Author: Tevrah
Email: writergirl852@yahoo.com
A/N: Happy Halloween!
Okay, so everybody has been saying how a prequel to Coming Home would be nice, so here it is! I never really thought about doing a prequel before, but I got a lot of reviews from readers telling me that they think the summary and the add-on-summary would be a good story, and I'm never one to pass up writing or reading a good story!
Now this story won't have a lot of action to it really. Actually I don't think that there will be any action to it at all, just a lot of fluff and a dive into Hitomi's past, and of course Hitomi and Van's wedding! (I love fluff!)
Now the way that the chapters are named, like Fifteen, Sixteen, and so on, well, the reason is because I'm doing the chapter by what age Van and Hitomi are. Like this first chapter is when they are fifteen. Get it? Good. Anyway, that's about it!
Here's chapter one!
***
Chapter One: Fifteen
The smoke was thick.
Fire surrounded them.
Beams collapsed, crashing to the floor. The floating fortress was quickly plummeting to the ground below. Two men were in the center of the destruction, holding on for dear life. A boy-man with unruly midnight black hair was trying to climb up the floor with a bloody sword in one hand. He reached his hand out to the other man who had blue hair was bleeding profusely. He had cuts all over his body and was very weak.
"Brother!"
"Hurry Van! You must leave!"
"I won't leave without you!"
"Leave now, Van! You must go while there is still time!"
"No! I lost you once, I won't lose you again!"
"Please!"
"No!"
"Then forgive me, Van, for I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself!"
"Folken, don't!"
"I have to, Van! I won't let you die! Your purpose for being has not yet been fulfilled! You must live, Van!"
The blue-haired man, Folken, raised his hand toward the sky and closed his eyes. "Destino mucanta tyrana etila."
"Folken, no!" The black-haired boy-man, Van, let go of the sword and let it slide away, forgotten. He reached out both hands. "Take my hands!"
Folken opened his eyes and looked at his brother. Even through his pain-filled gaze, he could see Van's tears. "Don't cry for me brother. We'll meet again."
"Folken!" Van cried. "Please!"
A bright light descended, trapping Van inside. He slowly began to rise from the ground, higher and higher until blackness engulfed him.
"Goodbye for now, little brother," Folken whispered to where the light had disappeared. "Until we meet again, Van, you must live."
Folken laid his head down and closed his eyes as the fire surrounded him. Now he could rest in peace.
***
A small cat-girl around the age of thirteen with short pink hair that brought out her short pointed ears stood in the mist of the destruction of what was once a grand floating fortress. She swallowed at the lump in her throat, but it wouldn't go away. Tears began flowing down her cheeks unchecked. Where was he? Where was her brother? She was lost without him.
Crunching sounded behind her indicating that someone was walking toward her. She watched from the corner of her eye as a pair of black boots came to rest beside her. The boots belonged to a man with long golden hair and a proud stance. He looked tired and his clothes were dirty and covered with blood. He stared straight ahead, just as she was doing. Then he turned and handed her a sword that had the Fanelian emblem on it. He sighed.
"I'm sorry, Merle," he said quietly, "but we've looked everywhere and this was all we found. We can't find him anywhere."
"He has to be here," Merle whispered clutching the sword tightly. "He has to."
"We found Folken, Merle," Allen said gently, "and I've had everyone search the area three times, but he's not here. I'm sorry."
"Allen! Merle!"
They both turned to see Dryden Fassa motioning them to him. A young man stood beside him dressed as a Zaibach soldier. They hurried over.
"Did you find him?" Merle asked.
"Perhaps," Dryden answered. He turned to them man beside him. "Tell them what you saw."
"I-I was on t-the cli-cliff watching as the fortress cr-crashed," he stuttered out. "I-I saw a b-bright light come d-down, t-then leave again w-with somebody i-in it."
"Who was it?" Allen demanded.
"I-I don't know," the young man said looking to the ground in fear. "All I saw w-was b-black hair."
Allen stared at the trembling man. "If you're lying to us," he threatened, "you won't have to worry about staying in prison for very long, for I will hunt you down and end your life myself."
The man cowered back in fear. "It's the truth! I swear!"
Allen nodded sharply. Then he motioned for two of his men to come and take the trembling man away.
"If it was Van who was in the bright light, then where did he go?" Dryden wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Allen answered grimly, "but we'll find him. Even if we have to search all of Gaea."
"How—" Dryden stopped.
Merle had turned and ran in the other direction as fast as she could. She could hear Allen and Dryden shouting for her to come back, but ignored them. She didn't want to go back. She wanted to go and find Van herself.
A few hours later, she was resting against a big tree and was staring up at the Mystic Moon. Tears were once again running down her face. "Where are you Van?" she whispered. "I need you. Please come back." She buried her face in her hands and wept.
***
"In breaking news a bright column of light descended from the sky today. No one knows where it came from or where it went, but witnesses say that it disappeared after only a moment. In the next hour, we'll look into what the witnesses have to say. This is Tera Yoknocki and you're watching Channel 52 news."
Fifteen-year-old Hitomi Kanzaki sat in the hospital waiting room as if in a dream state. The television was going on and on about some weird light, but all she could think about was the news that had been delivered to her only a few hours before:
Hitomi got into position.
"On your mark! Get set! Go!"
She shot off. She loved to run, but it would have been better if her family could have been there for her tournament. As it was, they were on their way back from Tylami, Japan, a seven-hour plane ride. They should be home when she got there. She crossed the finish line and the cheers rang out.
"That was Hitomi Kanzaki, folks!" the announcer said. "She completed the one-meter dash in just twelve seconds, a new record! That puts her team in first place! The Tokyo High School team wins!"
Hitomi teammates rushed forward and surrounded her. They were all smiling. A man rushed over and presented them with their four-foot tall trophy. "Congratulations!" he said. "This means you're going to the Finals!"
The team cheered again.
"Hitomi! Hitomi!"
Hitomi turned around to find her best friend Yukari Uchida running toward her. They embraced one another. "You were great, Hitomi!" Yukari praised. "You flew to the finish line! It was like nothing I've ever seen before!"
"Thanks, Yukari," Hitomi smiled, "but we won because of a team effort."
Yukari rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. So you want to come with me and Amono to celebrate?"
"Sure," Hitomi said. "Let me go see the coach and grab my bag. I'll meet you guys in the parking lot."
"Great!" Yukari gushed. She ran off.
Hitomi smiled at her hyperactive friend. Nothing seemed to ever get her down. That's why she and Hitomi were such good friends. A hand fell on her shoulder and she turned around.
"Coach!" she cried placing her hand over her heart. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"
Her coach smiled. "Sorry, Kanzaki. Just wanted to tell you congrats and good job. Now go and enjoy yourself." He held up her track bag.
Hitomi took it. "Thanks, Coach. See you Monday."
Coach waved at her as she walked away. Her life was great. She had great family, great friends, and she loved track. Nothing could happen to bring her down right now.
Everything was perfect.
It was late by the time Yukari and Amono dropped her off at her house. They noticed the police car parked in the driveway immediately.
"Do you want us to come in with you, Hitomi?" Amono asked with concern.
"Nah," Hitomi said. "Maybe they're just at the wrong house, or they brought mom, dad, and Henoki home."
"Well, if you're sure," Yukari said.
"I'm sure," Hitomi said. She got out of the car and shut the door. She leaned down to the rolled-down window. "Now you two be good. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Yukari smiled. "But that takes the fun out of everything."
Hitomi laughed. "Bye!" She watched as they pulled out of the driveway and waved as they drove off.
"Hitomi Kanzaki?" a man's voice said.
Hitomi turned around and came face-to-face with two policemen. "Yes?" she asked uneasily. "What can I do for you?"
"We need you to come with us, miss," the other policeman said.
"Why? Where?" she asked with panic. "Did something happen?"
The first man sighed. "We're sorry to tell you this, but there has been an accident. Your parents and little brother's plane crashed a little over two hours ago. We need you to come to the hospital with us."
"Crashed?" Hitomi whispered. It just wasn't sinking in. "Hospital?"
"There was only one survivor found: a Henoki Kanzaki. He's in critical condition at Tokyo General Hospital," the man explained. "Will you please come with us? We'll take you to the hospital."
A man clearing his throat brought Hitomi back to the present. She looked up and found a man dressed in scrubs that were covered in blood looking at her.
"Yes?" she asked quietly. "How's my brother?"
The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry. We did all we could, but I'm afraid we lost him. I'm truly sorry."
Hitomi swallowed and nodded. "Thank you." She turned away before he could say anything else and walked down the hall. The nurses were staring at her. She could hear what they were thinking.
"The poor dear, she lost her whole family."
"She's all alone now."
"What will happen to her?"
"Where will she go?"
"The poor dear…"She got on the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor. Her mind was a mess. She couldn't think. The elevator doors opened and she was in the Emergency Room. It was crowded and noisy, but it was all one big blur for Hitomi. She made it to the exit when the doors burst open and a gurney was wheeled in.
"What happened?"
"We don't know. This guy was just found lying in the middle of the street. He's cut up pretty bad. He looks to be around the age of fourteen or fifteen. Caucasian, male, black hair, brown eyes, about 5'8, and weighs around 100lbs."
"It's amazing. It's like he just dropped out of the sky."
"Let's get him to the OR, STAT!"
The gurney with the black-haired boy was wheeled away. Hitomi watched until it was out of sight. Then, as if in a trance, she walked out of the hospital and didn't look back. She walked all the way home.
Unlocking the door to her house, she went in, shutting and locking it behind her by habit. She walked up the stairs and looked at the three bedrooms. One was hers. The other two used to be her brothers and her parents. She walked into her parent's room and sat down on the bed. A picture was on the nightstand. She picked it up and ran her fingers down the faces behind the glass. It was a picture of her parents, brother, and herself. A soul-wrenching sob tore from her throat. She lay down on the bed and held the picture to her heart as she cried loudly.
Her perfect world had just crashed and burned.
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Escaflowne. I just get my kicks out of writing stories with its characters.
So what do you guys think? Is it a good start or what? Let me know! Please review!