The Dragon and Her Slayer

Seven

A ghastly white hand pressed against the aged wood of a tall oak tree overlooking the city of Tokyo. While leaning, the hand reached into a shirt pocket of black silk and wrapped around a chic cigarette, and a smirk formed on the holder's mouth. As the sun melted without sound into the Earth, the smoker pushed against the tree and stood, taking a moment to deepen one breath and move along, towards the bustling city, which was now turning on her lights and getting ready for the action of the night.

As if from a distance, as the smoker walked serenely toward Tokyo, the scream of a dragon flew across the wind, whispering to nature, man and beast, of the things to come. And a pulse of red went through the smoker's eyes as her lips curled into a malicious grin.

Hitomi gasped for air as she exited the gym. The speech had left her claustrophobic and anxious, and she was more than willing to leave the crowded area for a breath of fresh air. Leaning her head against the cool brick wall of the school, she smiled and, with a sigh of relief, laughed.

Can't I just get away for a little while? Getting away from Tokyo was a hard thing to do, she remembered, even when you have a car or go by bus or train. Tokyo had become the hot spot for tourists and businessmen alike, and unfortunately Hitomi felt herself being driven away from the city she used to love.

Sometimes it wasn't that hard to get away though. A quick flash of blue lightning sparked in her mental vision, and she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't actually seeing it. Gaea was fairly easy to get to, she reinstated, and she wasn't even trying to get away.

But now she had nowhere to go, nothing really to look forward to. Maybe…

"Yukari? I'm going to run for a bit. Meet you at the track?"

She had counted them all in her head. Twenty-nine laps around the track and she was out of breath to the point where heavy, long drags of air didn't satiate the need for more oxygen. Absent-mindedly she fell to her knees on the high, uncut grass beside the tire-shredded track and fell to one side, collapsing into a semi-comfortable position on the potent ground.

Her eyes felt like they were going cross-eyed as she stared at the night sky above her. Hitomi kept her breathing patterns the same to calm her heart down, or else she'd lapse into an arrhythmia attack, where she would need help from someone else to perform CPR if she fell through and her heart stopped altogether.

Which reminded her… where was Yukari? She said she'd show… Maybe she got caught up with her boyfriend or something. Dismissing her best friend as a no-show, Hitomi cradled her head with her arms and stared up to watch the stars.

If only… If only I could see him again, one last time.

She sighed heavily when she realized that crossing her fingers (and her toes, secretly) wouldn't bring Van back to her, or her to him. Maybe it really was just a dream; a stupid, mindless, unrealistic children's dream. A sudden flame arose in her, her eyes burned, her fist pounded against the ground. With child-like impatience she screamed into the sky, yelling profanities and curses into the wind.

A trail of tears ran down her cheeks, her emotions unable to cover up the pain of losing someone she really loved, and she gasped for air as she clutched her arms around her legs and rocked back and forth. Van… Van… I miss you… I need you…

Falling back against the ground, she looked up again to notice that the hint of violet amongst the stars was fading into the midnight blue of the night. A small flash of light caught her eye and she stared with her full attention, watching the small dot of light become larger as it came closer.

La Torre.

Clamping her eyes shut, Hitomi made a wish between herself and that falling light, star, whatever it was. I wish that my true love would reveal himself to me tonight! Realizing that she was being childish again (which she was really trying to get out of the habit of), she opened her eyes, believing that there would be no lights, no dreamy cloud smoke, absolutely nothing except her, the track, and the sweet-smelling grass.

With a small gasp, she realized that the light was indeed getting closer, and to her not-too-amazing-amazement, it was the same blue lightning beam as the one Van was teleported from.

"Van!" She got up to her feet as quickly as she could and looked up to see where the light was going to land. Suddenly she realized that it was going to land right on top of her. Staring, she was frozen to her spot as the light enveloped her.

Warmth, like that of hot steam, blanketed her skin, and the overwhelming feeling that water was surrounding her massaged her psyche. It was the best feeling she had experienced in a long time, and yet… Gazing upwards, she peered into the piercing blue light and caught sight of a boot. A black one. Van didn't wear black boots… she recalled silently to herself. You're being childish again, 'Tomi. He's very capable of buying new boots for himself. He is the King, you know.

Slowly, the body descended, clothed in black and red from head to toe, except for the pearly white hair that topped its head. As he rested his feet on the ground, he looked up at Hitomi and smirked.

"Van?" she squeaked in disbelief.

"No, better." With a flick of his head, Dilandau tossed his hair out of his piercing eyes. "You remember me, right princess?" He shook his head and laughed a bit. "Nevermind that, you only saw me once or twice, here or there, or was it anywhere?"

He came closer to her and took her chin in his hand. "That's what you want to know, isn't it? If that world so far and yet so close is real?" Intense crimson eyes stared her down, to the point where she felt her soul was being looked upon as if she were naked before this man.

He pushed her chin out of his hand nonchalantly and raked it through his silver locks (that he was ever-so-fond of) to get them out of his eyes once more.

"Listen doll, you've got a lot to learn." He stepped back, looked her over once, and came forward again, to the point where he could feel his breath bouncing off her skin. "The first lesson is this: Always know your enemy."

A strike from his bladed hand against her neck made the lights around her dim and fade into blackness. But before she fell entirely into unconsciousness, she could smell the sweet fragrance of wine that laced his breath, and thought how sweet it would be to drink it…

Yes, he had put a sleeping potion in the wine that he covered on his hand and was careful not to get it too close for him to breathe it in. And as a cover up, he had drank some without potion as well.

And, of course, he had caught the unsuspecting girl in his arm as she fainted, which almost surprised him. Normally he wouldn't have done such a thing, even for a girl, but this was the Wing Goddess, no matter how obnoxious or conniving she may be.

He laughed at how easy it was to capture her. Dilandau looked down at her pale, bared neck and trailed his nose down it, licking her collarbone as he got there. With a snap of his finger, she was whisked away by someone dressed in black, carried off into the darkness without a sound. His eyes turned to the purple sky and he smiled.

"I got her first, Van."

A/n: OH MY GOD I HAVEN'T WRITTEN ANYTHING IN FOREVER. I'm sorry if this isn't good, but I really, really tried. I know it's been a year or so, but I hope this proves to be a revival for my writing-ness. ::holds on to the pantlegs of her reviewers:: I LOVE you ALL. Thank you for making life just that much sweeter. I love to hear comments, even criticism. And if you want to glomp me, DO SO! . Thanks, everyone.