Thank you all for the encouraging reviews! This is my first fanfic and I want to make sure the story sounds as interesting on "paper" as it does in my head. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!
If there was any confusion in the first chapter about what was going on between Hitomi and Van during their race, Hitomi was having a vision of Van in Gaea. This is the connection they have between them. From now on a vision will be marked with "VVVVV" at the beginning and end of it.
By the way, the title of each chapter is the name of an actual tarot card.
Okay, enough talk. Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!
Chapter 3: The Page of Swords
Hitomi folded her arms in close to her body as she hurried down the deserted street. The increasing humidity in the air made it difficult to breathe and she was unnerved by the stillness all around her. The chirping of the crickets soothed Hitomi's mind and the shock of Van's sudden contact began to wear off. A thunderstorm was gradually approaching in from the sea; the thunder rumbling closer every minute. She passed in and out of the orange streetlights, around which dozens of tiny moths danced. A dog barked off in the distance as the city below hummed a lullaby to its sleepy population.
Crossing a dimly lit street, Hitomi reached a long cement stairway, one she had climbed many times before on her way home from school. The maple trees to the right whispered to one another as the wind rustled their leaves. If Hitomi's mind hadn't been racing, she might have noticed how peaceful the night seemed. It was the calm before the storm.
It only occurred to Hitomi as she walked under a familiar underpass that she probably should have brought some of her belongings with her. If Van was planning to take her back to Gaea like she assumed, then she was completely unprepared. That wasn't like her.
'Well, it doesn't matter. It's not like I can turn back now. Van is out there somewhere and I have to find him before someone else does. What would the government do if a boy with angel wings was found roaming around downtown Shizuoka?'
Little goose bumps appeared on her naked arms and she shivered. Hitomi couldn't imagine such atrocities befalling her dearest friend. She nodded to herself in determination. Nothing like that would happen.
Hitomi rounded a corner and the school loomed into view. She began to run. Once she reached the front of her old high school Hitomi took the path to the left towards the stadium.
'Van, I'm almost there!' she thought, a wide grin spreading across her pale face.
Hitomi dashed up the back stairs and was well out of breath by the time she got to the top of the bleachers. Before her lay the reddish track painted with white lanes. Beyond that were a chain-linked fence and the churning ocean. All she had to do now was climb down the bleachers and she would be in the same place she met Van so many years ago.
There was one problem though. Van was nowhere to be seen.
"Van?" Hitomi called out across the field.
All was still.
"He…he isn't here?" Hitomi gasped with sorrow, "I thought…I really thought he would be here."
Hitomi's heart sank and she leaned her exhausted body against a stone pillar. She had been so sure that she would find him here; where else could he be? Then, it hit her. There were other places he could have gone, maybe if he did not want to take the chance of being seen. There was one other spot Van was familiar with.
"The shrine." Hitomi whispered with wide eyes.
Hitomi practically jumped with excitement. She raced down the bleachers and onto the field wet with dew. The entrance to the shrine was passed a stone wall bordering the school grounds, across the street and up a long hill. It was the same direction a land dragon had chased she and her friends years before.
She was almost to the wall when her legs suddenly went stiff. Hitomi slowed to a complete stop. A horrible feeling in her gut had seized her, beckoning her to stop.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
A dark figure loomed in front of Hitomi's face. She couldn't quite make out what the person looked like, but there was a malevolent aura about it. Its lips curled into an ugly, evil grin which sent shivers down Hitomi's spine. Then, it brought a cigarette up to its mouth and took a long slow drag. As it exhaled, the smoke formed the shape of a terrible bat that opened its gapping mouth to swallow Hitomi whole.
"No!" She cried, "Stay away from me!"
The being's eyes glowed with anger and greed. It hated Hitomi and it hated everything.
"What do you want from me?!" Hitomi screamed.
It reached out its long fingers and almost had Hitomi in its grasp when a torrent of water engulfed it. Hitomi stepped back and the being melted away into nothingness.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Clutching her chest, Hitomi struggled for air as the shock of her vision wore off. Hitomi tentatively peered around a stone wall into the dark street for any sign of danger. Not far away was an idling sports car; inside she could see the faintest red glow of a cigarette. Hitomi wrenched her head back behind the stone wall.
"I am being watched!" She breathed.
It made more sense now. If she had gone rushing out into the street the stranger would have seen her for sure.
Hitomi rested her head against the wall and looked up into the cloudy sky. Who was this person and why on Earth would they be following her?
"Man, what am I gonna do? If I go to the shrine, that person will see me! There isn't any other way to get there."
Suddenly, as if an answer to her prayers, the thunderstorm was upon them. It began to pour, creating a mist along the ground. This was Hitomi's chance. Perhaps, if the stranger hadn't yet turned on the windshield wipers, she could cross without being spotted. Without a moment's hesitation Hitomi burst out from her hiding place, dashed across the road and into the cover of the forest.
There was no looking back now. Hoping that the mysterious follower hadn't seen her, Hitomi bolted up the stairs two steps at a time. Lightening flashed and illuminated the red arches above her head. The downpour has soaked her from head to foot, her shirt sticking to every inch of her, but she didn't notice. As the rain started to slow down to a steady shower, Hitomi neared the top.
Without warning, a great crash of thunder and lightning shook the earth beneath her feet. A bright blue light cast shadows of the tree trunks along the ground as it came down from the sky. All around her was an eerie glow and it made her slightly dizzy. The beam of light touched the ground, carrying with it the form of a winged man.
Hitomi gasped in awe and clutched a small tree to keep herself steady. The young man drifted peacefully down and landed in the soft grass without a sound. He seemed to be asleep. Then, as Hitomi watched, it seemed that something about him was amiss. The beam of light vanished almost as soon as it came, leaving Hitomi quite frozen.
'Van.'
Hitomi took a few steps forward into the clearing before the ancient shrine.
"V-Van?" She stammered.
Van groaned and shifted.
Hitomi stumbled to his side and immediately saw the gouge in his right side and the hole in his left wing. Something very bad had happened to him. She leaned over his body but did not touch him for fear of accidently hurting him.
"Oh, no! Van!" Hitomi moaned in dread, "W-what happened to you?!
Van's eyes flickered and he slowly opened them. He blinked the rain out of his eyes and stared up at her for a moment before he realized what he was seeing. His eyes widened as he understood exactly who was looking down at him.
"Hitomi…" Van murmured slowly, "is that you?"
"Yes, Van. It's me." Hitomi whispered, a lump forming in her throat.
"You aren't a dream…or a vision?"
Hitomi smiled, a tear of joy rolling down her cheek.
"No, it's not a dream or a vision, Van. You are really here with me." Her voice cracked.
She gently clutched Van's hand, bringing it up to her lips for a small kiss.
When she let go his hand lingered. He gently touched her cheek with his rough fingers, as if to prove to himself that she was indeed solid. A bittersweet gaze shone in his deep brown eyes and he smiled. Hitomi blushed slightly.
"I've waited so long to see you, Hitomi." He said, "I missed you so much!"
"I…I missed you too, Van."
Van started to sit up.
"I only wish this moment and come under happier circumstances." Van took a sharp intake of breath and the pain of his injuries manifested in his face. He leaned back down into the grass.
"Van?" Hitomi was worried, "Van, what happened to you? Who did this?"
Van frowned.
"I'm not sure, Hitomi. I was about a half mile from Fanelia when I was attacked by flying Guymelefs."
Hitomi gasped.
"Not Zaibach!"
Van shook his head. "No, it wasn't Zaibach. It was some enemy I have never seen before. The Guymelefs…they were shaped like bats."
Hitomi's eyes widened.
'Like the bat made of smoke in my vision?'
(Down the hill in the stranger's car)
The tremendous beam of light from the top of the hill was hard to miss. The rain had died down slightly when it happened and the door of the black car opened. A tall woman of about 25 years stepped out of the car and gazed up at the blue light. She had a sharp, beautiful face with long, wavy orange hair. Her eyes were a cool blue and her lips were thin. The woman wore a black turtle-neck and tight dark pants.
The beam of light disappeared. Her eyes narrowed. In her left hand was a stump of a cigarette, which she brought to her thin lips and inhaled one last time. She flicked it to the ground, the embers sizzling in a puddle on the road, then she stepped on it with her red boot.
Out from a holster hanging off her hip, she pulled her sleek automatic pistol. With a crazed glint in her eye and the slightest hint of a smile, the woman pulled back the hammer and began to walk up the steps to the shrine.
(At the shrine)
With Hitomi's help, Van was able to sit up. He glanced around the clearing with a frown.
"Where exactly are we?" He asked.
"Oh. We are on Earth…the Mystic Moon. I…I thought you knew that." Hitomi said with eyebrows raised.
Van shook his head.
"One minute I was lying unconscious in the forest on Gaea…then I was here."
'So, he must not have intended to come here.'
Hitomi sighed. Now was not the time for explanations and catching up on old times anyway. The beam of light was sure to have attracted some unwanted attention and Van's wounds looked serious. He needed medical attention as soon as possible.
"Come on, Van. We need to get out of here quick."
"Why? What's the matter?" Van asked.
"Your wounds need to be seen by a doctor, and..." Hitomi hesitated, "there has been someone following me for a day or so now. They could be coming for us as we speak."
Van gave Hitomi a worried look.
"Can you get to your feet?" Hitomi asked.
Van nodded and Hitomi helped him up, his arm around her shoulders to maintain balance. He winced in pain.
Hitomi glanced towards the stairs.
'This way is the only way up.' She thought, 'The stranger would walk up this way to find me. I have to improvise.'
"Come on." Said Hitomi as she led Van to the edge of the woods.
"Err. We are going to have to go this way."
Van gave an "are you kidding me?" look, but said nothing.
They pair began to trudge their way through the forest. Hitomi clung to every tree she passed so that she would not fall down. The way was muddy and the hill was getting steeper. On the way, Hitomi tried to think of what to do next.
'My house is much too far away to walk to with Van's injuries open to infection like this.' She thought, "I guess I'm going to have to risk letting Van's feathery secret get out to him and hope he keeps his mouth shut.'
(At the shrine)
The mysterious woman looked down the hill into the forest. A ways away were the girl and the boy. She looked at her weapon as if to consider making a shot in their direction, but changed her mind.
'He told me to watch for any useful information.' She thought, 'They won't do any good to us dead.'
She sighed and put her pistol back into the holster. There would be many more opportunities to use it. The woman touched a spot on her chest just below her collarbone where a small bulge could be seen through the fabric of the turtle-neck. She turned around and started walking back down the stairs she had come from.
(In front of a small white house)
Hitomi knocked frantically of the front door of a white house. It had to be around 3am, so the chance of finding the man awake was slim. Van leaned heavily against Hitomi with his wings folded into his back and she struggled to keep him upright. He had lost quite a bit of blood.
The lights turned on in the house and next the porch lights. The door creaked open and a very tired looking man poked his head out. He was the same short, balding, black haired man Hitomi had witnessed on the track the day she returned from Gaea. The man rubbed his eyes and looked at the two young adults.
His mouth dropped open.
"YOU!" He cried as he stared at Hitomi.
He tried to slam the door, but Hitomi was too quick. She thrust the door open wide with her shoulder and rushed in, Van clinging to her side.
"Demon girl! Get out of my house!" Whimpered the man.
Hitomi gave him a deadly look.
"Dr. Nohroku, please!" Hitomi growled, "Stop it with the demon girl shit…I'm not in the mood."
The doctor took a few steps back, his eyes wide with fear. Then his eyes fell upon Van, and his expression changed.
Hitomi followed his gaze to Van. He looked even worse in proper light. The situation was getting desperate.
"Doctor, please." Hitomi whispered, "My friend is hurt very badly and he needs your help."
The doctor hesitated.
Hitomi moaned.
"I know you don't like me because you stained your reputation with your rants about me floating down from the sky, but this is bigger than us! I promise that I will never show my face again if you just do what is right, what your life is all about, and help him."
After what seemed like forever, Dr. Nohroku solemnly nodded his head.
He led them into the back part of his house which happened to be his private practice. He and Hitomi helped Van on to an examination table where the doctor could take a better look at his wounds. He turned on a light attached to a movable device and shined it only Van's gash.
"Hmmmm." He muttered, "This is quite a deep gash, but not life threatening."
Hitomi sighed in relief, and a tight feeling in her chest developed. She could have cried from the relief she felt. She closed her eyes and shook her head to keep her composure.
Van groaned, his teeth clenched in pain.
"Well, it won't take too long to patch up this injury." Dr. Nohroku explained, "I'll give him something for the pain, then it would be best to rest for a week or two before moving around."
"Thank you so much, doctor." Hitomi smiled.
He just nodded his head.
Then another thought entered Hitomi's mind.
"Um, Dr. Nohroku?" She began with an apologetic expression, "There is something else that needs to be looked at."
There was a long pause.
"Oh?"
Hitomi turned and spoke to Van. Van closed his eyes, nodded, then allowed his wings to split out of his back. The hole dripped with blood and a few feathers floated to the ground.
The doctor went completely white and stared in shock.
Hitomi watched him, getting ready to chase him if he started to run. The doctor did not run, he just stood there.
After a minute or so of a complete awkward silence, the man mumbled.
"Well…that's something I've never seen come out of a person before."