"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her."
Mia Hamm
Act 3, Chapter 7:
It was only due to the incessant beeping emitted by the small, flat laptop that Van dug it out from one of the drawers on his nightstand. He hadn't received a message from the military in months but it wasn't entirely unexpected. He cringed slightly when reading all his names and formal rank. Even more so towards the end of the message which stood out in glaring, white letters on the black background of the secure comm application.
Royal War Council Communiqué
UNCLASSIFIED
Date: Crystal Year, Indigo, 28th Moon
To: Van Slanzar de Fanel, Paragon Air Chief
Subject: Subpoena
Chief de Fanel,
You are hereby summoned and required to appear in front of the Royal War Council by the order of his Majesty the King of Asturia. You are to formally deliver your deposition regarding the events of codename 'Vision' before the designated board at the time, date, and location specified in the attached file.
Respectfully,
Eries Aston
Secretary of Defense
"Van? Is everything alright?" His sister's voice came from the doorway. She was dressed in her school scrubs, hands clasped together a bit too timidly. She had been holding back on her constant overbearing attitude well over the past weeks but concern was still evident in her demeanor around Van. Especially after his recount of certain traumatizing events. Not for a second had she blamed him, nor had she wavered in that decision since then. Van sighed and raked a hand through his hair, then motioned for her to come in.
Merle's brother wordlessly turned the laptop so she could see better. Squatting down on the floor next to where Van was sitting on his bed she quickly read the short message. A small crease appeared between her eyebrows but disappeared again quickly.
"It will be fine." Merle readily assured him. "You'll go there, listen to them probably give you a formal discharge due to your injury and that's it." Reaching out, she squeezed his arm in a comforting gesture.
Van could only nod as he folded the small computer back up and stored it in the drawer again. "Should I make us dinner?" He asked, wanting to change the subject before his thoughts began to linger on events yet to come.
"Nawh." Merle straightened herself back up. "I got it!" She gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up before disappearing with cat-like grace, her striped tail dancing around the corner in her wake.
Van sat on his bed for another minute, his eyes idly scanning the bookshelf on the other side of the room while one hand absently worked the muscles which connected his right upper thigh with the mechanical leg through the fabric of his grey sweatpants. It was beginning to bother him a bit again, but he wasn't about to admit it. When his gaze landed on a picture frame, his hand froze.
Raising from the bed, Van crossed his room and reached for the picture he had flipped over weeks ago when the memories had been too overwhelming to see it at the time. It was the only picture they had all taken together before they were separated.
The picture showed three men and two neko women, all in alliance combat uniforms. Stiff, black cargo pants were tucked into equally black combat boots and red jackets with appliqués depicting the Fanelian crest on Van, Folken, and Balgus' chests while the Asturian crests adorned Naria and Eriya's. The twins were standing back to back with arms crossed and heads turned towards the camera, their gold and silver hair braided in the fashion of the neko tribes but twisted into a low knot to satisfy military standards.
Next to them, Folken stood tall with hands resting on a long, curved sword which was the traditional weapon still used by most soldiers and carried into the filed as a backup for a rifle. Balgus was slightly behind him but the giant's frame towered over Folken's easily. His scarred face was showing the barest hint of a smile as both arms rested on each side of a blade similar to Folken's which he had casually slung across his broad shoulders.
Van was right next to Folken but his fists were tucked deep into the pockets of his black uniform pants while his own sword hung at the belt around his hips. His hair disheveled and hiding a good portion of his forehead and eyes was most definitely out of regulation but it wasn't like anybody would have corrected a Paragon on something like that. Not the higher ranking officers who liked to take their own freedoms and definitely not any of the regular soldiers outside their elite group.
Further in the background, the Escaflowne was positioned in its robotic form, one knee on the ground so as to fit into the framing of the picture. Van brushed some imaginary dust off the photo and on second thought flipped it back over, still not being able to stand the sight of it.
"Miss Kanzaki?"
Hitomi's head jerked up in surprise at the sound of her name from a rare source. Dr. Yurizen was already changed out of his white lab coat and scrubs. Clad in a simple pair of jeans and plaid shirt, he looked exceptionally ordinary. His facial hair and ponytail gave him a bit of a rugged touch but he still emanated an air of authority when he spoke.
"Yes?" Hitomi acknowledged him curiously from behind the computer screen.
"Could you spare a minute and come to my office?" He asked her politely. This was only more cause for wonder. They didn't have much to do with each other on a regular basis.
Hitomi nodded slowly as she moved to follow. "Of course."
The man's large form passed through the doorway of his office and turned in front of his solid, wooden desk. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he leaned against the tabletop which was covered in stacks of papers organized in neat piles.
Hitomi stood in the middle of the room, feeling a bit clueless while the doctor regarded her for a moment. His attentive eyes scanned her carefully but not in an entirely uncomfortable way. Still, it forced her to avoid his gaze and instead rest it on the collection of memorabilia and pictures off to the side of the large desk.
Several of these pictures showed Dr. Yurizen in his old military attire together with other people in similar dress. Just before the silence began to become strange, he reached into the collection of pictures and pulled out one in particular Hitomi hadn't had a chance to focus on yet.
Dr. Yurizen regarded it for a moment before flipping it so that Hitomi could see it too. It showed a group of five people in front of a giant mecha. "Van...Escaflowne…" Hitomi mumbled as she took the item out of his hand. The entirety of Van's memories suddenly came back to her all at once. It made her knees strangely rigid and her ears began to buzz.
"He showed you, didn't he?" The man asked her.
Hitomi was zoned in on the Van in the picture. His proud stance, the way the popped collar of his uniform jacket framed his jaw, and the wild hair which didn't seem to have changed an iota since the picture was taken. She tore her eyes away from the framed photograph and met the man's gaze, unsure if it was wise to admit anything.
Turns out her non-answer was the only answer he needed. "He's not supposed to. At least not until after everything is de-classed." A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth now. "…but I'm not his superior right now. Not like I'd rut the boy out. It just confirms what I've been told."
This robbed Hitomi's limbs of some more control. She nearly dropped the frame at the sound of his next words.
"There is something going on between the two of you. The night nurse told me you went after him the night Eriya passed away. Took some serious guts to do that. Don't know anybody else who would. Van's got a serious temper when he is mad." The man stated all these things without even giving Hitomi the chance to interject.
Not that she knew quite what to say then, anyway. "I…we…don't..." Hitomi tried to defend herself.
That made Dr. Yurizen chuckle a bit and his ponytail shook lightly at the motion. "Can't say I'm not pleased to see somebody is finally starting to get under his skin after everything he's been through. Anyway…," he said as he reached behind himself to grab a piece of paper from the desk without even having to look. "…he deserves some goodness back in his life. Moral support and stuff like that. Stability and...," he chose not to finish that thought. "Looks like you're just the right one for him."
Dr. Yurizen thrust the piece of paper out in front of him and Hitomi accepted it wordlessly, exchanging it for the picture she had still been holding. After scanning the text a few times, she looked up and regarded him with confusion. "I don't understand. What is this?"
"It's a pass to get into the court building the day of the hearing," Dr. Yurizen explained. "Didn't he tell you about it?"
Hitomi shook her head, frowning a bit. "We didn't exactly...part on friendly terms the other day…" she finally said, not knowing how else to explain it.
Dr. Yurizen nodded knowingly but smirked a bit. "I'm sure you two will figure it out. In the meantime, this will get you into the building, if you want. You won't be able to be in the actual hearing chamber but what happens in there will be broadcast on closed-circuit television for those present. Knowing you are here should give him some moral support besides me. I'll be there too but more as a formal escort, less as a friend."
Hitomi looked at the paper again and after going back and forth on whether to even accept it or not, neatly folded it in half. "You care about him?" She asked the man, wanting to know what it was that compelled him to do so.
"Of course I do. He not only was under my command before being selected for Paragon, his father and I were also old friends. I've known him since he was just a year old. However," he shifted into a more relaxed position, bracing his hands on the tabletop on either side, "there is only so much I can do for him."
"The papers are feeding the masses what they want. Drama. War stories become exaggerated, ripping open old wounds anew and making it even harder for those who are already scarred. They transduce the facts into something twisted and sick, preventing people from healing." His facial expression showed a great deal of displeasure.
"It wasn't his fault…" Hitomi spoke quietly, sadness laced through every word as her heart tightened at the thought of Folken's dead body through Van's memory.
Dr. Yurizen shrugged lightly. "You know more than I do. I haven't seen the log. Fault or not, it's in the past and can't be changed. All we can do is move on. I'm glad you seem convinced by what you saw. It will only help him. He needs you. That, I'm sure of. Call it intuition."
Hitomi finally met his gaze directly despite the uneasy feelings. If this is what it took to mend what was broken inside of Van, "I'll be there."
Dr. Yurizen smiled gently when the young woman left his office. It seemed like she perhaps hadn't realized how connected she was to the stubborn, dark-haired man his friend's son had grown into. Even though he was not privy to the things she had seen in Van's mind, he knew something else. He knew about the invisible but tight bond these two people shared unknowingly.
It wasn't something that could be seen with the naked eye but Eriya had been able to sense it. She had sensed the difference in Van's aura when he had come to see her weeks ago and then again noted its counterpart walking the hallway outside when the woman with the short hair had started working here. It was fate. Fate was bringing them together.
How could Eriya's sixth sense in these regards be explained? It was still a mystery. The serum was never intended to work this way but perhaps the large concentration in her system had altered her abilities in previously unthinkable ways. Something else to ponder in the years of research to come.
Van tugged on the collar of his dress uniform for the umpteenth time while he stared at the polished marble floor of the court building he was in. In the mass of people, he looked similar to most of the other men and women dressed in alliance uniforms.
"Anxious?" His superior asked him from the side.
Van regarded him out of the corner of his eyes. The man stood next to him in his own formalwear but, uniform code be damned, had stubbornly kept the ponytail and thick mustache for this event.
"Call it anticipatory concern," Van replied darkly.
General Yurizen chuckled in response to his charge's answer. "You appearing here is just a formality. The decisions were already made. If they wanted to arrest or court-martial you for whatever reason, they would have already done so."
Van sighed quietly. "That fills me with conviction." He answered dryly.
Yurizen's mustache quivered slightly again.
"Do you ever worry?" Van asked, now slightly annoyed.
"Would it help?" His superior retorted.
"Hn…" Was all Van answered.
"Oh, by the way, your little lady is here too I believe." The man sort of enjoyed seeing Van's reaction to this.
Van's garnet eyes strained just enough to be noticeable under the out-of-regulation bangs which he had haphazardly combed to the side before putting on his black beret earlier. "What...?" His heart lurched slightly. "Why? How?" He didn't even know where to begin. "Sir, I don't under..."
"Eriya mentioned something...," the older man interrupted Van. "..., and the night nurse at the hospital told me about what happened after you stormed out that day she passed away. The girl followed you, then came back much later at night to retrieve your motorcycle gloves." Yurizen calmly explained.
He had almost forgotten about his tantrum there. Van struggled with his thoughts now. Part of him was focused on the impending hearing, the other was consumed by a certain woman.
"Now, I don't know what exactly there is between the two of you and neither do I need to know the details but son, don't be foolish about it." His superior's words were spoken in a very serious tone now. "Don't let your misery consume you too much to prevent you from letting somebody into your life who does you a whole lot of good."
Van's shoulders slumped a bit at the thought and he reached up once more to tug on the collar of his uniform jacket which had suddenly become even tighter than before. Perhaps it was due to the big lump which was currently forming in his throat. The emotional pressure from all sides was threatening to gradually suffocate him.
Hitomi felt a bit out of place among all the uniformed people in the large building. Marble surfaces, pillars, and statues of various important individuals, such as the King of Asturia, lined the hallways. His Majesty was not present at the court proceedings although all sessions and documents were held in his name by the head of the board. As the most powerful of the allied forces, Asturia was the headquarters for such things.
Then, in between a throng of people lining up to enter through the massive double doors with ornate, golden handles, Hitomi caught a glimpse of him. The mise-en-scène was very strict as each of the people on the right was to be formally escorted by a superior to their left. Dr. Yurizen stood next to Van, towering over him by a good head and staring lazily into the distance.
It was as if Van felt Hitomi's stare because at the same moment, he turned his head and their eyes met. While he stood at attention like the rest of the men and women, arms behind his back and one hand grasping the wrist of the other, his thoughts looked to be miles away from where he physically was.
In the formalwear of the allied forces which was a more refined version of their combat gear, he looked every part the elite soldier he still was. Black, stiff pants were tucked into polished, black boots. An equally stiff-looking, dark red jacket with a starched collar was buttoned up all the way and depicted the golden Fanelian dragon on the left side of his chest along with some other insignia on the shoulders.
Regardless of the required attire he still was Van through and through, the proud stance he held himself in now so much more befitting him than the slumped, defeated way she had seen him carry himself so often before. His hair under the black beret was just a wisp too long and an idea too wild, clearly not within regulations which only emphasized his handsome features.
Van held Hitomi's stare for a moment, not sure what to make of her having come. Did she feel obligated to be here? They hadn't been exactly nice to each other the last time. Among the other civilians there, dressed up a bit in a simple knee-length black skirt and white blouse, she looked just like another administrative secretary documenting the court proceedings.
After less than a minute, their moment was interrupted by the opening courtroom doors. Van had no choice but to follow his fellow soldiers into the large room while a whole array of thoughts and feelings rushed through him in waves.
Hitomi followed a group of other civilians into a large room across the hall. She figured that this was where she wanted to be now. It was just a large room, no chairs, only people. They all gathered around the television set on one of the side walls that didn't have windows. Weaving past some taller men and women in heels, she found a spot to the side where she could watch well enough.
It obviously wasn't Van's turn yet. She gripped the strap of her messenger bag with both hands, holding onto it lightly as time trickled by and people stepped before the board. The panel consisted of several high-ranking members of Asturia, Fanelia, and Freid's armed forces as well as Asturia's secretary of defense, Eries Aston. It was only then that Hitomi made the connection.
Of course. Eries was Millerna's sister. She should have realized it long before when hearing her name mentioned in the news, although it wasn't like this would make any difference. It did, however, explain Millerna's knowledge about the government's lack of preparedness and ability to care for those wounded in war. Her sister must have mentioned it to her, not that it wasn't easy to speculate on it if one was reasonably observational.
Hitomi marginally registered one of the female generals droning on about how the critique of decisions that were made during the heat of battle was part of accountability. In that sense, some men and women were called forth to formally state their account of various military matters. Some were formally discharged on the spot, either honorably or dishonorably, based on the board's decision. Not many of them seemed to be surprised about their verdict, having been informed of the ultimate decision in writing beforehand.
It wasn't until much later, when Paragon Air Chief Van Slanzar de Fanel was called up to the panel that Hitomi devoted her full attention to the screen. Her hands tightened subconsciously on the strap of her bag as she watched him step in front of the board on the television screen. He stood at attention in front of the dais where Eris Aston was positioned in the middle of a long table.
The blonde woman's posture emanated indifference but her facial expression spoke volumes about what she really thought. It seemed as though she was a woman caught between duty and personal ideology. She acknowledged and regarded Van for a moment before allowing him to stand at ease.
"The allied forces have reviewed data from mission code-name 'Vision' and evaluated your actions. We have come to the following conclusion regarding this mission which concluded the Destiny War." She spoke each word clearly while a murmur went through the crowd.
Several people in the room with Hitomi gasped and looked at each other, whispering in hushed voices. Of course, there had been rumors and theories about what had happened but until now, the exact details had been kept secret with the exception of Balgus' actions. Nobody, until today, had known that this lonely, broken man standing in the middle of the courtroom was the sole survivor of the task force which had traversed even past the vanguard and entered Zaibach territory to end the war.
Everybody was already busy fabricating wild ideas in their mind while all Hitomi could do was train her eyes on the small image of Van, still standing rigid and tall while continuing to listen to the verdict.
"Chief Fanel." Eries shortened his long rank and name. "It is our opinion that you are not at fault for the death of Paragon Master Strategos Folken Lacour de Fanel."
Only being able to see Van's face from the side was enough to tell Hitomi that he was stunned. All the months of worry to hear the most anti-climactic decision ever. Or was it?
However, Eries Aston was not done. "Based on this verdict but keeping in mind your injuries, we have decided to leave the decision up to you. You may decide to keep on serving the allied forces or be honorably discharged from your duties. The decision must be made within the month and in writing."
Van's heart was beating up to his neck. He couldn't believe it. They thought he was innocent. Everyone seemed to think so but him. Part of him felt like storming out of the courtroom and drowning himself in the large fountain in the square.
"Perhaps, it would be beneficial for you to see how we came to this conclusion." Eries now spoke in a softer voice.
"Ms. Secretary, I believe we have decided against this…," the male general from Freid interjected.
"Indeed you have, General Plaktu," Eries answered without turning her head to the man. "However, it is me who has been appointed by his Majesty to lead this tribunal and in his name and therefore my decision supersedes any previous arrangements."
It was rather obvious that several members on the board were more than displeased with this development but none of them dared to question her authority so openly. Eries' mouth twitched a bit in satisfaction but she remained composed and professional. It wasn't her place to show any kind of emotion or personal interest. However, the events during and after the war had warped her ideologies massively.
It was an outright shame that the government couldn't afford to care for its wounded like they deserved. Not just those wounded physically but also mentally. In this special case, there was something this soldier still needed to see. Nothing earth-shattering by any means, but valuable to his mental state of health. Information which could possibly help him heal in the future and the allied forces had decided to keep it from him. That was unacceptable to her.
"Curator, please load file '106FFL. str. vis' and play." Eries instructed one of the women on the side of the courtroom.
A woman behind a desktop computer, who had been documenting every spoken word thus far, nodded and proceeded to click and type away on her keyboard until a fuzzy shape appeared, projected into the air in front of Van from a small device next to her computer.
Van could only stare at it. It was the first time he had ever seen memory recordings outside his own mind. So that's how they were able to view it. Not like a movie on a screen but as a three-dimensional and sort of immersive hologram.
He didn't have time to think about it more in depth for the fuzzy, discombobulated mess of dots now quickly solidified into something very familiar. What he saw was Eriya. She stood at what must have been the side entrance of the Zaibach command center while her twin sister, Naria, was already ushering Balgus through the doorway. It was Folken's memory feed.
Van saw that Folken was hesitating. "Eriya. Van. He is still back there. One of the Alseides units is in full attack mode…"
Eriya's face was scrunched up in concentration, checking to make sure the air was still clear around them. "Understood." Her eyes softened when she looked straight at Folken, or Van in this case, as he was watching intently. "Then you have to go."
Folken's voice hesitated a bit, torn between two of the people who mattered most to him in his life. "I don't know what will happen."
Eriya reached out and must have touched the side of his face but the memory hologram became fuzzy at the edges there. "Folken. He is your brother. You will lose him if you don't go. We, on the other hand, we will always be together no matter what."
Only a few more heartbeats, they looked at each other before Eriya said, "I won't be too far behind."
It hit Van like a slap in the face. She must have already been aware of what was going to happen. She had known what was in store for them, had seen two futures, both devastating in their own way. Her amber eyes with pupils grossly dilated by the serum running through her veins had allowed her to see futures where no amount of luck was going to produce an ideal outcome.
With a last smile, she closed the door in front of Folken and Van only heard a soft "Eriya, my love…" Before Folken swung back around to retrace his steps, back down a narrow walkway and into the treeline which separated him from the Guymelef battle raging just on the other side.
"Brother." Folken now said firmly and Van's hands became sweaty in the soft, brown leather regulation gloves as his breath caught in his chest. "I'm not sure if you will ever see this but if you do, know that my death won't be your fault. Whatever happens, it's unavoidable. It was either you or me and I choose you. I want you to live, Van. I want you to live for me, for us, for our parents, for Merle, but most of all I want you to live for yourself. This is what I want for you."
Tears welled up in Van's eyes and he did all he could to prevent them from spilling over as he watched Folken advance on the two metal giants throwing blow after blow at each other, swords glinting dangerously. He watched as Folken stepped through the massive legs of the Escaflowne and began to fire his machine gun at the enemy, emptying clip after clip in rapid succession.
The feed didn't last very long anymore, just until the final blow. Folken had never seen it coming. At least his head hadn't been turned that way. Everything stopped when Folken sank to his knees, pulled down mercilessly by the force of gravity on his expiring body. The last thing he saw was the Alseides unit's demonic helmet slamming into the dry earth not far away.
Van was rather numb. He resented himself clear down to the marrow of his bones while listening to general Asona of Fanelia now. His own countryman, in a garrulous speech, condemned Folken's actions for all to hear. Insubordination and irrational behavior, acting against the military's creed and endangering the mission at hand was unacceptable. Even more unacceptable was it to show evidence of such actions to a building full of people, he declared with an evil side-eye at secretary Aston. Contingencies were part of war, he stated firmly.
"Enough!" Eries cut him off with a voice so full of authority the man dared not to speak up again before she turned her attention back to Van. With a much more kind face, she addressed him again. "Chief Fanel. You are dismissed from this court hearing. I expect you will be making a well thought-out decision soon."
With stiff motions, Van saluted Eries. "Yes, ma'am." Then turned sharply on the heels of his boots and strode not just back to his seat among the other people in the large hall, but out of the courtroom. Not only was it the end of Van's hearing but also the end of this court day. As Van walked the length of the hallway, the mass of other uniformed people and civilians engulfed him. Some pointed at him but he didn't pay any attention.
Van's mind was racing. The images he had just seen and words he had heard were causing mental disarray to the point where he didn't know what to do anymore. He needed some time to think and quickly slipped out of the next best emergency exit. The cobblestone square outside was bustling with people enjoying this random weekday evening. He felt a bit more at ease given the newfound anonymity even though his uniform drew some attention.
His destination wasn't too far away. The fountain in the middle of the square with its calm sounds of rushing and trickling beckoned him. It was a noise that calmed him a bit from further away already, the sound of it blending out the constant buzzing in his ears he had been suffering from since the accident. He stared at the ripples in the water, at his own image dancing on the surface as his breathing evened out.
He was able to spend a few minutes in quiet, urban solitude before a very familiar, female voice behind him caught his attention.
"Van?" Hitomi said carefully, afraid that it was a bad choice to speak to him now. His broad back straightened at the sound of his name and Hitomi held her breath when he whirled around, taken aback by the abrupt move.
"Hitomi, I'm sorry." He blurted out.
Confused, Hitomi let out the breath she had been holding. "For what?"
"Everything," Van spoke impatiently. He sighed. Even just this one word had come out badly. "I mean, not everything exactly," he began again but trailed off when something behind Hitomi caught his attention.
"Sir." A young, female soldier with a group of her comrades approached them. She wore a similar uniform to Van's but the insignia were different, a trident-shaped symbol indicating that she hailed from Freid. Her complexion and brown hair which she wore in a low bun also were a dead giveaway for her heritage.
Dark blue eyes locked on Van as she offered him a salute as required when approaching a person of higher rank. Van returned the gesture automatically when the group of people gathered behind the young woman and did the same. None of them seemed to be much older than him.
Hitomi saw the woman relax a bit then. "Chief Fanel, we would like to formally express our gratitude."
Van's face indicated confusion. "For what?"
"For ending the war, of course! You're a hero." One of the men in the group piped up. "From what we have gathered, this was a suicide mission. Most of us here were part of the comm behind the scenes. That's why we are here today."
Van made a noise of discontent upon hearing the word 'hero'. 'Hero', he thought bitterly. Some hero he was.
"It's true." The young woman spoke again now. "I was the one who picked up your brother's distress signal. He dropped a beacon before he…" She narrowed her eyes sadly. "After the shield around the Zaibach base fell, it was the first signal I was able to latch on to. It's because of that we found you so fast. Otherwise…"
"You'd be dead too, Van," Hitomi whispered quietly and it was only then that the soldiers seemed to notice her presence.
"Well, that's all really. We just wanted to thank you." The woman from Freid now said a bit hurriedly and with a knowing sparkle in her eyes as she looked towards Hitomi. "Everybody, let's get a move on. I see a few members of the press approaching over there. Seems like they were camping out at the front doors and now are trying to leech onto a good story."
The guy who had spoken earlier nodded curtly. "Too bad a special task force is about to block their path." He grinned and marched off, the others not far behind.
Van almost jerked his hand away when he felt Hitomi grab it. "Come on," she said, already about to move into the other direction. He didn't resist when she pulled him after herself as the people around them swallowed them from view while they hurried across the large square.
Hitomi held onto him tightly and Van's gaze was focused on their joined hands. He could feel her fingers through the soft material of his gloves and caught himself wishing that he wasn't wearing them. Even after they stopped on the other side of the wide, open area littered with people he found himself not willing to let go.
Her chest was heaving a bit after the light jog and her cheeks were rosy, he noticed. Hitomi stood across from him, not pulling away her hand and looking at him expectantly. Van was about to speak until they were interrupted yet again. Was this ever going to stop?
Van, however, found that he couldn't be very angry when he saw who was demanding their attention. He released Hitomi's hand with a bit of regret when a young boy with a mop of golden hair stared up at them.
"Hello, Dragon of Fanelia and Miss Hitomi." Chid smiled at them brightly.
They were both so surprised that they only managed a small 'hi'. What were the odds?
"Would you care to join us?" Chid asked them while pointing to the right, at an area where pink and white striped umbrellas were situated in front of the entrance to a charming, historic looking brick building. It was Meiden's flagship location.
"Please, join us," Chid repeated and waved his hand in a polite, inviting gesture neither of them had seen used by a child his age before. A bit dumbfounded they followed him the short distance and around an umbrella which was tilted sideways, shielding whoever was sitting behind it from public view. Maybe this was indeed the place to be right now, Hitomi thought.
When they rounded the umbrella, Dryden's grinning face was the first thing they saw. He was alone but Chid hopped onto a chair he had clearly occupied before.
"Well, hello there!" Dryden greeted them brightly, motioning at two empty seats across the table. "Please, have a seat. By the sound of it, you had quite the day." The last words were specifically directed at Van.
A bit unsure, Hitomi grabbed the armrest of a chair and pulled it out, nodding at Van in the process. "Not such a bad idea. Nobody can see us here."
Van looked behind himself and thought he spotted a man with a camera and another with a microphone not too far away. "Maybe. Fine." He conceded. There was no harm in sitting here for a bit. After all, he still owed the man a proper thank you and then some.
Dryden already nudged two fresh glasses of iced coffee their way. The ice had only just begun to melt and condensation covered the outside of each glass. "I took the liberty of ordering some refreshments for you already."
"…but how did you know?" Hitomi questioned a bit baffled.
Dryden grinned and pushed the spectacles into a more comfortable position on his nose before answering. "Could call it intuition." Then he chuckled. "Or not."
While Van and Hitomi were furrowing their brows and looking at each other from out of the corner of their eyes, Dryden produced a cable with small earbuds attached to a curious looking device from his pocket. "Alright. Not the right time to mess with you. I get it." Let's say I had a mole who helped me listen in over there." He now pointed in the general direction of the court building.
"Uhm…why?" Van now asked. "I mean no disrespect, but why do you care?"
Dryden's face became serious now. "Why would anyone not care?" He regarded Van with a respectful expression. "You, my friend, are the reason we all can be here on this pleasant summer day. Your comrades in that building and all across the allied nations are the reason we can enjoy ourselves right now."
Hitomi couldn't help but take a sip of the delicious iced coffee sitting in front of her while Dryden spoke. It helped ground her somewhat again after the events of the past hour and had a refreshing effect.
"It was shocking to hear some of the statements made in that courtroom. They talk about contingencies as if human life is expendable even if it's just a single one. Didn't hear a word of remorse from them and that's, quite frankly, ludicrous." Dryden ground out the last few words in a, for him, clearly uncharacteristic manner. "What they said about your brother…it's…I can't even." He waved his hand around in agitation.
Chid's soft voice now picked up where Dryden had stopped. "What we are trying to say is that we, as conscious citizens, feel the need to help. To offer to do our part as well as we can."
Van, who had been listening to Dryden patiently so far, raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. What do you think you can help with?" He questioned the young boy instead of his adoptive father since he seemed to be the more collected one of the two at the moment.
Chid cleared his throat before explaining. "We've seen many soldiers struggle after the war and have come up with a way our business can help." He sat up a bit more in his chair to make himself taller as his eyes began to shine. "Meiden's has basked in its prosperity long enough. It's time we took on a corporate social responsibility. We are creating a non for profit organization to help soldiers who are struggling mentally, physically, and financially after the war. Meiden's couldn't think of a more deserving crowd for such a charitable cause."
Dryden nodded in affirmation. "Chid deserves all the credit for this idea. He will make a fine successor one day. Already making the best decisions. Anyway, I can't really head both of these ventures and Chid is legally too young. Besides, as I said, he will inherit Dryden's one day but that's where you come in." Dryden looked at Van.
"Me?" Van shifted in his chair uneasily. "What do I have to do with all of it?"
Chid chuckled softly before answering this question. "We want you to run it. Well, not the whole organization, of course, you would have supporting administrators, advisors and such but we need a figurehead. An official leader. A symbol of hope. The hero of the Destiny War seems like a perfect choice for this position."
There was that word again. "Hero…" Van whispered the word sardonically and caught some of the condensation on his untouched glass of iced coffee with the tip of his gloved finger. It soaked into the material, leaving a dark spot. Slowly shaking his head, he said. "You have got the wrong guy."
Dryden's face fell a bit as an uncomfortable silence lingered between them all until a fifth person stepped up to the table.
"Hello! I see we have some more guests. Anything else I can bring?" A girl with short, blonde hair and blue eyes in a pink Meiden's shirt stepped next to the table. "Oh, Hitomi! Long time no see!" She exclaimed in excitement.
Hitomi's eyes widened. "Celena!... Hey, I didn't know you worked here!" She smiled a bit uneasily. Allen's little sister. She hadn't seen her in months. The young woman had started college a while ago which drastically cut down on the frequent visits she paid to her brother at the Caeli clinic. It was her who had hinted at Hitomi that Allen liked her quite a few times and it had made Hitomi rather uncomfortable even before the engagement with Amano. Hopefully, she wouldn't mention him.
"Yea. I'm not taking any classes over the summer and having some extra money never hurts. Mr. Fassa hired me personally a few weeks ago." She used her pencil to point at Dryden to her left. "Say," she now eagerly steered the conversation into that highly undesirable territory, "have you talked to Allen at all since you left? He speaks about you an awful lot. Maybe he is finally thinking about asking you out one of these days. It's not weird now that you don't work at Caeli anymore, right?"
Hitomi felt Van tense next to her. She chewed on her bottom lip, struggling for a polite answer but found that she didn't need to.
"I hope he does. He'd be crazy not to." Van said. "Don't know him that well but he seems like a good man."
What?
Hitomi was beyond stunned. Was she dreaming? Hallucinating? Had he, Van, really just said that?
Celena smiled brightly at Van. "My brother is the best! He's like a noble knight from times long past and would treat you well."
Van half turned his head and looked at Hitomi with a gentle expression she hadn't expected from him. "She deserves someone like that." He reaffirmed.
"It's settled then! I'll make sure he calls you soon, okay Hitomi?" The blonde girl exclaimed excitedly.
"Uh…sure," Hitomi answered numbly, caught between a rock and a hard place. Her heart gave a strange murmur but she was too stunned to react otherwise.
Tbc...
A/N: Ok I was at 20 pages again and needed to break it somewhere before this chapter becomes out of control long. There you have it, the semi-finale of FWH. I don't want to risk myself rushing towards the end. It was not my intention to end it with something like a cliffhanger but had I not done it, there would have started to be a pattern of how chapters end and you will see what I mean when I post ch 8. Anyway. I wrote about 18 pages in the last few days after being stuck for weeks. Can somebody please tell my muse to chill out now? Really, a chill would be nice because it's so hot outside the only sensible thing to do is stay inside.
Thank you all again for sticking around. It means a lot (feel like I'm repeating myself but it's true). Every single one of you puts a smile on my RBF when I read the comments.
