I do not own InuYasha or Magic Knight Rayearth in any way, shape or form!


Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

'The'Thoughts


PLEASE READ BEFORE BEGINNING CHAPTER!

AN: Okay, I do apologize for not updating in a while, but I've had some stuff going on. Between getting my wisdom teeth out and being a half day's from loopy, art projects I have to complete for an exhibition, my own picture books, schoolwork, and other things my dad left for me to do. It's just been really hectic and left me very little time to write, let alone post, though the latter would be the fault of the new internet provider my dad switched to since the stupid connection keeps going out every ten minutes or so. I told him not to take that internet service, but does he listen to me? Nooooo!

BAH! Sorry about that rant, but things have been piling up to the point where I'm just ready to crash… Anyway, I think this chapter turned a tiny bit longer than I thought it would, maybe shorter, not too sure, I wasn't really paying attention as I wrote. Unfortunately, Kagome won't be appearing here just yet. She will, don't worry about that, but not just yet. And as for her meeting Lantis, well, that won't happen for some time, actually.

Anyway, I hope you all like this and please remember to review, but if you've nothing polite to say then don't bother saying anything at all!


~A Match of Two Souls~

oO-Plunging into Darkness-Oo

"You will never worry again, Hikaru," the voice said soothingly. Long-clawed hands pulled the teen into a dark, robed body. "Stay here and you will never face such hardships again…"

"What about Umi-chan and Fuu-chan?" Hikaru asked slowly, ruby eyes blank. "They're my friends; we fought together in Cephiro."

"Is that true? Are you quite sure?" the woman, as Hikaru realized, replied. "Look back, my dear, and tell me just what they've done for you."

Blank ruby eyes widened as a memory played out before them.

~AMatchOfTwoSouls~

-Flashback-

"Emeraude-hime…" Hikaru murmured as she looked into the sky with wistful ruby eyes. She let out a sound of alarm when she was suddenly hugged from behind. "Don't you dare start crying," she heard a familiar voice say and turned around.

"After all, everything that happened was your fault," Umi finished with a rueful smile.

"Umi-chan…?" Hikaru asked hesitantly.

"If you hadn't been there at Tokyo Tower that day," Fuu spoke this time, "We would never have been summoned to Cephiro in the first place."

"Fuu-chan…?" the fiery-haired teen looked sadly at the blonde girl she called her friend. 'Umi-chan, Fuu-chan? Why? We promised that no matter what, we'd be there for each other. We'd stay together and fight together the same way we fought to become to Magic Knights!'

The memory shifted to a moment just before the trio set off to meet Eagle of Autozam for the first time since appearing back in Cephiro.

"And now more than ever, we need to stand together and fight as one," Hikaru told Umi and Fuu from her place inside Rayearth.

"No a chance," Umi said easily.

"I concur," Fuu turned up her nose.

"But, Umi-chan, Fuu-chan…?"the Knight of Fire choked out.

"There are three Rune Gods in the legend," Umi spoke. "And there are three of us. So if the three of us hadn't gone to Tokyo Tower that day, if you hadn't been there, we wouldn't have been dragged to Cephiro by the Pillar!"

"I just don't see the point in saving a world that isn't our own," the Knight of Wind shook her head. "There simply isn't any point to it. What do we owe Cephiro that we should save it? This land caused us nothing but pain and grief, so we should we save it?"

"But—"

Fuu cut off the fiery-haired girl. "Cephiro isn't the land we were born in, let alone our home, so why should we care? Whatever happens to this world isn't our concern, Hikaru."

'Hikaru?' ruby eyes widened when she heard how the blonde knight addressed her.

"I just want to get back home to Tokyo," Umi said bitterly. "I want to forget this place and everything that happened here. The past is in the past and that's where it should be left!"

"Don't say that!" Hikaru burst out. "Don't you dare say that!"


-Crystal Palace-

"What's going on?" Presea asked her sister. They watched in awe as Hikaru's fiery-hued aura slowly started pushing out the darkness that had been wrapped about her. "What's happening to Hikaru?"

"I-I don't know!" Sierra cried out. "I've never done this with a weapon that was destroyed—" She looked at Hikaru's form once more and a jolt of realization shot through her. A smile slowly crossed her lips, "She's fighting it…"

"What?"

"Whatever has a hold of Hikaru, she's fighting it!"

Neither sister noticed the gem on Mokona's head flash a bright gold. "Puu Puuuuuu~!"


"Even if we wanted to, we could never forget the battle that began when we were summoned to Cephiro!" Hikaru said strongly. "And it's because of that, we decided to promise to fight for Cephiro with all our hearts to whatever end this journey takes us! I will keep my promise and I know that Umi-chan and Fuu-chan would do exactly the same!"

Ruby eyes were no longer blank as they glowed with an inner fire that had been lost since her sword had been broken. "And this is why I know none of this is real!"

~AMatchOfTwoSouls~

The memory shattered, leaving Hikaru standing in a brightly lit space. "I see, you trust them that much?" the woman stated, her silhouette just barely standing out from the blackness."Then…what about him?"

A clawed hand swished elegantly in the air before Hikaru. Strands of dark vapour slithered up and about to create the form of someone she knew. A person she'd felt an inexplicable connection to since their first meeting.

"E-Eagle?" Hikaru gasped, taking a step back.

"You're in love with this invader, aren't you?" the voice cooed, stroking the taller man's face. "You care for this man in a way that is much different than how you care for your friends. The type of care might differ, but it is still love, wouldn't you say?"

Long red nails lifted Eagle's chin up towards where Hikaru assumed this woman's face was. "Tell me, Eagle Vision of Autozam: How do you feel about little Hikaru?"

"The Magic Knights destroyed part of my brother's heart by taking his brother from him," Eagle answered blankly. "They were weak to not have been able to help the land they were called to and instead threw it into ruin."

Ruby eyes filled with tears. Hikaru felt her heart breaking with each word the light-haired man uttered. "I-I…"

"Do you love this girl?"

With a cry, Hikaru covered her ears, unable to bear the rejection that would no doubt spill from his mouth. 'He hates me! He hates me for what I did to Lantis, for what I did to Zagato!' So caught up in those thoughts, she never noticed the cracks emerging from beneath her feet.

She shrieked in fear and surprise when the ground gave way, leaving her to plunge into the dark abyss below.


Adieu,

TsukiyoTenshi