"What's going on here?"

It was an off-duty palace guard. His eyes were fixed on Hitomi, full of suspicion. He marched directly over to them both. The woman pushed Hitomi roughly towards the guard.

"Hmph, that'll teach you!" she cried.

Too late, Hitomi realized she stood next to Mrs. Cook. Her wrinkled face was twisted in a satisfied smirk. She looked strangely confidant after accusing her falsely. Something felt strange...

Then it occurred to her – Mrs. Cook must have planted something in Hitomi's clothes. Hitomi's mouth went dry. She tried searching her clothes for the guilty item, but her upper arm was suddenly seized by the guard.

"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

"Wait! This is a mistake!" Hitomi cried out desperately.

But he did not wait, nor would he listen to reason. Hitomi was trapped.

"STAND STILL!"

Hitomi had no choice. She tried to stand straight as her cloak was ripped off and torn in half. It was carelessly searched and cast aside. Then, the guard seized her skirt and shook it out fervently. Hitomi felt exposed as it was lifted and ruffled so indelicately. Mrs. Cook watched with pleasure as her face burned with humiliation.

"Check her sleeves, officer!" Mrs. Cook added encouragingly.

The guard took this suggestion at once. He struggled with the cuffs as he tried rolling Hitomi's sleeves back. Growing frustrated, the guard tore each of her sleeves down the middle, exposing Hitomi's arms and shoulders completely. Tears started to well in Hitomi's eyes. She tried to hide her face in her hands, but the guard snappishly slapped them away. His patience was lost, and he pushed Hitomi to the ground.

"Where is the stolen item?" he demanded. "Hand it over now!"

But all Hitomi could do was lie on the ground, stunned. Tears were running freely down her face. The guard swore and spit at her pitilessly. A thick circle of spectators had formed around them now, making any escape impossible.

"Try the skirt again!" someone called out.

"Rip it in half!" said someone else.

"Take her away! Throw her in prison!"

"Go to hell, thief!"

A few chose to imitate the guard and spat on her as well. Soon, Hitomi's hair was full of others' saliva. Others nudged her painfully with their boots. Everyone jeered insults in her direction. Hitomi had never felt so hopeless before.

"It looks like you'll have to strip her down completely, officer!" cackled Mrs. Cook loudly, as the guard wondered what to do next.

Hitomi's eyes widened with horror. Mrs. Cook looked positively delighted as the guard bent over Hitomi and dragged her to her feet. He was looking very tired at this point, irritated to be doing this while off-duty. He almost looked apologetic as he grabbed a handful of Hitomi's bodice, preparing to tear it off.

"Stop! That won't be necessary, officer!"

A tall, brown-haired man stepped into view. He strode coolly over to Mrs. Cook, reached towards the back of her collar, and pulled into view a glittering golden necklace.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Le Dixième

……………………………………………………………………………………

"All dragons are kind...kind and stupid."

- Zeniba, Spirited Away

……………………………………………………………………………………

The guard released Hitomi at once.

"What is the meaning of this, old woman?" he roared, looking appalled at what he'd done from her goading.

Mrs. Cook looked flabbergasted. She mumbled something under her breath about Hitomi having stolen another necklace of hers. Her face made it clear that she had fabricated the theft all along. The guard would certainly not believe another word.

"You falsely accused someone of theft, woman!" he cried, jabbing his finger at her. "I should arrest you for this!"

"You can't arrest anyone, you fool! You're not on duty!" snapped back Mrs. Cook.

The guard was livid. He flexed his fingers, as if tempted to throttle Mrs. Cook. Hitomi, in the meantime, was given a long jacket to wear. She looked up at her saviour and gasped.

"Mr. Susumu!"

"Are you alright, Ms. Kanzaki?" asked Amano urgently. "Come quickly, let's get you indoors."

"Wait!"

Amano turned back to the guard, who looked from Hitomi to Mrs. Cook, completely confused.

"I may need that girl as a witness to this woman's crime," said the guard, carefully avoiding Hitomi's eyes. "You can't take her away just yet."

"On the contrary, officer, I think that given your misconduct towards this lady, she has every right to leave at once," said Amano coldly. "You are also off-duty, as was pointed out already, and therefore have no authority over us. Ms. Kanzaki, shall we?"

Hitomi felt dazed and numb as Amano led her away from the bazaar. They hurriedly settled down in a small café where Amano ordered them some tea. He moved his chair close to Hitomi's so that his arm could rest securely around her shoulders. He watched her face carefully. They sat like that for some time.

Finally, Hitomi had enough. She abandoned all pretence of courage and sobbed into Amano's shoulder. He rubbed her back comfortingly as she trembled violently in his arms. Hitomi cried for a long time. The other people in the café stared at her incredulously. Amano cleared his throat whenever they did, however, and only spoke words of comfort to Hitomi.

"I'm sorry that I did not see you sooner," he said in a hushed voice. "I cannot believe the nerve of that old woman!"

Hitomi hiccupped pitifully in response. Amano simply went on patting her on the back. She felt like a child needing placation from her older brother. This thought calmed her down some.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Susumu," she managed to say.

Amano made no reply. Instead, he tilted her chin up with his hand and kissed her on the cheek. Even as traumatized as she was, this affectionate gesture was astonishing to receive. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and Hitomi's jaw dropped slightly with shock. Seeing this, Amano chuckled and gently pushed her head back against his shoulder.

……………………………………………………………………………………

"Hitomi! Where have you been? What...HITOMI WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"

Yukari's face went through a series of transformations. It eventually settled on hysteria. Amano hastily explained what had happened in the bazaar, but this did not help; Yukari's face promptly went white with horror. She looked to her cousin for confirmation, but Hitomi couldn't meet her gaze.

"Hitomi," said Yukari miserably, "Hitomi...I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left without you."

"Technically, I left you," muttered Hitomi, still starting at her feet.

"No," said Yukari, shaking her head. "After you left, I wanted to go after you, but Mr. Fanel..."

Amano's head turned to look at Yukari sharply as soon as he heard Van's name. Yukari fell silent for a moment, but resumed talking as she reached for Hitomi's hand.

"I shouldn't have listened to him, Hitomi," Yukari went on. "He said we should go back to the inn...that you were probably on your way here. Hitomi, I'm so sorry...you have no idea how –"

"There's no way you could have known, Yukari," said Hitomi quietly, pulling her hand away from Yukari. "Don't apologize to me."

It wasn't a request. Hitomi wanted to be left in peace. But when Yukari sensed the angry undertones in Hitomi's voice, she only grew more concerned.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked, mortified. "Hitomi, I really am sorry! I didn't mean..."

Hitomi sighed impatiently. She didn't want to be speaking with Yukari just then. Hitomi didn't have the strength to give assurance to someone else. Not after what she had just faced in the bazaar. Amano had acted so appropriately...why couldn't Yukari?

Tired and shaken, Hitomi went upstairs to her room without another word. Amano and Yukari watched her ascend, looking troubled. When she got to her room, Hitomi did her best not to petulantly slam the door. She pulled off her ruined dress and tossed it in a corner of her room. It was chilly in her room, so she put on a housecoat before climbing in bed.

Hitomi tried to fall asleep but it was no use. Her mind kept wandering back to two things – Mrs. Cook's attempt to frame her, and her encounter with Van. To her dismay, Hitomi found her thoughts almost equally dominated by the latter. She was intrigued, almost impressed, by his smooth interaction with Yukari. Why did they get along so easily?

Hitomi crossed her arms and stared sullenly at the ceiling. She wondered why she felt so bothered by this. Perhaps it was that Hitomi could no longer blame their incompatibility on Van alone. After seeing him act more or less pleasantly with Yukari, Hitomi wondered if it was something about herself that simply brought out the worst in him. It was as though she was so unlikable that she simply drove Van to an ill-temper. It was a rejection, of sorts – one which she had brought upon herself.

Then, Hitomi shook herself quickly – she was in danger of over-thinking things. It shouldn't matter whether Van liked her or not. Didn't she vow to never speak to him again? Just what happened to that resolution?

A knocking sound came from downstairs. Hitomi heard the front door being opened, as well as the murmur of male voices. Her ears pricked with interest. Hitomi rose from bed curiously and opened her door a crack. Amano's voice echoed clearly down the corridor.

"...extremely upset. I don't know what the hell you thought you were doing!"

He sounded furious, and fought hard to keep his voice down.

"I didn't realize that things would get so out of hand."

Hitomi stifled a gasp – it was Van.

"You're an idiot then," spat Amano, angrily. "Why did you not think to follow her, at the very least? I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't interfered."

"I thought it was sufficient to return the necklace to the old woman," replied Van obstinately. "She should have taken that as a warning and desisted."

"The one who needed a warning was Ms. Kanzaki," Amano said, his tone full of dislike.

"I pulled Hitomi aside with that intention," retorted Van. "She left before I had the chance to. I made the mistake of thinking that she was on her way home and came here, bringing her cousin back as well. When Hitomi wasn't here, I went back to the bazaar looking for her. Of course, you know the rest."

There was a long pause.

"I would very much like to know," said Amano, his voice dangerously low, "what gives you the idea that you and Ms. Kanzaki are on first name terms."

This remark was followed by another long silence. Hitomi was astonished by Amano's hostility, but felt gratified that at least he had noticed a degree of Van's rudeness to her.

"Again, please extend my apologies to your cousin," said Van calmly to Yukari, ignoring Amano.

"Of course," Yukari said uncomfortably, afraid of getting caught in their quarrel.

"Why don't you apologise her yourself?" snapped Amano accusingly.

"I would, but I don't think she'd like that very much," replied Van quietly, "at least not for the moment. I will leave now, if you'll excuse me."

Hitomi heard the heavy front door swing to a close as Van left the inn. Amano immediately locked it behind him. She heard him swear under his breath. Yukari tried calming him down.

"At least he seemed to have Hitomi's best interests in mind, Mr. Susumu..."

"I'm not convinced of that," said Amano coldly. "Van Fanel isn't known for his charity. If he cared at all for Ms. Kanzaki, he would have the decency to stay away from her."

"You sound as though Hitomi can't handle her own affairs," said Yukari, quietly.

Hitomi silently agreed.

"Mrs. Uchida," said Amano incredulously. "Do you have any idea what kind of ordeals Ms. Kanzaki has suffered since this inn has opened?"

Yukari made no audible reply.

"Has she not told you about the attacker who broke into the inn less than a fortnight ago?" he went on.

Again, more silence.

"I assume you know, at least, that Meiden Fassa has been threatening to take back the land ever since he discovered that she was its new owner?"

Yukari said nothing. Amano sighed.

"It seems Ms. Kanzaki was truthful about your lack of correspondence," he said, with some sympathy. "Ms. Kanzaki does not need any more trouble than what she already has to cope with."

These words were followed by more embarrassed silence.

"I...I think I should check on Hitomi now," said Yukari, her voice unnaturally high.

Hitomi heard Yukari running up the stairs at top speed. She closed the bedroom door as quietly as possible, turning the lock so Yukari wouldn't see that she had been eavesdropping. Yukari did not stop at Hitomi's room, however. She ran straight into her own room and slammed the door shut. Hitomi strained her ears against the wall that she shared with Yukari's room, but no sounds could be heard.

As Hitomi went back to bed, she had mixed feelings of guilt and indignation. It wasn't until she was seconds from falling asleep that she heard Yukari crying.

……………………………………………………………………………………

The following morning was a chilly one, but tolerably so. Hitomi sat with folded legs in the frosted grass, captivated by the skilful craftsmanship before her. The mole man ignored her ogling, used to having people fascinated by his handiwork. He expertly shaped the metal around the pink stone, and extended it to form a small loop protruding at the end. Then he held out his hand to Hitomi.

"Chain, please," he said brusquely.

Hitomi handed him the silver chain eagerly. He slipped it easily through the loop, and then adjusted the pendant some more so that the loop was smaller than the chain's clasp. When he had finished, the mole man let the necklace dangle in front of Hitomi's eyes and swung it like a pendulum. It took exactly one second to swing from one side to another. Hitomi was momentarily mesmerized.

"It's perfectly balanced," announced the mole man proudly. "Of course, this stone is of such unusual weight that it wasn't easy."

"Thank you, Mr. Mole," said Hitomi breathlessly.

Hitomi took the necklace from him and tried it on. It suited her perfectly.

"How much will this cost me?" she asked.

The mole man shook his head and told her it would be free of charge. Hitomi looked at him sceptically.

"Really? Why the generosity?" she said, crossing her arms.

"Well, I was actually hoping you might do me a favour…" began the mole, sheepishly.

"I knew it."

"Now, don't look at me like that!" exclaimed the mole man defensively. "I need to eat and sleep, just like you do!"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Hitomi asked.

"It's not much," he said innocently, "just some visiting privileges at your inn every now and then…"

"NO," said Hitomi, at once.

"Why not?" demanded the mole man.

"You'd rob me blind," retorted Hitomi. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

The mole man, paused, debating on whether or not to answer.

"That was a rhetorical question!"

"Of course it was," said the mole man, chuckling. "Go on…won't you at least consider my request? When's the last time I tried robbing you?"

Hitomi thought for exactly four seconds, before saying, "Three and a half weeks."

"Aha! You see? I've been behaving so well!"

"I don't think so," said Hitomi, firmly.

"Please, little lady?"

"No."

"I promise to never rob you again!"

"No."

"I could have charged an awful lot for that necklace, you know!"

"NO!"

At this, the mole man theatrically burst into tears. Hitomi backed away in disgust, thinking she'd been very stupid to have hired such a pestering silversmith. Then, without warning, the mole man scrambled to his feet.

"So sorry, little lady, I just realized…must go now. Perhaps another time, then? Goodbye!"

Hitomi was baffled. The mole man actually tripped as he blundered away, as if afraid for his life. She was just wondering what could have frightened him so, when she noticed someone approaching. He had short black hair and wore a long black cloak that was misleadingly intimidating. It was no challenge guessing who this stranger was.

Hitomi waited for Van to speak first. She did not stand from her seat in the grass to greet him, as she might have done for someone else. He didn't deserve that. Instead, Hitomi looked at him expressionlessly as he walked up to her and gave her a small nod.

"May I join you?"

He didn't wait for an answer and sat down anyway. Hitomi tried to look indifferent.

"Did you want something?" she asked him, coldly.

"Not really," replied Van, shrugging.

Hitomi was not sure how to respond to that. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and decided to play with her new necklace. Van recognized the stone, and a trace of contempt crept into his eyes.

"Isn't that the overpriced piece of glass you'd found in the market?" he said.

"Yes it is. I decided to buy it," said Hitomi, unembarrassed.

"How much?" he asked.

"Five."

"So, you took my advice after all?" said Van, smirking a little.

Hitomi shot him a dirty look – his tone was annoyingly smug. She vaguely wondered when he had decided to become so conversational with her.

"If I recall correctly, you said that you wouldn't pay five gidaru for it," said Hitomi sharply. "Technically, I didn't listen to you at all."

Van shrugged again.

"Fine, I stand corrected," he said.

Hitomi turned away from him, feeling sufficiently bothered for the day. She tried turning her mind to other things, pretending that Van was not doing whatever it was that he was trying to accomplish. After a little while Hitomi started to shiver, realizing too late that her toes had gone numb. She had forgotten how long she'd been outside, engrossed as she was in the mole man's work. This did not escape Van's attention either.

"Why aren't you wearing a cloak?" he demanded.

"An off-duty palace guard ripped mine in half," mumbled Hitomi, bitterly.

Hitomi regretted her words at once. Van had practically flinched at her words. His entire face was guilt-ridden – something that Hitomi hadn't meant for. On the contrary, she wanted to assure him that what little he'd done was appreciated. What stopped her from saying just that was a feeling that Van might mistake it for false flattery. It wouldn't be the first time.

Van started to unfasten his own black cloak. Realizing what he was about to do, Hitomi opened her mouth to protest. After all, he only wore a sleeveless red shirt and his brown fencing gloves underneath. Too late – the black cloak was unceremoniously thrown at her.

"What are you doing?" said Hitomi, incredulous. "You'll die of cold!"

Again, Van shrugged indifferently. Hitomi was surprised; for a moment, she forgot to be angry with him. Van genuinely didn't seem bothered by the cold, even though it was the middle of winter.

"The weather in Palas isn't nearly as cold as it was where I'm from," explained Van.

"Where are you from?" asked Hitomi, curious.

"It doesn't exist anymore," he replied. "It was invaded and burned to the ground a few years ago."

He said all this quite casually.

"Oh."

Hitomi pulled Van's cloak around herself tightly and shivered again. She looked at Van and saw that he was staring at her strangely. Blushing, Hitomi looked away and vigorously rubbed her arms. Next to her, Van sighed impatiently and stood up.

"You're still cold," he said.

"Um…yes," replied Hitomi offhandedly.

"Let's go," said Van, seizing her arm with his gloved hand. "I'll bring you home."

"No, don't!" said Hitomi quickly, yanking her arm back. "I mean...I'll be fine on my own."

Van gave her another strange look. Hitomi blushed again, self-consciously.

"You really dislike me, don't you?" he said.

Hitomi blinked, dumbstruck. She felt as if caught in the act of a crime. Perhaps he could read minds?

"I thought as much," said Van, unperturbed; he stubbornly grabbed her wrist again. "Hurry up."

He led her back to the streets, his hold on her arm typically unbreakable. Hitomi followed him obediently at first, embarrassed for having her feelings exposed. She soon got over that, however, and went back to being annoyed at Van. They were crossing the Meifia Bridge when Van finally let her go. Hitomi scowled as she massaged a sore on her wrist.

"Is this going to be a habit of yours?" she asked him, irritably.

"That depends on how frequently we meet," he replied coolly.

Hitomi glared at him, taking advantage of the openness of their mutual dislike.

"Where is Merle?" she asked, changing the subject. "She's not with you today?"

"Wandering around, probably," said Van. "She's enjoying her new freedom very much."

"That's good, but she should be careful," Hitomi cautioned. "Who knows what Mrs. Cook would do if she found her?"

"What better advice to follow than your own?" said Van, sarcastically. "You've been publicly harassed by that woman thrice, but that doesn't stop you from planning a rendezvous with a thief."

"That's different! I…hold on, are you sure it's happened three times?"

Hitomi counted to herself the times she had run into Mrs. Cook. First, there was the rally… then there was Merle's escape… and, lastly, the bazaar incident. Van was right; three times exactly. She looked at him incredulously.

"How did you know about what happened at the rally?" asked Hitomi.

"I was there, too," he replied. "I thought you of all people would have remembered that."

She ignored him as that hateful smirk returned to his face.

"Well…I thought you had left by then," said Hitomi, trying to recall that day properly. "Anyways, I got away that time. I'm not the one who needs supervision, here."

"You escaped from Mrs. Cook because I tripped her," said Van crossly. "And it was surprisingly difficult. Do you always have such formidable enemies?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Hitomi, frowning.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter."

Van came to a stop in front of the inn. Hitomi kept walking, pulling out her key and slipping it into the lock. She turned back to look at him uncertainly.

"I suppose you would only get angry if I invited you in?" she said.

"Susumu Amano wouldn't like it," said Van bitterly.

"Yukari might not mind," said Hitomi, trying not to sound bitter herself.

"What difference does that make?"

Hitomi pursed her lips. Her hand was on the door, ready to push it open, but she hesitated. She knew she should just leave things at that and go inside, but something was holding her back. Something nagged at her to change things between them.

"You seemed to get along with Yukari the other day," said Hitomi, her voice uneven. "The least you could do is say 'hello.'"

She later wished she hadn't spoken at all.

"In case you haven't noticed, Ms. Kanzaki," said Van, sourly, "I don't give a damn about your friends."

Finally, he had hit a nerve. Whatever Hitomi was feeling moments ago, the speculation, the curiosity…all of it was gone. In its place was a terrific escalation of fury.

"You…are unbelievable!" she said, with all the disgust that she could pronounce. "Why do you do that?! It's a pity that you don't care for them, because, frankly, they must like you a lot more than I do!"

Hitomi said all this very quickly – she worried that she might lose her nerve against his angry reaction. And yet, Hitomi wanted him to get angry, if only so she could retaliate.

He did no such thing.

In fact, for the briefest moment, Hitomi could have sworn he almost looked…crestfallen. Almost.

Van looked down for a moment, but lifted his gaze almost instantly. His expression wiped clean, and the only thing remaining was an ice cold glare. To Hitomi, this was much worse than yelling. At least with a choleric reaction, the person more or less tells you that you are worthy to receive their honest feelings and thoughts. This cool, unfriendly gaze, however, was an emotional barrier. It was rather something bestowed upon one considered a worthless enemy, or someone so unspeakably different that you could hardly believe you were both human. When Van looked at her this way, Hitomi felt a chasm of separation between them.

Then, without warning, Van darted towards her. He closed the distance between them in one impossibly swift stride. A split second later, he was standing so close to her that their faces were only inches apart. Hitomi's breathing quickened involuntarily. Van lifted his hand suggestively and reached out towards her. Startled, Hitomi flinched.

She didn't know what she was expecting. All Hitomi knew was that her assumption was dead wrong. In the next moment, Van laughed at her.

"Don't get any ideas," he scoffed. "You're not that attractive."

First Hitomi turned white…then red. A very deep red.

"E-Excuse…? I…I don't know what y-you're talking about."

Her pathetic attempt to be dismissive hung shamefully in the air.

"Give me my cloak back," said Van, indifferently. "It's what I wanted in the first place."

"O-of course. Here…you go."

Hitomi frantically struggled with the knot. She couldn't help it; her fingers were trembling. And yet she wanted so badly to be rid of the thing that she couldn't calm down. This further amused Van. Rather than waiting, he freed the knot with a single pluck, grazing her collarbone with his gloved hand as he did so.

The effect of this on Hitomi was similar to that of an electric shock. Satisfied, Van calmly stepped back, restoring Hitomi's personal boundaries. He then shook his head condescendingly at her. Somehow, Hitomi found her voice again.

"H-how dare...you leave…now," she said, trembling.

Van was still chuckling as he walked away. After what felt like an eternity, he turned the corner into the nearest alleyway and vanished from sight. Hitomi was still standing outside, frozen in place. She was livid. Her hands were balled into fists, and her face in danger of being permanently stained with pink. Hitomi slowly turned to face the door of the inn. She angrily body-checked it open, pretending that it was Van.

Yukari was coming down the stairs as Hitomi stormed in. She greeted Hitomi with a cheerful smile, but Hitomi did not notice. Instead, Hitomi angrily kicked off her boots and proceeded to tear apart the room, looking for her indoor shoes. Having witnessed Hitomi's temper on a few occasions, Yukari knew better than to offer help. She timidly stood to the side, giving Amano a warning look when he came to investigate all the noise.

"He did that on purpose, the JERK!!" cried Hitomi, all of a sudden.

Yukari and Amano were both perplexed. They exchanged apprehensive glances. Theirs was a silent debate over which of them ought to speak first. In the end, both knew that it had to be Yukari. She sighed wearily and prepared herself for the worst.

"Um…Hitomi?" she said tentatively.

"What?" snapped Hitomi.

Yukari held her hands up, alarmed. Amano looked hastily from Hitomi to Yukari, wondering if he would soon be needed as a restraint. For a second, Yukari was too afraid to speak. But somehow she still managed to say,

"I...I like your new necklace?"

Robo's Note:

Thanks for reading Chapter 10! It was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you enjoyed reading it. This update was made possible with the help of the ever-encouraging Missing White Wings 15. :) Thanks to those who submit reviews – they were very generous, as always, especially the anonymous reviews from Maehwa, lyn, and Miriam!

Dearest songfic lovers, may you listen to this for some good times: Everytime I See You Falling by New Order