Chapter Six

(Hitomi's POV)

My dad generously drove us to where the party was supposed to be held. "You have your phone on you?"

"Yes sir."

"And Yukari is going to bring you home?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright, have fun, but at the first sign of trouble…"

"Scat like a cat. I know." I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for the ride!"

"I'll see you back home at 12 o'clock. No later!"

"Yes sir!"

He drove off. I turned and looked at the building. It wasn't the ideal place to hold a party, and I almost thought we might have had the wrong place, but it matched the directions on the invitation. It was a dingy building, the windows were boarded up, but colored lights shone through the door windows. The deep pounding of a bass was heard all the way outside.

"Is it supposed to sound like that?" Van asked.

"I think so. All though, I haven't really been to these kinds of things before."

"Oh great, two newbies."

We entered the building hesitantly, for I was still unsure if this is what I wanted. Inside the building, I was definitely sure this wasn't what I wanted. Older men sat at tables all around, with some sort of alcoholic beverage in their hands. Scantily dressed women walked around and served. There were no signs of any kids from my class. I walked up nervously to the counter.

"Excuse me," I asked the bartender. He looked at me in surprise. "I'm looking for a party. Is this Otatsuka block 14-23?"

"Yes ma'am. But I'm not sure of any party in my bar. If there is, I wasn't aware of it."

I handed him the invitation. "Maybe I'm not reading it right."

He looked at it a minute and shook his head. "No, that's our address…how old are you anyway?"

"I'm 17, sir."

"You know you shouldn't be here."

"I wasn't aware this was a bar until I came in…" I began to lose hope.

"Wait a moment. Are you Kanzaki-San?"

"Yes…"

"There were some girls here this afternoon, they said if you stopped in, to give this to you." He handed me an envelope. "Hope you find your party!"

"Thanks." I bowed my head.

I hoped that the note was a correction to the typo they had made, but instead, I opened it to make a rather disturbing discovery.

'We may not be heartless enough to not invite you, but we are heartless enough to give you the wrong directions. Hope you didn't drag your foreign friend to that rat hole!' I angrily crumpled the note and threw it into the trash. I stomped out of the bar in a huff, and barely caught what Van was saying.

"Just call your father, he'll pick us up and we can go home and have a party of our own."

By this time, I was already outside, where it had started to rain. My hair was beginning to get wet and lose its curls, and my makeup was running. Although, I couldn't tell if it was the rain or my tears.

"This was the last chance I had to get in. I finally could get out of this rut and have friends like I used to. I can't believe I fell for this! I'm such an idiot!"

"No you're not. Stop telling yourself that."

"I don't what to hear anything from you! You're the whole reason these things keep happening to me! You never asked me if I wanted to go with you, you just took me!"

"Stop it Hitomi. You're not making sense. You know I wouldn't have taken you if I had a choice."

"And then you had to go and come back for me! Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone!"

"Maybe I thought you wanted to come back. Please Hitomi, calm down. You need to call your dad."

"Fine!" I took my cell phone out of my purse and went to dial his number. "My phone is dead."

"What?"

"It's out of power. I can't use it."

"Then how do we get home?"

"We walk I guess…I'm sorry, I'll walk, you ride."

"Hitomi." He warned.

"What are you going to do? Pinch me?"

"What's happened to you? You're starting to sound like those girls."

"How could you even say that! You jerk!"

"I'm not the one being a jerk."

I said nothing, but let out an angry huff and took off.

A half an hour later, I found myself getting closer to home. My dress was drenched, my hair hung flat to my head. I slowed down. The rain had made my shoes wet and start to chaff my feet. I took a seat on a nearby bench and caught my breath. I felt awful. Faceless crowds passed by me while I put my head in my hands.

"I'm sorry Van. You're right. I am a jerk. I shouldn't have let those girls get to me. Van, I'm so glad that you're here…"

He didn't reply.

"Van? Are you okay"

Still no reply.

Panic started to rise as I patted my shoulders to find him nowhere. "Van? Van!" I jumped to my feet and looked around the surrounding area. "Van! Where are you!" He could have been anywhere. I ran into the crowd and looked as best as I could to the ground. How long ago had he fallen? What if he had been trampled? He was so small and he didn't know his way around. "I killed Van…" I whispered desolately. Somebody bumped into me from behind and I fell forward into a puddle. I scurried my way into a nearby ally.

"It's all because I was so selfish. Now he's dead and it's all my fault…"

"Who's dead?"

My head shot up to lock gazes with the young man I had just being worrying about. His wings were lightly flapping, keeping him hovering at eye level.

"You're alright!"

"Yeah, when I fell, I tried to follow without drawing attention. I was just glad that you stopped."

I held out my hands, where he landed softly. "Van, I am so sorry. I was just so angry! You definitely didn't deserve what I said." The rest of my sentence faded as I broke out into a rest round of sobs.

"Hitomi, it's okay. I, of all people, know what it's like to fall prey to a bad temper."

I brought him up to my face where I nuzzled his bare chest. "Thank you for understanding." I felt his small hands tuck away the hair that fell in my face.

"Let's go home Hitomi. I don't want you to get sick."

I nodded and held him in my hands all the rest of the way home.

(Van POV)

We entered the house quietly. Hitomi didn't announce our arrival, just simply let the door swing slowly to tap against the wall to speak for us. Her mom came into the room at the noise.

"Hitomi! Dear you're soaked! Why are you back so early? How did you get here?"

Hitomi said nothing. Just simply slipped her mangled shoes off and handed me to her mother.

"Shower…" She whispered and sulked upstairs.

"What happened?" Her mother asked after Hitomi was out of sight.

"The invitation was a fake and her phone was dead…"

"Oh no…"

"She's really hurting."

Mrs. Kanzaki only simpered, and took me upstairs to Hitomi's room.

I watched the 'clock' that was sitting on Hitomi's desk. The longer hand had made half of a rotation, and I had a rising sense of worry. Hitomi was still in the water closet. I swung down on the window curtains and walked to the bathroom. I knocked on the door and cried out for her, but obviously, she wouldn't hear me. I sat outside the door and leaned against the back. I closed my eyes and waited for her. I tried to connect to the mental link, but instead I hit a black wall and shot back. I heard her wailing from beyond the door. My heart clenched and I had to hold my head the pain was so bad. I felt the wood of the door moving against my back.

"Van dear? Are you alright?"

I opened my eyes to see Mrs. Kanzaki standing in front of me with two mugs. I was back to my normal size, I realized. But she acted as if nothing was wrong.

"Here you are. Drink this." She handed me a cup of tea.

"Thank you ma'am." I took a sip and stayed quiet.

"I know you're worried about her, but she's a lot tougher that you may think. She cries to cope, but she'll be fine to-morrow."

"I don't think so. She's changed since the last time I saw her, she's colder…sadder. She needs help."

"We've tried…but she doesn't let us in all the time." She put her hand on my shoulder. "You've come at a perfect time Van. Please take care of her."

"I have always cared for her with my life."

"Do you love her?"

"There is not one day that passes when she is not in my thoughts." I took another sip while she leaned against the other wall. "I really came here to ask her to come back with me…as my bride. The council wants me to marry, and most of them believe that it would be a sin to marry anyone besides Hitomi. So…With you and your husband's permission…"

"It's purely up to Hitomi. We love her to death, and we want to see her happy. If she wants to go with you, it's okay. We've tried everything…you're our only hope."

"Am I always the 'only hope'?" I mumbled to myself. "I'll do my best, I promise, but I'm not perfect…"

"Something is better than nothing," she smiled and left. I finished my tea and set the mug on the floor, then I crossed my arms and rested my head on my knees and waited.

A few moments later, the water turned off. A long time passed before I heard anything, but then suddenly, the door opened up behind me. Hitomi tripped over me and rolled over the carpet in her pajamas. Before she could say anything, I had her up in my arms, and cuddled tight against me.

"V-Van?" she asked, startled.

"Hush, it's okay." I carried her quietly back into her room and tucked her into bed. She looked at me perplexed.

"You-You're-…Why…how?"

I put my fingers to her lips and smiled. "I don't know. Does it matter?"

She smiled back.

I sat down on the edge of her bed and leaned over her. "No matter how alone you feel, I'm always with you, cheering you on. You don't have to take this on alone. Don't think like you have to protect me, that's my job."

Tears were gathering in her bloodshot eyes as she started to sniffle.

"Now now, I didn't say that to make you cry again!" I grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears. "Silly girl."

"Thank you Van!" She threw her arms around my neck. I held her in return. One hand was smoothing my hair, while the other ran across my shoulders. It was a heavenly feeling having her back in my arms. I laid her back against the pillows and swept the hair from her face.

"It's time for you to go to sleep. You can sleep longer in the morning, but you've had a rough night."

She grabbed my sleeve. "Please stay here next to me." Her face turned a warm pink. "I'd sleep better with you here."

I leaned closer and kissed the crown of her head. My lips pulled me downward, where I kissed her forehead, and the bridge and tip of her nose. I found myself hovering above her lips. We made eye contact, and hers were halfway closed, dreamily. So I kissed her. It wasn't a peck, more like a brief touch. It lasted less than a second. But my face instantly grew hot.

When we parted, I looked to her face and my heart leapt. She was smiling! "Feel better?"

"Extremely."

I smiled back. "I'm glad…I don't like seeing you in pain."

"I don't like being in pain."

I slid under the covers next to her and put my arms around her. "Comfortable?"

"Yes. Thank you." She closed her eyes and snuggled into my chest. It was bliss.