Hitomi opened her eyes, momentarily disoriented. She groaned and looked around, finding a meticulously cleaned room, except for the bed she lay on and the sofa, where she saw Dilly staring at her. She jumped in surprise, but calmed her racing heart.

"That went better than I expected," he commented, almost to himself. "Are you aware, Hitomi, of how worried everyone is?"

She scowled, "Maybe. I'm glad I was able to tell them both off." A memory of Van's drawn face flashed through her head, which made her feel momentarily guilty.

"You see," Dilly was saying, "my goal in my high school career is to make Allen's life miserable. However, along that path, I made enemies. Van is one of them. Its hard to tell which is my larger focus. My display today was to make Allen suspicious of you cheating on him. However, I didn't know you were friends with Van as well. When you shoved those stakes into their hearts..." he closed his eyes and shivered in what Hitomi could only guess as ecstacy, "It was beautiful, the shock and awe on Allen's face. The humbleness it will install." He opened his red eyes again and they stared at each other as he went on, "Poor Van is going to be so worried. Perhaps he'll become ill."

"Stop it," Hitomi snapped, "I don't enjoy my friends' suffering." Dilly looked displeased for a moment.

Then he sighed dramatically, "I suppose it can't be helped, can it?" He hesitated then suggested, "We should do something."

Hitomi narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Like what?"

His eyes gleamed, "Have you ever seen a guymelef fight?"

"Oh," Hitomi relaxed a little, "I've seen a few on television. Why? Is there a fight today?"

Dilly smirked, "No. However, I do have two spare guymelefs in my backyard..."

Her eyes widened, "What? Are you kidding me? Those things are expensive!"

He shrugged, "I have a rich foster father. Want to try?" She was hesitant, but eventually complied.

"Just walk like normal and the guymelef will do the rest," Dilly assured Hitomi from his own guymelef. She had just gotten in and found herself unused to it instantly. With Dilly's strict teaching, though, she got the hang of it eventually. She was convinced at times that Dilly was trying his hardest not to just slap her for her incompetence.

"I can't hold a sword at all! How can I wield one now?" she hissed. It wasn't even ten in the morning when she said that, but by dinnertime, she still couldn't hold the sword correctly. She could practically feel Dilandau's frustration rolling off of him in waves. When he decided they should stop, Hitomi insisted she should go home. Haltingly, Dilly agreed and brought her home. Hitomi made sure she didn't forget anything, thanked Dilly for the experience of being inside a guymelef and went inside to explain to her mother why she never came home and why she hadn't gone to school either.

Thankfully, they had this week off. It was Thanksgiving. Hitomi wasn't sure why they needed the entire week off for Thanksgiving, but she let it go. Things were still tense between her and Van. Allen, however, was not joking when he said he respected her more, and they were getting along perfectly. While they weren't openly hostile to each other, Van would sometimes make a bitter remark and she'd bite back. They also no longer went out or hung out outside of school. Van was still upset about Dilandau, who found it amusing to sit with them at lunch. While Allen didn't like it either, he took it in stride. Van, on the other hand, was stubborn as a mule and would not budge. He would act rather childish and either not say anything to Dilly or insult him constantly.

"Hitomi," Van had said, sounding tired for the first time since the day Hitomi had run off with Dilly. This immediately brought Hitomi's attention to him. He had looked up at her with the saddest eyes in the world, "Can we hang out next week?" He looked pained in a way he couldn't understand, "I'd like to spend the entire week with you, if that's possible. From Monday until we go back to school. We can go wherever you want and do whatever you want. I'll sleep on the couch at your house if I have to."

Hitomi's eyes had softened, and she had answered, "I'll try as hard as I can."

So Van was silently driving Hitomi to his mansion. Ms. Kanzaki had agreed to switch Merle for Hitomi for the week and even went as far to say that if Van needed Hitomi on actual Thanksgiving day, he could keep her. Hitomi suspected Ms. Kanzaki had seen the same old, sad expression that Hitomi had.

As Hitomi examined Van's face while he drove, she became aware that he always looked slightly tired. She hadn't spent a lot of time staring at his face until that moment, so it had passed her attention.

"What brought this on?" Hitomi asked curiously. He didn't turn to her, but shrugged in response. So he didn't want to talk about it. That was okay with her.

He asked her suddenly, "A week or two ago, Dilandou gave you a ride in a guymelef. How did that go?"

Hitomi smiled softly, "He's a strict teacher, I'll tell you that. But I learned quickly how to use the guymelef. I just couldn't... ya know... actually fight."

Van seemed thoughtful, "Did you try fighting without a sword?" She gave him a startled glance. The thought hadn't even occured to her.

"No," she answered slowly, "I don't see how that would help, though."

He shrugged, "I suppose it would develop your battle instincts. If you want to learn how to fight in a guymelef, you should learn how to fight in general first. Fist fighting is easiest in a guymelef... in some ways. You should try that next time... if there is one." He spared her a glance. "Until then, I can try to train you with a sword without a guymelef."

"You can wield a sword?" she asked curiously.

He nodded, "My parents..." he trailed off, "They insisted on it since I was young." They stopped at the end of Van's driveway and Van helped Hitomi climb out of his truck. He smiled at her after closing her door, "Welcome to my holiday."