Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Enemy Lines ❯ Into the Woods ( Chapter 7 )

Behind Enemy Lines

By: rainjewel

Chapter Seven: Into the Woods…or why Dilandau should have joined the Boyscouts

A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my lamb Tenshi no Tsubasa "Wombat" McAllister (I know it's a rather long and unusual name) who died on August 13, 2001. May he rest in little lambie heaven and eat a lot of hay and grain. I'm sorry for everything.

~*~

"Hitomi! Come on, I don't want to have to drag you down the sidewalk!" Yukari practically screamed. Hitomi picked up her pace a little.

"Yukari, for the last time, where are you taking me?" she pleaded. Yukari had just spent the past hour in her room throwing clothes all over hill and dale in search of the "perfect outfit" which turned out to be a short, flower print peasant dress and white sandals. She wouldn't say why Hitomi needed to be wearing this "perfect outfit," and it was becoming frustrating

"We are going to Amano's house," Yukari said finally, tugging on her arm.

"Why? Yukari, that's practically across town," Hitomi complained.

"It's not all the way across town. We'll take the subway, my treat," her redheaded friend said, not answering as to why they were going.

As the two girls sat down on the bus, Yukari swung her legs up on the bench and looked at the green-eyed girl soulfully.

"You need to perk up, my girl. You look as if you were being led off to the gauntlet or something. Either that or you need about eight shots of espresso running through your system," Yukari said over her knees. She had just returned from a month-long vacation with her family to America, and now had a fierce caffeine addiction.

Hitomi sighed. "I wouldn't look like I was being led off to the gauntlet if I was sure that I wasn't. Come on, why are we going to Amano's house?"

"Because you are going on a double date with us," Yukari said coolly.

"WHAT?" Hitomi gasped. "A double date? Yukari, what in the heck did you just get me into?"

"Oh, come on," Yukari said, "You've been moping around for the past couple of weeks like the apocalypse was coming any second. Now, I know you missed me a bunch when I left for the States, but really, this is overkill. You are going to meet a nice young man and go have some fun for once."

Hitomi hung her head. She was not ready for this. Every time she would look into her date's eyes she would see Van. And then her heart would falter, and she'd know once again that she'd made a mistake by leaving Gaea and coming home.

But, what if this guy takes my mind off things? I told Van I was going to move on with my life. Why haven't I done that? This is how it happens. Just don't think of him, Allen, and everyone else on Gaea. Focus on the future, not on the past.

This was a technique Hitomi had been using ever since she had cut her connection to Van. She simply refused to think about him. Bury him away. She knew that she couldn't go back Gaea. Her wishes, her emotions, everything about her were too much of an influence on the planet. Eventually, she would bring destruction to the world she loved so much.

"Does…does he have black hair?" Hitomi whispered. If he had black hair, that was it.

"Now that's more like it!" Yukari cheered. She hugged Hitomi. "No, he doesn't have black hair. He's one of Amano's friends from another school. He has deep, reddish brown hair kinda like mine, and green eyes, I do believe."

"What's his name?" Hitomi asked.

"It was something very American-sounding. That's where he was born, you know. He just came to Japan a couple of years ago. Kev-Kevin Littleton."

"Kevin Littleton," Hitomi repeated, her tongue rolling weirdly over the "l's."

"Yep, come on, it's our stop. Amano lives two blocks away from here." Yukari practically flew off of the subway and went racing up the stairs, pulling the honey-haired girl with her.

When Amano's house finally came into sight, Hitomi found she was having trouble breathing. She tried to build up her courage and failed, miserably.

Yukari knocked on the front door. Hitomi screwed in her most pleasant smile.

"Yukari, Hitomi!" Amano exclaimed as he opened the door. "You're early."

"What, you're not happy to see me?" Yukari pretended to pout. Hitomi tried not to vomit all over her sandals.

"You know that's not true. I'll get Kevin and then we can leave," Amano said, smiling.

"I'm already here," said a voice. Hitomi gasped. It sounded like Van. It's just my imagination. It's just my imagination. Calm yourself down.

"So you are," said Amano. He came out of the doorway with a young man following so close behind him that Hitomi couldn't see his face.

"Well then, I suppose I should introduce myself," said the voice from behind Amano. Slowly a red-haired boy stepped out in front of his companion. "My name is Kevin Littleton."

"Nice to meet you, Kevin. My name's Yukari Uchida, and this is Hitomi Kanzaki." She elbowed Hitomi. The green-eyed girl stared at Kevin.

"Ah, so this is the marvelous Hitomi I've heard so much about," Kevin said. He extended a hand. "Nice to finally meet you in person."

Hitomi tried to say something, but she couldn't form words. The boy had a haircut like Van's. His eyes were the same shape as her Fanelian king's, even though the color was different. His build was the same, his height as well.

"I'm delighted," she said, numbly. Mechanically, Hitomi lifted her hand to meet his. She smiled at him, and then to Amano, whose hair had suddenly turned blonde and his eyes were blue in color.

And then the world collapsed into total blackness.

~*~

As Hitomi Kanzaki fainted into the arms of a Van Fanel lookalike, Dilandau was pulling up to a river to let his horse drink. The possibility of camping there for the night was also a big possibility.

"Damn," Dilandau sighed as he hopped off his horse. He knelt by the riverside and splashed some of the cool water on his face. It was hot in Asturia this time of year. Luckily it was cooling down since the sun had began its descent to the horizon.

The soldier stood back up and walked over to his horse that was busy guzzling water at an extremely dangerous rate. Stupid animal. Pigeon, you should have taught your horse that it should take all things in moderation.

"Stop that," Dilandau commanded, pulling the animal away from the river. The horse snorted, but remained still. He reached out and lifted the unconscious Van Fanel off of the back of the creature. He set the boy down on the cool, wet soil of the stream and then unsaddled his mount. Carefully the albino walked over to the higher dry ground and laid the tack there. Then he went back to retrieve the Fanelian King.

"Don't go anywhere," he told the horse. Dilandau then slung Van over his shoulder and marched back over to the clearing. The dumb horse followed him, grazing leisurely. Whatever. He scanned the forest, checking out the firewood situation. Granted, he could make a blaze from most anything, but he didn't want to complicate things. He wouldn't need a fire until late in the night, but preparedness is a sign of a good soldier. Dilandau set Van down and went in pursuit of some flammable material.

As the soldier was picking up the last of the wood, he felt an unaccustomed weight drop onto his shoulder, unbalancing him. Low and behold, it was Natal.

"Hoot!" the owl exclaimed triumphantly.

"You need a larger vocabulary," Dilandau said, walking back over to the meadow. "For a bird that was so loyal to Allen, you certainly don't seem upset by affiliating yourself with the man who killed him."

Natal squeezed his eyes shut and purred. He began nuzzling Dilandau's right cheek. The boy jerked his shoulder so fiercely that the owl was lifted up into the air.

"HOOT!"

Dilandau took a deep breath and dropped his firewood. "Don't. Don't ever touch that cheek." He wiped a hand along his scar, calming himself with the familiar motion. Natal seemed to understand and returned to his roost, though this time he switched shoulders. It reminded Dilandau of the weight of his shoulder armor. About the same weight, but this only protects one shoulder and has feathers. What is Zaibach coming too?

He chuckled. Natal cooed his puzzlement. Carefully Dilandau bent down and looked at his bound captive. He had been riding since yesterday afternoon, only stopping once when Van had woken up at about 2 a.m.

***

Dilandau reached up and helped Van down from the horse. The boy looked at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. As his feet hit the ground, his body continued, collapsing into a small Fanelian heap.

Dilandau looked down at the boy with unmasked surprise. He crouched carefully beside him, wary of the fact that Van might be faking. He reached out and brushed the dark locks away from Van's face, and saw that his pupils were dilated and the boy was breathing heavily.

"Hit you one too many times in the head," he said. Van obviously did not have the resiliency of his Dragonslayers. "Well, I suppose it comes with practice."

The king shakily rose to his feet. "Hitomi?"

"No," Dilandau said, rising. Van turned and looked at him with the most bewildered look on his face. Perhaps the guy had a concussion.

"Oh. Hi Dilandau," Van said. Then his knees bent and he passed out. Dilandau caught him as he fell.

"Damn."

***

Which is precisely what Dilandau was thinking of again. He felt the dryness of the boy's skin and knew that he was in danger of getting severely dehydrated. Van was quite possibly in a semi-serious condition and that was going to slow him down.

"Okay Pidge, we're going to have to take care of you then. Can't have you dying on me. I need you to get what I want," Dilandau said. He leaned down, cut Van's ropes, and then picked him up. Natal disliked the movement and flew off somewhere.

Dilandau walked to the riverside. He stripped down to his boxers and took Van's shirt off. He was near a deep pool of the river, but there was a thin shelf of sand extending from the small beach. Gently he slipped Van into the water on the shelf, leaving only his head above the surface.

"Turnabout is overrated," he muttered to himself. He sat down, letting the waves lap at his stomach. The cold water didn't awaken Van as expected, so Dilandau took some water and dumped it over the boy's head. "Wake up!" he commanded in his most pissed off and authoritative voice.

That worked.

Van's eyes opened and he gasped loudly. Immediately he tried to sit up, which is the usual reaction most people have when the realization and natural fear of awakening to find oneself in water. Consequently, he took a dive into the deep end of the river.

Dilandau shook his head at the mess and waited patiently for the Fanelian king to come up sputtering. He waited. And waited.

"Shit," he said darkly. Van was weaker then he thought. Dilandau slipped into the deepness and after a moment's searching hauled the boy to the surface. Angrily his legs churned as he treaded water, clutching Van underneath his arms.

"You are a totally incompetent individual! A complete and utter moron!" he told Van fiercely as he held the boy an arm's length away. Van's head was bowed as he took in deep breaths of air.

"Why am I wet?" Van asked bewilderedly. He looked up with cloudy eyes.

Dilandau growled. "Because you're in a river." Quickly he wrapped an arm around Van's waist and scissor-kicked his way to shallower water. He then set Van down. "Don't move. You're sick."

"I'm not sick. I'm wet," Van said, looking down at his drenched lap. Dilandau threw up his hands and marched over to the meadow, grabbing a canteen of water and then coming back to Van. The kid had a concussion all right. He probably shouldn't have let him remain unconscious with a concussion, but it was too late for that. Now he'd just have to keep him awake until he returned to normal. He remembered when Migel had gotten a concussion after capturing the military leaders of Egzardia, and the Dragonslayers had to camp overnight for some stupid reason he couldn't remember. He'd stayed awake all night, watching over Migel, keeping him awake. Dilandau might have been the most brutal and demanding of captains, but he took care of his men. He had set numerous broken bones, bandaged endless wounds, pulled out arrows, and (in dire situations) had stitched up serious injuries. Dilandau was a great doctor.

"It's Celena all over again," he murmured to himself. Dilandau splashed angrily into the water and held out the canteen to Van. "Drink this."

Van took the canteen. "Why?"

"Do it." Van did.

Dilandau stood in the deep end, a few feet away from the dark-haired boy. He felt overheated. Too much sun, he thought. This is why the Vione was so nice, air conditioning and artificial light. He ducked under the water.

Van downed the water in the canteen and then slumped over in the sand. Dilandau surfaced and marched up to the boy again.

"Stay awake," he ordered.

"I'm tired," Van argued. Dilandau bent over, picked him up and stood him up in the deep end. Van perked up immediately.

"You have to stay awake. I don't want to have to poke and prod you. I haven't slept for two days and I want to sleep more then you know, but I can't have you dying or in a state of incoherency," Dilandau said. He let go of Van. Luckily the boy held his ground…at least for a miet or so.

"Why not?" Van asked, unperturbed as he fell backwards and into Dilandau's grasp.

"Because I need you to get Celena," Dilandau said, dragging Van back until he could sit the boy down. "Now come on, snap out of it."

"Snap out of what?" Van asked, some of his old anger showing through.

Dilandau sat down. "Exactly." He fought his urge to leave the Fanelian here and continue on his conquest to Zaibach.

"Where is my shirt?" Van asked after a bit.

"On the beach," Dilandau said absently. His thoughts were on how exactly he was going to break into the capital of Zaibach and take over the Madoushi. Apparently General Adelphos had risen to become the emperor of Zaibach and the Madoushi were his council. In other words, he was a puppet king and the Madoushi were controlling the country.

Not for long…

"Where's your shirt?" Van asked. He seemed rather clothes oriented for some reason.

"On the beach."

"Why?"

"Shut up Pigeon."

Dilandau lay down on the cool sand, feeling the silky water slide over his skin. It came up until it touched the bottom of his earlobes. Usually, pyromaniacs are also hydrophobic, but Dilandau was a-surprise!-exception to this rule. He rather liked the water.

More military plans and strategies began to run through his head. The Madoushi were a highly selective group, like the Caeli Knights. There couldn't be more then twenty of them. He wouldn't have to worry about many of them being out of the country since they would be busy trying to rebuild and control the empire. It was too early for ambassadors to go traipsing about. At the capital would also be the headquarters for the sorcerers, the place where all of the most complicated and terrifying experiments were done. And if they weren't all at the capital, they'd be at the West Zion Academy, which was the one and only school for students who wished to become the unethical bastards.

Not like I'm the most ethical person running-

Van was asleep.

"Damn," Dilandau whispered. He dowsed the boy in water again.

"W-what?" Van mumbled, waking up.

"If I can't sleep, you can't sleep, got it?" Dilandau said.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Van asked. Dilandau took comfort in the swearing. It wouldn't be much longer until Van returned to his normal self.

"Don't. Go. To. Sleep. It's a very simple concept," he snapped. Dilandau lay back down, trying to recapture his ideas.

Now where was I? Oh yes, I was-what's that?

Van was wrapping an arm around his waist. With more strength then Dilandau expected, he was pulled from behind until his shoulders hit Van's chest.

"What in the hell are you doing, Pigeon? What are you, drugged or something? Get off me!" Dilandau said, trying to wrestle himself away from the boy's grip.

"Hush. Go to sleep. If you go to sleep, then I can go to sleep. It's a very simple concept," the king whispered in his ear. Dilandau had a bad feeling Van was already back to his normal self. He suddenly went very still. "I like how your skin feels," Van confessed. Dilandau felt lips brush his shoulder.

Yes well, I use a moisturizing wash and follow-up with lotion. Great skin takes work.

"Van, let go of me," Dilandau ordered. He felt that weird fearful lust rise up in his chest again.

"I don't want to," Van replied. Dilandau shivered from a phantom pain.

"Too bad," Dilandau said. With all his strength he shoved Van's arm away and scrambled to his feet. "Remind me never to hit you over the head again."

"Okay. Where are your pants?" Van asked, losing interest in the idea and returning to his clothes fixation.

"On the beach," Dilandau replied. The moment had passed. He felt his heart calm once more. "Which is where we're going right now. Get up."

The boy rose unsteadily to his feet. Dilandau slipped an arm around his waist and Van's arm slung across his shoulder. Together they walked to the clearing.

Dilandau sat Van on the ground. Reaching into his pack, he produced a blanket and tossed it to him, which Van didn't catch. The cloth draped over him like a shroud.

"I can't see," Van said dully. Dilandau shrugged and got a fresh change of clothes for himself and the other boy.

"Get dressed," Dilandau said, pulling the blanket off Van's head and dropping some clothes in his lap. Dutifully Van dressed while the paler boy got a fire started.

Fifteen minutes later, Dilandau sighed and sat back as the flames rose comfortingly into the sky. He rubbed a cheek on his shoulder, the flannel of his shirt feeling deliciously soft. Van wandered off to the edge of the clearing to undoubtedly relieve himself. Lazily he thought about getting up and making sure the boy didn't run off.

Oh well, let him go where he wants. At least he's not asleep or molesting me.

Dilandau had just closed his eyes when he heard Van come running back.

"I saw a bear!" Van announced. Dilandau jumped to his feet, his eyes on his sword a few feet away.

"Where?" His heart thudded in his chest. He didn't like bears.

Van slipped the blanket around his shoulders. "At a festival in Fanelia."

Dilandau went white with anger. The need to hit Van welled up inside him, but he shoved it back down. Instead of beating the boy, Dilandau chose to sink down to his knees, rubbing his cheek ferociously.

"That's it!" he said, "I'm going to sleep. If you go to sleep and don't wake up, I officially don't give a damn. To hell with you, Van Fanel."

Dilandau then fell backwards onto the cool grass by the fire. He closed his eyes, letting the anger slip away. After a minute, he was totally relaxed and felt his much awaited and very precious sleep beginning to overtake him. Vaguely he thought he heard Van walking away somewhere. Good riddance.

And then he felt a light, warm weight on his chest, and he knew no more.

Van took the blanket from his own shoulders and draped it over Dilandau. It was semi-amusing how the boy had just fallen over and went to sleep. Carefully, so as not to wake him, Van slipped beneath the blanket as well, gently curling himself around Dilandau's frame. The albino sighed, yet did not awaken.

Van smiled. Concussion or not, he decided he liked Dilandau better unconscious.

"I will make you love me, Prettyboy," he whispered into the soldier's ear. And then Van shut his eyes and lay his head on Dilandau's shoulder. After a moment, he too fell asleep

~*~

Van woke up slowly, like-coincidentally-a bear at the end of hibernation. His eyelids had never felt so heavy; his limbs had never felt so numb. And his bed had never felt so hard.

Wait…

In total contrast to the way he felt, Van's eyes quickly snapped open. With a great amount control, he looked around his surroundings. He was outside, in the forest, and he had absolutely no idea where this place could possibly be. The last thing he remembered was being smacked over the head by Dilandau.

Speaking of which, where was that maniac? He looked around.

"Oh," Van whispered, "You're right here."

Amidst the folds of his blanket, Van found that Dilandau was on his side, curled against him in the fetal position. The boy's silver head barely touched the shoulder, but Van saw that his very own arm was draped about Dilandau's waist.

Um…what in the hell happened here?

Van smiled. "Who cares?" he whispered out loud. He closed his eyes and bent down, resting his chin on his supposed enemy's head. He lay there for a few moments, breathing in Dilandau's scent (a combination of roses and musk). How he did it, Van didn't know. He wondered if Dilandau even knew he smelled faintly of roses. He couldn't picture the boy trying or wanting to smell like a flower.

"A total mystery," he murmured sleepily. Van felt like dozing off.

"Pigeon," Dilandau mumbled softly. Van felt the boy shift in his sleep so that he folded into him, his body pressing up against his own. Dilandau snored once, very lightly, then was silent once more.

You know, for two people who are supposed to hate each other, we certainly do spend a lot of time doing things that I believe are extremely counterproductive.

Van was still as stone. He dared not move, for he would certainly break this fragile hold Dilandau had unknowingly put him into. He wouldn't open his eyes, but he felt the soldier's arms around his waist, his knees curled and pressed against Van's thighs, and his soft head resting on his shoulder.

But of course, nothing lasts forever.

"Pigeon?" Dilandau suddenly said, louder and harsher then he had before. Van felt the boy's body tense and the flutter of Dilandau's eyelashes against his shoulder.

Play dead, just like you would with a wounded animal. Or act like a rock, I heard that works too.

"Sleeping Pigeon," Dilandau affirmed. "How in the hell did I get into this mess?"

Because you're so irresistibly cute when you sleep, Van thought.

"Thought you were awake," Dilandau said. Van snapped his eyes open.

"What?" he asked.

"You shouldn't think out loud while trying to pretend you're unconscious," Dilandau said with a smirk Van could feel.

Damn. I need to pay more attention.

"I'll work on that," Van replied, blushing. He was painfully aware that Dilandau hadn't pulled out of his embrace. He wondered why.

Dilandau nuzzled his shoulder. "Good. Now shut up. I'm going back to sleep."

"Okay," Van said, willing to follow this command. His head spun. Once again, nothing Dilandau was doing made sense.

"I told you to shut up," Dilandau sighed. His body relaxed once more.

After a moment, Van couldn't resist.

"Why haven't you pulled away?" he whispered into silver hair. Dilandau reached up and smacked him lightly on the back of the head. At least, it was lightly for Dilandau.

"You're more comfortable then the ground and this way I can keep you in check. Now, just count your blessings and shut the hell up!" he growled into Van's sleeve.

I'm comfortable? I suppose I should take that as a compliment. Though, it doesn't require much to achieve a higher comfort level then rock-hard soil. Oh well.

"You're shivering," Van whispered after awhile. It was true. The boy was trembling slightly, like his body was incapable of relaxation.

"No I'm not," Dilandau said uselessly.

"Yes you are. Why, are you cold?" Van asked. Perhaps he was sick.

"Pigeon, if you open that mouth of yours one more time, I'm going to cut off your tongue," Dilandau threatened.

Van took the safe way out and said nothing more. He freed a hand and tugged the blanket up to his chin, covering the better half of Dilandau's head. He then wrapped his arm around Dilandau's shoulder once again.

"Trying to smother me?" Dilandau said. Van wondered if the boy was ever going to go back to sleep.

"No," he replied.

"Well, then aren't you the ever-thoughtful bird," came Dilandau's whisper.

"I'm not a bird," Van said, not quite catching on.

"Hush, Pigeon. Tomorrow we fight the Madoushi," Dilandau admonished. Van opened his mouth to reply, but Dilandau raised his head and covered whatever response Van had with a swift kiss. "Just sleep the day away. Sleep it all away," Dilandau whispered, his lips moving down Van's cheek and neck until his head once again rested on the king's chest.

Van decided that Dilandau could be quite persuasive, and bowed his head. He shut his eyes, kissed the top of the albino's head, and then obediently wandered off to dreamland.

~*~