Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or Rurouni Kenshin!

I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say a thing about what's going to happen!

Enjoy!

In a week, they docked in Tokyo port, most of the crew going ashore eagerly, while Sano, Van and Allen were assigned to watch the ship. Van turned to the rooster-haired man and asked, "Who is this her that Kenshin-taisho is going after, once we're done here?"

Sano laughed and rubbed a hand through his spiky hair. "You really aren't sailors, are you?"

Allen and Van shook their heads in unison.

"Well, let me tell you a story that every sailor should know around these parts. There's a sea maiden who has the face of a demoness and the tail of the purest gold. She's supposed to be able to control fire and water, burning ships down and bringing the waves down upon them, sinking them before any can escape. It's also said that if you see her golden tail, you'll be blessed with a day of good luck.

"But Kenshin's after something much more than that. According to the stories, she's able to take human form with a pair of miniature demon wings on her back, and if a man catches her and claims her heart as his own, then he'll have the ultimate prize: a lifelong gift of luck, a wife more beautiful than any other, and a trove of treasure so great that he'll never want for anything again."

"Is it real?" Allen asked, looking interested.

Sano shrugged. "Ever since…something bad happened to the captain, he's been chasing this story to try and forget his pain. And he claims he has proof that she's real and so is the treasure she hoards. I'd like to see it for myself, but I already have the perfect woman."

Allen considered, while Van was fascinated by the story. A girl to soothe his aching heart over Hitomi…a girl that would stay with him throughout his life, but would it be worth the time and suffering that might be certain on this journey?

He walked to the other end of the ship, smiling a little before getting lost in thought again.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Van looked up, to see a girl of indescribable beauty with long ebony hair, her crimson eyes locked on the ocean. "Yes, it is. Ever since I first saw it as a boy, I was entranced. But I don't know if I am a good sailor."

The girl smiled and turned to look at him. Her eyes were like rubies, sparkling enticingly. She smiled a little and murmured, "You look like a man who could become the best sailor the sea has ever seen. But…would the sea itself be enough for you?"

He shrugged. "I always preferred the air to the sea, although the wind going through the sails, carrying the ship to who knows where, I could get used to it, since I've only been on this ship for a week."

She spotted the teardrop necklace around his neck. "That jewel…did someone who liked you give it to you?"

Van cradled it in his hands. "A girl I loved for a short time gave this to me as a gift, before she had to return where she came from."

The mysterious girl nodded. "Will you never see her again?"

"Considering I don't know where I am exactly, I don't know. But I know that she has her life, and I have mine. We can never be together."

"Oh, I see. Why do you suffer alone? Don't you want companionship again?"

"I have to get back to my kingdom, yet I was fated to be here. Why? I can only wonder."

"Maybe you were meant to find another love here."

"Perhaps, but I can't know for sure until it happens."

"Van! The rest of the crew is coming back!" Allen called, startling Van out of the haze of contentedness he'd been in around the mysterious girl.

The dark-haired king turned towards the bow and called back, "I'll be right there!"

When he turned back, only to see she was gone. He blinked, confused. "Where did she go? I felt completely at ease around her, almost as if I knew her somehow… Who could she be? Could I have been asleep for a moment and it was a dream?"

Running his hand through his messy hair, he ran over to where Sano and Allen were lowering the gangplank to the dock, where Kenshin, followed by Megumi, came on first.

"All was well while we were gone, Sano?" the redhead asked, stopping in front of his first mate.

"As quiet as a tomb, we didn't even get inspected by the navy this time," Sano answered, grinning. "Although I wish I could've seen some action while we were here."

"Schezar-san?" Kenshin turned to Allen.

"I have the same report, sir," the blonde knight admitted.

The captain nodded, then turned to Van. "Fanel-san?"

Van didn't seem to hear, since his eyes were on the dark waves. Who was that woman? A phantom? A hallucination? Or something else?

Allen laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, shaking it a little. "Van? You okay?"

Van blinked and turned to Kenshin. "I checked the stern and…" He shifted his weight, averting his eyes. "Everything was quiet there, too."

Amber eyes narrowed at Van's uneasiness, but their owner nodded. "Very well. All hands, to your stations! We cast off in ten minutes!"

Was the woman a vision? Or real?

Find out in later chapters!

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