though…" Allen trailed off.
"Why? What happened?"
Flashback
It was dark outside. Only a few more hours until sunrise. Allen's patrol had received reports of a massacre at a farm near the border of Asturia.
When they arrived, everything was in ruins. The house and barn had been set on fire and were almost burned to the ground. The wind kicked up feathers and blew them in soldier's faces as they checked the wreckage for survivors.
Gaddes was the first to report anything. "I've got a body over here. This looks like the father."
Everyone continued to look around, scavenging through the piles of debris and ash.
Up ahead of him, Allen saw a lump on the ground that looked like a human body. Upon closer examination, he realized, to his horror, there were two bodies. A woman lie face up, her eyes wide open, a small trickle of blood coming out of her mouth. She was dead. Several arrows had struck her chest and her dress was saturated with blood.
Lying beside the woman and hugging the dead body's form was a little girl. The girl's face was buried in her mother's chest. Allen, fearing the worst, turned the girl over so he could see her face.
Much to his astonishment, the girl inhaled sharply. She was startled by the young Knight's presence and now looked up at him, pure terror in her eyes.
"I found a survivor!" Allen called to the others.
Allen picked up the girl and cradled her in his arms as he whispered words of comfort in her ear.
"It's okay now. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help. You're safe now."
Allen carried the girl away from her mother. As he did so, he heard the child whisper, "Bye bye Mommy."
Once he was a good distance away from the woman's corpse, he set the child down on her feet.
"Are you hurt at all?"
The little girl's emerald eyes gazed around in wonder. She looked so lost, and the fire reflected in her eyes only intensified that look. "No, I'm not hurt."
"Are you sure?" Allen persisted. The child was covered in her mother's blood. It was impossible to tell if the girl in front of him was really hurt at all.
"Did the bad men go away?"
"Yes, they're all gone." Allen gave her a comforting smile. "Come, let's get you cleaned up." Allen again took the child into his arms, but this time he felt her small arms wrap securely around his neck. "Hey, what's you name?"
"Hit-Hitomi."
"Hitomi? That's a pretty name."
"What happened to Mamaru?"
"Who's Mamaru?"
"My brother. He's still inside the house. Can we go get him first?"
Allen looked back at the farmhouse. All that was left was a smoldering pile of ash…
End Flashback
"That look on her face," Allen continued, "when she realized she'd never see her family again…it was horrible. I don't think I've ever seen someone so sad, and I don't ever want to see that look again."
Van tried to picture Hitomi looking sad, but all he saw was the charming, energetic girl he saw today and yesterday. He just couldn't picture a sad Hitomi.
"After that Hitomi came here to Fanelia to live with her Grandmother. I checked in from time to time, just to see how she was doing, and eventually we became friends."
"So she lives with her Grandmother now?"
"No, her Grandmother died last year. Hitomi lives by herself now. I asked if she wanted to move into my place, back at Asturia, but she said she wanted to stay. I asked why and she just said she knew someone who needed her here and she wasn't going to leave him." Allen sighed. At this point, he seemed to forget that Van was there and began talking to himself. "She's so secretive. She hardly tells me anything anymore. She won't tell me anything about the project she's working on or who this Komali guy is. I haven't even met him and he already sounds like a jerk."
"What makes you think he's a jerk?" Van retorted. Without even knowing it, he was trying to stand up for the new friend he had made the other night.
"Well, for one thing, Hitomi took me to that hill one time to meet this Komali but he never showed up. What kind of idiot would stand up both me and Hitomi?"
Van began to think. Hitomi had taken Van to the same hill to meet Komali, but he wasn't late. Hitomi knew exactly when he was going to show up, and he arrived right on time. So why didn't Allen get to meet him? All of the sudden, Folken's voice echoed in Van's head.
"They can do that? Prevent people from seeing it?"
"Well, it's not like blinding people from seeing them, it's more like, wiping the memory from their minds. If someone managed to spot a Dragonbird, they wouldn't think twice about it. To them, it's just another bird. Understand?"
That was it! Komali didn't stand up to Allen and Hitomi. Allen did see Komali, but since Komali didn't want Allen to see him, he must have flown away.
'But why wouldn't Komali want to see Allen?'
"Hey Van, what are you smiling about?" Allen interrupted.
Allen's voice brought Van back to his senses. "Oh, it's nothing." Although Allen was Van's friend, Van couldn't help but to take pride in the fact that Komali liked him more than Allen.
"Hey, speaking of Hitomi, how long has it been since we saw her this morning?"
"I don't know. Maybe four or five hours. Why do you ask?"
"I want to find out what this mystery machine she's building is. She said she'd have it done in two hours. I'm going to go and check on her."
Van found it kind of odd that Allen felt he needed to check on Hitomi. She was practically a grown woman and she didn't seem like the kind of person who needs a babysitter. Van decided he wanted to tag along.
"I'll come with you."
For the second time that day, Allen and Van made their way over to Hitomi's house, but this time they walked. Once they could see her house and barn in the distance, Van stopped walking and stared at the house. On the roof was the clear outline of a very large bird.
'Komali is there…'
But no sooner did he think this before the Dragonbird took off into the sky.
"Hey Van, what are you looking at?"
"That bird, don't you see it?"
Allen followed Van's gaze, stared for a moment, and shrugged.
"I don't see anything. Come on, hurry up."
'Allen can't see Komali, or maybe, Komali doesn't want to be seen…'
As soon as they arrived, Allen made to knock on the front door, but before his hand even touched the wood, a feminine voice called out above them.
"Back already?"
"Hitomi, what are you doing up there?"
"Enjoying the view. Come on up, there's a rope over there." Hitomi pointed to a long rope that was hanging off the branch of a tree next to the house.
"Hitomi, that's dangerous. What if the roof collapses?" the Knight panicked.
"I'll fall." Hitomi said simply. Van snorted. Allen scowled.
"Hitomi, please!"
"Fine, fine. I'm coming down." Hitomi's head disappeared from view.
"Thank you."
Suddenly both Van and Allen heard running footsteps coming from above them. They both looked up just in time to watch Hitomi jump off her roof and grab a hold of the rope. Slowly, she slid down the swinging rope, a mad grin on her face. She knew full well that she was freaking Allen out right now, but she didn't know that Van was fighting the urge to burst out laughing. Hitomi planted her feet on the ground and smiled at the scowling Knight.
"You did that on purpose."
Hitomi crossed her arms. "So, what are you going to do about it? Arrest me?"
"No, but I can complain about it. Over and over and over…"
"Alright alright, I get it." She waved her arms in the air to get him to shut up. "What did you come over for anyway?"
"We wanted to know if you finished your 'top secret' project yet." Van asked politely.
"Yup, I sure did." She seemed to almost jump for joy at the thought.
Allen, completely forgetting that he was trying to be serious with Hitomi, suddenly became interested in the conversation. "Well, can we see it?"
"Sure. Follow me." Hitomi turned her heal and ran towards the barn.
Van chuckled a little. "She's like an excited little kid."
Allen sighed. "Yeah…"
Once again, Hitomi grabbed a hold of the metallic barn doors and shoved her body weight against it to get it to open, and then she did the same to the other one. Afterwards, she waited for Van and Allen to come into the barn house before backing up slowly and grabbing a hold of the large black tarp that covered her 'secret project.'
"Well, don't keep us waiting, let's see it." Allen complained.
With a sudden whoosh, Hitomi ran backwards until the tarp was completely removed. Both Van and Allen's jaw's dropped. In front of them was what looked like a giant boomerang with a couple of metal bars sticking out of the bottom.
"What…What is it?" Van asked.
"It's called a hang glider. I heard about it from some people at the market. They said that some people in a distant land use them to travel around."
"What does it do?"
"It's a flying machine. You see, you hold on to those bars down there, make a good running start, and if the wind is good, it's supposed to fly."
Van's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, that's incredible. I'm impressed. Does it work?"
"I don't know. Today I'm going to give it its first test run…or should I say, first test flight."
Finally, Allen spoke up, causing both Hitomi and Van to jump in surprise. "No!"
Hitomi looked bewildered. "Excuse me?"
"No way you're going to go flying in this thing. It's too dangerous. You could get seriously hurt."
"I'll manage." Hitomi shrugged.
Allen began to shout even louder. "No, you won't manage. You are not going flying tonight, or ever. No way. I forbid it!"
Van looked confused. 'What is up with Allen?'
Hitomi's features flickered. She looked furious.
"You are in no position to be ordering me around Allen Shezare!" Both Van and Allen flinched at the emphasis she put on his last name.
"I'm just trying to protect you."
"It's not up to you to protect me. I'm not a little girl anymore, Allen. I can take care of myself."
Realizing that he wasn't going to win this argument, Allen left the barn house and walked around it so he couldn't be seen. Van felt extremely awkward just standing there while the two of them fought. Luckily Hitomi was the one to break the silence. She began to play around with the large tarp, getting ready to re-cover the hang glider.
"Here, let me help you with that." Van grabbed the other end of the tarp and helped toss it over the flying machine.
"Thanks. I'm sorry you had to see that."
"That's alright." While they adjusted the tarp to make sure the machine was completely covered, Van took the opportunity to study Hitomi. Although her voice sounded calm, her features clearly expressed frustration. She was still furious after the little shouting match she had with Allen. And speaking of Allen…Van was still a little shocked at his friend's behavior. He had never seen Allen act like that towards anyone. He was acting so over protective. True, when Allen first met Hitomi, she was a mess. She needed someone to look after her, but Hitomi was grown up now. Allen had no reason to be ordering Hitomi around.
Van looked at Hitomi again. She still looked furious. Van decided to try to change the subject. He edged around the flying machine to over where Hitomi was so he could whisper to her and she would still be able to hear.
"I saw Komali fly away when we arrived."
Hitomi looked up at Van, obviously surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah, but Allen couldn't see him."
"Yeah…" She looked almost disappointed.
"Why won't Komali let Allen see him?"
Hitomi looked back up at Van and smiled. "I see you did your homework. I don't know what surprises me more. The fact that you actually looked up information on Dragonbirds or that you actually found information on Dragonbirds."
"I have my brother to thank for that."
Hitomi's hand slipped in surprise. "You didn't tell him about Komali, did you?" She looked almost fearful.
"No, of course not. I just asked him about it and he told me all he knew. That's all."
Hitomi sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that again. No one else can know about Komali. No one. Not unless Komali trusts that person."
"Wait a minute, does that mean…"
"Yeah, Komali doesn't trust Allen."
"Why?"
"I don't know. He always seemed so nice, but now I'm not so sure. He's been acting different lately." Hitomi finished adjusting the tarp and walked over to the metal table and sat down on it. "You've known Allen for a long time, right?
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Have you noticed how weird he's been acting?"
Van remembered the way Allen reacted when Hitomi had jumped off her roof, how he got angry when she told him she was going to fly in a machine she build, and the way Allen always looked at Hitomi. Now that he thought about it, Van never saw Allen act this way towards anyone. Except Hitomi…
"Um…no, I haven't noticed."
Van mentally scolded himself. 'What are you doing! You're sticking up for Allen?'
"Oh, never mind."
'Van, you are such an idiot.'
"I can't wait till tonight. You have no idea how long I've waited for this project to be done."
"Why are you waiting until night time?"
"I don't want everyone in the village looking at me. They stare at me enough as it is."
"Why do they do that?" Van asked, but Hitomi didn't answer. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she gazed at a spot on the floor. Van realized then that he was prying so he changed the subject back to her flying machine, the one thing that seemed to make her happy.
"How are you going to get that thing up in the air?"
Immediately, the smile returned to her face. "There's a rope I'm going to attach to the front and Komali is going to use it to pull me into the air. Once I get high enough, Komali will let go, and hopefully, I'll be flying."
"Sounds like fun."
"It is…I mean…it should be." Hitomi tensed up and her face started to turn red. She looked embarrassed. Van, afraid that he had offended her somehow, walked over to where she was sitting and knelt down in front of her.
"Hey, are you ok?" Van asked, concerned. He stared into her emerald eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" Hitomi said slowly, then suddenly she broke Van's gaze and looked up. "…Allen!"
Van turned his head and saw that Allen had come back. It was that moment Van realized the close proximity between him and Hitomi. Immediately, Van jumped up and took a step backwards, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
Allen was looking at Van and Hitomi with a mixture of surprise and jealousy, but because the sun was on his back, Van and Hitomi couldn't see his face clearly.
"I'm heading back to the castle." Allen said through clenched teeth. "Are you coming with me, Van?"
"Yeah, I'll be right there." Van said to Allen's retreating back. Turning back to Hitomi, he said, "Well, I wish you luck on your flight. I'll keep an eye out for you."
"Thank you."
Van half ran to catch up with Allen. It wasn't until he was a good distance away from Hitomi that he realized how hard his heart was beating. He hardly knew this girl and just the thought of seeing her again made his spirit jump. Van mentally tried to get his thoughts in order.
'What is wrong with me? Who am I to just show up and but into her personal life. She doesn't even know me, nor do I know her. And besides, she probably likes Allen anyway. He's known her longer.'
"Hey, Allen! Wait up." Van finally caught up with the blonde Knight. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing." Allen said stubbornly. Van left him alone. The two of them didn't speak a word until they reached the castle.
It was kind of ironic. Allen was jealous of Van because he got close to Hitomi. Van was jealous of Allen because he's known Hitomi for so many years. At the time, neither of them would admit it, but they were both falling for the same girl.
AN: Ahhhhh………….This chapter sucked! Sucked Sucked Sucked! I haven't written this story in so long I've forgotten where I was going with everything. I had to re read my story because I forgot what was going on. And while I was reading it, I kept saying, "I didn't write this!" So, if the story sucks from this point on, I apologize. I'm practically re-writing the plot I had planned, which could be either a good or bad thing. I'm also thinking I'm going to make Allen evil in this fic, after all, who doesn't love a good Allen bashing fic to read? Am I right? Yeah, I'm right!
Well, I've already written a big portion of next chapter so an update should come soon. I was going to include that in this chapter but it didn't quite fit, so you'll have to wait a little while longer. But you won't have to wait a whole month. I can't believe it's been that long!
Well, that's all I have to say for now. Review now so I know what you think!
Also, I'll let you know when I update if you give me your e-mail address.
Special thanks to all my reviewers and loyal fans! Especially to DIMB and CinderellaxVan. You both gave me some really good ideas for this fic, whether you meant to or not!