Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mystic Wings ❯ An Old Flame ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Nine

An Old Flame

 

Featuring “Falling” by Brave New World

 

It was three weeks after Hitomi started school that her mother was finally able to convince her father to lend Hitomi the car and let her go out for an evening.

 

Hitomi snatched the keys out of her father's poised hand and made for the door without hesitation.

 

“Why are you running like that?” her dad asked, following her into the entryway where she was putting on her shoes.

 

“I don't want you to change your mind.” She planted a kiss on his cheek and ran out quickly.

 

Hitomi wasn't sure, but she thought she heard her mother laughing through the door, but it didn't matter. She was glad her father had finally caved. She had been dying to go out to Aunt Flo's to find out the truth.

 

Once she was on the highway it was difficult not to speed. Van might even be there and she wanted to see Van more than anything.

 

When Hitomi finally pulled up in front of the house, she saw that the porch light was on. She got out of the car and raced up to the front door, then rang the doorbell intensely.

 

Aunt Flo answered the door, but didn't look at all surprised to see Hitomi standing there. “Oh,” she said dully, “are you here to pick up the convertible?”

 

“The convertible?” Hitomi asked, not understanding at first what Aunt Flo was talking about. Then Hitomi remembered that Van said he had told her that he was giving it to Hitomi. She had forgotten all about it. “No. Where's Van?”

 

Aunt Flo shrugged her shoulders and walked back into the house leaving the door open for Hitomi. “Van's not here,” she said, going into the kitchen where Merle and Eries were sitting at the table. From the expressions on their faces, it was obvious Hitomi had interrupted an intense discussion between the three women.

 

“Hi,” Eries said pleasantly, but Merle kept her head down and drummed her fingers on the lacquer.

 

“Hi,” Hitomi answered vaguely. Then she directed herself to Aunt Flo, “Please tell me, where is Van?”

 

“I don't know where he is. He never came back from The Voltage Room,” Aunt Flo said. “And he asked me to give you the convertible.”

 

“Did he say anything else?” Hitomi begged.

 

“He did,” Aunt Flo said dryly, but didn't proceed to tell Hitomi what he said.

 

Instead Merle answered her tartly. “He said that we weren't supposed to talk to you anymore.”

 

“He did not!” Hitomi exclaimed, not willing to be bullied by Merle.

 

“No, he did,” Aunt Flo continued. “He said he wasn't coming back and that we weren't supposed to talk to you anymore. We all intend to follow his instructions. If he asked us not to speak to you - then that's all there is to it.”

 

Hitomi was completely shocked by what Aunt Flo was saying. She realized that Aunt Flo didn't like her, but she thought it was just because she wanted Van to be involved with a girl who had the same abilities he had … well, with her. If only she could tell Aunt Flo that she was really the girl Van got his tattoo over and that she was his wife. It was wretched to have to keep it quiet. Hitomi could only guess that Van wanted to keep her away from the Abaharaki because he didn't plan to have anything to do with them in the future, and he didn't want Hitomi to be used by them if they knew what she could do. She understood Van's reasoning, but she was finding it difficult to accept his way of doing things.

 

“I just want to ask you one question,” Aunt Flo continued, in a voice that grated.

 

“What?” Hitomi asked, relaxing her stance. She was very interested in what Aunt Flo had to ask. Maybe it would further explain why everyone was so hostile towards her.

 

“Why did you decide to blackmail my nephew?” she asked coldly.

 

Hitomi understood what was really happening at that moment, and pulled her back up straight. “I see,” she said. Aunt Flo was very protective of Van, and she thought that Hitomi was a threat. Merle had never liked her, so there was no love lost there, and Eries looked … maybe a little sorry. Hitomi thought she was preoccupied. “So, you don't want to talk to me about what happened. Was Van able to rescue Allen and the others? You might at least tell me that much.”

 

“Not until you answer my question. What power do you have over Van that he's willing to give you his car?” Aunt Flo persisted.

 

“I'm not blackmailing Van. I would have no reason to do something like that.”

 

“We don't know that,” Merle said dangerously.

 

“Here's the keys,” Aunt Flo said, tossing them towards Hitomi. “If you're not going to answer me, take them and go.”

 

“I can't take the car,” Hitomi said, really getting angry now. “I'm here in my parents' vehicle and I can't drive both back to the city. Plus, I didn't come here for the convertible. I don't even want it! I have no where to park it!” she proclaimed noisily, slamming the keys onto the table top with a bang. “And I don't have to explain anything to you.”

 

“Then get out!” Merle shouted.

 

“I'm going,” Hitomi said, taking to her feet and heading for the door, making sure to slam it good and hard on her way out.

 

Hitomi slammed the car door shut too, as she got into the drivers' seat of her parents' car. She even whacked her head on the steering wheel in frustration.

 

Of all the infuriating pieces of garbage! They wouldn't answer any of her questions. Was Van's sacrifice for nothing? Wasn't he able to save even one of them? Well, if she couldn't get answers from the Abaharaki, she knew someone who she might be able to bully into telling her. There was one person who knew what she was capable of who might have the sense to be afraid of her, and luckily she knew exactly where to find him.

 

Hitomi threw the car into reverse and headed back towards the city. She was going to the club to find Dilandau.

 

***

 

After Hitomi paid the door fee at the club, she stepped into a tomb. She was absolutely stunned at how few people were hanging out. It wasn't that early in the evening that it should be this empty. It was about nine. Even though the dance music was pumping there was no one on the floor and the light show was playing for no one. There were a few groups of people scattered through the lounge, but that was genuinely it.

 

What happened? Where was everyone?

 

Hitomi went up to the bar and asked the bartender where everyone was.

 

“You haven't been here lately then. Everyone went over to that new club over on 106 Street. You've probably heard of it - The Voltage Room. I couldn't believe how many regulars we lost when that place opened.”

 

The Voltage Room?

 

Hitomi felt sick. Of course, Van had told her that it was a Dragon Slayer owned and operated venture, but it hadn't even occurred to her that Dilandau had probably moved their hangout to their own turf. Of course he had! She had been stupid not to think of it. And the bartender said they lost most of their customers when The Voltage Room opened. Hitomi remembered how many people she had seen in the stadium the night they had kidnapped her. There were so many Dragon Slayers. If she went there she would be hopelessly outnumbered. She felt like going there would be like following Van down to Hell.

 

Hitomi thanked the bartender and promptly left the club. There was no reason to hang out there now. What was she going to do? She sat in the car and thought about what she was going to do next. Either she went home or she went to The Voltage Room. She didn't see any other options. Which was it going to be?

 

She started driving and turned her car onto 106 Street. The Voltage Room was the only choice she had. She couldn't just let Van go without finding out what happened to him. He might want her to stay uninvolved, so that he could handle things his way, but she couldn't stand the way he left her in the dark. She had been patient for long enough and now she was angry enough to walk in the lion's den under her own power.

 

Besides, she wasn't afraid of Dilandau. He wasn't someone to be afraid of. She was much tougher than he could ever be since her training with Van. No problem. She'd go see him.

 

The Voltage Room was a brightly lit affair right on 106 Street with two searchlights on the sidewalk outside. The sign surprised her, as it was the image of a butterfly behind the title of the bar. A butterfly? There was no parking and a long line of people hoping to get in. A line? Hitomi bit her lip. She wasn't exactly dressed for clubbing. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, and a jean jacket. There was no way she'd get in under normal circumstances.

 

First, Hitomi found a place to park the car and then she hurried down two blocks to get back to the entrance. The line up was very long, and it wasn't moving. So many people wanted to get in. Hitomi was impressed that a Dragon Slayer club was so popular, but she guessed it made sense.

 

Well, there was no way she was waiting around all night to get in. She walked swiftly past the line up and up to the pair of bouncers that were guarding the door.

 

She managed to get their attention and said, “I'm a friend of Dilandau's.”

 

“Who isn't?” one of them said hoarsely. Then he moved his head around to tell the next person in line that they weren't allowing anyone else in right then.

 

“He'd want to see me. So, can I bypass the line?” Hitomi continued.

 

“No, you can't,” the same one said, looking more pissed off than before.

 

“Might as well give it a try,” Hitomi thought to herself before saying, “I'm Hitomi Kanzaki. Ring any bells with you?”

 

“Oh, Miss Kanzaki,” the bouncers said, both jumping. “Please come in. Mr. Albatou has been waiting for you.” Then they cleared the way for her and let her into the club. Hitomi heard people in the lineup outside booing her. The bouncers arranged for her to be escorted past the front entrance and to Dilandau's table.

 

Dilandau had been expecting her?

 

When Hitomi entered The Voltage Room she was totally blown away. This was a really high-class club. It was dressed up to the nines. Plus, the music they were playing was the hottest dance track Hitomi had ever heard. It was so loud that it was pounding into her rib cage like a jackhammer. No wonder this place was so popular.

 

There was a square area on a lower level than the entrance that was circled in tables and a higher square area above outlining it with a railing around it, like a balcony. Hitomi stood there and thought that it looked exactly like a shooting range. If someone was on the dance floor on the lower level, they could be surrounded by people on the top floor and shot.

 

It had never occurred to Hitomi that Van could have been killed, but as she stood there and analyzed the room, the possibility came home to her very clearly. Well, she wouldn't worry about that now. She was only going to recognize that this was a very dangerous place and proceed to go see Dilandau.

 

He was seated at a table in one of the far back corners of the lower level. It was a round booth seat and he was surrounded by people. The first thing Hitomi noticed was that the girl on his arm was not his usual green-eyed beauty, since he seemed to have a thing for women like that. But now, Hitomi realized that the reason he kept girls like that around him before was to try to show that he was looking for the girl with the moon for her symbol - her. Now that he had found her, there was no need to act like he was still looking, so the girl on his arm was a dark eyed beauty with a lovely sheen of long golden hair. When Hitomi approached with a bouncer beside her, Dilandau promptly ordered his people away from him and asked them to leave the two of them alone for a while.

 

The bouncer left and Hitomi sat down across from Dilandau.

 

He was looking better than Hitomi remembered. His hair had grown out a bit, and his eyes looked sharper, somehow, under his silver eyebrows, but Hitomi didn't see fit to compliment him and said instead, “Have you gone even grayer since I saw you last?”

 

“Har har,” he said cynically as he pulled a cigarette out of a pack with his mouth and lit it.

 

“You're not allowed to smoke in here,” Hitomi commented. “I'm sure you've heard about the city's new bylaw.”

 

“That's for bars. This is a private club. Different rules, my dear. Of course, we don't encourage smoking, but we allow it. Didn't you see all those kids out front, trying to get in? It's made us the hottest club in town, or didn't you know?”

 

Hitomi rolled her eyes. “Like it matters. I'm here for a different reason, anyway.”

 

“Of course you are,” he said suggestively, “I knew you couldn't stay away from me.”

 

“Right,” she said sarcastically.

 

“I've been waiting for you; or rather he's been waiting for you,” Dilandau said, looking completely disinterested in her suddenly. He was back to his old self. That was good. That way, Hitomi felt like she knew who she was dealing with.

 

“Glad to see we're friends again,” she said coldly.

 

“We'll always be friends,” he said, “as long as you don't interfere with what's mine.”

 

“Celena?” Hitomi asked, thinking he could have nothing else that he would want to protect.

 

“Exactly,” he said, grinding his barely smoked cigarette out.

 

“Where's Van?” she questioned, finally getting to the point.

 

“That's why you're here, Hitomi!” he exclaimed. “I thought he'd gotten farther with you than that. So, you're still thinking about The Dragon, ne?”

 

“Who's he?” she asked, not understanding Dilandau's meaning at all.

 

“Okay, I'll tell you where Van is,” Dilandau said, mocking her terribly with his eyes and avoiding her question. “We asked him, very politely, to join us, and he agreed.”

 

Hitomi was stunned. “I don't believe you!”

 

“It's true. He might be on the dance floor right now with a honey. He loves women you know, and Dragon Slayer girls are the best in the world. You can hear screaming out of his bedroom door all night some nights. He's a man with stamina.”

 

Hitomi jumped to her feet - outraged. Van wouldn't do something like that! Hitomi knew it. He just couldn't have done what Dilandau said he did. “I don't believe you!” she said hotly, breathing hard. “I'll kill you,” she whispered, but Dilandau heard her.

 

“Come out onto the dance floor with me Hitomi. I'm sure we'll see him. Besides, it will be fun to dance together again, and you love this song, don't you?”

 

Hitomi had never heard the song playing before, but when Dilandau came around to her side of the table and invited her up, she reluctantly got up with him. There were too many people on the dance floor to see if Van was one of them, and she wanted to test Dilandau. Van wouldn't be there. There was no way. He wouldn't do the things Dilandau said he did. He couldn't!

 

Dilandau pulled her into his arms and started her going by whispering in her ear, “This will be just like old times, ne?”

 

Hitomi gulped a lump in her throat. She hated Dilandau, so why did he make her feel this way? Why did he always make her feel this way?

 

The music was pounding and the voice was singing. It was a low, mellow, male voice, so smooth as to almost be at odds with the beat. He was singing:

 

I never know what's happening

Except tripping and I'm gone

 

There were lots of people out on the dance floor and it was very hot. It had been a long time since Hitomi had gone dancing at a club. She had forgotten how the light show sometimes made her dizzy.

 

And even though they were supposed to be looking for Van, Dilandau kept her focusing on his scarlet eyes. He had his fingers curling around her back, but Hitomi pushed him off and put some distance between them. He was such a bastard, and she was married. She had to look for Van!

 

Know the state between pleasure and pain?

Love and hate become one and the same

I can't wait to drink from your cup again

 

Hitomi broke eye contact with Dilandau and looked around for Van. The room seemed to be spinning for her, though, and she was having a hard time concentrating on her search. She thought she might trip on her own feet; she was getting so clumsy. She kept seeing the same faces over and over again, and was never able to see anything new. It was like she was going around in circles.

 

Then she looked at Dilandau. He was dancing, and Hitomi remembered how cruel he was, but why was he always able to win her over? His manner always made her forget how dangerous he was.

 

She had come here to get answers from him, but instead ended up doing whatever he wanted. There was no way Van was on the dance floor like Dilandau said. He just said he was so that she would dance with him and bring her guard down. Dilandau knew how much Hitomi liked to dance.

 

I promised myself I wouldn't put myself through this again

So why do I find myself standing at your door?

 

Hitomi turned away from Dilandau again to look for Van. Was he here after all? But she was becoming disoriented and confused. There was Dilandau and Van … and she turned her back on Dilandau, to turn around and see Van standing in his place.

 

His dark hair was wet and lying in strands against his lean brown cheeks. He smiled at Hitomi and welcomed her with his eyes - so warm and inviting.

 

Then he was pulling her into the circle of his arms.

 

Close your eyes and watch me

I'm falling again

Close your eyes and watch me

I'm falling again

 

Now he was holding her at a distance and making room for them to dance, just as she and Dilandau had done.

 

“Van!” she called, screaming through the loud music. “What are you doing here?”

 

He smiled a half smile with an odd twist of his lips.

 

Hitomi was squinting to see him. “Were you able to save Allen and the others?” she asked.

 

Van still didn't answer her. He jerked her close and put his lips to her throat.

 

Say goodbye to self-control

As I hit release and go

 

Hitomi had sat up in her bed so many nights remembering what Van's kiss was like. It was something she never forgot; something she always wanted to feel again. She hadn't seen him for over a month, and sometimes the memory of the feeling felt like it was failing.

 

Her hand was in the tangles of his hair. She wanted to feel the way he made her feel again.

 

Holding out for that release

Nothing in that falls beneath

I can't wait to feel you around me again

 

But that special feeling that only Van gave her wasn't coming. She waited, but it wasn't coming. She opened her eyes and looked over his shoulder. The room had come back into focus, and the light show was clear. Diamonds of the different coloured lights were illuminating the ceiling. What was missing?

 

Heat.

 

It was the unique heat of Van's breath that she was waiting for. That feeling of mystery and magic that came with his touch and it wasn't coming. Instead, her chest was starting to feel cold. Yet, she was pressed up against him.

 

Then the most incredible thing happened.

 

Van's hands went to her waist and he began squeezing her hips.

 

I promised myself I wouldn't put myself through this again

So why do I find myself coming back for more?

 

Hitomi turned her head and saw that her hand was not caressing black hair, but silver. It was Dilandau!

 

She took in a sharp intake of breath and kicked him off with her knee. She didn't make contact with his torso before he backed off. Once there was space between them again, she saw that he looked like Van. But he couldn't be.

 

He couldn't be!

 

Close your eyes and watch me

I'm falling again

Close your eyes and watch me

I'm falling again

 

“You …” she breathed, finally getting her bearings. What was happening?

 

Van's eyes gave her a flirty look, as he abruptly grabbed the arm of the girl next to him and drew her close to him.

 

It had to be Dilandau and not Van at all! Van wouldn't be doing what she saw him doing now! He wouldn't be holding another girl close to him. He wouldn't be kissing her! He wouldn't!

 

But it looked like him! He was dancing like him! His lips were …

 

My body against my mind

I take the sweetest taste while I contemplate

Why I get tripped up every time

 

Hitomi couldn't stand to watch what was happening. It wasn't Van! It couldn't be!

 

She turned on her heel and made for the door. She bumped into people in her rush to get out of The Voltage Room. What kind of place was this? Why had she wanted to come? She would never find Van in a place like this.

 

Close your eyes and watch me

I'm falling again

Close your eyes and watch me

I'm falling again

 

Hitomi sat in her parents' car in their parking stall outside their condominium complex for a solid half an hour before she felt strong enough to go in. It was only ten thirty and she knew that her parents would still be awake.

 

Her experience in The Voltage Room had scared her stupid. That much was clear. From here, she really didn't know how to proceed. She wanted to find Van, but if the Abaharaki wouldn't speak to her and going to see Dilandau had … that place really had been Hell. She would never be able to go back ... ever.