The King of Hearts

 Hitomi Kanzaki was twenty-one now, and was a college freshman. Hitomi now had hair that went down to the small of her back, beautiful hair that all the girls wanted and that all the guys wanted to touch. It used to be that Hitomi never had any guys. Sure, she had been in love with Amano, but Amano moved away to San Francisco in America. Now men were constantly hounding Hitomi. But they all weren't like Van Fanel.

What a pair we could've been. I could have become his queen just by marrying him. Of course I'd have to put up with Merle, but at least we'd be happy.

 Then she realized she missed the catgirl and her antics. And Allen. Even Celena. Even Folken. And even those two leopard girls that nobody liked. She missed them all.

 She tried to move on. Heavens knows she did. It's just that she could never forget that matchless experience on the planet she had come to know as Gaea.

But today wasn't like any other day. She had a vision last night of Van dying at the hands of Dilandau. She knew she needed to go back. Van was in danger and the young king didn't even know it yet. She sat alone at the table in the college cafeteria.

One of the baseball team members came up to her. He sat down next to her.

"Excuse, me, but you made me drop something of mine. Could you pick it up, please?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"My jaw."

"Get lost."

"Well, how about 'Is it you, or is it hot in here?'"

 "Knock it off."

"Then how about 'I must be crazy about you, because the voices in my head told me to talk to you'?"

An American exchange student sat in front of her.

"Scram, Shoma. I have to talk shop with Hitomi."

The young man walked away.

"Hello, Hitomi," the handsome boy said.

 His name was Antoine Jordan. He was a senior who was graduating this year, and the girls liked him because he was a nice guy. His dumb luck was that the girls always considered him a friend.

"I said, 'Hello, Hitomi,'" Antoine said.

"I'm sorry, Ant. I'm just thinking about an old flame I had when I was younger."

"What was his name?"

"What?"
"What was his name?"

"Van. Van Fanel. He was a really great guy. I wish I could see him again…"

"He lives far away?"

"You could say that," Hitomi said. As nice as Antoine was, she couldn't tell him the truth about Gaea.

"Was he nice?"

"Practically a king."

 Hitomi laughed nervously. She had never talked one-on-one with Antoine Jordan.

"Why don't you just visit him?"

"It's not that simple," Hitomi said.

"Why not?"

"Uhh, because he lives in another country."

"That never stopped me from seeing my family in San Fran."

"But he's a…" Hitomi stopped herself, knowing that the truth would slip out.

"A what? A criminal? What could possibly stop you two from being together?"

Hitomi could no longer keep up the charade. She trusted Antoine enough, so she just came out and said it.

"Van is the king of a country in another world."

Antoine had a skeptical smile on his face.

"Your teachers always talked about you having an imagination, but that's ridiculous!"

"I'm not kidding, Antoine! If I were, you'd know it!"

"Are you saying this is all true?"

"Yes, Antoine. I loved him. He saved me countless times. And vice versa."

"I don't believe it," he said.

"Then don't. It just goes to show that you're clueless like all of the other guys."

She got up, dumped her tray in the trash, and walked away.

Antoine followed her.

But he would never know that Hitomi was feeling about as blue as the stripes on her sneakers. And he would never see the tears streaming down her cheeks. He followed her some more, only to get the women's bathroom door slammed in his face.

"I'll never understand women. Was it something I said?"