A/n: I like switching between Van and Shiryoku's points of view. So anytime you see ****, it means time has passed or switching points of view.
Many thanks to: www.animelyrics.com for proving Japanese lyrics on all songs and the English translation for "Inori" by Ma'aya Sakamoto. As for the other English translations, they came from owning/borrowing the tapes. Buy the dubbed/subbed versions to look at credits and stuff. (if you want a formal dislcaimer)
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, Ayumi Hamasaki, Ma'aya Sakamoto or anything else or any of the songs I used. They are all the property of their respective owners. (But they sure are great songs!)
~Vision 2: Do We Know Him?~
"Hey sleepyhead!" I yell as I bust his door open. "You can't sleep any longer! Yuakri-san and Amano-san will be eating lunch here in two hours! You need a shower! And I need to wash those clothes!" I say very frantically. Van jerks up from his slumber. His hair looks like a hurricane could have hit it. "Merlu...I swear...I'm awake...," he says while he rubs his eyes and looks like he's gonna lay back down. "Oh no you don't! AND I AM NOT MERLU!" I walk over to the bed and grab his arms. I pull the boy out of bed and onto his feet. He finally opens his eyes. I very sternly say, " you have two hours for a shower and whatever...I need to wash your clothes...I'll get you towels and a clothes hangar so that you can leave your clothes on a hangar on the bathroom door. That way, while you shower I can wash your clothes. Ne?" I can tell he is still trying to wake up. "Good, glad you agree," I say as I drag him down the hall to the bathroom. "I'll be back with your towels and hangar." I return and he is sleeping standing up! "You are impossible, you know that?" I say with a gentle smile and shove the towels and hangars into his hands. He is startled back awake and pushes the door to the bathroom open. "Sugoi..." I hear him say, "so much more than what I am used to using..." "I've got to go check on lunch! Knock on the bathroom door three times for me to let me know when you've hung your clothes!" I call to him as I head back into the kitchen. I let out a long sigh. "So much stuff...," I say to myself while washing the good dishes.
*********************************
I stand in the bathroom and look at all the stuff. "Hitomi told me about electricity...and stuff like this...it looks similar to the stuff we use..." I say folding my arms not really knowing what to think. "Ah, well..." I say as I pull my boots off. "I probaly should start my water..." I turn the hot (or I am assuming hot because it had an H on it) and then just a little of the cold. (same deal; a big C on the knob.) On the faucet, there was a knob that said pull for hot water...and so I did...
*********************************
"VAN!!! I NEED YOUR CLOTHES NOW!!!" I yell from the kitchen while washing my hands from fixing the rice ball. Suddenly, I hear clunk, clunk, clunk. I walk down the hall drying my hands with a kitchen towel, and sure enough there they are hanging all nice and neat on the hangar. "Would you look at that, they even taught him how to fold clothes correctly!" I say with great pride. I grab the clothes and quickly put them in the washer so they will be ready when he gets out.
********************************
"It's 11:30...they'll be here in an hour," I say to myself while hanging Van's newly washed and ironed clothes back on the hangar. I look out the window and notice how sunny and pretty the day looks outside. "For us to have had a huge storm last night, it sure did clear up quick," I say upon noticing the day.
I grab the hangar of clothes and head down the hall. As I am walking down there, I can hear a faint voice singing. "Oh no way..." I say to myself with a huge grin. I had started to knock on the door, but stopped myself hoping he would sing just a little more louder...I planned on using this to my advantage for oka-san had described Van also as the silent, strong type.
If he knew that I had heard him singing, he would probaly die!
It was an enchanting little melody. He wasn't that shabby of a singer either. In fact, he had a beautiful voice. I wonder if he wrote it.
Yake-sou na /Your Mystic Eyes
Kimi no Mystic Eyes.... /Are settin' me on fire
mujaki na egao de breaking down /Your innocent smile breakin' me down
kimi dake ni hitomi no oku aizu... /You're the only one with that look in your eye...(*1)
I'll have to remeber that for later...hehehe...Knock.Knock.Knock. I leave the hangar on the doorknob just like I said for him too and quickly skip back down the hall. He really does have a beautiful voice though...
********************************
It's now 12:15 p.m. "They'll be here soon," I say as I stare at the table trying to make sure that I haven't over looked anything. I see Van walking down the hall drying his hair with the towel.
"Sugoi..." Van says while shoving the towel into my hands. He approaches the table and looks it up and down. "You fixed all of this yourself?" he says with a raised eyebrow. "Hai...I didn't know what you would eat, so I just fixed a little bit of everything..." I say going to take the towel to the washroom. "Sugoi..." Van says again while scratching his head. I come back in the dining room from putting his towel in the wash. "Your hair looks good combed down," I tell him. "This isn't combed...just wet," he says very arrogantly. "Well, I think it looks nice...maybe you could put some gel in it to keep it down!" I say as I run go get my hair gel from the bathroom. "I hope you aren't serious," he calls back in the bathroom to me. I reappear with the gel bottle in hand. "Oh no! I am NOT putting that girl hair junk in MY hair!" he says as he folds his arms and shuts his eyes. "Oh c'mon. Just a little won't hurt you," I plead with him. "I can guarntee that it will look much better in your hair," he says cooly. I put some of the clear gel on the tips of my fingers. "Shiryoku-NO!" he says as he pushes my hand away. I let out a little aggrivated "hmph." "Fine!" I say as I put what little I had in my hands on the tip ends of my hair. "You know they are gonna recognize you; how could they not?" I say with dagger like eyes. Van just looks at me. Suddenly there is a knock at the door.
"C'mon!" I say as I grab Van's wrist and drag him to the front door. Before I open it, I look at him and say, "you just got here this morning, hai?" I say very sternly. "Sure...whatever..." he says kinda coldly. "What? What's wrong?" I ask curiously. I look away from him and at my hand on the door. "I know you are afraid of me because I know how your emotional system works, but you don't have to completely shut down..." I say with a slight smirk. He lets out a small gasp with a pair of surprised eyes. "And I know you're not used to being bossed around too, but you're gonna have to work with me, ok?" I say with a smile. "Uhh...yea..." Van mouths still stunned.
I fling the door open and there stands Amano-san and Yukari-san holding their darling little girl. They look a little surprised to see Van. They both look at each other and then look back at Van. "Hey darling," Yukari says as she hands the baby to Amano and reaches over to give me a huge hug. Amano looks at Van and introduces himself and the baby to Van. Van is still stunned (at seeing Hitomi's old crush) and finally manages to stutter out "Van Fanel". Yukari pushes me back at this and looks at Amano who blinks back at Yukari. Van then chimes in, "it's a kingdom smaller than Monaco." "Oh," they both say just letting their suspicion slip.
~Meanwhile in the outskirts of Fanelia~
Dryden walks along the Fanelian flea market. He was searching for a new, interesting coffee table piece. He was hoping to find a statue or a nice globe but he found something much more intriguing.
Dryden walked over to an old book stand. The dealer was one of his favorites and often had unique books. Dryden's merchant eye spotted one book in particular. It was leather bound and worn. He picked it up and flipped through it. As he flipped through it, he gasped at what he saw. "Issac," he whispered. "Dealer!" He called. "How much?" The haggling for the book began.
Dryden didn't get his coffee table piece that he'd been hoping to find, but he had found something much more interesting. He had just bought Issac Newton's journal.
~Back at Shiryoku and Van's Place~
"Oh, well, I didn't get the average schooling like all other Fanelian children. They taught me the things I needed to know to be a good king for my people," Van says strategically shoving a bunch of food in his mouth at once so he wouldn't have to answer another one of Yukari's questions. "Poor Van," I thought to myself, "Yukari is just trying to get him to slip and say he's from Gaea and he's that boy who killed the dragon."
I tried to help out by changing the subject. "So, does everyone like their food this afternoon?" I say with a smile. I get an enthusiastic "yea" from everyone at the table. Before I have a chance to thank everyone for the compliment, Amano starts the drilling of Van again. I was sitting there rolling my eyes and slapping my forehead in my mind.
"So Van," he says, "what's a Fanelian's favorite food?" Van sits there, blinks, and puts down the big bite of food he was about to take. He then very calmly says, "a sandwhich."
"Wow, I didn't know that royalty would eat sandwhiches!" exclaims Yukari. "What kind of entertainment do you guys have?" she says continuing the twenty question game. "Well, we mostly sing old folk songs that have been handed down for genorations," Van replies finally getting to shove the big bite of food in his mouth. "I was gonna take Van to the karoake bar tonight!" I exclaim. Yukari then stands up. "Oh! You should hear Shiryo sing! She sings like an angel," she says getting all starry eyed. I blush and look at the napkin in my lap underneath my hands. Van quickly turns and looks at me. "I'm really just an amateur..." "Nonsense," Amano breaks my sentence. "C'mon, sing that one I love!" yells Yukari. "But I don't have the people for that one," I argue not wanting to show off. "Oh who cares, the routine is great by itself!" yells Yukari in the living room setting up the machine.
*****************
I follow everyone into the den to see what in the heck this karoake stuff is. I see Shiryoku coming back downstairs in a significantly tighter outfit. I look at her and she blushes. "I don't normally dress like this; these are dance clothes," she offers to me as an explanation. Yukari is standing with a wireless mike in hand and says, "this is Shiryoku with her rendition of Ayumi Hamasaki's The Starry Sky!"
I watch as Shiryoku puts on an ear mike and a tape of one of her earlier performances rolls on the tv. It's got the dancers Yukari was talking about and Shiryoku is in the same outfit.
Shiryoku stands with her head down and begins to sing while gracefully moving her arms in different directions. The Shiryoku on the tape is doing the same. They are both in perfect time with each other.
"Uhhhh...kono yo matta, haka nai hoshi sora
"Uhhhh...hikaru hoshi ni, ne gai wa uka konni..."
("Uhhh...tonight there is another transparent starry sky
uhhh...will my wish be granted by the glowing star above?)
As the tempo picks up and the music gets heavier, Shiryoku's head pops up and her moves become more sharp. "I've never seen anyone dance like that before or sing as well as she does either!" I think to myself. I find myself blushing at the girl in front of me. She doesn't look a thing at all like the girl I met when I walked up in the yard that night.
(Flashback)
I remember walking up and seeing her sitting there. Her eyes were so sad. I couldn't believe that this was the same girl that had just left me a year ago. But it wasn't the same girl...
I remember opening my mouth for words to come out but nothing but silence was there. I wanted her to be like the same girl that left me. I wanted to see her happy. That's the only way I live the life I do...I have to make other people around me happy or else I don't feel a purpose. Hitomi made me happy because she was happy by herself. Shiryoku...she's different...her eyes are always so sad...
(Back to present time)
I focus my vision back on the dancing girl in front of me. She's still in perfect time with the girl on the television screen. I notice something though-she's smiling. I watch her more closely. Her eyes almost seem twinkling when she is singing. I glance at the tape. There's a close up of her face right when I look. The same happy smile and starry eyes are there. This girl is meant to sing.
*********************
Out of breath, I take a short bow and look around the room. As usual, Yukari-san is amazed, hands clapsed with starry eyes ranting and raving about how great I sing; Amano-san is holding the baby he went and got before the song saying, "look at your god-sister; she'll be an idol one day!" and Van is sitting back cooly with a look of utter amazement on his face. He then sits foward and says, "by far, you have the most melodic voice I have ever heard..."
"Arigatou," I say quickly interrupting him. "But if you don't mind, I want to change. I can't stand clothes like these," I say racing up the stairs to change.
***************
Yukari-san and Amano-san left around 3 p.m. and Van and I decided to go to the mall. Afterall, Van did need clothes for the coming school week.
When we got to the mall, I asked him what kind of clothes he liked. Van didn't seem to get the concept too well.
"Oh, c'mon y'know...expensive,cheap,lots of color, plain, and all sorts of things. Ah well, we'll just start with the school uniform, ok?"
I briskly walk over to the store and pull Van in with me. I had noticed someone had been following us.
Pretty soon a tailor grabs out his measuring tape and begins to pick Van out the uniform he needs. The man looks at him for a second, then asks him, "where are you from; I've never heard an accent like yours before."
Van looks at me. I smirk and shake my head. Van then just gives a slight smile and sticks his arms behind his head. "I'm from a place smaller than Monaco.; doubt you would have even heard of it."
I let out a little snicker and watched as the tailor continued to measure Van for his uniform. The tailor finally walks off and Van looks at me. "All I can say is I told you so..." I say in a sing-song voice. "You guys sure are nosey..." Van says sitting next to me. "Ah, you'll get over it," I say with a slight sigh.
The tailor returns with our school uniform in a variety of different colors. There's a black, navy, and brown outfit. Van tries on all three and we decide on buying three black ones and two navy ones.
The rest of the time we spend walking around and visisting different stores trying to find what kind of "style" Van had. I still felt like someone was watching us.
Van liked one store in particular; it was real plain. The store consisted of mostly shirts in various solid colors and blue jeans that weren't really ornate.
The fall can sometimes be really cold and I was thinking about that when I handed him a sweater. I hung it over the dressing room door. "Here, try that on."
The red sweater is pulled off the side of the door and I hear a, "there's no way I am wearing that!"
"Why not? It's just a sweater..." I say curiously.
"No,it's not. It's a girly sweater," he says very arrogantly.
"It's a warm sweater and it's red...that's not very girly," I say very matter of factly as I fold my arms.
"It's got the girly neck and the girly sleeves...it's a sissy sweater and I 'm not trying it on!" I hear him getting irratated.
Underneath the door,(it doesn't touch all the way to the ground) I can see Van's pant leg sticking out from underneath. I quickly bend and grab them.
"You no get pants until you try on jeans and sweater , capish?"
Van peeks his head out of the dressing room. His face is blood red, either from embarassment or sheer anger.
I smile. "I want to see my sweater on you," I say giggling while holding his pants tightly in my arms.
He grumbles and shuts the door and returns in a moment. He walks out and the jeans with the red sweater looks absolutely adorable on him.
"This is the sissiest thing I have ever worn," he continues grumbling to himself.
"Relax, you look like a guy model," I say with confidience handing his pants back to him.
"And their all sissies too!" he says as he slams to door to the dressing room shut.
After the sweater incident, we go to the register to pay for the clothes he's picked out (along with my sweater!) and get going to the karoake club.
******************
After we had eaten supper at the karoake club, I started begging Van to get up there and sing something. He argued me down about it; he wasn't going to do it because he didn't know any Japanese songs, only Fanelian ones.
Someone came by and asked me to sing. "Hey it's the Pop Princess," they said. I accepted.
**************
"But a really short one," I hear Shiryoku say. She takes off her heavy jacket she's been wearing and there's a beautiful dress underneath. It's a purple halter and looks like it's been tye-dyed. She has curves and long, straight mahognay hair that graces a beautifully round face. Her eyes are big and by far the most oustanding feature she has. I hate to say it but she's prettier than Hitomi. I slap myself mentally for thinking that.
She turns to me before she leaves and says, "you're next," with a mischievous grin. While they prepare her karoake set, two guys grab me and let me listen and hum along to my tune they, along with Shiryo, wrote for me. Apparently, Shiryo must've heard me singing in the shower and picked up the tune. So I guess whenever you perform, you get a tape to take with you. (both a cd and a video tape.) I still didn't want to do this but I had made a deal with Shiryo earlier. If she sang, I had to too. *Crap* I thought, "Why do I have to be such a nice guy?" The song ends...I really like it.
I look back to the stage and Shiryoku is up there with her mike in hand. She looks somewhat nervous but she starts to speak.
"Hey everyone," she says with a small grin. A huge applause comes from the audience along with some cat calls and yelling of her name and Pop Princess. Shiryoku just giggles. "What are ya'll in the mood for tonight?" she asks the auidience. "Any requests?" she says smiling.
There it is again. A smile on her pretty face. I stop thinking. I just thought about her being pretty again. This isn't good. Hitomi just died and I'm gawking over her daughter. This isn't good. Is it even moral to like her? My thoughts are interrupted by hearing her first notes.
"Inori...Michiru umi to tsuki yami to hikari tokete
Umare kawaru inochi
Sakeru sora to mune ni itsuka hikari tokete
Mezame ikiru inochi..."
(The moon and sea become full
the light & darkness become reincarnated
the sky is torn from my heart
when will the light dissolve, awaken, & live life?)
The atmosphere has changed dramatically to match her song. It's a pretty, quiet, laid back song and now the club is too. The guys that were letting out cat calls and the girls that were yelling are all staring right at Shiryo as if to burn a hole through her.
The club is lit in lavendar with a blue spotlight on Shiryoku. She's there on the stage and is hanging on the mike for dear life. I only know this becuase her knuckles are white. I guess it takes a lot for her to get up there and sing. I don't know why; she sings beautifully and everyone here is crazy for her. She continues her song:
"Chinmoku no machi kabe ni kizamareta tooi kiouku ga
ima kataru sono hito no kotoba
togirenagara mimi no naka ni kairi komu
jumon no you no hikuku hisoyaka no koe de..."
(Faraway memories cut into the wall of this town's silence
Now I speak their language
As I stand still, whispering voices crowd into my ears
like a descending spell..."
I am now mezmarized by her voice and song. She's singing from the depths of her heart; I can tell it. After seeing her be treated the way she was by the policemen, after seeing her get upset over a vision, after knowing what all she's been through, this song has her feelings poured all into it.
"Ikutsu tsuki ga ochite ikudo hi ga terasedo kimi o
omou ai wa
kono kabe to inor ga tsutae todokete yuku jidai o
tobi koete..."
(How many times will the moon fall?
How many times will the fire be lit?
Your love yearns for you
This wall & prayer go & deliver report,
As I fly over an ancient sky..."
She looks at me from the stage. Her eyes seem happy. I want to know why she's happy when she sings. I want her to stay like that. She begins to walk down the platform that leads out into the audience/dining area. People smush up against the sides of it to get close to her. I notice in the background that Yukari-san is here too. She's been following us around all day. I guess she saw me staring at her becuase she walks over and says, " beautiful isn't it?" "Yea..." I thoughtfully answer. She eyes me. "You look a lot like someone I saw from a long time ago..." she begins. "Really? They say everyone has a twin..." I say trying to play it off. "You know...if Shiryoku goes missing and you're missing too, I'll kill you when you come back."
A surprised look comes across my face as I try to understand. Yukari elaborates. "This guy you look like took Hitomi from us and completely made her insane. Shiryo said that Hitomi killed herself worrying over him coming back...Shiryo is the only thing I have left of her...Hitomi entrusted her to me...I WON'T LET HER DOWN, OR SHIRYO..." she says with great conviction.
I got so angry but couldn't say anything. She had no tact in saying she'd kill me, but I guess I understand since she explained herself. Afterall, the only person I had on Fanelia that I was extremely close to was Merlu and I'd kill anyone who made her insane...
"I promise, I'm not going anywhere for a while and I won't take Shiryoku with me...it'd be a shame to keep such a beautiful voice to myself," I say trying to reassure her. In truth, I really did want Shiryo to see Fanelia. She had said earlier in the day she'd love to go to Gaea and that she didn't really enjoy Earth.
"Shiroku nemuru sabaku no suna dake ga mada
kirei na yume mingara neiki o tateru
kabe no moji wa kezure iroasete mo nao
kiramekimashi dare ka o motomete utau..."
(Only deserts of white sand are still sleeping
As I dream beautiful dreams my breathing is built
A wall of characters is cut down & and the colors fade away
Glittering and asking who sings....)
Yukari is still staring me down. I guess she was hoping to bore a hole in my head so she could see if I was lying or something but eventually, she relented. "I don't exactly know who you are...but I'll trust you for now...but if you show any signs of being that boy that killed the dragon..."
"Who knows where he comes from?
Who knows where he comes from?"
"I get it," I say. "Let's just listen for now, huh?" She looks at me very sternly. I realize that I have gone back to being an anal retentive guy (which is how I was when I first me Hitomi) and I gulp.
"kak to mirai ikiki suru tori nokage o mitsuketa ki ga shita..."
(The past & the future keep in touch with each other
I imagine I see the birds' shadows..."
"Just know I'll be watching you..." Yukari says as she walks off. I watch her leave. Her strut is a defiant one; one that says I will definately have to be careful around her. I can tell she doesn't forget stuff easily and that she's a true friend. She will hold her promise to Hitomi.
"Ikutsu hosi ga kiete ikudo mizu karete mo kimi o omou ai wa
ikutsu kaze ga fuite ikudo yume sutete mo kimi o
omou ai wa..."
(How many stars will disappear?
How often will the rain wither away?
Your love yearns for you
How many times will the wind blow?
How often will I abandon my dreams?
Your love yearns for you..."
I once again go back to being mezmarized by her singing ability. She gazes around the auidience as she sings but then focuses on me for a second. It's almost like she saw Yukari and was being sympathetic. She gives a slight smile while singing and finishes her song.
"And now, I'd like for everyone to give a warm round of applause to a newcomer; I enjoy his singing a lot and I know you guys will too," she says grinning. "Oh no..." I think. I was hoping she'd let it go.
*************
I pull Van up on the stage. It's rather funny. His face is blood red but he's trying so hard to play it off. I continue with my introduction. "This is Van's own song," I say looking at him. "It's called..."
He rolls his eyes and says very dryly, "Mystic Eyes." "Yeah, ok so Mystic Eyes by Van Fanel!" Everyone in the club gets excited as I hand him the mike and I jump offstage into the crowd.
"Muhahhaahaahaaa..." I giggle to myself. "This should be fun."
The lights dim and a silver disco ball lowers. Van steps with a wireless mike in hand. He's still got on the outfit he arrived in; the red silk shirt with the tan pants and those really weird looking gloves. It fits the song well, though.
He stands center stage and then puts his right hand on his left shoulder and his left hand on his right hip.
The band gives him a fabulous introduction in which he's still standing there, but then all the sudden they flash a red light on his glove. The beat after it he thrusts out the hand holding the microphone horiziontally and starts dancing like he's from the disco age or something.
"Blue searchlights, meet beyond the moon,
Yeah, my angel who came flying down Who are you?"
Now the doors of destiny are opening before us,
So, just, fall in love...
I can't break free of this moment that's making my heart flutter...
Don't stop baby!
"Oh man, he's good," I whisper to myself as I watch him work the crowd. His voice is just so melodic but at the same time it has a crispness to it too. He seems to be looking at me a lot, as if to say, "you're gonna get it later," but ah, well that's just Van.
I look at the crowd around me. All the girls are going crazy over him. They act like he's somebody famous already. One girl even tries to get up on stage with him. *gasp* He pulls her up on stage and starts singing to her!
Your MYSTIC EYES are settin' me on fire
Your innocent smile breakin' me down
It's only for you, this look in my eye (*1)
An endless, journey is beginning With this unstoppable pounding in my heart
And I wanna, swoop down, and take you with me!
"Hmph," I think to myself. I fold my arms and watch as all the girls continue to go crazy as if he were an idol. "He's not that cute..."I think to myself knowing good and well I was lying. He looked good in anything he tried on earlier today, has the cutest smile, and the most gorgeous eyes a guy could have. "Oh my gaaa...Am I jealous?"
"Ooh, oh baby...it's so easy to love you!"
He points at me and winks as if to apologize. I eye him with a glare but really I feel better now. "Maybe he's just doing all this for show...I mean...oka-san was his one and only and it'd better stay that way..." I think with an uneasy feeling in my heart.
There's a guitar solo and he works the crowd even more. Everyone, including myself, is on their feet dancing to the tune. He's an overnight sucess, as they say.
Van does some incredibly weird dance moves, things I've never seen before, but the auidience reacted pretty well to it. Although, they looked like idiots trying to copy him becuase they didn't execute it near as well as he did.
There's a couple of more verses and then the song begins to end. He ends it the same way he began; pushing that cordless mike out on that last beat with his head down. Funny, quirky little song and dance, but it's good for a first time.
*************(at their house)
"Did you enjoy the karoake bar?" I ask. "Yea," Van says very non chalantly. I look at the clock. It's 11:27 p.m. "Van, it's late, so I'm going to bed," I say very quitely. "Same," he replies. "He's acting weird," I think to myself. "Well, good nite..." I say looking back from about halfway up the stairs. "Nite, Shiryo," he says rubbing his hair and heading back to oka-san's room.
*************(outskirts of Fanelia)
Dryden sits in his living room scanning over the pages of the newly bought book. He can't believe what he's picked up. He wonders how the story of Allen's father's explorations will differ from that of Issac's. He opens the first page and begins to read..."This explains how Zaibach came to be..." he mumbles to himself not knowing what he was about to stumble in upon...
*************(outside Shiryoku's room)
I stand in the doorway frozen in fear. It's ungentlemanly to go into a girl's room but I can hear that she's having a nightmare. It must be pretty bad. She's sounds like she's crying and wrestling with the covers for her life. "I can't go in there but it's awful that she's suffering so," I say musing. All of the sudden, I hear a scream.
*************(Shiryoku's room)
I sit straight up in my bed. I woke up in a cold sweat while letting out a huge scream. I look around and then to the door. I go to open it and I am surprised by Van standing there. He looked as if he was about to do the same. We stand there for a second looking at each other. I think we were both embarassed to see each other in pajamas. Van looks up and asks if I am ok. I tell him yea but then he says, "feh, yeah right; you had something close to a vision didn't you?"
I'm caught off guard by this statement. It's like he read my mind. Suddenly, there's a loud clap of thunder outside. "Ahhh!" I let out a squeal and cling to the thing nearest to me, which just happens to be Van. He looks at me in surprise and then says, "ouch...your nails hurt...please let go..." I blush and apologize. "You're scared of thunder? Why? It's just a noise," he says being arrogant as usual. "I'm just a little jumpy right now because of the nightmare..." I say replaying the dream in my head. He looks at me as if to offer to listen. "It's making you think isn't it..." he quietly says. I look up at him with tense eyes. "More so scaring me...I felt like there was no way out...I can't go back to sleep right now..." I say looking outside and hearing another clap of thunder. I cringe and pull at my shorts. I look back up at Van and ask if he'd just sit and talk with me for a while in the den. He agrees.
After I had made us some hot chocolate, I sat on the couch facing him and started asking random questions. "What's your middle name?" started it off. He looked at me. "I'm waiting," I said. "It's de Slanzar," he said taking a sip of the hot chocolate. He made a face at the mug. "This is rather weird tasting..." "SLANZAR?!?!" I cried as I was rolling on the couch laughing. "What was your mother thinking?!?!?" "It's a family name, IT'S ROYAL," he says taking yet another sip and then saying, " I guess you just have to get used to this 'hot chocolate' stuff." "So what's your middle name?" he says continuing the conversation. "Yukari," I say sipping on my hot chocolate. Van tenses up and looks in all directions. "WHERE?" he says. "No," I say as I giggle. "It comes as a tribute to Yukari for being such a good friend to oka-san; my name is Shiryoku Yukari Kanzaki Akane,"I say very proudly. "Oh," Van says sitting back on the couch some. "So...did you ever kiss oka-san?" I say with a grin. Van blushes at this statement. "C'mon, dish..." "No...I'm not telling you that!" he says as he gets irratated. "Why not?" I say as I make a pouty face. It's almost as if you could've been my dad." Ewww. I just realize what I said. Van and both make a face of disgust. I get our minds off of it by telling him this, "no details- just yes or no." He sighs and relents, "no." "NO?!?!? WHY NOT?!?! I THOUGHT YOU TWO WERE MADLY IN LOVE!!!" "Shiryo, I'm not answering this," he says getting irratated yet again. He gets up off the couch to take his glass and he takes mine with him. I grab a pillow and hold it as I sit indian style. I watch him and think, " *sleep pants without a shirt* *sigh*," and then kick myself mentally. "I CAN'T LIKE HIM!" I scream in my head. He's even still wearing oka-san's necklace.
He comes back in the room and I notice a red gleam on his hand. At first I thought he had cut himself, and I got really worried. "What's wrong with your hand?" I say jumping off the couch and grabbing his hand. I can see he's completely caught off guard by my action. I pull his hand up and see that it's a ring-(flashback) I remember picking it up and thinking of how beautiful it was. It was made of a stone and a jewl I had never seen before. The jewl was the most beautiful shade of red.(presently) "This ring is gorgeous!" I exclaim. I slide it off his finger and put it on my left ring finger. It fits perfectly. "Is it yours?" I ask. "Ummm...yea...It's a family heirloom...the prince is supposed to ahh..." he stops here. "Do what?" I say looking up at him from the couch now after oohing and ahhing at it. He looks at the ground and finally manages to mumble out, "...give it to his bride to be..." "Oh," I say letting my eyes drift back to the magnificently carved dragon holding the prismatic red jewl. "I was gonna ask to keep it, but ahh," I say removing the ring, "you need it I guess." I hold out my hand palm up with the dragon ring sitting there in the center. He takes it out of my hands and into his. He looks at it and I see his eyes watering. I then finally realize what this meant. "OH!" I say with a short gasp and clasping my hands over my mouth. I wanted to cry now too. He came back to MARRY oka-san but found her dead.
For the longest there was nothing but silence between the two of us. It was still raining and I still didn't feel like I could sleep soundly yet. Finally, he sat down next to me on the couch.
"I promise you if you sit here and talk to me long enough, I'll fall asleep and you can just leave me here on the couch," I say putting my head on his shoulder. I glance up at him and he slips the ring back on my finger. "Keep it; I don't think I'll find love ever again," he says very solemnly. "Oh Van! Don't say that," I cry with tears welping up in my eyes again. He looks so sad. "You have to believe..." I drift off before I a shed a couple of tears. "You remind me so much of her at times," he says pushing my head back on his shoulder. I was surprised at this, but didn't mind it. He seems to be in a daze. I try to take his and my mind off of it for a little bit. "What kind of gemstone is it?" I ask choking back tears. "It's drag-engergist or dragon energist as some call it," he says with that monotone voice of his. "It's beautiful..." I whisper. "It's the heart of a dead dragon," he says getting even more quiet. "Eww," I think. That's really weird. Suddenly, I fell a hand stroking my hair. I am surprised yet again. "I love it when people brush my hair; it makes me sleepy," I say feeling the lids of my eyes getting heavy. "Good," he says surprising me for the last time, "you need the rest." He continues to stroke my cherry mahogany hair and we talk about going to oka-san's funeral. We both knew it was going to be extremely hard for us but at least we had each other to lean on.
*****************
I sat there for a second after I had made sure Shiryoku was asleep. I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to just stay here on the couch and sleep or whether I should take her to her room and tuck her in. I knew what I wanted to do, (stay right there on the couch) but I knew that Yukari-san and Amano-san would be here in the morning. I figured us on the couch wouldn't be too good of a sight for them to see.
I picked Shiryo up as not to disturb her sleep and carried her up the stairs. As I carried her I heard her say, "...Dornkirk...oka-san..." I shook my head. The poor thing is worse off than Hitomi...her visions and premonitions are much stronger than Hitomi's were.
I lay her on her bed and then straighten her covers over her. Her hair is sprawled out all over the pillow and she flips over to me like she's going to wake up. Instead, she just hugs her pillow and a smile comes across her face. She's mumbling more things in her sleep, but dreams are private things and I tried my best not to listen anymore. I suppose she was dreaming about her bedtime story for she was yelling at Hitomi to go find me; telling Hitomi that she loved me.
I smile, shut her door, and walk back downstairs to my room. I give a long sigh as I crawl back in bed. Tomorrow would be a long, horrible day for me. Probaly the most tragic and heart wrenching day of my life. At least I would have Shiryoku to lean on if I needed to. Tomorrow was Hitomi's funeral.
*************
So whatch'a think? R&R PLEAZE! ~japanimejo~ ^_^
*1-There are two different translations that have very different meanings. The dubbed tape says: You're the only one, with that look in YOUR eye...
The translation at www.animelyrics.com says: It's only for you, this sign held deep within my eyes...
....SO...take your pick of which you think is right...and i STILL don't own anything just in case you forgot. ^_^;
Many thanks to: www.animelyrics.com for proving Japanese lyrics on all songs and the English translation for "Inori" by Ma'aya Sakamoto. As for the other English translations, they came from owning/borrowing the tapes. Buy the dubbed/subbed versions to look at credits and stuff. (if you want a formal dislcaimer)
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, Ayumi Hamasaki, Ma'aya Sakamoto or anything else or any of the songs I used. They are all the property of their respective owners. (But they sure are great songs!)
~Vision 2: Do We Know Him?~
"Hey sleepyhead!" I yell as I bust his door open. "You can't sleep any longer! Yuakri-san and Amano-san will be eating lunch here in two hours! You need a shower! And I need to wash those clothes!" I say very frantically. Van jerks up from his slumber. His hair looks like a hurricane could have hit it. "Merlu...I swear...I'm awake...," he says while he rubs his eyes and looks like he's gonna lay back down. "Oh no you don't! AND I AM NOT MERLU!" I walk over to the bed and grab his arms. I pull the boy out of bed and onto his feet. He finally opens his eyes. I very sternly say, " you have two hours for a shower and whatever...I need to wash your clothes...I'll get you towels and a clothes hangar so that you can leave your clothes on a hangar on the bathroom door. That way, while you shower I can wash your clothes. Ne?" I can tell he is still trying to wake up. "Good, glad you agree," I say as I drag him down the hall to the bathroom. "I'll be back with your towels and hangar." I return and he is sleeping standing up! "You are impossible, you know that?" I say with a gentle smile and shove the towels and hangars into his hands. He is startled back awake and pushes the door to the bathroom open. "Sugoi..." I hear him say, "so much more than what I am used to using..." "I've got to go check on lunch! Knock on the bathroom door three times for me to let me know when you've hung your clothes!" I call to him as I head back into the kitchen. I let out a long sigh. "So much stuff...," I say to myself while washing the good dishes.
*********************************
I stand in the bathroom and look at all the stuff. "Hitomi told me about electricity...and stuff like this...it looks similar to the stuff we use..." I say folding my arms not really knowing what to think. "Ah, well..." I say as I pull my boots off. "I probaly should start my water..." I turn the hot (or I am assuming hot because it had an H on it) and then just a little of the cold. (same deal; a big C on the knob.) On the faucet, there was a knob that said pull for hot water...and so I did...
*********************************
"VAN!!! I NEED YOUR CLOTHES NOW!!!" I yell from the kitchen while washing my hands from fixing the rice ball. Suddenly, I hear clunk, clunk, clunk. I walk down the hall drying my hands with a kitchen towel, and sure enough there they are hanging all nice and neat on the hangar. "Would you look at that, they even taught him how to fold clothes correctly!" I say with great pride. I grab the clothes and quickly put them in the washer so they will be ready when he gets out.
********************************
"It's 11:30...they'll be here in an hour," I say to myself while hanging Van's newly washed and ironed clothes back on the hangar. I look out the window and notice how sunny and pretty the day looks outside. "For us to have had a huge storm last night, it sure did clear up quick," I say upon noticing the day.
I grab the hangar of clothes and head down the hall. As I am walking down there, I can hear a faint voice singing. "Oh no way..." I say to myself with a huge grin. I had started to knock on the door, but stopped myself hoping he would sing just a little more louder...I planned on using this to my advantage for oka-san had described Van also as the silent, strong type.
If he knew that I had heard him singing, he would probaly die!
It was an enchanting little melody. He wasn't that shabby of a singer either. In fact, he had a beautiful voice. I wonder if he wrote it.
Yake-sou na /Your Mystic Eyes
Kimi no Mystic Eyes.... /Are settin' me on fire
mujaki na egao de breaking down /Your innocent smile breakin' me down
kimi dake ni hitomi no oku aizu... /You're the only one with that look in your eye...(*1)
I'll have to remeber that for later...hehehe...Knock.Knock.Knock. I leave the hangar on the doorknob just like I said for him too and quickly skip back down the hall. He really does have a beautiful voice though...
********************************
It's now 12:15 p.m. "They'll be here soon," I say as I stare at the table trying to make sure that I haven't over looked anything. I see Van walking down the hall drying his hair with the towel.
"Sugoi..." Van says while shoving the towel into my hands. He approaches the table and looks it up and down. "You fixed all of this yourself?" he says with a raised eyebrow. "Hai...I didn't know what you would eat, so I just fixed a little bit of everything..." I say going to take the towel to the washroom. "Sugoi..." Van says again while scratching his head. I come back in the dining room from putting his towel in the wash. "Your hair looks good combed down," I tell him. "This isn't combed...just wet," he says very arrogantly. "Well, I think it looks nice...maybe you could put some gel in it to keep it down!" I say as I run go get my hair gel from the bathroom. "I hope you aren't serious," he calls back in the bathroom to me. I reappear with the gel bottle in hand. "Oh no! I am NOT putting that girl hair junk in MY hair!" he says as he folds his arms and shuts his eyes. "Oh c'mon. Just a little won't hurt you," I plead with him. "I can guarntee that it will look much better in your hair," he says cooly. I put some of the clear gel on the tips of my fingers. "Shiryoku-NO!" he says as he pushes my hand away. I let out a little aggrivated "hmph." "Fine!" I say as I put what little I had in my hands on the tip ends of my hair. "You know they are gonna recognize you; how could they not?" I say with dagger like eyes. Van just looks at me. Suddenly there is a knock at the door.
"C'mon!" I say as I grab Van's wrist and drag him to the front door. Before I open it, I look at him and say, "you just got here this morning, hai?" I say very sternly. "Sure...whatever..." he says kinda coldly. "What? What's wrong?" I ask curiously. I look away from him and at my hand on the door. "I know you are afraid of me because I know how your emotional system works, but you don't have to completely shut down..." I say with a slight smirk. He lets out a small gasp with a pair of surprised eyes. "And I know you're not used to being bossed around too, but you're gonna have to work with me, ok?" I say with a smile. "Uhh...yea..." Van mouths still stunned.
I fling the door open and there stands Amano-san and Yukari-san holding their darling little girl. They look a little surprised to see Van. They both look at each other and then look back at Van. "Hey darling," Yukari says as she hands the baby to Amano and reaches over to give me a huge hug. Amano looks at Van and introduces himself and the baby to Van. Van is still stunned (at seeing Hitomi's old crush) and finally manages to stutter out "Van Fanel". Yukari pushes me back at this and looks at Amano who blinks back at Yukari. Van then chimes in, "it's a kingdom smaller than Monaco." "Oh," they both say just letting their suspicion slip.
~Meanwhile in the outskirts of Fanelia~
Dryden walks along the Fanelian flea market. He was searching for a new, interesting coffee table piece. He was hoping to find a statue or a nice globe but he found something much more intriguing.
Dryden walked over to an old book stand. The dealer was one of his favorites and often had unique books. Dryden's merchant eye spotted one book in particular. It was leather bound and worn. He picked it up and flipped through it. As he flipped through it, he gasped at what he saw. "Issac," he whispered. "Dealer!" He called. "How much?" The haggling for the book began.
Dryden didn't get his coffee table piece that he'd been hoping to find, but he had found something much more interesting. He had just bought Issac Newton's journal.
~Back at Shiryoku and Van's Place~
"Oh, well, I didn't get the average schooling like all other Fanelian children. They taught me the things I needed to know to be a good king for my people," Van says strategically shoving a bunch of food in his mouth at once so he wouldn't have to answer another one of Yukari's questions. "Poor Van," I thought to myself, "Yukari is just trying to get him to slip and say he's from Gaea and he's that boy who killed the dragon."
I tried to help out by changing the subject. "So, does everyone like their food this afternoon?" I say with a smile. I get an enthusiastic "yea" from everyone at the table. Before I have a chance to thank everyone for the compliment, Amano starts the drilling of Van again. I was sitting there rolling my eyes and slapping my forehead in my mind.
"So Van," he says, "what's a Fanelian's favorite food?" Van sits there, blinks, and puts down the big bite of food he was about to take. He then very calmly says, "a sandwhich."
"Wow, I didn't know that royalty would eat sandwhiches!" exclaims Yukari. "What kind of entertainment do you guys have?" she says continuing the twenty question game. "Well, we mostly sing old folk songs that have been handed down for genorations," Van replies finally getting to shove the big bite of food in his mouth. "I was gonna take Van to the karoake bar tonight!" I exclaim. Yukari then stands up. "Oh! You should hear Shiryo sing! She sings like an angel," she says getting all starry eyed. I blush and look at the napkin in my lap underneath my hands. Van quickly turns and looks at me. "I'm really just an amateur..." "Nonsense," Amano breaks my sentence. "C'mon, sing that one I love!" yells Yukari. "But I don't have the people for that one," I argue not wanting to show off. "Oh who cares, the routine is great by itself!" yells Yukari in the living room setting up the machine.
*****************
I follow everyone into the den to see what in the heck this karoake stuff is. I see Shiryoku coming back downstairs in a significantly tighter outfit. I look at her and she blushes. "I don't normally dress like this; these are dance clothes," she offers to me as an explanation. Yukari is standing with a wireless mike in hand and says, "this is Shiryoku with her rendition of Ayumi Hamasaki's The Starry Sky!"
I watch as Shiryoku puts on an ear mike and a tape of one of her earlier performances rolls on the tv. It's got the dancers Yukari was talking about and Shiryoku is in the same outfit.
Shiryoku stands with her head down and begins to sing while gracefully moving her arms in different directions. The Shiryoku on the tape is doing the same. They are both in perfect time with each other.
"Uhhhh...kono yo matta, haka nai hoshi sora
"Uhhhh...hikaru hoshi ni, ne gai wa uka konni..."
("Uhhh...tonight there is another transparent starry sky
uhhh...will my wish be granted by the glowing star above?)
As the tempo picks up and the music gets heavier, Shiryoku's head pops up and her moves become more sharp. "I've never seen anyone dance like that before or sing as well as she does either!" I think to myself. I find myself blushing at the girl in front of me. She doesn't look a thing at all like the girl I met when I walked up in the yard that night.
(Flashback)
I remember walking up and seeing her sitting there. Her eyes were so sad. I couldn't believe that this was the same girl that had just left me a year ago. But it wasn't the same girl...
I remember opening my mouth for words to come out but nothing but silence was there. I wanted her to be like the same girl that left me. I wanted to see her happy. That's the only way I live the life I do...I have to make other people around me happy or else I don't feel a purpose. Hitomi made me happy because she was happy by herself. Shiryoku...she's different...her eyes are always so sad...
(Back to present time)
I focus my vision back on the dancing girl in front of me. She's still in perfect time with the girl on the television screen. I notice something though-she's smiling. I watch her more closely. Her eyes almost seem twinkling when she is singing. I glance at the tape. There's a close up of her face right when I look. The same happy smile and starry eyes are there. This girl is meant to sing.
*********************
Out of breath, I take a short bow and look around the room. As usual, Yukari-san is amazed, hands clapsed with starry eyes ranting and raving about how great I sing; Amano-san is holding the baby he went and got before the song saying, "look at your god-sister; she'll be an idol one day!" and Van is sitting back cooly with a look of utter amazement on his face. He then sits foward and says, "by far, you have the most melodic voice I have ever heard..."
"Arigatou," I say quickly interrupting him. "But if you don't mind, I want to change. I can't stand clothes like these," I say racing up the stairs to change.
***************
Yukari-san and Amano-san left around 3 p.m. and Van and I decided to go to the mall. Afterall, Van did need clothes for the coming school week.
When we got to the mall, I asked him what kind of clothes he liked. Van didn't seem to get the concept too well.
"Oh, c'mon y'know...expensive,cheap,lots of color, plain, and all sorts of things. Ah well, we'll just start with the school uniform, ok?"
I briskly walk over to the store and pull Van in with me. I had noticed someone had been following us.
Pretty soon a tailor grabs out his measuring tape and begins to pick Van out the uniform he needs. The man looks at him for a second, then asks him, "where are you from; I've never heard an accent like yours before."
Van looks at me. I smirk and shake my head. Van then just gives a slight smile and sticks his arms behind his head. "I'm from a place smaller than Monaco.; doubt you would have even heard of it."
I let out a little snicker and watched as the tailor continued to measure Van for his uniform. The tailor finally walks off and Van looks at me. "All I can say is I told you so..." I say in a sing-song voice. "You guys sure are nosey..." Van says sitting next to me. "Ah, you'll get over it," I say with a slight sigh.
The tailor returns with our school uniform in a variety of different colors. There's a black, navy, and brown outfit. Van tries on all three and we decide on buying three black ones and two navy ones.
The rest of the time we spend walking around and visisting different stores trying to find what kind of "style" Van had. I still felt like someone was watching us.
Van liked one store in particular; it was real plain. The store consisted of mostly shirts in various solid colors and blue jeans that weren't really ornate.
The fall can sometimes be really cold and I was thinking about that when I handed him a sweater. I hung it over the dressing room door. "Here, try that on."
The red sweater is pulled off the side of the door and I hear a, "there's no way I am wearing that!"
"Why not? It's just a sweater..." I say curiously.
"No,it's not. It's a girly sweater," he says very arrogantly.
"It's a warm sweater and it's red...that's not very girly," I say very matter of factly as I fold my arms.
"It's got the girly neck and the girly sleeves...it's a sissy sweater and I 'm not trying it on!" I hear him getting irratated.
Underneath the door,(it doesn't touch all the way to the ground) I can see Van's pant leg sticking out from underneath. I quickly bend and grab them.
"You no get pants until you try on jeans and sweater , capish?"
Van peeks his head out of the dressing room. His face is blood red, either from embarassment or sheer anger.
I smile. "I want to see my sweater on you," I say giggling while holding his pants tightly in my arms.
He grumbles and shuts the door and returns in a moment. He walks out and the jeans with the red sweater looks absolutely adorable on him.
"This is the sissiest thing I have ever worn," he continues grumbling to himself.
"Relax, you look like a guy model," I say with confidience handing his pants back to him.
"And their all sissies too!" he says as he slams to door to the dressing room shut.
After the sweater incident, we go to the register to pay for the clothes he's picked out (along with my sweater!) and get going to the karoake club.
******************
After we had eaten supper at the karoake club, I started begging Van to get up there and sing something. He argued me down about it; he wasn't going to do it because he didn't know any Japanese songs, only Fanelian ones.
Someone came by and asked me to sing. "Hey it's the Pop Princess," they said. I accepted.
**************
"But a really short one," I hear Shiryoku say. She takes off her heavy jacket she's been wearing and there's a beautiful dress underneath. It's a purple halter and looks like it's been tye-dyed. She has curves and long, straight mahognay hair that graces a beautifully round face. Her eyes are big and by far the most oustanding feature she has. I hate to say it but she's prettier than Hitomi. I slap myself mentally for thinking that.
She turns to me before she leaves and says, "you're next," with a mischievous grin. While they prepare her karoake set, two guys grab me and let me listen and hum along to my tune they, along with Shiryo, wrote for me. Apparently, Shiryo must've heard me singing in the shower and picked up the tune. So I guess whenever you perform, you get a tape to take with you. (both a cd and a video tape.) I still didn't want to do this but I had made a deal with Shiryo earlier. If she sang, I had to too. *Crap* I thought, "Why do I have to be such a nice guy?" The song ends...I really like it.
I look back to the stage and Shiryoku is up there with her mike in hand. She looks somewhat nervous but she starts to speak.
"Hey everyone," she says with a small grin. A huge applause comes from the audience along with some cat calls and yelling of her name and Pop Princess. Shiryoku just giggles. "What are ya'll in the mood for tonight?" she asks the auidience. "Any requests?" she says smiling.
There it is again. A smile on her pretty face. I stop thinking. I just thought about her being pretty again. This isn't good. Hitomi just died and I'm gawking over her daughter. This isn't good. Is it even moral to like her? My thoughts are interrupted by hearing her first notes.
"Inori...Michiru umi to tsuki yami to hikari tokete
Umare kawaru inochi
Sakeru sora to mune ni itsuka hikari tokete
Mezame ikiru inochi..."
(The moon and sea become full
the light & darkness become reincarnated
the sky is torn from my heart
when will the light dissolve, awaken, & live life?)
The atmosphere has changed dramatically to match her song. It's a pretty, quiet, laid back song and now the club is too. The guys that were letting out cat calls and the girls that were yelling are all staring right at Shiryo as if to burn a hole through her.
The club is lit in lavendar with a blue spotlight on Shiryoku. She's there on the stage and is hanging on the mike for dear life. I only know this becuase her knuckles are white. I guess it takes a lot for her to get up there and sing. I don't know why; she sings beautifully and everyone here is crazy for her. She continues her song:
"Chinmoku no machi kabe ni kizamareta tooi kiouku ga
ima kataru sono hito no kotoba
togirenagara mimi no naka ni kairi komu
jumon no you no hikuku hisoyaka no koe de..."
(Faraway memories cut into the wall of this town's silence
Now I speak their language
As I stand still, whispering voices crowd into my ears
like a descending spell..."
I am now mezmarized by her voice and song. She's singing from the depths of her heart; I can tell it. After seeing her be treated the way she was by the policemen, after seeing her get upset over a vision, after knowing what all she's been through, this song has her feelings poured all into it.
"Ikutsu tsuki ga ochite ikudo hi ga terasedo kimi o
omou ai wa
kono kabe to inor ga tsutae todokete yuku jidai o
tobi koete..."
(How many times will the moon fall?
How many times will the fire be lit?
Your love yearns for you
This wall & prayer go & deliver report,
As I fly over an ancient sky..."
She looks at me from the stage. Her eyes seem happy. I want to know why she's happy when she sings. I want her to stay like that. She begins to walk down the platform that leads out into the audience/dining area. People smush up against the sides of it to get close to her. I notice in the background that Yukari-san is here too. She's been following us around all day. I guess she saw me staring at her becuase she walks over and says, " beautiful isn't it?" "Yea..." I thoughtfully answer. She eyes me. "You look a lot like someone I saw from a long time ago..." she begins. "Really? They say everyone has a twin..." I say trying to play it off. "You know...if Shiryoku goes missing and you're missing too, I'll kill you when you come back."
A surprised look comes across my face as I try to understand. Yukari elaborates. "This guy you look like took Hitomi from us and completely made her insane. Shiryo said that Hitomi killed herself worrying over him coming back...Shiryo is the only thing I have left of her...Hitomi entrusted her to me...I WON'T LET HER DOWN, OR SHIRYO..." she says with great conviction.
I got so angry but couldn't say anything. She had no tact in saying she'd kill me, but I guess I understand since she explained herself. Afterall, the only person I had on Fanelia that I was extremely close to was Merlu and I'd kill anyone who made her insane...
"I promise, I'm not going anywhere for a while and I won't take Shiryoku with me...it'd be a shame to keep such a beautiful voice to myself," I say trying to reassure her. In truth, I really did want Shiryo to see Fanelia. She had said earlier in the day she'd love to go to Gaea and that she didn't really enjoy Earth.
"Shiroku nemuru sabaku no suna dake ga mada
kirei na yume mingara neiki o tateru
kabe no moji wa kezure iroasete mo nao
kiramekimashi dare ka o motomete utau..."
(Only deserts of white sand are still sleeping
As I dream beautiful dreams my breathing is built
A wall of characters is cut down & and the colors fade away
Glittering and asking who sings....)
Yukari is still staring me down. I guess she was hoping to bore a hole in my head so she could see if I was lying or something but eventually, she relented. "I don't exactly know who you are...but I'll trust you for now...but if you show any signs of being that boy that killed the dragon..."
"Who knows where he comes from?
Who knows where he comes from?"
"I get it," I say. "Let's just listen for now, huh?" She looks at me very sternly. I realize that I have gone back to being an anal retentive guy (which is how I was when I first me Hitomi) and I gulp.
"kak to mirai ikiki suru tori nokage o mitsuketa ki ga shita..."
(The past & the future keep in touch with each other
I imagine I see the birds' shadows..."
"Just know I'll be watching you..." Yukari says as she walks off. I watch her leave. Her strut is a defiant one; one that says I will definately have to be careful around her. I can tell she doesn't forget stuff easily and that she's a true friend. She will hold her promise to Hitomi.
"Ikutsu hosi ga kiete ikudo mizu karete mo kimi o omou ai wa
ikutsu kaze ga fuite ikudo yume sutete mo kimi o
omou ai wa..."
(How many stars will disappear?
How often will the rain wither away?
Your love yearns for you
How many times will the wind blow?
How often will I abandon my dreams?
Your love yearns for you..."
I once again go back to being mezmarized by her singing ability. She gazes around the auidience as she sings but then focuses on me for a second. It's almost like she saw Yukari and was being sympathetic. She gives a slight smile while singing and finishes her song.
"And now, I'd like for everyone to give a warm round of applause to a newcomer; I enjoy his singing a lot and I know you guys will too," she says grinning. "Oh no..." I think. I was hoping she'd let it go.
*************
I pull Van up on the stage. It's rather funny. His face is blood red but he's trying so hard to play it off. I continue with my introduction. "This is Van's own song," I say looking at him. "It's called..."
He rolls his eyes and says very dryly, "Mystic Eyes." "Yeah, ok so Mystic Eyes by Van Fanel!" Everyone in the club gets excited as I hand him the mike and I jump offstage into the crowd.
"Muhahhaahaahaaa..." I giggle to myself. "This should be fun."
The lights dim and a silver disco ball lowers. Van steps with a wireless mike in hand. He's still got on the outfit he arrived in; the red silk shirt with the tan pants and those really weird looking gloves. It fits the song well, though.
He stands center stage and then puts his right hand on his left shoulder and his left hand on his right hip.
The band gives him a fabulous introduction in which he's still standing there, but then all the sudden they flash a red light on his glove. The beat after it he thrusts out the hand holding the microphone horiziontally and starts dancing like he's from the disco age or something.
"Blue searchlights, meet beyond the moon,
Yeah, my angel who came flying down Who are you?"
Now the doors of destiny are opening before us,
So, just, fall in love...
I can't break free of this moment that's making my heart flutter...
Don't stop baby!
"Oh man, he's good," I whisper to myself as I watch him work the crowd. His voice is just so melodic but at the same time it has a crispness to it too. He seems to be looking at me a lot, as if to say, "you're gonna get it later," but ah, well that's just Van.
I look at the crowd around me. All the girls are going crazy over him. They act like he's somebody famous already. One girl even tries to get up on stage with him. *gasp* He pulls her up on stage and starts singing to her!
Your MYSTIC EYES are settin' me on fire
Your innocent smile breakin' me down
It's only for you, this look in my eye (*1)
An endless, journey is beginning With this unstoppable pounding in my heart
And I wanna, swoop down, and take you with me!
"Hmph," I think to myself. I fold my arms and watch as all the girls continue to go crazy as if he were an idol. "He's not that cute..."I think to myself knowing good and well I was lying. He looked good in anything he tried on earlier today, has the cutest smile, and the most gorgeous eyes a guy could have. "Oh my gaaa...Am I jealous?"
"Ooh, oh baby...it's so easy to love you!"
He points at me and winks as if to apologize. I eye him with a glare but really I feel better now. "Maybe he's just doing all this for show...I mean...oka-san was his one and only and it'd better stay that way..." I think with an uneasy feeling in my heart.
There's a guitar solo and he works the crowd even more. Everyone, including myself, is on their feet dancing to the tune. He's an overnight sucess, as they say.
Van does some incredibly weird dance moves, things I've never seen before, but the auidience reacted pretty well to it. Although, they looked like idiots trying to copy him becuase they didn't execute it near as well as he did.
There's a couple of more verses and then the song begins to end. He ends it the same way he began; pushing that cordless mike out on that last beat with his head down. Funny, quirky little song and dance, but it's good for a first time.
*************(at their house)
"Did you enjoy the karoake bar?" I ask. "Yea," Van says very non chalantly. I look at the clock. It's 11:27 p.m. "Van, it's late, so I'm going to bed," I say very quitely. "Same," he replies. "He's acting weird," I think to myself. "Well, good nite..." I say looking back from about halfway up the stairs. "Nite, Shiryo," he says rubbing his hair and heading back to oka-san's room.
*************(outskirts of Fanelia)
Dryden sits in his living room scanning over the pages of the newly bought book. He can't believe what he's picked up. He wonders how the story of Allen's father's explorations will differ from that of Issac's. He opens the first page and begins to read..."This explains how Zaibach came to be..." he mumbles to himself not knowing what he was about to stumble in upon...
*************(outside Shiryoku's room)
I stand in the doorway frozen in fear. It's ungentlemanly to go into a girl's room but I can hear that she's having a nightmare. It must be pretty bad. She's sounds like she's crying and wrestling with the covers for her life. "I can't go in there but it's awful that she's suffering so," I say musing. All of the sudden, I hear a scream.
*************(Shiryoku's room)
I sit straight up in my bed. I woke up in a cold sweat while letting out a huge scream. I look around and then to the door. I go to open it and I am surprised by Van standing there. He looked as if he was about to do the same. We stand there for a second looking at each other. I think we were both embarassed to see each other in pajamas. Van looks up and asks if I am ok. I tell him yea but then he says, "feh, yeah right; you had something close to a vision didn't you?"
I'm caught off guard by this statement. It's like he read my mind. Suddenly, there's a loud clap of thunder outside. "Ahhh!" I let out a squeal and cling to the thing nearest to me, which just happens to be Van. He looks at me in surprise and then says, "ouch...your nails hurt...please let go..." I blush and apologize. "You're scared of thunder? Why? It's just a noise," he says being arrogant as usual. "I'm just a little jumpy right now because of the nightmare..." I say replaying the dream in my head. He looks at me as if to offer to listen. "It's making you think isn't it..." he quietly says. I look up at him with tense eyes. "More so scaring me...I felt like there was no way out...I can't go back to sleep right now..." I say looking outside and hearing another clap of thunder. I cringe and pull at my shorts. I look back up at Van and ask if he'd just sit and talk with me for a while in the den. He agrees.
After I had made us some hot chocolate, I sat on the couch facing him and started asking random questions. "What's your middle name?" started it off. He looked at me. "I'm waiting," I said. "It's de Slanzar," he said taking a sip of the hot chocolate. He made a face at the mug. "This is rather weird tasting..." "SLANZAR?!?!" I cried as I was rolling on the couch laughing. "What was your mother thinking?!?!?" "It's a family name, IT'S ROYAL," he says taking yet another sip and then saying, " I guess you just have to get used to this 'hot chocolate' stuff." "So what's your middle name?" he says continuing the conversation. "Yukari," I say sipping on my hot chocolate. Van tenses up and looks in all directions. "WHERE?" he says. "No," I say as I giggle. "It comes as a tribute to Yukari for being such a good friend to oka-san; my name is Shiryoku Yukari Kanzaki Akane,"I say very proudly. "Oh," Van says sitting back on the couch some. "So...did you ever kiss oka-san?" I say with a grin. Van blushes at this statement. "C'mon, dish..." "No...I'm not telling you that!" he says as he gets irratated. "Why not?" I say as I make a pouty face. It's almost as if you could've been my dad." Ewww. I just realize what I said. Van and both make a face of disgust. I get our minds off of it by telling him this, "no details- just yes or no." He sighs and relents, "no." "NO?!?!? WHY NOT?!?! I THOUGHT YOU TWO WERE MADLY IN LOVE!!!" "Shiryo, I'm not answering this," he says getting irratated yet again. He gets up off the couch to take his glass and he takes mine with him. I grab a pillow and hold it as I sit indian style. I watch him and think, " *sleep pants without a shirt* *sigh*," and then kick myself mentally. "I CAN'T LIKE HIM!" I scream in my head. He's even still wearing oka-san's necklace.
He comes back in the room and I notice a red gleam on his hand. At first I thought he had cut himself, and I got really worried. "What's wrong with your hand?" I say jumping off the couch and grabbing his hand. I can see he's completely caught off guard by my action. I pull his hand up and see that it's a ring-(flashback) I remember picking it up and thinking of how beautiful it was. It was made of a stone and a jewl I had never seen before. The jewl was the most beautiful shade of red.(presently) "This ring is gorgeous!" I exclaim. I slide it off his finger and put it on my left ring finger. It fits perfectly. "Is it yours?" I ask. "Ummm...yea...It's a family heirloom...the prince is supposed to ahh..." he stops here. "Do what?" I say looking up at him from the couch now after oohing and ahhing at it. He looks at the ground and finally manages to mumble out, "...give it to his bride to be..." "Oh," I say letting my eyes drift back to the magnificently carved dragon holding the prismatic red jewl. "I was gonna ask to keep it, but ahh," I say removing the ring, "you need it I guess." I hold out my hand palm up with the dragon ring sitting there in the center. He takes it out of my hands and into his. He looks at it and I see his eyes watering. I then finally realize what this meant. "OH!" I say with a short gasp and clasping my hands over my mouth. I wanted to cry now too. He came back to MARRY oka-san but found her dead.
For the longest there was nothing but silence between the two of us. It was still raining and I still didn't feel like I could sleep soundly yet. Finally, he sat down next to me on the couch.
"I promise you if you sit here and talk to me long enough, I'll fall asleep and you can just leave me here on the couch," I say putting my head on his shoulder. I glance up at him and he slips the ring back on my finger. "Keep it; I don't think I'll find love ever again," he says very solemnly. "Oh Van! Don't say that," I cry with tears welping up in my eyes again. He looks so sad. "You have to believe..." I drift off before I a shed a couple of tears. "You remind me so much of her at times," he says pushing my head back on his shoulder. I was surprised at this, but didn't mind it. He seems to be in a daze. I try to take his and my mind off of it for a little bit. "What kind of gemstone is it?" I ask choking back tears. "It's drag-engergist or dragon energist as some call it," he says with that monotone voice of his. "It's beautiful..." I whisper. "It's the heart of a dead dragon," he says getting even more quiet. "Eww," I think. That's really weird. Suddenly, I fell a hand stroking my hair. I am surprised yet again. "I love it when people brush my hair; it makes me sleepy," I say feeling the lids of my eyes getting heavy. "Good," he says surprising me for the last time, "you need the rest." He continues to stroke my cherry mahogany hair and we talk about going to oka-san's funeral. We both knew it was going to be extremely hard for us but at least we had each other to lean on.
*****************
I sat there for a second after I had made sure Shiryoku was asleep. I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to just stay here on the couch and sleep or whether I should take her to her room and tuck her in. I knew what I wanted to do, (stay right there on the couch) but I knew that Yukari-san and Amano-san would be here in the morning. I figured us on the couch wouldn't be too good of a sight for them to see.
I picked Shiryo up as not to disturb her sleep and carried her up the stairs. As I carried her I heard her say, "...Dornkirk...oka-san..." I shook my head. The poor thing is worse off than Hitomi...her visions and premonitions are much stronger than Hitomi's were.
I lay her on her bed and then straighten her covers over her. Her hair is sprawled out all over the pillow and she flips over to me like she's going to wake up. Instead, she just hugs her pillow and a smile comes across her face. She's mumbling more things in her sleep, but dreams are private things and I tried my best not to listen anymore. I suppose she was dreaming about her bedtime story for she was yelling at Hitomi to go find me; telling Hitomi that she loved me.
I smile, shut her door, and walk back downstairs to my room. I give a long sigh as I crawl back in bed. Tomorrow would be a long, horrible day for me. Probaly the most tragic and heart wrenching day of my life. At least I would have Shiryoku to lean on if I needed to. Tomorrow was Hitomi's funeral.
*************
So whatch'a think? R&R PLEAZE! ~japanimejo~ ^_^
*1-There are two different translations that have very different meanings. The dubbed tape says: You're the only one, with that look in YOUR eye...
The translation at www.animelyrics.com says: It's only for you, this sign held deep within my eyes...
....SO...take your pick of which you think is right...and i STILL don't own anything just in case you forgot. ^_^;