Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Remember The Past ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

CHAPTER 9

Lantis took a quick glance at the grandfather clock in the corner of his study. He had just finished reading important documents related to their family business that he had inherited from his father and the task had given him quite a headache. Not that he have no idea about these things, his uncle, which is also his guardian and lawyer, made sure that he would be very capable running a company by the age of sixteen.

Despite of that, Lantis had firmly stated that he would not completely take over until he had finished business school, leaving his Uncle Joe in charge. He always had a say in every decision regarding their business though, not abandoning his responsibility as the owner of one of the biggest company in the whole world.

He stood up from his table, arranged the papers he had been reading earlier and placed it on the folder beside him. He had promised Hikaru the day before that he would come over this afternoon and he has no intention to break it.

He stepped out of the study and headed to the main hall. "Jean! Jean!" he called out. "I'm going out."

Being an efficient butler as he is, Jean was already by his side, ready to assist his young master. Handing Kyle his umbrella and coat, Jean said, "But Master Kyle, isn't it too early for you to come to Miss Hikaru's house?"

"I intend to take a walk around first. Don't bother calling the driver," the boy replied, putting on his coat. Seeing the worried look on the old man's eyes, he said, "Do not worry Jean, I'll be fine."

He looked up the gray sky as soon as he stepped out of his mansion and then headed towards the park. He felt more relaxed when rain started to fall…Walking in the rain had always calmed him. The quick flash of lightning and loud roar of thunder had never intimidated him, even as a child---and he had always felt an attachment to them, actually.

He began to think of Hikaru as rain continued to fall. Since that rainy afternoon when he had brought Hikaru in his house, he was beginning to think that there was something more behind these so-called 'accidents'…Of course, that idea does sound odd. But he had saved her twice too, and he was quite aware of that certain "feeling" he had been having every time the girl is in danger…that he also thought to be odd. Something takes over him, brings him to her presence just in time to rescue her. 'It's almost as if…as if I was born just to protect her.'

***

"WHAT? YOU MEAN THAT GAIJIN IS COMING OVER?" Kakeru shouted out loud.

"Mou…Kakeru-niisan, aren't you over-reacting a little bit?" Hikaru said, pouting. "Satoru-niisama asked him to come over after all…"

"Well I don't like him!"

"I agree," Masaru seconded. "I don't like him either…much more, I don't trust him."

"Shut up both of you, you're upsetting your sister," Satoru told them, frowning. "He is Hikaru's friend."

"But onii-sama, I just could not let any boy get close with our kawaii little sister," Masaru said.

"Yes, Masaru is right! Especially that gaijin!"

"But…Lantis-kun is my friend…Can't you try to be nice to him?"

"Hell no!"

"Over my dead body!"

"My decision is final, Kyle McKnight has my permission to come over and visit. I am your eldest brother and you will respect my decision!" Satoru stated with a voice reeking with authority.

The others were just about to object some more but were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "I'll get it!" Hikaru said, racing to the door. "Hello Lantis-kun, come in." Hikaru took Lantis' hand and led him to the living room.

"Oh great! The gaijin is here…" Masaru said, glaring at Lantis.

Kakeru, on the other hand, noticed his sister holding the young man, started freaking out. "Ahhh!!!! Don't hold him!!! Gaijin, get your clammy hands off my sister!!!" he said, pulling Hikaru away from Lantis.

"Kakeru! Masaru! Stop that! Kyle-san is a guest so treat him with respect!" Satoru told his brothers.

"Kakeru-niisan…Masaru-niisan…" Hikaru said in a pleading voice. "Please…?"

"No!"

"Never! I don't trust him! Please understand, Hikaru-chan, we're only protecting you from that…that gaijin no baka…" Masaru said, pointing at Lantis.

Satoru took a deep breath and stood up. He was about to start scolding his brothers but was interrupted by Hikaru's sudden outburst. "WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? I'M NOT A CHILD ANYMORE! LANTIS IS MY FRIEND! HOW DARE YOU JUDGE HIM WRONGLY AFTER WHAT HE HAD DONE? HE SAVED MY LIFE NOT ONLY ONCE, BUT TWICE! AND HOW DO YOU REPAY HIM?"

"Hikaru-chan…" Kakeru started to say.

"YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!" Hikaru said as she ran outside the house crying.

"See what you have done?" Satoru told his brothers.

"Let's follow her," Masaru told Kakeru.

"You two are the last person she would want to see right now, so don't waste your energy," Satoru said.

"But it's raining outside and she went out without an umbrella again…"

"She just got well…"

"I'll bring her back," Lantis announced glaring at Masaru and Kakeru. He quickly turned around and left.

"But…"

"Enough, we all stay here. He'll find her faster than any of us can," Satoru said.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing that your narrow minds can understand," Satoru snapped at them.

***

Again, he let his instincts lead him. He knew, something would happen to Hikaru. He also knew that he might not get to her in time. It was raining hard, so hard that it blurred Lantis' vision.

He was getting worried…the continuous claps of thunder somehow weakened his concentration. He stopped running for a while, trying to sense her… 'Damn!' he swore under his breath, at the same time started running again. 'Kami…Bring me to her…'

He made a quick turn to a lane on his left, recognizing it as the shortcut from school to Hikaru's house. The wind was getting quite violent, 'That's odd, there weren't any report of a storm coming…'

'Lantis…' someone whispered from deep inside him. 'Lantis…'

"Lead me to her…" he said out loud.

'Hurry…'

He saw her lying face down on an empty sidewalk. He might be still a couple of meters away from each other, but he is very sure that the girl there is Hikaru. 'Am I too late?' he asked himself as he dashed towards her. His eyes widened at the sight of a large defective post threatening to crash on the unconscious girl any second. He didn't have time to ponder what caused it to be unstable at the first place…All he could think about was that Hikaru would be awfully hurt, and no matter how much he tried, there still won't enough time for him to get to her out of the way.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion after that. He was able to reach her just before the post fell over them. "CRESTA!" he shouted out of desperation, creating a strong barrier to protect both of them. He didn't know how it got there, but he was holding his sword, and had struck it on the ground after uttering the word. "Have-to-get-Hikaru-home…" he said, gritting his teeth, as he felt his strength slowly drain away from him.

He found himself facing of the Shidou's front door, with Hikaru still unconscious beside him. He forced himself to stand up, lifted his sword from the ground and saw it disappear from his sight. He was tired…but he still has one thing to do. He lifted Hikaru in his arms, which was very difficult due to his major energy loss. He managed to ring the doorbell, and hand Hikaru's limp form into Satoru's arms before he felt himself give in to exhaustion and to his old memories.

***

"I'm going back to Sefiro, Eagle," he told his silver-haired friend.

"What? Why? Aren't you happy here?"

"I have to do something very important."

"Does it have something to do with the death of the former Pillar?"

"I will not let anybody suffer the same fate, Eagle."

"I understand. Goodbye, my friend. I have a feeling we are going to meet again…"

***

"I'm lost! I want my Mama!" cried the little girl in front of him.

"It's alright now, don't cry anymore…I'll take you back to your Mama, would you like that?" Lantis said as he tried to comfort her.

"Okay…" the little girl said meekly. Her face brightened all of a sudden as she looked behind him. "Oneechan!!!" she exclaimed. He turned around to see one of the magic knights walking towards them. "Oneechan! Do you remember me? I was that kid you saved from the monster long ago…My name is Mira."

"Oh yes! I remember! I'm Hikaru."

"Onii-chan offered to take me back to Mama…would you like to come with us?"

"Uh…sure…that is if…"

"Let's go," Lantis said, taking a side-glance at the red-haired magic knight. 'She's beautiful…'

It wasn't long until they reached the residential area of the palace. Mira waved them goodbye and then ran towards her room after making Hikaru promise to visit her sometime. The two of them walked silently together for sometime until Hikaru broke the silence. "I'm sorry…"

Taken aback by Hikaru's apology, Lantis replied, "What are you apologizing for?"

"…Please, I'm sorry I killed your brother. If you want to take your revenge, please, take it on me…Just leave my friends out of it…they have suffered too much already…they cry in their sleep every-single night…I…"

"I think…you cried on your sleep too." He felt pity for the suffering girl beside him. "I never did blame you nor your friends…If there is something to blame…I blame…"

"GET AWAY FROM MY LANTIS!" shouted the blue-haired pixie who seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere.

***

Lantis agreed to accompany Hikaru in finding the next Pillar outside the palace walls. They had just ran into some monsters, which they were able to slay. "They were much stronger than the ones in the past…" Hikaru told him and he nodded. They continued on their search until it started raining. They ran to the nearest shelter and decided to stay there until the rain stops.

He looked at her, and noticed that Hikaru was still getting rained at. He held his robe, and raised his hand over her head, so that the fabric would cover her. "Thank you…" she murmured. He didn't answer her, instead, he just continued on staring at her.

***

"Why are you doing this, Eagle? Why do we have to fight? Haven't I told you that the Pillar System is a failure?" He said, blocking his friend's attack with his sword.

"I will be the next Pillar, Lantis. You cannot stop me!"

"I will destroy the Pillar System. I will not let the same tragedy to happen again!"

"I won't let you!"

"Eagle, you are my friend, I would not want you to suffer as the past Pillar's had… Why aren't you listening to me?"

"I do not care anymore! I am willing to take the consequences of my actions…I had made up my mind, Lantis."

***

And suddenly he felt it…A sudden feeling of danger…"Hikaru!" he stood up and hurried to find her. "Wait for me Hikaru…"

It wasn't long until he finally found her, lying on the floor. He raced to his side, and tried to help her up… "Gomen nasai…demo…suki…" he heard her say before she completely passed out.

***

He saw her enter the gardens, and called out her name. "Hikaru…"

"I'm sorry…did I disturb you?"

"Would you want to join me?" She hesitated at first, but she finally sat beside him. "Are you all right now? I was worried about you…"

"I'm fine now, you shouldn't be worrying about me."

He sighed and then took a pendant he was wearing hidden underneath his armor. He carefully laid it on her hands and clasped his hands over hers tightly. "My mother gave this to me. She told me to give it to someone who is worthy."

"But…I…"

"Keep it for me. It will protect you someday."