Author's Notes
Hello everyone! First of all, I am SOOOOO sorry for taking SO long to update. Did you think I'd given up on this story? NO! I deeply apologize for the long delay, but I have good reasons for it:
1 – I had no internet for a week
2 – The last weeks have been hell with my final tests of the year
3 – Next week I start my final exams, which are REALLY important
4 – I am a perfectionist. You people have NO idea how many times I've written and erased this chapter until I was satisfied.
I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews, especially since my last chapter was Van-less. To make it up to you, there will be plenty of Van in this chapter. I am trying to think of a way to make my romance sweet but not lame… it is a hard job. Now enjoy this chapter, which is the bigger one yet (yay!), and please review afterwards.
"You're right."
Hitomi froze. After the last stressful 24 hours she was a bit edgy. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how to breathe. Her heart was beating way too quickly than it should.
"Hitomi? Are you okay? It's me, Van." He said
She sighed with relief and opened her eyes. Smiling softly, she shook her head and said "I'm okay. Don't worry. Good morning!"
Van gave her a small smile and looked straight forward. Two seconds later his eyes widened and he paled. Hitomi turned to look at what seemed to be frightening him and she saw a pink-haired girl running towards them.
Before Hitomi could blink, the girl jumped and hugged Van fiercely. He stood there, extremely uncomfortable, trying to release himself from the girl's death grip.
The girl raised her head to look at Van's face and squealed "Van! You're here! How are you? Did you miss me!"
Van rolled his eyes and sighed "Yes Merle. I'm fine. Yeah yeah…"
The girl named Merle finally released Van and looked at him with a huge smile and sparkling eyes. Hitomi watched the whole scene with interest.
That Merle was really crazy. Hitomi had heard of her… they went to the same school but Merle was 2 years younger than Hitomi. Merle was everything but shy, had pink hair that reached her shoulders (obviously not her natural colour), golden tan, huge nails that she kept perfectly manicured and wore lots of makeup.
There were rumors saying that Merle loved to flirt with guys but never gave them a real chance because she had been in love with a guy for years. Nobody knew who the guy was and Merle never told anyone.
After about 2 minutes of staring at Van, Merle finally noticed Hitomi. "Who are you and what are you doing with Van!" The happy face she had a minute ago was transformed into an angry look.
"She's Hitomi. She's my friend. Now Merle, go to school and I'll see you at lunch break, ok?" Van said.
Merle didn't sound too pleased but smiled anyway and said "Okay Van, I'll see you later!"
Hitomi looked at Van with an eyebrow raised "Is she your girlfriend?".
He was surprised and raised an eyebrow himself "Merle? No, of course not. She's my cousin. I live next to her now. Why?"
She acted innocent and said "Oh… nothing…" Guys can be so dense! Just because she's his cousin she won't fall for him? Please!
They got to school a couple of minutes later. Van had been place in Hitomi's class so they walked together to the classroom. When they passed the door everyone was already seated and started staring at them. Hitomi cleared her throat to call the teacher's attention.
Unfortunately it was History class… Mr. Miguel Cravo's class, so she wasn't spared a lecture "Miss Kanzaki! You're 4 minutes late! I hope you have a good excuse or else you'll stay here after class!"
Van stepped forward and defended her "She was helping me find the classroom". That didn't seem to calm the teacher, who glared at him "Was I talking to you? You must be the new kid. I'll let go this lack of respect because it's your first day here but from now on you will only speak when I tell you to, are we understood?"
Van gulped and held back his anger "Yes, sir"
Mr. Cravo looked at Hitomi and said "You, on the other hand, are not new here. For your disrespect for the rules you'll stay here after classes and do detention". Hitomi sighed "Yes sir" and both her and Van took their seats.
When it was time for lunch break, Hitomi saw Van leave class in a big hurry. She was a bit confused at first but understood when Merle came to her a couple of minutes later asking "Is Van here? He said we'd meet at lunch break but I can't find him anywhere!".
Hitomi smirked on the inside but kept an innocent look on the outside "Oh really? Oh I have no idea where he is…"
After all the classes of the day, Hitomi made her way to the classroom where she was supposed to do detention with Mr. Cravo. She was less than thrilled about it, so she made a point not to walk too fast.
She knocked on the door, silently praying he wasn't there, but found all her hopes shattered when she heard the dreadful "Come in".
Hitomi took a seat and grabbed her pencil, preparing for the assignment. Mr. Cravo handed her something and said "This is a little something for you to entertain yourself." The «little something» was a 6 page test… a joke from his evil, twisted mind, Hitomi thought.
While she was taking the test, she could feel his eyes on her. When she looked up he was staring at her pendant, which was hanging from her neck. Hitomi felt uneasy and decided to put the pendant under her shirt. Mr. Cravo seemed angry for that, but didn't say anything.
After detention, Hitomi decided to take a walk on the school's garden before leaving school. The sun was setting and the marble statue standing in the middle of the garden was bathed in orange light. Hitomi saw someone lying on his back on the grass. When she came closer she realized it was Van.
He had his arms crossed behind his head, eyes closed and an expression of total peace. Hitomi came closer until she was only one step away from him. Van immediately woke up and looked at her startled. When he realized who it was he relaxed.
"Oh, it's you Hitomi. Hey" he said. She smirked and said "Hi. You know… Merle asked me where you were… funny how you were nowhere to be found"
Van sighed "She's been chasing me around all day. She doesn't understand that I just want to be alone…"
Hitomi felt both sad and insulted "Oh… then I'll leave you alone…"
His eyes widened and he sat up "Wait! I'm sorry. I didn't mean you. You can stay. You're not bothering me"
She shook her head and smiled relieved "I have to go anyway, I'm already late"
"Are you going home? I'll walk you there."
"No, I'm not. I'm going to the hospital." She said.
"The hospital? Why? Are you sick?" he asked, with an eyebrow raised.
She gave a small laugh "Oh, no! I'm a volunteer there."
He gave a small smile "Do you like it?"
"Volunteering? Yes. I've been at that hospital for almost 2 years. I've met some nice people."
"Cool" he said, smiling softly "Can I walk you there?"
Hitomi blushed but nodded. They started walking there slowly, stealing glances of each other every now and then.
Van had a peaceful expression and didn't look nervous at all. That only made Hitomi feel worse, who'd been holding her pendant like her life depended on it. Ever since she was a child, she would always hold on to her pendant to calm her nerves.
She was never good dealing with guys. The truth was… she'd never even been kissed before. If any of the other girls found out, she'd be teased to death, so she kept her non-existent love life all to herself. When they were 12, Yukari had asked her if she had ever kissed a boy and Hitomi lied and said yes. Yukari believed that, but knew very well that Hitomi had never had a boyfriend before. So now here was Hitomi, thinking about her very boring life and how she shouldn't even delusion herself that Van would even want anything with her besides friendship.
Looking up, she saw the hospital's entrance a few steps away. She was already grieving about her walk with Van being finished. She said the words she'd been dreading to say… "We're here…"
Van looked at the hospital like he hadn't even noticed they'd walked so much. He'd also been deep in thought, much deeper than Hitomi it seemed. He asked "So… how long will you be working?"
Hitomi stared at the ground and sighed "Until 10…" she looked at him hopefully "Why?"
Van feigned nonchalance and just stared at the sky, his face not showing even a glimpse of his feelings. Hitomi was already starting to hate that, not knowing what he was feeling or thinking because he hid it so well.
He spoke "Maybe I could meet you here when you ere done and we could go for a walk or something…". If nonchalance was a sport, Hitomi mused, Van would be world champion.
Her heart seemed to glow with happiness. Hitomi smiled brightly at him and spoke softly "I'd like that". Without thinking, Hitomi stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then walked away from him.
Van seemed to blush a bit, though it might have been an optic illusion due to the light… or not. He cleared his throat and turned his face away, then said "Okay then… I'll be here at 10"
Hitomi walked towards the hospital's staff door and before going through it she turned to look behind her. Van was still standing where she'd left him and she thought he might have been watching her walk away. Her heart swelled with happiness and she had a big smile plastered on her face that she thought would never fade.
She went to the changing room and opened her locker. It was as empty as always, with only one extra set of clean clothes and a bag where she kept all that she needed to take a shower after work. It wasn't rare that a patient would throw up all over her when she was adjusting his pillow, or a stubborn one would throw his soup bowl at her when she tried to feed him. Oh no, the shower was a must.
Hitomi took off her school uniform and folded it neatly, putting it on the locker. She put on the uniform that she always wore at the hospital and brushed her hair. When she was all set, she left the changing room and headed for the elevator.
Some nurses got in the elevator with her, talking and laughing loudly like they didn't care who they bothered… and this was a hospital, after all. One of them, a tall, fake blonde with a cup size that was not so natural, looked Hitomi from top to bottom.
"Oh look what the cat's brought in!" the Barbie woman mused.
Hitomi never felt so naked, not only from that woman's cruel stare but also because she was wearing something that felt like nothing and she could feel the cool air-conditioned trespassing the thin fabric.
Still, she gathered her strength and glared at the woman "Oh look, the bitch is back. And here I thought you'd already gone off to marry some senile oldman to get his fortune…"
The woman was infuriated and pushed Hitomi against the wall of the elevator "Look here slut, don't you talk to me like that, do you hear me? You're worthless! You're nothing but an ugly kid!"
At that moment they heard the familiar ping sound and the elevator doors opened. They'd reached Hitomi's floor. Hitomi just gave a fake smile and walked away from the women. When she was out of the elevator Hitomi turned around and said "I heard you loud and clear Lola" then gave them a serious menacing look while she finished "And if you ever threaten me like that again, I'll kill you".
Then the elevator doors closed and Hitomi stood there alone, trying to calm her nerves. She didn't really mean the threat and she knew it, but she hoped Lola didn't know it too. It had just been rage talking.
A gentle hand was laid on her shoulder, followed by a gentle voice "Were they bugging you again?".
She turned around and a shook her head, smiling sadly "I expected as much. Now that leader-bitch Lola came back from her vacation it was inevitable that we'd meet"
Hitomi stared at big brown eyes that seemed to soothe her. The voice said "You know, Hitomi, that if you say the word I can slap them around a bit."
That did it… Hitomi burst out laughing. She managed to stop after a couple of minutes and said "Thanks Gaddes, but I think I'll leave it to fate to punish them. I'm sure soon Lola's high-heels will get stuck somewhere and she'll fall flat on her face."
The two friends walked down the hall still laughing, but not loudly as the crazy women. Gaddes was a doctor at the hospital. He was 10 years older than Hitomi, had short brown hair and muscular figure. He was very tall and, you could say, good-looking.
When Hitomi started working at the hospital, he was the first one to welcome her. Well, he himself hadn't been there much longer than her. He started working at the hospital about a week before Hitomi.
Everything was going as usual, Gaddes checking out patients and Hitomi helping out whoever needed. At least today nobody had thrown up all over her, she could be glad for that. Hitomi kept thinking about Van and the fact that she'd be with him in a few moments… and she was getting pretty nervous.
Hitomi clutched her pendant in her hand tightly, trying to calm down. As soon as she remembered how to breathe again she tucked her pendant under her uniform. There were only 10 minutes left before she met Van, so now all she had to do was check out the rooms to see if everything was okay and head down to the changing room.
She turned to Gaddes, who was now reading some patient's chart, and said "Hey Gaddes, I'm going to do a last check up and then I'm out of here"
He lifted his head from the chart and mocked her "Hmmm… you usually stay here almost half an hour past you time… why is it so important to leave on time today?" then he raised his right eyebrow "Got a hot date tonight?"
Hitomi blushed profusely and quickly turned away from him "No! I'm meeting a friend…"
He faked a sweet voice "Whatever you say…"
Hitomi left him and went to check the patients' rooms.
First room… okay. Second room… okay. Third room… okay. Everything seemed to be fine. Everyone was sleeping comfortably and the windows were all shut. When Hitomi went to check on the last room she saw a patient lying on a bed coughing loudly. She approached him, put a hand on the bed's headboard and another on the mattress and leaned in to ask him "Sir, are you okay?"
At that moment he stopped coughing and looked at her. He sat up, sliding one hand under the sheet, grabbing something.
Looking closer, she could see he had gold earrings and looked a bit familiar. He then spoke quietly "Hello honey, I told you I'd be back" and he pulled a gun from under the sheet, pointing it at her "Now, if you'll be a good girl you'll do as I say and nobody will be hurt."
Hitomi could feel her heart stop, fear creeping up her spine, the hairs in the back of her neck standing. There it was, the same guy who threatened her at the ice-cream shop, only now he had no sunglasses.
She tried to remain calm. Think Hitomi, think! What can I do! Suddenly she got an idea. She slowly, very slowly, moved her hand that was resting on the headboard and tried to locate the button to call the nurses' station. Gaddes was there, if he heard the call he would come. Hitomi had to keep eye contact with the man on the bed so he wouldn't see what she was doing. Just 3 seconds after he had spoken, she found the button and pressed it.
She said, breathlessly, to him "What do you want from me?"
He gave her a nasty smile "I don't want anything from you, princess. My boss does. All you have to do is be a good girl and help him with your powers and everyone will be happy"
Hitomi gave him a small humorless laugh before saying "If your boss needs to send idiots with guns to make me cooperate, then I don't think it's anything I'd want to be a part of, even if I had powers, which I don't"
He glared at her and leaned the gun against her right cheek "I'd watch my mouth if I were you. Now let's go—"
He was interrupted when Gaddes entered the room and, as Hitomi expected, was shocked by what he saw but, as Hitomi definitely didn't expect, pulled out a gun and spoke with a tone Hitomi had never heard before "Let her go!"
The man jumped out of the bed and pushed Hitomi against his chest, pointing the gun to her neck. He said with an amused tone "Oh look! It's one of the heroes! Don't move or your little angel dies!" and he pushed the gun even more against Hitomi's neck to make a point.
Gaddes wasn't impressed and only answered "You wouldn't kill her, she's too precious to you!"
Hitomi felt like fainting or throwing up. Her heart beat fast and her mind was incapable of rational thought. After Gaddes spoke, she felt her pendant glow bright and hot. Suddenly, the man let her go like she was burning and shouted "You little bitch!"
Hitomi didn't even think twice before taking advantage of that little distraction and started running out of the room. When she was going through the door she heard Gaddes, who hadn't taken his eyes off the golden-earring guy, say "Go through the fire ladder!"
She didn't dare doubt him and sprinted down the long hall. At the end of the hall there was a small window, big enough for her to get through, which she quickly opened to jump to the fire ladder. She was on the 6th floor, so it was high enough to make her legs start shaking with fear when she looked down.
Before she started going down the latter she heard a gun shot and prayed in her mind that Gaddes was okay. Hitomi was going down the fire ladder when a bullet almost hit her, and she ran even faster but looked up to see that evil man at the window shouting "Your friend's down. If you don't come here now, it's your turn next!"
Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. Oh Gaddes, I'm so sorry… it's all my fault. She was running as fast as she could.
Hitomi saw Van a few meters away and felt like calling him, but couldn't take the risk of him getting shot. The madman by the window was still trying to hit her. Still, Van saw her. His eyes widened and he saw the man trying to shoot Hitomi while she ran down the ladder. Van ran to her without hesitation.
Hitomi kept running until she found the end of the ladder… which was still 4 meters away from the ground. She stopped.
Van stopped right under her and looked up to her and shouted "Jump Hitomi!"
She was trembling all over and shouted back "I can't! It's too high!"
Van didn't even think twice before shouting "I'll catch you! Come on, jump!"
Hitomi now had tears running down her cheeks and was so scared out of her mind that she just closed her eyes and jumped. Van caught her graciously in his strong arms, bridal style, and quickly put her down, taking her hand and starting to run.
"Come on Hitomi! Run!"
She did exactly as he said… as she tried to borrow some courage from him.
Post Chapter's Author's Notes:
It took a lot of my imagination to make these scenes come true. Even if some bits don't correspond to reality, let's just pretend they do. Did you like it? Didn't like it? Please review and tell me about it!
