Chapter 7: Contact
Van sat cross-legged on the floor, patiently listening to the information Hitomi's mother and brother Miako were providing. His thoughts were in a frenzy, trying to absorb what they had told him.
Merle sat next to him, her arms wrapped around her knees and her face twisted with unhappiness. She had shed her cloak soon after entering. Van privately thought that Hitomi's family had taken her appearance very well, although Amano had done a couple double takes. Hitomi's mother had hugged them both and invited to sit, explaining they were in Hitomi's old apartment and that her furniture had been sold in preparation for her leaving.
For one, crazy second after Hitomi's mother told him that the furniture had been sold, Van felt the urge to do a wild, ecstatic dance. Hitomi had not changed her mind! She was planning on coming! The thoughts resonated through his mind, and he closed his eyes, giddy with the knowledge. He opened them again as Mrs. Kanzaki explained her theory on why he could understand her and Hitomi's brother.
"My Mother visited Gaea when she young. Hitomi told me that you heard that story, told through the father of one of your friends. Hitomi inherited her, well, powers I guess you could call them, from her. The 'powers' weren't passed to either me or my son, but I think enough of her skills did pass to us that we can understand your language."
Merle wiggled and squinted at Hitomi's mother. "So they really can't understand us?" she asked with a nod to Yukari and Amano. Mrs. Kanzaki shook her head and Merle gave a wicked grin. "Oh, this is going to be fun." she said under her breath and Van turned to glare at her. She gave him an innocent look. "What? I won't do anything bad. Well, really bad." she snickered.
Hitomi's brother glared at Merle. "My sister is missing and all you can think of is practical jokes?" he spat at her.
Merle glared back at him and drew herself up. "Hitomi has been missing before." she scoffed at him. "We always find her."
"What do you mean, missing before?" He demanded angrily. "What are you talking about? She's never been in danger before!"
Merle and Van stared at him incredulously. "Never been in danger before?" Merle stuttered. "What exactly did she tell you about when she was on Gaea?"
Miako looked at Merle in confusion. "She said there was a war, but that Van never let anything hurt her. She said it was ended by Van and there was peace now. She told us about the guymelefs and all the people. Why? What did she leave out?" he asked suspiciously. Van threw a quick glance at Hitomi's mother, who gave her head a quick shake and placed her finger on her lips. Van nodded and nudged Merle subtly.
Merle looked at him, then back at Miako. She bit her lip. "Nothing. Um, I'm sure she told you everything she wanted you to know. Don't worry. Besides, Lord Van will find her "
Miako shifted his eyes to Van, who was staring at Merle in exasperation. "Can you?" he asked hopefully. "Can you find her?"
Van met his eyes. "Why don't you tell me what happened first." Miako nodded and settled back on the floor, crossing his legs beneath him. Before he could start talking, a loud bell sounded through the room. Merle yelped and ducked behind Van, who trying his hardest not to look startled as the noise repeated.
Miako rolled on his side and stretched out to reach a colorful object in the shape of a handle that Van had failed to see earlier. Bringing it up to his face, Miako greeted it and sat with an expression as if he were listening.
Merle peered out from under her cloak behind Van. "What is he doing?" she asked, in shock. "Is it TALKING to him?" She crawled back to Van's side, smoothing out her ruffled fur and glaring at Yukari, who was stifling a laugh at Merle's reaction. Amano had a grin on his face.
"It's a telephone," chuckled Mrs. Kanzaki, Merle's reaction bringing a moment of levity to the room.
Merle's ear perked forward and she looked at it in interest. "Really? A telephone? But where are the pictures? Hitomi said there were pictures."
Mrs. Kanzaki chuckled. "No, that is a television. This is a telephone. It's a machine that you can talk to other people with. No pictures" Yukari began to giggle and Merle intensified her glare. Her tail began to twitch behind her.
"But I thought that was what a campeeter was for."
Mrs. Kanzaki shook her head. "No. You can use a computer to write letters to people and they can see them almost instantly. You can talk to people on them, too, but we usually use a phone."
Amano and Yukari gave up all pretense of hiding their amusement and laughed at Merle's frustrated expression. Van stopped hiding his grin and watched his adopted sister as her tail began to whip behind her.
Merle growled and then suddenly relaxed, bringing her wrist up and giving it a lick, ignoring the amused people around her. She spent a second grooming her arm, only looking up at the others again when Miako put the phone down. Merle looked at it in disinterest and turned away.
Yukari stared at her. "She really IS a cat." she murmured to Amano, who nodded in agreement.
Hitomi's brother looked at everyone, puzzled at their antics, then turned to his mother. "That was Dad. There is nothing new at the police station. He is coming back."
The merriment evaporated from the room and Miako sighed as he turned back to Van. "I'll tell you what happened."
Celena stumbled as she jogged down the hall. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, she picked up her skirts and set out at a run, gleefully stretching her legs and sprinting down the corridor. Her slippered feet made soft thuds on the floor as she pounded past paintings and doorways. Rounding the corner, she collided with someone.
Eri caught Celena in her arms, dropping her armload of linens as both girls landed on the floor. For a stunned second, both figures lay sprawled on the cool tile.
A giggle bubbled up through Celena's throat. The laughter poured out her as Eri joined her, their combined voices echoing off the walls as Celena gasped out a garbled apology. Eri just waved it off, smiling as she caught her breath. Wiping her hair from her face, she grinned at Celena, who was lying on the floor with her arms spread out, weak with laughter. Sitting up, Eri gave her a mock glare, then began collecting the scattered bedclothes.
"All right, what brought this on?" Eri demanded, knowing her headmistress would be mortified at the way she was berating the esteemed Lady Celena. "And don't tell me that it's because you ate too many sweets, or because you were escaping a spider, or you are late for an important meeting."
Celena looked at her friend, her eyes dancing with merriment. Propping herself up on an elbow, she beckoned Eri closer. Looking around suspiciously, she whispered confidentially, "Phiat kissed me." With that whispered proclamation she flopped back down on the floor, pillowing one of the sheets under her head and grinning foolishly at the ceiling.
"Why you...you hussy!" Eri exclaimed, then giggled at her friend's apparent joy. Abandoning the sheets, she lay back down next to Celena. "Where?" she asked
Celena looked at her solemnly. "On the mouth."
Eri groaned and threw a pile of linens at her. "You know what I meant."
Celena's eyes twinkled as she snickered. "In the garden. By the fountain in the back under the flowering hibiscus." She sighed dramatically. "It was perfect."
Eri sighed romantically. "So, does Allen know yet?"
Celena's grin disappeared and she sat up, straightening the wrinkles in her skirt. "Well, I haven't really had the time to tell him. He is really busy right now with running the kingdom and all."
Eri looked at her sternly. "Lady Celena Schezar, you march yourself to the meeting room and tell him. He is going to find out soon and it is going to hurt him knowing you kept this from him."
Celena grimaced and ducked her head. "I suppose you're right. And I did promise Van that I would. I just don't know how he will react."
Eri shook her head. "And you won't know until you tell him. For goodness sake, he is your brother. He will be happy because you are happy!" Eri stood, the crumpled sheets in her arms. Celena looked guiltily at the once clean laundry and stood up.
"I'll tell him as soon as I help you clean the sheets again." she said meekly. Eri grinned at her and threw half the pile to her. The two walked back the way Celena had come, chatting merrily.
A few minutes after they left, a figure stepped from a nearby doorway. Allen watched the girl's retreating backs silently, then turned and stormed the other way, the book clutched in his hands forgotten for the moment. He needed to have a conversation with a certain friend.
Van tried to concentrate on the information Hitomi's brother was relating, but a sense of unease crept over him and he began to feel extremely antsy. The room seemed too hot, the floor too hard and the voices grated in his ears. Pressure began to build up in his head as if he were plummeting on Escaflowne and his ears did not have time to adjust to the change in altitude.
Suddenly a pain pierced through his skull. Van grabbed his head as Hitomi's voice seared through it, his name reverberating in his ears as though she was yelling it right next to him. He found himself on his feet, sword in hand as he whirled around, blankly staring at the room. "Hitomi, where ARE you?" he yelled.
The others in the room looked at him in confusion. Muttering a curse, he ripped the pendent from his neck. Gripping it tightly in his hand, he concentrated on it.
"Hitomi, where are you? Damn it, show me where you are!" His head began to pound with the effort, sweat beading on his forehead. Frustration began to mount when he felt a tug on his arm. Opening his eyes, he focused on Merle's fierce expression.
"You need something of hers!" She said confidently, pressing a bundle into his hand. Yukari and Mrs. Kanzaki were on their feet next to her. "Hitomi needed something of yours when she found you on the Vione after the battle on the Crusade."
Van looked blankly down at the wrapped bundle in his hand, then back up at Merle, who smiled cheerfully. "You can do it Lord Van! I know you can."
He nodded and closed his eyes again, clearing his mind as he remembered Hitomi's instructions from so long ago. He concentrated, holding the bundle against his chest and picturing the pendent in his mind. "Please" he whispered to it. "Please show her to me."
The minutes crawled by as he stood like a statue, straining to hear some inner voice, a hint of which direction to take. The others watched him, frozen between hope and disbelief. Merle watched him, secure in the knowledge that he could do it. But as the minutes ticked by, doubt began to show on their faces until finally Miako took a step towards him. Before he could do anything, Van's eyes flew open and an expression of absolute rage crossed his face.
"I'm going to kill him," Van growled before sprinting towards the door, the image of a bruised and bound Hitomi ingrained in his mind.
Merle gave a yelp and chased after him, belatedly trying to pull her cloak over her head as she pounded down the stairs behind him. She knew Miako was hot on her heels, and together they chased Van, leaving Amano and Yukari far behind them. Van ran unerringly through the night, his sword drawn and at his side, a silver promise of death to the person who had hurt his love.
Van sat cross-legged on the floor, patiently listening to the information Hitomi's mother and brother Miako were providing. His thoughts were in a frenzy, trying to absorb what they had told him.
Merle sat next to him, her arms wrapped around her knees and her face twisted with unhappiness. She had shed her cloak soon after entering. Van privately thought that Hitomi's family had taken her appearance very well, although Amano had done a couple double takes. Hitomi's mother had hugged them both and invited to sit, explaining they were in Hitomi's old apartment and that her furniture had been sold in preparation for her leaving.
For one, crazy second after Hitomi's mother told him that the furniture had been sold, Van felt the urge to do a wild, ecstatic dance. Hitomi had not changed her mind! She was planning on coming! The thoughts resonated through his mind, and he closed his eyes, giddy with the knowledge. He opened them again as Mrs. Kanzaki explained her theory on why he could understand her and Hitomi's brother.
"My Mother visited Gaea when she young. Hitomi told me that you heard that story, told through the father of one of your friends. Hitomi inherited her, well, powers I guess you could call them, from her. The 'powers' weren't passed to either me or my son, but I think enough of her skills did pass to us that we can understand your language."
Merle wiggled and squinted at Hitomi's mother. "So they really can't understand us?" she asked with a nod to Yukari and Amano. Mrs. Kanzaki shook her head and Merle gave a wicked grin. "Oh, this is going to be fun." she said under her breath and Van turned to glare at her. She gave him an innocent look. "What? I won't do anything bad. Well, really bad." she snickered.
Hitomi's brother glared at Merle. "My sister is missing and all you can think of is practical jokes?" he spat at her.
Merle glared back at him and drew herself up. "Hitomi has been missing before." she scoffed at him. "We always find her."
"What do you mean, missing before?" He demanded angrily. "What are you talking about? She's never been in danger before!"
Merle and Van stared at him incredulously. "Never been in danger before?" Merle stuttered. "What exactly did she tell you about when she was on Gaea?"
Miako looked at Merle in confusion. "She said there was a war, but that Van never let anything hurt her. She said it was ended by Van and there was peace now. She told us about the guymelefs and all the people. Why? What did she leave out?" he asked suspiciously. Van threw a quick glance at Hitomi's mother, who gave her head a quick shake and placed her finger on her lips. Van nodded and nudged Merle subtly.
Merle looked at him, then back at Miako. She bit her lip. "Nothing. Um, I'm sure she told you everything she wanted you to know. Don't worry. Besides, Lord Van will find her "
Miako shifted his eyes to Van, who was staring at Merle in exasperation. "Can you?" he asked hopefully. "Can you find her?"
Van met his eyes. "Why don't you tell me what happened first." Miako nodded and settled back on the floor, crossing his legs beneath him. Before he could start talking, a loud bell sounded through the room. Merle yelped and ducked behind Van, who trying his hardest not to look startled as the noise repeated.
Miako rolled on his side and stretched out to reach a colorful object in the shape of a handle that Van had failed to see earlier. Bringing it up to his face, Miako greeted it and sat with an expression as if he were listening.
Merle peered out from under her cloak behind Van. "What is he doing?" she asked, in shock. "Is it TALKING to him?" She crawled back to Van's side, smoothing out her ruffled fur and glaring at Yukari, who was stifling a laugh at Merle's reaction. Amano had a grin on his face.
"It's a telephone," chuckled Mrs. Kanzaki, Merle's reaction bringing a moment of levity to the room.
Merle's ear perked forward and she looked at it in interest. "Really? A telephone? But where are the pictures? Hitomi said there were pictures."
Mrs. Kanzaki chuckled. "No, that is a television. This is a telephone. It's a machine that you can talk to other people with. No pictures" Yukari began to giggle and Merle intensified her glare. Her tail began to twitch behind her.
"But I thought that was what a campeeter was for."
Mrs. Kanzaki shook her head. "No. You can use a computer to write letters to people and they can see them almost instantly. You can talk to people on them, too, but we usually use a phone."
Amano and Yukari gave up all pretense of hiding their amusement and laughed at Merle's frustrated expression. Van stopped hiding his grin and watched his adopted sister as her tail began to whip behind her.
Merle growled and then suddenly relaxed, bringing her wrist up and giving it a lick, ignoring the amused people around her. She spent a second grooming her arm, only looking up at the others again when Miako put the phone down. Merle looked at it in disinterest and turned away.
Yukari stared at her. "She really IS a cat." she murmured to Amano, who nodded in agreement.
Hitomi's brother looked at everyone, puzzled at their antics, then turned to his mother. "That was Dad. There is nothing new at the police station. He is coming back."
The merriment evaporated from the room and Miako sighed as he turned back to Van. "I'll tell you what happened."
Celena stumbled as she jogged down the hall. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, she picked up her skirts and set out at a run, gleefully stretching her legs and sprinting down the corridor. Her slippered feet made soft thuds on the floor as she pounded past paintings and doorways. Rounding the corner, she collided with someone.
Eri caught Celena in her arms, dropping her armload of linens as both girls landed on the floor. For a stunned second, both figures lay sprawled on the cool tile.
A giggle bubbled up through Celena's throat. The laughter poured out her as Eri joined her, their combined voices echoing off the walls as Celena gasped out a garbled apology. Eri just waved it off, smiling as she caught her breath. Wiping her hair from her face, she grinned at Celena, who was lying on the floor with her arms spread out, weak with laughter. Sitting up, Eri gave her a mock glare, then began collecting the scattered bedclothes.
"All right, what brought this on?" Eri demanded, knowing her headmistress would be mortified at the way she was berating the esteemed Lady Celena. "And don't tell me that it's because you ate too many sweets, or because you were escaping a spider, or you are late for an important meeting."
Celena looked at her friend, her eyes dancing with merriment. Propping herself up on an elbow, she beckoned Eri closer. Looking around suspiciously, she whispered confidentially, "Phiat kissed me." With that whispered proclamation she flopped back down on the floor, pillowing one of the sheets under her head and grinning foolishly at the ceiling.
"Why you...you hussy!" Eri exclaimed, then giggled at her friend's apparent joy. Abandoning the sheets, she lay back down next to Celena. "Where?" she asked
Celena looked at her solemnly. "On the mouth."
Eri groaned and threw a pile of linens at her. "You know what I meant."
Celena's eyes twinkled as she snickered. "In the garden. By the fountain in the back under the flowering hibiscus." She sighed dramatically. "It was perfect."
Eri sighed romantically. "So, does Allen know yet?"
Celena's grin disappeared and she sat up, straightening the wrinkles in her skirt. "Well, I haven't really had the time to tell him. He is really busy right now with running the kingdom and all."
Eri looked at her sternly. "Lady Celena Schezar, you march yourself to the meeting room and tell him. He is going to find out soon and it is going to hurt him knowing you kept this from him."
Celena grimaced and ducked her head. "I suppose you're right. And I did promise Van that I would. I just don't know how he will react."
Eri shook her head. "And you won't know until you tell him. For goodness sake, he is your brother. He will be happy because you are happy!" Eri stood, the crumpled sheets in her arms. Celena looked guiltily at the once clean laundry and stood up.
"I'll tell him as soon as I help you clean the sheets again." she said meekly. Eri grinned at her and threw half the pile to her. The two walked back the way Celena had come, chatting merrily.
A few minutes after they left, a figure stepped from a nearby doorway. Allen watched the girl's retreating backs silently, then turned and stormed the other way, the book clutched in his hands forgotten for the moment. He needed to have a conversation with a certain friend.
Van tried to concentrate on the information Hitomi's brother was relating, but a sense of unease crept over him and he began to feel extremely antsy. The room seemed too hot, the floor too hard and the voices grated in his ears. Pressure began to build up in his head as if he were plummeting on Escaflowne and his ears did not have time to adjust to the change in altitude.
Suddenly a pain pierced through his skull. Van grabbed his head as Hitomi's voice seared through it, his name reverberating in his ears as though she was yelling it right next to him. He found himself on his feet, sword in hand as he whirled around, blankly staring at the room. "Hitomi, where ARE you?" he yelled.
The others in the room looked at him in confusion. Muttering a curse, he ripped the pendent from his neck. Gripping it tightly in his hand, he concentrated on it.
"Hitomi, where are you? Damn it, show me where you are!" His head began to pound with the effort, sweat beading on his forehead. Frustration began to mount when he felt a tug on his arm. Opening his eyes, he focused on Merle's fierce expression.
"You need something of hers!" She said confidently, pressing a bundle into his hand. Yukari and Mrs. Kanzaki were on their feet next to her. "Hitomi needed something of yours when she found you on the Vione after the battle on the Crusade."
Van looked blankly down at the wrapped bundle in his hand, then back up at Merle, who smiled cheerfully. "You can do it Lord Van! I know you can."
He nodded and closed his eyes again, clearing his mind as he remembered Hitomi's instructions from so long ago. He concentrated, holding the bundle against his chest and picturing the pendent in his mind. "Please" he whispered to it. "Please show her to me."
The minutes crawled by as he stood like a statue, straining to hear some inner voice, a hint of which direction to take. The others watched him, frozen between hope and disbelief. Merle watched him, secure in the knowledge that he could do it. But as the minutes ticked by, doubt began to show on their faces until finally Miako took a step towards him. Before he could do anything, Van's eyes flew open and an expression of absolute rage crossed his face.
"I'm going to kill him," Van growled before sprinting towards the door, the image of a bruised and bound Hitomi ingrained in his mind.
Merle gave a yelp and chased after him, belatedly trying to pull her cloak over her head as she pounded down the stairs behind him. She knew Miako was hot on her heels, and together they chased Van, leaving Amano and Yukari far behind them. Van ran unerringly through the night, his sword drawn and at his side, a silver promise of death to the person who had hurt his love.