Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Wings ❯ Restlessness ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer - I do not own Visions of Escaflowne, though I do have the DVDs finally.

Chapter 5 - Restless

"I'm bored," Yukari complained bitterly.

"Ne?" Hitomi looked up from the book on Fanelian history in her lap.

"I'm bored. Bored. As is restless, fed up, aching for some action. Bored," Yukari blurted out as she slammed the book of archaic medicine she was reading shut.

Hitomi raised an eyebrow delicately as she gently closed her book. "Bored? Why?" she asked, just as gently as she had closed the book.

Yukari rose from her seat on the couch adjacent to Hitomi in frustration, beginning to pace a bit across the wood floor. "Because we haven't done anything! Everyday we get up, train, walk around the market, read and sleep. Then it ends and we repeat it the same way the next day, just with different food and clothing. It's always the same. I haven't seen Van in over a month; he's always busy. You always have your nose stuck in a history book. Allen and Celena are gone. They are in Zaibach doing what ever the hell they are doing, wherever the hell Zaibach is. And Amano, my dear fucking Amano, is more interested in those goddamn heaps of metal instead of his fucking fiancée. What the hell am I…" Her voice rose to a fevered pitched, but trailed off when she looked at Hitomi's shocked expression.

Hitomi blinked, shocked. "Huh? Ano… Yukari… Why?" Hitomi shook her head in confusion, pausing to collect her thoughts before continuing. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, her voice stained with hurt and anger.

"Tell you what? That you guys have all but abandoned me here?" Yukari asked incredulously.

"Not just that. You and Amano. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you hide your engagement from me?" Hitomi countered.

Yukari's anger immediately sobered as she took in Hitomi's hurt expression. She broke down and words just flowed like a waterfall from her mouth. "He asked me at the party. We had snuck away from the noise and he asked me in a darkened corner. Before I could answer, Amano noticed a fight outside and saw you and Adam. We rushed down the stairs to try to help but we were too late. We got so wrapped up in what happened and helping you that such trivial news like ours seemed well… trivial. You and Van had just been reunited; we didn't want to diminish that. You know the rest. Amano no longer has any interest in me. Guymelef mechanics eats up all of his time now." She paused before continuing in a soft, almost broken voice; almost too soft to be heard. "I never even gave him my answer."

Hitomi shot to her feet and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Oh Yukari. You should have told me." She fell silent as Yukari slowly hugged her back.

"Hitomi, what did I do to deserve such a good friend?" she whispered.

"I'm the lucky one Yukari. If it hadn't been for you… I'd probably still be wallowing in my depression." She paused for a moment. "You never did tell me what your answer was going to be."

Yukari brightened, even smiled slightly. "What do you think Hitomi? Of course I was going to say," she paused teasingly before nearly yelling out her answer. "Yes! I was going to say yes!"

Hitomi whooped with excitement and the pair hugged excitedly. Yukari sobered before Hitomi. "What happens now?" Yukari asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Hitomi asked.

"Well… I still don't know what to do about Amano."

"Seduce him," Hitomi replied candidly, a light pink blush coloring her cheeks.

"Wha?" Yukari's jaw dropped as she considered what she thought she had heard her best friend say to her.

"You heard me, Yukari. Seduce him."

Yukari blinked a few times as she gathered her wits about her. "I never in a million years thought I'd hear those two words coming from your mouth," Yukari replied incredulously.

"Why?" Hitomi asked.

"Why? Why? Because you are possibly the most innocently minded person I know who has ever been in love! I'm surprised you know anything about sex at all!" Yukari burst out.

Hitomi smiled and laughed lightly, valiantly trying to fight the slow reddening of her cheeks. "I may be innocent, rather was innocent, but I'm not ignorant Yukari."

"I wasn't implying that you were…" Yukari started sheepishly.

Hitomi cut her off. "Yes you were. But it's ok."

"So that's what you think I should do. Seduce him?" Yukari sighed.

Hitomi nodded. "You two have been dating for how long now? Five years? It should be easy for you, ne? Just get him alone and have your way with him, or at least kiss him and…" Hitomi's cheeks colored even more as her voice trailed off.

Yukari giggled. "And what about you, hn?"

"Huh?"

"You and Van," Yukari pressed.

"Me and Van what?" Hitomi replied confused. She lost her wry smile and her blush in her confusion as she considered Yukari's question.

"When will we hear wedding bells ring for you two?" Yukari blurted out when Hitomi failed to answer.

"What?!?" Hitomi burst out while her cheeks reddened almost as red as Yukari's hair.

"Oh come on, Hitomi, don't be so naïve. My god, it's like you've never dated before!" Yukari paused for a moment to think before continuing. "Oh wait! You never have, have you Hitomi?"

Hitomi blushed deeper, "So what does that have to do with anything?"

Yukari shook her head and smiled. "So you two need to get your butts in gear. You both know that you love each other… so why haven't we seen you two together at all???"

"Well… um… err…" Hitomi's voice trailed off as her blush deepened.

Yukari sighed. "I think you need to take advice from yourself too. You need to seduce him as well, redirect his attention from running Fanelia, if only for a little while."

Hitomi ducked her head down to hide her bright red cheeks while Yukari giggled.

"Oh come on, Hitomi. You two can't just dance around each other forever ya know." Yukari paused as she got a delightfully devilish idea, causing her to grin widely. "I have an idea."

"Oh no," Hitomi stated, her tone conveying her impending dread. "What are you thinking, Yukari?"

"Exactly what you said we should do…" Her voice trailed off as she grabbed Hitomi's hand, dragging Hitomi with her as she made for the library door. "Both Amano and Van are down in the guymelef bay, ne? I say we go pay them a visit."

*****

Yukari and Hitomi made their way downstairs to the guymelef yards behind the castle. The flat, open area was sheltered on all sides, three sides by heavy forests and the last by the cold, hard, stonewalls of the outer boundary walls. The only use for this open yard was to house malfunctioning or old guymelefs, though hidden in the woods beyond was where the House of Fanel's guymelef, Escaflowne, was to sleep eternally. With the destruction of the first Fanelian castle, the room which previously housed and hidden the royal guymelef had been destroyed as well, its technology lost seemingly for all time. At the edge of the castle walls, Hitomi queried a guard on the exact location of the king, to which he merely pointed. Hitomi raised her eyes to the location and could not contain her giggles at the sight that greeted her.

Amano was lying on his stomach on the cockpit hatch and working on the mechanics of the lower cockpit, somewhere in the area of the leg controls. Van was hanging by his feet from the top of the pilots' seat, his familiar red shirt tucked into the front of his khaki colored pants, the back of the shirt slipped low down on his spine due to gravity, revealing the unblemished skin of his spine, his hair hanging down from his head in unruly spikes, working diligently as he carefully installed new parts on the cockpit controls. The two of them were heatedly discussing the inner workings of the guymelef and, upon Hitomi's query, it was revealed that both Van and Amano were installing technology from Ispano, Zaibach and Earth that Amano had recreated, designed and improved upon from older broken guymelefs and prior knowledge of mechanics that he had learned back on Earth. They were incorporating this technology as part of their pet project that had originally been Amano's idea.

According to the guard, Amano's study of both old Zaibach guymelefs left over from the war and the books on Ispano technology inspired him to want to tinker with the older, retired guymelef. Apparently, Amano was pretty sure he could replicate not only the invisibility cloaks, but also a similar radar technology from Earth, using Ispano guymelef technological theories, and by incorporating the superior technology, the guymelef would be stronger and faster, with the ability to "see" Zaibach's invisible guymelefs and be invisible themselves. The project was sanctioned by Van, provided that Amano let him help, and that Amano himself would pilot the guymelef in case the improvements failed.

Yukari realized that this was the reason Amano had been so distant, though as admirable as she found his quest, she was still annoyed that Amano had ignored her in favor of this harebrained idea. It was obvious to her that it was merely a male "pissing" contest to show off his engineering degree he had recently received. However, true to Amano's testosterone levels, he was fascinated by the new technology, and because of that, Yukari could accept that she would lose Amano attention to new gidgits and gadgets that crossed their path. If nothing else, Gaea was full of the strange and interesting, and Yukari found some of the psychological idiosyncrasies of the people just as fascinating. However, Yukari was not satisfied with being left alone to ponder said idiosyncrasies. She wanted Amano to at least pay some attention to her since, after five years, it was hard to live without him.

Meanwhile, as Yukari pondered her situation with Amano, Hitomi was staring at Van, watching the play of his muscles in his back as he worked, even from the distance they were standing. Restlessly, Hitomi thought of the best way to interrupt the two boys who were so completely engrossed in their project. With a grin, Hitomi grabbed Yukari's sleeve, jerking the girl out of her thoughts.

"Hitomi?" Yukari asked softly.

Hitomi grinned and leaned over to whisper something into Yukari's ear, to which made Yukari's eyes light up with delight.

"You go, girl!" Yukari said with a nod and a smile.

Hitomi jerked a nod in Yukari's direction before scampering quietly towards the guymelef. Making sure she was not seen, Hitomi made her way up the melef's leg, not worrying about her normally long skirts, since today she was back in a recreation of her old school uniform, or at least she was wearing a navy, mid thigh length pleated skirt and a loose white sleeveless shirt, all to try and escape the humid heat of the summer days. Miraculously, Hitomi managed to make her was up to the cockpit without being seen by either Van or Amano. She took a seat above them on the shoulder joint before clearing her throat gently to get their attention.

Van had never fallen from his guymelef in his life, or at least he had never been so startled that he completely lost all recollection of where he was so that he could land on his feet. However, there is always a first time for everything.

At hearing the soft sound, Van looked up quickly, gasping in shock at the sight. He lost his footing and took an impromptu dive straight down. He would have hit his head, but managed at the last moment to reposition his body to fall directly on his spine. However, instead of the hard metal he expected to fall onto, he fell directly into Amano's stomach. Both men grunted; Van in surprise, and Amano in the pain of the weight of Van crashing into him.

Both men stared up in surprise as Hitomi burst out laughing. Subsequently, more laughter filtered up to their ears as Yukari, who had been watching the entire exchange, burst out laughing as well.

"Hitomi…" Van started, still dazed from both his fall and Hitomi's unexpected presence.

"Konnichiwa," Hitomi choked out between fits of giggles and gasps.

Before Van could respond, Amano dug his elbow into Van's side.

"Get the hell off me, Van!" Amano demanded.

Van blinked, then rolled off of Amano, only to roll almost clear off the open cockpit hatch. Van lost his balance and rolled off completely, but in a streak of lightning fast reflexes, Van managed to grab the edge of the hatch. He managed to haul himself up back onto the hatch, only to turn and sit on it, his legs dangling off the edge.

"What is so funny, hn?" Van growled out at Hitomi.

Hitomi waved her hands as if to express something she could not say between fits of laughter, before clutching her sides in lost breath. Annoyed by both his complete mortification and by Hitomi's laughter, Van jumped to his feet and over to where she was sitting to tower over her. Unable to help himself, he tipped her chin up and stared down into her mirth filled emerald eyes, only to be entranced by the laughter dancing in their sparkling depths. Her laughter suddenly stopped as she looked up into his chocolate gaze, her expression turning much more pensive. She lifted her right hand slowly, and reached up to brushed it over his left cheek, only to bury itself in his unruly hair and pull him closer. Taking her up on her flagrant invitation, Van helped close the distance by leaning down, captivating her with his gaze and sealed her lips with his own. His hand buried itself in her long, loose, windblown hair; pulling her closer to him as his tongue gently invaded her mouth.

Amano stared at Van and Hitomi, partially shocked at their brazen display, but more annoyed at being completely forgotten in the heat of the moment. He did not want to see Van and Hitomi play tonsil hockey, not to mention the fact that his ribs still hurt from where Van had landed on them. However, Amano was not the one to break up their little love fest, or rather, Amano merely stopped noticing it. He got distracted; mainly because someone snuck up behind him and bit his ear. He turned quickly, only to see Yukari standing there, smiling up at him with a mischievous smirk. Never one to get left behind, he answered her unspoken challenge with action; fisting his hand in her shoulder length, fiery red hair, and fastened his mouth over hers.

Shocked by his actions, Hitomi could only hang on to Van, as if he was her only lifeline to reality and even then that lifeline was tenuous at best. The feeling of his tongue stroking along hers was obliterating her ability to think, only allowing her to feel. She fisted the hand in his hair tighter, and the other hand rose from its position balancing her on the guymelef to his back, bringing him closer. He dropped to his knees between her legs, putting him at the same height as her, allowing him to deepen the kiss further. His hands drifted to her back, completely oblivious of his surroundings, not that his audience was paying that much attention to him, since they too were involved in their own private little universe. Van tore his mouth from Hitomi's, only to have the girl whimper softly at the lost sensation. He moved to kiss her neck, only to be interrupted.

"Van-sama!!!!"

Both couples groaned at the loud interruption by the over-exuberant cat girl. Amano lifted his mouth from Yukari's only to lean his forehead against hers.

"What was that all about? Were we fighting?" Amano asked Yukari softly.

"We were until that kiss." Yukari replied just as softly.

"What were we fighting about?" Amano asked perplexed.

"You ignoring me."

"I was?"

"Yes, dipshit."

A thought dawned on Amano. "So that's why you came up here, to seduce me?"

Yukari blushed lightly. "Only because you spend all of your time here! Working on this hunk of metal. The only time I ever see you is at meals, and then you're off in Never-Never Land," Yukari replied, with a voice tinged with anger.

"Gomen nasai," Amano replied with a soft kiss to her forehead. "Next time I'm ignoring you, you know what to do right?"

Yukari merely raised an eyebrow.

"Beat the shit out of me," he said matter-of-factly. He then paused a moment for effect before continuing. "'Cause I must be an idiot if I'm ignoring the most beautiful woman on two planets."

Yukari smiled broadly at his blatant compliment before grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him soundly. "So there is a reason why I'm marrying you, ne?" She said jokingly.

Amano smacked her lightly on the nose. "Of course there is," he replied to her. "For one thing, I love you. And for another, you love me, even though I'm sometimes an idiot."

"You are getting married?" Van asked, cutting into their conversation. "Gomen nasai, I did not mean to eavesdrop."

"It's alright Van," Yukari replied. "We were going to tell you eventually… Well we were going to tell you both when we first got here, but this big idiot got just mildly distracted by guymelef technology. Hitomi was just as shocked by the news are you are now."

"Well at least I am not the only one." Van smiled. "Congratulations to the both of you."

"Thank you Van," Yukari replied. Amano merely nodded his thanks.

"We have a lot to do, Yukari… we should get started." Hitomi mentioned wisely.

"Get started on what, Hitomi?" An annoying voice chirped out as something heavy ran right into Van.

"Merle, get off me!" Van commanded as the now grown cat-girl attached herself to his side and started to lick his cheek excitedly.

"Demo… Van-sama! I have not seen you in weeks!" Merle somehow managed to grab a strangle hold around his neck, cutting off his air supply, as she continued to lick him.

"Get… off… me… You… are… chocking… me," Van bit out as he gasped for breath. He firmly but gently pulled at her arms to pry them loose from around his neck. Merle gave him another lick before letting him pry her arms away from his neck.

"What do you want Merle?" Van asked as he rubbed his sore neck with his hand.

Merle shrugged. "To see you, what else? You have been ignoring me for weeks!"

"Why are you yelling at me, Merle?" Van retorted, annoyed.

"Because as soon as she came around… it's like I don't exist!" Merle cattily replied. "Because you haven't given me anything new to do for weeks and I'm bored!"

Van merely chuckled and affectionately ruffled her hair. "Then I have the perfect thing to keep you occupied."

*****

Drip.

Drip. Drip. Drop.

Raindrops fell and splattered noisily on the ground, hitting the leaves and grass with a loud, wet, plop. Merle merely looked up in disdain as the rain started to fall in earnest, falling loud and wet all around her.

Clink.

Clink. Clink. Clank.

The raindrops fell heavily as it hit the metal of Escaflowne's head and cockpit. Merle looked down at her feet as she pulled her knees up to her chest, tangling her legs in her long purplish-blueskirts. She bowed her head to her knees, sighing dejectedly.

"Why do I do this to myself?" she whispered to no one but herself. "Rather… Why do I care?"

Merle sighed again, contemplating the planning she was to put into effect for Yukari and Amano. A wedding, their wedding. That shouldn't make her jealous; it was not as if Van was getting married. She stretched out a bit to contemplate the dreary weather, as the rain began to fall in earnest around her, soaking her rather efficiently.

With a defeated sigh, Merle hugged her knees to her chest, and set her head back down upon them, her red tresses falling as a wet, wavy, waterfall of fire around her face, shielding her somewhat from the shimmering beauty of the grove around her. She lowered her sapphire eyes in shame and shook her head lightly, as she tried to free herself from the dark cloud that seemed to surround her.

"What is wrong with me, ne, Escaflowne?" she whispered aloud.

"Why does it - did it - bother me that Van asked me to plan Amano and Yukari's wedding? It's not like Van-sama is getting married… and then again… I knew that day would come eventually anyway. It's not like Van-sama would have ever married me - He doesn't love me like that, I'm just his little sister…"she smiled slightly as her voice trailed off.

"Van-sama has always loved Hitomi," Merle continued, a bit of strength coming to color her voice. "Ever since she came to Gaea. They are… They are… soul-mates, for lack of a better word. There, Escaflowne, I admitted it, for the first time I actually admitted that I know that Van-sama could never love me like that. I remember that first day she left…"

"She's gone…" Van whispered sadly.

"Hai… Van-sama," Merle chirped, trying to cheer him up.

Van looked at Merle sharply. "What do you mean by that?" he bit out at her.

Merle instantly looked sheepish. "She'll be back!" She replied brightly. "You know that Van-sama! This is only temporary. And you can still talk to her can't you? You have work to do anyway, don't you - we have to rebuild Fanelia! So cheer up while there is work to do!"

"I remember that day clearly. He was so crushed by her leaving. But he brightened after that - as if I had, for a time, managed to chase his loneliness away and gave him hope." Merle paused in her reminiscing for a moment to sigh gloomily.

"But I had hope back then - that his infatuation with the strange girl from the Mystic Moon would fade with time - and at the same time happy that he had found someone who he could finally truly be happy with. However, even then I think most of me knew that his infatuation wasn't really infatuation, but true love. But I have always been priceless to him, even if I'd never be his wife, or know how his hands would feel against my fur, to know what it is like to be truly loved by him. I was, am precious to him - I am his family." She paused to smile softly. "It had been about a year into the construction…"

"Shimatta!" Van bit out in frustration.

"Daijobu desu ka, Van-sama?" Merle asked after Van was finished cursing.

He grunted slightly.

"What's wrong Van-sama?" she chirped cheerfully.

"The damned council - I was trying to be nice to those tottering old men - but they threw it in my face. I did not have to recreate my father's council as it was; however, it seemed like the best idea, since they already knew how things worked. Now those old fools want me not only to speed up construction, but to also marry some rich princess from somewhere clear across Gaea." Van snarled his obvious disgust at the council's pretentious behavior, frustrated at their lack of decorum and tact.

"Demo, Van-sama, I though the construction was on schedule?"

"It is - the castle is being built on the time table that was agreed upon to get the essentials done first. Originally, villagers cottages, the marketplace, and farms were much more important to reconstruct, especially the farm lands, so that the people could replant. The damned castle was last on my list of things to build, since it's primarily for the council, those who work in the castle, and myself. All things considered, those who normally work in the castle are working elsewhere if possible, and myself; well I can sleep outside just as well as any villager. According to our original plans, the castle would be habitable in another year; fortifications finished about six months after that. But those fools want the castle finished first! Self-righteous idiots."

He paused momentarily to breathe and calm his anger, then stared at Merle for a moment.

"You can do it," he said with momentary inspiration.

"Ne, Van-sama?"

"You are good at it - cheering and motivating people. Getting people to see your way… you can help out - keep their spirits up, explain things that I could not."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You can be my right hand girl, help people out, be places I cannot be, plan festivals, organize, keep people informed - things I do not have time for."

"That's how I got this job. I'm basically acting as his wife - but I'm not. I'm still, and hopefully will always be, his right hand cat-girl. And for that chance - I will never fail him." She paused for a moment, swiping her dripping locks out of her eyes.

"So why am I here, ne Esacflowne? Why does part of me feel like I'm betraying Van-sama, even as I sit here?" She paused again to thing, when something seemed to snap in her mind, and her head whipped up in sudden understanding.

"I have been betraying him - I've been keeping this secret for too long now - and now, with Hitomi here …"

She jumped up quickly. "Arigato Escaflowne," she said, giving its wet metallic casing a quick, excited kiss. "I know what I have to do - I have to tell them - they have to know."

A/N: Huge thanks to Kat for multiple things. One - for betaing this chapter so damned efficiently. Two - for poking me multiple times with a stick for being too busy to write what has been floating around in my head. Three - for helping me make sure my characters are IN character. Four - for being supportive when I was and am going out of my mind with stress.

You know the drill - Read and Review please