Fortune 7-A Falling Star

Star patted the creature gently on the head before taking off at a run. "I can't believe you expect me to sit around and wait!" she called over her shoulder at the creature that had run after her. "If they find me, they find me," she said, more to reassure herself than anything else, "the least I can do to help is get further from this place…"

The girl turned her head to face forward and immediately skidded to a halt. When the dust settled she had fallen to the ground and was looking up at a tall dark figure, who only managed to look even taller from this angle. Star tried to look at the person's face but, as if sensing her gaze, he, or she, pulled the hood of a black cloak further over the figure's face.

"So, Sayako," Star's heart skipped a beat and she started to shake wildly at the sound of her name. How, how did this person know what she had hidden from the rest of the world for so long? "I see you've finally learned to take care of yourself," the figure said coolly.

"Who the hell are you?" the girl jumped up and her hand went immediately to her side before she realized that she no longer had her sword. She slapped herself mentally for her own stupidity, now how was she going to defend herself? "How do you know my real name?" She hoped that her nervousness hadn't found its way into her voice.

The figure laughed, a sound that sent chills up the girl's spine, "No need to fight me. In fact, you should be thanking me…after all, I'm the one who brought you to Gaea. Don't worry," apparently the person beneath the cloak had sensed Star's muscles tense up, "I won't hurt you." How horribly clichéd was that? "I can't not with that thing awake inside of you?" What thing? Had it been that woman who had called herself an angel, the one who took over her body and forced her inside the empty room that was her own consciousness?

"What business do you have with me?" she was quickly regaining her snappy, sarcastic tone of voice. She realized too late that the words sounded overly confident, even for her.

The figure pulled the hood of its cloak further down its face, as if worried that it was slipping and revealing what was hidden. "I am merely here to tell you that though you think your body is your own, the devil will awaken within you and she will soon stand by my side," the figure turned and started walking away, dissolving into the air. Just before it had completely disappeared the person called jovially, "See you later, Sayako!" That voice, why did it sound so familiar?

"Who are you?" Star yelled and tore off after the figure, but it was gone. "How do you know me?" she whispered quietly to herself. The teenager jumped as something brushed her leg and she looked down to watch the creature, the sign from her brother, purring and looking up at her with large doleful eyes.

"Dryden," Van said in tones of someone painfully swallowing his pride, "would you help us look for Hitomi's cousin?"

Hitomi looked pleadingly at the man's eyes through his sunglasses, "She came here with me from the Mystic Moon. We don't really know why, and now she's been kidnapped," she wrung her hands nervously. How unlike her, but she couldn't help it, she felt a sense of responsibility since she had first met Star. She felt obligated to care for the younger girl.

Dryden looked about to say something but Chid cut him off, "Sir Allen is back in Fanelia," he said, which was apparently the correct response to the question Dryden was about to pose.

The man took off his sunglasses and held them close to his face as if he was examining them for dust, "Sure, I'm rather interested in this girl." There was a slight smile on his face but it had faded so fast that the others were sure they had imagined it. "Has Hitomi tried dowsing?"

The woman nodded solemnly and when she answered it was to the ground just beneath her shoes, "I couldn't find her anywhere. I don't think she's on Gaea,"

"Damn it!" Everyone jumped and turned to Blai, who had slammed his fist into the wall. No one, not even Van, Merle and Chid, had ever heard that kind of language from him before. "It's all my fault," he said angrily, his head toward the ground and his bangs covering his eyes, for which he was grateful because they were threatening to overflow with infuriated tears.

He had barely noticed when Hitomi came up beside him that he jumped when he felt her hand on his shoulder. Blai quickly blinked the tears out of his eyes and looked up at her, "It isn't your fault, don't blame yourself," she said kindly. "Star can take care of herself until we find her." Though that was what her words said her eyes were filled with worry.

The young prince looked slightly surprised, "I thought you would be mad. I mean, you have every right to be, I let them kidnap your cousin...She is your cousin, isn't she?"

Hitomi laughed with such heart that Blai smiled as well. Anyone who could laugh like that surely wasn't angry. "Sometimes I wish she wasn't," Hitomi said through her laughter. "She can act tough and brave, but she's often pretty cold. Even though that's the face she puts on, I can tell she's the one that's really hurting…"

Her voice trailed off and Van cleared his throat, keen to break the unpleasant mood that had fallen upon them. "We don't have all the time in the world," he said, "does anyone need to bring anything, or can we get started on our way?"

"Hold on," Dryden said and they all turned to look at him, "I have a few bags here I need to take along. And we do need food and water, right? Hopefully we have some means of travel?"

"None whatsoever," Van replied with a smile. "We've been fine so far," he continued, "I don't see the problem with just a little bit more."

"Don't worry," the older man said to Hitomi, having caught sight of the evident worry on her face. "We'll find your cousin." He kissed her hand politely and led the way out of the crystal city.

Hitomi looked at the sky, the sun had already dropped below the horizon and both the Earth and the moon hung, glowing eerily, in the sky. Her eyes followed the path of a falling star and her hands clasped around the jewel hanging from her neck as if desperately seeking the warmth from its gentle glow. Please let Star be alright, she prayed as she watched the falling star shimmer and disappear into the depths of the night sky.