AMBER & EMERALD

Author's Note:

Welcome to the 7th chapter! I don't know what has gotten into my mind. I'm not a very fast updater before. I hope you enjoy my current condition: updating as fast as I can. I dunno, but I just love seeing new reviews coming.

Thank you for all of your reviews and enjoy the story!

Disclaimer:

Celon "Merle! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Merle (jumps onto Celon from nowhere) "I'm here!"

Celon "Ouch! Get up from me! I need to do the disclaimer as fast as I can!"

Merle "Hey, you are the one who dragged me here! Be careful, girl, or I'll use your

legs as scratching posts!"

Celon (shudders) "Fine. Merle, do I own Escaflowne?" (puts up a pleading Pokè-

face)

Merle "No, you don't." (yawns)

Celon (breaks into tears, AGAIN)

CHAPTER 7: CODES

'My parents…are…'

Hitomi remained frozen on the floor, letting the flood of memories engulfed her. More tears flew out. She kept still until suddenly a strong and cold voice interrupted, 'They are dead, Hitomi. And you know that you can do nothing about it.'

Realization dawned on her like a thunderbolt, painful, yet it cleared all the wreck in her mind. Fact. It was the only thing that mattered. She lived with the fact, neither with her past— nor with her imagination.

She nearly laughed bitterly at her own condition. She had forgotten her code: 'Fact is life, life is fact.' She wondered why a simple question from Van could break her code at once.

'Perhaps I was just surprised,' she concluded. 'Nobody had talked about my parents in front of me for ages just because they pitied me. Perhaps that question was just too sudden.'

Satisfied with her conclusion, she stood up—or tried to. She hissed when her ankle protested. 'I have to do something with this damn ankle,' she growled inwardly. 'What will SPEAR do if they know that I had sprained my ankle right on a mission day? Amber will laugh at me forever if he knows this.'

Van stepped into his bedroom, his mind kept playing the scene of his previous encounter with Hitomi. Her expression seemed to change into such coldness when her parents were mentioned. 'I wonder why,' Van thought idly, shutting the door behind him.

His gaze fell to the sword that was hanging above the fireplace. It once belonged to his father until he inherited it. He imagined his father's expression if he had known how his sword had been such a useful 'tool' in his son's 'missions'.

He sighed deeply. 'I'm on my own now,' he thought grimly. It was a fact, which happened to also be his code.

He crossed the room and picked up the sword from its usual hanging place. "Time for another mission," he said. Usually he said that in an amused tone—'cause it always reminded him of his encounters with Emerald, yet somehow that day he did not. He had a bad feeling with this mission.

Hitomi had just stepped from her modified library when the phone rang wildly. She dashed to the living room and picked it up. "Moshi moshi. Kanzaki's residence."

"Hitomi? Is that you?"

Hitomi plopped down on a sofa. "Yes, Yukari," she replied, grinning.

"Why did you sound so different?"

Hitomi frowned. "What?"

"Oh, never mind. Hey, are you doing anything tonight?"

"I have an appointment with my battling-partner. Why did you ask so?"

"Well, I was going to ask you to shop with me in that new mall near my house. But it seems that you are having a date, so I think I'll ask Millerna," Yukari said coyly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"

"Ouch, no need to make me deaf, 'Tomi. See you later and enjoy your date!" And she hung up.

Hitomi glared at the phone, glowering with rage. She could feel her face heating up. 'Just wait, Yukari,' she thought, her mind planning thousands ways to get her revenge to Yukari. Well, if looks could kill…, I surely don't want to be the phone which was currently in Hitomi's hand.

TO BE CONTINUED TO CHAPTER 8

Critics are—umm…—quite welcomed. I'm not sure about this chapter. It is…plain. Without anything exciting to happen (sighs). So, what do you say?

Celon Ierith