~*~Hi everyone! Sorry for the really long wait. I love the fact you all hate Allen for his remarks. That was the point. Also note, this got me very mad, but please don't put reviews that basically say "hurry up and update again or I'll kill you" kind of thing. Makes me work slower. That and please don't give me "advice" on what to put in here. I know what I want and I know how I'm getting there. It just takes me more time than it used to, due to circumstances out of my control. *shakes fist at college professors* Here's your chapter!~*~

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Chapter Six: Mixed Emotions

The lights turned on suddenly as a tired man walked into the room, placing his suitcase by his couch. Undoing his tie, Van walked into the kitchen and looked around for anything edible. Sighing, he closed the last cabinet. "Guess I'm ordering out again." Picking up the phone, he hit one of the speed dial buttons and waited until he heard a familiar voice. "Good evening, Mr. Wang. Can you send over the usual? Yeah, long night at the office. Thank you very much. Good bye."

After hanging up the phone, Van rubbed his face with his hand as he went towards the living room again. Looking around, Van cringed and went towards the bedroom to quickly change. As he was about to though, a loud knock was heard at the door. Van raised an eyebrow. "Well that's odd." Putting his shirt back on, Van went to the door and opened it.

Standing there was the last person he expected at the moment. "Hitomi?"

The emerald eyed girl walked into the apartment and flopped on top of the couch, taking a pillow and screaming into it as well. Puzzled, Van closed the door and walked over to her. "Was it that bad?"

A groan and a muffled answer came from the talking pillow. "What was that?" Van reached over and took the magic pillow away to hear her clearly. "Was it that bad?"

"Damn it, Fanel, what did you say to him?"

"What do you mean? Did he get worse?"

"No! It was great! Damn it all to bloody hell!" With that, Hitomi threw her face into a different pillow and groaned.

Van blinked a few times, unable to comprehend what she had said. "Sorry, I think my mind shut off. Did you say it was… good?"

Hitomi shot up and glared at him. "Not good, great! It was amazing! What the hell happened to make him that good? What did you tell him, you nut?!?"

The blinking resumed as Van finally sat down next to her. Rubbing his temples, Van focused on her again. "It was great? What the hell happened?"

Before she could answer, a beeping noise was heard, causing Van to get up and go over to his intercom thing. "Yes?"

"Mr. Wang's Chinese Food."

"Come on up." With that, Van buzzed the guy in and went over to check his wallet. After a few moments, there was a knock on the door. Van opened it and paid the man, taking his food into the apartment. He placed it on the coffee table and went to get the appropriate silverware, which was chopsticks, including some for Hitomi to use. After both of them picked what they wanted to start with, Van inquired again. "What happened?"

Hitomi sighed as she munched on an egg roll. "Alright, you remember that café we were going to? Palas? Well, when I go there-"

"Er, before you continue, were you wearing that?"

Hitomi looked down at the denim jeans and nice black shirt she was wearing. "Yeah… got a problem with that?"

Shaking his head before it got knocked off his shoulders, Van pressed on, "When you got there…"

"When I got there, he was there already, just like last time."

"What did he say this time," Van asked bitterly.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Only said he was glad I came."

"Odd…"

Hitomi shoved some sesame chicken into her mouth before continuing. "Anyway, the place is more like a diner than a café, so I ordered my usual."

"Chicken fingers."

"Exactly. He highly suggested I not eat that, but I politely informed him I don't eat salads. Anywho, we basically sat there, ate, and talked. I threw in little quizzes now and then to see if he was paying attention to what I had said before."

"How many did he miss?"

"None."

"None?!?"

"You heard me. I was just as shocked as you are. After the meal was over, he asked if he could take me for a walk around the park."

Van gave her a weird look. "What's so special about that?"

"The fact he actually asked instead of insisted is the key part of that, Fanel."

"Really?"

Reaching over, Hitomi lightly smacked him in the forehead, then quickly took the beef teriyaki out of his hands.

"Hey! I wasn't done with that."

"You are now."

"You are too cruel."

"And yet you love me anyway. Who's the one that needs the mental help?"

"I think we both do. Anywho, what happened on this 'oh-so-exciting' walk around the park?" For some reason, his heart had speed up a bit at what she had said. 'Why is that? And why am I acting as if I want to strangle Allen? She's only dating him because I begged her to…'

Hitomi sent Van a weird look while handing him back the stolen food and picking up the chicken yet again. "We looked around and talked. It's really beautiful at night, Van. You and me should go the night of the full moon. I bet the way the moonlight hits each petal presents a simply beautiful picture."

"I'll go run and put it in my calendar now."

"Was that sarcasm I detect?"

"Only the purest form of it."

"What? You'd let me go all alone then?"

"Oh, I'm sure you could take care of yourself." After a few seconds, Van smiled. "But I better go with you, just in case you start crying."

Hitomi glared at him. "I don't cry."

"I do recall a time you did."

"That doesn't count."

"Oh really?"

"ANYWAY, sometime during the walk, he took my hand in his, just like in those old movies, you know?"

Van's grip on the Chinese food carton tightened significantly. "He took your hand?"

"Er, Van? The carton's already dead. You don't have to kill it. I didn't know your knuckles could turn that white. You okay?"

Shaking his head and letting go of the innocent, now crushed carton, Van looked at her, slightly concerned. "Allen didn't do anything else, did he?"

"Actually… no. He didn't even try to kiss me goodnight."

Visibly relaxing, Van released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Good." When Hitomi raised an eyebrow at him, Van continued, "I didn't want to have to kill him. Too tired to do it then having to clean up all the blood? Messy."

"Ha! I can take care of myself, Sparky. I would have kicked his ass if he tried anything and you know it."

Van smiled at this and went back to his egg roll. "Still, I am allowed to worry about you."

Hitomi stopped mid-chew and looked at him. "Oh? Why?"

There was this weird look in her eyes as Van thought of his answer. "Because you're my best friend, of course."

A somewhat disappointed look replaced the weird one. "Oh," was her only answer. Gently, she put the carton down on the coffee table and moved to get up. "I should get going. Long day tomorrow."

Puzzled, Van got up as well. "Something wrong, 'Tomi?"

Shaking her head, Hitomi smiled at him, one he knew right away was forced. 'That's not like her.'

"I'm fine, Sparky. Guess I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow for lunch?"

"Yeah, of course. I get to pick you up tomorrow."

"Okay then. Ja ne, Van."

"Bye. Get some rest. You do look tired."

Rolling her eyes, Hitomi looked at him. "That's just a polite way of saying I look like shit."

"Shh. You weren't supposed to pick up on that yet."

Smacking him in the arm, Hitomi walked out of the apartment, Van calling good bye to her. He eventually sat down again to pick at the remains of the Chinese food, but something wasn't right. 'Hitomi never leaves before all the food's gone. Even then, we usually hang out afterwards. There was something wrong with her.' Concerned, Van was tempted to call her, but mentally smacked himself. 'Okay, number one, she's not home yet. Number two, she said she was tired. That's probably it.' Somehow, that reasoning didn't sit well with him, but Van pushed it aside. 'I'm just overreacting.' Looking over, his eyes caught sight of the crushed carton. 'Why did I react like that? What's going on with me? I was so angry, but why? Was it really what I said it was? Yeah, yeah it has to be because she's my best friend. I don't want anything to happen to her. She doesn't deserve to get hurt anymore. Not from anyone.'

With that reasoned out, Van sighed and picked up the remains to put in the refrigerator for the next night. 'Somehow I seemed to have lost the rest of my appetite.' After putting everything away, Van went to his bedroom, changed and came back out to watch some TV before hitting some of the work he had brought home.

~

Blink. Blink. All that stupid curser would do on the computer was blink. Nothing was coming out, no words, no letters. Nothing. He only had twenty minutes to go before he had to pick her up, but Van was swamped with a workload from hell. What was Allen thinking giving him all this work to do? Dilly never had this much work before.

Sighing, Van put his head down on his desk and banged it repeatedly until a voice broke him out of this cycle. "Van?"

Looking up, Van shoved down a groan as he saw the tall blond haired man. "Oh, hi Allen."

"Something wrong?"

'No, I just like banging my head like this.' Trying not to roll his eyes, Van replied, "I just have a lot of work to do. I'm afraid I'll have to work through lunch."

"What about Hitomi?"

"I'm going to call the school to have them tell her I can't make it."

Van saw a small smirk on that asshole, I mean his boss's face. "Well, I'll be more than happy to go in your place. I don't mind. Besides, it's so informal and rude to not send someone in your stead."

Raising an eyebrow at him, Van sighed. "I guess so…"

"Great. The local high school, correct?"

"Gaia High School. The choir room."

"Alright then. I'll tell Hitomi you're sorry to miss this lunch. Good luck with the files, Fanel." With that, the blond idiot smiled as he left the office, heading for the elevator.

A growl emerged from his throat as Van watched him leave with that 'I've conquered the world' spring in his step. 'Bastard.'

Groaning again, Van smacked his forehead with his hand. 'What the hell is going on with me?'

"Problems, Van?"

Looking up, he smiled at the kind face. "Just a lot of work today, Maaya. That's all."

Mrs. Kanzaki smiled at him as she sat in the extra chair. "Mr. Schezar did give you an unusually large amount of work today. Some of the others were even sent home early because there was no work to do."

Realization dawned on him at that moment. 'He set this up! That asshole! He just wanted to take Hitomi out to lunch instead of me!'

"Van? You okay? You look rather ticked off."

Shaking his head, the raven haired man looked into the kind woman's worried eyes. "I'm okay, just thinking."

"Say, why aren't you on your way to meet Hitomi?"

Gazing over at the mountain of paperwork, he looked back at her. "Too much work to do. I sent her word I could not make it."

A frown appeared on Maaya's face. "That's too bad. How is she doing lately? I haven't been able to reach her for a few days now."

A small spark of panic hit him then. "Oh, umm, she's okay. Been busy lately. You know how it is."

Maaya gave him a small nod in understanding. "Yes. I guess you don't truly feel a person's worth to you until they are no longer there." With a sympathetic smile, she patted his shoulder, then got up and went back to her own work, leaving Van to think over her words.

'What's going on with me lately? I mean I was ready to strangle Allen at the drop of a hat. But why? What is this feeling I keep getting?' Sighing, he dove back into his work, those questions still sitting in the back of his mind.

~

The office was surrounded in darkness except for one single light shining through. Van sat at his desk, still plugging away at his computer. His stomach loudly demanded to be fed, but that didn't stop him. Silently cursing to himself, he recalled when Allen had gotten back from his little lunch date.

~Flashback~

There was a smile on his face as the blond haired bastard, er I mean man, walked into the office. Allen walked right up to his little office area and casually leaned against the door. "How's the work coming along, Fanel?"

"Slowly, but it is getting done."

"That's good to hear. When you're finished with that, come by my office. I have some things for you to look over."

"Yes sir."

With that, Allen headed over to his office and closed the door as Van finally unclenched his fists. Within an hour, Van picked himself up and walked over to Allen's office, all the files in hand. He walked in and placed them on the blue eyed man's desk. "Here are all my files, Allen."

After picking up one file and scanning through it, he turned to the maroon eyed man. "Good work, Fanel. I have more work for you to look at as well."

"But Allen-"

The said man turned sharply to Van. "Is there a problem, Fanel? If there is, I'm sure I can get Dilandau to do it instead. Is that what you want?"

Pushing down the urge to punch this man right in the face, Van shook his head. "No sir. There's no problem. I'll get on it right away."

"Good boy." Handing a large amount of files to Van, Allen simply waved his hand, signaling he was dismissed.

Grumbling, Van went back to his desk and began to work on the new work he was given. What the hell was Allen up to anyway? This amount of work was usually split between three people at least! To get this done, he would have to stay late into the night. He had planned to go talk to Hitomi tonight, but due to the large pile of files on his desk, he would not get the chance to even call her.

At about five, when almost all the people there had left, Allen smiled as he walked by, wishing Van luck with his work. Maaya came by and gave him a sympathetic smile. "I wish I could help you, Van, but Kenji is bringing his new girlfriend by for me to meet."

"It's alright, Mrs. Kanzaki. I can handle this. If you get a chance, could you call Hitomi and apologize for me?"

"Sure thing, Van. See you tomorrow. Don't kill yourself with this all tonight."

"Good night, Maaya."

~End Flashback~

That was four hours ago. Here he was, sitting and typing away at his computer. He was hungry and tired. And yet there were still three files left to do. Slamming his head into the desk yet again, he groaned very loudly.

"Careful now. You can't afford to lose anymore brain cells. You didn't have that many to begin with, so why destroy the ones you got?"

Picking his head up, Van looked over in surprise at the emerald eyed girl standing there with a smile on her face. Hitomi stood there with baggy jeans, a regular old t-shirt and a denim jacket with old sneakers on her feet, her keys and wallet hanging from her neck as usual. In her hands was a bag as well as a large pizza pie.

Even with her plain appearance, Van couldn't help but find her beautiful. 'What the hell was that??? Hitomi beautiful? When did that thought enter my mind? Must be the hunger talking…' Van stood and looked at her. "What are you doing here?"

The woman raised one eyebrow. "What, no snappy come back? How many brain cells did you kill with that banging anyway?"

"Too many to count."

Still smiling, Hitomi walked over to him and placed the food on his desk. "Mom called and told me you were running late because of all the work you had to do, so I thought since you abandoned me for lunch, I'd come to you for dinner."

"I didn't abandon you."

"Allen's words, not mine."

"Allen's??"

With a nod, Hitomi sat in the extra chair and looked at him while taking a slice of the chicken pizza. "First things first, you thank me for being sooo kind as to hunt down that pizza place that actually makes chicken pizza, your favorite."

"It's your favorite too."

"Not the point."

With a smile on his face, Van leaned forward and kissed her forehead, an act that startled both him and apparently her. 'Why did I do that???' While trying to suppress a blush from rising to his cheeks, Van nodded at her. "Thank you so much, 'Tomi. I will make it up to you soon."

Hitomi turned her head away from him and cleared her throat. "Y-you're welcome."

A weird silence passed for a few moments until Van cleared his throat. "So, what happened at lunch," he asked while grabbing a slice for himself.

"Oh! Right… lunch… Well, he came to my classroom, more like barged in, and declared he was taking me to lunch, in front of my class mind you."

"He marched into your class?"

"Apparently he doesn't run on other people schedules. Anyway, I told him I was in the middle of class and for him to wait, which he wasn't happy with. I had to take him out in the hall and make him sit there until my class was over. Oh, I was furious!"

"I can imagine. You always hate it when your class gets interrupted by something stupid, pathetic and a complete waste of time."

Hitomi looked at him for a moment with one eyebrow raised. "Somehow I get the impression you are referring to a specific someone instead of different reasons, like an assembly."

"Your words, not mine."

Confused, Hitomi took the new slice of pizza away from her mouth. "If you think Allen is such an asshole, why do you want me to date him?"

That question Van wasn't expecting, though he should have, considering how he had been behaving lately. Knowing he had to come up with an answer quickly, Van used his advertising skills to come up with something good. "I told you before. He really needs to improve himself and you're just the special girl who can change him."

Leaning back in her seat, Hitomi mumbled, "then why does it feel like I'm the only one that's changing?"

Sighing, Van gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Hitomi. Allen has this certain image and I thought if you fit it with your personality, he'd love you and want to make himself better for you. You have this way of making even the coldest of hearts melt and fall in love with you." A weird feeling stirred inside him with his words. They were true, but just how true?

Hitomi let out a loud sigh as she reached into the bag and pulled out a plate of linguini and two forks. There were meatballs in there as well mixed into the tomato sauce. Van raised an eyebrow as Hitomi just made a face. "Don't give me that look. I have a fork for you too, mister. Anyway, you know I'd much prefer the regular comfortable look than fitting a certain image for some guy."

"But it fits you so nicely. Sometimes I wonder why you can't dress like that all the time." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them. Realizing what he had said, Van looked over at Hitomi, who held the folk in mid-air, obviously hearing what he had said.

Slowly, without a word, Hitomi put the pasta down on his desk and stood up. "So that's it, huh? I'm not good enough for you. Amazing what you can find out. I guess Allen was right at lunch."

That caused Van to shoot right up. "What did Allen say?"

"He said that you had a bit of work to do that you could have put aside, but instead you decided to just work on that rather than meet me for lunch. Allen had told you you could have worked on it later, but you insisted on finishing. You weren't even going to tell me, leaving me there to wonder what happened, ditch me. Allen was only kind enough to come down there and tell me what happened instead of my best friend." Her anger had built up while she talked until she was just plain ticked off.

Rage was evident in Van's maroon eyes. "That's not what happened at all."

Hitomi held up her hand to stop him. "Spare me. I understand now. I'm just not good enough for you anymore. The least you could have done was tell me to my face earlier."

"Hitomi, listen to me. I didn't mean it the way it sounded. What I meant was that you constantly hide yourself behind baggy clothing whenever you can. You shouldn't hide like that."

Shaking her head, her emerald eyes locked onto his. "And here I thought I was just being me. It never bothered you before. Are you embarrassed by me or something?"

"That's not it at all. You're twisting everything out of proportion."

"Oh please explain it to me, oh wise one."

"Now you're just being sarcastic."

"Aren't I always? Or would you rather pick apart everything about me? What else do you hate about me, Van?"

That startled him. Hitomi never acted like this before. Then again, neither did he. "What?"

"You heard me. What about me do you just despise? Be honest now."

"I don't hate anything about you."

"Really? Then why do you want me to change so much?"

"It's not that I want you to change. I just want you to improve."

"Same thing."

"No it's not. To change means to take everything and reshape it. To improve means to take what you already have and bring it up to a better level."

"Thank you, Mr. Webster."

Sighing, Van tried to clear his mind. "Let's try this again, shall we? Look, I only wanted you to clean up a bit to impress him."

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Hitomi glared at him. "Why?"

"Because if he was impressed, then I would have…" Van caught himself before revealing the real reason for all of this. "I would have shown him the perfect girl to beat some sense into him. If he's captivated by you, then he would eventually fix his ways in order to be with you. I only want what's best for you, 'Tomi. I would never do anything to hurt you."

It was as if she knew he was holding something back, but chose not to say anything about it at the moment. Shaking her head, Hitomi sighed. "A man should love a woman for who she is, not what he can change her into, not for her looks."

"Should is the key term. There aren't many guys that can do that."

"You say that as if you're one of them."

"I might be. I'd like to think I'm different and see the true inner beauty, but I have a feeling I still see the outer beauty first."

"You're such a guy!"

"This is true." A nice smack to the arm was what Van received and he smiled as he rubbed his sore arm. "Forgive me?"

"For being a guy?"

"For what I said. I didn't mean it."

"You do have a knack for talking without thinking… or just not thinking in general."

Van was so glad to see her smile then, knowing he had been forgiven. Hitomi took her seat again in the extra chair as Van took his own. Both began eating again and Van finished up his work as Hitomi kept him company, staying by his side until well into the night.

By the time he had finally finished, Van realized Hitomi had fallen asleep. A soft look entered his eyes as he watched her sleep peacefully with her head leaning on the back of the chair. He almost didn't have the heart to wake her, but looking at the clock, Van reached over and gently began pushing her lightly back and forth. "Rise and shine, sleepy head."

Beautiful emerald eyes greeted the world, a little glassy from the sleep. They seemed to sparkle that way, making Van gazed into their depths without realizing it. Only her voice broke him away from their spell. "What?"

"I said what time is it."

"Oh, umm, 12:30."

A groan escaped her lips. "Great. I have to be up at six to get to class."

"Come on. I'll take you home. You're too tired to be driving anyway."

"I didn't drive. Took the bus."

"With all that food??"

"It's amazing how many hungry people there are on a bus."

"Hitomi, why on earth didn't you drive?"

"Car's in the shop."

"Why?"

"It was making this weird whirring sound."

Shaking his head, Van picked up the sleepy woman into his arms and proceeded to carry her bridal style to the elevator. "Van Fanel! What the hell are you doing?!?"

"Carrying you."

"I can see that! Put me down!"

"Just rest, 'Tomi. I promise not to drop you. I won't let you fall. Just rest your head on my shoulder and sleep."

For some reason, that got her quiet and she did as she was told. A blush formed on his face as he felt her breath on his neck in an even pattern, telling him she was in fact asleep. Van held onto her tightly, bringing her closer to his chest, as he went down in the elevator and over to his car. As carefully and as gently as he could, he opened the passenger's side and slid the sleeping angel into the seat, buckling her in for safety. After closing her door, he walked over to his side and got in, turned on the car, and drove out of the parking lot.

The drive to his apartment wasn't long really and when he got there, Van parked the car and ran over to her side to pick Hitomi up into his arms. The woman shifted in his arms so that her face was buried in his chest, causing his face to get bright red. Why was he blushing in the first place anyway? What the hell was going on with him?

Sighing, Van carried her into the lobby and up the elevator to his apartment on the fifth floor. Trying very hard, he somehow got his keys out from his pocket and unlocked his door, pushing it open with his foot.

Walking into the darkness, Van carried Hitomi into his bedroom and placed her on the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin as she shifted again to get comfortable. His arms immediately missed her warmth for some odd reason. Shaking his head, Van kissed the top of her head before whispering a "sweet dreams" to her. He set the alarm clock to go off at six so she wouldn't be late, then grabbed his night attire and went to change in the bathroom. When he came out, Van grabbed an extra blanket and pillow from the bed and went to sleep on the couch, but one small voice caused him to look back.

"No… stop… don't touch me… help… Van…"

A nightmare? A memory from that night she told him about on the boat? It didn't matter. Hitomi wanted him there to help her and that's what he promised he would do. Van walked over to the far side of the bed, reached over and took her hand in his. "Shh… It's okay. I'm right here. Nothing's going to hurt you."

Her hold on his hand tightened, causing him to sigh. Her voice broke through the silence again. "Stay with me."

Hitomi was asleep, right? Did she realize what she was saying? Looking at her face, Van knew she was in slumber land, but the grip on his hand told him to stay. Sighing, Van pushed back the covers and climbed in as well. It wasn't like they hadn't slept in the same bed before, but somehow, it was different this time. It was the first time Van actually felt there was a girl next to him, one he cared for greatly. But, how great and deeply did he care for her? Was this feeling something that had a different name?

Van didn't have time to dwell on that, for the sand man soon claimed another victim, causing the raven haired man to fall into a deep slumber, his hand still intertwined with the female beside him's soft, gentle hand.

~

The sound of running water woke him that morning. Van looked over and saw it was about 5:45 in the AM, which just did not register with him, especially since he only went to sleep at around 1:30. Closing his eyes and letting his head fall onto the pillow again, a strange yet very familiar scent filled his nose that seemed to calm him, yet excite him at the same time. It was in the pillow, the sheets and the blankets, all over the room in fact.

At that moment, there was a knock on his bedroom door and a towel covered Hitomi came into the room. The towel left nothing to the imagination as it hugged her curves in all the right places and exposed the beginnings of the top of a certain female area, but not enough to be considered completely private. Her wet hair clung to her exposed skin, water drops still falling from the ends. She looked positively beautiful.

Hitomi wore a smile on her face. "Morning sunshine. Sorry to wake you, but could you drive me over to my apartment so I can change into some clothes?"

Van blinked a few times, then looked away as his face began to burn from the blush that formed on his face. "Y-yeah. Sure. No problem. Just let me, umm… get dressed and all."

"Thanks." With that, Hitomi took the clothes she had worn the night before and went to change into them while Van collected himself and tried to get the blush off his face. 'What the hell is going on with me?????'

After grabbing his clothes for the day, Van called into the other room, "hey 'Tomi? Do I have time to grab a shower?"

"As long as I'm in and out of my apartment by the latest 6:15."

"And what is inspiring me to do this?"

The sandy brunette leaned against the door frame and gave Van a knowing look. She had on her jeans from the night before and one of Van's shirts with the top few and bottom few buttons undone. Her slightly drying hair fell onto her shoulders lightly. "If you ever want to see this shirt again, you'll take me back to my apartment."

The heat formed on his face again. "Is that a bribe? I could just take it now."

"Oh really? You'd let me go out there topless? I'm sure Allen would find that interesting."

A growl emerged from his chest at the sound of that name. "Alright. Stop talking to me so I can get ready." After she stuck her tongue out at him, Van smiled as he grabbed his apparently dropped clothes and headed into the shower. His whole body felt heated since last night, so a nice shower was exactly what he needed.

As the water splashed down on him, Van's mind drifted. 'I've been acting so strangely since Hitomi began dating Allen. What's wrong with me? I'm being way more overprotective of her than I am with Merle! If I think Allen is such a prick, why am I allowing this to continue?'

"Van Fanel, did you drown in there?!? You've been in that shower for twenty minutes!!! Didn't know you stunk that much."

Shaking his head, Van turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry off. Changing into his clothes in the bathroom, Van walked out into the living room where Hitomi sat waiting for him, not knowing he was finished. With a smile on his face, he leaned in and put his mouth next to her ear. "So are you ready to go or what?"

Hitomi shot up with a small yelp in surprise. "Van Slanzar de Fanel, don't you dare spook me like that again!"

"Didn't know you could jump that high, Kanzaki. Now would you pick up your feet so we can get out of here, or do I have to continue to wait for you?" After dodging the random shoe that was thrown at his head, Van picked up his suitcase and went out the door, Hitomi hot on his heels. "Hey Sparky. Going on a trip or something?"

Van looked at her, then at the bag in his hand, and slowly went back to his apartment. Hitomi just shook her head as he came back with the appropriate bag… yes, a briefcase.

When they finally got into the elevator, Hitomi stood on one side as Van smiled at her from the other. After glaring at him for a minute, Hitomi sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked over to him. "You didn't fix your tie."

"I usually do it while I'm on my way to the office."

"Come here, baka. I'll fix it for you. Now hold still."

As her fingers began to work, the elevator door opened a floor early, allowing an elderly couple to enter. Van could feel her body close to his as her fingers worked their magic on his now perfect tie. While Hitomi concentrated hard on what she was doing, Van closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent, the same scent that lingered in his bedroom.

This small moment was broken up when she pulled away from him. "All done."

The door to the elevator opened as Van gave Hitomi his thanks. The elderly couple smiled at the two as they left the elevator. "Oh Amon. They look so cute together."

The man nodded. "Reminds me of us at that age, Robin." The woman placed her head on his shoulder as they left, leaving Van blushing like mad. It seemed Hitomi hadn't heard what they said, but he definitely had.

Finally reaching his car, Hitomi climbed into the passenger's seat as Van started up the vehicle. The ride over was silent, which was a bit unnerving. "You still mad at me?"

"You would need to pick a specific incident there, Sparky. We've been having our share of arguments lately."

This was true. He had been on edge and saying things he didn't mean lately. "All quarrels lately I refer to."

"Well, a lot of no's and a single yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"To what?"

"What?"

"What are you still mad at me about?"

"Oh. Don't worry about it."

Van looked over at her. "That's horrible."

"What is?"

"That."

"That what?"

"What you just did."

"What did I do?"

"You with the whole 'don't worry about it' thing."

"Well, just don't worry about it and it won't be too horrible for you. You really need to learn to chill out, Sparky."

"You make my head hurt."

"And you're the 'oh-so-successful' advertising person yet you get confused so easily in a simple conversation with a friend who's really just telling you to chill out?"

The traffic light didn't come soon enough. Van turned to Hitomi with a look of plain confusion. "Say what?"

Hitomi looked at him with innocent eyes. "What."

A glare was what she received. "You're just messing with my head the entire time we got into this car, correct?"

"Ah ha! A clue, Sherlock!"

"You really need to stop with that whole 'Robin Williams: Live on Broadway' thing. So are you really still mad at me or what?"

"Mad about what?"

Still glaring, Van took his gaze back to the road. "I'm not talking to you right now."

"Awwww… poor baby. Did I make you upset? Awwww."

"You are just evil."

Suddenly Hitomi sat up in her seat and pointed out the window. "Right there! There's a spot right in front! Get over there! Quick, like a fish!"

Van sped up a tad and just made it into the spot before it was taken by someone else. Hitomi smiled and jumped out. "Be back in a few."

The raven haired man's eyebrows came together as he rolled down the window to call to her. "Like a fish?!?!?"

The emerald eyed girl just laughed as she ran into the building and up to her apartment.

As promised, only about five minutes went by until Hitomi threw open the car door and sank into the seat. Van only raised one eyebrow at her. "Don't even say a thing. I'll return your shirt tomorrow."

Shaking his head, Van pulled out of the spot and headed for the high school. "So do you mind explaining the 'like a fish' thing?"

"No, not at all."

Sighing, Van continued, "Please explain it to me now?"

"Oh, okay. All I can say is go rent the movie 'Chicken Run.' It's worth the money just to hear Mel Gibson's voice come out of a rooster."

"I worry. Oh so very much."

"Someone's gotta."

"Might as well be me. By the way, nice deterioration of the English language."

"Huh?"

"You talka de English good."

"Yah."

"Those poor kids."

"Hey, I'm just the choir director who makes the kids sing in many languages and even in, as you would call it, 'Ebonics.' I was never required to speak it well."

"That just saddens me."

"As long as you don't bring it up with the school, you can be as sad as you want."

Smiling, Van kept on driving as Hitomi stared out the window. "Care for some music?"

"Surely."

Reaching over, Van flicked through his set stations until Hitomi placed her hand on his. "Wait, I'd like to hear this song."

Leaning back a bit, the maroon eyed man listened to the song as he continued to drive. The guitar was nice, but the song had a somewhat sad message which came even more alive as Hitomi sang along with it.

"Here's a story of a girl,
Living in the lonely world,
A hidden note,
A secret crush,
A little boy who talks too much.

"Well, I'm standing in the crowd,
And when you smile I check you out,
But you don't even know my name,
Your too busy playing games,

"And I want you too know,
If you lose your way,
I won't let you go.

"If I cut my hair,
If I change my clothes,
Will you notice me?
If I bite my lip,
If I say hello,
Will you notice me?
What's it gonna take for you to see
I want you to notice me,
I'll get you notice me.

"Got your head up in the clouds,
Tell me when you're comin down,
I don't wanna sink your ship,
It's not about the scholarship,

"And all the friends that follow you,
Tell you things that just aren't true,
I'm the girl you never see,
I'm the one you really need,

"So don't you get me wrong,
You better make your move,
Before the moment's gone
Tell me

"If I cut my hair,
If I change my clothes,
Will you notice me?
If I bite my lip,
If I say hello,
Will you notice me?
What's it gonna take for you to see
I want you to notice me,
I'll get you notice me.

"I'm not like the rest,
I don't care if you're the best,
You see it, it's all the same to me ,
You just be who you want to be,
It's all the same to me,

"Ohhh don't get me wrong,
You better make your move,
Before the moment's gone
Tell me

"If I cut my hair,
If I change my clothes,
Will you notice me?
If I bite my lip
If I say hello,
Will you notice me?

" If I cut my hair,
If I change my clothes,
Will you notice me?
If I bite my lip
If I say hello,
Will you notice me?
What's it gonna take for you to see
I want you to notice me,
I'll get you to notice me..
I'll get you to notice me..
I'll get you to notice me.."

The announcer came on later, but Van tuned it out, concentrating on the words, as was Hitomi apparently. She looked at him with this somewhat… pleading look? It was as if she wanted him to understand something from this song. 'What could this song have to do with her?'

The girl sighed and gave this 'I give up' look as she just resumed staring out the window.

Van decided to take a chance as he shut off the radio. "Why do you like that song?"

"It's a beautiful song. The meaning behind it is so pure and innocent, yet demanding at the same time."

"Reminds me of a girl I know."

Hitomi mumbled something under her breath, so low he couldn't even hear, but she continued on. "The girl is in love with this guy, but he doesn't notice her at all. In order to gain his attention and possibly his heart, she changes her appearance, her hair and clothes. He's too busy playing silly games to see who she really is, so she changes herself for him."

Van thought about this for a moment. "How does the girl know if he truly doesn't see her or not? I mean, what if he's the one trying to change for her?"

"Oh please. He's a guy! Guys are so dense."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"There is some testosterone in this car, you know."

"My statement still stands."

"Remind me why I'm friends with you?"

"Been wondering about that for years now."

"I must really like you."

"I would hope so. It's either that or you want something from me, using me for something." Hitomi started laughing as Van tensed up. "Nah, you're not that type of person."

Still tense, the maroon eyed man kept driving. "And what type is that? The type to do that to a person?"

Sitting back a bit, Hitomi thought this over. "Well, they would only see a person for what they are worth, as in what they could do to move themselves up in the world. They befriend them and eventually use them to get what they really want, then dump them off to the side. Truly horrible people."

The school finally can into view as the driver sat on edge. 'Is that what I really am?'

"Hey Sparky. You're going to miss the turn."

Shaking his head, Van turned into the school parking lot and stopped at the front door. Hitomi smiled at him as she gathered her stuff together. She never bothered with briefcases, but used a backpack instead. Stepping out of the car, Van could see she had changed into black pants and a white shirt under his white one, which was tied at the waist. Her feet were covered with those black shoes she got a few days back and her hair was pulled back, held in place by the same hair clip.

Even for a teacher, Hitomi was a bit overdressed. She never wore heels to work, nor did she wear those black pants.

"So, are you picking me up today or do I have to borrow someone's car?"

"Huh? Oh, I'll come get you. Hey, 'Tomi? What's with the look? You usually don't dress like that to work."

A shrug was all he got. "Felt like I should try something else, change it up a bit. I'll see you later."

"Bye Hitomi."

Waving, Hitomi smiled as she walked into the school, her heels clicking on the cement and later on the tile floors. Van sat there a moment longer before driving away. 'Change it up a bit?'

~

Van glared at his computer as that damn cursor was just blinking again. He was down to his last file before lunch when the phone at his desk rang. Sighing, he checked his watch to see he had a few minutes left before he was to pick up Hitomi. Allen had already gone off somewhere a while ago. 'Probably off fixing his hair.'

The phone kept ringing until finally Van reached over to answer it. "Van Fanel's desk."

"Really Just the desk? I was hoping to speak with the person working at the desk."

A smile spread on his face as he heard her voice. "Hey Hitomi. I was just about to get ready to come get you."

"Er, that's what I'm calling about."

"Oh?"

"Allen's here."

Van's left eye began twitching. "I repeat, oh?"

"He wants to take me out to lunch today."

"What's my excuse today?"

"You're apparently working on a whole bunch of files."

At that moment, a random person walked up to Van's desk and dropped off, you guessed it, a whole bunch of files. Groaning, he went back to the phone. "And they just happened to fall on my desk now."

"Van, I kind of don't want to be alone with him. Could you meet us there?"

"Where's he taking you?"

"Some place called Dragon Slayers?"

"Must have been a Dilly suggestion."

"Hmm?"

"Never mind. You guys heading over there now?"

"Soon."

"Where are you that he's allowing you to make this call?"

"Locked up in my office while he's watching my class." A loud crash was heard at that moment as an 'eep' was heard from the sandy brunette. "Er, got to go. I think my students just attacked him."

Van laughed at the thought of freshmen and sophomores attacking the "professional" businessman. "Alright. I'll meet you there."

"Arigatou, Van.  Ja ne!"

"Ja." Putting the phone back in its cradle, Van stretched and got up, grabbing his coat and keys on the way.

"Heading out for lunch?" Van looked back to see Maaya smiling at him. "Mind if I look at some of those files while you're gone?"

"Help yourself. Any messages for her?"

"Only to give me a call sometime. Oh, and Van? I had something to ask you."

Turning to face her, the man stood beside the elevator. "Shoot."

"I was wondering who you were bringing to the banquet on Saturday."

His first reaction was to say Hitomi, but he stopped himself. 'The whole point of this was so Allen would have someone to go with.' Suppressing yet another growl, Van shrugged. "I'm still thinking about it."

"You better hurry. It's already Wednesday. Only three more days left." With that, Maaya turned and left after smiling at him, letting him go on his little lunch date.

'Only three more days and then this nightmare will be over. I can hardly wait.' With a new spring in his step, Van went onto the elevator and soon to his car to meet the couple. A weird feeling hit his stomach, as if a certain doom was coming soon. Shaking his head, Van started up the car and drove to this oh-so-wonderful lunch.

~

The place was actually pretty dark, lots of reds and blacks to add to the effect. A shiver went through Van's spine as he walked over to the hostess and smiled. "Hi. I'm supposed to meet my friends here and I think I'm running a little late."

The woman smiled back at him in a somewhat flirtatious way. "Names?"

"Allen Schezar and Hitomi Kanzaki."

Still smiling, the woman turned her attention to the paper in front of her and scanned the list. "Ah yes. Right this way please." Grabbing an extra menu, the woman walked towards the table, making sure to swing her hips a bit more. Van rolled his eyes and followed "Hippy", as he dubbed her. When he got closer to the table, he noticed right away Hitomi leaning back in her seat, as if trying to get away from Allen, who was leaning forward and trying to take her hand. At this exact moment, The blond asshole, er I mean man, was trying to rub his leg against hers, which she was not enjoying at all.

"Allen. Hitomi. Nice to see you two." Van smiled as the woman grabbed him a chair. He took it from her and sat next to Hitomi, as close as the chair would allow him. Hitomi sent him a grateful look while Allen looked very very annoyed.

"Fanel, what are you doing here?"

"Well, it is my lunch break, and Hitomi did mention you were taking her to this restaurant, so I thought I'd drop by and see what it's like. I mean Dilly has been going on and on about it and all."

Was it his imagination or did a vein just pop out of Allen's forehead? It didn't matter. Van felt Hitomi's hand on his, her silent 'thank you' to him. "You don't mind, do you Allen?" Hitomi just batted her eyelashes at him while giving him nice big innocent eyes. Van knew Allen was toast with that look.

"What? N-no, not at all. The more the merrier. I'm just a little concerned since Van has a lot of work to do today."

"Nothing I can't handle with a little overtime, Allen."

Both men were glaring at each other, but with different meanings. Allen's definitely read "get the hell out of here" while Van's clearly read "back off, you bastard." Poor Hitomi was caught in the middle. "So, what's the quickest thing on this menu? I have my next class in about a half hour."

Allen tore his glare away from Van and gazed suggestively at her. "Just skip it. I'm sure they won't mind. I have a few things in mind we could do."

A nice loud bang was heard as Allen cringed in pain. Van gave his best innocent look. "Oh, so sorry Allen. Leg spasm. Must be from being stuck at my desk sitting all day."

Hitomi did her best to contain herself. It wouldn't be right to burst out laughing in front of your date at his expense. She just wished she had been the one to kick him, and a little higher than the leg next time. "Sorry, Allen, but I have a job to do and a responsibility to my students to be there."

"Next time then."

"Maybe."

Van sat there in silence for awhile, just watching how Allen acted around Hitomi. Some moments, Allen tried to do a little more than talk, but backed off after seeing the look Van sent him each time. The blond baboon, er, male was getting a bit more than ticked off by the time the food was finished.

Hitomi sighed as she reached for her wallet around her neck to pay for her portion of the meal.

"Please, my sweet Hitomi. It's my treat."

"No, I insist on paying for my part."

"The gentlemanly thing to do is pay for his woman's meal."

Van sat straight up on that, knowing what was about to happen. The flames in Hitomi's eyes went straight to inferno as she tried to calm herself down. "Your… woman???"

Allen, however, didn't seem to notice and stayed calm while placing the credit card on the folder holding the check. "Correct. You are my woman at this point, seeing as how you somehow made it all the way to the fourth date. From now on, you can proudly tell your friends you're dating Allen Schezar."

Van smacked his forehead for two reasons: to show the shear stupidity of Allen's actions, and to prevent the ice cold water to fly into his eyes by accident. Hitomi was quick with her attack as she dumped her full water glass on top of Allen's head. The man was completely unpleased, to say the least.

Hitomi slammed the glass back onto the table and glared at him. "Listen up and listen good. I am no man's "woman", nor with I ever agree to this title, you chauvinistic pig! There is no way in hell I'd go around "proudly" saying I belong to something like you who doesn't even know how to treat a real woman. You make it sound like I passed some stupid test of yours, which is completely ridiculous. I will not be treated as some inferior being that should jump for joy if you even cast a look my way. You are not, I repeat, NOT some god that women should worship, so do yourself a favor and knock down your own pedestal you have yourself on!" Hitomi threw her seat in and looked at Van, then back to Allen. "Oh, and this is the part where I storm out on you, but I'm sure you've been in this situation before. Van, please drive me to the school."

She didn't have to ask him twice as Van shot up and walked out with her, leaving the wet dog where he sat. There was a bit of applause in the restaurant as they left, but Van didn't pay it much mind. Instead, he pointed to where his car was and followed the royally ticked off woman.

When they were safely on their way to the school, Van took Hitomi's hand. "I'm so sorry, 'Tomi."

"His woman?!?!?!? Why doesn't he just club me on the head and drag me back to his cave while he's at it?!?"

"That was a very very dumb move. I was shocked, to say the least. You gave him exactly what he deserved. I knew the old Hitomi was still in there."

"Old Hitomi?"

"The one I remember all the bullies were afraid of in high school."

"Ah, the good old days."

"Hey, you okay? I mean with him?"

"Why did he have to be such an asshole?"

"You mean besides the fact that it's in his nature?"

Shaking her head, Hitomi stared out the window to try and calm herself down. "I just don't understand how he could have gone from that wonderful night to… to… this!"

Sighing, Van squeezed her hand. "I don't know either. You want me to talk to him when he gets back to the office?"

"If you feel the need."

Another sigh escaped his lips as guilt began to hit him seeing her so upset. "I'm sorry Hitomi. It's my fault you got hung up with this guy."

"Don't worry about it. I'm a big girl, Van. I could have said no."

"You did say no."

"I could have stopped after one date, but I didn't. Thus, the blame shifts from you to me, leaving you clear of any guilt you might be feeling."

A smile spread on his face. "Thanks 'Tomi."

"Just think twice before you have me date one of your friends again, Sparky."

"I promise. No more set ups from me."

"Just remember to keep to that promise."

"I told you. I will never break a promise I make, especially to you."

"Good answer."

Van finally pulled into the school drive and up to the front door. Hitomi turned to leave when Van placed his hand on her shoulder. "You sure you're okay?"

A smile was what he received, which made his heart skip a beat. "I'm fine, really I am. Thank you for coming today with us. I have a feeling a lot of shiznit was prevented because you were there. Oh, and the so called 'leg spasm' was just wonderful."

"All part of being the best friend. But, you're welcome. I'll always come to help you, Hitomi. Don't forget that."

"Ditto." With that, Hitomi placed a small, light, but quick kiss on his cheek before getting out of the car and running into the school.

Raising a hand to where she had kissed him, Van was in slight shock. His face burned with immense heat and his heart was pounding very hard in his chest. What was going on with him?!?

~

"Fanel. In my office. Now"

Van had just walked onto the office floor when he heard Allen call to him. The man sounded less than pleased, to say the least. Cringing, the raven haired man walked over to the big office and walked in. "Yes?"

Allen turned to face him while still sitting in his office chair. The look on his face clearly said he was ticked off. "What the hell was that, Fanel?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

Slamming his hands onto the desk, Allen shot up from his chair and glared at Van with intense blue eyes. "This is not acceptable, Fanel. I will not tolerate having some woman throw water on me and storm out of the restaurant as if I did something horribly wrong!"

Van looked at him as if he had three heads. "Are you insane?!? I told you from the beginning Hitomi is a very independent woman, meaning she will flip out if someone 'claims' her! Your woman?!?! That was your death ticket right there! I'm surprised she didn't do worse!  And Hitomi is not, I repeat, NOT just 'some woman'! I refused to stand here and listen to her be called as such!"

"Watch your tone with me, Fanel. Now tell me the truth. What is really between you two?"

That took Van by surprise. It took him a moment to comprehend that. "What?"

"What is really going on between you and Hitomi? I demand an answer."

Van took another moment before he answered. "Hitomi is my best friend in the entire world."

"You sure there's nothing else other than friendship?"

"She's kind of like another sister to me." That statement had a bad taste to it in his mouth, as if that wasn't true.

Allen looked him over for a moment before sitting down again. "And it is the job of an older brother to help and protect his sister. You had no right to be there today."

"She asked me to come."

The blonde's eyes narrowed a bit at that. "Oh really?" Seeing that Van wasn't going to reply, he continued. "Listen up Fanel, because I'm only going to say this once. What goes on between me and Hitomi stays there. There will be no more interruptions or surprise appearances from you. You will stay around this building during your lunch break, which will be reduced to now only a half hour. Outside phone calls are limited to about ten minutes each every other hour. There is no discussion on this. You're lucky I'm not taking you off the ballot for the Rand account… yet. Now, go back to your desk and work on those files."

Seeing the conversation was over, Van gritted his teeth and left the office before he lost his job. What the hell was going on lately? Why the hell was he going through this?

Walking over to his desk, he saw a concerned Mrs. Kanzaki sitting there waiting for him. "Van? I need to talk to you about these files."

With a heavy sigh, Van fell into his chair and looked at her. "What is it?"

She opened the file and pointed to the top of the page. "All the files had this in common. They are all Mr. Schezar's work."

Confused, Van looked over. "What do you mean?"

"These are back files and recent one that he was supposed to do. In other words, you're doing all the files he's supposed to be doing. I think he's handing in your work as his own."

Realization dawned on him then. 'That's why he's been giving me so much work. That bastard! He's just passing on his responsibilities to me so he can go out with Hitomi! That's the real reason!' Oh, Van was ticked off royally. His grip on the file was so tight it looked as if it would rip at any moment. He had half a mind to march in there and demand to know what was going on… yet…

Van sighed and put the file down, confusing poor Maaya. "There's nothing I can do about it, Maaya."

"Of course there is! You can march in there and demand an explanation!"

"I can't. He would take me off the Rand account or even fire me."

"Oh Van, it isn't worth all this."

Smiling a sad smile, Van sighed. "I've already come this far. There's no turning back now. I better get started on this." Turning his chair to the computer, Van began plucking away at it while Mrs. Kanzaki sighed and stood. "You deserve so much better than this, Van."

"Could you do me a favor?"

Maaya looked back at him. "Hmm?"

"Please tell Hitomi I'm sorry, but my work load has increased and I will be unable to meet her for lunch all this week."

The meaning of his works hit Maaya as she sadly nodded. "Sure Van. I'll do that now."

"Thank you." Van continued to strike the keys on the keyboard, working hard on those files Allen wanted so badly. What had he gotten himself into?

~

The sound of typing was heard in the now empty room. Van sat there at around 9:45pm still working on those stupid files of Allen's. He was tempted to do a half ass job and let Allen take the blame, but he couldn't allow himself not to do his best.

"Is a meatball hero good enough for you?"

Van turned around and saw his angel standing there with two bags in her hand. Hitomi smiled at him as she walked over and sat in the extra chair. Handing him one of the bags, she leaned back in the chair and began to eat her own meatball sub.

The maroon eyed man sighed as he took his food out of the bag. "I owe you so much, 'Tomi."

"Of course you do." With a smile, she shook her head. "It's, how did you put it… all part of being the best friend."

Smiling at her, Van bit into his sandwich and took a swig of the coke she brought for him to drink. "How are the files coming, Sparky?"

"Oh, almost done I guess."

"How many more?"

"Only one."

"Mind if I bug you while you're trying to work?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope."

"Then I don't mind."

Hitomi got comfortable in the chair as Van worked, typing away at the computer. "Please tell me you didn't take the bus again."

"Okay, I won't." Sighing, Van looked at her and shook his head. She just smiled. "Kenji dropped me off. I have to wash his car sometime this weekend, but it's all good."

"You do realize it's supposed to snow Saturday night, right?"

"Now I do."

Smiling, Van continued his work while eating at the same time. Hitomi sat there and kept him company again. At around 10:30, Van typed the last sentence needed to finish the file for good.

Hitomi sat up and smiled. "Want to go somewhere?"

"Yeah. I have the perfect place in mind."

"Oh?"

"Diner then your place?"

"Why the heck not? You're the driver."

"Oh I feel special now."

"Whatever floats your boat."

"I would hope it would float."

Rolling her eyes, Hitomi gave him that friendly smack in the arm before stretching to get the kinks out of her back. Van laughed at the cracking noises and got up, extending his hand to her. "Mademoiselle?"

Smiling, Hitomi took his hand and shook her head. "You are such a nut."

"Macadamia?

"Of course."

"Sweet."

"I worry."

Laughing, Van led Hitomi over to the elevator, briefcase and jacket in hand. As they were approaching the car, Hitomi snapped her fingers. "Oh! I almost forgot. I have to ask you something." She slid into her seat and waited for him to do the same before she continued. "Allen came by tonight, before I came to see you."

Van had started up the car and was backing up when she said that. "What?"

"Yeah. Don't know how he found my address."

"Umm, the phone book?"

"Ah, that damn thing."

"What did he do?"

"He came to the door, so apparently someone let him in. Anyway, I opened the door and was greeted with at least two dozen blood red roses. Allen gave me this look and apologized for his behavior. Said something about wanting to make it up to me by taking me to this banquet on Saturday. Apparently it's for this company."

Van nodded. "Yeah. I have to go to it too. So what did you tell him?"

"I said I'd think about it, then he kissed my hand before leaving, saying that's all he asks for."

Van's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "He kissed your hand?"

With a nod, Hitomi continued. "He was acting like that one night I told you about. Anyway, I wanted to know what you think I should tell him. Should I go?"

Everything inside him told Van to tell her not to go, but then the idea of Dilandau with that account popped into his mind. Taking a deep breath, Van nodded. "I think you should go."

"Even after all he's done?"

"That was a mistake. I already talked to him about it. He did say he wanted to make it up to you for acting like his old self." That was a bold faced lie.

A sigh escaped her lips as Hitomi sat back a bit. "If you think it's a good idea, I'll call him when I get back."

His insides screamed for him to tell her not to go, but what choice did he have? He'd lose everything if she didn't go. Van turned down one street, causing Hitomi to sit up. To answer her unasked question, Van told her, "Let's just head over to your place. Not really hungry after that sub."

Hitomi just shrugged as she leaned forward to put the radio on. After finding a station she liked, she leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to the words of the song. Van listened closely as well.

"I like who I am
But I guess you don't
I think that I can
But you think I won't
Amount to anything at all

"If you love me,
You sure show it strange
Is there anything that you would want to change?
I can't be your paper doll.

"I wanna be perfect,
But I'm me
I wanna be flawless,
But you see
Every little crack
Every chip,
Every dent
Every little mistake,
I wanna be perfect
Just like you,
But there's only so much that a girl can do
When I look in the mirror,
It makes sense to me,
Perfectly
Perfectly

"I like worn out shoes
You like high heels, and fantasies
But I'm what's real
I guess you could say
The shoe don't fit
Maybe I'm from Venus
You're from mars
My imperfections are what they are
I guess one of us must deal, with it

"I wanna be perfect,
But I'm me
I wanna be flawless,
But you see
Every little crack,
Every chip,
Every dent,
Every little mistake, yeah
I wanna be perfect,
Just like you
But there's only so much,
That a girl can do
When I look,
In the mirror,
What I see,
Makes sense to me, yeah
Perfectly
Oh, perfectly

"I try to fit
In the mold
That you make
But I'm tired of playing
This little charade

"I wanna be perfect,
But I'm me
I wanna be flawless,
But you see
Every little crack,
Every chip,
Every dent,
Every little mistake, yeah
I wanna be perfect,
Just like you
But there's only so much,
That a girl can do
When I look,
In the mirror,
What I see
Makes sense to me, yeah
Perfectly"

Van turned off the radio after that, letting the words sink in. Was that what he was doing to Hitomi? Soon, the parking area for her apartment building came into view and pulled in, Hitomi sitting up at the sight of the building. After parking the car, Hitomi got out and walked toward the building, Van following her.

The lobby was empty as usual, meaning the elevator should be abandoned. Going up, the sandy brunette leaned against the wall, obviously looking tired. Van looked at her with sympathy. "Do you want to reschedule this?"

"No no. I'm okay. Just thinking."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Only when people interrupt me."

Smiling, they both left the elevator and walked over to her apartment. While she fumbled to find the right key, Van looked down the empty hallway he was so used to walking down. As usual, it was empty. What went on in those other room anyway? Were they as inviting as Hitomi's apartment?

"Sparky? You zoning?"

Van shook his head and looked at her. Hitomi had the door open and was waiting for him to come in. He did so and made his way for the couch. "Ah, much more comfortable than that stupid chair."

"I would hope so." Hitomi smiled at him, then headed over to the DVD selection. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Doesn't matter. Just pick something."

"Give me a number from one to ten."

"82."

"Six it is." Hitomi grabbed a DVD and put it in the machine, coming over to the couch and sitting down. Van found the remote and handed it to her. The movie began and Van smiled.  "Strictly Ballroom?"

"Gotta love the 'Ugly Duckling' theme. And don't tell me you don't enjoy seeing the girls in the dance outfits."

"Get out of my head, Kanzaki."

"Ah! I never wanted to go in there! Too much of an echo effect."

Van reached over and grabbed her, pulling her close to him. "Be nice or I'll start the tickle torture."

"We are both too tired, so that threat is pretty empty."

"This is true. Now be quiet and watch the movie."

Both turned their faces towards the TV screen to watch the film, but Van still had his hold on her, keeping Hitomi very close to him, her head on his shoulder. By the middle of the movie, the two had shifted so that Van laid across the couch, Hitomi's head laying on his chest as his arm was wrapped around her waist. Hitomi was between the back of the couch and Van, her arms and head on his chest. Van's other arm was bent back so that his head was leaning on it. Their legs had intertwined at that point, but both did not take notice to how they were positioned.

By the time the movie ended, both were fast asleep on the couch, caught in each other's embrace.

~*~Finally!!!! This chapter is now done! This is 25 full pages in Word! Over 12,000 words!!!!! You better appreciate this!!!!!! The songs were both from the movie "Pixel Perfect". I can guarantee chapters won't be this long again! This was to make up for my lack of update in over two months. GOMEN!!!!!

If I have the timing correct in my head, the banquet is only two days away. Are you guys as excited as I am??

Quick shout out to my buddy Birdie, since she hasn't figured out how to leave reviews yet. Hehehe. She was looking forward for an update for awhile now.

The next chapter might take about a month to get out, since this semester is kicking my ass pretty much. Please review and if you have any questions for me, I'll try and answer them in the next chapter.

Ja ne!!!!!!!~*~