Even Angels Fall [Chapter I - PG-13]

[Leia Avenrose]

Disclaimer: I don?t own Escaflowne?. I only own the storyline and whatever characters I make up throughout the story.
Dedication: To everyone!


Even Angels Fall
By: Leia Avenrose
Rating: PG-13 / R



Chapter 1: Heaven Cries

The rain had begun to fall, steadily at first, setting its own tempo. The umbrellas came up and everyone began to hurry to get out of the gloomy weather. The clouds overtop were a dark gray, all of the innocent white clouds that had peeked out earlier now gone from sight. It was one of those days, the kind where you wished you were really somewhere else...

One girl, young, lithe and around seventeen, groaned, as she felt the first drops hit her head. She began to run. Her mother had sent her to the store with a list of what they needed that night for dinner. In her arms, she carried a rather large brown paper bag, filled with the items her mother had requested she gather. As she ran through the rain, it was now that she wished she had brought along the umbrella sitting in the cane holder at home in the hall by the front door.

People all around her looked grim, all business-like, as she jogged past them in a hurry to get home and into a pair of dry clothes and just as she got to the corner of the street, the rain seemed to have suddenly stopped. She looked up and blinked, confused, then brought her eyes over to the man holding an umbrella over her head. A smile lifted his lips and Hitomi Kanzaki felt herself returning it.

She bowed her head, looking very grateful and dripping wet. ?Thank you!?

The light turned red, the cars screeched to a stop and the walk sign flickered on. Nodding her appreciation once more, she then quickly made her way out into the rain again, pushing her way through the throng of people crossing the street and began to sprint, not paying any attention to the wind howling in her ears or the rain that pelted her in the face.

A loud clap of thunder caused the ground to tremble beneath her, followed by a sudden flash of lightning that lit the skies brilliantly for miles overhead. The thunder echoed on and on in her ears. A face flashed in front of her eyes. The sight of the blood dripping down its face made her recoil in horror. She found herself staring into a pair of brown eyes ablaze with a deep burning fire of anger and hurt. They stared at her, as if accusing her of something, and then the image suddenly winked out of sight.

Lightning streaked across the sky and the ground rumbled to life beneath her again, as she continued to run the length of the street. She pushed aside the face that had remained in her mind. She didn?t want to go there again ? that was the third time today she?d seen that face. She tightened her grip on the bag of groceries in her arms and ducked her head against the rain, as it now began to pour heavily onto her. She vaulted around a corner and continued to race for her house that was just around the corner at the other end of the street.

Almost there...

Unexpected, a loud explosion rang throughout the skies. It rang off the houses, fading off into the distance. The air then grew thin, stale. The clouds seemed to develop a darker look to them then before.

Lifting her eyes to the sky, still running, just as the explosion faded from the air, it was then she saw it. Her first guess was, as she saw the clouds part wider, a small streak of white flying away from the gap, that it was an angel, a fallen angel. It had wings, long, elegant, white and absolutely breathtaking, but there was an odd look to them, as the angel continued its treacherous drop.

As it crashed through the lower clouds, feathers, small to the eye from where she stood, were torn from the wings as the dangerous winds ripped past the heavenly being at incredible speeds. Hitomi slowed to a stop, standing, groceries in arms, to stare at the falling angel in wonder and mute surprise. She paid no heed to the rain that fell straight down on her, or to the shiver that shimmied down her spine.

Since when did angels fall from heaven?

The rain soaked her clothes through, causing them to cling like a second skin. Her long, dirty-blonde hair was matted to her forehead and her face; it had turned a deep brown from all the rain. The bag in her arms was more then likely to split open soon; it was completely soaked. Hitomi watched on, still standing there as if in a daze at what she saw. What was she supposed to do? There was nothing she could do about this.

Maybe ? maybe, she was just seeing things?.

She closed her eyes and then opened them, blinking a few times. Hitomi found herself staring at the angel that continued to fall; only it seemed to be falling at a faster rate then before she closed her eyes. A voice, raspy, and thin, dried out, seemed to whisper to her, just as she turned around and began to dash back the way she came, only this time taking a back alley. The whole time, her eyes remained locked to the falling angel; not daring to let it out of her sight.

?Open and wide ? it was bare. Their fear spread and suddenly it was the old that dared?.?

Hitomi stopped abruptly in her tracks, nearly dropping the bag of groceries to the ground. She jerked her eyes away from the hastily approaching angel and looked around at where she had let her feet take her. She found herself staring at an open, wide, bare field. It was what the voi ?

There was a sharp whistling sound that pierced through her thoughts and ears. Bringing her eyes up to the angel, she stared with her jaw open, shocked at what she saw for a brief second, just before it crashed down into the ground. Dirt and small bits of trash flew out in every direction upon the hard impact.

Hitomi clutched the bag in one arm to her chest, as she brought an arm up to shield her face, coughing. As the area cleared up bit by bit, she slowly lowered her arm, holding her breath and stared at what was now lying on the ground a few feet away from where she stood. Swallowing thickly, she gathered her wits and quietly, but quickly, walked up to it.

As she got closer, the bag of groceries fell from her arms. Her heart skipped a beat and she found herself standing there, just gawking. What she saw was pure male, hard and well built. He was laid out on his side, blood staining his lean, bare torso. It was covered, not only in blood, but also in dirt. Her eyes dragged over his body. She saw his hair; a thick cap of black that fell over his brow, and she suddenly imagined running her fingers through it.

The rain was now beginning to lift, but not by much.

Half of his body was turned towards the ground so that his chest and shoulders were turned in slightly, leaving his stomach and lower in clear view. Hitomi noted the long sword at his hip and made a mental note to not anger him, if he were even still alive. She stepped over the scattered groceries and slowly walked the rest of the way up to him.

Kneeling at his side, she let her eyes wander over him some more before coming to rest on the wings that hung out of his back. A small half-gasp, half-cry of surprise left her lips. She felt the color drain from her face, as the blood suddenly ran cold in her veins. This was too unreal; it was a dream, that was all it was to her ... angels, male at that, didn't just drop from the sky like that, something wasn't right about this scenario...

Blood covered the feathers, as the rain made them look small and ugly. Slowly she stood and leaned over his body to stare in silence at the wings. She saw how his right wing lay out on the ground, fully spread, while his left wing was bent inwards at a dangerous angle. Hitomi then saw the bloodied bone jutting out and felt her heart sink at the sight. Most of the blood on that one wing had come from the broken bone and where it protruded from the skin of the wing. Hitomi knelt back down and gently put a hand to his arm.

He was still warm. That was a good sign.

She felt the muscles in his arm twitch slightly under her touch. She then slid her fingers along his arm and pressed them into his neck, feeling for a pulse. A small smile of relief touched her lips, as she found a strong pulse jump against her fingers.

The man then suddenly groaned, shifting a bit. Hitomi jumped up and backed away from him, holding back a scream. His eyes opened slowly. He found himself staring at a pair of nicely shaped legs. He lay there staring at them in surprise, for from where he came, women weren?t allowed to show their legs.

Bit by bit, he let his eyes travel up Hitomi?s body until they came to a rest on her face. For a moment or two, he held her gaze, as if debating whether or not she was a threat to him. Hitomi swallowed thickly, as she saw his hand reach for the hilt of his sword, but to her surprise, he let his hand pause in mid-air before letting it fall to the ground.

He began to mutter incoherently.

Hitomi blinked and took a deep breath. She knew she had to help him, but that sword on his hip was what frightened her. Slowly she went back to his side with a hesitant step and knelt down beside him again. He muttered in a language she couldn?t understand. He was shaking his head and making gestures with his hands. She knew it wasn?t English or even Japanese, so then?

?So that means you are an alien, and not just an angel.? She chuckled uneasily. ?And here I was, this whole time, thinking you were an angel having just fallen out of heaven.? She barked a laugh, which died to quiet, nervous giggling. ?But ? you can?t be an alien, you have wings. And you can?t be an angel; because ? well ? angels don?t ? talk in whatever language you?re talking in now.

"Okay, so then what are you???

The man stopped mumbling and went silent, as if trying to make out what she just said to him. His brow wrinkled in thought, and then he suddenly shook his head.

Again he began to speak in the foreign language, but only this time it was with a forceful tone. ?A kens fueril! Jkuti uter, ast? des ? Fanelia??

Hitomi blinked a few times. She let that last word that had left his lips echo over and over in her mind. She knew she had heard that name before, but she couldn?t place where she heard it from, or from whom.

She slowly spread her hands out at her sides, looking apologetic. ?I?m sorry. I ? I don?t understand what you?re trying to tell me.? She stared down into his face and found herself falling for the deep eyes the color of a red-brown. Her eyes shifted over, and she took in the nice cheekbones and defined jaw, also noting the shadow of day old stubble.

Quietly, he spoke, ?Prophecy?.?

?Prophecy ... what about a prophecy? Come on,? Hitomi pleaded, noting the confused look in his eyes, ?I can?t help you, if you speak in some unknown language to me.?

He shook his head, speaking once more in his native tongue. ?Aaer!?

Hitomi shook her head. ?Err?no!?

He scoffed at her and went to sit up, but Hitomi held her hands up, shaking her head. She pointed at the deep gash on his stomach. This time he scowled at her and Hitomi assumed he muttered something about women fretting too much. She pursed her lips, and set her jaw in determination, as she saw him moving around to sit up. She shook her head, and held a finger up, indicating she wanted him to hold on a moment, and then reached down at her waist to undo the scarf tied to her skirts. She was fully aware of his eyes on her, and felt her cheeks warm at it.

Carefully she bunched the scarf up and pressed it down onto the bleeding wound, and nodded, averting her eyes from his.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and closed her eyes against the pain she knew he was feeling. But of course, he was a male; they never showed their pain ? to do that was to show their weaknesses. As she kept the scarf to his stomach, she opened her eyes slowly and stared at the bruises and cuts decorating his body. Moving her eyes lower, she saw how his pants were cut up and stained with blood. His legs, she noted, were just as well muscled as the rest of his body and as tanned. Hitomi let her eyes move up the length of his legs and then stopped at the buckle of his pants. Her eyes darted down to where his sword hung.

Quickly she tore her eyes from that area, trying to drive away the thoughts of how well muscled another part of him was, came to mind. Looking up at his face, she never knew he was staring so intently at her. Her cheeks went warmer then before, probably a shade deeper, too, and she cleared her throat before speaking.

?D-do you think you?ll be all right??

He nodded slowly, his eyes darting from hers down to her lips for a moment, before going back up to meet her eyes once again. He nodded again, and Hitomi smiled gently.

?Good. I mean, I don?t want you dying on m-me now.? She ignored the slight tremor in her voice and watched him in silence for a minute. ?Do you ? have a name? I mean ? I don?t know what to call someone who just ? fell out of the sky like ? you did.? She gave him another smile and nodded.

To her surprise, he shook his head.

?Hmm ? okay, well, I?m Hitomi ? Hitomi Kanzaki.? She pointed a finger to her chest and nodded, then pointed one at his, not touching him. ?And you ? are???

He merely blinked at her. Hitomi stared at him, surprised, and then saw the flicker of amusement burn in his eyes.

She huffed and nodded slightly. ?All right then??

Slowly, Hitomi then reached out and gingerly stroked the cuts on his left cheek. Abruptly everything went dark. She held her breath, hearing the blood rushing in her ears, and lifted her head. She stared up at what would?ve been the sky, but only saw the darkness stretch on and on. The air was rich, smelled like nothing she?d ever smelt before. Laughter echoed in the background, then, quietly, it faded away to nothing. Hitomi shifted around a bit, her eyes darting around nervously in the dark, but yet she could still see nothing.

Memories, a deep voice rumbled in her head.

Memories, she echoed. I ?I don?t understand.

No ? I knew you wouldn?t, the voice replied calmly. That infuriated her.

Who are you?

Who else would I be?

My conscious?

There was a hint of laughter in the voice, as it answered; I didn?t think you had one.

Okay, that?s it! Tha?

The words died on her lips just as she felt a hook jerk at her navel. Hitomi felt herself suddenly flying forward, the wind rushing past her ears, the blackness never leaving her. An image shot forward, abruptly popping up in front of her. She stole a glance around her and saw she was floating high up in the air, her feet dangling above a bottomless pit of pitch black. Her heart leapt up into her throat and she squeaked in fear.

First a man with wings falls from the sky and appears to be all right, as if the crash never affected his brain, and now she found herself hanging high up in the air. She felt like throwing up. There was a dull ringing noise in her ears, but the noise from the image droned out the ringing and she was forced to listen to, and to watch, what was in front of her.

People, like the man she had just met, flew around in the air. Their wings were beautiful, large, and magnificent. Laughter reached her ears, deep, full of life. She watched, as fire suddenly engulfed them, their wings burning. Their screams hit her hard, made her gasp. Their cries of pain and agony were sad, disturbing. Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of the fire consuming them. The sickening stench of charred flesh entered her mind and had to the resist the intense urge to vomit. Another image came up beside the one already there, and she found herself watching both of them at the same time.

The first image that had appeared faded, only to be replaced with a small boy of seven, eyes glowing brightly in happiness, a wide smile on his face. His hair was pitch black and shone nicely in the sun that was high in the sky. In the image beside it, a small girl of seven appeared. The screen flickered slightly, but readjusted itself nicely. The small girl giggled, reaching out for something that was not in view.

The small boy in the other image called out to someone, and suddenly a stunningly beautiful woman with hair as black as the night appeared. She smiled down at the small boy, her crimson eyes shining with love. In her hands, as she took the boys hands in her own, a gold necklace gleamed in the sun, the small jewel on the end glowing a dim pink.

Hitomi gasped, staring intently at the necklace. Hey! I?ve seen that necklace before?

I know you have, the voice replied quietly.

Hitomi stayed silent, wondering how the voice knew, and continued to watch.

The small boy took the necklace, cheering, and began to do a little dance. The woman laughed softly, her eyes twinkling, the two small dots above her eyebrows glowing slightly. Hitomi shivered at the sound of the woman?s laughter. Suddenly she felt haunted by what she saw, what she heard. She didn?t want to see this, nor hear it. She tried to pull away, but felt she couldn?t. As the small boy danced around, laughing in delight, necklace in hand, Hitomi looked over at the picture of the small girl and gasped quietly, a hand to her mouth at what she saw.

She saw her grandmother, sitting on the porch of their house. She was holding a flower in hand, smelling it. She looked peaceful.

Hitomi watched, as the little girl skipped over to her and put her head on the old woman?s knees, looking up at her with a smile to her small lips. Her green eyes shone in admiration for the woman in front of her. Hitomi felt the emotions she had buried so long ago resurface. She didn?t want to go there; she didn?t want to disturb her grandmother?s image, the one she had left behind before passing away. Tears slid down her cheeks, as she continued to watch in mute shock. The old woman reached down and began to run her fingers through the little girl?s long hair, brushing it with her fingers down her back.

I don?t want to watch this, Hitomi murmured softly.

You ? we ? have no choice, the voice answered gently, understanding the pain she felt. The bond is strong; don?t break it now.

What bond, Hitomi demanded. The voice shushed her.

Suddenly the flower wilted. The sun died and the inside of the house went dark, eerie. Hitomi shivered, while watching. The old woman faded out, and the small girl was left in the image, her head buried in her arms. Her shoulders trembled, and her heart-wrenching sobs broke through, entering the atmosphere, echoing on and on. Hitomi hugged her arms to her chest, a hand to her mouth.

Quietly, she began to cry along with the little girl. She knew exactly what the little girl felt, what she was thinking, for she had thought and felt it to so long ago. The image faded from sight and a swinging pendant replaced it. Soft chanting was heard in the background, and random images of past memories came up.

Hitomi looked away, unable to watch anymore and ended up watching what was showing in the other screen. The small boy, she noticed, had grown up. He was dressed in robes of velvet. The image switched and she saw the boy now dressed in leathers, hides, carrying a sword gleaming and dripping in blood. She gasped, as she saw the rage burning deeply in his eyes.

Is that ? you? Hitomi asked, her eyes glued to image in front of her.

Quietly, the voice said, It is, but ? that was a long time ago?

Hitomi frowned and then blinked. You can speak English??

The voice chuckled quietly. Hitomi shivered at the sound of it, absently thinking of how much it sounded like the woman she had seen earlier. I can. Did you really think I was that stupid?

Hitomi huffed once more. No, I just thought that ?with what you were screaming at me earlier that you were completely lacking proper grammar and such?

The voice scoffed at her, his tone amused, I lack nothing. Perhaps it?s you who lacks some grammar?

Hitomi ignored the voice. The image quickly moved away and went black. She looked over at the image of her old self and watched in silence as she grew up before her very own eyes. Yukari, Amano and her laughing, hugging, crying together flashing by. She felt a slight tug at what she saw. She watched as Amano was down on one knee, proposing to Yukari. Hitomi remembered how much she cried over that, extremely happy for her best friend.

The images moved and were abruptly swapped with an image of her lying on the ground, clutching a sword. A pendant lay on the ground, buried slightly in the mud, a few feet away from her, gleaming in the lightning that flashed within the image. Hitomi held her breath and moved forward a bit more to see what was really happening.

Her hair was wet, stuck to her face. She was dressed in white robes. They were covered in bloodstains. There was a long, large tear in the skirts, and she saw how her left leg was exposed, and then she saw the cuts along her outer thigh. The lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Hitomi blinked, and suddenly found herself standing within the image, staring down at herself lying in the mud. She didn?t understand it.

As she knelt down to get a closer look, she ignored the rain that poured down on her and reached out to brush the hair that she was familiar with off her cheek. Small cuts identical to the ones on the man she had just met were etched into her cheek. Blood, dried and crusted, left a trail down the side of her face, while more blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

Hitomi sat back on her hunches, a hand to her mouth, and just stared down into the face. Why was she here, like this? Since when did she ever know how to wield a sword, or buy such expensive looking robes? She let her eyes drag down the length of her body until her eyes stopped at her feet. They were bare. Hitomi wrinkled her brow at the sight and then brought her eyes back to her face. It was pale, splattered in mud and dried blood. Turning slightly, she looked behind her to the pendant lying buried in the mud.

What does this mean, she questioned. I just don?t understand!

The voice that would usually reply did not reply.

Hitomi sighed and then turned away from the pendant to gaze down into the face. Quietly, she reached out and put her fingers to the neck to feel for a pulse. Just as she touched the flesh, she was taken aback at how cold the skin felt. Suddenly the eyes snapped open, and the corpse of herself let out a vicious scream, her face set in anger and agony.

Hitomi moved to jump away, but the corpse, in the blink of an eye, flicked her wrist, and with a lethal thrust, she pushed the sword she held tightly in her hand forward. Hitomi?s eyes went wide. The pain was severe. It flared from the centre of her chest and spread out to every part of her body. She cried out in pain, bringing a hand to the sword that jutted out from the front, and back, of her body. She gripped the blade tightly, staring down at it in surprise, not paying any attention to the blood slipping down her arm.

Hitomi brought her eyes up. She stared into the blazing eyes of the woman who had stabbed her. She found herself staring into a mirror. Slowly, the world around her turned around and around in circles. She never knew when she hit the ground; never felt it. All she could feel was the pain in her chest, unbearable and unrelenting. She stared out at the ground in front of her, everything inside dying.

A pair of bare feet walked past her. Lightning flared to life again around her, as thunder shook the skies. Hitomi watched, as everything went dim around her. The pain in her chest lifted gradually. The light that consumed her was bright, unforgiving.

She never even heard the voice calling out to her ? she just gave into the peaceful feeling that was now taking over her body.


To Be Continued...

[Melina]

Wow that was great! I really hope that you keep this story going i wnna know what happens.