A/N: Now…for Van's chapter. For all you Van-lovers out there, be glad to know there's not a lot of Van bashing in this chapter. Seeing as Van bashing himself completely wouldn't be very healthy…now would it?

Seeing as it's called Van's Confusion, Van will be very confused. I like confused; it means I don't need to worry about thought consistency. Because…I'm lazy!

Also, to appease whoever in whatever doing something or other: I still don't own Escaflowne. I hate having to write that…it's so painful…-sigh.-

I've been asked to do longer chapters, so I'll try to do 6 pages of plain writing from now on. I admit the chapters where short, but it seemed like enough to me, and trying to draw out thought processes isn't so easy. But I will do my best to do at least 6 pages.

Also, I fear Chesta's chapter has not lived up to you expectations, so I'll most likely rewrite it…but as a Dragonslayer there's not much for them to do but panic over Dilandau-sama's disappearance, as they tend to do…-sigh.-

Why..?

I've been trying to talk to Hitomi all day, but she hardly answers me for some reason. She's been wandering about, rarely talking and when she did she kept quiet. Not like Hitomi at all. She's even been ignoring Merle's constant nagging, just throwing our young feline companion a small glance that said; "Please, be quiet."

Just not as polite. There's something so off about her and I'm getting so worried, it's hard to concentrate on my swordsmanship and even Allen is having trouble concentrating. Allen may be injured, but he still thinks I need more instruction from him, so he watches me from the sideline, yelling out when I make a mistake.

But not anymore. Sometimes I'll purposefully make a big mistake, just to see if he's paying attention.

But he's not.

So here I stand, watching Hitomi from behind as she sits calmly and staring up at the sky. She's watching her home again; so that has to be the reason for her sudden distance, right? I mean, there's nothing else that could've happened that would cause such a strange thing, so maybe she got another 'call' from this Amano person.

I still don't really understand the complicated workings behind the whole system, but I understand that they use 'phones' to call a series of numbers, different for each person and area, and either they went to another 'phone' or to a 'pager'. The 'pager' is the strange thing that made that beeping sound when we were trapped in the Zaibach dragon graveyard.

So maybe she got another call from him and feels bad for not being able to contact him and let him know she was ok?

'That has got to be it,' I tell myself mentally, slowly stepping up next to her until I'm to her right. I sit down without asking, she doesn't protest, but I stay quiet for a while.

What am I supposed to say? I'm not exactly great with talking like this, and from what I remember I can't really talk to her without having some form of pessimistic comment or sideways insult. She probably thinks that I only need her to tell me where those Zaibach soldiers are…but she's been trying to teach me how to sense these things for my own.

Lessons like these are invaluable to a king. A king must be self reliant in battle; knowing where you enemy is at all times and perceiving their attack. I remember Balgus teaching me this when I was younger. He also had the habit of telling me I don't charge aggressively enough…

Allen had to rub in that very same fact not too long ago, and it's rather insulting. More than insulting really. It's a plain smack in the face and public humiliation piled on top.

When I sit with her Hitomi stays quiet, looking up at the Mystic Moon, although during the day it's barely visible, but she still does it. I can see a strong sense of longing in her beautiful green eyes; she wants to go back to her family.

I wince at the thought of family…seeing as mine is nearly all gone. I have Merle, and that's about it. She's the closest thing to family I've had for a while, besides Balgus…and he's gone. One of the three greatest swordsmen on Gaia, taken down by cowards who hide in battle, instead of facing a great man like Balgus face to face.

Hitomi, though, has family and friends back on the Mystic Moon, and she longs to be with them, more than she wishes to be with me.

Us…I mean us…

I remember her muttering something about this Amano person looking just like Allen. That's a slightly frightening prospect, seeing as there should be only one Allen allowed on either planet.

Allen isn't a bad guy, don't get me wrong, but he can be a real thorn in my side. Whether it's being better in battle than I am, or trapping Hitomi in his web when he's got that princess.

I close my eyes, sighing just faintly when I remember how that woman insulted Hitomi so blatantly, making the assumption that she was just a handmaiden. I was glad to stick up for her, and I remember her flashing me a smile of gratitude.

I wish she would say something, seeing as I don't know how to start a proper conversation in times like this.

Ten miets later we're still sitting in silence and it's truly getting unnerving. She's usually said something by now; whether it be about where we're going next or how're things going. I can't stand this silence anymore, and I'm about ready to explode when finally I hear her sigh faintly and run a hand through her short hair before turning to look at me with a smile.

"I guess I should apologize for worrying you so much…I've just had so many things on my mind it gets confusing to continue ignoring them. I just needed to sort everything back into place, ya know?" She says and I silently thank the gods that she said something.

"There's no need to apologize, Hitomi. You've had a lot of things on your mind and everyone needs to take some time to figure things out," I reply and she smiles and nods faintly. "You've been watching the Mystic moon more often, I've noticed. Have you gotten another message from your friends?"

"No," she replies quietly and pulls out the strange device. "I've noticed that watching Earth and the moon help me to focus my energy on putting things back together. I miss home a lot though…"

And she trails off here, leaving me to feel a little awkward. I don't know what to say to that, seeing as saying "You'll find your way home soon" could turn into a very ugly lie. Saying "everything will be ok" would be just as bad, if not worse.

I turn my eyes back out onto the field, admiring the view and missing home. There's something behind Hitomi's answer, though, that leads me to thinking she hasn't told me everything. Something tells me she's hiding something very important from me, not so much important that involves me, but I want to be able to help her. If there's something truly eating away at her and she won't tell me, then how am I supposed to help her? I'd like to think that we could develop a very trusting relationship, regardless of whether or not we trust each other now. I would constitute throwing your lives in the palms of someone's hands during a life or death situation 'trusting'.

We keep each other safe, I've noticed, and I wish I could keep her safe other than on the battlefield. Saving her from the enemy is one thing; saving her from herself is something entirely different. I'm going to end up ripping my hair out if she doesn't tell me what's wrong. I can't even concentrate on practice right now, she's worrying me so much.

"Hitomi…" I start quietly, not taking my eyes off the landscape. "Hitomi, you know you can trust me, so why don't you tell me what else is on your mind?"

There, I said it. She doesn't answer at first, and I feel like I may have overstepped the boundaries until she sighs heavily. It's the first time I've heard the heavy sigh that seems to say "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders and there's nothing I can do about it".

"It's something so confusing, Van, that I don't know what to make of it anymore," she replies quietly, lying down in the grass. "There's just something behind it that scares me, because I can't figure out what I want. I've tried using the tarot cards, just to help me out a little, but because I'm so frazzled it does nothing; the readings just come out a mix of random things, matching my mind."

Ah-ha…so that's what it is…

She's worried about Allen and I. Could it be she feels something for me? The mere thought of that makes me feel a little strange, not a bad strange but a good strange. But the thought that she may be comparing the two of us leaves me with a sense of dread. Allen excels where I fail. Which is pretty much in everything. It seems to be a little more one-sided than she my think it is. She's probably thinking more and more about Allen, but clearly if she's so confused there's definitely something there for me, right? And she's been acting so strange for a while now, so that thing's got to be pretty strong, right?

I look at her again and there's something else she's not saying. She seems to want to say it, but is unsure of something…maybe my reaction. Her teaching me how to sense things better is actually working for a good purpose; I can sense that she's still hiding something from me.

"Hitomi? Is that all that's troubling you? There's got to be more to it than that…you're still hiding something…it's ok to tell me, I'll understand if you don't want to," I say quickly, as I can see a slight look of displeasure flash across her face.

"Van, there's really nothing more to say," she says and stands up. I hurry to o the same and put a hand on her shoulder quickly.

"Hitomi, I understand if you won't tell me. I just want to help you," I rephrase my last statement, hurriedly, so she doesn't get annoyed with me. I'm so not good with talks like these…so not good at all.

"Van…"

I hear her whisper my name quietly and then she turns to me with a small smile. This time I can see the smile in her eyes, covering whatever the signs that she was still hiding something. I release her shoulder, she stands there and smiles just faintly before walking away.

I was hoping for a little more insight. She's confusing me so much with all these strange moments and I don't know what to do anymore. The more I press it the more she won't tell me and she'll get very annoyed with me, that much is certain, but if I do nothing then she'll continue to dwell on something that could possibly be dangerous to her health.

I think back to when she started acting weirder than normal. After Allen was hurt she was a little out of it, but that's to be expected…

It wasn't until after Merle went and got her the other night before the storm. That was when she got really quiet and brooding. Even Merle didn't understand what was wrong with her, although she covered her confusion by insulting Hitomi some more. It was after that that she started acting really weird, so maybe something happened to her?

The thought of someone attacking her sends a wave of anger through my system, but if she had been attacked she would've told me, or someone, and would probably be acting much differently. So maybe she wasn't attack per se, but had some form of confrontation with someone? Maybe Millerna…

That had to be it. Millerna confronted her about Allen, and now she's thinking about whatever the princess said to her!

I shake my head, a small smile forming and sigh faintly. That had to be it, and the thought of the princess standing outside before a storm, telling Hitomi to back off of Allen, makes me chuckle faintly. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I originally thought.

Hitomi never lets whatever that princess says get to her for long. She may be overly insulted, but she gets over it quickly, and it's only been about 2 days so whatever Millerna said had to be a little rougher than normal. Maybe she told her off for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that it was her fault that Allen was injured and she should stop interfering with their love.

That just makes me laugh even more. That princess doesn't get the fact that Allen has no interest in her whatsoever. It's quite a shame really, but she really should just quit it. Allen has some serious patience, that's for certain, as I would've gone inane by now.

I follow Hitomi's lead into the barn where Escaflowne is and watch as she stares at it for a moment before sitting on its leg. I rest my sword by the door and fetch her a flask of water, hoping she'll soon break out of whatever Millerna said.

"Hitomi, whatever Millerna said to you, don't take it seriously. Millerna's just jealous of you, that's all, so don't worry so much about it," I tell her as she drinks her water.

I raise an eyebrow when she nearly chokes on her water and her eyes widen. She stares at me confused for a moment, face turning slightly red from coughing.

"What are you talking about, Van?" She asks once she's cleared her airways of water. "Millerna and I haven't talked for a while."

"You haven't?" Now I'm really confused. I was certain that was it…

"No, I haven't. What made you think that she and I have talked recently?"

"Well, I thought maybe the other night she talked to you and may have said something about Allen…I thought that maybe that was the reason why you've been so quiet…"

Hitomi shakes her head faintly, smiling just a little, but there's something in her eyes that worries me even more. Now that the idea that it was Millerna is out of the way, there're even worse possibilities in front of me.

"You weren't attacked, were you?"

She coughs again, and I realize I really must stop asking questions when she's drinking; it's turning out to be bad for her health.

"No, I wasn't attacked, really," she says and I can see she's not telling the whole truth.

"Hitomi…"

"Really, Van, I wasn't attacked!" She reinforces her statement a little more harshly than I would've wanted to hear, and then blushes faintly. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap at you. No one has attacked me Van, really, everything's ok."

"Are you sure everything will be ok? I don't want to find out something went wrong and you're in danger again," I say and she scowls at me faintly.

"It's not my fault that they attacked me!" She protests and I can see a glimmer of her old self again. Her protesting me like this is just proof that everything is starting to be ok. "I just happen to have a magnetism that seems to attract a little bad attention."

"A little bad attention? More like a lot of bad attention," I reply with a grin and she puts on a fake pout face and crosses her arms over her chest. "Don't worry, Hitomi, we'll work through this together."

She nods faintly, and a look of reassurance passes over her face finally and sinks into her eyes. I feel a slight sense of accomplishment, seeing as I actually helped her out for once, and Allen hadn't interfered. Merle didn't interfere either.

"Lord Van!"

Speak of the Devil…

"Lord Van, there you are! I was so worried when I couldn't find you! And you! What do you think you're doing running off like this all the time and worrying Lord Van so much!" She shouts at Hitomi and Hitomi scowls at the girl.

"I need some privacy every once in a while, ya know!" She shouts back to Merle and the two of them start up another verbal fight. I'm left leaning against Escaflowne and chuckling faintly.

Everything was finally ok.

Leaving the two arguing girls I step outside again, smiling at my accomplishment, and strap my sword to my side again. It's always better to leave them to their arguments, for getting in the middle of them had slightly painful repercussions on occasion.

Even though I feel like everything is better now, there's still this small shadow of doubt that she's still hiding something. I suppose it'll always be there, now that I think of it, seeing as she has a great many secrets. She comes from a strange planet after all, so she's got a lot of strange secrets and ideas.

Hitomi is strange, in a good way. Her secrets and oddities make her mysterious, and although she has moments where I really wish she'd be quiet, I owe her a lot. She's saved me quite a few times, and she's helped me learn as well.

I've met a lot of seemingly odd people in life, well…odd to her, at least, but she's got this strange air around her, and it's not just her ability to see things no one else can.

I've got a lot of maybes flowing around in my head now, seeing as trying to figure out Hitomi is nearly impossible sometimes, so maybes appear quite often in my thoughts of her. Thinking of her also brings around the word "strange" as well, although all the time it's meant in a good way.

But, hey; we're strange to her. So it's all ok, and everything's getting better.

A/N: Crappy way to end the chapter, but I feel like I've stretched it out enough. I hope you like this chapter, and I did my best to make it good and longer.

I realized just how short the chapters were, but for some people you can only stretch a thought process out so long. I would've done it for Chesta's chapter, but I had that one uploaded a while ago; I just forgot to post it sooner. I hope this appeases a few people, and although it may not be as long as you would've liked it's ok, right?

For my loyal reviewers, I thank you now, as I should've been doing this in the previous chapters as well.

I think adding Van's ideas about Allen and Millerna are what allowed me to stretch this out and still be ok. Viewing things from his stand point seem to be easier, as his character has much more depth compared to the others. At least, in my opinion he does. I'm not a big Van fan, but I tried to deal with his brain and found that using his growing jealousy of Allen helped out a deal.

Hope you liked it and leave love.

Also, refrain from gagging me with a stick.