Author's Notes (PLEASE READ TO AVOID CONFUSION):

OK! Well this is my first Escaflowne fanfiction so please read with caution! This particular universe where the Escaflowne characters have made cozy homes in is a mixture of present day Earth with Gaian elements as well as elements from my own wild imagination. I say Gaian elements because it's really just Earth but modified to fit this fic; a different dimension of our Earth if you will.

In other words, in this fic, Earth has a slightly different history, different politics, inner makings of society and media, different technology, throw in a few 'new' species of plants and animals, add in a few more countries and a hint of 'fantastic elements' and you got our new A/U Earth for this fic!

Ooh, I forgot to mention that I was probably mildly inspired by "Fight Club" for some bits. But not to worry, there isn't anything too violent or extreme. Not yet, anyhow. cackles Simple, isn't it? Before, I forget, Gaia is a country in this fic and NOT a planet. The planet is Earth as described in the above paragraphs. Sorry for those who don't like the idea, unfortunately that's how I made it!

And anything that doesn't seem to make sense or doesn't fit with the anime-related facts from Escaflowne is either because I made it up or I modified it for the purposes of this fic.

Remember this is an A/U. Also, flames make me sad so please refrain from doing so. It's all in good fun! The only one I willingly accept flames from is Dilandau-sama. Oh dear, I'm wasting valuable space. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I've enjoyed writing it!

For those of you who don't like the Slayers, you might not enjoy this chapter but you can still give it a shot if you feel courageous enough!  But I love them so! They're so adorable and so devoted to Dilly-sama! By the way, all characters that were previously a hybrid of animal and 'human' are now ALL human or a humanoid species without 'animal' traits. Obviously that includes Merle, Eriya, Naria and Jajuka among others.

SPECIAL THANKS: I was inspired to write this fic by Frostmourne's amazing DH A/U fics and Michi G's wonderful multi-chaptered fic entitled "Lost Ones". Go read those if you haven't already!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything Escaflowne (not even Dilly-sama sniff)… nor Fight Club while we're at it.

Summary: AU Hitomi is an average 17 year-old girl trying to achieve her dreams. Dilandau is the self-destructive arrogant son of a Billionaire. Two worlds collide. Can they work out the differences or will they fall apart?

"…" Talking. Erm, DUH, right? Right!

'…' Thinking

Italics mean everything else including flashbacks and other weirdness.

------------------

A Moment in Time

Chapter One: Different Worlds

------------------

Ridiculous. Absolutely Ridiculous. How could she tell him that? What was she thinking! No, right now was not the time to be dwelling on it. There was a white sheet with printed ink on her desk that demanded, no, required answers. 'To Jared St-Germain no less! I'd have rather been bitch slapped by Keri Jennings than have him know that!'

The green-eyed teen let out what was supposed to be a growl amidst the maelstrom of sounds of nervous sighs, pencils scratching and erasers rubbing. Fitting sounds that filled the tension-wracked atmosphere. Needless to say, it was not heard. That or no one bothered to notice.

'To think—' She stopped herself before she went down another path of mental fury.

Concentrate.

She had to concentrate. This was Calculus. It was child's play. Then why the hell couldn't she just focus? She could finish this within twenty minutes on any other day but she found herself unable to even look at the blank answer sheet teasing her.

Her sun kissed golden locks held by a black hair tie swung to her left shoulder, then to her right as she looked around the classroom for a distraction. Nothing. She let out an exasperated sigh. Hitomi Kanzaki, age 17, star of the Adelph Quincy High track team and promising youth was pissed. So very pissed.

"Hitomi?" A soft feminine voice laced with motherly concern and curiosity interrupted her (cataclysmic) thoughts. The young girl looked up from her paper.

The voice continued. "Is everything alright? You've been fidgeting non-stop for the past 20 minutes."

The girl let out a nervous giggle that sounded just absurdly wrong in the moment. It was meant to be a reassuring chuckle. She could already hear some boys from the classroom stifling a laughing outburst. "Sorry," she giggled again. "Just nervous, I guess."

"Oh, I don't see why you should be," the teacher said taking off her glasses. "I've already given much harder tests and you've always managed to have top grades. This should be second nature to you." The woman sounded genuinely surprised. At this, a few rolled their eyes, others glared jealously and a few even "hmmphed" haughtily. That was probably Keri Jennings and her supporters.

"In fact," the woman added as she purposefully glanced at her wristwatch, "I thought you'd be done by now. You sure nothing's wrong, Hitomi?" Everyone knew how much Mrs. Moore held Kanzaki on a pedestal.

By this time, the soft pinkish hue that was silently creeping up had fully tainted the youth's cheeks and parts of her exposed neck. "Yes, Mrs. Moore," she said, embarrassed beyond belief. "Really, I'm fine," she quickly added in the hope of ending the unwanted scrutiny.

Mrs. Moore nodded in understanding although still somewhat concerned, repositioned her spectacles atop her wrinkled nose and went back to correcting last week's assignments.

Hitomi let out the breath she had been holding when she was sure Mrs. Moore's and everyone else's attention went back to their papers. 'Damn it! Yukari wait till I get my hands on you!' The unsaid threat was left to the claws of her darker imagination. Only after a few little violent scenarios played out in her head with said, or rather unsaid Yukari as the main character, did she deem herself appeased enough to concentrate on her exam.

----------------------------

A young man with messy-looking light brown hair clumsily stepped out of an apartment complex which looked rather intimidating and imposing on an architectural and decorative perspective. Well, threatening to anyone who did not have an abundance of the grey matter in their pockets, that is.

The young man's clothes looked like they were hastily thrown on and he himself fared no better in appearance. Fortunately for him, he was a rather charming man and despite his unkempt look, the ladies who strode by noticed this and sent appreciative glances his way. He smiled and winked. They giggled and waved. He'd learned how to master his charm from watching him for all these years, after all. The doorman relayed a message especially for him, handed him a package and bid him "Good day!" as the young man walked off forgetting to tip the spoiled doorman. Rather, the now upset spoiled doorman.

'Always prepared isn't he?' he thought as he inspected the package. It read, "Not to be opened without my permission." Of course not! He would never even dream of disobeying him. Not in this lifetime and not ever. It was probably the plans for the next project anyway.

He yawned for the twelfth time that morning, or rather afternoon, and tiredly plunged his hand into his pant pocket to retrieve his keys. "Uhh," he groaned just as he felt a wave of sudden pounding coming from his head. "Damn headache," his hand rubbed his throbbing forehead while teal eyes blinked the last traces of sleep away and tried to focus on the key he was looking for. 'Great,' he thought. 'I must've left it back at his Den.' the Den in question was probably the most extravagant understatement of the year.

The Den is what they had begun calling their Organization's Leader's immense and expensively furnished apartment. As he began tracing his steps back to the complex, a familiar voice called him back.

"Gatti, have you—" the familiar voice stopped and Gatti watched the figure approach him at a slow jog, the latter took in Gatti's disheveled appearance. "Wow Gatti, you sure look like shit!" The boy now standing in front of Gatti tried to be as matter-of-factly as possible while still trying to sound optimistic. Gatti's headache suddenly seemed to get worse. His annoyance was unmistakable.

"Shut up Shesta! You're just a freak. I don't even know how you do it to recover so quickly. Geez, after last night's party…" He drifted off grinning madly as he remembered the somewhat finer details of the night before. All of which included the words women, sex, alcohol, drugs and experimentation… 'Hmm, maybe a hint of mischief too…' he added as an afterthought. 'Dilandau-san sure knows how to party when he wants.'

"Well Dilandau-san did it. He left before any of us even got up. Even before all of the guests," the young man known as Shesta replied. He was shorter than Gatti, though not by too much. Compared to Gatti's medium build, Shesta was mildly smaller in size but no less defined. He may not have looked it from the outside but Shesta was quite well toned and athletic. The blond hair draping his forehead gleamed in the sunlight and seemed immaculately attached to his head. Not one stray strand! Gatti still wonders to this day how that was even possible. He had already seen the boy in worse shape than himself and yet his hair always remained stubbornly in place. Shesta's innocent-looking baby-blue eyes blinked as he patiently waited for his friend to get over his current daze.

"That's different. Dilandau-san's not human and you know it!" Gatti yawned again. "He's either a God or a Demon. Oh and by the way, he said to meet him in two hours time at the place so do what you have to do before then." He sighed remembering his forgotten keys. "Listen, I have to go get my car keys, I left them at the Den. Meet me at Boothes (1), in front of the gate in half an hour, yeah?" Not waiting for an answer, Gatti turned to head back toward the complex but was stopped a second time by Shesta.

"If you need a ride, I got my car. We'll go get something to eat in the mean time. But I just have to pick up some stuff for my sister first though. She's coming to town. That sound good?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Gatti agreed although somewhat annoyed he wouldn't get see Katie naked sleeping soundly back at the apartment. He suddenly paused as if remembering something. "Come to think of it, Dilandau-san must be in a really good mood if he hasn't kicked anyone out from the Den by now."

"I sure hope so," Shesta absently rubbed his jaw. "Because the last time I got hit, it was the worst yet. He almost broke my jaw and it was only a slap. I swear, his hand's made of steel or something." His slightly bruised cheek and cut lip were the residues from the violent impact with the hand of a certain Dilandau.

"You and me both, buddy." Gatti got in the car and sat on the passenger's side of Shesta's convertible. "By the way Shes, let me know when your sister comes down. I'd like to welcome her personally," he said and gave Shesta a mischievous grin.

"Don't you even think about it Gatti Lombardi!" The mere fact that Shesta mentioned his full name in his warning meant that Shesta was serious. And when Shesta was serious, he looked even more innocent (and vulnerable). He looked just about as mean and threatening as an angry bunny. Gatti laughed as the car sped off.

---------------------------------

"There you are." Hitomi was leaning against the wall facing the door to her best friend's classroom and watched her friend slip cautiously out of the class. 'Best friend? Not after I'm through with her!' Arms crossed over her chest, scowl in place, fingers tapping against her triceps. Oh yes. Full battle mode activation complete. Her friend's stunned gasp only added fuel to her fire and she could not help but grin a tad too psychotically. 'As if, pretending she doesn't know what was coming to her! Hmp! That little hypocrite!'

"Oh 'Tomi-chan! You surprised me! I was just about to…" the brown-haired girl tried sounding as casual as possible but seeing her best friend's glare only intensify, she decided to come clean.

"Look 'Tomi, I know you're upset but hear me out first… beforeyoujustdecidetogoaheadandkillme," and she took her breath. Hitomi did not budge.

"I feel the urgent need to do you bodily harm," her eyelids menacingly drifted shut as she continued tightlipped, "for what you made me go through during class. In fact, I'm just jonesing (2) to rip your head off at this very moment."

"Uhh… please refrain?" the soon-to-be victim laughed nervously.

"'Kari you idiot, how could you! You told that conceited jock airhead I had a crush on him!" the words seemed almost too surreal to have actually had an actual place and time for the blasted occurrence.

"But you did though… Oh and that's filthy rich plenty-of-connections conceited jock airhead by the way…" she faintly added not daring to look up from her interesting shoes.

"First of all, we were ten for crying out loud and second," Hitomi counted off the points on her fingers and still shaking with frustration, "it only lasted a freakin' day! Third, he was new that day and I had to show him around and I thought he was nice but he turned out to be a CONCEITED JOCK AIRHEAD!" Hitomi practically screamed the last few words.

"Shhh, they're not done with their exam in there. But," Yukari continued not looking away from the nervous dance her fingers were doing, "a filthy rich plenty-of-connections—"

"YUKARI!"

Suddenly, the door to Yukari's classroom was thrown open and an angry middle-aged man's head poked out. He wore a stern frown and a grey beard. His students never quite took his threats seriously. Though that might have been because his eyebrows drooped like grey feathers over his eyes and shook violently whenever he did. "Would you two mind taking your careless shouting elsewhere! There's a test going on in here!" the birdman half-yelled half-squeaked.

"Sorry Mr. Ingram," both girls said in unison.

Mr. Ingram then shut the door violently but not before mumbling something about reckless and uncivilized youth under his breath. The two girls glared at the closed door a moment before turning to each other again. Yukari was the first to speak.

"Look 'Tomi, I know you want to kill me right now and you have every right to want to," she looked over to her friend who was giving her a look akin to "Gee, you really think so?" but ignored it and went on, "but I want you to listen to me for a sec. Summer's here and this is our last summer before we move out and carry on with our lives. I mean you've got a scholarship to one of the top Ivy League Universities in the world and I'm going off to study in America. What I mean to say is," she cast her chestnut eyes down, "this is going to be our last summer together before we make a name for ourselves and I wanted us to do something special so that we could remember this moment by. Something to celebrate our new lives with."

"What? By telling stupid Jared St-Germain that I had a meaningless thing for him and ruining my r-e-p-u-t-a-t-i-o-n!" Hitomi could already tell that she was losing her edge because her friend's argument was sadly true. 'I'm not going to see her after this summer… at least not for a while. Things'll be different by then… Damn that Yukari! Why does she have to go and say that crap?'

Uh oh. Yukari gave her that look. Hitomi knew that look very well. The one that said "Wait till you hear me out! Then you won't be able to back down!" 'Shit, not that one!'

"No silly! OK," it was too late, Yukari was hyped up now, "you know that Jared liked you since way back and you also know he's rich and has hook-ups to the coolest places around Gaia. Well, my dear, it just so happens that he could manage to get us two tickets to MYSTIC MOON," and here she paused for dramatic effect and went on to stress every syllable of the next few words, "ne-x-t Friday only on the condition that I tell him something about you that no one knew! I mean that was the deal of the century, I just couldn't pass it up!" Hitomi stared blankly at the overexcited teen in front of her.

"You mean that posh place where all those rich and famous people go?" Bingo, now was Yukari's only chance.

"Exactly! That one! Only the trendiest club in town where we could meet all sorts of famous people and possibly really cute—"

"What the hell would I wanna go there for! I don't even go clubbing!" the honey-brown haired girl rubbed her aching temples and sighed. She carried on with a more solemn tone, "Yukari. Why do you want to go to a place like that so much? I thought we were different from those kinds of people. We always stuck together because we were the outcasts in this flaming school. We work hard for what we achieve. We're not like them. In fact, I despise them. I hate rich socialites who spend precious time and money on bullshit just so they could get with the 'in-crowd'. Other people work real damn hard for it! You know I can't stand people like that! They're heartless! So why do you want to be like that?" There was bitterness in Hitomi's voice that Yukari had rarely heard. The kind that cut through you. The kind of bitterness only brought on by a lot of hurt.

"I don't… I'm sorry Tomi. I should've just kept my big mouth shut! I just thought I'd see what it was like just once. I never understood their world. I thought if I could try to understand them, maybe I'd find out that they were really just like us. Then I'd get over it and close the book. The End… you know?" She giggled and gave Hitomi a kind and reassuring smile.

Hitomi was losing. She was losing to those bright and pleading chestnut eyes. She could do anything for Yukari just as she knew Yukari would do anything to insure Hitomi's happiness. 'But they're NOT like us and they never will be! They're heartless and selfish!' she told herself and tried repeating it over and over so as not to give in. So what if she was being selfish, she had to preserve her dignity for crying out loud! 'Oh… I see.'

She was the onebeing selfish. All Yukari was asking for was a little Night Out On the Town. She simultaneously cursed her weakness and her strength. Wait. Why was she feeling guilty again? Because Yukari had a wonderful talent to make her and anyone feel that way when you were clearly not the one at fault. It was her weapon to get what she wanted. And her arguments always worked. Yukari would make a fine lawyer some day. Hitomi's shoulders sunk a little and she let out the most defeated sigh she could muster. Yukari took it as her cue.

"Is that a yes Tomi-chan! Oh I knew you were wonderful! I love you, love you, love you so much!" she exclaimed while hugging and kissing her excitedly. "And you know," she smirked at her defeated friend, "now you'll be able to tell your kids that you once went to Mystic Moon with their Aunt Yukari. Who knows, maybe you'll even end up falling madly in love with someone you'll meet there and even marr—"

"Don't push it you Bum! And I never agreed I would behave. If one of them pisses me off, I swear I'll jump 'em and I won't look back! I still hate people like that, you know!" she threatened wagging a finger in Yukari's face. Yukari laughed; glad to have her friend back to her old self. Suddenly, Hitomi straightened her back and scrunched her eyebrows. Yukari, as though, anticipating her suspicious thoughts quickly responded.

"No don't worry. I know he didn't trick me because I threatened to make him sterile if he cheated. I've got them right here," she took out the tickets from her side-bag.

"Actually, I was more wondering how Airhead got us the tickets in the first place. I mean, everyone knows that the security is super-tight and never allows anyone who's not on the VIP list or who doesn't have a couple hundred bucks for bribing the bouncers in those kinda places. I heard in some places you have to have a few thousands!" Hitomi looked over at her friend suspiciously. The latter had a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Well… let's just say it'll be a lot more exciting this way…" Yukari gave her best wink and smile to the now very weary teen slouching next to her. Hitomi had a bad feeling about all this. A gnawing feeling that everything would go wrong.

-----------------------------------

"Did you call them?" Gatti asked his friend who just flipped his ultra-sleek cell phone closed and shoved it into his shirt pocket. They were sitting at one of the exterior food courts at Boothes Plaza. Gatti was taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Yeah, Dallet said he'd be here in 10 with the others. But you know, when he says ten, it's more like 20." Shesta answered taking a sip from his orange juice. "He said Dilandau-san phoned and ordered his servants to kick everyone out pronto and have all the mess cleaned up before 5 or else…" They both knew what that meant and inwardly shuddered at the thought.

"Hey, by the way," Gatti exhaled and took another drag, "are you going to the huge party they're having over at Mystic Moon next Friday?"

"Well if I had a choice I'd say no but Dilandau-san would have my head if I refused so, yes I am." Shesta found that his orange juice was rather tasty and so he took another long sip.

"What? I didn't know we had to go. How come he didn't tell me about it?" the grey smoke came out of his mouth as he was talking. "I'm seriously starting to think he loves screwing with my head more than anything," the bitterness was coated with every word he spoke.

"Relax Gatti. It's not what you think. He hasn't said anything to anyone yet. He just casually mentioned it last night that's all. Nothing to get worked up over." He gave Gatti a reassuring glance. "Besides, he's probably going to talk about it today at the meeting."

"Oh," he simply said and took a sip of his now cold coffee. "Gross…" referring to the latter. "But man, last night was one hell of a night! Dilandau-san looked like he was enjoying himself loads. I sure did! He definitely throws the best parties! All those girls--" he grinned while inadvertently taking another sip of his cold and neglected coffee. "For Christ's sake!" yet again referring to the offending brown liquid and shoving the cup as far away from his reach as possible.

"I just don't get how he gets all those girls to come back to him without even trying and after everything he's done to them." Shesta thought for a moment. "I mean, any fool could see why all the girls go crazy after him like that but I just don't get the ones who've been stomped… why do they keep coming back when they know they're only going to get stomped on again?"

"Because women are all bimbos. That's why. But then again, Dilandau-san does it to everyone but still, they're lying, cunning tramps and we've got to use them before they get to us. And when they see that you're the one who's got control, they come back." Gatti finished his statement with a proud smile. "Look at Katie. I'm not going to even give her the chance to think about using me. So she comes back for more." He gradually took more space as the conversation went on until he looked like a King sitting on his throne.

"Yeah but doesn't she flirt openly with Dilandau-san." Shesta asked a little unsure of whether he was prying too far but half-curious to see his reaction.

"Dilandau-san doesn't like her. And even if he did, it wouldn't matter. I've got too much respect for him to care about that stuff. Besides, he's got all the babes in the world hanging off his shoulder. It doesn't make a difference who he likes and who he doesn't, in the end, he's got them all." Gatti let out a chuckle merely thinking about the irony in the truth.

"I guess so…" Shesta agreed. Pause. He proceeded to break the awkward silence. "Anyway, are you going to Mystic Moon as well?" It was more of a question asking about his opinion on the matter than wanting to know the answer which to both of them was fairly clear.

"If it's an order, hell yeah. Besides I think he's brewing something. I mean, why would he want us to go so much when he doesn't even care about the place or the people to begin with? Hell, he could throw way better parties on a whim than they'd ever be able to plan in a year. I can almost smell he's up to something…"the brown-haired young man said as he botched is cigarette.

"Think the package has anything to do with it?" the younger looking lad asked.

"I can bet all my money on it…" Gatti answered smiling with silent anticipation.

"Hey Dicks!" just at that moment a boisterous voice roared through the air. Dallet and the others arrived just in time. They decided to discuss a few things before heading to the place to wait for Dilandau-san. It would be a pleasant change for once, and they were right. It was.

------------------------------------------------------------

A/N I'm so sorry if it was slow-paced but I really wanted to get into the characters and how they act and react to their surroundings as well as how they interact with other people. I also wanted to show how different Hitomi's and Dilandau's worlds, lifestyles and views are.

I hope it wasn't too boring. I know no one's going to read this but I'll say it anyway: Arigatou for putting up with it! Of course if you've made it this far, I must say, reviews would be much appreciated. I'd love to know what you thought. I REALLY hope I didn't bore you to death or make you go "Oh God, what is this bullshit!" I promise the pace will pick up and there will be plot twists, that I can guarantee it!

For those of you who are confused about the locations and basically asking themselves, "Where the hell is this set?" Don't worry, more detailed description of their Earth and environment will come in the next few chapters. As well as which city and country this takes place. I'll try even though I suck at it!

I promise Dilandau will be introduced in the next chapter and possibly Van. YAY! Dilly-sama! I just wanted to describe what his Slayers think about him and show how much they were devoted to him. And what kind of person he was through their eyes.

The DilandauxHitomi action won't come until the third chapter but maybe I'll consider it in the next if I have time (and if anyone will be reading this!). I want it to build up to that! So then when there are changes in their personalities due to the other's influence, it'll be more noticeable.

By the way:

1--- refers to Boothes Plaza, an invented mall/plaza only reserved for the very rich.

2--- for anyone who's first language is not English, "jonesing" is a slang word meaning "to have a strong need, desire, or craving for something."---That definition was taken from this site- http/www. urbandictionary. com/ define.php? termjonesing