Chapter 12 :Halloween part one
3/11/05
AN: OMG! Sorry! Very sorry! Unbelievably sorry! Ack, this was supposed to be up days ago. (sighs) This is longer than I thought it was going to be. (tho, it didn't look like that much on paper) I will have more up very soon!
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Silence hung in the air throughout the Kanzaki household, broken only by the grandfather clock down the hall, rhythmically ticking back and forth. It was still well into the wee hours in the morning. The sun still had yet to rise.
Van nuzzled his face deeper into the pillow he was so contently clutching to, blissfully ignorant of the grin spreading over his mouth. You see, he was having a very pleasant dream someone had ran Dilandau over with an abnormally large lawnmower, leaving Hitomi a bit sad but very single. A slight chuckle escaped his lips, muffled by the pillow. He was about to over his sincerest condolences to Hitomi, when he felt something kick him sharply.
"Mmmph!" He responded with grogginess. Lifting his head off his pillow, he found himself comfortably curled up in the corner of the Kanzaki's living room couch. He rubbed his eyes lightly, and looked at the figure sleeping soundly beside him. Van smiled to himself. It's just Hitomi. Must've fallen asleep. He mused to himself.
Hitomi stirred slightly, stretching her legs out in another kick. Van frowned in annoyance. Rolling his eyes, he was about to resume sleeping, when Hitomi booted him again.
"Hitomi!" He whined, groaning quietly. Another blow followed. "Stop it!" Mumbling under his breath, he sat up, and glanced at her sleeping face. She looked sort of comical with her mouth hanging open slightly, light snores bubbling from her mouth, and her dishevelled hair spreading every which way. For looking so carefree and peaceful, he forgave her for being a pain in the ass. Literally.
Hitomi emitted a tiny snort, causing Van to laugh. "You have to stop acting so cute." He whispered fondly. "If you don't, I might start falling for you."
Van sighed remorsefully. Where did that come from? In thought he looked up at the ceiling with a bitter smile on his face. "I can't believe you're dating him of all people. He's the most violent guy I've ever met. Not to mention how much of an ass he is. You're just so opposite from that. Well, I mean you can get a little violent…" Van paused for a second when he realised how stupid he probably sounded right about now. He was talking to someone who was sleeping. Sighing, he continued on. "What I'm getting at is you've put me in a very precarious situation. He's bad new waiting to happen, but don't worry…I've got your back. I hope you know that. Nothing bad is going to happen to you if I can help it. How that asshole ended up with a date with a sweet person like you is beyond me." He smiled down at her, listening to her slow deep breaths. "Too bad you weren't awake to hear all that." He sadly smiled. "Well, goodnight Hitomi."
Van closed his eyes wearily, however he couldn't fall back asleep again. His mind kept lingering to the image of Dilandau and his little friends glaring at him with hateful eyes.
/Flashback/ 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Dilandau haughtily surveyed his surroundings with a toothy grin. It became broader (if it was possible) as he brushed his thumb down the shaft of his lighter he was never seen without. Leaning up against the fence with his friends, he felt oh so confident and smug. Miguel, Gatti, Guimel, Shesta, And Viole all mirrored him, looking equally relaxed.
"Nice day." Gatti commented, with a chipper demeanour.
"Whatever." Miguel replied, flipping his hair away from his eyes. Dilandau grunted, and the others maintained their silence.
"I don't know why we always stand on this side of the street. I mean, why don't we go stand on the other side? There's shade over there at least." Gatti carried on, knowing that no one really cared.
"Well, if you wanna go over there, be my guest. I'll stay over here. I'm too tired to move anyways." Viole sighed.
Gatti rolled his eyes and frowned. Kill joys…
"Not that I care or anything, but I like it better over here. Watching those stupid karate kids come out of that school amuses me. They don't know how ridiculous they look in those damn Pyjama uniforms." Guimel added, punctuating his sentence with a laugh.
"Know what ya mean. I bet all that fancy footwork and jibber--whatever else they do, is all for show." Dilandau said, snickering openly. "Bunch of pansy show-offs" They all chuckled slightly, breaking their quiet for a few moments.
The minutes ticked by, spent gazing blandly across the street. Not much happened. The odd person walked by, casting a weary glance at the sour looking teenagers.
Again, the peace was disrupted, not by Dilandau or his company this time. The doors of the local elementary school creaked open, leaking children and teenagers alike out. Figures decked out in white filled the parking lot, parents herding their children into their vehicles, the children goofing off and laughing as they did.
Shesta shifted slightly, wrinkling his nose. "Annoying brats."
Dilandau sniffed harshly. "Got that right."
Crisp footsteps sounded on the sidewalk, causing Viole's head to turn sharply.
"He looks familiar." Gatti mumbled. Viole nodded.
The figure walked nonchalantly towards them, dark navy duffel bag draped over one shoulder with a brilliant blue belt peeking out of the half unzipped bag.
"Heh, he's one of those Karate freaks." Miguel said arrogantly.
"How would you know? He's wearing street clothes." Gatti challenged, noticing the boy's black jeans and red hoodie.
"Gatti, you moron! Look at his bag." He said in a hushed tone.
"Oh…" Gatti said slowly, realising his mistake.
The teen walked by, ignoring the 6 pairs of eyes following his every move.
"I have to admit, he does look familiar. Wonder if he goes to our school." Dilandau wondered out loud.
"He does." Miguel sighed. "Don't you remember? That's the kid that bumped you in the cafeteria yesterday. He's the one who caused you to bump into that girl holding the nachos. You got cheese all over your shirt because of him." He said, folding his arms smartly across his chest.
"Same kid?" Dilandau inquired, gritting his teeth angrily.
"Same kid." Miguel smirked coolly as Dilandau balled his fist. "Wouldn't do that if I were you, Boss. He knows…Karate!" Miguel mocked a scandalous gasp. He proceeded to make a parody of a karate chop, making an exaggerated war cry simultaneously.
"That's the guy who was walking through the cafeteria like he owned the place? The bastard's in Karate too. So, he thinks he's better than me, eh. Thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants since he's got a damn belt. Well, he better think twice…" Dilandau ranted on, becoming more pissed as each second past.
"Dilandau, you're over-reacting . It was probably--"
"SHUT UP GATTI!" Dilandau yelled, causing the black-haired teen to look back. Shaking his head, he continued on walking. Dilandau noticed his pause and snarled. "If he thinks he can just walk away…" Dilandau mumbled dangerously. Without wasting another moment, Dilandau left the fence boldly, off to stir up some trouble.
"Dilandau!" Gatti, called out after him, to no avail.
"Hey! Who do you think you are!" Dilandau proclaimed bluntly. The black-haired youth turned around with a perplexed expression.
"Excuse me?" He replied with an edgy tone.
"Don't get all cocky with me! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Dilandau said. His friends could only look on, talking amongst themselves.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The youth replied coldly. "It's obvious you're the one looking for the fight." He said irritably, maintaining eye contact with Dilandau.
"Smart guy, eh? I'll teach you not to mess with me!" The boy stared at him, completely unaffected.
"Whatever. I don't have time for this." The boy said back, regarding Dilandau with deep maroon eyes.
Bursting with rage, Dilandau raised his fist violently, taking a step forward with a blow aimed at the middle of the other boy's head. However, the youth seemed to anticipate this, dropping his bag, blocking the attack swiftly. He then followed through, grabbing his attacker's forearm, and stepped forward, moving his leg behind the back of Dilandau's. With his other hand, the teen forcefully pushed Dilandau back, sending him off balance. Dilandau's eyes widened dramatically as he was flipped over onto the rough pavement. It happed so fast that he didn't have any time to react. He didn't fully realise what happened until he hit the pavement's hard surface.
As Dilandau lay sprawled out on the sidewalk with the wind knocked completely out of him, the black-haired youth calmly picked up his bag and returned it to its spot over his shoulder.
"I don't know what your problem is but leave me the hell alone." He said before walking away. Viole, Guimel, Miguel, Shesta, and Gatti stared at his retreating back with disbelief.
"What the $& just happened here?" Miguel voiced the thoughts of everyone present.
/End of Flashback/00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Psycho path…" Van mumbled to the ceiling as he remembered the first confrontation he'd had with Dilandau. He never found out why Dilandau was out to get him that day, but he did know that since that day, Dilandau seemed to have a personal vendetta towards him. Naturally, Van mutually returned the feeling. Hitomi, you've got to develop a better taste in men. For my sake. A lone chuckle escaped his mouth as the kitchen light spontaneously came back on. About time the power came back on. Gently shutting his eyes, he waited for dawn.
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"Okay, we've got to book it people! We've only got four hours and time's a wasting!" Yukari declared, pointing a finger into the air. Hitomi gulped nervously. Her friend was being way too over-dramatic for her own good (yet again).
"Hitomi!" She whined. "Don't just stand there! MOVE! NOW!" The red-head demanded.
Suppressing a sigh, Hitomi allowed herself to be pulled along by her friend. "Thanks for the ride Mr Fanel! We appreciated it!" She managed to call out.
Mr Fanel waved from the car. "No problem. I'll be here to pick you up at around five O'clock. Have fun shopping!" He replied with a cheerful smile.
"Thanks again. Bye!" After a few minutes of being dragged into the store, and into their favourite clothing store, Yukari noticed that a crucial member from their party was missing.
"Where's Merle?" She asked, eyes darting around.
"She went off that way." Hitomi pointed towards Future Shop. "I would have told you sooner if I hadn't been too busy trying to reclaim my arm."
Yukari's face broke into an innocent Cheshire grin. "Heh…heh." She took the hint and let go of Hitomi's arm. "That little sneak…" Yukari fumed, stalking off towards Future Shop.
As Hitomi stood there watching, she seriously considered mysteriously 'disappearing' . "Poor Merle." She sympathised with an amused giggle.
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Inquisitive blue eyes inspected racks upon racks of colourful T-shirts, belts, and sweaters. "So…Much….Stuff." Merle moaned. This wasn't her type of scene. "Oooo look at this one!" Merle's eyes went wide with delight. She pulled an orange shirt off one of the racks, admiring the cute kitten on the front of it.
Yukari was instantly behind her to offer her advice. "Cute! Let's see if we can get it in a smaller size."
"Nah, this one will fit perfectly."
"Merle, if you haven't noticed…It's a large." Yukari stated
"Yeah, but I like loose fitting stuff." Merle stuck her tongue out, refusing to put it back on the rack.
"It's not going to happen Merle. It's way too big for you." Yukari rolled her eyes and wandered off, browsing for more clothes that would suit Merle.
"Merle, come over here! You gotta try on these jeans!" Hitomi called, standing in front of the change rooms with an armful of clothes. The younger girl complied, beaming happily.
Hitomi transferred the load into Merle's arms and ushered her into the change room.
"Hitomi, these jeans look so tiny!" Merle voiced loudly.
"That's because you are tiny Merle." Hitomi sighed. She waited just outside the change room door, silently laughing as Merle continued to complain under her breath.
"Okay, I'm coming out!" Merle announced, opening the door hesitantly. She stood anxiously wearing the jeans Hitomi picked out with a black shirt.
Hitomi clapped her hands together triumphantly. "Told you they would fit. Yukari, come see!" She called out enthusiastically.
Yukari walked over leisurely, nodding her approval. "I always knew there was a girl underneath those baggy clothes. Looks like we found her." She said, smiling smugly.
Merle grinned brightly. "Great, it fits! Are we done now?" She asked curiously. Hitomi shook her head slowly.
"Nope, I have more for you to try on." Grinning encouragingly, she pointed at the change rooms. "Now, get your butt back in there."
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Four hours later, (and a few large shopping bags) the trio directly marched into Merle's room upon arriving, emptying the bounty of clothes onto Merle's bed.
"Where do we start first?" Merle asked. If she was a cat, her tail would have been wiggling anxiously as she stared at the big pile in front of her.
Yukari tapped her bottom lip, eyes scanning the pile from top to bottom. Dark red eyebrows squished together, she pulled a few articles of clothing. "Okay, put this on and we'll do your hair and stuff after." She promptly handed over a black T-shirt with a mischievous looking happy face on the front of it, along with a pair of dark blue jeans.
"Alright! I wonder how mom will like this?" Merle chuckled. Just as Merle closed the bathroom door down the hallway, Mrs Fanel wandered in, to satisfy her curiosity of what Merle bought with the money she gave her to buy new clothes with.
"Hello girls. Just thought I'd stop by to see what you're up to in here." She laughed.
"Hey Mrs Fanel." Hitomi smiled. "Where's Van? I didn't see him when we came in." She asked, as Mrs Fanel began looking through Merle's new clothes.
"Went over to your house, I think. He was hinting at it. That's probably where he is." Her soft maroon eyes lit up as she lifted a T-shirt up. "This is cute. How'd you convince her to buy this one? She probably would have turned her nose up at it if I'd suggested it." She chuckled.
"Yeah…" Hitomi said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"Anyways, I'll just let you be now." Mrs Fanel said, heading for the door. She waved contently before closing the door slowly behind her.
"Van sure does seem to be over at your house a lot lately, Hitomi." Yukari smirked, hands on her hips. "I wonder why." She said playfully, inclining her eyebrow at her friend.
"Yukari, stop that. Van and I aren't like that at all!" Hitomi felt her face flush.
"Okay, if you say so. But I'm watching you two. You never know, Dilandau may not be the best match for you." Yukari winked shamelessly.
"Yukari!" Hitomi protested, her face going a deep strawberry red.
"What?" The red-head said innocently, delightfully amused at Hitomi's deep blush. "Just joking, Hitomi. You take everything so seriously." She laughed. Hitomi grumbled incoherently and gave her a shove.
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About half and hour later (and a good deal of shopping bags), Hitomi and Yukari grinned at each other with a sense of accomplishment. They had just finished with Merle's hair , applying a little touch of mascara and eyeliner to her eyes, along with a dab of lip gloss. They were finally ready to hand Merle a mirror to see the end result.
"Finished Merle!" Yukari exclaimed, handing Merle a mirror with a wave of her hand.
Merle took the mirror from her shyly, almost hesitantly. Looking at her reflection, she blinked. "Wow, I look…Different." She said, angling her head side to side to get a better look at herself.
"That's the point Merle." Hitomi said, rolling her eyes merrily. "So, what do you think
"Huh? Oh…I like it but I doubt I could do this every day." She smiled half apologetically. "But…um…Thank you. You know…For helping me pick out the clothes." Merle smiled shyly.
"It was our pleasure." Hitomi smiled.
"Yep, we should do this again." Yukari added, looking at her wristwatch. "Look at the time! Hitomi, we've gotta go get my costume for the party. It's still sitting in my room!"
"Okay, okay! Well, see you later, Merle!" She waved briefly before trailing after her friend.
"Bye!" Merle smiled, shaking her head slightly at how rushed they seemed.
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Hitomi sat in front of her vanity mirror, diligently putting the finishing touches on her costume for the party. "Do you think I put too much eyeliner on?" She turned around, allowing her friend to have a look.
"Considering that you're going as a Goth…I'd say no." Yukari smirked. "And I have to admit, you are looking like a pretty gothic Goth."
Hitomi smiled, her painted black lips parting slightly. "Thanks. You're looking really devilish yourself."
Yukari giggled, twirling the tail of her devil-lady costume around idly. "Did you call Dilandau?" She said, eyes twinkling with laughter. The fire-red eye shadow she had on was bold, but it suited her outfit perfectly. Hitomi nodded with an amused look. "Well then, are we going to pick him, or what?" Yukari asked, adjusting the devil-horns on the top of her head. "You don't have to worry about picking Amano up. He said he'd meet me at the party."
"Sure, I'll go tell my mom we're ready to go." Hitomi stood up, chains hanging from her neck and baggy black pants rattling together metallically. In the hallway they ran into Seth, who looked slightly peeved.
"Finally, we can go. What took you?" He asked, looking dashing in his Zorro costume.
"Girl stuff." Hitomi replied simply, Seth didn't press her further.
"So, you're going trick-or-treating?" Yukari asked with a smile.
"Duh! Who could possibly try to resist free candy? I'm going with Merle, as usual." Came his immediate response.
"Awww!" Yukari crooned. "How sweet!" At that, Seth blushed, but didn't say anything. Hitomi chuckled softly. Together, they all trudged down the hallway.
Mrs Kanzaki stood at the top of the stairs, camera in hand. "Smile you guys!" She said sweetly, allowing them a few moments to pose. The camera's flash lit up the hallway for a few short seconds, a click travelling through the air. "Okay, everyone's ready now? Let's go."
In moments, everyone was in the van, teetering on the edge of their seats with excitement. (Minus Mrs Kanzaki of course) "First stop, the Fanel's house, to pick up Merle and Van." She chirped. Hitomi felt her gut become icy. Dilandau and Van in the same vehicle didn't settle to well with her.
They briefly pulled into the Fanel's driveway to pick Merle and Van up. Merle took the seat beside Seth, wearing a cat costume underneath her jacket. Van on the other hand, looked slightly intimidating in his Vampire costume.
"Hi Seth!" Merle beamed as Seth grumbled.
"Some 'surprise', Merle." Seth sighed. "It's not what I was expecting."
Merle chuckled, poking his arm a few times. "You thought it was that game, didn't you?"
"Maybe…So what?" He replied, sounding like he didn't give a damn about the game or the fact that her surprise did surprise him. "What are you laughing at?" He said, arching an eyebrow at her.
"Nothing…" Merle said, swallowing her laughter for a moment
"Hey." Van greeted Yukari and Hitomi in the very back of the van as he opened the front door of the van and sat down in the passenger's seat.
"Hey yourself." Hitomi laughed. "Why didn't you wake me up before you left? Nice costume by the way."
Van flashed a grin at her. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart to wake you up." He confessed. At that, Yukari stifled a few chuckles behind a hand and Hitomi blushed faintly at the thought of Van staring at her while she was asleep.
"Mom! Aren't you going to drop us off!" Seth complained loudly, pointing to himself and Merle.
"Be patient! I have to make a few more stops, then I'll drop you off. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you." Mrs Kanzaki scolded with irritation. "Dilandau lives down Shtal avenue right, Hitomi? House number 8403?"
"Yeah…" Hitomi said meekly with an unsteady voice, crunching her hands into tight balls in her lap. She hoped Dilandau wouldn't start anything with Van. That was the last thing she wanted her mother seeing. Her shoulders tensed as her mother turned down his street and pulled into his driveway. There was no need to ring the doorbell, he was already out on his front stoop waiting for her to pick him up.
He stood up to his full height, and slowly approached the car.
AN: thanks for the reviews guys!
EB, Annie, witch of fire, Inda, D310usP4an4, inu'sdarkangel89, and inuyashalover9565 - thanks for the reviews peoples! Loved them (hands you a big platter of cookies) :D hope you enjoy.
f-zelda- Hi! lmao, Van is green with envy. I wonder what he's gonna do about Dilandau (smiles evilly lol jking) Thank you so much for the review:D
Destiny Foretold- O.o wow, what a nice review! Long too! How did I come up with his character? (pauses to think for a sec) urm well it's sort of based on the way my dad acts…He can be really serious one moment and very random and kinda silly the next. Now that I think about it, he makes really good cookies too (although he's not cookie obsessed like Van :P), and he eats odd stuff. Once, I sat at the kitchen table watching him make a peanut butter and cheese wiz sandwich for work. No joke! lol, I think I've kept him in character as best I could. This is an AU after-all :P. (Grins broadly) As for Allen, oooo I'm so mean to him! He's awesome, but I can't help but bash him…BUT NOT HIS HAIR:D I'm quite taken with his hair. I'm not going to deny that. Heeheehee, some tomato soup would be nice:P (the chow main sounds tempting though) wow this reply is long, feels like I'm writing a letter, lmao. If you wanna you could add me to ur msn. Chow!
Xanthia Nightshade: Hello! Yea, I'm allowed back on the comp now ;; so happie! Don't worry I'll be sure to update soon. I hope you get around to updating your fic Of Guns and Roses! I love it!
Angelofdarkness1566 - Hey! Thanks a bunch for reviewing . The school strike ended (thank goodness) I'm really happy about that. (hands you a nice slice of strawberry cheese cake) Hope you enjoyed.
FuyuSarah- Thanks for all your kind words and compliments! (blushes) hope this doesn't disappoint. I'm relived to hear that I kept the characters sort of in character. Thank you for the review. :D
elena-maria- LMAO, I'd love to meet a guy who's obsessed with cookies that much too. That would be interesting, wouldn't it? (grins) I'd like to see you update soon. You left me hanging, lol! Thanks for your reviews! I'm glad you like my fic too.
Hanako110 - I have to agree with you. Cold Kraft dinner with ketchup is just gross, nasty…BLEH! A little girl I know eats Kraft dinner just like that. I don't know how she can stand to…but she does!. heh heh, I love Kraft Dinner although…I wouldn't eat it like that. Thanks for the review.
Shizuka-na Tenshi- (grins) aww yea I feel sorry for the poor guy too. Dilandau's getting way too close to Hitomi for comfort for him. Thanks a bunch for the review, and I hope you liked this chapter. :D
Tigger093061- There will be more V/H soon. Thanks for the review. :D
Pure hope- OMG! I'm really really very very sorry for not updating sooner. (eyes widen as you take out a wet noodle) Eeeeek! NOT THE WET NOODLE! (faints) lmao, talk to ya later Cat!
Kathya- OKIES! I'll write more (starts typing madly). Thanks for the review:D
CHICA DE LA LUNA FANTASMA: Kick ass name! Thanks for the compliment, and the nice and urm…PEACHY…review, lmao. :P Van and Dilly are nice…but I like Allen the best ;;. (hands you a cookie) Here ya go, you don't have to go down aisle four! lmao. :D
Kogayjilynz- Thankies! I'll do my very best to update soon. :D
Thanks to all the reviewers and the readers! You may take a handful of virtual chocolate left over from Halloween with you on your way out.