Hi Everyone

To make up for the late upload last time, I'm uploading a day early.

So here's Chapter 8, as always any feedback you can give is appreciated but not expected.

Anyway I hope you enjoy xx

Chapter 8

Hitomi groaned as she came to. She was feeling a little better and more sure of herself again. It had been 2 days since she'd meet those girls and broke apart with Dilandau in the void. He'd kept her there for several hours until he was certain she'd be ok on her own again. He'd kept hold of her as she cried. He'd also got her laughing by joking about uncomfortable he was trying to be comforting when it would be much easier just to kill the people who made her cry. He'd kept her thoroughly distracted just by talking with her even telling her he'd been proud of her for defending herself. It was kind of sweet how he was trying to help her. They'd eventually ended up discussing his tormenting Celena and her engagement to Van. She'd told him all about her conversation with her father and they made a plan to get her necklace back. But since that night he'd stayed a voice in her head during the day and was pulling her into the void of an evening.

It was interesting to say the least spending the last 2 days with him. Dilandau was fascinated by what Earth had to offer, adjusting easily and likening it to Zaibach's future. She actually showed him who Dornkirk really was and pictures from the industrial age. Needless to say he was already looking forward to joining her on the Mystic Moon. And if he hadn't been with her, she probably would have freaked out that first morning, finding she had been put in her bed and a file & USB left on her desk. She assumed it was the person due to check in on her, especially as the person left a note, but it had set Dilandau on edge. She hadn't checked the USB yet but the file itself was about a club. One, she and Yukari, had made plans to go to until the accident had happened.

And today, like the last 2, she found herself waking up in bed when she hadn't fallen asleep there. The only difference was this was her first day without Dilandau to keep her company. Blurry-eyed, she looked over at her desk to see it had been tidied up and her laptop open on a document with a gift next to it.

'Hitomi, I had hoped you'd be awake so we could finally meet but you was asleep when I came in. You need to stop falling asleep on the sofa. I hope you like your gift and put it to good use at the club tonight. Also your father tried to call so check your messages.'

Deciding to check her messages, she lost her smile finding out her father's business trip was being extended for another 6 weeks at least. With a sigh, she faked a motivating message back & headed to the bathroom to think whilst she got ready for the day. In an additional bid to cheer herself up once she was dressed, she decided to open the gift she was left. She lifted the lid off the box and gently peeled back the tissue paper.

"Clothes?" she asked herself confused, knowing she was well known for her tomboyish sense of style.

She pulled them out slowly and laid it out, finding shoes underneath. It was classy looking but still fit her preferred style. They were clearly going for sophistication whilst keeping with the clubbing feel. She smiled and hung up the clothes ready to wear later. Things looked to be moving forward if her instincts were anything to go by. With a wicked smile, she began to envision having somewhat of a grand entrance back on Gaea. But first… it looks like she had research to do first and foremost.

Gaea

Van watched as Celena walked through the garden from a distance. She wasn't as joyful as she usually was, even with no more nightmares to go through. Since that morning she'd told him about seeing Hitomi in them, her smile was faked and barely reaching her eyes. He felt helpless not being able to help but he'd done his best to distract her, taking her through Fanelia to meet the people. She had been brightening up but today she'd backtracked. He could only assume it was Dilandau making her mood worse.

"She talked to you today at all?" he heard Allen ask from his position leaning back against the pillar out of sight from Celena.

"Not today," Van responded quietly, "She talk to you?"

"No. What about her nightmares? Did she tell you about them?" Allen asked worriedly.

"She thinks she's seeing Hitomi."

"Hitomi? What about Hitomi is she seeing?"

"Her mother and brother were killed. She's been alone, distraught and angry with no friends since it happened."

"Are you second guessing being with Celena?" Allen asked sullenly.

"No. I love Celena, I'm not going to leave her for Hitomi. She's worried about it though. Makes me wish I could speed this all up so we're married and has the ring as a reminder that I choose her."

"I don't think it's a ring you need," Allen stated, "Are you still wearing Hitomi's necklace?"

"I forget it's there to be honest," Van stated, "It's more like I'm just holding onto it until I can give it back now."

"Doesn't mean Celena forgets about it. She's loved you for a few years already despite knowing you were waiting for Hitomi. She's just treading carefully. You did go from loyally waiting to I'm moving on."

"It wasn't that quick a change," Van grumbled.

"So that's what you was really dwelling on. You could have talked to me."

"I know but at the same time I wasn't ready to give up. Losing the connection was like a huge weight off my chest. I didn't have to feel guilty that I thought about Celena as my wife instead of Hitomi. Giving up felt like I was letting everyone down."

"Does Celena know that?"

"First thing I told her when I told her I wanted her as my wife."

Celena was peering at her favourite flowers but she couldn't find her usual happiness. She felt like she was drifting along without any real thought to it and she felt consumed by guilt. She loved that Van and Allen were trying but it just made her feel worse. This was something she had to deal with alone. After all it was even true, then her and her selfishness caused.

'Oh it was definitely your fault. I bet Van would love to help you,' Dilandau laughed, 'All you have to do is tell him your sordid little secret.'

'Just leave me alone,' she sighed.

'Oh but it's so fun. I get to feel what guilt does to a person. If I knew it felt like this, I'd have used this on so many people.'

'How would you even know that?' she asked moving to the tree's.

'I'm a voice in your head. If I'm not here, where do you think I go?' he asked with sarcastic curiosity.

'Nowhere! You vanish.'

'Nowhere. A void. Where I can see the past, the present, and the future. What it should have been and what it might be now. I can watch everything.'

'Everything? Then you can see Hitomi?' she asked leaning against a tree out of sight while Van was distracted as the colour washed away from her surroundings and Dilandau appeared in front of her.

'Oh yes. That nightmare, was what your wish caused. The connection breaking was her suffering grief and anger. Compared to her last 3 years, I'm not surprised she snapped," he stated, slowly turning in a circle.

'Why do you even care? You tried to kill her.'

'Succeeded too. Even if it was via a vision," he smirked evilly, 'Or did Van and Allen skip that during story time? They haven't really told you what Hitomi did for them have they? Or how they neglected to teach her to defend herself even though she was in the center of it all? Or why you, Millerna and all the other Royal or Noble Women are taught enough defence to get away from an attacker now? After all, even you thought they made her sound like a weapon.'

'No that's not… It was just a stupid thought and the circumstances…'

'That's not true. You can't fool me, I'm in your head,' he grinned, 'They see her as a weapon, a trump card. They think she'll come back all smiles and willing to do anything to help them like the naïve girl they believe her to be because they don't want to think she's anything other than what they want her to be. Here, see for yourself!"

She was blinded by images one after the other of Hitomi and her life after returning to the Mystic Moon. She didn't know she had fallen to her knee's and gripping her head in reality, crying as she was bombarded by it, for the guilt she felt and her sorrow for Hitomi.

'Make it stop!" she yelled keeping her eyes shut unaware she'd said it aloud, alerting Allen and Van to her distress.

'Now why would I do that? This gives me a whole new sense of torture,' he cackled as he kneeled down in front of her, 'And I'm having so much fun with it.'

'Why can't you just leave me alone?' she cried.

'Because you're stuck with me for eternity and the only way you could get rid of me is if little Hitomi had her necklace or willing to help you. That girl has some fire in her and it's not so forgiving these days,' he stated before cackling and letting her go back to reality, 'Don't worry I won't get in the way of your alone time with Van.'

"Celena are you ok?" Van asked cupping her face in his hands, whilst Dilandau continued to cackle in her mind.

"No," she sobbed latching her arms around his neck and crying into his shoulder.

"Let's get you back inside," he murmured as he lifted her in a bridal style and set off for a secluded room with Allen walking beside him watching his sister in concern.

By the time, they found a room she'd fallen asleep but was still hiccupping every so often with tears still falling. Van laid her down carefully on a sofa and placed a nearby blanket over her before walking away from her a little.

"We've seen this before," Allen stated grimly, "You don't think she's seeing visions like Hitomi now do you?"

"It's not like Hitomi but it's definitely similar," Van answered.

"She hasn't acted strange at all before now?"

"No not like that time you told me she changed into Dilandau. She said her nightmare was about Hitomi. Could be something like that," Van suggested.

"If this gets out, people will think she has the same power as Hitomi," Allen stated firmly, trying to hide the panic from his voice.

"No one will find out. Let's wait till she wakes up and find out what happened then. If it's anything we need to worry about we'll have to talk with Millerna and Dryden," Van stated, "Until then we'll just keep an eye on her."

"The fact there's another possible war coming and this happening with Celena right after you connection to Hitomi severs. This isn't a coincidence Van. If Hitomi comes back, we need her to stop this and help Celena."

"I'm sure she will. But we'll have to keep her close so we know what' coming ahead of time. And the enemy can't know she's with us."

"If need be we can hide her in the castle," Allen added, "If we tell her it's for her own safety, she'll do what we ask."

Hitomi looked in the mirror at herself, slightly surprised that it was really her looking back at her. She'd done her make up with a dark smoky style, something Yukari had showered her how to do, whilst her hair had a wavy style to it. But the outfit was quickly becoming her new favourite look, even if she wouldn't have considered buying it for herself previously. The high waisted leather look skinny jeans was paired with a pair of peep toe pumps and a one shoulder crop top with one fanned out chiffon sleeve that was only slightly longer than her arm. Whilst the jeans were black, the top was a dark emerald green. She felt a little gothic but at the same time she felt confident and powerful. It was amazing what a little makeover could do for a girl.

With a smile, she headed downstairs briefly wondering what Dilandau was doing since he was making an appearance with Celena. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass for a quick drink of water when she felt something. She sighed and turned around with a glare as the colour around her vanished and Varie appeared.

"I thought you would have taken the hint by now that I'm not interested in helping Gaea through another war," she said.

"Hitomi, please hear me out," she pleaded, "Van…"

"Told me to wait for him. That he would bring me back, even though he had no intention to because he was in love with Celena. Van speaks about me like I'm a weapon and thinks I'll do anything for them because I must be the same girl I used to be. Naïve and terrified, doing whatever I could to be safe with them," Hitomi answered angrily, "And you didn't help with that either, telling me my fear was causing an unhappy future."

"I only meant for you to find happiness before…"

"Well that didn't happen did it? Instead I was terrified, and no one helped with that, what did you think would happen?"

"You're right.. and I'm sorry. We thought it would help but instead it made it worse for you," Varie said quietly, looking regretful.

"I do get whatever this is," she said waving her arm around, "You want to help your son with the new war. But assuming I'll drop everything and risk everything without knowing what I've been through was your biggest mistake. If you want to help your son, then do it yourself. Do not drag me into this because you will not like the results."

"I can't," she stated, "But this path you're set on following it will lead to another war. One of your own creation. Gaea needs…"

"I don't care what Gaea needs. I am not Gaea's tool to maintain order for them. I am my own person. If I get involved it'll be my choice, for my own reason, and to get what I want at the end of it. Not to do what you want or what Van and Allen expect me or want me to do for them. I suggest you look in on your son before attempting this again!" she sneered.

"Hitomi," Varie paused, "For what it's worth, I am sorry you've suffered and continue to do so."

"If you were, we wouldn't be talking in the first place. Someone had to suffer, I was just the scapegoat for it. God forbid you suffer for it or anyone on Gaea."

"I had to leave…"

"You choose to leave your son, when he was grieving the loss of his father and brother," she said, "Now if you don't mind, I have plans."

Varied nodded and disappeared. Hitomi just turned around with a smile and finally had that glass of water. Normally she'd have felt guilty for treating anyone like she had Varie but instead she was giddy that she was able to knock the woman off her pedestal. Dilandau probably would regret missing it. She grabbed her purse off the table and headed to the door ready to leave, just as someone knocked.

"Hello?" she greeted, confused by the appearance of a man in a suit.

"Good Evening Miss Kanzaki," the man greeted, "I'll be your driver for this evening."

"Ok, but I didn't..."

"We were booked by a gentleman who wants to remain anonymous and advised us this would be a surprise for you," the man explained with a smile, "Are you ready to go?"

"Lead the way," she answered locking the door and taking his arm when offered to her so he could lead her to a limo.

She smiled brightly as the door was opened for her and she got in, excited for the first time in what seemed like forever. She felt like this was something she may have to get used to in the future but for now it was a welcome change even if it was just for the nightclub. When they pulled up outside the club's VIP entrance, the driver helped her out of the car before speaking with a bouncer who led her inside.

"I hope you enjoy your evening with us Miss Kanzaki. The show will be beginning shortly and the sole reason this club exists, it's definitely something you don't want to miss," the bouncer stated as he led her to a table and pulled the chair out for her, "This table is yours for the night and all your drinks are being paid for by an anonymous gentleman so just signal the bartender when you need one."

"Thank you."

She sat down and looked around in wonder. It was a large club with the VIP area looking like a lounge covering the left hand side of the club, the stage overseeing both the normal and VIP area. The club as a whole had a dark art deco feel with neon lighting at the bars and doors leading outside. After finally looking at the USB which had links to customer's reviews of the club and blurry videos of a show, she was looking forward to seeing what the fuss was about. While she waited, she settled for a fruity red wine to sip from and watched the people on the dancefloor. She'd never done anything like this or even conserved not wanting to betray Van in any way. She's missed the last of her youth being loyal to a man she couldn't even meet. Now regret and awkwardness filled her at the thought of wanting to join in.

She didn't dwell on it for long, the music fading into quiet distracting her whilst the crowd cheered as the lights went out as well. She looked over at the stage with intrigue and excitement. The music, singing and lights started all at once like a bomb had dropped and the crowd ate it up. The two women on stage moved fluidly around each other as they danced and sang. When the song came to an end she was finally able to get a look at them. She had a feeling they were familiar but she couldn't place it just yet.

"We hope you enjoy our show tonight," the one on the right stated.

"Because we certainly will knowing we have a close friend here tonight," the one of the left added.

She narrowed her eyes as she tried to place the voice with a face. It wasn't until the two took off their black tops to reveal crop tops and looked at her that she realised who they were. She smiled and waved back quickly to show she recognised them. She couldn't believe it was actually them and she didn't recognise them.

She watched with glee and cheered along with everyone else as the show continued. An hour later, she watched as the girls announced they were taking a break and would be back on the stage in half an hour. She noticed a subtle gesture from them and sat in her seat, waiting. It had barely been 5 minutes when the 2 platinum blondes came into the VIP area. They both smiled when they spotted her and swallowed her in a hug as she stood up.

"I can't believe you found us," one said.

"We always hoped you would," the other said.

"I can't believe you're in my town and... like this," Hitomi stated "How long have you been here?"

"2 years," they answered together finally letting her go.

"Ok, now you look like this, I can't tell you apart. Which of you is which?" she asked jokingly.

"Oh that's easy. Here look," they said and showed her earrings, Gold for Eriya and Silver for Naria.

"We wear more jewellery during the day but on stage we wear some clothing in our colours," Eriya stated.

"It's good to see you again. Did you travel from out of town?"

"No I live half hours drive away, lived here my whole life," Hitomi said, "I can't believe we've been this close this whole time."

"Try remembering 2 lives. How did you find us?"

"That's a long story. Too long for your break," she answered with a smile.

"Stay behind till we finish. We'll grab some bottle from the bar and we can grab some clothes for tomorrow so we can catch up tonight," Naria suggested.

"Naria…"

"It's fine. The only plans I have tomorrow are to visit my mom and brother."

"We could come with you," Eriya suggested, "It would be nice to meet your family."

"They're at the cemetery."

"Oh Hitomi, I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"Don't be. It wasn't you that caused the accident," Hitomi said.

"Hit..."

"What flowers did your mother like?" Eriya asked, "We'll buy them and go with you to pay our respects."

"Oh you don't..."

"We want to," Naria stated, "We're your friends."

"Thanks," Hitomi smiled, "You 2 have a show to do. Get up there and rock it."

"Got a special request?" they asked.

"Something that says 'fuck the world and their expectations'."

"I think we can do that."

So that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

For anyone who's a beyblade fan, I've uploaded my latest chapter for my new Beyblade Story, 4 Queens - another slow burner but I'm partial to long stories lol

As always, any feedback is great feedback, but it's not expected.

I'll be uploading the next chapter on 22nd October.

Until next time xx