Chapter One

Strange Meetings

Winter.

A year after the magic knights returned to their homes in Tokyo...

The students prepared their things as their bus pulled to a stop in front of the Grand Hotel of Hokkaido, where they were to stay there for one whole week. It was a field trip and Hikaru had been more than eager to get to Hokkaido. She loved to ski.

She reached up to get her luggage from the top cabinet and felt a set of gentle hands touch her not yet gloved hands.

"Oh, Junichiro." She said softly. Junichiro was her boyfriend. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with grayish hair and green eyes. Yes, he looked like Eagle. He reminded Hikaru of Eagle very much. The Eagle that was her friend. The Eagle that died. It was such sorrow to think of.

"Are you all right?" she heard.

"Huh? Oh... yes..." was Hikaru's answer. She smiled at him. He smiled back.

Hikaru looked different know. It has been a year. She was taller and her hair was longer, but she didn't like to put it in braids as much as she did before. She just let it flow naturally. And well, she was still skinny. But strong, as we all know.

Junichiro stepped down the bus first and offered his hand to help Hikaru down. He was sweet. Who wouldn't be? Being the girlfriend of a not so average person in their school was a very good way to step up from your social status before, but Junichiro was different from all the other boys who courted Hikaru. He was no gold digger. It seemed as though he loved her... 'But what is love?' Hikaru wondered. After being away from Lantis for so long, she doesn't really know what love is anymore...

They stepped into the big hotel, looking around with amused expressions. The reception counter was to their left. And a short distance before them was a set of stairs, wonderfully decorated with red and gold carpets. Perfect for the Christmas season. There was a café not further by the stairs with a low metal railing as its boundary. There were two men seated at a table near the metal railing. Sipping as what it seemed, some coffee. They both had black hair and broad-shouldered bodies. But sadly, their faces were a blur. They were a bit far to be seen clearly. One of them had shoulder-length hair, though.

Junichiro grabbed Hikaru's hand and pulled her to the café. Smiling widely.

"Junichiro, where are we going?" Hikaru asked.

"Oh, Hikaru. You look cold. I just thought we should have some hot chocolate. Let's go over to the café over there." Junichiro said as he tugged her along.

'The café.' Hikaru thought. She looked over to where the two men with black hair were sitting. They stood up and took their coats. Junichiro suddenly stopped. Hikaru kept walking until she hit Junichiro's back with a soft thud and rubbed her nose. She looked up at his face. 'He looks tense. Why?' Hikaru wondered. He was looking at the direction of the two men. She looked there as well.

They were gone.

"Junichiro?" She said in a small voice.

"Oh! Huh?" He seemed to have snapped back to reality. "Oh, yeah."

"STUDENTS!" A loud, booming voice called out.

Junichiro and Hikaru quickly turned around and headed towards their teacher.

"All right! Since we arrived earlier than scheduled, I want you to take your time and enjoy yourselves. You can do whatever you want. Just don't do anything that will get you or me, for that matter, in trouble now, ya' hear?" she said.

"Yes, ma'am!" everybody replied.

"Oh! I want to go skiing!! Come on, Junichiro!" Hikaru said and ran off.

"Oh, man. But I don't know how to ski..." Junichiro mumbled and saw that Hikaru was gone, "Hey! Wait up! Wait for me!"

The outdoor breeze was frosty and it felt wonderful against Hikaru's cheeks. It didn't take long for her cheeks to become rosy and red. But she felt cold. Her coat wasn't thick enough, and her body was shivering already.

"Are you sure you aren't cold, Hikaru?" Junichiro asked, concerned.

Hikaru just nodded. As Junichiro went off to get her some thicker garments, her cellphone rang. She took it from her coat pocket and placed it against her ear.

"Hai, moshi moshi?" (Yes, Hello?) Hikaru greeted.

"Hikaru-chan!" was the other person in the other end.

"Waah! Umi-chan!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"So? How's everything there in Okinawa?"

"Oh, fine! The weather's absolutely perfect for skiing!" answered Hikaru.

"Oh really? Everything's fine to you! Honestly, you have to learn to complain sometimes..." went Umi on the other side.

Suddenly, the two men who she saw in the café passed by in front of her. They looked malevolently familiar... The one with short hair abruptly stopped and looked at her. With eyes wide open.

It was a strange sensation. Those eyes were something that she would never forget. They were something she used to look at. Something she loved to look at. Hikaru felt as though the world around her suddenly froze, and that there was only her and... "Lantis..." she uttered softly.

"Hello? Hello? Hello! Hikaru? What did you just say? Hikaru!" went Umi on the phone. CLICK. She was gone.

She stood there with eyes wide. She could hear her breathing along with her heartbeat, and his too. No! This could not be! Lantis was in Cephiro. And she was in Earth. "Lantis..." she said again. "It couldn't be you..." she walked slowly forward to touch his face. Her eyes were getting teary and her body was starting to feel numb because of the cold. The man that she was calling Lantis only stared at her, without moving. She took a step forward and gasped. There was a figure. A shadow. Holding a knife. Ready to plunge it at Lantis' back.

"NO!" she shouted as she fainted in the arms of the young man.

He was holding her. Still wide-eyed. Shocked.

"Lantis..." Said his brother, pushing aside a strand of his long hair. "I..."

Lantis stayed silent.

"Lantis... She's... different now..." He said again.

"I know... Zagato..." Lantis said silently. "I know..."

"Well, people change." A familiar voice said overhead. Lantis looked up. Eagle.

"Eagle? You're here, too?" Lantis said. Still without emotion.

"Correction. It's Eagle to you but Junichiro to her." Eagle answered with a smile as he kneeled down to pick her up.

"No, I'll do it." Lantis said.

"Lantis. Look... She's my girlfriend." Eagle said. Careful of his words.

"What?... Oh..." He looked shaken. It was an even bigger shock to hear that Eagle was actually Hikaru's boyfriend.

"She doesn't know that I'm Eagle, Lantis." Junichiro said as he carried her off.

"Lantis..." Hikaru murmurmed, still unconscious. Junichiro heared it, but pretended that he didn't, and turned around to face Lantis and Zagato with a wacky expression on his face.

"Uhmm... I was wondering... Erm... Could she stay in your room for a while? Coz' the keys to our rooms aren't with us yet.so..."

"Hahaha..." Zagato laughed out loud. "You've got a very funny friend here, Lantis. Oh, no. I meant, rival... Hahaha... Come on. Take her to our room first..."

"Ehehehehe... Thanks... I swear, I'll pay you back." Junichiro said.

"Oh, no. There's no need." Zagato answered.

"No, I will... Really!" Junichiro answered back.

The two started to argue. Lantis was walking behind them, staring at Hikaru. Indeed, she looked different now. More mature, more... beautiful... He wondered if this was because of Eagle...

Author's Notes: Thaks for the correction. I switched Okinawa into Hokkaido. So sorry for the inconvinience. Thank you and sorry if its rushed and confusing because, you see, it's difficult for me to describe the effects I see in my imagination into words because everything just flows out once I start typing. My bad. I'll try to elaborate next time anyway. Thanks for your time!