Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mystic Wings ❯ Moth to the Flame ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven

Moth to the Flame

 

After Hitomi got off of Allen's motorcycle, she tried to go to her next class, but she was immediately called to the office where she was swiftly punished for leaving school grounds with a `hot boy' on a motorcycle. Hitomi almost giggled when the gym coach called Allen a `boy'. Yeah, he was a boy, all right. Unfortunately, Hitomi's smile didn't do anything for her and she got an extra week of detention on top of her first week for being cheeky. Hitomi tried to look submissive from there on, but it was difficult. It also didn't help her at all that she refused to give a reason for her misconduct. She simply said she'd take the detention, but after she left the office another thought hit her. Her dad wasn't going to like that she had detention one bit. Crap! She didn't really care how much trouble she got into at school as long as it didn't involve her father in any way. She didn't want to let him know she had been breaking school rules, or that she had been talking with Allen. Why didn't she think about these things?

 

However, even with all this going on, she still needed to make up her mind as to whether or not she was going to help Allen save Celena or not. She wanted to leave Allen hanging, but couldn't when she thought of poor Celena. He wanted her to go to The Voltage Room, but Hitomi definitely did not want to go there again. No way! Anytime she thought about it, she would feel Dilandau's fingers digging into her hips and she knew it was impossible. She couldn't explain what happened there with him when she was there last, and she was still feeling wretched. She felt like she'd cheated on Van on purpose … and with Dilandau no less. That made it SO much worse.

 

Besides, what was Allen going to accomplish talking to Dilandau? He would probably go berserk at the sight of Allen.

 

At last, she decided that if she, Hitomi, was able to corner Dilandau in just the right way - if she threatened to take The Voltage Room down to the last brick, that he might give her a clue about Van if not Celena. Hitomi didn't think that she and Allen had much hope of finding out anything about Celena, but she might be able to get some real information about Van if she went about things the right way.

 

Yeah, she didn't want to go, but now she had an idea about what could happen there if she was careful. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad … maybe.

 

Hitomi rolled the idea around in her head until Friday night. Friday was a good night. She didn't have to start attending after-school detention until the following Monday, so she wasn't going to break the good news to her dad until Sunday - the last possible day.

 

She telephoned Allen and told him that she would go with him to The Voltage Room as long as she could have two things.

 

“You sound exactly like Van,” he commented over the phone. “He's always numbering the things that have to be done.”

 

“Well, he is my …” then she stopped. What was she saying?

 

“He's your what?”

 

Hitomi's face burned. “My mentor,” she finished, and hoped that Allen didn't catch the weirdness of her comment.

 

Allen started laughing, “You weren't going to say that originally, were you, Hitomi?”

 

“Well, then what was I going to say?”

 

“That he's your hero, right?”

 

“I wasn't going to say that,” Hitomi feigned. Hero was a better choice than husband, so she took an easy breath.

 

He sighed, “I wouldn't blame you. He did save you from the Dragon Slayer hideout when they were going to use you for target practice, didn't he?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So, don't worry about it. What are the two conditions?” he asked.

 

“I need your absolute assurance that we can leave when I say so. If I say we're leaving now, I don't want you slacking off. I don't care how close to getting Celena back you think you are. I say we're leaving and we leave, got it?”

 

“You're not in charge of this,” Allen countered.

 

“If I'm not in charge of this then I don't go. It's that simple.”

 

“You don't have the experience …” he started saying.

 

“I have the … what did you call it? The `sway with Dilandau'. I'm dead serious. I have to have it my way or I'm not going.”

 

“What's the other thing?”

 

“I have to have my dad's permission to go on a `date' tonight,” Hitomi confessed, thinking there wasn't a good chance that her father would let her out that night since he had let her go out the previous weekend. He was really strict.

 

“Should I bring flowers, Ma Chere?” Allen accented brightly.

 

“I'm gonna kill you,” Hitomi said, half playfully.

 

“Even better, should I dress up? I mean, we are going clubbing.”

 

“Allen …” she began. She was starting to lose patience with him. He didn't understand what kind of a sacrifice it was for her to say she'd go to The Voltage Room at all. The experience she'd had with Dilandau the week before had honestly disrupted her whole peace of mind. She wasn't even able to feel at home with herself since it happened.

 

“Don't worry,” he interrupted before she had the chance to tell him to go on his own. “I wouldn't want to date you, anyway. You're too young. What are you anyway? Seventeen?”

 

“Eighteen!”

 

“Whatever. Anyway, I would never touch a high school girl. It would totally crimp my style.”

 

So, Allen had been whom Van got some of his cradle-robbing feelings from. Ah! That made sense. “It doesn't matter,” Hitomi said, trying to get back on topic. “Can I have things my way? Can we leave when I say?”

 

“Anything … for a lady,” he said in an ultra sexy low voice.

 

For a second Hitomi thought … well, she thought a lot of things. “Allen, I thought we talked about this. Either you cut the crap, or I'm bailing. I refuse to work with you if you won't treat me like a partner. This is the last time I'm talking to you about this. Besides, I'm not even sure if my father will agree to my having a night on the town with you. It's dangerous.”

 

“I'm sorry, Hitomi. I didn't realize I was doing anything out of the ordinary. Will you forgive me?”

 

“Well …”

 

“Why don't you go ask your father and call me back when you have permission?” he drawled.

 

“Okay,” Hitomi said, taking in a couple deep breaths.

 

She hung up the phone and went into the living room where her father was arranging his bookshelf in alphabetical order. It was six o'clock on a Friday night. Maybe he was feeling charitable. He didn't have to be at work until Monday, and she hadn't told him about her detention. Plus, she had come home at only ten thirty when she went out the weekend before. Was it possible she was still in his good graces?

 

“Dad,” she started.

 

“Yeah, Hitomi,” he said, turning around to look at her. “What is it?”

 

She bit her lip. Her father's eyes looked blue and clear, like nothing was bothering him. Hitomi hadn't seen him look like that for a long time, and she was about to break her promise to him for the third time, perhaps fourth or fifth time. She was crazy to do things that would make him worry about her, but as she bit her lip she thought about poor Celena with the syringe in her hand. There was no way Hitomi could blame Allen for wanting to go so far for her, and she wanted to help him. And then Van. She thought about Van and that clinched the deal for her.

 

“I was invited on a date tonight,” she said slowly. “And I came to ask your permission if I could go.”

 

He smiled. “You can go.”

 

“Really?” Hitomi was astonished.

 

“I'm pleased that you came to ask me,” he said, explaining his situation. “Lately, I've been worried that if you wanted something you wouldn't have the nerve to ask me because I've been such an ogre. I was starting to get worried that you would sooner sneak out of the apartment if you wanted to go somewhere than ask. Sure, you can go.”

 

“Thank you, Dad,” Hitomi said, suddenly feeling an intense swelling of guilt. She swallowed and forced herself to deal with it. Van said that they didn't lead normal lives, so she would have to live with the burden of being the way she was.

 

Allen didn't know it, but she was going to protect him tonight. Whatever happened, she was going to protect him.

 

***

 

Allen was going to pick Hitomi up at nine-thirty, so after she cleaned up the dishes from dinner she got in the shower and prepared to get ready. There was a school dance that night and Marlene was getting ready to go, so Hitomi didn't get the bathroom until after her sister was finished.

 

“Are you going to the dance?” Marlene asked when Hitomi came into their bedroom with a towel on her head.

 

“Hadn't planned on it,” she said, unconsciously sounding exactly like Van.

 

“But, didn't Dad say you had a date tonight? Weren't you guys planning on going to the dance?”

 

Hitomi looked at Marlene. She was obviously still miffed at Hitomi over something and there wasn't the faintest hint of sweetness in her sister's voice. As a matter of fact, the dance didn't even start for another hour and Marlene was totally ready to go. She was just bored; otherwise, Hitomi didn't think her sister would even talk to her.

 

“Well, he didn't say where we were going,” Hitomi said slowly.

 

“Your date?”

 

“Yeah. Hey, Marlene, why don't you help me pick something to wear?” Hitomi suggested, thinking it might help strengthen their sisterly bonds. “I haven't been out for so long; I can hardly remember how people dress,” she said, while fluffing her not-so-short hair with her towel. She had been thinking of getting it cut.

 

“Let's see,” Marlene said, looking interested and combing through Hitomi's half of the closet.

 

What Marlene picked for her, Hitomi would have never picked for herself, but she decided to bear it for the sake of sisterly love … or something like that. She got herself dressed and looked in the mirror. Hitomi liked something that was more athletic, and what Marlene picked for her wasn't even out of her side of the closet. Marlene had picked out her own clothes and told Hitomi to put them on.

 

Hitomi was wearing brown little girl shoes with white knee stockings, a brown and cream plaid skirt with a white button-up-the-front shirt. It was like her school uniform and somehow … not. And she was supposed to wear this to The Voltage Room? Hitomi was pink as she looked in the mirror.

 

But Marlene didn't seem to notice, because now she was twisting Hitomi's hair in her fingers and turning her towards her.

 

“You need your bangs cut, my dear,” Marlene observed, taking a pair of scissors in her hand. “I'll give you a trim if you'll sit still. You're starting to go wild.”

 

“I suppose you're going to pluck my eyebrows next,” Hitomi said, after giving her fifteen-year-old sister permission to cut her bangs.

 

“I wasn't going to say anything, but you really need that done, too. I mean, no wonder everyone thinks you're so dangerous. If you dressed up more you'd look like a mafia princess instead of like a thug.”

 

“Interesting choice of words,” Hitomi thought, thinking of how hard she was fighting against a syndicate.

 

Snip.

 

“I was thinking of having you wear the sleeveless white shirt instead, because then it would show off your tattoo,” Marlene was saying.

 

Snap.

 

“Everyone thinks it's too cool, even though they're a little intimidated. But, I thought it would be better if we highlighted your good side instead of accentuating the badass you appear to be. I'm sure your date wants to be with a nice girl.”

 

Snip.

 

“Also, that shirt has little ties up in the front. I didn't think there was a chance I could get you to wear something that had anything resembling a bow anywhere on it.”

 

Snap.

 

“There - all done!” Marlene proclaimed.

 

“I want to see,” Hitomi said, turning her head, but Marlene stopped her.

 

“Not until I've plucked your eyebrows. You'll be amazed at how different you look after I finish that. You might actually look polished instead of like a tomboy.”

 

“I am a tomboy!” Hitomi said.

 

“Who are you going out with tonight, anyway? I was thinking that it could only be one person, but …”

 

“But what?”

 

“I didn't think you'd risk your neck for him,” Marlene said taking the tweezers in her hand.

 

“Who?”

 

“Mr. Fassa,” Marlene answered.

 

“Oh, yeah, Dryden. He didn't ask me.”

 

“Really? That surprises me. He seems to take the time to stop and talk to you quite regularly. Are you sure he's not interested?”

 

“Ouch!” Hitomi squeaked when Marlene finally started.

 

“Please don't make any noise,” she said. “It's distracting.”

 

“Are you really this excited to be a teenager, Marlene?” Hitomi interjected between violent pinches.

 

“What are you talking about?” Marlene asked.

 

Hitomi had been thinking about Marlene's boyfriend that she kept secret from their parents, and the trouble her little sister had obviously gone to in order to prepare herself for the dance. She looked like the girl on the cover of this months' teenager magazine. Hitomi had never seen her like this before. Granted, she had been away for months, and this was her sister's first year in high school. Maybe this was a natural transition for her sister to go through and Hitomi had never gone through this stage, or perhaps she had and not noticed it.

 

Finally, Marlene let her look in the mirror. Hitomi was totally blown away by what she saw there. She didn't look like herself at all, but like a really pretty girl, maybe even at the height of fashion. Marlene had cut her bangs perfectly, and besides a few red marks by her eyebrows, they looked great, too.

 

Would Van have liked how she looked? Would he even have recognized her now that her hair was long enough to pull into a ponytail?

 

“Thanks,” Hitomi said, giving Marlene a side hug.

 

“You look better. One step closer to mafia princess - that's the goal.” Then she smiled at Hitomi and left the room - their father was calling them.

 

“Hitomi!” Hitomi's mother said, opening the door. “You look different,” she observed. “Your date is downstairs. Your dad is making him come up to meet us. Marlene's date is here, too. Wanna meet him?”

 

Hitomi nodded, and came quickly into the entryway.

 

There was Marlene's date. A gawky boy of sixteen who looked like he was twelve, compared with Marlene's flowering femininity and sophistication. He was blushing madly and looking so nervous that he was going to fall over himself in ecstasy. Hitomi didn't recognize him, but she felt a flush of relief at the sight of him. He looked like a baby. He couldn't be causing Marlene any trouble. After tonight, Hitomi would talk to Marlene about sneaking off to meet him. There was no point in being secretive for a kid like that. She might as well date him in the open.

 

Then there was a casual knock and Marlene answered the door. There was Allen. He came in with a nonchalant curve of his lips and stood over a head taller than the boy who was taking Marlene. Marlene had been talking to her date with complete composure, but when Allen came through the door, he probably looked like an angel to Marlene too, because she was turning pink and smiling brightly up at him like she had never seen a man before in her life.

 

Allen was wearing a long black leather jacket with a shiny grey shirt under it and heavy black boots. His blonde hair was down and falling roughly down his back. Yeah, he was no teenager. Compared with Marlene's date he looked like a movie star out of the latest blockbuster, and his orange sunglasses were helping nothing. Neither was the leather stud choker around his throat.

 

Hitomi looked at him and groaned. Her father was never going to let her out of the house.

 

“Mom, Dad, this is Allen Schezar,” Hitomi said, unceremoniously. “Hey Allen, I need to get my bag out of my room. I'll be right back.”

 

Hitomi didn't normally carry a purse of any kind, but she needed to bring a pair of pants with her. Her shoes and top were fine, but she couldn't walk into The Voltage Room looking like a schoolgirl. It would just be too painful, especially since she planned to go jump the bouncers again. She grabbed some lightweight black pants. They would fit into a small purse without complication, but it might be a cold night on the back of Allen's motorcycle. She guessed that was what the knee-high socks were for - keeping her from freezing her butt off.

 

When Hitomi came back into the entryway her father was asking Allen in the crustiest tone of voice, “Where are you planning on taking my daughter?”

 

“You're coming to the dance tonight, aren't you?” Marlene asked Allen, catching his eye.

 

Allen looked at Hitomi for guidance. “Did you want to go to the dance?”

 

“Just dinner, please,” Hitomi said, putting on her jacket.

 

“Aw, Allen,” Marlene was saying, ignoring her little date completely and almost physically cuddling up to Allen, “Convince Hitomi to come to the dance. It'll be fun.”

 

Hitomi was just about to call Marlene on her poor behaviour when she remembered what Allen had just told her about his thoughts on dating high school girls. Allen was probably disgusted with Marlene if he felt that way, so there was no need for Hitomi to call attention to it. All she had to do was make it clear that they weren't going to go to the lame little high school dance.

 

To Hitomi's surprise, Allen was looking at her and asking, “Do you want to make an appearance?”

 

“Yeah, we'd probably get kicked out,” Hitomi scoffed.

 

“That could be fun,” Allen said, with odd lights in his eyes. He was talking to Hitomi, but he was looking at Marlene.

 

“Yo Allen,” Hitomi said, bringing his eyes in line with hers. “Dinner?” she reminded him.

 

“Yeah, dinner,” he said shaking his head and taking Marlene's hand. “It was lovely to meet you. I don't think you told me your name, Angel?”

 

“It's Marlene,” the blonde girl bobbed.

 

“Ah,” he said, kissing her hand. “The name of an angel.”

 

“Allen,” Hitomi said, putting her hand on her hip and pushing him out the door. “You don't need to be that friendly with my sister, especially not in front of her date. Let's go!”

 

“Wait! Hitomi!” her father called.

 

Hitomi did a double take and poked her head back into the apartment. “Yes?” She was positive she was going to get told that she couldn't go out with Allen now. He had dressed so … Hitomi was lost for words to describe how Allen looked. He dressed to play up all his good points, and as the man had quite a few, doubtless he looked imposing to paranoid parents. Not only that, but he appeared to be putting the moves on her little sister. It definitely looked bad, and there was no way her parents were going to let her out now.

 

“When will you be home?” her mother said quickly, intervening on Hitomi's behalf. She looked amused, and her action showed that she was looking out for Hitomi's interests.

 

“Not late,” Hitomi said, trying to make her outing with Allen seem sensible. Hitomi thought it was impossible though for the two of them to ward off her father's fears, and she knew that her mother was going to have a bad hour with him after they left. The situation looked too grotesque for her to talk her way out of it. She didn't even want to try. At this point, she just wanted to take her mother's sacrifice for what it was and hope that she and Allen would be able to find out something about Van, or Celena, or both before the end of the night. Even if things went terribly wrong, if they did a good thing and rescued someone, she might earn vindication from her father. Maybe …

 

“Have a good time,” her mother called cheerfully, and linked arms with her father as Hitomi closed the doors and thanked her lucky stars that her mother understood.

 

But as soon as Hitomi and Allen were in the elevator going down to the main level, she bonked him on the head with her bag, which took some winding up to do. “Allen, are you really this stupid? Why did you agree to come up to the apartment at all? You should have known better than to introduce yourself to my parents. Of all the stupid …”

 

“I couldn't take you out without letting your father know that you would be all right in my care. It would have been … boorish.”

 

“Did you say something to him while I was in the bedroom?”

 

“Naturally,” Allen said, his eyebrows draw together seriously.

 

Hitomi sighed. “I realize that you try to be a gentleman in your own way, but couldn't you have left the spike collar off until I was downstairs? I thought my father would have a heart attack when he saw you. Was wearing that a good way to let him know that I'd be safe in your hands? I didn't think so, either.”

 

“Yeah, well, I can't pretend to be something I'm not. That would be even worse.”

 

“I find your logic dizzying,” Hitomi said, thinking while looking at him that she was lucky she hadn't met him before Van. Eries was completely right about him. He did things that made girls want to fall in love with him, but whether or not he really meant them was another matter entirely. He was too flirtatious, too gallant, and too ready to take any hardship onto his shoulders - yet something about him wasn't right. It was like there was a part of him that was missing and he filled it with the adoring looks of the females he spoke to. Hitomi wouldn't have recognized all this about him at first glance. She certainly didn't notice all of it when she was part of the Abaharaki and living with Van. It was only because Eries talked so much about him and now that she'd seen him in action a couple times that the answer to his motives became clear. “And don't hit on Marlene,” Hitomi said. “I'm not even joking. She's a little girl, even though she doesn't look it, and she doesn't understand the game you play at all. She probably won't be able to pay attention to the nice boy who's taking her out tonight because you drew her eyes towards you so forcefully.”

 

“Did I?”

 

“Look, she couldn't help be attracted to you at first sight, and you know it. Of course you look absolutely dazzling to someone with no experience, like her. You shouldn't let her adoration go to your head. She'd be thrilled with anyone of your age and experience. Anyone would seem interesting! And why would you even suggest that we go to a high school dance?”

 

“It might be a fun story to tell later,” he said off-handedly.

 

“I'm sure,” Hitomi said sarcastically.

 

“Give it a rest,” he said bringing his hand up to his mouth as he yawned. “You're starting to sound like Eries, and you know how she tires me.”

 

“Excuse me! I'm doing you a favour, not the other way around.”

 

“Lighten up,” he said, for once looking at her and talking to her and not seeming at all like he was coming onto her. “Would it help if I apologized to you?”

 

Hitomi felt embarrassed. She guessed that he really hadn't done anything very wrong. “No. Forget it. I'm being ridiculous. I shouldn't be so touchy. Let's just go and get this over with. I still don't exactly want to go. Dilandau really freaked me out when I went there last. I'm really tense. If I didn't truly believe in my heart that Celena wanted to be rescued, and that I could try pumping Dilandau for more information about Van, then I wouldn't be doing this at all. I just can't sit around in my bedroom while Dilandau is having everything his own way.”

 

“There's a good girl,” Allen said, looking at Hitomi admiringly as he stepped into the lobby with Hitomi behind him.

 

***

 

Outside The Voltage Room was as crowded, even more so than it had been the night Hitomi went to speak to Dilandau. Hitomi was worried as she sat on the back of Allen's motorcycle that he might say something else about the high school dance, but he didn't say anything, and proceeded onto The Voltage Room with a steady determination. Maybe he had only been polite when he spoke to Marlene.

 

After Allen took his helmet off, he said to Hitomi, “I don't know if this is going to make a difference.”

 

“What?” Hitomi asked, pulling her pants on under her skirt. She pulled the skirt clean off her once her pants were zipped.

 

He pulled out a gun and handed it to her.

 

Hitomi looked at it grimly and then looked at Allen. “Do you have one?” she asked.

 

“Two,” Allen admitted hesitantly. “It's just in case.”

 

“Just in case, what?”

 

“Just in case you need it.”

 

Hitomi looked in his eyes. Allen was easy to interpret. He hadn't used to be, but since Van - everything always turned to Van. Since Van and Eries had spent so much time with her, she understood Allen. He just wanted her to be safe and he didn't want her to be left helpless if he wasn't beside her the entire time.

 

“I don't like this, Allen,” she said, taking the gun and tucking it in the back of her pants and pulling her jacket over it. “I don't like this one bit.”

 

“But you'll carry it?”

 

“As long as you remember your promise to me that we'll leave when I say, then I won't need to,” she said. “Come on. We've got a lot of work to do.” She tucked her skirt into the back of his bike and put her feet to the pavement.

 

Allen followed her, but he seemed a little hesitant.

 

“Hitomi,” he said quietly after they had walked a bit. “You seem different. You've gotta tell me. Why didn't Van want you to be part of the Abaharaki anymore?”

 

“I thought I told you.”

 

“Your excuse just doesn't seem to fit. How about we try again? What was the reason?”

 

Hitomi sighed, but then she said, “He thought you'd use me - looks like he was right, doesn't it?”

 

“I guess you don't care what Van says, then.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you're going against his wishes.”

 

“Don't worry about that. He's not really going along with my wishes. Are you sure you don't know what happened to him?”

 

Allen shook his head wearily. “I said before, and I really don't have any idea.”

“And your sister takes precedence?”

 

“You make me sound very self serving,” he said testily.

 

“Well, let's do our best to feel Dilandau out and figure out what to do. Okay, let's talk about this seriously. I don't want you to come to the table to talk to Dilly with me. If you do, he'll send us away without hesitating. You go find some girls to dance with while I talk to him. That should be easy for you. I'll send for you if I think I could use the back up. Got it?”

 

“Dilly?” Allen repeated uneasily. “You act like you really know what you're doing - like you're running the show,” he said, grabbing her shoulders and bringing her around to face him. “Don't you think I have a plan?”

 

Hitomi huffed. “Allen, if you go in there half cocked, we're both dead. Do you think the Dragon Slayers are willing to make many more excuses for you? Do you think you would have been safe the whole time you were in their custody if it hadn't been for Van and Celena's combined sacrifice? You wanted to know why Van doesn't want you to talk to me. Well, you're about to find out the reason.”

 

“You don't even want to hear my plan then?”

 

Hitomi's eyebrows went up. “Were you just going to run in, grab Dilandau by the collar and tell him that he'd better tell you where Celena is, or you'll kill him?”

 

Allen coloured.

 

“I know you like being that straight-forward. Van mentioned that you were like that, but listen to me. This is a Dragon Slayer club - a D-r-a-g-o-n S-l-a-y-e-r club - everyone there is a Dragon Slayer. Every last one of them is totally devoted to Dilandau. Don't say it,” Hitomi said, raising her hand to stop Allen from speaking. “I know, I know, none of you thought that Dilandau was really such a big fish back in the day, but he's one now, so we have to deal with him properly and carefully.”

 

“So, what are you going to ask him?”

 

“I'll have to feel him out.”

 

“And how are you going to do that?” he asked.

 

Hitomi winked at Allen, not willing to tell him that she was going to threaten to raze The Voltage Room - Hitomi style, and said, “The way only a woman can.”

 

“I'd like to see that,” Allen said, letting go of Hitomi and following her along the sidewalk.