WARNING: Inaccurate spoilers up ahead. It's been a long time since I saw the series and my memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Plus the series I watched was dubbed so I'm apologizing ahead of time for any mistakes that I might make. Although some parts I intentionally distorted in order to insert fluffy moments.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own MKR or any of its characters. CLAMP does. This plot is a product of my imagination. Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.
HIKARU'S STORY
By bishounen lovah
Chapter 6
He was standing in a barren land. Nothing else could be seen except for the harsh jagged rocks and the billowing dust unsettled by the raging wind. The sky was dark, lit only by occasional lightning followed by deafening claps of thunder.
Cephiro.
Just like all those other times, another unknown and yet familiar word popped in his mind. His gut instincts told him that what he was seeing right now was Cephiro...and that Cephiro was once synonymous to home. Once he had called this god forsaken place his home.
"It's a shame isn't it?"
Tooya jumped away from the figure that suddenly appeared behind him. He automatically reached to his side to draw his sword only to remember he never had one. So instead he assumed a fighting stance, ready to strike if and when the robed man made a wrong move.
"There is no need for that. I won't hurt you." The man looked away and waved his long staff at his surroundings. "I am here to welcome you back."
"Why? What happened to this place? Who are you?"
"I am the Master Mage of this magical land."
Tooya could only see the brief smile that was sent to him for the hood of the man's robe had covered half of his face. He was familiar but Tooya could only utter the name that first came to his mind. "Clef-sama."
At that, the small smile had disappeared. No, he was not Clef for this man was taller than his memory of Clef, however vague it was.
"Perhaps I should make myself clearer. I come from the future Cephiro. There I am the Master Mage, successor of Guru Clef. Where we are now is the past Cephiro where no pillar had reigned due to the unfortunate demise of Emeraude-hime."
"If you are not Clef-sama then who are you?"
"Who I am is of no importance. What's important is that you fulfill your destiny. The destiny that Fate denied you. And in order to do that, you must regain your memory back as a response to the condition."
"What destiny? What condition? Stop talking in circles!"
The man slammed the base of his staff on the ground and a lightning emerged from the sky. Tooya closed his eyes from the bright light and when he opened them they were standing in a different place although the scenery had not changed. The emptiness was still there but something else caught his attention. There were movements coming from afar, fast closing in the distance between them.
He saw three girls, bearing swords, running away from something. Then they stopped and confronted their enemies, ready for battle. He couldn't help but wonder why they were fighting. They were too young and too beautiful to do such dangerous tasks. Especially the smallest one...the girl with hair the color of fire.
"Hikaru," Tooya whispered in recognition.
"Yes, Hikaru. The maiden chosen by the masshin Rayearth. She does not come from this land but she fights for it with all of her heart, mind and body. Look at her and you'll see the answer to your questions. What do you see?"
"The woman that I love," he replied automatically after he shoved his worries away. And then like a light bulb that was switched on in his head, he began to understand some things. "She is my destiny."
"Yes. That she is. But you still don't remember her, do you?"
"No. There's something familiar about her...something that connects me to her but I can't understand what it is. Can't remember who she is."
"That's because before you could remember her, you must remember who you are first." The man tapped the ground again and another light enveloped them. They were inside the palace of Cephiro. The room was big and looked like some indoor garden. Everything was beautiful and peaceful but that peace was shattered when Tooya saw himself sitting on the side of a fountain, wearing a heavy armor and flowing cape.
"That's..."
"...you. You're previous self—Lantis, the legendary kailu of Cephiro."
Memories of his past self started flowing in. His training...places he visited...people he met. Guru Clef. Saito and Esmeralda...no, Zagato and Emeraude-hime. Eagle, Geo and Zazu. Ferio, Presea, Lafarga, Caldina and Ascot. The Magic Knights—Fuu, Umi...
"Hikaru."
He watched her approach his other self with caution. He remembered this scene quite clearly now. This was the second time he had seen the Maiden of Fire. She had apologized to him for killing his brother. She had thought the he was mad at her because she had performed her duty as a Magic Knight at the expense of Zagato's life.
"As if I could ever get mad at her. She's too innocent and too naive to be faulted for anything."
"Aa," the man replied as they continued to watch the scene before them, "but it is those very traits that drew her to you."
It was true. There was that attraction but Lantis had chosen to ignore it not just because there were other pressing matters at hand. She was just simply too young and too innocent for him. Much like how Emeraude was for Zagato. But his heart had overruled his mind. Why else would he have given his precious pendant to her?
"Perhaps you need to remember some more, Lantis."
There was that bright light again and this time they were standing inside Autozam's mother ship. Hikaru was there and so was Eagle Vision. Tooya did not like the way he was looking at her but couldn't do anything about it except clench his fists in unease.
"You were beginning to care for her, weren't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
At that moment the roof of NSX collapsed and beyond it was his past self on a black horse. It was his duty to protect Hikaru so he searched for her and even fought with his friend in order to get her back. He watched himself fight Eagle, his heart tightening for he knew what was to come.
"Hikaru!" He yelled in unison with his other self and watched helplessly as she disappeared into thin air.
"You wouldn't have been that distraught if you hadn't cared for her," the Master Mage pointed out after a while. Another tap of his staff, another bright light, another place. This time they were back in the palace. Hikaru was floating in midair with a black mist surrounding her. She was undergoing a very dangerous ceremony in order to make another escudo sword. He wanted to tell Presea to stop but knew that she couldn't for Hikaru would be placed in greater danger and might even lose her life.
And just like before he wasn't there to protect or help her...to prevent any harm to come to her. He always came late. His other self came in just in time to catch her falling body. Tooya moved away from the mage's side and went to where his counterpart held Hikaru.
"Aishiteru," he heard her whisper to Lantis.
He knelt on her other side and tried to brush the hair from her face. But as expected he was not able to touch her. His hand passed through her flesh as though he was some kind of ghost. So he contented himself in just saying the words his past self was too afraid to say even though he knew that they would fall on deaf ears.
"I love you too, my Hikaru."
Flash!
He was till kneeling on the ground but his past self was already standing beside him. Not far from them were Hikaru and Eagle lying unconscious outside the room that held the crown of the Pillar. This was yet another special memory for this was when his past self decided that he couldn't love Hikaru. Not if she might be the next Pillar of Cephiro
It was not because he was afraid of Cephiro's condition worsening. It was because she herself would get hurt if romance ensued between them...just like Emeraude being hurt because of her love for Zagato and vice versa. No, however much it hurt he'd rather let Hikaru go than harm her.
Flash after flash his memory returned. Flash after flash his love for the red haired girl came back in full force. He fought the enemies with her, all the while keeping distance despite his growing affection. She was going through a lot and did not need any more complications in her life. In fact the distance was so far that he could not run to her in time to stop her from going back to her world.
What a fool he had been back then! He was nothing without her...just a mere automaton going about his duties as indicated in his program. It was like living a curse. Imagine his relief when he was on his deathbed.
He did not fear death. Instead he welcomed it with open arms. He could not stand living alone. His body may belong to Cephiro but his heart and mind belonged to the only woman he had ever loved.
"Do you remember everything now, Lantis?"
They were no longer shifting from one memory to another. Instead they were floating in some dimension filled with vast white nothingness. He knew that he was somewhere between two realities—his past and present. Soon he'd be able to wake up.
"The condition...the contract...?"
"Ah yes, the contract. You see, there were three men who lost their hearts to the legendary knights. When they left, these men searched high and low to find a way to be with their loves. And they found one...an ancient ritual that could harvest their souls and transport them to the place they desire most."
"My memories! They were a payment…the sacrifice for the ritual."
"Aa. And also a test. The condition was that your past memories will remain hidden until you meet the Magic Knight whom you desired. If the Gods deem that her love and your love are still intact then they will allow you to regain your memory and fulfill your destiny."
"Then she loves me?" Tooya, now with the memory of Lantis, said incredulously.
"That she does."
"She loves me." This time said in wonder.
"And now the contract has been completed." A soft wind came out of nowhere and was blowing the robed man away from him. "Wake up now, Lantis. It's time to start your real life."
He saw the mage's smile again and this time it was accompanied by a flash of green when the light briefly illuminated his face before enveloping him and completely disappeared.
Tooya looked around and saw that his surroundings were fading. He sent his thanks to the robed man before welcoming consciousness back again.
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Guru Ascot."
To be concluded...
MUST READ BISHLOV NOTES:
[1] And there you have it folks! Another Lantis dream sequence. I hope you weren't confused especially with the name shifts between Lantis and Tooya. I intentionally used both names for perfectly good reasons and was not intended to give you headaches.
[2] Fuu's Story is next on my agenda.
[3] Thank you for reading and reviewing. If you're looking for my responses to your reviews then just read my email notifications. I respond every chapter or every other chapter (depending on my schedule). Kissy thanks!!!