Chapter Two: The Light of the Sea
Hi, y'all!
Did you have a nice long wait? Sorry for the late update…
It really wasn't my fault! I swear!
Thanx, unkown-wisdom (if I spelled it wrong, I'm really sorry…) for the compliments. Isn't she just a bit too solemn for you, though?
And thanx to Endless Rain for all the nice things…do you think Larva's cool?
Dark and Mysterious…
I like him…
I don't own either Vampire Princess Miyu or Escaflowne.
Well, here it is.
Chapter Two: The Light of the Sea
"I think we should go for ice-cream," Yukari smiled.
"Cupcakes!"
"Pizza!"
"Yuck! Let's get Chinese," Kenji suggested.
"No, cupcakes!" Myoshi insisted.
"I still think pizza is the best," Toroshino said, sending his younger sister a look. Myoshi pouted.
"What about you, Hitomi?" Yukari turned to her friend.
Ice-cream…cupcakes…pizza…Chinese…the names were spinning in Hitomi's head.
"I don't know," she said quietly. "Whatever you think is best."
"Then it's ice-cream!"
"Pizza!"
"Why can't we ever eat Chinese?" Kenji wailed.
"Cupcakes, please!"
"Hitomi, you should pick," Toroshino grinned. "You haven't chosen for us ever before."
"I really don't know," Hitomi said, her voice growing dangerously soft—almost menacing.
"Chocolate ice-cream?" Yukari said.
"Pepperoni," Toroshino argued.
"Pepperoni ice-cream?" Myoshi exclaimed. "T'oshin', that's really gross!"
"I mean pepperoni pizza," Toroshino explained patiently.
"Lo mein," Kenji cried.
"Vanilla cupcakes with icing and those little pink sprinkles," Myoshi licked her lips at a pleasant memory, "we had them for my birthday once."
"Stop!" Hitomi ordered, her voice snapping through the bickering like a whip.
The silence was almost penetrating.
"We'll go to some fast-food joint. This way we can all get what we want."
"I don't think they serve pizza at McDonalds," Toroshino muttered, naming the only fast-food restaurant he knew. He quailed under Hitomi's solemn glare. "Okay, okay—fast-food it is! Chill out, 'Tomi."
"Way to go, Hitomi!" Yukari cheered, but her smile faded when she saw Hitomi's face. The girl's eyes were dark green, and they reminded Yukari of thunderclouds gathering before a storm.
Myoshi pretended not to notice. "Come on. Arik can drive us. He'll eat anything," she added, with a little laugh. "So it doesn't really matter to him."
*************
Van should have returned by now.
The thought nagged at the back of her mind until it filled her very being.
The same statement.
Van should have returned by now.
"He should have," she whispered. She was worried.
"Hello, there, Guardian," Nihon's tinkling voice rang out. Hitomi bit her lip. I do not need her as well.
"What now?" she demanded.
"There is a stray Shinma," Nihon used the Japanese term for demon, "on the loose. But of course, you must have sensed it by now."
Hitomi ground her teeth. "I will investigate, Nihon. You," her voice grew steely, "shall leave now and allow me to finish my duty."
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly," Nihon declared, in a voice of syrupy sweetness. "I shall accompany you. I do know where she is, after all."
Hitomi was silent.
"Where is your servant?" Nihon smiled.
"Not here," Hitomi hissed.
"Oh?" Nihon's smile grew into a smirk.
"He is away."
"And you allowed him? Guardians do not allow their servants to roam, my friend."
Hitomi snarled something incoherently, but Nihon understood.
The smaller, black-haired girl vanished. Hitomi glared fiercely at the spot where she had been. Then, she too, vanished.
************
"Ryohe!" a woman screamed.
Ryohe's head snapped in that direction. "Naomi?"
Another scream answered him.
He broke into a swift run, only to be confronted by a strange scene.
The woman he loved was surrounded by two oddly dressed girls.
"Get away from her!" he snapped. "Naomi!"
"Ryohe!" Naomi cried, relief flooding her eyes.
Hitomi's eyes flashed green. Another Shinma?
"How is it, Ryohe, that you too are a demon?" she said coldly.
"I am. But you've got the wrong person. Naomi is a human, she's innocent! You've got to let her go," Ryohe growled.
"I'm not," Naomi whispered.
She closed her eyes and her true form was revealed.
"Naomi—" Ryohe gasped. She pulled him to her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said softly. Ryohe grinned, and his own form burst from beneath the human shell.
"Please, don't destroy us! Don't send us back to the Shadows. We are only trying to make a living in this world."
Hitomi could sense their sincerity. She stalled Nihon's attack with a raised hand.
"Do you know anything of a certain Western Demon?"
"No…but there was a whole ship of them that came to my village. I fought, and when I woke, Naomi was trying to heal me," Ryohe said. He tightened his grip around Naomi's shoulder.
"A shipload…"
"Three, actually. A French-man, an American Demoness, and a Knight."
"Interesting," Hitomi said dryly. She had an idea. "Take me to them, and perhaps I will spare your life."
She ignored Nihon's sputtering in the background.
*****************
"He refuses to awaken," Pierre growled.
"I'm not sure what you mean, dear," Lilith said.
"I've tried everything. He's no longer suffering from your song- spell, but he refuses to awaken."
"Perhaps…"
"I know the Guardian, damn her, as cast a spell on him. Perhaps she has taken his very soul."
"Perhaps, Pierre."
"I will concoct another potion. Just to see. Oh, and has the Guardian taken the bait?"
"Yes, Pierre."
Pierre gave a laugh. "Good," he said. "Good. We'll be seeing her soon."
****************
"How could you—how could you?!" Nihon gasped.
"Shut the hell up, Nihon." Hitomi rarely used profanity, but the Summoner was just seriously getting on her nerves.
Nihon's protests faltered and died.
She smiled slyly.
"I never knew your servant was running rampant, Guardian. I thought you could control him."
"He has a will, Nihon," Hitomi snapped. "I will allow him to do as he wishes. That is friendship, after all. I trust him."
Nihon laughed mockingly.
It cut to Hitomi's very soul.
She knew she could not attack the Summoner. But a threat might do. So she lit a flame in her hand and waved it menacingly in front of Nihon's face.
"Now you listen, Nihon. I. Am. The. Guardian. And. I. Will. Not. Tolerate. This. Crap. From. You!" She narrowed her eyes. "If. You. Ever. Criticize. Van. Again. Or. Me. I. Will. See. To. It. That. You. Pay." (Damn, long sentences written like that get kinda strange.)
Nihon smiled sweetly. "As you wish, my friend."
Hitomi wanted to strangle her.
Smash her up against a wall.
Set her aflame.
Over and over again.
Until she was worse than dead.
Instead, she clenched her fists and kept her mouth shut, trembling slightly with rage.
"Ryohe, lead us on," she said, and added. "I am putting my life in your hands. Do not think to double-cross me. I trust you." Ryohe nodded, linking arms with her, and she, in turn, too Naomi's hand. Nihon grabbed Ryohe's other hand, and all vanished.
***************
"Van…come back to us…" Pierre chanted. He stopped in disgust. "This is not working. Damn that Guardian and her spell! Van, I will free you from it."
***************
"So this is the village," Hitomi whispered. "It is where I first met Van."
A heavy mist settled over the village. "Strange…usually I know what the people around here are doing," Ryohe said uneasily.
A flumping noise.
Many noises.
People.
Hitomi's eyes flashed green.
They are being controlled by a Demon, she realized.
"Show yourself, demon!" she ordered.
Nihon sent a wave of ice toward the people. They stopped and were frozen.
"Nihon, there was no need to do that. They were innocent. They could have been freed from the Demon's spell," Hitomi said.
"It is quicker," Nihon sniffed.
"Ahah! So you are the Guardian!"
The Black Knight had come.
Hitomi smiled challengingly. "So I am. Black Knight. Where is Van?"
The Knight answered with a bellow, and charged. Hitomi dodged the knight's lance and the death-horse's hooves with ease. She summoned the flame to her hand, as Nihon summoned the ice. Both shot from different angles. The flame hit ice and rebounded, causing the Demon no harm. Hitomi bit her lip in frustration. Nihon, stop interfering!
The Knight roared, slashing wildly with his lance. Hitomi gasped in pain as the death-horse's hoof impacted with her shoulder, shattering it. She was a Demon, too, though, and her shoulder healed within a matter of seconds. "Into the Shadows, Shinma!" Nihon cried, and sent the ice. Hitomi counteracted it with her flame, glaring at the Summoner. The Knight went for her again, but Ryohe intervened.
"Get lost, creep," he shouted.
Hitomi took the opportunity to bring her own flame into view.
"To the Shadows!" she said, and struck the knight.
He roared, falling into a pile of dust that burned merrily, crackling.
Nihon glared at Hitomi. Hitomi met the glare with her own.
It was Nihon who first looked away.
Ryohe pointed. "Look! There it is," he said.
Hitomi looked, and saw a ship rising out of the heavy mist.
The Light of the Sea—Van's ship. That is where he should be. I will go now. But wait—what—
Four tall spines rose from the water, jagged, sharp, protecting the ship. Hitomi swore under her breath. "I cannot reach the ship," she said.
Naomi said, "I may be of help. I can create a barrier, but not for long."
She gathered her strength and projected. The spines vanished.
Hitomi nodded her thanks. "I promise to spare you, if I return alive."
"Now go, youngling," Naomi gasped. "I can't hold it long!"
Hitomi vanished.
******************
"Barrow's gone," Pierre said, referring to the Black Knight. "Lilith?"
Lilith nodded. "Try to wake him up, love. I'll stop her."
*****************
Hitomi reappeared on the ghostly ship. Ghost wood creaked beneath her feet, ghost sails wailed and moaned in the wind.
This is definitely creepy, she thought.
"Going somewhere?" Lilith's voice ran out.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Now move," Hitomi said angrily, trying to push past the demon who blocked her. Without warning Lilith began to sing.
Hitomi gasped and fell to her knees as the song filled her ears.
It pressed her to the ground, she felt her bones crushing.
She couldn't utter a sound.
Pain…
Then a voice—
Van?
It was!
Hitomi, her skin is like paper. Set her afire. Hitomi…
"Van…" Hitomi whispered. She managed to bring the flame.
Lilith paused. "What are you doing?" she demanded harshly.
"Into the Shadows, demon!" Hitomi cried, and threw her flame.
Lilith screamed. She was consumed by the flames, and her shape vanished.
"Two demons down. How many more to go, though?" Hitomi muttered.
****************
"I'll stay with you until you want to end this, Hitomi. I give you my word," Van whispered.
She backed away from him, a beautiful smile lighting her face.
***************
Pierre watched, his face creased in concentration, as the former stray demon mumbled something incoherent.
"She's got you. And Lilith is gone. But we'll still be together, old friend."
**************
"I'll stay with you until you want to end this, Hitomi. I give you my word," Van whispered.
She backed away from him, a smile lighting her face.
The memory ran through Hitomi's head.
"You'll die, Guardian!" Van shouted.
"No," Hitomi said softly, retaliating with flames. She dodged his sword. He lunged again, and again, always the flames she threw managed to miss him…In the end, though, he'd gotten the better of her with a feint and then…
She shuddered slightly, remembering.
Then he'd impaled her with his sword.
She had gasped once, and choked once, and her eyes had gone wide with shock, blood coming in spurts from her stomach.
Hitomi neared the door of the captain's cabin.
She slammed it open.
Unconscious on the couch lay Van.
"Van!" she cried, relief in her voice. He's here. Oh…Van, Van, Van…
"Guardian. You've come," Pierre said, a growl in his faintly French voice. He lounged atop his mahogany and rosewood table, a bowl of yellow autumn apples beside him.
"I've come to take Van back with me."
"He stays here. I know what you've done to him. Release him from your spell, Guardian!"
Hitomi's eyes narrowed. "Spell?"
"Don't play the innocent with me, Guardian. I'm going to kill you, so Van can be free."
"I never placed him under any spell. Van made a promise, and he intends to keep it."
"Liar!" Pierre pulled an apple from the bowl and threw it into the bubbling concoction he had behind him. A giant beetle emerged from the bowl, buzzing.
Hitomi recoiled involuntarily.
A sun beetle.
Poisonous to those of the Dark side. (A/N: Whoa, major Star Wars quote there…)
"What fool are you, to be playing with that kind of magic?" she hissed.
The sun beetle sucked all energy from those it landed on.
It flew to her, and she gasped and swatted crazily at it.
Regardless of her flailing arm, the beetle landed on her face and took a tight hold. She raised both hands and frantically tried to pry it from her face, but to no avail. The draining began, and she slumped down.
Hitomi! Don't give up! it was Van again.
She nodded, and sent three quavering notes into the air.
Pierre had readied a sword. "I shall kill you with this," he declared, and attacked.
The sun beetle fell to the ground, carved in two, but Hitomi was no where to be seen.
"Where are you?!" Pierre shrieked.
Hitomi smiled mockingly. "The sun beetle failed, demon. Give it up."
Pierre sprang up to meet her.
"Van, wake up!" Hitomi yelled. "Van!" She barely dodged in time as Pierre's attack went sailing by her shoulder.
****************
"I'll stay with you until you want to end this, Hitomi. I give you my word," Van whispered.
She backed away from him, a beautiful smile lighting her face.
"…H-Hitomi…" Van mumbled, a frown creasing his brow. His eyes opened slowly. The room swam into view, foggy, blurred, and it was so confusing…
He felt something probing at his mind.
Van! Van, you promised me. Don't break your promise. Van. Come back…please…
His frown increased. Who—
Then it clicked.
"Hitomi!"
****************
Hitomi refused to close her eyes, even as the blade went whistling by and sliced off a chunk of her hair. She sent sparks of flame at the French demon, fervently wishing that Van would waken.
Van! She concentrated furiously on the unconscious demon. Van, you promised me. Don't break your promise. Van. Come back…please…
***************
Pierre saw the Guardian go into something that resembled a trance, her eyes blank and totally unfocused. Her hands hung at her sides, no longer did the flames shoot from her palms. He took his chance and struck with the sword—
Van's sword, conjured from the air, blocked him.
"Don't do something you'll regret, Pierre," he said quietly.
"Van!" Hitomi's eyes smiled, and Van felt his heart leap.
Pierre turned to Van. "Van, my old friend," he said heartily. "Welcome back. But I must still kill her to rid you of the—"
"Don't," Van hissed.
"You're still under her spell?" Pierre gasped. "But you're awake—"
"Don't hurt her," Van repeated.
Pierre brushed his friend aside. "Under normal circumstances, I would listen to you, Van. But she has killed Lilith and Barrow, and she must pay."
He drew the sword and lunged.
Hitomi saw the sword heading her way. She did not flinch.
Halfway through the air, Pierre stopped.
Van had reappeared in front of Hitomi.
And run him through. Hitomi shuddered when she saw the sword protruding from Pierre's back. Not that she felt queasy, but she knew what mental struggle Van must have been going through. Both demons—Hitomi and Pierre—were important to him. But he had chosen her.
Pierre seemed confused. He collapsed onto Van, his hand gripping the other demon's tightly.
"Van—why—?"
Van spoke, his eyes distant.
"When Hitomi and I fought, I transfixed her with my sword. She died then…"
Yes, she had. She slumped down onto him, and he prepared to pull his sword free when she stirred. He paused, confused. That attack should have killed her, he thought. She looked up with a snarling cry, all traces of green and gold gone from her eyes—there was only red, the redness of a possessed Demon. Hitomi lunged forward and upward, and bit his neck.
Van smiled slightly as he remembered the feel of her lips on his neck. (A/N: Ew…but I needed it to be there…)
"She bit me. And our blood merged—her immortal blood and mine (A/N: if she's immortal how does she die? Don't ask me how Hitomi died, then, cuz I don't know). I died as well. That day we accidentally created a blood pact. I swore to her that I would follow her until she chose to end it."
Hitomi had collapsed into Van's arms, and he had fallen to his knees. All around them, their blood shimmered in wet, thick pools, flowing in rivers down their clothing, from Van's neck wound and Hitomi's stomach wound. Both had blacked out, and, when they awakened, both were whole again, and unharmed.
Pierre tightened his grip on Van's hand, slumping further onto the former stray Demon.
"No spell?" he croaked.
"None. I follow Hitomi because I…" Van trailed off, and Pierre understood.
"She's lucky to have—you, Van—"
"I am truly sorry, old friend," Van whispered, embracing the French Demon.
"Old friend?" for a moment glorious joy lit up Pierre's once clouding purple eyes. "I'm still your friend, then, Van?"
"We always were friends, Pierre…I'll miss you…"
"Van…" Pierre murmured. He squeezed the other Demon's hand in a grip of steel, and went limp, sliding to the floor. Van watched with an impassive expression not even Hitomi could have rivaled.
Hitomi raised Pierre's sword, preparing to stab him with it.
But Van caught her hand as it came down.
"Please," he said softly, "allow him an honorable death."
Hitomi met his eyes and nodded. Van took the sword from her and flung it into the cauldron where a potion had bubbled. It shattered, and, as it did, Pierre's body blew into dust and vanished.
The ship began to burn with blue fire.
"We should be going," Van said.
"Van—" something in Hitomi's voice made him look at her. She took his hand and pressed it to her lips briefly. "Don't ever leave me alone again, Van…"
Van smiled.
"We'd better get back, Naomi and Ryo—oh no!" Hitomi gasped. "Ryohe and Naomi! Nihon's going to—"
**************
She returned with Van to behold the scene before her. Ryohe, in his true form, was crouched protectively over Naomi, comforting and holding her. Naomi, in turn, was also in her true form. She clutched Ryohe and her eyes were wide with fear. They were both frozen in Nihon's ice. Dead.
Hitomi showed the first signs of emotion that she'd ever felt and let out a cry.
"No!" she gasped. "No!"
Van stood behind her, silent.
"Nihon!" she cried. "Nihon!!"
Nihon appeared. "Well, you weren't going to let them escape punishment, were you?"
"I made a promise to them," Hitomi's voice shook with passionate fury. She rose into the air, and Nihon followed suit. "And you broke it!" she yelled.
Both Summoner and Guardian aimed at each other.
Hitomi released a fraction sooner, but Nihon counteracted with her ice.
Flames met ice, and both held. The light grew brighter and brighter from the energy. Van shielded his eyes.
Hitomi used her other hand to hurl fire at the Summoner, tears of blind rage flowing down her face in a smooth stream. Her face was flushed with anger, and her eyes were beginning to become red.
Both Demons broke contact and made to aim again, when Van enfolded Hitomi in his cloak, hugging her shaking body to his to prevent her from striking again.
"Hitomi—that's enough." Hitomi began to struggle, thought better of it, and relaxed, a puzzled expression on her face.
"True," Nihon smiled, "you are probably exhausted from using your powers. Know this: From this day onward, you and I are enemies. When we meet, we shall fight."
Hitomi's answer was a sneer.
Nihon vanished.
"Van…" Hitomi whispered.
"Yes?"
"I want to go home…"
Van lifted her carefully in his arms. "I hate to agree with that—" he cut off abruptly, then began anew, "I hate to agree with Nihon, but you are exhausted. You need to rest."
Hitomi nodded, then eased her head onto his shoulder, curling comfortably up in the circle of his arms, and promptly fell into something known as a Vampiric Sleep.
Van grinned, knowing she wouldn't wake for a few days.
Luckily, it is a weekend, he thought, and vanished, carrying his burden gently.
There's that chapter! Yeah! I thought of making it a cliffhanger but I figured you guys would sue or something. So I didn't.
Number 3 coming soon…
I don't know when…
The Last Generation is coming along very slowly. To all of you that read this, please read that and tell me what to write for chapter 2! PLEASE, I need the advice. If any of you have read The Rebel King, chapter 8 is also up.
You know the song, We All Live in a Yellow Submarine, by the Beatles?
It's stuck in my head.
Oh, it's SO annoying!
Hi, y'all!
Did you have a nice long wait? Sorry for the late update…
It really wasn't my fault! I swear!
Thanx, unkown-wisdom (if I spelled it wrong, I'm really sorry…) for the compliments. Isn't she just a bit too solemn for you, though?
And thanx to Endless Rain for all the nice things…do you think Larva's cool?
Dark and Mysterious…
I like him…
I don't own either Vampire Princess Miyu or Escaflowne.
Well, here it is.
Chapter Two: The Light of the Sea
"I think we should go for ice-cream," Yukari smiled.
"Cupcakes!"
"Pizza!"
"Yuck! Let's get Chinese," Kenji suggested.
"No, cupcakes!" Myoshi insisted.
"I still think pizza is the best," Toroshino said, sending his younger sister a look. Myoshi pouted.
"What about you, Hitomi?" Yukari turned to her friend.
Ice-cream…cupcakes…pizza…Chinese…the names were spinning in Hitomi's head.
"I don't know," she said quietly. "Whatever you think is best."
"Then it's ice-cream!"
"Pizza!"
"Why can't we ever eat Chinese?" Kenji wailed.
"Cupcakes, please!"
"Hitomi, you should pick," Toroshino grinned. "You haven't chosen for us ever before."
"I really don't know," Hitomi said, her voice growing dangerously soft—almost menacing.
"Chocolate ice-cream?" Yukari said.
"Pepperoni," Toroshino argued.
"Pepperoni ice-cream?" Myoshi exclaimed. "T'oshin', that's really gross!"
"I mean pepperoni pizza," Toroshino explained patiently.
"Lo mein," Kenji cried.
"Vanilla cupcakes with icing and those little pink sprinkles," Myoshi licked her lips at a pleasant memory, "we had them for my birthday once."
"Stop!" Hitomi ordered, her voice snapping through the bickering like a whip.
The silence was almost penetrating.
"We'll go to some fast-food joint. This way we can all get what we want."
"I don't think they serve pizza at McDonalds," Toroshino muttered, naming the only fast-food restaurant he knew. He quailed under Hitomi's solemn glare. "Okay, okay—fast-food it is! Chill out, 'Tomi."
"Way to go, Hitomi!" Yukari cheered, but her smile faded when she saw Hitomi's face. The girl's eyes were dark green, and they reminded Yukari of thunderclouds gathering before a storm.
Myoshi pretended not to notice. "Come on. Arik can drive us. He'll eat anything," she added, with a little laugh. "So it doesn't really matter to him."
*************
Van should have returned by now.
The thought nagged at the back of her mind until it filled her very being.
The same statement.
Van should have returned by now.
"He should have," she whispered. She was worried.
"Hello, there, Guardian," Nihon's tinkling voice rang out. Hitomi bit her lip. I do not need her as well.
"What now?" she demanded.
"There is a stray Shinma," Nihon used the Japanese term for demon, "on the loose. But of course, you must have sensed it by now."
Hitomi ground her teeth. "I will investigate, Nihon. You," her voice grew steely, "shall leave now and allow me to finish my duty."
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly," Nihon declared, in a voice of syrupy sweetness. "I shall accompany you. I do know where she is, after all."
Hitomi was silent.
"Where is your servant?" Nihon smiled.
"Not here," Hitomi hissed.
"Oh?" Nihon's smile grew into a smirk.
"He is away."
"And you allowed him? Guardians do not allow their servants to roam, my friend."
Hitomi snarled something incoherently, but Nihon understood.
The smaller, black-haired girl vanished. Hitomi glared fiercely at the spot where she had been. Then, she too, vanished.
************
"Ryohe!" a woman screamed.
Ryohe's head snapped in that direction. "Naomi?"
Another scream answered him.
He broke into a swift run, only to be confronted by a strange scene.
The woman he loved was surrounded by two oddly dressed girls.
"Get away from her!" he snapped. "Naomi!"
"Ryohe!" Naomi cried, relief flooding her eyes.
Hitomi's eyes flashed green. Another Shinma?
"How is it, Ryohe, that you too are a demon?" she said coldly.
"I am. But you've got the wrong person. Naomi is a human, she's innocent! You've got to let her go," Ryohe growled.
"I'm not," Naomi whispered.
She closed her eyes and her true form was revealed.
"Naomi—" Ryohe gasped. She pulled him to her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said softly. Ryohe grinned, and his own form burst from beneath the human shell.
"Please, don't destroy us! Don't send us back to the Shadows. We are only trying to make a living in this world."
Hitomi could sense their sincerity. She stalled Nihon's attack with a raised hand.
"Do you know anything of a certain Western Demon?"
"No…but there was a whole ship of them that came to my village. I fought, and when I woke, Naomi was trying to heal me," Ryohe said. He tightened his grip around Naomi's shoulder.
"A shipload…"
"Three, actually. A French-man, an American Demoness, and a Knight."
"Interesting," Hitomi said dryly. She had an idea. "Take me to them, and perhaps I will spare your life."
She ignored Nihon's sputtering in the background.
*****************
"He refuses to awaken," Pierre growled.
"I'm not sure what you mean, dear," Lilith said.
"I've tried everything. He's no longer suffering from your song- spell, but he refuses to awaken."
"Perhaps…"
"I know the Guardian, damn her, as cast a spell on him. Perhaps she has taken his very soul."
"Perhaps, Pierre."
"I will concoct another potion. Just to see. Oh, and has the Guardian taken the bait?"
"Yes, Pierre."
Pierre gave a laugh. "Good," he said. "Good. We'll be seeing her soon."
****************
"How could you—how could you?!" Nihon gasped.
"Shut the hell up, Nihon." Hitomi rarely used profanity, but the Summoner was just seriously getting on her nerves.
Nihon's protests faltered and died.
She smiled slyly.
"I never knew your servant was running rampant, Guardian. I thought you could control him."
"He has a will, Nihon," Hitomi snapped. "I will allow him to do as he wishes. That is friendship, after all. I trust him."
Nihon laughed mockingly.
It cut to Hitomi's very soul.
She knew she could not attack the Summoner. But a threat might do. So she lit a flame in her hand and waved it menacingly in front of Nihon's face.
"Now you listen, Nihon. I. Am. The. Guardian. And. I. Will. Not. Tolerate. This. Crap. From. You!" She narrowed her eyes. "If. You. Ever. Criticize. Van. Again. Or. Me. I. Will. See. To. It. That. You. Pay." (Damn, long sentences written like that get kinda strange.)
Nihon smiled sweetly. "As you wish, my friend."
Hitomi wanted to strangle her.
Smash her up against a wall.
Set her aflame.
Over and over again.
Until she was worse than dead.
Instead, she clenched her fists and kept her mouth shut, trembling slightly with rage.
"Ryohe, lead us on," she said, and added. "I am putting my life in your hands. Do not think to double-cross me. I trust you." Ryohe nodded, linking arms with her, and she, in turn, too Naomi's hand. Nihon grabbed Ryohe's other hand, and all vanished.
***************
"Van…come back to us…" Pierre chanted. He stopped in disgust. "This is not working. Damn that Guardian and her spell! Van, I will free you from it."
***************
"So this is the village," Hitomi whispered. "It is where I first met Van."
A heavy mist settled over the village. "Strange…usually I know what the people around here are doing," Ryohe said uneasily.
A flumping noise.
Many noises.
People.
Hitomi's eyes flashed green.
They are being controlled by a Demon, she realized.
"Show yourself, demon!" she ordered.
Nihon sent a wave of ice toward the people. They stopped and were frozen.
"Nihon, there was no need to do that. They were innocent. They could have been freed from the Demon's spell," Hitomi said.
"It is quicker," Nihon sniffed.
"Ahah! So you are the Guardian!"
The Black Knight had come.
Hitomi smiled challengingly. "So I am. Black Knight. Where is Van?"
The Knight answered with a bellow, and charged. Hitomi dodged the knight's lance and the death-horse's hooves with ease. She summoned the flame to her hand, as Nihon summoned the ice. Both shot from different angles. The flame hit ice and rebounded, causing the Demon no harm. Hitomi bit her lip in frustration. Nihon, stop interfering!
The Knight roared, slashing wildly with his lance. Hitomi gasped in pain as the death-horse's hoof impacted with her shoulder, shattering it. She was a Demon, too, though, and her shoulder healed within a matter of seconds. "Into the Shadows, Shinma!" Nihon cried, and sent the ice. Hitomi counteracted it with her flame, glaring at the Summoner. The Knight went for her again, but Ryohe intervened.
"Get lost, creep," he shouted.
Hitomi took the opportunity to bring her own flame into view.
"To the Shadows!" she said, and struck the knight.
He roared, falling into a pile of dust that burned merrily, crackling.
Nihon glared at Hitomi. Hitomi met the glare with her own.
It was Nihon who first looked away.
Ryohe pointed. "Look! There it is," he said.
Hitomi looked, and saw a ship rising out of the heavy mist.
The Light of the Sea—Van's ship. That is where he should be. I will go now. But wait—what—
Four tall spines rose from the water, jagged, sharp, protecting the ship. Hitomi swore under her breath. "I cannot reach the ship," she said.
Naomi said, "I may be of help. I can create a barrier, but not for long."
She gathered her strength and projected. The spines vanished.
Hitomi nodded her thanks. "I promise to spare you, if I return alive."
"Now go, youngling," Naomi gasped. "I can't hold it long!"
Hitomi vanished.
******************
"Barrow's gone," Pierre said, referring to the Black Knight. "Lilith?"
Lilith nodded. "Try to wake him up, love. I'll stop her."
*****************
Hitomi reappeared on the ghostly ship. Ghost wood creaked beneath her feet, ghost sails wailed and moaned in the wind.
This is definitely creepy, she thought.
"Going somewhere?" Lilith's voice ran out.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Now move," Hitomi said angrily, trying to push past the demon who blocked her. Without warning Lilith began to sing.
Hitomi gasped and fell to her knees as the song filled her ears.
It pressed her to the ground, she felt her bones crushing.
She couldn't utter a sound.
Pain…
Then a voice—
Van?
It was!
Hitomi, her skin is like paper. Set her afire. Hitomi…
"Van…" Hitomi whispered. She managed to bring the flame.
Lilith paused. "What are you doing?" she demanded harshly.
"Into the Shadows, demon!" Hitomi cried, and threw her flame.
Lilith screamed. She was consumed by the flames, and her shape vanished.
"Two demons down. How many more to go, though?" Hitomi muttered.
****************
"I'll stay with you until you want to end this, Hitomi. I give you my word," Van whispered.
She backed away from him, a beautiful smile lighting her face.
***************
Pierre watched, his face creased in concentration, as the former stray demon mumbled something incoherent.
"She's got you. And Lilith is gone. But we'll still be together, old friend."
**************
"I'll stay with you until you want to end this, Hitomi. I give you my word," Van whispered.
She backed away from him, a smile lighting her face.
The memory ran through Hitomi's head.
"You'll die, Guardian!" Van shouted.
"No," Hitomi said softly, retaliating with flames. She dodged his sword. He lunged again, and again, always the flames she threw managed to miss him…In the end, though, he'd gotten the better of her with a feint and then…
She shuddered slightly, remembering.
Then he'd impaled her with his sword.
She had gasped once, and choked once, and her eyes had gone wide with shock, blood coming in spurts from her stomach.
Hitomi neared the door of the captain's cabin.
She slammed it open.
Unconscious on the couch lay Van.
"Van!" she cried, relief in her voice. He's here. Oh…Van, Van, Van…
"Guardian. You've come," Pierre said, a growl in his faintly French voice. He lounged atop his mahogany and rosewood table, a bowl of yellow autumn apples beside him.
"I've come to take Van back with me."
"He stays here. I know what you've done to him. Release him from your spell, Guardian!"
Hitomi's eyes narrowed. "Spell?"
"Don't play the innocent with me, Guardian. I'm going to kill you, so Van can be free."
"I never placed him under any spell. Van made a promise, and he intends to keep it."
"Liar!" Pierre pulled an apple from the bowl and threw it into the bubbling concoction he had behind him. A giant beetle emerged from the bowl, buzzing.
Hitomi recoiled involuntarily.
A sun beetle.
Poisonous to those of the Dark side. (A/N: Whoa, major Star Wars quote there…)
"What fool are you, to be playing with that kind of magic?" she hissed.
The sun beetle sucked all energy from those it landed on.
It flew to her, and she gasped and swatted crazily at it.
Regardless of her flailing arm, the beetle landed on her face and took a tight hold. She raised both hands and frantically tried to pry it from her face, but to no avail. The draining began, and she slumped down.
Hitomi! Don't give up! it was Van again.
She nodded, and sent three quavering notes into the air.
Pierre had readied a sword. "I shall kill you with this," he declared, and attacked.
The sun beetle fell to the ground, carved in two, but Hitomi was no where to be seen.
"Where are you?!" Pierre shrieked.
Hitomi smiled mockingly. "The sun beetle failed, demon. Give it up."
Pierre sprang up to meet her.
"Van, wake up!" Hitomi yelled. "Van!" She barely dodged in time as Pierre's attack went sailing by her shoulder.
****************
"I'll stay with you until you want to end this, Hitomi. I give you my word," Van whispered.
She backed away from him, a beautiful smile lighting her face.
"…H-Hitomi…" Van mumbled, a frown creasing his brow. His eyes opened slowly. The room swam into view, foggy, blurred, and it was so confusing…
He felt something probing at his mind.
Van! Van, you promised me. Don't break your promise. Van. Come back…please…
His frown increased. Who—
Then it clicked.
"Hitomi!"
****************
Hitomi refused to close her eyes, even as the blade went whistling by and sliced off a chunk of her hair. She sent sparks of flame at the French demon, fervently wishing that Van would waken.
Van! She concentrated furiously on the unconscious demon. Van, you promised me. Don't break your promise. Van. Come back…please…
***************
Pierre saw the Guardian go into something that resembled a trance, her eyes blank and totally unfocused. Her hands hung at her sides, no longer did the flames shoot from her palms. He took his chance and struck with the sword—
Van's sword, conjured from the air, blocked him.
"Don't do something you'll regret, Pierre," he said quietly.
"Van!" Hitomi's eyes smiled, and Van felt his heart leap.
Pierre turned to Van. "Van, my old friend," he said heartily. "Welcome back. But I must still kill her to rid you of the—"
"Don't," Van hissed.
"You're still under her spell?" Pierre gasped. "But you're awake—"
"Don't hurt her," Van repeated.
Pierre brushed his friend aside. "Under normal circumstances, I would listen to you, Van. But she has killed Lilith and Barrow, and she must pay."
He drew the sword and lunged.
Hitomi saw the sword heading her way. She did not flinch.
Halfway through the air, Pierre stopped.
Van had reappeared in front of Hitomi.
And run him through. Hitomi shuddered when she saw the sword protruding from Pierre's back. Not that she felt queasy, but she knew what mental struggle Van must have been going through. Both demons—Hitomi and Pierre—were important to him. But he had chosen her.
Pierre seemed confused. He collapsed onto Van, his hand gripping the other demon's tightly.
"Van—why—?"
Van spoke, his eyes distant.
"When Hitomi and I fought, I transfixed her with my sword. She died then…"
Yes, she had. She slumped down onto him, and he prepared to pull his sword free when she stirred. He paused, confused. That attack should have killed her, he thought. She looked up with a snarling cry, all traces of green and gold gone from her eyes—there was only red, the redness of a possessed Demon. Hitomi lunged forward and upward, and bit his neck.
Van smiled slightly as he remembered the feel of her lips on his neck. (A/N: Ew…but I needed it to be there…)
"She bit me. And our blood merged—her immortal blood and mine (A/N: if she's immortal how does she die? Don't ask me how Hitomi died, then, cuz I don't know). I died as well. That day we accidentally created a blood pact. I swore to her that I would follow her until she chose to end it."
Hitomi had collapsed into Van's arms, and he had fallen to his knees. All around them, their blood shimmered in wet, thick pools, flowing in rivers down their clothing, from Van's neck wound and Hitomi's stomach wound. Both had blacked out, and, when they awakened, both were whole again, and unharmed.
Pierre tightened his grip on Van's hand, slumping further onto the former stray Demon.
"No spell?" he croaked.
"None. I follow Hitomi because I…" Van trailed off, and Pierre understood.
"She's lucky to have—you, Van—"
"I am truly sorry, old friend," Van whispered, embracing the French Demon.
"Old friend?" for a moment glorious joy lit up Pierre's once clouding purple eyes. "I'm still your friend, then, Van?"
"We always were friends, Pierre…I'll miss you…"
"Van…" Pierre murmured. He squeezed the other Demon's hand in a grip of steel, and went limp, sliding to the floor. Van watched with an impassive expression not even Hitomi could have rivaled.
Hitomi raised Pierre's sword, preparing to stab him with it.
But Van caught her hand as it came down.
"Please," he said softly, "allow him an honorable death."
Hitomi met his eyes and nodded. Van took the sword from her and flung it into the cauldron where a potion had bubbled. It shattered, and, as it did, Pierre's body blew into dust and vanished.
The ship began to burn with blue fire.
"We should be going," Van said.
"Van—" something in Hitomi's voice made him look at her. She took his hand and pressed it to her lips briefly. "Don't ever leave me alone again, Van…"
Van smiled.
"We'd better get back, Naomi and Ryo—oh no!" Hitomi gasped. "Ryohe and Naomi! Nihon's going to—"
**************
She returned with Van to behold the scene before her. Ryohe, in his true form, was crouched protectively over Naomi, comforting and holding her. Naomi, in turn, was also in her true form. She clutched Ryohe and her eyes were wide with fear. They were both frozen in Nihon's ice. Dead.
Hitomi showed the first signs of emotion that she'd ever felt and let out a cry.
"No!" she gasped. "No!"
Van stood behind her, silent.
"Nihon!" she cried. "Nihon!!"
Nihon appeared. "Well, you weren't going to let them escape punishment, were you?"
"I made a promise to them," Hitomi's voice shook with passionate fury. She rose into the air, and Nihon followed suit. "And you broke it!" she yelled.
Both Summoner and Guardian aimed at each other.
Hitomi released a fraction sooner, but Nihon counteracted with her ice.
Flames met ice, and both held. The light grew brighter and brighter from the energy. Van shielded his eyes.
Hitomi used her other hand to hurl fire at the Summoner, tears of blind rage flowing down her face in a smooth stream. Her face was flushed with anger, and her eyes were beginning to become red.
Both Demons broke contact and made to aim again, when Van enfolded Hitomi in his cloak, hugging her shaking body to his to prevent her from striking again.
"Hitomi—that's enough." Hitomi began to struggle, thought better of it, and relaxed, a puzzled expression on her face.
"True," Nihon smiled, "you are probably exhausted from using your powers. Know this: From this day onward, you and I are enemies. When we meet, we shall fight."
Hitomi's answer was a sneer.
Nihon vanished.
"Van…" Hitomi whispered.
"Yes?"
"I want to go home…"
Van lifted her carefully in his arms. "I hate to agree with that—" he cut off abruptly, then began anew, "I hate to agree with Nihon, but you are exhausted. You need to rest."
Hitomi nodded, then eased her head onto his shoulder, curling comfortably up in the circle of his arms, and promptly fell into something known as a Vampiric Sleep.
Van grinned, knowing she wouldn't wake for a few days.
Luckily, it is a weekend, he thought, and vanished, carrying his burden gently.
There's that chapter! Yeah! I thought of making it a cliffhanger but I figured you guys would sue or something. So I didn't.
Number 3 coming soon…
I don't know when…
The Last Generation is coming along very slowly. To all of you that read this, please read that and tell me what to write for chapter 2! PLEASE, I need the advice. If any of you have read The Rebel King, chapter 8 is also up.
You know the song, We All Live in a Yellow Submarine, by the Beatles?
It's stuck in my head.
Oh, it's SO annoying!