Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (13)

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (13)

The Past Lives

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

THANKS to Jus1digigirl, I never got a dedication before!

A/N: Looks like my mom had the wrong day we were leaving for Disney Quest…looks like we're actually leaving tomorrow morning and come back later that night if we can…

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Summary:

Van and Hitomi **cough** wake up…heh heh -- Van thinks they have to go back, should they take Hitomi with? Jin and Zatera?

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Merle and Zatera return from their little 'quest' to the super market…fuming…toushe…I'll stop the dots now ---

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Wanda waits for the potion to finish…a dark cloud looms over the city of Zantaki… That's where this chapter starts…

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Katy looked at the sky. Something wasn't right, she could feel it in her bones. Katy felt an urge to eat some strawberries. A food she hated.

"A storm must be moving in…" Referring to her hunger. All cat people have odd behaviors that help them tell when something like a storm is coming. Katy shook her head as the gray clouds came closer to the city, looking at how fast they were coming how far away they were, she guessed the storm was about a month away. "We're going to be getting a good storm here." She thought, thinking how strange it was for one to be coming in now.

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"We need to leave now!" A man said.

"But only she can do the spell, and if she does it we have to leave her…alone!" The woman cried into her husband's shirt.

"Sh, sh, do you think she wants you to worry over her?"

"I know she doesn't! But she's only four years old!"

"She said herself that-that…" The man started to say. His wife looked at him intently.

"She said what? What did she say?" She demanded.

"You heard her de-"

"I did not hear her! That was a girl who didn't know what she was talk-"

"She proved herself that she can withstand the power of the other g-"

"I know that, damn it! You don't have to tell me!" The woman snapped. Her husband put his eyes downcast.

"Maybe she does know what she's talking about." He whispered. The woman just stared at him blankly.

"How can you say that?" She said, sending daggers at him through her eyes. "She's your daughter!"

"And I know that! But did you ever think that she's doing this to prove herself!?" The man yelled. The woman quieted down immediately. He had tears in his eyes like she did. "I'm sorry, hon, but do you think I want this to happen any more or less than what you do? I know very well that's she's my daughter, which is the problem. She's wanted dead by that-that witch!" He said. "and she's only eight years old and her power can kill!" He quieted down again, "If we don't give her this chance to prove herself, what can we do with her? Her sister?" He asked. The woman looked very fragile right there, like she would break the moment you touched her, mentally, vocally, and physically.

"Not one of them would live…" Her voice trailed off.

"Exactly, and if she wants to do anything, it would be to save us!" He said.

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Jin's eyes opened with a start. She found herself on a tree branch, she recognized it, luckily. It was one that was close to the cabin. She comes over this one to think to herself a lot. She looked at her hands.

"And what was that?" She thought, referring to the vision.

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Hitomi woke up feeling something very warm at the back of her. She backed into it, liking the feeling. She put her hands under her head, planning to go back to sleep, when she noticed there was also an arm up there. Her eyes widened. She looked down to her waist where she felt a small weight on there. Sure enough, another tanned arm was lying on it. Her eyes grew wider realizing she was in no position to leave from the grip the arm had on her waist. She slowly turned her head (turning left onto her pillow) and a little more just to see Van there, sleeping with a small smirk on his face. She turned her head back and carefully put her arms around the one that was on her waist. She was trying to move it so he wouldn't wake up, though he did anyway.

"Huh? Wha? Hitomi?!" He started. He saw Hitomi go into a shade of pink. He also noticed then that he trapped her by his arm over her waist.

"Um…can I get up now Van?" She asked. Van just looked at her and grinned.

"Why should? I don't know about you, but I'm rather comfy just the way I am!" He said. The smirk that was on his face earlier while he was sleeping grew a little. Hitomi tried wiggling out of his grasp, he only held onto her tighter.

"Van, please?" She asked. Looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Um…no."
"Van!"

"What?"

"Why not?"

"I'm king."

"Oh geesh…" She said. She mumbled, "corny comeback." As she laid her head onto her pillow, waiting for Van to get up. Hitomi than got a reason to get out, 'Maybe he'll listen to it…' She thought, and grinned inwardly. "Van, I need to take a bath!"

"Can I join?"

"VAN!"

"Ok, Ok, sorry." He said grinning. He lifted up his arm and let Hitomi out of the bed. She mumbled out of the room, going to find Jin and ask her where she could take a bath.

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Jin entered the few feet of land that they called a yard. It was the only true open area around the cabin. Allen challenged her to a fight, no killing of course. Jin agreed, saying it will help her shoulder and rib get back into business faster. Allen went to practice, as Jin went to the branch, though now she was back near the cabin as Hitomi came out of it.

"Hitomi! What's wrong?" She asked as Hitomi came out of the cabin mumbling under her breath, blushing at the words remembering what was 'wrong'.

"Nothing much, Jin?"

"Yup?"

"Where can I take a bath?"

"There's a stream not to far from here…how bout that?"

"Great! I need something to wear when I get out -- no leather please!" She said. She remembered how often Jin wore leather. At the moment it was only a white shirt and a pair of blue jean like shorts. 'Must be a Gaea cloth.' She thought, have not ever seeing it before on earth. Jin laughed.

"Nah, how bout something like this though?" She said pointing towards what she was wearing.

"I'm fine with that."

"Kay, just a sec." Jin ran into the house leaving Hitomi outside alone. For the first time in three days, she really noticed that she stunk. Hitomi was now wondering how Van could stand her. She must have smelt this way all night! She hadn't taken a bath since the night of the party! 'The party…' She thought, 'The party where my parents died.' She thought.

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"I can't believe she did that!" Zatera said for the hundredth time it seemed. Merle, for some reason, thought that what he was doing was sweet. 'Wait!' She thought, 'did I just think that what he was doing was sweet? I've barely known him for three hours! Not even a day or introduction from a friend!' Merle thought.

"It's ok Zatera, I'm a big girl!" Merle joked. Merle did have to admit though, Katy had a good back hand. Merle, however, would know whether if she had a good back hand or not if had been that she didn't like scaring people who she didn't like with her claws. They were much more useful. Zatera smiled up at her.

"I 'spose." He said. There was a silent moment for no real reason, "We should go." He said. Merle nodded her head.

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Hitomi was in the water. 'Freezing, Freezing, Freezing…' Went through her head as she slowly lowered into it. Hitomi started to get used to the cold and dived her head under. Now completely wet, she started rubbing some odd looking white flowers on her skin. Jin said that it was like free soap, better though, than you can find in stores. Hitomi started to swim around a little bit when she heard hoof beats behind her. 'huh?' She thought. She turned around and gasped.

"The unicorn…" She whispered. She blinked her eyes, it was still there. She blinked her eyes again, it was gone. "Huh?" She though aloud as she started to climb out of the stream.

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Allen and Jin walked in. Both in pretty good moods.

"You finished your duel like thing?" Tyler asked, looking up from his hands that were on the table.

"Yeah." Jin relied. She put her arms around his neck. She noticed that he tensed up when she touched him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said shrugging. She herself shrugged and left the room. Everybody later came in.

"I have never seen the house this full…" Zatera stated, he and Merle came back from the forest a few minutes ago. Jin just nodded her head in agreement. She handed everybody some fruit.

"The meat's still coming…I'm warning you though, you might not want to finish the fruit yet." She said. Everybody but Zatera looked at her question-ly. A chorus of "huh?" 's could be heard.
"You let Tyler cook didn't you?" He asked. Jin shrugged.

"I didn't feel like some sweet meat."

"'Sweet meat'?" Hitomi asked. Jin grinned at her.

"It has seasoning on it, but only the light stuff." She told her, "Tyler puts almost EVERY spice on…it tastes pretty good-"

"If it gets down your throat and the tastes dies down!" Zatera said.
"I heard that!" Tyler yelled from outside one of the other doors. He was in the 'yard' cooking over the fire (
ß a real bbq).

"Where'd you get the meat?" She asked. Inside, however, she had a feeling of doubt about where they got it. Jin grinned.

"Zat goes to town for our food." She said Hitomi blushed from embarrassment. Nobody truly noticed it.

~*~

Everybody was dodging around the small cabin wherever they could find some room to sit. Van and Hitomi were back in Jin's room.

"Hitomi?" Van asked carefully. His eyes downcast. Hitomi looked at him with worry.

"Van?" She asked, "What's wrong?" Van looked at her and licked his lips lightly. Hitomi saw him do this before when he was nervous. "Well?" She asked again, waiting for his answer. He seemed to be stalling.

"Well…" He said carefully.

"Van, hurry up! I wanna go to sleep!" She said. Van looked downcast again and she felt sorry for being stern. She really wanted to go to sleep though. "Van, please? I really want to go to bed!" She said again, in a way.

"Hitomi, I came here for a reason. I told Lady Wanda-"

"Wanda?" Hitomi asked, looking up to the ceiling. 'That name sounds familiar…' She thought. Van noticed this and looked at her carefully.

"Hitomi! What's wrong?"

"Her name sounds familiar…something more than a vision or a dream or a nightmare…" She thought. Van looked at her strangely.

"Huh? There seems to be only one more word to go in that little 'category' you're making Hitomi." He said. Hitomi looked at him, wondering what he meant.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked.

"The last one that can go in there, is well…a memory."

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Hitomi thought about what Van said as she laid her head on the pillow for another nights rest. She let her eyes close, stopping all thoughts from entering her mind as she fell into a dreamless sleep. A visionless one too.

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"Just two weeks…" Wanda whispered looking out of the window in her office. "Just two weeks for it to finish, and for Van to be mine…" She said. 'I got them out of the castle for my father to rule! She then had the little bitch! Making her next in line instead of daddy. Then another one!' Wanda thought, 'and daddy died before I was crowned queen…' She thought. "Be happy for me daddy," She whispered acidly, "be happy for me…" She brought her dark red nails to the window and tapped it. Ting. Ting. 'Two,' She thought, 'Two are still alive.'

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"We need to go back to the castle…" Allen said, looking at Van more than Merle. Practically daring him to say no with his eyes.

"But-"
"We were to go and walk in the woods that don't 'kill'!" Allen said. "That group didn't know that we were following." Van sighed, knowing that Van had a very good point at the moment, whether he wanted it that way or not.

"Fine." He said. Jin overheard this as she walked inside the cabin.

"It is probably best that you leave soon." She agreed. She sounded quite normal.

"I wonder if Zatera can go…" Merle wondered aloud. Jin looked at her, eyebrow cocked.

"I wouldn't mind if he went…it'd give me a break." Jin said sitting down.

"What about me?" Zatera said.

"Hey Zat, wanna go to the castle?" Jin asked, Zat looked at her with a weird face.

"Wh-" Allen interrupted him.

"How many people are coming back with us?" He asked. He thought that things were getting out of hand, which in a way, they were.

"Wait…you want me to go to the castle?" Zatera asked Jin.

"Actually it was Merle who asked," Merle blushed, "But I wouldn't mind you leaving for a day or two, it would give me a break!" Jin joked. Zatera pounced on her, both only joking but not laughing during it.

"Hey! Can I join?" Tyler asked when he walked into the scene. Zatera and Jin glared at him while he smirked. Merle looked over to Van, begging with her eyes asking if Zatera could come.

"You know I'll only go to those things if you do Jin!" He told her. He hated going to those special events in the city, Jin however, loved it. It brought things back that she wonted to rejoice. 'I wonder what it is…' He thought as Jin sighed.

"I'll go if they agree."

"I'm going with Jin." Tyler said before anyone could speak.

"I see no problem with it…"

"However, I am going to act. There is no way I'm going in there as the woman phantom, I might not blend in well if I do." This caused Tyler to laugh, Jin shot daggers at him again and he shut up.

"Then it's agreed." Van said. "We shall all go to the castle tomorrow morning." Everybody in the cabin nodded. Jin left the room quickly as tears came to her eyes.

"They watched me, but I didn't watch them." She whispered. Touching something on her neck gingerly.

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A/N: What could Jin be talking about? Van was a pervert for a while in this one! Hehe. Allen has a larger part in this one! At least more than the last one… They're all going to the castle! What havoc can happen now? What's up with the storm? Why is it approaching so oddly? R/R if you want more! I checked this hits/review thing and around 900 people SAW my fic but didn't REVIEW it…can you believe it? If you are one of these people, I'm asking you now. REVIEW FOR MY SAKE PLEASE!!! I WANT REVIEWS!!!! Hehe, sorry, I chugged a pepsi down in less than thirty seconds hehe. See ya!
*~A White Rose Petal~*

p.s.

I hope this fic is long enough for me to have a small absence…maybe two or three days…

/Merle's Room/