A/N: Hi everybody! Gomen a thousand times for that incredibly short chapter last time. Lucky for you, after writing it, I finally got rid of my writers block! *Waves banners in the air and throws confetti. Some of it threatening to land in some of her chocolate ice cream.* NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! *makes a dive to protect her precious ice cream* MINE!!! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!!!! IT IS MY…..*pauses to think for a moment*……my precious! HEH…HEH…heh!
Van: Um…excuse me but I think they have had enough of your insanity. I think they just want to know about the next chapter.
OH! Right. But first, here are my responses to the reviews (There aren't very many since I'm updating this chapter so soon *pout* ) :
Anime_luver: I'm sorry for the short chapter last time but this one is a bit longer. I hope you like it. Try not to run too much in the future. Lol!
Revia: Hey! It's me again! Thank you for not stopping your reviews. (Did that make any sense? LOL!!!) Thank you for being a "nifty little helper" when it comes to my pathetic spelling. As for being hyper….I LOVE BEING HYPER. Just read what I wrote above. Do you think I was anything BUT hyper when I wrote it? BEING HYPER ROCKS!!! *Three cheers for the hyper people* I sure hope you did well on your calculus test. I'm about to take an algebra test which could make or break my grade. But I try not to worry about that. Domo Arigatou for the Japanese words. They fit my puzzle perfectly! I really appreciate it. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Ja ne.
Sprout: Hey ya sprout. I'm glad you like my story. *Hurray, I hooked myself a new reader* You're the first new reader I've had in a long time. It's nice to know somebody out there likes my story. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Ja ne.
Kat-Tastrophe: Ha! I spelled your name right! Wheeee…..I'm really hyper right now, in case you haven't noticed. Thanks for the new words. I'm looking for specific words for a crossword puzzle I'm doing. If you know any of them, please tell me (they are listed at the end of the chapter). I'd really appreciate it. Enjoy the next chapter. Ja ne.
Disclaimer: Yup! I own Escaflowne. I own Merle and Yukari and Amano and even the little pink necklace.
Van: And if you believe any of that, you are more insane than she is. *Looks behind him to see a girl spinning around in circles, curling her hair with her fingers…all of them! While singing, "WHEEEeeeee…..La, la, la, la, la…….LA!* *Van sweat drops*
Chapter Five: Decisions
When Yukari and Amano arrived at the hospital entrance, they could see a crowd of reporters with cameras.
"Geeze Yukari! What did you do? Inform every news station on the planet?" Amano joked while poking her on the shoulder.
"No…" Yukari blushed. "How are we supposed to get through this?"
"I suppose we could ask…" Amano carefully walked towards the crowd and started tapping on peoples shoulders. "Excuse me, but, could you please move…" but nobody heeded him. He then tried to gently push some of them out of the way, only to be shoved backwards until he was once again on the floor. He looked up to see Yukari howling with laughter.
"Hey, I tried…"
"…Yes…You…Did!" Yukari gasped as she stifled her laughter.
"Don't make fun of me." Pouted Amano while making a puppy dog face.
"No! Don't! That's cheating!!!" Yukari bellowed while trying not to look into Amano's glimmering eyes. "Alright! Fine. You win. I'll stop."
"Thank you." Amano immediately snapped out of his puppy face and put on a serious look. "Now, how are we going to get inside to see Hitomi?"
Yukari turned around looking for anything or anyone to help them get past the reporters when she spotted a hotdog stand. *Light bulb*
"Hey, Amano. Let's go get a hotdog."
"A hotdog?"
"Yea. With ketchup!"
"Ketchup? Yukari, this isn't the time for a hot…oh!" Amano saw the devilish gleam in Yukari's eyes. "Let's do it!"
"Everyone out of the way! I need to get this girl into the hospital!" Amano screamed while carrying Yukari's limp body in his arms, a red substance dripping down her face. A few reporters turned around to see who had shouted. When they saw the girl that he cradled in his arms, they jumped out of the way as he sprinted into the crowd. Reporters then shouted at each other. "Everybody move! This man needs to get that girl into the hospital." Almost immediately, the large crowd parted as Amano dashed through. As soon as he was in the front door, the crowd cheered and whistled for the brave young man.
Meanwhile, Amano and Yukari were laughing their heads off. After several minutes and even more nasty glares from other people mumbling about making too much noise, Amano and Yukari managed to settle down.
"Well, it worked." Said Yukari as Amano placed her feet back on the ground. "We're in."
"Yup. Now, let's find Hitomi."
They walked over to the receptionists' desk and waited for her to acknowledge their presence. When the receptionist looked up and saw Yukari's face, she nearly screamed.
"You shouldn't be standing! You should be in the ER!"
Yukari looked puzzled. "What are you talking about? I feel fine." Amano then tapped Yukari on the shoulder and pointed to the mess of ketchup still on her face.
"Oh…" Yukari wiped the lot of ketchup off of her face and looked at the mess now on her hand. She turned to look back at Amano. "You don't happen to have any fries, do you?"
"Um… no."
The receptionist now looked a little peeved. "If you're not really injured, may I ask what you're doing here?"
Amano suddenly looked very serious. "Yes. We'd like to see our friend, Hitomi Kanzaki. We were told that she was found and sent here, to this hospital. We really need to see her!"
"I'm sorry, but no visitors are allowed until her guardian comes to see her."
"But they're not here!" Yukari cried, "They're on a business trip in Canada. They tried to fly here early but all flights were canceled because of the bad weather over there. You have to let us see her. We're her best friends. We just want to make sure she's ok."
The receptionist looked from the red head's pleading eyes to the young mans stern face, trying to decide whether or not to believe them.
"Alright." She caved. "Ms. Kanzaki is in room 213 Level 2. But I warn you. She may not be awake yet. Try not to disturb her."
Yukari looked as if she were on the verge of tears. "Thank you so much." She turned to Amano. "Let's go." Amano nodded in response.
As much as they wanted to go and dash to Hitomi's room, they knew better than to run in a hospital. So instead, they walked quickly towards the elevator that would take them to Level 2. Amano pushed the elevator button labeled "2". As the elevator rose, Yukari bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. Just before the door opened, Amano grabbed Yukari's arm to prevent her from dashing out.
"Don't worry. Everything will be just fine." He said in a soothing voice.
"I hope so…"
The elevator door opened and the couple stepped out and walked along the long white corridor. Time seemed to play tricks on them as they passed each door.
..205…207…209…
With every echoing step, time seemed to slow down even more. Yukari swore that she could hear her heart beat echo off the walls.
..211…213…
Finally, they arrived. Room 213. Yukari's hand shook slightly as she grabbed the door handle, turned, and pushed. Both Amano and Yukari took a step inside the room. There were two large windows in the front, flooding the room with white light. In the corner was a television set that was turned off for the moment. When Yukari looked to the left, she could no longer hold back the tears. On the hospital bed was Hitomi, white as a sheet, tubes sticking out in every possible direction, and several blood stained bandages. Yukari gave a sob, and then turned around to cry on Amano's shoulder. Amano gently patted her on the head but never took his eyes off of Hitomi. It pained them both very much to see their friend the way she was. She seemed so…weak…fragile. Two attributes that didn't belong to the Hitomi he knew. The Hitomi he knew was strong, funny, and kind. Well…except when it rains. He wasn't sure why, but every time it rained, she would become lost in another world. What that other world was, he didn't know…for sure, that is.
After several minutes in which Yukari cried her poor little heart out, she finally turned back around to face her best friend. Both Amano and Yukari pulled up a chair on either end of Hitomi. Yukari carefully reached over to touch Hitomi's hand. She was startled to feel how cold it was. Yukari took Hitomi's hand and placed it inside both of hers in an effort to warm it up. Amano was about to follow suit when he noticed that Hitomi's other hand was clenched into a fist. And something was inside it…
"What's this?" Amano said out loud.
"What's what?"
"Hitomi's got something in her fist."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Let's find out." Amano gently tried to pry open Hitomi's fingers, but as soon as he made a small gap in which he could barely see the object, Hitomi's hand clenched into a fist again. Hitomi stirred slightly and mumbled something before falling back asleep.
"…Van…"
"What was in her hand Amano?"
"A feather."
"A feather?" Why is she holding a feather?"
"I was hoping you could tell me." Came a voice that didn't belong to either Amano or Yukari. Standing in the doorway was a stern looking man wearing a black and blue uniform. The man took a few steps into the room and extended his hand towards Yukari and Amano. "I'm Officer Ripley. I am the investigator for Ms. Kanzaki here." Amano shook the officer's extended hand. He then turned towards Yukari. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Uchida."
"Likewise."
Amano looked confused. "You two have met?"
Yukari turned her gaze towards Amano's face. "Officer Ripley was the one when filed the report when I reported Hitomi's kidnapping."
"Yes, but this is no longer just a kidnapping. This is a murder case." The officer replied.
"A murder case? But…How can that be? Hitomi's alive, in case you didn't notice!" exclaimed Yukari.
"Yes. She is alive. But her kidnappers were not so lucky." Officer Ripley stared into the two confused faces.
"The kidnappers are dead?" gasped Yukari. "How?"
"One of them was decapitated. The other was literally torn to pieces." Yukari winced as she heard this.
'No more than they deserved!' thought Amano. "How can someone be torn to pieces?"
"That's exactly what I came here to find out. I'm going to ask Ms. Kanzaki that very question as soon as she wakes up which, according to Dr. White, should be within the hour."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
It had been two days since Van had gone to the Mystic Moon, but it felt like it had just happened a little while ago. The last image he saw of Hitomi flashed across his mind, over and over again, like a nightmare. He wished with all his might that he could go back to the Mystic Moon and see Hitomi again, but his wishing was in vain. And unfortunately, for the moment, he needed to push aside all his worries about Hitomi and concentrate on his duties as a King. His advisors had called for another meeting which was supposed to start any minute. At the moment, Van was standing directly behind the double doors that would lead him into the council chambers, trying to stall as long as he could. He didn't want to go in there. He already knew what they were going to say.
'You need to wed a princess…'
'…It's for Fanelia!'
'You mustn't stall any longer. Other countries are getting restless. An arranged marriage with one of their princesses would ease the tension between us and bring Fanelia to a new age of prosperity.'
'…Please, King Van…Do it for Fanelia!'
Van was sick and tired of hearing this phrase, "Do it for Fanelia." He knew how to run his country. He knew of the tension between Fanelia and the surrounding countries, especially the country Cyrce. And, unfortunately, he also knew that his advisors were right. Marrying the heir of Cyrce, Princess Calysto, and forming an alliance would definitely be the best move for Fanelia. But it wouldn't be the best move for his heart…
There was a reason why Van hadn't given up hope on finding Hitomi. He wanted her to come back to Gaea quickly for a reason. He needed to ask her a question. He needed to ask her the question. The question he should have asked a long time ago when he realized his feelings for her…
But for now, he needed to push that aside. Taking a deep breath, he opened the doors and stepped into the chamber. Immediately, everyone stood up in respect and waited for the Kings signal to sit down. Van waved his hand quickly, and they were seated. He walked to the head of the table and sat down in a dignified manor. Before he spoke, he took a quick look around. To his left and right sat six men, three on either side, dressed in red and black attire, the Fanelian crest emblazoned on each of their chests.
"Today's meeting called by the royal advisors will now officially commence."
The second man to his left stood up. "I'd like to begin, your majesty. Yesterday, we received a notice from the queen of Cyrce. She says that if an alliance cannot be made, she will have no choice but to declare…war on Fanelia."
"What?!" Van roared.
The third man to Van's right stood to speak, "Please King Van. An alliance must be made. We mustn't risk another war after we have finally found peace."
"The best alliance that can be made is the union of you and Princess Calysto."
Van was shocked. 'Well that response came a little too quickly. Before, they didn't care who I was wed too, just so long as I found a queen, but now they all seem so hell bent that I marry Princess Calysto.'
"Please King Van. Accept their marriage proposal…"
Silence. Van had a huge internal debate going on inside his head. If he denied their proposal, Gaea may go through another Great War, and that was the last thing anyone wanted. If he accepted, all of this could be avoided, and everybody would be happy. Accept him… If he married another, then he wouldn't be able to ask Hitomi if she would…
But that was selfish. Risking the lives of countless innocence for his own personal desires. No. He had stalled this wedding thing long enough. He couldn't any longer. 'I'm so sorry…' Van wanted to scream and just run away. But he couldn't. 'I'm so sorry…' It took nearly all of Van's strength to stand and say these simple words.
"…I…accept. Make the necessary arrangements. Now, if there is nothing more to be said, this meeting is adjourned."
With that, Van made his way out of the chamber. On the outside, he seemed confident, calm, and relaxed. But on the inside, his heart was breaking with every step he took. In his mind he kept repeating the same phrase, over and over again.
'Hitomi…I'm so sorry…'
A/N: That is it for this chapter. Don't worry, my writers block is officially GONE! So, my next chapter should come soon!!! This chapter isn't exactly action packed, but I felt that this story was getting a bit too depressing, so I added a little humor. Hope you all liked it!
I have a request to all those who know more Japanese words than I do. I'm doing a crossword puzzle and a big chunk of it is words in Japanese. I've done as many as I can, but I am officially stuck. Please help me. These are the words in English: "Seven"(4 letters) – "Sea"(3 letters) – "Excuse me"(9 letters) – "Elephant"(3 letters) – "Ice"(5 letters) – "Flower"(5 letters) – "Wolf"(6 letters) – "Wind"(4 letters) – "Nine"(4 letters) – "Autumn"(3 letters) – "High School"(9 letters)
Any and all help will be appreciated! Ja ne!!!