Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Tsuki no Hime ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Note: It's not like anyone reads these in the first place, but hey! So, yeah I'm an idiot. Instead of majorly editing and making the chapters exactly how I want them to be the first time, I just continually edit, and edit, and add. I am really sorry for that. Hopefully this will be the last edit for a great, long while. ^_^; Please read and review. I need all the constructive criticism I can get.

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne. I wish I did though, but I don't. The Esca characters belong to the creator of Escaflowne. My characters are my characters. Hitomi, Van, Allen, etc. are there's.

The Vision of Escaflowne: Tsuki no Hime-Part 1

Many people say that loving someone only leads to broken hearts and torn souls. These are the people with those broken hearts and torn souls. The people that are afraid to love, because however many years ago it was the love of their lives, or so they thought, left them at the alter, or after a night of intimacy fearing that they will be fathers or mothers. When the death of a loved family member hurts more than they would have others believe. They were left behind, like a twenty year old piece of birthday cake that's still on the table of a disserted home, a home that use to be filled with life giving love, care, and happiness. Now the home is old and falling at the seams. There is no trace, no reminisce that love and happiness ever existed. But, for two people the love that they have for each other is the only thing that is keeping them sane.

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

When Uryko reached the door he stretched out a tremulous hand. It paused, as if unsure that was the right thing to do. A small hand rested on his shoulder. He looked behind him for strength, and the comfort in knowing it was right. Two large hazel colored eyes, which belonged to his old friend, Yukari, starred back at him, a faint smile appeared on her lips. It was not one of happiness, but one of sorrow and grief. She looked at the door and back again, back into his eyes. Uryko found the strength to open the door.

The room itself was neat and clean. There were a few clothes on the floor. Empty cans of soda were crushed and laying spiratically about the room. The lights were off and the curtains were drawn closed. No light was able to pass by the shrouds of bitterness and sorrow. Sorrow, dejection, and anguish were all too light of terms to be used. The feeling of utter suffering and the pain of a mother's bond with her child broken could be felt. It seeped through the veins of Uryko, and Yukari. Making them want to break down.

It was as if a heavy mist had come so fiercely, so intent on bringing sorrow and anguish to this room, and so forcefully you could not but help to feel the same way too. It hung in there, feeding off the pain of others. The mist was like the one's you would see in the early mornings in the mountains. It was so heavy it separated Uryko and Yukari. They went their separate ways looking about the room that represented almost everything dear to their closest friend, Hitomi.

Breathing was hard: instead of long savored breaths; there came the short little gasps of grief.

Yukari walked around the room in complete and utter silence playing with the ring on her left ring finger. Silently, she wished that this would never happen to her and Amano or anyone else for that matter. Her hand rested on her abdomen. Only five more months had to pass until she would become a Mother, like Hitomi.

No noise was heard in the room but the sound of running water and the short gasps of sorrow coming from the two in the room. As she neared a door off the far left of the room the definite sound of running water became clearer and louder.

When she reached the door she hesitated as Uryko had done earlier. She swallowed hard. Yukari found the courage, the strength to move. As she rested her hand on the doorknob a rushed feeling of the freezing metal ran through her arm. It made her shiver intensely. The door swung open slowly, mist seeped out of the room. Yukari stepped forward and entered the bathroom, which held ten times the weight of the feeling as when she first walked into the bedroom. As they were in the room it's self, the lights were off in here as well, though the mist created an eerie, ghostlike luminescence.

"Hitomi?" Yukari managed to squeak out meekly, moving over to the shower. Hesitantly the amber-eyed woman pulled the shower curtain back.

Hitomi was lying in the corner of the tub. Burning, hot water was beating down on her at full blast. The drenched black cocktail dress and soaking straw colored hair clung to her skin. Her cheeks were bright red and irritated from the salt tears that ran out of ammunition some hours ago: skin red from the blood rising to greet the searing water. Her head was tilted back against the wall. Those green-gold orbs, once full of joy, were closed lightly, banishing every shred of hope. All that remained was pain, sorrow, anguish, and self-pity. Her lips hung slightly open allowing the drops to roll into her mouth. The steaming water would hit her face and roll down in chaotic streams.

"My God! Uryko, help me!" Yukari hollered; her voice wreathed in panic. Tears began to slowly make their way down her cheeks.

"What is it?" Uryko asked hurriedly as Yukari bent over to turn off the shower.

"Help me pick her up."

Uryko bent down and picked up the soaking Hitomi from the tub. The only protest she had, was a short petite groan that faded away momentarily. Uryko placed her on the bed, making her sit up. Holding her shoulders, he kept her steady as Yukari found as many towels as she could. "Hitomi?" Uryko shook her slightly. He treated her as if she were a porcelain doll, as if he let go she would fall to the ground and shatter. "Hitomi?"

Hitomi's head fell forward and landed on Uryko's shoulder. She was now on the hard wood floor. The once burning water was now cold and ice and made puddles on the floor. "Varie." she whispered nearly inaudible. She grabbed fists full of Uryko's shirt as she cried again, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Dry tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on Uryko's already sopping wet shirt.

Uryko hated seeing Hitomi like this. Times had changed drastically three years ago and ever since then he was forced to watch as two of the most important women in his life tumbled down hill with unprecedented speed.

Yukari arrived with the towels leaving the door to the room open and began to wrap Hitomi up. When she had finished she placed her hand on her friend's head and stroked it softly. She moved down to the floor as well. Her arms wrapped around Hitomi and Uryko. They sat there in a small bundle knowing each other's pain.

Outside the room fifteen pairs of eyes watched helplessly as their teachers, friends, family wallowed in suffering. They too had to watch as their best teacher, their constant role model and her child battle with ever-encroaching death.

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

Uryko and Yukari stood in a small doorway. Their backs against the molding watching. Watching and waiting. Waiting for some unknown sign as they watched Hitomi sit down next to a bed. The two had sent the other children to their beds telling them to get some sleep. But all of them knew, even Yukari who had no powers, that something was going to happen; that Varie would never come back.

Inside the bed, covered with three huge neatly woven blankets, was a small figure of a girl. She wasn't moving. Her eyes were closed and her fingers didn't twitch at Hitomi's touch. Every few minutes the blankets would rise and fall. Rise and fall. Long strands of white, ghostly white, hair was pulled into a loose braid.

Hitomi, who was now as conscious and down to earth as she was going to get, reached out a tremulous hand and brushed a stray hair away from the young girl's face. With effort Hitomi rolled the girl over onto her stomach. Hitomi's hand hovered over the girl's body, her eyes closed tight. As Hitomi muttered something in an unknown language, Varie's back arched and magnificent wings ripped out of her back. Black feathers floated about the room, sucking in the dim light of the moon. It was just as she feared. New tears began to flow, tears with newly refilled ammunition. They streamed down her face with no mercy, no forgiveness. Hitomi lunged forward and placed her head on the bed.

With her gut reaction, Yukari jumped forward only to be stopped by a strong and imposing hand that rested on her shoulder. Yukari looked up at Uryko with pleading amber eyes to let her go. Uryko only responded with a slow shake of the head and stern eyes. They became soft and gentle when Yukari rested her head against his chest. A tear rolled down her cheek. Oh, how much she had wanted to be wrapped in Amano's strong comforting arms at this moment, but since he wasn't there Uryko was the next best thing. He was a brother to both Hitomi and her. He was always there when they needed him and He was an excellent father figure to the kids.

Yukari sniffed, pushing back her tears "All of our lives are going to change today," she whispered to Uryko. "Something's going to happen. Varie's not coming back." She knew he already knew, but she had to say it out loud, she had to say something, even it was a dreadful prophecy.

Hitomi sat up wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. The wings had disappeared, and Hitomi rolled the girl onto her back. Hitomi's mouth refused to move as she tried to speak. It was futile. There were no words, no voice, no sound. Hitomi stood, her right hand began to play with the ring that rested on her left ring finger. Yukari and Uryko had marveled at it when she had come back from her second absence. All Hitomi would say was that she was married to a good man, Varie's father.

Yukari, Uryko and the others had no reason not to believe her. They had heard her talk about Gaea many times, they had seen Varie's wings, had witnessed Hitomi's power of future sight. They saw the picture of Hitomi and Van in the photo album. Hitomi talked fondly him every chance she got. And when talking wasn't enough, she wrote. Three years ago she had her two books published both about her adventures in Gaea. The books were in the top five best sellers of the year. Even though the publishers pushed for another book Hitomi refused saying that she had accomplished her goal.

As Hitomi walked over to a drawer, and began to open it, she sang. "Black bird singing in the dead of night…take these broken wings and learn to fly…all your life…you've been only waiting for this moment to arise…" She pulled out a silk ever so cautiously, and went back to the young girl's side. She placed the silk on the ground slowly she unfolded it. A light, heavenly beyond comparison, escaped and illuminated the room.

Yukari and Uryko watched in amazement as their friend pulled out a magnificent white feather. Sure, she had told them many things but not all. Either she failed to remember this fact or she chose to keep it hidden from them. After knowing her for a large portion of their lives, a lot of things still surprised them. It was this feather that created the heavenly light. To their surprise it was almost three times the size of Hitomi's hand. Never had they seen a feather that long, that angelic before.

"This," Hitomi began to speak meekly and full of grief, "belonged to your father." Her voice became stronger with each breath. "He gave it to me ten years ago, when we first met. At the time, being sixteen and seventeen years old, we had nothing to give except the clothes on our backs and our love. I had to leave. If I could have stayed I would have. It was so mystical there; you would've loved it Varie. Endless fields, sapphire seas." She paused, lost in thought, then she snapped out of it. She returned to her story. "Van sent me home." Hitomi said mainly to herself. She seemed to be watching all the memories from Gaea as they played in random order. Smiling softly, Hitomi continued, "When the war was over I left exchanging only my pendent for a feather off his wing. When I returned six years later. We swore our love to each other. And…" a tear rolled down, "And, I regret never telling you this. And now Van will never know he had a daughter." Hitomi's voice cracked as she hung her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks, chin, and neck. Her hands lightly caressed the feather. Burning every detail: sight, feel, and sound, into her memory. "Please forgive me, Varie. Please forgive me, Van. Please…"

Only hours ago, everyone who knew Amano and Yukari had celebrated their third wedding anniversary and Amano's trip to Europe. He left Yukari promising to be back when their child was due. Yukari stayed with Hitomi and Uryko and helped out the other fifteen residents of the household, children who held special abilities like Hitomi and Uryko. Everything was so joyful, and ecstatic.

Later that day, Hitomi, Yukari, Uryko and the young ones were playing in the yard. Then, without warning, Varie-the youngest and Hitomi's daughter-had collapsed in the garden. She hadn't woken up since. It was too much like another event three years ago. The rest of the evening was dripping with psychological battles that Hitomi had to fight on her own.

"I regret not telling him when I had the chance. I thought you didn't survive Varie. The power surge killed me and I only survived because THEY allowed me to live again. I thought you had died too. But you didn't, Varie, you didn't! If you can survive that, Varie, you can survive anything. You can survive this. Please, please….wake up."

One of the many things that bothered Hitomi was that she hadn't predicted this. True, her powers had practically depleted over the course of time. No more horrid visions came to her. Her telepathic connection with Van was severed when the pendant died. Though, having that energist in the house had helped keep a minimal amount of her powers with her. She was able to predict the minor things, like when Varie had broken Tatsuki's nose in a sparing match a few months ago. Hitomi smiled sadly at the memory. The one problem was the premonitions would come after the incident. They had "helped" a lot.

Even though Hitomi's powers had passed, Varie was bombarded with excruciating visions every night in her dreams. Then, it had hit Hitomi like a ton of bricks. Varie had a vision in the day and wasn't able to wake up. Varie had fallen in a comma and everything changed from then on. Hitomi blamed it on the Energist she had displayed in the living room above the fireplace. After Hitomi had put it away, Varie woke, and the terrible dreamy visions had disappeared. That stupid Energist, it had caused so much pain. That stupid, stupid Energist. The Engerist…

She bolted upright. "That's it!"

Before they had a chance to think Hitomi had zoomed past the two at the door and back to her room. Uryko followed. "Hitomi?"

To his surprise Hitomi was smiling, not only smiling but walking about the room as well. She would grab a few items off one shelf and other items off another and placed them in a black duffel bag with the insignia "Tatsu Dojo" in red. A red dragon curled around the letters, guarding them. She moved over to her dresser and grabbed an arm's full of clothes. They were stuffed into the bag. She went back to the dresser and fumbled with the drawer. When it opened she hecticaly threw clothes on the floor looking for something.

"I had forgotten all about it…. Where-is-it?….. Ah-ha!" she exclaimed happily as she held a small wood box stained a cherry color. Intricate designs were engraved into the wood. Dragons of many different shapes and sizes wound about the box. Their wings spread wide, eyes showing every emotion possible, teeth unveiled maliciously. They looked as if they could begin flying about the room. The dragons were surrounding a circle of strange writing that covered two moons. One moon was of the regular sort, barren and full of craters. The other was different, though. It bared an uncanny resemblance to Earth. Clouds hung in the sky, and landforms could be seen in the distance. Apparently, Hitomi understood the writing. She stopped her hectic ways for a mere moment to trace her fingers over it, while an idiotic grin of remembrance played on her lips.

Hitomi spun around grabbed the duffel bag and headed towards the door. While still looking at the box she slammed into Uryko. A flat and unemotional "Sorry." was her reply as she continued to look at the box.

"Hitomi," Uryko placed a strong hand on her shoulder to catch her attention. She looked up hesitantly from the box. "Are you ok?"

She nodded as Uryko stared at her with his stern glare he always used to pry the truth out of her. "Uryko, I'll be ok and so will Varie." She ducked underneath his arm. She headed down the hall then disappeared into another room.

Uryko continued to stand watching the hall for any movement. Hitomi came out of the room the duffel bag stuffed to full capacity. She headed towards Uryko. Stepping forward he let Hitomi run into him again. "What do you think you're doing?" Hitomi moved left. Uryko moved left. Hitomi moved right. Uryko moved right. "Answer me."

"I'm taking Varie to her father. She'll be safe there."

"Her father? Hitomi, her father hasn't been here for the past six years. He hasn't visited. And if what you say about him is true, if he is a king, then don't you think he married another? And what makes you think that Varie's going to be ok, Hitomi? She's dying. I don't know why. If we can't help her, there's no place on earth where she can be all right. Face it, Hitomi, she's going to die. Believe me." He said plaintively

"Believe in me and I'll believe in you." Hitomi said, her eyes hard, full of determination. She faked right and passed Uryko.

"Hitomi what are you doing!?!?!" A shrill voice sounded in the background.

Uryko bowed his head mumbled a few imprecations and turned around only to see Yukari step outside into the backyard.

When he reached the door Hitomi stood in the middle of the small area of grass holding both the duffel bag and Varie in one arm and small round green stone. The stone looked as if it had snatched the clouds right out of the sky. It had an unnatural glow to it in the dark of the night. Not just the stone, but Hitomi as well. The light that emanated from her brightened everything about her. The small, man made bamboo, and maple forest behind her glittered with promise.

"I can't guarantee when I'll be back. Hell, I don't know if I'll even come back. Please just… don't worry. I'll be safe and so will Varie." Hitomi said to her friends.

"Hitomi!" Yukari burst out "What are you doing!?!"

The stone rose upward towards the sky, resplendently. A blinding light crashed down in a neat column.

"Not again!" Yukari whispered eyes wide with fear. "Impossible!"

The light collided violently with the earth. Hitomi began to rise.

"No! Hitomi!"

So how'd you like the fic? I hope you liked it and if you didn't like it then why did you read it? j/k N E ways please R+R. I need all the constructive criticism I can get.