Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 79
Garden behind Fanelia Castle
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Van stood in front of the monument where his father and brother were buried. He had laid fresh flowers upon the graves and spent some time talking to his father and his mother, whom though she was not buried there, he liked to believe could still hear him.
After a time, he began to talk to his brother. Normally when he spoke with Folken, Van shared his dreams of a bright and prosperous future for Fanelia, but recently another topic had occupied his thoughts and his discussions with his brother.
"She's become a wonderful rider. I fear that perhaps she may become a better rider than me very soon." He laughed softly, trying to suppress a sad smile. "She's such a gifted athlete, and not just a fast runner either. I was thinking of perhaps teaching her how to handle a sword. Obviously not a normal sized sword but something a bit smaller, a bit lighter. Something she can handle. I'm sure she'll learn to be just as proficient with it as she is with everything else."
He smiled, but after a short while the smile faded away as a sense of deep sadness overwhelmed him. "I wish you were here with me brother. I wish you could have lived long enough to see the man I've become. I-I think perhaps you would have been proud of me. At least I hope you would have been proud of me." He sighed pensively. "I wish you could have seen Hitomi about a moon ago. I arranged for us to have dinner aboard the Freya as it sailed around Lake Fanelia. She was so very beautiful that day. She wore a dress from her world that was, I must say, a bit too revealing, but she wore one of our mother's shawls. You know, the light blue one that mother only wore on special occasions. It complemented her dress perfectly. And remember the flower bands Merle used to make? She made one for Hitomi. It was so beautiful. She was so beautiful." A faint, joyful smile appeared on his face as he remembered that day.
"We ate and talked and even danced. Can you believe I actually danced?" The young king laughed silently. "Princess Millerna taught me some moons ago."
Van grew very pensive as he relived the memory of that night. "I remember holding Hitomi in my arms as we danced that night. I remember the feel of the delicate fabric of her clothes under my hand, the gentle press of her body against mine, the smell of her perfume, the touch of her lips."
Van looked up to the sky and drew in a deep breath. Letting out the breath, he sighed and wiped away the tear that escaped his right eye.
"I would make her my queen this very day if she would let me." He smiled, but after a moment it faded away again as he cast his eyes to the ground in front of the monument. "But she has… obligations back on her world, back on the Mystic Moon. I promised I'd wait and I will, but she's been gone not even a full moon yet and already I miss her more than I ever imagined I could. I made a memory ring from strands of her hair, just like the bracelet mother made for me when I was a child, remember brother? It warms my heart and reminds me of Hitomi's promise to return to me. I love her, my brother. I love her so much it hurts." He lowered his head and closed his eyes.
A few moments later, he felt a tug on his arm. Opening his eyes, Van found himself staring into Merle's sad eyes.
"Lord Van, you promised, no sad faces." She pouted.
Smiling down at her, he responded. "You're right Merle. I did promise."
Beaming with happiness, the catgirl pulled on his arm, guiding him into the forest. "Come on Lord Van, I want to show you something."
"Okay Merle, I'm coming." The king replied.
After walking about ten cubits into the forest, the young catgirl spotted them.
"There, up there." She pointed, giddy with excitement.
Van looked up and saw what must have been over 200 monarchy dragonflies hovering about the sky amidst the trees. "Ah!" He marveled. "I've never seen so many all together like this."
"I know." Merle giggled. "Isn't it wonderful, Lord Van?"
"Mmm." He nodded. "You should try and catch one, like you did that last time." He suggested.
"Actually, I've already caught three and set them free." She smiled innocently.
Van stared at her in total disbelief.
She stared back up at him wide-eyed and said, "It's true. I'm not lying." She blinked a few times then asked. "Would you like me to show you how, Lord Van?" She looked back up at the dragonflies "You can show Hitomi when she returns."
Van smiled at his childhood friend. "I'd like that Merle, thank you."
She smiled at him again then pulled on his arm. "Okay, well the first thing you need to do is kneel down."
Following her example, Van knelt down next to her and awaited further instructions.
"Then put your hands like this." She informed him as she put her hands together, palm side up. "Be sure to keep your hands perfectly flat. Don't curl your fingers at all."
Though uncertain of how this was supposed to help him catch a dragonfly, Van did as his longtime friend and companion instructed, duplicating her actions and staying perfectly still, just like she was. After a few minutes, he glanced over at her and asked, "So what do we do now?"
"Shhh," She whispered softly, doing her best not to move. "Now we wait until the dragonfly decides to trust us enough to land on our hands."
"Oh," Van gave a crooked smile then turned his attention back on his own hands.
After several long minutes, a dragonfly began to fly around the young king and before he knew it, it landed on the edge of his right hand. His eyes grew large in amazement at the events that were transpiring in front of him. Slowly, it began to walk across his fingertips, then it turned suddenly towards him and walked to the middle of his palm, where it stopped and gently began to flutter its wings.
Turning his head towards Merle in order to get her attention, he saw her staring down joyfully at her own hands. Stealing a glance, he saw that not one but three dragonflies had landed on her hands.
"See Lord Van, all you have to do is be a little patient with them and they eventually come right to you." She whispered happily. "They're amazing, aren't they Lord Van?" She smiled at her king.
"Yes Merle, they really are," He smiled back and thought, "and so are you."
~~~~~
While the first couple weeks of school passed quickly enough for most of the students at Kamakura-Kita High School, for one fifteen-year old girl those first two weeks seemed to take an eternity. She kept her promise to her friend and team manager Yukari, but she wasn't at all happy about it. During the Southeastern Regional Invitational, she set the high school track community on notice by winning the girls 100 meters by 0.18 seconds over the second place finisher and by anchoring the 4x100 meter relay and moving her team from third to first in a matter of seconds. Now at the Tokyo Invitational, as evening fast approached and the lights in the Olympic Stadium illuminated the field, Hitomi sat on the grassy warm-up field, stretching out her hamstrings and her calves.
The team manager came running up to her with a big smile on her face and her clipboard in her arms. "Hitomi! Can you believe it? You're the favorite going into the finals." Her tone expressed the level of excitement she was feeling.
"Yeah Yukari. I know. I ran those preliminary heats, remember?" The young sprinter replied without looking up.
The team manager's mode changed in an instant. "You know Hitomi, I've done my best not to let your attitude bother me these past two weeks. The way you've ignored me. The way you've avoided me and even came up with excuses not to ride the train home with me. The sarcastic way you've responded to me. I put up with it because I'm your friend and because I understand how much you love and miss Van. And I know you blame me for making you promise not to see him, but come on Hitomi. You're about to make history here. In fifteen minutes, you can be the first tenth grader to ever win the 100-meter dash at the Tokyo Invitational, boys or girls. Can't we be civil even for a little while?"
Acting as if she hadn't been paying attention to anything Yukari had said, Hitomi finally stood up and dusted herself off. After a few moments she slowly turned toward the redhead and said. "Why?"
Yukari gasped in shock.
"What difference does it make? It's like you said before, we've got meets all the way through the end of October. What difference does one meet in the beginning of the season make?" With that, she walked past the shorter girl.
Clutching her clipboard to her chest, Yukari began to cry. Then she spun around and threw the clipboard to the ground. "Fine! Go then!"
Hitomi turned back in a start.
"You know how to go and come back before the meet even starts, so do it. Go see Van. Tell him how much you love him. Hold him in your arms and don't let go." The redhead forced out in a strained voice. "Just go."
Hitomi smiled for a moment, but the smile quickly faded away. "You know I can't do that."
"Why? That's what you want to do, isn't it?" The team manager asked.
"Because if I do that, I won't stand a chance at winning the race." The shorthaired girl replied.
"So? You're in love with Van. Isn't that the only thing that matters?"
The emerald-eyed teen turned her head away.
Her friend sighed and slowly stepped closer to her. "I know it hurts. I know you miss him and you want to go to him, but if this wasn't important to you, why did you bother to train so hard?"
Hitomi cast her gaze to the ground.
Placing a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder, the redhead softly spoke. "I'm sorry Hitomi. I'm sorry for making you promise. I'm sorry for being so harsh. But you've got to understand, you've got a gift, a rare and precious gift. Most people can train ten times as hard as you've trained and still not run as fast as you can. But a gift like yours comes with a cost. You have to train and train hard. You have to maintain your rhythm and your timing. And you've done it. Now's the time to reap the rewards of all your hard work, and when the season's over, you'll be able to show Van all the ribbons and medals you won. And you can thank him properly." The redhead threw her friend a wink and a smile.
Hitomi blushed, "You're so bad Yukari."
"I know." She giggled as she quickly retrieved her clipboard. "Now hurry, they just announced the girls 100-meter finals."
"Right." Hitomi jogged off toward the starting line.
Hitomi took her position in the lanes, third from the left. Under normal circumstances, she would have felt more than a little intimidated. Of the seven other runners, five were at least two years older than her and two were three years older. All of them were taller than her and had been running high school track much longer than she had. But none of that mattered to Hitomi today. Both of her preliminary times were faster than any of these girls' and after talking with Yukari, she felt looser and more confident than ever.
Standing at the starting line, she bent over and stretched her hamstrings one more time, stealing a glance over to her right. Three lanes over was her teammate and captain, Megumi Yotsuga. The older girl glanced over and smiled. Hitomi smiled back and nodded, knowing full well what was expected of her. Focusing beyond the finish line, he slowly came into view. In her minds-eye, she saw him as clear as day. Slowly a smile crept across her face as she remained fixated on the vision created by her mind.
Operating entirely on instinct, she got down into her starting block when she heard the starter announce. "RUNNERS, TAKE YOUR MARK!"
She coiled up her muscles and lifted her head when he said, "GET SET!"
And then the gun fired.
BANG!!!
She exploded off the line and was already two steps ahead of everyone else after the first twenty meters. Her lead increased with each stride, each step of the way, drawing closer and closer toward her true love.
All her teammates cheered hysterically as she flew past them, as did her classmates in the stands. And after she crossed the finish line and her time was displayed on the leader board, the crowd erupted in cheers. At the top of the electronic board, it showed,
1st Kanzaki Hitomi 12:21 * New Meet Record
As Hitomi flashed past the finish line, she continued to run at top speed for about another ten meters before slowing down and finally coming to a stop in front of the object of her affections.
"Thank you Van. Thank you for everything." The image of her true love smiled at her and gave her a gentle nod. She smiled back and was about to say more when she was suddenly mobbed by her teammates.
"Hitomi!" Megumi pulled up next to her teammate, placing her arm around her shoulder. "Congratulations! You set a new meet record!" The team captain smiled ear to ear. "You're great Hitomi!" She pulled the younger girl close and pressed her forehead against hers.
Before the emerald-eyed girl could respond, Yukari threw her arms around her, nearly knocking the shorthaired girl over. Then, one after another of her other teammates jumped on her.
Later that day the celebration was repeated when Hitomi ran the anchor leg of the girl's 4x100-meter relay. Unlike at the Regional meet where she had to come from behind to win the race, here her performance during the 100-meter dash served to inspire her teammates, and each member of the relay team ran a personal best, resulting in another record breaking performance aided greatly by Hitomi's 12:19 second anchor leg.
The bus ride home was filled with joy and laughter, as the 1st place trophy was passed around to everyone. Led by the record setting performances by Hitomi Kanzaki and Amano Susumu, the rest of the team performed well enough to give their school a three point advantage over their traditional rival and nemesis, Furikan High School.
As the trophy made its way back to the front of the bus, the team coach stood up and waved his hands, signaling for everyone to quiet down. When the noise subsided, he gestured for the trophy, and with the gold-coated object in hand, he began to speak.
"Okay, now as I'm sure you all know, there will be a rally in the assembly on Monday where each of you will be presented with your medals again and this trophy." He held it up high, causing the students to cheer. Pausing a moment to let them calm down again, he continued. "Which will be presented to the principle. But I just wanted to take the time right now to tell all of you, while I have you here alone…"
"I didn't know you cared Coach." One of the boys joked, causing the bus to erupt in laughter.
To which the coach replied, "About everyone except you, Saotome." Causing an even louder response from the team.
"Okay, okay, settle down." The coach gestured once again for quiet and his team obliged.
"What I wanted to say was that I've never been prouder of this team then I am today. This is the best team I've ever coached, from top to bottom, in the eight years I've been here at Kamakura-Kita High School.
The team burst into cheers again.
The coach smiled from ear to ear and waved the trophy over his head.
Slowly, as the cheering stopped, he continued. "Now, none of us would be celebrating right now if it weren't for our victories in the boys and girls 100-meter dash and the 4x100 meter relay. And those victories wouldn't have happened if not for the record setting performances of Amano Susumu and Hitomi Kanzaki. Amano, Hitomi, come on up here!" He gestured for his two stars to come to the front of the bus.
With a smile, the team captain got up and started working his way to the front of the bus. He stopped a few seats up and tapped his friend and girl's track star on the shoulder.
"Come on Hitomi." He gestured with his head.
"Huh?" The emerald-eyed girl was in her own world, her thoughts nowhere near the events transpiring on the bus.
"Come on Hitomi, the coach called us." Amano said with a light chuckle.
"Oh," She got up and followed the team captain to the front of the bus. Up until now, she had managed to block out all of the noise and fanfare that her team was engaged in, but now seeing Amano and herself being cheered by her friends and teammates, she couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.
"Amano… Hitomi," The coach shook their hands then handed them the trophy, saying loudly for everyone to hear. "To the stars of the Kamakura-Kita High School Track Team!" He clapped.
Without hesitation Amano lifted the trophy up high, pulling Hitomi's arm up with it. The bus exploded in cheers and applause.
Hitomi looked all about her, seeing all the happy, cheering faces, and she was finally filled with the same rush of adrenaline that was overflowing from everyone on the bus.
"Not a bad way to start the Fall season, if I do say so myself." Yukari said to her friend who was sitting next to her on the bus.
"I guess, but now expectations are going to be so high. What if I can't live up to those expectations?" A worried expression crossed the emerald-eyed girl's face.
"Just do your best. It's worked for you so far." The redhead smiled then took a moment to steal a look back a few rows to see Amano finally alone. "I'll meet back up with you when we get off the bus." She winked then got up and left.
"Yukari?" Hitomi stared after her friend in confusion until she saw her take a seat next to her boyfriend. Sitting back in her seat, she sighed. "Well, at least one of us gets to spend time with her boyfriend." She whispered softly to herself.
After sitting alone for a few minutes just staring out the window of the bus, a voice asked. "Mind if I sit here?"
Turning, she gasped. "Megumi-sempai, o-of course. Please sit."
The girls' team captain smiled and sat down. "You know Hitomi, you're the star of the team now. You don't have to call me sempai, just Megumi will do."
"But you're still my senior and my captain." She bowed her head. "It wouldn't be right, being so familiar."
"That's too bad. I was hoping we could be friends." Glancing back, then forward a few rows, she continued. "Akane and I used to be best of friends, but now she only has eyes for her fiancé, and I see Yukari would rather be with Amano right now as well." She glanced over at Hitomi. "Don't get me wrong. I won't mind having a boyfriend too, but all I've ever wanted to do was run ever since I was ten." She stretched her legs out in front of her and folded her hands behind her head. "I put everything I had into my running. At my Junior High I was the best in my class but when I came here, Akane had no equal. What was really frustrating was that she wasn't just a great runner, but she was great in any sport she tried."
"And you were still able to be friends?" Hitomi asked, not hiding her surprise.
"We were teammates, of course we were friends." Megumi laughed softly. "We were rivals sure, but we always supported each other. She helped me become a better runner. And I actually got much better. So much so that I thought I'd be able to compete with her head to head during the Fall season of our junior year. But then she got in that accident. I became the number one runner by default." Glancing over at Hitomi, she continued. "Don't get me wrong, I welcomed the challenge and I worked extra hard to be the best sprinter on the team. But you came along and just blew us all way."
"I'm sorry, sempai." The shorthaired girl bowed her head again.
"Don't be, I'm not. You're a very gifted runner. And besides, we wouldn't have won the Invitational if you weren't on the team. I'm happy with my third place finish. I ran my very best and that was the best I could do. I may not have set a meet record like you did, but I did run my personal best. I can't really ask more than that, now can I?" She smiled.
"Aaa, no, I guess not." Hitomi looked at her for a moment then looked away. "Still I can't help feel like I took something away from you, sempai."
Megumi reached out and placed her hand over Hitomi's. "You haven't taken anything away from me. You've given me something."
"Huh?" Hitomi looked back up at her.
"Because of you, Harumi, Haruka and I are in the record books for the 4x100 meter relay. You really brought out the best in all of us, Hitomi. I really look forward to seeing you run the rest of the season. Don't get me wrong, I'll still try my best to beat you, but even if I can't, I'll enjoy each moment of this season." The team captain said with a smile as she sat back again.
Hitomi looked down at her lap, then up at her captain again, saying, "Thank you Megumi."
"For what?" The girl asked.
"For giving a 10th grader a chance to be in the first team and a chance to compete, and… and a chance to be your friend."
Megumi's smile grew. "Times are changing. The Sempai system just doesn't always make sense, especially when it comes to an athlete like you, Hitomi. You truly have a gift. Do your best to make the most of it."
Hitomi smiled and looked away for a moment. "Yukari said the same thing. She said I had a precious gift, but I don't feel gifted."
"She was right. Some people can train all day long, every single day and not run as fast as you ran today. And you'll only get better as time goes on. You might be the first girl in Kamakura-Kita history to be able to earn a college scholarship in track. Wouldn't that be something?" She giggled.
"You really think so?" Hitomi stared at her wide-eyed.
"I don't see why not. As long as you can avoid injury, there's no telling how far you can go." Megumi answered.
"A college scholarship…" The 15-year old looked out the window of the bus once again, realizing that her life just got a whole lot more complicated.
"Well, you must be tired. I'll let you get some rest." Her captain said as she got up from the seat.
"Megumi…" Hitomi turned suddenly before the girl could walk away.
"Yeah Hitomi?"
"Thanks. For being a friend, I mean."
The older girl smiled and gave a small nod. "You're welcome." Then she turned and walked back to the place she was sitting at before, while Hitomi went back to looking out the window.
As Hitomi and Yukari sat on the train on their way home, Hitomi finally spoke up. "I'm… I'm going to communicate with Van tonight."
Yukari just looked at her friend with a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"If it affects my performance at next weekends meet, I won't do it again till after the season but if it doesn't… well if it doesn't then at least I can talk to Van on a regular basis even if I can't be with him."
Yukari nodded then went back to staring straight ahead.
As they came to Hitomi's street, Yukari finally turned to her friend and said, staring down at the ground, "You know, I really hope it doesn't affect your running." Then she threw her arms around her and added. "I just want you to be happy Hitomi. Good luck."
Then she let the taller girl go and went running down the street.
Hitomi looked after her friend for a while till she turned the corner down her street and was out of sight. Then she finished walking home.
After being greeted by her parents and brother, having a light meal and taking a bath, she went to her room and laid down on her bed.
"Am I really as gifted as they say I am? Or was it just the extra month of training? And what if I can really earn a track scholarship? Oh Van, how long would be willing to wait for me?"
She sighed and slowly allowed her eyes to close.
'Van, Van, can you hear me? I need to see you again, even if it's only in my minds-eye. I need to talk to you. It's been so long, too long. Van, are you thinking of me this night like I'm thinking of you? Van…Van…Van…'
~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Sorry for the wait. I was originally planning on having this chapter contain the duel between Leopold and Cid but I decided that a Van/Hitomi chapter was way overdue. I hope you enjoyed it. I know this has a lot more angst then previous chapters but unfortunately that's the way it needs to be and will be for some time still. Will Hitomi be able to communicate with Van and still maintain her form? Only time will tell.
As always, thank you so very much for all your support. Your reviews help keep me inspired. I thank you all. And a great big thanks to Janice my beta-reader. You've made my job so much easier. Thank you so very much. ^_^
A. Amishi