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Escaflowne1



Dream Desire: Chapter One
New Reality

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"Hitomi, wake up! We're going to be late to class!" Hitomi woke up gradually to a voice yelling through her door and the loud pounding of said door that accompanied it. Still slightly lost in the fog of sleep she automatically replied to the voice, recognizing it immediately even through the wall.

"Sorry Merle, I'll be up in a minute," she said, rolling to the side and slowly sitting up, rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes. She put one foot firmly on the ground, then froze. What had she just said? Hands still next to her face Hitomi sucked in a few quick breaths before relaxing herself. Breathe in slowly, hold it, breathe out. Her hands both dropped to the bed and Hitomi closed her eyes.

Her alarm clock going off jolted her out of the relaxed state, but it also brought her back to reality. Hearing Merle like that, it must have been part of a dream or just an unconscious yearning. With the thoughts she'd been having last night that was certainly possible. Shutting the alarm off with a quick tap, Hitomi stood up and walked over to her closet in order to find clothes suitable for the day. She hadn't grown much taller since her time in Gaea and she even had some clothes from that time, though they were threadbare and worn. The biggest area of difference in five years came in her 34 C size bra that she proudly put on. There had been some rather crude boys in high school who had made fun of her chest. "Hey Hitomi, you should be a topless dancer! You're the most topless girl I've seen!" Well, those boys were kicking themselves now!

In a better mood with her mind off the strange wake up call, Hitomi got herself dressed and ready for class, then went to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. She got out a glass and set it on the counter before reaching in the mini-fridge she had purchased and grabbing some orange juice. Shaking it slightly to judge how much was left, Hitomi poured the juice until the glass was half full then returned it to the fridge so she would have some left tomorrow. Turning around to get some bread for the toaster, Hitomi dropped her glass. Glass shattered and juice splattered all over the floor. She didn't even notice as her socks got tinted orange, just stared at the figure in front of her in shock.

"Geez Hitomi! I didn't think I'd scare you that much. Come on, you know I learned how to pick locks, and you were taking too long, so I decided to give you a hand getting ready," the girl said quickly while bending down to collect some of the larger glass pieces. She stood back up and maneuvered around Hitomi's kitchen like she knew the place. Throwing the glass away in the small trash can under the sink she then ripped off some paper towels to mop up the juice that was still spreading out along the floor. She also took out the small brush and dustpan Hitomi kept in a cupboard next to the trash can. Then the girl just gave Hitomi a look, hands poised on her hips.

"Well, I can't exactly clean it up with you standing in the middle of the mess, can I? Go on and get some new socks while I get this," she told Hitomi, but the blonde wouldn't move. This girl who had come into her dorm and acted like she knew the place, like she knew Hitomi. . . it couldn't be possible. There were no ears and no tail, but everything else just screamed out familiarity. Red hair now tied up in a braid, tan skin, bright blue eyes, small fangs visible in her cocky smile. . .

"Merle?" she asked, a slight hysterical undertone to her voice. It couldn't be possible. This had to be another dream.

"Hitomi? Are you okay? You really don't look so well, all pale and everything. Should I call Millerna? She doesn't have class until noon today so she could come over and take a look at you. Are you going to throw up? Oh please don't throw up! Then I'll throw up and it won't be a pretty sight in here," Merle babbled on. At the mention of Millerna Hitomi had gotten even paler still, breath speeding up until she was just taking small gasps of air. A part of her brain supplied the term "hyperventilating", but the rest of her just ignored it. Merle got worried and went to put a hand on HItomi's shoulder, maybe guide her out of the kitchen.

"Really Hitomi, I don't think--" as soon as Merle's hand touched Hitomi, the blonde couldn't take it all in and she fainted dead away, unfortunately not missing the last shards of glass and orange juice on her way down.

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"She doesn't have a fever, it's almost as if she's in some sort of shock. I think if she doesn't wake up soon that we should take her to the hospital. I may be in school to be a nurse, but there's only so much I can do alone," said an authoritative yet rather pretty voice. Eyes still closed, Hitomi was returning to the waking world slowly, trying to figure out what was going on around her. And just like that morning she was alarmed to hear a voice she recognized so well.

"She seemed fine, but once she saw me she just lost it!" Merle explained to what Hitomi could only assume was Millerna. "Maybe we should call Van, he was out with her last night. I bet he could tell us if anything funny happened," Merle suggested, and Hitomi's eyes snapped open.

"Van!" she chocked out on a sob, looking at the now older Millerna and Merle in shock and wonder before surrendering to the tears and emotions that were cycling through her. What the hell was happening?! Merle and Millerna were right here in her room! And it looked like they belonged on Earth with normal clothing on. And they had mentioned she had been with Van last night! But it couldn't be true, everyone was still on Gaea, not here, not with her! Hitomi curled into a little ball on her bed, bringing the blankets up to cover her face so she wasn't confronted with the images of her friends. She had to be going crazy. She felt the bed shift under new weight and flinched when a gentle hand was placed on her back. The hand rubbed up and down soothingly as Hitomi cried on.

"There there Hitomi, whatever's wrong it's okay. We're here for you. Just calm down and tell us what happened, okay? Whenever you're ready," Millerna spoke slowly and calmly, not wanting to alarm Hitomi any more than she was already. The sobbing girl eventually tapered off in her crying but refused to open her eyes. If it really was Millerna with a gentle hand on her back, and if it really was Merle who had confronted her earlier, then something was definitely wrong with Hitomi. So she kept her eyes closed tight and just tried to center herself, image of her pendant - the one she had given Van - instantly coming into her mind. It swung back and forth, once a second as always, until Hitomi could relax and try to confront what was happening. Though she had given up fortune telling and all things associated with it, small tricks like that saved her a few times. Willing to accept whatever was in the world outside, for now, Hitomi opened her jade green eyes. Merle was crouched on the floor staring hard at Hitomi with a worried expression. Hitomi slowly turned her head to see who was on the bed with her and sure enough Millerna's concerned gaze was centered on her. Her hair was shorter and framed her face, cut off at approximately chin length. She and Merle had aged just as Hitomi had, losing the roundness of youth but growing in other areas and ways. And just as she was at 15 in Gaea, Millerna was beautiful here and now. Merle, too, had matured. But what were they doing here on Earth?

"How -" she cleared her throat to remove the croakiness from crying so hard, "How are you here? Did something happen to Gaea?" she finally asked, but neither Merle or Millerna seemed to have a clue to what she was talking about.

"Gaea? Hitomi, we're here because you obviously aren't feeling well. What's going on in that mind of yours?" Millerna answered, trying to bolster the other girl by giving a sweet smile.

"Was it something Van did last night? I swear, that boy said all he was going to do was take you out to see that movie the rest of us saw when you were working on a project. Did he do something to upset you? Did he make a move on you?! I bet he did! That stupid boy," Merle launched into a tirade, and even though the situation wasn't funny, Hitomi couldn't help but crack a smile at the red-head's antics. "I'll call Allen and have him beat up Van for offending your honor. Then I'll beat him up for trying to snag another woman behind my back!" Merle was halfway to the phone when Millerna called out.

"Merle you silly girl! I'm sure nothing happened like that. And you aren't even attached to Van anyway so it wouldn't matter if he was looking for another woman." At those words a tightness in Hitomi's chest loosened, though she hadn't realized it was there in the first place. The allusion to a relationship between Van and Merle had affected her more than she thought. But she still needed to know what was going on. Sitting up, Hitomi winced when she jarred a few cuts from her fall earlier. Looking down at her hands and legs she found bandages applied liberally, but masterfully. Looking at Millerna Hitomi received a light wink and smile. Merle was still ready to go for the phone.

"Maybe I should call Allen anyway. I mean, he's off work today and all so he could come over and see how Hitomi is doing. Maybe he could use his detective skills to find out what's wrong," the short girl suggested. Allen was a detective?

"Detective is not the proper term Merle, and you know it. It's Private Investigator. But you are right about him wanting to know," Millerna then turned to Hitomi who was still in confusion. "How about it Hitomi, should we call Allen over, or would you rather it just be us girls?" Hitomi didn't bother to answer and just put her face in her hands, moving back and forth slowly. Alarmed at the sudden decline of Hitomi's mood Millerna and Merle both tried to soothe her once again.

"We won't call him, it's fine," and "Who needs boys anyway, they just cause trouble." But neither could understand Hitomi's thoughts or intentions. Finally she looked up at the two of them, eyebrows raised in an anxious fashion.

"I just don't understand what's going on. Last night I was dreaming of seeing you all again and now today you're here. But you shouldn't be! You all belong in Gaea. None of this makes sense!" With her outburst over, Hitomi was hoping for some kind of response from the two girls, but they had no idea what to say.

"What's Gaea?" Merle finally asked. Hitomi tried to stand up, frustration and confusion welling up inside her again, but before she could fully stand a wave of dizziness passed over her. Putting a hand quickly up to her head it was all Hitomi could do not to fall on the floor, falling backwards onto the bed again as she passed out for the second time that morning.

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Okay, I have no idea what a Japanese dorm room looks like, or if they have kitchens. . . so just humor me there. Sure I could do the research, but as I explained before, that just makes me not write. Also, that crack about the topless dancer is from "Nescaflowne" a parody dub I saw at AnimeCentral. It was funny so i had to throw it in here. Oh, and I'm sorry if Merle seems really gabby. . . but I think maybe that's what she'd tur out to be like living on earth. I like her, so it's not a stab at the girl, it's just how I write her. Last thing. I don't have a regular updating schedule, but I'll try to update withink a week of my last update. No promises though. And thanks to my reviewers! You guys rock.
~Mako3