(*A/N: Everything in italic Pink is when someone is thinking to HIMSELF OR HERSELF. When something is in italic Blue, then it's people talking to each other through their thoughts. I just thought that I would change that because it was becoming very confusing. Enjoy^_^*)
*Chapter X, Decision's*
(ON GAIA)
As Doran and Anana walked through the ruble of the
burnt village, they noticed that not one building was left standing. Anana was thinking to herself, I wonder how he survived and not one of the other
villagers did. Why was this village
burnt down? I heard that there were raiders, but they have never set a village
on fire before. It just doesn't sound right. Doran walked away from this without a scratch on him. The scariest thing of all is that he said he
didn't know how to cry. All people know
how to cry, it isn't something you learn, it just happens.
"Miss Anana, I'm hungry. I'm cold too. Can we go back to your house and sleep and eat and get warm?" Doran asked, drawing her attention.
"I don't have a house anymore. But I could find some food for us and I could make a fire, and then we could sleep, outside in the warm night. Is that ok?"
"I guess. I miss my mamma." He said as he held her hand.
Trying to comfort the young boy, she spoke quietly to him and hugged him. "It's okay. Shhhh, don't worry it'll all be ok in the end. I was heading of to Fanelia, would you like to come there with me? I would really like it if you would come with me."
"Okay. I guess I don't really have any other place to go. Why do you want to go there?"
"Because I heard that there are many people of my kind there, the king is very generous to them. It's said that his mother adopted a cat girl, with the king was a boy. I planed to start looking for my daughter there."
For some reason Anana felt so protective over this abandoned child, she could leave him behind to forge his own way, like so many of her kind have been forced to do.
"Off to Fanelia, the 'Great City', as mamma always called it."
"Yes, and to find new lives for both of us."
~*~*~*~
(ON EARTH)
When Hitomi and Van got to her school, Hitomi saw that Amono and Yukari were already waiting.
"Is it ever possible for you to be on time for once in you life?!?" Yukari asked angrily.
"Yes it's possible, just not today."
"Sooooo……"
"Sooooo………..What? You're the one who wanted to talk to me."
"Who's the guy, all mighty brainless one?"
"This is Van, the one who I spoke about, but you never believed me! Well now I have proof that he's not just some fairy-tale." Hitomi had told her two friends, but not her parents about her adventure on Gaia.
"Ya right, like I'm supposed to believe that this guy is a king of a country? Not to mention you and him save another world from all destruction? Seriously Hitomi I hoped you had given up on that tale."
Had Hitomi not restrained Van he would have hurt Yukari. "I will not let her talk about you that way!" Hitomi opened her mind to Van.
'Van please calm down,
she's only half playing. But she does
have a small but legitimate right to be mad, I was missing, again, for a
week. Please, I told you life here is
very different, please calm down.'
'Fine.' Van had not seemed happy, but did as Hitomi told him to do.
"Hitomi, really, where were you?" Amono spoke up for the first time.
"I really was on a different planet. I was on Gaia. I don't feel like explaining it all over again. Please just believe me."
"It's entirely true. I come from Gaia, and well, I'm here to be with Hitomi." Van said trying to make Hitomi's friends believe her.
After Yukari had settled down a bit she apologized. "Hitomi, I'm really sorry about my anger, I was just so worried about you, I thought you might have been kidnapped or something. I'm sorry, please forgive me."
"Of course, how could I stay mad at my best friend? Don't worry about it. Lets go for a walk down by the waters edge, it's very beautiful there."
Hitomi, Van, Amono and Yukari all went for a walk down by the water. Hitomi was really happy to see her best friends walking hand in hand, she was also really glad that Yukari finally had the nerve to ask Amono out, although it took her just about a year. He said yes instantly. Hitomi was really happy for the both of them. They have become better friends and the best of lovers. She suddenly wondered about what would happen to herself and Van. Would they be together forever? Or would they live on their own worlds, in an unhappy life. She would do anything to be with Van… but to leave her world, the only world she really knew?
"Hitomi are you okay? What are you thinking about?" Yukari asked.
"Nothing really, just thinking about life. So what happened during my disappearance? Anything new?"
"Nothing really. Other than your departure, life has been boring. What happened to you while you where on Gaia?" They just kept making small talk, everyone knowing what might happen. Amono, being one of Hitomi's best friends asked the question before anymore pointless talk.
"Hitomi, do you plan to stay there, if and when you go back?"
Van had almost stop breathing. He couldn't believe that he hadn't even
thought of that himself. What would be
her answer, he thought. He dreaded her
forthcoming answer. Will she stay with me, forever?
Hitomi didn't stop walking, because she knew that if she saw the expression on Van's face she would have broken down in tears.
"I…I…" Hitomi couldn't seem to answer. "I… Ahhh!!" Hitomi suddenly dropped. She was having another vision. Van was at her side before she could drop all the way to the ground.
Great now I'll never know the answer. Van thought to himself.
"What's wrong with her?" Yukari asked frightened for her best friend.
"Don't worry, she does this all the time. She's just having a vision. She should be fine within an hour or so. I think I should bring her back to her house. Ummm… could you tell me how to get there?"
"We'll come with you. Let's hurry."
Van picked up Hitomi and cradled her in his arms.
~*~*~*~
(Hitomi's
vision)
Hitomi found herself in standing in the middle of Fanelia's market place. Everything looked just like it did a couple of days ago when she visited it with Van. Everything was going as usual, people running about buying and selling things to make a living. It was always nice to see Fanelia. She turned around only to see the same two people she's seen in her other visions, a boy and an older looking Merle. Hitomi saw that the two people were suddenly swallowed up in a pool of flames, she screamed to try to warn them but they couldn't hear a word she was saying.
"No, this can't be happening, not again. How can I save them? Why do I keep seeing the same thing over and over?" Hitomi fell to her knees; feeling like it was her fault for the fire. Through the flames she could see the little boy being hugged by the cat-woman. The cat-woman was crying, she was so afraid for her life and the boy's. The boy, on the other hand, only looked like he was crying, but he was just standing there, holding onto the woman. Abruptly wings grew from the boy's back, and he tried to fly away from the blaze. He was still really young and too weak to support her weight.
Hitomi noticed that the boy's wings were black. "I remember when Folken's, wings were black…and he said that that signified his approaching death. Is this little boy going to die? He's so young, what or who would want to kill an innocent boy? I have to save that little boy! That can't happen! I think that this boy is very important. I don't know why, but I just can't let this happen! No…NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
~*~*~*~
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Hitomi shouted very loudly. She abruptly sat up, sweat on her face.
"What's wrong Hitomi? Are you ok?" Yukari was the only one in the room. After she shouted, Van and Amono came rushing into the room, wondering who was screaming.
'What's wrong? Are you ok? What did you see?' Van asked. He didn't feeling like saying it out loud. He didn't think that Yukari and Amono should get involved in a fight that they don't belong in.
'I'm fine I just saw the same vision as all the other times,
but only this time in more detail. I promise that I'll tell you more about it
later. I don't want them to know. I'm really worried about Yukari, I think
that she thinks that she never see me again.'
'Oh, okay. I'll leave you and her alone for awhile, if you
want.' I
guess she won't be staying with me, if she's worried about Yukari missing her.
'Thank you Van. I love you.' Oh, the guilt. Van thought to himself.
"I'm okay Yukari, I'll be fine. I just had a bad dream, nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure? Is there anything I can get you? A drink? I'll go and get you one."
"No, it's okay Yukari, I'll get her one, just stay here with her." Van said surprising everyone. Yukari thought that Van would ever leave Hitomi's side. Van left and Amono followed closely behind, to finish their talk about each of their worlds.
"Hitomi… are you sure that your alright?"
"Yes I'm fine! Now please stop asking! I'm really fine, this used to happen a lot. So how are you and Amono?"
"We're fine. I finally told him that I love him the other day; he said it back. It was the happiest moment in my life. I can't believe that he loves me; I had always thought that he loved you, not me. We'll be going out on our three month anniversary date next Thursday, you have to help me chose what to wear!"
"Don't worry! He loves you for who you are not what. So everything's alright between you two?"
"Yes of course. Should there be anything wrong?"
"No! Of curse not, I'm just really happy that you're so happy. You're my best friend and I want the best for you!"
"You love him don't you?"
"WHAT?!?! Amono?"
"No, stupid, Van. I know that you do."
"Yes, I always have loved him, from almost 3 years ago I have loved him. I'm just now really confused, I don't know what to do about him."
"What do you mean? You love him and he loves you, so why not go out?"
"It's different. We both live on two different worlds. Also our rules are very different; on his world you only would court someone who you plan to marry. Not only that but he's a KING! I would be only known as a commoner, nothing in comparison. I really want to be with him forever, but… I know we can't be together. It's impossible. I love him so much… I know that I can't live without him. I can't go on living in denial, if I do choose to stay here. I'll die if he leaves me. I…" she started to really whine.
Yukari lightly slapped Hitomi in the face. Yukari was slightly afraid of Hitomi rambling like that, about her dieing. "Hitomi! Snap out of it! You're not going to die! The only advice that I could give you is for you to follow your heart. I'll be happy with any decision that you make, just make the right one! I'm going home now, mothers going to be worried. I'll call you later when you've got more sense. I'm sorry that I slapped you, but you started to trouble yourself more than necessary."
Yukari left
with out another word. Maybe she's right, I'm
making too big of a deal of it. Things
will be fine either way. I just hope that Van will feel the same way.
Hitomi fell back onto her bed, thinking about what it would be like to stay with Van the rest of her life.
~*~*~*~
Anana could see that Doran was tossing restlessly throughout the night. She debated between herself whether or not she should wake him. She decided against it. "There's something really different about this boy. Why did his mother make him keep so many secrets? What were they? Hmmm… I wonder if I should find him a home, or maybe he could live with me. I was forced out of my village and he doesn't have a village. I don't know what to do. I wish I could see my daughter again, I haven't seen her for so long, I…"
(FLASHBACK)
Anana was sitting in her old rocking chair trying to get her child to sleep when her husband came in. "Anana get out of here before they hurt you and M-" They, being the villagers, dragged her husband away before he could finish his sentence.
"Nooo! Let him go! He hasn't done anything wrong! We just want to live a peaceful life!"
"Too Bad! It's your own fault for being part beast! We don't want any of your kind here! Get out or we'll kill your spawn child!"
Anana wrapped her arms protectively around her daughter. "Leave us alone! We'll leave peacefully if you let my husband go! We'll never come back to this village again. Please!"
"You can go. Your daughter and husband must stay, we can't let him go, and we don't want your kind to live; so the way to prevent that is to kill the next generation." Some of the men reached out for her child, but she quickly got out of her house. She ran into the forest and climbed a tree, hoping to lose them.
They stayed in that tree for 3 days, trying to hide from the angered villagers. She had made a nest for her daughter, more or less like a bird would have done for it's young. Surprisingly her baby never cried.
She only went out to gather food at night when the citizens would be sleeping. She went out on the fourth night to find more food, and the villagers saw her.
"There's the demon! Kill her and her child!! Don't let her live!"
The people did eventually catch her late at night, when she was hiding in another tree away from her child. They dragged her away and sent her to the slave camp, where she was beaten regularly. Her life became a living hell for eleven long years.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
I hope that my child lived through that nightmare, I can't, no won't believe that she died that night, she must have lived. Anana thought to herself
~*~*~*~
Hitomi was
sleeping when Van came into her room. He sat on her windowsill, with the window open, and the wind blowing in
his face. He looked up at the sky, it was almost suppertime, and he was really
nervous about Hitomi's answer. 'I wonder if she has forgotten the
question. I hope that she has, because I don't want to pressure her, I'm afraid
that she'll want to stay here. She cares so much for her friends; I know I just
couldn't take her ways from them. Her
friendship with them is very important. I…I just don't know…'
'How could I forget that question? It's the most important decision of my life and I've already made
it. Van I want…' She said startling
Van.
"I already know the answer, without reading your mind…How could I ask you to give up your life here with friends that care, just to live with me…It was a stupid hope" Van hung his head with regret.
Hitomi got out of bed and walked over to Van and wrapped her arms around his waist. "No, not stupid. It is a wonderful dream that will become a reality. Van…I'm going to come with you, back to Gaia, to live with you there…if that's ok with you."
His head shot up, "But what about Amono and Yukari, and your family, what about them?"
She hugged him tighter, "I won't be happy without you. I was always sick and depressed after I came back, at some points I almost didn't want to live anymore. I wanted to see you so badly, that I had lost the will to live. I won't ever be that sad again, as long as I'm with you. My friends and family will understand that I can't live without you. I love you Van…I always have and always will. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I really did miss you Van."
"You know, when I woke up this morning, I just didn't feel right. I wasn't totally happy." He looked down sheepishly. "It wasn't because I left my home, or anything like that, it was because you weren't in my arms and that I wasn't near you. I need to be near you Hitomi. I love you so much. I…I just can't express how much I really do love you. I would do anything for you, as long as your happy and we're together forever."
They stood there watching the sunset. Enjoying, very much in each other's company.
~*~*~*~
(*A/N: I'm really sorry that it took me so long to get this one out…Anyways, I have to thank everyone for all the so generous reviews, :::Blushes furiously::: You people are all way too kind to me!! If you have any suggestions at all, tell me. Also I take flames, as long as you give me a reason why you didn't like it. Anyways I hope you enjoyed my story, don't worry it's far from being done. For future reference: I think that I might have around 25-30 chapters in this story. I really want to get this story done because I already have a new idea for another story. Thank you once again…~Oki*)