Disclaimer: …Nope, I still don't own EscaFlowne, or any of its characters. Though, I do own Star/Sayako, Aiichirou, Arekusa, and another new character that is soon to introduced by the name of Blai.
Author's Notes: I am so sorry that I'm taking such a long time to do this. But I promise to update more often, so I'll be back to writing new chapters in no time.
Fortune 2-Back to Gaea
-Ten years later-
A group of girls was huddled in the hallway, as any group of girls that congregates in the school and 'wants to be secretive' they were talking in loud voices that could be overheard from the other side of the hallway. And, as always, these girls were gossiping maliciously. "Can you believe it? She doesn't even wear the school uniform," one of the girls said in a very loud whisper. This particular young lady went for the Hollywood look; bleached blonde hair, blue contacts, too much make-up…
"Yeah, and I hear the principle's okay with it," another muttered loudly. She flipped her middle-length black hair over her shoulders.
"I bet it's because of Kanzaki-sensei," said another. Well, this young lady was being considerate for she was actually trying to speak quietly, though failing miserably.
A young woman of fifteen leaned coolly against her locker. Her arms were folded over her chest and her unsettling blue eyes were narrowed into a cold glare. She prided herself in her excellent hearing, not that she had needed it to overhear the conversation taking place in front of her.
"She walks around like she owns the school," said the blonde girl in a haughty tone as she took a few strides down the hallway and back.
The young woman's arms stayed folded across her chest as she pushed herself off the lockers. She walked so smoothly that she seemed to be gliding across the ground, and she walked with such confidence that even those who did not like her, and there were quite a few of them, had to admit was amazing. Her baggy black pants dragged a little as she walked.
"Can't think of anything different to say, can you, Sato?" the girl said coolly. She was getting tired of hearing the same things, day in and day out. Her temper could only hold out for so long, and this was a record for her: one week. By now she would have skipped school at least twice, but as a favor to her cousin she decided to stay in a little longer.
"It's only because of Kanzaki-sensei that you're allowed to stay…" That was it. The girl uncrossed her arms and in one quick, fluid motion, punched the speaker in the stomach. She watched as Sato fell to the floor, clutching her stomach. She quickly kicked the blonde girl and re-crossed her arms.
"Kanzaki has nothing to do with this," she said in a voice so cold that it sent shivers up the listeners' spines. "Remember that." The girl was about to walk away when she heard a familiar voice from down the hall.
"Star!" the voice reprimanded. The blue-eyed girl spun around to face the speaker, who was now sprinting towards them down the hallway. "I can't believe you just did that." Star shrugged, it wasn't like she cared what the newcomer thought, though she apparently thought more of her opinion than anyone else's since she was actually listening. "Are you alright, Kurinari-chan?" The newcomer knelt next to the blonde girl, her enchanting green eyes full of concern.
"I'm fine," Sato coughed, "thank you, Kanzaki-sensei."
Hitomi smiled and stood up. The smile slid off her face as she wheeled around to face her cousin. "I thought I told you not to hit people!" she cried. How many times did this make it? Star had gotten into so many fights in the past month that Hitomi had lost count, last time she kept track her cousin had been at ten, and that was only two weeks into the month.
"It's not my fault," Star shrugged again. "She was asking for it." Star unfolded her arms once again and started walking away. She waved at her cousin, who was now standing a good distance behind her. "I'm going to the mall," she said as she glided to the door.
"The school day isn't over yet!" Hitomi yelled. Heads turned in the hallway, Hitomi never yelled at a student. But, when they caught sight of Star, they immediately went on their ways again. It was completely understandable for any teacher to be yelling at the delinquent girl, everyone did.
Star opened the door and turned a little to face her cousin. "Yes, it is," she called back as she stepped out the door. She listened to it slam shut behind her before setting off on her way.
The girl noticed people staring at her as she walked through the streets. The further she got from the school, the more people she caught staring. She wanted to sigh, but didn't. She was used to this, ever since she was a little girl. People tended to stare at her a lot. But who wouldn't? A teenage girl wearing a baggy black sweatshirt with a red stripe near the collar and baggy black pants certainly didn't bring that much attention to herself, unless she was wandering the streets during school. But Star made sure to stand out a little more than that. Her combat boots clunked against the pavement as she took her smooth strides to the mall.
The girl looked in the window of one of the street shops. She was very proud of how she had decided to dress today. The black sweatshirt and baggy black pants were her usual, but today she had a simple black choker and she drew a dragon's wing around her right eye. Her long, black hair was died red at the tips. She smirked at her image and continued walking.
Finally, Star found herself in front of a small shop in the mall. She opened the door and a blue mist rolled out, Star couldn't help but smile. She walked in and the bell rang as her foot touched the mist-covered floor. The girl looked around, she always felt comfortable in this place.
"Skipping again, I see," said a friendly voice.
Star turned and smiled, "Of course. I've been stuck there for a week, can't stand being there that long," the other person laughed. "How's it going, Tasumi?"
"Same as usual," the boy said, switching languages.
"Don't do that," Star complained. Tasumi just came in from the United States, though he knew plenty more languages than just English. At the moment, he decided to start rambling in Italian. "You know I can't understand a word you're saying."
"That's why I do it," he winked. "So, what'll it be today?"
"Just some green tea, alright? I don't have that much money today…"
"What, no one's offered to give up their lunch money?"
Star smiled, "I'm not a bully, Ta-kun." Star punched him lightly on the arm. Laughing, he disappeared behind a black-velvety curtain that always made Star's stomach churn. While she waited, she grabbed a book off one of the shelves and grabbed a beautiful new tarot deck before sitting down on a comfortable pouf. She set the tarot deck beside her and opened the book to start reading.
Tasumi emerged from behind the curtain and set a tray down on the table in front of Star. He took a seat on the pouf next to her. "You know, I'm kind of surprised," he said suddenly. Star would have jumped, had she not trained herself not to.
"Hn?" she asked, completely absorbed in her reading.
"Well, you skip school and come here, to read…"
"Yeah, well, I do some interesting things," Star replied. She set the book down on her lap and took a sip of tea. She made a face. "Ugh, I've always hated this stuff…"
"Why do you drink it?"
Star shrugged, giving Tasumi the impression that she didn't really have a reason. Well, she really did. Star continued to drink the green tea that she loathed only because it was her mother's favorite. It was just one way that she was letting her mother live on in her. "That reminds me!" Tasumi yelled, jumping out of the pouf. Star nodded, indicating that he could continue. "I was doing a tarot reading…about…well…you," Star raised an eyebrow. Tasumi blushed and continued, "And well, I got some pretty strange stuff…"
"Where you using the Celtic cross?" Star asked, he had caught her curiosity.
"No, you know I don't like to take the time," Star frowned slightly when he said this. She much preferred the time-consuming spread, she always found it more accurate that way. "Three-card spread, as usual. Anyway, I got some strange results."
He paused a moment, as if waiting for Star to speak. "No offense, Ta-kun, but you know you suck. Continue anyway…"
Tasumi looked slightly put out, but it faded and he continued on. "Well, it said that you were going someplace far away and that you would never come back. It also said that you'd experience some great tragedy there and find love."
Star couldn't help but laugh. She slammed her cup of tea onto the table, "You've got to be kidding me. Sorry, Ta-kun, but I don't trust your readings at all. Too inconsistent."
"Not everyone can be as good as you are," he said, thoroughly annoyed now. Star shook her head.
"Look, I have to go," she said as she stood up. She grabbed the tarot deck and book and walked over to the cash register. "So, I'll just pay for this and then I'll be leaving."
They handled the transaction in silence, neither daring to say a word. Star walked out of the door, a paper bag tucked under her arm and she walked home. They no longer lived in Hitomi's mother's house. Hitomi had finally saved up enough money to buy a fairly nice house somewhat near the school. Star walked upstairs and flopped backwards onto her bed. She took the book out of her bag and took out her tarot deck.
She easily picked out one card, 'The Death.' It was a beautiful card, a skeletal dragon stood with a scythe between its claws. "Aiichirou," she said quietly.
As the girl rubbed the glossy new card between her fingers an image snapped before her eyes, blocking out all her other senses. Surrounded by a sea of dead bodies stood Hitomi, tall and proud, beside a beautiful white machine that glowed red from both the blood it stood in, and the eerie light of the setting sun. Someone stood atop the giant, staring, completely absorbed, at the fading sun. Suddenly a pair of wings of such a pure white that they seemed to glow sprouted from his back. Feathers fell all around the four of them; the winged figure, Hitomi, Star, and the great machine. Star held out a hand to catch the falling feathers, to see if she could feel them, wondering if this was real. As soon as the pure white feather touched her skin, she felt a searing pain in her scar that ran up her arm and down her spine. The young woman screamed in pain and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the vision had faded and she was once again lying on her bed, the 'Death' now lay on the floor beside her bed.
Star turned over, feeling as if she was going to throw up. She took a few moments to gather herself before abruptly pushing herself off the bed and walking over to the door. Hitomi was needed somewhere, to that place that was always in the back of the emerald-eyed woman's mind, Gaea. The raven-haired, blue-eyed teenager opened the door, just a crack at first, to see if her cousin was home yet. Hitomi needed to be trained if she was indeed to save Gaea once more.
Hitomi had yet to arrive back at home. So, while she debated on a way of telling her cousin that Star had read her, Hitomi's, thoughts, she decided to release her own frustration. She closed her eyes and reached out at something. Something seemed to be drawing her hand toward it, and with her eyes still closed she muttered something quickly under her breath and opened a pocket in space.
The young woman had to keep her eyes closed while feeling blindly through her storage area. If she opened them, the pocket would close and her arm would be stuck on the other side. She felt cool metal against her open palm and clasped her hand around it, quickly pulling it out of the pocket before opening her eyes. It was her sword alright. For some reason it felt so natural to use it, to hold it in her hands, to slice the blade through the air.
She unsheathed the sword and practiced a few passes before once again sheathing the blade and taking a quick shower. By the time she got out dressed in her comfortable baggy pajamas, her hair wet hair clinging to her skin she heard the front door open. "Thanks, Bureiku…" she heard her cousin's voice ring throughout the house. Star noted smugly that Hitomi's voice had a definite trace of embarrassment to it. "I had a great time. I'll see you tomorrow."
Star leaned over the banister to get a good look at the scene below her. She stepped on top of the railing and jumped down to the level below. Hitomi was startled; Bureiku looked like he was going to have a heart-attack. He hadn't been around enough to be used to the girl's antics. "Sorry," the girl said sarcastically, she was obviously anything but sorry as a smirk spread across her face. "She's busy; I don't think she can make it for your little date tomorrow. Bye-bye," she waved before slamming the door in his face.
Hitomi looked angrily at her cousin. "What was that for?" she asked. Though Star openly showed her animosity towards her older cousin's boyfriend, she had never yet done something so cruel.
"You are officially in training," the younger woman said, as if explaining the obvious.
"Training? What—" Star cut Hitomi off, "Gaea needs you. You'll be going back soon, so I'm going to make sure you're ready for it."
Hitomi silently opened and closed her mouth; then she said, "How do you know about Gaea?" Star couldn't help but smile at the faint note of panic in the girl's voice.
The younger girl gave her an annoyingly smug look, "You have no idea how loudly you think," she said. Her look was made all the more annoying by the girl's know-it-all attitude and tone of voice. "You're too weak to save Gaea, much less your own neck. I will never understand how you managed it last time, must have been some lucky fluke. But I'm going to make sure you do it right this time. No relying on luck to help you out…"
"How…how do you know Gaea's in danger?" the panic in her voice rose and the woman's voice was pitched slightly higher than was natural. She knew that Star had amazing abilities, just as the letter all those years ago had warned her, but she had no idea that her cousin had grown this much. It was beginning to scare her, how little she knew about her own family.
"Come on," Star grabbed onto Hitomi's sleeve and pulled her up to her bedroom. Star never actually touched a person if she could get away with it. Every time she did, though, she flinched horribly. Star herself would have liked very much to, at that moment, kick her cousin. But, too afraid of being left alone again, she decided against it. She choked back a tear, thinking back on the day that she was left so alone in the world, the day all optimism had died within her, as well as the day all her loved ones died before her. "You're doing a tarot reading."
Hitomi gave her cousin a puzzled look and let herself be dragged upstairs. "What am I reading for?" she asked as she caught sight of her cousin's new deck. So that was what the girl had been doing, out buying a new deck. It was certainly beautiful.
"Don't touch that!" Star reached out and snatched the deck, with 'The Death' still face-up on the top. "You're using your own deck. After all, that's the one you'll be taking with you to Gaea. And as for what you're reading for? Ask about your beloved Bureiku." Hitomi shuffled the cards and prepared them for a three card spread when Star put her hand on top of the center card. "Don't be lazy. You're doing the full Celtic Cross. You haven't done one since you came back from Gaea, if I'm correct," she gave her cousin a look that seemed to say, 'And I know I am.' Of course, she did indeed know that she was correct; after all, she had heard the like from her cousin's very thoughts.
Hitomi reshuffled the cards and spread them out in the more complicated Celtic Cross spread that Star loved so much. She turned each one over in turn and muttered something quietly as she looked at the face of each card. Finally, she came to the last one. Apprehensive and shaking slightly, she flipped it over and dropped immediately. The face of 'The Tower' lay on the table before her. Once again, she was face to face with the card of distant separation.
"Not again," the young woman covered her face with her hands. It was true. Just as before, she would be returning to the mystical world where the moon and Earth hung in the brilliant night sky. Had she been paying attention, she would have noticed the satisfied smirk on Star's face.
-The next day-
Once again, Star had decided to skip school. She had awoken just before Hitomi came into her room. But apparently, the older girl had too much on her mind, for when she saw that her cousin was, by all appearances, still asleep, she had left quietly in an attempt to not disturb the already wakeful girl. Once she was sure that Hitomi had left for work, the girl grabbed 'The Death' from the top of the deck and flipped it between her fingers.
After all, Hitomi was leaving, too, just like everyone else. She might never come back. Star did not want to watch someone else important to her leave her life, possibly forever. Even with all the power Star had, for she knew that at this point it seemed to be limitless, she still could not prevent the important people in her life from leaving her.
Conversations with Tasumi had become strained ever since a week ago when he had told her that he was going back to America for a while, or possibly forever. And now, Hitomi was leaving as well.
Star had the sudden urge to turn over onto her side and just curl up, to stay that way for an eternity, waiting for life to pass her by. Instead, she sufficed with throwing the card into the air. The girl held out her hand to catch it, but it did not fall back. Star moved her hand and saw that the card hovered above her. A bright light burst from the scythe of the skeletal dragon and engulfed the teenager, a look of the utmost surprise on her face.
Meanwhile, Hitomi stood on the track. School had just ended, possibly her last until she returned to Gaea; to Van. She had often thought about the young man, but never had the prospect of meeting him once more been so close. Never had her memories of him been so close to the surface, never had they been so clear.
"This is where I met him," she smiled a little, remembering how rude he had been. How she had saved his life. How he had saved hers. How the brilliant light had engulfed the two of them, transporting her from the life she had known and throwing her into a completely different world. "Van…" The light from her memories seemed to be growing stronger. Hitomi opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by a pillar of brilliant light. She was going back.
-Gaea—
Star gasped for breath, she had just landed in the most uncomfortable position imaginable and all the wind had been knocked out of her. She looked around her; she was definitely not at home anymore. As if some force was pulling her chin up, she looked at the blue afternoon sky and saw one of the last things she had expected. The Earth and the Moon hung above her in the sky, just as she had seen in some of Hitomi's more vivid memories.
The girl stood up and winced slightly, nothing more than a bruised and a few reopened wounds. Suddenly realizing that she was still holding her tarot deck, she stuffed the cards into one of her large pockets and closed her eyes. She muttered something and held out her hand, good; her pocket in space was still available to her. She searched inside for her sword, still there, even better. Her sword was easily accessible.
She heard one of the nearby bushes rustle, and the teenager spun to face it, putting up her guard. At that moment a young boy, for lack of a better word on Star's part, stood up from behind the bushes and brushed bits of twigs and leaves out of his hair and off his clothes. He looked about Star's age, though she wasn't really focusing on that aspect of him. The young woman was slightly more worried about the fact that he looked as if he was part wolf. That was definitely not normal. "What the hell are you?" she asked rudely, interrupting the silence. He seemed to notice her for the first time and he just stared at her for a moment with his unsettling unblinking black eyes. Before Star knew it, she found herself running at top speed away from a bunch men and women who also looked as though they were part wolf.
She heard a voice in the distance, and though she told herself she wasn't going to go in that direction, she ended up following it anyway. When she reached a clearing, she caught sight of a tall blond boy with short blond hair. Had the young woman cared about him and not about the fact that she was being chased by who-knows-what, she would have noticed that he was exceptionally handsome.
The boy caught sight of her, and for a long moment, the two teens seemed entranced. They stared at each other for a long time, until the moment was broken by the emergence of Star's pursuers. The blond boy whipped out his sword. It seemed as if it was such a natural movement, Star wouldn't have been surprised if this newcomer had held a sword his entire life. Star's mob of angry followers stopped when they caught sight of him.
"What are you doing here?" the boy asked. He had a lovely voice, sweet and calming, deep yet not so much so that it was unattractive. It reminded Star of honey.
One of the furry men stepped forward, "We could ask the same of you, Duke Freid. What brings you to this part of Gaea?"
The boy sheathed his sword and looked at the man in a way that seemed to make the much taller man shrink down. "I am here on a special request by Lord Van. Do you remember Hitomi?" Star's ex-pursuers nodded as if to say they would never be able to forget her, "I'm looking for her. Have any of you seen her?"
"No one but her," the man pointed an accusing finger at Star, who, though she wanted to back down, stared coolly back at him.
"Don't talk about me as if I'm not here," she said, her voice so chilly that her pursuers gave an involuntary shudder. "And Duke Whatever-Your-Name-Is," she regained her snappy, sarcastic tone of voice very quickly; "I didn't need your help. I was doing just fine on my own, thanks." As she turned to walk away, the young woman felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm from her wrist and she knew that once again the scar had appeared on her wrist.
"Wait!" The boy yelled, grabbing the wrist with the scar. He let go very quickly and looked down at his hand as if the touch of her skin had burned him.
Star turned around and glared at the young man, "Why should I?" her tone of voice could have frozen fire.
Surprisingly enough, he smiled. The young woman was very taken aback, "Because," the boy began, "you don't know your way around here, do you?" When Star didn't say anything he spoke again, apparently trying to be kind and conversational. "You dress like Hitomi…"
"Don't you dare compare me to her!" the young woman snapped cruelly, now it was the boy's turn to look astonished. Star turned around and ran in the other direction.
"I was only…" he shook his head, as if having determined that it would be completely useless to attempt to explain himself and ran after her. "What's your name? You can call me Chid," somehow he was keeping up with Star. She was not used to that.
"You don't need to know," then she decided to add haughtily, "I won't be here long, anyway."
The boy—Chid, was it?—gave her an incredulous look which his voice only managed to magnify, "You know a way to get back to the Mystic Moon?"
"If there's a way in, there's a way out," Star said exasperatedly, as if stating the obvious, which, she felt, she was. Star heard something rustling in the bushes a good deal ahead of her and she smiled. At least she wouldn't be leaving the boy all by his lonesome. "And this is where I leave you, Duke Freid," she said, refusing to call him by his name, and exaggeratedly saluting him before changing pace.
Unfortunately, Chid was still keeping up with her. How can this royal pain-in-the-ass be keeping up with me? She thought, not intending the pun that wormed its way into her thoughts.
"Allen!" he was obviously yelling to the people Star had heard behind the bushes, "Van! Blai! Merle!" Most of the names sounded familiar, from Hitomi's thoughts, but one did not.
Star swiftly kicked her 'companion' and sprinted off again in a different direction. "Damn it! Shut up and leave me alone!" she yelled as she did so.
The young girl crashed into something, or someone, that was so rudely blocking her way. She looked up and five new figures stood facing her. With whatever dignity she could muster, and she had quite a lot of dignity, she stood up and stared at them with her cold blue eyes, not even bothering to brush herself off.
As she examined the newcomers she couldn't help be relieved that they weren't covered in fur…at least, four of the five weren't. The fifth looked like she was part cat, rather than the wolf-men she had inconveniently met with earlier. Star gasped as she recognized one of the people, Hitomi! "What the hell is going on here!" she asked her cousin.
"We're in Gaea," Hitomi said happily, a smile lit up her face. Star wanted to smile, too, being here made her cousin so happy. But she couldn't let Hitomi know that she, Star, actually cared.
"Yeah, I think I've noticed," the teenager growled, "but I don't want to be in happy little Gaea. It makes me sick. How do I get back?"
"I'm sorry," said the tall black-haired man standing next to Hitomi. He didn't sound all that sorry, "You can't leave until you've helped us."
Star stared at him a moment and searched the memories she'd seen inside her cousin's head. "You're Van Fanel," she said slowly. He looked slightly shocked that she knew her when they had never met, "Well," Star regained her snappy, sarcastic tone of voice, "You're much better than Pretty Boy Bureiku. Still," she shrugged her shoulders, "I don't understand what Hitomi saw in you." Actually, Star had noticed that Van was quite handsome.
The boy next to him glared at Star angrily. He looked like a younger version of Van, probably almost exactly as the King of Fanelia had looked when he and Hitomi had first met. Van looked as though he would have seriously liked to hit her, but Hitomi stopped him. "Hitomi," his voice was oddly strained, "we've rebuilt Fanelia. Take a look, you can stay in the castle as long as you like. I hope you didn't forget your way around."