Fight for Sanity

Disclaimer : Magic Knight Rayearth doesn't belong to me. It's owned by CLAMP and Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo Japan.

Note from the Author: This is an H/L/E fic. Who will be with who? You're bound to know after a few chapters..I researched a bit about kendo and used it in this fic. As a humble writer, I welcome reviews, comments, questions and criticisms for this story. Please be gentle, as I'm merely testing my writing skill in this genre and I don't reply to people who are being hostile just for the knack of it.

Chapter 1 :)

Hikaru POV

8:00 am. I glared at my useless shit of a cell phone. Heck, I set the alarm at 6:30am!! Why the hell haven't I heard so much of a "beep-beep" sound? It's either I unconsciously knocked it off my lamp desk again, or I've been too immersed into what my brothers would call the sleep of death. I swear… I'm going to buy a real alarm clock soon and not let myself be fooled with the features promised by my "outstanding" cell phone. And to think, this is my first day as a transfer student in Sefiro High –the most prestigious international school in the country. I've been going all gaga over entering it, but I guess my zeal isn't enough to wake me up on time for the first-day orientation. Last night, my overexcitement kept me from sleeping at my usual time and put me into an endless fit of tossing and turning around in my futon.

After I got dressed in my dreadful navy blue "sailor" uniform, I literally flew from my room to the sala. Masaru laughed as I nearly tripped on my last step, while Kakeru, who had been busy spreading peanut butter into a sandwich, looked up from his sitting position and approached me, all the while holding some blue plastic.

"Oi! How could you be late in your first day? I thought you went to bed around 9pm?"

"Heh, she must've been too excited to actually sleep." Masaru teased from his position in the coffee table.

"I was not. Blame my stupid cell phone!" I retorted. "I didn't even hear the alarm. Isn't it supposed to go off like crazy so that I'd go deaf and wake up? And why haven't you woken me up like I told you?"

"My dear imouto. It's not my fault that you can't feel me shaking you in the shoulders for what seems like hours just to wake you. Sometimes, you just sleep like the dead. Here, take this" Masaru grabbed the blue zipped plastic bag from Kakeru and stuffed it into my knapsack. On closer inspection, one could see that the plastic contained two peanut butter sandwiches.

"Mou! You should've thrown me a pail of water to wake me up. Oh well. Arigatou nii-san! See yah later!" I kissed them on the cheek, waved and hurried to the door to wear my roller blades.

I ran at top speed in the direction of the room indicated in my enrollment form. In my rush, I bumped into some tall guy wearing black along the corridor, and me, being a very little and very skinny person, bounced backwards from the impact of the collision. The guy saved me from falling by catching my arm.

"Are you hurt?" A deep voice asked.

"O-o-oh! No, not at all. S-sorry! I'm really in a hurry…" I muttered apologetically and bowed down. Since I was still running late, I didn't really get to look at his face, and only caught a glimpse of his Japanese features –black slanting eyes, short black hair, lean muscles and very pale skin. He was quite good-looking. He struck me as some Japanese soccer or track and field jock, due to his large frame. In my nervousness at his grip, I couldn't look him in the eye. I muttered a last 'sorry!' and sped off again to the room at the end hall.

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"Oi Lantis! You shouldn't really go off blocking little girls along the hallway. Your size takes up all the space." A guy with spiky brown hair nudged the guy clad in black with an elbow.

"Geo. Lantis' height hardly makes him horizontally huge. You're nearly as tall, anyway. You tend to block off hallways too. Although unlike you, he tends to also scare off girls in the hallway by grabbing their wrists." The guy with platinum hair laughed while scratching his head. Lantis only looked at them with a straight face. He was not going to give in to the provocation.

"Yeah, you made her pretty nervous. At least she didn't swoon at being caught by the great ice hunk." Geo choked out laughing. "Are you hurt? Saying that in your deep baritone voice will probably send all the girls flying. Oh, and I wonder where Miss Primera is now?"

Lantis only glared at him. "Whatever."

"Is she new?" Eagle asked, referring to the braided red haired girl. "I don't reckon seeing her before."

"Most likely. Our school population is so small, it's hard to miss out a person as short as her. Although I must say, she was rather pretty cute for a redhead." Geo stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. Say, are you're tastes shifting, Geo? Sophisticated classy girls were more your type."

"Hey hey. I only said she was cute. I'm not really doting on her like some guy here. " The brown-haired guy retorted.

"Whatever." Lantis repeated as in a broken plaque, not sure whether to give a death glare or just make a comeback at him later on when they spar. Nothing he'll say will make his friends back down from their teasing.

Geo slapped his head. "Sheesh Lantis, you're such a bore. You gotta get yourself a girl, or you'll die from the boredom." Eagle tried to suppress a chuckle. "She was running in the direction of our classroom. And here I thought, she belonged to a lower year. Shouldn't we hurry to the classroom as well?" he asked.

"Nah, it's all right. We have an excuse, being called by Coach Lafarga and all." Lantis replied. The three walked in silence to the same room Hikaru entered although they went in a considerably slower pace.

When the three boys entered, Hikaru had already finished with the formal introductions. This time, it was the teacher, Ms. Presea who greeted Lantis, Eagle and Geo. Applause and hooting (like "Way to go, Kendo Club!") from the class was soon heard.

"So you've returned Mr. Kailu, Mr. Vision and Mr. Metro. How was the awarding ceremony for the kendo prelim yesterday? You've done well to bring back the school's old prestige in kendo"

"Oh yeah, well. " Eagle smiled modestly.

"Of course sensei! We worked our butts off for that," Geo proudly stated.

"Hmm. Of course, but that doesn't excuse you guys from attending my class. I guess it's okay if I'm a little lenient with you now, since you've tired yourselves out during practice and during the actual tournament." Ms. Presea declared in front of the class. "Well, since you've missed out on our discussion earlier, I'll introduce you to your new classmate, Ms. Hikaru Shidou. Class, please acquaint yourselves with her so that she doesn't feel left out. Ms. Ryuuzaki, Ms. Hououji, please be kind as to help her adjust to this school. She will be sitting beside the two of you."

"Okay!" A blue haired girl nodded.

"Hai, Presea-sensei." A blonde haired girl bowed.

Hikaru's eyes widened when she saw the girls Presea-sensei was referring to. Their faces looked like they've been ripped off the Vogue magazine!

The three boys looked curiously at the girl. She seemed very young to be in their class. Then again, perhaps it's just in the gene. Eagle tilted his head to the side and smiled, when he saw her gape at Umi and Fuu. When Hikaru finally looked at the three guys, her expression grew serious and mildly zealous: They're into kendo! Sugoii.. She thought. Lantis only looked on with a disinterested expression, remembering about the annoying taunts he received from Geo and Eagle earlier.

"Please take your seats now, so that we can proceed to the lecture proper. Since the first semester in the English curriculum is dedicated to the understanding of Shakespeare's works, we will be reading any of the four tragedies Shakespeare is greatly known for: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello any Romeo and Juliet. Since his language is different from the English we are accustomed to, we will first be discussing the author's wordplay…"

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Hikaru sighed in relief when she heard the bell rang. The blue-haired girl who Presea-sensei referred to as Ms. Ryuuzaki, rose up from her chair. She flipped her hair in an elegant way, sat on the side of her desk, and faced Hikaru with a smile. "Hi Hikaru! I didn't get the chance to talk you during class. But I'm Umi."

"And I'm Hououji Fuu, Hikaru-san" the blond haired girl smiled as she stood beside Umi. "I was just wondering…How old exactly are you?"

"Ah, haha." Hikaru laughed nervously, knowing where the conversation was heading. " I just turned 17 years old this year!"

The two girls looked at her with wide eyes. "You've got to be kidding me! But you're so short!!!" Umi practically screamed.

"No offense, Hikaru-san. But you don't look a day older than fourteen. I mean every Asian looks younger than their age, but you really..."

Hikaru didn't really know how to react and resorted to pouting instead.

"Oops, sorry! It's just so adorable that you look so young. I am so adopting you as my little sister. You're so cute!!" Umi gushed.

"Ehh!" Hikaru sweat dropped. Hikaru found it strange that she was being complimented as cute when the two of them were downright gorgeous, they could be taken as models for the runway. The pits of being small and skinny… "You sound like my brothers!"

"Really you've got brothers, Hikaru-san? Well, you never really struck me as someone who can be the oldest sibling." Fuu smiled

"So, have you got any club in mind? Our school gives us two days to join any organization of our liking. Since you came in late, I guess you have to rush your forms and do auditions today or tomorrow. That is, if you're planning to join the Theater Club. Or join any sports club. That's why we're here to tour you around. You know, orient you with library stuff, canteen stuff and all." Umi offered.

"Wow, that would be really great! I mean, I really didn't think I'd be able to coax anybody to help me around. This is really a cool school." Hikaru said excitedly.

Umi laughed. "Any club in mind? Deadline for application forms will be tomorrow you know. You ought to have your picture taken and stuff."

"I want to join the Kendo Club!" Hikaru exclaimed without hesitation. "Actually my brothers and I take care of a dojo and I practice kendo there with nii-san's students. I've been hoping to meet new opponents to improve my skills"

Fuu frowned slightly. "Really? Are you sure you want to join there? I hear that the club's nearly all-male. The club's really all-male to be exact. They have quite a reputation."

"Yeah. You could say that. It's all testosterone. You saw Lantis, Eagle and Geo earlier right?" Hikaru nodded. She remembered seeing the tall guy who she bumped into earlier, a handsome boy who looked like he was Caucasian, and a tall muscled guy who had laughing brown eyes and spiky brown hair. Umi went on. "Well, I just hope they hold back a little bit when they know a girl's joining them. A lot of them visits the clinic frequently, you know."

"Oh no." Hikaru looked worried. "I hope they don't hold back at all. Otherwise, I'll never have the chance to really improve my skills. I want to surprise my brothers. I'm used to fighting males anyway, so I guess I can adapt. Bruises aren't new to me." She held up her arm with a closed fist and smiled.

"Well, if that's what you really think. But don't you go saying we didn't warn you. They're really brutal. In the real sense of the word."

"Are you sure you aren't saying that because you always had to tend to Clef's wounds after practice?" Fuu asked teasing.

"Are you sure Ferio isn't hiding his wounds with concealer makeup?!" Umi said offensively.

"Umi-san, you can be funny sometimes. I think you're notion of the kendo club is overrated. I mean, Clef and Ferio aren't novices after all. If you can only see them, they're like as great as their superiors." Fuu laughed.

"I would appreciate it if he doesn't come late to our dates looking like he got thrown into the WWF. Hikaru, I must warn you. You better be careful. "

"I'm not really afraid." Hikaru replied truthfully. There's no reason to be scared. I've done this a lot of times. She thought excitedly, although unaware of what looms ahead.

---In the kendo dojo of the school-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi. I just wanted to ask for an application form." Hikaru managed to blurt out without stuttering when she approached the guy with spiky mousy brown hair. He was sitting by the floor near the door, watching over the sparring of the other kendo players. Eagle and Lantis could be seen talking in the corner, near the rack of shinai.

"Oh hey, it's you, missy! Didn't think you'd join the kendo club. I mean with your kind of built, are you sure you can stand this room full of lean muscled men?" He joked. He smiled at Umi and Fuu when he saw them come behind Hikaru.

"If you please, I can show you in a demonstration that I'm more than fit to join." She answered confidently.

"Well, that's the spirit!" Geo laughed. He called over Eagle and Lantis. "Oi, you two. There's a new applicant. Geez, what the heck are you two talking about there? Skill testing is a job of the captain and vice captain you know."

Lantis looked up to see Hikaru, Umi, Fuu and Geo, and nodded to Eagle. "We can deal with the problem later," Lantis said to his friend Eagle in a low voice. He stood up from his sitting position, with Eagle following behind him.

"All right, let me introduce you to the captain of the club: Kailu Lantis, and his vice, Eagle Vision. As I'm sure you're aware, we have to test your skills to make sure that you have what it gets to join Kendo. Filling in the application form would come later, if you pass the test, that is. As a part of our regulation, you'd have to spar with anyone of our club heads." Geo faced the two males. "Now, who will be her sparring partner?" Umi and Fuu looked on with worried faces. This was bound to get bloody.

"Allow me." The platinum-haired guy approached Hikaru with a smile. "After all, the captain should always be the last guy a person has to fight in a face-off. Ojo-san, I hope you do not object to me sparring with you."

"Uh no, I'm cool." Hikaru said in her serious voice although she was actually a bit unnerved by his smile and politeness. To see the guy smiling like that, with perfect confidence in his abilities, made her doubt her own skills.

"Shidou, Hikaru, isn't it? Alright, let's see your kendo. The changing room is over there. We'll start after you get ready." Lantis spoke up and stepped back to where Geo was to watch the two fight.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------After Hikaru donned her mask and bogu (armor), she took out a shinai from a rack near the door and approached Eagle.

Lantis let his hand drop to signal the start of the match. "Don't hold back. Hajime! (start)"

Umi and Fuu stood by the door and cheered Hikaru on as she took the son-kyo position after taking kamae. Eagle held his shinai over his shoulder, waiting for the girl to move from her position. Her knees were bent in an attacking position, and her right hand was placed over the hilt of her wooden sword. In a flash, Hikaru attacked Eagle head-on with a swishing attack from below. Soon, both shinai resonated from the impact of fight. When Hikaru finally managed to release her weapon from the shinai lock, she unleashed a series of attacks, all of which were parried by her opponent with perfect ease.

"I must say you have some skills, ojo-san." Eagle suddenly said with a slight grin when their wooden swords were locked in a match of strength. He looked at her dead-serious eyes, and his mouth curved upwards. Standing a few inches away from her and looking at her face over their entwined swords, he held the sword lock for a few seconds. Hikaru could only exclaim, "s-so strong!" in her struggle to push him away with her sword. After what seems to have been years, the two disengaged their swords and backed away from each other to catch their breaths.

Hikaru clenched her fist. Her opponent was as good as her brother. Heck, she'd be well damned lucky if her wrists won't hurt when she goes home after this match. In her determination to end the match quickly, she deprived herself of a few more seconds of her usual recovery time and launched into what one may call a two-edged attack. Eagle readied himself, and was able to ward off the first attack. Just when he was about to attack the girl from the side though, her bokken nearly connected with his hand. It was too fast; he hardly expected such a move from the little missy. But as in reflex and as a result of years of hard training, he raised his shinai automatically to parry the attack and he hit his opponent by the right side of the torso. Hikaru fell back with the strength of the hit, while Eagle only fell back a few steps and wiped the sweat dripping from his chin with the back of his hand. "Point! Do (torso)."

"H-Hikaru!" and "Hikaru-san!" were heard from the side, as Umi and Fuu rushed to check on the fallen Hikaru. The girl sat up, holding her stomach.

"That's quite enough" Lantis' voice suddenly thundered. He walked to the two of them and offered his hand to the girl. "Shidou-san, that was great. I can see that this isn't your first time in kendo, taking on an opponent such as Eagle. We'll be happy to have you as a member of the club"

Thanks to the pain in her torso, Hikaru could only look up to him with eyes misty from pain. She took his outstretched hand. "A-arigatou, Lantis-senpai but I lost, didn't I?"

"The match was lost, but anyone can see the strength you put behind your attack." Lantis replied.

"Oh my god. You really hit her, a girl! " Umi nearly screamed at Eagle.

Eagle recovered from his position and walked up to Hikaru with a real apologetic face. "I'm sorry I became a little bit rough with you, miss. I swear it was reflex when I hit you in the torso. You surprised me and I kind of lost it at the heat of the moment. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm okay. I was just surprised at the hit too" Hikaru flashed a smile, hiding her pain. "Sorry too.."

Eagle waved it off with "no problem." But he added, "You were aiming for a kote (hand hit)." Geo laughed and wrapped one heavy arm around the vice captain's shoulder. "Man, I should have brought my video phone with me. I didn't think I'd live to see the day that you lose your damn girly face."

"Haha, Geo. Very funny. I'm sure you won't say that the next time we go into a spar." His friend replied in a dry voice. He glanced at Hikaru once more, and smiled. "Ojo-san, you shouldn't really mind him. Is it okay if I call you Hikaru-chan, though? Shidou-san seems too formal."

"A-ano…I wouldn't really mind.." Hikaru stammered in reply, blushing as she noted the change from 'ojo-san' to 'Hikaru-chan.'

"Well then that settles it. You can call me Eagle from now on. I guess that would apply for Lantis and Geo as well."

"O-okay." Hikaru shyly glanced at Lantis, whose face was still unreadable as ever. She wondered how he was as a captain, if Eagle, his vice, was this good. I bet I'd get more than just torso pain. Suddenly, she flinched and nearly squeaked when she felt him tap her shoulder with his right hand. "You got hit in the trunk. You better get that checked in the clinic."

"O-okay." Hikaru found herself stuttering.

"I'll bring her." Eagle volunteered. "After all, it's my fault you got hit and I really feel bad about it. I hope there won't be any bruises in the morning. Is that okay, Fuu-san and Umi-san?" Fuu nodded with an anxious face, but Umi let out an angry "Alright. That's the least you can do for hitting her."

"I promise to take care of her." Eagle said in an attempt to relieve Umi's anger. However, he knew from three years of being her classmate that his apology fell to deaf ears because she'd always had a thing against the kendo club. The bias wasn't really shared by her fellow club mates in the fencing club. It was really just due to her predilection for elegance and style, that she found kendoists rough and brutal. Or maybe because it had to do with her boyfriend Clef, too. The blue-haired girl flipped her hair in annoyance. Stupid, violent kendoists. Eagle merely sighed.

"Hey, you better not harass her on the way to the clinic, Eagle." Geo teased.

"What makes you think I'd do that, Geo? Don't mind him, Hikaru-chan. I don't bite." He replied, pretending to be shocked at such incrimination.

"I'm sure." Geo laughed on.

"Is that okay, taisho?" Eagle turned to face Lantis, who seemed to look on in silence.

"It's best you do" was his only reply, wanting to hit Eagle in the head because he knew his friend was trying to tease him again by asking for permission when there wasn't any need. "But you better return immediately. We still have things to take care of."

"Hai, hai captain" Eagle exclaimed happily, linking his arms with Hikaru's elbow. "Hikaru-chan, we ought to go now." Hikaru found herself saying "O-okay" for the third time and wanted to hit herself badly for her lack of vocabulary.

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It was a short walk to the clinic, and Hikaru found herself wondering if there really was any need for Eagle to accompany her. A beautiful golden-haired lady in white medical gown came into view when Eagle opened the door.

"Goodness, this isn't a sparring accident in the kendo club again, I hope?"

"I'm sorry to say but it is, doctor Emi (short for Emeraude). I was her opponent when we went to test her skills as an applicant to our club. " Eagle replied politely.

"Oh dear. Please lie down, miss."

Hikaru did so, and found herself staring at the pretty doctor. Why are all the people in this school divinely beautiful? Except for me
, of course. Why am I so plain?. Hikaru thought.

"What a nasty looking bruise." Emeraude almost said to herself in a whisper. She turned to Eagle with a frown. "Eagle! I can't believe this even happened! Least of all to a girl. Did you have to get rough just to test your applicants? I really ought to talk to the student affairs adviser. He's just too lax with his rules sometimes and I can't have my clinic getting so many cases from the kendo club."

"Zagato-sensei has no control over things like that. The kendo club is really about fighting after all. It's not that we can lighten our strokes or hold back during competitions or fights, mam."

"I'm sure. But still, I sincerely wish that students, especially kendo club members, can get by high school and graduate from it unscathed."

"That would be troublesome to do for our club, doc."

"That's the problem. I guess I'd just talk to him to at least exclude girls in kendo club membership."

"No, please!" Hikaru suddenly exclaimed. Emeraude looked at her with questioning eyes. "I uh come from a family that practices kendo, so things like these aren't really foreign to me."

"I see. That explains your interest in the club. Next time, though, I don't want to see you hurt like this."

"Uh..believe me, it was never my intention to hurt her" Eagle butted in.

Hikaru lay down in bed for what seemed to be an hour after Eagle left her. He had to go back and discuss something important with Lantis. She sighed. So strong. She thought with remorse. Just as good as my brothers. When Emeraude-san finally cleared her, she thanked the doctor and grabbed her duffel bag. It was time to go home.

--End first chapter--

Note: Weeh! The 1st chapter is finally finished, but I didn't like the way I wrote it that much since I usually go for subtlety. But hey! This is my first fan fic. If anyone knows of a good site where I can read H/L/E, H/E, or H/L fics, please tell me:D I love reading them, although they're extremely rare.