A/N: I don't know if anyone really cares, but I'm trying to finish this story asap. I know most people are like "no, don't let it ever end!" but I have other things to do and stuff to edit.

"That's enough to buy an entire new 'melef! What do you need that much money for?" Folken asked Merle incredulously. "I'll give it to you, but-."

"I can't tell!" Merle insisted, "I promised!" Folken sighed and handed her the check. Merle squealed and ran out of the house.

~Preliminaries

"What's with this?" Van asked Merle irritably. "There are two anonymous players? I've never even seen that before!" He was standing in front of the chart with the people listed who were in the preliminaries. There were a lot of people, but Van knew how preliminaries went. Those who didn't know what they were doing lost within minutes, so the first day went by really fast. Many people would be eliminated today, and a few more tomorrow. Then there would be four to five people left who actually stood a chance against each other. Each of those fights, depending on how they went, could take an hour to an entire day. If it went on that long, they'd go to bed and wake up the next morning, each determined to win. Eventually someone won. He'd seen a draw once before in his life and that was Dilandou and Allen.

In any case, Van was ready to go, but he was upset that he didn't know the names of two people that could very well be the next champion. It bothered him to no end. He was in the waiting room, and it was his turn next. Two morons who didn't know how to fight were out on the floor right then and Merle was allowed to wait with Van.

"What's the prize again?" Merle asked, petting a cat in her arms that she had found not too long ago.

Van sighed and sat down on a bench. "Fifty million dollars." He looked up at Merle and she patted his head cheerfully.

"You'll win," she assured him, "and if you don't, then I'm sure you'll find another way to support Hitomi." Van buried his face in his hands.

"I've never wanted to spend my money on anyone before," he murmured, "The worst part is that I don't have any money anymore."

"Didn't Folken give it back to you?" Merle asked confusedly.

Van sighed and leaned back. "It's his. It always was." He grimaced. "I can't say I hate him anymore, but... I just don't want to deal with him until I've sorted things out. I'm just confused." Merle patted his shoulder and offered him to hold the kitten when the bell tolled and one of those idiots was declared the winner.

Van jumped off the bench and ran to Escaflowne, which was disguised as a normal 'melef so he didn't get weird looks.

~That Evening

"Those morons don't know how to fight," Van muttered. They were sitting at the table, eating dinner that Van made once again. It was a delicious smelling shishkabob and everyone enjoyed it. Mamouru, Hitomi, Merle and Ms. Kanzaki were talking excitedly about what they saw today. Merle, and especially Hitomi, seemed to understand that the people that were out there earlier weren't any good at all, but Mamouru seemed hesitant to believe two girls who might not know what they're talking about. Ms. Kanzaki kept exclaiming, "But it was so exciting!" Once Van voiced his opinion, it was decided that no one out there that day had any talent.

Van slept well that night, but Hitomi was restless. How would tomorrow unfold?

A/N: I know I didn't get into the actual fights, but they were just preliminaries with a bunch of idiots. Describing Van's or anyone else's fight would have been a waste of everyone's time.