Heyla readers. Sorry for taking a while to update, just haven't been motivated and this discovery scene was really tough to write, things could have happened a million different ways so getting it right was a toughie. Anyway, hopefully the hard part is over and the next chapter should be out after a much shorter interval.
Satoru was fighting to retain his calm and dubious sanity. It was the day after he'd seen Hikaru and her friends disappear at Tokyo Tower and he was still no closer to finding out what the heck had happened than he'd been the day before. After searching the tower from top to bottom he'd looked in all his sister's favourite hang outs, carefully rung her friends parents with bogus stories about lost items to see if she was there and finally searched her room for any clues she might have left. Nothing.
He hadn't said anything to Masaru and Kakeru because he knew the minute he did that the roof would blow off the house and quite possibly the entire district. That didn't mean he wasn't feeling the same urge to tear Tokyo apart until he found her, only that he could control it better. The one thing that was stopping him from doing that was the look on Hikaru's face when he saw her disappear. There had been no surprise or shock, no fear in her expression. Instead she'd looked, happy, eager even as she dissolved into light. There had been a sparkle in her eyes that he'd seen only a few times since her first trip to Tokyo Tower, a look untainted with sorrow or worry and that comforted and calmed him enough to wait until after the time she said she'd return before he told her brothers what he'd seen.
As a result, with nothing else left to go on, he returned to Tokyo Tower the afternoon Hikaru had said she'd be back. He waited for an hour or two, browsing through stalls and shops but always keeping an eye on the corner he'd last seen her in sight. His patience was finally rewarded late in the afternoon and he was amazed when it was. If he hadn't been watching for that exact thing to happen he never would have noticed the three girls suddenly appearing behind the partial cover of a binocular stand. No one around them was looking in their direction except him and he was leaning against the railing on the left side of where they appeared. "They've definitely done this before." He said to himself as he watched them mingle effortlessly with the people left on the observation deck, acting as if they'd always been there. As they wandered around looking at stalls and talking very seriously about something he pushed off the railing and walked up behind the unsuspecting trio. "How was the trip girls?" he asked, putting a hand on Hikaru's shoulder.
"You guys know I've been thinking about telling my brothers." Hikaru said as they wandered around the observation deck. "It's not fair to keep them in the dark any longer. Especially after this." she held up her hand and stared at the ring on her finger for a moment. "I think it's time they knew."
Umi looped an arm around her and Fuu's shoulders, "I agree." She said. "But let's do it together. I want you both to be there when I tell my parents. I don't want to do it alone."
Fuu nodded. "I would like you two to be with me as well. This is something that happened to all of us, and it should be told by all of us." She paused. "But how are we going to go about it? I know we've talked about it before but something else always seemed to come up that was more important. We've been procrastinating."
Hikaru grinned ruefully. "I guess I just didn't want to have to tell my brothers. Deep down I was hoping things could just stay as they were forever."
Umi nodded, "I know, the thought of telling my parents scares me. I don't want to think about what would happen if they don't believe us. I mean how can we prove it?"
"Do you think we could take them to Cephiro?" Hikaru said thoughtfully. "I mean we never tried to bring the guys back because of all the ruckus that would cause but have we ever thought about bringing our families to Cephiro?"
Fuu thought hard for a minute. "I don't know." She said finally. "The spell that Emeraude cast brought us to Cephiro initially but the second time we summoned ourselves there. Logically speaking if our will is strong enough we should be able to bring anyone with us."
"Maybe we should try with one extra person first, just in case it fails." Umi mused. "We don't even have to tell them everything, just bring them to Tokyo Tower saying we have something to show them and try. If it fails we can make up something but if it works we have someone who can corroborate our story when we tell our families. And if they still don't believe us then we take them too."
"However if it doesn't work then we are back to square one with regards to our families and telling them about Cephiro." Fuu grimaced. "Not an entertaining prospect at all."
"True but still, seeing us disappear should be enough to make them believe us at least a little bit." Hikaru said. "Besides I brought Lantis' locket back from Cephiro and we take food there all the time maybe we can bring back something little to make them believe, even if we can't take a whole person."
Umi hit herself on the head, "Of course, why didn't I think of that. You're right, if we can take food and jewellery back and forth then that's some proof right there! All we'd need to do would be to bring back something that's completely from Cephiro which doesn't exist in our World and they'd have to believe us."
"Now let's not get carried away." Fuu warned, "If our families really don't want to believe us then nothing we can say or do can change their minds. We have to be prepared for that." she took a deep breath, "Even if means choosing to leave them permanently."
Hikaru and Umi traded looks and then reached out to hug their friend tightly. "We know. And we know that out of all of us you are the one risking the most. We're here for you Fuu." Hikaru squeezed for emphasis.
"But let's not worry about that just yet, for now we need to pick who we're going to experiment on." Umi laughed evilly and rubbed her hands together. "Our victim needs to be close enough to trust what we say, young enough not to blow a gasket if it works but also old enough that our families will believe them when they back us up."
"Count Masaru and Kakeru out then." Hikaru grimaced. "But Satoru might be okay."
Fuu nodded, "My sister Kuu might work too."
"And both my parents are out anyway so that only leaves two." Umi finished. "So Satoru or Kuu, who do we want to pick?"
"Satoru would be good to deal with my brothers, but they might be more respectful and quiet with Kuu since she's a girl and older than them." Hikaru ventured.
"Plus my parents know Kuu a little and respect her." Umi put in.
"I also think that she would love Cephiro once she was there." Fuu added.
"Then it's decided. Kuu will be our guinea pig. Umi declared. "Now when do we want to do this?"
They fell to discussing when and how to bring Kuu to Cephiro, tossing out ideas and reworking others. They were completely unprepared when a hand landed on Hikaru's shoulder and Satoru's voice said into the sudden silence "How was the trip girls?"
Hikaru froze while Umi and Fuu stared at Satoru in shock.
"What are you doing here?" Hikaru finally managed to squeak out through paralysed vocal chords.
Satoru looked at her with serious eyes. "I think that's the question I should be asking you." He said softly. "You disappeared Hikaru. Right in front of my eyes, I thought I'd gone crazy, do you know how worried I was all this time?"
Hikaru didn't even try to meet her brother's gaze but stared at the floor, guilt and sudden fear a leaden weight on her shoulders. This was not how she'd envisioned Satoru discovering their secret. Umi however, had no such problems. Stepping forward and looking Satoru straight in the eye she put a defensive arm around her friend's shoulders. "Hikaru is not the only one to blame." She said firmly. "Fuu and I are a part of this too."
"We have something we need to tell you and our families too." Fuu added. "And as you might have guessed already, it's not something you will find easy to believe."
Satoru met the gazes of the two young women in front of him and was glad Hikaru had such loyal and strong friends. His face hardened, but that did not excuse the three of them from hiding something like this from him and their loved ones. "I think after the weekend I've just had I'd be willing to believe almost anything." He replied. "So long as it's the truth this time."
Hikaru nodded miserably. "I'm sorry Satoru." She said quietly. "I didn't want to tell you or my brothers, I was afraid of how you'd react." She met his eyes then, "but the cats' out of the bag now so I've got something to tell you." She took a deep breath. "I've fallen in love with a man from another world. His name is Lantis and I'm going to marry him soon."
Satoru stepped back in shock, his jaw almost hitting the floor. He knew his sister had been hiding something from him and he'd thought he'd been ready to accept anything she might tell him but this was not what he'd been expecting.
"You're getting married?" he asked. Just to be sure he wasn't having an aural hallucination. "To a man from another world?"
Hikaru stood firm. "Yes." She turned to her friends and in one of her characteristic swings from depression to joy suddenly smiled. "Well, this might be a bit earlier than we were expecting but why don't we try out that plan we were just talking about." She said. "It might make things easier for Satoru if he can see Lantis while we're explaining everything."
Satoru glanced from girl to girl in bewilderment as they traded smiles.
Umi spared him a pitying glance for a moment, it was probably going to be all a bit much for Hikaru's brother but he was just going to have to deal with it. Like it or not they'd been caught and things were going to have to come to light. She just hoped they'd weather the storm that was going to blow in once everyone else found out.
Sighing once she propped her hands on her hips and took a quick glance around, the crowd was thinning out as everyone called it a day. They'd have to leave and come back quickly or they'd be noticed by the staff as they herded everyone out for the evening. "Let's do this then." She said and took Satoru's unresisting arm, hauling him over to the binocular stand and then dropping it to take Fuu and Hikaru's hands.
"Why don't you hold Hikaru's shoulder?" Fuu suggested as Satoru looked at their little circle with no little trepidation. This was how he'd seen them stand right before they disappeared. Still he was no coward and bravely put a hand on his sister's shoulder and then waited for something to happen.
He was not disappointed. The three girls closed their eyes and suddenly Satoru felt the floor dropping out from under him. A strangled gasp left his throat as Tokyo Tower disappeared and a massive window of light opened in front of them. Fearlessly the girls looked into and then through it as the window grew until it engulfed them and then suddenly they were floating slowly down into the courtyard of a castle that defied description. Satoru looked around slowly, taking note of the assorted critters that roamed the grounds on either side of the path they were on, as well as the…he gulped…floating mountain off in the distance. Oh what have I gotten myself into?
Under his hand, Hikaru's clothing was now partially covered by some sort of armour. What on earth? But before he could put another thought together people converged on them from a flung open door to the entrance of the castle.
"Umi! What are you doing back here? Is something wrong, did something happen!" A young man dressed in robes of some kind and wearing a ridiculous hat ran over to the girls and then dropped into a defensive stance when he saw Satoru. "Who is this man?" he asked as several others pelted out behind him, likewise coming to a stop and taking various warlike positions when they noticed him. One of the ladies, a tallish woman dressed in far too little for Satoru's comfort held out a hand with a large gem fixed to the back of her glove. He heard the sound of bells and suddenly he couldn't move. What the heck?
Hikaru saw her friend's battle ready positions and headed off the approaching conflict. "Hang on guys!" she cried, "This is my brother Satoru. We brought him here to meet you all." Speaking as fast as she could she explained what had happened and why they were back.
Satoru himself was still reeling from the experience of travelling to another world and the comprehension that another world besides Earth even existed. As he watched his sister calm the group of people in front of him he tried valiantly to gather his scattered wits and managed to catch the tail end of her explanation.
"…so we decided to see if we could bring him here and introduce you all." Hikaru said.
"It was the quickest way to prove things to him and now he can help us convince the rest of our families that we aren't crazy." Umi added.
"But we can't stay for very long." Fuu finished. "Tokyo Tower closes soon, so we'll have to bring him back for a longer visit another time." She glanced at her watch. "We've got about an hour. We wouldn't want to cut it much closer than that though."
Hikaru and Umi nodded in agreement. "Well then there's no time to waste." Hikaru grinned. "What would you like to see first Satoru?" she asked, turning to her brother.
Satoru was still a bit dazed but pulled himself together enough to give a creditable reply. "I'll leave that to you girls. But please nothing too shocking, I don't think I can take to many more shocks today." His tone was plaintive as he gazed around, trying to absorb the enormity and impossibility of it all.
Caldina grinned and moved her hand, another bell like tone releasing the poor man from her control. "Well why don't y'all come to the dining hall for a bite to eat?" she suggested. "Your brother looks like he needs a sit down Hikaru and I'd wager something to eat wouldn't go amiss either no?"
"Sure!" Hikaru bounced forward. Her good mood restored by their successful journey. Satoru was the calmest of her brothers. If anyone could take this in their stride it was him. And then he'd help convince her other brothers and Umi and Fuu's families about Cephiro so all was now right with the world. Skipping along she tugged Satoru's hand as they headed to the dining hall, things were looking up.
Okay, how was that guys? Wow that was hard, I hope everyone's reactions were believable, it's a bit hard to do Satoru, he and his brothers don't get much screentime in the manga and anime so I'm hoping you guys don't think they're too OOC and if they are my apologies. Got any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear so post a review or leave an opinion. All are welcome. See you next chapter ;)