AN: Another chapter, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Escaflowne. But I do own this plot, so no stealing.

Chapter 4- Do you know who I am?

Like a target drawn across my chest,
She's a bullet in russian roulette,
You said you'd never turn your back on me-This Suffering, Billy Talent

The tension in the kitchen was thick although Allen was quite oblivious to it. Or he was just simply ignoring the two glaring at each other. He whistled a small tune as he searched for his car keys. He found them under the sink. Why they were there was a mystery. But nonetheless he was glad he found them and didn't dwell too long on the fact. He waved goodbye to Hitomi and Van, who presently were engaged in a heavy staring contest. Neither of them looked up but managed to murmur their goodbyes. Allen commanded them to behave and stepped out the door.

"Did you enjoy your sleep on the couch?" Hitomi asked smiling slightly.

Van without taking his eyes off of her, dipped his spoon into his cereal and popped it into his mouth.

Hitomi laughed, "I take that as a no."

Hitomi and Van were not hitting it off at all. Van knew exactly who she was, although he denied vehemently that he ever attended the Fox Den. He also thought Hitomi was abusing Allen's kindness and overdoing her stay. Sure, it had been about two weeks now that she was staying with them. She hadn't even left the house and Allen couldn't figure out why either. Van knew better or rather suspected the reason. Every morning for the past two weeks began with a staring contest and ended with Hitomi getting up frustrated. Today she had enough, today she would win and stand her ground.

"Don't you think your overdoing your stay?" Van asked bluntly.

Their had always been an animosity between the two of them. But only until now did his words sting so much. Perhaps she was overdoing her stay. But a part of her liked the normality of their lives and wanted to be a part of it. She wanted for once to lead a normal life. A part of her also feared of what would happen to her if she went back. What if Dilandau wouldn't let her come back? What if he forgot about her? She would be all alone all over again. Allen and even Van were keeping her company. She was attempting to replace the void she had in her heart. She longed for friends and Dilandau despite everything was not one of her friends.

"Well, don't you think you are? You not even sleeping on the couch, your sleeping in my room and in my bed."

Hitomi blinked back the tears, the staring contest was over. Van as always the victor. This time Hitomi didn't care, this time she didn't demand a retry. Van's smirk was laced with triumph, he didn't notice the tears threatening to fall. Then again Van was more concerned with his coco puff's at that point. Hitomi pushed the chair back with a loud screech and raced to her room…no, Van's room. Nothing was truly belonged to her anymore. Van looked up from his cereal and noticed Hitomi's presence was no longer with him. He looked around and headed toward his room. The closer he got, the louder the attempted muffled sobs became. He quietly opened the door and saw Hitomi's face buried in his spider man covered pillow. Her shoulders rose and fell in shudders with every sob she made. Van sighed and ran a hand through his jet-black hair, he needed to calm her.

"Hitomi…your crying on my pillow."

Their was a labored breath and the sobs then grew louder. Van was clearly quite the smooth talker in these types of delicate situations. He opened the door further and stepped in and watched her crying for a few minutes. He then noticed his shoes and began to focus his interest on them. In a split second their was a loud war like cry and the Spiderman pillow came flying into his face.

"Take your fucking pillow!"

Van looked down to the pillow lying at his feet and then looked up to Hitomi. Her eyes were red and puffed up. Her cheeks were marked with a trail of tears, but the look on her face was of vengeance. She growled loudly and reached below her and pulled up a fist fill of bed sheets. She hurled them at him and they landed at his feet.

"Take your fucking blanket too!"

Van's eyes were wide and he was sure if she could manage it she would have thrown the mattress at him. Hitomi rose from the bed and headed toward him. Van sidestepped and Hitomi grabbed the doorknob roughly and threw the door open. The rain rattled on the kitchen windows loudly and Hitomi's loud stomps matched the noise the thunder was creating. She was crashing threw the kitchen and threw aside a chair as she made her way toward the front door. Van was stunned and followed behind her cautiously. She placed her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. Before stepping out she turned to Van. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You are a jack ass!" she cried.

Van's brow furrowed, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I just wanted to be part of something…something normal!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked confused.

"Don't worry about it." With that said she threw open yet another door and stepped out slamming the door behind her.

Van looked around, "What just happened?" he asked himself.

He looked at the front door for a second and sighed. Alright, he was going to try again to calm her down. He opened the door and found her leaning against the wall. Despite the rain pouring down on her. This time he noticed the tears streaming down her face. This time he noticed the pained look in her eyes. Wow, was he being observant this time around. For once Van didn't despise her presence.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Hitomi didn't look up, "Leave me alone."

"What were you talking about in there?"

"You know who I am, you know what I do. I was enjoying leading a normal life with you guys. Maybe I did abuse your hospitality. But I don't regret it and maybe I am being selfish. But if you knew, if you really knew then you'd understand."

"How is your life not normal? There is nothing wrong…well not a lot wrong with being a stripper."

"If only I was a stripper." Hitomi mused out loud.

Van's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped, "You…uh?"

"200 an hour." she stated coldly.

Van nodded and then realization hit him, "Your sleeping in my bed!"

"I don't have anything wrong with me!"

"They all do!"

Van heard the warlike scream and it was a good thing to. If Hitomi hadn't have screamed out in fury he would have received a backhand to the face. Instead he looked up in time to see the hand flying toward him. He reached forward and grabbed it with a quick flick of his wrist. They stood their a moment hands suspended in the air, both glaring at each other. Hitomi's tears momentarily stopped and were replaced by anger.

"You're a fucking jack ass." she yelled attempting to free herself.

Van pulled on her wrist and she came crashing into his chest. Hitomi attempted to free herself by thrashing around. Van wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"Shut up." he said.

Hitomi stopped thrashing around and let out a deep breath and shuddered. She leaned her had against his shoulder and let the tears fall.

"I hate you." she said quietly.

Van responded by resting the top of his chin on her head. They stood their in silence they only noise around them was the pitter patter of the rain.

Dilandau trudged his way down the alleyway in search of Hitomi. Every noise made him look up, down, and around in hopes of finding her. He wasn't exactly sure at that moment what he would do when he would found her. One part of him wanted to wring her neck and another wanted to throw her onto a bed and ravage her. Oh, how complex his emotions were being today.

"You're a fucking jackass!" rang out loudly in the alleyway.

Dilandau chuckled to himself. Someone was having a little spat. At least he wasn't the only one in a bad mood today. Their was rustling, a sound of a struggle. Dilandau was intrigued he headed toward the sound. He rounded the corner and watched as a woman struggled to free herself from the arms of a olive skinned man. Dilandau contemplated doing something but decided against it. Perhaps it was simply a marital argument. It wasn't his place to get involved. Dilandau walked past the couple and a feeling of desperation engulfed him. He had to find her. He looked over his shoulder at the couple and now they were embracing. The fight over and done with. He sighed loudly and continued his search.