Dragon Burn.
By
Amanda Wardropper
To you, my love, I shall speed.
Chapter 1 - Earth. One year after Gaea
"Hold on Hitomi!" Yukari shouted down the road as she followed Hitomi round the corner.
"I haven't seen you run like that since track team." she said as she caught her breath while Hitomi stood patiently by her side.
"Well, it is the summer holidays Yukari!" Hitomi boasted. "And I would have been at my Grandmother's a half hour ago, if you hadn't stopped to drool over that guy at the arcade." she added sarcastically.
They walked the rest of the way to Yukari's house and agreed to keep in touch during the holidays. Hitomi carried on walking down the Poplar tree lined street. She swiftly turned the corner and broke into a sudden run, she really wanted to see her grandmother. Something extremely pointy jabbed her painfully in her left breast. She halted, reaching into the inside blazer pocket, she pulled out a pure, white feather. She felt a lump in her throat as she remembered her angel winged love, Van, whom she still felt for deeply. She couldn't bear being apart from him but a year seemed like forever. She put the feather back into her pocket where she always kept it and broke into another run, but not for the fun of it, she was trying to escape the tears which now filled her eyes.
She reached her grandmother's gate and flung it open with unexpected force. She knocked calmly on the door, trying to hide her tears and emotions. Her grandmother answered it, "Come on in Hitomi." she said in a kind, caring voice. Hitomi walked in still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. It was too late, her grandmother noticed her sorrow. "What's the matter Hitomi?"
"Oh, it's nothing grandma." Hitomi replied.
"There is, I can tell." Her grandmother said sternly. Just then the feather dropped out of Hitomi's blazer pocket and fell onto the floor. Her grandmother knelt down and picked it up. Somewhere, deep in Hitomi's mind a question was raised and an answer given. Is he calling me? He is. She then became aware of her grandmother gently shaking her and saying, "Hitomi, what's this?" She held up the feather. Hitomi couldn't deny that the feather belonged to a half man, half Atlantian angel, which she had fallen in love with.
"It's...it's nothing." she said, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Something tells me that it's not." Her grandmother replied. It was no use hiding from her as she had been to Gaea herself and possessed psychic abilities much like her own. Hitomi jerked her head away from her grandmothers gaze. "It's about Gaea, isn't it." Hitomi nodded her head slowly. "Why don't you sit down and tell me about it. I have a feeling that this," and she held up the feather, "has a lot to do with why you haven't been yourself over the past year."
Hitomi had never told anyone about Allen, Merle and ... Van, but she thought that if anyone would understand it would be her grandmother. The story took about an hour to re-tell and the sun was setting when she finished telling of Van and their sacrifice of their love for one another. "Ah, I thought so, that you'd fallen in love. But Hitomi, why are you so sad ?"
"Because, I can't see him anymore." She cried out, "We're two worlds apart." Hitomi was surprised at her grandmothers blindness.
"But Hitomi, don't you know that you can go back to Gaea. As long as you have something from both worlds you can go between them to your hearts content!" At this Hitomi's mouth dropped.
Her grandmother smiled knowingly and said, "You really want to see him again. Don't you?" Hitomi nodded and picked up her jaw. Her grandmother looked out of the window, to the darkening sky, in the rough direction of Gaea, a shape that only she and Hitomi could see. After a short while she turned back to Hitomi and said, "He wants to see you too, so here's what you are going to do." She quickened her voice towards the end of the sentence, "You will pack your bag, your tarot cards,"
"But I stopped doing them."
"You're going to start again, he needs your help." Hitomi felt a throb in her heart and wondered if he was alright. Her grandmother continued, "And you will pack this," she held up the feather, "tell your mother that you're staying with me for a while and come back here." She stood up and signaled Hitomi to do so as well. She then ushered Hitomi out of the door and gate, then went back in.

Hitomi ran the rest of the way home and it was dark when she burst through the door. Her mother intercepted her, "Where do you think your going," she boomed, "you missed your tea."
"I'm sorry Mom but I need to pack my bags, my grandmother wants me to stay at hers for a while."
"Why on earth does she want you."
"I don't know." Hitomi shrugged her shoulders and ran upstairs.
She packed everything she'd need, a new set of clothes, tarot cards etc.
She said good-bye to her mother and ran outside to the bus stop. The bus was already there so she got straight on and traveled to her grandmother's again.
Her grandmother opened the door for Hitomi and when they were inside made sure Hitomi had everything. "One more thing. This!" She took out a red jewel, the size of her palm and placed it in Hitomi's. "You'll need this. Now, lets get you back to Gaea."
At this, Hitomi's mind whirled with mixed emotions and images of Allen, Merle, Moleman and Van. Van!I'm going to see him again.
Her grandmother had to push her out into the back yard where the crickets chirped happily. "Now where's the feather, from Gaea?"

"Here." Hitomi reached into her pocket and pulled out the feather.
"The ruby?" Hitomi patted her bag in answer. "OK. Now hold the feather up and wish with all your heart to see your lost love again." Hitomi stepped back, held up the feather in one hand and kept tight hold of her bag in the other. She concentrated on Van's smiling face and thought, Van...I want to see you again. That moment seemed like forever to Hitomi but sure enough she was once again bathed in white light. She smiled down at her grandmother, who was watching the miracle happen, as she was lifted up and disappeared into thin air, the white light left behind a temporary path of light particles and her grandmother thought, She's on her way back to her true love...