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 Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:41 pm
Summary: Homesick for Gaea, Hitomi returns to find an amnesiac Dilandau. She soon finds herself running all over the face of Gaea battling ruthless assassins, fleeing from insane sorcerers, and unraveling a deadly secret agenda. Amidst the chaos, can she save Dilandau from himself, and in the process maybe even... Find love? DilandauxHitomi, some DrydenxMillerna, AllenxEries, and MiguelxMerle There you go, my lovely fan fiction. Cyn has already read it, but it is here nonetheless. New chapters will go up here when they do on fanfiction.net. I think that it's pretty good, and I hope you like it too!Blank SlateChapter 1: Wiped - His eyes opened with the slow kind of certainty that foretold intense pain. Dull ruby orbs stared emptily into the cold, metal floor beneath his cheek. He laid there in the bright artificial lighting for what could have been minutes, hours, days, weeks, even years. He didn’t care. He didn’t care one bit… Suddenly, reality returned to him. He lifted one impossibly pale, shaking hand and pressed it to the floor. The platinum-haired boy managed to lift the right side of his body a single inch off the ground before collapsing back to the metal floor with a small splash. The otherwise soft noise sliced through the near-tangible silence and seemed to echo off the cold, unfeeling walls for a century. But the surroundings, though artificial and uncomfortable, could not even begin to challenge the pain of the boy’s internal struggle. Another drop of blood fell from the long wound in the boy’s chest and joined its brethren on the floor with barely a sound. --- “N… No! Stop it! STOP IT!” The pale boy’s desperate cries grew louder and more frantic with each passing moment. Memories flashed before his unseeing eyes like fluttering moths, sitting by his hand for a moment, then teasingly escaping his grasp. They kept flowing, flowing, flowing off to God knew where. Not that it really mattered where they went. All that mattered was that he didn’t have them anymore, and they didn’t seem like they’d be coming back any time soon, if ever. But it wasn’t like he had any control over what was happening. It wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t done anything. It wasn’t his fault. But that didn’t stop what was happening, and it didn’t stop the pain. Not the pain in his heart or the pain in his soulless body. Memory after memory after memory flashed between his eyes and fluttered away. Viole and Dalet nudging each other lightly at the dinner table, joking. Stiff, snobby Miguel leaping up from his chair at being the butt of some joke. Gatty and Shesta sitting beside their magnificent blue guymelefs, plotting to set Dalet up on a date with a new crush. The surprised look on Guimel’s face as Gatty shoved him, fully clothed, into the lake. The six of them hard at practice in the gym, sparring for all they were worth, their commander’s secretly proud appraising eye checking over all of their stances. All there one moment, gone the next. All gone. Drained of both strength and self, Dilandau’s ruby eyes slipped closed as the last of his precious memories flitted away like the last lark leaving for winter. The only difference was, this lark would never return for spring. --- Her breath hissed out in small, short pants as she pounded down the hard, packed pavement. Lightly tanned skin glistened with sweat as the girl’s heart thumped excitedly in her chest, meters fleeing beneath spiked white running shoes. Then, there was a moment of pregnant silence, then… Cheers and delighted screeches erupted from the gathered crowd as Hitomi Kanzaki ripped past the finish line. She gave her teammates a tired, yet triumphant smile as they lifted her away from the coming stampede of onlookers and congratulators. They really were on her side, in more ways than one. Hitomi giggled a bit at the discreet ‘rescue’ she had received, and was dearly glad for it as the wave of spectators crashed against the other runners. Though blackness encroached upon her vision, she felt elated nonetheless. She, Hitomi Kanzaki, had won the 100 meter dash and secured the regional championship for Kama-Kita High School. Now the only obstacle that she and her team had to face was Sectionals, and if they won there, they would be granted to rare honor of entering in the National Cup Tournament. She grinned madly to herself, pushing away thoughts of the excruciating training she would undergo. If she was about to pass out from one little run, she definitely needed the exercise! However, she now found herself thankful for the strength she had gained in Gaea. At least all those days spent running from guymelefs, assassins, crazed emperors, and whatnot had gotten her something useful! Gaea… Suddenly, the seer stiffened in her comrades’ arms, barely having time to register the familiar sensation of a vision before the edging darkness dissolved her conscious sight entirely. --- Shadows. Men in black cloaks were hiding in the darkness, circling like buzzards in the corner of what appeared to be a musty laboratory, after a fashion. Several of them were struggling with the someone – or something – that they surrounded. Attempting to use their superior numbers and positions against the captive, the cloaked men seemed to be herding it toward the center of the room - a room occupied by a sickeningly sterile, smooth table. Suddenly, the target’s thrashing became even more violent, presumably noticing the table for the first time. It wasn’t a stranger to it though, judging by the still strangely silent, but frantic, attempts to escape. The shaded sentinels continued herding, unheeding of their captive’s desperate efforts to break their circle. In a swift flurry of activity, a boy broke free and sprinted for the door. He jerked at it roughly, attempting to break the lock on the other side, but to no avail. For all his efforts, a single crack penetrated the permeating silence. The resounding cracks grew louder and louder, but the red eyed soldier, despite his fear, seemed to realize that he wouldn’t manage to break down the door before the gliding shadows stopped him. His struggles, nonetheless, continued unabated. His strangled half-gasp, half-scream echoed through the dusty room as the needle pierced the pale flesh of his chest. He collapsed into the ravens’ waiting sinister arms, and the room fell silent once again. --- Hitomi’s eyes snapped open as the vision faded. The madoushi and… Dilandau? The seer shook her head vigorously to clear it. No. It couldn’t be. He would never have shown fear like that. …Where was she? --- Getting a good look at her surroundings for the first time, Hitomi cast her emerald gaze around the room. By the white, sterile and colorless walls, she recognized it as the school’s infirmary. Oh. I’m in the clinic. I must have passed out during my vision. She thought about this for a moment and a delicate frown formed on her rosy lips. This was troubling, the short-haired girl decided. She hadn’t had a vision since she had been on Gaea, and had not noticed a reason that she would have one now. Strange… Gaea. She still missed it. Missed it and Van. She desperately needed to see Van. True, he “visited” her, but they couldn’t really talk through those visits, and it wasn’t nearly the same as being with him, hearing his laughter, crying on his shoulder, walking beside him in the castle gardens… None of it was the same. He was literally worlds away from her, and not even their love could breach that distance. But thinking of Van brought up yet another question. Her vision. Always before in her visions, they had been of him or people that had to do with him. Her vision of Folken’s death was a prime example of that. Wait… That’s not quite right. Come to think of it, the man who she felt closest to at the moment was usually the one she had visions about. She had seen Allen’s father when she had still had her big crush on him. She had forgotten about Van then. Hitomi hadn’t had many visions of Van when she was in love with Allen. It was the man she was closest to, she decided. She had visions of the man she felt closest to and the people close to them. But if that were true, why had she had a vision of Dilandau? --- Why did I have a vision of Dilandau?The question played over and over again in Hitomi’s mind like a broken record as she trudged through the empty sidewalks. This was so frustrating. She didn’t like Dilandau even one bit! In fact, she was absolutely terrified of him! So… Why did she have a vision of him, of all people? It didn’t make any sense! A long, soft sigh escaped her lips as she slipped through her front door, and dragged her exhausted body up the stairs. This is just too much for me…Enveloped in her thoughts, the seer didn’t realize what she was doing until she was seated at her desk, shuffling her deck of Tarot cards. The emerald-eyed girl paused a moment to consider the stack of cards held in her slender fingers. She had locked these cards in a drawer after she had returned from Gaea. It had been a symbol of closure, putting those cards away, never to be seen again, never to hurt anyone again. Do I really want to do this? She wondered about that. It was too late to keep the cards in the drawer, but did she need to use them? Did she want to? It didn’t matter. Her shuffling hands had decided for her, and it was too late to turn back now. The young seer gingerly touched the first card, and, in a sudden burst of resolve, whipped it over onto the desk with a papery smack. The reversed King of Wands… This card represents the past. It tells of learning new skills, and warns me to be ethical and lack aggression. I suppose that's true. It probably refers to my time on Gaea. I learned so many new things there, and made many new friends, but I was always the one who tried to keep Van and the others from becoming too bloodthirsty and violent. I tried to keep them from going out of control. Lacking aggression and sticking to my morals…Beginning to fall back into the familiar rhythm, Hitomi flipped the next card to lay beneath the first, just to the left of it. This is the reversed II of Pentacles. This card stands for the present. The card of… Integrity? I need to be honest with myself and others? That’s strange. I thought that by keeping Gaea a secret and not telling anyone… Shouldn’t I lack integrity and not have it? Does this means that I will need to use more integrity soon? What for?Eager for an answer, pale hands slapped another card directly below the first, just to the right of the II of Pentacles. This card and the next one will be the cards of the future. Wait a minute… The reversed devil? It warns of the past interfering with the future. I need to be open-minded and non-judgmental. This card speaks of uncertainty and a clouded mind. Will I run into someone from my past that I hate? A glimpse of silver hair and crimson eyes flashed through her head before she shook it out of her thoughts. She had to concentrate on the next card. It’s…The upright Ace of Swords? Huh? But…All of the other cards told me to be honest and start over with a blank slate, maybe with something or someone from my past. This is the only upright card in the whole spread. The Ace of Swords tells me that I have a strong spirit and not to… Let my ego get in the way? The way of wha -Hitomi froze as she thought about this card in light of the others. This spread…It’s the opposite! Each card means what its opposite should mean! An upright card, which should give advice, warns, and a reversed card, which should warn, gives advice. This makes no… What…?Her eyes snapped into focus on the card in her hand. She had only read the Ace of Swords’ title. Her practiced mind had filled in the nonexistent picture. - End Chapter - Woot! There you go! Once again, I hoped you liked it. Comments/reviews are loved, and even more loved if you drop by the original link at Blank Slate Chapter 1 on ff.net and give me a review there, too! Erm, sorry, no rhyme intended. *Sweat.*
'Later!
-Aurah
PS. There are currently 7 chapters of Blank Slate posted on fanfiction.net. Every so often I'll put another up here, but keep in mind that you can read the whole thing at the previous link. Enjoy! ^_^
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:42 pm
Chapter 2: Starry Sky
-
Hitomi sat, staring wide-eyed at the pictureless card as silence reigned in the musty air of the room. Her mind, however, was far from that snapshot of tranquility.
---
A lone, pale figure pried itself off the hard ground of the starlit glade. In a voice as shaky as its body, it managed to whisper, “Where am I…?”
---
What…? Why would it…? What’s going on? Where’s the picture? This has never happened before! Her mind was a tangled web of confusion and half-baked theories. She had never been so completely unable to decipher a reading before. Possibly interpret it wrong, sure. She had confused cards a lot when she was just starting to read, but never had she been so unable to come up with anything. It was inconceivable.
The emerald-eyed seer let the mysterious card slip from her nerveless fingers and allowed her head to pound the desk with a resounding thump of frustration. “GAH!” Came Hiomi’s muffled cry as she rose from her modest wooden chair.
Angrily, she slammed her Tarot cards back into their box and carelessly shoved the whole lot into her duffel bag. With a hastily shouted notice to her returning mother and brother, she slung her pack onto her shoulder and raced out the door. The cool air combined with the exertion of running would help clear her head and think about this matter with all of her good judgment intact.
But in her irritation, the seer had failed to notice that the marred Ace of Swords had knocked another card off the deck as it fell. Even though it was only for a few moments, the Tower had been laying across the other cards of the spread.
---
Hitomi pelted down the lamplit track, vainly attempting to forget about the pictureless card. She could think about that later. She needed to relax now!
It was too late. She was already considering.
The first three cards had seemed to go together, and in a by-the-book interpretation, focused on the Ace of Swords. Which brought up another question. How was it possible to understand a reading when she couldn’t even understand the primary card?
Most people would have ignored the pictureless card and carried on like there was nothing wrong or different about it, but not Hitomi. Her powers were different, stronger, than normal people’s. Average readers would have ignored the blank card she had pulled in Freid and drawn another, their weak spreads continuing unaffected. For Hitomi, it had meant something. Something big.
That in mind, she couldn’t ignore the lack of a picture on the Ace of Swords. But what did it mean? This is so FRUSTRATING!The track star began to run even faster. But by thinking of the blank card, her thoughts were inexorably turning to Gaea, and no amount of effort or distraction could stop them.
---
Crimson eyes slipped open slowly, almost cautiously, to the world around them.
Utter silence greeted his ears as he gazed around the lush clearing. Tall jade trees lined his position in the center of the glade. He thought that the area seemed somewhat familiar, and instinctively began to rummage through his memories for an answer. But even as he began to search, he realized with a sudden sense of panicked loss that there was nothing to search through.
He frantically hoped for something, anything, else that might provide him with the smallest scrap of information. Nothing. Defeated, he let himself fall into the tree’s comforting, solid presence with an anxious sigh. A single tear made its way down a porcelain cheek as the boy let himself fall into a quiet, dreamless sleep.
---
Hitomi’s mind raced with her feet as she barreled through her memories of Gaea. Van… Allen… Millerna… Chid… Folken… Dryden… Naria and Eriya… Gaddes… Even that stupid little catgirl Merle. I want to see them again. All of them. I want to watch their quirks, listen to their voices, hear their laughter. Some of my friends are gone now, like Nariya and Eriya and poor Folken, or they don’t have much left, like Chid and Van, or maybe have a lot they need to do, like Millerna and Allen and Gaddes… And Dryden, too. But still, I want to see them, talk to them, help them with their problems, and just be with them again. Home is great, and so are Yukari and Mom, and my annoying little brother, but it’s not the same as what I had in Gaea. I built my own family there, and we all forged deep bonds during the war. They’ll always be a part of me, and I want to see them again. Hitomi snagged her duffel bag as she raced past and kept going without breaking stride. I’m sorry, Yukari, Mom. Maybe I’ll be back some day. Goodbye!
A massive column of blue light reached down from the heavens picked up the girl from the Mystic Moon, carrying her off to the world her heart cried out for – Gaea. When it dissipated, only the stars were left to twinkle their secret.
---
Hitomi froze in the exact spot where the light had put her down. She was back in Gaea, and although she should have been ecstatic over being able to see Van… She couldn’t quite manage it. It wasn’t because she felt unsafe from an attack, or held the fear that geckos would grab her again. Actually, it was quite the contrary, since the war was over and no one was out to get her. No, she hadn’t frozen for any reason like that. What petrified her was the pale figure she found – amazingly, given how bright the light had been - dozing lightly against the tree trunk. A tree trunk that was not five meters from her face.
Oh, NO! Van… HELP ME, VAN! Her mind screamed at her, every nerve and synapses in her body shouting for her to run for her life. Dilandau Albatou absolutely hated her guts, and the seer didn’t even want to think about what he’d do to her when he woke up and found her standing there.
However, there was just one little problem with obeying those instincts to run. The chances were good that she would wake him up with the racket made by tearing through the bushes. And from her personal experience, he was fast. If she ran, not even her substantial athletic skills could help her escape.
So, there Hitomi was stuck, various thoughts and plans in her mind all warring for dominance.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different about him, that something was missing. He lacked his diadem… No, that wasn’t it. He still had it. His armor? No, he didn’t have it, but the armor didn’t seem to be the cause either. Maybe it was because he looked about his age without his customary violent aura? That was true, but that didn’t seem right, either…
Then it hit her. His sword. He wasn’t carrying his sword.
What? Dilandau, without a sword? When did that happen? What’s going on here…? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without his sword. So…Where is it?
The growing seed of hope in her chest was quickly snuffed out when she noticed the ever-present weapon laying beneath his leg, within easy reach.
Crap.
But still, why wasn’t it in his belt? The unfortunate seer quickly banished this thought, as well as the lingering wrongness, and decided on a plan of action. She would simply attempt to sneak away quietly, and with luck, Dilandau wouldn’t wake up.
But just as she turned to creep away, a soft voice acknowledged her presence.
“What…?”
Crap. Oh well, it’s too late to run now. Maybe I should try to talk to him? It has been a while, so maybe... He could forgive me? ...No way. Van, HELP!
But her chances were 1,000,000:1 of Van somehow materializing to save her, so she forced herself to face him. The meek seer turned around nervously, shoulders stiff and hunched with fear. She couldn’t force herself to look into his crimson eyes, so she instead fastened her eyes on the ground to wait for him to speak again.
“Who are you…?”
Hitomi’s eyes snapped up from the ground to look at him. He was just sitting there, leaning nonchalantly against the tree, one leg bent with an arm draped across it. This relaxed posture didn’t seem so unusual, however, and it wasn’t what caught Hitomi’s attention so fully.
He wore no trademark smirk, no arrogant sneer, no mad predatory grin. Him, Dilandau Albatou just sat there with his back propped against the oak and a sword under his leg with an entirely straight, unmenacing expression on his pale features. But while his face betrayed none of his emotions, his scarlet eyes were fairly whirling with them. As Hitomi locked her emerald orbs with his crimson ones, she saw flashes of curiosity, apprehensiveness, nervousness, and something few had ever seen in Dilandau’s eyes… Fear.
---
“Huh…?” Hitomi’s mind had gone into “Absolute Zero” mode. Nothing was working. Not her mind, her legs, her whole body refused to function. With visible effort the bewildered teen managed to loosen her tongue to speak.
“What do you mean, ‘Who are you’? Have you forgotten me already, Dilandau Albatou?” Her outburst was soft, but there was a nervous conviction in her voice. She had spoken with part fear, part curiosity, and part… Something else. …Concern?
“Dilandau who?”
The seer’s eyes snapped back to his at this. Her ‘feeling’ had been right. Something was wrong here. Very wrong.
The boy she was speaking to was an infamous homicidal maniac who had killed hundreds, possibly even thousands of people in cold blood. No, not cold blood… Pure maniacal glee. Dilandau, especially from what she had seen of him, was indeed insane, or something on that level. He loved the fight, blood, shredding the lives of others, innocents, to burn them to the ground just as he burned their loved ones and homes down to mere smoking cinders. The only ones the albino seemed to even remotely care about were his Dragonslayers, and they were dead. Hitomi knew. She had seen it happen. He had snapped the moment his Slayers had died. He had seemed to lose his spark, his passion, the moment they had died. True, he had seemed fine later, but there was still something missing.
But this was different. He seemed more… Patient, nervous… uncertain. All of his spark, pseudo-spark, fire, what have you, was gone. All gone. Hitomi had no idea what had happened to him, but he wasn’t anywhere near the person he used to be. He seemed, hollow, cold, resigned, even sad. Dilandau…
The girl’s mind snapped back to his earlier question. Strange…
“What do you mean ‘Dilandau who?’”
“I’m asking who that is. Dilandau Albatou, I mean.”
Hitomi’s chin hit the grass. He didn’t know! He really didn’t know! But his soft statement returned her to the question that had been haunting the back of her mind like a shadowy wraith.
What had happened to him?
“You really don’t remember, do you…?” The sprinter’s eyes slipped to the suddenly quite interesting grass.
In the soft, nearly tangible silence of the forest, her ‘companion’s’ keen ears managed to pick up and register the nearly unvoiced question.
“No. No, I don’t.” His voice, too, was a mere millimeter from utter silence, but Hitomi still heard it, impossibly. He was as quiet as the questioning whispers in the back of her mind.
She finally managed to wrench her gaze from the sweet-smelling ground and look him directly in the eye. His shining bangs almost hid the shy glimmer she found there before he blinked it away. Its softness made her a bit surer of herself and she moved to lean beside him, long legs moving of their own accord. The albino seemed to shy away from her presence, just a little, before he caught himself. This was definitely not the Dilandau she had met so long ago on her trip to Allen’s outpost. This Dilandau wouldn’t hurt her.
“So,” She offered, equally nervous, “What do you remember?”
“Nothing.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at her gentle visage, though he didn’t know why. It just felt… wrong. Like treading all over someone’s grave.
“Really? Well, uh, I… could tell you a bit about what I know of you, if you wanted me to, and, uh…”
Crimson eyes jerked over to her reclining form. She had known him? “Yes.” Was he making the right decision? He wanted to know, but what if… What if…
“You’re sure?” A shaky nod came in reply.
“Well, for starters, your name is Dilandau Albatou.”
---
Dilandau Albatou…Why did she say that – my – name with such fear and venom earlier? What-
“Do you remember the war?” Dilandau’s eyes refocused on the starlit girl before him. The war… Flashes of flame and blood quickly filled his vision, but were gone as suddenly as they had come, leaving him feeling strangely desperate and empty.
“What war?”
Well, I guess that answers that question. She smiled softly in reassurance. “Well…” She paused a moment, as if to consider her next words carefully. What did that mean? Was there something that she was hiding from him? If so, why? Dilandau, as he now knew his name to be, held a strange trust in her. He brushed it off as the fact that she was the only other human his memory had recorded.
Hah… As if I were lucky enough to be able to trust someone when I don’t even know what I look like. The cynical thought, just as the image from before, swiftly slipped from his grasp. A hint of a frown formed on his delicate features.
“You were a part of that war. I… didn’t really know you, so…I can’t tell you much else. I’m sorry.” Her eyes dropped to the ground and she let her bangs cover them, whether from guilt or shame, Dilandau couldn’t tell.
/She’s definitely hiding something./ A soft, rasping voice hissed. Go away. The albino hissed back, and it was gone without memory or trace. Once again, he was filled with the strange hollow sensation.
His companion once again raised emerald eyes from the ground to look at him. She shivered a bit as the fresh breeze brushed cool fingers across the glade.
“Well, we can’t stay here all night long. It’s late, and I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. We should find somewhere to stay for the night, and if we can’t do that, then at least find somewhere to camp.” The teen rose rather stiffly, and held out a hand to help him up. Hesitating for only a moment, the former Zaibach captain took it easily and rose. Automatically, he snatched his sword from the ground and clipped it to his belt in a practiced motion. He didn’t notice.
“Say,” He asked as he followed her from quiet clearing, “What’s your name?”
“Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki.” Came the melodious reply.
“Hitomi.” It sat well on his tongue, and he pondered over it as he left the temporary refuge of the starlit forest glade, blissfully unaware of the many trials and hardships he would face in the near future.
---
Drip.
The low whirr of machinery droned in the musty air.
“So,” Came a quiet monotone, “The Sword has met with the girl from the Mystic Moon. Good, very good. Matters are proceeding precisely to plan. The Fate Alteration Engine will soon accomplish its true purpose.”
Drip.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:43 pm
Chapter 3: Icy Water
-
“Ugh…” Hitomi’s eyes strayed to her watch for the umpteenth time. “It’s 2 am and we still haven’t found a place to camp! My feet hurt and I need to sleep!”
“You’re tired already? We haven’t been walking that long.” Her platinum-haired companion recited his mantra and gave her a sidelong glance. His earlier nervousness had fled almost entirely, giving way to irritation. It was going to be a long night.
“What? We’ve been walking for four hours. You're in better shape than I am,” The seer’s eyes were fastened on the rough, leaf-covered ground as they continued to trudge through the forest, “I’m tired, Dilandau!” She whined. Dilandau had to fight with all of his considerable self-control to keep from strangling her. His right eye twitched incessantly, and he sighed for what was likely the hundredth time in half as many minutes.
“I’m not sure I know what we’re looking for, but hopefully…” His voice trailed off to return in an awed squeak, “… We’ll find it soon…?”
A brick house simply sat the center of the small clearing, patiently waiting for a guest to shelter. It was quaint and small, but it was something truly amazing… Shelter.
“Look, Dilandau, a house!” Hitomi squealed and raced for the cabin. Before she had gone three steps, however, Dilandau grabbed her by the kerchief and pulled her back.
“Wait a minute. Someone might live there. We should find out before we go barging in.” The ex-captain had no clue how he knew what to do, but he did. The sensation had become rather familiar and he shrugged it off. Subconsciously, his hand strayed to his sword hilt. At the caress of rough leather, he eased it off. What was that about?
“O-okay…” Came his companion’s reply.
“You should probably go up to the door first. Maybe because you’re a woman they’ll react better to you than they would to me.” He didn’t know why he said that, either, but it did seem like good advice. However, some small part of him that remembered everything whispered that it was because the cabin-dwellers might recognize him and be scared off, or even attack. Dilandau either didn’t hear it, or chose not to hear it.
He was shaken from his reverie by a few sharp taps on the oaken door, and dove for cover behind a tree. On instinct, he peeked out from the side to see what was going on.
“Um… Hello?” Hitomi gulped. It was obvious that she was nervous, but it couldn’t be helped. Dilandau only prayed that she would play her cards right.
---
Hitomi stood there for a long moment, goosebumps raising on her exposed legs from the caress of the sweet-smelling, chilly air. At a sudden dull creak, her eyes riveted on the opening portal.
A tall, bearded man emerged with a single sepia eyebrow cocked. His voice was rough as sandpaper and deeper than the Mariana Trench, but it still held the pleasant chime of congeniality. “Why, hello there, miss. I’m Elis Tark. What can I do for you?”
Hitomi smiled. “My name is…” She paused a moment. The chances were good that the man had heard her name before, and Dilandau’s as well. “My name is Mia Kanza. My companion Dil and I were looking for a place to stay for the night. Could we stay here for now? We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“Sure thing, little lady. Miss… Mia, wasn’t it?” Hitomi nodded. “Say, what’s your friend’s last name? I don’t think I caught it.”
‘Mia’ lowered her eyes for a moment. “I don’t know, sir. He has amnesia, so we just agreed on a first name for him. We decided to hold off on a last until we can figure out his real one.”
---
On the other hand, ‘Dil’ was torn between gawking like a fish from shock and fuming from the childish nickname. He opted for the former, stunned by her ability to lie with such a straight face. How does she do that? And I thought she was nothing but a meek nervous wreck!
He quickly returned his attention to the pair’s conversation, lest he miss any important lies ‘Mia’ told and blow their cover. Although he was mystified as to why she was telling them in the first place. The albino already suspected that he had something to hide, but did she need to conceal something, too? He would have to ask her about that later.
---
“So, where is your friend, this ‘Dil’?” Elis asked, slightly suspicious. This was definitely a very strange girl. Polite, but still very strange nonetheless.
“He’s hiding back in the woods over there,” The athlete jerked her thumb over her shoulder, “He thought it was best that I approached you first since he’s armed and I’m a woman. You’d probably react better to me than him,” She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to the woodsman, “But I agreed for a different reason. Except for the scar on his left cheek, he looks exactly like Dilandau Albatou.”
Elis’ eyes grew wide with shock and fear, only concealed from said ex-captain by Hitomi’s closeness and his long, unkempt bangs. “W-what?” His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper, “The Dilandau Albatou?”
“Yes. Except for the scar, they look identical, but Dil’s personality is the complete opposite of Dilandau’s. I only ran into him in the woods about four hours ago, but I know he wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s a nervous wreck and really quiet, too. There’s no way he’s Albatou. Even if he was, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever regain his memory, so we’re safe. It’ll be fine.”
Strangely, something about this girl and the way she spoke so simply and reassuringly made Elis trust her. He sighed and spoke again, quietly so that Dilandau wouldn’t hear. “Alright girl, I’ll meet him and then make a decision. Go drag this friend of yours out.”
“Okay!” She chirped cheerfully and trotted back to the line of trees to retrieve one very nervous and hesitant Dilandau Albatou.
---
“Hitomi…? What was all that whispering about? And why did you lie to him about our names?” Dilandau softly demanded. He needed answers, and he needed them now. And he wasn’t moving until he got them. “I already suspected that I had something to hide, but you? Tell me, who are you really?” Claret eyes narrowed in suspicion. He trusted her, but only to a certain point.
His companion sighed heavily and lowered her eyes a bit. “Fine. I’ll tell you. I was a ‘hero’ in the Destiny War. In fact, I was a pivotal player during the war. Zaibach and the Alliance were always fighting over me. All because I’m a seer.” Her eyes shut tightly in remembered pain. “During the war, I used my Tarot cards - cards used to tell the future - to read the future for people. Where I come from, most people’s readings were wrong a lot, but even on the Mystic Moon, my readings were always much more accurate then theirs. When I came here, they were always right. I could, and maybe still can, change destiny through my feelings. I can see things that no one else can and have premonitions. I saved my friend’s lives many times with my powers, but also hurt them and others just as often.”
“Wait a minute! You’re the seer? And you’re from the Mystic… Moon…” Dilandau gave a nearly inaudible gasp. For an instant, an image of Hitomi sitting on the shoulder of a white guymelef pointing at a blue one flashed through his mind. It vanished without a trace in the next. And how did he know about the ‘Mystic Moon’ and the ‘Wing Goddess’, anyhow?
“Dila- Dil. Are you okay?” She had noticed his wide-eyed gasp.
“Y-yeah. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Damn. Why does this keep happening? I know I remembered something, but what was it? I really only have memory of the past 4 ½ hours, but I know that I remember even more than that. I’m already tired of these memory flashes. They’re just teasing me. …But if I want to remember, why do I get the feeling that it’s a bad thing? It suddenly dawned on him that he was leaning heavily against the rough bark of the tree trunk, and pulled away from it as if it were on fire.
“Mia, what did you come over here for? Will he let us stay the night or not?” The albino looked her straight in the eye, shaking off his doubts and putting the questions away for a better time. There would be a time and place to confront her with them, but it wasn’t here and it certainly wasn’t now.
“Well… He wanted to meet you before making a decision. I guess he just… Wanted to know what he was getting himself into, that’s all,” She tossed him her trademark reassuring smile, “Let’s go!”
Whatever you say, seer from the Mystic Moon. This is crazy. He thought as he let her drag him off to the cottage. Something told him that this was a very bad idea.
---
Elis’ eyes widened a bit as Hitomi pulled Dilandau out from behind the tree. The Sorcerers hadn’t assigned him a small task this time. That was definitely Dilandau. The seasoned Zaibachian spy had seen him distantly several times, and once actually talked to him. Even if Elis hadn’t recognized his face, very few had the skill to hide from him the way the albino had. Elis hadn’t even begun to suspect him hiding behind that tree!
As the unlikely pair approached, he carefully schooled his expression into a mask of congeniality. There was no reason for Dilandau to suspect anything. And though he was likely not anywhere near as volatile as he had been during his encounter with Elis several cycles earlier, given the honed muscles and well-cared for sword, the former captain was just as dangerous. While his personality may have changed, his muscle memory and body certainly had not. Elis would definitely need to be careful.
---
Not two meters out of the tree line, Dilandau took one look at the man and said, “I don’t trust him.”
Hitomi shot her companion a quizzical sidelong glance, green eyes sparkling in confusion. “Why? I thought he seemed fine.”
“Look at him. It’s obvious that that smile and pleasant expression are all a façade. And his eyes. They’re hard, and he’s studying me like a predator sizing up a wounded deer. His frame is wrong, too. Sure, it’s muscular, but not nearly enough so for the average woodsman. Something’s not right here.” Crimson eyes narrowed to mere slits as they peered through his silver locks. “I don’t trust him.” Dilandau’s hand strayed to his sword, and this time, he didn’t bother to remove it. He wasn’t going to relax for a second as long as he was near this man.
“You’re being paranoid, Dil. You need to learn to trust people. Give him the benefit of the doubt!” She smiled happily and trotted off. Dilandau sighed.
“You’re going to get us both killed, woman.” He muttered under his breath and followed her to the door of the cabin, not even realizing what he had said, or that he had even said anything at all.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:50 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:51 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:52 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:53 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:54 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:55 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:56 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:57 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:58 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:59 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:59 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:00 pm
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