"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."

General George S. Patton

Act 2, Chapter 5:

"You what?!" Yukari's overwrought exclamation nearly made Hitomi drop her house phone's handset.

Hitomi closed her eyes briefly before responding in a calm and regretful voice. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I…just had to do it because I might have changed my mind again."

"Well, of-hecking-course! You shoulda-woulda changed your mind…because it's nuts to just quit your job out of the blue and on such short notice no less!" Yukari continued to almost yell into her end of the receiver. "What the hell is going on with you lately? You won't talk to me anymore and I'm supposedly your best friend."

Hitomi felt a pang of guilt. Feeling bad about everything was becoming mundane and it had to stop. It was one of the reasons she had decided to leave Caeli. Yukari was right. She had been behaving even stranger than what was usual even for her and her friend didn't deserve to be kept so in the dark, especially considering the unwavering loyalty she had demonstrated throughout the years. However, the circumstances still required for Hitomi to tread carefully.

Not knowing how Van would react during their eventual confrontation was one thing but maintaining a continued professional relationship was something else altogether. He may have well been ready to forget everything but could she? The answer to that was unclear to her. Hitomi's thoughts regarding the man were completely out of whack which scared her more than anything.

She needed to stay in control. In control of her life, her job, and her emotions. Being around him had become devastating at an alarming rate and it only added to her existing situation at work.

In the end, she had decided to quit her position at Caeli because lying to everyone would have only been the first step. It was best for everybody if she left and started new somewhere else. Sure, it had seemed a bit drastic at first but this hadn't been the only event where her inner turmoil had threatened to disrupt the workflow there.

After the breakup, it had taken long for her to regain confidence and productivity to match her previous levels. Everybody had been more than accommodating, especially Allen and she had decided that it was finally time to leave the past behind. It was also time for Hitomi to take a step out of her comfort zone and venture into a new area with her career.

"I'm sorry, Yukari. It's not like I will be unemployed or far away. I've already accepted a job offer and will be starting on Monday. I'll be right across the street at the hospital. Their therapy group has been trying to recruit me since I interned with them right after college and I really want to work on inpatient, immediate post-surgery cases." Hitomi explained, a bit relieved that she didn't have to tell her best friend a lie yet again.

"Oh, Hitomi. You can't be serious. Please tell me you're not serious!" Yukari begged, still in denial and in a futile attempt to turn the situation around.

All she could hear was Hitomi's breathing through the receiver and she could almost see the woman shake her head. "Well…I…damn, Hitomi. At least…meet me at the bazaar soon? Let's knock about there for a while and talk, okay? I really want to see you," Yukari pleaded. "We'll get some cake," she suggested, hoping some time spent together noshing sweets would lure Hitomi into changing her mind.

Hitomi's smile was a bit forced but she appeased her friend. "Sure, Yukari. We can hang out next week."

The prospect of at least seeing her friend soon made Yukari sigh in relief.


When Merle noticed that the basement door wasn't all the way closed and some noises floated through the quiet eveningair, she couldn't help but be curious. Nobody had been down there in a long time. She abandoned her empty teacup on a small decorative table nearby, snuck back over and pulled the door open far enough for her to fit through.

If Van was doing what she thought he was doing, she didn't want to disturb. On the tips of her quiet neko feet, she went down far enough to be able to peek around the corner. The solid, wooden steps nevertheless creaked quietly even under her light weight but her brother was so engrossed in his motions that he didn't hear it.

Merle's eyes widened when she finally caught sight of him. Van was down in the dim room; the man cave him and Folken had put together very much immediately after they had both moved back home. His bare chest and back were slick with sweat despite the cool temperatures; tan skin moving across the muscles of his arms and upper body rhythmically.

His arms tensed with each stroke and his face was tight with concentration. Switching his grip put an emphasis in a different area and provided more intensity. The alternating hand positions appeared to please him which was obvious due to the expression on his face.

Her brother sure was quite an eyeful she thought, grinning now. No doubt, women would still fall for his looks, even with the mechanical leg, if he were to put himself out there again; especially if they could see him now. Not wanting to startle him during his private time, Merle silently disappeared back up the stairs, closing the door behind herself.

Van needed some release for all the pent-up emotions. He was threatening to burst soon and there were only so many acceptable ways a grown man could blow off steam. Physical exercise was one of them. The rowing machine in their small basement gym had seemed like an appropriate victim for his fury.

When he had returned to the clinic earlier that Friday, the wolf-man was already waiting for him. He had regretfully explained to Van that Hitomi had resigned her position and that he would be taking his case for the remainder of the treatment plan. When asking him about the reason, the man had simply shaken his head and explained that neither did he know nor would he be at liberty to discuss anything about it, even if it was the case.

Instead of walking with the man, Van had simply turned on the heels of his worn combat boots and left the building. He was done with this place. There was no point in coming back if she wasn't there anymore. It was her that he needed. Besides, he was fine walking without a cane now so that was the end of it. Whether Hitomi had gone to such drastic measures to ensure they would never see each other again or something else, there was nothing he could do about it.

Just as he had been halfway down the sidewalk, intent upon stalking through the city for a while and showering everything with his gloom, the redheaded woman had burst out from the front doors of the clinic and hunted him down.

"Mr. Fanel! Wait…" Yukari yelled as she jogged down the sidewalk.

Van only glanced over his shoulder briefly before stubbornly ignoring her and continuing on his way, walking much faster than before.

Yukari scowled at his reaction. "…wait…oh for the love of…will you wait?!" She yelled so loud people were beginning to turn their heads.

Not wanting to draw any more unneeded attention, Van finally stopped in time for her to skid to a stop next to him.

"What?" Van asked her, agitation clear in his stance and tone. This time, he wasn't confined to a room with her. This time, anger was on his side and he could be downright intimidating when he was angry.

Yukari didn't look all too happy either. Granted, she had felt bad about their confrontation for a while but when Hitomi had suddenly informed her that she would no longer be working at Caeli, all signs for the true reason were pointing to him. No matter what kind of well-thought-out explanation Hitomi had provided, Yukari wasn't buying it.

"Have you talked to Hitomi lately?" Yukari immediately addressed the situation, panting a bit from the jog. "She hasn't been returning any of my calls for the past few days."

"Why should I have?" Van asked her a bit perplexed, "…and how?"

Yukari raised her finger accusingly, very apparently intending to jab him with it, just like last time. So, as a preventative measure, Van took a step back.

"Because I know something is up. I'm not just her colleague but also her friend. I can tell!" She schooled Van.

He didn't think it was possible, but Van's mood immediately soured even more. "I already told you last time. Nothing happened," he claimed stubbornly.

"Well, obviously nothing mattered to Hitomi!" Yukari countered, emphasizing the word 'nothing' by making air quotes with two of her fingers.

Van's face flamed up traitorously when he remembered the sight of Hitomi's face hovering above his. Her lips dewy and swollen, and her eyes veiled in such longing that it had awakened the urgent need to keep her as close to him as humanly possible. "If she's your friend then why isn't she talking to you?" Van simply glowered back at Yukari in a low, raspy voice.

"Ah ha!" Yukari exclaimed in triumph. "So something did happen." It almost seemed like the woman was jumping on the spot as animatedly as she was blurting out the words.

Van continued to yank on the handles of the rowing machine vigorously. It felt so. Damn. Good. To be moving. Perhaps, he should have started doing this again months ago. Perhaps, a lot of things would have resolved themselves more smoothly if he had not been walking around like a predator braced to attack at all times lately. He could have approached many situations with a more composed mind. Should have. Would have. Could have.

Van slapped a hand across his forehead, clenching the other into a fist by his side at the redhead's absurd accusation that followed next.

"If I find out that you somehow hurt her during one of your crazy episodes, I will drag you all the way to the deserts of Freid, bury you up to the neck in sand, and leave you to the fire ants," she threatened him with a straight face. "I know what happened at the pool! You nearly drowned her and she acted like it was no big deal…"

Van stifled a snort and simply shook his head while she rambled on. She seemed to be laboring under the delusion that Van had somehow harmed Hitomi during one of his panic attacks. Nothing could be further from the truth. If only the redhead knew his actions had been of a completely different kind of nature. Perhaps, being seen this way was for the better.

"Just leave me the hell alone." Van finally spat at her, doing his best to look as intimidating as possible while taking a big step towards her. His action had the desired effect as the redhead immediately retreated, intimidated by his size and vexation.

When his arms and shoulders were burning and his hands so tired he couldn't hold on to the rowing machine's handles anymore, he finally released them and simply sat on the seat for a while. Elbows propped up on his knees, he held his head in both hands and watched the pink pendant swing lightly on its chain until he had caught his breath and his heart rate normalized.


Hitomi left her patient's hospital room, file in hand. Evaluations had gone well and the young woman would regain full mobility in her knee after an extended recovery period following the repair of her torn meniscus. Being able to counsel patients and evaluating their capabilities immediately post-surgery was tough due to the pain most patients were still in but as new research had found, getting them moving as soon as possible after was most important to a successful recovery.

Two of the older night-nurses were just coming in to relieve the ones who had been here since the early morning hours. They were currently in a small team meeting, discussing a long-time patient in one of the intensive care rooms. One such room was directly across from the station's administrative desk and the occupant required permanent supervision. It appeared that the patient in question was having a particularly bad day, Hitomi gathered from the words and serious faces.

"Call Dr. Yurizen for more instructions. Her values have been off the charts way too long today," the oldest of the four instructed her younger colleague. "We can't do much apart from making it as comfortable as possible for her but he may want to be near just in case."

The other woman nodded and busied herself with the phone by the counter to dial the number to a different ward in the hospital. Meanwhile, Hitomi stood by the countertop near the nurses' station and opened the file in order to go over the notes she had just made and update the paperwork.

Before the nurse could finish the call, a shrill alarm began to sound from behind one of the doors. No doubt, the patient they had just been talking about had taken a turn for the worse because the nurse quickly slammed the receiver into the cradle so hard it bounced off and fell over the edge of the counter, dangling by its coiled cord.

All four of the nurses rushed into the room right across from their position, end of shift suddenly not important anymore for the younger of the two. It only took a minute for more medical staff to emerge from behind some other doors and the elevator down the hall. A tall doctor with grey hair pulled into a tight ponytail strode past Hitomi's position and she recognized him as Dr. Yurizen.

He had been in this ward quite a few times since she started working here and usually came to see this specific patient. Hitomi didn't know much about the patient. It wasn't any of her business but the tumult around her was so loud and people were so frantic that she couldn't help but gape at the dramatic scene playing not far from her.

A crash cart was quickly being wheeled down the bright hallway and shoved through the half-open doorway where loud, strict commands were now being given.

"We need to shock her. Disconnect everything else and then stand clear." The tall doctor's voice was clearly audible.

"Clear!" A few voices confirmed before a machine hummed briefly and the dull sound of a body thumping against bedding was heard.

"That didn't do it. Recharge to 200 and let's go again." The man shouted.

"Confirmed and clear!" A female voice shouted.

The sound of the defibrillator again came through the door and Hitomi shuddered when imagining the patient's body being lifted off the bed slightly by the power of the electric shock. After that, silence.

"Nothing." A female voice commented.

"I can damn well see that!" Dr. Yurizen's voice came back harshly. "How long has it been?"

"Four minutes and twenty seconds." The, now, slightly frazzled female voice responded.

"Give me one more! Recharge!" The doctor instructed and Hitomi could already hear the sound of the machine load itself for a new round. She felt utterly helpless, standing by and not doing anything but staring. It was the first time she was witnessing something so grotesque. Somebody was losing their life mere feet from her.

"Clear." Several voices again confirmed before the shock was being administered.

Nothing. Absolute silence engulfed the whole floor before Dr. Yurizen's dejected, scratchy voice was heard again. "Time of death: 4:32 PM. Cause of death: cardiac arrest."

"Noted, doctor. Would you like me to notify next of kin?" A different voice, this time male, asked.

"She doesn't have any. I've already tasked someone upstairs with contacting the only one who knows her before coming down. Was hoping they'd get to talk one last time before she goes." Dr. Yurizen's voice was full of regret. He seemed to have cared about the female patient beyond what was necessary for a medical professional.

Hitomi's heart sank. She hadn't known anything about the woman but for somebody to die in such close proximity to her was a wretched feeling, to say the least. During the next fifteen minutes, Hitomi managed to take up as little real estate on the counter as possible as the group of people slowly trickled out of the room and began to prepare whatever paperwork was associated with the death of a patient.

It was sort of sad. The woman's body was right in the other room and people were already so busy working on the legalities that there seemed to be no time to pay any respects. A bit unsure at first, Hitomi finally lowered her pen and glanced towards the door which had been left wide open. Only dim, artificial light illuminated the interior, with the blinds in the windows between the room and the hallway completely shut.

Hitomi took a deep breath and finally decided to abandon her work for a moment. Wiping her slightly sweaty hands on the green scrubs which were her work attire now, she quietly crept over to the door on her white sneakers and peeked into the room. One nurse was still left in there. It was the oldest of the four from earlier.

Her kind, round face showed honest sadness about the situation. She was carefully working on detaching the many ports and needles along the patient's arms. Although older, she worked skillfully which was an attest for the many years she had been working in this position.

Hitomi gasped a bit when she laid eyes on the body of the woman on the hospital bed. It was a neko lady. Despite the lack of fur in many places and deeply wrinkled skin, the long, grey hair and closed eyes emanated a state of regal calm. She looked as if she could be sleeping.

"Sad, huh?" The nurse mumbled into Hitomi's direction. "She wasn't that old. Just 28."

"But how…?" Hitomi gasped.

"Don't really know the details but her name was Eriya." The nurse said as she gently took the dead woman's limp hand and gave it a bit of a careful squeeze. "She's been here for over a year now. I've spent a lot of time chatting with her but she never liked to talk much about herself."

Hitomi nodded and glanced at the neko's face again, sending good karma along for wherever she was headed to now. After that, she respectfully retreated, not wanting to linger and stare.

When she picked up her pen again, arms on the counter and finally finishing up her notes, the elevator announced the arrival of someone else.

The person was obviously in a rush and heavy but quick feet were audible immediately after the elevator doors slid open. Hitomi's pen fell out of her hand when she saw who it was. Van passed her without even taking note of her presence.

He was dressed in a pair of jeans and his usual pair of combat boots, this time properly laced, along with the red jacket he had worn the first time he came to the Caeli clinic. He raked one hand through his hair, combing the messy bangs away from his face and eyes, revealing a thoroughly distraught expression. Under the arm on the other side, he was holding something Hitomi couldn't see.

Van's shoulders were moving up and down under heavy breaths. He had obviously made quite a haste getting here. Scanning his surroundings, his disbelieving eyes finally landed on Hitomi. They stared at each other briefly, her with a mouth that was slightly agape and him with a completely blank face. It was quite obvious that he had not remotely expected to find her here of all places.

Neither of them said anything until Van simply turned away, facing the wide open door just a few steps away from him. So he knew her. The neko lady who had just passed away. It was as if he was suddenly scared to advance after he had come so fast. On cue, Dr. Yurizen emerged from the small office next to the nurses' station and startled Van by placing a large hand on one of his shoulders.

"Son…she's gone. I'm sorry." Dr. Yurizen said quietly.

Van simply stood and stared through the open doorway, head slowly beginning to hang low. He shook off the doctor's hand with a snappy movement that caused the man to take a step back.

Seemingly used to Van's temper, he quietly said. "Just come see me in my office when you are ready." Then the older man in white retreated back into the room he had just come from.

Van stood there for another moment with his back facing Hitomi and all she could do was look at him, completely at a loss for words. Unresolved issues aside, she was sure he wouldn't want to hear anything she had to say at this moment, even if she had the overwhelming urge to walk over and console him.

The nurse inside the room was now finishing up her task of clearing the neko's body off all medical devices. Both her and Hitomi jumped a bit at Van's sudden scream of pure anguish. With a forceful swing of his arm, he slammed the black object he had been holding onto the grey linoleum floor and strode off only a heartbeat later.

Hitomi gasped at his short outburst and rushed around the counter, watching him stomp down the hallway quickly and pushing the elevator call button. She gasped again when she finally saw what the black, round thing was. It was a motorcycle helmet. A pair of leather gloves had fallen out of it when he had so carelessly slammed it onto the floor.

The old nurse joined Hitomi in the walkway. Coming out of the room, she could only shake her head with her hands braced against her hips. "Poor kid. They were somehow related. Hope he doesn't do anything stupid now. He sure is about to boil over."

Hitomi's eyes widened at the woman's words when she looked back and forth between the helmet on the floor and the closing elevator door. "Oh no!" She mumbled and finally reacted. Without even thinking about it properly she set off in a sprint, scooping up the helmet in passing. She chased after Van in a mad dash and burst through the door near the elevator which granted access into the stairwell nobody ever used.

Taking several steps at a time, she tore down the five levels as quickly as her legs allowed. She had to stop the man from getting into some sort of accident in his emotional state. A few times, she nearly stumbled over her own feet as she tried to push herself to go faster than her rusty limbs allowed. That's what she got for having become negligent about her own physical abilities.

Panting, she pushed open one of the heavy glass doors of the main entrance after weaving through a throng of people who had just entered the building. Clutching the black, shiny helmet tightly in her grasp, she hastily scanned the area immediately outside. Bingo. Although he had had the foresight to not block the lane reserved for emergency vehicles, he had obviously not cared to find an actual parking spot.

On the way to the white motorcycle parked on the sidewalk by the far corner of the building, Van was fishing for the keys in his pocket with one hand while the other hand was busy worrying his hair. Hitomi's chest tightened at the sight of his still-existent slight limp and the obvious travail his whole body was currently under.

Even from afar she could see grief was shaking him. It was most definitely not a good idea for him to operate any kind of vehicle in this state of shock. She took off again, determined to prevent some terrible event from occurring in the not too distant future.

"Va….Mr. Fanel! Mr. Fanel!" She yelled as she had traversed half the distance between him and her.

Upon hearing Hitomi's voice, Van looked at her briefly but then quickly turned away, having almost reached the machine. The faded, red jacket gave him an intimidating, seemingly impenetrable, layer of visible protection but Hitomi was too determined to be discouraged by it.

Catching him by the shoulder, she gripped the coarse fabric between her fingers. "Mr. Fanel! I'm talking to you!" She addressed him again out of breath but with an obvious tone of irritation in her voice.

Van finally whipped around to face her, only a step away from the heavy, two-wheeled vehicle. With a firm shake of his arm, he forced Hitomi to retract her hand and took a step towards the bike, gripping one of the handlebars. "What do you want?" He hissed at her harshly while inserting the keys into the ignition.

Hitomi was a bit taken aback by the violent reaction but what surprised her more was the pure disdain in his eyes. His face was contorted into a grimace of anger and grief and the moisture collecting in his eyes had even begun to spill over when the combined emotions were expanding in his head so badly it threatened to explode.

As always, wild, black hair covered a good amount of the gleaming, red eyes that were now damp with tears but Hitomi could easily decipher every single rush of emotion hiding inside them while she spoke. "I'm truly sorry about your friend but please don't do anything rash now. You getting injured won't bring her back." She carefully said, still panting a bit due to the rush.

Van threw his head back, barking a sardonic laugh in response to the sheer absurdity of her words before answering. "Why do you even care?"

Hitomi's brows narrowed. His thoughtless words had agitated her. "How can you ask such a thing? Of course, I care. Mr. Fanel, if anything happens to you I…."

He interrupted her words with a grunt of sheer exasperation. "For both our sakes, stop calling me that," he said before becoming very serious, letting the anger take over fully. "I don't get it. You've gone at great lengths to avoid me after…," he briefly paused, apparently groping for the right word but coming up empty, "…and now you expect me to give a damn about you caring what happens to me?"

When he took a step towards Hitomi it made her retreat, his heated agitation finally having formed a quite solid aura around him. Like two of the same magnetic poles they hovered across from each other until Van reached for the helmet she was carefully holding between both her hands. Having been rendered speechless by his words and the intonation behind them had made her grip limp enough so that it was easy to snatch the item from her.

"Do you think I'm a moron? I know you're dealing with something too but have you ever considered that after what happened, I needed a chance to clear things up between us… and that whatever is troubling you has been affecting me too, to some extent? Of course not." He turned around again and stomped back towards the bike.

Hitomi was rooted in place, jaw a bit slack and extremely taken aback by his words. Her mind was going a mile a minute to process all these unexpected things he was throwing at her.

"I've been to three different shrinks. I know the signs of trauma and the stages of recovery. Don't think for a second I'm too stupid to be aware of where I'm at and where you are at." When he spoke the last few words, he looked directly at Hitomi before roughly pulling the helmet over his head and snapping the visor shut, effectively hiding his entire face.

Van swung one of his legs over the bike and slid into the seat. Despite the agitation, the motion exuberated casual grace, supreme confidence, and male power. Hitomi didn't fail to notice it. When he turned the key, the bike came to life by emitting a deep, humming sound and when he revved it up, the booming noise of the motor made Hitomi snap out of her stupor. He was about to drive off into rush hour traffic, raging mad with grief and anger, and a good part of it was now her fault.

She couldn't let him do that. While he nudged up the kickstand with a practiced flick of his foot, Hitomi crossed the distance between them and quickly squeezed herself onto the seat behind him. Never having been on a motorcycle before, she wasn't sure where to put her feet but her arms went halfway around his large torso, hands gripping fistfuls of the stiff jacket.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Van's muffled voice still carried a good measure of agitation, even from under the helmet when he turned his head as far as he could to look behind him.

"I won't let you go off by yourself," Hitomi said with a voice that sounded a lot more sure than she actually felt. She pressed her forehead against his back, preventing him from seeing the fear on her face.

When Van revved up the motor again in an attempt to scare her off, it only made the woman's grip on his jacket tighter and the feeling of being smothered more unbearable. It reminded him of all the mollycoddling he had been subjected to over the course of his recovery and that thought finally fried a fuse inside his head.

"Fine! Suit yourself!" Van said just loud enough for Hitomi to hear before he pushed the bike more upright and tore out of the hospital driveway with such momentum Hitomi almost toppled off the back despite the fierce grip on his clothing.

To Hitomi, the madly fast trip through the city was a blur of fear for life and constant scenes of horror involving life-threatening accidents, but to Van it was exhilarating. High speeds had always made him feel like flying and the feeling caused an indescribable calm inside of him each time.

Merle had always been the one most worried about him while Folken had always understood him best and never uttered a word of concern. He knew what Van was capable of, or had been, really. While Van was weaving in and out of traffic, advancing through passages between rows of cars stalled by traffic that were so narrow Hitomi was scared it would grate off the top layer of skin on her knees and elbows, his brain worked almost as fast as the machine itself.

After taking a yellow light so late it nearly shone dark orange, he cut a corner tightly and leaned into it heavily, causing the woman behind him to wrap her arms around his torso even more. It wasn't until now that Van noticed her small form was shaking behind him, obviously scared for her life. The realization finally made him snap out of his rage and he gradually slowed the bike, turning another corner until it came to a standstill in a rather quiet residential street lined with lush green trees and parked cars.

He pulled over by the sidewalk and an old woman walking her dog cast a curious glance at them, then eventually shook her head in disapproval when she passed and saw Hitomi behind him, sans protective gear.

Van sighed heavily when he stopped and propped out the kickstand but the young woman in the back didn't release him or slacken her vise-like grip on his waist. He carefully but firmly pried her ice-cold fingers from his jacket and realized that she must have been freezing in addition to being terrified. Even in the summer, riding a bike without a jacket wasn't a terriffic idea.

When Van finally extracted himself from her hold, he dismounted and turned to face the woman who was now holding onto the seat tightly on either side and using her legs to clumsily clamp the rear part of the bike between them. Her head was bent down and her eyes were shut tightly as if she was trying to will herself away.

"I'm… I…apologize. I didn't mean to… I shouldn't have…" Van's voice was not muffled by the helmet anymore, indicating that he had removed it and sounded a good few measures less angry than before.

"I'm sorry," he continued remorsefully but Hitomi didn't even register what he was saying. Her heart was still threatening to jump right out of her chest; that's how hard and fast it was beating.

"Will you get off now?" Van asked, still irritated.

All Hitomi could do was shake her head. Of course, she bloody wanted to but fear for his life made her brave enough to overcome the very pressing desire to jump off the bike and wrap her arms around the next best tree in order to steady her poor nerves.

Either a few minutes or an entire hour passed before she felt her head carefully being lifted by a warm hand under her chin. Hitomi was so surprised at the gentle touch of his rough hand that her head followed without resisting. When she finally opened her eyes, she was more than surprised to see that his garnet eyes were soft, almost concerned.

One corner of his mouth was pulled up in a disapproving way, but even that was overshadowed by the intensity in his gaze. His fingers were holding her chin firmly but carefully, the tip of his thumb only a hair away from touching her bottom lip. Hitomi gulped slightly, working hard to keep the mask of determination intact. She wouldn't let him leave alone. The end.

"I'm not letting you leave alone," Hitomi finally stated and pulled her head out of his grasp, turning it away from him to break the much too captivating spell his eyes were beginning to cast on her.

Van snorted quietly while she remained in her position of stubborn defiance. "Fine." Hitomi heard him say before she felt something being pushed over the top of her head and her vision darkened, akin to wearing a pair of enormous sunglasses. His helmet was a bit large on her, but the material on the inside cradled her head in its protective cushioning well enough.

Not only was she immediately engulfed by the soft foam but also by his fragrance. The smell of it made Hitomi's head swim a bit. It was a combination of wood, the smell of a meadow after a rainfall, and something that was proprietary to only him. Hitomi didn't have time to continue analyzing the different nuances because, through the visor, she watched him now also remove his jacket and rather unceremoniously toss it at her.

She caught it a bit clumsily and watched Van fold his arms across his chest. He was only in a white shirt now, the color of it once again contrasting far too nicely with the tone of his skin. Hitomi had seen this color spiel often enough and the altered perception due to the tinted visor didn't even fool her addled brain.

"So put it on already," Van commanded a bit impatiently as he watched her stare at him.

"But what about you?" Hitomi's muffled voice immediately protested.

"I'll be fine," Van automatically assured her. "Now put it on or I'll make you," he growled a bit dangerously, unconsciously flexing the muscles of his arms and upper body in the process.

Deciding that she was rather fond of her life and not at all up for finding out just how much stronger he was, she obliged. Hitomi struggled into the much too large jacket and zipped it up as far as it would go. The loose cocoon immediately engulfed her cold body in his remaining warmth and caused her to shake involuntarily when it reminded her of what it had felt like to be sprawled on top of him.

While taking a few deep breaths, she concentrated on inspecting a dark, round spot on the left side of the jacket right above her heart, in order to calm herself. It was similar in size to the tattoo he had on his chest, she noticed before her thoughts were interrupted.

Van's warm hands were suddenly on her leg. One of them rested on her knee while the other gripped her calf rather firmly, guiding her foot into a more appropriate location. Hitomi let him maneuver the appendage freely, much too focused on the feeling of his grip through her green hospital scrubs.

"Your foot goes here. It's much safer and more comfortable." He explained before straightening himself and retracting his hands. "You'll find a similar spot to put it on the other side."

It was entirely fortunate that Hitomi's head was completely hidden inside the helmet, otherwise, the flaming blush rising on her cheeks would have been blatantly evident. When Van climbed on the bike and seated himself in front of her, Hitomi placed her hands back around him a bit hesitantly. There was very little fabric between her hands and his body, and it was easy for her to feel the impressions between every single muscle moving under her fingertips.

Having noticed that her hold was not secure enough, Van, quite nonchalantly, reached for each of her hands and placed them high around his own waist. "You still need to hold on tight unless you want to find out just how necessary that helmet is," he instructed her.

Hitomi huffed a bit at his remark. Fine then. She grasped his upper body tightly and pressed her small form against his broad back, finally relinquishing all control. When he seemed satisfied, Van started the bike and pulled back out onto the main streets, albeit more carefully this time.

He drove the bike far outside the Palas city limits and through some of the suburbs which encircled it. It felt like they were riding for at least an hour and Hitomi's hands were slowly growing tired, her arms slipping a bit lower, causing the need to readjust every now and again. Regardless of the wind whipping around them, Van remained stable in his position and kept true to the course he had chosen.

Hitomi had no idea where they were going but she found herself beginning to not care much. Van was right there, in front of her, shielding her from most of the wind and since she was wrapped up in the oversized jacket as well as his helmet, it felt like nothing would ever be able to harm her. Having been on the back end of his bike for a while now, she saw there was no reason to worry anymore.

He was an excellent driver and even when zooming through the dense rush hour traffic of Palas before, all movements had been well calculated. Now, on this long and winding country road, she finally was beginning to enjoy the experience. It was then that she decided she could get used to traveling like this more often, that he stopped on the side of the road leading across a hill where a large, open area spanned out in front of them as far as the eye could see.

Fresh, lush grass was sprouting from dark, red dirt and a whole array of wildflowers could be spotted in between. Van engaged the kickstand and switched the ignition off, gaze already fixed on the wide area below them.

After he let out a deep breath, Hitomi noticed that she was still holding on to him rather tightly and immediately removed her arms from around him with a bit of regret. They both dismounted and Hitomi freed her head from the helmet before unzipping the jacket which hung loosely around her small frame.

"Where are we?" Hitomi asked, scanning the field before turning her head to look at Van's profile.

His head was still turned straight, eyes observing the calm scene and setting sun in front of them when he answered. "One of the battlefields."

Hitomi's eyes softened when she focused her gaze into the distance. "Oh…I've never seen…only on the news…" She had no words for what it made her feel like to see a part of the land where people had given their lives in this war.

"It's not exactly an exciting tourist destination." Van shrugged.

Hitomi frowned a bit at his choice of words but then said. "It should be."

One eyebrow arched, Van now studied her. His jacket was much too large for her, but it gave him a weird feeling of satisfaction to see it draped around her lean figure.

Her short cropped hair was a bit tousled from the helmet and her wonderful, bright green eyes were fixed on the horizon. The color of her faded, green scrubs paled in comparison to the intensity of those captivating orbs of hers. When she spoke again, he watched her full lips move and it was the most enchanting thing he had seen in a while.

"Don't misunderstand my words. I mean everybody should know and see…be more aware of what happened." Her words sounded sure but carried a bit of sadness with them. "I have so much respect for the men and women who fought here. Especially those who gave their lives to ensure everybody else's safety."

Hitomi finally turned her head to meet Van's eyes. His head was slightly cocked, indicating that he had been actively listening, so she continued. "Especially now that there is peace and knowing that Palas was so close to being obliviated, I'm grateful for the sacrifices. Whatever you have done, your comrades. I'm so thankful for it and I truly am sorry you lost a loved one today."

Van watched her avert her gaze after she finished, her words having created a delicate mood in the air around them. She was fidgeting with the visor of the helmet nervously which she was carefully holding in both hands.

"My friend…," Van began and softly traced the field in front of him with his eyes again, "…Eriya. She was my brother's fiancé."

"Oh…" The small word escaped Hitomi's mouth without permission but the interruption didn't seem to bother him.

He continued quietly. "She was part of a different task force than Folken and I in the war, but they met long before it even started. Then, they got separated by duty. My brother is dead, as you know…" his voice was now thick with emotion, so he took a moment before continuing. "It was only a matter of time before she passed. It's almost like she was looking forward to it…to see him again in whatever there is beyond death. We both knew it was coming but I wasn't ready... We were the only ones left…of…of…"

Hitomi swung her head up and around to look at him again and saw that his face was scrunched up in frustration. Carefully placing her hand on his shoulder instantly relaxed him. "It's alright you don't have to tell me any more than that," she assured him.

"It sounds like they were very devoted to each other. At least," Hitomi now dropped her hand again and stared at the pavement directly in front of them, "…at least they loved each other until the end." Her voice took on a firm tone now. "Their feelings were unshakeable even by war and I'm sure they continue to love each other still. Loss of a beloved person doesn't take away the love they felt…when the other person decides to take that love away though, it's almost like somebody is ripping your heart out but you keep on living."

A quite obvious hint of sadness betrayed the bravado of her speech towards the end. Hitomi absentmindedly used the sleeve of the jacket to wipe her eyes. Even the movement of wiping some stray tears away reflected a good measure of stubbornness.

Van's stomach tightened uncomfortably when her shoulders sagged a bit while she spoke and he felt the sudden urge to knock the helmet out of her hands and pull her body against his in a tight embrace but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he listened to her patiently, hands clenched into tight fists to keep himself from doing something he would later on regret.

Hitomi watched Van slowly rake a hand through his wild hair to prolong the moment of silence between them while she waited for any kind of response but he chose to remain silent and instead simply nodded his head.

She continued to look at him out of the corner of her eyes, waiting for anything. Finally, he turned to face her and her own body followed suit like on autopilot, arms falling to her sides while she transferred the helmet to hold it in only one hand. A strange, delicate mood still lingered between them, growing more intense by the moment.

Slowly lifting one of his hands, Van traced the collar of the jacket and the back of his hand ever so slightly graced Hitomi's jawline. The warm touch instantly caused her heart to speed up madly as she tilted her head back to look at his face in order to try and read his thoughts.

Van, likewise, was scanning her face attentively. His mouth was closed in such a way that indicated thoughtfulness and his eyes were soft and observant, picking up on any and all of her movements.

"Van…I…," Hitomi began quietly but stopped when he reached down to the hem of the jacket and carefully closed it up, the noise of the zipper sounding intimately between them as the jacket's shell slowly engulfed her again.

"I should bring you back. It's getting late." The words had a slightly disappointing and sobering effect on Hitomi. Van's eyes were so kind and no hint of anger remained.

Curiously, Hitomi's heart sank a bit at his words. In order to distract herself from the knot that was forming in her throat, she attempted to thrust the helmet back into his hands. "Don't you want this back yet? It's dangerous for you to…"

"Not a chance." Van snorted a bit as if offended. "You put it back on," he instructed her while crossing his arms in front of his chest and thereby expanding it to accentuate his dominance in this matter, just like before.

Hitomi felt her cheeks grow warm again when he arched a brow and waited for her to oblige. It was the only way to hide her reaction to him, so she pulled the protective gear back over her head. "Fine, you win." She mumbled as she was once more engulfed by his distractingly spicy scent that lingered inside the thing. She immediately felt weak in the knees.

Luckily, Van was already climbing back on his bike which necessitated for her to do the same. Her arms found their home on his waist naturally. She looped them around and allowed her fingers to dig into the soft fabric of the white shirt and the muscles underneath. It felt like home to be close to him, she ruefully had to admit. The thought perturbed her immensely.

Much too soon, Hitomi found that they were pulling back into the hospital driveway. Before they had departed from the side of the road, she had realized that all her things were still in the locker room there, including her apartment keys.

Van parked in the same location as before, taking the helmet and jacket from Hitomi so she could go inside and retrieve her belongings. The sky was dark already, an endless blanket of stars covering the dark canvas. Gaea's small moon and its broken counterpart close by, a blue and green orb about twice the size, were glowing especially bright tonight.

The planet behind the small, silver moon hung in the sky ominously. Cracked in several places, many small, shattered fragments were trailing in its wake and orbit, thereby giving the duo a tail that reminded him of a shooting star. His very distant ancestors had created Gaea in order to evade their home planet's inevitable fate; the complete destruction by its own inhabitants. Gaea had been created through the power of a strong, collective wish of each and every Draconian, including the seed for a new population modeled after the other original, human inhabitants of the Phantom Moon.

Hitomi entered the main hall swiftly, only drawing little attention at the reception desk and along her way to the locker room. When she was changed back into her denim pants, grey blouse, and a thin, black jacket, she looped her messenger bag's strap across one shoulder. Almost back at the entrance, she remembered something else.

The elevator only took a minute to arrive and transported her back to the intensive care ward in no time. On the counter by the nurses' station, as she had hoped, somebody had neatly folded and placed Van's brown leather gloves.

"Hitomi!" The older nurse from earlier was sitting behind the counter and hailed her. "What are you doing here again? …and what made you dash out behind that young man earlier? He seemed a bit dangerous to be around in that agitated state."

Hitomi nodded a quick greeting to the nurse before answering. "He's really not. We know each other. It's…complicated."

With a knowing smile, the older woman stirred her tea and Hitomi, a tad irked by her suggestive smile, departed after storing the gloves inside her bag. She quickly entered the elevator which was still on the same floor and finally exited it in the hospital's entrance area on the ground floor.

When Hitomi left the building, Van was leaning on the handlebars of his motorcycle, gazing up at the moon. In this position, still straddling the bike, he looked darkly handsome; especially since his hair was in a charming state of disarray. He didn't notice her until she was almost back at his side.

When Van faced her, Hitomi forgot all about the gloves in her bag and anything she had meant to say, really. He looked so at peace, head lifted and with his elegant lips pulled into the barest hint of a smile. It was the most serene she had ever seen him and the sight wiped her mental agenda clean in the blink of an eye.

Before she could become too mesmerized, he reached behind himself for the red jacket which was draped on the seat and tossed it to her. Hitomi caught it but then offered it back to him, holding it out in front of her. "I have a jacket now, see? You should wear it yourself."

He did take the garment but then, instead of pulling it on, he stepped in front of her and unfolded it. "No, you wear it. It's not just for warmth but for your safety. There is some armor woven into the lining."

Holding it open and waiting for her to slip into it made Hitomi imagine a much different situation. One where they were at a nice restaurant or the opera and he was, in a gentlemanly fashion, holding some fancy piece of outerwear for her to slip into. It covered whatever nice dress she was wearing in this scene. At first, she hesitated a bit but then she obliged and slipped her hands through the sleeves.

He even zipped it up again for her but this time he refrained from unnecessarily prolonging the action. After moving back to the bike, he reached for the helmet which was hanging off one of the handlebars and handed it to her.

"Don't even try to argue with me about that." Van already told her before Hitomi could even begin to suggest anything.

Hitomi merely nodded before pulling the helmet over her head and, once again, found herself immersed in the intoxicating scent of the man who had so rudely disrupted her quaint, steady life not too long ago. She hopped onto the seat behind him and lightly placed her hands on his sides, feeling his solid torso move underneath the soft cotton shirt.

"Where to?" He asked, his head turned halfway in order to be able to hear her answer better.

"Third district," Hitomi said and then added a bit more quietly, "…the dodgy part near the west-end." Sure, she didn't live in the best neighborhood but so far, nothing had ever happened to her there.

Van simply nodded and revved the engine as a signal for her to hold on tight again. For the last time that night, she looped her arms as far around him as she could and allowed herself to finally fully revel in the feeling of her body pressed tightly against his.

Van had a bit more trouble than during their previous trips today when he maneuvered the motorcycle even though the streets were quite nearly empty by now. The grip of Hitomi's arms around him somehow seemed different, almost like she was holding him for more than just stability.

It made him want to go recklessly fast again. So fast that it would compel her to hug him as tightly as she could, wrap her legs around his waist additionally, and never let go. His heart did a backflip at the thought of all this. He didn't deserve to think about her this way. When they had to stop at a red light, the rumbling of the motor was the only thing that disturbed the quiet night.

They were both silent, waiting, staring at the red LEDs that made up the circular shape on the traffic light above. Hitomi's fingers were alternately relaxing and grabbing fistfuls of the soft, white fabric of his shirt. The friction of her small movements made it feel as though she was rubbing his ribs and the soft tissue around it intimately. A sigh of desperation escaped both their mouths but was completely muted by the purring motor.

Before any thoughts could pass, the light sprang to green and Van forced himself to concentrate and take off again. For both their sakes, it was better to ignore anything which could begin to transpire between them again. When they arrived at her apartment complex, Hitomi carefully dismounted and returned the protective gear, watching its original owner put it on.

He looked like the wild hero in some action movie, wearing the jacket and holding the helmet under one arm while still sitting on the motorcycle. His image was almost too rugged and imperfectly wonderful and that's why she had to go now.

"Thanks for bringing me back," Hitomi said while bringing her hands together in front of herself and beginning to fidget with her fingers nervously.

Van nodded softly in response. "Thank you for keeping my temper in check…somewhat…," he replied.

"So…," they both said simultaneously, unsure whether to address the issue from over a week ago that still needed some clarification.

Hitomi smiled a bit nervously. "I should go." Before Van had the chance to say anything else, she shot him another, very genuine smile and waved before taking her leave quite unceremoniously and walking towards the apartment building's outer stairwell.

Van remained in the parking lot for a few more minutes, sighing heavily, scolding himself mentally, and also keeping an eye on Hitomi as she emerged several levels above and moved along the open air walkway until she stopped in front of a door and let herself in. All the while, she hadn't turned her head a single time except for once, right before she finally disappeared behind one of the doors.

After staring at the door for another minute, Van finally pulled the black helmet over his head and wrapped his bare hands around the handlebars before commanding the engine and disappearing into the night.


A leaning tower of takeout boxes had been skillfully erected next to the flat screen of a desktop computer in a fairly dark and messy room. The lamp next to the person who was patiently hammering away at the keyboard was more for show than actual use and this evening it was no different.

The brightness of the desktop had been turned down to its lowest setting but even from the dim screen, the contents still reflected themselves well in the eyeglasses of the person in front of it as he dug and typed his way through the intricate code.

Mr. Mole's thick fingers danced across the keyboard of his personal computer. He briefly paused, only to take a sip from the bright green soda can nearby, and immediately picked up where he had left off. After breaking through several firewalls of the War Council's communication archive, he was finally able to access a number of files. It had been more difficult to access this part of the archive than he had anticipated.

Selecting the main file presented him with several more options. None of the names were familiar, but the security levels hinted as to the importance of the messages. Although the dates had been redacted, the sequence numbers still presented the messages in order.

After randomly selecting a few and scanning them, he happened upon a rather interesting piece which he read several times. Some of the information had been permanently removed, even preventing a skilled individual like him from retrieving it.


Royal War Council Communiqué

HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL

Date: [redacted]

To: Eries Aston, Secretary of Defense

Subject: Code Name 'Vision'

Ms. Secretary,

Our attack against the Zaibach command center needs to be executed stat. There is no time to plan a more thorough mission.

The appropriate Strategos has already been briefed and a Paragon task force was assembled. The [redacted] is ready to be deployed. We are waiting for your orders.

As previously reported, the [redacted] soldiers have identified a missile in the Zaibach launch silo nearest the command center. Energists have been engineered into highly potent explosives. The payload is estimated to be [redacted] gigatons. An explosion of this magnitude would destroy not just all of Palas, but most of Asturia.

Our balls are in a vice, Ms. Secretary. We need to act now.

Respectfully,

General V. Asona

Cmdr, Horn Army


Even though a list of the Paragon task force soldiers included in the mission had been linked with this document, it was inaccessible even to him. Somebody was clearly still working with the file and had temporarily removed the contents. The same was the case for a large video file named '097FVS. esca. vis' linked to the same string of documents.

Mr. Mole leaned back in his comfortable office chair so precariously far that it threatened to topple over under the strain he exerted on it, but the piece of furniture bravely endured it. Rubbing his chin in thought, he finally exited the system with a few jabs at the keyboard. Had he waited only a few minutes longer, just a few, he would have seen the access link being enabled remotely, releasing the information back into the system.

Tbc…

A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers, old and new. I really enjoy reading your reactions and thoughts about this little story. I'm especially proud I got some of you who don't normally read or like AUs to take a gander at it. Having written a continuation of the anime and the movie, it seemed like the logical next step.

Thank you, Miss Miz, for inspiring Yukari's threat. I hope you don't mind that I used that. It was too funny to pass up.

To answer the question, none of the Fanels are royals. I made Goau a politician/emissary because I wanted them to have strong ties to Fanelia but that's pretty much it. I thought about setting everything up in meticulous detail and similar to the Anime but then decided against it since it's really about the original gang with less of an emphasis on their parents. I just couldn't help and add all that info on Goau, Varie, and the Draconians at some point. It just seemed right.