"Van, don't stare!" Hitomi scolded.
Chanel felt the weight of her weapon resting against her backside, ready for combat, as she grew edgy in the king's burning stare. The blonde stud and his handsome buddy had gone to handle the luggage for the ladies. It wouldn't be a graceful exit, but she was confident she could escape the remainder of the group if she acted quickly. She would never forgive herself for abandoning her mission this early, however. She wasn't sure what her next move should be, or how to break the tension. Suddenly Celena solved that for her.
"King Van, this is my new friend Chanel," Celena warmly introduced her, as if they'd been childhood pals. "She's looking for a job!"
"No," Van stated flatly.
"Oh. But I thought-" Celena began. Her lip began to quiver. As Hitomi watched her, Celena's face suddenly twisted. Her eyes widened and glowed red, her delicate lips curled into a sneer. Even the tips of her hair turned up. Hitomi gasped, then swooned and stumbled over at Van's feet.
"Hitomi!" Van cried, bending down to her.
"Whew," Chanel exhaled.
"Not this again," Merle grumbled. "What a diva!" She turned and reentered the palace, unimpressed.
Allen and Gaddes rushed to the group now huddled around Hitomi. Snatching her medical bag from Allen's arms, Millerna retrieved the smelling salts to revive her.
"What is it, Hitomi? What's wrong?" Van asked as Hitomi's eyes fluttered open.
In the three years since her return to Earth, Hitomi had suffered no visions. She'd even given up card reading. But now the pendant weighed heavy around her neck, and with it the burden of her gift. She knew her claim would ruin their happy reunion, but she had known from the moment the strange cat woman transported her that this was no pleasure trip. She had been brought back to help Van, and this was exactly how.
"It-—it was him," Hitomi mumbled, still not believing it completely herself. She looked up at Celena, who gripped Hitomi's hand tightly, hovering over her in a panic. The poor girl was so tender, tears of worry had even sprung to her eyes. It was impossible—but Hitomi knew what she saw. "Dilandau," she breathed, the very name terrifying her as she remembered the fiery carnage of battles past.
Allen immediately clapped his hands over Celena's ears and instructed Gaddes to take her to the Crusade. He didn't have to ask twice.
Van put his strong arms around Hitomi and lifted her up. She was barely conscious.
"Don't worry, Allen. Dilandau is-" Van paused, reconsidering. "He's as good as dead."
"I knew her coming here would do nothing but open old wounds," Allen spat angrily.
"Are you suggesting Hitomi is the *cause* of all this?" Van demanded.
"Calm down, boys." Millerna closed her medical bag and stood between the two, preventing an inevitable fight. "She's probably just seeing that face because she's seeing Celena for the first time. Van, take Hitomi inside. She needs rest."
As Van disappeared into the palace, Millerna turned to Allen. She felt the thunder of his panicked heart, even without touching him. "Allen," she took his hand, gently entwining their fingertips. "Celena deserves to know. No matter how ugly, she deserves a past so she can move forward into the future-"
"Enough!" Allen shouted, jerking his hand away from her grasp. "My sister doesn't have some injury you can simply patch up with a little gauze! Celena requires a lifetime of care and attention, but you think of her only as a burden. This is exactly why I could never love you, Millerna!"
Millerna silenced Allen with a violent slap, gritting her teeth against the tears.
"We all deserve a future, Allen. It's time you and I both found our own."
ф
Gaddes had plucked her from Hitomi's side like a pile of sticks and carted her out of earshot of the group.
"G-Gaddes, put me down!" she squeaked, affected by the feel of his strong arms cradling her and the slight musky scent wafting from his neck. She wasn't usually this aware of him, even when they hugged, but this position was somehow more intimate, being held against his
chest and gazing up into his chiseled face. Her mind was reeling from what had just happened and this strange awareness towards Gaddes welling up in her chest that she suddenly panicked with the need for air. She
began kicking and trying to squirm out of his hold.
"Seriously! Put me down!" she cried.
Either he lost his grip, or was offended by her tantrum, but she found herself dumped ungracefully onto a pack of blankets just inside the cargo area of the Crusade.
"Look here, missy." His face was suddenly inches from hers as he gently pinned her down. "The only orders I take are from your brother, got it? Allen's looking out for your best interest, after all."
His tone was soft, but she still felt like he was chiding her as one would do with a child. She turned her head and pouted. She hated it when her brother treated her that way, but to have Gaddes do it was intolerable. She glanced back up to express her anger, but the crimson color on his cheeks stopped her retort. A blush crept into her own face
as she realized he had just realized that he was pretty much straddling her and was pinning her arms above her head. The scene would certainly appear pseudo-erotic to anyone who might see it. They stared at each other for a moment in mutual embarrassment.
"G-get off me." She murmured, momentarily lost in the gold and blue flecks within his dark green eyes.
He appeared to be as mesmerized by her eyes as he hoarsely replied, "You don't listen very well, love. I just told you I don't take orders."
" Please." She whispered.
Her eyes widened as instead of releasing her, his face drew close to hers, his warm breath wafting across her flushed cheeks. Her heart fluttered into her throat, choking her ability to breathe. She realized he intended to kiss her, and she could scarcely believe it was happening. He'd bring her flowers and she'd treasure them long after their petals withered from the stems. Other than the sparse but
thoughtful gifts, she'd had no further indication of how he might feel about her.
For almost as long as she could remember she'd cared
deeply for Gaddes, and in secret her feelings had grown strong enough to drive her mad every time she was near him. For over a year she'd been harboring secret thoughts about this moment. For the past few months she'd pined for more than a hug or brotherly kiss on the cheek. Now, her mind was reeling with the possibility that the one
shameless dream she had clung to all this time might actually come true—.
"Ahem." A soft cough sounded above the entwined couple just as Gaddes' lips were less than an inch from hers.
Gaddes' head snapped up and she could see Pyle and the mole man staring at them incredulously from the top of the pile of blankets. Gaddes glanced down at her, and she met his eyes with the same level of horror.
"This isn't what it looks like!" they cried in dismayed
unison.
Ф
Gaddes grumbled something inaudible as he handed a small box containing high-quality Tongli weed to Pyle. He'd been holding on to that stuff for a rainy day, he didn't smoke it anymore, but a pouch always fetched a good price. It was a decent exchange for secrecy, though. Pyle and the mole-man walked off, snickering over the box.
"Um, should I ask what you had to give them?" the soft, shy
voice caught his attention from the cargo entrance.
He turned and grinned at Celena. "Nothing I couldn't do without, love."
She seemed relieved by that, and smiled back up at him.
"GADDES!" they both jumped and glanced to see Allen stalking towards them at a very, very fast pace. Gaddes hadn't seen his friend that pissed since….. Well, since Hitomi had run off with Van to Fanelia back when they had their short courtship. Man, how time flies….
Before he could ask Allen what was wrong, the blond man had an arm hooked around his neck and was dragging him across the floor.
"Celena, stay right there!" Allen barked as he pulled Gaddes
around a corner.
Allen slammed him up against the wall.
"Easy chief," Gaddes coughed.
"What did you tell her?!" Allen hissed.
"Um, who?" Gaddes rubbed his throat.
"Celena didn't ask about what just happened?" Allen shot him a disbelieving glare.
"Ooooooh.—"Gaddes had a hard time not blushing "Err- well,
something came up, no time to discuss it… so yea, didn't say a thing."
Allen visibly relaxed. "Thank God."
"Um," Gaddes noticed how red Allen's cheek was, "You got
a little something on your face there."
Allen winced. "Millerna… and I are over, Gaddes."
Gaddes had guessed as much from the foul mood Allen had been in all day. He supposed having Hitomi react to Celena like that just reopened a slew of old wounds for the both of them. Still, he wondered what Allen had done to earn a good `ol smack to the face. Before Gaddes could offer
condolence, Allen switched subjects.
"What do you think we should tell Celena?"
Gaddes shrugged, not surprised Allen couldn't handle talking about his own problems. "The truth."
Allen slumped against the opposite wall and slid to the floor. He ran his hand through his hair. "Besides that, Gaddes."
"You really think you can keep it a secret forever, Boss?"
Gaddes prodded gently. "You think she really buys that she was in a coma for seven years?"
"Has she said something to you about it?" Allen's head shot
up and he stared at Gaddes.
"At first, while she was confused about what had happened. You tried to convince her waking up on a battlefield had been a dream. She had a really hard time with that, Boss."
Gaddes sighed. "I agreed with your decision then; and believe me, I still agree that it'd be better if she didn't know, but if she really wants to pursue it, perhaps it's because she needs to know. You gonna deny her that?"
Allen glanced up at the ceiling. "I can't tell her, Gaddes."
"I know." Gaddes looked down at his feet. Boy, what a
predicament.
Ф
Folken surveyed the gruesome scene in the training room. He had just come from the bloody mess in the propeller engine room, and the gore was wearing thin on his nerves.
He had expected Dilandau to be violent with his new recruits but this…... this was unacceptable.
As he avoided getting blood on his shoes, he made his way back up to his room to write his daily report. Idly, he wondered how many of the recruits he could claim had `defected'….
By his estimation and judging by the missing guymelefs out of the hanger…, three remained.
He sat at his desk and a brilliant idea crossed his mind. "Food poisoning… might buy some time."
Folken scribbled down a load of garbage he found difficult to swallow, but made a sound report. As for the other matter… His planted Asturian spy had reported what Folken had suspected the last time Valior had called:—Chanel Yagami had headed to Fanelia, and just so happened to intercepted by his carriage.
Folken let a sigh of relief pass his lips. At least one item of business had turned out right…. Even if the plan concerning the new Dragon Slayers Unit had fallen apart in less than 2 days...
He rubbed his eyes and tried to relax. It seemed as of late, whenever he tried, she passed through his vision. If he let his mind wander, her presence consumed him. This time he didn't fight the images, and they settled on one pleasant memory from his former life.
At the time, he had felt less than human. It had been two years since he had woken up on a cold metal table in the Zaibach Empire, and his metallic arm haunted him. He had lost himself to a swell of self-pity sitting in one of the small designated green spaces in the Sorcerer's Complex in the Capital. He laid his head back against the tree he sat under. He closed his eyes and listened to a bird singing in the tree's branches. Strange… he was so unused to hearing such a simple sound within the cold inorganic confines of his lab, the library, and the Sorcerer's chambers. He was actually supposed to be picking through the old scriptures in the library at this very moment, but he just couldn't bring himself to care about his coveted research.
"What are you doing, Sorcerer-sama?"
He opened his eyes and found himself staring into eyes the color of the clear blue sky. A young feline girl, about as old as his Nariya and Eriya, was leaning over him with a curious expression. His eyes were drawn to the two small red dots above her eyes brows. He stared at those marks, fixated.
"Who are you?" he asked hoarsely.
"Me? I'm Akuma." She smiled, and her tail swished lazily behind her, poking out of the light grey dress she wore. "Who are you?"
"My name is Folken."
"Folken-sama." She purred, and patted his hair.
"It's not as sharp as it looks." She giggled.
His jaw dropped, but before he could respond a pudgy woman in a nun's habit came barreling around the corner.
"Akuma-sama! Aku- Oh, there you are, you naughty thing! What are you doing here?!"
Akuma looked up at the nun with a pout, and Folken noticed how sharp the features of her profile were, even though she couldn't be more than eleven.
"I got to go, Folken-sama." She grinned a fanged grin at him. "I hope to see you again. This is one of my favorite spots; it's one of the only places you can hear birds sing in this stuffy place."
"Akuma-sama! Ashchrim will kill me if you're late. Hurry!"
Rolling her eyes, Akuma pulled away and ran towards the nun who shoved her towards a southern corridor.
Folken stared after them, mouth ajar. He didn't know what startled him more, the Draconian marks on the girl's forehead, or her personality. He tilted his head to better hear the songbird that had started singing happily when Akuma had appeared. His lips parted into a small smile, and decided this could become one of his favorite spots as well…...