^^ I ain't breathing a word.

~Second Chances~
~*Namida No Sora*~

"Hitomi! I'm coming!"
Escaflowne raced faster and faster down towards Gaia. Van could barely keep track of where Hitomi was falling to for the clouds and the winds where making him squint more than he should. Frankly, his eyes still stung from the sunlight coming directly into his eyes.

"Hitomi! Geez---Escaflowne! Hurry!"

The minutes were going too slowly and Hitomi was falling faster and faster towards the earth. "Argh!" he cried, jumping down ahead of Escaflowne, his wings spreading forward and flying down after Hitomi.

I'm coming Hitomi....

Flash.

A chibi Van looking outside his bedside window into the starry sky, his eyes focusing on Mystic Moon. "I wish a tenshi would come someday," he said softly at the amazing spectacle. "A tenshi that would never make me sad, or alone, or hurt. A tenshi that will always be smiling down on me."

Flash.

"Is love stronger than fate?"

Yes...

Flash.

A chibi Hitomi looking up at her grandmother as she hands her the pendant for the very first time. "This man gave it to me a very long time ago," she told the young Hitomi. She smiled down at her granddaughter gently. "It grants you any wish you desire. If you wish hard enough, you might get it."

Flash.

Van was closing in on her. "Grab my hand, Hitomi!"

She raised a frail hand...

...he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck to draw herself up completely. It ended up like an embrace as Van set themselves onto the plundging Escaflowne. He folded his wings as he pulled Escaflowne up to the sky once again, Hitomi holding tightly behind him.

The wind cooled their sweat as they flew in the sky.

"Hitomi," he began. "I---"

"It's okay, Van" she said gently. "Let's go back to Allan and the others."
He nodded, pulling the reigns and swerving back to the battlefield. But he couldn't help feeling like a child all over again, and the doubt about himself, Hitomi and Allan was beginning to submerge again.


"Hitomi!" Allan cried as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Allan!" she cried as she returned the hug. "Are you alright?"

"I am now."

Soon, they were joined by Millerna, Dryden and Meruru. Meruru was the first to spot the glum Van and jumped into his arms, talking about how she missed him and how stupid he was for plundging himself into battle like that. Millerna and Dryden went to Allan and Hitomi instead of him.

"Hitomi, it's good to see you again," Dryden said kindly.

"You too, Dryden," Hitomi replied, grinning.

"Hitomi, are you alright?" Millerna asked in a concerned tone.

Hitomi nodded. "Yes, I'm fine now."

Allan smiled down on her and she began to feel like she was three years before, when she first met Allan. He was nice, dashing, gallant. Different yet like Amano. She shook the thought; Amano was now with Yukari and Allan... well, she wasn't sure what to say about Allan...

"I have to talk to you in private, Hitomi," Allan whispered.

Hitomi nodded and bowed to the others. "Gomen."

Van watched as Allan and Hitomi walked a short distance to talk. He felt jealous, enraged, sad and lonely all at the same time. Don't worry, he thought. Brother said to trust Hitomi because our love is right...but is it? Emperor Talonn had his own obstacles to defeat...but what about me? I have my own obstacles between me and Hitomi. Soon, she'll return to the Mystic Moon and I'll be left with Allan at my neck again...

Van watched as Millerna and Dryden talked softly amoungest themselves. He noticed something strange; they were holding hands and touching each other more. He cocked his eyebrow; what was this all about? "Did I miss anything while I was gone?" he asked stonely.

Meruru replied for them, revealing their embaressment. "Yes, Lord Van!" she cried. "They're getting married all over again!"

Van raised a brow again. "Oh?"

Millerna smiled small. "I supposed we wanted to give it a try again."

Dryden nodded. "I think I've become the man that I wanted to be."

Van nodded. "Congratulations."

"Do you want me to fix Escaflowne again?" Dryden asked, trying to conceal the little bit of news again.

Van shrugged. "It dosen't matter."


Allan brought her towards a boulder, a coule hundred meters away from the others. Millerna and Dryden were now talking to Van and Meruru, but Van looked very vague from where she was standing. He looked very unhappy, confused and...she couldn't pinpoint what he was thinking.

Onto business. "Why do you want to talk to me, Allan?" she asked.

"I wanted to say that I still care, Hitomi," Allan said. "That's what I've been trying to tell you back in Asturia. I still love you, Hitomi."

"Allan," Hitomi began. "I---"

"Let me finish, Hitomi," he said softly. "Seeing you like this...all grown up...it reminds me of all the times we had together. You've grown up to be a remarkable young woman, Hitomi, and I still love you, no matter how requitted it is..."

"I-I'm flattered, Allan," she stammered in blank surprise. "I really am. But...I'm already in love. I love Van...I never realized it until his brother told me in a vision. I've connected to him since we first met on my world... we had some kind of link that even now I can't explain. You remind me so much of my friend, Amano, on Earth...I'm sure you and he would have been good friends, but...I'm sorry Allan...but, I can't love you back if my heart's not in it as well."

Allan nodded slowly, closing his eyes. "I understand, Hitomi," he said slowly. "I knew you were all grown up now. I mean, I know you would've left all those childish things behind for something greater, something more real. I have to say that Van must be the luckiest guy in the universe...to have someone like you."

"T-Thank you, Allan."

He shrugged. "It's hard," he continued slowly, "knowing that no one is around. Sure, I got my sister, but I need something more than that. I loved Millerna, but she reminded me of her sister. I loved you, but you reminded me of my sister. It's a never-ending cycle of unrequitted love." He sulked.

"Allan..."

He shook his head. "Don't, Hitomi," he said. "Don't say it. Don't give me sympathy or your compassion or anything. I brought this upon my own self...if all my fault, really. It's not your fault I feel this way." He looked away from her and breathed in, calming himself down. "I'm just glad we talked. Really."

Hitomi hugged Allan. "Friends?"

He nodded and hugged her back. "Friends."


Van felt crushed when he saw Hitomi and Allan walking back, arm around each other's shoulders. He felt a pang so sharp, he thought he was going to die right there and then. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; three years ago, he endured it, had ignored it, but now? What can he do now?

Flash.

"Is love stronger than fate?"

Flash.

"Van!" Hitomi smiled up at him.

He felt the hurt beginning to swell. He had to get away from here. He had to think things through; what better yet than return to Fanelia? Suddenly, he wished that Hitomi didn't came back in the first place. Seeing her...like this...it was killing him.

"Van?" Hitomi asked, suddenly perplexed.

Not as confused as I am, he countered as he said, "I'm gonna go take a walk."

"Van? Van, wait, lemme come---" she said.

"No." He walked across some boulders and towards the mountain range.

Hitomi felt the wind blow. "Van?"


***But if I'm all alone in the world/
And love disappears instead of tears/
I won't hang my head, I'll fly away/
Tomorrow I'll be closer to that dream that I held***
~"Ashita wa motto" ("Tomorrow I'll be")


~End of Chapter