A/N: ok here's chapter 5.

Chapter 5 Ripped Away

Van was lying on the ground asleep inside Hitomis room. She had bandaged him up for the second time since she'd known him and she was sitting on her bed watching over him protectively. A sound outside brings her senses alert as she realizes with dread that her parents had come home early. If they see Van…she stops this train of thought not wanting to know what would happen.

Hitomi rushes down the hall to try to stall them but is met with dark faces directed in her direction. Her parents looked furious. "Um hey mom and dad. Why are you home early?" She tries to play innocent but it failed.

"Hitomi who's in your room right now?" Her father says angrily. 'How did they know?' She thinks as she doesn't know what to say. Seeing her hesitate her father charges down the hall into her room with Hitomi right behind him.

"I knew it! The people coming in the store have been talking about you hanging out with some ruffian and now we know it's true! Why the hell is he all bandaged and bleeding?" Her father turns his red face towards her. Her mom was equally angry as she too looks at her daughter waiting for an answer. Hitomi was at a lost for words. She couldn't tell them the truth.

"Fine. If you don't want to defend yourself then we have no choice but to ban you from seeing this boy again. I know you have classes with him so there's nothing we can do about that but before and after school you are not to socialize with him at all. Are we understood?" Her father states. Hitomi straightens and looks defiant before a groan is heard from Van.

"Van!" Hitomi rushes to his side as he blinks his eye open and instantly feels the tension in the room. He sits up and tries to focus on the two strangers in Hitomis room. "Van don't move. Please." Hitomi whisperers, but Van didn't like the bad feelings in the room and proceeds to stand slowly.

The swelling in his left eye had gone down but he still couldn't open it so he tries to see more clearly with his right eye. "I think it's best that he does move. Right out the door." A male voice sounds from the bigger of the two strangers. "I was just leaving." Van growls at the two before he turns towards Hitomi his face away from her parents. Hitomis face stays calm but she catches the hint he gives that he'd be waiting outside.

Van walks over to the window and to Hitomis parents protests, he climbs out and disappears into the growing sunset. When he was gone Hitomi turns fierce eyes on her parents that are well matched by her mom and dad. "Van has done nothing wrong! Can't you believe me this one time?" Hitomi yells at the top of her lungs. "Hitomi, we are very seriouse. We've heard the stories surrounding that boy and his brother. They scare us my dear. Can't you see that we're just watching out for your safety?" Her mom pleads with her to no prevail. Hitomi scowls darkly and turns her face away. Her father steps forward and with an angry face slaps Hitomi across the face leaving a huge red mark on her cheek. Hitomi gasps and her eyes widen in shock. Her father had never hurt her before.

"If you disobey us then we will have to take drastic measures to make sure you don't associate yourself with that gang banger." Her father says. Hitomis lip quivers slightly. Her eyes held such hurt and anger that her mother shrunk away from her slightly.

Her father believing that she would finally listen, turns and stalks out of the door with her mom right behind him, shutting the door quietly. Hitomi falls to the ground and sobs quietly before she remembered that Van was waiting for her. She stands and stares defiantly at the closed door before slipping on her boots and slowly opening the window trying not to make any noise.

Sliding out the window she turns and closes it not planning on coming back for awhile. Creeping towards the woods she hears a small noise to her right and she follows it till she finds Van sitting behind a bush looking at her quietly. Too quietly. He must've heard what her parents had said. She sits next to him and they stay like that in silence for almost ten minutes before Van says, "Maybe you should listen to your parents. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." He says sadly. She looks at him shocked but says determinedly, "I don't care what they do. I will not stop hanging out with you. Don't you remember what I said on the roof this morning? I mean it! I care about you so much! Nothing or no one can take me away from you." Hitomi says in a fierce voice making Van smile at her softly before turning angry and grabbing hold of her face, turning the reddened cheek towards him.

"That bastard! How dare he lay a hand on you!" Van growls loudly and starts to stand up ready to go and probably kill her dad. "Van no! It's ok. I don't think he'll do it again. He was just angry." Hitomi pleads and wins as Van sits back down and looks at the ground trying to keep his anger in check.

"How are you feeling?" She says trying to change the subject as she notices he looked very tired. "I'm ok. The only thing giving me shit is my leg that I twisted when I was fighting my brother yesterday to vent my anger." He says with a laugh. He seemed happy even though he must've been in more pain then he was letting on to. Hitomi touches the long cut over his eye gently. It was already healing but would leave another scar on his face. "I probably don't look as attractive as I did when you first saw me." He says after noticing her grim look at all the scars. She shakes her head.

"No it's not that. I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore. I'm not worth it." Van looks about to protest when angry voices are heard from her room. "Oh no! They must've brought me dinner and found me missing. You must go home Van. I don't want them to see you." Hitomi says in a rush as she peeks through the bush and sees her dad looking out the window.

Van nods and crawls slowly away. Keeping low to the ground and out of site. When Hitomi can't see him anymore she slowly stands and walks back to her house ready to endure whatever punishment her dad had for her.

The next morning Hitomi leaves for school as early as she could to get away from her parents. Last night when she had come into the house, her father had beat her soundly for disobeying him while her mom was out of the room. He had said that if she did that again then they would move back to Shasta. Hitomi didn't want to move back and so she quietly accepted her beating and vowed to try and obey. She'd rather see Van during school then not at all.

She was quiet through her first two classes and in art she didn't even look up when Van came in and sat behind her. She lowered her head as he touches her shoulder trying to get her attention. When that failed he slipped a note under her elbow and failing to fight the urge to not read it she unfolds it reading:

Why are you ignoring me? What did your father do?

Hitomi gulps and then writes down everything that had happened and everything that her father had said. Passing it back to him she waits for a reply. All the students were watching her closely and she had the crazy thought that they knew what had happened and they were happy. They didn't want anyone to hang out with Van. They all seemed to hate him and they were just basing their feelings off of stupid rumors! The thought made Hitomi angry at such cruel judgment and knew that she was Vans only friend. She couldn't ditch him just because the entire school and her parents wanted her to.

Settling her resolve she turns fully to Van and her green eyes meet his bright red eye. His eye shown with love for her even though he couldn't say it out loud she knew it was there. She puts her hand and his and she glances at the still bandaged hand remembering how he had done it.

While they were walking home to her house he had said he smashed his fists into every mirror in their house. Angry that he couldn't see his face and furious that he had such a curse. And he said that she probably liked him before he became so ugly with all the scars on his face.

Remembering that she smiles and looks at him with shining green eyes. She wouldn't let anyone get between them. Even if they moved, she would stay with Van. She loved him and she wouldn't leave him ever. Turning away from him she faces the front and takes out her sketch pad. She starts sketching a picture from an idea he had given her before.

Curious, Van tries to look over her shoulder but she moves it out of view while smiling over her shoulder. Van scowls and slumps into his seat hating to be patient.

It took her all period and the next period to finally finish the picture. She meets Van on the roof with her smuggled steak and she hands him the picture which he grasps tenderly. It had two different faces of him. The one on the left had his face like the first day she'd met him and his eyes were narrowed and his expression was that of constant anger, while the one on the right had his face with the gash on his right cheek and the one going through his left eye but his expression was calm and happy.

"I personally like the one on the right." Hitomi says cheerfully. Van looks up at her and smirks. "Thanks Hitomi." They sat in a comfortable silence as Hitomi watches Van gulp down his raw steak. "Van…what are we going to do about my parents? If anyone sees us around each other after or before school they will move away." Hitomi says slowly wanting to know what Van said.

Van licks the blood off his fingers and stares at her for a long time before replying, "You won't leave with them. You'll come stay with me and Folken." He pauses as if considering something before continuing, "And if they come to my house, I'll take you to that spot by the river where no one can find us except maybe Folken but he wouldn't look for us." Hitomi relaxes after he says that and leans into him for comfort that only he could give. Van blushes slightly before gently wrapping his arms around her. He still wasn't used to this new affection he was receiving.

In gym the same day they were going to play dodge ball (A/N: i don't know how other schools played dodge ball but at my school the students form a circle and throw balls at the other students in the circle trying to hit them and get them out) and both Van and Hitomi were in the middle. Evil looks were passed between the ball throwers and Hitomi had a sick feeling.

The coach blows the whistle and all the balls were directed towards Van. He probably knew what they were planning because he gracefully slides between the balls as they zoom by like in slow motion. He was so fast that Hitomi could barely keep her eyes following his movements. The class turns angry looks on him and he smirks and shrugs his shoulders as his one eye glints with smugness. Hitomi stands close to him and squeezes his hand in appraisal at his antics.

His smirk turns to a small smile as he turns towards her. Suddenly from out of nowhere another ball comes heading towards Hitomi. Van sees it and grabs Hitomi pushing her out of the way before he dives just making it out of the balls way. Hitomi shakes her head and stands with her own smug look as she glares at her fellow classmates. They glare back but it was obvious they had given up.

Hitomi walks home and knows that Van was following her at a distance. She hadn't wanted to get beaten again and Van knew it so he stayed a respectable distance away. That night Hitomi sighs as she lies on her stomach on top of her bed. It was around 3 in the morning but she still couldn't sleep. This was one of the first school nights where Van hadn't come to her window and she just couldn't get to sleep. Her parents had acted normal to her again like everything was fine but it wasn't.

Hitomi acted cold to them and barely ate any dinner before locking herself in her room and stared at all the pictures that covered her walls. Her parents had said that she could keep her pictures just because they wouldn't cause her harm. She scowls at this thought. Van had never caused her harm. Not even when she first met him he didn't hurt her. She stared out the window again and saw only blackness. Fighting the urge to run all the way to Vans house, Hitomi walks over to her desk and picks up the feather that Van had given her.

She runs it over her cheek as she had done the first day she'd moved here. "Oh Van…" She whispers aloud as she falls into a fit full sleep with the feather up against her cheek.

It's been another month since her parents had forbidden her to associate with Van outside of school. They had been doing pretty well and everything seemed okay until the end of January comes around.

Hitomi comes home to find her room bare. She runs to her parents demanding an explanation. They look at her like she should know what happened. "We heard from some kids at school that you hang out with that boy after school before coming home." Hitomi looks at them shocked. What were they talking about? She made sure she came right home. The students were going against her to hurt Van. "You can't believe them! I come right home every fucking day!" She screams at them but they don't even flinch. Suddenly her dad moves towards her and puts a rag over her mouth. It smelled funny and before she could react she had fallen unconscious.

Waking up several hours later to find herself in her parents car driving through the Dask mountains, Hitomi starts to cry loudly while screaming at her parents to take her back to Lico. They seemed deaf to her words as they kept driving in silence. She tried the doors and found them locked tight. They had made sure she wouldn't be able to get out. She slumped against the seat and grasped the feather pendent tightly while tires streamed down her face.

She looks outside her window and found it had started to storm. Rain lashed against the car as if the weather was also against her. In one last ditch effort she unrolls her window and flings her head out the window. "VAN! VAN HELP ME!" She screams at the top of her lungs. The wind whips away her words and she feels arms grab her and yank her back in. Her mother frantically rolls up the window as Hitomi sobs into the seat.

Hitomi felt helpless as the car carried her further away from her Van. 'Oh Van…I vowed to never leave you and now it's out of my hands. I feel so helpless…' Hitomi thinks as she lies lifeless in the back of the car. Watching her world crash down around her made her feel completely void of life.

Her last hope was that he somehow hears her desperate cry of help but even she knew that was impossible. The winds were angry enough to carry her voice far away. Away from Van. With those depressing thought engraved into her head, Hitomi falls asleep hoping to never wake up.

A/N: Well what do you think? Review please! I'll hopefully have chapter 6 up by the end of today. .