Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Here I Am ❯ Crash Landing ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two - Crash Landing

By Crow Skywalker

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Disclaimer - Don't own MKR or its characters. No profit is being made, only borrowing them for my own amusement.

Author's Notes - Well, here's the next chapter. Not as long as the last one, but that's because it has more conversation. And don't worry, Yukari isn't one of those annoying original characters that people tend to stick in their fics. She's just Umi's roommate, and we may never hear from her again after this :P

Warnings/Pairings - Rated PG, though I may up the rating later on. Pairings of Umi/Clef, Fuu/Ferio, and Hikaru/Lantis.

Summary - Umi wishes to return to Cephiro, and on a cold lonely night she gets sent back. However, things aren't what they seem, for a new evil is lurking not far away, and it has plans for Umi.

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Yukari returned home to find the door unlocked and the apartment empty. The door being unlocked wasn't a big surprise, since she had expected Umi to go straight home after their duel, but as she searched the rooms, she found no sign of the girl.

With a shrug, she sat down on the couch and picked up the remote to the television. Maybe she went out to get something? But something was still bothering her. Umi would never leave the door unlocked if she was going out….

She then noticed Umi's bag, which was still on the couch. Well, at least I know she was here…but where is she now?

A white envelope caught her attention next.

She was here long enough to open her mail too, she reached out, looking the envelope over. Hikaru Shidou? Never heard of her. Wonder if she's a friend of Umi's…Umi never talks about her past.

Her curiosity getting the best of her, she took the folded paper out from within the envelope and opened it, glancing over it. Ah, maybe this is what happened to Umi, she realized, she went to visit her friends early or something.

Satisfied with that answer, Yukari shoved the paper back into the envelope and put it back where she had found it. With a yawn she got off the couch, fully intent on heading off to bed. She still had a bad feeling about whatever had happened to Umi, but she brushed it off.

She'll probably phone me in the morning and tell me where she is, she thought as she made her way to her room. No worries.

Little did she know that at that moment, Umi was far, far away from a phone, and even if she wanted to, Umi had no way of contacting her.

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She could feel herself falling, but dared not to open her eyes. Sleep kept begging to return, and she passed off the falling feeling as one of those dreams most people experience in their lives. Those crazy dreams where you're almost asleep, and you feel like you fall…and you jerk awake only to find that you're still in your bed.

That's what it felt like for Umi. Only something was different…maybe it was the cold air, or the way the wind whipped her hair about her face?

The shivered, groaning and tried to roll over, searching out the warm couch she had fallen asleep on. Sadly, her hand made contact with nothing but air, and this is when her eyes finally snapped open and she realized she wasn't in Kansas anymore.

It hadn't been a dream. She really was falling! She screamed, her arms flailing about in the air as she fell.

What the hell's going on? Her mind screamed widely in her head, I was on the couch! Now I'm…

Something clicked, a memory of the past. She had fallen once like this before, a long time ago…when she had arrived in Cephiro. Her gaze flicked down to the trees and ground that seemed to be approaching her fast, and she cast a glance across the land as far as she could see. It was all very familiar…it was the same magical world in her dreams and memories.

Her heart swelled at that thought, and a smile made its way across her face. It was Cephiro! She was finally home!

But what if this was all a dream? Her smile faltered. What if this was just her unconscious mind playing tricks on her? She did the only thing she could think of to prove that it was or not, and reached out and pinched herself.

Ow! She winced, that certainly felt like it was real!

Happiness flooded her again, that was, until she looked down, and realized she was about to hit bottom at any minute now. She panicked, her legs kicking the air as she fell.

Oh god…I'm going to die…and I'm only nineteen… She closed her eyes, breathing heavily as the rush of air continued to whip her hair around her.

I know! Her eyes suddenly snapped open. Any minute now Clef will summon some creature to save me! She thought, remembering the first time she had first come to Cephiro. He must know I'm coming, right? Since there's no way for me to return here without being summoned…

She suddenly remembered there was no pillar to summon her anymore, and it was quite impossible for her to even be here. There's no way for anyone to summon me…so what am I doing here?

"What's going on?" She cried, but there was no answer as she crashed to the ground below, the trees whipping past her, the ground came up the meet her, and she soon lost consciousness.

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Hikaru was abruptly awoken the next morning by the phone next to her bed. She sat up, rubbing her tired eyes and muttered obscenities to whoever would be calling that early in the morning. Reaching over, she finally picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She asked, her voice coming out scratchy because her throat was dry. She coughed once before repeating in a better voice, "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Hikaru Shidou?" A feminine voice asked on the other line.

Hikaru mumbled a yes, staring tiredly at her clock. It was only 7 o'clock in the morning.

"You don't know me, but I'm Umi Ryuuzaki's roommate Yukari…" Hikaru suddenly lost all interest in sleep as she sat up at the mention of her old friend's name. "And I was wondering if you know where she is?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen her in a long time…" Hikaru answered, somewhat concerned now. Was Umi missing?

"Oh," The other girl answered softly, "Well then, I'm sorry to bother you."

"Wait!" Hikaru cried, "Is there something wrong with Umi? What's going on?"

"Well I came home last night, and she wasn't home…her things were here and she wasn't. She never came home last night at all…didn't leave a message or anything." Yukari told her.

"Strange." Answered Hikaru, "That's so very unlike her."

"That's what I thought." Yukari continued, "I figured she'd gone out somewhere and would call me…but there's still no sign from her, and we have to get to class…if she misses today's test…"

Hikaru was now getting out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and struggling to pull a shirt over her head as she talked on the phone.

"How'd you know to phone here anyway?" Hikaru finally asked as she pulled on some socks, "Umi and I are good friends, but we haven't talked in a long time…"

"Oh, well when I came home I found the letter you had written to Umi," The girl paused, and on the other end of the line she blushed in embarrassment, "I kind of read it, and I thought maybe you'd know where she was. Sorry."

Hikaru felt panicked for a moment before she realized she hadn't written anything that would give their secret away, and she was suddenly glad she hadn't.

"It's okay," Hikaru replied, "I'm glad you phoned. I'll keep an eye out for her, okay?"

Yukari nodded, although Hikaru couldn't see it. "I'll phone you if anything comes up, okay?"

"Thanks." Said Hikaru, immediately taking the phone away from her ear and rapidly dialing a number she hadn't called in a while.

"Hououji residence, how may I help you?" Came a soft voice, and Hikaru smiled.

"Fuu, we need to talk. Now."

"Hikaru? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," She cut off whatever Fuu was about to say next, "We really have to talk. Can you meet me in fifteen minutes?"

"I have classes soon.." Fuu started.

"You'll have to skip them," Hikaru told her, "This is very important."

"What's wrong?" Asked Fuu, sounding very concerned now.

"I can't go into big details, but Umi's missing."

Fuu was silent for a moment before replying, "Where do you want to meet?"

"Tokyo Tower." Hikaru stated simply.

"I'll see you there."

To Be Continued…