Epilogue: Together Yoyokagirinaku

Author's note: Here is the epilogue of this entire story. This epilogue is a bit different compared to the chapters since it's in a brighter atmosphere. I hope this explains everything. Also, I will put up a forum for the two chapters. Any questions, comments? Don't hesitate to ask away and comment this story. So, enjoy!

Hitomi shut her sketchbook after she finally finished another page of a manga she created for her work at a popular manga production in Tokyo. Making sure that she placed her utensils in a safe place, she placed all her art stuff into the drawer. After she closed the drawer, her phone started ringing across the room. Quickly, she stood from her seat and dashed to the phone. Grabbing the headset, she answered.

"Mushi, mushi," she replied. A smile passed her face when the voice answered her. "Hi, honey. Where are you?" As she began to talk with the person on the other line, she came across a picture right next to the phone. In that photo was her and a tall, dashing young man lying together near the shores of the beach, looking out into the beautiful ocean on a warm, sunny day. "Oh really? I see. I'm sorry to hear that. I'll make sure dinner is extra special, okay?" Hitomi frowned. "No, it's not instant ramen. One of these days, those things will get to you. I mean it. I can't see why you love that stuff. Huh?" Hitomi blushed. "Oh! Be quiet! Well, I'll see you in a bit. Uh-huh. Aishiteru. Ja!" Hitomi pushed the end call button and placed the headset back into its proper place. She heaved a sigh as she went into the kitchen to check with her cooking.

Two hours passed since she hung up and Hitomi was putting the finishing touches with her cooking. When she finished adding in some seasoning, the door to her apartment opened. She heard it close after a while. She took this as her cue to come in.

"I'm home!"

Hitomi smiled as she saw her husband come in, tired from today's lectures as he set his backpack down near the bookcase. When he saw Hitomi appear, his tired face lightened and walked to her to greet her. "Welcome home, Van…"

On that day on the beach, Van returned to her. Her whole family was shocked when Hitomi suddenly hugged the young stranger, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a leech. Hitomi's mother knew when she saw them hugging and welcomed Van with open arms. Hitomi the explained to her family and friends how they met, their adventures, and on and on. It was hard for them to accept it at first, but they accepted it eventually since it made sense why she was missing for almost two months. That was how the picture near the phone came to be as Van and Hitomi were lying on their sides next to each other on a white blanket. Van held her close when they gazed at the sea. Yukari was the one who took it since she wanted to take pictures of the eventful day. They weren't looking when Yukari took it and gave it to them as Hitomi's birthday present.

How did Van come here was unknown to Hitomi. Van explained that their feelings are connected. Hitomi took some time think about it and finally understood. She was grateful about it now that Van came here. So, time passed by, with their time together precious and filled with love all the way. They did things like a normal couple. Hitomi's wish had come true.

Shortly after Hitomi's birthday, Van proposed to her, which shocked Hitomi. She said yes enthusiastically. They married on the first day of spring, in the same beach where they found each other again.

Since then, they are living happily. Van's money from Fanelia happened to buy the most expensive apartment in Tokyo, which is the current apartment they are living in right now and buy his way into one of the prestigious colleges. While Hitomi is working in a manga production, Van went to school, furthering his study in politics to further his knowledge in making Fanelia more prosperous than ever before.

Van smiled and hugged his wife, feeling relaxed and comfortable in her arms. Slowly, Van leaned in and kissed her passionately, catching her off guard. "Van," she sighed, almost fainting from his passionate kiss. "Do you really miss me that much?" Van smiled on her lips and kissed her deeply. "Okay, okay," Hitomi said as she gently pulled away. "If we keep doing this, we won't eat our dinner until probably the next century." Van gave her one last kiss before sitting himself back on the couch, sighing.

"What are we having?" he asked, laying his head on one of the comfy pillows that Hitomi's mother made for them as a wedding gift.

"Your favorite," she said. Van's face suddenly lifted. "No, like I said, it's not ramen." Van's face fell. "Van, please, for heaven's sake, stop eating ramen. I know college life takes most of your time, but eating ramen all the time isn't healthy." Hitomi looked at the ceiling with a thoughtful look on her face. "It makes me wonder how you work the microwaves when I am not home."

"Don't remind me." Van stood up and went into the kitchen with Hitomi. He watched her professionally cook, sniffing in the wonderful smell. "I'll set the table."

"But…I don't want you to do that when you're tired…" Hitomi protested.

"I insist, darling," he said. Every time he said that word, Hitomi would always feel goose bumps. Hitomi frowned and playfully slapped him on the arm. How dare he make her feel like this?

After Van finished setting up for dinner, he went into their room and studied for bit until dinner was ready. There were a lot of information that Van needed to study and it was hard enough for him since he had one bad professor that he must study independently. He was still trying to get the language in this world. Van rubbed his eyes by the time he finished a chapter. All ready he was too tired of reading and was ready to eat. He looked at the clock nearby to see it was nearly eight. He laid down his pen and went out to see what was wrong.

"Hitomi?" he called. "Anything wrong?" No answer was heard. Worried, he looked around for her. "Hitomi?" He looked in the kitchen to find that she wasn't there check the cooking. "Hitomi!" He looked at the entrance to find that the door is open. Van rush out of the door to find her leaning against the wall, their mail scattering the entire floor. "Hitomi!" he cried, rushing to her aid. "Are you alright? Hitomi!" Van carried her inside and laid her gently on the couch. "What happened?"

"Don't worry. I just feel a little faint," she said, holding his hand. "Don't worry, I'm fine…"

"Don't over do it. You rest for a bit. I'll get dinner ready," he said and got up, not noticing the glow she possessed in that tired smile of hers. "That's what you get for pulling an all-nighter. I'm going to call your boss one of these days to force you to stop working so hard."

"But, do you know my number?"

Van paused. "Umm…well…"

"That's why we have book with people's name and phone numbers. Specifically, a phonebook, honey. Geez, you still have a lot to learn…"

He grumbled grumpily like a little kid since she ruined his pride. He began with the pot in front of him. For some reason, there were a lot of pots in front of him, ranging from fried gyoza (which Hitomi hates to eat), Sukiyaki, Yakisoba, curry (which she also hates since that is the bottom of her list of favorite foods to eat), and all kinds of things that he couldn't describe. "Hitomi. Is this all for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes. Today, I'm carving all those things, especially my least favorite foods. So I made a lot. I hope you have empty stomach!"

Van sighed. "One of these days, I'm going to starve if she continues to eat like this. Much less our budget will go down the drain since we're spending too much on groceries these days," he muttered. Van looked at the Sukiyaki to find a lot of tofu (his best friend), noodles, cabbage, and green onions. He smiled. Hitomi knows how to satisfy his stomach. If only he knew what to satisfy hers since he usually makes ramen for dinner. He smiled again. He began to remember how it took a while for him to work out the microwave. Hitomi said she wanted him to learn how to use the microwave during his first few months of his stay. She put water into the little carton and told him how. There were so many buttons that he couldn't even find the start button. After a while, he overcooked the ramen since he put the timer for thirty minutes since he thought that meant three minutes. Shaking his head so he wouldn't go down memory lane, he looked at the Yakisoba to find it extra fried and crispy. He raises an eyebrow on that. Finally, after five minutes, he placed the last plate on the table. Hitomi walks in and sat with Van. The first thing she did was she gathered a lot of things happily in her plate. Van, in front of her, looked at her as if she was crazy. "Hitomi, are you sure you're okay?" he asked. Something in the back of his mind told him something suspicious was happening to Hitomi. First, she looked like she was about to die. Then, she suddenly perked up like a sunflower, grabbing a huge amount of food that didn't seem like her usual amount during dinner.

"Of course!" Hitomi beamed as she stuffed a fatty tuna into her mouth. "Why?"

"Uhh…it's nothing…" Van said.

Van's suspicions grew. She seemed TOO happy for someone who just cooked, almost fainted, and hard at work. Van thought more about the recent events. Hitomi is not going to work at her usual time at seven am. Rather, she is going to work at 10, comes home seven hours later, preparing dinner, have some alone time with him after studying, and go to sleep early at 11. Usually she stays up until two o clock in the morning to finish her work.

In addition, she has outrageous carvings that makes him want to use his wings and fly rather than use the stupid contraption called a "train" he must deal with during rush hours and go to different places just to get her that carving. He scratched his head. "What in the world is going on?"

Hitomi ate most of the dinner while Van consumed less since his mind kept on going in circles about the recent events and Hitomi's health. She looked at him to see that his mind was wheeling all possible answers. Hitomi wanted to laugh. Now she really got his attention. She loved it when she plays with his mind since she knows something he doesn't. "I just found out today. I wonder how he would react?" Hitomi thought as she snickered. Van looked up. Immediately, Hitomi hummed happily and ate, still adding points to Van's suspicion meter.

Van wanted to scream. "That woman is going to drive me insane!"

Thirty minutes passed and Hitomi sighed. He still didn't get it. Van is a smart boy. She knows since he only learned their language in only four months since his stay here. But, he is completely dense when it comes to noticeable things like this. She nodded. She decided to tell him. She couldn't hold the news any longer.

"Van…" she said suddenly, causing Van to pause his mind from wheeling. "There is…something I need to tell you…" Van's face instantly fell when he looked at the seriousness in Hitomi's eyes. Could it be that she had this chronic illnesses that people in that box were saying? Van shook his head. No, she's young and healthy. How can she have any of those? Maybe a relapse from what happened five years ago? Van shook his head again. No, that couldn't be possible. Van held her hand when he went to her side.

"Are you ill?" he dared to ask. "I'll take you to the doctor immediately."

"No, it's not that. It's something we, together, must deal with in our entire lives." She waited to see if Van got that hint, but, as dense as he is, he didn't. Hitomi sighed and grabbed his hand, placing it over her stomach. Van raised an eyebrow by this action.

"No…it couldn't be…" Van's face raised in horror. This was much, MUCH worse than any illness on earth. No wonder his wife was acting strange. "It's the time of the month, isn't it?"

"NO! It's not!" she said. "Not for a long while at least." Gently, she placed her hand over his, her eyes softened. "The reason I'm not quite acting like myself is…well…well…" Van's face inched closer to hers with an agonizing look on his face. "Well…I'm pregnant…"

Words rushed through him like a speeding bullet. He couldn't grasp what she said. "W-what?"

"We're going to have a baby…"

Van's reaction was unknown to Hitomi when he didn't here a response from him. He looked like the wind knocked him out. Hitomi raised one eyebrow. "Van?" she asked. "Honey, can you say something?" Van's eyes soon returned to normal from shockness. At first, he looked at her distastefully as if he didn't want this baby to come. Hitomi felt depressed when she looked at that expression. Before she could shed a tear, she heard a loud thump in front of her. Quickly, she opened her eyes to find that Van…fainted.

"Van!" she called. "Are you alright?"

"I can't believe I'll be a father…I can't believe I'll be a father," Van repeatedly said unconsciously with a goofy smile on his lips. Hitomi didn't know if he was relieved that she didn't have any illnesses or he was insane with happiness. All Hitomi knew was that this experience will not be easy.

Hitomi's predictions came true.

For nine months, there were a lot of ups and downs for the young couple. Mostly Van since he had to deal with a lot of mood swings and the horror of satisfying all these outrageous carvings Hitomi had. He even had to give up his precious ramen since Hitomi (despite her protest for him to eat that high salt, fattening, and generically made stuff) carved for it. Along with school, studying, and taking care of Hitomi in his schedule, Van was always tired at the end of the day and slept.

Although it was torture for him to endure such long months, those nine months flew by quickly. Before he knew it, he was taking Hitomi to the hospital. It was the eve of his birthday on White, 12th moon (or April 7th on Earth). It was only 11:55 am when Hitomi began to feel huge contractions every five minutes. Hitomi instantly woke him up from his sleep and urgently told him to rush her to the hospital. He didn't wake up at first since he was too sleepy to even notice her pain. Then when she said the baby was coming, everything turned hectic.

So now, their family and friends are all in the hospital waiting room, waiting patiently for the baby to come. The only one who didn't sit and wait patiently was Van. He was pacing back and forth, worry filtered his mind.

"Van, please, sit down," Yukari said worriedly. It's good that Van is worried for Hitomi's sake. But it isn't good for him to panic. They will soon panic as well. "Hitomi will do fine. Our technology here is far advanced. They'll get the baby in no time."

"But I can't help it!" Van said, raking his hair. As much as a refined person Van is, during the whole night, Van is a major wreck. When Hitomi finally caught his attention, he went ballistic. He grabbed for his coat, still wearing his dark blue pajama pants, rushed out the door, went back in because he forgot Hitomi and the car keys, brought Hitomi down carefully to the car, had trouble starting the car, almost crashed the car to a wall behind them since he put the gear to reverse, and pretty much everything went badly. Van was so frustrated during that time that his wings actually came out. Due to much stress, he didn't know how to retract them back.

The nurses, who were at the labor and delivery, asked Hitomi about Van's wings when they were waiting to register her to a room. Hitomi didn't know about it until she saw Van at the main desk. Shocked, Hitomi immediately made up a story, saying that there was this particular anime she loved to watch and she wanted him to dress as one of the main characters who had wings. Apparently, by the time he finished dressing up, her contractions came in. The nurses seemed confused at first, looking at her as if she was crazy. Then Hitomi added that hormones could make her do a lot of crazy stuff. The nurses actually believed it.

Before Van would begin to terrorize the whole hospital, from the intercom were Hitomi was delivering, a sound of a baby crying was heard. Van stopped his frantic pace when he heard that beautiful sound.

"Van!" Amano said excitedly. Van looked up. After hearing his baby from the intercom, he immediately smiled.

Their baby is born.

Van went into Hitomi's room after fours had passed since the birth and smiled proudly at her tired face. Hitomi smiled at him back when he appeared. Hitomi noticed that he was holding a bundle in his arms. Van turned to her fully after closing the door and showed her their baby. Hitomi's smile widened when she saw their baby as Van settled onto a comfy chair next to her bed. His eyes looked lovingly at the bundle in his arms.

"A boy," Van said. "A healthy, baby boy…" Hitomi smiled as she watched her small family with pride in her eyes. After all the hardships that they been through, they were able to find love and find happiness with each other. And this baby is the symbol of the love they share.

Van leaned in and kissed her chastely on her lips. "Thank you, Hitomi…"

Van wrapped one of his arm around Hitomi's shoulder while held the baby in the other. He scooted the baby to Hitomi and they both held him. "My advisors would love to hear this," Van said. "I can see their faces when they will see him. They'll finally get their wish." Hitomi's eyes saddened when he spoke of those words. She almost forgot that Van's real home was in Fanelia. He still has some unfinished business in his kingdom to deal with. Hitomi realized that there would be a time when Van must return to Fanelia.

"Van," she said, looking into his eyes with worry. Van instantly knew what her mind was getting into and hugged her close to him, kneeling his forehead on top of hers.

"Hitomi, I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Even if I go back, our baby and you will be with me." Hitomi's eyes glimmered with relief. The baby cooed. They both smiled at each other. "Where ever you go; where we go, we go together…Forever and ever…"

The end

This is the official end to Together Yoyokaigirini. I was a bit sad when I wrote this epilogue. I couldn't believe that my first Escaflowne story is finished, after years of working on it since Sophomore year in high school. Thank you all for reviewing and reading my story. I love you all!

Next up, now I will begin to update another epic story called "Hikari." The story will begin with a prologue. This story's genre is action, adventure, and romance. It will be a looong one. So look forward to it! By the way, I need a beta-reader. Anyone interested? Just let me know.