Broken Inside [2/? | R]

[Leia Avenrose]

Disclaimer: I don?t own Vision of Escaflowne. *whimper* Van doesn?t belong to me, poop. But you know the routine, yadda yadda, blahblah. Done. Wait? the chapter title belong to Lacuna Coil. Done.
Dedication: To the readers, and to Ice Princess.



Broken Inside
By: Leia Avenrose
Rating: R



Chapter Two ? Wave of Anguish

?No?? she breathed, shock numbing her mind. She shook her head frantically, unconsciously outstretching the wings. Her hands shot up, clutching the sides of her head, again she shook her head, fingers digging into her scalp, tangling in the thick dark strands. ?No!?

With brown eyes wide and staring into those reflected back, she gave another startled cry, staggering back. The heel of her foot caught on the carpeting and she landed hard on her rear, her wings extending out behind her. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face, the dark hair damp and clinging to her deathly pale skin. Why? did she look like this? What was going on?

What had she done to deserve this?

Hitomi groped at her neck, her breathing hitching as realization hit her like a hard slap in the face. Trembling fingers hovered in mid-air above a defined collarbone. Almost instantly, she went onto her hands and knees, searching the ground desperately. She had to find it; she just couldn?t have lost it! Where did she put it? Where did it go?

?No,? she moaned out in disbelief, curling her fingers on the dark maroon carpet. She formed a fist, beating it into the ground repeatedly, taking out her anger and frustration, the fear that had built itself up inside of her. ?This isn?t happening! Why is it happening? WHY?!?

Calm yourself, Hitomi.

Hitomi froze, breathing heavily through her nose. Slowly, she sat back, knees bent beneath her, and looked down at the beige pants she wore, at the dark red shirt that hung off her shoulders. ?How do you expect me to calm myself,? she muttered in reply, bringing her hands to her chest. It was flat, but quite muscular and toned. ?I have no breasts!?

What do you want me to do about that? I wasn?t born with them, the voice calmly mocked her. It infuriated her that he could be just so calm about their predicament.

?Give me back my breasts,? she sulked, mumbling under her breath, still absently feeling about her chest. She sat in front of the mirror, and as she slowly lifted her head, her breath caught in her throat at the sight before her. ?This is just a dream,? she whispered, eyes widening. She brought a hand to her throat. ?Such a deep voice. It has to be a dream; it HAS to be. I?m going to wake up, I know I am.?

Well, unless you know how you managed to get here, I don?t think you?re going to know how to ? go back. Her arms folded over her chest, and Hitomi blinked, looking down at them.

?Van, this isn?t possible,? she whispered, lifting her right arm, outstretching it in front of her. She admired the toned bicep, the way the thick corded muscles in the forearms flexed as she clenched a fist, and went suddenly silent, shocked.

Her arm moved on it?s own, right in front of her.

Her eyes moved back to the mirror, and she gradually stood off the ground, moving to stand before it, her bare fingers stroking over the cool surface.

It may not be possible, Hitomi, but it?s happened, and we?re just going to have to deal with it.

?How can you be so calm?? she suddenly shouted out, surprisingly looking up at the ceiling. Her right arm lifted, her fingers tapping her temple hidden beneath thick black hair. Hitomi scowled at the reflection in the mirror, and it winked at her. She brought a hand up, running it down the length of her face, and froze, her fingers pausing over the side of her jaw.

Her face fell visibly. ?Stubble.?

?what about it? the voice questioned, sounding puzzled yet irritated.

?Van, what day is it?? she demanded instead, leaning forward towards the mirror, stroking her callused fingers over the shadow along the length of her strong, square jaw.

Why??

?Damn it, Van, don?t be so pigheaded.? Hitomi shot the mirror a glare. She knew him so well, he had to have been glaring back at her.

It has to be the middle of the week, but Hitomi, why is that so important? The muscular arms folded over her chest once more, and she sighed heavily, unfolding them, the wings behind her twitching slightly.

?It?s been five years, Van,? she murmured, her voice growing soft, as she moved away from the mirror. She let the long legs carry her to one of the plush chairs near the open balcony windows, and dropped into it, closing her eyes, as she leaned forward. She put her head in her hands. ?Five years, Van; you should be producing an heir now, you should be married??

Don?t you DARE lecture me, just don?t, the voice abruptly burst out, and she winced, digging her fingers into her eyes. Why did she feel so suddenly tired? He must?ve caught on; she could feel the change in his anger as it turned into concern.

?I?m fine,? she replied before he could even utter the words.

No, you?re not, he retorted; she could feel him pacing in what was upstairs. It?s the wings, isn?t it? You?ve ? never felt them before.

?Well, Van, I just don?t go around back home spouting wings at random times of the day just to have a good fly around in the air.? Her voice was dripping in sarcasm, and she felt her face jerk as it expressed a flinch. ?I suppose ? I have no choice; I have to accept them, this.?

Hitomi looked down at herself, then stood. She felt him fold the wings behind her back and sighed, looking at the bed with a longing. Without a word, her feet led her to the edge, her body turning, and she sat down. ?This is going to take quite some getting used to, Van,? she murmured, rubbing her eyes, and crawled onto the bed, lying on her side.

Along her mind, she felt a soothing feeling envelope her, and she snuggled into the pillow. You can?t remember, can you, he asked, feeling the fatigue kick in, slowing down her senses and mind. What happened before you ? left, Hitomi?

?Zongi,? she whispered sleepily, her body relaxing completely into the mattress. Van Slanzar de Fanel racked his mind a moment, and a frown crept across the once expressionless face.

But ? he?s dead; that?s impossible. You saw him die, Hitomi.

?I know??

<center>* * *</center>

Red mingled with blue, splashed across the stucco walls, along the tearstained and curious faces within the crowd huddled together in the downpour. They clung to one another before the front gates of the Kanzaki house. One couple clung especially hard, their arms wrapped around each other. The girl?s face was buried into the jacket of the male holding her, his face pale, his eyes blank and staring at the house.

How did it happen? he asked himself, instinctively blinking as rain splashed in his eye. Sumono Amano tilted his head back, looking up into the dark sky, almost as if searching for the answer anyone up there might give and closed his eyes, feeling his tears merge with the drizzle.

Hushed whispers moved on within the crowds gathered together. The police kept to low-toned discussions, inquiring one another, gesturing absently to the house, pointing out specific locations in the area, then to some of the people within the crowds. They wore kid gloves, white, along with white armbands around their upper arms indicating their rank, their black suits covered over with transparent rainproof ponchos.

Rain dripped off the front ducks of their caps like tears of God.

Inside the Kanzaki house, a distraught mother spoke to an officer, her voice trembling, her arms clutched to her chest. In her tightly clasped hands a white piece of clothing was held to her lips; it was a painful topic to discuss. Dark brown hair was pulled back roughly from her face, the lines of old age visible, deepened by what had just happened. Her eyes were listless, glossed over from tears, blood-shot and puffy.

Within the bedroom, where two officers stood at the doors, bright flashes came up every few seconds, one click after the other, flash for flash, lighting up the room and hallway, and as a deafening clap of thunder shook the walls, numbered markers were placed around the spacious room. Two on the bed; one to mark the blood, the other where the body had been found. Another three were placed on the floor, at the side of the bed closest to where the body had fallen.

One marked bizarre footprints imprinted into the carpet, another marked where some stray hair had littered the carpet, and the last one marked more blood scattered along the ground.

No weapon. No sign of struggle.

A Homicide detective stood near where the mother stood speaking to another detective; his broad shoulders were hunched forward, a thoughtful look on his rugged face, a cigarette wedged carelessly between thin lips, as he kept his arms folded over his chest, his eyes riveted to the body bag resting on the stretcher at the end of the bed.

Paramedics wearing kid gloves identical to those of the police outside the building, carefully transferred the body into the black body bag. They zipped it up quickly, giving a glance over at the scene before them, and silently strapped the bag down onto the gurney. One of them kicked off the locking mechanism, giving the stretcher a push just as the other draped a sheet overtop, strapping that down.

The wind howled against the windowpanes, another clap of thunder causing the walls to tremble. The woman near the door, the mother, paused in her soft-spoken sentence, the words emotion-torn, and watched as they wheeled the gurney out of the room. Her face crumpled, fresh tears staining her pale cheeks. She gave a shake of her head, moving away from the detective.

She had to go to her daughter; her baby.

A choked sob left her throat, and she begged them not to take her, nearly falling to her knees on the ground.

Arms encircled her from behind, and her face was pressed into the soft fabric of the Homicide detective?s jacket, his hand at the back of her head, her hands clutching his sides as she sobbed into him.

Sometimes he just hated his job.

To be continued

[ice princess]

OMG.

So let's see here. Somehow Hitomi died and now she shares a body with Van? That's either very chivalrous or very insane of him, but then she is DEAD (you KILLED her??? *sniff!* Oh, the humanity!!!! Wails...) so I guess that's the ultimate show of love. But WTF happened?!?!?! Leia, I'm quite peeved now because I've just grown out my own fingernails, filed them and painted them to look all pretty, and you have to go and create an edge-of-your seat, NAIL-BITTINGLY suspenseful fic@!!!! Do you just not CARE about the cost of my manicure?!?!? :evil: I CAN'T REFRAIN FROM DESTROYING MY PRETTY NAILS BECAUSE YOU'VE WRITTEN SUCH AN ADDICTIVE STORY!!!!!!!

*breath* Anyhoo, great job, be-U-tiful description and flow, and thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the dedication. You didn't need to do that!!! It's more than my pleasure to read these amazing fics!!!

~ice princess

[Leia Avenrose]

I rather cracked myself over the " ?Give me back my breasts,? she sulked, mumbling under her breath.." ", including the "Stubble." one. I still giggle, when I read it.

I've done what any author refuses to do: kill a main character! ;);););) The future is clouded; we'll have to see if she is really dead or not, won't we, precious?

*buys her some fake nails* Here ya go, hun! And you are most welcome for the dedication. You deserve it. <33

I also rather loved the 2nd scene... the Kanzaki house one; I found it good description wise. It painted a picture for me.

P.S. I just tend to open the story up on the boards, skim it over, then read the reviews, and write from there. That is how I am pulling these Escaflowne stories out of my ass so fast. <333 Reviewers are GREAT inspiration! God bless you.