Interlude 1: Earth

Thin mist rose up in the air as Eiji blew and rubbed his gloveless hands together, the frost biting his already flushed skin. Damn it, he totally forgot to bring his leather gloves with him. However, he couldn't just abandon his attempt to uncover the mystery behind Hitomi's disappearance because of mere frostbite. This was the only way. He had to see Hitomi's younger brother, Shigure, to ask the younger man whether he knew something.

Despite his desperate need of information though, it was entirely his fault that he neglected to call Shigure first instead of being so damned impulsive and zooming to Hitomi's apartment without warning. Hitomi had once told him that she sometimes had to pick her brother up from his campus around eight o' clock on Wednesday nights. But he supposed she only did the favor occasionally. The result? Shigure wasn't even home, and security had forbidden him to even wait for the younger man in the corridor for, yeah, security reasons.

Even after turning the heater in his car to full blast, Eiji failed to feel warm. His skin was sore from the times he had pressed or rubbed his hands together. He knew he should have just headed home, but it hadn't been easy for him to gather his courage to meet Hitomi's brother in order to interrogate him about odd things such as light columns and sudden disappearances. In the end he had decided not to let such courage go to waste.

However, he also wanted to know if the police had said anything about Hitomi to the Kanzaki family. The last time Eiji had decided to confront Hitomi's family about it, Mamoru Kanzaki, Hitomi's father, frantically shoved him out of the door, telling him that it wasn't any of his damned business. Hitomi's mother, Hoshino, on the other hand had looked as if she didn't give a damn at all about her daughter and went about saying Hitomi would be fine. Shigure was the only one who did have the concerned look in his eyes. He also seemed to understand something everybody else was so clueless about.

Sighing, he reached out to turn on the radio, but his fingers stiffened in shock as he suddenly realized that his heater was kaput after all. Why, there was no gentle gush of air flowing out of the car's air system. Peering outside his window, Eiji frowned as he saw a relatively mild snowstorm raging outside, and inwardly cursed his luck. He sighed in defeat, silently pitying himself for not being able to drop his obsession with Hitomi and go on with his life. But Hitomi had disappeared without trace; he even witnessed it with his own eyes.

It had been three hours. The sky was dark already, and he noticed the lamps flashing from each window, indicating the beginning of the nightly hours. Eiji patted his stomach forlornly as he gazed at each well-lit window longingly, secretly hoping he was in his penthouse apartment instead of the frosty interior of his convertible. Chuckling lightly, he chided himself inwardly for his spoiled thoughts, berating himself for his impatience. He used to be tougher, stronger. He considered his present self to be weak and rather spoiled by the luxury offered by his current occupation.

Glancing at the surrounding street, he finally decided to take a walk to the neighboring park near the apartment. The area was relatively safe according to Hitomi, so he needn't worry about parking his convertible in the secluded parking area between the park and the apartment.

Whistling casually, he fished a cigarette from his pocket as he walked into the park, and carefully shielded the fire from the wind as he attempted to light the cigarette. Memories flooded his mind as he stared at the flickering fire, dancing to the current of the wind. Hitomi hated it when he smoked in front of her. He thought she only disapproved of him smoking during office hours, but again he was proved wrong when Hitomi firmly told him that she hated a man who resembled a smoking chimney – with white instead of black smoke, of course.

Ever since that day, it had been a game for him, an occasion wherein they would taunt and tease each other – with Hitomi trying to make him quit smoking and him deliberately doing the opposite in front of her. But in the end, it had always been Hitomi who surrendered, telling him that there would always be next time. Oh, she wished. For him, next time was also the moment when he would again tease her, although he must admit his teasing got more and more flirtatious as he fell into the trap of those bluish green jade orbs of hers. But as always, Hitomi would smile in understanding and patiently endure his flirting even though both of them knew from the start that Hitomi wasn't interested in pursuing a deeper relationship with him. He kept his charade, pretending that she would finally react to his charms sooner or later, but deep down he knew his hope might only be an empty hope after all.

"Shoot!" he cursed, a deep frown marring his features as he once again failed to light his cigarette. He repeated his hopeless attempt, but his hand froze in mid-gesture when he sensed another's presence in front of him, so still as if waiting for Eiji to speak.

"Shigure-kun!"

Cigarette falling out of his mouth, Eiji forced himself to smile as he watched the younger man step into the light, a fake-looking grin pasted on his face. Shigure bowed, reaching for Eiji's cigarette near his own feet, and twirled it easily between his fingers. Eyeing the object intensely, Shigure gave out a dry laughter as he remarked, "My sis would have a fit."

Shigure stuffed the cigarette into his own mouth after dusting it a bit, raising one of his eyebrows as he gestured to the lighter in Eiji's hand. Taken aback, Eiji handed the lighter to Shigure as he eyed the younger man in both disbelief and total amusement. Hitomi had insisted her brother never smoked. Never ever. From the way Shigure lighted the cigarette oh so expertly, Eiji guessed that Hitomi's brother, after all, smoked, and probably behind her back.

Or not.

Eiji couldn't hide his amusement when Hitomi's brother suddenly suffered from a fit of coughing, the cigarette laying forgotten on the cemented ground as Shigure wheezed, inhaling as much fresh air as he could. Hesitantly Eiji stepped forward and patted Shigure's back gently, trying to help ease the coughing. He let out a smirk when Shigure suddenly broke into hysterical laughter, wiping the tears in the corners of his eyes as he attempted to calm his breath.

"A release, that's what I needed."

Eiji's smile widened. Fine by me.

Gathering back his composure, Shigure broke into a grin as he bowed formally, one hand outstretched in front of him. Eiji quickly intercepted the hand and shook it firmly, grinning back as he assessed the young man in front of him. Hey, he liked the kid!

"Eiji Takaoka."

"Shigure Kanzaki, at your service!" the young man announced rather too cheerfully,. "Sorry I wasn't quite home yet, but I recognized you straight away when I saw you just now. I had this hunch we would meet again."

Raising both his eyebrows, Eiji gave Shigure a confused look as he asked the latter dumbly, "Why?"

But the younger man only gazed at him with a knowing look in his eyes and smiled secretively. Securing the position of his backpack, he smirked slightly and motioned the older man to follow him home.

"Eh, I'm a spy." was Shigure's only answer.

Eiji merely shook his head in wonder and proceeded to follow Shigure back to his apartment.

Eiji sat on a wooden chair, leaning his arms against its back while he watched Shigure prepare two cups of hot chocolate on the kitchen counter in front of him. As he looked around, he was quite impressed to see the way Hitomi had decorated the space in her apartment. It wasn't nearly as big as his penthouse, but it was spacious enough for two people. Hitomi chose creamy colors for her furniture. He could see the modern touch here and there, while everything else was kept simple and natural. Down-to-earth was the only phrase that appeared in his head as he searched for words to describe Hitomi's taste. He could see it. Hitomi was a non – traditionalist in her taste.

"So? Do you like it?"

Startled, Eiji snapped out of his musings, seemingly panicked as he thought of some reasonable answer to Shigure's question. The problem was that Eiji hadn't quite followed what Shigure had said. In the end, he just shrugged and grinned sheepishly, a plea in his eyes as he silently waited for Shigure to clarify his question. Was he talking about the apartment, or the chocolate?

Shigure shot Eiji an accusing look as he quietly took his place on the wooden stool beside the older man, shoving one of the mugs under Eiji's nose. His guest intercepted the mug eagerly, contentment written all over his face as he pressed his palms on the sides of the mug, absorbing the heat from its hot content. Shigure grinned as their eyes met, happy that someone appreciated his effort, although it was clearly for a different reason. Lifting his own mug in the air, Shigure exclaimed before proceeding to gulp down his own hot chocolate, "Cheers!"

Eiji smiled and lifted his own mug in acknowledgement of Shigure's gestures before sipping the drink. Calmly he assessed the features of the boy before his eyes, so similar and yet so very different from Hitomi's. Shigure could be considered tall in his lanky six feet body. His chestnut hair was the layered version of a pageboy cut, with the longest of the strands reaching the base of his neck. Like Hitomi, he possessed bluish green eyes that seemed to sparkle with laughter all the time, although there was also some unmistakable loneliness in their depth, perhaps from his fairly recent 'loss'. His thin lips were pressed into one line as he seemingly engrossed himself in his own thought, a frown distorting his boyish features.

Hitomi had always referred to her brother as her 'obnoxious little brother', but seeing Shigure's solemn face made it difficult for Eiji to believe otherwise. Perhaps Hitomi had exaggerated some facts about her little brother, or it also could have been the way their relationship seemed to work. To think of it, teasing and taunting were also how his and Hitomi's relationship worked. They seldom stayed silent without discussing or arguing about something. Now that Hitomi was gone, he felt that his life didn't have the equilibrium it used to possess.

For a few moments both Eiji and Shigure seemed content to immerse themselves in their own little worlds. Neither of them dared to talk about Hitomi, both scared to know the truth. But the silence finally reached the point where it got very uncomfortable, and soon one of them was forced to speak to the other.

"Thank you," Eiji started.

Shigure lifted a thick eyebrow. "For the hot chocolate?"

A smirk appeared on Eiji's face as he retorted, "For sharing what you know about your sister."

Shigure didn't respond to his statement right away. The younger man refused to meet Eiji's eyes as he quietly spoke to the older man, his voice thick with emotion. "I haven't agreed on telling you anything. Why should I, anyway?"

A heavy sigh. "We can help each other," Eiji supplied, leaning close to Shigure's direction. "Who knows?" After a moment of respite, Eiji continued his prod, his voice filled with confidence. "You're not the type to invite people in when you don't want anything to do with them."

There was a short snort of laughter before Shigure finally replied mockingly, "Mom taught me to be polite to everyone, especially in this time of winter."

"Mom?"

A chuckle, and "Follow me."

Eiji frowned, not really sure he heard Shigure right. It had been too easy. He had expected Shigure to follow his father's path, refusing to tell him even a single clue about Hitomi no matter how far he had justified his reasons. What he never expected was for Shigure to actually trust him – too trusting perhaps – but Shigure definitely seemed willing enough to hear out his version of Hitomi's so called 'accident'.

"Come on!"

Eiji snapped out of his reverie, startled as he stared at Shigure who was impatiently tapping his feet on the wood floor.

"I don't have all night. My paper's waiting!"

Hesitantly Eiji fell into step behind Shigure, silently wondering as, without words, Shigure led him to a room, which he recognized immediately as Hitomi's. It must be. There were a few pictures of her and her family. There was also that soft white teddy bear he had bought her for her birthday last year. Eiji's face softened at the sight of the teddy bear. So she kept it close to her, after all. Maybe he still had some hopes.

"Don't drool. I know you're Sis' fan, but I didn't bring you here to look at her personal stuff."

Eiji focused his attention back to Shigure the moment the younger man's mild voice reached his ear, suddenly feeling ashamed that he had betrayed the initial reason of his coming to Hitomi's apartment.

"Or maybe I have to amend that." Shigure paused as he unlocked a drawer, grunting with effort as he tried to pull open the protesting drawer. "Fact is, we're going to peek into my sis' most personal possession." Shigure whirled around to face Eiji properly, his hand holding up a white snowy feather right in front of the older man's nose. "…This."

Eiji had never had any difficulty masking his emotions before, but he was totally taken aback to see that all his anticipation went to a mere feather – a mere useless feather. He stared at Shigure in disbelief, his mouth agape, but still he uttered no words. When he finally he found his voice, he swallowed and said, "That's it?"

Apparently, Shigure took the remark as an insult, for the younger man shelved back the feather immediately and closed the drawer quietly. A saccharine smile appeared on his face as he lifted his face and stared into Eiji's eyes defiantly. "Fine." He swallowed as he muttered almost to himself, "You don't believe me? That's fine. I've had enough of this crap saying I'm only imagining things."

Shooting Shigure a wary look, Eiji took a step behind as he defended himself, "I didn't say anything. You're quite the sensitive one, aren't you?" Then he added with a smirk, "Expect one or two surprised comments from me. I'm not easily convinced over these mystifying stuffs. You shouldn't judge me based on my first reaction."

Shigure visibly relaxed as he mumbled his apology and again he fished the feather out of the drawer then handed it over to Eiji's hand. Frowning, Eiji carefully flipped it over on his palm, looking at it as if it was a piece of a golden treasure. But of course, there was nothing on it. Eiji raised face, his eyes following Shigure's figure as the younger man walked over to Hitomi's bed and hopped onto it carelessly, beseeching him for more information.

A smirk formed on Shigure's features as he began his story, his eyes focused nowhere in particular. "I was going to borrow Sis' dictionary when this happened. I think it was a few moments before you informed me about her accident. I saw this light from inside the drawer, and when I found the key, my curiosity got the better of me. It was the feather."

"And?" Eiji carefully prompted, his eyes intent on Shigure's features.

"Nothing." The younger man pulled himself up with a grunt, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Only that the thing did shine very brightly. And I got this hunch that Sis was gone immediately after the light vanished."

"Have you tried contacting the police?" Eiji questioned, rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.

A rueful grin and, "Dad did. Mom and I tried to instil some logic in his head, but he just wouldn't listen! His trauma got the better of him. But mom thought she was fine, and so did I, though I still have yet to see it with my own eyes." He let out a gust of breath before continuing, leaning casually on Hitomi's desk, "Actually I don't really care, as long as she's okay,"

Something in the way Shigure talked triggered something in Eiji's heart. He didn't know what it was, but it was painful to see how little Shigure wanted his sister to return. Staring at Shigure's figure intensely, Eiji suddenly clasped his hands on the younger man's arms painfully and gave him a firm shake. Accusation was in his eyes as he whispered almost inaudibly, "Liar!"

Anger was evident in Shigure's features as he wrestled free from Eiji's clasp. He was slighter than Eiji, but quicker. Soon he dodged Eiji's grasping hands before launching his own hands at Eiji's collars, jerking the older man face to face with him. Hissing in anger, Shigure grinded his teeth together as he tightened his hold on Eiji's collar.

On the other hand, Eiji merely gazed at Shigure in a cool demeanour, not even a single expression written on his face. They stood rigidly for several seconds before Shigure finally loosened his hands gradually, and eventually put Eiji back on the ground. Calmly Eiji tidied his attire, his eyes never straying from the younger man. There was a slight smile on his face. Hitomi's brother was one with spirit – he liked the younger man. It kind of reminded him of his own youth.

Inhaling deeply to calm his sudden flare of anger, Shigure went back to his initial spot, glaring at Eiji daringly. He gave up after awhile, having no reaction whatsoever from Eiji. Gruffly speaking to the older man, "You strung my cord there, so blame yourself."

"Don't worry," Eiji answered with a smirk. "I will overlook this as an unintentional incident." A hot–headed and young one, he mused inwardly. If he weren't careful with his words, sooner or later he would earn a punch or two from Hitomi's brother. He was here to gain an ally, not enemy. But then, his guess was right. Shigure cared a great deal about Hitomi's disappearance, and that caused chaos in his unstable emotional state.

Again Shigure sighed for the nth time, but this time a gracious smile appeared on his lips. Casually he jumped on his feet and went to the window near Hitomi's desk, smiling as his gaze travelled to the bright city scene before him. Eiji didn't dare interrupt, but he eyed Shigure warily as he waited for the young man's comment. Inwardly, Eiji groaned. Both siblings were unpredictable – he was unable to predict what would happen next.

Sensing Eiji's confusion, Shigure looked up from his little activity and straightened his back, his eyes boring into Eiji's deeply. Slowly and carefully, he made his way to Eiji, his voice hissing low as he treaded to the heart of the matter. "Are you aware of what's going on?"

Shaking his head, Eiji responded with a brief, "Do tell,"

"I think…" Eiji's ear perked up as Shigure hesitated for a moment, anticipation growing in his mind, "This is…"

"Go on."

With his teal-blue orbs glinting under the lamp, Shigure didn't answer right away, but instead he studied Eiji's face as if he was searching for the right words to say. Finally giving into his instinct, Shigure opened his mouth, his voice grave as he slowly spoke, "This might sound crazy, but I don't think Sis will be coming back. She'll be gone forever."

All colour was drained from Eiji's face as his knees suddenly weakened, almost causing him to lose his balance. Shock was written all over his expression. The revelation was too much for him.

He had always assumed Hitomi would come back.

Correction. He knew Hitomi might not come back, and yet he had kept convincing himself she would come back somehow. And now he was having the taste of his own bitter conviction. His hope was cruelly snatched from him.

"Well, that's it for today, then!"

"Kanna, don't stay too late – it's getting really dark outside."

Faint laughter escaped her rosebud mouth as Kanna swivelled in her chair, stretching her stiff back and legs while she assessed the document on her computer's screen at the same time. Her friends sometimes acted like some worry warts. They didn't need to worry. Actually, she had asked her brother to pick her up. "I know, I know. I'm just finishing some stuff here."

Both of her friends cast her doubtful looks, their eyes pleading as they groaned their case almost in unison. "When you said that last time you stayed until two!"

"You'll exhaust yourself to death if you keep forcing yourself to do two assignments at once. Leave Hitomi's alone! The boss will figure out something…at least until Hitomi comes back well again."

Casting her two friends a casual glance, Kanna focused her attention on her work once more while at the same time replying to their concerns cheerfully. "This time I really promise. Just go home, and don't worry." The two women still cast a doubtful look at her, but they finally left her alone, with the final note that Kanna had to call them after she got home. For God's sake, they were not her mothers! But who could blame them? Tokyo at night could be a city of crime and danger, especially for a young woman like her.

Kanna sighed. Her friends didn't know the truth, although that wasn't entirely their faults. After discussing it with Hitomi's parents, Eiji and she decided not to reveal the version of the accident entirely. They only told their superior about the car crash, but lied about everything else. The boss only knew that Hitomi was currently resting at her grandparents' house in Osaka, recovering from the shock of the big car explosion that almost took her life if she hadn't escaped on time. At least it was as close as they could get to the honest version. Hitomi did apparently survive, but her current whereabouts was unknown. Being the sympathetic man, Mr. Ogawa sent his regards to Hitomi's family and wished for her recovery soon, even granting the woman a long sick leave.

…Which left a lot of gaps in the team. Hitomi's absence made a big difference in their efficiency. Kanna tried to cover Hitomi's job at her best, refusing Mr. Ogawa's offer to replace Hitomi temporarily with a new personnel. She didn't want others to replace her friend's position even if it was only temporary. She resented the idea of having to work together with someone else other than her partner.

Kanna cursed loudly when she made a mistake in her typing – the cell phone beside her was ringing noisily, disrupting her train of thought all of a sudden. Sighing, she kneaded the bridge of her nose as she picked up her cell phone, and answered in a gruff voice, "Hello?"

The voice in the other line was no less gruff than hers, but the familiar alto made her relax gradually. "You're still at work?"

A sigh. A pause. And then, another sigh.

"Well?" The other was waiting, impatience and perhaps some desperation hinted in his voice.

Kanna gave a little smile – one that the other person across the line was unable to see anyway – and replied leisurely. "What do you think?"

There was a pause before the man dryly stated, "You're still there."

Chuckling lightly, Kanna adjusted her sitting position, knowing that she'd better go right to heart of the matter even though she had begun to enjoy their little game of words. "Eiji, listen to me. At least one of us has to stay in the office and do Hitomi's job. Since you're always running around playing detective, you leave me no choice but to manage the job for the time being."

There was a disdainful sniff, accompanied by a sardonic chuckle, and, – she wasn't sure, but – she thought Eiji was a little edgy from the pitch of his voice. "You could always ask Mr. Ogawa for temporary personnel. That easy." He ended up telling her sarcastically, "And of course, you can at least help me out with the mystery of this accident."

Sighing exasperatedly, Kanna dryly responded, "I beg to differ."

"Yeah?"

"I'd rather take care of Hitomi's job while she's gone, so everything's okay when she's back," she quickly supplied, nervously playing with her bobbed hair as she waited for Eiji's response. "Your searching for her seems to be futile, and I don't want to be part of it. I'd rather do something useful…for her." She frowned when she found Eiji lack of response – he was never one to be at a loss of words.

Kanna forced herself to smile although her mind was wondering about the reason behind Eiji's silence. She tried to say something to lighten up the conversation,. "But I'm sure we can find some clues to retrieve her back from that light column…or don't you actually believe it anymore?"

Eiji didn't answer – not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't know what to say. He didn't know anymore whether he wanted to believe that Hitomi was going to return or rejected the things he himself formerly claimed possible.

"Well?"

"You don't believe my tale in the first place yourself," Eiji quickly blurted without thinking, the abruptness in his voice causing him to sound harsh. For a moment he regretted yielding to his impulse, but the damage was done. Kanna didn't deserve the yelling, but he had to admit, releasing his steam on Kanna did help. She was one of the people who understood him better after all.

Taking a deep breath, Kanna gave herself a few seconds to gather every ounce of her patience before forcing her lips to move once again. "I…believe you. You were there when the accident happened anyway. It's just that I refuse to be involved in things without obvious result. I hate to waste my time. Besides, what will you do when you finally know what's behind this accident? You still can't do anything to bring her back!"

Eiji fell completely silent as the truth in Kanna's words hit home. Twice his hope was wiped off his mind already, and twice he convinced himself that he should never heed his darker thoughts. Shigure's statement didn't help bring his confidence back as well. And now that his best friend had said it, his whole hope seemed to fall into a dark pitch, black hole.

"Kanna dear, please listen to me," Eiji sighed as he raked his hair nervously – the words he uttered were more of a means to convince himself, his tone pleading. "Hitomi will be back – no matter what. You've been my best friend since High School; of course you'll listen to me. I need your assurance."

Biting her lower lip to refrain from saying a pretty nasty remark, Kanna decided it was time for a glass of cold water. Men, they only called when they needed you. Gulping down a large portion of water, the cold liquid redeemed her sudden flare of infuriation. "Yes, I do believe you," she told Eiji firmly, her voice never wavering. "And please stop underestimating me. As logical as I can be, I will try my best to believe every word coming from your mouth because you're my best friend, and you have never lied before in our more-than-ten-years acquaintance. And don't forget, Hitomi's case is unusual."

Eiji exhaled with relief and continued the conversation in a lighter note, "Listen. I went to Hitomi's apartment this afternoon."

"And?"

The reply was that filled with wryness. "I met her brother."

"Did he kick you out like her father did?"

Ignoring the drip of sarcasm in Kanna's voice, Eiji told his friend, "He actually invited me in." A dry chuckle was the only answer Eiji gave her as she fumed in disbelief. A smile touched her lips as she listened to Eiji's next words though. "He knew something, but he didn't think Hitomi will be back."

Silence greeted Eiji. He waited and waited, but Kanna didn't utter a word. "Kanna?"

Silence again.

"Hey, Kanna, what's wrong? You're not upset, are you?"

There was a heavy sigh from the other line before Kanna finally answered, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just thinking. What did you say again?"

"Hitomi. It just entered my mind that she just might not return."

Kanna didn't want to offend her friend, but she couldn't help letting out a wry chuckle. On the contrary to Eiji, she had figured out straight from the beginning that Hitomi would not return – forever. After all, if she had heard Eiji's retelling of the accident correctly, it seemed that Hitomi had been either combusted into ashes in the explosion almost immediately, or, as Eiji had claimed, been sucked into a white light column that probably moved her to another dimension.

Either way it was almost impossible for her to come back. Either she was dead or simply vanished. It was all she could do to hide the truth about the accident from their superiors and colleagues for the time being, partly because the illogical explanation went against her own nature. Different from Eiji, she was inclined to believe only things that she had already seen with her own eyes, and she wanted to make sure the clarity of the circumstance involving Hitomi's accident.

"There is always that possibility, Eiji," she told him as gently as she would a child. "You can try your damnedest, but hey, there'll always be something unexplainable about nature."

Kanna drew a breath of relief when she heard a chuckle from the other line. It seemed Eiji was finally able to accept and conquer whatever negative feelings he possessed in his mind. "That should be my line. Anyway, I didn't really believe in the supernatural phenomenon myself. Maybe it's just my way of telling myself that everything will be alright."

"Everything will be alright, Eiji."

Eiji's answer was a hesitant, "Yeah…"

Smiling against the speaker of her cell phone, Kanna decided it was time to end the conversation. She still had some reports to do. Besides, Eiji sounded much better already. He didn't sound as beaten as he was when he called her fifteen minutes ago. And she actually understood why he called her in the first place. Eiji needed someone to tell him what he wanted to hear. Meaning, he didn't want to believe Shigure's words, thus turning to her and silently begging her to speak of things against the words he had denied with all his heart. Bad habit, Kanna knew it was, but she would not do anything for the moment. But she would watch out for Eiji. She would never let her best friend drown in his own sea of loss and confusion.

"Talk to you later. I'll see you tomorrow at work, 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Don't think too much,"

"Yeah…"

"And turn in bed early today."

Kanna removed the receiver further away as a bark of genuine laughter penetrated her ear. A part of her was pretty annoyed while the other part was happy she could be of some use to redeem her friend's worries. Eiji would probably still think about Hitomi, but she was certain he would not indulge in his negative thoughts. An amused smile played on her lips as she heard him gasp and wheeze. "Gosh, Kanna! You're not my mother!"

"No matter. Okay, see you tomorrow. Bye!"

With one touch, Kanna turned off her cell phone and tossed the object carelessly on her desk. She winced as she sensed the pain on her much strained muscles, stretching out a little bit as she lowered her body back on her chair. God, she almost didn't realize how tired she was.

Kanna set her paper aside and ignored the blinking monitor on her desk, staring vacantly outside the window across the room, the view of the blinking city lights occupying her mind. They reminded her of stars, of where Hitomi might be, she thought wryly. She needed to divert her mind from Hitomi; she needed not to think about her. Thinking about her other friend only made her lost and confused, with a lot of things unexplainable to her scientific mind.

Hitomi. She didn't believe that Hitomi was really gone. She wasn't a supernatural phenomenon believer like Eiji, and she suspected that Hitomi had died already, because of the combustion of course. When Kanna heard from Eiji for the first time about Hitomi's disappearance, she almost collapsed on the floor, her knees going weak with apprehension. Surely her ears had deceived her! First, she heard about the terrible accident, and then, she heard about the disappearance. It couldn't be. No, no, it simply couldn't happen. People wouldn't just appear or disappear, unless they were ghosts in disguise – except that she never truly believed in supernatural beings – or even worse, unless they were kidnapped, or…

"I know you're somehow out there though, waiting to return," Kanna told herself loudly, her voice echoing in the room. But then a frown appeared between her dark eyebrows, her features twisted into dismay. "I can't even explain myself. Eiji's brought me bad influence."

Turning back to the work on her desk, she started typing up her report again as she mumbled to herself, again and again, "Concentrate. I need to concentrate. It's better doing something than entertaining unproductive thoughts." Kanna soon immersed herself in her stack of documents, Hitomi forgotten for the moment. As the night grew colder and colder, the soft snow started to fall, glowing dimly beneath the city lamps, bringing calm and peace to Kanna's mind.

Hello everyone,

I hope you're happy with this interlude. I think it's necessary to write something between the first book and the second one. I use the interludes to explain the reactions that happened after Book one. And I think it's a good idea to describe what exactly happens after Hitomi's gone from Earth, because her friends' reaction might be an anchor for the continuation of the whole plot. *hint, hint*

Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and again I apologize for those whose emails I have not replied to. For ones who asked me when I would update, usually, I try to do them as often as possible, but I have a job that I have to attend to, and I'm doing my post-graduate studies. I know I've mentioned this several times, but people still email me about this. So please bear with me, and enjoy the available chapters.

One more thing: I have some emails sent to me regarding Hitomi's eye colour. People said they're green. Thanks for the information, but I know I was bound to make mistake, because it's been a long time since I have watched the series. I watched them first when I was 18, and I started to write this series when I was 20, so I'm aware of how possible it is for me to make mistakes. Now I am 22. That's how long it has been. However, I don't think I'll really change what I've written, because of my real life crisis. It's already good enough for me that I can still write the fiction. I don't know how much time I will lose reviewing all chapters for that detail alone, which I know is scattered all around the chapters.

Some people also ask me about the –IM-possibility of Chid-Celena relationship. Technically it's not right, and I do know that Chid and Celena are literally families. Anyway, I rated this fan fiction R, so you should know there are some mature themes or problems that might be quite unusual for you guys. Yes, your guess is right. I might write something like incest here. Of course, Chid and Celena themselves are quite unaware of this fact. Well, let's just wait for the solution, 'kay? One thing though, I will never EVER write a lemon (sex scene). Period. So don't worry. Things will certainly NOT go that way.

Ok, I think that's it for now and please send me some Comments and Criticisms. It's always a pleasure to have you guys as my readers. Ja.

Yours,

Louise
27 March 2001
16:21 Western Australia Time

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