Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the long arrival of this chapter; I have been working on my website and something was up with the computer modem, so I couldn't view the internet for a week. But, I'm gonna make it up to you!

Well, here's the next chapter, and you will finally see the title of this fic begin to show meaning. Enjoy everyone!

Chapter Four: Star Painted Skies

Fuu skipped down the stairs of the house and bounced around the corner, grabbing a shiny red apple on the way. "I'm leaving to work now, mom!"

Her mother stuck her head out from behind the kitchen door with a wide smile. "Okay, Fuu. Make sure you come straight home!"

Fuu smiled weakly and nodded. "I will. Thank you, mother." She quickly turned away and left her mother smiling. Fuu closed the door behind her and pressed her glasses against her face, then followed the sidewalk down the street to Tokyo Tower that stood high above the horizon. "Wait until Hikaru sees me. She'll be so happy. I hope I can catch her."

[---]

The sky . . . is nothing without stars . . .

[---]

Fuu ran through the door of the dinner with her jacket casting behind her back. All eyes zipped to the girl who rushed to the counter and Umi almost lost her breathe. "Fuu!"

Fuu turned at the sound of her name and waved to Ferio who sat, waving, next to Umi. Ferio snapped his eyes at Umi. "Be quiet, Umi! Don't get so excited!"

Umi quivered and stared at the floor with her eyes narrowed. Lantis only sipped from his glass and continued to look serious. Even when Fuu met them at the table, he didn't crack a grin. He never smiled for just anyone.

When I came through the kitchen door, I almost dropped the order on the floor. "Fuu!" I rushed to her and gave her a huge hug. "Fuu, what are you doing here?"

"My mother let me off early. She said I deserved some fun time," she smiled. "Thank you, Hikaru."

Umi gripped the table cloth when she saw the two hug, then she impatiently brushed away a tear. "Guys..."

Fuu smiled widly and turned to Boss as he walked through the door. "Fuu! It's great to see you! What happened to your punishment?"

"It lost its way to my life, sir," she said with her normal mysterious talk. She cracked a smile.

Boss laughed and pat her shoulder a couple times. "Well, get to work, young lady. All these customers have been waiting."

"Yes, sir!" she said happily and hopped into the kitchen for her apron.

After seeing Fuu skip gracefully around the room, I suddenly couldn't stop smiling. She finally had the fun she deserved and her mother didn't mind so much after all. Now, just seeing Fuu out of her house and having fun made me do more than smile. I hummed.

It wasn't long before the rush of the afternoon caught the sunset and almost all the customers were gone. Umi, Ferio, and Lantis were the only ones left in the dinner and once in a while, a man would walk in and ask for a simple cup of coffee, drink it there, and then leave. It's times like this when Ferio and the gang would stay at the diner until closing time.

Boss let us take a break, due to no one else in the diner, so Fuu invited me over to sit with the three. Of course, I didn't pass it up, and sat with the small group. Ferio politely pulled me a chair and I sat down next to Lantis, who was now twirling the straw in the glass of water he never finished. Fuu decided to open the conversation. "Hikaru, I'm not sure if you met Ferio and Lantis, did you?"

"Well, I'm only familiar with the two-"

"I see her in school," Lantis said coldly.

Umi tried her best to smile, but she still found the pain of watching her beloved friends not even remember her. "And I'm... Umi."

"Hello, Umi! Nice to meet you! I'm Hikaru!" I said with a wide smile.

"She's the reckless one," Ferio said playfully. Everyone laughed except Lantis, and Ferio nudged his shoulder. "Come on Lantis, won't you ever laugh at any of my jokes?"

"When they are funny, I'll laugh."

That was when I asked him. "Hey Lantis, are you gonna finish your drink?" I pointed to the unused straw that lay next to the glass of water.

He was silent, as if thinking, or maybe even ignoring me, then he spoke. "No-"

Then I grabbed the cup and straw and gulped down all the water left in the glass. "Mhhmm. That was delicious!"

Everyone burst into a laughter and Lantis blushed lightly. He only shook his head, touched the empty glass that I let go of, and tried his hardest to look serious. But when we all kept nudging him and when I smiled, he couldn't hide it anymore; he blushed and grinned.

[---]

"Thank you for walking me home, Umi and Ferio," Fuu said as she walked down the empty sidewalks of the city. Ferio walked on the street side of the concrete and listened to the girls talk back and forth.

Umi nodded. "Even though... we just met today..." she scringed, "I thought I would be a good friend and walk you home."

"A friend?" Fuu asked. She smiled. "I would like that very much. Three friends in one week. It's amazing."

Umi looked at Fuu, who stared into the sky and her glasses shimmered in the moonlight of the early night. "You don't have many friends, do you Fuu?"

She didn't hesitate to answer. "No. Hikaru and Ferio are my only." Then something in her answer made her giggle. "Yes, childish Ferio.."

Ferio laughed.

With a sigh, Umi stared at the ground. "Fuu, I've always been there for you... always..."

Fuu looked at her and walked up the steps to her house. She looked at the blue haired girl from behind the fence. "Thank you for walking me home, Umi." Fuu smiled at Ferio, then turned around and walked through the door of her home, closing it behind her.

Umi just stood outside the house, staring blankly at the familiar windows and to the room of the Magic Knight with Healing Magic. All the memories of Cephiro, all the love for Ferio, and all the battles and hardship; Fuu didn't remember a thing any more than Hikaru. Umi could have stayed outside, staring at the house all night, but she turned away with tears. "Fuu... remember me..."

[---]

"Thanks for the walk, Lantis," I said, looking up at him.

He had his fists in his jacket pockets. "Mhm hmm."

Lantis stood next to me as we both walked on the empty sidewalk of the quiet city of Tokyo. Ferio had decided to walk Fuu home, then Umi, who lived not to far from Fuu's house, so Lantis walked with me. He could be rather of a gentleman when he wanted to. In my heart, I think Lantis is very sweet, just shy.

I looked at the night sky and stared at the stars that lined the dark blue horizon and thought of the night that it poured rain. "Hey Lantis," He looked down at me. "Have you ever wished on a star?"

Lantis looked back up at the sky with those cold eyes I've seen the first time I ever laid eyes on him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I dunno," I thought. "You.. just don't look like the type that would wish on a star."

He turned and looked at the street. "That's true."

"Well, why not give it a try!" I swung my arms to the sky. "The sky is painted with stars to wish upon!"

He looked at me. "Sorry to break it to you, but those wishes never come true."

"If you believe they will, then they will!" I twirled around. "It's like your will power! Without it, you can't do anything, right?"

Lantis didn't answer, just turned away from me. "You sure have a big heart, Hikaru. So... dreamy."

I looked at him with starry eyes. "Is there something wrong with being a dreamer? Don't you believe in magic? Fantasy?" Again, he didn't answer. A cold wind suddenly blew and I stopped to catch my breath. I was surprised when Lantis removed his jacket and hung it on my shoulders. It fell all the way to my ankles and the sleeves seemed twice the size of my arms. "Lantis?"

"You must be cold," he said, and continued walking.

The rest of the way home was silent. I only stared at the stars in the sky and tried my hardest not to have Lantis' jacket sleeves drag on the ground. Lantis just stared ahead of him, and once in a while, fixed the jacket that kept slipping off my shoulders. I giggled each time. Maybe somewhere behind those cold eyes that belong to Lantis concealed a warm heart and a mind filled with dreams and wishes that were never wished on stars. I think the only purpose for stars is so we can wish on them when we are happy and gaze at them when we are sad. I don't think Lantis ever sat on his roof and stared at the sky, wishing one day he could touch the sky. Has he ever reached out, wanting to hold the sky? Has he ever fell in love? All this seemed to change when I saw him staring at the sky, mummbling something I couldn't make out.

[---]

"Yes, this is it," I said, turning the corner and pointing to the dojo that sat upon the small hill.

We both stopped in front of the fence and he helped me take off the oversized jacket. Once he did, he just hung it over his shoulder and looked down at me, then at the dojo. "This is where you live? In a dojo?"

I nodded happily. "With my brothers." He was quiet as he stared at the doors of the huge one floored dojo. I smiled. "Feel free to come by any time you need me. I'm always home when I'm not at work."

"Okay," he said simply. Then he walked over to the fence gate and opened it.

"Lantis... what are you doing?"

He turned around quickly. "I thought I would walk you to your door."

At first, I was frozen by his words. This cold boy was a gentleman after all!? "Thank you, Lantis," I said as I walked past him and up the stairs to the door. Once there, I turned and looked at the sky. "Look, it's a Blue Moon," I smiled, "the second Full Moon this month. Amazing."

"What... do you mean by Full Moon?" He asked.

"Well," I thought for a moment, and tried to put it in words that my brothers once told me. "A Full Moon happens once a month and it can even react on people, causing them to feel emotions they have never felt before. A Full Moon..."

"Emotions one never felt before?" Lantis looked at me, confused.

"Yes. Romatic emotions, or even the person can feel different." Seriously, now I knew he never looked at the sky. He was silent again, maybe thinking. But I knew it was late and just wanted to get inside. "Well, good night, Lantis," I said with a wide smile and opened the door to my house.

I looked back at him from the open doorway, waiting for him to smile back or say something, but he just turned and walked down the pathway. Once I closed the door behind me, did he stop and stare at the house. "...good night."

[---Cephiro---]

Lantis walked in from the doors of the huge castle swiftly and passed the many faces of the worried people. "Still doesn't remember?" Presea asked from her position on the couch, sitting next to Guru Clef.

"Nope," he said and walked into the bedroom.

Presea combed her hand through her golden blonde hair and let it loose. She held the bow in her palm and made a fist. "Poor Umi. She comes back to Cephiro now and then heartbroken. It must be hard for her."

Guru Clef nodded and set his staff aside him. His eyes, still cold and mysterious, narrowed with sympathy. "She is sleeping here tonight in Ascot's room, speaking of her. She couldn't sleep in the Magic Knights' old bedroom, so she spends the night with Ascot..."

Presea sighed. "She must dream about them each night..."

"She sleeps with Ascot?" Gardina said excitely, walking through the hallway door and into the room where Presea and Guru Clef sat.

"Only for company!" Presea said, snapping her eyes at her. "Don't be silly! She's only fifteen."

Gardina shook her head. "I dunno, ya know that Ascot likes her, eh? You can never trust that little kid." She folded her arms.

"Ascot isn't little... Guru Clef is," Presea said, sticking out her tongue.

Guru Clef blushed lightly then closed his eyes. "Knowledge comes in small packages."

"Yes, and that is your theory," Gardina said, nudging his shoulder.

The three laughed on and continued to joke as the castle rang with laughter.

[---]

Lantis walked into the dark room and sat down on the bed. Taking off his shirt and replacing it with a white tank top, he walked over to the window and rested his palm on the wall. The room was shared with Eagle Vision, who came to castle to sleep every once in a while to keep the castle lively and to get away from Autozam. He wasn't there tonight, but the young boy from Autozam, Zazu, wandered aimlessly around the castle, admiring the wonderful air and nature.

He stared at the star painted sky and sighed. "Hikaru... why do you wish upon stars? It seems so childish... so... imaginative."

"Whatcha doin', Lantis?" a familiar voice said from the door.

Lantis looked over his shoulder at the man he remembered so deeply. "Oh, it's just you, Eagle.."

Eagle smiled and walked into the room, pointing on the light. He wore a blank tank top with long black jeans. He eyes glowed lively. "What are you doing?"

Moving aside so Eagle can see out the window, Lantis sighed. "Nothing. I'm thinking."

"I heard about Hikaru and Fuu. Poor Umi," he said, hanging his head. "You know, the last time I saw those girls, it was rainy night, a full moon in fact, and I finally recovered from that battle for the Pillar." Lantis looked at him, so he continued. "Guru Clef told me that... he would erase her memory sooner or later. He never said why, but I think it's for the better."

"It's tearing Umi apart," Lantis said suddenly.

Eagle chuckled. "I just passed Ascot's room. He is even blushing in his sleep. You know, they both look like children when they are asleep."

"So do you."

Eagle laughed. "Yeah, I guess everyone does." Then he looked at the sky and closed his eyes. "Nothing is the same since the Magic Knights left. They were forced into a battle they had no idea about, and Clef did a good thing, making them not remember the battles, even though Umi does." He paused, then turned to Lantis. "Do you think we should tell them?"

"We?"

"Yes, we. I am planning on going to Tokyo with you. Of course, I have no clue of how to behave, but you can help me there." Eagle chuckled and smiled. "Maybe she will remember me."

"I doupt anyone can forget you," Lantis said in a teasing manner.

Eagle smiled and looked to the midnight sky. "So many stars. I have never seen such things in Autozam, due to the poluted skies." His eyes narrowed. "So many sweet dreams."

Lantis studied him and watched as he silently mouthed words. Eagle's hair glistened in the breeze and calmly swayed, as if nodding. "...what are you doing now?"

Eagle turned and walked away from him, then he looked over his shoulder. "Making a wish..."