DISCLAIMER: I don't own MKR, CLAMP does. Am just one crazy fan. And all of these stuff I had written or will write is a product of my imagination and my imagination only....Yada...yada...Don't sue me.
DESTINED TO BE
Chapter 7
Several days had passed since Eagle had told Lantis his intention of marrying Hikaru. It had also been days since Lantis had decided to avoid his ward—an action he had considered best for the situation.
So far, he had not succeeded.
Lantis had tried his best; nobody could ever say he had not. But somehow everyday, Lantis would always end up being in the same area with her. They both live under the same roof after all. And despite of the fact that he wanted to avoid Hikaru, he did not want to be too far away. Hence leaving Zephyr's Loft even for a short period of time was out of the question. He felt it was his duty to make sure that Hikaru married a man who was worthy of her, not only because he was her guardian but also because he was very fond of her. If he had to give her up, it had to be to someone he knew he could trust.
And thus far, Eagle was the best candidate.
Lantis could not help but frown. Eagle, besides being an honorable man, was handsome and had a very charming personality. One would not deny that it was almost impossible for a woman not to be seduced by Eagle's charm. The fact that there was a great possibility that Hikaru would fall head over heels with Eagle made Lantis wonder how long it would take for her to do so.
'A couple of years? Would it be months? Definitely not just a couple of days! My Hikaru would not…' His musings suddenly made a complete halt. His Hikaru? Since when did Hikaru become his?
Lantis shook his head. Locking himself in his study the whole day might have done something to his brain. Deciding that sunlight might help, he opened the door to his balcony to enjoy the scenery…
…which ended to be a very bad idea.
He bit his lower lip, roughly brushed his hair with his hands and watched Hikaru, Mira and Eagle taking a walk in the gardens. His bloody friend had certainly not wasted his precious time!
But then of course, he had been aware that Eagle would be like this. Eagle was a sneak who would immediately jump at the opportunity if offered to him. And that was exactly what his friend was doing now. Thus, Lantis harbored no ill feelings for Eagle.
Suddenly, he heard someone knock on his study's door. "Come in!"
"Ah! Whatever are you doing here, locking yourself inside this dull room?" he heard his aunt's high-pitched voice as she approached him.
"I had a lot of things to do," he answered her.
"I can obviously see that," Aunt Felicity answered, with a hint of amusement in her voice. Lantis paled when he saw his aunt looking at Hikaru's direction. "I suppose you just decided to take a quick break, hmm?" Lantis did not answer. "Really, nephew! You had not been yourself lately. I could sense a spark of jealousy in you."
"You must be imagining things again, Auntie."
"I might be getting old, young man, but I can assure you I have not gone out of my mind! Beware of that tiny spark, Lantis, it might become one blazing fire if ignored," she warned him. His aunt then took a deep breath and then continued, "He had been visiting her more often these past few days. I would not be surprised if he asked for your permission to court her."
"He already had, Auntie."
"And you agreed."
"Yes."
"She is a wonderful girl, is she not? And he is such a charming young man. I can't wait to see them together at the ball! He would make a wonderful escort!"
"No, he will not escort her." Lantis said. His voice was calm, his face void of emotion. One would not even notice how firmly he had clutched his hands into tight fists at his sides.
"Why…Surely that would not be much of an issue?"
"I gave him my permission to court her, not marry her. To make him her escort would make him think that he is most favored amongst all her suitors…" Lantis lied, discreetly avoiding his aunt's prying gaze by glancing towards Hikaru's direction.
"You never cared about what the people might think or say, my dear nephew. Besides, he is her only suitor as of now."
Lantis looked straight into his aunt's smiling eyes, and uttered in a voice filled with confidence, "I will escort her."
"What?!" his aunt exclaimed.
"Why not? I am her guardian after all! Surely that would not be an issue?" Lantis said, emphasizing on Lady Felicity's previous statement.
"Definitely not," Aunt Felicity answered, her lips curling into a smile. "And here I was thinking that you were avoiding her." She laughed out loud after seeing Lantis' eyes widen, and turned around. "Now that it's all settled, I'll have to go and talk to Julie about the menu we'll be serving. I will see you around, Lantis-dear." Lantis stood stupefied as he watched his aunt leave his study.
As soon as he had recovered from his surprise, he muttered to himself, "So much for avoiding her. But then again…" His gaze shifted to the group's direction. Eagle might be the best choice for Hikaru for now, but that did not mean Lantis would let him have her that easily. Like any other suitor, Eagle would still have to be tested. Unfortunately for him, Lantis would take no exceptions, best friend or not.
***
Hikaru smiled as she placed the flowery crown she had made on Mira's little head. The girl rewarded her with an expression of utter delight that warmed her heart. "Thank you Aunt Hikaru!" the child exclaimed. "Do I look beautiful now, Uncle Eagle?"
"Of course you do," Eagle answered with a lively chuckle.
"Look! It's Uncle Lantis!" Mira said and then waved at the man coming towards them. "UNCLE LANTIS!"
It did not take long for Lantis to reach them. He knelt down as Mira reached out her hands, letting her give him a warm embrace, which he returned. Hikaru, on the other hand, could not help but stare at Lantis' display of affection to his niece. After all, he only did it with Mira, with whom he was obviously very fond of. He reminded her so much of her eldest brother, Satoru. 'Yes, even their smiles were the same…' She felt a pang of sadness as the thought of her dead brother crossed her mind…
"Are you alright?" she heard Eagle ask her.
"I…Yes, I am." Again she looked at Lantis, who was now standing up, his right hand held tightly by his young niece. Yes, he smiled at her once. It was when they first met, almost ten years ago…
---
Hikaru could not help but be curious of their young visitor. So curious, in fact that she decided to follow him and her brothers after their mid-day meal. He politely declined her brother's invitation to go back to the fencing hall for some reason, and was now sitting comfortably on the grass-covered ground with his back leaning against the trunk behind him.
He seemed to be asleep, so she decided to take a closer look. She slightly raised her skirt, and tiptoed her way towards him. She raised her hand in front of his face and repeatedly moved it up and down.
"If you are trying to see if I am asleep, I am not," he suddenly spoke.
"Whaaa—!!!" she exclaimed as she stumbled backwards out of surprise.
"Hey! Careful there!" he said. He had only managed to support her head and her back from hitting the ground, however, leaving her half-lying and half-sitting on the ground.
"Are you alright? Can you stand?"
"Yes, I can…" She stood up, and then rubbed her slightly aching bottom. "Thank you."
"Be careful next time," he muttered as he resumed to his former position.
Hikaru moved closer to him, sat on the ground and just stared at young man in front of her. "What are you doing?" she finally asked.
He opened his right eye and asked, "What?"
"You were not sleeping, but your eyes were closed. What were you doing then?"
Lantis sighed, opened his other eye and answered, "Relaxing."
"Oh." It was only then that she noticed his unusually deep, violet eyes.
"Your name is Hikaru, isn't it?"
Hikaru blinked and then answered, "Yes. What is your name?"
"You can call me Lantis."
"All right Lantis," Hikaru smiled, wiped her right hand on her skirt and offered it for a handshake, which he accepted. "You are my friend now then!"
"Your… friend?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Why? Don't you like to be my friend?" She frowned.
"Well, it's not that…"
"Good! We're friends now!" she declared, very much proud of herself.
"Oh, alright then." There was a silence between them for a while. "You fence quite well."
"My father is a good teacher."
"Hmm, I heard he is a good swordsman."
"Do you also fence?" She watched him nod as an answer. "I challenge you for a match then!"
"Didn't your father teach you that it is not appropriate to start fencing matches at mere whim?"
"It's just a friendly match that's all." Hikaru pouted and crossed her arms.
Her new friend sat silently for a few minutes and then spoke. "Here's a deal. We'll have the match the next time we see each other. How does that sound?"
"Is that a promise?" she asked, still doubtful.
"Yes, it's a promise," he said.
"Thank you, Lantis!" she exclaimed, giving him a warm smile.
"You have to train hard then. I will not let you beat me easily," he said, smiling at her for the first and last time.
---
And train hard she did, always looking forward for the day that she would see her friend again. Eventually, as the years went by, she had learned to accept the fact that Lantis might have forgotten her and his promise.
"Aunt Hikaru made me a crown. See?" Mira asked.
"It's lovely, Mira."
"Glad you finally decided to join us, Lantis," Eagle said. "Unfortunately, it is time for me to leave." He took her hand and kissed it, "Goodbye, Lady Hikaru." He then gave his friend a quick nod as he said, "Goodbye, Lantis."
"Goodbye, Uncle Eagle."
"Goodbye, Mira," Eagle said, ruffling the child's hair.
Hikaru stood silently as they watch Eagle leave. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned to her young guardian and started to say, "Lantis…"
"Yes Hikaru?"
Hikaru took a deep breath. "I think it's time for you to fulfill your promise to me." She met his gaze and noticed a spark of recognition in his eyes. 'Could it be?'
He was silent for a while, just looking at her, and then said, "Very well then. Tomorrow. But as I said, I would not let you beat me that easily." And after ten long years, he smiled at her again.
--------*------*
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ahh I dunno how all these ideas came to me! But well..I think it's quite nice. Just enuff doze of fluffiness :P. Lantis is sort of acting weird these days ^.^;; I wonder why… Ohohohoo!
choo - sure! thanks for reading this. :)
Hikaru-1989 - sorry for the long wait. i hope this one is worth it.and well i didn't mean the OOC...maybe a lil bit...but its great that you liked it still!
blazingIcEph0eniX - hiya hikaru-chan! am glad you like my fiction.
hagane - glad you liked this one better.
Queen of the Storms - ahhh i made you wait too long again i think...sorry!
Silly*Niecy - whoa there! let's make it one chappie at a time shall we? hehehe.
bishlov - another chappie wiff some baka-lantis musings.
Miemu Akari - a love-triangle would make it more interesting ne?
GoddessLD - the H/L still stands true and will never ever change :P
LieskTenshi no Earth - *scratches her head* was it? well am glad it became clearer for you later on...
BooBoo - i love you! thanks!
Sackerie - ahhehehehe ^.^;;
