He woke up remembering the precious thing in his arms.  He looked around to see if anything was amiss.  Then he looked at her; her face wasn't pale and her lips weren't blue anymore.  Actually her checks were pink with a slight blush and she had a beautiful smile on her face.  There was some hair on her face, he slowly moved his hand as not to wake her, and brushed the hair aside.

She moaned a bit, and snuggled into the warmth.  Slowly opening her eyes she saw where the warmness was coming from; Van.

I'm here, on Gaia.  I made it. I'm here with my friends and with…Van. All she saw around her was him, and white.  Am I dead? I remembered falling off the waterfall, and Van had tried to save me.  Is he dead too?       

While snuggling up to his chest, she started to cry.

"Hitomi? What's wrong?" he said in a rich, soft, kind voice.

"Oh Van… am I dead?"

"Far from it, I hope." He said with a deep little chuckle

"But all I see is you… and white."

He slightly flushed because he really didn't like showing people his wings; his impurity; his cursed part; his horrible wings.  He could not look into her innocent emerald eyes while he sees himself as tainted.

"Van… please don't be ashamed of your wings, they really are beautiful.  I wish …I wish that I could fly and to have wings such as yours; angel wings."

"Thank you Hitomi.  I wouldn't want you to have a pair of tainted wings, especially with the curse..."

"Shhhh… You worry too much." she whispered. She liked being in his soft snowy embrace.

 "I missed you Hitomi." He murmured.

"Van…" She just wanted to stay there with him, for eternity. 

A few minutes later, she remembered the one thing that she had to ask him.

"Van…Why did you...?"

He knew the question was going to appear sooner or later.

"I…I was…trying…" he lied.  What he really meant to say was that he was trying to get enough courage to talk to her.

She got up, now not wanting to hear another excuse.

"For over a year I haven't talked to you.  Why?"  She turned around not allowing him to see her face as tears poured from her eyes. She was hurt that after all this time of trying to get over him, he pops back into her life and makes her fall for him again.

Van tried to get up, but his broken wing prevented it.  He let out a short grunt and fell back against the tree.  Hitomi turned around, her face betraying her. He hated it when she cried, he felt so guilty.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a concerned voice forgetting the fight.

Van sighed, "My wing, I think it may be broken, and I can't retracted it till it's healed." He said, knowing if he lied to her it would only make the situation worse.

"Van…I…" she didn't know what to say or to do.  Suddenly her sight went dark.  She felt was burning and pain.  Fanelia was burning to the ground.  She turned around to see a boy crying.  She was having the same vision.

~*~*~*~

"HITOMI!!!" he shouted as she started to fall.  He rushed to catch her ignoring the pain he felt in his wing.

Luckily he caught her right before she hit the ground, but they still fell to the ground together.

"Hitomi! What's wrong?  Please wake up!" he said desperately. I need you. He thought and slowly started to remember that she always fainted while have a vision.  He calmed down, but only barely.

"I have to get you back to the castle."  He gently laid her down and picked up his sword and kicked dirt over the, still hot wood.  He picked her up and cradled her in his arms as he started to walk towards his home.

"I wonder what you're seeing."

~*~*~*~

They were about two hours away from the castle, Hitomi started to move and wake up.  Once again she woke up in a warm embrace She noticed that Van was carrying her, most likely home. 

Why did I just call it home?  It's not my home; it's Van's. She quickly forget her question and remember two things; one, she was mad at him and the other she needed him.

Knowing that she was awake, he quietly started to say what he had been rehearsing for over an hour.  But it still didn't come out right.

"Hitomi I… I was afraid that I'd never see you again, and that it hurts so much whenever I spoke to you.  I know that's really selfish, I'm sorry…  I missed you so much.  I needed you by my side and I couldn't have you, and…" He started to mentally beat himself for saying it that way to her. What must she think of him?

"Shhhh…" she said quietly "Van it's okay…" she never got to finish because he interrupted her.

"It's not ok!!!  I can't do this anymore! Hitomi I want you." He gently set her down and roughly sat down on the mildewy grass.  He put his head down, unable to look at her anymore.  Shame, was the only thing he could think of.

Mire seconds later (although it felt like an eternity) she sat down beside him, and let her head rest on his shoulder.

"Van, I need you and want you more than I need air."

The joy he felt in his heart almost made him jump up and kiss her but was too embarrassed; instead he said, "I will always care for and protect you, my Hitomi."

He rested his head on her head and put his nervous arm around her waist, and they just sat there, alone, but together.

A single tear fell from her eye. The tear came from the happiness she felt in her heart.

~*~*~*~

Van had decided to take the long way home, which would also lead them to the back of the castle because not many people know about his wings.  He stopped right before they exited the forest, as well before anyone (or so he thought) could see them.

"Van, it looks just like… before it burnt down.  It's beautiful." She whispered in awe.

As she turned around, he wrapped his other arm around her waist.  He slowly moved his head down, but only to rest his forehead against hers.  He held her there until she brought her arms up and put them around his neck.   She leaned into Van wanting to kiss him for the first time, but out of the blue Merle came out of the bushes.

"Lord Van, your home!  Who is that?" as she got a closer look at who Van, somewhat embarrassed she said, "HITOMI?!  Is it really you?"  Merle ran up and tackled Hitomi from Van's arms. Merle was hugging her so hard that Hitomi almost couldn't breath.  Merle also started to lick her face, because she was so happy to see her friend.

"Oh Merle, I missed you so much, but PLEASE stop licking my face!!!"

Van started to laugh so much that his wing started to hurt.

"Lord Van!  I am SO mad at you!  You left in the middle of the night, not telling me where you were going or for that matter who you were bringing back." All the while with her hands on her hips, giving Hitomi a wink. Hitomi noticed that Merle hit puberty. She was a full grown cat-woman. "AND not to mention yourself and your guest are bruised, bleeding, and you hurt your wing!!  What am I going to do with you?"  Merle stopped seeing that Van is face, was going very pale, as a surge of pain passed though him.

"Please, get a doctor." He said as he passed out from lack of food, sleep and the pain, which had grown a lot since that morning.

"Van!" Hitomi and Merle shouted in unison, Hitomi grabbed him trying to hold him up.

"Merle go and get somebody to help." Merle ran off at top speed shouting for a doctor and some guards to assist Hitomi with Van.  Hitomi gently but quickly brought Van to his room with the aid of some of the guards.  They carefully set him down on the bed, and then they left the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Merle demanded of the doctors.

"I'm not sure as of yet, I have to examine him.  Everyone please leave the room."

"I'm not leaving this room!" Hitomi said forcefully, surprising everyone. She suddenly felt very protective of the man who protected her.

"All right it's your choice," The doctor said as he started to strip Van to make a full inspection of his body and wings.

Hitomi must have gone a dozen different shades of red, but somehow managed to say, "Hey Merle, let's go and get some food.  I'm sure the doctor will let us know if anything is amiss."

Merle laughed as she saw Hitomi leave the room faster than a bird.  Merle slowly chased after her friend laughing all the while.

~*~*~*~

Once Merle and Hitomi were done eating a lot of food - surprisingly especially Hitomi – Merle went out to wander around, which was very surprising for Hitomi because she wasn't as defensive over Van.  Hitomi took it upon herself to get some food for Van when he wakes up.

When she quietly opened his door, trying not to wake Van up, she saw that no one else was in the room.  She put his food on the table beside his bed and sat in the chair next to his bed.

"Van it's all my fault that your like this, why did you have to be the hero? Van, please wake up and be okay." At first a dim but then bright red light caught her attention, it was the pendent, he still wore it, after all this time.

"I'm so sorry Van." Hitomi started to cry unable to look at Van's eyes.  He looked like an angel, but only dead. He was so pale and one of his wings had a bandage around it. She blamed herself.  She fell onto his body crying uncontrollably.

~*~*~*~

Later that night Van started to wake up.  He still felt a lot of pain, mainly in his right wing, but it wasn't as bad as before.  He also felt something heavy on his chest.  It was Hitomi body! Please, no, is she dead?  A heart beat.  It was Hitomi, she's alive; but she is sleeping.

He slowly sat up; trying not to disturbed the sleeping body and trying not to move his wing.  She must be exhausted. He thought to himself.   I wonder how long I was out… I AM SO HUNGRY!!! As a growing man, Van has been eating a lot of food.

He slowly got out of bed from the opposite side of Hitomi, he went over to where she was and gently picked her up and he noticed that her eyes were red, he guessed that she had been crying.

"Oh Hitomi, please don't cry, everything will always be alright as long as you're with me."

He set her down tenderly on the bed, about to leave to get some food, when he saw that there was some food on the table beside his bed; he took a mouth full and crept into his bed and beside her. 

Gradually he picked her up so that she could rest on his  unharmed wing, and he wrapped his arms around her and started to fall asleep.  He was very worried that she might be mad at him for doing this but it just felt right to him, with his arms around her.

~*~*~*~

          "Mmmm…" Hitomi moaned as she slowly woke up with the sun's rays were shinning through the window.  When she took a closer look around she then noticed that she was in bed with Van. 

IN BED WITH VAN!?!?

What have I done? How did I get here? He is going to be so mad! I have to get out of here before he realizes what I've done.   A look of dread passed through her face when she saw some of the food was gone.  The others must already know that I'm here; he's going to be disgusted when he hears of this.  What have I done!?!?  She ran out of the room too afraid to look back as she woke him up.

~*~*~*~

"Mmmm…Whaaaatttt?…"  Van said lazily.  "Mmmm… Hitomi?"  Where is she?  "SHIT! What have I done? She must be really mad at me to just run off like that.  I am such a baka!"  How am I going to face her now?

          Just as he was about to get out of bed and chase after Hitomi, Merle and the doctor walked by, seeing his door open and him awake they came in and check up on him.  Thankfully he didn't think that they saw Hitomi run out of his room.

          "Ohhhh, Lord Van" Merle squealed. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

          "Better.  Negise, how long till I can got out of this infuriating bed?" Van asked the doctor.

"Ummm…I guess you can get out today, your Majesty, but no strenuous actives." He bowed as he talked to the King.

Van hated all the formalities but didn't say anything because he was too worried about Hitomi.

"Thank you Negise."

The doctor gave both Van and Merle instructions on changing the bandages and if they start to bleed they are to call him.  He decided that he was no longer needed here at the castle, so Negise left.

"Oh Lord Van, I'm so glad you are feeling better.  Is there anything that I can do? Are you hungry?"  Without waiting for a reply she was about to sprint out but remember to ask him a question, "Lord Van, have you seen Hitomi? I haven't seen her all day."

Van quickly looked away so that Merle doesn't see him blush.  "Ummm…I haven't seen her… but if you do find her please tell her that I would like to talk to her."

"Ok, be back in a sec with some food."

After Merle left he started to think of what he's going to say to Hitomi.  He felt so helpless in bed, I guess I have to face her sooner than later, I'll move to my study, because if she saw me in bed that just may make her even madder at me.

"I hate beds!"

(*A/N: Hello all!!! This chapter is now re-edited…So I hoped that you enjoyed it!!! ^_^ Oki Miya)