Author: Katma (kawaiikatma@hotmail.com)
Summary: Hitomi's home, it's been eight years, but she still misses Van.
What happens now?
Rating: PG-13 (some violence and romance, but nothing graphic ;-) )
Disclaimer: Hitomi and Van are not mine. I only wish they were. I'm only
borrowing them so that I can mess with their lives. Please don't sue me!!
I'm a college student (ie, NO money).
All right. It's time for me to write my first author's note. First of all, I'm sorry for not updating on my sequel in forever. I've been working two jobs, about 45-50 hours a week, and I think my muse abandoned me for someone who gets more sleep (. I promise I have not forgotten about it, and I will continue to write. It'll just have to wait til I have more free time, such as when I'm at school and being bored by classes. Next thing. I just watched the Escaflowne movie, which is DARN good. I'm in shock, and awe, and everything. Even better, the movie gave me a great idea. However, to make this great idea work, I have to rewrite almost everything I've already written. That's why this is being reposted. Some of the chapters will be almost exactly the same, and some will be completely different. Hopefully, this version will be better than the original. Enjoy! Kat
Chapter 1 Remembrances
Hitomi Kanzaki set her purse wearily on the table. Work had been exhausting today. She was ready to change and go for her run. Running always relaxed her. As she walked up the stairs, the phone rang. She sighed and hurried to answer it. "Hello?" she said. "Hitomi?" "Yukari!" Hitomi exclaimed. "How are you?" Hitomi had not seen Yukari for almost a year. After they had graduated high school, she and Yukari had gone on to university. Their second year, however, Yukari had left to marry her high school sweetheart, Amano. She and Yukari had stayed close, though, until Yukari and Amano moved to Kyoto. "I'm fine. How are you, Hitomi?" "Tired. Working with Yamoto gets harder and harder each day. He just won't let me alone!" "Maybe you should move on?" "I would," Hitomi sighed. "But I love my job. I'm not going to let this jerk chase me away." Hitomi had majored in mass communications, and was now an anchorwoman for the five o'clock news. She loved her job, very much. It allowed her to get the house she'd always dreamed of. She was close to her family, and she had many friends. So why did she still feel like something was missing in her life? "Maybe you should encourage him, Hitomi." Yukari's voice broke into her thoughts. "You've been so alone since our freshman year. I worry about you, Hitomi." Hitomi stopped struggling out of her clothes and stared off into space. It had been eight years, but the memory was still so fresh. Yukari's simple words conjured up an image so vivid Hitomi felt she could reach out and touch it. Moving almost as in a dream, Hitomi opened her jewelry box and pulled out a velvet pouch. She untied the strings and upended the bag in her waiting palm. Out fell a single white feather, a memory of her adventure. She held the feather up and felt the familiar tingle run down her arm. It had been so long since they had talked, much too long. But they were both different people now, and Hitomi was sure he had moved on. Unable to resist the temptation, however, she brought the feather to her lips and kissed it softly. Oh Van, I miss you so much! her mind cried out. "Hitomi? Hitomi?" Yukari shouted, breaking Hitomi's concentration and causing her to drop the feather. The connection between her and Van was broken. Hitomi carefully replaced the feather in the pouch and sighed quietly. "Sorry, Yukari. I had dinner on the stove and I almost burned it. I'm back now, though, and my dinner is fine." she lied. Yukari would never understand if Hitomi explained she had been talking to a feather! "Hitomi, did you hear what I said? About finding someone? You haven't ever dated seriously. Why not? Don't you want a husband and kids?" "Yes, Yukari, I do," Hitomi said, exasperated. "Then why don't you." "Because I haven't found someone I would want to date seriously!" Hitomi stormed. Or, at least, not someone here. "Hitomi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad. I just want you to be happy. You're still my best friend. It's just, well, you've been so different since our freshman year. Quieter. You changed in a way I couldn't follow, Hitomi, and I worry." "Oh, Yukari. I didn't know you felt that way. I didn't mean to make you feel left out. You're my best friend, too. I just, um, did a lot of soul-searching freshman year. That's why I acted so strangely." "So that's what you were doing when the teacher would call on you during class and you looked like you were off in some other world? Soul- searching?" Yukari's voice was extremely doubtful. "Well, yeah," Hitomi said defensively. "You weren't daydreaming or something like that?" "No. I was having deep internal conversations." And I was, Hitomi justified in her head. Just ones with a very cute guy. "Well," said Yukari, obviously not believing her. "That's not the reason I called. Amano and I wanted to invite you to spend some time with us when you come to Kyoto for business." "Oh, I'd love to! Thank you, Yukari. I'm coming down next week, I think. Is that still okay?" "Yes. We'll be waiting for you." "Arigato, Yukari. Look, I have to go, because I still need to run, but I'll talk to you later. Bye!" "Goodbye, Hitomi." Hitomi hung up the phone and slumped to the floor. So Yukari had noticed her preoccupation. She sighed and pushed her bangs off her forehead. After finishing high school, she had tried to push Van and Gaea to the back of her mind. She still loved him, but she felt she needed to get on with life. Besides that, her mental picture of Van no longer fit with the man she talked to. He had grown, and so had she. She was afraid that he no longer really needed or wanted her, so she stopped contacting him. She tried to shield her mind, keeping him out of her feelings. Over the next five years, their contact was limited to brief touches and occasional flashes of feeling, those that managed to escape Hitomi's barrier. Hitomi had put away her feather, now her only way to contact Van, and had convinced herself she had moved on. That is, until she had talked to Yukari, and held Van's feather again. She had just been fooling herself. Now she knew she was definitely not over him. This explained many things. Like why she still felt empty, in a visceral, lingering way. And why she never wanted to date seriously. It all made sense now. With a sigh, Hitomi shoved herself to her feet and put on her running shoes. She really needed a run now.
All right. It's time for me to write my first author's note. First of all, I'm sorry for not updating on my sequel in forever. I've been working two jobs, about 45-50 hours a week, and I think my muse abandoned me for someone who gets more sleep (. I promise I have not forgotten about it, and I will continue to write. It'll just have to wait til I have more free time, such as when I'm at school and being bored by classes. Next thing. I just watched the Escaflowne movie, which is DARN good. I'm in shock, and awe, and everything. Even better, the movie gave me a great idea. However, to make this great idea work, I have to rewrite almost everything I've already written. That's why this is being reposted. Some of the chapters will be almost exactly the same, and some will be completely different. Hopefully, this version will be better than the original. Enjoy! Kat
Chapter 1 Remembrances
Hitomi Kanzaki set her purse wearily on the table. Work had been exhausting today. She was ready to change and go for her run. Running always relaxed her. As she walked up the stairs, the phone rang. She sighed and hurried to answer it. "Hello?" she said. "Hitomi?" "Yukari!" Hitomi exclaimed. "How are you?" Hitomi had not seen Yukari for almost a year. After they had graduated high school, she and Yukari had gone on to university. Their second year, however, Yukari had left to marry her high school sweetheart, Amano. She and Yukari had stayed close, though, until Yukari and Amano moved to Kyoto. "I'm fine. How are you, Hitomi?" "Tired. Working with Yamoto gets harder and harder each day. He just won't let me alone!" "Maybe you should move on?" "I would," Hitomi sighed. "But I love my job. I'm not going to let this jerk chase me away." Hitomi had majored in mass communications, and was now an anchorwoman for the five o'clock news. She loved her job, very much. It allowed her to get the house she'd always dreamed of. She was close to her family, and she had many friends. So why did she still feel like something was missing in her life? "Maybe you should encourage him, Hitomi." Yukari's voice broke into her thoughts. "You've been so alone since our freshman year. I worry about you, Hitomi." Hitomi stopped struggling out of her clothes and stared off into space. It had been eight years, but the memory was still so fresh. Yukari's simple words conjured up an image so vivid Hitomi felt she could reach out and touch it. Moving almost as in a dream, Hitomi opened her jewelry box and pulled out a velvet pouch. She untied the strings and upended the bag in her waiting palm. Out fell a single white feather, a memory of her adventure. She held the feather up and felt the familiar tingle run down her arm. It had been so long since they had talked, much too long. But they were both different people now, and Hitomi was sure he had moved on. Unable to resist the temptation, however, she brought the feather to her lips and kissed it softly. Oh Van, I miss you so much! her mind cried out. "Hitomi? Hitomi?" Yukari shouted, breaking Hitomi's concentration and causing her to drop the feather. The connection between her and Van was broken. Hitomi carefully replaced the feather in the pouch and sighed quietly. "Sorry, Yukari. I had dinner on the stove and I almost burned it. I'm back now, though, and my dinner is fine." she lied. Yukari would never understand if Hitomi explained she had been talking to a feather! "Hitomi, did you hear what I said? About finding someone? You haven't ever dated seriously. Why not? Don't you want a husband and kids?" "Yes, Yukari, I do," Hitomi said, exasperated. "Then why don't you." "Because I haven't found someone I would want to date seriously!" Hitomi stormed. Or, at least, not someone here. "Hitomi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad. I just want you to be happy. You're still my best friend. It's just, well, you've been so different since our freshman year. Quieter. You changed in a way I couldn't follow, Hitomi, and I worry." "Oh, Yukari. I didn't know you felt that way. I didn't mean to make you feel left out. You're my best friend, too. I just, um, did a lot of soul-searching freshman year. That's why I acted so strangely." "So that's what you were doing when the teacher would call on you during class and you looked like you were off in some other world? Soul- searching?" Yukari's voice was extremely doubtful. "Well, yeah," Hitomi said defensively. "You weren't daydreaming or something like that?" "No. I was having deep internal conversations." And I was, Hitomi justified in her head. Just ones with a very cute guy. "Well," said Yukari, obviously not believing her. "That's not the reason I called. Amano and I wanted to invite you to spend some time with us when you come to Kyoto for business." "Oh, I'd love to! Thank you, Yukari. I'm coming down next week, I think. Is that still okay?" "Yes. We'll be waiting for you." "Arigato, Yukari. Look, I have to go, because I still need to run, but I'll talk to you later. Bye!" "Goodbye, Hitomi." Hitomi hung up the phone and slumped to the floor. So Yukari had noticed her preoccupation. She sighed and pushed her bangs off her forehead. After finishing high school, she had tried to push Van and Gaea to the back of her mind. She still loved him, but she felt she needed to get on with life. Besides that, her mental picture of Van no longer fit with the man she talked to. He had grown, and so had she. She was afraid that he no longer really needed or wanted her, so she stopped contacting him. She tried to shield her mind, keeping him out of her feelings. Over the next five years, their contact was limited to brief touches and occasional flashes of feeling, those that managed to escape Hitomi's barrier. Hitomi had put away her feather, now her only way to contact Van, and had convinced herself she had moved on. That is, until she had talked to Yukari, and held Van's feather again. She had just been fooling herself. Now she knew she was definitely not over him. This explained many things. Like why she still felt empty, in a visceral, lingering way. And why she never wanted to date seriously. It all made sense now. With a sigh, Hitomi shoved herself to her feet and put on her running shoes. She really needed a run now.
