Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne. Oh, and neither does T4. ^_^;;

Chapter 2

"Crap!" Dragon punched a nearby wall.

"Dude, calm down," said one of the members of his gang, "I don't know what's eating you, but I'm sure whoever it is, we can teach them a lesson." He punched his hand, emphasizing his point.

"We will stay out of this," he replied harshly, "I have to deal with this... problem on my own, got it? We have bigger things to worry about."

"Right, boss... the Slayers... What should we do?" Dragon's followers circled around him to hear the big plan.

"Okay, recently I've been hearing that they were planning something big. You all know that they've been causing us problems, but I think it's bigger than that. I think they're trying to expand their territory. I think you realize where I'm headed with this," explained their leader.

The groupies looked at each other. No, they really didn't have a clue. Finally, one of them ventured, "Well, why don't you just make sure we're all on the same page?"

Dragon closed his eyes, his eyebrow twitching. Were they really that dense? "They want to kick us out. For good."

"We knew that, but what are we going to do about it?" someone from the back asked.

Dragon sighed and began to explain the plan.

A breakfast of peanuts. Sad. Two weeks until she got a paycheck from the grocery store. Two days until her paycheck from her second job. It was five in the morning as Hitomi headed to her other job at the pizza shop on the corner, making crusts in the wee hours of the morning. She worked there until 11, taking mistakes home as lunch for her brother and herself. Then, she worked midafternoon until close at the grocery store. Wearing her hair back in a piece of cloth, she walked to the pizza place. Only she and the owner, Mr. Moleman opened. This job had been such a blessing for her, in their new-found situation. Today, her brother, along with spending most of the day at the library, was going to put up signs to offer his services as a dogwalker and any other various jobs.

"Hello, Hitomi!" cried Mr. Moleman when she arrived. "And how are you today?"

"Fine, thanks." Her stomach growled. Leaving the rest of the loaf of bread to her brother was all she could give him. She wished she could have left him more. "How are you?"

"I feel a good day ahead," He smiled his wide grin and got her started on making the dough.

"So, how is working at the store? Good?" he asked as he got started chopping mushrooms.

"It's a good job," she answered, not wanting to think about the weird events of the day before.

"Ahh, I see, good, good," he said with a smile.

The rest of the morning went as usual. Mr. Moleman was always of good spirits, so it made the morning go fairly quickly. Since they opened at 10, for the early lunch crowd, Hitomi worked the front counter, taking the few orders they had while the owner worked in the back with the other workers who had come in. Soon, the first costumer entered the shop.

"Hey, sweetie," said the tall, young man, "I'd like a pepperoni pizza with a little of you on top." He winked at her, flashing her a toothy grin.

"Riiight..." She typed in the order. "That's $10.37, please." She turned to hand the order to a cook. With a frown, the man paid her and went to sit down in a nearby booth.

At 11, as usual, Mr. Moleman gave her some food to bring home to her brother. She'd have to eat fast because she had to be at the grocery store at 1, and it was a long walk.

"Man, I'm late again," Dragon mumbled as he adjusted his hat, making sure his hair wasn't sticking out.

"Late again, eh Van?"

"Shut up, Gaddes."

This was not his day. Here he was stuck at work while he had a rumble to worry about. 'Maybe I'll escape for a bit on my cart hour,' he thought, 'Or maybe a little before that.' He grinned. Most of the other baggers were just as lazy, but luckily the one that actually did all of the work was in today so he wouldn't be missed as much. She could do all of the work.

"Is plastic alright?" he heard her ask.

"Paper please."

Van watched her smile become a little more forced as she nodded and began opening the paper bag. Then he noticed who the "good little packer" was bagging for. He groaned. 'Not her again.'

"Why did my Pepsi not come up on sale?" the customer asked.

"I'm sorry, Coke 2 liters are on sale, not Pepsi 2 liters. However, the Pepsi 24 packs are on sale," Hitomi tried to explain as nicely as possible.

"But the ad said they were on sale."

"Yes, Coke, but not Pepsi. A different Pepsi size is on sale."

"But they were on the shelf next to the sign."

Just then the bagger piped in, "I'll go check."

"Thank you," Hitomi said as she began to pack the rest of the goods in paper. On the very first bag, she got a paper cut; now, she knew why the baggers hated paper so much. No one would come and help now that they could see the customer wanted paper. It was all a lost cause. She looked around. It's not like any of them were doing anything. Then her eye caught the annoying Van from yesterday. She closed her eyes and sighed as she was sure to put the cans on the bottom of the bag.

Finally, the bagger returned. "I'm sorry; it is only the Coke on sale. The Pepsi is further down the aisle and has a different sign."

"Would you like the Pepsi, then ma'am?" Hitomi asked.

"No," the customer said abruptly.

"Would you like the Pepsi 24 pack?"

"No."

"Okay, then it comes to $108.36, please."

The costumer gruffly placed the money into her hand. As soon as she had her change, she made her way to her car, a scowl on her face and her keys on the counter. Since the good bagger had gone onto another checker's lane, Hitomi turned her light off and ran after the customer.

"Ma'am," she called, but the lady kept walking. "Ma'am! Your keys!"

The woman stared at her for a moment before grabbing them and huffing off.

Slightly winded, Hitomi stood there for a moment. She wanted to yell "you're welcome" at the lady, but managed to keep herself under control. However, when she turned around to go back to work, she bumped into someone. That someone was wearing a neon orange vest.

"Do you mind?" said Van angrily, "I have to get the carts!" With that, he stormed past her.

"Wha-?" she mumbled, confused. She returned to the store. How many more hours of this?

"Finally!" yelled Van as he ran out of the store. He found the bagger's "secret hiding place" and sat down to think. Being a working gang leader sure had it's difficulties. "Ok, now let's see..."

"Van! You letting Jessi do all the work too?" Gaddes asked as he rounded the corner.

His back stiffened. "Why are you here?"

"Uh... it's where we always go, man. Calm down."

"Leave."

"Who said you controlled this place, huh?" Gaddes challenged.

Van stood up and glared at his fellow bagger. "I did. Now leave. Got it? I am not in the mood."

"You got issues, man... issues..." Gaddes muttered as he returned to the store.

"Idiot," Van mumbled to himself as he got back to thinking of a plan of attack.

"Finally." It was 10, closing time. Hitomi started her walk home; it would take probably an hour. Well, if she walked fast, maybe only 45 minutes. She was almost home when she heard someone approach her.

"Hey," said the man, "You're the chick White Dragon was talking to a few days ago, right?"

She turned. Who in the world was this!? "I don't know what you're talking about," she said in the tone that said she did, but didn't want to get into anything.

The man smirked and grabbed her arm. "I think you do. My boss would really like to talk to you, babe. I suggest you come quietly." The man began dragging her down the street towards a dark alleyway.

'Why me?' was all she could think - well, that, and worry for her safety. These folks were nuts.

A few minutes later, Hitomi found herself in front of a silver-haired man who seemed to be having a bit too much fun with his lighter and was looking rather menacing.

"So, my boys tell me that you and Dragon had a little chat yesterday," he said.

She sat there staring back at him. She had nothing to say to this ruffian.

"You'd better cooperate if you know what's good for you," said the man that had dragged her here. "Now, what did you talk about?"

"When?" What was this guy talking about anyway?

"We saw him grab you and throw you in his car. We think he was trying to shut you up about something. What was it?" The silver-haired man's gaze moved from his lighter to her face, waiting for her answer.

"Oh - I just annoyed him. That's all."

"Is that so? Well, that little creep really annoys us. Especially because he always manages to disappear at the same time every day of the week. We think you know where he runs off to. How about letting us in on it?"

"Oh... well... I dunno. What time does he disappear?" she asked, an attempt at innocence.

"It's usually around 1 o'clock when he disappears and he reappears anywhere from 5 to 8." The man stared at her, the flame of his lighter still flickering a few inches from his face.

"Oh..." Hitomi bit her lip. "I really don't know. But, you are right. It was a little before 1 yesterday when he ran into me."

"Is that so?" asked the big boss man, "Well then you won't mind telling us what exactly you talked about in his car. We know you two exchanged a few words before your escape."

"Well, I asked him who in the world he thought he was, then he asked me like 20 questions which I did not desire to answer, then I jumped out of the car. But first, I made fun of his '86 Camry. That's really all that happened." She babbled, hoping they'd let her go.

"Really?"

"Really. That's all."

The man abrupty closed his lighter and quickly glanced at his lackey and back to Hitomi. "Well, just in case you're lying, we're going to keep you here for a while."

"What?! But, I have to get home to my brother. I can't leave him alone all night," she screamed as the croney grabbed her arm. "You can't do this to me!!!"

"Oh, I think I can. Unless, of course, you give me the information I want."

"What information? I've told you exactly what happened in the car. Wait - I did forget something."

"What?" he asked with expectance.

"I asked him to drop me off at the library, but he said no," she answered matter-of-factly.

The man scowled. "We'll get nothing out of her. Show her out." At that, the other man threw her out the second story window into the dumpster below.

She pulled herself out and once there, she sat on the ground, leaned against the dumpster, and cried. Could life get any worse? Fresh garbage fell from the window above right on top of her. She could hear the laughter of the thugs above. Yes, life could get worse.

She opened the door. "Hi, I'm home," she muttered, realizing her stench. "How was your day, Momaru?" No answer. She looked around. Where was her brother? "Momaru, where are you? This isn't funny." Her heart sunk. Where was he!? On one of the two chairs, there was a note. Maybe he just went out for a walk or something. She went over and picked it up. It read: "We have your brother. If you want him back unharmed, keep your mouth shut. - WD."

to be continued...

A/N: Hehe, cliffhanger! Isn’t that mean? Ah, well, to find out what happens, be sure to read the next chapter! And more Esca-characters have finally been introduced! If anyone can NOT guess who the guy with a lighter is, you REALLY should not be reading Escaflowne fanfiction. ^_^;; And someone asked me if I worked at a grocery store, and, as a matter of fact, both T4 and I have worked at a grocery store, hence where all our ideas come from. She was a cashier and I am a bagger. Pretty much every little thing that happens in the story happened to us. ^_^ Oh, and notice the name of the "good little bagger" and if you don't get it go to my About Me page. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the next installment of mine and T4’s fic!