Disclaimer: I don't own "I Never Had A Dream Come True," The song by Sclub 7, it's an awesome song, you may want to listen to it while reading this... My friend Megan burned it for me, thanks Meg! If I owned Escaflowne, it would be even more depressing than it already is... Oh yeah, AND THERE'D BE A LOT MORE SAP! ^_^; *Readers fall over anime-style* So in other words I don't!
A/N: This chap is dedicated to Nagi-chan, Amie, and Kiddi Chi, my bestest friends... Wow, what can I say, I have 30 reviews, I'm on top of the world... In less than two weeks, I got 12 more reviews! I even got reviews from three of my bestest friends, Nagi-chan, NekuraTak, and Kiddi Chi. Oh yes, Kiddi Chi has started an Esca fic called `Amber and Emeralds' read and review, she worked really hard on it... Keep reading `Fire and Ice' too, someday I'll finish reading it... *Sigh* And Nagi-chan just opened her new V/H website, Destiny, it doesn't have anything yet but check it out in a week or two for lots of fun stuff! [1]http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/nagichan/
Oh yeah, and remember that the Escaflowne movie has come to theaters in select cities across the U.S.! Check out [2]www.escalflowneonline.com, [3]www.escamovie.com and [4]www.bandai-ent.com for more information!
On with the finale to this short; yet thrilling adventure that you've endured through!
Note: I had no idea what the names are for Hitomi's family, as you'll see at the end of the chapter.
My names are: (Some of these are widely accepted, such as Hitomi's brother's name, the rest I made up on the spur of the moment...)
Anazaki Kenkoto- Hitomi's Grandmother
Tomuro Kanzaki- Hitomi's Father
Uchida Kanzaki- Hitomi's Mother
Mamoru Kanzaki- Hitomi's Brother
And I gave Hitomi her mother's first name as her middle name, Hitomi Uchida Kanzaki
Chapter 5: Never Forget
*Everybody's got something, they had to leave behind...
One regret from yesterday, that seems to grow with time...*
Van knelt by a grave in the aging cemetery. The grave lied beside several others; all under the same willow tree by the same clear blue lake and the same little church up on a hill. The wind played with his raven-colored locks, tossing them in the gentle breeze as he sighed, reminiscing. So many things lost, but now he knew...
*There's no use looking back or wondering...
How it could be now or might've been...
I know this, I know,
But still I can't find ways to let you go...*
* Flashback *
"Hitomi?" He gasped in disbelief.
"Van, who on Earth are you talking to?" Yukari asked in puzzlement, thinking he'd gone insane with grief and was now having a hallucination of his love and her best friend.
"Hitomi! She's right there! Don't you see her?" He asked indignantly.
"No Van, all I see is a door, a bed, a dresser, a window, and a desk." Yukari replied in concern for her new friend's sanity.
"What the Hell's going on here?" He muttered in confusion.
"I can see her, yet her best friend can't."
"Only you can see me Van, to Yukari, I am nothing more than the air around her." The apparition spoke solemnly. To Van, Hitomi was there as plain as day.
"You haven't changed at all." He noticed in awe.
"You're just like you were five years ago when I met you before, you haven't aged a day."
"I changed just like you Van, but to you, this is how I'll always be. The innocent 15-year-old tomboy who stole your heart." She grinned at him, and Van smiled, that was the Hitomi he knew.
*I never had a dream come true,
Until the day that I found you...
Even though I pretend that I've moved on...*
"Hitomi... I'm so sorry..." He said in regret, looking at his boots in shame.
"For what?" She asked him in confusion.
"For letting you go... I was such a foolish boy and I now realize how unworthy I am of someone like you... If I had taken control of my emotions, maybe you wouldn't have left Gaea, and you'd still be alive..."
"Van... Never have regrets. Because what you do always seems like the best idea at the time. No one should live a life of regrets. I wanted to thank you." She took his hand in hers and he was surprised he could feel it, soft and warm in his own.
"Thank me? For what?" He asked, now it was his turn to not understand.
"For teaching me how to love." She whispered softly, walking over to him.
"And teaching me that I could control my own fate, and that there was no need to rely on anything. I now know that nothing in life is certain, destiny does not exist, nor does fate."
"You've given me so much in such a short time, and all I've done since the day we met is cause you pain. I'm the one who should be apologizing."
"Hitomi, all the pain you've caused could never measure up to how much joy you've brought. I missed you." He replied rather shyly.
"I missed you more than you'll ever know." She ran into his arms as he swung her around.
*You'll always be my baby...
I never found the words to say,
You're the one I think about each day...*
"Did I miss something?" Yukari asked, noting that Van was dancing around the room, apparently holding an invisible person, Van ignored her and she felt even more lost on what was going on.
"Van, I don't have much time left, you need to thank Folken though, if it wasn't for him I never would've seen you again at all. Your brother is a good man and deserves a great deal of gratitude from the both of us."
"Why do you have to leave?" He asked sadly, his frozen heart beginning to melt with every minute he was with her.
"Van, I'm no longer living, for saving Gaea, Folken and I have a small bit of credit, I suppose you could call it from the afterlife. It's not much though, I have a few more minutes until I'll have to go back."
"But... You're right here... I can see you, I can touch you, I can hear you, I can smell you... How can you not be real?" He asked in a desperate manner.
*And I know no matter where life takes me to,
A part of me will always be with you...*
"Van, all good things have to come to an end. I came here to tell you something very important."
"What would that be?"
"That my heart has been, is, and always will be yours... I love you Van Fanel, and nothing will ever change that." She smiled at him as he drew her closer, capturing her lips with his own.
"Even on my dying breath, my love for you will go on Hitomi, just like the stars in the heavens." He smiled that sweet smile at her that made her heart flutter when they broke their first and last kiss.
"Every moment I've spent with you, I'll treasure, always, right here." She took hold of his hand and put it over her heart.
*Somewhere in my memory,
I lost all sense of time...
And soon my world can never be,
Cause yesterday is all that fills my mind!*
"The same. The same." He replied lovingly, taking her hand and following her gesture.
"But Hitomi, what will happen now?"
"I'll go back to the heavens where I can look down on all those I care about and remember all the good times we had together. What about you?"
"I'll go back to Fanelia and live the rest of my life alone, missing you more with every passing day, until my own love kills me. Then, we'll be together again."
"Van, you have to live, if not for yourself, then for me. I want you to live. Who will protect the country guarded by dragons if there is no king?"
"Even if I don't die from heartache, there'll be no other for me Hitomi, you know that."
*There's no use looking back or wondering...
How it could be or might've been...
I know this, I know...
But still I can't find ways to let you go...*
"And I'll be tortured for the rest of my life by my advisors for not taking a wife to produce Fanelia's heir." Van sighed in exasperation at the very thought of returning home to the curse of his existence, namely his council.
"I know you'll figure something out." She smiled impishly at him.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I know you. I believe in you, Van. I know you'll find a way." The cursed blue light surrounded her once more and her feet began to lift off the ground, Van grabbed her hands, holding her back for one last moment.
"Van..."
"Yes Hitomi?"
"I'll never forget..."
"Goodbye, Hitomi." He whispered sadly, as he held her one last time, and she was sent once more into the skies above, the blue light fading rapidly in the distance until it became nothing more than a star.
*I never had a dream come true,
Until the day that I found you...
Even though I pretend, that I've moved on,
You'll always be my baby...
I never found the words to say,
You're the one I think about each day...
And I know no matter where life takes me to,
A part of me will always be with you...*
* End Flashback *
*You'll always be the dream that fills my head,
Yes you will,
Say yes you will,
You know you will!
Yeah, You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget!*
`Anazaki Kenkoto... Tomuro Kanzaki... Uchida Kanzaki... Mamoru Kanzaki... and last but never least... Hitomi Kanzaki...'
Their graves stood there. And although the dates and epitaphs were carved into the granite monuments, he didn't think he'd ever accept it. True, he'd never met Hitomi's family except for his brief rendezvous with Ms. Kanzaki, but they'd come alive to him through Hitomi's fond memories she's recollected to him during their journey. They had names, lives, dreams, and they were all taken from them in an instant when the sickle of death found them.
`Hitomi Uchida Kanzaki
1981-2001
Good Daughter,
Good Sister,
Good Friend.
She will forever live on in our hearts.'
Van had to squint a bit but near the bottom he saw in extremely small wording,
`Never Forget...'
*There's no use looking back or wondering...
Cause love is a strange and funny thing...
No matter how I try...
I just can't say "goodbye!"
I... No No No No No!*
He placed a bouquet of roses beneath her tombstone before kneeling in front of it and saying a silent prayer. He stood up as snowflakes began to silently fall as day turned to night.
(A/N: Imagine "Deja Blue" playing, it kind of sets the mood for this scene. If you're a TRUE Esca fanatic, you should know what song I'm talking about, ne? *If you do not for some odd reason it's the song that plays from Marlene's musicbox when Millerna is prowling around her room in Freid...*)
*I never had a dream come true,
Until the day that I found you...
Even though I pretend that I've moved on,
You'll always be my baby...*
He caught one of the fragile white crystals in his gloved hand and stared at it until it melted under his gaze. He realized now that nothing stayed the same forever. Everything had to change; he'd have to change with it. He looked up at the moon and was surprised, yet happy to see that some things would never change. There was Hitomi, smiling down at him, forever fifteen. (A/N: Remember last episode, Hitomi saw Van smiling at her over the ocean? Picture that except with the moon and Hitomi...)
"Hitomi... I'll never forget..." He whispered as the blue light returned, and transported him home.
*I never found the words to say...
You're the one I think about each day!
And I know no matter where life takes me to,
A part of me will always be with you...*
A/N: *Sniffle* Man, this is pathetic, I'm starting to cry over my own fic even though I had all this planned to begin with... Am I the only one who thinks that "I Never Had a Dream Come True," is the PERFECT song for this fic? It kind of gets the whole meaning across, don't you think? Arigatou to my friend Megan who burned that song on a Mixed CD for me for my b-day, never would have heard it if it wasn't for her... Anyway, I hope you all liked this fic, sorry the last chapter took so long, I've been really busy with school and all and have used that as my excuse for not updating. Now I can get back to my other fics, finish them, and write some more... ^_^; I don't think a sequel would be good for a story like this, but if anyone wants one, I'm willing to provide it, I don't know how well it would hold up, then again "Winged Destinies" is more popular than "Wings of an Angel" so who knows... I hope it wasn't too sappy for some of you, you know who you are, right? Lol...
Thanks again for reading and REVIEWING to all the peeps below:
Feathers of the Wind (I greatly admire your fics, it's an honor for you to have read mine...)
(:~Anime Angel~:)
Artemis AKA Artamis (You're one of my fav reviewers, thank you SO much! You rock!)
Tatakau and Charred Crunchies & Co.
Me
Baby-chan (Thanks Marisol! *BIG HUG*)
Amie-Chan person thingy AKA NekuraTak (You go girl! *Annoys her friend* INVADER ZIM FOREVER!!! Especially Gir! Thanks for reading!)
Safilady
Amy aka Demon_Wolf
Meghanna Starsong
Kiddi Chi (Thanks Washu... Don't torch me, us blondes don't know any better...)
Alissa (call me mystic)
Karen
Pretty Senshi1519
Dilandau's girl,Tayles,Fanilia (3 of my fav authors coming together! LOVE YOU GUYS! THANKS SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! I've gotta read "Destiny" and get back on animeboards, ne?)
Star
Nagi-chan (Thank you bestest friend, your support is always needed... I'm glad you, Washu, and Amie seem to like this. Guess it's not as long as the rest of my fics, huh? Yes, I agree, it saddens even me... Work on your site and I'll call you on your b-day! Thanks for the XMAS/Birthday presents, I got them in the mail today! Ja! ^_^)
j
Oh yeah, 2 call-outs before I leave you until we meet again...
HAPPY 13^TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BESTEST FRIEND NAGI-CHAN! MAY YOU HAVE HUGS AND GREEN DONUTS!
AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU! MAY YOUR CRUSH ADMIT HIS/HER UNDYING LOVE FOR YOU!
Ja matta ne tomadachi! Until we meet again...
*Vanishes in a puff of blue and green smoke...*
~Trunks Gal~
References
1. http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/nagichan/
2. http://www.escalflowneonline.com/
3. http://www.escamovie.com/
4. http://www.bandai-ent.com/
A/N: This chap is dedicated to Nagi-chan, Amie, and Kiddi Chi, my bestest friends... Wow, what can I say, I have 30 reviews, I'm on top of the world... In less than two weeks, I got 12 more reviews! I even got reviews from three of my bestest friends, Nagi-chan, NekuraTak, and Kiddi Chi. Oh yes, Kiddi Chi has started an Esca fic called `Amber and Emeralds' read and review, she worked really hard on it... Keep reading `Fire and Ice' too, someday I'll finish reading it... *Sigh* And Nagi-chan just opened her new V/H website, Destiny, it doesn't have anything yet but check it out in a week or two for lots of fun stuff! [1]http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/nagichan/
Oh yeah, and remember that the Escaflowne movie has come to theaters in select cities across the U.S.! Check out [2]www.escalflowneonline.com, [3]www.escamovie.com and [4]www.bandai-ent.com for more information!
On with the finale to this short; yet thrilling adventure that you've endured through!
Note: I had no idea what the names are for Hitomi's family, as you'll see at the end of the chapter.
My names are: (Some of these are widely accepted, such as Hitomi's brother's name, the rest I made up on the spur of the moment...)
Anazaki Kenkoto- Hitomi's Grandmother
Tomuro Kanzaki- Hitomi's Father
Uchida Kanzaki- Hitomi's Mother
Mamoru Kanzaki- Hitomi's Brother
And I gave Hitomi her mother's first name as her middle name, Hitomi Uchida Kanzaki
Chapter 5: Never Forget
*Everybody's got something, they had to leave behind...
One regret from yesterday, that seems to grow with time...*
Van knelt by a grave in the aging cemetery. The grave lied beside several others; all under the same willow tree by the same clear blue lake and the same little church up on a hill. The wind played with his raven-colored locks, tossing them in the gentle breeze as he sighed, reminiscing. So many things lost, but now he knew...
*There's no use looking back or wondering...
How it could be now or might've been...
I know this, I know,
But still I can't find ways to let you go...*
* Flashback *
"Hitomi?" He gasped in disbelief.
"Van, who on Earth are you talking to?" Yukari asked in puzzlement, thinking he'd gone insane with grief and was now having a hallucination of his love and her best friend.
"Hitomi! She's right there! Don't you see her?" He asked indignantly.
"No Van, all I see is a door, a bed, a dresser, a window, and a desk." Yukari replied in concern for her new friend's sanity.
"What the Hell's going on here?" He muttered in confusion.
"I can see her, yet her best friend can't."
"Only you can see me Van, to Yukari, I am nothing more than the air around her." The apparition spoke solemnly. To Van, Hitomi was there as plain as day.
"You haven't changed at all." He noticed in awe.
"You're just like you were five years ago when I met you before, you haven't aged a day."
"I changed just like you Van, but to you, this is how I'll always be. The innocent 15-year-old tomboy who stole your heart." She grinned at him, and Van smiled, that was the Hitomi he knew.
*I never had a dream come true,
Until the day that I found you...
Even though I pretend that I've moved on...*
"Hitomi... I'm so sorry..." He said in regret, looking at his boots in shame.
"For what?" She asked him in confusion.
"For letting you go... I was such a foolish boy and I now realize how unworthy I am of someone like you... If I had taken control of my emotions, maybe you wouldn't have left Gaea, and you'd still be alive..."
"Van... Never have regrets. Because what you do always seems like the best idea at the time. No one should live a life of regrets. I wanted to thank you." She took his hand in hers and he was surprised he could feel it, soft and warm in his own.
"Thank me? For what?" He asked, now it was his turn to not understand.
"For teaching me how to love." She whispered softly, walking over to him.
"And teaching me that I could control my own fate, and that there was no need to rely on anything. I now know that nothing in life is certain, destiny does not exist, nor does fate."
"You've given me so much in such a short time, and all I've done since the day we met is cause you pain. I'm the one who should be apologizing."
"Hitomi, all the pain you've caused could never measure up to how much joy you've brought. I missed you." He replied rather shyly.
"I missed you more than you'll ever know." She ran into his arms as he swung her around.
*You'll always be my baby...
I never found the words to say,
You're the one I think about each day...*
"Did I miss something?" Yukari asked, noting that Van was dancing around the room, apparently holding an invisible person, Van ignored her and she felt even more lost on what was going on.
"Van, I don't have much time left, you need to thank Folken though, if it wasn't for him I never would've seen you again at all. Your brother is a good man and deserves a great deal of gratitude from the both of us."
"Why do you have to leave?" He asked sadly, his frozen heart beginning to melt with every minute he was with her.
"Van, I'm no longer living, for saving Gaea, Folken and I have a small bit of credit, I suppose you could call it from the afterlife. It's not much though, I have a few more minutes until I'll have to go back."
"But... You're right here... I can see you, I can touch you, I can hear you, I can smell you... How can you not be real?" He asked in a desperate manner.
*And I know no matter where life takes me to,
A part of me will always be with you...*
"Van, all good things have to come to an end. I came here to tell you something very important."
"What would that be?"
"That my heart has been, is, and always will be yours... I love you Van Fanel, and nothing will ever change that." She smiled at him as he drew her closer, capturing her lips with his own.
"Even on my dying breath, my love for you will go on Hitomi, just like the stars in the heavens." He smiled that sweet smile at her that made her heart flutter when they broke their first and last kiss.
"Every moment I've spent with you, I'll treasure, always, right here." She took hold of his hand and put it over her heart.
*Somewhere in my memory,
I lost all sense of time...
And soon my world can never be,
Cause yesterday is all that fills my mind!*
"The same. The same." He replied lovingly, taking her hand and following her gesture.
"But Hitomi, what will happen now?"
"I'll go back to the heavens where I can look down on all those I care about and remember all the good times we had together. What about you?"
"I'll go back to Fanelia and live the rest of my life alone, missing you more with every passing day, until my own love kills me. Then, we'll be together again."
"Van, you have to live, if not for yourself, then for me. I want you to live. Who will protect the country guarded by dragons if there is no king?"
"Even if I don't die from heartache, there'll be no other for me Hitomi, you know that."
*There's no use looking back or wondering...
How it could be or might've been...
I know this, I know...
But still I can't find ways to let you go...*
"And I'll be tortured for the rest of my life by my advisors for not taking a wife to produce Fanelia's heir." Van sighed in exasperation at the very thought of returning home to the curse of his existence, namely his council.
"I know you'll figure something out." She smiled impishly at him.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I know you. I believe in you, Van. I know you'll find a way." The cursed blue light surrounded her once more and her feet began to lift off the ground, Van grabbed her hands, holding her back for one last moment.
"Van..."
"Yes Hitomi?"
"I'll never forget..."
"Goodbye, Hitomi." He whispered sadly, as he held her one last time, and she was sent once more into the skies above, the blue light fading rapidly in the distance until it became nothing more than a star.
*I never had a dream come true,
Until the day that I found you...
Even though I pretend, that I've moved on,
You'll always be my baby...
I never found the words to say,
You're the one I think about each day...
And I know no matter where life takes me to,
A part of me will always be with you...*
* End Flashback *
*You'll always be the dream that fills my head,
Yes you will,
Say yes you will,
You know you will!
Yeah, You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget!*
`Anazaki Kenkoto... Tomuro Kanzaki... Uchida Kanzaki... Mamoru Kanzaki... and last but never least... Hitomi Kanzaki...'
Their graves stood there. And although the dates and epitaphs were carved into the granite monuments, he didn't think he'd ever accept it. True, he'd never met Hitomi's family except for his brief rendezvous with Ms. Kanzaki, but they'd come alive to him through Hitomi's fond memories she's recollected to him during their journey. They had names, lives, dreams, and they were all taken from them in an instant when the sickle of death found them.
`Hitomi Uchida Kanzaki
1981-2001
Good Daughter,
Good Sister,
Good Friend.
She will forever live on in our hearts.'
Van had to squint a bit but near the bottom he saw in extremely small wording,
`Never Forget...'
*There's no use looking back or wondering...
Cause love is a strange and funny thing...
No matter how I try...
I just can't say "goodbye!"
I... No No No No No!*
He placed a bouquet of roses beneath her tombstone before kneeling in front of it and saying a silent prayer. He stood up as snowflakes began to silently fall as day turned to night.
(A/N: Imagine "Deja Blue" playing, it kind of sets the mood for this scene. If you're a TRUE Esca fanatic, you should know what song I'm talking about, ne? *If you do not for some odd reason it's the song that plays from Marlene's musicbox when Millerna is prowling around her room in Freid...*)
*I never had a dream come true,
Until the day that I found you...
Even though I pretend that I've moved on,
You'll always be my baby...*
He caught one of the fragile white crystals in his gloved hand and stared at it until it melted under his gaze. He realized now that nothing stayed the same forever. Everything had to change; he'd have to change with it. He looked up at the moon and was surprised, yet happy to see that some things would never change. There was Hitomi, smiling down at him, forever fifteen. (A/N: Remember last episode, Hitomi saw Van smiling at her over the ocean? Picture that except with the moon and Hitomi...)
"Hitomi... I'll never forget..." He whispered as the blue light returned, and transported him home.
*I never found the words to say...
You're the one I think about each day!
And I know no matter where life takes me to,
A part of me will always be with you...*
A/N: *Sniffle* Man, this is pathetic, I'm starting to cry over my own fic even though I had all this planned to begin with... Am I the only one who thinks that "I Never Had a Dream Come True," is the PERFECT song for this fic? It kind of gets the whole meaning across, don't you think? Arigatou to my friend Megan who burned that song on a Mixed CD for me for my b-day, never would have heard it if it wasn't for her... Anyway, I hope you all liked this fic, sorry the last chapter took so long, I've been really busy with school and all and have used that as my excuse for not updating. Now I can get back to my other fics, finish them, and write some more... ^_^; I don't think a sequel would be good for a story like this, but if anyone wants one, I'm willing to provide it, I don't know how well it would hold up, then again "Winged Destinies" is more popular than "Wings of an Angel" so who knows... I hope it wasn't too sappy for some of you, you know who you are, right? Lol...
Thanks again for reading and REVIEWING to all the peeps below:
Feathers of the Wind (I greatly admire your fics, it's an honor for you to have read mine...)
(:~Anime Angel~:)
Artemis AKA Artamis (You're one of my fav reviewers, thank you SO much! You rock!)
Tatakau and Charred Crunchies & Co.
Me
Baby-chan (Thanks Marisol! *BIG HUG*)
Amie-Chan person thingy AKA NekuraTak (You go girl! *Annoys her friend* INVADER ZIM FOREVER!!! Especially Gir! Thanks for reading!)
Safilady
Amy aka Demon_Wolf
Meghanna Starsong
Kiddi Chi (Thanks Washu... Don't torch me, us blondes don't know any better...)
Alissa (call me mystic)
Karen
Pretty Senshi1519
Dilandau's girl,Tayles,Fanilia (3 of my fav authors coming together! LOVE YOU GUYS! THANKS SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! I've gotta read "Destiny" and get back on animeboards, ne?)
Star
Nagi-chan (Thank you bestest friend, your support is always needed... I'm glad you, Washu, and Amie seem to like this. Guess it's not as long as the rest of my fics, huh? Yes, I agree, it saddens even me... Work on your site and I'll call you on your b-day! Thanks for the XMAS/Birthday presents, I got them in the mail today! Ja! ^_^)
j
Oh yeah, 2 call-outs before I leave you until we meet again...
HAPPY 13^TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BESTEST FRIEND NAGI-CHAN! MAY YOU HAVE HUGS AND GREEN DONUTS!
AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU! MAY YOUR CRUSH ADMIT HIS/HER UNDYING LOVE FOR YOU!
Ja matta ne tomadachi! Until we meet again...
*Vanishes in a puff of blue and green smoke...*
~Trunks Gal~
References
1. http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/nagichan/
2. http://www.escalflowneonline.com/
3. http://www.escamovie.com/
4. http://www.bandai-ent.com/