Badges Of Honor

Chapter Two: The Beautiful People- Marilyn Manson

By: Seraph-Anaesthesia

"Hitomi..." Van nodded at her with a questioning look in his eyes as they got off the bus, strangely side by side. Hitomi was smiling lightly, for she had completed all of the lousy crap they entitle "Homework."

"Yes, Van?" She tilted her head to the side as they walked up the side walk.

"How long have we lived next to each?"

Hitomi sweat dropped and about fell over from the immense curiosity of the question. Van was looking her with an innocent expression, wide eyes and a small smile. His maroon hues were staring her down so badly that Hitomi blushed. She stuttered slightly, and he just blinked and let out a small, "Hmph." as she answered him.

"Oh...about eleven years I think...No offence, Van, but are you just realizing that now?" Hitomi was blinking furiously as he let out a small bark of laughter. His calm face had suddenly turned dark, into a cold and almost uncaring one. His expression was scaring Hitomi slightly, but she decided to listen to him. For once, Hitomi Kanzaki was determined to be a good friend.

"No, but... It's been six years since my mother died, and I was wondering... Do you still remember her? You were always with her. I've been think a lot lately, and, it seems to me that you were more of her child than I was. I was a horrible son, always so stupid and angry. I never got why she smiled at me. It was just another thing that mothers do..."

Hitomi's expression of peevishness was slowly turned into one of sympathy as her eyes filled with the glistening coat of pent-up tears. Of course she remember Van's mother. She was a wonderful woman, she shouldn't have died. Growing slightly fierce, Hitomi was angered at the diseases that had slowly consumed Mrs Fanel. Oh no, she would never forget.

"Van... You can't just say things like that in front of me and expect me to be able to tell you how lousy you are. I could never do that. You're mother was so special, and she loved you very much. You can NOT forget things like that. You'll simply fly away..."

He smiled at her with such a sad face that Hitomi could only desperately hope that she had not saddened him even more. She walked up her own driveway to the white house, knowing that Van was walking up to his brick one at the very same moment, same second. They were both think the same thing.

'I'll never forget.'

And once again, Van was speaking to Hitomi's back, which, by now, he was awfully familiar with. He had so many things that could never be said aloud. That was the problem. It wasn't himself that was keeping him from opening up to Hitomi, it was the secrets.

"Maybe I'll do that... Just simply...Fly away."

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME VAN LIVED THERE?!"

Dilandau was screaming his head off at Folken, who was sitting leisurely on the couch with his feet propped up watching sports. He just sipped his coke and turned off the TV with a heaving sigh.

"I wasn't aware of it, fool."

That was all the older man said as he went up the stairs to his room, blaring Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" on full blast with the bass turned up high. He barely heard the young albino's scream as he turned the music up louder.

"We are NOT moving into a neighborhood with VAN FANEL, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Dilandau let out a mighty roar that could have broken glass windows in a church, or busted someone's ear drum. But nooo, Folken would never listen. Dilandau was convinced, as he stared at the mirror on the kitchen wall, muttering a loose,

"Shut up."

To his reflection.

"The beautiful people, the beautiful people..."

"Hmm? Someone new? Moving HERE, of all places? That's odd..." Hitomi was blabbering on casually to Millerna as they walked out of the school doors. They saw Van scowling with the expression of wet cat permanently plastered on his usually emotionless face. Hitomi just blinked and Millerna shook her head. "Wonder what's up with him..."

Millerna punched her lightly on the arm with a huge grin the size of Texas. She winked as she brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Well, you ARE his neighbor. You should talk to him." Poking Hitomi in the side lightly as she giggled, she began walking away as the black Mercedes drove up the school's driveway. Hitomi sighed and walked home.

The emerald-eyed girl nearly fell over with surprise as she noticed the huge moving van that was unloading (mostly black leather) furniture into the house next door. Hitomi shrugged her shoulders and saw Van desperately trying to cut down humongous weeds that were situating themselves quite nicely in his yard.

"Van, what's the moving truck for?" The tapped him on the shoulder as he turned around quickly, almost poking a hole in Hitomi's lime green t-shirt with the sharp clippers. The scowl was still there, and his eyes were starting to wither under the sun and the strain of glaring so much. He looked beaten up and angry.

"It's a MOVING truck. What do YOU think it's for, Hitomi? Just leave me alone, I'm not in the mood for your blathering." Van glared some more at her as she just slapped him. It hurt bad that van had to keep from yelling at her. He was so angry, but not with Hitomi. His attitude ashamed him as he brought a hand up, as if he could feel the stinging crimson sensation that was travelling up his cheek. Van just stared at her as she walked away, once again with her head held high.

"Fine, Fanel. Just BE a stuck-up jerk! I don't need you!" Hitomi's voice was about to crack, and it was filled with the anger of being hurt and the sadness of being smarted off by one of her friends to. Hitomi wiped the tears that were making their way down her cheeks in small streams. Van could hear the door slam as Hitomi ran inside.

She ran face down on to the big white comforter and tried to keep everything she had in her. Why was her life so horrible? Hitomi got a postcard from her stupid father that day, someone was moving in that she didn't even know and probably wouldn't like, and she had Van mad at her. Would you care for me to go on?

Hitomi spent the entire day in her room on Saturday, just lying on the bed sleeping her "horrible life" away. Every once in a while she'd get up and go to the bathroom, or get a glass of water or something. Hitomi's hair was mussed from sleep and she had on a pair on bright pink tank top and flannel pant PJs. It kind of scared her when she heard the door open and two people walked into the room. Hitomi's face was currently lodged under the pillow she was holding onto as she yelled, "Go away!"

"Now why would you want us to do that?" Van's voice wafted to her deprived ears as she sat up slowly, still not turning around. Hitomi's mind was on the whole speaking-like-there's-two-of-you thing.

"Us?"

"Us."

A bark of laughter sounded behind her that definitely didn't sound like Van's usual mischievous rumble of happiness. Hitomi turned around slowly, this time letting the pillow down from holding it over her eyes and blushed furiously as Van and the newcomer gazed down on her with belts of held-in laughter. She once again slowly looked down at her pajamas and then looked up at Van with a strangely calm expression.

"I reeeallly don't like you right now."

"That's okay, 'Tomi! You don't HAFTA like me!" Van put on a VERY fake cheery smile as the albino next to him punched him in the arm. Van looked as if he wanted to strangle the other boy, and was hiding it VERY well, but Hitomi just blinked with childish innocence. Then came the look of Hades.

"Who are you and why the HELL ARE YOU IN MY ROOM, PERVERT!?"

Hitomi threw the overly stuffed pillow at the guy's head, as he just smirked and caught it. His amethyst eyes were twinkling against the pale skin and almost silver hair that was attached to him. "Dilandau Shizuka. Nice to meet you, Miss Kanzaki." That was when her bent down and grabbed her hand, kissing it while still keeping eye contact with her.

Van thought she was going to fall for him just like any other girls that had in their past childhood, but instead...

Hitomi punched him square in between the eyes.

Boy, was he gonna feel that in the morning...

A/N: I know that this chapter was a little bit shorter than the first one, I'm sorry! To those of you who actually remember to look for updates, and review, please e-mail me! . I'm creating an update service-thing, so if you want to be notified when I update anything, then let me know! Just email me at or and I'll make sure to get back to you. How'd you like this chappie? REVIEW PLEASE! 3