Author's Note: Well.the story has seemed to turn to something I didn't
expect. Oh well, more fun for me and more reading for you. =D I should
state this right now that this story is based on the romance of the Magic
Knights since there wasn't any love scenes at the end of the anime.
*curses* So expect a lot of...mush? ^^;;; All normal disclaimers apply.
-Edited addition
Chapter Two: If Only
"Fuu-chan..." Hikaru called softly sitting next to the shocked blonde. Fuu laid curled on top of the large feather bed in a room Sieara had lead them to minutes earlier. Umi sat in a nearby chair, her arms tightly crossed across her chest; her eyes burning an ice blue gazing out the window.
"That bastard." Umi muttered, her brows tightly knit downward contorting her usually model face.
"It's not...his...fault." Fuu murmured, unable to even think his name nor move any part of her body. "It comes across as normal to me."
"Normal?" Umi bellowed snapping her head away from the window. "He loves you Fuu and he threw it all away!"
"Umi-chan...maybe Ferio-" Hikaru began noticing Fuu's body shift into a more compressed ball.
"Ferio lost hope." Umi finished jumping up. She looked cautiously at the trembling figure lying between her and Hikaru. "I'm sorry Fuu...but...I won't lie to myself anymore. And I won't let you lie to yourself either."
A faint nod ruffled the white covers of the bed. "I understand Umi-san." She replied quietly before pushing herself up. She quickly dried her emerald eyes with the back of her hand before placing her black wire rimmed glasses onto her face. "We have returned to Cephiro, and we will be happy."
A light rap came from the white door. Umi swiftly reached over to the handle and opened the door to reveal a stone-faced Ferio standing before her. "Umi, Can I have a-"
"No." Umi replied sharply shutting the door in Ferio's face.
"Umi-chan..." Hikaru said quietly noticing Fuu clutch her skirt. Umi hotly flung her blue hair over her shoulder with a "humph" and sat down in a near by chair. "He should at least have the decency to give Fuu some time; the nerve..." Umi muttered flattening out her skirt.
"Ferio must be very upset to come so soon then." Hikaru offered as Fuu's hand lost some tension.
"Thank you Hikaru-san, but I do need some time." Fuu nodded tucking her left leg behind her right.
Another knock was heard from the door causing Umi to jump up in frustration. The water knight threw open the door and unleashed her dragon self; fists clenched and eyes closed. "GO AWAY! FUU DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"
"But I just wanted to say hello." Came a hurt voice causing Umi's eyes to immediately open. Ascot stood uncomfortably out in the hall rubbing his right arm. His half-hidden face expressed sheer confusion combined with tinted cheeks.
*~*
Ferio walked silently down the hall only stopping for a moment to direct Ascot to the Magic Knights' room. Umi's screeching still rang inside his head. Not only were his ears bleeding but also his heart felt like it had been wrenched again. "I don't want a repeat of this feeling." Ferio cried clutching his chest.
It had taken the green haired prince a great deal of time to even slightly subdue his longing for the wind knight. It wasn't until Lantis had come to visit him that Ferio finally came to grip reality.
"Fuu is gone." Ferio remembered Lantis saying. "But so is Hikaru and Umi." "Must you remind me?" Ferio choked feeling Lantis's hand firmly grip his shoulder.
"You are not the only one who has lost a love one." The magic swordsman whispered sending chills down Ferio's spine.
"I know Lantis but-" Ferio protested looking up at the older man. "I already died the first time she left, I-"
"There will come a time when you will have to leave this room." Lantis said sharply cutting off the hysteric prince. "Then you will have to chose- will you become weak and hide behind red eyes? Or will live on knowing your loved one is still out there?"
Lantis promptly left leaving Ferio to sulk in his own thoughts. It was then that Ferio decided that he would get on with his life- it would be what Fuu wanted. "But if I would have known I would see her again." Ferio slammed his gloved fist against the wall.
"Not only have I hurt Fuu, but Otamri..." He cursed gripping the wall. Right after Fuu had been rushed inside, Ferio had snapped at Otamri to leave after her many protests of confusion. After seeing Otamri's face fall, "Like Fuu..." he thought, Ferio promptly apologized and ran into the palace leaving the lilac haired girl to be consoled by Clef and Lantis.
"I am a complete idiot." Ferio sighed now leaning against the white wall. "Sister, I should have stayed dedicated." His golden eyes blinked back tears picturing Emeraude's devotion to her love.
*~*
Otamri sighed rubbing the fabric of her skirt. Moments ago Clef had explained the situation subduing her confusion but causing more pain. The master mage couldn't allow himself to look her in the eye- after all, Otamri was his student.
Lantis cast an occasional glance of sympathy. Sometimes at the shocked girl, but usually at Clef. As hard as the purple haired mage tried to cover his upset composure, Lantis knew his true feelings.
Knowing that Lantis could look past his hard exterior and the fact that another student had become hurt troubled Clef to the brink of insanity. Otamri politely excused herself and walked through the palace doors headed for her room. Both men watched the teenage girl travel down the hall and disappear around the corner.
"I worry sometimes, Lantis..." Clef murmured turning away from the empty doors.
"What do you mean?" Lantis questioned watching the little man shift his weight under the folds of his ornamented robe.
"I worry I may be getting too old to protect the ones I'm fond of." Clef replied meeting Lantis's blue-eyed stare.
"Clef..." The master mage shook his head silencing the taller man.
"I will go talk to Sieara and see how the knights are doing." Clef informed turning for the door. "Perhaps you should see how Ferio is coping."
*~*
"Oh! Ascot!" Umi cried grabbing the summoner by the arm. "Of course you can say hello!" Umi quickly regained a cheery disposition leading her confused friend into Fuu's appointed room.
"Hi Ascot!" Hikaru greeted with a joyful smile as Ascot's redness subdued.
"Hello Ascot-san." Fuu said with as much polite and friendliness as possible.
"It's good to see you Ascot." Umi smiled gesturing for him to sit down beside her.
"Hello." Ascot smiled weakly, still not recovered from Umi's rage. He slowly seated himself reddening a bit more from being so close to Umi. Being parted from her so long caused his nerves to jump when they inhabited the same room. "I heard you three had returned so I thought I'd come greet you."
"That's very nice of you Ascot-san." Fuu murmured her polite remark on instinct- obvious that she still dwelled over her heartbreak.
"Ascot!" Umi scolded causing the summoner to flinch and slouch in his chair. "You never have to think of weither you should visit us or not! You're always welcomed!"
Ascot breathed in a sigh of relief and straitened up a bit as Hikaru's voice piped in an agree. "You're our friend, Ascot. We always like to see our friends."
"Speaking of friends, where is Caldina and Lafarga?" Umi asked leaning next to Ascot who blushed from the closeness of their faces.
"Caldina and Lafarga have decided to be together." Ascot informed watching Umi pull back a bit. "They went to Chizeta to see Caldina's family."
"Oh! So Caldina and Lafarga are getting married!" Hikaru exclaimed jumping up with a smile. "It's great that they're together! I hope they come back soon so I can congratulate them."
"'Married'? What's 'married'?" Ascot asked pushing his large brown bangs away from his eyes, accidentally knocking his over-sized green hat out of position.
"Marriage- you know, the eternal union of two people." Umi answered slowly looking at Ascot in disbelief.
"I've never heard of 'marriage'." Ascot replied changing the disbelief to shock while nervously repositioning his hat. "But it sounds nice." He said quickly trying to change Hikaru and Umi's expression; focusing more on Umi than Hikaru. He didn't like to see her any other way but happy.
"It does." Fuu agreed quietly with a slight nod of her head. All three turned to watch the green uniformed Magic Knight look blindly at the floor.
"Are you okay, Fuu?" Ascot asked watching the blonde toy with her green pleated skirt.
"I..."
"Fuu isn't feeling very well at the moment." Umi said hastily cutting off Fuu's reply. She didn't believe Fuu need any more discussion on the topic Ascot was about to bring up- nor did she want to hear any of it. "Perhaps it's best if you go and let Fuu get some rest."
"Of course." Ascot agreed holding his stomach as if he had physically been kicked. He uttered his good-byes with his head lowered as he walked out of the room.
"I am a burden." Ascot thought bitterly after he heard the click of the shutting door.
*~*
"Nova..." whispered a voice from the swirling mist. Inside the mist stood Hikaru dressed in her summer school uniform looking dazed.
"Who's there?" Hikaru demanded turning in a circle, her loose hair flapping in the air from her swift movements. Her red eyes squinted trying to see past the white thickness but all she could see beyond was black.
"Nova..."
"Nova is a part of me, so what do you want?" The red magic knight continued to search for the origin of the voice as the mist began to thicken around her. Hikaru batted at the mist in vain trying to clear an area for her to see.
"Nova..." The voice called again as the mist began to engulf the small red head.
"What do you want!" Hikaru yelled waving her arms franticly. The swish of her arms seemed to not have moved the white air at all.
"Awaken! Nova...awaken!" the voice roared causing Hikaru to bolt up right in her room on the other side of the hall from Umi and Fuu. Hikaru shivered rubbing her arms. She felt cold- from the dream or the night air, she couldn't tell which. All she could remember was the rumbling of the voice calling her heart and the flash of power hungry eyes right before she had awoken.
"Nova; why were they calling for Nova?" Hikaru breathed trying to collect her thoughts as she tightened the bed sheets around her.
"Because they want me, Hikaru." A voice replied.
"Nova?" Hikaru jumped up from the bed, her blood shot eyes darting around the night room.
"Don't let them take me Hikaru!" Nova's voice cried.
"Nova!" Hikaru cried in response twisting herself in the bed sheets.
"Don't let them take me Hikaru!" Nova's voice echoed.
*~*
"I sit here, waiting, wondering, hoping, that I'll make this right...'cause all I think about is your hands...your face, and all these lonely nights..." - If Only
-Edited addition
Chapter Two: If Only
"Fuu-chan..." Hikaru called softly sitting next to the shocked blonde. Fuu laid curled on top of the large feather bed in a room Sieara had lead them to minutes earlier. Umi sat in a nearby chair, her arms tightly crossed across her chest; her eyes burning an ice blue gazing out the window.
"That bastard." Umi muttered, her brows tightly knit downward contorting her usually model face.
"It's not...his...fault." Fuu murmured, unable to even think his name nor move any part of her body. "It comes across as normal to me."
"Normal?" Umi bellowed snapping her head away from the window. "He loves you Fuu and he threw it all away!"
"Umi-chan...maybe Ferio-" Hikaru began noticing Fuu's body shift into a more compressed ball.
"Ferio lost hope." Umi finished jumping up. She looked cautiously at the trembling figure lying between her and Hikaru. "I'm sorry Fuu...but...I won't lie to myself anymore. And I won't let you lie to yourself either."
A faint nod ruffled the white covers of the bed. "I understand Umi-san." She replied quietly before pushing herself up. She quickly dried her emerald eyes with the back of her hand before placing her black wire rimmed glasses onto her face. "We have returned to Cephiro, and we will be happy."
A light rap came from the white door. Umi swiftly reached over to the handle and opened the door to reveal a stone-faced Ferio standing before her. "Umi, Can I have a-"
"No." Umi replied sharply shutting the door in Ferio's face.
"Umi-chan..." Hikaru said quietly noticing Fuu clutch her skirt. Umi hotly flung her blue hair over her shoulder with a "humph" and sat down in a near by chair. "He should at least have the decency to give Fuu some time; the nerve..." Umi muttered flattening out her skirt.
"Ferio must be very upset to come so soon then." Hikaru offered as Fuu's hand lost some tension.
"Thank you Hikaru-san, but I do need some time." Fuu nodded tucking her left leg behind her right.
Another knock was heard from the door causing Umi to jump up in frustration. The water knight threw open the door and unleashed her dragon self; fists clenched and eyes closed. "GO AWAY! FUU DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"
"But I just wanted to say hello." Came a hurt voice causing Umi's eyes to immediately open. Ascot stood uncomfortably out in the hall rubbing his right arm. His half-hidden face expressed sheer confusion combined with tinted cheeks.
*~*
Ferio walked silently down the hall only stopping for a moment to direct Ascot to the Magic Knights' room. Umi's screeching still rang inside his head. Not only were his ears bleeding but also his heart felt like it had been wrenched again. "I don't want a repeat of this feeling." Ferio cried clutching his chest.
It had taken the green haired prince a great deal of time to even slightly subdue his longing for the wind knight. It wasn't until Lantis had come to visit him that Ferio finally came to grip reality.
"Fuu is gone." Ferio remembered Lantis saying. "But so is Hikaru and Umi." "Must you remind me?" Ferio choked feeling Lantis's hand firmly grip his shoulder.
"You are not the only one who has lost a love one." The magic swordsman whispered sending chills down Ferio's spine.
"I know Lantis but-" Ferio protested looking up at the older man. "I already died the first time she left, I-"
"There will come a time when you will have to leave this room." Lantis said sharply cutting off the hysteric prince. "Then you will have to chose- will you become weak and hide behind red eyes? Or will live on knowing your loved one is still out there?"
Lantis promptly left leaving Ferio to sulk in his own thoughts. It was then that Ferio decided that he would get on with his life- it would be what Fuu wanted. "But if I would have known I would see her again." Ferio slammed his gloved fist against the wall.
"Not only have I hurt Fuu, but Otamri..." He cursed gripping the wall. Right after Fuu had been rushed inside, Ferio had snapped at Otamri to leave after her many protests of confusion. After seeing Otamri's face fall, "Like Fuu..." he thought, Ferio promptly apologized and ran into the palace leaving the lilac haired girl to be consoled by Clef and Lantis.
"I am a complete idiot." Ferio sighed now leaning against the white wall. "Sister, I should have stayed dedicated." His golden eyes blinked back tears picturing Emeraude's devotion to her love.
*~*
Otamri sighed rubbing the fabric of her skirt. Moments ago Clef had explained the situation subduing her confusion but causing more pain. The master mage couldn't allow himself to look her in the eye- after all, Otamri was his student.
Lantis cast an occasional glance of sympathy. Sometimes at the shocked girl, but usually at Clef. As hard as the purple haired mage tried to cover his upset composure, Lantis knew his true feelings.
Knowing that Lantis could look past his hard exterior and the fact that another student had become hurt troubled Clef to the brink of insanity. Otamri politely excused herself and walked through the palace doors headed for her room. Both men watched the teenage girl travel down the hall and disappear around the corner.
"I worry sometimes, Lantis..." Clef murmured turning away from the empty doors.
"What do you mean?" Lantis questioned watching the little man shift his weight under the folds of his ornamented robe.
"I worry I may be getting too old to protect the ones I'm fond of." Clef replied meeting Lantis's blue-eyed stare.
"Clef..." The master mage shook his head silencing the taller man.
"I will go talk to Sieara and see how the knights are doing." Clef informed turning for the door. "Perhaps you should see how Ferio is coping."
*~*
"Oh! Ascot!" Umi cried grabbing the summoner by the arm. "Of course you can say hello!" Umi quickly regained a cheery disposition leading her confused friend into Fuu's appointed room.
"Hi Ascot!" Hikaru greeted with a joyful smile as Ascot's redness subdued.
"Hello Ascot-san." Fuu said with as much polite and friendliness as possible.
"It's good to see you Ascot." Umi smiled gesturing for him to sit down beside her.
"Hello." Ascot smiled weakly, still not recovered from Umi's rage. He slowly seated himself reddening a bit more from being so close to Umi. Being parted from her so long caused his nerves to jump when they inhabited the same room. "I heard you three had returned so I thought I'd come greet you."
"That's very nice of you Ascot-san." Fuu murmured her polite remark on instinct- obvious that she still dwelled over her heartbreak.
"Ascot!" Umi scolded causing the summoner to flinch and slouch in his chair. "You never have to think of weither you should visit us or not! You're always welcomed!"
Ascot breathed in a sigh of relief and straitened up a bit as Hikaru's voice piped in an agree. "You're our friend, Ascot. We always like to see our friends."
"Speaking of friends, where is Caldina and Lafarga?" Umi asked leaning next to Ascot who blushed from the closeness of their faces.
"Caldina and Lafarga have decided to be together." Ascot informed watching Umi pull back a bit. "They went to Chizeta to see Caldina's family."
"Oh! So Caldina and Lafarga are getting married!" Hikaru exclaimed jumping up with a smile. "It's great that they're together! I hope they come back soon so I can congratulate them."
"'Married'? What's 'married'?" Ascot asked pushing his large brown bangs away from his eyes, accidentally knocking his over-sized green hat out of position.
"Marriage- you know, the eternal union of two people." Umi answered slowly looking at Ascot in disbelief.
"I've never heard of 'marriage'." Ascot replied changing the disbelief to shock while nervously repositioning his hat. "But it sounds nice." He said quickly trying to change Hikaru and Umi's expression; focusing more on Umi than Hikaru. He didn't like to see her any other way but happy.
"It does." Fuu agreed quietly with a slight nod of her head. All three turned to watch the green uniformed Magic Knight look blindly at the floor.
"Are you okay, Fuu?" Ascot asked watching the blonde toy with her green pleated skirt.
"I..."
"Fuu isn't feeling very well at the moment." Umi said hastily cutting off Fuu's reply. She didn't believe Fuu need any more discussion on the topic Ascot was about to bring up- nor did she want to hear any of it. "Perhaps it's best if you go and let Fuu get some rest."
"Of course." Ascot agreed holding his stomach as if he had physically been kicked. He uttered his good-byes with his head lowered as he walked out of the room.
"I am a burden." Ascot thought bitterly after he heard the click of the shutting door.
*~*
"Nova..." whispered a voice from the swirling mist. Inside the mist stood Hikaru dressed in her summer school uniform looking dazed.
"Who's there?" Hikaru demanded turning in a circle, her loose hair flapping in the air from her swift movements. Her red eyes squinted trying to see past the white thickness but all she could see beyond was black.
"Nova..."
"Nova is a part of me, so what do you want?" The red magic knight continued to search for the origin of the voice as the mist began to thicken around her. Hikaru batted at the mist in vain trying to clear an area for her to see.
"Nova..." The voice called again as the mist began to engulf the small red head.
"What do you want!" Hikaru yelled waving her arms franticly. The swish of her arms seemed to not have moved the white air at all.
"Awaken! Nova...awaken!" the voice roared causing Hikaru to bolt up right in her room on the other side of the hall from Umi and Fuu. Hikaru shivered rubbing her arms. She felt cold- from the dream or the night air, she couldn't tell which. All she could remember was the rumbling of the voice calling her heart and the flash of power hungry eyes right before she had awoken.
"Nova; why were they calling for Nova?" Hikaru breathed trying to collect her thoughts as she tightened the bed sheets around her.
"Because they want me, Hikaru." A voice replied.
"Nova?" Hikaru jumped up from the bed, her blood shot eyes darting around the night room.
"Don't let them take me Hikaru!" Nova's voice cried.
"Nova!" Hikaru cried in response twisting herself in the bed sheets.
"Don't let them take me Hikaru!" Nova's voice echoed.
*~*
"I sit here, waiting, wondering, hoping, that I'll make this right...'cause all I think about is your hands...your face, and all these lonely nights..." - If Only