"I'll see you tomorrow!" Hitomi called, smiling as she waved to the girls as she walked away from the school.

"Bye Hitomi! See you in the morning!" called one of them, before the trio ran off, giggling to themselves. Hitomi smiled a bit, watching as her friends headed off, likely going to a karaoke bar to pass some time. She turned her head, looking down the street. She hadn't realized how late practice had gone: the sun was setting, a distant orangey red smear on the cloudy horizon. Above her head, the rich cerulean blue of the sky had turned to a deep twilight hue as the street lights turned on, illuminating her way home. She sighed softly, smile fading now that her friends had gone. Shifting the duffle bag over her shoulder, she started walking to the train station.

In recent days, she had been dreaming more and more of Gaea. She hadn't realized how much she missed not only the people, but the land as well. Everything seemed so much greener there, so much brighter. Her world felt so cold in comparison, despite the unusual warm weather they'd been having lately. The more she dreamed of Gaea, the more her chest seemed to ache, a reminder of what she had left behind- as though that strange planet was really her home. She knew that wasn't the case, but it didn't change what she felt: her heart and her head were at odds with each other..

She paused in her stride, turning her head to the right. Her eyes softened, shining a bit more than usual as her feet followed her eyes and she left the sidewalk.

The track field.

It was illuminated, though she knew the lights would be turned off soon. No one was there, the bleachers empty save for a sweater someone had left behind. Though she may have changed over the last two years, this place hadn't. She walked up to the field, pausing by the tall bleachers. She would graduate soon, and hopefully get accepted to the university in Kyoto. Leaving would make everything feel so final.

She set her bag down, looking at the ground.

"... do you remember, Van?" she asked quietly, looking at the ground a moment. Her eyes turned towards the circular track. ~Do you remember? This is where it all began..~ She took off her uniform jacket, folding it neatly on her duffle bag.

She had asked Amano that night, two years ago, if he would give her- if she could make one hundred meters in thirteen seconds- her first kiss.

She walked over to the starting mark slowly, as her mind recalled the events of that fateful night.

She had started running, with all the intention of throwing her feelings for Amano to fate: if it was meant to happen, she would make it. She would do all she could to make it happen, but in the end it was all up to fate.

If only she had known how true that was.

She set her feet on the starting marks, setting her hands on the ground.

The pillar of light had swallowed her that night, but she had been given a second chance to reclaim her future as a normal girl. Her want to go back to Gaea however, to return to Van, had once again taken her to the planet where the Earth hung in sky.

Would it work again?

All the dreams she had been having recently of Gaea, all the feelings of ill-ease.. and all the heart ache of only seeing brief glimpses of Van in her head or in memories.. She missed Gaea, and her friends. And most of all, she missed Van Fanel. Something was wrong: she knew it. The woman in her dreams, it was as though she had been reaching out to her, calling her back to Gaea, but she could never reach her hand.

The world always seemed to fall apart before she could.

Hitomi closed her eyes, imagining the world she had left behind. She loved her family: her mother, her father- even her little brother who was far too annoying for his own good sometimes. But she also loved..

She wanted to go back.

"Go!"

An echo from the past shot through her head, and she was off, running as though everything was riding on her winning. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, the wind rushing by her ears.

~Van... I want to see you again... I thought I could do this, but... I miss you, Van. I want to go back, back to Gaea. Please!~

The lights cut out suddenly, making her lose her concentration, and Hitomi stumbled before losing her balance altogether, spilling to the ground.

"Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her head as she sat up. She looked at her lap, heart growing heavy. There was no going back, she knew that now. She had always known. Without her pendant, without the magic of the Drag-Energist..

"Van..." she whispered, bowing her head as tears fell from her eyes. Her fingers gripped her skirt tightly, shaking a bit. She hadn't expected it to be so hard, to move on with her life. "... I didn't think... I'd miss you this much..." She had fooled herself into thinking she wouldn't. She didn't know what was happening on Gaea, but something was wrong.

Some distance away, behind a tree, a faint glowing form watched, retreating into the darkness of the woods before disappearing all together.