Escaflowne: Visions of the Past Chapter 3: The Burning Knight, an escaflowne fanfic

Escaflowne: Visions of the Past

Author's note: Haven't had a chance to check up on reviews, So I'm hoping that this next chapter will be liked by fans of Hitomi. Enjoy! ^_^

Chapter 3: Burning Knight (The Knight of Swords)

"Good-morning, it's twenty-five minutes after the hour on this lovely Friday morning," the announcer said over the radio as Hitomi pushed the covers of the edge of her bed, and sat up slightly groggy. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled. Friday meant track practice, but it was also the day before the first race of the season. A new chance to prove herself, and a chance to regain her first rank place from Soshira Takimura, a new runner from the most prestigious school in the district.

She walked into the bathroom to take her shower, and leaned against the wall. She'd had a very strange and frightening dream, now fading from her memories. She remembered a room, dark and cold, and in the shadows had been a corpse, covered by a gray cloth, and a man kneeling on the ground wearing a robe holding a very white hand. The hand looked feminine, and the person holding it seemed to be sobbing uncontrollably. The cries of the man holding the hand echoed around the room, and Hitomi couldn't help but sob along with him. He kept babbling about being 'Sorry' and that it was 'All his fault'. She saw this sobbing man pull a dagger from under his robe and press it to his throat, and she screamed as he plunged it all the way into his neck.

"Hitomi," her mother's voice called from downstairs. "Breakfast is ready. Come on down and eat. You don't want to be late."

"Right mom," Hitomi called down to her as she dried off, the shower had helped her calm down. After all it was just a bad dream, not a vision. "Coming!"

"It seemed so real," she thought coming down the stairs. "But it was as if I was watching something that had already happened a long time ago…So it couldn't have been a vision, could it?"

One hurried breakfast later Hitomi was walking down to the train station, and hopped on the commuter train. She leaned back against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She had a test in English, and her teacher was a rather strict woman who didn't like to see anything lower then a B grade on her students' tests.

"What good," she'd told her class one day, "will it do you to learn a language and not use it? If you are to succeed in this world you have to learn, and that's nothing to laugh at Fujimar."

Hitiomi sighed, and shook her head. Would be more interesting, in her opinion, to learn the languages of the Wolf tribes on Gaea. Suddenly she felt her heart race, "Van."

She missed him, though she didn't say that when they were in her dreams, she didn't want him to worry.

"Um, excuse me," a soft voice said and Hitomi looked up. A boy was standing next to her, and looking quite embarrassed. "I-is that s-seat taken by chance?"

"No," Hitomi told him and moved her bag aside, and the boy bowed low.

"Much thanks," he stammered and sat down quickly. He was a tall boy, at least six one, and, as Hitomi looked at him, he seemed rather familiar to her. His eyes were the same mahogany brown as Van's, but they were sad and haunted. He had strong chin, high cheek bones, and a sharp nose, but there was something very gentle to all these features, and his soft frown only enhanced this aspect of his face. But it was his hair that gave her a start; it was the exact same color as Folken's. Longer though, he had it pulled back in a tail, and his bangs placed behind his ears, except for some stray wisps that had slipped out from above. He wore the same uniform as Hitomi, and hand his hands clasped together between his knees. He was leaning forward and trying not to look at her, as if he was afraid that he'd offended her by asking to sit down.

Hitomi was about to ask him a question when the train came to a stop at the nearest station to the school. The boy quickly got up and said a quite "Thank you," and left. Outside on the platform Hitomi tried to find him in the crowd but he'd disappeared. She'd just about given up when a well-known voice called out to her, and she saw a hand shoot up over the crowd waving a piece of paper.

"Yukari," Hitomi called out as her best friend ran up to her, smiling to beat the band. "Amano sent you another letter huh."

"Yeah," Yukari laughed, and showed her the e-mail. "He so excited, this really great College in America wants to give him a scholarship. And get this, his track coach says that there's a big chance he could make it onto the Olympic team this year."

"That really is exciting," Hitomi said as she read the letter to herself. She felt so proud of her friend Amano; he was so determined to do his best. He obviously missed Yukari, and said so over and over in the letter. It made her laugh thinking of how two years before she'd been serious in her crush over him. So much so that she'd never noticed that Yukari had also been in love with him, in the end he'd picked the right girl.

"He," Yukari was blushing, "He was hoping that I'd come to visit him sometime in the states."

"Are you going to?" Hitomi asked, feeling just a twinge jealous of her friend. It was easy for Yukari to see Amano; he was just an eight hour plane ride away. And while it was really far, it was still on the planet; Van lived in a whole different dimension.

"Well," Yukari admitted blushing ever so lightly, "I was thinking of it but…Ow! Hey, watch where you're going!"

A trio of juniors raced past Hitomi and Yukari, shoving Yukari in the process. The one who'd done the shoving shouted an apology to her. And he stopped to help them pick up the mess that had spilled out of Yukari's backpack.

"Come on Ken, hurry up or we'll miss the fight," said one of the others, looking anxious.

"Fight?" Hitomi asked standing up, "What fight?"

"At the track," Ken explained. "This blue headed freshman is going at it with two seniors from the Kendo club."

"Blue headed…" Hitomi echoed and suddenly got a flash of the boy from that morning. She handed the books back to Ken and ran ahead of the other boys.

"Hitomi," Yukari cried, "Where are you going? Hey, wait up!"

But Hitomi was too far ahead of her friend to hear her. Her arms and legs found their rhythm and she flew down the street. She didn't know why but she had the urge to see this boy again. There was something about him, something so familiar, yet utterly different. It was like she was looking at a mirror reflection of a younger Folken, but not, all at the same instant. She stopped when she saw the large crowd circled around the three boys. The two seniors, Toyamo Iashi and Douglas Hamshiro, were looming over the boy with blue hair. He was standing there quietly, staring at the two larger Seniors with the same sad, quiet eyes Hitomi looked into on the train.

"So you think you can go using our training room without our permission, do you, Freak." Iashi said glaring down at the younger man. The Blue headed boy blinked lightly.

"Last time I checked, it was the schools training hall, not your personal training room. And, as such, it's okay for students to use it with a signed slip from a gym teacher, or coach. And I had one from Coach Oda, so I had every right to be in that training hall. I wasn't bothering your men; they were the ones who picked a fight with me."

"So now you're saying my teams a bunch of bullies?" barked Iashi and he poked the freshman in the chest.

"I didn't say that, but if that's how you view them…then yes, I suppose they are bullies," the boy said quietly.

SMACK! Hitomi gasped as Hamshiro punched the boy across the face, leaving a small bleeding gash on his cheek. The boy just looked at Hamshiro and a small smile twitched on his lips.

            "See, right there, you can't help but resort to violence."

            "Why you little, Punk!" screamed Hamshiro who grabbed him by his coat and lifted him up off his feet. "How'd you like me to knock out every one of your teeth?"

            The boy closed his eyes and looked as if he was thinking about it, "Well if you're going to do that could you kindly wash your hands first, they smell like dog crap."

            Hamshiro violently threw him to the ground and kicked the boy in the gut. "Fight me you little Freak."

            The boy shook his head, "I'm not going to sink to your level and fight with my fists."

            Hamshiro kicked him again, and the boy rolled over, he was still grinning amazingly. "I still won't hit you. I'm not an animal like you who has to fight with his claws."

            "Shut him up Douglas," Iashi shouted. "Or I will."

            "Rooting for your girlfriend, now there's something you don't see every day," the boy muttered to himself getting to his feet.

            "Bastard," spat Iashi, and punched him in the gut then the chin, knocking the boy off his feet. Hitomi caught a glint in the boy's eyes. He didn't seem to care that he was being beaten up. Why? She felt tears gathering in her eyes, why was he letting them beat him up like this? Iashi and Hamshiro pulled out their bokéan swords, and readied themselves for an attack. "So you won't fight with your fists, huh? Well we have no problems breaking your face this way."

            "Hee-hee," giggled Hamshiro, "It'll be a pleasure."

            "This isn't a fight," Hitomi heard Yukari whisper into her ear; "it's a slaughter. Why isn't he fighting back?"

            "I don't know," Hitomi replied nervously as the two seniors circled the younger boy like vultures ready to dive down on a dieing animal. The boy slowly got to his feet, and pulled a wooden sword from his gym bag. He glanced over at Hitomi and smiled at her, his ears tingeing red.

            "Alright you little worm, get ready for some pain," Hamshiro said, smiling menacingly. He and Iashi lunged at the boy, who stood there calmly. It looked like he was about to be taken down in one swoop by the two members of the Kendo club, but then, CLACK!! The boy's sword blocked both seniors' attacks.

            "Da hell! How'd he do that…?" Iashi muttered and the boy laughed.

            "Because, I trained very hard," the boy said. "Now the real fun begins."

            "Yeah, you little weasel; we get to kick your ass all the way back to the School recovery room," laughed Hamshiro.

            The boy just chuckled at this, "Oh really, well when the nurse asked who broke both your arms Hamshiro, you can say it was done by Fujikyu Kishimoto. Freshman class 1-C."

            Hamshiro growled at this and lunged at Fujikyu who dodged it and caught the large Hamshiro on the back of the head with the butt of his sword. Hamshiro rolled and came up as Iashi came down at Fujikyu from behind, both boys slashed at the freshman's head; both missed! Fujikyu side-stepped and parried Iashi first, sending him into the on coming Hamshiro, who barely moved out of his friend's way. Then Fujikyu used the momentum he'd gotten from the first attack and slashed at Hamshiro, cutting the boy's shirt.

            "Damn, that thing's sharp!" Hamshiro yelped as he avoided another attack from Fujikyu. Iashi had gotten to his feet, and charged at Fujikyu. The younger boy turned fast and danced away avoiding the cross cut that would have broken his shoulder.

            "Fast little brat, isn't he," hissed Iashi to Hamshiro who nodded.

            "Gotta take him down, or we won't get another chance," Hamshiro echoed, and gripped his sword tighter. Sweat was beading up on all three combatants. But while Iashi and Hamshiro looked tired, Fujikyu was grinning devilishly at them, egging the two seniors to face him again.

            Hitomi watched this all with wonder. Fujikyu's attacks and use of his sword was very, very reminiscent of Van's and Allen's but it was totally his own. It was like the weapon had become an extension of his body, and moved in perfect sync with every action he took. Every now and again she caught him glancing up in her direction and blushing lightly. Yet, he'd only attacked the Kendo club members once during the whole fight, and he seemed intent on trying to wear them out first.

            The trio started to go around in a slow circle, getting a feel for what the others had in mind. When Iashi and Hamshiro went right, Fujikyu would go left, and when they changed their motion Fujikyu would change along with them. It seemed for the longest time that they were just circling each other. Then suddenly Hamshiro went left, and Iashi went right, intent on trapping Fujikyu in the middle! He looked surprised as both boys's launched themselves at him, but the freshman ducked the swishes of the swords. Iashi was shocked and Fujikyu took the opening to disarm the older senior in one swipe of his blade.

            Iashi's scream of pain made the crowd gasp, as blood came out of his broken wrist! And Fujikyu wasn't finished just yet, he grabbed Iashi's sword and aggressively attack Hamshiro who desperately tried to block all his thrusts. The ringing of wood against wood echoed around the silent crowd. Hitomi was just as amazed as everyone else seeing how fast and hard Fujikyu was laying into Hamshiro. The younger swordsman beat down Hamshiro to a kneeling position, knocked the sword out of his hands, and put the sharp edges of the sword against Hamshiro's neck like a pair of large scissors.

            "I despise men like you," Fujikyu said in his quite voice. "You make me sick. All you think about is how to get even for your own wrongs, your wants and desires, never once thinking of the consequences of your actions. People like you should be eradicated from the face of this planet."

            Hamshiro was near tears now, the blades tightening around his throat as Fujikyu continued, "But I'm not one to judge you. Just stay out of my sight. And leave me the hell alone."

            He let Hamshiro up then, and threw the bokèn to the ground, and walked over to pick up his bag. Hamshiro fell to the ground then and heaved violently; Fujikyu didn't notice this at all. He picked up his bag and gently asked to be excused. Several people moved aside, and Hitiomi caught his profile for just a second, and in that second she saw someone she thought was long dead.

            "Folken," she whispered, but Fujikyu disappeared.

            By late afternoon Hitomi was still thinking of Fujikyu and how for that split second she thought she saw Folken instead of the young freshman. It was while she was walking to her last class of the day, science, that she saw Fujikyu's blue hair over the top of the crowd.

            "Fujikyu," she called out to him. He stopped and looked around for who had called his name, and Hitomi hurried up to him. At once he turned into the shy boy she'd seen on the train. He looked down at the floor, and she noticed that his ears were turning red.

            "He-Hello upperclassman Kamzaki," he bowed as he spoke in his quiet voice. "Um, is there something you need?"

            "I…" Hitomi started to say, but couldn't quite figure out how to say what she wanted. She knew it would sound strange for her to ask him why he looked like a dead friend of hers. "I was just wondering where you learned to handle a sword so well."

            Fujikyu blushed harder and looked at her with wide eyes. Was she seriously talking to him, Hitomi Kamzaki; this famous athlete, this girl who was known for her speed on the track. Was she honestly talking to him? He choked, and looked at his feet.

            "Um, er, I…I took some classes when I was younger." He fumbled out and then turned a brighter shade of red. "Ah, will you excuse me now, Ms. Kamzaki?"

            Before Hitomi could say anything else Fujikyu rushed away, and she wondered what she'd said to offend him.

            "Can you believe Mr. Samura?" Yukari was saying as walked back to their homeroom. "Twenty-eight problems just because of that idiot Kenji couldn't stop himself from throwing spit balls at the black board. Ugh!"

            Hitomi nodded, but her mind wasn't on Mr. Samura. "Yukari…"

            "Huh?"

            "Do you know anything about Fujikyu Kishimoto?" Hitomi asked and Yukari smiled at her with a knowing grin.

            "Soooo, impressed by him already huh," Yukari laughed and Hitomi gave her a puzzled look, at which Yukari winked.

            "Seems a lot of girls are interested in him…"

            "Oh no, not like that Yukari," Hitomi blushed and waved her hand. "Really I'm just wondering about him. I met him on the train early this morning, and he seemed so quiet, so shy. Then he turned around and just devastated Iashi and Hamshiro, and just before class I tried talking to him and he got all embarrassed. He seems so…what's the word…different, like he's not sure how to act."

            Yukari nodded quietly, "Well I don't know much, but some of the other girls on the JV team were talking about him the other day." –She crossed her arms and tried to remember everything –"Well, he transferred a month after school started. Apparently he's from the Iwate prefecture and he lives with his Aunt and his father. The thing is that he's very quiet about his past. I mean, anyone who tries to bring it up gets a cold shoulder."

            "Why's that?" Hitomi inquired as they took they took their seats and waited for the last bell of the day. Yukari leaned in closer as she spoke.

            "Well, rumor has it that he's really depressed, a lot. Supposedly he has to take pills for it and stuff. From what I've heard his mother was killed in a car crash a few years ago. They say he landed in a coma because he and his father were in the car as well and just woke up two years ago. Apparently he never goes out with anyone, anywhere. He either goes to the Kendo Club's training hall, or runs on the track, then goes right home. A lot of freshman think he's weird, and don't bother with him. There's also a story going around that his father was really burned up in the crash and that he's in a wheelchair now."

            Hitomi sat back in her chair mulling over what Yukari had just said. She didn't know what it was like to loose a mother, but she knew someone who did. So it wasn't too hard of a stretch to think about how Fujikyu must be going through. She sighed, when a girl near the window shouted.

            "Hey, check it out; it's that freshman from this morning. The one that beat Hamshiro and Iashi, he's outside with the track coach."

            Hitomi and Yukari hustled over to the window and looked out. It was true; the coach was standing on the sidelines with a stop watch and timing Fujikyu's run. Like a bolt of lighting the young man took off sprinting, and the other girls that had come over to watch squealed excitedly. "Oh my God, he's as fast as Amano was…"

            "Faster," another girl stated. "Did you see how quick he moved, like a cheetah or tiger. Oh wow that was so cool."

            Hitomi didn't pay any mind to these comments, instead she watched as the coach hurried over to Fujikyu and started talking animatedly to him. Fujikyu kept his head down, just as he had when he was talking to Hitomi earlier. The coach tapped on the stop watch and seemed to be asking Fujikyu a question. The boy shook his head, slowly, and bowed to the coach. The older man looked a bit hurt, and asked the blue haired boy another question, and again the boy shook his head. Obviously the coach was becoming frustrated, but the lack of rudeness of Fujikyu made it all the harder for him to show that he was. Finally he said something to the young freshman, and clapped him on the shoulder. Fujikyu nodded slowly, but only once, and then turned to leave.

            "Wonder what that was about." Yukari said and Hitomi nodded.

            Track practice began promptly after school, and Hitomi hurried down to the track where the others would be waiting. She saw Yukari standing besides the stands with a grin on her face.

            "So you're actually on time for once."

            "Yeah, shocking isn't it," Hitomi laughed and unzipped the top of her jogging suit. She was going to be in the third heat today and wanted to stretch before she had to run. As she went into her warm ups the assistant coach wandered over to her and the other girls who were stretching. She smiled at Hitomi and waved her over.

            "Kamzaki, a word with you please!"

            "Be right there," Hitomi called out and got up off the ground. She half jogged, half walked over to the assistant coach who was sucking on a pen.

            "Never start smoking Kamzaki, hardest damn habit to break in the world."

            "Don't worry I won't start," Hitomi replied and waited patiently until the assistant coach finished marking something down on the score sheet.

            "Time trials, you've got the highest, so I'm figuring you should be in the first heat tomorrow, but that's up to the coach." The assistant told her, "Naturally I'm sure you'll do your best."

            Hitomi nodded, and the assistant looked at her for a moment. "Got a request from the coach to ask of you Kamzaki."

            "Yes?"

            "Have you heard of Fujikyu Kishimoto, he's a freshman that goes to this school?"

            "Yes Ms. Hiroshima, I have."

            "Well, the coach timed him today, and he thinks the kids got talent. Ran the Straight away sprint in under 11.20 seconds," Ms. Hiroshima explained. "Only thing is that he refused to join the track team. Said he's got other responsibilities and that would only make it harder on the team if he joined."

            "I see," Hitomi said quietly.

            "So," continued Ms. Hiroshima, "he invited Kishimoto to watch the run today, let him see what it was like on the team and stuff. And he wants you to talk to him. Try and get him to maybe change his mind. I don't know what good it will do, but…if you wouldn't mind."

            Hitomi nodded and the assistant coach thanked her then went to check on the runners for the 4 meter race. Hitomi walked back to the stands were Yukari was looking over some paper work. As manager she had to make sure that certain stats were maintained in the records. She looked up when Hitomi sat down besides her.

            "Something wrong?"

            "No, it's just that," Hitomi started and then explained what the coach had asked her to do. "I don't want to put any pressure on him, I sure wouldn't want that, but if he seriously ran under 11, well…he'd be a great addition to the team…"

            "Um, I would?" a quiet voice said behind them and Hitomi jumped up. Fujikyu was standing next to the stands and looked at her with surprised eyes. "S-Sorry Upperclassman Kamzaki, I didn't mean to startle you like that. I-I'll go now…"

            "Wait," Yukari said grabbing his arm. "You don't have to leave. She's always been skittish."

            "I've what?" Hitomi asked with surprise. Yukari laughed seeing the look on her friends face.

            "Sure, birds, bees, things that crawl on the ground." Yukari pulled Fujikyu to the stands and he sat down between the two girls. "She jumps and the sound of car back fire."

            "I do not," Hitomi protested, and Fujikyu smiled softly.

            "I do, or at least I use to until a year ago."

            This made Hitomi pause; she remembered what Yukari told her that afternoon, about the car crash and Fujikyu being in a coma.

            "Is…is it alright if I just sit up back there so I don't get in your way?" He asked them.

            "Ah, sure," Yukari said and he thanked her with the same politeness that he showed Hitomi. It made Yukari blush, as he moved up a few seats. "Geeze, that was…different. He's so formal."

            Hitomi nodded. When her heat was called she got up and hurried over to the starting gate. Glancing up she saw Yukari wave at her, and noticed that Fujikyu seemed to be watching her like a hawk. It was a little creepy, but she reminded herself that he had to be watching all the girls at the same time. At the gun start she took off kicking up dirt as she went. The other girls were well behind her when they finished the heat and the Coach shouted out.

            "Great time Kamzaki, lets do it again ladies!"

            The rest of practice went by in a blur that is, until she saw a man running along side her. It started out simple, a shadow of a figure that was racing through a hall, and trying to get away from something. Then the image grew stronger, and changed again. Now it was a man, and with each passing run he became more and more defined. Red hair, emerald eyes, a frantic look to his face. He looked like an elf out of a fairy tale book, and was just as elusive in his actions. Suddenly, when he came fully into focus he was standing surrounded by other men, and a cry came from above, and then there was a sudden flash and a shout of surprise!

            Hitomi stumbled and fell. In the stands Yukari jumped up to her feet and raced over to her friend, mumbling, "Oh no not again."

            Hitomi got up, slowly, with the help of two of the other members of the track team.

            "Hitomi, are you okay?"

            "Need some ice?"

            "Should I go get the nurse?"

            "Move it, give the girl some air," the coach shouted; he smiled gently at Hitomi as he spoke, "Kamzaki are you okay? Any pain in your legs, knees, ankles? That was quite a spill."

            "I'm…I'm okay," she said and glanced over to the stands where Fujikyu was sitting, he looked shocked. But it was something different to his face. This wasn't the look of someone who was worried after a friend took a fall; this was the look of a person who had just witnessed something that no one else had seen. And Hitomi had the feeling that she knew exactly what that was.

            At the end of practice Hitomi sat down on the bench. The coach had insisted she rest for the rest of the day, and by now it was sunset. She rubbed her sore calves and reached for her bag, when a soft shuffling sound caught her attention. She glanced up, and saw Fujikyu standing near by.

            "I," he said in his quiet voice, "I just wanted to check and see if you were okay."

            "Um, I'm fine, thank you for asking," Hitomi said and smiled. Fujikyu tried to return it, but it seemed as if he was unsure how to and cleared his throat.

            "Right, well, then I'll see you Upperclassman Kamzaki," and he turned to go.

            "Wait, Fujikyu," Hitomi called out to him and he stopped. "Can…can we talk just for a moment."

            "About what?" he inquired.

            "Well, the coach seemed really impressed about your time today during the dash he had you run."

            Fujikyu looked surprised at this comment and said, "You…you know about that."

            Hitomi nodded, "I saw you run it this afternoon from my homeroom window," –She pointed up at the building behind them. –"See the four windows right there on the fourth floor, that's my homeroom."

            Fujikyu's ears turned red again, "I…thank you very much Upper…"

            "Please call me Hitomi."

            "Uh, alright then, Hitomi," Fujikyu said nervously, as if he was scared to even utter her name. She looked at him puzzled and he dug his shoe into the grass.

            "Where did you learn to run like that?"

            "Like what?"

            "Like today, 11 seconds is quite a feat," Hitomi said and noticed that he blanched before she could say anything more.

            "I suppose you're going to say, for someone who's been in a coma right," he added testily. Then apologized, "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snip at you like that."

            "It's okay," Hitomi said, "I heard some stories about you, but…but I'd rather learn about you from you. You can't believe everything that you hear, right."

            Fujikyu nodded and stood there. Hitomi suddenly felt very nervous, like when she was being checked up by her doctor before track season starts. Fujikyu's eyes seemed to borough down into her soul and look beyond even that. For a split second she thought of getting up and running away, when he suddenly said.

            "My mother was a track runner. I suppose I got my genes from her." He sat down on the bench and folded his hands. "She use to love to run, it was the one thing that really made her happy. We were coming home from a college met when…when she was killed. My father was on the passenger side, and I was in the back, this was five years ago, I was ten at the time. There had been some sort of big party, I guess some drivers were drinking and not paying any attention on the road. Everything was going well until my mother saw this car speeding right at us and she took evasive action. Only when she swerved she got broad sided by this other car in the adjacent lane and then we got hit two times more by a van and another car. That was the last thing I remember. My mom was killed, my dad was paralyzed and I landed up in a coma."

            Hitomi looked down at her hands, and he smiled at her, this time it was a sad smile. "It's okay; I've heard every 'I'm so sorry' in the book, I've got them all memorized by heart. So don't worry about that."

            "You live with you're dad right?" Hitomi asked quietly. Fujikyu nodded and let out a sigh. He was surprised that he was talking to Hitomi like this. He had not told very many people about the accident and let them think whatever they wanted of him. But for some reason he wanted he to know the truth. He liked her, a lot. More then any other girl in the school, and it had taken him weeks just to get up the courage to ask her if he could sit next to her. And now here he was spilling his guts to this senior. There was something strangely comforting about her, but he didn't know what.

            "Yeah, my Aunt lives with us too. She works most days so a nurse comes in to take care of my father; she's been doing so for a few years now." Fujikyu said looking up at Hitomi, and smiling. "My dad was a Kendo instructor before the accident. He was really good, and taught me everything I know."

            "So what happened, I mean, when you woke up?" Hitomi inquired.

            "Well, I don't really know." Fujikyu answered honestly. "I could hear things but couldn't react to them, and then one day out of now where I see this…and this is gonna sound totally out there…this angel. But it didn't look like any angel I've ever seen, and it said something like. 'I'm going to help you.' And that night I woke up."

            Hitomi looked at him as he laughed, "And the strange thing is ever since then I've been having these whacked out dreams, and doing strange things. Like this hair, it's normally brown, like my dads, but for some reason I had to dye it blue. And then there's the earring, I don't wear it all the time, I keep it in my pocket." –He pulled out a small gold hoop from inside his blazer. –"You know school rules and all."

            "And the dreams?" Hitomi asked, she felt her heart thump in her chest. Was he being serious, could he actually see visions like she had?

            "Well, sometimes I…I get these weird images, like phantom day dreams. They seem so real though." Fujikyu told her somberly. "Like once I saw this guy riding on a horse, in the middle of a forest, but we were driving down a road where there was just meadow. And then today there was this guy running through a castle with red hair…."

            "And green eyes, and carrying something, and a…" Hitomi cut in and Fujikyu's eyes went wide as they both finished at the same time.

            "Flash of light and someone crying out for help…."

            The two teens looked at each other with shock, neither sure what to say. Hitomi was grateful when Yukari came bounding over all smiles. "So how are you two this wonderful evening?"

            "Ah, excuse me," Fujikyu said getting up and started to run away from them. Yukari looked down at Hitomi asking.

            "What's wrong?"

            Hitomi didn't answer instead she followed after Fujikyu calling out to him. She wanted to tell him that it was okay, that there was nothing wrong with him. That she knew, or at least thought she knew, what was happening. That's when there was a brilliant flash of light from the sky that cut down onto the race track, and Fujikyu stopped just behind it, and turned around. Hitomi wasn't so lucky; she crashed into it as the light dissipated and crashed into a young man with red hair. The two rolled and lay still for a second. Hitomi felt a hand grab her by the elbow and help her to her feet.

            "Are you okay, Hitomi," Fujikyu asked as Yukari was racing up to them.

            "Yeah, I'm okay," she replied and walked over to the young man who lay still on the ground. "But I wonder if…"

            The man had the same red hair, clothing, and ears that she'd seen in her vision, and she noticed that Fujikyu was watching him with a nervous glare to his eyes. Hitomi bent down to shake him and see if he was okay and was reaching slowly for his shoulder. When he suddenly grabbed her wrist and looked up with the same intense green eyes she's seen in her vision. He gave her a roguish grin and said, "Should be careful with strangers miss, never know what one of them will do."

            The man was on his feet instantly and pulled a sharp knife on her, he looked at Fujikyu and Yukari. Fujikyu was reaching into his bag for what had to be his sword, when the man shouted, "Try anything funny and I'll slit her neck."

            "Mind you babe, it would be a first you know. Tyndell the Red Fox has yet to take one life, " the man whispered to her, "So where the hell am I, and you better have a damn good answer."

            "Japan," Hitomi gasped as he pressed the knife to her throat. The cold steel blade tingled and she shuddered.

            "Okay, where the hell is Japan? Never heard of it…"

            "It's on the Mystic Moon," Hitomi said, she knew this man had to be from Gaea. It was the only logical explanation, but how had he gotten here. And why? She looked over to Yukari who looked very scared, and Hitomi knew that there was no way for Van to help her out here. She bit her lip, and hoped that the man would believe her.

            "The Mystic…" he looked at her face for the first time and gasped. "You're the Girl that everyone's preaching about, the girl from the Mystic Moon. Well I'll be damned to hell…"

            "And I'll be happy enough to put you there," a quiet voice said, as Tyndell's grip loosened. Hitomi pulled free and saw Fujikyu standing behind Tyndell, with the blunt end of his blade to the red head's neck. He was choking him and said to Hitomi.

            "Run, get out of here now, take Yukari and call the cops. Hurry!" Fujikyu shouted, then Hitomi saw Tyndell head butt him backwards and she saw blood spurt out of Fujikyu's nose.

            "Stupid brat, slice you but good, " Tyndell was saying and Hitomi lunged for his arm, chomping down hard on Tyndell's hand. The man screamed, and knocked her aside. "Alright no more mister nice guy."

            He plunged his hands into his robes and pulled out a blue energist. Hitomi's jaw dropped when she saw it and recognized what it was. Tyndell smiled and was about to throw it down, when Fujikyu tackled him from behind and the two made a mad scramble for the gem which rolled over to Hitomi's feet. She bent down and picked it up, and it started to glow.

            "No," Tyndell shouted and grabbed her arm, but it was to late, the light came down, and sucked her up, along with Tyndell. Yukari screamed, and Fujikyu picked up his sword and dove into the light only to vanish right before Yukari's eyes. As quickly as the light came, it was gone, taking with it her best friend, a man she didn't even know. And a boy who was more of a knight then anyone could ever imagine.

Author's notes: The Knight of swords, a dark haired brown eyed young man who is strong and skilled, and brave. He tends to rush head long into things. This card can symbolize bravery, skill defense or war, conflict and destruction. The cards lay out should give an indication of the good or destructive influences to come.