Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Traditions ❯ Whole Again ( Chapter 1 )

Description: The inspiration for this story comes from a combination of me reading a whole bunch of Escaflowne fanfics and listening to some of my favourite songs. It will be a V/H romance fic so that means a lot of fluff but that doesn't mean there won't be anything exciting, or at least that's what I hope and maybe a few song fic chapters if I can't manage to work the song into the story. I do not own Escaflowne or the songs that I use in the story. There. Now no one can sue me so, bwahhahahahahahahaha! And now on with the story…

Traditions

Chapter 1: Whole Again

"I'll never forget you," whispered Hitomi as she was slowly lifted away from Van's protective arms into the bright pillar of light.

"Hitomi…I... BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

"Van! What is it?"

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" her alarm clock continued to shriek. With a loud slap, Hitomi hit the Snooze button and covered her head with her pillow. 'Why oh why did my stupid alarm clock have to go off just at that moment?!' she thought, 'Oh Van, did you want to tell me something?' Just then, her train of thought was once again interrupted by the muffled, yet still annoying sound of her alarm clock.

"Argh!!! I'm never going to find out what he wanted to say to me, that is, if he did have something that he wanted to say. Oh, Van!"

It had been six long years since Hitomi had returned home to the Mystic Moon, but as she had promised, she had never forgotten the young raven-haired king of Fanelia. Not a day passed by without her thoughts drifting towards Van. She missed him more than she could have ever imagined. More than she missed Earth while she was on Gaea; more than she would miss her friends and family if they were ever separated from her. She missed his wild and unruly hair, his sweet innocent smile, his red sleeveless shirt and khaki pants, but what she missed most was just turning around and seeing him right there by her side. Sure she could always picture him in her mind, but it just wasn't the same as seeing those chocolate-coloured eyes looking back at her for real. It had been quite a while since she had seen him check up on her. Not since that day at the train stop, but Hitomi had never thought that much about it. School was keeping her busy so she naturally assumed that Van was busy with the reconstruction of Fanelia. She always told herself that he would contact her as soon as Fanelia was restored so that she could see its grandeur. After all, that is what he promised her.

A loud scream from down the hall shook Hitomi out of her thoughts followed by a frantic red head flying through Hitomi's bedroom door.

"WE…SLEPT…IN!!!!! Hitomi…why didn't you wake me up!" shouted Yukari in between deep breaths of air.

Hitomi started laughing, "Don't get so worked up Yukari. You're not getting married today you know. That isn't till tomorrow."

"I know that perfectly well, thank you very much."

"Then why did you want to get up so early? It's only," Hitomi looks at her alarm clock, "10AM."

"I can't believe that we lost two precious hours. Oh well, we'll just have to make up for it by having more fun. C'mon Hitomi. We don't have all day!" exclaimed Yukari as she dragged Hitomi out of bed.

"All day for what? What in the world are you talking about?" Hitomi shouted as she clung on to her pillow.

"Duh? Hitomi, today is going to be my last day as a single woman and I'm going to enjoy it as much as possible. I will not get married to Amano and regret not ever doing some things that I can only do as a single woman."

"Oh yeah, and what kind of things would these be, Yukari?" asked Hitomi with a sly grin on her face.

"Geez, Hitomi!! Get your mind out of the gutter! You know perfectly well that I meant a whole day of shop-till-you-drop shopping! Seriously, I think that going to school all year round has warped your mind. Anyway, Amano hates going on shopping sprees and I'm willing to give them up just for him." After looking dreamy-eyed for a brief second, a wicked little grin crept across her face. "Of course, I will still go shopping. Just not for a whole day. Maybe just for, let me see, about 6 hours. Well, enough talking. I'm off to get dressed and I'm expecting you to do the same," and with that last remark Yukari was out the door.

Pausing for a moment to digest what had happened, Hitomi then got out of her bed and turned on her radio while she searched through her closet for something decent to wear. 'My mind isn't warped. I just wanted to finish school as soon as possible, and I have. Now I have a degree and a career. What do you have, Yukari?' Hitomi thought to herself as she picked up a light blue t-shirt.

"You have the one you love," sighed Hitomi.

"And now for this week's long distance dedication," said the radio DJ catching Hitomi's attention. "This week, our letter comes from a 16 year old girl in Tokyo and she writes, 'Dear DJ Toshiro, My name is Michiko and I was wondering if you could play the song Whole Again by Atomic Kitten for my very good friend Wataru in Australia. He is someone very special to me but I was not able to find the words to tell him that before I left Sydney. You see, I've fallen in love with Wataru but I'm not sure if he feels the same way about me. I tried to let him know that I wanted to stay with him in Sydney but..."

Just then Yukari spoke from the doorway, "Sheesh! Poor fools don't you think?" Yukari was already changed and ready to go. She was wearing an orange tank top and white shorts. "If what's-her-name loved what's-his-name so much then why did she leave him? If she had stayed then they could be as happy as Amano and I. Anyway, are you ready yet Hitomi?" Looking at Hitomi, who was still digging though her closet, Yukari continued, "By the way you're looking at that closet I'm guessing you won't be ready for another few minutes so I'm going to get breakfast ready. Hopefully we won't lose that much time if you can eat fast enough."

Hitomi was once again left to get dressed with her thoughts and the radio, which by now had already begun playing the long distance dedication.

*music*

If you see me walking down the street

Staring at the sky, and dragging my two feet

You just pass me by

It still makes me cry

But you can make me whole again

If you see me with another man

Laughing and joking, doing what I can

I won't put you down

Cause I want you around

But you can make me whole again

Looking back on when we first met

I cannot escape and I cannot forget

Baby, you're the one

You still turn me on

You can make me whole again

Time is laying heavy on my heart

Seems I've got too much of it

Since we've been apart

My friends make smile, if only for a while

You can make me whole again…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As soon as Hitomi came down the stairs, Yukari shoved a piece of toast into her mouth, made her gulp down a glass of orange juice so fast that it almost spilled onto the light blue t-shirt and short jean skirt that Hitomi was wearing. Finally once Hitomi swallowed her toast, Yukari dragged her out of the door. Yukari drove faster than she normally did to try and make up for the lost time. The trees along the side of the road looked like a horizontal green stripe above a horizontal brown stripe. Often, Hitomi feared for her life when Yukari was driving but at least today she was driving an automatic instead of Amano's standard. There weren't any jerking stops and starts that would make anyone riding in the car nauseous. This, therefore, allowed Hitomi to look at the scenery and daydream. As Hitomi enjoyed the warm sun shining down on her skin and the cool breeze blowing through her hair she caught sight of a white feather drifting in the wind. 'Oh, Van!' thought Hitomi.

"HEY! That's our spot!!! We were waiting for that spot first!!" screamed Yukari over top of the shrieking sound of the car horn she was pushing down. "Don't you point that at me!! You wanna piece of me!! Come and get it, you jerk!!!"

"What do you think you're doing, Yukari?!!!" questioned a very shocked Hitomi.

"Don't worry, Hitomi. I know exactly what I'm doing. See," replied Yukari as she motioned to the red car in front of them backing out of the parking spot.

"You're absolutely unbelievable."

"Thank you."

As soon as they entered the mall it was non-stop shopping fun. Store after store the two friends went to trying on all sorts of things from clothes and lingerie to make-up and a free aqua massage. They even tried out the new oxygen bar thing where you breathe in flavoured air, kind of like a new form of aromatherapy. It wasn't until they walked past a quaint little bistro that they realized it was way past lunchtime.

"Mmm. You have got to try this chicken taco salad Hitomi. It's got to be the best that I have ever tasted."

"You say that about everything you eat, Yukari. I'm pretty sure you'd eat anything that was edible and say that it's the best you'd ever had."

"Are you mocking me, Miss Picky? I'm simply complementing everything that deserves it. It's not my fault that everything I try deserves praise."

"You're so silly! What am I going to do once you've moved out?"

"You'll just have to move in with me and Amano. I'm sure he wouldn't mind having two gorgeous gals like us living with him. Now c'mon. We've got more shopping to do and stuff to try." Laughing, the two friends then got up and continued the shopping spree.

The rest of the day went rather quickly. By the time the girls got home, their credit cards had had a good workout. Hitomi was so tired that she was slumped across the couch and watched Yukari talk to Amano on the phone over the hundred shopping bags that they brought home. Seeing how happy the two of them together were made Hitomi smile. It was just like the song from earlier in the morning said, her friends made her smile but only for a while. Only one thing could make her whole again. Van. It wasn't until now that she realized how much she missed her guardian angel. With all the work of studying and Yukari and Amano's wedding preparations, Hitomi was much too busy to think about Van. But now that all of that was over and done with, Hitomi was flooded with thoughts about Van and Gaea. She began to think about what Gaea and Fanelia looked like, now that six years had passed since the Destiny War. 'Have all of the countries finished rebuilding yet?' That thought then led to the question that Hitomi dreaded…why hadn't Van come to see her? Six years was a long time, long enough for her to finish high school and university. It certainly must have been enough time for Van to restore Fanelia.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile in Gaea…

"I now pronounce you man and wife and King and Queen of Asturia. You many now kiss the bride," declared the minister as the groom bent down and kissed the blushing bride with a gentle, yet passionate kiss on her red lips.

"Hooray!" shouted the crowd as the happy couple walked out of the temple. The size of the mass was amazing. People stood from the temple steps all the way into the town square. It was indeed a grand and special occasion that brought people including royalty from far and near.

"Congratulations, Dryden and Millerna!" called out the thousands of citizens and visitors who came to watch the ceremony.

"Thank you," replied the newlyweds as they proceeded down the steps and through the crowd. "Alright, people!" exclaimed Dryden as the crown slowly silenced, "Enough of this standing around. Let's all head to the palace and celebrate!" And with that comment, Dryden scooped Millerna off of her feet and carried her off to the palace.

Six years had certainly allowed for a lot of change on Gaea. Most obviously was the peace that was attained while everyone worked together to reconstruct and repair all of the damage that was done during the Destiny War. Another change was that Millerna had finally fallen in love with Dryden (well, at least Dryden finally realized that Millerna did have feelings for him too). It had taken him six years, but it finally happened just as he had promised. And, to celebrate this reunion, the Asturians held a spectacular weeklong party where the royal couple renewed their vows for all of Gaea to see and take part in. It was truly a joyous occasion.

Among the guests who attended the festivities were Millerna and Dryden's closest friends, namely Van, Merle, Allen, Chid, and the crew of the Crusade. If it weren't for them, they never would have got together in the first place and if it weren't for Merle's matchmaking skills, Dryden would have had a more difficult time playing hard to get after the Destiny War.

Inside the palace, the Banquet Hall was filled with tables of all sorts of delicious dishes from all over Gaea to meet the tastes of all of the guests. Over top, there were banners of silver and blue, Millerna's wedding colours, which stretched across the entire ceiling. A traditional Asturian orchestra was also situated on the balcony that overlooked the dinner tables to serenade the guests as they ate.

Slowly, the guests made their way into the palace and into the Banquet Hall while they waited for Dryden and Millerna to get changed. When the royal couple returned they were greeted with oohs and ahhs. Millerna was wearing a sleeveless princess cut dress that was sapphire blue to bring out the colour of her eyes with sparkly silver trim and long silver gloves. Her hair was in an up-do to support her tiara with a few curly wisps falling down to frame her face along with some dangly diamond earrings that matched the tiara. Meanwhile, Dryden was wearing something very similar to Allen's usual clothes. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a sapphire blue vest with the crest of Asturia on the left. The biggest difference about Dryden was that he was cleanly shaven and his hair was shoulder length now.

After a few minutes of mingling, the feast began. Everyone was busy eating and chatting except for a raven-haired king who sat quietly staring at his piece of wedding cake.

"What's the matter Lord Van?" asked Merle as she helped herself to a second piece of cake. She didn't care about gaining weight. Her girlish feline figure had changed over the last six years to become that of a curvaceous feline woman. Daily exercise of running allowed her to maintain her shape while making nightly visits to the kitchen for snacks. Merle was wearing a sleek strapless yellow gown that flowed all the way down to her feet. The long white gloves that she was wearing before were now placed on the side of her plate in the hopes of not getting them dirty.

"Nothing's the matter, Merle," sighed Van as he took a small nibble of his cake. He was lying and he knew that Merle could see right through him but he wasn't in the mood to discuss what was bothering him. For one thing, he was a bit jealous of the happy couple, and secondly, he had been getting strange looks from all of the single women there. Another thing that made him uncomfortable was that he was wearing formal clothes. Instead of his usual sleeveless red shirt and khakis, he was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, black pants, and a red vest with the crest of Fanelia on it. He wasn't used to acting so formal, even though he was a king. "You can have the rest of my piece if you want," and with that Van excused himself from the table and walked out to the balcony.

The sky that night was a magnificent royal blue and was illuminated with what resembled millions of diamonds. Van leaned against the railing as he looked up at the larger of Gaea's two moons, the Mystic Moon. 'Oh, Hitomi! When will we get the chance to be as happy as Dryden and Millerna? I was such a fool to let you go without telling you how I truly felt. Now I feel as though a part of myself is missing. You must have moved on with your life by now, since I haven't visited you for such a long time. It just wouldn't feel right just popping in out of nowhere. Not like the first time. Things are different now,' Van thought to himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Hitomi. God and everyone close to him knew he did. It was just he didn't know what to say to her when he saw her. He had been so caught up with rebuilding that he felt that he lost touch with her. There was no excuse for it. Reconstruction of Fanelia was completed a year ago yet he hasn't been able to find the words to ask Hitomi to come back to Gaea as he had promised. Every time that Van came close to contacting Hitomi he would chicken out thinking that maybe Hitomi had grown impatient with him and moved on with her life and was married with a family.

"Thinking about how to ask Hitomi to come back?" said a knightly voice from behind Van's left shoulder.

Startled by the voice, Van quickly turned around to see Allen smiling at him, "Don't do that!! Anyway, it's none of your business what I was thinking about," replied Van. Since the end of the Destiny War, Allen was made an ambassador to Fanelia for Asturia and actually moved into the palace in Fanelia. In the last six years, he and Van had become really close friends, even to the point where Allen would become King of Fanelia should something happen to Van. Van also continued his sword training with Allen taking the place of Balgus as Van's sword master. They were equals now with the sword, which made sparring rather interesting.

"Don't be like that, Van. You know that Hitomi and I are just good friends and nothing more than that. Why she would choose you over me is something of a mystery but I guess we'll never know if you don't bring her back?" Allen retorted.

"Ha ha, very funny Allen. Besides, we all know why she chose me."

"And, what's that Fanel?"

"I'm a better swordsman," Van responded with a sly grin.

"Oh, really. Better than your master? I challenge you to a duel. Right here, right now."

Suddenly Millerna appeared with her I-don't-think-so look on her face and said, "Not tonight, boys. Come on hurry up. Dryden's waiting for you."

Following the Queen back into the Banquet Hall, Van whispered to Allen, "Why exactly is Dryden waiting for us?"

"Something that might give you a way to bring Hitomi back," answered Allen winking.

Before Van had time to ask another question, Dryden started talking.

"Alright, now that all the single men are here. Let the sword throw begin." By this time, all the tables had been cleared out of the room and all the couples and female guests were standing along the walls leaving the single men in the middle. Similar to the Earth tradition of the bride throwing the bouquet and whomever catching it being the next bride is the Gaean tradition of the sword throw. In this tradition, the groom throws his bride's scarf into the air while all the single men try to pierce it with their sword. The owner of the sword, which pierces the scarf, will, supposedly, be the next person to get married.

"Hey Allen!" yelled Chid from the other side of the room. "Do you think you'll pierce Aunt Millerna's scarf or do you think I have a chance?" The young king of Fried had grown up quite a bit and was the object of affection for many of the younger princesses in Gaea, much like his father was at that age. Chid was much taller now and was still growing. He kept his blond hair short and tidy unlike Van's and was wearing pretty much the same thing as Dryden except his vest was green with the crest of Freid on it.

"I don't know about me but the other competition looks fierce. Am I right Van?"

Van, being lost in his thoughts recently, had completely forgotten about this tradition. He finally understood what Allen meant by a way to bring Hitomi back. With that realization, Van could feel his cheeks blush cherry red. 'Oh, God please let my sword pierce the scarf.'

"Don't count me out, eh Commander?" shouted Gaddes from behind.

Dryden was speaking again and this time he was holding a baby blue scarf in his right hand. "Is everyone ready? OK. Good luck, men."

With a flick of his wrist, Dryden launched Millerna's scarf into the air where it drifted and floated in the air as the room became silent. Suddenly the sound of many swords being pulled out of its' sheaths could be heard as the majority of the men began taking aim. Van held his sword tightly in his right hand and closed his eyes. This was the perfect way to see if he and Hitomi were meant to be. If he could pierce the scarf then he would know that there was a chance. There was no way he would let Hitomi go once he brought her back again. He wanted her to stay with him for an eternity and this would be the sign on whether not that was possible.

'OK pendant do your thing. Picture the scarf. Come on. There it is. Here goes.'

Van pulled his sword back and thrust it upward all the while keeping his eyes closed. Suddenly a loud cheer could be heard and when Van finally opened his eyes, he saw Millerna's scarf around the blade of his sword draping gently over his hand and the handle of his sword.

"Good work, Van!!!" congratulated Millerna, Dryden, and Allen. Van could feel his cheeks burn a bright crimson again as he smiled at his friends.

"Alright, now that that's over. Let's dance!" With that announcement from Dryden, the orchestra began playing music and dozens of couples took to the dance floor.

As fast as lightning, a swarm of ladies and princesses surrounded Van. All of them wanted to dance with him and hopefully steal a kiss from the famous Dragon that saved Gaea six years ago and after tonight's event, the most eligible bachelor of all of Gaea. Van was overwhelmed by this display. He didn't know what to do. It wasn't polite to turn down every single request but he just didn't want to dance with any of these girls. There was only one person that he ever imagined dancing with.

"Move over. He's not dancing with you yet! I automatically get the first dance!!" came the familiar shriek of Merle's voice when she was annoyed. A look of relief spread over Van's face as he and Merle walked towards the dance floor and the swarm parted and made their way over to wait for Van or Allen who was already dancing with his sister, Celena.

Gradually, Merle led Van to the balcony door as they danced to the music. Once they got there, they quickly ran out just to make sure no one spotted them.

"Thanks, Merle. What would I ever do without you?"

"You'd go insane. Just kidding. You'll always have me around to help you out. Can't get rid of me too easily. But I'm pretty sure Hitomi can take care of you herself. Speaking of which, when exactly are you going to bring Hitomi back?"

Van's cheeks blushed again a deep pink, the same way they always did whenever anyone would mention Hitomi. "Umm…I don't know, Merle. Do you really think she'll want to come back?" he asked sheepishly.

"Of course she would!!! Why wouldn't she want to come back? She has friends here and you're here!!! Van, you're 21 years old! You're gonna have to get married sooner or later and I'm pretty sure you don't want any of those in there!" Merle was now pointing her tail at the swarm, which now seemed to look like a group of hunters ready to attack their prey. "Unless you want the council to choose a bride for you, you better go and find Hitomi fast. It's not like you don't have a sign that you should get married soon! You pierced the scarf!! Seriously, for a king, Van, you don't seem to be very brave."

"I'm not a coward," Van said, obviously hurt by Merle's comment. "I risked my life so many times to save this world…" but before Van could finish, Merle cut him off.

"I don't mean in that way. I'm talking about your personal life. Van, you'll never know what will happen unless you try," Merle pleaded. "Oh no!! I think they've caught your scent. You better head up to the roof and hide. Also, think about what I just said. Now go." With that, Merle shoved Van off of the railing that he was sitting on.

Falling, Van quickly spread his wings and flew to the roof of the palace. Merle was right. He would never know if Hitomi feels the same way unless he asks her. Looking up at the Mystic Moon, Van closed his eyes and thought of Hitomi. Holding on to the pendant that she gave him so long ago, he wished for the love of his life to return to him. 'Hitomi, if you get this message, please come back to Gaea. Please come back to me.'