A/n Lookee here, I'm back!

Let's see how many people actually read this. I haven't updated this fanfic for so long… hm… Well I apologize for my long overdue update. This fanfic is just bugging me now. I tried to put some actual plot into this chapter. It's pretty short though so the plot is probably really insubstantial. Guh. Hopefully ff.net got the formatting right.

Well, enjoy.

Disclaimer statement HERE

Chapter 10

Mrs. Kanzaki shook her head as Hitomi swung a leg over the bike. Hitomi saw the shake out of the corner of her eye. She ignored it, pointedly showing her determination to ride the bike. At the same time, Hitomi was extremely relieved. At least Mrs. Kanzaki did not actually forbid her from riding the bike. The fact that her mom was verbally silent was all the acceptance and permission Hitomi was going to get.

It was nice a day and Hitomi thoroughly enjoyed riding on the Mystic. She lifted the helmet visor and grinned to herself as she passed house after house. The motorcycle was perfect. Van had obviously thought of her when he custom ordered this bike and Hitomi felt flattered once again. The seat was comfortable and adjusted to her preference, the gears and handles set closer to the seat. Hitomi was particularly glad of the handles. She was short and often had to stretch just to reach the handles.

The thing Hitomi really enjoyed about the ride was the sense and knowing that this motorcycle was hers. It was not a bike she had to borrow and return later. She would not have a feeling of loss when she parked the bike because she knew that she would be returning to it.

Hitomi giggled out loud and then laughed at herself for giggling. She finally had her own motorcycle! If she could Hitomi would have stood up on her motorcycle and danced.

Hitomi thought back to the days of longing for a motorcycle. The days when she longed to be something else. The days when a motorcycle represented everything she was not. Those were the days when she hid behind her hair, before Van…

"Thank god for Van," she mumbled to herself.

She was now only a few blocks away from school. By this time, Hitomi started noticing the stares directed toward her, or at least toward the Mystic.

For a moment, Hitomi felt like staring back at them. She wanted to strip away her polite image and be haughty and arrogant, just for a moment, and not worry that other people would call her a snob. Hell, she wanted to be asnob right then. She wanted that freedom of knowing that she was better than they were. Yeah, look at me, her stare would say, yeah, I have a motorcycle now and you don't. Even if you have one, mine's an Escaflowne, so mine's better. What do you think of me now?

Hitomi turned away from the stares as she drove into the student parking lot. What was the point of acting high and mighty? How much satisfaction would she get? Five minutes worth? Two minutes? Would it be worth it? No, Hitomi might feel wonderfully superior for a moment but her own personality would never let her feel satisfaction for it. She knew that after the five or two minutes the satisfaction would ooze out of her, leaving Hitomi humiliated about herself and ashamed.

She looked around for Van's bike but saw no sign of the Black Escaflowne. She sighed with a little disappointment and parked the bike by the lunch time tree. Hitomi had hoped to park next to Van to give him a little surprise but that was okay.

Slouching on the motorcycle seat, she slipped off her helmet and shook out her hair. She grinned as she realized that her hair was mussed and sweaty: helmet hair. Hitomi wiped her forehead with her shirtsleeve and ran her fingers through her hair.

I wouldn't like to see myself now, she thought to herself with amusement as she caught passerby's staring at her slick motorcycle and then staring at her.

A wad of spittle suddenly appeared at the head of the Mystic with a smack. Whirling Hitomi glared furiously at the quickly retreating back of Dilandau. She looked around for something on the ground to throw at him but a passing teacher made her stop.

Hitomi groaned and started to wipe the spit off with ends of her jeans.

"No, no…" she moaned as her wiping made the spit spread. "…shit." The spit was beginning to dry, leaving a small, darkened spot on her motorcycle. "Shit!" Hitomi repeated and kicked the pavement with frustration.

A hand appeared in her vision. The hand contained a polishing cloth.

Hitomi took the cloth and smiled at her benefactor gratefully.

"Thanks Folken," she said as she bent down to wipe the spit. "Yes!" she said in delight as the cloth wiped away the spit.

"Don't mention it," Folken replied to her first comment. "Dilandau's like that at times," he told her. "I'm not surprised he attacked your bike first. He's been up at the company complaining about how outdated his motorcycle is and how he wanted an upgrade. Or something like that."

"Wasn't he just bragging about his bike a couple of weeks ago?" asked Hitomi.

"Isn't the world strange," Folken said vaguely. "Van's a little late. He told me to tell you that," he added.

"Thanks," said Hitomi. "What's keeping him?"

"Overslept," Folken answered. He nodded good bye and left.

Hitomi wondered if Folken was always so vague but became distracted by a loud honking.

"Hitomi!" someone called.

Hitomi turned around, laughing as she waved to Yukari.

"What the hell is that thing you're leaning on?!" she yelled across the parking lot as she stepped out of her car.

"Do you like it?" Hitomi screamed back.

"It looks like crap!" Yukari squealed back, laughing.

Hitomi laughed as Yukari ran up to inspect the Mystic.

"Only you are allowed to call my bike crap, 'Kari," Hitomi chuckled as Yukari sat down on the motorcycle.

"'Cause I know so much about MC's," Yukari agreed. She linked an arm through Hitomi's and they skipped out of the parking lot.

"Hitomi!" Allen yelled as he parked his bike. Unfortunately, someone honked at the same time he yelled so Allen did not succeed in getting Hitomi's attention.

He bristled for a moment as Hitomi and Yukari skipped away. Then he stopped bristling when he registered the fact that Hitomi had come to school on a motorcycle unaccompanied by Fanel.

Hm, so Hitomi had her own motorcycle. When did this happen.

"Great," Allen muttered out loud.

The fact that Hitomi had a motorcycle in itself was not so big. But on closer inspection, the fact that the motorcycle was an Escaflowne brand was something else. Only Hitomi's connections with Escaflowne would enable her to get an Escaflowne. That connection could only be Van Fanel. Which meant that Hitomi was probably more infatuated with Van than ever. Which meant there was very little reason for Hitomi to notice Allen.

"Sometimes I hate my life," Allen said to a passing girl.

Upon realizing that the handsome Allen Schezar was addressing her, the girl giggled in response.

"And why is that?" asked Millerna.

"You know when things just don't go your way?" Allen said. "It's like that."

Then he peered down at Millerna as she giggled. "Well, the company's improving," he added thoughtfully.

After a moment of walking in Millerna's giggling company, Allen began to feel better about the Hitomi crisis.

Noting the newcomer to the school parking lot, Dilandau had walked around to inspect the bike as well as the rider. Seeing that the rider was Hitomi Kanzaki, spitting was the obvious action that Dilandau had to take and he did so. When he had walked far away from the parking lot to his usual place to smoke, Dilandau realized with a poke of regret that spitting was not all he should have done to the bike. What he should have done was spit gum, or maybe a nicely chewed up cigarette. Yeah, a cigarette would be perfect. But he regretted that he hadn't found a sharp rock to throw at the silver motorcycle. A rock sharp enough would have left a very nice and pretty dent on the slick, new surface of the bike. It would also have brought immense satisfaction to Dilandau's pride.

Dilandau still had not forgotten the embarrassment Kanzaki had brought to him that night. Even now, days after the incident, he could feel the scoffing and insulting looks members of his gang were giving him. It was almost too much for Dilandau to bear.

His twin sister Celena had caught Dilandau muttering about plans of revenge against Kanzaki…

A FEW DAYS AGO

"Dilandau, what do you have against this Hitomi Kanzaki?" Celena asked curiously after she had wrestled the story of humiliation from her brother.

They sat outside the Schezar house on a bench in the garden. Dilandau had come "just happened to stroll by" and Celena had gleefully dragged her brother among the garden, happy to see her brother and perfectly satisfied to just walk and talk with him. They rarely saw each other outside school. They both treasured any opportunity to just chat.

"Well?" Celena persisted, elbowing him in his gut.

Dilandau grinned sarcastically. Only Celena would have the nerve to do such a thing. If any of his gang so much as touched him, he would end up on the ground with sore crutch.

"I already told you," he said. "Weren't you listening?"

"You told me what happened but you didn't say why you hate her," Celena countered.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No," Celena replied innocently.

Dilandau sighed and thought once again how innocent the Schezars had made his sister. That was what came out of living with the posh, he thought.

"When Hitomi just stood up against me, she insulted me. I couldn't do anything to her sorry. Therefore, the guys started making jokes about me, how I could be beaten by a girl," Dilandau said.

Celena, who had started to frown, said, "I'm a girl, and I can beat you in an arm wrestle."

"That's because I let you win," Dilandau clarified. Before Celena could protest, he continued. "Because of Hitomi Kanzaki, my entire reputation and front are ruined. I can only get it back by beating Hitomi."

Shaking her head, Celena looked ashamed. "Dilandau, you're better than that," she said. "It was only your pride she ruined. You're not angry about your reputation. You can get it back any day. You're just telling yourself that it's the reputation she took from you because you don't want to admit that your pride was hurt."

"Bullshit," was Dilandau's simple reply.

"See, you're in denial," Celena pointed out. She sighed as Dilandau switched out his lighter and began to flick it on and off.

"It's so…immaterial," she continued. "I mean, why should you care about what others think? You shouldn't be influenced by what your…gang members," she said with distaste, "feel about you. It's not as though they know anything."

"You're wrong," he said.

Celena shook her head once more. "When I have I ever been wrong?" she said.

Dilandau smiled. "Well there was that time when—"

Celena shoved his shoulder playfully.

"Just, please, Dilly," she pleaded, using her pet name for Dilandau, "Don't do something horrible to Hitomi. Don't get your revenge, I know what kind of revenge you take, and don't do it," she repeated. "Hitomi is a really sweet girl when you get to know her. You just provoked her so she retaliated against you, that's all. I'm sure you wouldn't really hate her if you knew her underneath it all."

"What, as if you do?" Dilandau said sarcastically.

"Well, I don't talk to her that much," Celena admitted. "But I know her from track, and she's always been friendly to me."

"Right," Dilandau muttered disbelievingly.

"Don't hurt her," Celena said.

"I'm not promising anything," Dilandau said with a shrug.

But he stopped flicking his lighter anyway.

At the moment, Celena's pleas did nothing to soothe Dilandau's mood. He of course had no intention to do nothing about Kanzaki. It would make Celena sad, but despite his efforts to avoid Celena's sorrow, Dilandau was determined to get the better of the bitch. That was how much he hated Kanzaki. He'd even risk Celena's wrath to get his revenge.

Celena did not understand. She could never understand Dilandau's world.

What Dilandau really wanted to do was burn Kanzaki's new motorcycle. But even Dilandau knew when fire was not the answer. Perhaps he'd stoop to a knife instead. A sharp knife. He could use a knife to slash the tires with until they sagged like paper bags. With a knife, Dilandau could cut up the motorcycle, not necessarily to threads, to a hunk of dents, angles, metal. With just a piece of sharp steel, he could reduce a great a mighty Escaflowne to worthless junk.

It would be so ironic too. A knife, his knife, the knife he threatened Kanzaki with and the knife she snatched and slashed her hair with. Dilandau could hardly grasp the amount of joy he would get as he used that same knife to cut up Kanzaki's new motorcycle. It was an Escaflowne motorcycle as well. Ha, that was like killing two birds with one stone. He would not only ruin Kanzaki but Fanel too. Van Fanel had always been a dirty bastard in Dilandau's opinion. A jab against him wouldn't be a bad idea at all. Come to think of it, Kanzaki's distress over her poor little motorcycle would undoubtedly cause Allen some distress as well. Three birds with one stone!

Dilandau spit out his cigarette and ground it with his shoe. He reached into his pocket and absently flicked it on and off in thought. Yes, when fire doesn't work, stick with a knife. That should be his motto… No doubt Celena would have been horrified to see the way his mind worked when he was angry. Dilandau hated to disappoint Celena and she would be especially angry with him for tempering with Kanzaki.

Oh well. That's how life goes.

A/n See? See? Hardly a plot! Well, there was a lot of Dilly's rage… I love Dilandau by the way. I hate to make Dilandau such an evil character, but that's how story writing goes…

Review if you like. I'm going to see if I can update any of my other stories now…