Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ There's Not A Thing I Would Change ❯ Transformation ( Chapter 5 )

~*~Thank you all who have waited patiently through my breakdown. Hopefully this chapter will be enough to express my thanks. Oh, and to save your sanity level trying to understand, Hitomi lives in an apartment. Special shout out to my best friend for the translations!!!

Also, this is my Holiday gift to all my readers. I worked hard in order to get this up in time for all of you. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!~*~

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Chapter Five: Transformation

Stretching arms above her head, the emerald eyed beauty sighed as she threw off the covers. 'I guess Van tucked me in last night. I wonder how far we got in the movie. Oh well, doesn't matter.' Swinging her legs off the bed, Hitomi stood up and headed into the bathroom for her morning shower. The warm water cascaded down her back, washing away any pains down the drain. As relaxing as it was, Hitomi shut it off and grabbed a towel as she got out of the shower, drying herself off as quickly as possible. After wrapping the fabric around her body, she left the bathroom and entered her bedroom. Silently thankful it was Saturday, Hitomi grabbed her favorite denim jeans and a plain old black t-shirt.

Slowly heading into the kitchen, Hitomi reached into the cabinet and pulled out a package of beef ramen, setting it to the side as she began to boil the water. As she began to relax, letting the water bubble, the buzzer rang. Curious, Hitomi got up and hit the intercom button. "Hai?"

"Do you always answer people in Japanese?"

"Anta dato wakatterutoki dake. Anta no koto karakauno ga sukidakara." (A/N: basic translation: "Only when I know it's you because I like to torment you.")

"Since when did we become fluent?"

"Baka, watashiwa mukashikara nihongo shabetteruyo." (A/N: basic translation: "I've always spoken Japanese, you idiot.")

"Ah ha! I recognize baka! That's not very nice."

Smiling, Hitomi hit the button that would let him into the building and went to check on her water. Deeming it ready, Hitomi put the noodles in and walked over to the door. '3…2…1…'

*Knock Knock*

Smiling, Hitomi opened it slowly. "Gomennasai, anatano sagashiteru hitowa kokoniwa imasen. Anatano sagashiteru hitowa futatsu mokoudesu." (A/N: translation: "sorry the person you're looking for does not live here, she lives 2 doors down")

Van rolled his eyes as Hitomi backed away, allowing him to walk in. Looking around, Van saw the living area the same as he left it last night. Glancing towards the kitchen, he smiled and looked back at her. "Water's boiling, Hitomi."

"Ahhh!!!" Hitomi ran from the door and into the kitchen, running straight for the pot. Smiling, Van shut and chained the door, seeing as she failed to do so. He knew right away what she was doing. "Which kind of Ramen is it this time? Beef?"

"Ha ha shut up! What did you want, Sparky?"

"Well, I'm grateful for English now. Arigatou."

"Smart ass."

"Better than a dumb ass."

"So is your whole purpose for being here to torment me?"

"Nope, only an added bonus."

"Then what do you want?" By this time, Hitomi's ramen was ready and she set two bowls down on the table, one for herself and one for her best friend. Picking up some chopsticks, Hitomi dug into the bowl. Van sighed and just sat on the couch. "Umm… I kind of need you to do something for me, Hitomi."

Without looking up, she replied. "What?"

Taking a deep breath, Van raced through what he had to say. "IneedyoutogooutwiththisfriendofmineandhewasinterestedinyousoItoldhimyouwou ldgooutwithhimonSunday."

A moment passed in silence. The only thing Van heard was Hitomi's chopsticks fall into the bowl. Another moment passed as he heard her take in a big breath.

"YOU DID WHAT?!?!?!?!?!"

Van knew that tone very well and immediately shot up and began putting distance between him and the outraged girl. "Well, you see, this guy really needed a booster so to speak, so I mentioned you and he really wanted to, umm, well…"

There weren't any words to describe how angry Hitomi looked at the moment. Forgetting all those useless counting exercises, her temper went full throttle as she began to chase him. "YOU BETTER RUN! WHEN I GET YOU I'M GONNA KILL YOU FANEL!!!!!!!"

The maroon eyed man ran with all his might around her apartment, trying to keep his head where it was. He didn't doubt her when she said she would kill him. 'Okay, gotta convince her to do this and that she's doing a good thing here.' Looking behind him, Van quickly ducked as a lamp flew right at him. "Where the hell did you get that thing?!?"

"HOW DARE YOU FANEL?!?!? I'M GONNA MAKE IT SO YOU CAN NEVER HAVE KIDS!!!!"

"Eeep! Hitomi, listen to me! This guy really needs a moral boost and the only way to do that is to let him date a nice girl." Van jumped over the coffee table in an attempt to get more distance. Too bad for him, Hitomi liked working out with the track team in high school and college. He had a suspicion she also helped the softball team with their aim. A hard object suddenly hit him head on. "Ouch! Watch where you're throwing! Where did you get that cat from?" Van held up a weird green or yellow eyed black cat that just simply meowed at him. (Trigun cat strikes again!) Shaking his head, he just tossed the cat aside.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU TELL THIS ASSHOLE I WOULD DATE HIM?!?!?!? AND DON'T YOU DARE JUST TOSS THAT CAT ASIDE!!!"

Panting and realizing quickly he wouldn't be able to keep running for long, Van looked over his shoulder. "Because he needed to see that not all girls are bitches! He needed to see that there are good women out there that actually care, have compassion, a fire within them, a personality, and apparently very good aim with a cat. Where did you get that thing from again?"

Van suddenly didn't hear Hitomi running anymore. Digging up all his courage, he stopped running and turned to face her. She was looking at him with this weird look. "And you think I can show this guy that?"

Taking his chances, Van walked over to her and brought his hands up to cup her face, looking her right in the eyes. "I don't think. I know you can. You have something inside you, Hitomi, that could make a very cold man melt and become whole. You healed me once a long time ago when I had just about given up. I know you can do the same for him."

Looking into her eyes like that stirred something in him. 'What was that?' The way her eyes sparkled seemed to make his heart skip a beat. 'Anticipation for her answer apparently.'

Sighing, she shook her head. "Damn it! Why do I have to care? This sucks."

"So you'll do it?"

"Yeah okay. Only for you Sparky. You owe me big time." Van hugged her as she just groaned. "Okay okay, enough with the touchy, feely mushy stuff. Who is this guy, when and where am I meeting him?"

"Ummm… 8pm at the Winged Dragon tomorrow."

"That's a pretty fancy place. Don't know if I have anything appropriate for that."

"What do you wear when you chaperone those dances?"

"You should know! I always drag you with me."

"Oh."

Rolling her eyes, Hitomi sat down on the couch. "You didn't tell me his name. Who is he?"

Taking a deep breath, Van answered. "You met him already. Allen Schezar."

Hitomi's eyes practically bugged out. "You mean the pretty boy with the long blonde girlie hair?!?" After receiving a nod, Hitomi sighed. "You owe me so much, Sparky. Big time. Huge. There isn't even a word for how big you owe me."

"Got it. Umm… you are going to behave and everything, right 'Tomi?"

Narrowing her eyes a bit, Hitomi glared at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I only mean you don't really dress up or act, well, more like the other girls."

"I thought you said you wanted him to meet a nice girl."

"Yeah, about that. Try not to curse as much or be as… cynically sarcastic, okay?"

With that, Hitomi put on this really ditzy face. "So you want me to like be some airhead? Like totally!"

"Please never do that again. Way too frightening."

Returning to normal, Hitomi looked at him. "Oh? Then why do you want me to act like that?"

"I don't. I just want you to clean it up a bit."

"You're asking a hell of a lot, Fanel."

"Please, 'Tomi? This means a lot to me."

Looking at her with huge innocent puppy eyes, Hitomi winced. "Since when did you get good at that face?"

"I learned from the one that perfected it. Pretty please?"

Trying to look away, Hitomi winced again. "Damn it all! Never pull that on me again! What the hell do you want me to do?"

Smiling, Van walked over to the phone. After dialing a few numbers, he held the receiver up to his ear. Hitomi raised an eyebrow at him. "Who are you calling?"

He simply looked over and smiled. "Reinforcements."

"Why do I suddenly have a feeling of great dread over this?"

~

Opening the door, Van smiled. "Thank you guys for coming over so quickly. I really appreciate it."

A blonde stepped forward and smiled. "Anything for an old college friend. So, what does my good friend Hitomi need? Whatever it is, Robin and I can take care of it no problem."

Van smiled again. "Thanks Danielle." A groan was heard in the general direction of the couch, which caused the females at the door to look over with curiosity. When they looked back at the maroon eyed man, he sighed. "Hitomi's not really looking forward to this."

"Yeah, what exactly are we doing, Van?" Robin stepped forward, highly curious.

Van smiled. "Well, Hitomi has a big date tomorrow night and she needs to clean up a bit, for lack of a better phrase." Van quickly moved his head out of the way of a flying pillow that was aimed at his head. He continued to smile as he went on. "As I was saying, she needs to dress a bit better and work on her language."

Danielle and Robin exchanged looks then looked at what they were currently wearing. Both girls were wearing different examples of plain old t-shirts and jeans with sneakers on their feet. Glancing back at him, Danielle raised one eyebrow. "Umm, we're not exactly the best experts on fashion here, if you haven't noticed."

"Let me guess. Yukari or Mila weren't available?"

Van sighed. "That's besides the point. Robin, you can dress up when necessary and Danielle can teach Hitomi how to control her temper and language. Both can help with manners and all."

"You guys are totally not doing a 'Miss Congeniality' thing on me!" Hitomi cried out from her spot on the couch. Danielle and Robin turned to each other again.

"What about a 'Princess Diaries' thing? Or what was that other movie? With the girl and the guy?"

"Oh very descriptive. You mean 'My Fair Lady'?" Danielle sighed.

Robin brightened. "Yeah, that one."

"I am not saying that stupid line over and over again to improve my way of speaking!"

Both girls sighed and walked over to the sandy haired woman on the couch. After looking her over a bit, they looked at each other, nodded, then looked over to Van. "Sure, we'll do our best. But you can't hang around."

Raising an eyebrow, Van inquired. "Why?"

"You'll give the real first guy impression. Duh! I swear he has the blonde gene."

Danielle looked over at Robin with this annoyed look on her face. The slightly shorter girl looked back. "What?"

"Hello! Blonde hair is attached to this head of mine."

"Oh, no no. I mean that stupid blonde thing. Everyone has at least one gene. Some use or abuse it a lot more then others. You're only now and then."

"Whatever. Let's get back to Hitomi now. Mind if we stay over?"

Hitomi raised an eyebrow, which just about everyone had done already. "What about John and that other guy?"

Rolling her eyes, Robin answered. "Don't worry about the ass monkey. He can survive one night alone."

"And I broke up with that other guy. He just kept on eating my food, which suddenly reminded me of John, so I broke up with him."

*Sweatdrop*

"…Oh… Okay then." Hitomi looked over at Van, who just smiled. "You owe me so big."

"So I've been told. Alright, I'll come back over at seven tomorrow night. That enough time for you girls?"

"It'll do."

"Okay. See you tomorrow 'Tomi."

"I hate you."

"Oh, but I love you ever so much. This much-" Van extended his arms out as far as they would go, "-and more."

"Psycho."

"And damn proud of it. Bye." With that Van left, a smile on his face.

Hitomi locked the door and looked back at the two girls left in the apartment. "Should I be afraid?"

Danielle just nodded. "Yep, very much so. Don't worry. We wouldn't make you look stupid, just show what you already got." Robin nodded.

With that, they all went to explore Hitomi's closet. After about five minutes, both girls sighed and looked over at their friend. "Come on. We got to take you shopping."

Hitomi's face suddenly took on a terrified look. "Sh-Shopping?!? Oh, Fanel, you are so dead!"

~

Whistling to himself, Van walked over to her building's door and rang her buzzer. It was seven on the dot on Sunday and he wanted to see how Hitomi looked. 'I wonder if she lived through all this.'

The intercom cracked before he heard her sweet voice. "Hai?"

"Do you always answer in Japanese?"

"FANEL?!? I'M GONNA-" Her voice was cut off as Robin's voice came through. "Come on up. Danielle's restraining her at the moment."

*Sweatdrop*

The buzzer rang, signaling him to enter. Quickly, he swung the door open and headed for the elevator. Pushing her floor number, Van leaned against the wall and waited. 'How bad could it be?'

Finally reaching the floor, Van left the elevator and headed straight to her door. After knocking, a few crashes were heard as a disheveled Robin answered. She was panting a bit, but smiled. "Come on in and sit down over there."

Van did as he was told and sat in the chair facing towards Hitomi's room. Turning to Robin, he asked, "so, how did it go?"

"Let's just say you're not getting out of this unharmed. Should I ask what blood type you are just in case?"

"That bad?"

"You owe us big time. Leave it at that."

Suddenly, Danielle came out from Hitomi's room, hair all over the place and clothes disheveled. She put on a tired smile. "You owe us big time. But, may I proudly present the new Hitomi Kanzaki!"

There was a long pause before Danielle looked over at Robin, who sighed. "Come on Hitomi."

"I think not."

"Don't make us come in there after you!"

"Alright. And Van, stop smirking! I know you are!"

Surprisingly, Van did stop smirking and just sighed. "Come on Hitomi. Let's see." He smiled as he waited for her to step out of the confines of her bedroom.

Finally the door swung open and Van's eyes went wide as his mouth began to open in shock. Hitomi walked out of the room with black open-toed high heeled shoes on, showing off her long legs with a midnight black dress that fit her perfectly. The sleeves went to her elbows then flowed to about her knuckles while the skirt part of the dress went to about her thighs where the same flow-like fabric was used to go down to about half of her lower legs. The top was a v-neck that cut off right above her chest, showing nothing but still perfect. Her sandy brown hair was clipped back high on her head as a few loose strands framed her face. Her eyelids were painted lightly with a dark brown color on the very edge of the lid with white covering the area between there and her eyebrows. Both eyelashes had mascara on them to make them darker then usual, giving her a softer look. Hitomi's face was a bit paler as a bit of dark red lipstick was on her lips, shining with lip gloss. A very small touch of blush was applied to her cheeks, adding some color.

Van had slowly risen as he saw her. Walking up to her, he found he couldn't tear his gaze away. Taking a breath, he looked into her emerald eyes. "You look so beautiful, Hitomi."

Fidgeting a bit, Hitomi gave a small smile. "Arigatou."

After a few more moments of staring, Van cleared his throat and looked away. "How much did you have to go through for this? Whatever it was, it was worth it. You do look… simply beautiful."

Danielle and Robin exchanged looks as they remembered everything they went through.

~Flashback~

They had finally reached the mall and after dragging Hitomi out of the car, the group all headed for this one particular store. "Umm, this is a really expensive store."

Danielle sighed. "I know, but this night is important. We'll just get some idea. Plus, we've got coupons!" Smiling, she shoved the sandy brunette into the store, Robin following.

After looking around for a bit, the girls threw Hitomi in a changing room as they sat outside and waited. "What do you think?"

Robin sighed. "She's a very nice looking girl, but she hides it. I have a feeling we'll find something for her soon."

"Umm, I'm ready."

The girls smiled and looked over at the door when Hitomi came out. She was wearing a bright magenta striped shirt and neon lime green spandex pants.

*Sweatdrop*

Both girls blinked. "Umm… that is… interesting…" was Robin's reply.

"Yeah… To quote Robin Williams: 'and all the blind gay men are going Oh dear Christ.' Basically, maybe we should look at something else that's not too… loud and would make your date go blind."

Hitomi sighed and went back into the changing room. After about an hour of this, Robin looked around the store, completely exhausted from just watching Hitomi. Suddenly, a black dress caught her eye. Without hesitation, she walked over and snatched it up, taking it over to the girl. "Try on this one. I think this might be the one."

Sighing, Hitomi took the dress and went into the changing room yet again. By this time, Danielle was flat on her back, eyes closed with her arms spread out. "Shoot me now."

Finally, Hitomi came out of the dressing room. Robin's eyes lit up as Danielle picked up her head and whistled. "That's the one."

Robin nodded in agreement as the emerald eyed girl rolled her eyes. "I don't know…"

"Let me put it this way. It's either that one or we go to a completely different store and do the whole trying on thing all over again."

"Okay! This one it is." She went back in to change back into her regular clothes, then went over to pay for the dress. "What's next?"

"Shoes!!!" Both girls turned to Robin. "What? I like shoes."

*Sweatdrop*

'This is going to be a long day…'

~End Flashback~

"So then after the shoes, which took another hour, we picked up some make-up and then came back here and picked at some hair styles. We fell asleep around midnight, then woke up at about noon and got ready. We forced Hitomi to use conditioner for her hair and some new shampoo, which is why her hair is fuller now. I found that old pin in her jeweler chest, but couldn't find anything for her neck. She also refused to take off her ring." Danielle pointed to the ring still on Hitomi's finger.

"It's the Celtic ring you gave me all those years ago. I'm not taking it off." She smiled at him as Van returned it.

"No necklace, huh? That just won't do. Let's see here." With that, Van took out a velvet box from his jacket and handed it to her. With a confused look on her face, Hitomi opened it to reveal a silver necklace with an emerald stone in the shape of a tear on it, surrounded with a thin layer of silver on the sides.

She looked at him, mouth wide open. "Van, it's beautiful."

"It's for you. I picked out the stone that was the closest to the color of your eyes. May I?" After receiving a nod, Van picked up the chain and motioned for Hitomi to turn around, which she did. He then proceeded to put the necklace on for her, not knowing Danielle and Robin were exchanging looks behind him with smiles on their faces. When the clasp was closed, Van placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him again. Her eyes sparkled and that weird feeling went through him again as he got lost in her eyes. 'What's going on with me?'

Van smiled at Hitomi and back away a bit, clearing his throat again. "You better get going. You don't want to keep Allen waiting for long, do you?"

Sighing, Hitomi reached over to grab her keys when Robin threw something at her, which she caught. Looking at it, she sighed again. "A purse?"

"Your key holder thing doesn't go with the outfit. A black purse will have to do."

After grumbling, Hitomi transferred her keys, money and cell phone into the purse and threw it onto her shoulder. "You guys can let yourselves out whenever. I'll see you all later. Thanks for your help, I guess. Ja ne."

"Ja ne, Hitomi! Have fun!" Both girls waved at her and smiled. Van walked up to Hitomi. "Want me to drive you?"

"No. I'll drive. That way my car's there if I need to make a get away. Later, Sparky."

"Do have fun, 'Tomi."

"I'll try and contain my excitement." With that, she left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Van turned to the two behind him. "Thank you so much for your help. She looks just so beautiful."

They exchanged looks again and nodded. "We didn't do all that much. She was beautiful without our help."

"I knew that," Van mumbled to himself… or so he thought. Danielle and Robin smiled and got their things.

"Cya around, Van. Come visit sometime. Ja ne!"

"Ja." The girls left Van alone in the apartment. He looked around and for the first time felt alone and lost in her place. "What do I do now?" After a few minutes, Van left and headed home to his own apartment, a weird feeling still washing through him.

~

The door swung open that evening as black shoes were tossed across the room, hitting the wall with a nice bang. A black bag was also tossed aside as the woman entered her apartment, heading straight for the bedroom containing the bed, which was her current destination. She somehow found the energy to change into pajamas and crawl into bed. Before shutting her eyes, she counted to herself. '3…2…1…'

*Ring Ring*

Sighing, Hitomi reached over and picked up the phone. "Moushi Moushi."

"What is with you and the Japanese?"

Sighing, Hitomi leaned back. "What's up, Van?"

"Did I wake you?"

"No, I somehow knew you were going to call, so I made sure not to."

"That's kind of creepy that you know what I'm going to do."

"You want to know how it went, don't you Van?"

"That's the objective of this call."

Sighing again, she made herself comfortable. "There is no word to describe how much you owe me."

"That bad?"

"First off, I got there and he was already there. I asked if I kept him waiting and he said he just wanted to make sure I was punctual, that his last girlfriend was always late. I even remember the line he used. 'Your promptness is a very good sign for a new relationship.'"

"…are you serious?"

"Sadly."

"What did you say?"

"To quote: 'Umm alright then.' I sat down and picked up the menu quickly as he commented about my dress."

"What did he say?"

"That I should reveal more and not hide what I was given. I was so very close to slapping him."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what happened next."

"The waiter came and he ordered for me a nice tossed salad. He said it was to keep my thin figure in check."

Hitomi could hear Van slap his forehead with his hand. "Oh boy."

"And to think it's not done yet."

"Oh kami. I'm already sorry."

"Oooh, just wait. I have more to tell. I told him I don't eat salads and I tried to order teriyaki chicken because I heard it was good. He told the waiter to just bring me the salad and told me no girl of his would be seen shoving a dead cow into their mouths."

"I thought you said you wanted chicken."

"I did."
*Sweatdrop*

"I am so very worried."

"May I?"

"Let me brace myself. Okay."

"The waiter left, leaving me and pretty boy alone. He went on and on about something totally boring, which I just smiled and nodded every now and then. I don't think he noticed. Randomly, he asked me to dance. I told him I don't dance and he said 'All women of Allen Schezar dance.' As he was about to drag me to the dance area, the food came. I was never so happy to see salad before. He kept asking me if I needed anything in which I replied that if I needed something I would get it myself. After finishing the food, he smiled at me as he paid the bill, which I was not allowed to even see. You know I hate it when people do that. Anyway, he asked if I wanted to head over to his place for, and I use the air quotes for this, 'coffee'. I told him no and that I had to get up very early the next morning. He asked why. I had told him many times during the night when he asked that I was a high school music teacher. As I was heading to my car, in which he insisted on escorting me to, he tried many times to actually kiss me."

Van's grip on the phone got so tight the phone actually cracked. "He did?"

"I told him to back off and I wasn't that kind of girl. I told him he should actually try listening to a girl and not be so self-absorbed, that it was probably the reason why his ex dumped his sorry ass. I then jumped into my car and sped off."

A smile broke onto his face as he heard that, but then winced. He would be hearing all about this at work the next day. "Oh Hitomi."

"I tried, Van, but that's what he really needed to hear. There is no way he will be able to hang onto an actual real girl with what he was pulling."

"I know you tried. I'm grateful for that. Thank you. I'm just sorry it was this terrible."

"I'll get over it. I'd love to chat more, but this exhausted me. I need to bond with my pillow."

A small laugh flowed through the phone. "Okay Hitomi."

"You want to pick me up for lunch or should I come to you?"

"Maybe you should come to me. You'd probably make my day a whole lot brighter."

"Alright. Night, Sparky."

"Sweet dreams and good night, 'Tomi."

With that, Hitomi hung up the phone and crawled under the covers. The night really had been just that terrible, but her pillow and comfy bed made her fall into a comfortable sleep.

~

"Fanel. In my office, now."

Wincing at what he knew was coming, Van got up and headed into Allen's office. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to Allen's desk and sat down in the chair. "Yes?"

The blonde haired man turned to him and smiled. "Relax, Fanel. I only wanted to tell you I had a great time last night with your friend Hitomi."

Blinking in surprise, Van stared at him. "Really? Well, if I may ask, what happened?" Somehow Van had a feeling Allen had a completely different view on the date Hitomi did.

The blonde haired freak, I mean guy leaned back and went back into the moments. "First off, she arrived right on time, which is a big thing for me. Then she tried to order this horrific meal, so I spared her and ordered her a salad, which is more appropriate for a woman to eat anyhow. I commented her on her looks, but advised her not to hide anything. She really is a very beautiful woman, Van."

"You don't have to tell me that," Van mumbled to himself.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. What happened next?"

"Hitomi really is a quiet person though. I had to do the majority of the talking, probably because she was nervous being with me. Poor thing. I told her all about myself, my old girlfriends,-"

"You told her about old girlfriends??"

"Sure. I pointed out everything that was wrong with them and found that Hitomi does none of those things. Truly perfect. Anyway, I noticed other men were looking at her so I decided to show her off a bit and dance with her. Hitomi politely refused, probably wanted to spare the other women in the room. A real angel."

"Umm, Hitomi doesn't like to dance. She's also a really independent person, so…"

Allen continued as if Van hadn't said anything. "I made idle chit chat as we ate. For some reason, Hitomi didn't eat much, probably worried about her weight. I asked if something was wrong and she said if something was, she would fix it herself. I paid for the meal and escorted her to her car when I asked if she wanted to go back to my place for coffee. Hitomi said she had to get up early for work the next day. She didn't mention what she did though. When I tried to kiss her goodnight, she pushed me away and said she doesn't kiss on the first date. Then she drove away."

'That's not exactly how Hitomi described it.' Van sighed and glanced at Allen, who was looking back at him.

"Well, what did Hitomi say?"

"About…?"

"Come on, Van. You're her best friend. Surely she called and told you all about it."

"Umm, actually I called her and basically she described it a bit different but mostly the same as you."

Smiling, Allen sat back. "Good, then it will be easy for me to ask her out for tonight."

Van eyes went very wide. "What? Tonight?"

"Why, yes. She still has to prove herself to me in order to be a worthy girlfriend of Allen Schezar. Hitomi is a treasure, one of a kind. I have no doubts that she will be mine."

Sitting back in the chair, Van's eyes continued to be wide. 'She's going to kill me.' "Umm, I think she's busy tonight."

"I'm sure she'll postpone whatever it is in order to go out with me."

'Gee, self-confident much?' "I don't know if Hitomi would want to do that."

At that, Allen put down his papers. "What are you saying, Fanel?"

Knowing he was on thin ice at the moment, Van tried to fix this. "What I mean is, well, she said you don't really listen and tried to do everything for her. She's not that kind of girl. Hitomi's the type to do things herself, hating it when someone does things for her, such as order for her. You have to realize she's a very smart person and uses her own mind instead of just agreeing with whatever someone says. She also doesn't take too kindly to someone forcing her to do something, like dancing. Instead of talking all the time, try asking her things and actually listening and absorbing what she says. By the way, she's a high school choir director. Hitomi told me she told you that repeatedly during the night. She also mentioned something about not centering everything around yourself and your self image. The reason she didn't eat the salad is because she hates it and she could careless about her figure. She'd rather be comfortable in a tee shirt and jeans than in a dress. Outer image means nothing to her. It's inner beauty that counts. Oh and she can't stand it when guys try to kiss so soon in the relationship, which she doesn't view herself in. In other words, don't force yourself on her." Taking a deep breath, Van waited for Allen's reaction, which he knew was bound to come.

The man simply sat back in his seat and looked at his maroon eyed employee. "She said all that, huh? Interesting."

"…Sir?"

"Then allow me to make up for that night with another date."

"What?"

"Surely she's a forgiving person. Tell I was…" Allen cringed at this word as it came out of his mouth, "nervous or something and wish to make it up to her tonight."

Unsure of what to say, Van looked at his boss and sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

"Good. Now, make sure those files are done by lunch. I have to speak with the other board members next weekend after the banquet about who I'm assigning the account. If everything goes right, you'll be a very happy man."

"Thank you."

"Alright. Get back to work then."

With that, Van left the office and headed back to his desk, getting right back to work. What was he going to tell Hitomi? She was already upset for having to spend five minutes with Allen. Shaking his head, Van tried to concentrate on his work.

"You okay there?"

Looking up, Van looked into Maaya's smiling face, somehow calming him a bit. "I'm fine, just a lot of work."

"That never was a problem before."

"Well, now that I'm up for the Rand account, Mr. Schezar wants to see what I can do."

Shaking her head, Maaya headed back for her desk. "By the way, Van, do you know where Hitomi was last night? I tried to call her but couldn't reach her. I would have left a message on her machine, but I think it's broken again."

Shaking his head, Van replied, "No, couldn't tell you. Maybe she went out with Yukari or something."

"Maybe. Alright, I won't keep you any longer." With that, she walked away, leaving Van exhaling a deep breath. That was the first time he had ever lied to Mrs. Kanzaki and it didn't sit well with him at all. Shaking his head, he went back to work.

~

The time flew by quicker then Van would have liked, but he got his work done just in time to hear a sweet voice call to him. "Hey Sparky."

Smiling, Van looked up. "Hey 'Tomi. What's up?"

"Hopefully the ceiling."

"We can only hope."

"Ready to go?"

"Sure. Let me just grab-"

"Hitomi!" Both Van and the said girl looked over to see Allen walking over to them, an innocent smile on his face. Van saw Hitomi put on a really fake smile. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to tell you I had a great time last night, but I hear it wasn't as good for you."

"Oh really?"

"I was wondering if I could make it up to you tonight."

"Tonight? As in another date?"

"Well, yes. Maybe to this little place I know called Palas. I could pick you up at about seven?"

Hitomi looked over at Van who wore this really pleading look on his face, as if begging her to accept. Inwardly groaning, she sighed as she thought it over. 'Maybe last night was a fluke or something. Maybe… Damn it all! Why am I so friggin nice?!?' Sighing again, she looked at Allen who had this real pathetic look on his face. "Oh, alright. If you don't shape up though, that's it."

Allen smile was one that Van had to say was of triumph, which disgusted him. "It's a date then. Where do you live?"

"That's okay. I can drive myself."

"But I wouldn't be able to call myself a gentleman if I let you drive."

Hitomi gave him a slight glare. "Then don't be one. I can drive myself. I've been doing it for awhile now. I'm a big girl now."

"So I've noticed. Alright then. I'll meet you there at seven. I shall count the moments until we see each other again." With that, Allen tried to kiss her cheek when Hitomi put up a hand to stop him.

"I told you last night and I'll tell you again. I am not that kind of girl. There will be no lip to skin or lip to lip action at all until I deem it appropriate. Got that?"

Slightly irked about that, Allen sighed. "As you wish, my lady." With that, he walked away to his office.

Hitomi turned and glared at Van, who wished he was anywhere but here at that exact moment. "Care to explain, Fanel?"

Sighing, Van motioned for Hitomi to go to the elevator, which she did. This was going to be one very very long lunch break.

~*~And there you have it. Chapter five all done. I'm on vacation now so I'm not sure when the next one is coming out. Happy Holidays everyone! Happy New Year!!! Ja ne!~*~