Disclaimer: This will apply to all the chapters to this story. I do not own Escaflowne, I am just writing a story based on it and making no money off of it.
Chapter 2: The Surprising Reunion
"I'm late!" Hitomi ran back and forth from her room to the kitchen grabbing some rice off the counter. "Where are my keys!?" She searched through her purse stressfully. Only if Yukari had woken me up earlier, I could have gotten to work early to work on the project! Yukari only cares about her Amano! She leaves at 6:00 am to go on a breakfast date with…"Amano". Why did I ever agree to let her stay in my apartment?!
She saw the note on her desk that Yukari left. It read:
Hitomi-
I'm leaving early to go have breakfast with Amano. I left some food on the counter, so help yourself. If you need me, call me on my beeper.
-Yukari
I can't believe how careless she was! She could have woken me up so I could have at least talked to her.
Hitomi was now a teacher at Hibiya High School. She was a very good student at her college and she got a recommendation for the best high school that Tokyo could offer. She took that job fresh out of college.
Yukari was still looking for a job so she decided to stay with Hitomi until she could afford her own apartment. But according to her plan, she would have her own home soon because she wants to get married with Amano. They have been together since seven years ago, but with a small break when he went to London, England for four years to attend college.
Hitomi was running out of her car when she reached her parking spot in front of Hibiya Koukou. As she was skidding through the hall, Principal Takamitsu stepped out in front of her from the corner of the hall. She had tripped him and made all of his books fall out of his arms.
"Ah…sumimasen, Kouchou-sensei!" Hitomi bent down to pick up his books, as his hand grabbed her arm.
"It's quite all right and would you call me Seiji. We've known each other for a year now, you keep acting as if I'm an old mean boss that you can't get close to." Seiji was getting close enough to make Hitomi uncomfortable. "Um…I need to get to class. Who knows what my class is wondering by now?" She bowed to him shortly and darted for her classroom. When she got in there, her forty students were talking and all scattered around the room.
"All right. Settle down now. Class is going to begin." All the students began to organize themselves into their seats. Hitomi took out her books from her bag, when a student spoke up, "Kanzaki-sensei, why are you late?" Hitomi looked up to see that it was her worst kid in the class, Takuya.
"I…just had some other things to do." Hitomi was going back to her books, when Takuya decided to take the conversation further. "I know what you were doing. You were kissing Kouchou-sensei!" Everyone began to giggle as Hitomi's face turned red.
"Takuya, you can't talk to a teacher like that." She was staring at him straight into the eyes.
"As you can see, I already did." He began to smirk at her as if he had taken over the class.
"That's it! Takuya, step outside of class with me. We're going to have a long talk!" Everyone began to 'ooh' but Hitomi glared at them and said sternly, "Class, you better have chapter five finished by the time I get back!" Everyone was silent and took out their textbooks.
Hitomi stepped out with Takuya and slid the door shut. She eyed him while he just smiled back with his mischievous eyes. Hitomi began, "Why do you always give me a hard time in class?" She didn't want to raise her voice due to being right next to the door. He just kept his smile as he said, "I just want to keep the class up on their feet."
Hitomi was starting to get over the edge. "Are you saying that I have no good teaching skills?" He just kept the trickster type smile as he said, "You know I wouldn't want to keep your 'class' from learning your important lessons." Hitomi started to open her mouth, just then Takuya leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Could you keep a secret?" She stepped back a few paces and looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"What is it, Takuya?"
"I don't know how to say this, but I…like you."
"What d-do you mean?" He came closer once more and closed his lips around hers. She was so shocked at this, she pushed him away. "What are you doing?"
Hitomi's face grew with redness through embarrassment.
"As I said, I really like you and I want to be with you. I've always been a bad kid because…well…I liked you. On the first day of school, I saw you and listened to your sweet voice. I thought about what I might say, but then thought that my friends would get suspicious. I did just the opposite of how I felt for you."
Hitomi was silent and thought of this through her head. Just great. One of my students has a crush on me and he seems really sincere. What should I do?
"That is very sweet, but I can't have a relationship with you, I'm sorry. I'm just not the right person. I didn't realize that this was causing all the trouble. The way you went about it was all wrong and I think I'm starting to see the real person inside of you. Don't worry though, you will find your true love one day." Hitomi paused and then said, "Besides, you're my student."
Takuya's face fell into a gloom. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything! I made a fool of myself, I even kissed you." He turned away from her and Hitomi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Takuya…"
"Just leave me alone." With that, he walked quickly away. Hitomi just stood there looking at his back. I know that with time his heart would heal. Then she applied this to herself. Who am I to say that if I don't take that advice? Tears were starting to come out when the secretary came walking to her. "Kanzaki-san. There's someone on the line who wishes to speak to you." Hitomi glanced up and walked to the office with her. She picked up the phone.
"Hello?" It was Yukari's frantic voice on the other end. "Hitomi! There's a strange looking man in your room and he has a sword! He looks as if he wants to hurt me. Come and help me!"
"I'll be right there!" Hitomi hung up the phone and went to Seiji's office. He looked up as she opened the door. "Hello, Hitomi. What are you doing here?"
"Something has come up, I have to go home right away!" He looked at her with confusion then waved a hand.
"Okay then. Is it an emergency? You sound a little frantic."
"It's…uh…nothing really, I think. It's just that…uh…I need to take care of something."
"Okay then. I'll see you later."
Hitomi ran to her class and everyone looked up from their reading as Hitomi grabbed her purse.
"Where are you going, Kanzaki-sensei?"
"Uh…I need to go home. Iyumi-chan and Hisanao-kun, I will leave you two to in charge. You two know what chapter we're working on." Hitomi ran out the door. She had a thought bouncing in her mind. Who would get into my apartment and how did they? I'm sure that I locked the door this morning, even in my hurry. She said he had a sword. Who would bring a sword to rob a home? Could it be him…nah. It's impossible…but that thought still lingered.
*****
When Van opened his eyes he heard a door slam and some sort of scratching. Then heavy footsteps got farther and farther away from its original spot.
He was dazed. He shook his head then looked around the room he was in. It was small and there was a bed next to him. It was covered in pink sheets and there were some puffy pillows scattered on top of it. Now I know that you wouldn't think of Hitomi to be the type to have this kind of décor, but Yukari insisted on something bright for the room. Hitomi didn't want to be rude, as this was also a birthday gift, so she gave in rather quickly. He examined the room more and saw nice frames with what looked like portraits.
As he picked up the photo, he thought, Look at how realistically this was painted. The painter must have had strained his hands after he was finished. The picture had two adults and a boy in his teenage years. To him, they looked like a happy family. Van stared at the wall blankly and a tear was about to form, but he held it back. He put down the photo and continued walking around the room.
He was a little afraid of this place, but sensing no enemies he felt at ease for the moment.
What is this place? It is nothing I have ever seen in Gaea. I wonder if this could be the Mystic Moon. He put the thought aside as he decided to look at what was outside of the door. He followed the wall through the hall to the living room. There was a big mess everywhere he looked and thought that this was not a well kept place like his own. He sat down on the floor for at least a minute thinking things through.
This place has some sort of comfort, like my own home. I feel that I could stay here all day and not have a single worry in the world…
Then all of a sudden he heard the same kind of scratching at the door as he had when he first came here. He decided to return to the room he came from to hide from whomever was coming through the door. And if this person was threatening, he could defend himself with his trusty sword.
Yukari opened the door and let out a sigh. "That was a really good breakfast." Amano smiled at her in the entrance of the apartment. "Do you want to come in? Hitomi went to school so we have the apartment all to ourselves." Yukari smiled girlishly at Amano.
"As lovely as that sounds, I have to get to work myself. I said I would only be gone for an hour. It's been two. I can't excuse three. It'll have to be another time. I'll see you and Hitomi tonight for dinner." He pecked her on the cheek and walked off.
Darn. I thought we would be alone finally. Oh well, I'll plan a night for us to be alone another time…
She went to the couch and looked at the TV guide to see if there was anything good on. She finally decided to go to Hitomi's room to try some of her perfume. Hitomi had just bought some from her trip to Paris this summer.
Yukari opened the door and screamed as she saw a man draw his sword at her.
"Who are you!? What do you want, I'll give you anything!" Of course, she didn't know that Van didn't understand a word she was saying.
He then looked at her closely and realized that she was not a threat. He lowered his sword and replaced it in his hilt. She looked very frightened and ran to a small table. She grabbed the phone and dialed the number to Hitomi's school. A high-shrilled voice had answered the phone.
"Hello?" Yukari was breathing a little calmer now. "Yes, I would like to speak to Hitomi Kanzaki, now!" The woman on the other end was very calm. "Calm down. I'll have to go get her from her class. Hold please." Yukari panicked a little because what was only ten seconds seemed like an hour with Van staring at her. She thought that he would draw his sword again to surprise her.
"Hello?" Yukari sighed in relief to hear a comforting voice in this situation.
"Hitomi! There's a strange looking man in your room and he has a sword! He looks as if he wants to hurt me. Come and help me!" Yukari breathed harder as she said this.
"I'll be right there!" Then the phone hung up and Yukari became frantic. "Hello? Hello? Hitomi? Where are you!?" Finding no use to talk to a hung up line, she placed the phone on its holder and faced Van on the other side of the room. Oh god. Don't let me be stuck with this maniac. I don't want to become a hostage to whatever this man could possibly want in Hitomi's apartment. She waited what seemed like days, until she heard the apartment door open.
"Yukari?!"
*****
Oh great. There's someone in my home and he has got Yukari in my room and he seems likely to hurt her from the tone in Yukari's voice. What kind of a guy brings a sword to rob a home? This must be a crazed maniac. I just hope Yukari is all right.
Hitomi got out of the car and ran up the stairs to her apartment door. She pushed the door open and yelled out, "Yukari?!"
She rushed to her room and saw the back of the man staring at Yukari. "I don't know who you are or…." He turned around at the sound of her voice. He still had the guards up in his eyes, then at the sight of her, he softened his eyes.
"Hitomi?" A sweet, soft smile crept onto his face. She looked into his eyes and thought, You look awful familiar. Could it be you…Van?
"Van?" She said this so softly. She walked slowly towards him and then put her arms around him in a tight embrace. He put his hands to the small of her back. "It's really you, after all these years." Hitomi started to cry, as Van slowly whispered into her ear. "Hitomi, I've missed you."
Yukari began to speak in confusion, "Hitomi, who is this person? You act like you've known him for years. And you don't care that he all of a sudden appears into your house?"
They ignored her voice and just stood there in each other's arms. Van then stepped back to have a good look at her. "You've grown into a beautiful young woman." Hitomi began to blush, as she then noticed Yukari still having been frightened by this experience.
"Yukari, I'm so sorry. You must be frightened. I don't think you'll recognize him, but do you remember that day I disappeared, when that strange boy appeared on the track?" Yukari started to grip the floor in what looked like pain. "I've wanted to forget that day. It was the most horrifying day for me. You disappeared without warning."
"Well, this is that same boy, except obviously he's now a man." Yukari still was disturbed, but she stood up.
"Hello. I'm Yukari. Nice to meet you…again." Van stared at her with confusion, then he spoke to Hitomi. "Was she talking to me? I have no idea what she said."
Hitomi explained, "Now I remember, that day you came, you could only understand me. I don't know why, but I guess I'll have to translate. She said she is Yukari and it's nice to see you."
"Well tell her that it is nice to see her as well, I guess." Hitomi looked back at Yukari and told her his greeting. This was a happy moment for Hitomi, especially Van.
I can't believe he's actually here. After eight years, I've tried to forget about him. But now I can't do that.
"Hitomi, I was wondering if we could talk." Hitomi looked up from her thought and smiled. "Okay". She turned to Yukari, "Would you mind leaving us alone for a bit?"
Yukari just stood there for a moment then smiled a little bit, turned to the door and shut it behind her.
Hitomi sat down on her bed and patted beside her to acknowledge that Van could sit down. Van slowly walked over and sat rather surprisingly, comfortably like he lived here. Hitomi looked into his eyes then just leaned on his shoulder.
"Van, I want to say that…well…I'm sorry." Van looked at her with a little worry.
"Sorry for what?"
"For shutting off the link with our minds. It's just that it was too painful for me when I had to leave and I didn't want to think of it anymore." Tears left her eyes onto Van's shirt and he felt them. He lifted his hand to wipe away the tears. She jerked a little bit then stood up.
"Van, how is everyone back in Gaea?"
"Well, by now they must be looking for me. I was supposed to be at a meeting with my advisors. I last talked to Merle and she must be the most worried…" then Hitomi abruptly interrupted.
"Have you heard anything from Allen?"
"Well, the last time I saw him was at his wedding with Princess Millerna." For some reason, he felt that this was the wrong thing to say. Hitomi looked like something had struck her hard enough to make her fall.
Well, I shouldn't be too surprised. He had to get married sometime and ever since I met Millerna, I knew she would be his wife. Even if I had stayed in Gaea, he was too much older than I was. Anyway, Van is here now and that's all that matters now.
She looked down at Van and smiled. "You must be hungry. I could fix you something."
"No, it's all right. I brought some food. I knew I would be hungry going into the woods. Besides, you look as if you have been stressed."
"Well, you're right about my stress. I've had the most aggravating morning with a student of mine." She sighed with relief and headed for the door.
"What do you teach?" She glanced back at him. He looked very curious.
"I'm an Language Arts teacher at a high school."
"What's this Language Art you speak of? Is it some sort of painting class?" Hitomi started chuckling at the way he questioned this, as if it was life threatening. "I'll explain in the living room. Yukari can join us in our conversation. You guys can sit together while I cook up some lunch. I know you told me not to, but it doesn't seem that you brought enough food to last your stomach." She led him into the living room where Yukari was anxiously waiting for someone to talk with.
*****
Yukari walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. She was waiting very anxiously for them to come out of Hitomi's room. After all these years, he comes back. I wonder what he's like. Ever since Hitomi came back, she didn't speak a word of her unexpected trip. It seemed too painful for her to speak of it.
Yukari switched on the TV and saw that the most boring shows you could ever imagine were being aired at this time. She heard the announcer of the show, "Welcome and now here is the show everyone's been waiting for… 'The Scariest Pieces of Cheese in the World' now with mold!" She looked at the screen with "weird" written all over her face. "They must be very desperate to get their ratings up." She could hear her voice ringing in the empty room. She turned it off, then leaned back in the couch.
This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened. There is a man in Hitomi's room that has come from who knows where…and he talks gibberish. Hitomi acts as if he speaks Japanese. What they're talking about must be important to actually have me leave.
Yukari stared with boredom at the ceiling. She sat there then realized that the door to Hitomi's room opened. She sat up straight and saw them walk into the room.
"Yukari, I'm going to cook up some lunch. You can keep Van company, while I'm in the kitchen." Yukari stared at Van with a little bit of shock as he sat down next to her.
"What are we supposed to do? We don't exactly have something that we can both talk about." Van just stared with confusion. "Well, I don't know. Surprise him."
Yukari scooted over some space to feel more comfortable. Van started to think, What does Hitomi mean by 'surprise him'? He just looked away from Yukari to have to avoid the awkward silence between the two of them. Yukari just turned on the TV to see if Van would get a kick out of the ridiculous shows on right now.
"Hello and welcome to Martha Stewart Living." Van jumped back as the TV turned on. What is that box? It looks like there are moving images, it's as if there were many portraits on that…that…thing. "Today, we are going to go into my garden to pick the most beautiful flowers I know. They are the Chinese herbal plankanits. I will show you the best techniques to get the whole flower. Not only can you display the flowers, but also you can use the roots to make herbal tea. The scent is so vibrant." As Martha went through the steps of what Yukari thought was boring, Van became more interested than scared and had been intently listening to every word of her soothing monotonous voice, even if he didn't understand what she was saying.
What is this woman doing to that flower? Mmm…that looks like good tea. I wonder if we have any of those flowers around here.
As Martha sipped the herbal tea, she finished off with, "It's a good thing." Yukari switched the TV off as she stood up and walked to the kitchen.
"Need any help?" Hitomi looked up from the pot she was standing over. "No thanks. I'm just about finished." She brought the pot over the sink and dumped the excess water from the pasta.
"That sounded like an exceptional show of Martha Stewart Living."
"Well, it was really boring, but your friend seemed to enjoy every minute of it." Hitomi giggled a little. "That's funny to think about. A man of his type watching Martha Stewart Living." Both of them started to giggle more.
I wonder what they're laughing about. It must be a Mystic Moon thing. It's extraordinary how there are images of moving things coming from that box. I wonder if there is a hole in the wall and a really good painter is painting really fast as another person puts it into this box.
Van went up to the TV and tapped on the screen. "Is there anybody behind there?"
"Van, who are you talking to?"
"Oh, no one." I need to be careful not to embarrass myself.
Hitomi came out with her tray of pasta over to the small table in front of Van. Yukari came out with forks and napkins. She set them on the table and Van looked at the food with a little wonder in his eyes.
"Here we are. You must be hungry Van, well this is some pasta I cooked up." Hitomi and Yukari started eating, while Van sort of sat there looking.
"Uh…exactly what is pa...sta?" He held his fork with perfection, but poked at the pasta as if were some sort of bug.
"It's noodles. That's tomato sauce on top of it. It's a mixture of grains and it was shaped into that for easier eating. Here this is how you eat it. You twist it around your fork into a small round shape and you pop it into your mouth." Hitomi demonstrated as he nodded. He tried it himself and as he slurped up the hanging noodle, it whipped him on the nose leaving a small red spot on his nose. Hitomi and Yukari giggled at the sight of his face. He continued to eat then noticed the two of them laughing.
"What's so funny? Is there something wrong with the way I'm eating?" Hitomi put down her fork and grabbed a napkin.
"There's a small spot on your nose. Use this." As she gave him the napkin she continued to giggle, but calmed down when he wiped it off. There was some silence between everyone as there was really nothing to talk about. They finished their quick lunch and as Hitomi was putting away the dishes, a question arrived from Yukari.
"So what are you planning to do now? I mean with our unexpected guest, we can't go on with our things to do as if he wasn't here." Hitomi paused in the kitchen and thought for a bit.
"Well, maybe we could bring him along with us."
"Are you crazy? He wouldn't exactly blend in with us, and if you don't remember, he did pull out his sword on me and looked like he was ready to kill me." Hitomi gave Yukari a stare and continued.
"He was scared then. Now that he's with me, I can control his actions." Hitomi continued cleaning and then shouted out.
"Oh shoot. I just remembered, I have to give out an important test tomorrow. I can't take another day off with all those previous absences. Even with my top two students taking control, I have to give that review which they have no idea about since I left in such a hurry! What am I supposed to do now?" Yukari looked around the room and then a smile crept up onto Hitomi's face. Yukari noticed Hitomi smile and started to shake her head 'no'.
"Yukari…you could take Van out." Van looked up from his concentration of silence to hear his name. "Did someone call me?"
"You can't be serious!" Yukari exclaimed leaning forward as she firmly grasps the coffee table.
"I have no other choice, now do I?"
"But we can't talk to each other. How am I supposed to take care of him if we can't understand each other?" Yukari wailed. Hitomi headed to Yukari and grabbed her hands. "Please?" She looked at her with her puppy-dog eyes and Yukari gave in.
"Oh…fine, but only because you're my friend. But this is the only favor I'm giving you all year." Yukari gave a stern look at Hitomi, as she crossed her arms across her chest and slumped back into the couch.
"Thanks, I knew I could count on you. Besides, you're creative. You'll find a way to communicate with him." She said with a pleased smile. Van still looked at them with confusion.
"What's going on Hitomi?" Hitomi looked at Van and started, "Well, I have some good news for you. You get to spend some time with Yukari." Yukari smiled with worry.
"You want me to spend time with her all day?!" He looked at Hitomi with shock.
"Yeah. And don't sound so shocked. I have a job I need to go to and there is no one else I can trust to take care of you. It's only going to be one day, and I'll be back tonight. We can spend some time alone."
"Okay then. I'll do this for you." He looked down with what looked like sorrow.
"Van, don't look so down. You're making it sound like a death sentence," chided Hitomi, "Yukari will show you around town. It'll be fun."
"Hitomi, what about dinner with me and Amano tonight?"
"Oh, I forgot about that. Could you tell him that I won't be able to make it because of a visit from an old friend? I'm sorry I can't join you, that means that you have to be alone with him tonight." Hitomi grinned at Yukari knowing that is exactly what she wanted.
Hitomi grabbed her bag and as she headed towards the door, she heard Yukari say, "Thanks."
Hitomi turned back and smiled sweetly and left. Yukari then turned back to the thought in her mind. Today is going to be a disaster, I just know it. Everyone will notice the clothing he is wearing. Unless…
Author's Notes: I know that I already posted chapter 2, but there were some corrections I needed to make. My sister insisted that I make everything perfect in detail. The stuff I wrote about the school are mostly based on fact about Japanese school systems. I had to do some research from my mom. Here are Japanese terms I used in this chapter and how to pronounce the names of the characters I created in the first chapter.
Fredain = Fray-din
Fathorn = Fay-thorn
Kochou-sensei: Principal
Koukou: High School or High (ie Service High)
Sensei: Teacher
Hibiya: This is a name a of an actual high school, but it's located in Fukuoka, Japan.
I got this chapter as soon as possible because of the reviews I have received, so basically thanks for the encouragement. I would like more reviews. I am currently working on my third chapter, so be patient.