Chapter One: Fractured Hearts, Fractured Worlds.
~@~
Skye waited quietly. Like normal. Wordless and apparently motionless, to the crowd she was almost invisible. Which to her was just peachy, she'd rather people didn't approach her if they could help it.
"Next." The bland, bored voice of the girl selling the tickets. Skye stepped forward to the counter and paid, then after receiving her ticket she went and joined her friend waiting over by the ice-cream. Her friend waved and grinned, just to make sure she noticed her.
Skye smiled amiably in response, "Coming, coming..."
She paused and eyed the ice-cream, while her friend gave a sly smile, "Are you gonna' have some?" The smile widened into a grin, "Go on, you know you want some!"
Skye knew she shouldn't. She was on a diet, after all! But... she was supposed to be having fun... she'd come this far, and she hadn't had a night out for weeks.
She nodded, now decided. Time to go all out.
She grinned at her friend, "You stood here deliberately, didn't you! You knew I wouldn't be able to resist."
She shook her head and sighed long-sufferingly, "Oh well..." she shrugged and flashed a smile, "You win, Cathy."
Cathy grinned even wider and said, "You won't be alone - I'm having some too, you know!"
Laughing, Skye turned to the smiling guy serving the ice-cream and ordered a medium strawberry cone with two scoops. Cathy ordered the same - but with mint choc-chip. They paid and walked towards the woman standing before the entrance to the cinema screens and let her check their tickets. Talking animatedly to each other while they waited, the woman nodded then tore the ends of their tickets and bid them a good evening.
~--- Inside Screen 1 ---~
Hitomi's shoulder-length hair glinted honey-brown highlights from the bright, loud adverts playing across the large screen. She smiled and chatted to Yukari and Amano absorbedly.
"So what do you think of him?" Yukari questioned Hitomi about the friend she had introduced to her earlier, inwardly hoping that Hitomi would take a liking to him and get to know him before she left. Since she was staying so long, it would be good for her to have a new friend, and, hopefully, a sweet romance abroad wouldn't go amiss, either.
Two years ago, when Hitomi appeared again back on Earth, she was silent for the first few days. Yukari understood. Knew that she had to sort things out in her mind before she said them aloud. When Hitomi did, finally speak of her time on Gaea, though, Yukari was shocked... and she knew with certainty that she wouldn't have believed it -- had she not seen the pillar of light with her own eyes - and the feather Hitomi kept with her at all times.
Yukari believed her, listening with utter amazement at the detail and vivid pictures of Gaea that Hitomi painted in her mind. Yes, she believed her best friend. But she couldn't understand why Hitomi hadn't been interested in a single man since she returned to Earth. Yukari had heard Hitomi speak of Van Fanel. Seen the light blush that coloured her cheeks and the love that shone in her verdant eyes when she described him to her. But surely, if he had meant that much to her... why had she come back..?
~--- Walking to Screen 1 ---~
Skye nodded and listened to Cathy as she described to her in avid detail the day's events. In her head though, stray thoughts kept pushing themselves into her mind.
-Am I going insane..? The dreams... When are they going to stop..?- She almost shook her head before stopping herself, and dismissed the thoughts from her mind. She frowned without realising it, making a mental note to ponder this later, but for now, she was going to enjoy herself, and spend some quality time with her friend.
Cathy smile gently at Skye as she frowned. She knew she hadn't heard a thing she'd said for the past minute. She stopped walking, and Skye looked at her oddly and stopped too. Cathy slowly smiled at Skye, mischieviously, and lifted her hand and poked her on the nose.
"Now look here." She raised an eyebrow at Skye to make sure she was listening.
Skye raised a neat eyebrow in mock reply. Cathy continued now that she had her full attention, "Whatever you're thinking about -- stop it. Do you hear me?" She eyed Skye and released her nose. She spoke slowly, to make sure that she caught each word, "You-Are-Here-To-Have-Fun. Hear me? I want a yes or no answer! -- Preferably yes." She repressed a grin.
Skye laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I hear you. I promise."
Cathy nodded sagely, "Good." She paused and glanced at the doors of their screen just down the hallway, "Come on, I bet the adverts are almost finished! We don't wanna miss the film."
~--- Hitomi, Yukari and Amano ---~
A slight trembling shook her hands as Hitomi saw a flicker of light in the corner of her eye...
Frowning, Hitomi paused and raised a hand to her forehead. She whispered fearfully, "Wha... what was that..?"
Yukari was busy watching the screen, but Amano, on the other side of Yukari, leaned forward slightly and turned his head concernedly to her.
"Hitomi? Are you alright?"
Hitomi slowly turned her head towards Amano, and as she looked up at him something incredibly disconcerting happened.
As she met his gentle brown eyes, there was a bright...
*FLASH*
Hitomi looked into a pair of melting, true-blue eyes... as their gazes locked, Allen blinked shockedly and broke their connection.
*FLASH*
Hitomi gasped, and fell forward, clutching her legs. Murmuring over and over, "Why... why... why..."
Yukari and Amano were speaking, trying to say something to her, but their voices were muffled. Her mind blocked them out and she reeled in the shock of seeing him again, her breathing was rapid and irregular.
Yukari was hugging Hitomi tightly, holding onto her, asking gently, worriedly, "Hitomi? Hitomi, speak to me, please... Hitomi?"
Slowly, Hitomi's thoughts calmed enough for her to speak, "Yukari-chan... I'm alright, don't worry." She breathed in deeply, and felt a little better.
Yukari gazed at her carefully, "What happened?"
Hitomi shook her head slightly and said, 'It was Allen. I saw him, Yukari. I saw him. Its been so long... why did I see him?"
Yukari bit her lip, and after a pause murmured to her, "Well... are you sure it was him? You know, maybe it was just a stray memory? Or... well, maybe you just need a bit of air? Hey, I'll go with you to the bathroom."
Still holding a clammy hand to her temples, Hitomi shook her head again. "No, don't worry. I'll go by myself -- enjoy the film, you can fill me in when I get back."
Noticing Yukari's worried gaze, she reassured her, "Its alright, honestly. I'll be right back, I promise."
She stood hastily and made her way down the steep steps of the dark cinema. She swayed slightly, and almost lost her footing at one point, but a few seconds later she found herself by the bottom near the dark double doors. The only barrier between her, and the light.
The adrenaline was pounding through her system. Hitomi was on full alert, all her senses screaming... and she had no idea why.
Glancing over her shoulder nervously, she stepped towards the double doors and pushed a trembling hand towards them.
Simultaneously, the doors swung heavily in her direction before they could push them and she heard a girl's voice hissing, "Come on! I bet we've already missed the beginning!"
And then, the door swung with a soft whoosh...
She saw two feminine faces, their eyes glittering in the dim light and before she knew it, one of them shot forward as though she'd been shoved, straight into Hitomi. They both landed on the floor in a heap, and the breath was knocked out of both of them.
Cathy gasped, and said, "Oh I am so sorry! I had no idea you were there! Oh, God... let me help you..."
Dimly, Hitomi realised she could smell something nice. Since the girl's dark hair was strewn across her face, she figured it must be her hair. It smelt of cinnamon and some strange spices...
Still trying to catch her breath, the winded girl on top of her was yanked to one side and Hitomi found herself standing again without remembering how.
Still holding her hand firmly, the stranger's bright blue eyes peered at her worriedly, "You're not hurt are you? Oh, I'm so sorry, it was all my fault!"
Hitomi shook her head, "No... no, I'm okay." She glanced at the other girl, who had managed to pull herself into a sitting position. "Is she alright?"
Cathy glanced followingly at Skye. "Oh... Skye you know I didn't mean it... I really... I'm sorry..."
Shaking her head, too, the short girl named Skye stood shakily and muttered, "Don't worry about it."
Cathy looked like she was about to cry, "Please Skye, I really am sorry..."
Taking in a breath to steady herself, Skye slowly calmed her anger, "Cathy. I'm fine, this girl is fine, no harm's done. Would you wait for me in our seats, though? I just want to go sort out my hair..." She raised a hand to her long, now tangled mop of hair."
Now back to her senses, Hitomi piped up, "Um... I have some friends back on row... G. They're about halfway across. Their names are Amano and Yukari... I'm Hitomi... I'd appreciate it if maybe you could tell them why I'm taking a while?"
Nodding brightly, Cathy smiled, "Yes, yes of course. I'm Cathy Palmer. I really am sorry about this..." She glanced at Skye standing motionlessly. "Um... I'll wait for you back there, then."
Skye just nodded wordlessly, and Hitomi smiled sympathetically at Cathy while wondering why her friend was being so rude to her.
Skye turned as if to leave, and Cathy followed her lead and set off towards the seats. Hitomi followed Skye through the double doors, and finally, out into the light.
~@~
Now that they could see properly, they could both get a better look at each other.
Hitomi inhaled deeply, and felt as though she had stopped breathing up until she had come out into the light again. She felt a little better now, but the image of Allen's blue eyes and his obvious confusion set a whirl of emotions through her mind.
Skye seethed inwardly. She couldn't explain her sudden change of mood, but she had, honestly, tried hard not to take it out on Cathy. She tried in vain to smooth her hair, failed, and decided to look at this Hitomi girl instead.
Why did she feel so familiar to her? She had a Japanese accent... and Skye couldn't remember having ever spoken to someone like her at all in her entire life.
She glanced at Hitomi and took in her appearance. She seemed nervous... continuously raising a hand to her forehead and glancing around the hallway as though she expected some kind of monster to fly in and tear down the building. Her hand was trembling.
Skye watched her quietly. Hitomi was of an average height - a little taller than Skye herself. She was lean and from what she could see, quite athletic. She wore a knee-length jeans skirt and a white billowy gypsy top which revealed one pale shoulder.
Her hair was shoulder length. Cut neatly, it was a natural honey-brown colour which showed golden highlights in the light. Her eyes were the most striking thing about her, though. The brightest green she had ever seen in a human, yet they seemed deep, unfathomable at the same time. The white top complimented her bright eyes and hair nicely.
Skye wondered at the colour of her eyes...
-How unusual for a Japanese.-
Turning, Hitomi caught Skye's appraisal of her and as she took a steadying breath, and with a slight smile, returned the favour.
She saw Skye's straight dark, dark hair - not black, not quite, and presumably straight. A dark, chocolate brown... with a single, thin bleached blonde streak across the right side of her head. Currently it was ruffled, from the fall she'd had with Hitomi's landing on top of her. Skye's hair cascaded half-way down her back despite its tousled appearance now.
She was quite short, and 'chunky' she supposed, would be the word to describe her. She wasn't fat, but because of her height it might make her appear so if she wore the wrong style clothes. She wasn't, at this moment, however, wearing the wrong type of clothes.
Black, form-fitting jeans with a slight flare at the ends covered black, moderately high-heeled boots. She wore a very pale blue top, which looked a bit odd to Hitomi, as one of the sleeves was long - whereas the other was cut straight at the shoulder. Across the right breast, in black writing, it was hard to read but she thought it said something along the lines of 'PunkyFish'...
Skye had a pale complexion, and as Hitomi raised her gaze to meet a pair of puzzled mahogany-brown eyes, she realised that she was making Skye feel awkward with her scrutinizing gaze.
Apologetically, Hitomi offered, "Shall we go to the toilets and clean up a bit..?"
Skye raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded, "Sure."
They turned and walked down the corridor in silence.
~@~
The light of the bathroom's was harsh. Much brighter than outside. The actual room was very big, but currently empty. Skye turned towards the loos to do her business, and Hitomi moved closer to one of the mirrors.
She grimaced as she took in her wild, wary features. The 'vision' had affected her more than she'd noticed. She glanced at her hair.
-Well, one thing I can fix, I suppose.-
Opening her purse, she pulled out a small wooden brush. She smoothed out her hair quietly, and watched her pitiful appearance in the mirror.
Apart from the gentle whoosh of the air conditioning, the room was quiet. She saw in the mirror a green plant standing in a corner behind her. In a pristine white pot, it somehow matched the rest of the starkly clean room.
She peered at her hair critically. -Hmm... I guess that'll have to do.-
She heard Skye flush the toilet over towards the left...
And another bright FLASH enveloped her...
Van. Van stood behind her. He was looking at her in the mirror. Somehow, that was still there... and she couldn't seem to turn around and face him... she gazed at his reflection helplessly and whispered, "...Van..."
She felt his unruly raven hair brush her cheek as he spoke, gently, "Hitomi. I need you... we need your help."
Her green eyes filled with tears, "Van? What's going on? Please, tell me what's happening..."
The white grew brighter, brighter, slowly seeping over them both, "We need you to come back... there's someone else, I think..." He paused, then said urgently, "Hitomi, please! I need you to come back to Gaea!"
The whiteness covered everything, then, and all she could hear was the echo of Van's voice, "...come back..."
Hitomi felt her knees begin to buckle below her, and the bathroom came back in a rush. The whiteness of this room paled in comparison to the light that had enveloped her, though.
Skye stood by her side, gaping.
"What the hell was that? Hitomi, what just happened to you? I saw..."
The realisation that Skye had seen something more than herself staring distantly in the mirror, brought her back to her senses and she managed to keep herself from fainting.
Hitomi gasped at Skye, her verdant eyes wide, "What do you mean you *saw*? What did you see, Skye? Please, tell me!"
Skye stepped back, feeling wary, "I saw... I saw a man. Look, he was standing just behind you, and everything was white. I couldn't hear what he was saying. Alright? I don't expect you to believe me, but I swear by my life, that I saw a young bloke with black hair dressed in weird clothes behind you." Realising she was ranting, Skye stopped abruptly and remembered to breathe.
Hitomi just gaped at her. "What? You mean, you saw him? You saw Van, too?!"
Skye didn't know what to say. "...V...Vaan? That's his name?"
Nodding, Hitomi wasn't sure whether she was relieved or terrified. "Yes. His name is Van Fanel. And... I do believe you."
Skye let out a deep sigh. Finally. She wasn't going insane. Maybe, at last, she would be able to get some answers. She sank slowly to the floor and rubbed her forehead.
Grinning suddenly, she looked up at Hitomi. "Do you have a brush I could borrow?"
~@~
Skye waited quietly. Like normal. Wordless and apparently motionless, to the crowd she was almost invisible. Which to her was just peachy, she'd rather people didn't approach her if they could help it.
"Next." The bland, bored voice of the girl selling the tickets. Skye stepped forward to the counter and paid, then after receiving her ticket she went and joined her friend waiting over by the ice-cream. Her friend waved and grinned, just to make sure she noticed her.
Skye smiled amiably in response, "Coming, coming..."
She paused and eyed the ice-cream, while her friend gave a sly smile, "Are you gonna' have some?" The smile widened into a grin, "Go on, you know you want some!"
Skye knew she shouldn't. She was on a diet, after all! But... she was supposed to be having fun... she'd come this far, and she hadn't had a night out for weeks.
She nodded, now decided. Time to go all out.
She grinned at her friend, "You stood here deliberately, didn't you! You knew I wouldn't be able to resist."
She shook her head and sighed long-sufferingly, "Oh well..." she shrugged and flashed a smile, "You win, Cathy."
Cathy grinned even wider and said, "You won't be alone - I'm having some too, you know!"
Laughing, Skye turned to the smiling guy serving the ice-cream and ordered a medium strawberry cone with two scoops. Cathy ordered the same - but with mint choc-chip. They paid and walked towards the woman standing before the entrance to the cinema screens and let her check their tickets. Talking animatedly to each other while they waited, the woman nodded then tore the ends of their tickets and bid them a good evening.
~--- Inside Screen 1 ---~
Hitomi's shoulder-length hair glinted honey-brown highlights from the bright, loud adverts playing across the large screen. She smiled and chatted to Yukari and Amano absorbedly.
"So what do you think of him?" Yukari questioned Hitomi about the friend she had introduced to her earlier, inwardly hoping that Hitomi would take a liking to him and get to know him before she left. Since she was staying so long, it would be good for her to have a new friend, and, hopefully, a sweet romance abroad wouldn't go amiss, either.
Two years ago, when Hitomi appeared again back on Earth, she was silent for the first few days. Yukari understood. Knew that she had to sort things out in her mind before she said them aloud. When Hitomi did, finally speak of her time on Gaea, though, Yukari was shocked... and she knew with certainty that she wouldn't have believed it -- had she not seen the pillar of light with her own eyes - and the feather Hitomi kept with her at all times.
Yukari believed her, listening with utter amazement at the detail and vivid pictures of Gaea that Hitomi painted in her mind. Yes, she believed her best friend. But she couldn't understand why Hitomi hadn't been interested in a single man since she returned to Earth. Yukari had heard Hitomi speak of Van Fanel. Seen the light blush that coloured her cheeks and the love that shone in her verdant eyes when she described him to her. But surely, if he had meant that much to her... why had she come back..?
~--- Walking to Screen 1 ---~
Skye nodded and listened to Cathy as she described to her in avid detail the day's events. In her head though, stray thoughts kept pushing themselves into her mind.
-Am I going insane..? The dreams... When are they going to stop..?- She almost shook her head before stopping herself, and dismissed the thoughts from her mind. She frowned without realising it, making a mental note to ponder this later, but for now, she was going to enjoy herself, and spend some quality time with her friend.
Cathy smile gently at Skye as she frowned. She knew she hadn't heard a thing she'd said for the past minute. She stopped walking, and Skye looked at her oddly and stopped too. Cathy slowly smiled at Skye, mischieviously, and lifted her hand and poked her on the nose.
"Now look here." She raised an eyebrow at Skye to make sure she was listening.
Skye raised a neat eyebrow in mock reply. Cathy continued now that she had her full attention, "Whatever you're thinking about -- stop it. Do you hear me?" She eyed Skye and released her nose. She spoke slowly, to make sure that she caught each word, "You-Are-Here-To-Have-Fun. Hear me? I want a yes or no answer! -- Preferably yes." She repressed a grin.
Skye laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I hear you. I promise."
Cathy nodded sagely, "Good." She paused and glanced at the doors of their screen just down the hallway, "Come on, I bet the adverts are almost finished! We don't wanna miss the film."
~--- Hitomi, Yukari and Amano ---~
A slight trembling shook her hands as Hitomi saw a flicker of light in the corner of her eye...
Frowning, Hitomi paused and raised a hand to her forehead. She whispered fearfully, "Wha... what was that..?"
Yukari was busy watching the screen, but Amano, on the other side of Yukari, leaned forward slightly and turned his head concernedly to her.
"Hitomi? Are you alright?"
Hitomi slowly turned her head towards Amano, and as she looked up at him something incredibly disconcerting happened.
As she met his gentle brown eyes, there was a bright...
*FLASH*
Hitomi looked into a pair of melting, true-blue eyes... as their gazes locked, Allen blinked shockedly and broke their connection.
*FLASH*
Hitomi gasped, and fell forward, clutching her legs. Murmuring over and over, "Why... why... why..."
Yukari and Amano were speaking, trying to say something to her, but their voices were muffled. Her mind blocked them out and she reeled in the shock of seeing him again, her breathing was rapid and irregular.
Yukari was hugging Hitomi tightly, holding onto her, asking gently, worriedly, "Hitomi? Hitomi, speak to me, please... Hitomi?"
Slowly, Hitomi's thoughts calmed enough for her to speak, "Yukari-chan... I'm alright, don't worry." She breathed in deeply, and felt a little better.
Yukari gazed at her carefully, "What happened?"
Hitomi shook her head slightly and said, 'It was Allen. I saw him, Yukari. I saw him. Its been so long... why did I see him?"
Yukari bit her lip, and after a pause murmured to her, "Well... are you sure it was him? You know, maybe it was just a stray memory? Or... well, maybe you just need a bit of air? Hey, I'll go with you to the bathroom."
Still holding a clammy hand to her temples, Hitomi shook her head again. "No, don't worry. I'll go by myself -- enjoy the film, you can fill me in when I get back."
Noticing Yukari's worried gaze, she reassured her, "Its alright, honestly. I'll be right back, I promise."
She stood hastily and made her way down the steep steps of the dark cinema. She swayed slightly, and almost lost her footing at one point, but a few seconds later she found herself by the bottom near the dark double doors. The only barrier between her, and the light.
The adrenaline was pounding through her system. Hitomi was on full alert, all her senses screaming... and she had no idea why.
Glancing over her shoulder nervously, she stepped towards the double doors and pushed a trembling hand towards them.
Simultaneously, the doors swung heavily in her direction before they could push them and she heard a girl's voice hissing, "Come on! I bet we've already missed the beginning!"
And then, the door swung with a soft whoosh...
She saw two feminine faces, their eyes glittering in the dim light and before she knew it, one of them shot forward as though she'd been shoved, straight into Hitomi. They both landed on the floor in a heap, and the breath was knocked out of both of them.
Cathy gasped, and said, "Oh I am so sorry! I had no idea you were there! Oh, God... let me help you..."
Dimly, Hitomi realised she could smell something nice. Since the girl's dark hair was strewn across her face, she figured it must be her hair. It smelt of cinnamon and some strange spices...
Still trying to catch her breath, the winded girl on top of her was yanked to one side and Hitomi found herself standing again without remembering how.
Still holding her hand firmly, the stranger's bright blue eyes peered at her worriedly, "You're not hurt are you? Oh, I'm so sorry, it was all my fault!"
Hitomi shook her head, "No... no, I'm okay." She glanced at the other girl, who had managed to pull herself into a sitting position. "Is she alright?"
Cathy glanced followingly at Skye. "Oh... Skye you know I didn't mean it... I really... I'm sorry..."
Shaking her head, too, the short girl named Skye stood shakily and muttered, "Don't worry about it."
Cathy looked like she was about to cry, "Please Skye, I really am sorry..."
Taking in a breath to steady herself, Skye slowly calmed her anger, "Cathy. I'm fine, this girl is fine, no harm's done. Would you wait for me in our seats, though? I just want to go sort out my hair..." She raised a hand to her long, now tangled mop of hair."
Now back to her senses, Hitomi piped up, "Um... I have some friends back on row... G. They're about halfway across. Their names are Amano and Yukari... I'm Hitomi... I'd appreciate it if maybe you could tell them why I'm taking a while?"
Nodding brightly, Cathy smiled, "Yes, yes of course. I'm Cathy Palmer. I really am sorry about this..." She glanced at Skye standing motionlessly. "Um... I'll wait for you back there, then."
Skye just nodded wordlessly, and Hitomi smiled sympathetically at Cathy while wondering why her friend was being so rude to her.
Skye turned as if to leave, and Cathy followed her lead and set off towards the seats. Hitomi followed Skye through the double doors, and finally, out into the light.
~@~
Now that they could see properly, they could both get a better look at each other.
Hitomi inhaled deeply, and felt as though she had stopped breathing up until she had come out into the light again. She felt a little better now, but the image of Allen's blue eyes and his obvious confusion set a whirl of emotions through her mind.
Skye seethed inwardly. She couldn't explain her sudden change of mood, but she had, honestly, tried hard not to take it out on Cathy. She tried in vain to smooth her hair, failed, and decided to look at this Hitomi girl instead.
Why did she feel so familiar to her? She had a Japanese accent... and Skye couldn't remember having ever spoken to someone like her at all in her entire life.
She glanced at Hitomi and took in her appearance. She seemed nervous... continuously raising a hand to her forehead and glancing around the hallway as though she expected some kind of monster to fly in and tear down the building. Her hand was trembling.
Skye watched her quietly. Hitomi was of an average height - a little taller than Skye herself. She was lean and from what she could see, quite athletic. She wore a knee-length jeans skirt and a white billowy gypsy top which revealed one pale shoulder.
Her hair was shoulder length. Cut neatly, it was a natural honey-brown colour which showed golden highlights in the light. Her eyes were the most striking thing about her, though. The brightest green she had ever seen in a human, yet they seemed deep, unfathomable at the same time. The white top complimented her bright eyes and hair nicely.
Skye wondered at the colour of her eyes...
-How unusual for a Japanese.-
Turning, Hitomi caught Skye's appraisal of her and as she took a steadying breath, and with a slight smile, returned the favour.
She saw Skye's straight dark, dark hair - not black, not quite, and presumably straight. A dark, chocolate brown... with a single, thin bleached blonde streak across the right side of her head. Currently it was ruffled, from the fall she'd had with Hitomi's landing on top of her. Skye's hair cascaded half-way down her back despite its tousled appearance now.
She was quite short, and 'chunky' she supposed, would be the word to describe her. She wasn't fat, but because of her height it might make her appear so if she wore the wrong style clothes. She wasn't, at this moment, however, wearing the wrong type of clothes.
Black, form-fitting jeans with a slight flare at the ends covered black, moderately high-heeled boots. She wore a very pale blue top, which looked a bit odd to Hitomi, as one of the sleeves was long - whereas the other was cut straight at the shoulder. Across the right breast, in black writing, it was hard to read but she thought it said something along the lines of 'PunkyFish'...
Skye had a pale complexion, and as Hitomi raised her gaze to meet a pair of puzzled mahogany-brown eyes, she realised that she was making Skye feel awkward with her scrutinizing gaze.
Apologetically, Hitomi offered, "Shall we go to the toilets and clean up a bit..?"
Skye raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded, "Sure."
They turned and walked down the corridor in silence.
~@~
The light of the bathroom's was harsh. Much brighter than outside. The actual room was very big, but currently empty. Skye turned towards the loos to do her business, and Hitomi moved closer to one of the mirrors.
She grimaced as she took in her wild, wary features. The 'vision' had affected her more than she'd noticed. She glanced at her hair.
-Well, one thing I can fix, I suppose.-
Opening her purse, she pulled out a small wooden brush. She smoothed out her hair quietly, and watched her pitiful appearance in the mirror.
Apart from the gentle whoosh of the air conditioning, the room was quiet. She saw in the mirror a green plant standing in a corner behind her. In a pristine white pot, it somehow matched the rest of the starkly clean room.
She peered at her hair critically. -Hmm... I guess that'll have to do.-
She heard Skye flush the toilet over towards the left...
And another bright FLASH enveloped her...
Van. Van stood behind her. He was looking at her in the mirror. Somehow, that was still there... and she couldn't seem to turn around and face him... she gazed at his reflection helplessly and whispered, "...Van..."
She felt his unruly raven hair brush her cheek as he spoke, gently, "Hitomi. I need you... we need your help."
Her green eyes filled with tears, "Van? What's going on? Please, tell me what's happening..."
The white grew brighter, brighter, slowly seeping over them both, "We need you to come back... there's someone else, I think..." He paused, then said urgently, "Hitomi, please! I need you to come back to Gaea!"
The whiteness covered everything, then, and all she could hear was the echo of Van's voice, "...come back..."
Hitomi felt her knees begin to buckle below her, and the bathroom came back in a rush. The whiteness of this room paled in comparison to the light that had enveloped her, though.
Skye stood by her side, gaping.
"What the hell was that? Hitomi, what just happened to you? I saw..."
The realisation that Skye had seen something more than herself staring distantly in the mirror, brought her back to her senses and she managed to keep herself from fainting.
Hitomi gasped at Skye, her verdant eyes wide, "What do you mean you *saw*? What did you see, Skye? Please, tell me!"
Skye stepped back, feeling wary, "I saw... I saw a man. Look, he was standing just behind you, and everything was white. I couldn't hear what he was saying. Alright? I don't expect you to believe me, but I swear by my life, that I saw a young bloke with black hair dressed in weird clothes behind you." Realising she was ranting, Skye stopped abruptly and remembered to breathe.
Hitomi just gaped at her. "What? You mean, you saw him? You saw Van, too?!"
Skye didn't know what to say. "...V...Vaan? That's his name?"
Nodding, Hitomi wasn't sure whether she was relieved or terrified. "Yes. His name is Van Fanel. And... I do believe you."
Skye let out a deep sigh. Finally. She wasn't going insane. Maybe, at last, she would be able to get some answers. She sank slowly to the floor and rubbed her forehead.
Grinning suddenly, she looked up at Hitomi. "Do you have a brush I could borrow?"