Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Escaflowne…If I did, that series would have continued.

To everyone who reviewed: Thank you SO much! Sorry for the long update! But, I had a lot of stuff to do! EXAMS! DOOM!

Chapter Five

Under her eyelids, the darkness became lighter and lighter. Green eyes fluttered open and soon Hitomi was aware of her surroundings. I'm in…the nurses' office…Oh, my head…Vision getting clearer, she noticed a figure sitting at the end of her bed; it had black hair and was holding a blue T-Shirt in his hands.

"Van…?" She croaked out. "What…happened?" Hitomi tried to sit up, but the room kept spinning. I'm safe here…Van did not hurt me-
Did not kill me
-and he's okay too. "Van?"

Van did not look at her. His gaze kept on the floor, hair in his face. "Please, tell me what happened…" Hitomi pleaded.

After a long period of silence, Van turned to her, his eyes a darker shade of red. Why is he mad at me? "Van? What happened out there?"

"No."

"What?"

"No, Hitomi."

"Van, please, tell-"

"No. You tell ME what happened out there." He glared at her, totally knowledgeable of the fact that she's keeping a secret from him.

Hitomi kept quiet. I don't want you to know…Van came closer to her. "Tell. Me."

She looked away from him. I can't…

"Hitomi." Van's stern voice on the verge of cracking. "I came here to protect you. How do I know what to protect you from if you won't tell me?"

Her eyes did not look back at Van's. He breathed in slowly. "Your visions are the only link we have to solve this problem!"

"Van…I…" Hitomi's heart started to beat faster. Tears started to form. "…Promise me you'll never leave me."

His gaze softened. "Hitomi…I would never…" Van closed the distance between them and placed his arms on either side of her hips, leaning in close so that he was eye-level with her. "Why do you speak this way?"

Silence.

"Hitomi, look at me."

"Promise you'll protect me."

"Hitomi! Look me in the eye!" Van grabbed on to her shoulders, jostling her out of her position and made her face him. Her eyes were wide and on the brink of tearing. They stared at each other for a long time. "Tell me what you saw…I'll always protect you…No matter what."

How can you protect me from yourself? Hitomi's mind questioned him. "I saw…" She choked on her words. He can't protect you…He is the danger…He is the threat…Van is the one that will kill you.

"What? What did you see?"

"You."

A puzzled glance was thrown her way. She explained slowly. "I saw you…I was running towards you and you were running towards me and…and…" Hitomi adverted her eyes again.

Keeping a firm grip on her shoulders, Van shook her lightly again. "Tell. Me." Please…

"You…" Her voice finally broke and the next words came out as a whisper. Tears began to come out of her eyes. "Hurt me." Van froze. Everything suddenly stopped. No sound. No movement.

"…No." He whispered back. "…I don't…I don't believe that."

Hitomi held her head low. "It's true."

"…No…You did not see that…" He shook her to look at him again. "Tell me you did not see that!"

She suddenly burst into tears of sadness and frustration. "Yes! I did see it! Believe me! I know what I saw!" Sobbing in-between breaths of air, she mumbled out. "You hurt me! You tried to kill me!"

Removing his arms from the crying and shaking woman, he stared at her. "Hitomi…I would never do anything to harm you!"

I want to believe you…Hitomi thought. "But my visions have…never been…wrong…" She said to him, sobbing afterwards.

"There's a first time for everything." Van whispered. "I know that vision is false! There is no way I would harm you!"

"But Van--!"

"—I wouldn't do that because I care for you too much, Hitomi!" He shouted. "That vision was wrong! Something-
Someone
-is at work to make you think that to drive us apart!"

"What, Van? What is working to drive us apart?" Hitomi yelled, flustered.

"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out what." He mumbled. "I will protect you. You can count on me, Hitomi. I would never harm you. I…You're too important to me."

Hitomi's heart ached to believe him. He wouldn't hurt me…but, what if this state of mind is gone? What if he doesn't know it's me when he swings the sword down on my head? What if he isn't himself?

Van stared intently at her. What is she thinking? What did I do to her to hurt her? Was is by the sword? My own two hands? "…Hitomi?"

She looked away from him with the new thoughts in her head. Pulling off the sheets and grabbing her books and bags, she headed out towards the exit. "Let's go home."

The walk home was very uneventful. Van didn't ask about anything. Hitomi stared at her feet as she walked, holding on to his hand. Oh my God…This is so weird…Why did I have to see that? Hitomi thought sadly to herself. I don't want him to leave…But, if he is the danger, doesn't he have to leave me?

Van looked at Hitomi and watched her stare at her feet, not speaking. Hitomi…I don't know what's going on…But I will find out! I will do everything in my power to protect you…

Finally, the silence broke as Hitomi and Van reached her apartment complex. "We're home." Hitomi mumbled, turning the key in the lock and making her way to her floor. The elevator ride was quiet too, each of them thinking of their own thing. What other visions has she had like this one?

Opening the door to her apartment, she sighed. I still have so much work to do. Her green eyes scanned over countless boxes and wrapped up items strewn on the floor. This is going to be so much work…And I'm so tired…All of the chores Hitomi had to do flooded her mind and made her groan. My goodness, in this state, I won't get anything done…

She blinked slowly, and started to walk just as slow into her apartment. Might as well start today, since work hasn't piled up yet from my classes…Hitomi began lifting heavy boxes and placing objects in their appropriate places.

"Hitomi?" Van asked, looking at her work.

"What?"

"You shouldn't be straining yourself…You fainted recently. You're in no condition to do this kind of labour." He advised.

"No. It doesn't matter. I'm fine." Hitomi said, in between a yawn. She tried to lift up a box with her plates, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lift it. Van came around the other side to help her place it in the kitchen.

"Hitomi, please, rest!"

"Van, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You can barely walk straight!" Van pointed out. He stood right in front of her, sternly. "As King of Fanelia, I command that you rest."

Hitomi smiled and looked up at him, rebellious. "Your power as King does not work here. I'm NOT going to rest." The stood there, a few feet apart and stared. Hitomi folded her arms over her chest, egging him on.

Van kept his cool demeanor and stared down at her. "Then you leave me no choice." He cracked his knuckles in a feeble attempt to be intimidating. Hitomi blinked once and before she knew it, he had picked her up bridal-style and was carrying her to her bed!

"Ah! Van! Let me go!" She kicked and flailed her arms around, but Van managed to place her on her bed and tuck her in tightly.

"You will rest. And you will like it." He smiled. Hitomi growled at him but eventually stopped fighting with the sheets. She finally allowed herself to close her eyes and have calm breathing. Van's right…I'm so tired…

He sat at the edge of the bed, watching her eyes flutter asleep, how her dirty blonde hair fell across her face, how her chest rose up and down as breathed….So beautiful…Van leaned in to brush the hair out of her eyes-
Don't touch her
-but he stopped. Hitomi said that my hands killed her… He retracted his arm slowly. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms again and promise that they would be alright.

But he couldn't.

I don't know if we'll be alright…He thought sadly. If that vision is…No. It can't be true. I would never harm her…No matter how many times he rejected the idea, doubt and fear always came afterwards. Oh Gods, what am I going to do?
Leave
Van was startled by the thought. No, I can't just leave her.
You belong in Gaea
No…I need to stay…Something's not right in this world…

Van held his head in his hands. Something very wrong is happening here…Gods, what is it? What's going on?

"Princess?" A knocking came on the door of her majesty's room. "Are you alright in there? The carriage is waiting."

Princess Shina's blue eyes narrowed slightly. He broke my concentration! "Yes. I'm fine."

"Please, come quickly. We're out in the front." The footsteps got softer, signaling that the guard had left.

Drat…How else am I supposed to clear my mind? Or get some sleep? Shina pushed her soft white hair out of her face and got up from the floor. She grabbed her traveling belongings and walked to the door. She stopped suddenly, forgetting something.

What else do I have to do?…Oh yes! How could I forget? Shina smiled lightly and went back to her bed to grab a trinket she held very dear to her heart.

A pendant.

Made of ebony-coloured stone.

And she smiled.

For a while, Van watched her sleep. So peaceful and precious and innocent. He watched her eyes move under her eye lids as she dreamed.

Then it hit him. After all the time he was staring, the thought never occurred to him. She could be having a vision right now…He watched and watched. Hitomi turned over several times, her breathing was quicker. Why didn't I recognize this earlier? His eyes grew wide as her head began to thrash from side to side. What's going on!

His eyes adverted from Hitomi's moving form to fall on the pendant.

It pulsed…erractically…

In tune with Hitomi's movements and breathing. Oh God… Just as Van brought his eyes back to her, Hitomi's eyes suddenly opened, but she wasn't awake.

And Van was scared.

I know you're in here! Hitomi shouted in her dream. The pendant was beating faster and faster, just like her heart, and this time, Hitomi did not focus that much on the pendant itself, she looked around.

She scanned every dark corner of the room. Her green eyes were rewarded.

Something moved. A flicker of light was seen in the area in front of her.

The pendant picked up the pace. I still have time to catch that thing! The pendant's pulse isn't fast enough for it to stop! Heart racing, Hitomi took off, running in the direction of the movement.

She passed the pendant quickly, not stopping. She knew that the pendant's speed was not at the maximum, so the vision would not stop until at least thirty more seconds. Her feet hit the ground hard and she chased it. Stop! I know you're there!

Hitomi kept her quick pace, but before she knew it, the pendant's loud pulse was on its final leg. No! I need more time! She reached out with her hands in the direction of the movement in hopes of grabbing on to something.

In the darkness…

Her fingers touched a shoulder.

A force, unknown to nature, sent her wrist backward, effectively breaking it. Before she could scream, the pendant stopped. No…Please…I need to know… The ground cracked under her feet and she, once again, fell into the darkness. Her dizzy mind forced itself to look at her wrist.

It was purple, blue and red. Just like before…

Hitomi was not going down without a fight. She resisted the pull of gravity in the vision and tried to stay up. She stretched forward as hard as she could to see the face of the shoulder she touched. Just a little more!

That's when something from the darkness below wrapped at her body and pulled her down.
Leave

Hitomi's body awoke with a jerk and a jump out of her lying down position. She was breathing heavily and bunched the covers around her body. Her breath became shaky as the vision replayed in her head.

Soon her body became shaky. There was something in there that didn't want me to stay…

Van instantly embraced her shaking form. He whispered comforts in her ears and pet her hair softly. His breathing started to get shaky too. What did she see?

It doesn't want me to know anything…Hitomi concluded. It sent something to pull me down where I usually go…It wanted me gone…It didn't want me to be there…

A chill ran down her spin, despite the efforts of Van and the blanket to warm her. Who or what is 'It'?

WOOT! Done! Sorry for the delay, but now that exams are over, I shall be writing more!

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